Suspense: Blackjack to Kill (

Suspense: 12/10/51, episode 450
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

Victor Mature stars in a story about a mob hitman who gets his next contract by a draw of the cards. He’s sitting at a table surrounded by other contract killers. The assignment seems random, but you soon realize that it was anything but random. His target in Cuba was a mobster against whom he had a grudge. That same gangster was a friend at one time and taught him his morbid craft years before. In an odd twist to the story, it turns out that it was that mobster who wanted him to get the contract to kill him. How strange that is… and it’s why this intriguing script was probably written first and the claim that it was “a story taken from the front pages of your newspaper” came later. It was not. It’s just a good story that fits the more familiar (and comfortable) Suspense mold.

The script is by Morton Fine and David Friedkin, regular collaborators, especially on other Lewis programs such as Broadway’s My Beat. Because this is not a “based on actual events” story, it is interesting to see how Lewis adjusts the show's opening statement to indicate when something is real or not. Mob and gangland hits were often in the news, even in Cuba, where this story takes place. No particular incident could be identified that drove this Fine and Friedkin plotline. But there were plenty of headlines, week to week, and sometimes day to day about mob activities in local newspapers and wire services to make the phrase “a story taken from the front pages of your newspaper” almost valid.

The fee for the contract killing in the story is $25,000. That is nearly $300,000 in current US$2024.

The original title of this episode was “Assassin.” That title was promoted in CBS publicity, and most newspapers did not receive news of the new title in time for publication.

The recording has some mild defects common to the 1951 disc transfers. This particular recording is much quieter than those usually circulating among classic radio enthusiasts.

The cast: VICTOR MATURE (Johnny Damon), Herb Butterfield (Penny), Clayton Post (Boy / Radik), Harry Bartell (Mario), Jack Kruschen (Diante), Eddie Firestone (Cleo), Joe Kearns (Moyer), Steve Roberts (Bartender), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Dal McKennon (Two Gun), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

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