Suspense Upgrades

I'm sure it's just mislabeled, but onesmedia.com says the Karloff Wet Saturday is included in a few of their cheap mp3 CDs. Here are a couple links to the ones I came across:

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Shhh! OnesMedia is all OTRCat stuff -- and I checked those recordings previously -- but thanks for looking!

I know DD had some FTP issues but I thought they were resolved. I will check around. Dee Neyhart left working on Digital Deli about 7 or so years ago. I will see if she's still answering emails.

I MADE A WEB PAGE about this effort
I know we have many friends who are not Cobaltians for whatever reason they have for not being in the best place in OTRdom.
But you can share this web page with them to help get the word out!
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THANKS so very much!

I found a couple of websites that had an mp3 labeled as the 1947 broadcast, but they were mislabeled copies of the 1942 broadcast.

Help get the word out about the 1947 Wet Saturday!
Share this web page with with OTRdom, especially those who collected cassettes, went to FOTR conventions, Karloff fans, and whomever else can help.
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I will start making social media posts later today (Tuesday 8/24/2021) and tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who has checked out various sources of recordings and reporting back. It is gratifying to know that there are Cobaltians so willing to join the process. I have also heard a little from non-Cobaltians in the network of OTR friends and acquaintances. Many of them had been customers of Gordon Payton or knew him and had fond memories of his business. He's enjoying retirement... and wished us well in the effort.


Today I'll be getting ready to post recordings again starting tomorrow or Thursday. I have a lot of organizing to do to get ready for the next cycle to begin...

IN THE MEANTIME, this came up on eBay yesterday...


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Of course, I'm interested in the contents, not in getting it at this price
It's a nearly full recording of the network broadcast of The Rescue with Jimmy Stewart. For years, the only recording of it was the first 20 minutes from home discs -- there was no complete recording. Then, Randy Riddle posted a complete AFRS recording 13 years ago [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] which was the first time that anyone heard the conclusion of the program.

I've worked with paper tape, and there's no guarantee it can be played. The seller has listened to it; it may sound fine to him but it probably does not compare to recordings we have become accustomed to, especially in recent years. And if it did happen to come into my hands, I know folks who have true half track who could play it.

There doesn't seem to be a way to bid on it -- the person wants $450 bucks and that's it!

Here is the listing... I will be investigating further -- including trying to contact the seller. It's one of those things that might be fruitless, but at least we know that a recording exists and to be on the lookout for it. I've had some of these surface years later...

SUSPENSE and CHARLIE McCARTHY SHOW

Scotch 100 Paper Backed 600 ft Reel Recording Tape
5" reel recorded in 1950 and 1951 - 3 3/4 ips half track  

Both of these newly found shows were recorded off an AM radio on Scotch 100 paper tape. Best played on a true half track machine. With minimal equalization, the sound is good to very good.  

Side 1 - Charlie McCarthy Show from October 15, 1950 with guest star Dorothy Kirsten.  This was difficult to date as most logs are incorrect for the first Charlie McCarthy shows in 1950.  From newspaper radio listings I found the first four shows were...
10/8/50 Jane Wyman  10/15/50 Dorothy Kirsten  10/22/50 Dick Powell  10/29/50 Lucille Ball.
This tape has Dick Powell announced as next week's guest and a 1950 "Mr Music" movie announcement.  Complete with Coca Cola commercials.

Side 2 - Suspense -  April 19, 1951 "The Rescue" with Jimmy Stewart.  A woman on a hotel ledge is threatening to jump.  This program currently exists from an Armed Forces disc (with the original openings, closings, and commercials removed) and an incomplete network recording.  This tape is missing the first few seconds of the opening, but is the full CBS broadcast complete with all the Harlow Wilcox Auto-Lite commercials.  Tape runs out during a Harlow Wilcox PSA following the show.

Shipped by USPS Priority Mail.

Here we go again... a lot of upgrades to come. I will do my best to keep them in date order, but I know that will not be possible here and there. It took all day to get these files organized yesterday, and most have not been fully processed yet, so there's much more work to do. But I did get a sense of progress as it slowly came together yesterday.

This episode was originally scheduled for the previous week. They ran Mr Markham, Antique Dealer with Paul Lukas instead. I can't find any reason for the delay other than the Laughtons were not available.

The original Agatha Christie novel included detective Hercule Poirot, but this presentation did not. William Spier worked on the adaptation with Robert Tallman. He was one of the writers on March of Time where he knew Spier. MoT was one of the most important radio series in that it launched careers, technologies, and the professional relationships that would be behind numerous future radio series. This was Tallman's first Suspense effort, and he would work with Spier on Sam Spade and other programs. He wrote many Cavalcade of America and Voyage of the Scarlet Queen episodes. Spier's early TV success (and perhaps it could be considered his only one) was the award-winning series Omnibus, for which Tallman was a writer.
His IMDb page is at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Suspense_1943-05-18_ABC_Murders_wCLaughton&ELanchester UPGRADE-4.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.]

About 7 years ago, an AFRS version was posted
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Newspaper clippings were posted previously... these are new...

Thanks greybelt
Best regards
Art

TWO UPDATES:

The Karloff Wet Saturday web page has a new address
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I just posted it on many OTR Facebook pages.
If any of you are active on any Karloff fan pages, please let people know of the address.

The eBay page of the reel with the network copy of The Rescue keeps changing and is now
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This is an update of a recording from 9 years ago. It has far less rumble and disc noise. It may sound a little harsh here and there but is, on balance, better. It's not perfect.

The broadcast was the second in a four-week run that Welles was doing as a favor to William Spier. Ten years earlier, Spier gave Welles his first radio acting job.

The four programs were planned to be Most Dangerous Game, The Lost Special, and the two-part Donovan's Brain. The two-part format was considered to be a big risk and was Spier pushing the boundaries by asking the listeners to return, so he needed a good script. The movie studio asked that DB be delayed until after their movie version of the novel by Curt Siodmak was released The Lady and the Monster [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] The movie seems to have been delayed from its intended time, and was finally released in the Spring of 1944. Welles based his DB on the movie script and added his own twists. He created the famous muttering "sure, sure, sure..." that the 1953 movie version also used in their adaptation. Newspapers announced that DB was coming, but Spier inserted Philomel Cottage (to be posted tomorrow) and Lazarus Walks as replacements.

Suspense_1943-09-30 The Lost Special wOWelles AFRS#24 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.]

Newspaper clippings were posted previously... these are new...



That tape with the network version of The Rescue is still an unbudged $450. If 1000 of us get together and pitch in 45 cents each...

Thanks greybelt

Best regards
Art

This is a less than satisfying recording of this episode, but it is better than what we had. It does seem to be an aircheck recording because of the announcement made at the beginning... and the lower quality of being recorded off the air rather than in-studio.

Suspense_1943-10-07_Philomel_Cottage_wOWelles AIRCK UPGRADE-3 (STILL LQ).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.]

Because of the delay in Donovan's Brain, not many papers got word of the switch to Philomel Cottage... and it's likely CBS publicity accidentally sent out "Philomel's" because it was picked up in almost all of the newspapers that way.



The network copy of The Rescue remains at $450... yesterday I suggested 1000 people at 45 cents each... today 100 people at $4.50 each...

The other day I saw stories about Venezuelan inflation and how to make things simpler, they're just issuing new currency and lopped off a six zeroes... much like Zimbabwe did in its hyperinflation. Wish I could lop a zero off the eBay price!

Thanks greybelt

Best regards

Art

Today's post is a "new" AFRS version of Finishing School. This is from the period where the east and west regions had Suspense performances and broadcasts on Thursday and Monday, respectively.

But... from which of those broadcasts does the AFRS broadcast come from? In practical terms, which set of discs did CBS send to the AFRS production studio?

The C3DS, the "Cobalt Dialogue Difference Detection Squad" has the answer. (That's lasombra and chasedad -- who have helped in this Suspense project with great generosity of time and spirit).

Here are two points in comparison:

AFRS: 1:55 "Just as I saw them that very first time."
Surviving east network: 1:45 "Just as I saw them the very first time."

and

AFRS: 3:36 "I'll hear about it.."
Surviving east network: 3:34 "I'll I'll hear about it..."

Therefore, the fact that the AFRS recording is different compared to the east recording means that the AFRS recording is from the west broadcast of January 3, 1944. That network recording has not been found. I haven't thought of this until now... but perhaps I should change the date on the file... hmmm... for cataloging purposes by others in the past, they always assigned the first broadcast date. Now, with this inside knowledge, we have the ability to assign the AFRS date properly... hmmm... Seems like a plan...

Suspense_1943-12-30_FinishingSchool_wLanchesterBeecherMargo AFRS.mp3
Degoo [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
hubiC (link available soon) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The Thursday broadcast for the east coast, posted 5+ years ago
Suspense_1943-12-30_FinishingSchool_wLanchesterBeecherMargo UPGRADE-3 EC Thursday.mp3
Degoo only [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

These are new newspaper clippings...



The network copy of The Rescue is still $450 on eBay...
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Two days ago I suggested 1000 people chip in at 45 cents each... yesterday 100 people at $4.50 each... today 50 people at $9 each

No takers, I guess

The price is still out of line, especially compared to discs of missing episodes that have sold in the past. Spreading the pain is the only answer. That, and winning the lottery.

Thanks greybelt
Best regards

Art

Today's episode is an upgrade from the inaugural season of Suspense, Summer 1942, and is the next to last episode. This recording has not been updated for about 8 years. (I keep thinking that's back when we lived in Rhode Island, but we were already here in North Carolina... time flies...)

Suspense_1942-09-23_PassageToBenares_wPaulStewart 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.]

By this time, Suspense was cancelled -- its first time. The next week would be the first performance of One Hundred in the Dark (the title sounds like a description of the executives at a company I once worked for). The show was obviously picked up again a few weeks later, but it would become its "lucky" farewell episode once more when it became the last Roma episode... and the series would survive in 1948 the way it did in 1942. If only Fred Hendrickson and Bruno Zirato, Jr. had known about the lucky script, Suspense could still be on the air today

But I digress... the newspapers did not get the details of this episode, and published generic entries...

Why promote a doomed program? We do have to remember that sustained programs were rarely were promoted with any enthusiasm, that program publicity was in its early development as a craft, and there was a war going on, for less than a year. Newspapers had better things to prioritize in their editorial policies than entertainment. It was not many months later that entertainment started to be viewed as a means of helping get through the war effort and to keep spirits up... and keep people busy as they waited and waited for news.

This is a curious story, and some insights about it can be found at...
Christine Miller's marvelous blog (I wish she would start posting again) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Comics expert Michael Boskin [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Writer Bill Crider [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I tried to find the original story in the February 20, 1926 Adventure magazine, but it seemed that archive.org had everything but that issue, and it is not at Project Gutenberg. The original story is in some mystery collections.


The network copy of The Rescue is still $450 on eBay...
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Three days ago I suggested 1000 people chip in at 45 cents each... two days ago, 100 people at $4.50 each... yesterday 50 people at $9 each... today 25 people at $18 each

No takers, I guess

The price is still out of line, especially compared to discs of missing episodes that have sold in the past. Spreading the pain is the only answer.

Winning the lottery could help, but I did not win Powerball or Megamillions last night. I guess they want you to buy tickets to play. Who knew there were arbitrary restrictions like that? The nerve of them...

Thanks greybelt

Best regards
Art

Suggestion: Get your group together with a reasonable offer for the reel, then wait for a while (where no sale is made) and then make your offer ... if somebody buys the reel at $450, they deserve it

JM: That's basically the plan. But there is no group at this time. If somebody buys it, which is fine with me, I hope that I would be able to contact them.

Today's recording has not been updated for 8 years. Peter Lorre was an important actor in Suspense history, part of the parade of big Hollywood stars in leading roles that culminated in the Roma sponsorship, and continued through the end of 1947, and picked up again in the early Auto-Lite seasons. Lorre's career was in full gear at this time. In 1943, Warner Brothers signed him to a 5 year contract rather than a picture-by-picture deal.

Suspense_1943-04-20_Moment_Of_Darkness_wPeterLorre 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.]



Today, maybe it's 12.5 people @ $36 each...
It's still there...
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Today's posting is an upgrade from the two August 1943 Saturday east-west programs, the first time there were two separate performances for the coasts. This looks like it was an "experimental" weekend for the day and the two performances. This was the time when Colgate and Roma were being courted as series sponsors. (Could they have sponsored together like Ipana and Sal Hepatica? Colgate for the smile of beauty and Roma for the smirk of tipsiness? But we digress...)

Movie star Dolores Costello retired from the business sometime after these broadcasts. Her final movie was This is the Army, but Magnificent Ambersons was in the theaters for quite some time in the early 1940s. Many of her early films in the silent era did not survive.
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The east-west broadcasts became a key part of the Roma era. In upcoming posts there are a few more of these performances that have been "rediscovered" in the transferred reels after dropping out of circulation.

Suspense_1943-08-28_The_King's_Birthday_wDoloresCostello WC 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 east coast version was uploaded a few months ago, but in case you missed it, it is at
Suspense_1943-08-28_The_King's_Birthday_wDoloresCostello EC 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.]

Newspaper clippings were posted previously; these are new...



The final processing of recordings that will be posted here is under way. There are more to go, and it looks like we have about 4 months worth of upgrades... possibly more!... in the queue...

Can a volunteer help out with an upcoming part of the project? For years I have wanted to re-name all of the files and discontinue the format of the initial/baseline collection. I'd also like to take full advantage of the metadata features of FLAC and mp3. Contact me by private message.

Thanks greybelt
Best regards
Art

This network version of today's episode was last updated about 5 years ago.

Suspense_1943-09-16_Crossed-EyedBear_wVirginiaBruce UPGRADE-5.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 an AFRS version, received 9 years ago...
Degoo only [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]


Obit [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Her work "In a Lonely Place" became a Bogie movie.
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Today's recording is a "missing" AFRS version of Cabin B-13. This John Dickson Carr story led to a brief CBS radio series in 1948 and the 1953 movie Dangerous Crossing.

In going through my files, it looks like I had a mislabeled network file as AFRS at one time, but this one is the real thing... including the uncomfortable-to-listen-to AFRS opening with Howard Duff trying to make the word "suspense" sound... well... suspenseful. It reminds me of how many different show announcers who served as the signature voice had their own way of saying the word. My favorite is Larry Thor's version in the mid-1950s. It's such a simple word but it's really hard to pronounce in a manner that works for its desired purpose. There are different Duff AFRS openings. The worst attempt be the one at the opening of The Lost Special recording (just posted the other day [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Today's rendition is actually great in comparison, but it's still not "right."

Suspense_1943-11-09_Cabin_B-13_wMargo AFRS.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 network version was posted 6 years ago
Suspense_1943-11-09_Cabin_B-13_wMargo UPGRADE-2.mp3
Degoo only [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There's not much publicity around for this episode, mainly timetable listings.


The Dangerous Crossing movie keeps being taken down from YouTube, but this link worked this morning, and the archive.org link is still working.
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One movie that is always being taken down, always almost as soon as it appears, is Beware My Lovely. It is the adaptation of the Dinelli play The Man which became the Suspense script To Find Help. This is the link that's working as of this morning. Catch it while you can.
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Thanks, greybelt. I checked my collection after downloading the AFRS recording, and it looks like I already had a copy of the Cabin B-13 AFRS episode with the same Howard Duff opening, but in low quality. I think it was from the OTRR "certified" set.

mjnunes84: Yeah, that was bad file tracking on my part. Somewhere along the line my AFRS file name got pasted on a network copy. But it's fixed, and an upgrade... if only my body worked that way

Today's recording is a "missing" AFRS version of a 2x/wk Roma era episode, The Locked Room. It was originally promoted as "The Locked Door."

The highly secretive C3DS, the "Cobalt Dialogue Difference Detection Squad" got on the case... is it drawn from the east coast or the west coast broadcast? Their determination after lots of writing on whiteboards and nearly breaking the Keurig coffeemaker from overuse:

Two very different performances, in terms of line delivery and pacing, but difficult to find an instance where someone stumbles on a line or inserts an additional word. I found one, though, that ID's the AFRS recording as being the west coast version; Allyn Joslyn's line:
WC at 25:56: “After you drink it you’ll not mind what else is necessary.”
EC at 26:02: “After you drink it you'll…you’ll not mind what else is necessary.”
AFRS at 23:24: “After you drink it you’ll not mind what else is necessary.”

Their findings were hand-delivered by chasedad. He kept looking over his shoulder to be sure no one saw him as he emerged from the double secret confidential underground C3DS compound. (Next time... don't wear the lab coat... it's a dead giveaway... your secret's safe with me).

Please note that from here on out the AFRS recordings for this part of the Roma era will now have the date of the network broadcast from which it is drawn. The EC was 1944-01-27, and the WC was 1944-01-31 for this episode.

Suspense_1944-01-31_TheLockedRoom_wVirginiaBruce AFRS#37.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.]

Network versions, posted previously, Degoo only
EC (posted <1 yr ago) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
WC (posted 6 yrs ago) [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]