Suspense - Photo Finish (#201)
Channel: Old Time Radio Researchers
Date: 2023-08-07

Suspense: 07/18/46, episode 201
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

Michael O’Shea plays an honest hardworking photographer, trying to make a living of it. All is well until he unknowingly takes a picture that includes a gangster hit in the background. As his day comes to a close, he visits his favorite “pharmacy” on his way home and accidentally leaves his camera there. Some hoods visit him at home, pretending to be policemen. They ask him to help them solve the crime. As listeners, we’re pretty astute at this Suspense stuff, so we know they’re not really cops, but he doesn’t realize it until it’s too late. Where’s his camera? Where’s the picture? It’s a good and enjoyable story with its share of chuckles and smirks. O’Shea seems to be having a great time at the microphone, realizing the story is more for fun than serious drama and delivers a good performance.

The script is by Roy Grandey, who worked in the CBS script department at the time. It was adapted by Robert Richards. Grandey also wrote for Molle Mystery Theater and many other programs. He always had a keen interest in photography, knowledge which he leveraged for this particular script. A 1959 profile had an interesting comment from him that is a back door praise of the power of radio drama compared to photography: “As a writer I dream up something almost impossible to photograph.”

There is only one surviving recording and it is in fine sound. It is a network broadcast, coast is not known at this time. The time to network ID is 14 seconds (“14s”). O’Shea has a little stutter in a line of dialogue that might help identify a different version if one becomes available.

13:45 ...pretty soon I’m on a bigger road. And themonna... And then I’m on the on the main highway back to town.

 This is Michael O’Shea’s first appearance on Suspense.

The cast: MICHAEL O’SHEA (Joe Mooney), Cathy Lewis (Maude), Jerry Hausner (Jake), Bill Johnstone (Signature Voice/ first cop), Jay Novello (Harry/ second cop), Wally Maher (The tough guy), Ira Grossel (Frankie), Mary Jane Croft? (Jeanne O’Dea)

For more information visit https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/08/1946-07-18-photo-finish.html