Inner Sanctum Halloween Month, day 4 of 31: "No Coffin for the Dead"

"No Coffin for the Dead" was first broadcast February 20, 1945. This episode dives straight into the action as two men are assaulted by a knife-wielding maniac. The survivor begins an investigation to locate the real killer, but the man he identifies isn't even able to walk. This episode has a very strong climax!

By the time of this episode the series had a new sponsor: Lipton Tea & Lipton Soup. This brought to the show a new commercial spokesperson, Mary Bennett. Her chipper manner is definitely a contrast to Raymond's horrible puns or the grisly actions in the script. Most fans of the series disdain Mary; she definitely has a few moments where her commercials undermine the tension of the play. On the other hand, her back-and-forth with Raymond is occasionally enjoyable.

This episode features Raymond Edward Johnson as the host; the cast includes Les Tremayne, Santos Ortega, Luis Van Rooten and Alice Frost. You can listen to this episode at archive.org by clicking here.