Cabin B-13


Cabin B-13 was a 25-week series of dramas by mystery writer John Dickson Carr. They featured his character, Dr. Fabian, a ship’s doctor on the luxury liner Maurevania, whose cabin on the ship was, of course, B-13 . Arnold Moss played the lead role. The ship sailed from Southampton, England to Cherbourg, France, down the coast, through the Mediterranean, and to the Near East. Fabian would relate an experience about a mystery on board or in one of the ports the Maurevania visited. John Dickson Carr was a very successful author and was hired as the main writer for Suspense in its early years until Carr was called to the UK to aid in World War 2. When Carr was hired for a year-long contract, Suspense gained great credibility among critics and the public. The show aired an episode Cabin B-13 twice, and this title was used for the series. The original Cabin B-13 story was also adapted to a 1953 movie Dangerous Crossing . Carr was known for his “locked-room” mysteries. Carr was the writer for the series and it was directed by CBS New York staff producer John Dietz, who also worked on the early episodes of Suspense when it was based in New York. Moss was a highly respected radio and theater professional. He is probably better known today for his role as Anton Karidian in the original Star Trek episode Conscience of the King than for his long and notable broadcast and stage career. In the Star Trek episode he is actually murderer “Kodos the Executioner,” hiding in a traveling acting troupe so he could find and kill witnesses to his past crimes as the troupe moved from each planet outpost and star ships. So many actors had the respect of peers but were not well known to the general public until they appeared on Star Trek or other programs. * * * These recordings are part of the Joe Hehn Memorial Collection. Mr. Hehn (1931-2020) was a pioneering collector of radio recordings when the hobby emerged in the 1960s. Digitizing his collection of reel tapes and discs is the effort of a wide range of North American volunteers, and includes assistance of some international collectors. The groups supporting this effort with their funds, time, technology and skills are the Old Time Radio Researchers and a small group of transcription disc preservationists who refer to themselves as the "The Knights of the Turning Table."

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.