Stars On Suspense (old Time Radio)

Character actor and occasional screenwriter Hume Cronyn (Shadow of a Doubt, Cocoon) returns to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" in two stories of unhappy marriages that put the "death" in "till death do us part" - "The One Who Got Away" (originally aired on CBS on November 14, 1946) and "Make Mad the Guilty" (originally aired on CBS on June 5, 1947). Plus, we'll hear Cronyn and his real-life wife actress Jessica Tandy in the audition show for their own radio romantic comedy The Marriage.

Joseph Cotten - the charming serial killer of Shadow of a Doubt - returns for two more visits to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" in tales of a missing wife and a deadly experiment. We'll hear "You'll Never See Me Again" (originally aired on CBS on September 14, 1944) and "The Earth is Made of Glass" (originally aired on CBS on September 27, 1945).

For his final visit to the podcast, legendary screen gangster and tough guy Edward G. Robinson stars as himself and "The Man Who Wanted to Be Edward G. Robinson" (originally aired on CBS on October 19, 1946). Then, we'll hear him as crusading newspaper editor Steve Wilson, always ready to wield the sword of the press, in the premiere broadcast of Big Town (originally aired on CBS on October 17, 1937).

Curly-haired character actor Sam Jaffe lent a memorable presence to everything from film noir (The Asphalt Jungle) to classic sci-fi (The Day the Earth Stood Still) to Disney musicals (Bedknobs & Broomsticks). The engineer and math teacher turned actor made only one visit to Suspense - an outstanding adaptation of Dorothy Sayers' "Suspicion" (originally aired on CBS on April 3, 1948).

Edmond O'Brien returns to the podcast in an hour-long installment of "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." The Oscar-winning character actor extraordinaire of The Barefoot Contessa and The Wild Bunch plays a man probing the strange death of a friend in "The Blind Spot" (originally aired on CBS on May 1, 1948).

It's Halloween, and our star this week headlines one of the scariest shows Suspense ever aired. Ralph Edwards, best known as the jovial host of madcap game shows, stars as a radio DJ narrating his trip through a haunted house in "Ghost Hunt" (originally aired on CBS on June 23, 1949). Then, we'll hear him as host of Truth or Consequences in a Halloween-themed episode (originally aired on NBC on October 30, 1948). Finally, in the spirit of the season, we'll hear a bonus episode from the horror anthology Quiet Please - the classic radio chiller "The Thing on the Fourble Board" (originally aired on Mutual on August 9, 1949).

For their final visit to Suspense, Ozzie Nelson and Harriet Hilliard starred as themselves. The couple finds their plans for an anniversary date thwarted by the mysterious "Mr. Diogenes" (originally aired on CBS on January 26, 1950). Then, we'll hear a haunted house Halloween episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (originally aired on NBC on October 31, 1948).

He was one of Hollywood's brightest stars - obsessively committed to bringing his characters to life and a master of make-up to transform himself on screen, and Paul Muni's devotion to his craft earned him five Oscar nominations and one win. We'll hear the star of Scarface as a composer haunted by a mysterious rival in "The Search for Henri Le Fevre" (originally aired on CBS on July 6, 1944). Plus, he recreates his Oscar-winning role as the Lux Radio Theatre presents "The Story of Louis Pasteur" (originally aired on CBS on November 22, 1936).

After she came to Hollywood and made her American movie debut at age 72, Dame May Whitty carved out a niche (and earned two Oscar nods) by playing outwardly cranky dowagers with hearts of gold. In two of her visits to Suspense, she played to and against that type. First, in "The Black Shawl," she's a woman seeking companionship from Maureen O'Sullivan while hiding a secret (originally aired on CBS on July 27, 1944). Then, a part-time job makes her a prisoner in her own home in "My Dear Niece" (originally aired on CBS on January 24, 1946).

In his final appearances on Suspense, William Powell played against type as characters far removed from debonair drunkard Nick Charles of The Thin Man. We'll hear him as a Soviet embassy clerk desperately trying to defect in "The Man Who Cried Wolf" (originally aired on CBS on February 9, 1953) and as a doctor hunting a rabid dog on the loose in "The Barking Death" (originally aired on CBS on March 1, 1954).

Lloyd Bridges' name may conjure up memories of goofy comedy in Airplane! and Hot Shots!, but long before those films he was a busy dramatic actor on the big and small screens. We'll hear the father of actors Beau and Jeff in a pair of radio thrillers: "Chicken Feed" (originally aired on CBS on April 21, 1957) and "Pigeon in the Cage" (originally aired on CBS on August 11, 1957).

For the 150th episode of the podcast, we welcome another star to our "five-timer's club." Vincent Price is back in the Suspense spotlight in two more old time radio thrillers. We'll hear him as a psychic sleuth in "The Green and Gold String" (originally aired on CBS on June 9, 1957). Then, Price stars in an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's terrifying tale of torture "The Pit and the Pendulum" (originally aired on CBS on November 10, 1957).

One of Hollywood's greatest leading men takes his final bow on the podcast as James Stewart headlines two more old time radio thrillers. First, he's a doctor faking his own death in "Consequence" (originally aired on CBS on May 19, 1949). Then, Stewart comes to the aid of a young woman in desperate trouble in "The Rescue" (an AFRS rebroadcast from April 19, 1951). Plus, we'll hear him in the audition recording of his outstanding western radio drama The Six Shooter.

After she broke into Hollywood at the age of 15, Linda Darnell established herself as a leading lady opposite Tyrone Power and in films from Otto Preminger and John Ford. Her only appearance on Suspense wasn't the best "radio's outstanding theater of thrills" had to offer, but it boasts a great performance from Darnell. The star of Forever Amber headlines "A Killing in Las Vegas" (originally aired on CBS on February 25, 1952). Then, we'll hear Linda Darnell show off her comedy chops opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in an episode of their comedy series (originally aired on NBC on February 22, 1952).

Oscar-winner William Holden stars in a wartime drama and a science fiction adventure in his final visits to Suspense. We'll hear the star of Stalag 17 and Sunset Boulevard in "Needle in the Haystack" (originally aired on CBS on November 9, 1953) and "The Outer Limit" (originally aired on CBS on February 15, 1954).

Before he starred on screen in The Hitch-Hiker and In a Lonely Place, Frank Lovejoy was a busy radio actor. He played the Blue Beetle, menaced the Shadow, and narrated adventures of the FBI. Lovejoy could also be heard in supporting roles on Suspense, but he moved into the starring role in 1951. We'll hear him in a pair of radio thrillers: first, a ballad brought to radio life in "The Wreck of the Old 97" (originally aired on CBS on March 17, 1952). Then, he plays a man searching for his brother-in-law's murderer in "The Frightened City" (originally aired on CBS on November 10, 1952).

Character actor Lloyd Nolan returns to the podcast for two more visits to "radio's outstanding theater of thrills." The big screen Michael Shayne plays a salesman who stumbles into a murder mystery in his new rooming house in "Nineteen Deacon Street" (originally aired on CBS on November 22, 1945). Then, he's a murderer who bumps off his wife to pave the way to a new life with his girlfriend in "Green-Eyed Monster" (originally aired on CBS on April 17, 1947).

The master of suspense was born 120 years ago today, and we're saluting Alfred Hitchcock with one of his classic films recreated for radio. Ray Milland and Frank Lovejoy star in the cautionary tale about talking to Strangers on a Train from the Lux Radio Theatre (originally aired on CBS on December 3, 1951).

Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress," and it's easy to see why when you hear Mercedes McCambridge at the microphone. The Oscar-winning actress cut her teeth in radio before bringing home an Academy Award for her turn in All the King's Men, and years later she'd put her voice to work scaring generations of moviegoers in The Exorcist. We'll hear her in a pair of radio thrillers: "America's Boyfriend" (AFRS rebroadcast from July 21, 1957) and "The Diary of Saphronia Winters" (AFRS rebroadcast from August 10, 1958).

A classic big screen tough guy, Broderick Crawford took home an Oscar for his turn as a fiery corrupt politico in All the King's Men and he kept the streets safe on Highway Patrol. In his two Suspense appearances, Crawford delivered his powerful screen charisma in two tales of crooks facing the heat from their fellow rogues: "Dutch Schultz" (originally aired on CBS on October 26, 1953) and "Parole to Panic" (originally aired on CBS on April 12, 1954).