Suspense - Sorry, Wrong Number (#53)
Channel: Old Time Radio Researchers
Date: 2023-03-01

Suspense - 08/21/43, episode 53
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

This is the second time that Sorry, Wrong Number was presented on Suspense. The program created a lot of “buzz” in its first broadcast because of its unique nature compared to the other plays that were offered by the series. The story deviated greatly from the vision that producer Charles Vanda had for “gothic” style mysteries with a more modern style that had a more personal engagement with the storyline.

There are other things to keep in mind about this broadcast compared to the first:

The first broadcast was never promoted as “Sorry, Wrong Number.” The publicity was for “She Overheard Death Speaking” and the main reason to listen was the dramatic technique that Moorehead would be the only voice heard directly, and all of the other voices would be by telephone simulation. There was no special promotion.

The “flub” of the first episode is not mentioned in any of the publicity or any of the stories about the program. The script was being performed again by popular demand. It was the uniqueness of SWN that created “buzz” and “water-cooler chatter” in workplaces and the sense for those who missed that broadcast missed something out of the ordinary.

This performance was heavily promoted around a time change for the Suspense broadcast. Suspense was moving to Saturdays. There is no better way to draw an audience than with the most-talked-about script of just four months prior and with a big publicity push to inform the audience of the new listening time.

This was the first east-west broadcast day for Suspense. It was odd for a sustaining, unsponsored series. It is believed that CBS was trying to appeal to Colgate or another prospect that the Saturday time slot would offer a prime audience for them. The east broadcast was 7:30pm ET, with the performance in the KNX studios at 4:30pm PT. The second performance was at 8pm PT. It might have been possible that the 8pm PT / 11pm ET broadcast was available nationally if individual stations desired to use that feed; it is not known for certain if that was the case.

While this is the second time that listeners were hearing SWN, this is the second and third time that Moorehead was performing the script. The first performance finished at 5:00pm PT, and the next began at 8:00pm PT, meaning that she had three hours to recover from a very demanding performance.

The following review appeared a few days later in the 1943-08-25 edition of Variety. It was very positive, and enthusiastic in its praise:

"Agnes Moorehead gave one of the most memorable performances of radio history Saturday (21) on the Suspense series on CBS from the Coast. Vehicle was a repeat of Fletcher's horrendous tour-de-force, Wrong Number. The melodrama about a nerve-racked invalid who tries to phone her husband's office, only to be cut in on a conversation between two men plotting a murder, pyramided to an almost unbearable degree of tension. The pitch rose as the frantic woman became increasingly tearful that she was the intended victim and more and more hysterically, tried to get help, first from the police, then through the apartment management, the phone company, and even a nearby hospital. As the end relentlessly approached, her terrified phone calls almost imperceptibly wove the damning evidence around her guilty husband. All this was projected in telephone conversations, with the victim providing nearly all the impetus, characterization, and suspense, and the voices at the other end of the wire supplying only minor support. Miss Moorehead’s playing of this extraordinary role has rarely, if ever, been equaled on the air. From the woman’s first faltering lines, through the scenes of growing dread to the final moments of gibbering semi-delirium, it was a blood-chilling performance of a brilliantly agonizing script. Miss Fletcher, incidentally, authored the original short story from which Norman Corwin adapted his highly-praised My Client Curley fantasy of several seasons ago. In the case of Wrong Number, the authoress’ husband, Bernard Herrmann, arranged and conducted the atmospheric introductory and closing music."

The cast: AGNES MOOREHEAD (Mrs. Stevenson), Hans Conried (George), Harry Lang (George’s contact / Western Union man), Leo Cleary? (Police Sgt. Martin), Margaret Brayton? (Chief Operator), Mary Jane Croft? (Operator), unknown (Henchley Nurse), Jim Bannon (Man in Black)

For more information, visit https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/03/1943-08-21-sorry-wrong-number.html