Welcome to Down These Mean Streets, bringing honor of the holiday we're deviating slightly

from our mission statement to bring you some spooky stories from the Golden Age of Radio to help

get you into the Halloween spirit.

And if you're looking for Radio Thrillers, your best bed is the series we'll hear today.

Radio's Outstanding Theater of Thrills, Suspense.

Suspense was one of radio's longest running and most acclaimed anthology shows.

It premiered on CBS in 1942, following a 1940 audition program directed by no less than Alfred

Hitchcock.

Suspense presented the best in adaptations and original mystery plays, including perhaps its most famous episode,

Sorry, wrong number.

Each week, suspense presented a story of mystery and intrigue with a solution deliberately withheld until the last moment for maximum dramatic effect.

During its 20 years on the air, it was produced and directed by some of the best talents in radio.

Directors like William Spear, who also produced and directed Sam Spade,

and Elliot Lewis, who brought us Broadway as My Beat.

As its reputation grew, it attracted some of the biggest

stars in Hollywood to its microphones, including Cary Grant, Joseph Cotton, Joan Crawford,

Jimmy Stewart, and Gregory Peck.

The first show on our double Halloween bill today is the House in Cyprus Canyon,

originally aired on CBS on December 5th, 1946. It stars Robert Taylor and features Kathy Lewis, Hans Conread,

Wally Mayer, Joseph Kearns, and Jim Backus in supporting roles.

The script is by Robert L Richards and the show is directed by William Spear.

Keep your ears open for a cameo from a radio detective we've heard on the podcast. And now Roma Wines, Roma Wines, present.

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