The commercial radio industry surrendered its dominance of broadcasting at 7:00 pm on September 30, 1962, when the Columbia Broadcasting System played its last two radio dramas. Although Radio Dramas were no longer competitive in gaining sponsor support, you have to admire Radio for going out with one of its best shows ever, Suspense.
Debuting on July 22, 1940, Suspense presented some of the best stories of the thriller genre. Although classic short stories and novellas were sometimes adapted, many of the best Suspense scripts were original radio plays created for the show.
Suspense AdAn impressive element of Suspense was the array of A-List Hollywood Stars that the show attracted. Cary Grant told an interviewer that, “If I ever do any more radio work, I want to it on Suspense, where I get a good chance to act.” Not only did the actors get a chance to stretch their dramatic skills, but they were also often allowed to act “against type”. Jack Benny appeared as a calculating killer. Fibber McGee and Molly’ face off against a cold-blooded killer (Jim Jordan turns out to be a hard-as-nails police captain rather than his usual busybody Fibber). Lucille Ball appears as a scheming (and sometimes murderous) dancehall girls and also as an embezzling bank employee. Eve Arden plays a murderous rejected woman. Other big-names to appear on the show include Rita Hayworth, Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, Charles Laughton, Loretta Young, Lillian Gish, Gene Kelly, Alan Ladd, Ida Lupino, Olivia de Havilland, Orson Welles, James Stewart, and many more.
Rightly considered one of Radio’s greatest programs, the relationship between Suspense and the motion picture industry is undeniable. In 1939, David O. Selznick enticed Britain’s “Master of Suspense”, Alfred Hitchcock, to relocate to Hollywood. In his first project on this side of the pond, Rebecca (1940, Selznick International Pictures) Hitchcock solidified his reputation as a master of the psychological thriller. As his second, Foreign Correspondent (1940, United Artists) was nearing release, CBS Radio approached the filmmaker about directing his first radio broadcast for the Forecast summer series.
Forecast was a network testbed that not only filled airtime while the regularly scheduled programs were on summer break, it also gave the network a way to judge whether different concepts might be commercially successful. Hitchcock chose to adapt the story from his first successful film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927, Silent, Gainsborough Pictures), a different look at the Jack the Ripper legend. The network pulled out all the stops to ensure that Hitchcock’s program would be a hit by hiring movie stars Herbert Marshall and Edmund Gwenn (who also worked on Correspondent) and Radio Row icon Lurene Tuttle.
The Forecast broadcast on July 22, 1940, set the tone for the coming decades of Suspense. Other elements were added (and sometimes dropped) such as one of the earliest “Horror Hosts” with Joseph Kearns appearing as “The Man in Black” (Ted Osborne substituted twice in 1943).
The tone set by Hitchcock in The Lodger would be amplified with the March 25, 1943 broadcast of a radio play written for the series by Lucille Fletcher, “Sorry, Wrong Number” starring Agnes Moorehead. Ms. Moorehead had been a part of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre troupe, and her performance as a bed-ridden victim was absolutely chilling (Moorehead would perform the script seven times on Suspense). Another Lucille Fletcher script was “The Hitch Hiker” starring Orson Welles as a cross country driver who cannot escape a mysterious pursuer.
Agnes Moorehead performing the famous script, ‘Sorry Wrong Number’Beyond big Stars and great scripts, the thing that a program needs to ensure a long run is enthusiastic sponsors. Suspense was sustained by the network for its first season but in December 1943, Roma Wines began writing the checks. He idea was that if you were sophisticated enough to listen to “Radio’s Outstanding Theatre of Thrills”, you were sophisticated enough to serve something as exotic as Roma Wines to your guests. Roma claimed to be the largest winery in America, and at the time, was certainly the biggest in California.
Autolite Automobile Parts picked up sponsorship of the series in July 1948 and used Harlow Wilcox as their commercial spokesman. Harlow was not a part of the story like he was on Fibber McGee and Molly, but his enthusiasm for the product came through in a most entertaining fashion.
Through the years, various directors were enlisted to create the show. Anton Leader directed in the late 1940s, and Norman Macdonnell, producer/developer of The Adventures of Phillip Marlowe and Gunsmoke did stints in the 1950s. William M. Robson, another radio great known for his writer/director credentials, finished the series in Hollywood in the late 1950s, but the show continued from New York with radio’s best actors under the production/direction of Bruno Zirato, Jr.
“Radio’s outstanding theater of thrills” was just that. It was not a show about crime or detection like many others, nor was it a melodramatic horror show. In quality and tone, it’s closest rival was Escape. Throughout its long run, Suspense was dedicated to the excellent script in which a normal person becomes involved in a situation that becomes beyond control. As the intro said, “We invite you to enjoy stories that keep you in …. SUSPENSE!
1962年9月30日，哥伦比亚广播公司播放了最后一两部广播剧，标志着商业广播业放弃了自1923年以来的广播主导地位。尽管广播剧不再具备吸引赞助商的支持能力，但你必须钦佩广播公司以一部最好的节目——《悬念》结束了自己的历史。
《悬念》于1940年7月22日首播，展示了惊悚题材的一些最佳故事。尽管有时会改编一些经典的短篇小说和中篇小说，但《悬念》节目中最好的剧本很多都是为该节目特别创作的原创广播剧。
《悬念》的一大亮点是它吸引了众多好莱坞一线明星的参与。卡里·格兰特在接受采访时表示：“如果我以后还要做广播节目的话，我希望能在《悬念》中做，这样我就有机会好好表演一番了。” 不仅演员们有机会锻炼自己的戏剧表演技巧，他们还经常被允许“反串”角色。杰克·本尼在剧中扮演了一个深思熟虑的杀手。菲比·麦基和莫莉与一个冷血杀手（吉姆·乔丹实际上是一个冷酷无情的警察队长，而不是他平时那个爱管闲事的菲比）正面交锋。露西尔·鲍尔在剧中扮演了一个狡猾（有时还会杀人）的舞厅女郎，以及一个盗窃银行的员工。伊夫·阿登扮演了一个被抛弃后变得凶残的女人。出现在节目中的其他大牌明星还包括丽塔·海沃思、彼得·洛尔、文森特·普莱斯、查尔斯·劳顿、洛雷塔·扬、莉莲·吉什、吉恩·凯利、艾伦·拉德、伊达·卢皮诺、奥莉薇娅·德哈维兰、奥森·威尔斯、詹姆斯·斯图尔特，以及更多其他明星。
人们普遍认为《悬念》是广播节目中的佼佼者，它与电影业的关系不可否认。1939年，大卫·O·塞尔兹尼克（David O. Selznick）说服英国“悬念大师”阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克（Alfred Hitchcock）迁往好莱坞。在希区柯克在大西洋彼岸的首部作品《蝴蝶梦》（Rebecca，1940年，塞利兹尼克国际影片公司出品）中，他巩固了自己作为心理惊悚片大师的地位。在他的第二部作品《外国记者》（Foreign Correspondent，1940年，联合艺术家公司出品）即将上映之际，哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS Radio）邀请这位电影导演为夏季系列节目《展望》执导他的首部广播剧。
“预报”是一个网络测试平台，不仅在夏季节目休假期间填补了空闲时段，还为网络提供了一种评估不同概念是否可能成功的方式。希区柯克选择了改编他第一部成功的电影《出租房客：伦敦大雾的故事》（1927年，无声，盖恩斯伯勒电影公司出品）中的故事，这是对开膛手杰克传奇的另一种解读。网络全力以赴，聘请了电影明星赫伯特·马歇尔和埃德蒙·格温（两人还参与了《记者》的制作）以及广播界偶像露瑞恩·塔特尔，以确保希区柯克的节目大获成功。
1940年7月22日的《预测》节目为《悬念》接下来几十年的节目奠定了基调。还添加了一些其他元素（有时也会被取消），比如最早的“恐怖主持人”之一，由约瑟夫·基恩斯扮演的“黑衣人”（1943年，泰德·奥斯本两次代替了他）。
《出租房客》中希区柯克所设定的基调在1943年3月25日播出的广播剧《对不起，打错了》中得到了进一步的强化，该剧是为该系列创作的，由露西尔·弗莱彻编剧，阿格尼丝·摩尔海德主演。摩尔海德曾是奥森·威尔斯的“水星剧院”团体的一员，她在剧中扮演了一位卧床不起的受害者，其表演令人毛骨悚然（摩尔海德在《悬念》节目中曾七次表演过该剧的剧本）。露西尔·弗莱彻的另一部剧本是《搭便车的人》，奥森·威尔斯在剧中扮演了一位无法摆脱神秘追随者的跨州司机。
阿格妮丝·摩尔海德演绎了著名的剧本《对不起，打错了》。
除了大明星和精彩的剧本之外，节目要想长期运行还需要热情的赞助商。悬疑节目在第一季时吸引了电视网的关注，但到了1943年12月，罗马酒庄开始提供赞助。他们的理念是，如果你足够成熟，能够收听“广播剧的惊悚时刻”，那么你也足够成熟，能够为客人提供像罗马酒庄这样的珍稀佳酿。罗马酒庄声称自己是美国最大的酒庄，当时在加州确实也是最大的。
自1948年7月起，Autolite汽车零部件公司开始赞助这一系列节目，并聘请哈洛·威洛克担任其商业代言人。哈洛不像《菲比·麦基和莫莉》中的角色那样是故事的一部分，但他对产品的热情以一种非常有趣的方式展现出来。
多年来，聘请了多位导演来制作该节目。安东·利德勒（Anton Leader）在20世纪40年代末执导了该节目，诺曼·麦克唐纳（Norman Macdonnell）在20世纪50年代担任《菲尔·马洛历险记》（The Adventures of Phillip Marlowe）和《枪声》（Gunsmoke）的制片人/开发者，并在50年代执导了该节目的部分内容。威廉·M·罗布森（William M. Robson）是另一位以编剧和导演身份著称的广播界名人，他在20世纪50年代末在好莱坞完成了该系列的最后几集，但节目继续在纽约由广播界最优秀的演员在布鲁诺·齐拉托（Bruno Zirato Jr.）的制作和指导下进行演出。
“广播剧的惊险剧场”确实如此。它不是像其他许多节目那样关于犯罪或侦探的节目，也不是充满戏剧性恐怖的节目。在质量和基调上，它最接近的竞争对手是《逃脱》。在节目的长期播出过程中，《悬念》始终致力于优秀的剧本，讲述一个普通人卷入无法控制的情境的故事。正如开场白所说：“我们邀请您欣赏那些让您保持……悬念的故事！”