Today's Suspense episode is "The Gift of Jumbo Brannigan" (March 1, 1951) starring William Bendix! This was Bendix's fourth and final appearance on Suspense. Bendix's film career featured films of all types, but he was best-known for starring in the radio series the Life of Riley (1944-1951), which also became a feature film in 1949 and TV series from 1949-1958 (the first year starred Jackie Gleason in Bendix's role as Chester Riley). Although Bendix appeared in gritty films like the Glass Key (1942) and the Blue Dahlia (1946), he remained beloved for portraying the dim-witted yet well-meaning Chester Riley, possibly the originator of the "bumbling dad" trope in situation comedy.
While Bendix's other Suspense roles had a bit of comedy, this one is more in keeping with Bendix's film noir oeuvre. Bendix portrays the titular Jumbo Brannigan, who's just gotten out of prison and wants to reform -- but his criminal career has been idolized by his son, who's decided he's going to plan his father's future crimes!
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