Suspense Upgrades

The AFRS version is identical to the East Coast version. Joseph Cotten makes the same stumble in the final scene:

Network at 25:32:
"I, the insignificant, outmoded ham who wouldn't---wasn't fit to appear in your precious plays."

The same mistake appears at 23:22 in the AFRS recording.

Thanks greybelt

Best regards
Art

Thanks so much chasedad! I happened to be listening to it while I was working on the Hehn stuff in storage. It came to that line and I said to myself "Self, I bet this is one of those little flubs that's an identifier"

Sure enough!

THANKS AGAIN!!

There is only one recording of today's broadcast; there are no indicators of the the target coast that have been detected.

This was written by CBS a script department worker, Joan Ware. It is credited, however, to her brother J. Douglas Ware. He conceived the script with her before he left to serve in WW2. He was killed in combat. Joan finished the script, and had it credited to him in his memory.

Suspense_1947-01-02_Tree_of_Life_wMarkStevens (direct to ID) UPGRADE-3.mp3
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hubiC [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Newspaper clippings were posted earlier.


The Suspense at the Movies page has been updated.
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YouTube regularly scans its files for what might be copyright issues and removes them or deletes accounts that post them. The same videos can often be found under different accounts on YouTube. Most of the items that were recently deleted have been restored on this page. Also, archive.org sometimes has the same files when YouTube does not. Archive.org links have been added to the listings when they could be found. There are some movies that are not on either, but trailers can be found. (Sometimes the trailers are more satisfying then the movies!) Enjoy!

Thanks greybelt
Best regards
Art

Today's recording is one network with the target coast unidentified. There is an AFRS version... perhaps there is an identifying marker that differentiates the recordings. Calling the C3DS!

Suspense_1947-01-23_One_Way_Street_wRoddyMcDowall (2sec to ID) UPGRADE-3.mp3
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The AFRS version was posted in 2012 [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


"Sorry, Wrong Number" starring... Meg Mundy?

Like so many times before, I'm researching one thing and something unexpected pops up: another performance of SWN on early television.

On January 8, 1950, CBS demonstrated its proposed color TV system in Washington, DC, at the Statler Hotel. There were a variety of performances over a closed circuit system.  One of the broadcasts that evening was SWN with Broadway actress Meg Mundy in the lead role.  The Variety reviewer said "... the familiar script remains a top chiller...Meg Mundy turned in a convincing performance in a difficult role, with the cameras trained on her for practically all of the 30 minutes." Mundy's career was in high gear at the time, and this was obviously good publicity for her. Mundy had a very long film and TV career, acting into her 80s.
IMDb [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Wikipedia [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Good website obit [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

This is a picture from the Washington Post a week after the broadcast.

Only a couple of hundred people saw the performance, at most, and it is unlikely a recording was made. Only kinescope would have been possible, and that equipment may not have been available in the DC area or on this closed circuit feed. The performances were staged at WTOP (the station owned jointly by CBS and The Washington Post) and fed to the hotel exhibition room. During that week, there were a few locations where the public could see "color television" using this CBS technology, which was never adopted. The viewing of SWN was just to broadcast executives, the press, and FCC employees and regulators. It got a better review than the experimental broadcast five years earlier that was seen in New York (in B&W) starring Mildred Natwick. The only references to the event I have found are in Variety. I can't find anything in Billboard. The DC papers had coverage, but nothing else in newspapers.com came up. They made a big deal about the bright green satin sheets, the pink nightgown... and some of the staff bought over the counter medicines for the hypochondriac Mrs. Stevenson to take so the cameras could show the assortment of brightly colored pills she was taking.

It still is interesting that SWN was never performed on the Suspense television series. Mundy was in the Suspense pilot (Goodbye, New York) and the second episode, Suspicion. Both can be seen on YouTube. She was on a third time for one of the adapted scripts from the radio series, One and One's a Lonesome, but a video recording of that has not surfaced.

The SWN page has been updated at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks greybelt

Best regards
Art

C3DS reporting..., they are different.
AFRS 1:08 "The only home I've ever known since..."
Network 1:55 "The only home I've had since..."

Lasombra! THANKS so very much!
When your staff check out from the weekend shift, be sure that the paymaster knows they get time-and-a-half for their work on this.

But a Pandora's box has been opened! YIKES!
AFRTS reissued Suspense many times. There is a run in the 1980s where they have a "Frankenstein" type opening -- they grabbed pieces of Suspense openings from different eras. They're easy to spot, and quite disorienting. The music and the bells are often in different keys, you hear Joe Kearns as the "Man in Black" and suddenly there's Larry Thor in the mid-50s.

Then, they leave out cast names and the show title! This way the shows did not seem so "old" -- you know, like having the guest star be deceased. If you don't give their name, the program seems contemporary. That seems to be the rationale, however strange it seems. Remember, even in the 1980s, there were some areas of the world AFRTS where there was no television, so radio drama had a big following for service personnel and their families if they were with them.

So without titles and guest stars, you have to work a little bit to make sure exactly what they are. Christine Miller listened to a few of them and found that the AFRTS engineers sometimes took out dialogue to meet their time constraints, too! (Her website [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] has not been updated in quite a while; her site was one of the inspirations for this entire Suspense project).

These circulated a lot in the 1990s until network broadcasts came around. They are often in old low-encode collections that I routinely  check and stumble on them. Unfortunately, most are in lower quality sound. I keep hoping that I find a missing episode in one of them, but otherwise I keep them separate from my main files because I don't want them fraternizing -- it can only cause trouble

Here is one of them:
Suspense_1947-01-23_One_Way_Street_wRoddyMcDowall AFRTS 1980s.mp3
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I thought for sure this was not checking out, but I did anyway. Guess what! This MATCHES the current network broadcast we have, not the AFRS one!

AFRTS 1:36 "The only home I've had since..."

I thought for sure that AFRS was just using their prior edited recordings for the 80s stuff, but now it seems they cut this one from scratch.

So now what?

Of the 30 or so I have found of these odd recordings, these are the ones from the E-W era and they can be downloaded at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Suspense_1944-01-13_Dime_A_Dance_wLucilleBall AFRTS RU-2-0-1039.mp3
Suspense_1944-03-09_The_Defense_Rests_wAlanLadd AFRTS 1980s.mp3
Suspense_1944-03-30_Cat_&_Mouse_wSonnyTufts AFRTS 1980s.mp3
Suspense_1944-04-13_MarvelousBarastro_wOrsonWelles AFRS 1980s RE-ISSUE.mp3
Suspense_1944-05-04_The_Dark_Tower_wOrsonWelles AFRTS RU-18-0-1055.mp3
Suspense_1945-01-25_Drury's_Bones_wBorisKarloff AFRTS RU3-0-1040.mp3
Suspense_1945-10-04_Death_on_Highway_99_wGeorgeMurphy AFRTS RU-9-0-1046.mp3
Suspense_1946-04-04_Post_Mortem_wAMoorehead&HDuff AFRTS RU-190-10B-1056.mp3
Suspense_1947-01-23_One_Way_Street_wRoddyMcDowall AFRTS 1980s.mp3
Suspense_1947-10-30_Subway_wJuneHavoc AFRTS RE-ISSUE APPROX 1980s.mp3

They'll get examined eventually, but if anyone wants to dig in from the C3DS or one of their interns, that would be spectacular. Right now I'm still concentrating on the Suspense in the Hehn reels.

But this is so very strange. I always say, Suspense is like an onion that you peel and it keeps staying the same size...

Thanks greybelt

Best regards

Art

Today is a new network version -- no idea if it is east or west.
Suspense_1947-02-06_End_of_the_Road_wGlennFord (2sec to ID).mp3
Degoo [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
hubiC [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There is a direct to ID version posted 3+ years ago at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] It's clear that Kearns and Niles are rushing to make their time. I am not aware of any other differences between the broadcasts.

There is no AFRS recording available.

Newspaper clippings were posted earlier.

The original title of today's episode was "Dying is Safer." That title was never in the newspaper clippings, but when they did it again in 1951, it was... and then they went back to The Thirteenth Sound.

Jimmy Stewart is mentioned as a guest in upcoming weeks, but he is not mentioned again -- and does not appear until 1949!

Suspense_1947-02-13_The_Thirteenth_Sound_wAgnesMoorehead WC (noFBIiP&W @end) UPGRADE-2.mp3
Degoo [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
hubiC [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The east version was posted about this time last year. It can be found at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Newspaper clippings were posted previously. There are some new ones, and the first one is excellent.



pCloud is running their Black Friday special again -- 2TB lifetime account for $245.
IceDrive has their 2TB lifetime for $229, but it has 4TB monthly download bandwidth, 2x more than pCloud.

Thanks greybelt
Best regards

Art

Re yesterday's post of The Thirteenth Sound, Patte Rosebank posted at the OTRR FB page:

Though Cathy and Elliott Lewis collaborated to write scripts, this is one of only two I've found that gives her a writer credit. On all the rest, only Elliott is credited.

The script uses Misophonia as a plot device. Misophonia is the evil flipside of ASMR. With ASMR, certain sounds induce a lovely tingly feeling of bliss. With Misophonia, certain sounds induce an overwhelmingly violent fight-or-flight response. Perversely, one person's ASMR trigger can be another person's Misophonia trigger.
The title comes from an experimental piece of microtonal music. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The Wikipedia page she cites is quite interesting!


Today's post is an upgrade of the east coast version. We have both network versions and have not found an AFRS copy.

Suspense_1947-02-20_AlwaysRoomAtTheTop_wAnnBaxter EC (mentions FBIiP&W at end) UPGRADE-3.mp3
Degoo [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
hubiC [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The west coast version was posted two years ago and is available at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Newspaper clippings were posted previously.

Radio Mirror had a photo feature of this episode in its September 1947 edition.
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Thanks greybelt

Best regards

Art

We have all three recordings... east, west, AFRS. If someone is on holiday duty at the C3DS, which recording is the AFRS derived from?

Suspense_1947-03-13_YouTakeBallistics_wHDiSilva&JWebb EC (mentions FBIiP&W).mp3
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The west version was posted almost 6 yrs ago and is now at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
The AFRS version was posted 2+ years ago and is now at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Newspaper clipping posted previously.

daSilva got caught up in the Blacklist issues, and his radio, television, and movie work dried up in the 1950s. His theater work did pick up again in the mid-50s. By the time the 60s came around, he was exonerated. Many remember him for playing Ben Franklin in the movie 1776. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Dennis Day was planned to take the lead role in "The Rapid Rise of Eddie Albright," but it didn't happen. Reading between the lines, things may not have worked out during rehearsals, so Phil Silvers go the chance for the lead in the renamed The Swift Rise of Eddie Albright. We have identified east and west recordings because of the FBIiP&W tease. No AFRS recording has been located.

Suspense_1947-04-03_SwiftRiseOfEddieAlbright_wPhilSilvers WC (no mention FBIiP&W) UPGRADE.mp3
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hubiC [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The east coast version was posted 8 years ago!! It is available at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thanks greybelt

Best regards

Art

The AFRS version is identical to the East coast version. Here's one difference in the opening minutes between the two:

West Coast at 2:01:
Cass: Hey, look, eh...
Lieutenant: You got a match?
Cass: Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, here.

East Coast at 2:03:
Cass: Uh...
Lieutenant: Got a match?
Cass: Huh? Match? Huh...here.

THANKS so much chasedad! One of the things to be thankful for is the friends and collaborators here at Cobalt. Getting through all of the COVID issues would be much harder if not for our hobbies and the friends we make here.

We have east and west of today's episode. No AFRS version has been found.

Suspense_1947-04-10_Community_Property_wKirkDouglas EC (mentions FBIiP&W).mp3
Degoo [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
hubiC [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The west version was posted 3+ years ago and can be found at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Newspaper clippings posted previously.


Cloud space wars heated up this weekend -- "lifetime" prices
pCloud ran its usual US$245 for 2TB with monthly bandwidth of 2TB
IceDrive 2TB /4TB bandwidth US$229
Degoo -- a whopper of a deal brought to my attention by lasombra -- 15TB for net US$90 using this link [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and this promo code BFSAVE40
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FYI: get someone younger than you to register these kinds of accounts; you just need to look at the actuarial tables to know it's a good idea.

BestBuy has a Western Digital 14TB external drive for $190. There may be other similar Black Friday deals.
There are lots of compact 2TB drives now selling for what 1TB drives sold for last year.

Radio Spirits is having a sale - 20% off using this code b11nc012 on the web site. If you have your eye on something there, tell the elves that Santa would be upset if they missed the deal since it expires on Nov 30.

Thanks greybelt
Best regards
Art

Today's recording is about envy, hence the reference to a "green eyed monster." We have two recordings with no indication of targeted region. No AFRS recording has been found.

Suspense_1947-04-17_GreenEyedMonster_wLloydNolan (1sec to ID).mp3
Degoo [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
hubiC [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The 3-seconds-to-ID recording was posted 3 years ago and is available at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Newspaper clippings were posted previously, but here is a new one...

Thanks greybelt
Best regards

Art

Today is "catch-up" day with some items earlier in the series that are upgraded via newly transferred recordings in the Hehn collection. I counted the upgrades and new versions found so far and we have enough for posts through March -- and I have many more reels to go! Most of the upgrades are in the mid-1950s episodes. We will occasionally be out of chronological order with the postings these next few weeks.

Some of these will still be LQ but they have been processed to be "less bad" than the prior copies.

These are all from the period when the east broadcast was on Thursday and the west was on Monday.

Suspense_1944-01-27_TheLockedRoom_wVirginiaBruce UPGRADE-4 EC Thursday.mp3
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Suspense_1944-02-03_TheSisters_wLupino&Moorehead EC Thurs UPGRADE-2 STILL LQ.mp3
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We are used to much cleaner copies of Donovan's Brain than these, but these are airchecks. These recordings are how the two parts circulated in the early years of the hobby. The severe disc rumble and scratch have been tempered and the bassy nature has been adjusted. It is curious that this is the Monday for part one and the Thursday for part two. Perhaps someone realized how ground-breaking it was and that they should grab a recording of Monday's since they missed the initial offering. We do have recordings of the Thursday part one, but the Monday part two has never appeared in circulation. Today's recordings are upgrades of what was posted previously.

Suspense_1944-05-22_Donovans_Brain_Pt1_AIRCHECK tone@open (signal drift) WC Monday UPGRADE.mp3
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Suspense_1944-05-25_Donovans_Brain_Pt2 AIRCHECK tone@open EC Thursday UPGRADE.mp3
Degoo [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
hubiC [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The following recording replaces a low encode copy of the program and is a sound upgrade. We know that this AFRS copy is from the Thursday broadcast because Joe Kearns is the Man in Black. A few years ago, shadowsmom realized that the Monday episode had a different "MiB", which we now know was John McIntire. When the show was on two different days, if you wanted a week's vacation, you missed two different broadcasts. Kearns returned for the Monday Beast Must Die but McIntire handled it for the prior Thursday.
Suspense_1944-07-06_SearchForHenriLeFevre_wPaulMuni_(AFRS) KearnsMIB UPGRADE.mp3
Degoo [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
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The realization that the 2x weekly broadcasts were not documented well and we started finding the different recordings started a snowball of detection for other east-west broadcasts in the years of Roma sponsorship. It became obvious that Suspense had a far more complex and curious history than commonly realized. Thanks again to shadowsmom for giving that little snowball its prime push.


Welles' appearances on Suspense were during a significant career high. His prominence was used to bring more publicity to the program, partly in gratitude to William Spier who gave him his first radio job almost a decade before, and an affirmation of their friendship.

Welles' celebrity was also used in the war effort. Yesterday we posted a nice copy of the Fifth War Loan Drive broadcast from June 12, 1944. Welles wrote and directed the program, at FDR's request. The program was on all the networks simultaneously and, like others, raised more than their stated goal.

The recording and background are at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The Joe Hehn Memorial Collection is now officially recognized as a special collection at archive.org. There is about to be a flood of recordings appearing there in the upcoming weeks.