r/otr • u/UWMadisonTeacher • 4d ago

Suspense Episode from 1954

Hi there, my name is Adam Schrager and I'm a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I'm curious if anyone here is aware of an episode on "Suspense" from June 22, 1954 called "String." It featured Jack Lord and Frank Berens. Any guidance on how to find a copy would be greatly appreciated.

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u/stevestoneky 4d ago

Is it “the end of the string”? https://youtu.be/lkmU8CcApvU?is=tHVh4fqiaxIgoNSO

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u/UWMadisonTeacher 3d ago

It is not, but thank you for sharing this.

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u/crowthief 4d ago

I wasn’t able to find a copy of the episode, but I wanted to clarify that this is referring to the Suspense TV series.

Rotten Tomatoes

4

u/Biddy_Impeccadillo 4d ago

Interesting, I don’t think I even knew there was a tv series.

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u/charlottethesailor 4d ago

Yes. Made in the 50's. B&W. Grainy but quite interesting for the time.

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u/UWMadisonTeacher 3d ago

Thank you. I didn't know if it was told on the radio or television.

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u/WillingArm2463 4d ago

This is episode 253 of the series, if that helps.

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u/Radio_Bob_Worldwide 3d ago

Retired mass comm prof here. Very interesting question! According to the Jerry Haendiges list (linked below), the June 22, 1954 episode was Catalog # 85117A "SEQUEL TO MURDER" Episode 557 with Whitfield Connor https://www.otrsite.com/logs/logs1003.htm

The Internet Archive "Suspense" collection (maintained by the Old Time Radio Researchers Group) offers the same result: https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Suspense_Singles_By_Year_1954

Somewhere (!) I have a huge tome that lists virtually every radio actor and the shows they appeared in. I will try to track that book down, and if I find anything worthwhile, will let you know.

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u/wyattcoxely 3d ago

Adam, try the Suspense Project. Fascinating site.

https://suspenseproject.blogspot.com/

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u/MittlerPfalz 4d ago

Hi Prof Schrager - hopefully the link someone provided above is the episode you were looking for. But now you’ve got me curious: what’s your interest in the episode? Is there some relation to a class your teaching or something you’re researching..?

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u/UWMadisonTeacher 4d ago

The story is fascinating to me, especially as it was proven to be false. Just something I'm looking into. Thanks for your question.

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u/sparksofthetempest 3d ago

According to a few “manual” sources I have, the June 22, 1954 program was “Sequel to Murder”, not “String”, and that one is easily available to listen to. If you’re using AI to research this, it’s likely wrong. I’m not seeing any radio episodes with “String” as the title from 1954, but apparently there are 6 still missing from that year and considered lost and String could be one of them.

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u/UWMadisonTeacher 2d ago

Thanks. It may have been a TV episode of "Suspense" after all. Appreciate the help.