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

Comments

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Suspense or whichever old-time radio first did ``Sorry, Wrong Number'' did re-dramatizations of this many, many times. Between the frequent repeats and that, while, yes you can feel for Leona's plight, she also spends about twenty minutes calling people and screaming at them to do something about an impossibly sliver clue, and if I start out in a slightly foul mood it doesn't take long to be really at peace with her fate.

It does suffer some from the Twilight Zone penalty of a pretty good twist ending being so utterly spoiled that it can't enjoy a virgin audience.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Leona's based on an old lady who annoyed Lucille Fletcher, so it is no coincidence she is grating. Never piss off a writer unless you don;t mind being featured in their next work.