Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Johnny Fletcher: The Navy Colt (EP1067)
Transcript
- 0:28Welcome to the Great Detectors of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
- 0:33is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
- 0:37to me Box thirteen at Great Detectors dot net, follow us on Twitter at
- 0:42Radio Detectors, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com
- 0:48slash Radio Detectives. Before we do get started, I do want to encourage
- 0:53you as you're making your travel plans to remember Johnny Dollar Air dot com.
- 0:58Johnny Dollar Air dot com is a price line affiliate, so you're able to
- 1:03have the option of either choosing from great published fairs or naming your own price,
- 1:08but at no additional cost to you. A portion of your purchase goes
- 1:14to support the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. So remember Johnny Dollarair dot
- 1:19com. Though today we won't bringing you Johnny Dollar, will be bringing you
- 1:25Johnny Fletcher. Johnny Fletcher was created by Frank Gruber, a very prolific mystery
- 1:36writer who, over the course of his career wrote hundreds of short stories and
- 1:46novels and over two hundred TV and film scripts. This man very prolific,
- 1:53and these were perhaps his most famous creations. The duo that we have appearing
- 2:00in today's episode were actually the stars of The French Key. The French Key
- 2:08was the first Johnny Fletcher mystery and was adapted in nineteen forty six for Republic
- 2:15Pictures. And what NBC looks like they were trying to do here was to
- 2:23do an audition and see if this film duo could work over the radio.
- 2:30So let's and this, by the way, was made for sponsors, potential
- 2:35sponsors of the program. So this was intended to be one of those NBC
- 2:39syndicated shows if they got enough interest. And the title of today's episode is
- 2:45also taken from a n Fletcher book. The title is The Navy Colt,
- 2:52which was actually the fourth book in the series. So here now is the
- 2:55Navy Cult Johnny, I don't like this. Tells me we should have aught
- 3:00to minded our own business. Look, Stan, helping a damsel in distress
- 3:04is your business? My business? Everybody's business. Oh what's a damsel?
- 3:08It's well a dame. Okay, then it's your business. I want no
- 3:14part of it. Yes, it's time for another Johnny Fletcher mystery, brought
- 3:36to you by the National Broadcasting Company and starring Albert Decker as Johnny Fletcher and
- 3:45Mike Mzurki as Sam Craig in Frank Ruber's best selling murder mystery The Navy Cult.
- 3:58It is mid afternoon and before and Johnny and Sam on a busy street
- 4:00in New York making a fast pitch, their customary method of burning an honest
- 4:04dollar whenever they're broke, which they usually are. Ladies and gentlemen. Ladies
- 4:14and gentlemen, your attention please. You see here the strongest man in the
- 4:18world, my palent partner, Sam Craig. A short time ago, Sam
- 4:25was a funy weekly who weighed only ninety eight pounds. Now look at him,
- 4:29a magnificent specimen of manhood, sixty five two hundred and fifty pounds of
- 4:34brown and ron. As evidence of his enormous strength. Sam is going to
- 4:40fill his mighty lungs over there and snap that two inch log chain wrapped about
- 4:45his chest. Bye you ready, Sam? Yeah? Then go on and
- 4:47break it, my boy, and let the links fall where they may.
- 4:53I'm sir, I'm the ladies and gentlemen. The eve with which he pulls
- 4:59apart that symbol of slavery feet bush at it. I'm trying to Johnny,
- 5:03you must have meant that lake too strong. But there you are, my
- 5:12friends, there you are. A miracle of strength has been performed before your
- 5:15very eyes. A broken chain lies at my feet. A man, a
- 5:19real man, has released himself from the fetters of masculine weakness. Ladies and
- 5:25gentlemen, for you too can be marvels of strength. Like Sam Craig this
- 5:30book of mine. Every man becomes that cop again other side of the street.
- 5:35Oh sorry, ladies and gentlemen. Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, Let's
- 5:40get out of here. Sam, what a life? A man can't try
- 5:48to make an honest living anymore? But what some flat foot crabsy eye.
- 5:53You know something, Johnny, No, what, We wouldn't be broke all
- 5:57the time if you was to stick to one thing or another. You got
- 6:00brains, You got the gift of gab, and you got me a three
- 6:03way handicap if I ever heard one, No fool, and Johnny, you
- 6:06get all the makings of a big business typhoon. Why don't we decided you
- 6:11to be a businessman or an amateur detective, one or the other, but
- 6:15not both. Go on, Sam, you interest me strange odd nuts?
- 6:18You know what I mean? Johnny but it happens continuous all the time.
- 6:23We get a good start selling books or some kind of business that looks easy,
- 6:26and what pursues somebody gets their throat cut or found that in a trunk
- 6:30or something, and you horn your way into the yack. That's my way
- 6:32of having fun. I know, Johnny, but a guy can't have much
- 6:35fun on an empty stomach, and that's what usually happens. We got nothing
- 6:40else but Johnny sometimes me. We're being following. Hello. Why I thought
- 6:51you gentlemen break that chain back there? So you must be awfully strong.
- 6:55Oh you want to buy a book? Huh? Get one out? Sam?
- 6:59Do you gentlemen want to earn ten dollars? Lady? Right now?
- 7:02For ten bucks, I go over Niagara Falls and a mustache cup. How
- 7:05do we earn the saw buck? No, Johnny, No, this is
- 7:08like the way it always starts. You're right, Sam, Sorry, sister,
- 7:12some other time, maybe you gentlemen must help me. Look, sister,
- 7:15let's get this straight. We're not gentlemen. I'm just a guy named
- 7:18Johnny Fletcher, and this rugged character of Sam cragg my paw. I'm happy
- 7:23to know you, mister Fletcher, and mister Cragg. My name is Hilda
- 7:26Nelson. Oh yeah, where do you live? Park Avenue? Park Avenue?
- 7:30Is that anything to feel bad about? Park Avenue is just another word
- 7:33for millionaire? I know what you mean that. Honestly, ten dollars is
- 7:35all I can give you. Say, how did you get those nasty looking
- 7:40bruises? I'd rather not say you mean somebody did that? Yes, that's
- 7:46why I asked if you wanted to earn ten dollars? Why didn't you say
- 7:48so in the first place? Now what is it you want us to do?
- 7:53Or here we go again? You mean you'll do it? Yep,
- 7:56you've talked us into it. Oh thank you. Here's the dollar down?
- 8:00Oh thank you? And what are we supposed to do in return for this
- 8:03shower of wealth? I want you to go to two five East sixty third
- 8:07Street mister Maxwell's apartment. It's on the twelfth floor. You just bring the
- 8:11doorbell. Oh sure, I'm quite a hand with doorbell, Is that all?
- 8:16No, when mister Maxwell opens the door, I want you to hit
- 8:20him just as hard as you can, right on the nose. Oh that
- 8:22sounds like fun, doesn't it, Sam anything else? Yes, as you
- 8:26hit him, I want you to say, he'll just sends this with her
- 8:30compliments better and better. But I'll let Sam hit him. He hits hotter
- 8:33than I do, don't you? Sam? Oh? Now listen, Johnny
- 8:37isle of mind. A man that'll abuse a girl or to get the stuffings
- 8:39knocked out of him, just on the nose will be enough. Oh,
- 8:43but I want proof that you did. In sure, I'll bring you Sam's
- 8:46bruised knuckle that do. No, that won't be caught enough. Any suggestions,
- 8:50Well, let me see. Mister Maxwell always wears red neckties, ugly
- 8:56red ones. That did bring me one of his red neckties. Then I'll
- 9:00give you the other nine dollars a bust in the nose, a red necktie.
- 9:03Then where do we meet you to get the other nine bucks? How
- 9:07soon can you finish the assignments? Oh? Sam? And I haven't any
- 9:11really pressing engagements at the moment. Very well, I'll meet you at the
- 9:13Grand Central Station in an. Here it is James Maxwell ring the bells.
- 9:24Sam. Now remember remember when he sticks his puss out? Let him have
- 9:31it? And what are you up? Guys? Fine? Now, Sam,
- 9:33now you heard that Johnny nothing, A couple of hospitals and a bunch
- 9:43of doctors can't fix white rat and cheap clothing hitting a guy when they looking.
- 9:50I'll fix him now you had your chance. Sam, he won't come
- 9:54out of cant going down, So you two jerks want more of the same.
- 10:01Look out, Sam, he's got a gun. Dude, the gun
- 10:05want to hold him? Okay, there you go on, I got it.
- 10:09Now, I'll suck him. Curry your fella tell Us sends this with
- 10:11our compare. Stop getting there. That was a narrow squeak. I guess
- 10:18he didn't shoot you. I don't see no blood because he shot me a
- 10:22lunk right through the coats meet. Look at that hole. Gee, oh
- 10:26well, maybe you can get rewolved. Remember that sport coat? That a
- 10:28hash? Why who shut the door down? I don't know. Somebody's been
- 10:37getting an eye for. I'm telling whom sores. We gotta get out of
- 10:41here. Let's don't keep hill the waiting. This is John Storm. You're
- 10:56listening to the Navy Colt Johnny Fletcher mystery. But before we rejoined, Johnny
- 11:00and Sam, you would place your first sales message here. You have presented
- 11:07the first of your sales messages. So we return to our own job of
- 11:11selling you. The Johnny Fletcher Mystery series, we catch up with Johnny Fletcher
- 11:20and his pal Sam Crag at the Grand Central Station, where they were to
- 11:24meet Hilda Nelson and collect an additional nine dollars for hitting. As Miss Nelson
- 11:28so naively put it, a certain mister James Maxwell on the nose. That's
- 11:37Graham, Johnny. The kid ain't gonna show up. I'm tired sitting here.
- 11:41Besides, I'm hungry. We got enough to eat on, well,
- 11:45not great big baskets for Hey, maybe we can hut that gun you took
- 11:48off Maxwell and he another a couple of times. Could be it's big enough.
- 11:52Yeah, what a ride? Must be two feet long. I've never
- 11:56seen one that big before. Neither did I except in a museum what they
- 12:00call a navy cold Cold. It looked rowed up to me, Sam Cold
- 12:03is a revolver. You know what's got me puzzled is this micro film I
- 12:09found in one of the chambers of the gun. What is that stuff?
- 12:11It looks like a photostatic copy of some legal documents. You took the words
- 12:15right out of my mouth. They must be important. After we collect our
- 12:18nine bucks from Hilter, we'll take him to a photographer, and I haven't
- 12:22brought them up big enough to read. Oh oh, look who's here.
- 12:26I'm sorry. I was afraid you'd leave. No, we like it here?
- 12:31Did you stuck him? Sister? How can you ask? Look at
- 12:35this thing I used to call a jaw? Oh dear, Hey, what
- 12:37about a nine bucks? Did you get the red necktie? Red necktie?
- 12:41Red necktie? Sam? Did we get his red necktie? Nah? He
- 12:45wasn't wearing no necktie. That's right, lady. Please the nine bucks.
- 12:48But that's what I came to tell you. I couldn't get the rest of
- 12:50the money. Oh oh, I'm sorry, I am here. I'll write
- 12:56a check. Uh huh, not for me, sister. Why not check
- 12:58means get be identified? Getting identified means did you get it? Yeah?
- 13:03Well, come on, Sam, let's say goodbye Hill the deer. I
- 13:07still had the pleasure of your gee with that big bundle of Chaldee. I'm
- 13:16a new man. Don't tell me you're not gonna have another piece of pine.
- 13:18No. I fell up, queer up to here, cigarette? Thanks,
- 13:22hold the light? Sure here you are? You know, Johnny you
- 13:26did all right hocking that old gun for four bucks to him? Funny speedy
- 13:31gives that old guy about it belongs to your grandfather. Present from Jesse,
- 13:35James. You really think him up? Tapers the East Side killing? Yeah,
- 13:41it's something, thanks mister. You all about the big murders, all
- 13:46about it? Uh huh, Hold onto your chair, Sam, what goes?
- 13:58Get a load of this. James Maxwell, two oh five East sixty
- 14:03third Street was found dead in his apartment late today. According to the police's
- 14:07death resulted from a gunshot. Hey that's the guy we popped and listened to
- 14:11this. Miss Cornelius Spats, living in an adjoining apartment, told the officers
- 14:16she was an eyewitness to the killing. Say that's who stayed the door right
- 14:20down the hall. Hey, how do you like this? Missus Fats testified
- 14:24that one of the men was tall and slender with dark hair, tall and
- 14:30slender with dark hair. The other was a huge hook of a man about
- 14:35six feet four inches, weighing about two hundred and fifty The nerve of that
- 14:39dame saying I'm six feet four, I'm six five. Let's see what else
- 14:43they know? The police say, continued on page four. Here it is
- 14:56an old time Navy colt revolver is missing. From a gun right on the
- 15:00wall, and they have been the murder weapon. They are scarring the city
- 15:03for such a gun, which may provide a clue to the killers. Come
- 15:05on, we got to move fast. Where we're going, get the gun
- 15:07out of hot before the cops beat us to it. It's got a fingerprints.
- 15:16What an alley black as your hat? Yeah, come on, open
- 15:20up. Maybe the old guy don't live in the back, Yes he does.
- 15:24There goes a light. Here he comes the navy coat. Man.
- 15:31I want to get the gun out of hot No. I keep dreaming about
- 15:37Indians and I gotta go back and shoot them. I mean, let's make
- 15:43this fast, will your pop? Here's your four bucks? Dding me up,
- 15:46Papa, such a nice sound. Sleep, yes, four dollars,
- 15:50it comes to all right, here's your form and here's your ticket. I'm
- 15:54glad to get rid of this thing. It scares me to look at it.
- 15:58See your later, Pop, I hope, man, gee, I
- 16:06never seen an alley so black? Yeah, pretty dog, Hey, Johnny,
- 16:10I forgot a newspaper. I left it laying there on the counter in
- 16:12a hot shop. I'll let it go. Oh No, I gotta go
- 16:15back and get it. What for? I ain't read the funnies off for
- 16:18the love of tea. All right, I'll wait here for you. Hey,
- 16:22Pap, don't look up there. I forget the funny. What a
- 16:25character at a time like this, he forgets the funny? Yeah, just
- 16:30so, where'd you come from? So quick? Never mind? D to
- 16:33see what this he's felling? Yeah? Yeah, the gun? Anybody could
- 16:38kill that stick up? Huh, it's right? What if a do here?
- 16:42After? Come? I'm broke? Hey, it easy all I wants
- 16:45that Navy colt. Sure help yourself, Okay, but here's your payment?
- 16:55Hey, Johnny? Yahya over here, guy stuck me up? Which went?
- 17:00Let me go? I'll go get him, No, go go ask
- 17:00him what he got? Was that gun? What's donn a guy want with
- 17:03that old broken down horse pistol? Sn Do you believe in ghosts? Ghosts?
- 17:11Well kind of, I'm humanized. I guess why. The guy that
- 17:15held me up was James Maxwell, the man we're supposed to murdered. Holy
- 17:21col ah, I who eight or two? Two? How do you know
- 17:33that? Till his number? Gotta be the only Nelson in the phone book
- 17:37on Park Avenue? Kind of tough waking the kid up. This time of
- 17:40the nice wake her up, you better wake up. I'll drag her over
- 17:41the head a little double crush. This is Johnny Fletcher. I want to
- 17:45see you right away to have a talk. That's it's just my trial to
- 17:49hang up. Smile when you say hang sister, you got us in plenty
- 17:53of trouble. Well, I didn't tell you to kill mister Maxwell. Kill
- 17:56mister Maxwell? Are you screwy? He look? You meet us the waiting
- 18:00room of the Grand Central station in one hour, the Grand Central in one
- 18:04hour, and you better be there or else, Snira, miss Nelson,
- 18:21Sam, keep an eye out for anything that looks like a car. Okay,
- 18:23now, young lady, what was the idea trying to frame me and
- 18:26Sam for the murder of this Maxwell guy? Frame you? I don't know
- 18:29what you're talking. Oh you should do. You fixed it all up with
- 18:30a spot steam to poke a snavel out of a door on time to catch
- 18:33Sam and me doing your rough stuff. Yes, I don't even know.
- 18:36Don't give me that, sister. I want to run on the line.
- 18:38Who is this Maxwell and why did you want him? Suck mister flexer,
- 18:41I don't think that's babe. There's no time to kid around. Any minute
- 18:44now the copter lable to move in on us. So spill it all,
- 18:47all of it. What about this Maxwell guy, mister Fletcher, I've kept
- 18:51it all back such a long time. It's going to be relieved to tell
- 18:53someone like you. I know I shouldn't. Who was Maxwell? Well,
- 18:59he was this kind of a man who was once my father's business partner.
- 19:02Why did you want Maxwell's sock? He kept forcing me to give him money,
- 19:04lots of money, lackmail. Huh? Yes, Well why did he
- 19:07hit you and put those bruises on you? Because I couldn't get any more
- 19:11money for him? He was pure history. Began to beat me. I
- 19:14managed to get away. It was right after that I saw you and mister
- 19:17Craig. You weren't ever in love with this bad boom by any chance?
- 19:21Wila in love with him? I despised him. I loathed him. I
- 19:25always had. Why he forced you to give him a dough? Well?
- 19:26He showed me a letter his father wrote when he was dying. It accused
- 19:30my father of killing his father. Why was your father supposed to have killed
- 19:33him so my father could take over the business place? Tarkeet? Well,
- 19:37who is your father, And what business is he in? He's Helmer Nelson,
- 19:41one of the biggest manufacturers of railroad ties in the country. Oh,
- 19:44I see, Well, why didn't you tell your father? Oh No,
- 19:48I couldn't do that. Mister Maxwell said he'd kill Dad and me too if
- 19:52I ever did. Hilda, there's something maybe you can explain. The man
- 19:56Sam and I socked was not the man who was killed. What the man
- 20:03we thought was Maxwell? The guy we hit held me up last night and
- 20:06took a maybe cold revolver away from me. So when I took from the
- 20:08guy I thought was Maxwell. Honestly, mister Fletcher, I can't explain that.
- 20:14What kind of looking man was he? Oh? Big gorilla about the
- 20:17size of Sam. Man had a red mustache and a scar across his bard.
- 20:21Well, why that's Carl Streeter. He and mister Maxwell hated each other.
- 20:26You're sure your old man didn't suddenly get wise to what was going on.
- 20:30I don't really know who do you think killed Maxwell? Carl Streeter?
- 20:34You know where I can find him? Yes, he lives at eight o
- 20:37four West fourteenth Street. Why I'd better have a little talk with him.
- 20:41Come on, Sam, let's go. Looks like mister Streeter and home.
- 20:55We better try against another time. Let me have that skeleton key. Now,
- 20:59Look, Johnny in honest here who like the inside of a hothouse?
- 21:11Shut the door said, Hey, that looks like our gun on that table.
- 21:18You'll take it along so he can't shoot us with it like he did.
- 21:21Maxwell. See Johnny, what if he used to barge in right now?
- 21:26You think of the most unpleasant thing. Lock that door shut. Maybe
- 21:30he's in there. Let's find out. You think we better this is housebreaking
- 21:36or something. Open the door and quit pretending you're scared. Who's pretending?
- 21:41Who's pretending? Hey, that's him out of bed. Looks like he's taking
- 21:51out that Yeah, a good long one. The guy's dead. Look he's
- 21:55been shot. You are listening to the Navy cult a Johnny Fletcher mystery.
- 22:08Here is the place for your second sales message. You have completed your second
- 22:15sales message catching up with Johnny Fletcher and Sam Craig. Next morning, we
- 22:26find them outside the apartment door of Cornelia Spat the woman who described them to
- 22:30the police as the killers of James Maxwell. Johnny, I think you're nuts
- 22:37sticking your neck out like this. Maybe so, But if this dame can
- 22:40really put the finger on it. It's gonna be a tough window. We
- 22:41gotta find out what I'm worried. It's a mine. Here's the apartment,
- 22:45Miss Cornelia Spat get out of sight, okay, but be careful. How
- 22:57do you do? Miss Spat? Ms Mallory down on the tenth floor asked
- 23:00me to be sure and see you. I'm selling nan Oh, my goodness,
- 23:07won't you come in? Please? Thank you? You were certainly busy
- 23:11with that typewriter, miss pat Yes, I'm just finishing up the story.
- 23:15A real author. What kind of stories do you write? You never never
- 23:19believe it of me, But they're about crime, murders mostly a charming young
- 23:25woman like you. Somehow you're just not the time. Well, they're not
- 23:27exactly fiction. Story is there? Is? He? I'm the New York
- 23:30correspondent for a Chicago magazine called Cunning Crimes that you showed articles each month about
- 23:37actual crime. What crime are you writing about now? Oh? I had
- 23:41such a wonderful experience. I witnessed a murder right out in the hall.
- 23:45You actually saw the murdering, yes, indeed, And I gave the police
- 23:49a perfect description of them. You know, one of them continted that like
- 23:56you like me it is, but it wasn't really so good looking. Oh,
- 24:04miss Pat, I can hardly wait to read your story when it comes
- 24:08down. Now, how about the nylon? Shall I write up your order
- 24:11for say six per Oh no, I'll take a dozen, and I'm sure
- 24:15I can get a lot more orders for you from the girls. You see.
- 24:18I'm president of the Pen and Eraser Club. We're all writers, you
- 24:21know, and they'll be simply throw the death when I tell them about you.
- 24:25I mean selling nylon for that's wonderful of you, Miss Pat. How
- 24:27can I get in touch with you when I've seen the girl here? I
- 24:30write it down for you. Kenny Fletcher, Eagle Hotel. Thank you,
- 24:33mister Patch, and I'm awful glad you stopped in. Good Bye, goodbye
- 24:41miss spat and stopping again anytime. Thank you. Ah well, that's a
- 24:52load off my mind. Did recognize you? Huh? With those thick cheets
- 24:56over high that crackpot wouldn't recognize their own self in the mirror. Mister Nelson,
- 25:07I'll get right to the point. You've been paying a lot of dough
- 25:10to a guy named Maxwell, the guy that got pumped off the other night.
- 25:12There's only one answer to a stupid remark like that, Fletcher, get
- 25:15out of my office or I'll have you thrown out. Take it easy,
- 25:18Nelson, whether you know it or not, your daughter got herself under one
- 25:21billie of a mess. And what's more, she got me into it too.
- 25:22Just who are you and what do you want? I told you I'm
- 25:26the guy that got into a jam. Trying to help your daughter ridiculous.
- 25:30I'm perfectly capable of getting my daughter any help she needs. That's our laugh.
- 25:33Did you know that for years Hilda has been blackmailed by Maxwell? Hilda
- 25:37too? Why that? No? No, no, mister Nelson, don't
- 25:40speak ill o the dead, especially when you may have had a hand,
- 25:44shall we say, and hastening his death. Are you accusing me of Maxwell's
- 25:48murder? Could be? Well, you're wrong, that's what they all say.
- 25:52What do you want your side of the story, mister Nelson? Did
- 25:56you ever see the letter Archer Maxwell wrote accusing you of his death? Yes,
- 26:00James Maxwell has held it over my head for years. But I didn't
- 26:03kill his father. It was an accident. Archer must have been out of
- 26:07his head when he wrote that note. Just what was in the letter though,
- 26:10I don't remember the exact wording, but it accused me all right.
- 26:14Strange part about it, a piece of the letter was missing, torn off.
- 26:17Did you see the thorn piece? No, but Maxwell had me he
- 26:21could smash my business and send me to the chair on the strength of that
- 26:23letter, So I kept dishing the money out to him. How does Carl
- 26:26Streeter tie into the Stetter? He and James Maxwell are too overkind. I
- 26:30don't know what Street I had on Maxwell, but he got a cut in
- 26:33the money. Fact is, once in a while Streeter came up here to
- 26:37collect. Well. Thanks Nelson. That's about all. Hey, it's funny,
- 26:51Johnny. Even though hotel room like this seems good to get back to
- 26:53if you get tired enough. Yeah, just like home if you're up with
- 26:56your rent. Johnny Fletcher speaking. Oh hello, mister Fletcher. This is
- 27:03Cornelie's bad. I have some good news. I saw some of the girls,
- 27:07and I have quite a few Nylon orders for you. Could you come
- 27:11over right away? Thank you very much, Miss Patt I'll be looking for
- 27:14you. Come as soon as you can. Good Bye bye. That's BET's
- 27:22character wants to see me. Right away, and you're what the dames felt
- 27:25for you, like they all do. You ain't going are you not a
- 27:26chance? Hey? How's about me going to get their mortars? Is she
- 27:30a good booker? Saying? Now you got something sad? We'll both go
- 27:33in and if he doesn't recognize you either, we got nothing more to worry
- 27:37about now, please, Johnny, I was only kidding. I don't want
- 27:40to see her on the way. We'll pick up the enlargements of those microfilms.
- 27:42Come on here, Sam, you're about to lose those pictures. Shut
- 27:55them down further in your pocket. Yeah, yeah, I'll watch them.
- 27:59Johnny, I'm worried by yourself. The Spats Dan didn't recognize you. Put
- 28:03the both of us together like this, forget it. Let me do the
- 28:06talking, don't I always? Oh? Do come in? I've been waiting
- 28:10for you, miss Spats. May I present my friend Sam Cray. How
- 28:14do you do? Mister crag It's indeed a pleasure? Sure is? You
- 28:17got hands up both of you? Hey, what is this? It's the
- 28:19love one Chris Comriiley. I'll keep them covered cleaner. Hey, what is
- 28:26all this about? We're arresting you two for the murder of James Maxwell and
- 28:29Carl Street. Oh, sir, I do. I definitely saw you do
- 28:32it. You thought I didn't recognize it when you came swooping around the other
- 28:36day pretending to tell Nylons. I'm not that stupid, and I thought you'd
- 28:40like me, Miss Bats, don't. I'm afraid all those crime stories you
- 28:42write it down to your head. Please get these men out of your offices.
- 28:45I have work to do it, sure, lady, put the cops
- 28:48on them. Riley, let's get moving now, just the moment, officers,
- 28:52Miss Spats, you know we didn't kill Maxwell and Carl Streeter. Tell
- 28:55it to the judge, and don't forget fellow. Anything you say now the
- 28:57use against you. The trouble is you have too much imagination, Miss Pats,
- 29:03or may I call you missus Maxwell? Do you say such a thing?
- 29:07Oh? I am impulsive that way. Officers, I'll leave it to
- 29:10you, Sam. Give me those photographs Hereah like a slant at this.
- 29:14It's a photograph of the marriage license of Cornelias Pats and James Maxwell. Yeah,
- 29:18that's right. Well, suppose mister Maxwell and I were married. What
- 29:22was it? Nothing except that you would have cause to become very jealous when
- 29:26you imagine your husband was falling for Hilda Nelson for he was calling. Maybe
- 29:30so, but Hilda Nelson's a swell kid. Your husband couldn't get the first
- 29:33place with him. It's beginning to look as if you're the one who has
- 29:37too much imagination, mister flex. Oh no, The fact is you've been
- 29:40masterminding the blackmail deal against Kilder and a father for years, and you were
- 29:44getting started up with having to split for those three ways. Everything you say
- 29:47is absolutely absurd, mister Fletcher. Oh no, you really worked it out
- 29:49slick, Cornelia. He took the apartment next to your husband so you could
- 29:52keep everything under control and still not be suspected of anything. Then will you
- 29:56please me in a way? He really looks like that guy's got something go
- 30:00on. But well, Cornelia, you were scared of being tied into the
- 30:03deal if anything ever went wrong, so you had a copy of your marriage
- 30:07license made on microfilm and did it in the chamber of the gun. Then
- 30:10you destroyed the license. Look at this other film officer, what's it all
- 30:14about. It's the photograph of the original letter that Cornelia and her playmate blackmail
- 30:18Hilda Nelson and her father with It was made before the corner was torn off.
- 30:22You see, the letter actually clears Nelson of any suspicion of killing Archer
- 30:26Maxwell. That's why Archer wrote it. But the way it's worded with the
- 30:29corner missing, it becomes a perfect accusation. Gee, Johnny, you never
- 30:32crackted me. You had this all figured out. I didn't. So we
- 30:34picked up those film enlargements on the way here. What's all this leading up
- 30:37to? A Fletcher to the fact that Sam and I didn't kill James Maxwell
- 30:41and Carl Streeter. It was Cornelia spat I did not. You can't prove
- 30:45that I did? Or do you think she killed him? Brother? Oh?
- 30:47A little freakers sam and I had with Street thinking he was Maxwell was
- 30:51just what the doctor ordered for her. She waited till Carl Streeter had gone,
- 30:53and she stepped across the fire escape to her husband's apartment and shot or
- 30:57what about Streeter's Ah, she got afraid of what screedom might say if the
- 31:00CoP's picked up, so she went to his hipartment killed them. That's right,
- 31:03isn't it funny? Yet? Here's my answer to that. You your
- 31:07gun sail, Well, it's instead of that side, Sam as a written
- 31:12confession with the prayers's on a right leave nice going fulla. You've done some
- 31:18nice figuring on this one. Thanks, I'm sorry it had to be at
- 31:21tame. Before we returned to Johnny Fletcher and Sam Cragg, we pause again
- 31:37to mention that this is the spot where you present a final brief sales message.
- 31:42Now back to Johnny Fletcher and Sam Cragg. They have just entered their
- 31:47hotel room. Damn Crag speaking. Oh damn, this is Hilda dead Night.
- 31:52Just heard the wonderful news about what you did. We're so happy,
- 31:57Damn dad Night. We're just wondering all the phone hither. Oh wait,
- 32:04Johnny, you bother me? Yeah, tell her go on? Good father,
- 32:07And I want you and Johnny to come over and have dinner with it.
- 32:09Why sure, love to honey. Guess the morning, Hiller. We're
- 32:15gonnavite it to the Nelsons for dinner, Eat, eat eat. Remember we
- 32:21can't go. What's the matter with you, Johnny? Why can't we because
- 32:24there's a dead guy in our closet? Oh? Oh, here we go
- 32:29again. Be sure to be with us next week when we bring him another
- 32:42best selling Johnny Fletcher mystery by Frank Kruber entitled The Mighty Blockheads and starring Albert
- 32:47Decker and Mike Mazurk. Tonight's story was The Navy Cult. This program was
- 33:15produced in Hollywood's Radio stays This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company, welcome
- 33:23back. Well with that sort of con man angle, it's almost feels like
- 33:32a like a predecessor to The Rockford Files, though not obviously not quite the
- 33:38same quality. The big reason I chose this actually is because of Mike Mazurki,
- 33:49who, of course played the role of Sam. And he's probably best
- 33:53known to classic mystery fans for taking on the role of Moose Malloy in Murder
- 34:01My Suite. And I loved him in that role because he projected such toughness,
- 34:07such bigger than lifness, particularly for that era. I think people have
- 34:12gotten bigger both in terms of height and girth, but they really made him
- 34:17a giant in that one, and it comes to in the voice. According
- 34:22to the information I read, this was not Even though this particular Johnny Fletcher
- 34:28series was not picked up, ABC ran its own Johnny Fletcher series starting in
- 34:39nineteen forty eight and ended up running for twenty six episodes and the star was
- 34:47Bill Goodwin playing the role of Johnny Fletcher. I could ass see Bill Goodwin
- 34:53in that role. You've heard him if you listen to Classic great You've heard
- 35:00him as an announcer on Bob Hope and Burns and Allan. That becomes one
- 35:06of my new favorite shows. I would like to have an episode to merge
- 35:09of, but this one was interesting as well, and I've not read any
- 35:14of the books, but I think I definitely could. All Right. Well
- 35:19some listener comments and feedback r W said on podcast. Allie says, this
- 35:24show obviously does the background research for each show they play, and I find
- 35:29the commentary interesting and informative. Through the show, I've been introduced to detective
- 35:32shows. I didn't exist it, and I love listening to them and discovering
- 35:36new characters I like. Well, I hope you discovered a couple this week.
- 35:40And then I have this comment from Diane on my iPad. I use
- 35:45the app called OTR Streamer. It has lots of different genres. There's no
- 35:51dialogue as you do with each show, but there's a good selection of OTR
- 35:53shows. Thanks Adam for all the work you do with on your shows.
- 36:00Love listening to your great Detector shows. One thing we need to remember is
- 36:04that we can't look at these through twenty thirteen eyes. The world was different
- 36:07in the nineteen forties and fifties. Well, thanks so much. First of
- 36:13all, regarding OTR Streamer, that is actually a pretty good app just for
- 36:19convenience. I don't know if they always have the highest quality available, but
- 36:27for variety it can't be beat. And I've got it on my iPod as
- 36:30well, and sometimes if I'm going out somewhere and I don't feel like looking
- 36:35on the computer or something like that, I'll just download the episode off OTR
- 36:40Streamer and it works fine. A decent selection just for something that you have
- 36:47there on your iPhone. So I think that's a good one. I think
- 36:52there are two asides to it. I don't think we cannot look at it
- 37:00through twenty thirteen eyes, but I think we also have to. Yeah,
- 37:05because we see them through the eyes we do, but I think we have
- 37:08to we have to have some respect for this was another time, and some
- 37:13ways when we sit down and we listen to these programs, we really are
- 37:20we're guessed in another time, another place, and you have to be able
- 37:25to relax a bit and accept that, because Yeah, I've known folks who
- 37:32you know, could never really enjoyed a Golden Age material because they were holding
- 37:38everybody constantly to modern standards and so busy being constantly offended that you just can't
- 37:49get into it. All. Right, Well, that will do it for
- 37:52today. We'll be back tomorrow with Nick Carter. Next week we'll be back
- 37:57to yours truly, Johnny Doller on Wednesday for a couple of weeks. In
- 38:01the meantime, send your comments to Box thirteen of Great Detectors dot New,
- 38:05follow us on Twitter Radio Detectors, and have become one of our friends on
- 38:08Facebook, Facebook dot com. Slash Radio Detectors from Boise, Idaho. This
- 38:14is your host, Adam Grahamson and all