The missing 1952 broadcast: a treasure of Suspense history
Thanks to the research efforts of Suspense researcher Don Ramlow, we have a copy of the script for the 1952 performance. A recording of the episode is unfortunately missing. The script is a window into how production technology and methods had changed from just a few years before.
Note in the upper left hand corner it is identified as the Monday, September 15, 1952 program and that dramatic portions were recorded separately on Friday, September 5, 1952, ten days earlier.
The lower right hand corner shows the cast appearing for read-through and rehearsals at 1:00pm on September 5. All times are US Pacific time zone. The final recording of the dramatic portions was from 5:30 to 6:00pm.
The orchestra and commercial staff (announcers) came for rehearsals on September 15 beginning at 2:00pm, with their performances, combined with the playing of the transcription, aired live beginning at 5:00pm Pacific time to the network. Quirks of union contracts made it less expensive to perform live in this manner than in a recording session. Pacific listeners did not get it until 9:00pm that night, when a fully transcribed program with combined drama, music, and commercials, was played.
The lower left corner shows the dates for production staff to report. Those persons with no dates next to their names were to appear on both days.
It is interesting that the dramatic portion of the program was directed by William Spier, even though this was the Elliott Lewis era of Suspense. From the beginning of the SWN legacy, there was a close professional association of Moorehead, Spier, and author Lucille Fletcher that also included the Decca Record release and another popular Suspense script, Diary of Sophronia Winters.