Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Crime and Peter Chambers: The Burke Murder Frame (EP1408)

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Crime and Peter Chambers: The Burke Murder Frame (EP1408) · Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas

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Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
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is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
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to me Box thirteen at Greatdetectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio
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Detectives, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com slash
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Radio Detectives. Before we do get started, I do want to let you
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know today's program is brought to you by the financial support of our listeners,
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and you can support the show at support do Great Detectives dot net. Well,
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today we begin a series Crime and Peter Chambers. Peter Chambers came on
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the air in April of nineteen fifty four to replace the Frank Sinatra detective program
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Rocky Fortune. Sinatra's Oscar winning performance in From Here to Eternity really brought his
1:27
career back around, and so he wasn't interested in continuing. Peter Chambers was
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a character who appeared in a series of novels written by Henry Kane and mostly
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standard detective stories until the late nineteen sixties when they tended to get a little
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bit more racy. Of course, this program was from nineteen fifty four,
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so that was neither here nor there. As we do get started with Crime
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and Peter Chambers. I'll be honest that this is a series you'll have to
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have a little pation swift to enjoy. That said, let's go ahead and
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take a listen to this episode the Bruce Burke murder frame up. The original
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air date April sixth of nineteen fifty four. Crime and Peter Chambers created by
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Henry Kine, transcribed and starring Dane Clark, a private investigator duly licensed,
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and Julie Sworn. Peter Chambers. You're a private eye. That's your business.
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Anything else that's a lass. You've got a slam of the sun coming
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in the office window, your feet around the desk, and you're relaxed.
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Business is lousy, but you've got no kicks. You're young, you're strong,
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you've got a few bucks in the bank. And it's a beautiful day,
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you Peter Chambers, all of me, lady, beautiful day, isn't
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it? Not for you? Not for long anyway. She's a cute little
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trick, but nervous as a puppy with fleas. She's wearing a tan suit.
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Motives were a figure and properly protruding the rest isn't perfect taste. Black
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nylons, black shoes, and black blouse and black gloves, so she spoils
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it. She dips into her bag, and what she produces doesn't quite go
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with the ensemble, because now she's wearing a pearl handled gun and her right
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fist looks like a thirty eighth and it's pointing directly at you. So you
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scrape back out of your chair and you go to her. Stand back,
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Stand back, Honey, you're not even holding the gun, right, I
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know what I'm doing. Keep away from me. You're shaking like you're practicing
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to be a coach. Dance. I relaxing, Ladies, I've got the
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gun, and you're still shaking. I said, down, lady, what's
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your name's Corey? What do you do for a living? A gun?
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Mile? You went, I'm an actress working. Yes, come on,
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sister, this is like pulling key. Let's have it all in one lump.
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I have the second lead. The lady dances. It's in rehearsal.
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It's my first real job. It's produced by Jack Burke. He hurt me
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anything else? Where do you live? Ten thirteen East thirty ninth Street To
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be still with me? It's your gun, remember, Okay, I drop
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it in my jacket pocket like so see, no more gun. Now what's
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this jiggle all about? Look, it's a beautiful day. I'm sitting around
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with my feet on the desk, beaming my own personal little dream. So
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a dame drops in, bringing around a roscoe, and the roscoe is blinking
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its eye at me. So I got a right to ask what's it all
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about? But I I can't. Oh that's coherent. Now let's do it
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incoherent this time. I came here to kill you. Why I was sent
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by whom? Bruce Burke, Bruce Burker, when I was all in the
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family, Jack Burt, Bruce Burk, two lonely brothers. Well I never
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met your producer, but Bruce, bruceie boy, I know, I'm gently
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sorry to me. I don't think I couldn't. I couldn't, I know.
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Like, all right, Elsa, Elsa, Cory Simon down, just
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make yourself at home. I'll be back. Where are you going to pay
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a call on? Brucey boy? Maybe he can fill me in where you
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can't, and I'll go away. Baby Papa will be back. Bruce Burke
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a crumb right out of the bread box, a bum with a couple of
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million bucks, a sharp shooter that owns a nightclub called the Flame. You
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put the light out on the Flame about a year ago, hooked him for
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watering his stock. So it's a beautiful day only for you. Suddenly it's
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beginning to shape up. Cloudy. You get to his park ave you address,
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stick your finger on the buzzard. Nobody's home when you've been there before.
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A twelve room suite for Brucey and his missus. Plus she's got an
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apartment on the side, and just for kicks, you try the knob,
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and very conveniently, the door is not locked. You're inside, but you
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don't go far. Bruce Burke is napping face down. Only when you go
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to turn him over. Brucey boys napping days are finished. A guy stiff
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as a bugle, two bullet holes in his face, and his rigid leers
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like a spiteful grin. And suddenly you feel it. Call it extra sensory
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perception. You know you've been yanked into a deal that you ought to get
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out of fast. You do a bee line for the door, You pull
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it open, and you're a face to face with detective Lieutenant Louis Parker,
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New York City Police Homicide. Hi, Pete fancy as they save me to
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you here, lieutenant, same fancy goes me. What brings you? Jingle
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on the phone? What they call anonymous? I see, come in,
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Thanks for the welcome Shamas. Hey, what have we got here? Corpse
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body used to belong to Bruce Burke plus plus what kid? Plus? I've
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got to hunch a little frame job with me in the middle. Take a
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look at this, a little encumbering I'm carrying in my pocket. I handle
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it. You notice by the muzzle pearl handle thirty eight revolve? Okay,
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what's scoop cricket? Lieutenant? I have a vague notion you're going to find
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two shells discharge. I also have a notion that ballistics will show that the
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two bullets and this monkey came out of the gun. You're holding two hunks
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of lead, missing figures, and my fingerprints on the handle, and my
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fingerprints on the doorknob, and me and Bruce Spurt's supposed to have a huge
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going I hope you've got a good story for me. Kid. We've been
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friends a long time, and a little dame wearing gloves I'll bet mine are
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the only fingerprints on that Roscoe. Better be a good story, kiddo.
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So Lulu, Lieutenant Lendoneer. You tell him the tale and he listens.
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Though he's an old friend you've worked together for years. He promises a thorough
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check on the situation, and you promised me down to see him to check
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the check. You leave him the pearl handle pistol, and you leg it
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to the next spot that might furnish little information. The lady dances rehearsing at
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the Askot on forty eighth off Broadway. Backstage, there's one solitary guy working
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a song on a piano. Well, what do you want? Bub looking
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for Jack Burke. I'm Jack Burke. Stands up from the piano, very
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fashionable type, white Hares, lends a figure two hundred dollars suit. Well
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what is it, young man? What do you want here? I thought
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there was a rehearsal going on. It's all for a while, oh man,
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I asked, No, you may not ask what do you want here?
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Her name's Peter Chambers. I'm a private detective. I'd like to inquire
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about a young lady and miss Elsa Corey. I'm not messing into the affairs
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of every private hummus that comes barging backstage for some cock eyed reason of his
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own. Look, I haven't got the time. Just one little minute,
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mister Burke. Oh like that is it? You want to play tough boy?
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Huh? Willie? A muscle bound monster comes ambling out of the wings.
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The guy's six foot fourn practically as wide as he's long. Willie's got
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a face that's half moron, half pig, and the part of the pig
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is dangling in a couple of ham like hands. But you're not worried about
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Willie. You've got a large ego and a lot of confidence, and you
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think you can take Willie if you have the time. But right now you
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don't have the time. So you turn from Willie to get back to Jack
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Burke. But you've underestimated Willie. Willie's not as amiable as he looks.
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You get a hit in the head, like a stroke of paralysis, and
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the lights blaze and start whirling, and then there are no more lights.
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There's blackness, whirling, spinning, black blackness. You open your eyes and
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you're sitting on the sidewalks fraw like a drunk that forgot how to stop.
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You're backed against the stage door, but it's locked. You've got a bill
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to collect with a joker named Willie, and a larger bill with his boss,
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Jack Burke. But you can now thought's joggling your mind, and then
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you know where you're going. Laretta Burke is a wife of Bruce Burke,
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and she's got a lushy little cave of rona on Central Park South. You're
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head forward thinking about her. Laretta Burke, who managed a nightclub called a
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Plane. You're head for diggings and then you're there alloon, mister Chambers,
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what are the pleasure? A lush blonde thirty years younger than Bruce, A
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page boy blonde was shining hair and shining green eyes and a figure that brings
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it to a full stop. Lavetta Burke and silver lounging pajamas. Always nice
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to see you, mister changes. You know, offer a drink? May
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I can use it here? You are, thank you, but you're not
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yourself today? Are you gonna beleed your dreams? Well for a very recent
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widow, missus Burke, you're certainly bearing up staunchley. I didn't know that
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you knew. Well, let's do a reverse in that, sweetie. I
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didn't know for sure that you knew. Look, tough boy, I don't
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believe in morning. I don't wear my heart on my sleep inside where it
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belonged. A gall with a lousy reputation, But in my own peculiar way
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I loved it. Maybe you did in your own peculiar way. Well,
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let's put it this way. Whoever killed him, sooner or later is going
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to face up to me. You got any comment, mister Chambers, I
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don't know. This started off as such a beautiful day and me sitting around
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thinking about how business is lousy. Maybe you ought to get out of here
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and see if you can't still late a little gentle hint, missus Burkett,
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things to do? I get it? Well, one question before I leave.
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You know a little name by name of Elsa Cory. Never heard of
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it by now? See you around? You bet you will. Outside you
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call the office about Elsa Corey, But of course our little Bertie has jumped
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the chicken coop. You do a small debate with yourself, Corey or Parker,
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which one first? But you promise the lieutenants, so you're Mosy.
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The police headquarters downtown. You're jogging up the steps when you see him coming
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out, and I'll hurry. Well, the private eye or is it the
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public enemy? You're coming to give yourself up. Lieutenant is jocular, but
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he looks worried, And when a friend looks worried, you'll begin to worry.
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That was the murder gun Pete, no question. I'm working at slow
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working the angle first because you're involved. But that little ELSI Corey better be
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around the back of your story. Well, what else is new? Lieutenant
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Jack Burke's been scouting for Doe for his show. He needs money. Bruce's
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wife that doll always needed Doe Bell. They're both falling into it. Bruce
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Burke's will. Jack gets half the estate and Whetter Burke gets the other half,
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plus the nightclub goes to her real cozy. I look, pale.
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You're not one for throwing stones, not in this case. So far,
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all I've really got is you. Yeah, you've been a dollar Lieutenant,
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A living, breathing doll doesn't depend on the Pete, not for too long,
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I know you, But as a DA is beginning to champ at the
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bit. So let me go to work now. What are you heading for
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him, David? Jack Burke, Jack Burke, where cass I'm already upstairs,
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private room number four. No, Chloe, one more favor, give
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me a tenant. Headstart, huh, head start with Jack Burke. I've
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got a build the collect and it's so ten minutes, lieutenant, please Louis
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okay, But I hope you know what you're doing. Oh, I hope
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so too. The Casamoretti is in Greenwich Village and it serves the longest,
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skinniest, most flavors and spaghetti west of little town called Rome, which they
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tell me is Nitaly. Casmoretti has a downstairs dining room and an upstairs private
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room where you can run yourself a tete, a tete or a banquet,
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depending on your mood. Your mood right now is for a little private chatter,
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and you rub your knuckles against the door marked four. What you again?
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Now? Look here? First you clip him, because you owe it
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to him. No, Then you close the door. Then you drag him
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into the room and you give him a quick frist But there isn't a thing
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on him that's incriminating. So now you pick him up and deposit them in
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a chair. And you slap them back that consciousness. What what live it
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up, mister Burke? Well, I listen to the Birdie saying I'm listening
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and you're no Bertie. What do you want? A bit applied conversation?
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Nothing more? Well, what do you want, Johnny one? Note?
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That's me, little lady by name Elsa Corey. Noah, Yes, she's
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the second lead in the show we're rehearsing. Nor any better than that.
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She's an actress in my show. Period. Have it your way quiet to
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her, she says, your brother senator to see me. Did you introduce
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her to your brother? No, you happen to know if your brother was
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acquainted with her. My brother is dead. I know that. And from
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what I hear you a private eye by the name of Chambers. You hated
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his gut. I'm supposed to know all about that too, all right?
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Is there anything else? No, No, I told you. All I
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wanted was a bit of plight conversation. I'll let him get out of here.
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Say it nice, will you please leave? Mister Chambers? A pleasure,
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mister Burke, A pleasure. Indeed, there's one stop left. You've
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done the merry ground. You've gone the full circle, Elsa Cory said,
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ten thirteen East thirty ninth Street turns out to be a tinder box ramshackle is
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an ancient barn on a prairie. Young actresses don't have it too easy,
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and that is a problem. You climb up the two b and you knock
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on a door thats thinner than Melbourne toast and has about as much resistance.
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Nobody answers. You try to leave, and all of a sudden a hunch
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comes up and cloppers you. You shove a shoulder at the rattlecrap door and
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you lean hard. You're inside now little room with the paris of trimmings,
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and your hunch is paid off because you're not alone. Elsa Cory sits in
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a chair and looks at you. But her eyes aren't blinking. Elsa Cory,
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her face mottled and blue bruises on her throat. Elsa Corey strangled to
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death. So it's still a beautiful day, only it's not day anymore.
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It's nighttime. You've gone home and you've put in a little afternoon sleeping,
18:45
but it hasn't helped. You're way down deep in a jam, and you
18:48
feel it beginning to close in how goes with people? Pretty bad? Yeah,
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Detective Lieutenant Louis Parker a nice guy and a good friend. But the
19:00
expression on his face is that of a poll bear with rheumatism doing his job
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on her in the day ain't good. Pell stinks. In fact, Ye,
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Elsa Cory, she's dead. Yeah, we've got another one of them
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phone calls anonymous. I can hear that for you, Like hell, I
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made that phone call you. Yeah, I busted into her place and I
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found her like what you found when you got there? You know what it
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means, kidd, got an idea. You had one little out, an
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alibi witness named Elsa Cory. Now she ain't with us no more. Whereas
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I'd leave you a rouch behind the eight ball only keeps getting smaller, Pete,
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you know how I feel about you. But I want to come downtown
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with me now, fellaw and tussle it out with the DA's people. What
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must we? What's left? Kid? Well, I've got a little night
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duty to attend to. I've been sort of resting up for it night.
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Yeah. Look, look, let's make a date. Louis. I either
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collect a killer for you or I present myself, present yourself win let's say
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tomorrow morning, right and early tomorrow morning. You're either get a close case
20:03
by then or you've got me. You know, I only work for living
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Pete. I can get kicked off the forest. I never crossed you up,
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Louis. Ever, it's been a long time now, you and me.
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It's oh one for the story of books. A private eye and a
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public cop who can work together and respect each other. We got a deal.
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Deal it is ye buy a attendant by a detective. The Flame is
20:40
a nightclub on the outskirts of town, and that's your next stop and the
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last stop. You figure one way or another. You get the car out
20:47
of the garage, You drive up and park in their parking lot. The
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club is a distance off, and you crunch through gravel on your way.
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You see a uniform cop a distance off, but you don't see what's right
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close near you. Easy, does it, mister, Well, if it
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ain't little Willy, that's me pal. Willie is loaded with artillery and it
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is jammed to your ribs, backed up to that shed. Mister double time,
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we do it. But you're not having any You're not turning your back
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on Willie. You did that once and once is enough. So the left
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comes down on the gun, and the right goes to the chimney, and
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down goes Willie with me on top of him. The gun gets kicked out
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of the way and Willie absorbs a few additional wraps, and then my hands
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are around his throat. You're joking at me, that's the general idea,
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Willie. Let up new position, will he Now, I'm sitting across you
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like you're a hassock, and my fingers are still around that bull neck of
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yours. And you're a little weaker. Willie, You're quite a little weaker.
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Talk Willy, what what do you want to know? Why did you
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conk me backstage at the I got the signal from Jack the work for him.
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Yeah, okay, I think we're in rid him. Now. Why
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did you cloak Bruce Burke? I didn't. Oh, well, you need
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a little more pressure on your throat. Is that it? No? I
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had nothing to do with Bruce, okay, Elsa Corey talk it up good
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now, Willie? Well, oh che I went there thirty ninth Street.
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Jack sent me. I did a job on I like Jack told me to
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do. Willie passes out of the picture. You get up off him,
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collect this gun and go looking for the cop and latch a law onto Willie
22:53
with instruction to deposit him in the lap of the detective Lieutenant Louis Parker.
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Then you brush at your clothes and you make for the nightclub. Joint is
23:04
jumping and his temptation, but you haven't got the time. You steer through
23:07
the joyous people from the door marked office of the manager and you open up
23:11
without knocking. Well, Peter cha, we're just talking about you close the
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door. The other half of that we is Jack Burke. He's in a
23:25
succeedo and Loretta is in a red off the shoulder job that almost gets your
23:30
mind off your work. But the old mind comes right back to attention because
23:34
dear Loretta shoves a lily white hand at the desk door and it comes up
23:37
caressing and ugly forty five. Sit down. Oh thanks, I'll stand.
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Jack and I have been chatting about you in what connection the connection with the
23:49
death of my husband. Lady, you're appointing the gun in the wrong direction.
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What are you talking about. I'm talking about Jack Burke, who dreamed
23:57
himself up a fool proof little murderer. Only I'm going to take it apart
24:02
for him right now. Listen, this guy is in a jam with his
24:07
show. He's looking for money all over town. Do you know whether he
24:10
has Bruce for long? Yes? I know he did, and Bruce turned
24:14
him down. Bruce had no confidence in the lady dances, so bright boy
24:18
figured one out. If he bums Bruce, he gets half of his estate,
24:22
even if he can't get the loot right away and borrow on the strength
24:23
of it, so he kills him. He knows a little dame second lead,
24:27
Elsa Cory. This kid doesn't know which enda's up. He gives her
24:30
the cleaned up gun and she's wearing gloves so it's still clean. What is
24:34
she supposed to do it? She's supposed to come to me because Jack thinks
24:37
there's bad blood between me and Bruce. She's to threaten me, not shoot
24:41
me. No, no, nothing like that. And she said, tell
24:45
me that Bruce sent her. Bruce. Why Bruce, Because this guy figured
24:51
it exactly as it happened. I took the gun away from her. I
24:53
went to Bruce to find out what it was all about. The door was
24:56
completely left open for me, and I found Bruce like this bum had left
24:59
him and then a cop show is spurred by an anonymous phone tip. Shoot,
25:03
huh, where's the girl? Yes? Where is she? Look?
25:07
Where is she? Look at him? Wiggle the big producer? Where is
25:11
she? She's dead? What he wasn't gonna let her hang around to testify
25:17
against him? Was he? Did you ever hear of Willy? Willie choked
25:19
at her death? Proof? Proof? Proof, not work? The loss
25:23
cart up with Willie. He's joelding out there like a broken down jukebox.
25:26
Well that's proof against Willy, not proof against me. I'm squirming like a
25:30
rat with his tail in her trap. Look at him? How much more
25:33
proof do you want? The lady looks. Guilt is scribbled on him like
25:42
the devil has written on his forehead. She lifts the gun and for a
25:47
minute you think it's for you, but it isn't. There isn't much left
25:55
to look at when you get to me, and all of it is very
25:59
dead. All right, it's over here and it's done right. Mind if
26:07
I sit down for just a couple of minutes, did m It was a
26:15
beautiful day before it shaped up cloudy? But what are you talking about?
26:19
And the name comes in and threatens me with a gun, and I get
26:22
myself jammed up with the laws and murder suspect, and I get pushed around
26:26
by an eighth named Willie, and then I almost catch up at the wrong
26:29
end if you're forty five, But it's finally developed into business. Business from
26:34
whom you me next up for you as a pokey maybe with a good lawyer
26:41
who knows it turns out justifiable homicide. That's business for a lawyer, not
26:47
for you, true enough, But the lawyer's got to have facts. Who's
26:51
better at getting up facts for you than yours? Truly, I'm beginning to
26:56
see what you mean. How much? Well for a lady who was coming
27:00
into a million plus this twenty nightclub house five thousand dollars, you've talked yourself
27:06
into a client as the Chambers you're hired, Thank you man, Thanks a
27:11
bunch, And there you've had Crime and Peter Chambers. Daine Clark was starred
27:37
as Peter Chambers. Crime and Peter Chambers Transcribed was created, produced and written
27:44
by Henry Kane. Others in the cast, where Bill Zuker turned as Lieutenant
27:48
Parker, fran Carlin as Loretta, and Everett Sloane as Jack It was directed
27:53
by Fred Way, and this is Fred Collins inviting you to tune in again
27:56
next week's same time, same station for Dan Clark in Crime and Peter Chambers
28:07
Visit with Fiber McGhee and Molly Tonight on the NBC Radio Network. Welcome back.
28:15
As I said at the start of the show, this is a series
28:18
that you have to have patience with that actually get to enjoy. If every
28:25
episode were as the same quality as this particular story, we would not be
28:33
playing Crime in Peter Chambers. There's kind of a really odd stiltness to the
28:37
dialogue. It's very pronounced here, and you have some of these things which
28:41
I think in other episodes really come off as a stylistic sort of verbal texts
28:48
unique to the writer. Here just was really overwhelming. And of course the
28:53
end where it looks like Peter Chambers either blackmailed her or or took a bribe
29:00
to Lyander Oh, is not the best way to introduce your detective hero.
29:07
Like I said, it does get better, but this one was definitely a
29:11
rocky start for the series. A couple of things I will call them im
29:15
won. This series actually aired after Dragnet, so it had that sort of
29:22
strength of schedule thing going for it. In addition, Bill Zuckert, who
29:26
we heard as Lieutenant Louis Parker, we heard a few weeks ago as the
29:33
star of the mutual series Police Blotter. And we'll have more to discuss about
29:38
Dan Clark next week. In the meantime, if you do have a comment,
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