Suspense: I Never Met the Dead Man (#365)
Channel: Old Time Radio Researchers
Date: 10/03/2024

Suspense: 01/05/50, episode 365
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

Danny Kaye returns to Suspense in the second of his two appearances. It’s a story about a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, when a gangland murder occurs. His proximity to the act makes him a suspect. Kaye’s character has an arrest record that he has kept secret. Because of the investigation into the killing, his past comes to light and works against him. The officer finds a gun near his locker at work. Suspicion is piling up around him, and he loses his job. His wife discovers gambling chips at home and they further link him to the crime and gangster Pigeon Watts. Did she plant them as part of the frame-up?

Most of scripter William Bruckner’s writing was for screen- and teleplays. He had written for Spier for Philip Morris Playhouse in the previous season. That PMP effort was Lady Killer; no recording has survived. Spier re-used Lady Killer for Suspense on 1950-03-02. Bruckner was very active in television in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Joe Kearns returns as the Suspense signature voice, replacing Paul Frees. The program seems to be running late as Harlow Wilcox is reading the final commercial and credits very quickly. Kearns and Simms also read at a rapid pace.

The cast: DANNY KAYE (Joe Wycoff), Jeanette Nolan (Bella), Cy Kendall (Officer Callan), Hal March (Hugo), John McIntire (Pigeon Watts), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Radio Announcer / Roy the bouncer)

COMMERCIAL: Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator), June Foray (Happy)

For more information visit https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2024/03/1950-01-05-i-never-met-dead-man.html