Suspense - Pearls Are a Nuisance (#137)
Channel: Old Time Radio Researchers
Date: 2023-06-02

Suspense - 04/19/45, episode 137
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

A Raymond Chandler short story about a missing necklace comes to Suspense as an amusing comedy. The pearls are missing, but are they the real ones or the fake ones? This is a satire about detective novels, and it seems that this adaptation turns the satirical level up a notch by including William Bendix and Allyn Joslyn, both familiar names in comedic performances, in the cast. If you enjoyed the Suspense broadcast The Walls Came Tumbling Down, you’ll enjoy this one, too.

East and west recordings have survived; both are good recordings, with the east being slightly better.

Ranald MacDougall developed the script adaptation. His screenwriting career was about to get a big boost for Mildred Pierce which earned him an Oscar nomination for best screenplay. He was a late 1930s and early 1940s radio scripting veteran. He wrote many scripts for the Peabody Award-winning series The Man Behind the Gun as well as other series. 

This was the first of many appearances on Suspense for William Bendix. He was known more for his portrayal as the lead in the popular comedy series Life of Riley. Hans Conried’s appearance was during his one-month leave from the service. He would not return to the air until 1946, a year after the Pacific War ended.

The cast: WILLIAM BENDIX (J. Henry Eichelberger), ALLYN JOSLYN (Walter Gage), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Lew Scandisi), Hans Conried (Mug / Bank Teller), Wally Maher (Contact Man), Lurene Tuttle (Ellen McIntosh), Howard McNear (Gallimore)

For more information, visit https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/06/1945-04-19-pearls-are-nuisance.html