Suspense: Report on the Jolly Death-Riders (

Suspense: 08/27/51, episode 435
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project
William Holden stars in a Richard-George Pedicini script in support of safe driving. It was been an annual event for the Auto-Lite series to promote safety before the high traffic Labor Day weekend. The company’s message is that well-maintained vehicles are essential to safety and attentive driving is critical to avoiding fatal accidents.
“Hot-rodding” was of great worry at this time, with many police officers and organizations warning about the dangers of racing and reckless driving on public streets. Many localities arranged hot rod races at safe locations (small airport runways, for example) as a means of getting the races off local streets. These are mentioned in the story.
Newspapers had numerous accounts of accidents in hot-rodding around the country, so it can’t be determined if one particular news event was the inspiration for this story. Combine it with the general topic of juvenile delinquency, a major theme of newspapers at that time, and any single reference to a particular event as the basis of this episode is even less likely.
Auto-Lite sold car parts. Some of their products may have been used in improving the engine performance of hot rods. It was unlikely that they would come down hard on the sport, but safe driving habits was something everyone could agree on.
The original title of the story was “Report on the Jolly High-Riders.” That is the name of the hot-rodders group in the story. It was considered a poor show title, so it was changed. “High” in the title could have been misunderstood as just a standalone title listed in a newspaper radio timetable a drug or alcohol reference. Substitution with the word “death” was probably considered to keep the focus on reckless driving and create a bit of mystery about the title. There is also the meaning of the phrase “high rider” which refers to someone who is very successful, and the story did not want to glamorize reckless hot-rodding. Nothing implies danger and disregard for safety in this context than the word “death.” The change from “high-riders” to “death-riders” in wording is in the opening scene as Holden’s character types his report of the incident.
The original script has the hyphen between “death” and “riders,” maintained here in this summary and the file name.
Holden has a flub at 5:03 where he says “rod hot” followed by a very brief pause, then continues.
There is a curious production aspect of this story, noticed by Los Angeles Times broadcast columnist Walter Ames. In the 1951-08-30 edition, he comments about Cathy Lewis doubling in the story:
I wonder how many listeners caught the neat trick pulled by the Suspense show Monday during the Report on the Jolly Death Riders. Cathy Lewis played the role of Gladys, the victim of a hit-run driver. Then, with a change of voice, she reappeared in the second act to portray Wanda, the 17-year-old driver of the accident car-thus becoming her own murderer.
The only surviving recording is an aircheck, likely from KNX. It has a narrow range and background noise. It is highly listenable, but not as good as a studio recording.
The cast: WILLIAM HOLDEN (Harbor), Jack Kruschen (Wally / Sergeant), Cathy Lewis (Gladys / Wanda), Joe Kearns (Warren), Eddie Firestone (Larch), Sam Edwards (Mickey), Edit Angold (Mama), Barbara Eiler (Julie), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Bert Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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[@Owlkisses88]

Thanks for the written explanation. It is good to learn about the radio program process and its decision in doing things.

[@gregofthelake]

5:00 "Neither one of the rot hod...cars." You can hear William Holden caught his mistake but he just kept going. I thought Suspense was a recorded show, so I was surprised they didn't do another take.

[@OTRR]

At this point yes, it was a recorded show, but I don't think they were splicing things together. So, for them to do a new take (of the entire thing) it would have to be something significant.

[@gregofthelake]

@@OTRR Very true. I thought about that during the episode. It's fun to hear these little mistakes.