Suspense: Neill Cream, Doctor of Poison (

Suspense: 09/17/51, episode 438
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project
Charles Laughton returns to the series in a story that does qualify as an “actual event.” Laughton is marvelous in his portrayal of the evil Dr. Cream. The true story is very gruesome and requires an incredible amount of sanitizing to bring it to the air. Neill Cream was a vicious killer, convicted of murder on two continents, and numerous other horrible crimes. In some ways, poisoning was the least of his terrible acts. By limiting the script to the poisoning, the Cream story was easier to tell.
Laughton adds much to the Antony Ellis script. He stumbles over lines now and then in such a way that it can’t be an accident, making the killer’s dialogue so natural, so charming, so innocent, that you come to understand how he could gain the confidence of his victims. Of course, none of his crimes are ever his fault. They were things that needed to be done, in his mind.
The cast: CHARLES LAUGHTON (Neill Cream), Charles Davis (Doctor / Edward Bridgman), Betty Harford (Daisy), Joe Kearns (Inspector Worring), Jeanette Nolan (Mrs. Minns the landlady), Georgia Ellis (Mildred Vickers), Alma Lawton (Joyce Hamilton), Herb Butterfield (Sergeant Diltz), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Bert Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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