Suspense Sundays (178) The Leading Citizen of Pratt County

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 Leading Citizen of Pratt County"

Air date: May 30, 1946
Starring Alan Hale

>>Episodes here<<

A man is kicked out of his friend's car because he gambled away their money, and he winds up in the middle of nowhere - aka Pratt County.  He's mostly intent just on getting out, but when he hears that the city of Prattsville once raised $50,000 to divert water to their town, but had to cancel the plan because it would have dried up the valley, he gets and idea.  He becomes Professor Witherspoon, a geology surveyor, and ready to see if the river is ready to be diverted so many years later.  His con job becomes difficult though, when the son of one of the families comes home from college.


The title of this episode just screams interesting, right?  /sarcasm.  This is more of a light-hearted Suspense story, with a good old twist thrown in at the end.  It is interesting that it is given away so early that Witherspoon makes his con successful since he's the 'leading citizen', so the real interest in the story is twist.  And I think it's a satisfying one.  Satisfying because everything works out for the best, and because it was completely unexpected.