Suspense: Frankie and Johnny NETWORK (

Suspense: 05/05/52, episode 471
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project
Dinah sings verses from the song about the ill-fated lovers, with the lyrics bridging the different scenes of the production. Frankie's man, Johnny, was doin’ her wrong. He was handsome (and knew it) but fickle (he didn’t think he was) jazz musician. He played for kicks in various backrooms, often without pay, so he was always asking for people to buy him a drink, or give him money for one. Frankie even bought Johnny a fancy $100 suit, and he was not of the mind to turn it down as being not necessary. What Frankie sees in him, nobody knows, especially when he left Frankie in a bar and he went off with Nellie Bly. That was too much for Frankie, so she went to a pawn shop and bought herself a gun.
This is the second Suspense “musical” and stars Dinah Shore. It follows the ballad of Frankie and Johnny that was based on an incident in St. Louis in 1899. Over the years, the details of that event as represented in the lyrics changed, seemingly at the whims of the performers. Script authors Morton Fine and David Friedkin shifted the locale to New Orleans.
To hear the song in the style that was popular, vaudevillian Frank Crumit recorded it in 1927. It can be heard at archive.org/de... It may be worth listening to the song prior to listening to the episode.
There are three different recordings of this episode:
a network broadcast recording
an aircheck that is missing its station ID; it is suspected to be from KNX Los Angeles
an Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) recording, likely released to its stations in the late 1970s or early 1980s
All of the recordings are listenable. The network recording will probably be preferred by most, but the aircheck recording has slightly fuller sound but is a little dull. The AFRTS recording has a narrower range.
The cast: DINAH SHORE (Frankie), Lamont Johnson (Johnny), Alvina Temple (Nellie / Girl), Martha Wentworth (Willie), Sidney Miller (Tissot), Joe Kearns (Bartender / Cop), Roy Glenn (Jellycake), Harry Bartell (Cabbie), Jack Kruschen (Man), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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