Suspense Sundays (135) The Time and the Place and the Death

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 Time and the Place and the Death"

Air date: January 17, 1960
Starring Eric Dressler and Claudia Morgan

>>Episodes here<<

Henry gets some terrifying news when he visits a psychic.  He will die, and very soon.  At first Henry doesn't want to accept it, but after thinking about it, he feels it is a good thing to be able to plan his death.  He plans his will, his funeral and when he just misses slipping on a stair, he decides he'll die from slipping down the stairs.  His friends are distraught, but perhaps a couple of his friends are given some ideas...

From a pretty solid premise - how do you deal with the knowledge of your impending death? - this episode quickly becomes very silly.  Henry goes from disbelief to acceptance to welcoming his death in no time, and his friends are eager to bring his death about for his money, even though they seem to like him pretty well.  It's a disappointment that there wasn't more of an edge to this story, with the only suspenseful point being whether or not Henry would bring about his own death.  And even that was easily explained away.