Retro Radio Podcast

A black Gladstone bag ties Dignam to a murder. He was a short man, with a short wife, but had a preference for tall women. The bag, and its bloody contents date back to 1924. The dapper, persuasive talker finds himself in Scotland Yard, after Mrs Digman suspected him of cheating on her. Are the contents, and the bag his own? They seem to be, but Dignam doesn’t have an explanation for the blood. Uncomfortable, long silence does wonders to get Dignam to make his statement.

He describes the perfect little get away cottage, but was awakened by a tramp. After grappling with the larger man, who was killed, he panicked. Is he telling the tale truthfully? Evidence of another woman enters the picture. The owner of the rental cottage adds more pieces to the mystery, claiming Dignam was with his tall, blonde wife. No sign of any other men.

Inspecting the crime scene, on the dismal little beach, the disheveled room is just as the statement described. But will the scene tell the exact same story? Is it possible to tell the difference between a male and female body if destroyed by fire? The technology of the day says, no. Matilda Manning enters the story, distraught that her daughter has been killed by Dignam. What makes her think that? More charges pile up against the little man for legal gambling. Forensics evidence still provides enough proof of a woman’s presence, and holes knocked into his story are more than enough to link him to murder.

A woman comes to Richard for protection. She secretly witnessed her husband plotting to kill her, but there’s more to it than that. When Dick goes to investigate, he gets a thump on the head, and wakes as the prime suspect in a murder. It seems he didn’t protect his client very well, but the cops let him go to help uncover the real killer.

After surviving more thumps, and rough treatment, Dick gets away and turns to the night club scene. Will the torch singer in the club be able to help with answers? With the unintended help of a cute hat check girl, Dick puts an end to his bad guy.

Note: Arthur Q Brian is the police investigator. William Conrad is the business partner of the gambler, Caspary.

A new star has bloomed over the horizons, as Don introduces the star of the new feature, June Moon. Jack tells about his ordeal in being on Orson Welles recent production. Though Don’s praise is flattering, Mary could hit Jack over the head with a flute. As Dennis Day enters, Jack tells about dumping his waitress girlfriend, Gladys. Sunspots have made the news, with radio interference. Is this another prank by Orson? Jack phones him to find out. As the call degrades, Phil Harris is called upon to play, Relax.

Jack announces the play, his version of Disney’s beloved tale, Pinocchio. Parts are assigned, and the play begins, right after a song by Dennis, When You Wish Upon a Star.

Toymaker Jack puts the finishing touches on his creations when Mary Cricket visits, followed by the blue fairy, to grant a wish. The cast breaks out in song with, Give a Little Whistle.

Going to school, Pinocchio Jack is warned of the evil influences of Fred Allen, but who are those boys who are approaching? Phil and Dennis are vaudevillians who try to lure Jack away from a school career. The cast sing, An Actors Life for Me.

Giving up the roaming life, Pinocchio returns to the toy shop to find the blue fairy, but no father. Going to the depths of the sea, Pinocchio searches for his father. Will father and son be reunited? Will the blue fairy still have some magic to lend a hand?

Note: Mary Kelley is the blue fairy, and an old girlfriend of Jack’s. The main reason they didn’t get married was due to religious differences of their families.

Bonus Tracks

* Keith shares some differences in the original fairy tale of Pinocchio, and the violence that was softened for the Walt Disney production. Of course, Jack always has his own spin on the featured play. The tune, When You Wish Upon a Star won the Oscar for best song, and became a hit in the year 1940.

* Another hit of 1940: Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar – Andrews Sisters

Lou tells Bud about his gardening, and gets confused. Pruning, sawing, and the regular kind of oranges that he grows all get confused. Can Bud clear up matters when they visit the trees? His neighbor, Mrs Beanbag has a dispute with branches that hang over property lines. Will her husband help the matter at all?

Freddie Rich plays, Begin the Beguine.

Taking the matter to court, Bessie Beanbag will drop the matter if Lou pays 50 cents to replace her damaged bucket. That’s too simple, and Bud hires Kitzel to be the lawyer. Will the legal defense paint Lou in a good light? Will truth prevail? Should he just pay the 50 cents, or face jail time out of principal? How will the matter be decided once it goes to the Supreme Court?

Connie Haynes sings, The Trolley Song.

Sentenced to hard time in Alcatraz, Lou makes little rocks out of big rocks. Will Bud’s presence be a comfort to him, as he deals with his wacky cellmate? The sob story turns into the rotine of, “Slowly I Turned.” No matter how peaceable Lou tries to be, he keeps getting his cellmate riled up. Will he ever be paroled?

Audio is high in static, and low in audio level. Sade runs the show with Rush and making preparations for the evening game of 500. The neighbors are having trouble with their doorbell, and Sade has Vic phone the Donahues with advice on how to repair the doorbell.

Seeing his chance to spring into action, and show off his mechanical prowess, Vic demands that Ruch round up his tools so he can tinker around with the device. Sade isn’t so sure, and thinks that Vic might be as inept with doorbells as he is with alarm clocks.

At the same time, Sade fields a phone call from the Stembottoms about the evening’s game of 500. Will there be enough ice cream for the evening social event? Will Vic rescue the Donahue’s from the constantly ringing bell?

The box was found to be full of coins, and Lum takes them to the county seat. In the store, Cedric and Abner browse through the mail order catalog to find an electric guitar. Imagine that, you don’t even need to know how to play. Just plug it it in and let it do the work to impress your friends. That’s how those electric kind work… right?

What else is in the wish book? Abner is worrried that Lum might spend all the money when he’s at the county seat. Cedric tries to find invisible ink, and tunes out Abner’s ramblings.

How often will the shipments of treasure come in? Who cares if Lum spends all those coins, Abner and Cedric figure decide to place an order COD. How do you fill out the order form?

Cedric has trouble understanding the form, and Abner isn’t much better at it. What color guitar do they want? What size does Cedric wear? Does it have to be a Hawaiian one? A phone call from Lizabeth lets Abner know she wants to make her own wish book orders.

Lum enters wore to a frazzle. what’s the bad news about those old timey coins?

William Marshall is a renown criminal lawyer who is about to have the likes of the Whistler cross his path. After a year at school, his young daughter has returned home, with her finances drained, and in need of asking dad for more money. She meets Girard, who is in need of her dad’s expert services. What crime has he committed? The gangland crime is beneath Marshall, and he refuses to take the case. In the meantime, Jean Marshal has fallen in love with Frank Girard.

Jean is warned that Frank is just stringing her along. Is it true that he’s just using her to get to her dad, or is he the sweetest guy in the world? Annette is Frank’s old squeeze, and threatens him to stop seeing Jean. Which dame does he really love? When the prospect of marriage enters the scene, which girl will Frank decide on?

Is dad trying to bring in an old boyfriend, Charlie, as a prospect for Jean? Is a love triangle about to become a bigger mess? Mrs Marshal is on to Frank’s game, and tries to warn Jean away from the tricks of such a worldly man as Frank Girard. But will she listen? Is there hope to keep Jean from a sad end? For that matter how does she know about Frank, and what hold does he have over Mrs Marshal to make her stay quiet?

Someone is about to be murdered, and with three women gunning for Frank, all look equally suspicious. The Whistler knows the subtle hint that Marshall knows, that will exonerate the innocent.

Note: Gas rationing shows up in the form of Jean’s description on how young people are going on dates these days. Meeting halfway to save driving too far. With a slightly different cast of uncredited actors than those who kicked off the series, the only voice I can pin down is Gerald More, as the part of Frank Girard.

Downtown, the McGee’s take in the sights at the hotel, and comment on the sailors, and what their jobs might be. Finding a place to stay is a hardship, but one Merchant Marine tells them about where he’s traveling. The McGees offer Tommy Davis a room to spend the night. Fibber boasts about his nautical prowess, and his 38 foot boat on the Missouri River. Billy Mills plays, Stomping at the Savoy.

The lure of meeting Alice Darling draws Tommy to 79 Wistful Vista, but Tommy still has to hear about Fibbers exploits at sea.. er… on the river. The Merchant Marine’s attempts at sharing his own tale only serve as an opening for Fibber to whip up another storm of sailing. Harlowe Wilcox meets Tommy, and delivers the nautical flavored sponsor message.

As Tommy relaxes, Molly lets Beulah know about their special guests, Tommy and Doc Gamble. What kind of movies are playing at the Bijou? Beulah gives a report, and what to do to entertain their sailor. The Kingsmen sing, Oh Moitle.

Doc Gamble arrives, and with Alice they learn about some of Tommy’s adventures at sea. Alice seems to know more about ships at sea than Fibber does. She and Tommy correct him on his nautical terminology as he begins to bluster once more. Now it’s Fibbers turn to not finish a story.

With the regional boss from the home office in town, Jim wants to invite him over to make a good impression. Margret is upset at the short notice, there’ll be shopping to do, church to go to,, and all the stores will be closed. Is it too much to expect to have the children be on their best behavior? Being April Fools Day, Cathy is full of pranks.

Are the phone calls Jim has been getting just pranks for April Fools, or is something important happening? The morning paper holds the answer. How did one of his old love letters to Margret get entered in a contest? Will Cathy be getting a spanking… or another pancake?

The local boss joins the regional boss for dinner, but with a shortage of food, the family make sure their guests are well fed, while they go without. Will the sacrificial deeds go unnoticed? When their guest wants to see the paper, will the contest news make the right kind of impression? Awkward moments arise as Jim tries to keep the article secret.

A knock at the door means interviews with reporters, and the light of the secret may be difficult to hide under a bushel. Has Jim ruined the good name of his insurance company? Or will it breathe an image of new life into a stodgy industry?

The object of intrigue for the gents is a locked iron box. Sent from Tennessee, it holds the treasures from their excavation site. It was sent without a key, and they agonize over how to open it without damaging the gold and diamonds inside.

Lum imagines the royalty who owned the battered, and burnt up old pans that were also sent.

Abner is less than impressed, figuring Lizabeth could burn up some old pots and pans just as good.

The discussion returns to the missing key. Old shoe buttons have Abner confused. Are they really valuable? Is the buried treasure as old as Lum figures it is? Abner keeps finding clues that it’s much newer than what Lum claims.

As the gents discuss the oddities, they giggle, and nearly break character. The box is accidentally dropped, and its contents of gold coins falls out. The gents are rich… right?