Ardel Wray inspired by the life of the notorious English pirate Edward Teach and set to star Boris Karloff. Remarried and living in Hollywood, Wray left RKO shortly before she gave birth to her daughter in May 1945. Her last produced screenplay for Lewton, "Isle of the Dead", was released in September of that year, a few days after Japan surrendered, ending WWII. Lewton's films had played a major role in returning RKO to profitability during WWII but, when the war ended, audiences lost interest in horror movies. When Bedlam lost money, RKO did not renew Lewton's contract and his group disbanded.
Open the Window – Close the Door: Live in Japan to split up, following one last concert tour. The final leg of the tour took place in Japan, beginning on 8 March 2000 and ending eleven days later (a final UK show was later scheduled for May). Of the nine shows on the Japanese Farewell Tour, four took place at Club Citta in Kawasaki on 12, 13, 14 and 19 March. Recordings from these shows made up "Open the Window – Close the Door: Live in Japan". On 5 November 1999, Thunder released a statement which revealed that they had decided to break up. The announcement explained that "After a