Suspense - Riabouchinska (#270)
Channel: Old Time Radio Researchers
Date: 02/11/2023

Suspense: 11/13/47, episode 270
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

Ray Bradbury’s first Suspense program sat in a file drawer for almost 18 months. It finally emerged at the end of the Roma series. The strange story about a tortured ventriloquist and his dummy, adapted by Mel Dinelli, is one of the most unusual Suspense productions. Lurene Tuttle provides an excellent performance as the voice of Ria.

June Havoc is billed as "Armana Fargay" in the episode. No one knows why the name was created or used, an inside joke we may never know. The name was also used for some of her appearances in the Sam Spade series.

The east coast network broadcast is not available; the AFRS recording inserted a different announcer clip as it was often doing in their editing for other episodes in this period. There are two copies of the west coast network broadcast. One is a KNX aircheck. The other is a studio recording. The studio network recording is the one with the best sound.

A marker for the west coast broadcast is a flub at approximately 1:35 when Truman Bradley mispronounces the story title as “Riaboushinskee.” This matches the KNX aircheck.

The Armed Forces Radio Service recording has a different announcer for their release. The drama is from the east broadcast; times are approximate:

AFRS 3:58 “Why, she's appeared in London...”

WC 5:10 is “She's appeared in London...”

The cast: ARMANA FARGAY aka JUNE HAVOC (Narrator), Joe Kearns (John Fabian / Signature Voice), Wally Maher (Detective Lieutenant Krobic), Lurene Tuttle (Riabouchinska / Ilya), Jerry Hausner (“Sweet William”), Frances Robinson (Alice Fabian), Byron Kane (Bernard Douglas)

For more information visit https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/2023/11/1947-11-13-riabouchinska.html