Suspense Sundays! (2)

Suspense Sundays

Suspense was a radio series from 1942 to 1962, claiming to be "radio's outstanding theater of thrills."  I have a fondness for "Old Time Radio" as we call it now, and Suspense is my favorite show.  It sets up weird, dark, scary, or intriguing stories with a plot twist in the end, and all in half an hour.  And many of them had very famous stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.  I love the old-fashion story-telling and I thought it would be fun to give a short review of an episode every Sunday.  I'll have some fun with it too, since the stories can be silly and over-the-top to modern audiences, but I hope you, dear Reader, will give it a listen sometime if the story seems interesting.

"The Hands of Mr. Ottermole"

Air date: December 2, 1948

Starring Claude Rains and Vincent Price

>>Episodes here<<

A serial killer is loose in London; a strangler!  A Sergeant and a Newspaper Man begin the story, discussing the case.  The murderer seems to get in and out quickly despite the higher number of patrolling police.  We hear the death of a couple who rashly open their door to anybody who knocks (how careless!).  Surprisingly the couple is strangled in 4 seconds flat.  That's TWO people!  Strangled one at a time.  And the wife saw her husband being strangled, and instead of thinking "Hey, I should probably leave now," she keeps on screaming and waits for her turn.  Anyways.  From the title we know the murderer must be named Ottermole and the way Claude Rains as the Sergeant purposely persists in calling Vincent Price's character "Mr. ... Newspaper Man" is delicious.  But I guessed the twist in the end pretty early.  So the real fun comes in how the murderer accounts for his crimes and the common ploy of bringing the danger close to home by ending the story with: "That if I lived, someday these hands, my hands, they say, might reach out... for you..."

A sinister tone is maintained throughout by the main actors in their verbal exchanges, and the the double meaning in the events as they are related is well done.  That last bit will make more sense if you listen to the story.