Episode Transcript
[00:00:16] Speaker A: The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Podcast welcome to the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Society, a podcast dedicated to suspense, crime and horror stories from the golden age of radio. I'm Eric.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: I'm Tim.
[00:00:36] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: We love mysterious old time radio stories, but do they stand the test of time? That's what we're here to find out.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: Thanks to our mysterious patrons, we passed another Patreon support goal. Thank you, patrons. Yay. As a reward, we're listening to the Indestructible Mic Matter, a five part serial from yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
[00:00:57] Speaker C: In a departure from our usual recording process, all three of us are listening to this story for the first time. Not only that, we're listening to it together and recording our thoughts immediately after hearing each episode. In this way, you'll get our real time reactions to the story's cliffhangers, plot twists and final resolution. What's more, we're releasing episodes daily, allowing you to enjoy the story in its original serialized format.
[00:01:19] Speaker B: So now let's listen to part four of the Indestructible Mic Matter from yours truly, Johnny Dollar. First aired June 7, 1956 it's late.
[00:01:28] Speaker A: At and a chill has set in. You're alone and the only light you see is coming from an antique radio. Listen to the sounds coming from the speaker. Listen to the music. And listen to the voices from Hollywood.
[00:01:44] Speaker D: It's time now for.
[00:01:49] Speaker E: Johnny darling.
[00:01:50] Speaker F: Johnny. This phone number you left for me to call. Are you at Bellevue Hospital?
[00:01:53] Speaker E: Yeah. Randy, what's wrong? Are you at headquarters?
[00:01:55] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:01:56] Speaker E: The truck ran over Mike Flynn and I'm sure it was deliberate.
[00:01:58] Speaker F: But he's alive.
[00:01:59] Speaker E: I hope he was four hours ago when I dragged him in here.
[00:02:03] Speaker F: Indestructible Mike.
[00:02:04] Speaker E: I'm not so sure this time. What about that truck?
[00:02:06] Speaker F: Did you get the license?
[00:02:07] Speaker E: Yeah, the boys at the First Precinct are working on it. Check with them, will you, while I stay here at the hospital.
[00:02:11] Speaker F: Sure, Johnny.
[00:02:12] Speaker E: And one other thing.
[00:02:13] Speaker F: Yeah?
[00:02:13] Speaker E: Find out how long that Glad Hand rescue mission has been in existence.
[00:02:17] Speaker F: Place where old Mike's been living?
[00:02:18] Speaker E: Yeah. Why? I don't know yet. But do it, will you?
[00:02:21] Speaker F: Sure, sure. And you let me know when Mike's out of danger, huh, Johnny?
[00:02:26] Speaker E: Better pray a little bit, Randy.
[00:02:35] Speaker D: Tonight and every weekday night, Bob Bailey in the transcribed adventures of the man with the action packed Expense account. America's fabulous freelance insurance investigator, yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
[00:02:59] Speaker E: Expense Account. Submitted by special investigator Johnny Dollar. Location, New York, New York, to the Lakeside Life and Casualty Company. Following is an accounting of expenditures incurred during my investigation of the indestructible mike matter.
The veneer of class and education assumed by j. Wesley cosgrave Just wasn't thick enough to hide the fact that he was better known A few years ago, Dutchy Gordon. And to the old time racketeer it looked like a cinch. Pick up a bowery bum like Mike Flynn, Insure his life of 50 grand, give him a few weeks of high living, then knock him off and collect the insurance. Yeah, real cinch. Especially for cosgrave who'd learned as far back as the early days of prohibition how to employ hired thugs to do the dirty work While he sat back and collected the profits. I knew as surely as I'm sitting here that cosgrave was behind the knifing, the shooting and now this accident to old Mike. But how to prove it?
Yeah, sitting here in the waiting room of the hospital. Waiting. Waiting for some word of Mike's condition.
[00:04:00] Speaker F: Mr. Donner.
[00:04:01] Speaker E: Oh yes, doc. Can I see him now?
[00:04:03] Speaker F: Very shortly, I believe.
[00:04:04] Speaker E: Oh, how is he? Is he.
[00:04:06] Speaker F: There's a phone call for you at the floor desk.
[00:04:07] Speaker E: Oh, this way please. Thanks.
But how is Mike, doc? How is he?
[00:04:13] Speaker F: You'll be able to see him shortly.
There you are.
[00:04:17] Speaker E: Oh, thanks, Shiny. Dollar.
[00:04:20] Speaker F: Ah, Mr. Dollar.
[00:04:22] Speaker G: I was quite sure that you would be there at the hospital. This is j. Wesley cosgrave.
[00:04:26] Speaker E: What made you think that?
[00:04:28] Speaker G: Why, because of the accident to Michael Jeremiah Flynn.
[00:04:31] Speaker E: How did you know about it? I kept it out of the papers.
[00:04:33] Speaker G: I find it helpful to know about a lot of things that don't get into the papers.
[00:04:37] Speaker E: Well, your boy goofed Cosgrave. Mike is still alive, my boy. You know as well as I do, Dutchy, that one of your mob was at the wheel of that truck that ran him down.
[00:04:45] Speaker G: You better keep your yap shirt, $.
I.
I thought I made it plain to you earlier that I no longer have any connection with the doings of the, shall we say, underworld.
[00:04:57] Speaker E: Oh sure, sure.
[00:04:58] Speaker G: As for poor old Mike, I understand it was an accident. Very unfortunate.
[00:05:01] Speaker E: Knock it off, Cosgrave. I was there when it happened. Oh yeah? Pretty stupid of a would be killer to try that with an investigator. Right next to Mike, wasn't it?
[00:05:09] Speaker G: Did you see the driver of the truck?
[00:05:11] Speaker E: Suppose I did. You say he wasn't one of your boys. So what difference would it make to you?
[00:05:16] Speaker G: Why no, none at all.
Did you see him?
[00:05:20] Speaker E: Why don't you worry about that for a while.
Again I waited. Sat and waited and paced the corridor of the hospital.
Outside the sun sank slowly behind the horizon. Of skyscrapers and the busy clamor of the day's traffic segued to the softer, muffled, but still busy traffic hum of night waited and smoked and waited.
Finally, it must have been close to midnight. A nurse led me quietly down the hall and indicated the private room that I'd had set aside for Mike.
After a brief instruction about not staying too long, she pushed open the door for me and she tiptoed away.
And there, lo and behold, in all his glory, his head swathed in bandages but wearing a smile a mile wide, sat indestructible. Mike.
Mike.
Oh, Mike, you old reprobate.
I guess there is something in prayer after all.
[00:06:23] Speaker H: How about this, Johnny? Isn't it swell? Isn't this the finest place you ever saw?
[00:06:28] Speaker E: Oh, Mike, you're gonna be okay, aren't you?
[00:06:30] Speaker H: Gonna be? Yeah, I am now. But I guess I had those doctors scared. Oh, my, my, my, Johnny, you just should have seen the way they flutter around. And those nurses, Johnny. I never saw such beautiful ladies in all nice. And doesn't it smell good in here? The disinfectant they use in here is much nicer than Daddy Bill has at the mission.
[00:06:52] Speaker E: And you know something?
[00:06:53] Speaker H: I haven't seen a single bedbug. Not even a cockroach.
[00:06:56] Speaker E: No. Mike. Mike, I'm so glad to see in one piece.
[00:07:00] Speaker H: Oh, sure I am. But an old bum hasn't any writing in a pretty place like this.
[00:07:04] Speaker E: You had no more business living through that accident than.
[00:07:07] Speaker H: Oh, Johnny, how you talk.
[00:07:08] Speaker E: Yeah, yeah. And you mustn't talk so much. No matter how good you feel. You need rest. Time to heal up whatever got broken.
[00:07:14] Speaker H: Broke.
[00:07:15] Speaker E: Oh, me. Well, you still need rest and quiet. Here, I'll turn off this light.
I'll see you in the morning.
[00:07:24] Speaker H: But, Johnny. Yeah, Johnny, how can I just sleep?
[00:07:31] Speaker E: Too much pain, huh? Want the nurse to give you a hypo?
[00:07:34] Speaker H: Oh, they filled me up with more needles than you ever saw. But there's only one real painkiller, you know.
[00:07:43] Speaker E: Yeah, I. I'll see you later.
If the administration of Bellevue Hospital ever found out that I was back in Mike's room a few minutes later and why, they'd probably have my neck. But I. I didn't leave the whole bottle with him. I swear it. Only about three fingers in his water tumbler and the blissful expression on his face as he closed his eyes to sleep made me sure I'd done right.
Item 15180. Taxi. Back to my dingy little hotel. And I thanked whatever gods may be that all Might pull through.
He'd been right. They just couldn't seem to kill him so far. But I knew they wouldn't give up. Not with $50,000 at stake. 50,000 more to line the pockets of Dutchy Gordon, who I was sure was just as much of a racketeer as ever, despite his present name of J. Wesley Cosgrave and his pretense of gentility because his henchmen had always feared to squ wheel or died violently before they could. The police had nothing on him. My job was to find one of the mob, make him sing. But how? I guess I was still thinking or dreaming about it when my phone rang the next morning. Hello? J. Dollar, this is J. Hello?
Oh. Oh, Johnny Dollar.
[00:09:03] Speaker F: Hey, you still in bed?
[00:09:05] Speaker E: Oh, Randy.
[00:09:06] Speaker F: Yeah, I thought you were gonna call me. Is he still alive?
[00:09:09] Speaker E: He sure was when I last saw him. At about midnight.
[00:09:11] Speaker F: Well, that's a miracle after what that truck did to him. And say, yeah, the boys downtown found that truck.
[00:09:17] Speaker E: Yeah?
[00:09:17] Speaker F: Yeah, it had been stolen and was abandoned.
[00:09:19] Speaker E: Did they find any princess?
[00:09:20] Speaker F: Plenty.
[00:09:21] Speaker E: Whose?
[00:09:21] Speaker F: Lefty Skillman.
[00:09:23] Speaker E: Well, have they picked him?
[00:09:24] Speaker F: Yeah, yeah, yeah, they found him all right. Tied up in a sack floating in the east river, old time gangster style.
[00:09:29] Speaker E: Oh, so help me, I knew that when Cosgrave.
[00:09:31] Speaker F: You say Mike's gonna be okay, Randy.
[00:09:33] Speaker E: He was sitting up in bed, perky as a cockatoo. No, I don't know how he does it. Why, he was all ready to pack up and go back to the Glad Hand rescue mission, huh? Felt he didn't deserve to be in such a nice clean place as the hospital.
[00:09:45] Speaker F: Bless his foolish heart.
[00:09:47] Speaker E: Did you find out anything for me about that flophouse?
[00:09:49] Speaker F: Yeah, it's what I called you about. But you still haven't told me.
[00:09:52] Speaker E: What'd you find?
[00:09:53] Speaker F: Well, according to the records, the building was put up in 1901 as a mission as a piano store. 1901 to 1906. Real respectable place then. Well, that section began to degenerate. 1906-18 was a cheap grocery store.
[00:10:10] Speaker E: 18 from 1956.
[00:10:11] Speaker F: From 1918-22 was a secondhand clothing store and a speakeasy till 1929.
[00:10:18] Speaker E: Keep going, Randy.
[00:10:19] Speaker F: Well, I guess the Depression knocked that out. Cause next it was a saloon.
[00:10:22] Speaker E: How long?
[00:10:23] Speaker F: Let's see. 1944. That's when William Grover Larkin took over the lease.
[00:10:29] Speaker E: Daddy Bell?
[00:10:30] Speaker F: Yeah, that's right.
[00:10:30] Speaker E: I knew it, Randy. I knew it.
[00:10:32] Speaker F: Yeah.
[00:10:32] Speaker E: Why, Dutchy Gordon, alias J. Wesley Cosgrave, told me that he'd got a hand from that mission when he Was just a kid. That would have meant 25, 30 years ago at least.
[00:10:41] Speaker F: Yeah, it's only been a mission for 12. But.
Hey, wait a minute. The lease on that property when it was a speakeasy was in the name of larkin too.
[00:10:50] Speaker E: Add one more fact, randolph, and you see what I'm getting at.
[00:10:53] Speaker F: What's that?
[00:10:54] Speaker E: Your own police files show cosgrave was still on the rackets in 44.
[00:10:57] Speaker F: Yeah, but on a charge that we couldn't substantiate.
[00:10:59] Speaker E: Right. Tie him up. Cosgrave was a rum runner during prohibition. Daddy bill ran the speak for him since 1944.
[00:11:06] Speaker F: Whoa, whoa, now, boy. You're trying to build a case on purely circumstantial evidence.
[00:11:09] Speaker E: All right, but I think I can make it stick. Now, listen, where does cosgrave get the thugs for whatever job he's pulling now? If he is. Of course he is. And he gets him out of that flop house, the boys he gives jobs to that are never seen again, remember? Yeah. Wow.
[00:11:23] Speaker F: Hey, maybe it does tie up.
[00:11:24] Speaker E: Oh, you bet your sweet life it does. At least I'm gonna tie it up.
[00:11:27] Speaker F: No, no, no, no. Take it easy, Johnny. Just how are you gonna go about it?
[00:11:30] Speaker E: Well, the first thing I'm. Well, hold him. Huh?
[00:11:34] Speaker F: What's the matter?
[00:11:34] Speaker E: Somebody outside the door of this room, I think. Hold on. Randy.
[00:11:38] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:11:38] Speaker F: No, no, no, wait. Wait a minute, Johnny.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: All right.
[00:11:43] Speaker E: What do you think you're doing?
[00:11:44] Speaker F: Johnny?
[00:11:44] Speaker H: Hello? Hello?
[00:11:48] Speaker E: Whoever hit me with whatever he hit me with wasn't fooling me.
And the second before I passed out, I vaguely remember hearing a voice. The voice of the room clerk shouting at whoever it was. And the sound of footsteps running away.
Then blackness and a dark, heavy throbbing in my head.
Then, after a long time, another familiar voice.
It was randy, I think dimly. Somewhere along the line I could see figures bending over me, Hear the voice again.
Then more darkness and the weird sounds in my brain.
Other sounds too, that seem familia and seem meaningless. Meaningless, meaningless, meaningless.
Finally, after an eternity of jumbled sounds and shadows, A cold, bright light pierced into my slowly returning consciousness. Momentarily, I could see a man in white and women. Yeah, yeah, a hospital. These were the doctor and the nurses. I tried to speak to them. I couldn't.
But slowly, a realization of what had happened came to my muddled mind. Randy, on the telephone, had heard the attack on me and had brought an ambulance. Had brought me here. For a brief moment I saw the glint of a needle poised above my arm and blackness again.
What a soft, quiet, peaceful blackness.
Johnny.
[00:13:20] Speaker H: Johnny.
[00:13:23] Speaker E: Johnny.
Ah, wow.
[00:13:26] Speaker H: Well, Johnny, that's the boy.
[00:13:31] Speaker E: Wake up, Mike.
[00:13:33] Speaker H: That's right. Isn't it nice they put you in the same room with me?
[00:13:38] Speaker E: Yeah, Mike, You're a policeman.
[00:13:42] Speaker A: Friend.
[00:13:42] Speaker H: Sergeant.
And he told me something, Johnny. And he's right.
You've got to be careful. They're out to get you too.
[00:14:09] Speaker A: That was yours truly, Johnny Dollar, Part 4 of the Indestructible Mike Matter here on the mysterious old Radio Listening Society podcast once again. I'm Eric.
[00:14:20] Speaker B: I'm Tim.
[00:14:21] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua.
[00:14:22] Speaker A: Part four of our five part series celebrating. I don't know. What are we celebrating? Patreon thing.
[00:14:28] Speaker C: Patreon donations.
[00:14:29] Speaker A: Yeah. Episode 148.
[00:14:31] Speaker C: Duh.
[00:14:36] Speaker A: So things have gotten more interesting in our little mystery. How crammed the hospitals are. They're running out of space. The irony that he's in Mike's room.
[00:14:48] Speaker B: That was by special arrangement.
[00:14:50] Speaker E: Oh.
[00:14:51] Speaker C: There's so much that I really like about this episode.
[00:14:55] Speaker A: Me too.
[00:14:56] Speaker C: Starting with the genuine affection at this point that Johnny has for Mike. It's really sweet, him sneaking booze back into him. I know today we call that enabling, but it's adorable.
It's so horrible.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: It's so bad.
Just can't sleep with all this drugs in either.
You know what would really help?
[00:15:24] Speaker A: More drugs.
[00:15:26] Speaker C: And I love that Mike is just excited about the hospital's lack of cockroaches. Yeah, that might be a great advertising strategy.
[00:15:35] Speaker A: No bedbugs. It made Johnny laugh. Yeah. Yeah. That's okay.
[00:15:39] Speaker B: Hit by car, man. Lucky break.
[00:15:43] Speaker A: One of the greatest things about this episode is the description and the music of him being knocked out.
[00:15:51] Speaker B: That was amazing.
[00:15:52] Speaker A: It was phenomenal Foley. It was very visual. It was really well written, descriptive. The music was fantastic. That matched it. How long it took me. Have either one of you been knocked unconscious like that?
[00:16:06] Speaker C: Not that I can recall.
[00:16:08] Speaker A: So I have many times.
And that is really why we have.
[00:16:14] Speaker C: To recap episodes for you.
[00:16:21] Speaker A: Yep.
So. But that is. It's what it's like the description of these sounds. I know what they are, but I don't know what they are. Is very true. That was written by someone who's been knocked out.
[00:16:35] Speaker C: No, it was very effective.
[00:16:37] Speaker A: Yeah, it's really cool.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: Like you said of when they are not on those tight 30 minutes, they can. Let's take a minute and really add some life to this moment.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly.
[00:16:48] Speaker C: Because you care about Johnny Dollar. And if you can dwell in this, Mom. In which he is vulnerable and hurt, you're really engaged as a listener. What's gonna happen to Him.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I like the slipping in and out and in and out. Randy's there and they've discovered him in the hallway. And then he's with doctors and then with Mike.
[00:17:06] Speaker C: And they have the patience to have that moment of uncomfortable silence, too, as he blacks out again. And then just faintly in the background is Mikey's voice.
Johnny, the oval. You're moving toward the light.
Your drunken, indestructible hobo friend.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: And then they're also keeping track and moving nicely along with the whole detective part of this.
[00:17:34] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: It's not just like some obvious clue that, like, any idiot could have picked that up. And it's not unfair to listeners of, you said, like, I know this place as a child.
[00:17:48] Speaker C: And, like, which leads Johnny to suspect Daddy Bill, which leads him to do the investigation. So, yeah, it's all fair. And that's packed in with all this other stuff.
[00:17:58] Speaker B: Hilarious alcoholism.
[00:18:02] Speaker C: I feel a little of the investigation gets in the way of the hilarious alcoholism. I could use a little more of it.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: You're a shrub.
It's got a lot of elements, doesn't it? It's comedic, it's got heart, it's got great chemistry. And you care about characters and the conversations and the dialogue is real. It's in a contemporary style where they walk on each other a little bit on their dialogue. It's just got a lot going on that's very interesting and it has the potential to be silly, and it doesn't. It's very truthful storytelling in a way.
[00:18:45] Speaker C: Particularly in this scenario where you have a fairly heightened over the top scenario to a certain degree, with indestructible Mike. Right. Somehow the comedy feels like it's coming from a real place, and that's hard to do.
[00:19:00] Speaker A: It follows the rule that truth is comedy. The comedy is not coming from. We're doing some wink, wink, nudge, nudge, farcical exaggeration of sidekick wackiness. That's just. It's truth, and it's very truthful conversation and dialogue, and it's very nice.
[00:19:16] Speaker C: And it's the whole production, because it all has to be working together. Because in the script, it's very clear that Johnny feels affection for Mike, which means the actor has to be on board, the director has to be on board, because they have to make sure that Mike is someone who, despite his terrible scenario and alcoholism, has to also be appealing to the listeners. Right. And so it all has to work together and every aspect is working together to pull it all off.
[00:19:45] Speaker A: Just had a terrible thought because, you know, we don't know how this is gonna end.
[00:19:49] Speaker C: Mike can't die.
[00:19:50] Speaker A: No. What if Mike's the guy? What if he's the bad guy and rips Johnny's heart out?
[00:19:55] Speaker B: Criminal mastermind.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:58] Speaker B: Drinking Cerno and shooting himself twice in the chest.
[00:20:01] Speaker A: Usual suspect.
[00:20:03] Speaker B: Diabolical. Yes.
[00:20:04] Speaker A: What if it's Mike and then Johnny's like, I'll never like a guy again.
We were friends. We were friends.
I snuck you booze.
Oh my God.
[00:20:16] Speaker B: What if that's just shot at the bulletin board? And first I'll hit myself with an.
[00:20:20] Speaker C: Ice pick, next I'll run myself over with a car.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: I'm just saying it would be diabolical.
[00:20:28] Speaker A: It would be really mean to Johnny.
[00:20:30] Speaker C: Are you gonna bet me five bucks?
[00:20:33] Speaker A: No, but let's guess. Anybody gotta guess what the deal is. I mean, we know guy, right? We just gotta prove it. Isn't that the deal here? We're not waiting to find out who did it. We know this guy is the bad guy and he did it. We're just waiting for Johnny to find the proof of the fraud. Isn't that what.
[00:20:50] Speaker C: It's Dusty and Daddy Bill, but we don't know exactly what agreement they have going on. I assume somehow money is going to the mission, but I still feel like there could be some sort of illicit dealings that are going to something good.
[00:21:07] Speaker A: Randy.
[00:21:08] Speaker C: Randy the cop?
[00:21:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:09] Speaker C: I think there's going to be a twist in it, but I could be wrong.
[00:21:12] Speaker A: What about the guy at the beginning, the first episode? The insurance guy? Yeah. What if he's involved? What if his secretary said his secretary was in charge while he was gone for a few weeks? What if that was a lie? What if he approved that?
[00:21:29] Speaker C: I think this is more the hard boiled form of rioting where it's not the surprise who done it, it's how it all shakes out. Or it could be Johnny Dollar.
[00:21:41] Speaker A: It's the shadow.
[00:21:43] Speaker B: Lloyd London.
[00:21:45] Speaker C: All right, since we have no one else to suspect, I am looking forward to tomorrow to find out how it all works out. Until then, let's go back to Bob Bailey.
[00:21:55] Speaker D: Now here's our star to tell you about the final intriguing episode of this week's story tomorrow.
[00:22:01] Speaker E: Well, old Mike may have been indestructible, but I knew by now that I wasn't. So tomorrow, the wind up. It had to be while I was still alive. Join us, won't you? Yours truly, Johnny Dollar.
[00:22:21] Speaker D: Yours truly, Johnny Dollar, starring Bob Bailey is transcribed in Hollywood. It is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone, who also wrote tonight's story. Be sure to join us tomorrow night, same time and station, for the next exciting episode of yours truly, Johnny Dollar, Roy Rowan, spe.
