Suspense: The Steel River Prison Break (

Suspense: 09/03/51, episode 436
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project
Jeff Chandler stars in William N. Robson’s story about prisoners who used the chaos of a local flood to facilitate their jailbreak is one of the best stories of the Lewis era. Robson used a pseudonym, “William Norman,” to disguise his authorship.
Chandler plays a ruthless convict who engineers and leads a daring escape with two other prisoners. They were planning to escape on a particular date, but when word of the impending flooding rains came about, they decided to wait. The disruptions to police coverage and prison guard supervision would give them the best chance to escape without pursuit. The town asked the prison for inmate volunteers to help pile sandbags on the flood walls protecting the area. In the planning of the escape, Chandler’s character had a smuggled gun. He hid it under his uniform to use if needed. They planned to hide in his mother’s home, not far away, and plot their next steps to freedom. Things don’t work out the way they planned, and the surprise ending makes it a very worthwhile listen.
There seems to be no specific “actual event” for this story, but it is likely an extrapolation of what could have happened a few years before and a combination of other incidents. Some bad Midwest floods in 1937 affected prison buildings in a few areas. Robson was from Pittsburgh, and the “Steel River” is a generic reference to the area being the “steel city” known for its iron and steel industry.
Elliott Lewis knew Steel River was a good script, so Bill Robson agreed to use a pseudonym and be credited as “William Norman” to avoid public scrutiny as he was mentioned in the Red Channels publication. His full name was William Northrup Robson, so “Norman” seemed a natural choice.
The sound quality of this broadcast implies that it might be another aircheck recording though there is not time tone at the open or a station ID at the end or any indication that they were edited out. The recording has some background noise and a somewhat narrow range. It is very listenable without any problems. For many years, the surviving copies were incomplete, ending before the credits were announced. That meant there was no announcement of the author, the cast, and other important details. In recent years, the complete recording became available, but that recording sounds like it was from the same original source as the incomplete version. A clean studio recording has not surfaced, nor has an Armed Forces Radio Service copy.
The cast: JEFF CHANDLER (Bragg), Charles Calvert (Boatman / Guard 2), Byron Kane (Red Cross / 2nd Con), Billy Halop (Moish), Tony Barrett (Runt), Bill Forman (Radio Voice / Guard 3), James Nusser (Con), Larry Thor (2nd Radio Voice / Narrator), Joe Kearns (Lefty / Guard)
COMMERCIAL: Robert Easton, Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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[@Owlkisses88]

Cool info. Thanks for the time you put in for this progams❤

[@OTRR]

You're welcome!