The Unexpected, Volume 2

Unexpected, Volume 2 - 5 hours [Audio CDs] #RA207

5 hours - Audio CD Set

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The Unexpected
Volume 2

"Life is filled with the unexpected...romantic, tragic, and mysterious endings to our most ordinary actions. Dreams come true, or dreams are shattered, by sudden twists of fate in...The Unexpected!"

Barry Sullivan

Fifty years from now, should some intrepid archaeologist happen to come across a stack of radio and movie scripts from the postwar years, he or she is bound to end up with an interesting take on our culture. It's likely, in fact, that American society circa 1947 will be interpreted as paranoid, suspicious, and steeped in fear and dread.

It won't be a true assessment, of course, but if you were to see our culture strictly through the eyes of popular entertainment of the time, it would be easy to understand why someone might believe it. Many of the more popular movies were certainly dark - film noir classics that stressed fear and an ever-present undercurrent of dread and uncertainty. Radio, too, gave us its share of paranoia, with the Shadow clouding men's minds and the Whistler "knowing the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak". And if, in that pile of crumbling paper, that archaeologist happens upon scripts for a little-known radio series titled "The Unexpected", his or her impression of a society in psychological crisis would be even more certain.

"The Unexpected" was a quarter-hour radio series produced by Hamilton-Whitney Productions, a Los Angeles-based company producing programs for syndication. Unlike big-time network dramatic shows, Hamilton-Whitney couldn't afford the price tags attached to "A" list celebrities - but this actually proved beneficial, since busy radio and movie character actors like Barry Sullivan, Jack Holt, and Lurene Tuttle were used to playing a multitude of parts with very little rehearsal. The budgets may have been small but, thanks to experienced hands both before and behind the microphone, the results were quite impressive.

Then as now, every show that hoped for success had to have some sort of hook or gimmick that differentiated it from the rest of the competition. In the case of "The Unexpected", the series specialized in tense stories of mystery and suspense, usually centering on the thoughts or actions of a single person. A prison inmate, fed up with the verbal abuse of the guards, suddenly snaps and makes his escape...a counterfeiter, fearing capture, gets involved in a card game with the intention of losing all of his self-printed money...a ship captain, owing money to a gambling syndicate, plans to sink his own ship for the insurance money - all were simple but engaging plots for this enterprising series. But the fascinating thing about the shows - and the "hook" designed to attract and retain the interest of listeners - was the twist ending that came with each program. You'll be listening along to the story and then, just about the time the plot is being resolved, the program's announcer will say "You think the story is over, don't you? But wait! Fate takes a hand. Wait...for the Unexpected!" Well, after that, what can a poor listener do but sit through the commercial that follows to find out the REAL ending to the tale?

If you're a fan of mysteries - and particularly if you love surprise endings - you'll find "The Unexpected, Volume 2" to be a real delight. Transferred directly from original transcription recordings and fully restored for sparkling audio fidelity, this second collection from RadioArchives.com features such talented performers as Steve Cochran, Lurene Tuttle, Lyle Talbot, Barry Sullivan, and Virginia Gregg. Here is the complete content:

#120 Shipwreck
starring Jack Holt
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#121 The Winfield Diamond
starring Binnie Barnes
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#122 Jailbreak
starring Steve Cochran
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#123 The Tulip Garden
starring Lyle Talbot
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#124 The Revere Cup
starring Lurene Tuttle
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#125 Silver Fox
starring Lyle Talbot
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#126 Masterpiece
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#127 Two of a Kind
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#128 Counterfeit
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#129 Passport to Danger
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#130 Voodoo Night
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#131 Mirage
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#132 Nightmare
starring Lurene Tuttle
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#133 Handle with Care
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#134 Heat Wave
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#135 Twilight Meeting
starring Barry Sullivan
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#136 Heard But Not Seen
starring Virginia Gregg
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#137 Career Woman
starring Joan Banks
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

#138 The Necklace
starring Betty Lou Gerson and Gerald Mohr
1947 - 15:00 - Hamilton-Whitney Productions

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