Kraft Suspense Theatre

Did You Know?

• Roncom Films, which produced the series, got its name from Perry Como's son Ronnie Como, who was in his early 20s when the series premiered.
• Writer, editor, critic, and radio playwright Anthony Boucher served as consultant on the series.
• In Britain, BBC2 screened episodes of this series and Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre under the banner of Impact.
• John T. Williams's theme music was revised for the second season (1964–65).

Overview

Actors appearing on Kraft Suspense Theatre included Ben Cooper, Richard Crenna, Robert Duvall, John Forsythe, Ron Foster, Vivi Janiss, Brad Johnson, Jack Kelly, Robert Loggia, Ida Lupino, Martin Milner, Ellen McRae (who later changed her name to "Ellen Burstyn" and appeared as twin sisters in "The Deep End" with Clu Gulager and Aldo Ray), Leslie Nielsen, Larry Pennell, Mickey Rooney, James Whitmore, Jeffrey Hunter, Tippi Hedren, Telly Savalas, Robert Ryan, Clint Walker, and Michael Winkelman.

Directors included Robert Altman, Richard L. Bare, Roy Huggins, Buzz Kulik, David Lowell Rich, Ida Lupino, Sydney Pollack, Elliot Silverstein, Jack Smight, Ralph Senensky, and Paul Wendkos. Some episodes doubled as pilots for potential series. The episode "Rapture At Two-Forty" was the pilot for the series Run for Your Life, which premiered on NBC in the fall of 1965 and ran till 1968. The 1968 theatrical film Sergeant Ryker, starring Lee Marvin, was a two-part made-for-television film first broadcast on Kraft Suspense Theatre under the title "The Case Against Paul Ryker"; it also served as a pilot for the 1966 series Court Martial.

Other episodes later expanded into theatrical films included "Once Upon a Savage Night", released as Nightmare in Chicago, and "In Darkness, Waiting", released as Strategy of Terror.