Neal Cream, Doctor of Poison

Originally Aired: September 17, 1951 Suspense #439, "Neal Cream, Doctor of Poison," presents the chilling story of Dr. Neal Cream, a calculating murderer who slowly poisons his wife Emily over six months. After her death is attributed to a refined intestinal disorder, Cream relocates to London and takes lodgings at a boarding house run by the widow Mrs. Minnes and her daughter Daisy. Though he finds Daisy charming and honest, Cream decides it's too soon to pursue her. Instead, he turns his attention to Mildred Vickers, a sweet young woman with rosy cheeks whom he meets at a pub in Hammersmith and showers with flattering attentions. When Millie suddenly breaks off their relationship because her young man is returning from sea, Cream's veneer of civility begins to crack. His desperation and anger surface as he insists on one last conversation, revealing the dangerous obsession lurking beneath his gentlemanly facade. Based on the true story of history's most notorious poisoner, this episode stars Charles Lawton as the sinister Dr. Cream, whose murderous impulses threaten to claim another victim.