Suspense: 04/21/52, episode 469
Brought to you by the Old Time Radio Researchers, courtesy of The Suspense Project

Herbert Marshall stars in Gil Doud’s script based on the diaries of Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s 1912 failed march at the South Pole. Scott and four companions attempted the almost superhuman task of marching their last 800-mile journey. They dragged behind them, over the frozen Antarctic wastes, a heavy sledge (a strong, heavy sled). That sledge held their supplies and the British flag they hoped to plant at the “bottom of the world.” When they reached that objective, they found the flag of Norway already planted there. Explorer Roald Amundsen and four crew members made it to there five weeks before Scott’s party. Amundsen’s team, however, returned safely to their base, while Scott’s perished on their 800-mile return trip. Scott’s team encountered blizzards and 40-degree-below-zero temperatures. They had to drag their sledge and chart their course through the fresh snow (that covered their previous tracks). Their course was critical as they had to find each of the caches of food and fuel oil they have buried along the way. The men grew weaker, and it became increasingly apparent to each of them that the odds of surviving were against them. They carried on for a month of the slow-walking nightmare before the first of team succumbed to exhaustion and cold. None of them survived. Months later, bodies, supplies, Scott’s logs, and the diaries of others were discovered after a search. The bodies of two of the team were never found. The story as presented here is part history and part psychological drama. Delusions and disorientation are part of the story, springing from the team’s lonely shared experience. Memories of home become an important part of the presentation.

The sound effects of this episode are constant. There are barely any seconds of quiet as there is always a background of harsh cold winds throughout.

A 1948 British film, Scott of the Antarctic, was a combination of adventure and documentary. It is held in general high regard for its cinematography and the performance of actor John Mills as Scott. It can be viewed at https://archive.org/details/scott-of-... The movie was well-known in the US. Many Suspense listeners would have already had some familiarity with the story.

There are two surviving recordings of this episode. The network version has limited range and is noisy; it is listenable. The Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS#408) recording is much preferred as it is in fuller, richer, and cleaner sound. It was a welcome find for enthusiasts when it became available in 2019.

The cast: HERBERT MARSHALL (Captain Robert Scott), June Whitley (Kate), Tudor Owen (Bowers), Ben Wright (Oates), Joe Kearns (Official Voice / Evans), Charles Davis (Wilson), Eloise (soloist), Larry Thor (Narrator)

COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)

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