Suspense Upgrades

Thanks Greybelt
Best regards

Art

This is a stunning upgrade to this episode. Enjoy!!

Suspense_1955-07-12_Kaleidoscope_wWilliamConrad UPGRADE-3.mp3
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Thanks Greybelt
Best regards
Art

Upgrade, unprocessed
Suspense_1956-07-25_TheTramp_wBenWright UPGRADE-4 Network.mp3
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Upgrade, additional processing
Suspense_1956-07-25_TheTramp_wBenWright UPGRADE-4 Network PROC.mp3
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Newspaper clippings for this episode were posted earlier.

Thanks Greybelt

Best regards

Art

Thanks Greybelt
Best regards

Art

Suspense_1957-01-27_FreedomThisWay_wHansConreid (orig title FlightToTheWest) UPGRADE-2.mp3
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Newspaper clippings for this episode were posted earlier.

Thanks Greybelt
Best regards
Art

this is another copy same show but no promo or call letters at end

Suspense(57-01-27D) Freedom This Way w Hans Conried.mp3
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kdmarket -- I had that recording in my collection and abandoned it -- but now that you brought it to my attention again, I should not have! I believe it's an AFRTS recording that someone cut off the ID at the end. So you've "re-discovered" a version that has to regain its status in the master collection! THANKS very much! Cobaltian Completists everywhere are cheering!


Here's something special today -- a "missing" network version of Frankie and Johnny! It's been around in some old collection for years and never got around to circulating widely. It's a nice copy. The script was originally performed in 1952 with Dinah Shore. Robson did it here again with Margaret Whiting, five years later. The sound is excellent.

This is an AFRTS recording from a 12" microgroove disc, a format common in their distribution of Suspense in the 1960s. For some reason, there is no AFRTS ID announcement. I have run into this before, but it is not common.

Suspense_1957-02-03_Frankie&Johnny_wMargaretWhiting NETWORK.mp3
Suspense_1957-02-03_Frankie&Johnny_wMargaretWhiting AFRS UPGRADE-2 FROM DISC.mp3
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The song on which the episode is based has its origins in a real-life event in 1899 in St. Louis, MO. Details are at this Wikipedia page.
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This newspaper article from 1939 summarizes the event and the details of the song. (click on image to see in full)

Thanks Greybelt & kdmarket

Best regards

Art

Hey greybelt,

Very nice sound on both the "Freedom This Way" and "Frankie and Johnny" episodes, thanks! A little detective work suggests that they're both AFRTS versions with CBS ID's from 1954-56 era spliced onto their ends, though. The giveaway is the "march" theme heard at the end, when the show had reinstated the classic "Suspense" theme at its closing as soon as William N. Robson started his tenure as director. Either they're AFTRS broadcasts or incomplete network episodes....it's tough to tell, as during this exact period in the show's history the dramas themselves were performed without interruption by either commercials, promos or public safety announcements.

I have been assured that the Frankie & Johnny is direct from network transcription. That episode is from the tape production era, so no matter what it was, things would have been spliced. I hope they're not misleading me or that the person from whom they got it is misleading them.

For folks to get some background into chasedad's comment, listen to the endings of Back for Christmas (1956-12-23), Door of Gold 1957-02-10, and Present Tense 1957-03-03, the nearest reliable network programs in this date range to Frankie and Johnny. The Suspense theme with the bells plays on each of them.

Let's label this "network" copy of Frankie and Johnny as having delicious sound, but a little suspect as to its origin. What's the worst that happens? A great sounding AFRTS copy!

I'll check again with my source and will advise Cobaltia of the correct information.

Two files -- an upgrade and another with more aggressive processing...

Suspense_1958-12-21_OutForChristmas_wRaymondBurr UPGRADE-2.mp3
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Suspense_1958-12-21_OutForChristmas_wRaymondBurr UPGRADE-2 PROC.mp3
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Thanks Greybelt

Best regards
Art

The copy of Frankie and Johnny has now been verified as being from an AFRTS disc. The original posting has been updated.

The new file name is
Suspense_1957-02-03_Frankie&Johnny_wMargaretWhiting AFRS UPGRADE-2 FROM DISC.mp3

Adjust your collection accordingly.

Thanks again to chasedad for pointing this out!

A network copy still eludes us, and may never be found.

Thanks for following up on this mystery, greybelt. I went back for a second listen of that "Frankie and Johnny" broadcast and in fact there is a break midway through the drama (at the 13:30 mark), contrary to what I'd said earlier. The really weird thing is that it's a CBS promo for "Gunsmoke"....I thought it sounded like a collector made an edit there (you can here the music leading up to it cut off abruptly just before it fades out completely), but didn't want to say anything about that until you'd had the opportunity to verify this. Somebody at some point in time went to a lot of trouble to make this resemble a network broadcast!

Still, though, beautifully clear-sounding audio on the episode; thanks again for sharing it with us.

I have run into AFRTS broadcasts before where there has been sloppy editing or no editing of a network announcement. We have to respect the AFRS/AFRTS because their recordings have been essential to saving all of the late 1950s episodes we love and adore from these series. But sometimes it does seem there are recordings where the editing was done with sledgehammers and kids plastic scissors and duct tape. This may be one of those exact situations. But the person I got if from has confirmed it was an AFRTS disc transfer.

Graybelt your Suspense 1957-02-03
Frankie&Johnny_wMargaretWhiting AFRS UPGRADE-2 FROM DISC.mp3 has a error code 8026 This link has been deleted by the owner

The new link for Frankie and Johnny is
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and the original post has been updated as well

This is a much improved recording of this episode, another performance of On a Country Road, one of the most popular Suspense episodes. As noted before, On a Country Road is a one-hit-wonder for its author, Walter Bazar, who was a journalism student. He went on to have a very good career as a newspaper reporter.

This is a somewhat noisy disc recording, but even so is better than the others that are in circulation for this date. Those are 16-18 minutes long and may be AFRS versions. Many years ago, a collector (or collectors) deleted all "unnecessary" items like filler music and service announcements, and the episode has circulated that way since that time. This, however, is a complete AFRS recording from disc.

Below are links to the recording as received and a processed version.

Suspense_1959-05-10_OnACountryRoad_wHowardDuff&IdaLupino AFRS FROM DISC.mp3
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Suspense_1959-05-10_OnACountryRoad_wHowardDuff&IdaLupino AFRS FROM DISC PROC.mp3
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Newspaper clippings and further background were posted earlier for this date as well as the original performance date which has more information about the author.

Today's upgrade is worth listening to the commonly circulation copy to hear what an improvement this is
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There are other copies of this, all bad, some with such distortion in some sections that nothing can be understood. Some have station drift, possibly from home recordings done in the original broadcast era or from a service person recording an AFRTS rebroadcast.

But this is finally a nice copy. The unprocessed version has an electrical hum at 60hz that is removed in the processed copy. It's Lovejoy... so getting an upgrade of something so bad is something so good...

Suspense_1959-05-17_Friend_of_Daddy's_wFrankLovejoy AFRS UPGRADE-2.mp3
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Suspense_1959-05-17_Friend_of_Daddy's_wFrankLovejoy AFRS UPGRADE-2 PROC.mp3
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greybelt this copy has announcement of next weeks show and afrts at end
Suspense(59-05-17) Friend of Daddy's w Frank Lovejoy
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