Suspense Sundays (169) The Last Detail

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 Last Detail"

Air date: July 5, 1945
Starring George Couloris

>>Episodes here<<

Professor Marcus, a behavioral scientist, has made a name for himself in the science world, and when he is asked by an amateur scientist to travel from San Francisco to visit him in Los Angeles, Marcus agrees.  The scientist, Carlotti, is welcoming, but things start getting suspicious.  Marcus doesn't think Carlotti is a scientist at all.  As it turns out Marcus was chosen for a plan of Carlotti's because of where Marcus lived.  Carlotti has a VERY elaborate plan to murder someone and place the blame on Marcus.  But Marcus is a scientist, and is known for his attention to details, so he's sure he can outsmart Carlotti.

This was a pretty crazy story.  From the unbelievable murder frame-up plot (basically Carlotti had a San Francisco street set up in a backlot in Hollywood, where he took a picture of Marcus "shooting" the victim to give to the police when the police finds the body in Marcus's house.  What? I know.) to Marcus himself, who is so sure that he knows a way to prove the photo is a fake.  Things definitely did not go the way I expected with this one - and knowing Suspense, the fact that Marcus was so sure of himself from the beginning, meant that he was going to take a fall in the end.  And as it turns out, everything still worked out the way it should have.