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