Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Model Picture Matter (EP1507)

Transcript

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Model Picture Matter (EP1507) · Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas

0:28
Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise Idahol. This is
0:34
your host, Adam Graham. If you have a common email it to me
0:39
Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives,
0:45
and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com slash Radio
0:50
Detectives. Before we do get started, I do want to let you know
0:54
that the show is brought to you by the financial support of our listeners.
0:58
As our listener support camping can and I particularly want to thank Patricia and also
1:06
Karen so much for their support. We'll send along access to the premium site
1:08
and an edition. For all donations of twenty dollars or more, will send
1:14
you one ebook and one additional thank you gift of your choice. You have
1:18
a choice of seven e books and then an additional thank you gift. Among
1:23
the items available at the twenty dollars level, we can send you a Perry
1:29
Mason audio drama from our friends at Colonial Radio Theater on the Air. This
1:34
is not based on the nineteen fifties TV show, but rather on the original
1:40
books Spiral Stanley Gardner, and they're very well acted, very entertaining and we'll
1:45
send you one of these releases for any donation of twenty dollars or more.
1:49
Also at the one hundred dollars level, if you like Johnny Dollar, we
1:53
will send you either volume one the pre Bailey Years, Volume two the Bailee
2:00
Years, or Volume three the Post Bailey Years in John c Abbott's very well
2:05
written Who Is Johnny Dollar Book, which contains a complete episode guide for each
2:10
era, and it's a great resource for fans of the show. You can
2:15
also find out what happened in lost episodes because mister Abbott went to the library
2:21
there in Thousand Oaks got the details. And we'll send you one volume for
2:24
a donation of one hundred dollars or more, or all three for two hundred
2:29
and fifty dollars or more. Listeners in the US and Canada you can support
2:34
the show support dot Great Detectives dot net. You can also mail in the
2:38
donation and we'll let you check that out on the website. Since we're running
2:43
kind of along on the opening statement, so now it's time for today's episode
2:47
of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. The original air date November the third of nineteen
2:53
fifty seven, and the title is the Model Picture Matter from Hollywood Time now
3:00
for Johnny at mcgrag and Johnny Universal Judment Bureau. Oh hi, Pat,
3:07
what's on your mind? A beautiful model name of Darthy Blair. Hey wait,
3:13
the girl the million dollar faith, that's the one you probably got company.
3:17
She's on a lot of people's minds. Well, she's no daydream to
3:21
me. She's a night mayor. Oh gum. That faith of hers may
3:24
not be worth quite a million, but it's worth at least a hundred pounds.
3:28
That's what we've got insured for. So it looks like somebody's trying to
3:32
tear it up the policy. No, her face got blooded last night.
3:38
I want to look at her. Sure, I'll be right over Bailey in
3:51
the Exciting Adventures of the Man with the Action Pact. Expense to cow America
3:55
is populous freelance insurance investigator. Yes truly, Johnny Dollar, no act one
4:05
O. Yours truly, Johnny Dollars. Expense account submitted by Special Investigator Johnny
4:26
Dollar to the Home Office Universal Adjustment Bureau, Hertford, Connecticut. Following is
4:30
an account of expenses encourage during my investigation of the Model Picture Matter. Expense
4:38
account out of one a dollar twenty for a taxi from my apartment to your
4:42
office, Pat, where I picked up Dorothy Blair's address, then headed for
4:45
New York. That's item two thirty six twenty. I arrived at her apartment
4:48
just as the doctor left, even with a couple of bandages on her face.
4:54
I think you've got a bargain, pat ensuring it for only one hundred
4:57
thousand. I guess I'm lucky, mister Dallis. My doctor says there won't
5:00
be any permanent skies. Well, just what happened was blare Well. I
5:05
came home last evening about dinner time. I opened the door to my apartment
5:11
here and started to reach for the light switch. Then suddenly I saw a
5:15
shape beside me in the dark aw and before I could do anything, he
5:20
hit me on the side of the head. I think it was a gun.
5:25
It's donned me and I fell to the floor. Done what I remember
5:30
hearing the door plan. When I could get on my feet and turn on
5:35
the like, whoever it was had gone. Let's see. You think it
5:40
could have been a burglar looking for money or valuables. I don't think it
5:46
was a good tune, mister Dollar. Do you mean you have some idea
5:49
who it was, Well, Jerry Dunsmure, who a fashion photographer? A
5:58
creep mister? Oh the real article. Believe me, they ought to put
6:03
that guy's eyes in jail. You muddled for him before about a year ago.
6:09
I swore I'd never do it again, and I didn't until yesterday.
6:14
He'll go on. Jerry got me commissioned to do a spread on winter fashion.
6:19
He wanted to make some street shots with me and tweeted sings like that
6:24
kitchen. Well, I figured the street would be a lot safer for me
6:28
than his studio, but it didn't turn out that way. Huh No.
6:32
After the second picture he started in again with the same old line. And
6:36
he's not very subtle, believe me, So I walked out on him.
6:43
He didn't like it, But is that enough reason for him to break into
6:46
your apartment and slug you? It wouldn't be for most people, but like
6:51
I say, he's a cru Yeah, and how came its weary? Thanks?
6:57
I'll have a talk with duns we are and that was easier said than
7:03
done. I took a cab to his address that time on three dollar sixty,
7:08
but the studio was locked up. Fight so I contacted my old friend,
7:12
Detective Lieutenant Al Rico at eighteen Precinct headquarters. You think you've got troubles,
7:16
Johnny, try some of mine on side. All like what? How
7:19
like an unsolved murder? I got tossed in my lab? All that what
7:23
I've been reading about? The girl up? And yeah? Yeah yeah,
7:26
Edith Summer's no leads, sure, real fath let except it's no good her
7:30
ex boyfriend ed Chatsworth. Lots of motive, but no case alibi air tight.
7:35
So I got troubled. Not tell me yours mine when I'm trying to
7:39
get a lead on a fashion photographer named Jerry dunns Murer duns Musa. I
7:45
never heard of him. How come you're interested? Dorothy Blair got slug last
7:48
evening. Oh yeah, yeah, the girl with the million dollar face I
7:51
heard about. She thinks duns Mure might have done it. I went up
7:55
to a studio to have a talk with him, but it was locked up.
7:58
Well I'll have a file check. But if we had anything hot at
8:01
him, I think i'd remember. Yeah, well there was just a chance.
8:05
Excuse me, Rico, Why yeah, okay, I'll be right down.
8:16
It was about you Jerry Dunsmire, Johnny Hoh, A couple of my
8:20
boys have found him. Great. Yeah, they found him floating face down
8:24
in the river. Act too of yours, truly Johnny Dollar in a moment
8:33
and now Act two of yours truly Johnny Dollar and the Marvel Picture Matter expense
8:46
account at him for a dollar eting camp fire. Back to Dorothy Blair's apartment,
8:52
she had company. I'd like you to meet Edward Chandler, Johnny,
8:56
Hi, glad to meet you, mister Beller Jornathing. I wonder if I
9:00
could talk to you for a few minutes. Why I've got to be running
9:07
along anyway, there's still locate for dinner, honey, Sure, I'll think
9:11
yeah, by mister Dollar. Yeah, song Chandler, Dorothy, did you
9:18
talk to Jerry Dunn's Now? Look you say duns Muir tried to get a
9:20
dig with you when I was taking some fashion shots. If you're on the
9:24
street yesterday, that's right. He was pretty persistent about it. That's putting
9:28
it mildly, John. And you think duns Mure is the one who was
9:31
hiding in your apartment and slugged you last evening? Yeah, I think you
9:35
might have been the one like, who else could it have been? And
9:39
why are you asking me all this again? There's there's nothing you haven't told
9:46
me, Dorothy, of course not why Well, the police just fished duns
9:52
Muror's body out of the river. He was. I haven't seen a medical
9:58
examine as report yet, but it's a good bet. People don't usually go
10:01
for a swim with all their clothes off. But hook, Johnny, you
10:09
certainly don't think I had anything to do with it. I didn't say that,
10:13
Dorothy, but your tone of voice the question. Look, I'm telling
10:16
you the truth, Johnny. Can you prove it? I can prove the
10:20
part about him taking pictures of me yesterday. It's manilla envelope chain in the
10:26
mail today. Oh here, it's from Dunsmuir's studio. He always sends me
10:33
primp. See. Here's one of me in a tweet coat. Here's one
10:41
thing that took places. Okay, okay, so it took pictures. I
10:45
still want to know why you think it was dunsmu Or who slunted you,
10:48
or if you couldn't see his face in the dark hight I guess because of
10:54
the way he looked at me yesterday. Afternoon, and I told him to
10:56
stay away from me, not to call me again, said John, believe
11:01
me. You didn't see him after that. Huh, unless, of course
11:05
he was the one who slugged you in the dark. Ooh. I didn't
11:09
have anything to do with with what happened to him, and I don't know
11:16
who did. It's the truth, Johnny, Okay, Dorothy. If it
11:22
is, I'll find out sooner, ear lady. But if it isn't,
11:26
I'll find that out too. Maybe Dorothy Blair was leveling with me. But
11:35
there were a few pretty important facts I didn't know. Was it really Dunsmuir
11:39
who slugged her? And who killed duns Muir? And why? Also this
11:46
fellow i'd met at Dorothy's apartment, Edward Chandler. Where had I seen his
11:50
face before? It? Him? Five a dollars seventy five camp Here the
11:56
duns Muir studio. A blonde secretary named Susan Billings was just up when I
12:00
got there. She looked pretty dragged out. Please please, mister Dollar,
12:05
I've already told the police all I know. Right now, I don't exactly
12:09
need any more questions. What you need right now. Susan is a drink,
12:13
come on and feeling better. Susan, Oh, yeah, thanks,
12:31
but I really don't know anything it would help you, mister Dollar. How
12:33
long did you work for Jerry Dunsbire Nobody year? And you can't think of
12:37
anyone who would have reason to kill him. Nobody. You know, he
12:43
had quite a reputation for being sort of eager with some of the marvels.
12:48
That was a long time ago, mister Dolla. He changed, not according
12:52
to Dorothy Blair. I'm not interested in Dorothy Blair lies about Jerry. Tell
12:58
me you haven't a know a man named Edward Chandler. I met him at
13:01
her apartment. No that Jerry duns Muir ever mentioned him, not that I
13:05
remember. So you think dunns Muir had straightened himself out there again? I
13:13
know he had. How can you be sure he told me, you name,
13:18
mister Dollar, Jerry and I we were going to be married. Either
13:28
Dorothy had been lying, I mean about what kind of a guy duns Muell
13:31
was, or else Susan had been living in a dream world. Either way,
13:35
I was fresh out of leaves. I headed back to Lieutenant Rico's office,
13:39
hoping i'd find some there. Johnny The only thing we know for sure
13:45
about duns Mure is that he sure had a weakness for women. Yeah,
13:48
Susan Billings believed that she was his one true love. I don't know,
13:52
and I've been thinking about her. Maybe she found out about Dunsmuir's activities and
13:56
didn't like it. Responsibility, but she knows more than she's told us.
14:01
She's a pretty good actress. The same goes for Dorothy Blair, which reminds
14:05
me. I want to have another talk with Dorothy. And I picked up
14:07
a couple of names out of Dunsmeer's passed, and I want to see if
14:11
they mean anything to her. I want to come along, sureable after hurry,
14:15
hurry? Why she has a dinner day with a guy named Chandler at
14:18
eight o'clock and it's a quarter two right now, Okay, let's go there.
14:37
That's her apartment house right ahead. Wait a minute, isn't that Dorothy
14:45
coming out the front door? Yeah? With Chandler. Come on, we
14:48
can still kill it. What's better? Would you say? He was a
14:52
friend of hers? His name is Chandler. I met him in her apartment
14:54
this afternoon. Johnny and number when you came to see me today. I
14:58
told you had a murder case of my lap. I mean before the duns
15:01
Mere murder. Sure a girl, Ed A Summers, I told your ex
15:05
boyfriend with the logical suspect, except that he had an alibi. Ed Chatsworth.
15:09
Oh hey, wait a minute, I knew I'd seen that guy's picture
15:13
somewhere. It was in the paper. Dorothy introduced him as Chandler, but
15:18
his real name is Chatsworth. And now it turns out he's a friend of
15:24
Dorothy's. And you said, either Dorothy had told us all she knew,
15:28
or she was a pretty good actress. Yeah, it looks to me like
15:31
she's a pretty good actress. Act three of Yours, Truly, Johnny Dollar.
15:52
In a moment, Act three of Yours, Truly, Johnny Dollar,
15:56
and the Marble picture matters. Well, it started out as a real simple
16:08
assignment, but it hadn't stayed that way long. All of a sudden,
16:12
we had two murders on our hands, and that looked like there was a
16:15
connection between them. Now, watching Dorothy Blair leave her apartment with Ed Chatsworth,
16:21
we realized that she was somehow right in the middle of them, driving
16:26
off in his car on the tailor Hill. That won't be necessary the reasons
16:30
I questioned Chatsworth about the Edith Summer's killing, I've had a tail on him.
16:34
No, Johnny, what we better do right now is start putting some
16:37
pieces together and see what they add up to. Okay, the first victim
16:41
was Eda Summers, killed in her apartment the black and arms, and you
16:45
figure that her ex boyfriend ed Chatsworth had the motive. We heard the Chatsworth
16:49
wanted to drop her, but she wouldn't drop. But you say he has
16:52
an alibi. Two people swear he was out of the city the day that
16:55
she was killed. Her the right, Dorothy Blair gets slugged in her apartment.
17:00
She thinks the photographer guns Mrror did it. Then duns Muir winds up
17:03
dead that night. Right, and now we find out Dorothy and Chat'sworth are
17:07
friends. He can stand up, Johnny. You think Chatsworth was trying to
17:12
drop either Summers for Dorothy. If so, maybe they rigged the deal.
17:17
Chatsworth was to get out of town. I was Dorothy Handlee Summers. Oh?
17:21
In that case, you're figuring guns Muir found out about the deal and
17:23
came to blackmail Doroth. Right, she won't go for it, so least
17:26
lux her. Then either she or Chatsworth or both of them decided to close
17:30
duns Mure's mouth for keeps. That's the possibility. All, yeah, it
17:37
is a possibility, isn't it. Al dropped me off at my hotel and
17:44
headed back to his office. I had him six two dollars drinks. Well,
17:48
I thought about the picture Al and I had built up to explain the
17:51
killing. What was all pretty logical, But somehow I couldn't buy it.
17:56
Maybe Mike al had hinted that million dollar faith had gotten to me. If
18:02
I could only talk to her alone, I felt I could find out how
18:04
she was lying. About ten o'clock, I went back to her apartment,
18:11
no answer, probably still out to dinner. I was about to leave when
18:15
she stepped off the innovator. Why Jileny, Hell Dorothy, I'd like to
18:26
talk to you, but I'm afraid I haven't time right now. Chamber's Jath
18:30
parking his car. He'll be up in a few minutes. We have business.
18:34
Your friend will have to wait. I want to talk with him,
18:40
all right, for just a minute. I don't understand all this. John,
18:48
Well, let's stand out calling your friend Shandler by his real name.
18:51
Huh, Why I had chance? I don't understand. I thought his name
18:56
is Chandley. Oh yeah, what's it's all about, John Oh? Drop
19:02
the act, Dorothy. I suppose the name Chatsworth doesn't mean anything to you.
19:06
I know how about either Summers? Wait, she was the girl who
19:11
was killed the day before? Yes, she sure was. I read about
19:15
it in the papers, But I didn't know her, Johnny, you're sure
19:19
you and Chatsworth didn't happen to arrange her death? Johnny, what's this all
19:26
about? And your friend Dun's yourror? He wasn't buying any chance trying to
19:30
blackmail you. I don't know what you were talking about. Please believe me.
19:37
I couldn't have anything to do with either of those killing Johnny, I
19:42
swear it. Okay, okay, Dorothy. I guess I never caught by
19:49
it. But I don't get this buddy buddy routine you and Ed Chatsworth.
19:56
I only met Ed Chatsworth or Chambers, he called himself yesterday. I'll tell
20:03
that again. That's right. He said he was organizing a big promotion and
20:07
wanted to feature me in it. Why would he give you a line like
20:10
that. I didn't realize it was a line. He sounded very convincing.
20:15
He said he wanted to see some of my pictures, to see your pictures,
20:18
pictures. Wait a minute, those pictures, duns, we are took
20:22
of you. Ed's coming up any minute to see them. He wanted to
20:25
see some outdoor shots, he said, wonder duns were take those shots the
20:29
day before, yesterday, the day Edith was killed. Where did he take
20:33
them? We moved around from place to play. You still have the pictures
20:40
right there. Let's take a look. Are these already took? As far
20:45
as I know, nothing here except you? Why it? Wait? Waits?
20:52
The shot looks like the front of an apartment house. Part of the
20:57
name in the picture arms the apartment where Edith was killed. Johnny. Look
21:04
in the background a man stepping out of the apartment house on a focus hardly
21:14
is there a service entrance to your apartment? Somebody just came in. Get
21:17
down. I shoved it to the floor and hit the light switch none too
21:22
soon. I eased out my gun, but couldn't see a thing, and
21:25
I knew I had to locate him before he located us. There was a
21:29
cigarette lighter on the coffee table. I heaved it toward the kitchen in My
21:33
aim was pretty good. The flash of his gun pegged him for me.
21:40
I turned on the lights. It was Chatsworth, all right. I'd hit
21:44
him in the shoulder, but he'd keep for the state. Johnny, he's
21:51
the one who killed us Edith's Yeah, sure he had an alibi, rig
21:56
but he spoiled it by walking out of her apartment into the background of that
22:00
picture. Duns me Or took a view. He's also the one was in
22:03
my apartment. He probably recognized you by your face. Figured he could find
22:07
the name of the photographer here. Slugged you when you came in. I
22:11
thought it was Jerry Dunn's mrror good cheerish. Yeah. Well, I imagine
22:18
when Chatsworth comes to we'll find that he killed dunsmu Or to get the negative.
22:22
He certainly wanted that picture. Yeah, most pictures don't do people justice,
22:30
but I guess this one will do him all right. I'd have made
22:37
thirty six dollars eighty cents transportation back home expense account total one hundred three dollars.
22:44
Even remarks, well, there's a little snapper at the story. Pat
22:49
you know that picture Chanceworth was knocking himself out to get He didn't realize it,
22:56
but his face in the background was far too blurred to make an identification.
23:00
Yours truly, Johnny Dollar. Our star will return in just a moment.
23:19
Now here is our star. I'll tell you about next week's story.
23:22
Next week, Well, the Darling of the Heart comes back to plague me
23:26
again. My old friend Meg McCarthy, So join us, won't you?
23:30
Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, welcome back. Well. Of all murder motives
24:10
from murder, the taking of an unintentional picture maybe one that requires the most
24:18
suspension of disbelief, particularly if it's not done well. I remember one TV
24:23
episode where a murder was committed because a girl took a picture of somebody else
24:32
man was in the background, and this would incriminate him. Now, there
24:36
was, of course, no indication that this would be displayed prominently anywhere,
24:40
or that anyone would be able to associate it. In fact, usually with
24:45
these particular mysteries, the only way it works out that the criminal gets caught
24:51
is because the detective looks into it and locates the picture. Otherwise, two
24:56
or three days after the fact, nobody's going to member of these exact circumstances
25:02
of WINNI picture was taken. This episode did a better job than average with
25:07
this particular scenario, and it was helped a little bit by the fact that
25:14
the killer could tell that he was dealing with a professional photographer. And I
25:19
think a professional photographer is certainly going to keep them in the keep the print,
25:29
plus, depending on what he's doing the job for, it could be
25:32
displayed anywhere, and even if it didn't include the date, if you killed
25:40
somebody, you'd be very nervous about something showing up in a magazine. So
25:44
I think they did. They did a good job of couching it as in
25:48
a very believable way. Also, I was very excited at the end to
25:53
hear we're going to have megback, which I believe, if I'm not mistaken,
25:57
it was from the Makes Matter back during the serial run. I continue
26:03
to love the amount of continuity and returning characters put into Johnny Dollar. It
26:08
really is just such a unique feature of this particular series. All right,
26:14
Well, now we turn to listener comments and feedback, and we have a
26:21
comment from Patricia who says, I have to thank you for the years of
26:26
blissful sleep. The Great Detectors of Old Time Radio has been a part of
26:30
my bedtime listening routine for a long time. Now it's the last thing I
26:33
listened to before drifting off. I knew the show would serve well in this
26:37
capacity. Is twenty five years ago a local TV station played old Terry Mason
26:41
episodes at my bedtime, and those shows work the same magic. There's comfort
26:47
and the familiarity of the voices and even the plot structure. Aside from telling
26:52
you how much I appreciate your show and the work you do to make it
26:55
available to us week in and week out, I was spurred to finally write
26:59
today for two reasons. One, your fun raising campaign is underway and I
27:03
really wanted to contribute done. And Two, for the last few nights,
27:07
Stitcher has not been offering your show. I received an email from Stitcher this
27:11
morning explaining their difficulties and assurances that it will soon be addressed and set right.
27:17
In the meantime, I've added The Great Detectives to my iTunes podcast and
27:21
tune in radio list, so I'm sure not to miss an episode. And
27:25
thank you Patricia and that she's from Toronto, Ontario and definitely a good way
27:30
to have yourself covered in case one particular APT fails, and listeners can also
27:37
go to the website at Great Detectives dot net and download the file of the
27:41
day to their computer if that works form as well. Now we have a
27:45
comment regarding episode fourteen ninety five, the Mary Grace Matter, and Bobby Lee
27:53
says, love seeing the other side of Johnny and certainly that was a very
28:00
interesting performance and very different. It just gives a little peek into the heart
28:04
into the character of Johnny Dawler. And then we had a tweet from Tampa
28:14
Girl fl who says, regarding our Bold Venture episode, the Spanish accent sound
28:22
more like Russian. Haha. I love the show. Well, thanks so
28:25
much, and I actually the accents did sound a little bit off, but
28:33
sometimes that is just the case with Golden Age radio programs. And it may
28:40
have been that they were trying to affect a different type of Latin American accent
28:45
for realism, because this story was set in the Dominican Republic, so they
28:52
may have been reaching for something just outside their normal range. And then this
28:56
comment from Wes who has been listening to our old shows, and I do
29:00
appreciate his comments. Most of them would just require too much backstory on to
29:07
read on the air. But I like him leading the comments so people who
29:10
come and listen later hear them. But Wes says, regarding episode seven eighty
29:18
three, let George do it the Starlight Peer. At the very end of
29:22
this episode, you talk briefly about names creeping into the shows that now decades
29:27
later, we recognize from someone else, like characters named Jimmy Carter. I
29:33
found this very funny listening in February twenty fifteen because the announcer listed the other
29:38
actors heard in this program, and the last one named was Eric Snowden.
29:44
That's a name we'd recognize in twenty fifteen, but would have meant nothing in
29:48
October twenty twelve when you posted this. Thanks so much, Wes. Appreciate
29:52
the comment and nice catch, and not one I would notice just because I
29:56
don't tend to go and listen to my old stuff, So appreciate you sharing.
30:02
Tomorrow we return with Dragnet and join us back here next Friday for yours
30:07
truly, Johnny Dollar. In the meantime, I do encourage you to support
30:11
our listener support campaign support dot Great Detectives dot net and among the thank you
30:18
gifts, we do have our gift certificates to radio archives dot com. This
30:22
is a small business and I really love the quality of sound on their reproductions.
30:30
It's really premium, almost luxurious, I think would be a very good
30:33
word for their sound. And you can choose from some of their smaller old
30:37
time radio sets or their larger ones. For a donation fifty dollars, we'll
30:42
send you a gift card good for one of their smaller sets, and a
30:47
one hundred dollar will send you one that's good for one of their larger sets.
30:51
In terms of the downloads, it's particularly nice because it's high quality and
30:55
if you're outside the country you can just listen to it downloaded on your computer
30:59
and not have to have something shipped out at any rate. Full of the
31:02
less available items at support dot great, detectives dot net, and uh mail
31:07
in donations if you lock to peelbox one five nine one three Boise, Idaho
31:12
eight three seven one five, plase review restrictions and be sure checks are made
31:17
out to Adam Graham uh And speaking of that, I am here and that's
31:21
all for today from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam graham
31:25
Son and off