Wisteria Cottage

In "Wisteria Cottage" Conrad Janis plays Richard, a disturbed young man who latches onto older women. As the episode opens, we hear the sounds of "Greensleeves." Why?... Don't wait for an answer.

When we meet Richard he is working in Jenny's Bookshop. Jenny wants to close down for the summer, but Richard is a little worried about what will happen to him. Jenny thinks he should have money leftover from his winter wages, but Richard grumbles something about how cheap she is. Then, he steals a couple of bucks from the till.

Jenny catches him and they have a fight. Jenny knows that he has stolen from her cash register before. He tries to sweet-talk her, but it doesn't work. She tells him that she doesn't think he is the "homeless innocent" that he claims to be. Jenny thinks that he is a danger to women who might fall for his charm.This time, she is going to "teach him a lesson." Uh-oh! Richard isn't keen on being taught a lesson and brutally stabs her in the back.

When we next see Richard, he is in the grocery store. He has found another nice older lady to latch onto, Mrs. Florence Hackett. In no time at all, Richard learns that she and her daughters live alone. He quickly engraciates himself into the family...

Mrs. Hackett likes Richard but her older daugher Louisa doesn't. When she finds out that Richard is coming to dinner again, she isn't excited. Her sister, Elinor, (Yes, that is how it is spelled it in the credits) reminds her that "even poets have to eat, too." Uh-oh! Richard is a poet. (We know from the radio show Suspense and its sister show Escape that poets mean trouble! See also: Escape "Present Tense", Escape "El Guitarerro", Escape "Evening Primrose", Suspense "2462")

Mrs. Hackett then tells her two girls that she asked Richard to find a nice summer place for them to rent, and that he has found one on Long Island called Wisteria Cottage. Of course, Richard will be coming along as well, but he will be staying in the shack. Louisa is seriously tired of their constant guest, (See Louisa pictured middle), but her sister Eleanor is happy. Louisa goes along with her mother's plan, despite her reservations.

At the cottage, things are going well, but Richard doesn't like it when the ladies have guests. He gets pouty about it. Louisa thinks Richard is trouble and that their "poet" should get a real job. Mrs. Hackett says that it is just the heat that is bothering everyone and then makes a bunch of other excuses for the increasingly unstable Richard.

Later that night, Elinor goes to visit Richard. Now we know why she has been on Richard's side! She is sort of having a fling with him. When he gets serious, Elinor points that they are just having fun. Richard wants a commitment -- not fun. He gets angry and tries to throw her out, but then Louisa and her boyfriend arrive. Richard is rude to all of them and demands that he be left alone. So, they all leave.

While they are gone, Richard busts up their cottage's dining room. Afterwards, he feels better and the next morning he is peacefully sitting in his shack playing the guitar. (Conrad Janis is also a professional musician and here we see his other talents. We assume that it is also Janis playing the guitar in the opening credits.) It is a very pretty tune, but why are we listening to "Greensleeves?"

When the family came home and found the cottage in a shambles, they knew that Richard had done it!  Now, Louisa's boyfriend, Ned, confronts him. When Richard attacks Ned, Mrs. Hackett tells Richard that she wants him out! Now, finally, she realizes how disturbed Richard is. Is it too late? Will she end up like Jenny?

The end of this episode is marred by bad sound quality. When Richard returns to the cottage and explains to Elinor and Mrs. Hackett why they should die, we miss some of the poetic details.

"Wisteria Cottage" was presented on Suspense twice. The first time on June 27,1950, and then again on July 17, 1951. The DVD package claims that this episode is the 1951 version, but that may be incorrect. According to the book Suspense: Twenty Years of Thrills and Chills by Martin Grams, the version starring Conrad Janis aired in 1950. (In the other version, Billy Redfield starred as Richard.) Since Conrad Janis made three other appearances on Suspense in 1950, we will assume that the 1950 date is correct.

Conrad Janis played Richard and Mrs. Hackett was played by Marjorie Gateson. Joan Copeland, who in real-life is the younger sister of the late playwright Arthur Miller, played Louisa. Elinor was played by Carlotta Sherwood and Ruth McDevitt played Jenny.  This episode is available on Disc 3 of Collection 1 of Suspense: the Lost Episodes.