The Fall River Tragedy

The Fall River Tragedy

Originally Aired: January 14, 1952 Suspense #456, "The Fall River Tragedy," stars Agnes Moorhead as Lizzie Borden, the infamous woman accused of brutally murdering her father and stepmother with an axe in Fall River, Massachusetts. Years after her trial and acquittal, Lizzie receives Mr. Lippitt, a magazine writer, in her home to tell her side of the story. As children outside chant the notorious rhyme about her crimes, Lizzie insists on her innocence while recounting the terrible day her father was found slain on the couch and her stepmother discovered upstairs. Through her narration, the trial unfolds again. The prosecution, led by the relentless Mr. Moody, calls witness after witness to build its case against Lizzie. Dr. Bowen, the family physician and neighbor, testifies about discovering the bodies and his conversation with Lizzie that morning. The maid Bridget Sullivan and neighbors Mrs. Russell and Mrs. Churchill are brought forward, their testimonies suggesting that no outsider could have entered the locked house undetected. As the evidence mounts and Lizzie's account is questioned, she faces the weight of public suspicion and a trial that will determine whether she lives or dies.

The Case Against Loo Doc

Originally Aired: January 7, 1952 Suspense #455, "The Case Against Loo Doc," presents a gripping tale of San Francisco's Tong Wars, where District Attorney Red Mucia is determined to bring down Loo Doc, a silk merchant he believes leads a double life as a ruthless tong leader. Newspaper reporter Dan Glasgow accompanies the DA on a nighttime stakeout in Sporfoot Alley, where rival tongs—the Hop Yings led by Loo Doc and the On Sings led by Kumji Ho—are expected to clash over a sing-song girl named A Toy. As Captain Wilburne and Lieutenant Sonjak position their men, a violent battle erupts at midnight with fifty Chinese fighters wielding hatchets and daggers. Despite the police rounding up the survivors, Loo Doc mysteriously vanishes from the melee, leaving only the captured Kumji Ho, who refuses to cooperate. The case becomes more complicated for Glasgow, who considers Loo Doc a friend and man of principle despite the DA's accusations. When Glasgow visits Loo Doc's shop the next morning seeking answers, he encounters the enigmatic merchant and his brother Tommy, setting the stage for a conflict between loyalty and justice in the shadowy world of Chinatown's secret societies.

Rogue Male

Originally Aired: December 31, 1951 Suspense #454, "Rogue Male," follows an English big game hunter who undertakes what he claims is merely a "sporting stalk" of the most dangerous quarry imaginable: a dictator with a familiar toothbrush mustache. Captured before he can pull the trigger, the hunter insists to his half-English interrogator that he never intended to actually fire, but the brutal consequences are swift regardless. After severe torture and a staged execution that leaves him broken and bleeding, he's thrown from a cliff in what's meant to look like a sporting accident. Against all odds, he survives the fall and begins a desperate escape through enemy territory. Helped by a courageous fisherman and a sympathetic ship's mate named Mr. Vayner, the hunter manages to return to London, but his ordeal is far from over. Even in England, mysterious watchers lurk outside his lawyer Saul's office, suggesting that his pursuers have followed him home. Now the hunter must disappear completely, unable to involve friends or family, as he realizes the hunt has only just begun—and this time, he's the prey.

The Case History of a Gambler

Originally Aired: December 17, 1951 Suspense #452, "The Case History of a Gambler," Matt Miller drags himself through the streets with a bullet in his body, six blocks from the hospital, as his mind drifts back to where it all began three years earlier. The story unfolds through flashback as Matt recalls borrowing $10,000 from his friend Frank to bet on a rigged prizefight, part of a $100,000 gamble spread across the country. When his fighter wins at twenty-to-one odds, Matt suddenly finds himself with two million dollars and uses it to open a massive suburban gambling casino. Flush with success, Matt becomes known as an easy touch for desperate criminals and grifters who need operating capital, always collecting his debts through intimidation and threats. When his bookkeeper Lou mentions how insurance policies protect the wives of men like Charlie, one of Matt's debtors, it sparks a sinister new scheme. Matt consults his lawyer about forming a dummy corporation to sell life insurance policies, with himself named as beneficiary on policies sold to the very men he loans money to, creating a twisted business model where their deaths become his profit.

Blackjack to Kill

Originally Aired: December 10, 1951 Suspense #451, "Blackjack to Kill," presents the chilling story of Johnny Damon, a cold-blooded assassin who makes his living killing on contract. When crime boss Moyer deals the high card to Johnny among five hired guns, Johnny wins a lucrative job: travel to Havana and eliminate a target for ten thousand dollars up front, with another fifteen waiting when he returns. The assignment takes an intriguing turn when Johnny meets his employer, Jose Deonte, a wealthy Cuban businessman who reveals the target: Penny Cullen, a deported American gangster who has fled to Cuba and is now trying to muscle in on Deonte's operations. For Johnny, this becomes personal - Penny Cullen is a man from his past, someone he once fingered and had deported, and someone he deeply hates. Johnny accepts the job with cold professionalism, employing the methodical approach Penny himself once taught him. He spends three days observing Cullen's routine through binoculars, watching as the exiled crime boss sits on the same bench each evening at six o'clock, feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons and gazing out over the Havana waterfront. As Johnny meticulously notes every detail of Penny's habits, the stage is set for a fourth day when the hunter will strike.