Latest / Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas / Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Happy Family Matter (EP1543)

Transcript

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Happy Family Matter (EP1543) · Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Volume 2|Mystery Audio Dramas

0:28
Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
0:33
is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
0:37
to me Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at
0:43
Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook dot com
0:48
slash Radio Detectives. Before we do get started, I do want to remind
0:53
you as you're making your travel plans, remember the name Johnny Dollar Air dot
0:58
com. Johnny Dollar Air dot com is my Priceline affiliate side, so you
1:03
get all the benefits of going through Priceline, naming your own price on hotels,
1:07
rental cars and airline tickets, choosing from Great publish fairs, or nearly
1:11
looking at a picture of William Shatner when you're making your travel plan. But
1:15
the best part is that part of your purchase price goes to support the Great
1:19
Detectives of Old Time Radio at no additional cost to you. So when you're
1:25
making your travel plans, remember Johnny Dollar Air dot com. First. Well,
1:29
now it's time for yours, truly Johnny Dollar. The original air date
1:34
December the fifteenth, nineteen fifty seven. The title The Happy Family Matter from
1:40
Hollywood. It's time now for Donny Dollar. Mister Dollar, I want you
1:49
to come over here right away. What's that again? I want you to
1:53
come over here right away. And that's what I thought you said. But
1:57
who is this and where's here? This is LSB. Watkins, Miss Dollar.
2:02
You've heard of me? Perhaps? Yeah? I think so? Manufacture,
2:06
aren't you? At the moment? That seems to be a matter of
2:07
opinion? Over here is broad Acres at Fairfield, Connecticut. Would you mind
2:14
telling me what this is all about, mister Watkins. It's very simple.
2:17
I have one hundred thousand dollars to give away all to whom. That is
2:23
what you are going to tell me, mister Dollar. I'll get there as
2:29
soon as I can. Bob Bailey and the Exciting Adventures of the Man with
2:40
the Action Packed Expense Account America's Fabulous Freelance Insurance Investigator. It's truly Johnny Dollar,
2:52
and no act one of yours. Truly Johnny Dollar. Expense account submitted
3:10
by Special Investigator Johnny Dollar to the estate of E. P. Watkins,
3:15
Fairfield, Connecticut. Following is an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of
3:20
the Happy Family Matter expense account. Adam one a dollar twenty taxi from my
3:29
apartment of the Home Office of the Universal Adjustment Bureau and Pat mccrackett. Well
3:36
didn't take mister Watkins long to get in touch with you, Johnny. Yeah,
3:38
I figured he must have got my name from you. Pat Ah.
3:40
E. P. Watkins holds a life policy for one hundred thousand dollars.
3:45
Beneficiary was to have been his wife, but she died several months ago.
3:49
Now he wants to designate a new beneficiary. You mean he wants me to
3:52
tell him who the beneficiary should be. That's right, No, thanks.
3:54
Now, look you look, Pat, I got tangled up in a family
3:58
matter once before. I still have this guy to prove. Monny, why
4:00
doesn't mister Watkins pick his own beneficial? Ordinarily he would, but in a
4:03
case like this it might take time. So what from what I can gather,
4:08
Johnny, mister Watkins doesn't have much time left to live? Oh?
4:15
Okay, Pat, I him two four dollars thirty cents transportation by car to
4:24
Broad Acres the Watkins home in Fairfield. It was a big place and it
4:27
was old. I was shown into the library. E. P. Watkins
4:30
was sitting in front of the farm I could see that he wasn't well,
4:34
but there was still a lot of strength in his face. Mister dollar,
4:40
According to the medical authorities, I have somewhere between one week and one year
4:46
live. I'm sorry, I'm not Oh. My wife is dead, my
4:53
business is on the verge of collapse, and my children are strangers. Should
4:57
I be sorry? Well, I I don't know. I have three possible
5:01
beneficiaries, a daughter Sheila twenty eight years old, the sun Minel twenty six,
5:08
and another daughter, Elizabeth twenty four Or why not have all three share
5:11
equaling, mister dollar. Had I wished to do that, I would not
5:13
be calling on you. The others will be taken care of elsewhere. In
5:17
the estate, I suppose there is no estate other than this insurance policy.
5:24
Ah, most of it has gone down the train of anailing business. The
5:28
rest will be consumed in estate expenses. I see Watkins money should be kept
5:31
in the Watkins family as I see it, But I I most emphatically wish
5:38
the money to go to one member and one member only, and the other
5:42
two they are to be left out in the cold. Huh. I did
5:46
not engage you to examine my motives, mister Dollar. You have asked me
5:50
a direct question, and I will give you a direct answer. Yes,
5:56
I intend, as you put it, to leave the other two out in
5:59
the cool. Uh. You say there are three of them, Sheila and
6:04
Michael Elizabeth. What can you tell me about them? Well, Sheila,
6:10
who lives with me, seems to think that she should be managing my affairs
6:15
instead of I. Uh huh. Michael seems to prefer the so called life
6:19
of an artist to assuming the responsibilities of the name of Watkins. And Elizabeth
6:25
Stubborn. Stubborn married to one James Lobbert, who is quite convinced that he
6:30
knows infinitely more about business matters than I ever did. Well, you seem
6:34
to take a pretty dim view of all of them, mister Watkins. I
6:36
do. I do. Indeed, mister donnin you know, one little line
6:41
of occurs to me. And what is that whichever two are left out aren't
6:44
going to like it very much, obviously, which means they're not going to
6:47
like me very much, also quite obvious. So I intend to pay you
6:53
a considerable fee, but you will earn it every penny of it. BacT,
7:03
two of yours, truly, Johnny Dollar in a moment and now for
7:08
another episode in the life of Sergeant Donald Bellweather. My husband arriba. Is
7:21
everything packed in this duffel bag? Yeah? Everything with these sarge. Oh,
7:25
let me see that bottle? Rabo. What in the world would a
7:28
bunch of guys on our fishing trip want where he's indigestion pill? Now you
7:31
just take them along, don Remember you boys will be doing your own cooking
7:34
for three whole days. Maybe you're right, Oh boy, I can hardly
7:40
wake up. Pop some of those freshly caught fish into the pan. Now
7:45
everything's all packed. Yeah, well, we better get going. The fellas
7:46
will be waiting. I'll walk in to the car. Okay, carry this
7:50
bag and the rest of the gear has already packed ye for you. Oh
7:55
thanks, honey. Now I'll just put the bag in the back seat.
8:03
Okay, kiss me up by it right here on the front lawn so the
8:07
neighbors will know I'm not leaving because we quarrel. So good luck, dear,
8:15
I have a wonderful time. You really deserve this fishing trip. Well
8:18
is that all you got to say? I mean you you You usually tell
8:22
me to drive carefully, et cetera, et cetera. Well this time I
8:26
will not say a word. Okay, dear, well, I guess how
8:33
better be going? Hey, what's this note on the steering wheel, dear
8:39
sergeant. On one holiday last year in the States, speed was a factor
8:45
and seventy one percent of the accidents drinking was a factor in nearly half.
8:50
Accidents were most frequent early in the weekend. Eight percent of the accidents happened
8:56
in rural areas, and the victims were usually the drivers. You'r loving wife,
9:01
Reba. I might have known you'd get to me somehow. I'm gonna
9:07
miss you. I'm gonna miss you too, Riba. And don't you worry,
9:11
I'll drive safely. That's my Donald, that's my Dollar. No act
9:26
too off? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the happy family matter. Well,
9:33
this was undoubtedly the weirdest assignment I've ever been handed, and from one
9:35
of the weirdest characters I've ever met, E P. Watkins. And yet
9:39
I couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He was really alone, and somewhere
9:43
along the line he must have been hurt pretty badly. I left the library
9:46
and started through the drawing room. I'm Sheila, Oh yeah, I'd like
9:54
to talk to you for a moment. Sure, I know what you must
10:00
think of my father, or do you? But if you're inclined to judge
10:03
him harshly, just remember he wasn't always like this. Oh so so very
10:11
many things have gone wrong for him, like what like Well, I'm afraid
10:18
the main thing is his feeling that the three of us, Elizabeth, Michael,
10:20
and I have let him down somehow. He seems to resent us so
10:26
terribly. Why should he, Sheila, I'm not sure I think he resents
10:31
me because I'm not a man. Oh you see, I'm the oldest,
10:35
and in many ways I'm more like father than the others are. If I'd
10:39
been a man, I could have well taken over for him. Yeah,
10:45
I've tried to do what I could, help make decisions, that sort of
10:48
thing. But I think I still have anything of that too. Well,
10:54
I gather it hasn't exactly been easy for you living here with him. Somebody
10:58
has to, and the others have lives of their own. Speaking of the
11:03
others, I'd like to talk to them. Where can I find them?
11:05
And her husband live in Cranford, New Jersey, and Michael's in New York
11:11
in Greenwich Village. Okay, thanks, she outwardly she was poised, but
11:18
I could tell she was nervous, tense. Her fingers wouldn't stay still.
11:22
She kept shredding bits of cellophane from her cigarette package. Yeah, she was
11:26
under strain, all right, And I can understand why I had him three
11:31
eight dollars and forty cents transportation in New York City to the Greenwich Village apartment
11:35
of Michael Watkins. Mister Dolla, you can tell Dad that I do not
11:39
want that insurance money. Why not, Mike, because it doesn't well,
11:41
he doesn't owe me anything and I don't know him anything. It was a
11:45
clean break, and that's just the way I wanted. You're sure about that.
11:48
I am. I'm doing what I want to do. I'm painting Everything
11:52
is just the way I want it. You know, Mike, you sounds
11:54
sort of like you were trying to convince yourself. I resent that, mister
11:58
Dolla. Family is split apart, that's all. Sheila has been trying her
12:03
best to hold it together, but it won't work. Why not because I
12:05
have had it for years. Dad's been trying to cram Watkins in Company down
12:09
my throat. He knew my heart wasn't in it. But did that matter
12:13
to him? No, Look, mister Dollar, I can make your job
12:18
real easy for you. Yeah, there's one person in our family really deserves
12:22
that money after what he's been through. Sheila. Yes, Sheila had them
12:33
four six dollars even transportation of the love It's home and Cranford, New Jersey.
12:37
Mister Dollar, he's sending you here is some scheme of Dad's to will
12:41
to force us in the line. You're wasting your time and so is he.
12:43
Oh wait a minute, after the way he's treated, Jim relaxed.
12:46
Honey, that's all over and done with. Look, Dollar, I can
12:50
simplify your job for you. Can you give the insurance to Elizabeth here?
12:56
Why? Because then I can get my hands on it all. Well,
13:01
what would you do with it, Jim? By controlling interest in Watkins in
13:03
Company and put the business back on its feet. You once work for Watkins
13:07
in Company? Why did you leave? Because he's still running it the way
13:11
he did thirty years ago. It won't work and I wouldn't be a part
13:16
of it. Jim tried, mister Dollar, he really did, but Dad
13:18
wouldn't even listen to him. For years. He tried to get Mike to
13:22
take over the business. But Mike prefers to be off in never never Land
13:24
painting those lousy pictures of him. Now, Jim, they are lousy,
13:28
and you know at least look, Jim, you say, mister Watkins didn't
13:31
give you a chance to put your ideas into effect. Huh No. Finally
13:35
things got to the breaking point, Dollar. I sent him a written contract
13:41
guaranteeing i'd raised the necessary financing. I asked for only six months in charge
13:46
contract, but he wouldn't accept your offer. No, Sheila begged him to
13:50
sign. Finally he sent word back for me to tear up the contract and
13:54
get out of the company. I see, well, Dollar, you've met
13:58
all three of us. Now who's going to be the beneficiary, Sheila or
14:03
Mike or Elizabeth. One thing I wanted to check on was Jim's opinion that
14:13
Mike was not a good painter. I nosed around until I found an art
14:16
dealer who'd handled his work. He showed me a couple of paintings and then
14:20
leveled with me, so far as he could see, Mike was allows the
14:24
artists. I went back to my hotel to think it over, but I
14:28
found a message that mister Watkins, attorney wanted to talk to me. He'd
14:31
taken a room on the floor above, so I went upstairs. Halfway into
14:39
the room, I noticed it was dark. Then as I heard the door
14:43
slam, I felt a gun barrel on my back. Oh real, still,
14:46
Dulla, Oh you that don't matter. What's this all about, Della?
14:52
This case you're working on, you drop it right now? And if
14:56
I don't shot, don't you get dropped for ke Act Free of yours truly,
15:16
Johnny Dollar in a moment, do you know who said that man is
15:22
free who is protected from injury? Those words came from Daniel Webster, one
15:30
of the most eloquent orators in American history. Webster knew that a man could
15:35
not be free unless he lived in a country which recognized his right to freedom
15:39
and created laws to protect that freedom. A slave state may say that its
15:45
citizens are free, but as long as a single citizen can be harmed by
15:48
the whim of a country's rulers, true freedom does not exist. A man
15:54
is free only if his rights to freedom are protected. Remember the words of
16:00
Daniel Webster. They are part of your American heritage. The freeman must be
16:07
protected from injury now. Act three of yours truly, Johnny Dollar and the
16:12
happy family matter. You get the message, Dollar, sure I dropped the
16:26
case or else. Look, you're obviously not Watkins attorney. The message was
16:30
just a decoy to get me here. Who hired you to give me kit
16:33
so losey Dollar, you got the warning. It's the main point, Just
16:37
to make sure you get the lessons. I'd seen what was coming a duck
16:42
then swung and knocked the gun out of his hand. He gave me a
16:45
knee in the stomach at foot. By the time I got to my feet,
16:53
he was gone. I turned on the licensed around on the table.
17:00
I spotted something that stopped me cold. The truth had been right under my
17:03
nose all the time. I call the various members of the family asked them
17:10
to meet me at the Watkins home. When I got there, they were
17:12
waiting for me, mister Watkins, Sheila and Mike, Elizabeth and her husband
17:15
Jim. There was a stiff chilli politeness in the air. There was tension
17:19
too, mister Dollar. I want you to know that I resent your theatrical
17:26
gesture and assemblingers like this. And I'm sorry, mister Watkins, but you
17:29
hired me to do a job, and I'm trying to do it. I'm
17:32
sure you have reasons for this, mister Dolla, but you must know how
17:36
painful this is to father. Yes, I know, Sheila, but it
17:38
is necessary. I don't see why I'm coming to that, Mike. Now
17:41
look, let's face it, this is not exactly the happiest family in the
17:45
world. It's been torn wide apart, all right. Why is it torn
17:48
apart? Oh, that's ancient history, mister Dollar. Maybe some of it
17:52
is Elizabeth, but a lot of it isn't. Well, I don't see
17:53
what's to be gained by rehashing him. Finish, Honey. Just what are
18:00
you driving at Dollar? Just this, Jim. I was hired to find
18:03
out what I could about the three beneficiaries. On the surface, everybody was
18:07
very cooperative, honest. Somebody in this family didn't really want me to make
18:11
this investigation, Sheila. They hired a strong arm to rough me up earlier
18:15
this evening to make me drop the investigation. Nonsense. Sorry, mister Watkins,
18:18
but I've got the scars to prove it. Let's start with you,
18:21
Mike. I want to know why you quit the family business and started painting.
18:26
I told you it was because dad kept trying to cram the business down
18:29
my throat. Why you ungrateful? It's true, I couldn't take it any
18:33
longer. Sure, but you'd felt that way for a long while. What
18:37
led you to make the break? Mike? Well, I wouldn't even Sheila
18:41
agreed it was no use. She encouraged you. Of course I encouraged Jim.
18:47
I felt he should have the right to a life of presume. But
18:51
Sheila, you told me that you would beg Mike to stay in the company.
18:55
She I was acting in the best interest just the family, were you,
19:02
Sheila? Mister Tyler, I don't know what you're trying to suggest that
19:07
brings us to Jim and Elizabeth here, Jim, you've quit the company too.
19:11
Why I've already told you dollar, mister Watkins refused my last offer of
19:15
help kick me out? And that's not true. What off were you talking
19:21
about? That contract? I sent you? What contract? You never saw
19:25
it, did you, mister watt I most certainly did not for that.
19:30
Wait a minute. I gave the contract to Sheila. She said it'd be
19:34
better if she handle it. Then she told me later she disgusted with her
19:37
father, and he refused. Sheila you lied well, Shela, I refused
19:48
to Shela, you you have a nervous habit of shredding Culliban cigarette rappers to
19:53
Bitts. In the hotel room where that hired strong arm jumped me, I
19:59
found a little pile of shredded cell of fate near the ash tray, Shela,
20:04
I don't understand to understand that you're suggesting it. It's beIN to understand
20:11
me, well, Sheila, Yes, father, why m Hm? I'm
20:27
not sure. I don't know. Hey, Look, I'm an insurance investigator,
20:33
not a psychologist. But I don't think this is too hard to understand,
20:37
Sheila. Once you're trying somehow to to punish Hm. I'm not sure,
20:48
Sheila. Oh, Sheila, that's true. You need help. See
20:56
they all had a life of their own. Accept me. Who will help
21:02
you? Dear, who'll get help for you? I hated what I was
21:06
doing. I just couldn't see it to help myself, mister Dollar, you
21:17
will understand that I am rather bewildered by all this. I do know.
21:22
Mister Watkins, you suggest that she was deliberately trying to cheer the family apart
21:32
in order to punish someone. Well, That's only a guess, mister Watkins,
21:36
but I think it's probably a good one. Then she was trying to
21:41
punish me, I think so. Should I understand? Why did she ever
21:52
have a life of her own? Was she ever allowed to have one?
22:00
Mister Dollar, I requested you to designate a beneficiary for me. That's right.
22:10
I now request you to suspend further action for the time being. It
22:15
appears the matter requires further thought. Yeah. Yeah, Item six eight dollars
22:30
and fifty cents transportation and Incidental's back home expense account total seventy three dollars.
22:36
Even remarks Sheila is now undergoing treatment and the outlook is favorable. Elizabeth's husband,
22:42
Jim is managing the affairs of Watkins and Company. Mike is helping him,
22:47
and I guess he's doing a good job. Mister Watkins. Well,
22:51
he's still alive, and his doctor tells me that now the old gentleman has
22:53
found some reasons to be alive, he'll probably be with us quite a while
22:59
and make all three of his children his beneficiaries. Yours, truly, Johnny
23:03
Dollar, Yours truly. Johnny Dollar starring Bob Bailey, originates in Hollywood and
23:36
is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Tonight's story was written by Robert Wright.
23:41
Heard in our cast were Virginia, Greg Shirley Mitchell, John Dayner,
23:45
Larry Dobkin, Peter Leeds, and Paul dubob Be sure to join us next
23:49
week, same time and station for another exciting story of yours, truly,
23:53
Johnny Dollar. This is Dan cobberly speaking. A welcome back. Well an
25:22
interesting twist at the end of this mystery, and certainly the title seemed a
25:29
bit ironic since nobody was really all that abby, But I think what the
25:33
program showed was that beneath it all, they still cared about one another,
25:40
and that was brought out really well in the final scene of the story.
25:44
Of course, it's worth noting that this episode first aired ten days before Christmas.
25:48
Now, Johnny Dawler did do a Christmas episode this year as well,
25:52
which will bring you in December. But many programs, not all, but
26:00
would kind of calm their action down for two or even three weeks during the
26:07
holiday season. There'd still be mysteries, but there wouldn't be corpses involved in
26:12
the mysteries. It's an interesting approach to take, and when you see those
26:17
shows that do actually make some seasonal changes in their programs. I kind of
26:23
wish I could synchronize the shows to the calendars, but there are too many
26:29
preemptions, lost episodes and things like that to make it possible. But like
26:33
we said, we do in our Christmas episodes, I try and save those
26:37
for Christmas. I also, regarding the PSA, had to appreciate the sergeant's
26:42
life as a joke, not talking to them about safety only to leave a
26:48
note warning of the potential of horrible doom while on the highway. Of course,
26:53
highway safety is an important message, but I'm not so certain about these
26:57
early commercials mentioned that Herb Vigrant, a veteran of Dragnet and many other detective
27:04
shows, as in character roles anyway, played Sarge. All right, Well,
27:10
that will do it for today. We'll be back tomorrow with Dragnet and
27:15
join us next Friday for another episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Doller. In
27:18
the meantime, send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net,
27:23
follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on
27:29
Facebook, Facebook dot com. Slash Radio Detectives from Boise, Idaho This is
27:33
your host, Adam Grahamson and off.