What happens
Joe and Anne are a young couple whose toddler, Sandy, is playing in the house while they tend to household chores. A phone call and a boat-shaped toy draw their attention, and Joe steps down into the cellar, leaving Sandy alone in the hall. When the cellar door swings shut and locks, the parents find themselves trapped on the wrong side, unable to reach their child. Desperate to get the door open, they try prying at the lock with pliers and a screwdriver, while Sandy wanders the house and the water runs in the bathtub. Their frustration grows as they argue, and each attempt to free themselves seems to fail. The story is part of the CBS radio series Suspense, first broadcast on January 24, 1956, with Paula Winslow and Harley Bear starring.
A suburban house on a Sunday, with a bathroom, kitchen, hallway and a cellar door that locks from the outside.
Characters: Joe, Anne, Sandy
Listen for: The sound of Sandy moving around the house, the phone, and the parents struggling with the lock.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.