Recently, there was a great piece of news from the world of old time radio. An episode from the radio series Suspense that was long thought to be lost has been rediscovered. The episode, originally broadcast on September 30, 1943, was an adaptation of the Arthur Conan Doyle story The Lost Special. It starred Orson Welles, one of nine appearances he made on Suspense. With this discovery, all of the Suspense episodes in which he appeared are now known to exist. You can read the story behind the find and listen to the episode at rand’s esoteric otr.
Thanks to the Internet Archive, you can also listen to the other Suspense appearances of Orson Welles:
- September 2, 1942 – The Hitchhiker
- September 23, 1943 – The Most Dangerous Game
- October 7, 1943 – Philomel Cottage
- October 19, 1943 – Lazarus Walks
- April 13, 1944 – The Marvelous Barastro
- May 4, 1944 – The Dark Tower
- May 18, 1944 – Donovan’s Brain (Part 1)
- May 25, 1944 – Donovan’s Brain (Part 2)
Orson Welles was a magnificent radio actor and I think that The Hitchhiker, The Marvelous Barastro, and Donovan’s Brain are among his best work. In particular, I like the The Hitchhiker, a creepy tale that is one of my favorites.