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Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

Presented by OTR.FM Network

Unravel the Mystery with Suspense! - The Classic Radio Thriller Series Step back in time to the golden age of radio with ”Suspense!” - the iconic series that captivated audiences from 1942 to 1962 with its thrilling tales and unforgettable performances. Featuring over 900 broadcasts penned by renowned authors and directors, ”Suspense!” brought the finest in thriller and mystery genres to the airwaves. Broadcast on the CBS Radio Network, ”Suspense!” showcased Hollywood’s brightest stars, including Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Orson Welles, and Marlene Dietrich. Under the masterful direction of William Spier, known as the ”Hitchcock of the airwaves,” the series delivered gripping human dramas that kept listeners on the edge of their seats. From the eerie introductions by the ”Man in Black” to the evocative scores by Bernard Hermann and Lucian Moraweck, ”Suspense!” was a paragon of radio production excellence. The show’s unique formula of minimal rehearsal and genuine unease created authe...

648 episodes

The Long Wait

Jun 9, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: November 24, 1949 Suspense #360, "The Long Wait," stars Burt Lancaster as Dan Vettel, a man fresh out of prison with murder on his mind. Dan's brother Richie died in jail two years earlier, and Dan blames Lois Williams, the woman who informed on Richie to protect her lover, Tim Grady. When Dan arrives in New York to exact his revenge, Lieutenant Len Bush warns him not to go through with it, but Dan is determined. He retrieves a hidden gun and waits in his hotel room, ready to kill. When Lois arrives, she stuns Dan by begging him to shoot her. She's lost everything—friends, career, and even Tim, who wants nothing to do with a squealer. Her desperate desire for death makes Dan hesitate. Instead of pulling the trigger, he makes an unexpected proposal: they'll become business partners. Using his money and her talent as a dress designer, they'll start a new business together. As Lois throws herself into the work and slowly regains hope, Dan watches and waits, but the long wait is far from over.
The Red-Headed Woman

Jun 9, 2026 · 31 min

Originally Aired: November 17, 1949 Suspense #359, "The Red-Headed Woman," stars Lucille Ball as Linda, a secretary whose broken engagement sends her down a dangerous path. After her fiancé Frank coldly breaks off their two-year relationship, Linda resolves to stop thinking of others and focus solely on herself. When her boss Mr. Jensen withdraws the company payroll early before his Florida vacation, Linda sees an opportunity. She steals $21,000 from the office safe, takes Jensen's gun, and heads for the Texas border, convincing herself that a fresh start is all she needs. Her escape takes an ominous turn when she encounters a stranded motorist on a lonely detour road during a rainstorm. The dark-complexioned man in a light gray suit matches the radio description of a bank robber who participated in a violent Abilene holdup with a red-headed female accomplice. As Linda realizes this dangerous coincidence could make her a suspect in a far more serious crime than embezzlement, she must decide how far she's willing to go to protect her getaway and newfound independence.
The Murder of Aunt Delia

Jun 8, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: November 10, 1949 Suspense #358, "The Murder of Aunt Delia," presents a chilling tale of identity theft and cold-blooded murder. Dort Sharples, a down-on-his-luck hitchhiker crossing the Arizona desert, catches a ride with Glendon Brayle, a young man heading to Santa Barbara to visit his wealthy invalid aunt after seventeen years apart. As Brayle shares intimate details of his childhood and reveals that Aunt Delia is his only living relative, Sharples sees an opportunity too lucrative to resist. In a desolate stretch of highway, Sharples murders Brayle and assumes his identity, memorizing every detail the trusting victim revealed about his past. Armed with childhood memories that aren't his own and accompanied by his girlfriend Rena Zita, Sharples arrives at Aunt Delia's mansion to claim his inheritance. The reunion goes smoothly as the invalid woman welcomes her long-lost nephew home, reminiscing about spankings, favorite foods, and childhood nicknames. However, as Sharples settles into his new life, he must maintain his dangerous charade while dark plans form regarding Aunt Delia's uncertain future and her considerable fortune.
The Search for Isabell

Jun 8, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: November 3, 1949 Suspense #357, "The Search for Isabell," stars Red Skelton as Dick Brown, an ordinary bank clerk whose life takes a strange turn when he receives a newly installed telephone. The phone comes with an unexpected complication: it belonged to the previous subscriber, a mysterious woman named Isabel LaRue. As calls pour in from various men seeking Isabel, Dick becomes increasingly intrigued by this elusive woman he's never met. Among the callers are wealthy, powerful men like Harold Mason and the playboy gambler John Worthington, all desperate to reach her. Dick begins fantasizing about Isabel, constructing an idealized image of her beauty and sophistication in his mind. The situation turns sinister when John Worthington calls in an agitated state, demanding to speak with Isabel and threatening to cause trouble at the Beverly Towers if she doesn't contact him. The next morning, Dick discovers that Worthington has leaped to his death from the Beverly Towers. While newspapers attribute the suicide to gambling debts, Dick knows the truth: it was because of Isabel LaRue. As Dick finds himself dreaming about Isabel obsessively and growing strangely sympathetic to Worthington's fate, he realizes he may be falling under the same dangerous spell that destroyed the playboy gambler.
Momentum

Jun 7, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: October 27, 1949 Suspense #356, "Momentum," stars Victor Mature as Dick Payne, a man whose life spirals dangerously out of control in a single day. Standing on a train platform with a bullet in his neck, Dick waits to meet his wife Pauline and escape to San Francisco. As snow begins to fall, he reflects on how everything went wrong since that morning when Pauline woke him at noon, reminding him he's been unemployed for six months while she supports them. When she tells him they're being evicted, Dick's anger and pride drive him to confront his former employer, Mr. Burroughs, demanding payment for an invention he claims was stolen from him. Dick's confrontation with the respected businessman escalates as Burroughs denies any wrongdoing and credits the invention to his longtime foreman, Tim Riley. As Dick's desperation and rage build, the situation begins gaining its own deadly momentum—each decision leading to the next like a snowball rolling downhill, leaving a trail of bodies in its wake.
Good Night Mrs Russell

Jun 7, 2026 · 31 min

Originally Aired: October 20, 1949 Suspense #355, "Good Night Mrs Russell," stars Betty Davis as a middle-aged widow who becomes an unwitting target of danger. Mrs. Russell is a regular customer at Henry's Cafe, a small, pleasant lunch spot near her office in the Hillmar Building. Henry, the cafe's polite and solitary proprietor, seems particularly attentive to her, inviting her to try one of his dinners. When Mrs. Russell works late one evening and stops by the cafe alone at night, she notices Henry acting strangely—suspicious, nervous, listening for something unseen. Despite her unease, she returns weeks later for another late-night meal, this time ordering the number four dinner again. As Mrs. Russell chatters about her late husband Leonard and her son killed in the war, Henry grows ominously quiet, watching her with a blank expression. Then, without warning, she becomes dizzy and ill, realizing too late that something is terribly wrong. Now trapped with dawn approaching, Mrs. Russell knows Henry plans to kill her, and argument and reasoning have proven useless. The episode builds to a chilling confrontation as the trusting widow discovers the deadly intentions of the man she thought she could help.
Account Payable

Jun 6, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: October 13, 1949 Suspense #354, "Account Payable," stars Edward Arnold as Timothy Baker, a long-suffering head bookkeeper who has endured 22 years of humiliation from his tyrannical boss, John Waterberry. Baker's life outside the office revolves around his beloved 20-year-old daughter Jessie, whose happiness means everything to him. When Jessie falls in love with a young medical student named Bill, her joy suddenly turns to despair upon discovering that Bill's father is none other than Waterberry himself. The boss considers Baker's daughter beneath his son's social standing and demands that the relationship end immediately, declaring that a future doctor needs to marry into position and society, not the working class. The confrontation between Baker and Waterberry escalates dangerously as the boss works himself into a rage over the romance. Waterberry suffers from severe asthma and requires emergency adrenaline injections during his attacks. As Baker waits anxiously in the present moment, watching Waterberry's office door, he reveals that inside lies a dead man's body waiting to be discovered, leaving listeners to wonder what transpired during that fateful confrontation and whether Baker finally stood up to his tormentor with deadly consequences.
The Defense Rests

Jun 6, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: October 6, 1949 Suspense #353, "The Defense Rests," stars Van Johnson as Robert Tasker, an ex-convict on trial for murder. As his defense attorney Max Krager addresses the court, Robert reflects on the twisted irony of his situation: Krager is the only friend he's ever had, yet without him, Robert wouldn't be in this courtroom at all. The story flashes back to Robert's release from San Quentin, where he served time after being prosecuted by district attorney Arthur Hines. Krager, who befriended Robert after reading a story he wrote in prison, secures his parole and offers him a job as a clerk in his law office. Robert accepts, grateful for the opportunity and growing close to Peggy, the office secretary who encourages his writing. The fragile new beginning shatters when Robert learns that Arthur Hines, the man he blames for his imprisonment, is now Krager's law partner. When Hines returns to the office, tensions explode immediately. A confrontation erupts involving a suspicious ex-convict named Marvin who claims Hines stole fifty thousand dollars from him, leading to a violent clash between Robert and Hines that sets the stage for the murder charge Robert now faces.
Blind Date

Jun 5, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: September 29, 1949 Suspense #352, "Blind Date," finds vaudeville performer Gloria LaFay preparing to leave Chicago after closing night when a mysterious stranger named Vincent Hawthorne arrives at her dressing room. The cultured, poetry-quoting Vincent has arranged a blind date with the young acrobatic dancer, bringing wine and roses for what he insists should be an intimate evening in her dressing room. Gloria, who inherited her act from her late mother Diane, is eager to leave for a proper dinner at Gregory's restaurant, but Vincent seems determined to keep her there, his intentions growing increasingly unclear and unsettling. As Vincent's behavior becomes more strange and controlling, the evening takes a darker turn. His melancholy musings about loneliness and his peculiar fascination with Gloria's back-bending act hint at something sinister beneath his refined exterior. When he produces a large trick knife to open the wine bottle, Gloria's unease intensifies. Vincent's cryptic comments about knives being "a friend" and "the only fri—" suggest that this blind date may be leading somewhere far more dangerous than a simple midnight supper.
Experiment 6-R

Jun 5, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: September 22, 1949 Suspense #351, "Experiment 6-R," Morris Brandt has spent twelve long years as assistant manager at the Carlton Plaza Hotel, enduring daily humiliation at the hands of his boss, Paul Koblenz. Each afternoon at precisely 3:15, Brandt must perform a degrading ritual: delivering coffee, unlocking the liquor cabinet with Koblenz's key, and serving brandy while being reminded of his subordinate position. When Koblenz coldly informs Brandt that advancement is impossible as long as he's alive, and that he's a very healthy man who plans to live a long time, something inside Brandt begins to change. The grinding frustration of being capable yet trapped, of being too successful for his own good, builds to a breaking point. As Brandt addresses a distinguished gathering of scientists from a special clinic, he hints at the dark irony of his situation and promises to reveal his role in the mysterious Experiment 6-R. The tension mounts as he recounts his story, suggesting that desperate ambition and years of suppressed rage may have led him down an extraordinary and possibly sinister path.
Last Confession

Jun 4, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: September 15, 1949 Suspense #350, "Last Confession," Jesse, a young woman living with her roommate Edna, becomes increasingly disturbed by newspaper reports of a brutal murder. Thomas L. Howard has been found stabbed to death in Woodland Grove, and Jesse's overactive imagination begins to spiral. As she pores over the details, she's struck by the victim's resemblance to Henry Hackett, a former boyfriend she abruptly rejected. Jesse recalls their final conversation when Henry warned her she'd be responsible if something terrible happened to him. When she realizes the murder occurred on Tuesday, July 12th between 5 and 7 PM, Jesse makes an unsettling discovery: she cannot remember where she was during those crucial hours. While Edna easily recalls her own whereabouts that evening, Jesse's mounting anxiety grows more intense. She becomes obsessed with the black glove found at the scene, her own size five, and wrestles with disturbing questions about conscience, guilt, and whether anyone is truly incapable of murder. As Jesse's memories blur and her imagination takes hold, she begins to wonder if the unthinkable could be possible.
Chicken Feed

Jun 3, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: September 8, 1949 Suspense #349, "Chicken Feed," stars Ray Milland as Ralph Clark, a San Francisco attorney whose marriage spat over a nickel spirals into a nightmare. After storming out of his house following an argument with his wife Mary about giving their son Junior a nickel, Ralph drives fifty miles to cool off. He stops in Lansing, California—a notorious speed-trap town—for a cup of coffee, only to discover he's left his wallet at home when he tries to make a phone call to apologize to Mary. What begins as an embarrassing situation quickly escalates when Officer Brady grows suspicious of Ralph's lack of identification or money. Taken to the police station to make his call, Ralph watches helplessly as Mary refuses to accept the collect charges, still angry from their fight. With no way to prove his identity and the station's regular phone out of order, Ralph finds himself locked in a cell on suspicion of fraud and car theft. All for the want of a single nickel—the very thing that started the argument in the first place.
Nightmare

Jun 2, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: September 1, 1949 Suspense #348, "Nightmare," stars Gregory Peck as Ben, a family man whose tranquil Fourth of July fishing trip turns into a harrowing tragedy. After a near-miss with children playing baseball the previous evening leaves him shaken, Ben drives his wife Elsa, who is recovering from a nervous breakdown, and their young son Stevie into the trout country. When the car runs out of gas on a winding mountain road, Ben walks to find fuel, leaving Elsa and Stevie behind. A local gas station attendant warns him about reckless drivers heading to a roadhouse called the Royal Coachman, and Ben witnesses a speeding car tearing dangerously up the road. When Ben returns to his family, he finds his fishing rod broken in the road and discovers that Stevie has been killed by a hit-and-run driver. Elsa, traumatized and barely able to speak, describes how a speeding car came around the bend and struck their son while he practiced casting. As Ben tries to comfort his wife and process the devastating loss, Elsa reveals a chilling detail about the driver who killed their child and then returned to the scene.
The Day I Died

Jun 1, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: June 30, 1949 Suspense #347, "The Day I Died," stars Joseph Cotten as Wells Galloway, a wealthy lawyer whose life has crumbled around him. Having embezzled bonds from an estate he was entrusted to manage, Wells retreats to his isolated cabin at Lake Latima to contemplate his desperate situation. His wife Leslie has fallen in love with another man, Norman Vale, and his money is gone. When his red-haired law partner Red Tuttle arrives demanding that Wells return the stolen bonds or face exposure to the police, a violent confrontation erupts. In a moment of rage and panic, Wells shoots Red dead, then flees into the dark woods in terror. The next morning, a truck driver gives Wells a ride and shares shocking news: a cabin burned to the ground at Lake Latima, and the murderer has been identified through a ring and watch found at the scene. But the authorities believe the killer is Red Tuttle and the victim is Wells Galloway. Now legally dead, Wells returns to discover what it means to be a man with no identity, no authority, and no power over his own life or even his widow.
Ghost Hunt

May 31, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: June 23, 1949 Suspense #346, "Ghost Hunt," disc jockey Smiley Smith embarks on a publicity stunt that goes terribly wrong. Looking to boost ratings and help property owner Mr. Thorpe sell a notorious house known as "the death trap," where four people have committed suicide since 1939, Smiley plans to spend the night there with psychic investigator Dr. Clarence Reed. Using walkie-talkies connected to his wire recorder, Smiley intends to broadcast proof that the house isn't haunted. The next morning, when Thorpe and real estate agent McDonald arrive to collect the two men, they find the house seemingly deserted except for the wire recorder still running. A frantic search leads to a horrifying discovery: Dr. Reed lying unconscious and covered in blood, while Smiley Smith has mysteriously vanished. As Reed receives emergency medical treatment and the radio station searches for the missing disc jockey, McDonald and Thorpe prepare to play back the wire recording from the fateful night, hoping it will reveal what supernatural or sinister events unfolded in the haunted house.
The Trap

May 30, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: June 16, 1949 In Suspense #345, "The Trap," Agnes Moorhead stars as Helen Crane, a physician's secretary living alone in a large, labyrinthine house. Helen becomes convinced that someone is secretly living in her home when she's awakened in the middle of the night by whistling echoing through the empty rooms. The police find no signs of forced entry or burglary, dismissing her concerns, but Helen insists that small, disturbing details prove an intruder's presence: a missing muffin from her bread box, a stopped clock mysteriously wound and ticking again, and most alarming of all, a change of address card filled out on her own typewriter, with its distinctive defects, requesting her mail be forwarded to Paris, France. When Helen shares her fears with her employer, Dr. Perry, he too dismisses her claims as neurotic delusions born from exhaustion and an overactive imagination. But Helen knows what she heard and saw. As she returns home each day, she becomes increasingly aware that someone is moving through her honeycomb of rooms and closets, staying just out of sight, planning something she cannot yet fathom.
Lunch Kit

May 29, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: June 9, 1949 Suspense #344, "Lunch Kit," brings a chilling tale of sabotage and betrayal at an atomic plant. Jonathan, a young man torn between duty and conscience, reluctantly helps his father execute a deadly plan. His father, a fanatic convinced that atomic fission will destroy the world, enlists an old-timer mechanic named Gus to build a bomb disguised inside an ordinary lunch kit. As Gus carefully fills a thermos bottle with nitroglycerin and attaches a detonator set to explode at 6:30 the next morning, Jonathan's anxiety builds. He must transport this deadly device to the plant where he works, all while carpooling with his talkative coworker Mike, who suspects nothing. Every bump in the road during the tense drive to the plant threatens disaster. Jonathan keeps the speed under 25 miles per hour while Mike complains about being late and the lunch kit rattles ominously in the dashboard. Once at the facility, Jonathan passes through the security gate with his innocent-looking lunch kit, the guard making small talk while death sits just inches away. The clock is ticking toward morning, and Jonathan must decide whether to follow through with his father's apocalyptic vision.
The Ten Years

May 28, 2026 · 26 min

Originally Aired: June 2, 1949 Suspense #343, "The Ten Years," stars Joan Crawford as Clara, a woman confined to an institution, haunted by memories of her sister Adele. Clara recounts their childhood promise to remain together "always and forever" after their mother's death, a vow that binds them into adulthood. When Clara falls in love with Douglas Foley and marries him despite Adele's desperate pleas, her sister cuts off all contact in a bitter, unforgiving silence. Years later, upon returning from Europe with her husband and young son Doug, Clara attempts reconciliation, only to find Adele transformed—her hair white, her demeanor strange and unsettling. The situation turns tragic when Clara's husband is murdered in their garden, killed by a narrow wound to the heart. Though acquitted due to insufficient evidence, Clara faces new horror when her son Doug encounters the reclusive Adele at her dilapidated home. When Doug's friend Roy rushes to Clara with alarming news, she realizes her young son is alone with Adele—a woman who insists that Douglas Foley must "die again." Clara's memories reveal a chilling tale of obsessive devotion, broken promises, and the terrible price of abandoning a sacred childhood vow.
The Night Reveals

May 27, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: May 26, 1949 Suspense #342, "The Night Reveals," presents Frederick March as Harry Jordan, a fire insurance investigator whose world begins to unravel during a single strange night. When Harry awakens at 2 a.m. to find his wife Marie's bed empty, he questions the elevator operator and learns she left half an hour earlier. Marie claims she only stepped out for aspirin ten minutes ago, but the details don't add up. She's walking from the wrong direction, her timeline contradicts the doorman's account, and an uncomfortable tension settles between them as they return to bed in silence. Almost immediately, Harry receives a call about a devastating fire just blocks away on 98th Street, in his own district. The next morning, while inspecting the gutted building with his supervisor Mr. Palmiter and the Commissioner, Harry discovers something curious in the ashes beneath the twisted remains of baby carriages: a blob of yellow metal that looks suspiciously like gold. As Harry pockets his discovery and heads home early, the pieces of a troubling puzzle begin taking shape, connecting his wife's mysterious nocturnal excursion with the conveniently timed blaze.
Consequence

May 26, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: May 19, 1949 Suspense #341, "Consequence," stars James Stewart as Dr. Phil Martin, a physician whose seemingly perfect life conceals deep unhappiness. When his old college friend Ted Wolf visits after ten years, Phil confesses a shocking truth: he despises his marriage to Gwen, who has forced him to abandon his dreams of meaningful medical work to maintain their wealthy lifestyle. What Ted doesn't know is that Phil is desperately in love with his nurse, Joe, whose father has discovered their affair and threatened to expose them to both the hospital trustees and Gwen. As Phil struggles between the two women in his life, the tension escalates. Joe announces she's leaving town for good, believing their impossible situation offers no solution. Phil begs her to run away with him, willing to abandon everything for a fresh start, but Joe knows Gwen would never grant him a divorce and would destroy his career if he tried to leave. With Ted waiting back at the house and Phil's carefully constructed world collapsing around him, a desperate decision looms that will have lasting consequences for everyone involved.
The Light Switch

May 25, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: May 12, 1949 Suspense #340, "The Light Switch," stars Claire Trevor as Mrs. John Winston, a wealthy banker's wife who makes a fateful decision to visit a run-down detective agency on East Main Street. Hiring the down-on-his-luck private investigator Skid Webb to follow her husband John, she insists nothing is wrong but simply wants to check on his late nights at work. When Webb reports back with evidence of another woman, their contentious relationship takes a dark turn. The bitter detective's cruel observations about her age and fading marriage strike a devastating nerve, pushing Mrs. Winston toward a desperate act. As the episode unfolds, Mrs. Winston finds herself trapped in a gas-filled room, waiting for the voices in the hallway to disappear so she can escape. Through her increasingly dizzy recollections, she pieces together how her meeting with the insolent Skid Webb set everything in motion. She has rigged a light switch to spark at exactly 7:30, designed to blow up everything she despises in the world—yet also everything she loves. As the gas overwhelms her senses, time is running out.
Death Has a Shadow

May 24, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: May 5, 1949 Suspense #339, "Death Has a Shadow," finds attorney Harvey Warren trapped in his office building late at night, waiting for a call that could save his life. Still reeling from his wife Lily's murder, Warren sits alone in his office when he receives an ominous phone call from a man named Bolster, who insists on picking up his money in person rather than having Warren mail it. The sudden change in plans convinces Warren that Bolster is coming to kill him. Desperately, Warren tries to reach his friend Lieutenant Joe Scarponi, calling homicide detective Mike, Joe's hotel, and even Joe's girlfriend Madge, but the lieutenant is nowhere to be found. As the clock ticks toward the ten o'clock meeting, Warren's panic grows. He considers fleeing but discovers he's trapped on the eighth floor when he finds the stairwell gate locked. Every elevator movement and telephone ring sends his nerves into overdrive as he waits to discover whether Bolster will arrive before Joe can save him—or if Bolster's intentions are as deadly as Warren fears.
The Lie

May 23, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: April 28, 1949 Suspense #338, "The Lie," starring Mickey Rooney, presents a twisted tale of murder and family dysfunction. Martin Delavan, a young man expelled from college for the third time, returns home to find his despised stepmother Glad dead on the bed with a broken neck. His father's telltale cigarette butts and newspaper suggest Dad came home early and discovered Glad on the phone with another man. Believing his long-suffering father finally snapped and killed the manipulative, unfaithful woman who tormented them both, Martin makes a desperate decision. He destroys the evidence, tears his own clothes, scratches his face with Glad's fingernails, and calls the police to confess to the murder himself. But Lieutenant McTavish isn't buying Martin's story quite so easily. As the young man eagerly repeats his confession, the detective grows increasingly suspicious of how convenient and theatrical the whole scene appears. Martin insists he's guilty and demands to be taken downtown and booked, but the lieutenant wants to film a reenactment first. When McTavish's assistant discovers warm ashes from a burned newspaper in the kitchen stove, the investigation takes a new turn that threatens to unravel Martin's carefully constructed lie.
The Copper Tea Strainer

May 22, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: April 21, 1949 Suspense #337, "The Copper Tea Strainer," stars Betty Grable as Jeannie Dunn, a thirty-year-old model working at photographer James Irwin's studio when a detective arrives asking pointed questions. The detective produces a gleaming copper tea strainer, and at the sight of it, Jeannie's carefully suppressed memories come flooding back. She lives with her invalid mother, preparing her breakfast each morning before leaving for work, always leaving a teacup with tea measured out and a strainer ready. As the detective spins the strainer between his fingers, asking repeatedly about her relationship with boyfriend Ted Wark and whether he gets along with her mother, Jeannie struggles to maintain her composure. The detective's relentless questioning and the hypnotic sparkle of the tea strainer break through Jeannie's mental blocks. Everything she has managed to forget throughout the day suddenly becomes clear again. The photographer Irwin eagerly offers to cooperate with police, making him another threat to Jeannie as she realizes there is no escaping either her past or this persistent detective who seems to know far more than he reveals.
Murder in Black and White

May 21, 2026 · 30 min

Originally Aired: April 14, 1949 Suspense #336, "Murder in Black and White," stars Edmund Gwenn as Rice Archer, a meticulous murderer who has planned every detail of the perfect crime. The episode opens with Archer standing over his business partner Tom Hannigan's body, methodically consulting his notebook to ensure he's followed each step of his carefully orchestrated plan. From muffling the gunshot with a blanket to wiping down glasses and replacing items exactly where they belong, Archer moves through his checklist with chilling precision, confident that Tom's daughter Thomasina and her companion Clark won't discover the body until he's safely established his alibi. Archer takes his usual evening walk and catches his regular weekly train to the city, checking into his hotel and going through his normal business routine. He expects to be notified of Tom's death at any moment, but as he makes his rounds and repeatedly checks for messages, nothing arrives. The morning paper contains no mention of the murder, and the hotel desk has no telegrams or calls waiting. As Archer continues to consult his notebook for every contingency, his perfectly planned murder begins to unravel in unexpected ways.