SUSPENSE BEING RELEASED NEXT TUESDAY

Charles H · 07-17-2007, 03:29 PM

Does anyone know the exact contents (episodes and cast) that will be represented on Volume I of "Suspense."? Next to the WB release of THE JAZZ SINGER, this is my most highly anticipated dvd of the year. Has anyone read any early reviews of this?

Jeff# · 07-17-2007, 11:54 PM

You mean the live TV drama based on the much more successful radio series? The radio version of SUSPENSE lasted 20 years and deservedly so. It was one of the few radio shows that TV was unable improve on, because of the era in which the video version was produced (1949 to 1954).

I got a hold of a few TV episodes earlier this year, and those poor quality kinescopes are painful to watch.

Bob_S. · 07-18-2007, 07:44 AM

I've never seen the tv version, so I wouldn't mind seeing some of these episodes. The radio series is considered one of the best old time radio programs ever made. I have all the available shows on mp3 and my favorite is "The House in Cypress Canyon" (perhaps my favorite radio episode of all-time).

Jeff# · 07-18-2007, 10:23 AM

There were a few versions of "House of Cypress Canyon", including the original with Robert Taylor. SUSPENSE was on the radio for so long they did a a number of remakes and reruns of previously aired episodes. I don't even remember the story to House though.

There's no one single best episode of SUSPENSE, as there are many. But my favorite is "Three Skeleton Key" starring Vincent Price. He also did the remake twice on radio: in the early 1950s on ESCAPE and in the late 1950s (again on SUSPENSE) around the time that former ESCAPE producer Willam Robson took over production of SUSPENSE.

"Community Property" with Kirk Douglas was great too, as were episodes with Herbert Marshall, Agnes Moorehead, and William Conrad. I'd list more but I have to leave for work.

Ivan G · 07-18-2007, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles H

Does anyone know the exact contents (episodes and cast) that will be represented on Volume I of "Suspense."? Next to the WB release of THE JAZZ SINGER, this is my most highly anticipated dvd of the year. Has anyone read any early reviews of this?

Charles H:

This is the info according to TVShowsOnDVD.com:

Disc #1: A Night at the Inn (1949), Dead Ernest (1949), Help Wanted (1949), The Comic Strip Murder (1949), Dr. Violet (1949), The Murderer (1949), Black Passage (1949) and The Man in the House (1949).

Disc #2: The Suicide Club (1950), The Parcel (1950), My Old Man’s Badge (1950), Photo Finish (1950), Edge of Panic (1950), The Brush-Off (1950), Dead Fall (1951) and Double Entry (1951).

Disc #3: Summer Storm (1950), On a Country Road (1951), Wisteria Cottage (1951), The Black Panther (1952), Alibi Me (1952), The Debt (1952), The Crooked Frame (1952) and Remember Me? (1952).

Disc #4: Woman in Love (1952), The Invisible Killer (1952), Vacancy for Death (1953), The Kiss-Off (1953), Kiss Me Again, Stranger (1953) and The Duel (1953).

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Jeff# · 07-18-2007, 09:15 PM

I think the TV show had a different producer(s) than the radio version, but the common element is the Autolight company -- the sponsor on radio from 1948 to 1954. Their animated spark plug commercials were the only filmed part of the SUSPENSE series and are rather amusing by today's standards.
Their slogan was "You're always right with Autolight!" When the TV show was cancelled, the radio SUSPENSE found itself without a sponsor for several months.

Ivan G · 08-01-2007, 03:30 PM

I received this set in the mail today, and while I haven't had the opportunity to crack it open, I thought this blurb on the back of the box was interesting:

Suspense was originally aired LIVE but it has never been rerun in syndication so it has not been seen since its original live run! In association with CBS Enterprises, Falcon Picture Group and Infinity Entertainment have recently uncovered 90 TV episodes of Suspense (all of which, until recently, were thought to be lost), direct from filmed kinescope masters. Collection 1 offers 30 of these episodes, with releases of Collections 2 and 3 in the near future, offering the remaining 60 episodes!

Ninety episodes--could they have been in the same vault as the one that held Jackie Gleason's "lost" Honeymooners?

Incidentally, Falcon Picture Group is run by former Radio Spirits CEO Carl Amari, who released a number of old-time radio CDs in accordance with the Smithsonian. He took a lot of flack from customers for editing the hell out of the shows, removing all the commercials, etc., because he was convinced there was no future of OTR on CD. This might go a little ways explaining the cavalier treatment of The Real McCoys (and its "complete" first season) since that collection is also being released by the same company.

Hank Dearborn · 08-01-2007, 09:56 PM

But the Suspense episodes all contain the original commercials. So, maybe he learned his lesson.

Jeff# · 08-02-2007, 02:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hank Dearborn

But the Suspense episodes all contain the original commercials. So, maybe he learned his lesson.

The way the show was produced, they had to leave the original Autolight commercials in or else the show would look even more awkward than it did.



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