One-Way Ride to Nowhere: A Fatal Roller Coaster Ride

Suspense - Radio’s Outstanding Theater of Thrills

This thrilling episode of Suspense stars Alan Ladd as Tom Dwyer, a shrewd private detective who stumbles upon a deadly mystery at Ocean City's amusement park. When a professor's body mysteriously appears on a roller coaster ride - in a seat that was empty when the ride began - Dwyer's instincts tell him something sinister is afoot.

The investigation leads him to Sheila Kennedy, a local performer whose photograph was found in the dead man's pocket, and to a suspicious exhibition featuring a bulletproof car from a notorious $400,000 mail robbery. As Dwyer digs deeper, he uncovers a conspiracy involving corrupt law enforcement, organized crime, and a killer known as "Wires" who has a signature method of disposing of his victims.

Racing against time and facing deadly adversaries, Dwyer must expose the truth behind the professor's murder and its connection to the missing robbery money before he becomes the next victim of the "one-way ride to nowhere."

Originally Aired: January 6, 1944

Keywords: "Suspense Alan Ladd episode," "One-Way Ride to Nowhere radio drama," "1944 Suspense radio," "Ocean City amusement park mystery," "roller coaster murder mystery," "classic Roma Wines Suspense," "1940s detective thriller radio."

Cast: Alan Ladd (as Tom Dwyer), with supporting cast (unnamed in transcript)

Sponsor: Roma Wines

Producer/Director: William Spear

Writer: Robert L. Richards

Notable Elements: Features a clever blend of noir detective elements with an amusement park setting, creating a unique atmosphere for this murder mystery. The episode showcases Alan Ladd in his prime, during what the announcer describes as his "sensational rise to stardom."