Suspense (American TV series)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2017) |
| Suspense | |
|---|---|
 Romney Brent in the episode "A Cask of Amontillado" (1949) | |
| Genre | Anthology drama |
| Directed by | Robert Mulligan (1952-54) Byron Paul (1953) John Peyser (1950) Robert Stevens (1949-52) |
| Presented by | Rex Marshall |
| Composers | Henry (Hank) Sylvern Bernard Herrmann |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 260 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | William Dozier (1953) |
| Producers | Robert Stevens (1949-52) John Peyser (1950) Martin Manulis (1952-54) David Heilweil (1954) |
| Running time | 25 min. (1949 pilot episode) 30 min. (March 1, 1949-Aug. 17, 1954) |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | 4:3 Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Mono |
| Original release | 6 January 1949 – 17 August 1954 |
Suspense is an American television anthology series that ran on CBS Television from 1949 to 1954. It was adapted from the radio program of the same name which ran from 1942 to 1962.
Series overview[]
Like many early television programs, the show was broadcast live from New York City. It was sponsored by the Auto-Lite corporation, and each episode was introduced by host Rex Marshall, who promoted Auto-Lite spark plugs, car batteries, headlights, and other car parts.
Some of the early scripts were adapted from Suspense radio scripts, while others were original for television. Like the radio program, many scripts were adaptations of literary classics by well-known authors. Classic authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha Christie, and Charles Dickens all had stories adapted for the series, while contemporary authors such as Roald Dahl and Gore Vidal also contributed. Many notable actors appeared on the program, including Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Cloris Leachman, Brian Keith, Franchot Tone, Robert Emhardt, Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, and many more.
The program was a live television series, but most episodes were recorded on kinescope. However, only 90 of the 260 episodes survive today. The rest were destroyed and no longer exist in any format.[citation needed]
Episodes[]
Season 1 (1948-1949)[]
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Guest Stars | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Goodbye New York | Meg Mundy | January 6, 1949 |
| 2 | 2 | Revenge | Eddie Albert Margo |
March 1, 1949 |
| 3 | 3 | Suspicion | Ernest Truex Sylvia Field Ruth McDevitt |
March 15, 1949 |
| 4 | 4 | Cabin B-13 | Charles Korvin Eleanor Lynn |
March 29, 1949 |
| 5 | 5 | The Man Upstairs | Mildred Natwick Anthony Ross |
April 5, 1949 |
| 6 | 6 | After Dinner Story | Otto Kruger | April 12, 1949 |
| 7 | 7 | The Creeper | Nina Foch Anthony Ross |
April 19, 1949 |
| 8 | 8 | A Night at an Inn | Boris Karloff Anthony Ross Jack Manning Barry Macollum Joan Stanley |
April 26, 1949 |
| 9 | 9 | Dead Ernest | Margaret Phillips Tod Andrews Will Hare Patricia Jenkins |
May 3, 1949 |
| 10 | 10 | Post Mortem | Sidney Blackmer Peggy Conklin Richard Coogan Julian Noa |
May 10, 1949 |
| 11 | 11 | The Monkey's Paw | Boris Karloff Mildred Natwick |
May 17, 1949 |
| 12 | 12 | Murder Through the Looking Glass | William Prince Peter von Zerneck |
May 24, 1949 |
| 13 | 13 | The Doors on the Thirteenth Floor | Louisa Horton Hill Anthony Ross Russell Collins Nell Harrison Douglass Watson |
May 31, 1949 |
| 14 | 14 | The Yellow Scarf | Boris Karloff Felicia Montealegre Russell Collins Douglass Watson |
June 7, 1949 |
| 15 | 15 | Help Wanted | Otto Kruger D.A. Clarke-Smith Peggy French George Mathews Ruth McDevitt |
June 14, 1949 |
| 16 | 16 | Stolen Empire | Audrey Christie Ken Lynch |
June 21, 1949 |
| 17 | 17 | The Hands of Mr. Ottermole | Ralph Bell | June 28, 1949 |
Season 2 (1949-1950)[]
- May 30, 1950 - "Listen, Listen" - Mildred Natwick[1]
- June 6, 1950 - "Black Bronze" - Franchot Tone[2]
- June 27, 1050 - "Wisteria Cottage" - Conrad Janis, Marjorie Gateson[3]
- October 10, 1950 - "Criminal's Mark" - Catherine McLeod[4]
- October 17, 1950 - "The Man Who Would Be King" - Francis L. Sullivan[5]
- November 14, 1950 - "The Brush Off" - Leslie Nielsen, Mary Sinclair[6]
- November 21, 1950 - "Justice Has Been Done" - Francis Sullivan[7]
Season 4 (1951-1952)[]
- April 17, 1951 - "The Juice Man" - Cloris Leachman, Robert Webber, Robert Emhardt[8]
Season 6 (1952-1953)[]
- January 13, 1953 - "Mr. Matches" - Warren Stevens, Henry Jones, Eleanor Wilson[9]
References[]
- ^ "Television Highlights of the Week". The Boston Globe. May 28, 1590. p. 30-A. Retrieved May 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Television Highlights of the Week". The Boston Globe. June 4, 1950. p. 6 - A. Retrieved May 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Television Highlights of the Week". The Boston Globe. June 25, 1950. p. 4 A. Retrieved May 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Air Attractions". The Boston Globe. October 10, 1950. p. 19. Retrieved April 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Television Highlights". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Jersey, New Brunswick. October 17, 1950. p. 17. Retrieved April 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Air Attractions". The Boston Globe. November 14, 1950. p. 19. Retrieved April 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Television Highlights of the Week". The Boston Globe. November 19, 1950. p. 20-A. Retrieved May 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Video Highlights". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. April 17, 1951. p. 13. Retrieved April 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Television Highlights". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Jersey, New Brunswick. January 13, 1953. p. 12. Retrieved April 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
External links[]
- Suspense at IMDb
- Suspense TV: An Introduction to the Show
- Suspense episode "Woman in Love" (August 26, 1952) at Internet Archive
- Suspense at CVTA with episode list
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- CBS original programming
- 1949 American television series debuts
- 1954 American television series endings
- 1940s American anthology television series
- 1950s American anthology television series
- Black-and-white American television shows
- Thriller television series
- Television series based on radio series
- United States television show stubs