Suspense - The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson

(4.9 stars; 7 reviews)

The Lighter Side Of A Hollywood Heavy Suspense - The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson October 17, 1946 Homer J. Hubbard could be the toughest man in town.  The only person that stands in his way is Homer J. Hubbard. The side of Homer Hubbard that is known to the public, and to his wife, is the obsequious clerk whose meekness makes him the butt of jokes, who is mercilessly harangued by his boss, and who has quietly endured twenty years of marriage to his domineering wife Ada. The other side of Homer, which has been bubbling under the surface for years, begins to emerge when he and his wife see 'Little Caesar', the 1931 crime drama starring an actor unknown to him, Edward G. Robinson.  Each of us has a little Edward G. Robinson in us, just as we all have a little Homer J. Hubbard in us.  Homer, however, may have more Robinson in him than is healthy, for both himself and his wife. Rico, Robinson's character in Little Caesar, soon monopolizes Homer's secret Walter Mitty-style daydreams, both at work and at home, causing friction with his boss and derision from his wife.  When he learns that Edward G. Robinson will be appearing in his home town, Homer jumps at the chance to meet him, and ask for his help in putting a deadly plan into motion. The character of Edward G. Robinson is, of course, played by Edward G. Robinson.  What makes this episode of Suspense most interesting is that the milquetoast character, Homer J. Hubbard, is also played by Edward G. Robinson. It's a delight to hear Robinson meet the challenge of playing the dual roles, for the most part the only characters in the scene, and doing so flawlessly.  Robinson's crisp alternating between the quite different personae, never making any error and blurring the distinction between himself and Homer, is especially impressive when we remember that in 1946 the program Suspense was broadcast live. A clever bit of self-deprecating humour, setting a seriocomic tone early in this episode, is heard when Homer and Ada Hubbard are leaving the theatre after seeing Little Caesar.  Homer attempts to correct his wife, who ignores him while repeatedly mispronouncing Edward G. Robinson's name as 'Edwin G. Robertson'.  This joke would be revived two decades later on the television program 'Green Acres', when the entire town of Hooterville is abuzz over the previous night's late show, and the stellar performance of 'Edgar J. Robertson'. Just five weeks after this episode of Suspense, Robinson would again use his tough-guy image for comic effect, in the November 24, 1946 Jack Benny Show entitled 'The Killers'. The Extra File: The Man Who Thought He Was Edward G. Robinson proved to be a popular episode, and would be repeated on Suspense on September 30, 1948, two years after the original broadcast.  This somewhat less spirited second version, included here, bears the slightly altered title 'The Man Who Wanted To Be Edward G. Robinson', and features, of course, the same star. Links: To visit the OTRR's Suspense page, with over nine hundred episodes available, click here . For another take on this episode, from the website Escape And Suspense, click here . To visit Introduction To Old-Time Radio's Suspense page, click here . To view the entire ITOTR collection, click here . Special thanks to Archive member Greybelt for his help with this article. Text © 2016 W.H.Wilson

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.