Stars On Suspense (old Time Radio)

Ezio Pinza sang on the stages of the greatest opera houses in the world, and he played nearly 100 characters over the course of his long career. When he left the Metropolitan Opera after 22 seasons, he moved to the Broadway stage where he took home a Tony for his role in South Pacific. Sadly, he did very little dramatic radio acting, but he was terrific in his one and only visit to Suspense. We'll hear him as a singer who gives a murderous performance in "Aria From Murder" (originally aired on CBS on January 25, 1951). Then, we'll hear him sing along with Al Jolson in an appearance on The Kraft Music Hall (originally aired on NBC on June 3, 1948).

With Halloween right around the corner, I've picked five of the most frightening episodes of Suspense for bonus shows that are sure to get you in the trick-or-treating mood. Up first is Orson Welles in Lucille Fletcher's terrifying tale of horror on the highway - "The Hitchhiker" (originally aired on CBS on September 2, 1942).

Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actress Nancy Kelly returns in two more old time radio thrillers. Best known as the mother of The Bad Seed on stage and screen, Kelly lends her considerable talents and versatility to shows that find her playing a woman plotting to run off with her lover and another woman terrified by a nightmarish omen. We'll hear "The Taming of the Beast," co-starring Helmut Dantine (originally aired on CBS on March 29, 1945) and "A Week Ago Wednesday" (originally aired on CBS on November 29, 1945).

Frequently cast as characters from the Emerald Isle, Pat O'Brien was known as "Hollywood's Irishman in residence." Best known as the street tough turned priest in Angels with Dirty Faces and as Knute Rockne with his famous "Gipper" speech, O'Brien made two visits to Suspense where he played a pair of cops. First, he tells the story of a cataleptic's date with the embalmer's knife in "Dead Ernest" (originally aired on CBS on March 24, 1949). Then, O'Brien is on the hunt for a hit and run killer, but the case may bring him right to his own home in "True Report" (originally aired on CBS on August 31, 1950).

In his final visit to Suspense, Eddie Bracken sheds his lovable and dopey screen persona honed in comedies from Preston Sturges. We'll hear him in "Nightmare," a sixty-minute story from Cornell Woolrich (originally aired on CBS on March 13, 1948). We'll also hear Bracken in the first episode of his radio sitcom The Eddie Bracken Show, where he plays a version of himself closer to his portrayals in The Miracle at Morgan Creek and Hail the Conquering Hero (originally aired on NBC on January 28, 1945).

Character actor Everett Sloane broke out in radio and onstage before he moved to movies like Citizen Kane and The Lady from Shanghai. His voice was perfect for radio, with a patrician air that could give a character sophistication or menace. We'll hear him as a man plotting the murder of his business partner in "Alibi" (originally aired on CBS on July 7, 1957). Then, he's a safari guide facing off against a dangerous lion in "Game Hunt" (originally aired on CBS on March 16, 1958).

For his final Suspense appearance, Edmond O'Brien starred in a grim tale of the frontier pulled from the history books. We'll hear him in "Ordeal in Donner Pass" (originally aired on November 2, 1953). Plus, he stars as "America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator" Johnny Dollar in "The Queen Anne Pistols Matter" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1950).

Debonair British star David Niven lent a touch of class and charm to his roles during his long Hollywood career. Whether he was racing the globe in Around the World in 80 Days, carrying out a daring commando raid in The Guns of Navarone, or vexing Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther films, Niven was always poised, polished, and highly entertaining. We'll hear him as a con artist plotting an insurance swindle in "Grand Theft" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1954). Plus, we'll hear him visit Bob Hope in Reno on The Pepsodent Show (originally aired on NBC on March 5, 1946).

Best known for his physical presence in epics like The Robe and Samson and Delilah, Victor Mature starred on stage, screen, and television in musicals, westerns, and noir dramas. We'll hear him in a pair of thrillers, beginning with Cornell Woolrich's "Momentum" (originally aired on CBS on October 27, 1949). Then, he's a hitman on assignment in "Blackjack to Kill" (originally aired on CBS on December 10, 1951).

For our 200th episode, I'm sharing five of my favorite "tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense." We'll hear Dana Andrews in Ray Bradbury's "The Crowd" (originally aired on CBS on September 21, 1950); "Murder in G-Flat" starring Jack Benny (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1951); the Cold War spy drama "The Case for Dr. Singer" (originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1951); "first lady of Suspense" Agnes Moorehead in "The Evil of Adelaide Winters" (originally aired on CBS on September 10, 1951); and finally an encore of a classic Suspense show "The Last Letter of Dr. Bronson" (originally aired on CBS on November 4, 1954).

We're celebrating the birthday of Alfred Hitchcock with one of the big screen master of suspense's films adapted for radio. In this Screen Directors' Playhouse production, Mercedes McCambridge and Joseph Cotten star in "Spellbound," Hitchcock's thriller about psychoanalysis and murder (originally aired on NBC on January 25, 1951).

Peter Lawford broke out in Hollywood in British war stories at the outset of World War II, and the English-born actor appeared in The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Canterville Ghost, and The White Cliffs of Dover. But he may be better known for his years in Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack, and his relationship with his presidential brother-in-law John F. Kennedy. We'll hear Lawford in a two-part adaptation of Wilkie Collins' "The Moonstone" (originally aired on CBS on November 16 and November 23, 1953).

Dan Duryea was a big screen heavy - equally at home in urban noir dramas and westerns. His looks, combined with his knack for movie villainy, earned him the nickname "the heel with sex appeal." He put that talent for playing crooks and fiends to work when he visited Suspense. We'll hear Duryea plot a murder in "The Will to Power" (originally aired on CBS on January 9, 1947). Then, he's riding a wave of good luck to ill-gotten gains in "The Man Who Couldn't Lose" (originally aired on CBS on December 12, 1947).

Lloyd Nolan stars on opposite sides of the law in a pair of Suspense thrillers. First, he's a man driven to murder in "Double Ugly" (originally aired on CBS on August 28, 1947). Then, he plays a dogged detective chasing down leads on a cold case in "The Man With Two Faces" (originally aired on CBS on December 15, 1952).

Merle Oberon broke out on the big screen in England, and Hollywood producers were quick to bring her across the pond for their own films. She rose to stardom and picked up an Academy Award even as she kept her past a closely guarded secret and recovered from tragedy. We'll hear her in the only visit she made to Suspense - "The Bluebeard of Bellac," a murder mystery in Nazi-occupied France (originally aired on CBS on September 21, 1944). Then, she recreates the title role in Lydia from The Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on September 22, 1941).

John Hodiak broke out in Hollywood when Alfred Hitchcock cast him in Lifeboat, but his subsequent screen career had ups and downs. A sensational turn on Broadway showed signs of a career resurgence, but he died tragically young before he could capitalize on his newfound acclaim. We'll hear the dynamic leading man in "Dateline Lisbon" (originally aired on CBS on October 5, 1944) and "The Case History of a Gambler" (originally aired on CBS on December 17, 1951).

Van Heflin returns to the podcast in two more old time radio thrillers, including a tale pulled from the history books. We'll hear the star of 3:10 to Yuma as a con man plotting a perfect crime in "Murder of Aunt Delia" (originally aired on CBS on November 10, 1949). Then, Suspense dramatizes an unsolved mystery of the sea when it presents "The Mystery of the Marie Celeste" (originally aired on CBS on June 8, 1953).

One of Hollywood's most popular and beloved child stars, Margaret O'Brien turned in performances on Suspense that outshone some of the adult performers of the era. We'll hear the star of Meet Me in St. Louis in a wartime drama with May Whitty in "Cricket" (originally aired on CBS on March 15, 1945). Then, she stars in Ray Bradbury's "The Screaming Woman" (originally aired on CBS on November 25, 1948).

Eddie Cantor was one of the most beloved showmen of the 20th century; he kept audiences entertained on stage, screen, and for nearly two decades on radio. The singer and comedian made one trip to Suspense for a lighthearted crime caper in "Double Entry" (originally aired on CBS on December 22, 1949). Then, we'll hear him welcome guest William Powell in an episode of The Eddie Cantor Show (originally aired on NBC on October 1, 1948).

In his final appearances on Suspense, James Mason starred in a tale of intrigue from the court of Elizabeth I and a mystery from genre master John Dickson Carr. Mason co-stars with his then-wife Pamela in "The Queen's Ring" (originally aired on CBS on December 28, 1953) and "The Dealings of Mr. Markham" (originally aired on CBS on November 2, 1958).