The Woman in Red: Identity for Sale

Originally Aired: April 6, 1944 The Woman in Red: Identity for Sale: In this harrowing tale from Suspense, Academy Award-winner Katina Paxinou stars as Miss Crabo, a seemingly kind yet deeply sinister woman who traps a young, vulnerable woman in a deadly scheme of espionage and impersonation. Julia Ross, desperate for work and with no close ties, answers an ad for a secretary and is lured into a luxurious but isolated home by Miss Crabo and her nephew, Carl. What begins as a strange but seemingly benign job offer soon descends into a nightmare. Drugged and manipulated, Julia wakes up to find herself being called “Sheila Campbell” — the identity of Crabo’s former companion who mysteriously disappeared. The sinister pair intend to pass Julia off as Sheila and stage her “suicide,” thereby tying off loose ends in an underground espionage operation. But Julia’s spirit proves stronger than they expect. With her life on the line, she secretly slips a note to a stranger and sets in motion a daring rescue involving British Intelligence. In a thrilling final twist, Carl's guilt becomes the key to unraveling the whole plot—and Julia escapes her captors just in time. The Woman in Red is a taut psychological thriller steeped in identity theft, gaslighting, and wartime paranoia, delivering one of Suspense’s most gripping and twisted narratives. Keywords: "Suspense The Woman in Red episode," "April 1944 Suspense radio," "Katina Paxinou thriller performance," "identity theft radio drama," "British Intelligence undercover story," "Roma Wines classic radio," "espionage and manipulation story." Cast: Katina Paxinou, Hans Conried, George Coulouris, Joseph Kearns, William Spier.