Suspense: 09/21/50, episode 394
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

Dana Andrews stars as a police lieutenant in a compelling episode about a person who appears in the crowd that surrounds accidents and misfortunes of others. He taunts the police into finding him. It is an exceptional Suspense production with fine performances by Andrews and Joe Kearns as the killer.

This murderer enjoys his taunting telephone conversations with the lieutenant. They eventually figure out exactly where he is but it’s always on a busy street. All he has to do is wander a few steps away from a phone booth to become an anonymous part of the crowd. The police suspect that he likes to hang around as to watch each morbidly curious group of spectators gather to stare at the body of his victim, and he hides among them, in plain sight of everyone.

Morton Fine and David Friedkin adapted the original Ray Bradbury story that appeared in the May 1943 edition of Weird Tales. They made major changes to it. It is believed that Bradbury was not pleased with adaptation. He may not have known how much they changed it until he heard the broadcast. To oversimplify it, Suspense changed the intent of the story as commentary about the interest in that pain and suffering of others that draw crowds around scenes of tragedy and transformed it into a story about a serial killer.

The drama was recorded on Friday, September 8, 1950.

The cast: DANA ANDREWS (Lt. Johnny Stillano), Howard McNear (Doc Gilbert), Joe Kearns (Signature Voice / Charles Turner), Jerry Hausner (Marty / Smart aleck in subway), Jack Kruschen (Sgt. Riorden), Lou Merrill (Elliott Becker / Voice 1), Bob Bruce (Jones / Burke), Truda Marson (Angry Woman / Voice 2), Lou Krugman (Voice 4 [Man yelling in subway] / Man who confesses), Irene Tedrow (Mrs. Shirley), Byron Kane (Voice 3 / Joe the diner proprietor)

COMMERCIAL: Bert Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

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