Suspense (1942-62) aired “August Heat” on May 31, 1945 as its 143rd episode of nearly 950. Suspense was one of the very few creme de la creme “class” shows during radio’s Golden Age. Directing, scripts, full orchestral scores which few shows could afford, and some of the most famous Hollywood film actors actually asking to perform its stories made it little wonder that it was one of the few shows to make it into the 1960s.

“August Heat” was adapted from the story by William Fryer Harvey (1885-1937) and tells the story of how an artist and a tombstone engraver — though they’ve not previously met — share an eerie, some might say psychic link that expresses itself through their work. Famed actor of the early silver screen Ronald Colman (1891-1958, photo above) stars as the artist, his mullifluous tones and English accent soothing counterpoint to the building tension as events unfold.

The moody score brings out the Twilight Zone-ish atmosphere of this tale of dark impulses, now unleashed by too long exposure to “August Heat.”

Play Time: 29:31

While listening to this episode of Suspense, along with many other of their favorite radio shows in the summer of 1945, genre fans were also getting their thrills and chills from reading the magazines that proliferated just as World War II was drawing to a close, a few of which are shown below.

(Covers: Amazing Stories, June 1945 — Astounding SF, June 1945 — Weird Tales, July 1945)