Detective and Mystery – Retro Radio Podcast

A prize fighter could be involved with shady characters, and a payoff to take a dive. Which will win, his good sportsmanship, or the debt he owes and needs to pay off fast? Elsewhere, Archie and Nero have their own financial woes when Mr Rainey, the fighter’s promoter enters. What happened with the missing boxer? Archie is sent out to observe, and look for clues… like finding the fighter’s body under the canvass boxing ring at the gym? A visit to Larson is in order, but he lost plenty on the boxer. Does that mean he has motive for murder? His wife’s hat was found at the crime scene. Somebody has some explaining to do. Information could be forthcoming, but only if the da me is paid. Jealousy could be a motive for her to have killed her boyfriend… until a shot rings out and kills her. Don’t you just love it when all the possible suspects get killed off. It kinda takes all the mystery out of who did it, and leaves only figuring out how and why the killer murdered their man.

A new case is phoned in, but the home bound Nero Wolfe isn’t inclined to leave his easy chair, until he learns it involves the florist, and a shipment of orchids. Enid is sweet on the orchid specialist, John, but her uncle is ready to cut her out of his will if she pursues the relationship. Once Archie lays eyes on Enid, he is smitten with the Venus with arms. As Nero looks at the orchids, Archie discovers a body among the lilies. By the time Nero goes to see, the body has disappeared, and the fresh blood trail convinces the detectives it wasn’t imaginary. Was it the florist, who owed Hansen money? Or possibly that orchid specialist who has the hots for Enid? Since Nero is out, he goes with Archie to learn more at the Hansen home. Both Enid and John seem to be innocent of knowing the whereabouts of uncle Hansen. Nero thinks otherwise, and claims Enid is a killer. Is he on to something? Archie has stumbled onto the body again, but after a thump on the head, the bashful body has once again disappeared. Back in town, and at the florist, will there be a second body to be found? Isn’t it about time to get the police in on the act? Nero has had enough and goes home. Calling the players into his home, Nero reviews all the points of the case, and exposes the mystery, and killer.

In the office, Effie is acting awfully nervous. Does she have a surprise to spring on Sam? Moving from the unpleasant surprise of his missing calendar… and he even met the girl who posed for it too… Sam begins his report. What does Eve hope Sam to do, after a domestic dispute at her apartment building? After a thump on the head, Sam only has the bottle that hit him, and Apple of Eve nail polish. The trouble is that his client has also been found, only she didn’t do as well. Eve has been murdered while at her dressing table. Taking a closer look at the murder scene, the bottle of nail polish is a clue, along with clues pointing to a gambler turned yachtsman. What else will Sam find in his pursuit of the nail polish? Jealousy of a jilted lover may be the cause, but will the shady characters be their own worst enemies? Will Sam find Gorce Hagan, the yachtsman, in time to prevent mor murder? There’s something fishy happening, but Sam doesn’t lay it on the line until another corpse makes the scene, and confronts the killer.

Johnny gets called on a case to protect a little old lady. The spry, flirtatious wheelchair bound lady tells of her worries that after her husbands’ death years ago where she inherited his fortune, that history may repeat itself. She tells of her niece and nephew who may be out to knock her off for her money. Johnny lays out a plan to lure the young relatives into a trap, but he learns a secret about dear old granny. With lies exposed, Johnny faces down a couple henchmen hired by the old lady, but that’s only the beginning of this twisted tale of a disfunctional, greedy family, and their multilayered story of mistrust. Who can Johnny trust? Ride along as he untangles the mystery and exposes the real truth for his insurance agency.

Santa Claus is coming, and he’s going to pay a visit to Nero Wolfe. Someone is out to kill Santa, at least the ones who stand on street corners, ringing bells are in danger. Can Nero put a stop to it? A wealthy benefactor of a charity poses as Santa every year, and he tells Nero his concern for his own safety. Nero still isn’t sure whether the killings are because Mr Barton is the target, or if something else is afoot with the charity. Being a large man, you would think Nero would volunteer to fill out the red suit to stand on the corner. Instead, he gets a kick out of the idea of sending the slender Archie to fill Santa’s shoes. On the street, Archie gets to meet a cute dame as he gathers clues about the charity. Reporting back to Nero, and with the blonde in tow, Nero thinks he knows the connection to the murdered Santa’s. Archie still has to do some foot work, but with all the players brought together, Nero untangles the twists. Continuing with caution, the cops could take credit for catching the cruel killers. -11 Abbott and Costello – Lucille Ball’s Nylons. 43111

Candy gets a phone call concerning a confidential matter. Even though it interrupts her day sunbathing at her penthouse apartment, and her enjoyment of listening to the football game, it pays cash up front, so she’s on the case. A local restaurant owner has a problem of a body in his walk in freezer. To make it fairly wierd, it’s a body in a devil suit. To keep his up scale business respectable, Candy does what she can to figure out the murder. With her friend Rembrandt, she approaches police detective Mallard to put out some feelers, but keep things discrete. Is that possible? When she decides to spill the beans to Mallard, and show him, the body is gone. Great for dramatic affect, but bodies don’t just walk away on their own. Candy is off to figure out who else might have known about it and who might have had the motive to move it. The devil suit is a clue that finds Candy at the opera. The body makes another appearance floating in the river. Where are all these crazy clues leading? Who is moving the body? Candy keeps poking into the matter to reveal the big secrets behind the killer, the motive, and, all the craziness. But not before the killer strikes again, and Candy closes in, in dramatic scenes that bring memories of the phantom of the opera to mind. There’s even a suspenseful chase, deep within the bowels of the opera house to nab the bad guy.

Or, The Corpse in the Murphy Bed. It’s the time of year for vacations, and in the office of Sam Spade, will somebody be taking a trip soon? The client with the confusing name, Overjord, phones Sam with a serious problem. What kind of trouble could the sweet, Mrs Overjord possibly have? Investigating her wealthy husband, and a missing necklace is the cause for Sam to cross paths with a notorious jewel theif. A link to the Overjord necklace is made, but the case of theft escalates to murder. Besides turning up the uninsured jewels, Sam’s search for clues turns up a different set of Mr and Mrs Overjord. The Norwegian couple seem to have a knack for being locked in closets. Meanwhile, Sam heads back to confront his client, doubting that she has been telling the truth about who she really is. Though Sam’s question is a simple one, who put the corpse in the Murphy bed, Joy lays out the smoke screens, and thick. Where will her over reacting leave Sam? The stolen jewel mystery is easy enough for Sam to untangle, and in his report, he explains the events that led to the corpse.

A woman is alone on her farm with her mentally challenged son, and fears for her safety. With her husband long dead she worries that her brother is ineffectual to help, and her closest neighbor ought to have been put in prison. George arrives on the scene, and smells something fishy going on. There’s a matter of a missing broache, and strange deaths begin to occur. Baby chicks are found dead, then dogs are mutillated. Is the slow minded son behind it? Is he the real danger in the story? He is certainly capable of the violent acts, but he has the mentality of a small child. George investigates the suspicious neighbor, Schroeder. Things get hectic as emotions run high, but in the end George exposes the real culprit behind the strife, and what they hoped to accomplish.

That chair born genius, and mountain of a man among detectives is back, when a cute red head comes calling. Mary Dunning is a secretary at the ecological foundation, an agency to study animals. Her boss has been missing for 3 days. After a stranger visited, he disappeared. Is there a legitimate worry? Nero insists Miss Dunning take the case to the police. Though Archie is sympathetic to her, Nero is certain she’s been lying. Later, Archie reports there’s still a missing persons case. This time it’s Stevens who is back, but Mary who is gone. The bodies begin appearing when Stevens is shot, and Mary is still missing. Dirt emerges regarding the financial matters at the foundation. Who else stands to benefit with a change of leadership at the foundation? Miss Toliver is Steven’s fiancee. Peter Down is the replacement for the vacant position of executive director, and something of a playboy. A secret love between Laura Toliver, and Peter is exposed. Twists keep coming when Mary is found tied u0 in Peter’s apartment. Yet another character enters the scene when Schwartz has news about Stevens. What does he know about the secret love affair, or Mary? Nero has a few questions to clarify, but he soon has enough to hand the matter over to the cops.

Join Johnny Dollar on an exotic trip to the tropics. If it’s not a case of insurance fraud, his company may need to pay out after a missing man has encountered a band of canibals as their guest of honor. Johnny fights the tropical heat as he takes a river boat into the interior of the island. If he’s lucky, Johnny will find his man, if not he may just end up as the next banquet for the canibals. But if that’s not enough there’s plenty of shady white men who stand in his way, and a dame in a sarong to pull at Johnny’s heartstrings.

Sam’s latest case is confusing, not only for Effie, but possibly even to him. Armando and his daughter have a difficult job that will require all of Sam’s attentions for the next 24 hours. The Rios family doesn’t have a lot, but they have his fee. Armando speaks no English, a matter that complicates things for a bodyguard. But the gun shot through the window speaks the language Sam understands. Is revenge the motive? Doing his best to keep his client safe, Sam hits the streets, and heads to the captain of a ship where Armando works. Is Armando a lazy drunk? Is he out chasing women? Sam discovers he is involved in growing the red amapola, or the poppy plant. Is Armando involved in drug trafficking? Things come to a boil when that gunman with the silenced .45 automatic gets Sam on the business end of the weapon. The body count rises, and Sam’s client seems to have an open and shut case against him. Is Armando now on a killing spree of revenge? A curious clue clinches the case for Sam, and while the cops deal with the alleged killer, our hard boiled detective confronts the cutie behind the smuggling operation. . How did he figure it out? How did this mystery unravel? Stay tuned to the full report, as dictated to his secretary, Effie Perine.

Everyone’s favorite freelance insurance investigator lays out his expenses in locating the little man who wasn’t there. A matter of fraud from a man who had his wife insured, and is trying to collect. Mr Yarbo has a way of arranging messy vehicle accidents. Johnny makes the rounds to his list of victims, but it will take a visit to Mr Yarbo himself to get the information that Johnny needs. Instead, Johnny walks right into a booby trap. What kind of strategy should Johnny take to extract the confession he’s looking for? How about just fighting and bluffing his way out? Johnny learns of a possible inside connection for the elusive Mr Yarbo. Now he needs to poke holes in the insurance claims filed for the various murders. A little wierd mental instability and love interest flavors the show, but it doesn’t keep Johnny from getting his man.

Good audio quality. At a big town newspaper, Edward G Robinson plays a relentless editor out for the news at any cost. His social columnist, played by Claire Trevor, tries to plead for the people his stories ruin. When Steve Wilson discovers the sordid past of a socialite, can anything throw him off the juicy story he’s after? He does her wrong, but will she make good on her promise to come to gun him down. Placing a lot of trust on the civil nature of those in high society, Steve seems to forget the depths of the woman’s past. You know… all that dirt she had to climb out from under to get to where she is today? Maybe he’s just totally unconcerned about his own demise. What will it take to soften Steve up? What good is dedication to the story if there’s a bullet in you? It’s going to take a brush with raw courage, but in the end shows that he still has a heart. Bonus Trrack Keith has gone digging in his archives of detective shows, in order to bring the listeners more of what they seem to like. The proof is in the download count. There isn’t a lot more of Big Town than the shows that can already be found on the web sit, but if tny can be dug up, we’ll get them out there for you. The Ben Selven Orchestra – You Said It. Probably from the early 1930’s.

Mr Channing is a high powered business executive, not tolerating insolence in employees. He had once had a thing with his secretary, Brenda, but the rude exec now thinks of her as too fleshy, as opposed to the flashy dame she once was. When Channing is found dead, there are no shortages of people to accuse. Employees who are fired, those who are disgruntled, not to mention an unhappy wife, all need to be questioned. After sorting through the people who had an issue with the victim, Nero has a special reason to be irritated with Brenda’s fiancee. She doesn’t like orchids, and her boyfriend thinks daisies are a better flower. Left alone with Archie, Nero reviews the list of employees who were there, and hated Channing. Though he’s grumpy on the outside, when a report that Archie is in danger comes to the large detective, we find a worried Nero rushing out to see what the problem is. The stunt doesn’t endear Brenda to Nero. Will he learn anything from being at the crime scene? The key employees, and Mrs Channing are on hand as Nero works out the last moments of Mr Channings life. The obvious answers may be too obvious, but Nero isn’t fooled. He shares all the details over a beer with Archie. .

Belvidere is an island, visible in the bay, and from Sam’s office. Met by an intriguing oriental girl, Sam meets her benefactor, and his new client, Mr Battle. The artist shows off his paintings, and sends Sam on his way to meet up with an old nemesis. Captain Theophilos Sherry. The rival of Sam’s, from cases in the past, lives in the neighboring house. Get ready for a locked room mystery. What excuses does Captain Sherry have for Sam? We learn some backstory to the mystery and motive. How did paths cross to bring Sherry into the story? How does the cute oriental girl play into the story? Sam investigates to see where everybody was at the time of the murder. To prove his theory, our hard boiled detective sets up a recreation of the murder scene. The skeptical Sam uncovers the killer, but wait… there’s more explaining to do to get to putting Sherry on the spot. Sam explains all in his report to Effie.