Suspense Television

Telephone Call

"Telephone Call" is a near perfect episode of Suspense. Here the dangerous world of the Suspense radio show is captured in a television episode.

As the episode opens, we see a punch bowl, and that is always a good way to start. The punch is stirred while we watch the credits. Into this punch bowl is added gin, rum, and Old Colony. (You will see these prop bottles of alchohol in other episodes of Suspense, too. Especially that Old Colony bottle.)

The punch bowl belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Haskell, the hosts of a New Year's Eve party. They live in a New York apartment building, and they have invited some of their friends and neighbors have come to celebrate the new year with them. The Haskells know how to have a good time, and their guests can't wait to dive into the punch bowl.

Their neighbor next door, Myrtle Kelsey, isn't pleased about the ruckus going on at the Haskell's apartment. Myrtle is a helpless invalid, and the noise from the party upsets her. Everett Kelsey, her husband, waits on her hand and foot, but he refuses her request to tell the neighbors to be quiet. He tells her it is only once a year, and that the neighbors should be allowed to have their fun.

Myrtle isn't happy about that or anything else. She is a pathetic, angry woman who never does anything but complain, and her husband has had enough of her complaints. Everett has a little bottle of poison in his coat pocket, and he intends to poison her.

Everett's plan is interrupted when Mrs. Haskell comes over to invite him to their party. She feels sorry for him and in her tipsy condition, she lets Everett in on a secret. The Haskells know that his wife is not the helpless invalid she pretends to be. Myrtle gets out of bed all of the time when Everett isn't home, and she has candy and movie magazines delivered from the drug store.

Upon hearing this, Everett doesn't hold back from giving his wife a poisoned glass of warm milk. Myrtle is suspicious, and the two of them get into a fight. Myrtle goes into hysterics and Everett leaves the room. Then, he receives a telephone call. The voice on the other end of the line tells him that they saw what he did in the kitchen.

The Haskells again come over to convince Mr. Kelsey to come to their party. Everett is in a panic because of the phone call, but Myrtle is asleep now and so, he gives in to the request of the Haskells. He tells them he will be right over, but then, he receives another phone call. This time we hear the two female voices on the phone. They tell him that they saw what he did.

Meanwhile, we see who made the calls. The prank phone calls.

Everett gets his coat and tries to leave, but the party guests in the hall won't let him. The party guests are in their own drunken world, and Everett is caught.

This is when we are introduced to this special lady. She is an extra with no lines. Why doesn't she have lines? She doesn't need them. She communicates the drama through her expressions.

When Everett is finally dragged to the party, he comes face to face with the girls who called him. He doesn't believe them when they tell him they were just making prank calls. Everett wants them to tell him what they saw.

According to the credits, "Telephone Call" was written by Victor Wolfson and based on an idea by Thomas Phipps and James Lee. Russell Collins starred as Everett Kelsey, and Eileen Heckart played Mrs. Haskell. Also appearing were: Phyllis Povah, Robert Emhardt, Sydney Armus and Hollis Irving. This episode was #88 in the series and aired on March 20, 1951. It is available on Disc 2 of Suspense: The Lost Episodes Collection 2.

The surreal moments are what distinguish this episode.

Woman in Love

"Woman in Love' was adapted from a story by the British mystery writer Geoffrey Household, but that isn't what makes this Suspense episode interesting. The real value of this episode lies in the casting. More specifically, the casting of Paul Newman in one of the minor roles.

This is a story about the oppressiveness of communism and of life behind the Iron Curtain. In it, we meet Alexia Constancia, a young Hungarian woman about to travel to Sweden to meet her fiance. She appears to be a good patriot, but her true allegiance is with the underground. The superintendent of the security police quizzes her, and she passes his test.

The resistance forces want to get Constancia out of Hungary so that she can deliver vital information to the United Nations.  Their concern, however, is that she is a woman in love, and as such, she is vulnerable and prone to doing foolish things. Even though she is told this -- it doesn't stop her from doing something foolish.  Something like... losing the piece of paper on which the vital information was written.

So, where does Paul Newman come into this? When she gets on the train for Sweden, we get our first glimpse of Paul.

He plays Captain Radetski of the security police. From this point on, the story is all about the missing piece of paper--and watching Paul Newman. The security police are suspicious of her, and most of the drama revolves around them coming close to finding the piece of paper. The superintendent of the security police, Fulco, doesn't believe Constancia is just an innocent woman in love, but he can't rattle her or find anything to implicate her involvement in the resistance.

When Alexia boards the train, the security police request to examine her luggage.They don't find the paper and she is allowed to continue her journey. The underground agent who helped her pass, isn't as lucky.

The superintendent then tells Captain Radetski to stay with the bride. So, Captain Radetski and his buddies go in to chat with Constancia. Captain Radetski is much too friendly, and Alexia isn't happy about that. She is annoyed, until he sends the other guards away and reveals that his true purpose is to help her.

In the end, with Captain Radetski's help, she safely crosses the border. Incredibly, she decides to continue on to Sweden despite the handsome resistance-fighter who saved her life.  

Does she have any doubts about that decision? Perhaps that is why she is in tears at the end, but we'll never really know.

"Woman in Love" (episode #160) was adapted for television by Victor Wolfson. Arnold Moss played Theotaki, Gaby Rogers played Constancia, and Fulco was played by Berry Kroeger. This episode aired on August 26, 1952.

The Parcel

The first collection of Suspense: The Lost Episodes contained several episodes starring actor/jazz trombone player Conrad Janis. Clearly, he was one of the hot-young-things of early 1950's television. For those of us who grew up in the 1970's, it was a surprise to find out that the actor who played Mindy's dad on Mork & Mindy was once...a hot-young-thing of early 1950's television. His resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio or, more currently, Zac Efron from High School Musical, is uncanny. It seems that when it comes to young heart-throbs, things haven't changed much over the years.

Conrad Janis made seven appearances as a hottie on Suspense, the first of which was an episode called, "The Parcel."  Set in New York City, the story opens at a hot dog stand. The lady behind the counter, Sally, serves hot dogs and pineapple juice. Most of the action in the episode centers around this hot dog stand, and the more you see it, the more you will crave a hot dog and pineapple juice.

The story begins when a messenger boy named Tommy, who has just returned from a dreary errand, stops at the hot dog stand. He tells Sally that if he could only put a little money away, he could start his own business.

Tommy leaves to go back to work and then Sally receives a phone call. We soon learn that she does more than just sling juice drinks and keep the hot dogs rolling. The phone call is from Mac, the boss, and he leaves instructions for two of his goons. (One of them is played by Lee Marvin.) She relates his message to them and they leave. The boss wants them to find the guy in room 403 of the Craven Hotel. Coincidentally, that is where Tommy was just sent to pick up a package!

The guy in room 403 is nervous. He gives Tommy the package and instructs him to deliver it at 5:00. Tommy doesn't understand why he has to hold onto the package all afternoon, but when the man gives him a ten buck tip, he agrees to make the delivery. Tommy takes the package and leaves. Shortly afterwards, the two goons show up and knife the man in room 403. We don't see this, we hear it in the background while one of the goons stands in front of the camera and smiles.

Back at the hot dog stand, there are two pick-pockets lamenting their slim pickings for the day. Tommy ends up back at the hot dog stand, too, because he has nothing to do until his 5:00 delivery. So, he eats more hot dogs. The two pickpockets ask Sally to go with them to a Dodgers game, but they end up taking Tommy instead. As soon as they leave, the two goons return to the hot dog stand and realize that Tommy is carrying the package they want. They tell Sally that soon those three guys are going to look like three of her jumbo frankfurters. The camera then pans to three shriveled frankfurters next to a jar of French's mustard.

At Ebbetts Field, the two pickpockets realize that there is something valuable inside of the package that Tommy is carrying. The rest of the story plays out at the game as everyone tries to get the package. The studio scenes are noticeably interspersed with film footage of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

"The Parcel" (episode #44) was written by Alvin Sapinsley, based on an idea by Robert Stevens. Conrad Janis starred as Tommy, the messenger boy with a the fancy vocabulary, and Ann Thomas played Sally. Ray Walston was Herbie the Hook and Royal Dano played Marvin the Push. Lee Marvin played Barrow and Harold J. Stone played Eagle Moran. This episode was broadcast on March 14, 1950. It is available on Disc #2 of the first collection of Suspense: The Lost Episodes.

Dr. Violet

Neither Collection 1 or 2 of Suspense: The Lost Episodes includes episodes about ventriloquist's dummies or evil dolls, but it does include one about a wax museum.  Even better, it is about a seedy wax museum at an amusement park. It's called "Dr. Violet." Is it scary? Not in the least. Its value is in its weirdness.

The story revolves around the "only animated waxworks in the universe," which is located in an amusement park somewhere in Los Angeles. For seventy-five cents, Dr. Violet will give you a "personally conducted murder tour" of his wax chamber of horrors. His wife is the barker and ticket taker at the front entrance. The sound quality in the first few minutes of this episode isn't good so we only hear some of the gems of her sales pitch. According to her, Dr. Violet is the "foremost expert on criminal psychology in Southern California or anywhere else." Wow! Those are impressive credentials for a wax museum tour guide in an amusement park.

On this day, a nice young couple appears at her booth. They want to see Dr. Violet's museum, but the price is steep. The girl, Lois, is a college student taking a class in abnormal psychology. Mrs. Violet tells her that she can learn more about abnormal psychology from Dr. Violet than she can from college. As we will see, Mrs. Violet is right about that, but not in the way that Lois thinks. Nevertheless, Lois is convinced that his brilliant lecture will help her in school and insists on going in. Her fiance, Art, would rather eat clams and drink beer. They quarrel and she enters the museum of Dr. Violet alone.

Lois joins a tour group that is already in progress. Art then has a change of heart and joins her. Dr. Violet brings the tour to a close, but is then asked about the murderer Clarence Trevor. The exhibit profiling his crimes hasn't been discussed. Dr. Violet explains that Clarence Trevor is a sadomasochist, still at large, who preys on virgins who are just about to be married. He then gives Lois a long, creepy look. Dr. Violet tells the crowd that the criminal justice system is to blame for allowing so many evil deeds to go unpunished, and that society is to blame for that failure.

Earlier in the episode, we saw the police go into the museum but now we find out why. A young woman was murdered in the museum and her body was put into one of the displays. It was so realistic that no one noticed her for five days. The police now tell Dr. Violet that they have to close his museum down for a week.

Meanwhile, Lois and her fiance get into another quarrel. She wants to stay and see Dr. Violet's lecture from the beginning. He leaves and Dr. Violet appears. He begins his lecture, but Lois stops him because she isn't comfortable being the only person on the tour. Dr. Violet goes to the front to see if there are more patrons waiting for the tour. There aren't. The museum has been closed down and the police have padlocked the front entrance, with Lois still inside!

Mrs. Violet then talks Mr. Violet into taking a rest at a local hospital. They seem to be familiar with the staff at this local hospital, but not because Dr. Violet is really a doctor. Mrs. Violet leaves to have her hair done and that means Dr. Violet has some time to kill.

Now, Dr. Violet has young, tender Lois all to himself. He goes back into the museum to show her his favorite exhibit. From that point on, Lois learns a valuable lesson about abnormal psychology, but not the kind that you learn in school.

Dr. Violet, (episode #21) aired on October 4, 1949, and was written by Halsted Welles. His most recent work is the screenplay for the movie 3:10 to Yuma, which is currently in theaters.

Anne Francis, in her only appearance on Suspense, played Lois. You may recognize her from the famous Twilight Zone episode "The After-Hours" (1960), in which she plays a department store patron who runs into trouble with the store's mannequins.

Art was played by Frankie Thomas, Evelyn Varden played Mrs. Violet, and Hume Cronyn starred as Dr. Violet.