transcript
Speaker 1:
[00:28] Welcome to The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode of The Big Story. But first, I do want to encourage you, if you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And I also want to encourage you to check out our other podcast. Today, I am highlighting The Great Adventures of Old Time Radio, where we are kicking off a new Tarzan serial today. And that's a great jumping on point. And of course, we are also playing Counterspot. So I do encourage you to follow that. You can find The Great Adventures of Old Time Radio, wherever you get your podcasts from, or at greatadventures.info. Now, from January 4th, 1950, here is Murder and the Frustrated Father.
Speaker 2:
[01:30] The Big Story.
Speaker 3:
[01:43] Mr. Norton, do sit down. I'm sure Dr. Parrish will be coming out of the maternity ward any moment now.
Speaker 4:
[01:49] Yes, but I wish he'd hurry, nurse.
Speaker 3:
[01:51] I never saw a prospective father yet who wasn't a bundle of nerves. Now, if you'd try to be calm, Mr. Norton. Oh, here's the doctor now.
Speaker 5:
[01:59] Well, congratulations, Mr. Norton, father of a healthy eight-pound baby girl.
Speaker 4:
[02:06] Girl.
Speaker 5:
[02:06] That's right, and you may go in, see your wife now, if you like.
Speaker 2:
[02:11] No.
Speaker 5:
[02:12] What?
Speaker 2:
[02:14] I won't see her.
Speaker 4:
[02:15] You don't want to see your wife, Mr. Norton? That's what I said. I don't want to see her.
Speaker 2:
[02:31] Kansas City, Missouri. From the wires of the United Press, the story of Murder and the Frustrated Father. Kansas City, Missouri. The story as it actually happened. Sam Melnick's story, as he lived it.
Speaker 6:
[03:03] You were Sam Melnick, a police reporter for the United Press, operating out of the Kansas City Bureau. It's been a long day, a dull day, and finally your stomach tells you it's dinnertime. There's one place you always go for dinner, and for your money, it's the best meal in Kansas City. So you get on the phone and make a reservation.
Speaker 2:
[03:27] Hello? Hello, Mom, Sam.
Speaker 3:
[03:30] Oh, Sam. What time will you be home?
Speaker 5:
[03:32] In an hour.
Speaker 6:
[03:33] Hey, what's for dinner?
Speaker 3:
[03:34] Pot roast.
Speaker 7:
[03:35] Ah, pot roast.
Speaker 3:
[03:36] With potato pancakes and applesauce.
Speaker 5:
[03:39] Tell me more.
Speaker 6:
[03:40] What's for dessert?
Speaker 3:
[03:41] Your favorite.
Speaker 6:
[03:42] You don't mean lemon meringue pie.
Speaker 3:
[03:45] And now, Sam, you have to excuse me. I've got to get back to the kitchen. I'll expect you in an hour.
Speaker 8:
[03:50] Oh, Mom, wait a minute.
Speaker 3:
[03:51] Yes?
Speaker 6:
[03:52] I've changed my mind. I'd better make that a half hour. On your way home, you stop in at Frank's Bar, next to the City National Bank Building and across the street from the Kansas City Star. Just for a quick one. And you don't know it at the time, but while you're there, gabbing with the other newspaper boys, your big story is just beginning to break over on 27th Street.
Speaker 9:
[04:26] Ed, I, you better stop the car here.
Speaker 7:
[04:29] But we're still a couple of blocks from your house, Jackie.
Speaker 9:
[04:31] I know, but...
Speaker 7:
[04:33] But you're afraid to let me take you home. You're afraid your father will see us.
Speaker 9:
[04:39] Ed, Ed, please, let's not talk about it anymore.
Speaker 7:
[04:42] We've got to talk about it, honey. Here and now. I'm sick of meeting you on street corners away from the house and fed up with seeing you only in the daytime when your father's at the office. Tired of dodging him and hiding from him? What are we, criminals or something?
Speaker 9:
[04:56] Ed, Ed, you don't understand.
Speaker 7:
[04:58] Yes, I do. I understand. Well, maybe you're afraid of your father, Jackie, but I'm not. What right has he got to run your life like this? What kind of a man is he, anyway?
Speaker 9:
[05:09] He's been good to me, Ed. He's been a good father to me ever since I can remember. Only.
Speaker 7:
[05:15] Only what?
Speaker 9:
[05:17] Only. Well, he has some funny ideas.
Speaker 7:
[05:22] I'll say he has. Here you are, Jackie, nineteen, nineteen years old, and he's never let you go out with boys. I'm the first boyfriend you ever had, and I have to meet you secretly. Why?
Speaker 9:
[05:37] I don't know, Ed. I don't know.
Speaker 7:
[05:40] Neither do I. But I'm going to find out tonight.
Speaker 9:
[05:44] Tonight?
Speaker 7:
[05:45] Yeah. You and I are going to have a date tonight, Jackie. And what's more, I'm coming to the house to get you.
Speaker 9:
[05:50] No, Ed, you can't. Dad will be home.
Speaker 7:
[05:52] That's just the point. We'll stand up to him together.
Speaker 9:
[05:54] No, no, Ed, I'm afraid. Dad will-
Speaker 10:
[05:56] Dad, dad, dad, dad.
Speaker 7:
[06:04] You're going to have to make a choice.
Speaker 9:
[06:06] Choice? What choice?
Speaker 7:
[06:11] Either your father or me. Either I come to your house tonight, or we're all washed out.
Speaker 9:
[06:20] Wait, no.
Speaker 7:
[06:21] Yes. That's the way it's got to be, honey. You've got to stop being afraid of your father sometime. As long as he owns you like this, there's no place for me. Well, Jackie, shall I call for you tonight or not?
Speaker 9:
[06:39] All right, Ed. All right. You come to the house, and I'll be waiting for you. Mother, mother, I'm afraid Ed will be here in half an hour and dad...
Speaker 10:
[07:05] Yes, yes, he'll be home any minute now.
Speaker 9:
[07:08] Oh, I don't know, I don't know. I shouldn't have let Ed come. What will dad say?
Speaker 10:
[07:11] What will I tell him? This time, Jacqueline, I'll talk to your father.
Speaker 9:
[07:15] You? Oh, but mother...
Speaker 10:
[07:17] I know. For years, ever since you were born, I've never dared stand up to it. But now, it's time I did. You're a grown girl now. You deserve a life of your own. A young man of your own.
Speaker 9:
[07:32] Mother... Mother, I've asked you a hundred times, and you've never told me. Why does dad let Edna and Ruthie have all the dates they want, but when it comes to me, well... Why am I different from my sisters?
Speaker 10:
[07:48] It's a long story, Jacqueline. It goes way back. Someday, I'll tell you.
Speaker 9:
[07:53] Mother, mother is dead. He just came in the front door.
Speaker 4:
[07:55] Quick, Jacqueline.
Speaker 10:
[07:56] Run up to your room.
Speaker 4:
[08:00] Jackie, I... Oh, it's you, mother.
Speaker 10:
[08:05] Yes, Albert.
Speaker 4:
[08:06] Where's Jackie?
Speaker 10:
[08:07] Upstairs.
Speaker 7:
[08:08] Dressing.
Speaker 4:
[08:10] Dressing? For what?
Speaker 10:
[08:12] She's got a date tonight.
Speaker 4:
[08:14] A date?
Speaker 7:
[08:17] You mean...
Speaker 10:
[08:17] I mean with a young man, Albert.
Speaker 4:
[08:21] I see. Well, I'll soon put a stop to that.
Speaker 7:
[08:27] Albert, just a minute.
Speaker 4:
[08:29] Yes?
Speaker 10:
[08:30] You're going to leave that girl alone.
Speaker 4:
[08:33] Oh, am I? You're taking a lot for granted, aren't you, Martha?
Speaker 10:
[08:37] I'm trying to stop you from ruining Jacqueline's life, that's all.
Speaker 4:
[08:40] What are you talking about?
Speaker 10:
[08:41] Oh, well, I know what's going on in your mind, Albert. I've known it ever since Jacqueline was born. You wanted a boy. You wanted a boy desperately. And you hated me because I bore you a third daughter. And all these years, you...
Speaker 4:
[08:56] Yes, Martha, what about all these years?
Speaker 10:
[09:00] You tried to bring her up as a boy. You've always called her Jackie, never Jackal. You've never let her live a girl's life. She never even had a doll, Albert. You wouldn't let her have one. She never had a party dress or a pair of dancing shoes or a string of beads.
Speaker 4:
[09:16] Go on, Martha, you interest me.
Speaker 10:
[09:18] You never let her join a sorority, nor have girlfriends here at the house or go out with boys. Instead, you took her fishing or bowling or to baseball and hockey games. Yes, Albert, all these years to satisfy your own frustration, you've tried to bring her up as a boy.
Speaker 3:
[09:35] And now, now you've failed.
Speaker 4:
[09:38] I have, huh? Yes.
Speaker 10:
[09:40] Yes, Albert, you have. She's a lovely, mature girl now. She's in love with a young man, and she's going to lead her own life and be the eunuch of anyone else in this world can stop it.
Speaker 4:
[09:50] Oh, I can't. Well, we'll see about that.
Speaker 9:
[09:52] Albert, you let that girl alone.
Speaker 4:
[09:54] Get out of my way, mother.
Speaker 10:
[09:55] Albert, don't you dare.
Speaker 4:
[09:55] Get out of my way. She's my child, do you hear? And no one else is going to tell me how to bring her up. Jackie, your mother tells me that you've got a date with a young fellow, and that he's coming here tonight.
Speaker 9:
[10:25] Yes, Dad.
Speaker 4:
[10:26] Now, you know my wishes in the matter.
Speaker 9:
[10:28] Dad, I'm nineteen now. I'm not a child anymore.
Speaker 4:
[10:31] I'm still your father, and I still know what's best for you. Have I been a bad father to you, Jackie?
Speaker 9:
[10:36] No, no, Dad, you haven't.
Speaker 4:
[10:37] Haven't we always been, well, pals? Gone everywhere together, done everything together?
Speaker 9:
[10:43] Yes, but...
Speaker 4:
[10:44] Why, we've been almost...
Speaker 9:
[10:45] Like father and son, Dad.
Speaker 4:
[10:49] Why did you say that? Has your mother been talking to you?
Speaker 9:
[10:52] No, no, Dad, why?
Speaker 4:
[10:55] Nothing only. I forbid you to go out with this boy.
Speaker 9:
[11:02] I'm sorry, Dad. I'm going out with him anyway. I love him and I'm going to marry him.
Speaker 4:
[11:12] I see, then I'm... We're going to lose you.
Speaker 9:
[11:20] Oh, Dad, Dad, please try to understand.
Speaker 4:
[11:23] I do understand. What's this boy's name, Jackie?
Speaker 9:
[11:29] Ed.
Speaker 3:
[11:30] Ed Carlisle.
Speaker 4:
[11:32] Ed Carlisle. And what time will he be here?
Speaker 3:
[11:36] At eight.
Speaker 9:
[11:37] Oh, Dad, Dad, you won't raise any fuss. You'll talk to Ed, meet him.
Speaker 4:
[11:41] Yes, under the circumstances. I'm looking forward to meeting him, Jack.
Speaker 9:
[11:46] Oh, Dad. Dad, I know you'd see it my way. Only... Only one thing.
Speaker 4:
[11:54] Yes.
Speaker 9:
[11:56] Please don't call me Jackie anymore. It sounds too much like a boy's name. And I'm... Well, I'm grown up. Just call me Jackal and Dad.
Speaker 4:
[12:24] Come in.
Speaker 7:
[12:26] My name's Ed Carlisle. Is Jackie...
Speaker 4:
[12:29] She's in her room. She'll be down in a minute.
Speaker 7:
[12:35] Mr. Norton, I wanted to talk to you...
Speaker 4:
[12:36] I'll do all the talking around here, Carlisle. My daughter tells me you two are in love.
Speaker 7:
[12:41] Yes, sir.
Speaker 4:
[12:42] And that you plan to marry her and take her away from here, from me.
Speaker 7:
[12:46] That's right, sir. With your permission.
Speaker 4:
[12:48] You don't have my permission.
Speaker 7:
[12:51] I'm sorry, Mr. Norton. But in that case, I guess we'll have to get married without it.
Speaker 4:
[12:57] You try anything like that, you young... What was her name again?
Speaker 7:
[13:01] Mr. Norton.
Speaker 4:
[13:02] She belongs to me, you understand? She's my child, and nobody's going to steal her from me.
Speaker 7:
[13:05] But, Mr. Norton...
Speaker 4:
[13:06] Get out!
Speaker 7:
[13:06] I don't... Get out of this house, I said! No!
Speaker 4:
[13:10] No, I won't.
Speaker 7:
[13:12] Not until I say what I came to say. You might as well face it, Mr. Norton. Jackie's 19. She's a grown woman. We're in love, and you're going to lose her. You know you're going to lose her.
Speaker 4:
[13:22] Oh, I...
Speaker 7:
[13:23] She's got a right to her freedom, just like any other person. Mr. Norton, put down that gun.
Speaker 4:
[13:32] Nobody's going to steal Jackie from me, and nobody's going to take her from me.
Speaker 7:
[13:36] Mr. Norton, no. Put down that gun.
Speaker 3:
[13:38] Dad! Dad, no!
Speaker 8:
[13:39] If I can't have you, Jackie, nobody else will!
Speaker 6:
[14:10] And then your mother comes in.
Speaker 3:
[14:12] Sam, where have you been?
Speaker 6:
[14:14] I just down at Frank's place, across from the star, Mom.
Speaker 3:
[14:16] Oh, I wondered what happened to you. Well, I've got everything all ready. You better get washed up and... Oh, no. Sam, don't answer it.
Speaker 6:
[14:24] I better, Mom.
Speaker 3:
[14:26] It's probably that night manager down at the bureau again. And if that horrible man thinks he's going to take you away from my dinner again, just because of the story...
Speaker 6:
[14:34] Oh, forget it, Mom. Don't worry. It's been a very dull day. I'll just brush him off and sit down for dinner. Melnick talking. Oh, hello, Bill.
Speaker 5:
[14:43] What?
Speaker 6:
[14:44] What? On 27th Street. Yeah, sure. I'll get right on it.
Speaker 5:
[14:49] On my way now.
Speaker 6:
[14:50] Mom, I gotta rush.
Speaker 3:
[14:52] What about my pot roast and pancakes?
Speaker 6:
[14:54] Keep it warm, Mom. I'll be back as soon as I can.
Speaker 2:
[14:56] A big story's breaking.
Speaker 3:
[14:57] What big story?
Speaker 6:
[14:58] A father just murdered his daughter. You, Sam Melnick of the United Press, have just been tipped off that a sensational murder has taken place on your beat, Kansas City. So you leave your mother's dinner table and rush down to police headquarters to get yourself a few facts. Luckily, you're the first reporter there, but you know the rest of the wolves are on their way. And the first thing you do is call Lieutenant John Brackett in charge of the investigation. So this Albert Norton killed his own daughter, John.
Speaker 5:
[15:47] That's right, Sam. He started to go for a boyfriend first, but when the girl came downstairs, he spun around and let her have it. Then he broke away.
Speaker 6:
[15:54] No trace, huh?
Speaker 5:
[15:55] No, no trace. We blocked all the highways, got men at all the railroad, air and bus terminals.
Speaker 6:
[16:01] You know, John, he could be right here in KC.
Speaker 5:
[16:05] Could be. He called us right after he shot the daughter, so wherever he is, he didn't have time to get very far.
Speaker 6:
[16:13] Speaking of Norton's wife, where is she now?
Speaker 5:
[16:15] Oh, we're keeping her and the two daughters and the boy, Ed Carlisle, down here at headquarters. Protective custody, huh?
Speaker 6:
[16:22] Then you figure this Norton is still dangerous, that he might come back and try something else.
Speaker 5:
[16:27] Can't afford to think otherwise, Sam. A man who'd do a job like this is more than a killer. He's a maniac.
Speaker 6:
[16:39] By this time, everyone and his cousin in Kansas City are swapping the switchboards, claiming they've seen Albert Norton. You check a few leads, phone him. You talk to Norton's sister and Mrs. Anna Regal. She hasn't heard a thing. You ride with a prowl car for a while and draw a blank. Finally in deep disgust, you ask the police dispatcher to call you in case anything breaks. You phone your mother that you're coming home for that dinner. And when you get there...
Speaker 5:
[17:09] Hello, Mom.
Speaker 3:
[17:10] Don't you hello me, Sam Melnick.
Speaker 6:
[17:12] Listen, Mom, I couldn't help it. I had to go out on a story.
Speaker 5:
[17:15] Now, how about that pot roast, huh?
Speaker 3:
[17:18] Did you get that story, Sam?
Speaker 6:
[17:21] No.
Speaker 3:
[17:21] Well, you're not going to get that pot roast either.
Speaker 5:
[17:24] I'm not.
Speaker 3:
[17:24] No, I kept it waiting for you so long it's all dried out. Now you'll have to eat meatloaf.
Speaker 6:
[17:30] Meatloaf? Well, what's wrong with that? I like meatloaf.
Speaker 10:
[17:34] I know you do, son.
Speaker 3:
[17:35] I've got it sizzling on the pan now and then human... Oh, no.
Speaker 5:
[17:39] Mom.
Speaker 3:
[17:40] Don't you dare answer that phone, Sam Melnick.
Speaker 6:
[17:42] Mom, I've got to.
Speaker 5:
[17:45] Melnick talking.
Speaker 7:
[17:46] Sam, this is Sergeant Blaine down at the headquarters.
Speaker 6:
[17:49] Yes, Sergeant.
Speaker 7:
[17:49] Just wanted to tip you off that the killer just phoned his sister, Mrs. Regal.
Speaker 5:
[17:53] What? Yeah. Better get up and see her before the rest of the wolves get wise.
Speaker 6:
[17:57] On my way, Sergeant.
Speaker 4:
[17:58] Thanks.
Speaker 6:
[17:59] Mom, I've got to rush.
Speaker 4:
[18:00] See you later.
Speaker 3:
[18:01] But Sam, what about my meatloaf?
Speaker 6:
[18:12] Mrs. Regal, just what did your brother say when he phoned?
Speaker 10:
[18:16] Well, first of all, he wanted to make sure that Jackie was dead.
Speaker 4:
[18:20] Yes.
Speaker 10:
[18:21] And he wanted to know where his wife was. Then before I could say anything else, he hung up.
Speaker 4:
[18:26] I see.
Speaker 10:
[18:27] Oh, Mr. Melnick, just gave me goose flesh just to listen to him. Albert's always been a little peculiar, but his voice over the phone sounded crazy.
Speaker 6:
[18:38] Mrs. Regal, did you ask him where he was calling from?
Speaker 10:
[18:41] Yes, yes, I asked him right off, that he was calling from the restaurant.
Speaker 6:
[18:45] The restaurant? At this time of night?
Speaker 10:
[18:47] That's what he said.
Speaker 6:
[18:50] Mrs. Regal, while you were listening, did you hear anything over the phone that might suggest a restaurant? You know, dishes rattling, pots and pans?
Speaker 10:
[18:58] No.
Speaker 6:
[18:59] Any sound of streetcars going by?
Speaker 10:
[19:01] I don't know. Now, there was nothing over the phone except Albert's voice. Guess I haven't been much of a help, Mr. Melnick.
Speaker 6:
[19:09] On the contrary, Mrs. Regal, you have. You've been a mighty big help. In fact, you've just given me an idea.
Speaker 5:
[19:26] You got a hunch on where the killer is, huh, Sam?
Speaker 6:
[19:29] That's right. Now, look, John, let's add this thing up.
Speaker 5:
[19:31] Okay, go ahead and add.
Speaker 6:
[19:33] The killer calls his sister at 1 a.m. and says he's calling from a restaurant.
Speaker 5:
[19:37] So?
Speaker 6:
[19:37] So there aren't very many restaurants in KC open at that time of night.
Speaker 5:
[19:41] There are some.
Speaker 6:
[19:42] Sure, but they're mostly on the main streets, and you've got prowl cars patrolling them. It stands to reason that Norton wouldn't take a chance exposing himself, and Mrs. Regal heard no streetcars or anything like that.
Speaker 5:
[19:55] In other words?
Speaker 6:
[19:56] In other words, John, the killer wasn't calling from a restaurant at all. He was phoning from a private home.
Speaker 5:
[20:02] Hey, that's interesting, Sam. Very. You know how many private homes there are in Kansas City?
Speaker 6:
[20:09] Sure, but my hunch is that the killer was calling from his own home.
Speaker 5:
[20:13] Oh, not that old cliche about the killer returning to the scene of his crime.
Speaker 6:
[20:17] I know. I said it was only a hunch. I can't back it up with anything concrete. Still?
Speaker 5:
[20:23] Still what?
Speaker 6:
[20:24] He might have gone back to his own house. You're holding the rest of his family down here under protective custody and the house is empty. Anyway, I'm going to have a look. Care to come along, John?
Speaker 5:
[20:37] Uh, maybe I'd better. If your hunch turned up right and I wasn't there, I'd never forgive myself. And neither would the police commissioner.
Speaker 6:
[20:46] Okay, John, let's go.
Speaker 5:
[20:48] All right with you. Oh, oh, oh, before we leave, Sam, there's something I forgot to tell you.
Speaker 6:
[20:52] Yeah?
Speaker 5:
[20:53] What's that? Your mother phoned headquarters here a little while ago, wanted to talk to you real bad. Yes?
Speaker 6:
[20:58] What did she say?
Speaker 5:
[20:59] Well, she was so upset over the phone, I didn't quite get what she was saying, but it was something about meatloaf.
Speaker 6:
[21:45] Brackett tries a couple of pass keys and then...
Speaker 2:
[21:49] That's it, Sam. It works.
Speaker 5:
[21:52] The door's open.
Speaker 11:
[21:53] Okay. Let's go in.
Speaker 5:
[21:55] Look, on second thought, Sam, maybe I'd better go in and corner this rabbit myself. If he's there.
Speaker 11:
[22:00] Oh, no, Joel. I'm going in with you.
Speaker 5:
[22:02] Look, you don't have to, Sam. You're a reporter. But I'm a police officer. I've got to go in. It's my duty.
Speaker 7:
[22:06] It's my story.
Speaker 2:
[22:07] It might be dangerous.
Speaker 7:
[22:09] All right.
Speaker 11:
[22:09] I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Speaker 5:
[22:11] Okay. Oh, before we go in, you got a gun?
Speaker 7:
[22:14] A gun?
Speaker 9:
[22:15] No.
Speaker 4:
[22:16] All right.
Speaker 5:
[22:17] I'll keep my gun ready.
Speaker 1:
[22:18] Yeah.
Speaker 5:
[22:18] You carry this flashlight.
Speaker 4:
[22:44] Stay in the coffee.
Speaker 1:
[22:47] Yeah, you're right.
Speaker 2:
[22:51] Sam, flashlight over here.
Speaker 5:
[22:53] There's a table. See what I see?
Speaker 4:
[22:59] Yeah. A cup of cold coffee and some cigarette butts.
Speaker 5:
[23:03] Looks like our friend is somewhere around.
Speaker 11:
[23:08] Sam, put out that flashlight.
Speaker 2:
[23:12] He's in the other room.
Speaker 11:
[23:14] Yeah.
Speaker 5:
[23:15] Sam, you move to one side, away from that door.
Speaker 2:
[23:18] John.
Speaker 5:
[23:18] Do as I say.
Speaker 11:
[23:20] Okay.
Speaker 5:
[23:23] All right, Norton, come out. Come out with your hands up. Okay, Norton, if you don't come out, we'll have to come in after you. Come on, Sam, we're going in. Got that gun, Norton?
Speaker 4:
[23:38] Not before I give you this. John, John, are you all right?
Speaker 5:
[23:45] Yeah. Any thanks, Sam. For what? You hadn't flashed that light in his face when you did, he'd have killed me, sure. And where I was standing, I was looking right down the mouth of his gun.
Speaker 6:
[24:02] And you, Sam Melnick, very tired and very hungry, hone in your story to the UP Bureau. Finally, at four o'clock in the morning, you come home.
Speaker 3:
[24:14] Hello, Sam.
Speaker 6:
[24:15] Oh, ma, you're still up?
Speaker 3:
[24:16] I'm still waiting for you to come home for dinner, son.
Speaker 6:
[24:19] Oh, gee, ma, I'm sorry. Had to cover a big story. A father killed his daughter because, well, because he wanted a boy in the first place.
Speaker 3:
[24:26] Here, eat your dinner.
Speaker 6:
[24:27] Ma, this is just pie and milk.
Speaker 10:
[24:29] That's all I got left.
Speaker 3:
[24:31] The meatloaf cooked dry just like the pot roast. And do you know what, Sam?
Speaker 6:
[24:36] What, ma?
Speaker 10:
[24:37] I wish you'd been born a girl.
Speaker 2:
[25:01] Now we read you that telegram from Sam Melnick of the United Press.
Speaker 6:
[25:04] As it turned out, Killer in tonight's Big Story had tried to commit suicide in his bedroom. The lieutenant had winged him in the arm so that he dropped his gun. Killer died from self-inflicted wound just before the ambulance came. To their husband, to their bitter end, Widow declared that except for insanely jealous rages, he was a good father.
Speaker 8:
[25:32] In order to protect the names of people actually involved in tonight's authentic big story, the names of all characters in the dramatization were changed with the exception of the newspaper reporter. The Big Story has been a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, the voice of information and education.
Speaker 1:
[27:07] Welcome back. Well, as usual with the AFRS recordings, we don't get the cast list, so let's go ahead and go through that. Stared as Mr. Melnick was Grant Richards. Also in the cast, Melba Rae, Ethel Remey, Kathleen Nidday, I think is how it's pronounced, Humphrey Davis, Bill Smith, and Beryl Firestone. This is a story where, unfortunately, the underlying incident could happen with some variation today. Now, the basic idea of this story, that a father who tried to control his daughter's life killed her when she was trying to go on the date, but most of the other details are different. It did happen in Kansas City, and the name of the young lady who was killed was Lula Mae Davis, who was killed by her father, Rae. But in real life, it was a situation where she got between the boyfriend and her father, and that's when she got shot, and he actually, it's somewhat of a different situation in terms of how, why he called in. He initially believed in real life that he had not killed her. And the final confrontation was not anything involving Melnick. Davis was surrounded by police in his last call to his family, stating that he's not going to put any more disgrace on the family and requested to be buried at the same time and place as his daughter. So a horrific situation with a few tweaks to reality thrown in. One thing that most people would not think would be any tie to reality was Sam Melnick's mother's cooking being victimized. Although it's interesting to hear from this era where you couldn't just put something in the stove and expect that it would automatically warm. It could be a problem. Although pot roast is such an unlikely victim, given that it tends to be slow cooked, and often is braised in liquid. Most moms who were good enough cooks that their cooking draws the son home could probably figure out to add some liquid in order to prevent this from happening, or still figure a way to preserve it for sandwiches or something. But they were committed to the bet. Well, listen to our comments and feedback. And we have a comment on YouTube from Michael, who writes, my grandmother, born in 1913, had quite a few 33 RPOM records of old time radio shows. This is very cool. Well, Michael, I'm glad you enjoy this. And the 33 RPOM, the long play records, were some of the earliest ways of commercially mass distributing old time radio programs. Because people had record players. Now, of course, there were real to real tapes that people copied, but not everyone had a real to real player. And so these were sold in record stores. I actually bought one of these records off of the eBay of my dad's favorite program from when he was growing up. He continually evoked to me the inner sanctum and it does play really well. And if your grandmother was born in 1913, then she would have been of an age where radio was a big part of her life, particularly as an adult. And then see some of the commercial records made of old radio programs in the 60s and 70s. So that makes a lot of sense. Thanks so much. Appreciate you sharing and glad to bring back some good memories. All right, well now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day. Thank you to Murph MCB, Patreon supporter since February, 2021. Currently supporting the podcast The Shamus level of $4 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support. That'll do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it from. We'll be back next Tuesday with another episode of The Big Story, but join us back here tomorrow for Broadway's My Beat where.
Speaker 11:
[32:08] Raymond or Harper?
Speaker 8:
[32:09] A little while ago, a man named Alex Raymond said your husband shot him.
Speaker 11:
[32:14] Then Edwin Harper must be running or hiding too. You mind telling me what you're talking about? Raymond and Harper incorporated. Together they employed my husband to make them rich. In this, my husband was successful. That he's made one of them dead will give you some idea of how important my husband was to the concern.
Speaker 8:
[32:34] And you think your husband's going to kill Edwin Harper too?
Speaker 11:
[32:38] My husband is what is known among educators, among partygoers, among those who conversationally psychoanalyze people as a plugger. The fact that my husband has set his mind to wiping out Raymond and Harper simply means that he had to kill one of them first. And none of this surprised you, Mrs. Lawson? Me least of all. I'm his wife. I attend his emotional moments. I know about my husband. Would you mind telling me why he killed Alex Raymond? No. Nor why.
Speaker 1:
[33:08] I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives and check us out on Instagram. instagram.com/greatdetectives. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.