Seeing Ear Theatre: Sorry, Wrong Number (Lucille Fletcher) & Jumping Niagara Falls (Smith and Zarr)

[james_davis_nicoll]

Sorry, Wrong Number (Lucille Fletcher)

A bed-ridden woman struggles convince someone - anyone - to do something about the murder she inadvertently overheard being planned thanks to what appears to be crossed wires during a telephone call.

This is an adaptation of a very famous story:

Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American suspense film noir directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. It tells the story of a woman who overhears a murder plot. The film was adapted by Lucille Fletcher from her radio play. It is one of the few pre-1950 Paramount Pictures films that remained in the studio's library (the rest are currently owned by Universal).

I had assumed Dial M for Murder was based on or influenced by Sorry, Wrong Number but apparently not. Looking at the descriptions they are not as similar as I remember.

Cast:
Claire Bloom as Mrs. Leona Stevenson
Anne Bobby as Chief Operator & Hospital Clerk
Todd Cummings as Sergeant Duffy & Western Union
Rebecca Nice as Operator
Dick Rodstein as George
George Zarr as First Man & Information

(and apparently a live studio audience: you can hear them laughing at the unfortunate Mrs. Stephenson from time to time)


Jumping Niagara Falls (Brian Smith and George Zarr)

This is a sequel to Sorry, Wrong Number in which the murderer from the first play finds himself haunted by the specter of his crime. Not 100% sure Sorry, Wrong Number needed a number but am intrigued by the fact the killer seems to be dating a knock-off of Harley Quinn.

This has possible supernatural elements and is probably the basis by which the utterly mundane Sorry, Wrong Number was grandmothered in.

Cast:
Claire Bloom
Tim Jerome
Anne Bobby