Suspense Sundays (100) The Amateur

Suspense was a radio series from 1942 to 1962.  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.  For Suspense Sundays I'll give a short review of an episode.

"The Amateur"

Air date: May 3, 1959
Starring Jackie Cooper

>>Episodes here<<

Jerry Molloy witnesses a fatal hit and run, and only after the police leave does he notice a license plate out of the way, with a little blood on it.  Instead of going to the cops, his friend convinces him to try his hand at blackmail, because the driver would undoubtedly be grateful he didn't go to the police.  When Jerry gets a phone call from someone who saw his picture in the newspaper and wants to know if he found anything at the crime scene,  Jerry decides to see where it will lead him.

The beginning monologue of this episode puts forth an argument that crime does not pay, as does the whole plot of this episode so I think it's obvious what the outcome for Jerry will be.  This is not a dark episode though, because Jerry is narrating and it is obvious that he is likable and misguided, and the noir-ish vibe of the story-telling was a little more light-hearted than one would expect.  I enjoyed the twists this story took, as well as the fitting resolution.  And I think I mentioned this before, but the old-timey commercials in this are just precious.  The one for the magazine McCall's came off a little tabloid-y surprisingly!