If You Please, Himan Brown’s Radio Mystery Theater

The same day Larry Fielding inexplicably loses his job as a reporter, he agrees to accompany a stranger to Paris in pursuit of Nazi-looted jewels. Once there, he becomes part of a dangerous intelligence plot, where no one's identity is certain — not even that of the alluring Carol Johnson. She claims to be a Sorbonne student, but might be a double agent working for the Russians — or perhaps the Americans. As Larry navigates this unfamiliar terrain, only one thing is certain: the food in Paris is good.

Movie star Richard Morgan brings his new wife, Jenny, to Bon Repos, his sprawling cliffside estate overlooking the Pacific. But from the start, Jenny feels unwelcome, haunted by the lingering presence of Richard’s first wife, the glamorous, much-mourned April Sanders. She soon learns April fell from the nearby cliffs to her death on the sharp rocks below — but was she pushed, did she jump, or was it just an accident?

After a chance encounter with Al Grissom, a man strikingly similar to her husband Leo, Gloria Winters sees an opportunity. Seducing Al, she persuades him to join her in a scheme to kill Leo and flee to the Riviera with the insurance payout. They carefully plot to poison Leo with toxic mushrooms, and then have Gloria’s elderly family doctor certify the death as accidental. But as their conspiracy unfolds, the lovers' plans begin to diverge — leading to consequences neither could foresee.

George Wesley Sanderson is a Manhattan lawyer cursed with the strange gift of hearing voices — voices that both predict the future and make it impossible for him to forget his past, particularly the circumstances surrounding his late wife's death, for which George may be responsible. Fifteen years ago, while his wife lay gravely ill, George fell for his boss's beautiful daughter. Now, fifteen years later, the voices return with unsettling karmic reciprocity.

Aspiring novelist Steven Lake has spent seven years writing his debut novel only to fall in love with his own creation — the captivating and mercurial Clarissa. Noted publisher Albert Higgins wants to publish the book, but only if Steven will rewrite the ending to save Clarissa for a sequel. Higgins wants just ten new pages, but Steven hesitates, afraid that if he allows Clarissa to survive, she'll ruin his life.

Clockmaker Ethan Vigil acquires an antique timepiece marked with the numeral 13 at the top of its dial — a detail as strange as its refusal to run. But when his wife cuts her finger on on the works inside, the clock unexpectedly comes to life, and Ethan discovers the device grants him an extraordinary gift: twice a day, time stops for everyone but him, granting him two extra hours of solitude daily. He thrives, but soon discovers that his reprieve comes at a terrible cost.

Tell the truth or lie? That's the dilemma facing Lorna Kitteridge after her fiancé, Mark Cramer, kills a woman while driving drunk in their small New England college town. Mark, facing imprisonment for manslaughter, begs her to cover for him. Her father, a college professor who's something of an expert on the truth, urges her to follow her conscience and come clean about the accident. But can her father follow his own counsel — especially when he's confronted with a long-buried scandal from the past?

Mary Ellen McKay returns with her American fiancé, Michael, to her childhood home on the windswept Solway Firth, where her Aunt Jeannie raised her. Soon after arriving, they take part in one of her aunt’s regular séances, unknowingly inviting a sinister force into their lives. Then, on her wedding night, Ellen’s dreams are invaded by a monstrous presence, and as the terrifying visits continue, she discovers she is pregnant, leaving her tormented as she unravels the terrifying link between the séance and her quickening child.

Newlyweds Susan and Dan Carey embark on a cross-country honeymoon before settling in San Francisco, where Dan will manage his firm's office. But Susan's post-wedding bliss unravels when Lt. Harrington of the New York City Police approaches her with a chilling accusation: her husband is a serial wife-killer who murders wealthy women after marrying them. As uncanny parallels emerge between their honeymoon itinerary and Harrington's story, Susan's terror mounts, threatening both her marriage and Dan's life.

IF YOU PLEASE… HIMAN BROWN’S RADIO MYSTERY THEATER, RETURNS FOR SEASON 2

Radio Drama pioneer Himan Brown’s shows from his CBS Radio Mystery Theater series, which ran from 1974 to 1982, are remastered from his personal vault of 1400 shows.

With over 10,000 programs in a career spanning over 85 years, Brown left an extraordinary legacy of socially impactful shows that were as entertaining as they were illuminating.

Brown was especially proud of his inventive reimagining of radio drama for contemporary times. Each episode of this new thirteen-week series will feature an engrossing story, commissioned by Brown and featuring a hand-picked cast of actors who were already well-known performers on stage, film, and later television.

Himan Brown scholar John Slavney, who is authoring the definitive guide to the CBS Radio Mystery Theater programs, returns with his commentary, sharing behind-the-scenes stories about the productions. Series host EG Marshall will once again welcome listeners to “the sound of suspense; the fear you can hear.”

Join us each Thursday for thrillers, chillers, and edgy mysteries from CUNY-TV and the Himan Brown Archive with If You Please… Himan Brown's Radio Mystery Theater. Season 2 premieres September 3.

Production Credits

Executive Producer/Producer/ Director: Sarah Montague.

Executive Producer/ President of Radio Drama Network: Melina Brown

CUNY TV Executive Director: Chiqui Cartegna

CUNY TV Director of Production: Susan Iger

CUNY TV Associate Producer: Corinne Wallace

Director/Producer Content: Karen A. Brown

Social Media: Stardust Blue PR

Series Host: Margot Avery.

If You Please is a production of CUNY TV and Radio Drama Network, Inc.

Teenager David Williams, shaken after hitting a man while driving drunk on a rainy night, rushes home and confesses to his father, Grant, a college professor. Taking charge, Grant goes to the precinct and claims responsibility for the crime. Det. Rizzo questions the professor’s oddly composed demeanor, though his lieutenant dismisses the concern. Meanwhile, Grant’s wife, Marian, grows uneasy and urges David to tell the truth — just as news breaks of a murdered young coed with ties to the Williams family.

In a small rural village, Stefan, an elderly farmer, possesses an inexplicable ability to diagnose and heal ailments — a talent that irritates and confounds his son-in-law, Manfred, a doctor. Yet after witnessing Stefan diagnose hidden conditions and cure people and animals with just the warmth from his hands, even Manfred becomes a reluctant believer. Stefan insists these powers flow through him from his infant daughter Amalie, who died shortly after she was born, decades ago, and with whose spirit he continues to commune.

In a local bar, two angry men plot to kill Jason Grant, the ruthless tycoon who destroyed their lives. Wynn Thomas wants revenge for his brother's death in Korea, while Harry Tolan seeks payback for his stolen wife and business. They devise an elaborate murder scheme, which quickly goes awry, leaving Grant alive but suspicious. That same night, Grant tells his son, Tony, about plans to divorce Tony's mother and marry his secretary, Kay. By morning, Grant is dead. Lieutenant Metcalf investigates, eventually coaxing a confession from the killer.

When his half-sister, Geraldine, goes missing, David Wheeler returns to his family's estate in Medvale with his new wife. His eccentric Aunt Faith enlists Iris Lloyd, a sixteen-year-old clairvoyant from the local girls’ home, hoping that her gift for “finding things” will reveal what happened. David, who secretly arranged Geraldine’s murder, initially dismisses Iris’s abilities, but he becomes unnerved after the teenage psychic attempts to seduce him and then begins producing uncanny insights about the fate of of his missing sister.

Laurie Thornton and her fiancé, George, set out to visit her former college roommate, Helena, at her family's remote estate, but their journey is interrupted by an eerie roadside vision of a violent clash between a father and daughter. They soon discover the haunting is tied to a cursed family heirloom: a ring with a rose-colored stone, rumored to prevent its female bearers from marrying. Later, Helena’s mother insists Laurie accept the ring as an engagement gift — which she does, but soon regrets.

In 1950s America, businessman Spencer Chadwick stands over the body of his wife, Margaret, confessing murder to his friend, Inspector Faraday. His troubles began three months earlier when, at breakfast, he suddenly couldn’t recognize Margaret. Soon, he becomes obsessed with Peggy, a vibrant young woman, and meticulously recreates a downtown apartment filled with relics from two decades past. Within this carefully built world, Spencer’s long-abandoned youthful ambitions collide with reality.

Phil Kohlman, an honest gas station owner, faces ruin unless he can raise $15,000 to buy out his disagreeable partner. Meanwhile, his estranged father, Rick — a newly paroled bank robber who served ten years for a $106,000 heist — moves into his home, unsettling Phil’s wife and teenage son. With the deadline for the gas station deal looming, Phil’s desperation mounts, culminating in a midnight confrontation with his father on a lonely hilltop outside town.

At Westerly estate in 19th-century Maryland, Buford Montgomery is shocked to find his supposedly dead mother alive in her coffin after a mistaken declaration of death. Seizing the chance to break free and claim his inheritance, he locks her beneath the house, forcing his servants into unwilling complicity tied to an old murder confession. But his relief is short-lived — Nancy Lee, his scheming lover, traps him in marriage by claiming she’s pregnant. Desperate, Buford makes a grim decision: his wife will join his mother below.

Young newlywed Jennifer Brady returns from her honeymoon to find her husband, Howard, murdered in their apartment — but when Officer Ed Helmut investigates, there’s no body, no evidence, and no crime. Her sister Maggie insists Jennifer suffers from a psychiatric condition and hallucinated everything, including Howard himself. Yet the sharp-eyed rookie cop spots inconsistencies, especially surrounding a distinctive red sports car parked outside. The stakes escalate when Howard reappears, alive and well, claiming to be Maggie’s fiancé rather than Jennifer’s husband.

Fate has something in store for Charles Powel, a rising corporate executive with a hidden past. When blackmailer Clint Livets recognizes Charles as Robert Hagan — an escaped convict once sentenced to life for murder — Charles' carefully constructed life begins to crumble: his engagement to Alison McCready, daughter of company president J.P., is suddenly threatened, as is his promotion to company president. As Livets bleeds him dry, Charles confides in Alison, hatching a dangerous plan involving cash, car crashes, and quicklime.