Suspense — 1953
39 episodes broadcast in 1953.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood-Part 1" (1953-01-05), starred Herbert Marshall; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood-Part 2" (1953-01-12), starred Herbert Marshall; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
Somewhere in a narrow, unstable stretch of seabed lies a wrecked ship and, with it, a fortune in gold -- available to anyone willing to risk the dive. The story, based on real events, follows what happens when someone decides the gold is worth the gamble.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Spencer Brothers" (1953-01-26), starred Richard Widmark, William Conrad; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
Played strictly for laughs, this science-fiction spoof flips the invasion story on its head: it's the Martians who are on edge, scrambling to figure out how to handle an oncoming wave of bothersome, unsophisticated Earthlings.
A Soviet diplomat stationed in Mexico learns he's being recalled home as a security risk -- a recall that, in practice, spells a stretch in a Siberian labor camp with little hope of return. Based on real events, the story follows his attempt to slip free of that fate and reach safety instead.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Love and Death of Joaquin Murietta" (1953-02-16), starred Victure Mature, William Conrad; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "St. James Infirmary" (1953-02-23), starred Rosemary Clooney; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Storm" (1953-03-02), starred Frank Lovejoy, Joan Banks; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Dead Alive" (1953-03-09), starred Herbert Marshall; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
An expedition sets out to conquer one of the world's highest peaks, only for the climb to curdle into something darker: a member of the party turns up murdered, with the culprit presumably still roped in among the rest.
A lonely railway signalman keeps watch over a tunnel where something otherworldly has taken to appearing -- a spectral figure that seems bent on warning him of disaster, though its meaning stays maddeningly out of reach. The visitations wear at his sanity long before their purpose becomes clear. (after Charles Dickens)
This Suspense broadcast, "Tom Dooley" (1953-03-30), starred Joseph Cotten, William Conrad; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Around the World" (1953-04-06), starred Van Johnson; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Great Train Robbery" (1953-04-13), starred Fred MacMurray; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Public Defender" (1953-04-20), starred Frank Lovejoy; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Man Within" (1953-04-27), starred Herbert Marshall; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Othello, Part 1" (1953-05-04), starred Cathy Lewis, Richard Widmark, Elliott; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Othello, Part 2" (1953-05-11), starred Richard Widmark, Elliott Lewis, Cathy; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Vial of Death" (1953-05-18), starred Lloyd Nolan; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Pigeon in the Cage" (1953-05-25), starred Dick Haymes; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "A Vision of Death" (1953-06-01), starred Ronald Colman; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Mystery of the Marie Celeste" (1953-06-08), starred Van Heflin, William Conrad; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
On the eve of the Spanish-American War, a young Army lieutenant is handed a near-impossible assignment: slip into Cuba and make contact with the elusive revolutionary General Garcia, with no clear way to find him and no room for failure. (after Elbert Hubbard)
This Suspense broadcast, "The Empty Chair" (1953-09-21), starred Agnes Moorehead; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Hellfire" (1953-09-28), starred John Hodiak; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A wealthy financier survives a stroke and responds by setting himself an outsized physical challenge: scaling a glacier in the Swiss Alps that's considered essentially unclimbable. It's a story about proving something to himself when his own body has just shown him its limits. (after Charles Edward Montague)
Two Confederate officers meet for a duel, and when the first man's shot goes wide, his opponent -- owed the second shot by the code of honor -- declines to take it. Instead, he lets the debt hang unpaid, choosing his own moment to collect it. (after Alexander Pushkin)
This Suspense broadcast, "My True Love's Hair" (1953-10-19), starred Jeff Chandler; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Dutch Schultz" (1953-10-26), starred Broderick Crawford; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A party of settlers loses its way and finds itself trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada for the winter. As provisions dwindle to nothing, survival forces the group toward choices no one wants to make. Based on true events.
Adapted from a wartime account of the Korean conflict, this story follows the search for one vital piece of intelligence buried somewhere in the noise and confusion of the front -- a genuine needle in a battlefield haystack. (adapted from Walter Karig's wartime reporting)
This Suspense broadcast, "The Moonstone Part 1" (1953-11-16), starred Peter Lawford; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Moonstone Part 2" (1953-11-23), starred Peter Lawford; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Wreck of the Maid of Athens" (1953-11-30), starred Agnes Moorehead; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Trent's Last Case" (1953-12-07), starred Ronald Colman; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Night Before Christmas" (1953-12-21), starred Greer Garson; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
Fictionalized from the Earl of Essex's doomed uprising against Queen Elizabeth I, the story casts the two as tragic lovers whose devotion keeps colliding with their pride and their ambitions for power -- a collision that can only end badly for both.
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