Large Print Reviews - Tales Well Calculated to Keep You In SUSPENSE

Large Print Reviews

Tales Well Calculated to Keep You In SUSPENSE

Tales Well Calculated to Keep You In SUSPENSE
Radio Spirits, Inc.
60 radio programs on 20 Audio Cassettes
Genre: Suspense - Mystery, Thriller, and Science Fiction

Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness - August 31, 2001

Looking for some hair raising, spine tingling stories to tantalize your mind? Radio Spirits has issued a collection of sixty ½-hour shows from the famous CBS radio show - Suspense, shows that will amply suit your need to be kept on the edge of your seat...

The stories that were dramatized on the Suspense Radio Show ran the gamut from traditional mysteries to science fiction mysteries. The one unifying factor of all the shows dramatized for this series is that no matter what genre a given story could be classified under, they all were Tales Well Calculated to Keep You In Suspense. And well the series lived up to its name. Suspense ran for twenty years, starting in 1942 and completing its sensational run in 1962. From its very first show it gripped audiences with a previous unheard of intensity. By the time it had completed its run, almost 950 shows had been aired as part of the Suspense series. The stories represented in this collection, offered by Radio Spirits, represent some of the best shows from this outstanding dramatic series.

This collection offers 60 unique programs on 20 audio cassettes, for a total of 30 hours of programing. Within this bundle, there is a little something for everyone. While many stories in this collection where written by modern authors, such as Ray Bradbury, other authors are of a more 'classical' standing such as Charles Dickens. This collection also includes The Mystery of Marie Roget by Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is considered by many to have been the father of suspense as a literary form. Besides featuring a wide selection of authors, these stories also encompass a variety of story types.

For example, this collection includes stories such as,

A Study in Wax in which two men live out a life and death struggle in the frozen north,
The Cave In, a traditional locked room mystery which takes place in a unique location - a sealed coal mine, and
Plan X a science fiction story involving the disappearance of a rocket ship.

Other stories embody such quintessential story elements as a voyage of self-discovery - with a twist of course - such as when a mind-reader discovers that he really is who he pretends to be. And you can be assured of finding a wide assortment of tales revolving around such traditional topics as murder, love, death, greed - including the odd bank robbery, trying to escape one's past, the perfect crime, historical what if's, and of course, man's relationship the animal kingdom.

Perhaps the only thing more outstanding than the stories themselves, are the actors that brought these stories to life. The actors that so vividly dramatized the stories in this collection are a virtual who who's of some of Hollywood's biggest stars. The list of stars is too long to list in total, but to wet your appetite, just glance through this list...

Richard Widmark, Jack Benny, Rosemary Clooney, Agnes Moorehead, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, Joseph Kearns, Ronald Colman, Paula Winslowe, Ethel Merman, William Powell, Ronald Reagan, Charles Boyer, William Conrad, Jeff Chandler, and Jeanette Nolan.

Am I gushing? Sure I am, and I don't apologize for it. If you are like me - a fan of 'old-time' radio - this collection is a splendid example of the best of 'old-time' radio drama. If you are just a 'regular' person, i.e., not a card-carrying fanatic, this collection is still a splendid example of the best of 'old-time' radio drama! But be warned, if you were not a fanatic before you listened to these tapes, you may find yourself one in very short order. It's hard not too. These stories are timeless; the characters are believable and the villain usually gets his just rewards. But, just like in real life, sometime he gets away with 'it'. As well, these are just plain, old-fashioned, good stories. Stories that can be listened to, and enjoyed, by the whole family.

Another fine aspect of these stories is the sound quality of the recordings. Although there are some slight variations in sound quality from recording to recording, all the recordings range in sound quality from excellent to superb. As well, each collection comes in a sturdy collector's case.

Related Reviews

Tales Well Calculated to Keep You In SUSPENSE, Volume 2
This second volume in Radio Spirits collection of Tales Well Calculated to Keep You In SUSPENSE whisks you back in time, enabling you to listen to some of the best shows from "Radio's outstanding theater of thrills" that graced the airways from 1942 to 1962.
The 60 Greatest Old-Time Radio Shows From Science Fiction
Selected by Ray Bradbury. This is a collection of 60 of the best science fiction radio shows that aired between 1938-1962.
Nazi Eyes on Canada
A vintage radio play that first aired on CBC Radio in 1942 and which graphically portrayed the horrors that awaited Canadians if Canada were to fall to the Nazi's.

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