Suspense - Voyage Through Darkness (#107)
Channel: Old Time Radio Researchers
Date: 23/04/2023

Suspense - 09/07/44, episode 107
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

This episode is Olivia DeHavilland’s only appearance on Suspense, and Reginald Gardner’s first of two. This is the final production of Suspense that required separate broadcast days for east and west. Finally, Suspense would have a single day for its broadcasts. This made it easier to attract guest stars and also made the program easier to publicize.

A young American woman is on a cruise home from England. Her deceased employer’s coffin is on board. She was directed to supervise the burial-at-sea to fulfill her employer’s wishes. It is a cruise, and this is Suspense, so of course there’s a stowaway on board. That’s not just any stowaway, it’s believed to be “the Blackout Killer” of London. On the way, she meets a strange man, and she begins to suspect he is the killer. His true identity is established, just in time, and they live happily ever after, together. There’s no spoiler in stories that telegraph the likely resolution of the plotlines. This is not one of the more mystifying Suspense episodes, but it is fun, nonetheless.

Only the east network broadcast has survived and is the better-sounding recording. An Armed Forces Radio Service recording is available and is derived from the east broadcast. At approximately 3:00 de Havilland stumbles on a line “It seemed as if the tr…Sou…the trip to Southampton…” which matches the AFRS copy at about 1:43. The AFRS recording concludes with a 5-minute teaser clip of the following week’s production You’ll Never See Me Again.

The story is by veteran radio scripter Joel Malone, best known for his work on The Whistler. He also wrote for 1950s television, including the syndicated version of The Whistler.

The cast: OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND (Judith Webster), REGINALD GARDINER (Alan Bruce, alias Charles Drew), Herbert Rawlinson (First Officer), Joe Kearns (Man in Black / Passenger), Alec Harford (Steward), unknown (Train conductor), unknown (Newsboy), unknown (Woman passenger)

For more information, visit https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/04/1944-09-07-voyage-through-darkness.html