Radio Recap: The Philip Morris Playhouse

The Philip Morris Playhouse was a series that ran between 1941 and 1953, but for the purposes of this blog entry I'm looking at the 1948-1949 version. Essentially, the moniker "Philip Morris Playhouse" meant it was a program sponsored by the cigarette company - but the show itself was very different during its run. It first ran in 1941-44 on CBS as a dramatic program like Lux Radio Theater which presented adaptations of popular films, often with the original stars. Then it disappeared until the 1948-49 run on CBS. Finally it ran in 1951-53 on both NBC and CBS as a program centered on adapting Broadway plays.

But the 1948-49 run was different and well worth listening to. Why? Because that season was produced and directed by William Spier. Yes, the same man who made Suspense (also on CBS) one of the absolute finest programs in all of old-time radio produced another program which was very much like Suspense.

Like Suspense, the series featured well-known stars in stories of suspense and danger. In fact, many of the episodes used scripts from Suspense! The Philip Morris Playhouse is basically a trove of lost Suspense episodes... but, sadly, a very small trove. There are only 6 episodes which have definitely survived:

• "Leona's Room" (February 25, 1949) starring Vincent Price
• "The Lady from the Sea" (March 11, 1949) starring Marlene Dietrich
• "Apology" (March 1, 1949) starring Elliot Lewis
• "Murder Needs an Artist" (May 6, 1949) starring Vincent Price
• "Four Hours to Kill" (May 13, 1949) starring Howard Duff
• "The Iron Man" (July 29, 1949) starring Sidney Miller

No doubt "Four Hours to Kill" is familiar to Suspense fans just as "The Lady from the Sea" is a familiar episode of the Whistler. For that matter, "Leona's Room" is the same script as the Suspense episode "Pass to Berlin." But among the many lost episodes there are scores of familiar Suspense titles: "The Silver Frame"; "Angel Face"; "The One Millionth Joe"; "The Search for Isabel"; "Banquo's Chair"; "Night Man"; "August Heat"; "The Diary of Sophronia Winters."

The program sounds terrific - it seems to have been blessed with a budget similar to that of Suspense. In addition to the lead stars (drawn from the same talent pool as Suspense) there were plenty of supporting roles for familiar CBS performers like Cathy Lewis. The only aspect in which the Philip Morris Playhouse is inferior to Suspense is in its titular sponsor. The opening theme is unremarkable and the commercials with the shrill "bellboy" Johnny screeching "call for Philip Morrrrrrr-isssss!" grate on one's nerves.

Of the six episodes, Vincent Price was great in both of his and I think they're the highlights of the run - "Leona's Room" is especially good. From the others, "Apology" is a bit offbeat with Elliot Lewis portraying a comedic character in a very grim crime drama. I don't think it's a successful drama but it is interesting to listen to, especially the ending. "The Iron Man" on the other hand is a complete farce, told in a Damon Runyon-esque patter.

I hope more of the Philip Morris Playhouse is discovered in the future - it would be great to hear the rest, especially the scripts that were never repeated on Suspense or the Whistler.