Now, I know that when these stories were run on the radio, they had to pack all this entertainment into 52 minutes. I've noticed a few that have been clocked up, to make sure they got all the sponsors got their due. But this one was painfully slow. It almost hurt to listen. I'm not going to complain though, as I don't want to hear the "if you could do it better-go ahead", and find that I indeed had a new job! Still a good story. Thanx.

We got CBSRMT on KOMA out of Omaha, NE. My parents would tuck me in, and turn on the big radio down the hall. I loved listening to it then and I really love sharing it with my own kids now.

I just listened to CBS Mystery Theater from 10/7/74. Alan Reed (voice of Fred Flintstone) played a detective. I confess it was hard to take him seriously because I can only imagine him as Fred!

Randy Mc is right, something was terribly wrong with the sound of this episode. The actors in the story seemed to be excessively slow talking--painfully slow. The commercials, however, were perfect. E.G. Marshall sounded like he had been drinking something rather strong. 2 stars.

Jack makes a good point. It's a bit distracting hearing Fred moonlight as a cop and an auctioneer. Maybe Mr. Slate gave him the axe.

A woman feels compelled to buy a painting at an auction. When she shows it to a friend, she learns two things: first that the subject is her husband’s ex-wife, second, that she is not her husband’s first wife. She had apparently died in a botched robbery when she caught the burglar red handed. She chooses not to confront him with it, rather she wants to maintain the happy marriage they have despite the secret he kept. She keeps the painting in the attic and finds that the expression seems to change and she begins to hear the voice of the ex-wife sending her messages…

I found it strange that the woman's friend knew about the previous wife but somehow didn't mention it until the picture showed up. It's also interesting how he remarried three months after the death of his wife and still she somehow didn't know about the previous wife. Too difficult to believe that this could be true.

Of the many problems with this script, those were the biggest. The worst thing is they were unnecessary. But Ssm Dann generally wrote women who were very stupid (and/or shrews and/or evil -- he *really* hated women).

I think the story is slower than usual is because the tape of this program was stretched by heat and /or improper storage of someone's cassette tape. Notice the bit of warble in E.G.Marshall's opening delivery. My 2c

This episode started off on such a great premise and then sort of fell apart. The young woman in this episode is not newly married as the synopsis suggests, they have been married for five years. And I found it strange that her husband was able to maintain his romantic behavior for that amount of time but as soon as he signs her up for life insurance he is immediately cold and critical. Add to that, that the husband after having her freshly signed up for this life insurance then plans to kill her within 24 hours, nothing suspicious about that at all! And as another poster pointed out she married her husband 3 months after his first wife was killed in their house and new wife is oblivious to any past events. And lastly it was odd the way the friend, who was identified at one point in the episode as the husbands cousin, kept pushing her to confront the husband about his previous wife. the friend/cousin had to have thought the first wife's death was a little odd but yet keeps pushing her to bring it up to the husband.

OK I am sorry, but who keeps the house their first wife was murdered in? It's morbid and gross. Too many holes in the store to take it seriously. One star.

The mention of these episodes were recorded on cassette tape got me thinking. In 1974 you could buy cassettes in lengths of 60 minutes, 90 minutes, or 120 minutes. That means 45 minutes per side for a C-90. Since Mystery theater episodes timed at around 52 minutes, they couldn't have recorded it on a C-90 tape without a 10 second break when they flipped the tape over. So these MT episodes had to be recorded on 120 minute tapes, two per cassette. Now, if you were an audiophile you knew that 120 minute cassettes were to be avoided because they had too much tape to move for the playing motor without it binding up and or struggling to drive it which resulted in slower recording speed like you here on this episode. I myself bought a 120 tape and had these problems which shortly ended with the tape snagging on the capstan drive and spurling out into a mess that I had to cut out of the machine. Never bought a 120 after that. So it is remarkable that most of these 1,999 episodes were recorded on 120 length cassettes without any distortions or breaks with the tape flipping over. Amazing.

While attending an art auction, Anita Sutcliffe, who loves and trusts her husband completely, is much taken by a painting and buys it. She soon discovers by accident that the painting is a portrait of her husband’s former wife, who had been murdered during a robbery. This is shocking enough, but even more shocking is the fact that Anita doesn’t know that her husband had been married before.

E. G. Marshall's voice was markedly deeper, as if the recording's speed was slowed down. Kind of annoying, but a good story regardless.

Definitely a recording issue. I could not here the voice of the dead wife well at all. However, the airline was easy to follow, and these things happen. Not my favorite story, husband got what he deserved. Did enjoy the commercials, they don't make them as good nowadays and these being back memories of simpler times.

Honestly. Someone should do an analysis of how many wives are killed or in mortal danger from their husbands and lovers in all of these Radio Mystery Theater episodes. Gives a girl the creeps. Interesting show and thank goodness for an on the ball police officer!

Inspector Flintstone is on the case!!! Just hearing Alan Reed’s voice brings back great memories.