Cabin B-13 started as a one-off radio play on CBS Radio's Suspense on March 16, 1943, written by John Dickson Carr and starring Ralph Bellamy.* The show was broadcast for a second time on Suspense later that year, on November 9, this time featuring Mexican actress Margo (Maria Marguerita Guadalepe Teresa Estela Bolado Castilla y O'Donnell**) and Philip Dorn. CBS then scheduled it to air as a standalone (not part of Suspense) on December 27, 1948. It also aired as the first episode of BBC's appointment with feat on September 11, 1943. Carr's script was printed in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine for its May 1944 issue. It was the basis of the 1963 film Dangerous Crossing, and remade as the 1992 made-for-television movie Treacherous Crossing; the story was also aired as episodes of television's Suspense and Climax, as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's program The Unforeseen.
Is it any wonder that ABC radio spun it off for a series in 1948?
Cabin B-13 the radio series ran from July 5, 1948 to January 2, 1949, replacing Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. The half hour program related stories told by Dr. John Fabian, ship's surgeon on the luxury liner Maurevania while docked in various remote ports around the world. Fabian was most often played by Arnold Moss, a well-known character actor in stage, film, radio, and television; Alan Hewitt, another character actor who should be familiar to viewers of 1950s and 60s television, played Fabian in four of the episodes.
John Dietz directed all 23 episodes from scripts by Carr. In reviewing the premiere episode Variety singled out Carr's tight script and Deitz's masterful direction, noting that "Suspenseful pace is maintained throughout, with the story turns sufficiently intriguing to hold interest."
In "Bill and Brenda Leslie," also known as "A Razor in Fleet Street" and as "London Adventure," was the first episode of the radio series. Bill Leslie, while vacationing in London, discovers discovers that he has a double...and the man who looks exactly like him is wanted for murder. If that's not enough to ruin your day, I don't know what is.
Also heard on this episode were Joseph Curtin, Neomi Campbell, and William Podmore.
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiuvEUS3qq4
* For the curious, here's the original script for the 1943 Suspense episode "Cabin B-13":
https://www.genericradio.com/show.php?id=2KHHDSUUP8
** Phew! Try saying that quickly five times
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