With a history full of twists and turns much like many of its own episodes, Suspense is a program that lives on as one of the best produced radio shows of the classic era as well as a collection of tense, well told stories.
After an initial debut in 1940, On June 17, 1942, Suspense restarted as a weekly anthology series on CBS in June, 1942. A few weeks after the debut, William Spier, considered an up-and-comer by CBS, became the show’s producer. Recognizing the opportunity that Suspense presented, Spier proceeded to mold the show into the radio classic that we know today.
A man of both taste and ambition, William Spier aspired to make Suspense the success it would become. With his actors he expected nothing less than perfection, but was also willing to risk on-air disaster by often throwing them a curve at the last minute. Spier wanted a tense, edge-of-your-seat kind of show -- and the best way to get this, in his opinion, was by keeping his entire cast and crew as tense and on-edge as the audience would be.
Suspense is a true radio classic. And, in this Radio Archives collection, you’ll have the chance to hear twelve broadcasts from 1942 and 1943, including Orson Welles in ‘The Hitch Hiker’ and the show featuring the debut of ‘The Man in Black’ as the show’s host. For all the Thrills, Chills, and Action you can handle, look no further than Suspense, Volume 3 from Radio Archives!
The Cave of Ali Baba
starring Rodney Brent
Wednesday, August 18, 1942 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Hitch Hiker
starring Orson Welles
Wednesday, September 2, 1942 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Kettler Method
starring Rodger De Koven, John Gibson, Gloria Stewart
Wednesday, September 16, 1942- 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
A Passage to Benaris
starring Paul Stewart
Wednesday, September 23, 1942- 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
One Hundred in the Dark
starring Eric Dressler, Alice Frost, Ted Osbourn
Wednesday, September 30, 1942 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Lord Of the Witch Doctor
Introducing ‘The Man in Black’
Tuesday, October 27, 1942 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Will You Make a Bet With Death?
starring Michael Fitzmaurice, Leslie Woods, Nicholas Joy
Tuesday, November 10, 1942 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Menace in Wax
starring Joseph Julian
Tuesday, November 17, 1942 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Body Snatchers
starring E. G. Marshall
Tuesday, November 24, 1942 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
The Doctor Prescribed Death
starring Bela Lugosi
Tuesday, February 2, 1943 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
In Fear and Trembling
starring Mary Astor
Tuesday, February 16, 1943 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble
starring Paul Lukas
Tuesday, April 6, 1943 - 30:00 - CBS, sustaining
Well-calculated tales 
