31 Days of Suspense: "The Ten Years"

For my 6th-favourite episode of Suspense we have a creepy look at sibling relationships!

Joan Crawford stars in "The Ten Years," first heard on June 2, 1949. In the story, Crawford's sister (played by Lurene Tuttle) is a waifish, clingy creature who feels spurned when her sister is married. After ten years of no contact, Crawford is reunited with her in the worst way possible - her son has gone missing in her sister's home. Features murder, child endangerment and madness. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you may download it from archive.org here.

It's easy to confuse this episode with another Suspense production, "The Sisters." The show's producers seemed to consider the latter a prestige outing, one which deserved first-class female stars. However, when you boil it down, "The Sisters" is simply a tale of one sister trying to murder another with an ironic comeuppance at the climax. "The Ten Years" is about sisterly love - and how easily it becomes hatred. The climax of this episode is one of Suspense's most grim; it's not that some things are not fixed and some people are not saved but that nothing can be fixed and no one can be saved. Happy listening!

"The Ten Years" was a reuse of an earlier script from February 8, 1945. Then, the episode was titled "A Tale of Two Sisters" and starred Claire Trevor with Nancy Kelly. It's very good, but not Crawford/Tuttle good. Still, check it out at archive.org here if you're inclined.

Tomorrow: "Have you ever tried to match your voice, Miss Peabody, against the thunderous voice of Bach? It's most effective."