Stars on Suspense (Old Time Radio)

We wrap up this month of my favorite movies with Seven Days in May - John Frankenheimer's tense Cold War drama about a planned coup d'etat in the United States. With a script from Rod Serling and an amazing cast, it's a thriller that holds up over sixty years later. We'll hear three of its stars: Kirk Douglas, who plays the Army officer who discovers the plot; Edmond O'Brien as the rascally senator enlisted to help save the day; and Fredric March as the president facing removal - a man committed to doing the right thing even if it's unpopular. Douglas stars in "The Story of Markham's Death" (originally aired on CBS on October 2, 1947); O'Brien stars in "Muddy Track" (originally aired on CBS on November 11, 1948); and March stars in "The Night Reveals" (originally aired on CBS on May 26. 1949). Plus - a bonus Suspense story of Cold War espionage: "The Case for Dr. Singer" (originally aired on CBS on June 28, 1951).

My month of personal favorites continues with two for the price of one - my favorite Suspense episodes adapted from the stories of Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite writers. He's best known for his science fiction stories, but the tales here are (mostly) down to earth tales of thrills and chills. Dana Andrews is a cop hunting a killer in "The Crowd" (originally aired on CBS on September 21, 1950); a children's game may hide a sinister secret in "Zero Hour" (originally aired on CBS on April 5, 1955); Jeanette Nolan takes the long way home in "The Whole Town's Sleeping" (originally aired on CBS on June 14, 1955); and a crew of astronauts makes their final voyage in "Kaleidoscope" (originally aired on CBS on July 12, 1955).

This week, I'm sharing another of my favorite movies - Carol Reed's classic noir drama set on the streets of postwar Vienna The Third Man. Orson Welles makes one of his most memorable screen appearances as the charming rogue Harry Lime, and Joseph Cotten is Holly Martins, Lime's friend who struggles to face the truth about his pal's criminal nature. We'll hear the two stars in Suspense shows - Welles in "The Dark Tower" (originally aired on CBS on May 4, 1944) and Cotten in "Fly By Night" (originally aired on CBS on September 28, 1950). Then, Cotten recreates his film role in a Lux Radio Theatre presentation (originally aired on CBS on April 9, 1951), and finally Welles stars again as Lime in an episode of the radio series The Lives of Harry Lime - "Clay Pigeon."

My month of favorite movies continues this week with Superman - the 1978 film that brought the Man of Steel to the big screen and still holds up as one of the best entries in its genre. We'll hear two of its stars: Glenn Ford, who played Jonathan Kent, the adopted father of the future Superman, and Jackie Cooper, who ran the Daily Planet newsroom as editor Perry White. Ford stars in "The End of the Road" (originally aired on CBS on February 6, 1947) and Cooper stars in "The Clock and the Rope" (originally aired on CBS on December 5, 1947). Then, we'll hear the inaugural episodes of Superman's radio series - a six-part story that brings him from Krypton to Metropolis and to his first showdown with a supervillain (originally aired between February 12 and February 23, 1940).

For April, I'm featuring some of my favorite movies with their stars appearing in tales well calculated to keep you in Suspense. First up is Witness for the Prosecution, Billy Wilder's engrossing courtroom drama adapted from the story by Agatha Christie. We'll hear the stars of the film - Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Marlene Dietrich, and Tyrone Power - in radio thrillers as well as a recreation of the Christie story. Real-life husband and wife Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester star in "The ABC Murders" - another Christie story (originally aired on CBS on May 18, 1943). Ms. Dietrich stars in "Murder Strikes Three Times" (originally aired on CBS on February 16, 1950), and Mr. Power headlines "The Guilty Always Run" (originally aired on CBS on March 22, 1954). Then we'll hear "Witness for the Prosection" presented on The Mollé Mystery Theatre (AFRS rebroadcast from May 31, 1946).