Saturday, April 16, 2011

Radio review – Suspense – “The Story of Markham’s Death” (1947) ****

Excellent episode with Kirk Douglas giving a good performance (even though he doesn’t have the deepest voice) as a writer threatened by writer’s block. He heads to England and discovers a long-lost manuscript from Edgar Allan Poe which revives his career – and turns him into a murderer. It’s a terrific idea and is well played out, ending with Douglas about to be executed (a favourite finish of Suspense scripts). I’m surprised Steven King didn’t do a version of this script it’s right up his alley, being about a tormented writer, and his feelings towards a great, dead writer.

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