Suspense — 1956
49 episodes broadcast in 1956.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Eavesdropper" (1956-01-03), starred Lawrence Dobkin, Charlotte Lawrence; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Two Platinum Capsules" (1956-01-10), starred Stacy Harris, Edgar Barrier; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "End of the String" (1956-01-17), starred Stacy Harris; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Cellar Door" (1956-01-24), starred Parley Baer, Paula Winslowe; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A ship sets out to unravel the enduring mystery of the lost Franklin expedition, only to become trapped in ice itself. What began as a rescue turns into a fight for the crew's own survival through a punishing polar winter.
This Suspense broadcast, "Variations on a Theme" (1956-02-07), starred Parley Baer; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A young married couple living under Communist rule in Czechoslovakia hears freedom described night after night on Western radio broadcasts, until the idea becomes a decision: to risk a dangerous crossing beyond the Iron Curtain, whatever the cost of being caught.
This Suspense broadcast, "Hollywood Hostages" (1956-02-21), starred Eve McVey, Tom Brown; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
Robert Falcon Scott and his party reach the South Pole only to find Roald Amundsen's flag already planted there. Their disappointment is only the beginning: the journey back proves far more punishing than the outward trek, testing what's left of their strength and resolve. (drawn from Scott's own expedition diary)
This Suspense broadcast, "Quiet Night" (1956-03-06), starred Stacy Harris; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Groom of the Ladder" (1956-03-13), starred Hans Conried; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Gallardo" (1956-03-20), starred Vic Perrin, Tony Barrett; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Murderess" (1956-03-27), starred Cathy Lewis, John Dehner; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
In Kenya, a novice trophy hunter merely wounds a lion instead of killing it outright, leaving the animal alive, furious, and now the professional hunter's problem to solve. Finishing the job forces the seasoned professional to confront something new: real fear, on a hunt where he's supposed to be the one in control.
This Suspense broadcast, "Lonely Heart" (1956-04-10), starred Ben Wright; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Seventh Letter" (1956-04-17), starred Stacy Harris, Parley Baer; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "A Case of Nerves" (1956-04-24), starred Parley Baer; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A Victorian London reporter, chasing a good story, volunteers to spend the night alone in Madame Tussaud's Hall of Murderers, surrounded by wax effigies of history's most notorious killers. It seems like harmless newspaper stunt journalism -- until the small hours suggest otherwise. (after A.M. Burrage)
This Suspense broadcast, "The Phones Die First" (1956-05-08), starred Harry Bartell; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Death Parade" (1956-05-15), starred Paula Winslowe; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Fragile-Contents Death" (1956-05-22), starred Vic Perrin; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Flame" (1956-05-29), starred Tony Barrett; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Twelfth Rose" (1956-06-05), starred Paula Winslowe; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "A Matter of Timing" (1956-06-12), starred William Conrad, Stacy Harris; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
Aboard a 19th-century prison ship bound for the Australian penal colonies, the convicts chained below decide they have nothing left to lose. Their revolt puts the entire vessel -- crew, cargo, and captives alike -- in mortal danger somewhere in open water. (after Weston Martyr)
This Suspense broadcast, "The Treasure Chest of Don Jose" (1956-06-26), starred Edgar Barrier; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
In postwar London, an engineer who's been working on a top-secret aircraft project turns up dying in the back seat of a car, and no one can say how he got there. A veteran detective takes up the case, following a trail that has everything to do with the secret the dead man was keeping.
This Suspense broadcast, "Want Ad" (1956-07-11), starred Stacy Harris; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier, though the broadcast log notes: Show moves to Wednesday at 8:30-9:00pm.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Man Who Threw Acid" (1956-07-18), starred Tony Barrett, William Conrad; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Tramp" (1956-07-25), starred Ben Wright; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Massacre at Little Big Horn" (1956-08-01), starred Stacy Harris; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "Double Identity" (1956-08-08), starred Vic Perrin, William Conrad; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A man's dreams pull him steadily backward in time, into an intimate friendship with Alexander Hamilton and toward the fateful duel that awaits him against Aaron Burr--history replaying itself, night after night, in his sleep.
This Suspense broadcast, "Hold-Up" (1956-08-29), starred Joseph Kearns; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier, though the broadcast log notes: Show of 8-22 pre-empted.
A middle-aged bachelor living under Communist rule in Poland decides he's run out of legal ways to leave. Hijacking a passenger airliner, he reasons, might be his only realistic route to freedom -- and he sets about turning that desperate plan into reality.
This Suspense broadcast, "A Case of Identity" (1956-09-25), starred Parley Baer, Michael Ann Barrett; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier, though the broadcast log notes: Show moves to Tuesday 8:30-9:00pm.
This Suspense broadcast, "Waiting" (1956-10-02), starred Vivi Janis, Paula Winslowe, Charlotte; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A miner blamed by many for a past disaster is drawn back to the very site of that catastrophe, tasked with working a vein of ore the locals consider forbidden by taboo. Old guilt and old superstition both stand in his way as he tries to finish what the taboo says shouldn't be started at all.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Prophecy of Bertha Abbott" (1956-10-16), starred Sam Edwards, Richard Crenna; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Doll" (1956-10-23), starred Patty McCormack; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier, though the broadcast log notes: Stars: BEGINING OF 15th YEAR ON AIR & FIRST SHOW ON TAPE. William N. Robson takes over as Producer. Features: Mary Jane Croft, Dick Beals, Dick La Grand, Louis Van Rooten and Shepard Menkin.
This Suspense broadcast, "Red Cloud Mesa" (1956-10-30), starred Reed Hadley; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
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)
Three keepers hold a lighthouse rising alone out of open water when a derelict ship wrecks against the surrounding reef and unleashes a swarm of giant rats onto the rock. Starved and unstoppable, the rats besiege the tower level after level, and the keepers watch their defenses fail one barrier at a time. (after George G. Toudouze)
This Suspense broadcast, "The Long Night" (1956-11-18), starred Frank Lovejoy, Stacy Harris, Byron; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A hotel guest in New Orleans walks off with a Bible from his room on what seems like a whim, not realizing the book is worth far more than its cover suggests. Overnight he becomes the target of people willing to do very dangerous things to get it back.
This Suspense broadcast, "The Rim of Terror" (1956-12-02), starred Barbara Whiting, Ben Wright; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A Confederate saboteur is strung up from a bridge by Union soldiers, and the execution seems to fail when the rope gives way beneath him. Free-falling into the river below, he has to decide, in the confusion of the moment, whether the reprieve is real -- and whether he can outrun pursuit long enough to reach home. (after Ambrose Bierce)
This Suspense broadcast, "Eyewitness" (1956-12-16), starred Howard Duff, Joseph Kearns; no episode synopsis survives in the free sources consulted for this dossier.
A mild-mannered botany professor quietly digs a pit in his cellar, ostensibly for a plant project, while his sharp-eyed wife busies herself planning their holiday travel. The hole, as it happens, is exactly the right size for a body.
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