One of the difficulties of airing old-time radio shows seven-nights-a-week is many shows didn’t survive the golden age of radio.
If what were often live shows were recorded at all, they were saved to fragile discs—often made of glass or other brittle material. Programs longer than 15 minutes required several discs and parts of the shows may have been lost or destroyed. One such program is the Feb. 9, 1943 edition of “Suspense.” Only the first half of 30-minute show, “The Hangman Won’t Wait,” survived. It was written by John Dickson Carr, who had written for the BBC, and starred Sydney Greenstreet.
Happily, the script survived and Blue Hours Productions just released to WHAV a new, stereo version of the play. It centers on a forensic scientist who discovers evidence a woman sentenced to death that very night is innocent. He races against time to stop the execution—and catch the killer. Heard at 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., Monday night, over 97.9 WHAV FM, Jane Casserly plays Hannah with Daamen J. Krall as Dr. Gideon Fell and John C. Alsedek as Herbert Gale.
Tonight, Sept. 21
Gunsmoke: “Mark Dillon Goes to Gouge Eye,” 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. An audition program for the series.
Sunday
Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: “Informer Matter,” 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. (Postponed from an earlier date.)
Monday
Suspense: (NEW) “The Hangman Won’t Wait,” 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Tuesday
Dimension X: “The Green Hills of Earth,” 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Wednesday
Great Gildersleeve: Leroy Meets Josephine McCoy, 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Thursday
Our Miss Brooks: The New Principal, 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Friday
Couple Next Door: Betsy Going on European Trip, 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 28
Gunsmoke: “Bad Boy,” 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
Sunday
Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: “Two’s a Crowd Matter,” 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.