Suspense Television

Summer Storm

Episodes taken from the Suspense radio show didn't always turn out well on television. There is at least one case however, where the episode was much improved.

"Summer Storm" was presented on the Suspense radio program on October 18, 1945, and despite the fact that it starred Henry Fonda, it was dreadful. For more information about the radio episode visit Escape and Suspense!

The television and radio episodes were both based on the same basic story of an accidental death in a boarding house. The radio version was tedious, but also a bit bizarre. The main problem was that the boarder, played by Henry Fonda, was a weirdo who constantly talked to himself. There was no reason to care about him. In the television version the boarders were a father and son. Here the story was an interesting father-son drama about fear. The teleplay for this episode was written by Marie Baumer from the story by Louise Este. 

"Summer Storm" opens with Eddie Hunt and his son Jimmy as they are about to leave their boarding house. They are excited to be moving on because the house is run by a couple of ill-tempered slobs. Jimmy is a little bit nervous about the storm outside, but his father assures him not to be scared of anything.

Mr. Waters, the landlord, hears them and comes out of the kitchen. He has just been enjoying some yummy pig's knuckles and now he is picking his teeth with flourish and zest. Eddie tells Mr. Waters that they are leaving, but Mr. Waters stops them at the door. He thinks that Eddie "forgot" to pay last week's rent and yanks their suitcase away from Jimmy. (This is the first of many times that little Jimmy gets pushed around in this episode.)

A scuffle ensues and Mr. Waters yells for help. There is a brief fight and Mr. Waters ends up on the floor. Eddie and Jimmy aren't sure what happened, but Eddie panics. When the neighbors start pounding at the door, Eddie and Jimmy go up into the attic to hide. The neighbors enter and find the lifeless body of Mr. Waters. The police are then called.

Eddie is terrified and determined not to let the police catch him. He admits to his son that he has a record for "beating up a guy." Eddie is convinced they will send him to jail for a second offense. He tries to get Jimmy out of the house through the attic window but Jimmy won't leave him. Meanwhile, the police are coming up the stairs to search the house. Eddie grabs a hammer and waits...

Part 1 ends there. Rex Marshall then gives us an Autolite cartoon story about Marvelous Merlin the Magician and his spark plug troubles.

When "Summer Storm" resumes, Mrs. Waters has returned to the house. The police can't get into the attic so they go back downstairs to question Mrs. Waters. She gnaws on a yummy pig's knuckle to help deal with her stress.

When she goes to bed, Eddie and Jimmy have their chance to escape. Jimmy finally agrees to sneak out through the attic window and wait at the local diner for his dad. Eddie thinks Jimmy is scared of him now that he knows the truth about his father's past. Nevertheless, he helps Jimmy escape through the window and into the storm.

By the end, both father and son have faced their fears and overcome them. They celebrate at the diner with a Coke.

"Summer Storm" aired on January 17, 1950. E.G. Marshall played Eddie Hunt and Jack Dimond played Jimmy. This episode is available on disc 3 of Suspense: The Lost Episodes Collection 1, but it is incorrectly dated on the package as having aired on February 19, 1952.

On a Country Road

Suspense, the radio series, can be summed up in one episode, "On a Country Road." It was a mixture of urban legend and cautionary tale like no other.  This episode pulled the audience into a dangerous situation and then kept them trapped there, while the suspense mounted and the characters became increasingly hysterical. It was the kind of nightmare "that could happen to anyone."

Suspense presented "On a Country Road" on radio for the first time 57 years ago on November 16, 1950. Cary Grant, Cathy Lewis and Jeannette Nolan starred. For more information about the radio episode click here.

In 1951, this story made the transition to the Suspense television show with a few changes. So how did the television version turn out?  Not quite the same.  Without Mildred Natwick, this episode would have been a total disaster.

The show begins on a foggy highway in Maine. David and Dorothy, returning home from a picnic, are stuck in traffic. The fog is thick and the traffic is inching forward. They turnoff the highway to take a shortcut.

Soon they hear an announcement on the radio about a middle-aged madwoman named Nellie Geller who has just fled from the Restview Mental Hospital. She escaped by murdering her doctor and a ward attendant with a meat cleaver.

They aren't worried about Nellie because their immediate problem is their lack of gas. They stop at a gas station but it is closed. Soon, a state trooper and the sheriff arrive. The sheriff gives them instructions on how to get to the next gas station, and David and Dorothy leave. When the state trooper asks the wise old sheriff about the mad-woman, he responds with the ominous warning. "That's the thing about a woman. You never can tell."

Soon they hear another report about Nellie. She hitched a ride with an elderly couple and killed them with her meat cleaver. Now David and Dorothy realize that they didn't follow the sheriff's instructions correctly. Although David grew up this area, he finally admits that he is lost. Who wouldn't get lost in this bleak landscape? Although the story is set in Maine, the scenery looks more like Arizona. A miniature Arizona that goes around and around...

The continuing reports about Nellie Geller on the car radio are making Dorothy both hysterical and annoying.  Their problems aren't over yet though, soon a rainstorm breaks and their car runs out of gas. When they hear a dog barking in the distance, they assume there must be house nearby. They leave their car and head out into the woods.

As it turns out, they aren't alone. A woman on the road finds their car and follows them to a small cabin where David and Dorothy have found shelter.  They think she is Nellie Geller, but of course, let her in anyway. Then they all sit down on the floor for a nice chat. Soon, they learn that she is a crazy cat lady with 23 Abyssinians.

Up until this point, the episode is more or less the equivalent of the radio version. From here, however, the episode gets watered down for television. The fight scene between the couple and the crazy cat lady doesn't live up to standards set by the radio episode. In the end, David and Dorothy decide that they must do the right thing and admit they made a mistake. Fine. Do that. The ending of this episode lacks the bite of cruel fate and no one really gets hurt.

"On a Country Road" (episode #87) starred John Forsythe, Mary Sinclair, and Mildred Natwick as the crazy cat lady. This show aired on March 13, 1951. It is available on DVD in Collection 1 of Suspense: The Lost Episodes.

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To listen to the 1950 Suspense radio version with Cary Grant, Cathy Lewis and Jeanette Nolan click below:

Download susp.1950.11.16_On_a_Country_Road.mp3