Episode 348: The Gorilla Man

[00:00:16] Speaker A: The mysterious old Radio Listening Society podcast. [00:00:25] Speaker B: Look out. [00:00:27] Speaker A: Welcome to the mysterious old Radio Listening Society, a podcast dedicated to suspense, crime, and horror stories from the golden age of radio. I'm Eric. [00:00:37] Speaker C: I'm Tim. [00:00:37] Speaker D: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:38] Speaker C: We love mysterious old time radio stories, but do they stand the test of time? That's what we're here to find out. [00:00:44] Speaker D: Today we present the gorilla man from the shadow, chosen by our mysterious listener, John, who also happens to be an old college buddy of mine. Hi, John. [00:00:55] Speaker A: Scott Yuma, John. The Shadow made his radio debut in 1930 as the sinister host of the detective story magazine Hour, a radio series based on the magazines of the same name. The mysterious voice of the Shadow proved so popular that publisher street and Smith hired writer Walter B. Gibson to transform their radio host into the crime fighting star of his own pulp magazine. In turn, the popularity of the pulp magazine inspired another Shadow radio series. But this time, the Shadow was more than just a host. He was the protagonist. Debuting on September 26, 1937, this new incarnation of the Shadow starred up and coming radio star Orson Welles. [00:01:39] Speaker C: When Wells left the series in 1939, he was replaced by veteran radio actor Bill Johnstone. The older actor brought maturity and a sense of authority to the part, tempered with a warmth toward margot that was absent from Wells brooding portrayal. The humanizing of the shadow continued with the casting of Broadway actor Brett Morrison in 1943. He brought a youthful jocularity to Lamont Cranston and a policemanlike sense of law and order to the Shadow. Morrison left the shadow at the end of 1943, but returned a year later. He was the last and longest running voice of the Shadow remaining in the role until the series ended in 1954. [00:02:13] Speaker D: The Gorilla man was penned by radio and television writer Joe Bates Smith. During the mid 1940s, Bates wrote dozens of scripts for the Shadow, many of which were adapted for the Shadow comic book. One of Bates trademarks was the use of first person narration from the antagonists point of view. Examples of this device in Bates work on the Shadow include the fine art of Murder, Spider Boy, and the story you're about to hear, the gorilla man, starring Brett Morrison and Leslie woods, first broadcast on April 21, 1946. [00:02:51] Speaker A: It's late at night 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 speakers. Listen to the music and listen to the voices. [00:03:26] Speaker E: Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The shadow knows. [00:03:39] Speaker F: Once again, the mutual network brings you the thrilling adventures of the shadow. The hard and relentless fight of one man against the forces of evil. These dramatizations are designed to demonstrate forcibly to old and young alike that crime does not pay. The payroll deduction plan for helping Americans to save is still in force. During the war, millions of Americans saved billions of dollars through the payroll plan. Now that the war is over, we should continue to put a regular portion of our income in us savings bonds every payday. These bonds, besides being the safest investment it is possible to find, continue to pay the same generous interest dollar four back for every $3 invested. Us savings bonds purchased on the regular payroll savings plan will provide a nest egg for our old age. They'll help us to send our children to school and to college. There's nothing like knowing you're saving regularly to give you peace of mind. So save through the payroll savings plan. But now the shadow, the shadow who. [00:04:39] Speaker E: Aids the forces of law and order is in reality Lamont Cranston, wealthy young man about town. Years ago, in the Orient, Cranston learned a strange and mysterious secret. The hypnotic power to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him. Cranston's friend and companion, the lovely Margot Lane, is the only person who knows to whom the voice of the invisible shadow belongs. Today's drama, the gorilla Mandeh. [00:05:13] Speaker B: Smithy. They call me sometimes the gorilla man. I've handled bigger monkeys than most men make of themselves. I'm not pretty to look at, but animals don't care about that. The only friend I've got is the meanest, strongest, sharp toothed gorilla in this part of the world. I was on the safari when they caught big boy. They put me in charge when he came to the zoo. Nobody could go near him but me. I'd go right in his cage. Then I heard them talking. The visitors to the zoo as they passed the cage. [00:05:56] Speaker G: Oh, look, darling. What a magnificent ape. [00:06:00] Speaker H: Which one do you mean? [00:06:01] Speaker G: Oh, really, Henry. But that keeper does look as much like an ape as the animal in that cave. [00:06:07] Speaker B: Glandular, probably. [00:06:09] Speaker G: Yes, glandular, probably. Oh, but how horrible to look more. [00:06:13] Speaker I: Like an animal than a human, my dear. [00:06:17] Speaker B: Glandular, probably. What the devil did they mean? Maybe it was what Blinky was always teasing me about. He's the slimy little pup that handles the snakes in the zoo. [00:06:29] Speaker E: You're getting cracked over that ape, smitty. They'll be locking you up in a cage. [00:06:33] Speaker B: Go on, Blinky. [00:06:34] Speaker E: Oh, take a look at yourself sometime. [00:06:37] Speaker B: You're beginning to look like an ape. I got hold of a mur and took a look at my face. I was what they said was true. The hair was growing longer on my ears and my neck. When I pulled back my lips, I saw my teeth sharper and whiter. My skin was growing more wrinkled. I couldn't pull back my lips over the two long fangs that had been my eye teeth. They'll put me in a cage is what Blinky said in the jail. Maybe I'll never see my friends again. Today I ran away. I found this old boarded up farmhouse half a mile from the zoo. I broke in and hid, trying to think what to do. I'll steal fruit and stuff from the farmhouses around and get along on that. I'm so lonesome. It's been weeks since I've seen my friend big boy. I still have the key to his cage tonight when it's dark. Big boy, you look awful. They've been treating you bad. You've got blood matted in your hair and welts. They've been beating you, big boy. Hey, I use him. That cage. Who's in there with big boy? Blinky. [00:08:34] Speaker E: Ah, well, if it ain't the gorilla man. [00:08:39] Speaker B: Why have you got that whip? [00:08:41] Speaker E: I've got it to have a little fun with big boy. We always play like this. [00:08:47] Speaker B: Put down that whip. Get away from us. You need some of this treatment too, you big Ellie. Apiece. Oh, all right, Smitty. [00:08:58] Speaker E: All right, Smithy. Smitty, your face like a wild as an animal. [00:09:03] Speaker B: Yeah, take your good luck, Blinky. I'm turning into a mate. [00:09:07] Speaker E: Oh, you're crazy. Let me out of here. [00:09:09] Speaker B: So as you can tell. And get me locked up, wouldn't it? [00:09:13] Speaker E: No, no, I won't tell nothing. [00:09:15] Speaker B: Meet a big boy over there. Look at me claws, Blinky. I can crush your bones just like that. [00:09:36] Speaker H: Gee, Miss Lane, I bet you look like a midian at country club dance. Like a middling. [00:09:40] Speaker I: I bet you look well, thank you very much, Shreevy. But hadn't you better look at the road? [00:09:43] Speaker H: Hey, there's a park zoo. We're passing. We're passing. [00:09:46] Speaker I: So we are. Looks almost like a dense jungle looming up here in the dark. [00:09:50] Speaker E: It's a good reproduction. Yeah, even the animal keepers quarters are built like individual native. [00:09:55] Speaker G: What's this? [00:09:56] Speaker E: Srivi, look out. Summer's crossing the road. [00:09:58] Speaker G: Oh, the money's falling right in front of the car. [00:10:01] Speaker E: Come on, Srivi, quickly. [00:10:04] Speaker H: Gee, Mister Cranston, he's all over. Blood all over. [00:10:08] Speaker E: The man is dead. There's a bunch of keys in his belt and a tag. [00:10:12] Speaker H: Yeah, it says park zoo. [00:10:15] Speaker E: He's clutching something in one of his hands. [00:10:17] Speaker I: It's here. [00:10:19] Speaker E: Yes. Long strands of black hair. [00:10:22] Speaker I: Come on. Maybe some wild animal is loose. [00:10:24] Speaker E: Wild animal? Yes, maybe. But this feels more like human hair. [00:10:39] Speaker B: I didn't want to kill Blinky. I just wanted to teach him to keep his mouth shut until men and the woman carried his body into the boss's hut. The cab driver came out again, but the others are talking inside. [00:10:56] Speaker E: Yes, Mister Cranston. [00:10:57] Speaker B: He was one of my animal keepers. Blinky. [00:10:59] Speaker I: He ran right in front of our cab. He didn't seem to know what he was doing. [00:11:03] Speaker E: Well, he. He was a mean, ugly guy, especially when he got drunk. You think one of the animals. I wouldn't be surprised. [00:11:10] Speaker B: He liked to tease them to a. [00:11:11] Speaker E: Fury when he got drunk. And he's been in charge of big boy Smitty's pet. [00:11:16] Speaker B: The ugliest acting gorilla I've ever seen. [00:11:18] Speaker E: This Smitty, you say ran away? [00:11:20] Speaker B: Why, I never could make that out. [00:11:23] Speaker E: I thought he was crazy about that gorilla. [00:11:26] Speaker B: He was a funny sort of guy. More like an ape himself than big. [00:11:29] Speaker E: Boy was at times. How long has he been gone, Mister Prouty? Oh, several weeks now. Don't suppose we'll see him again. I wouldn't be too sure, Mister Prouty. This may be more than an accidental death. You. You think Smithy might be? I don't know. I suppose this blinky had more friends than enemies on the grounds. No friends, Mister Cranston, just enemies. [00:11:51] Speaker B: Even his wife hated him. [00:11:53] Speaker E: He treated her as mean as he treated the animals. [00:11:55] Speaker I: Well, Mister Prouty, is his wife living here with him? [00:11:58] Speaker E: Yes, her name is t. She's trainer. [00:12:00] Speaker B: For black beauty, the Black Panther, pride of the zoo. [00:12:03] Speaker E: Do you mind if Miss Lane and I stop and see her? Not at all, Mister Cranston. Oh, will you break the news? Yes, Mister Parthian. Then I think I'd better try to locate this smithy, your gorilla mandeh. [00:12:24] Speaker B: Smithy Zagrilla. Man. Me. That man and woman are gonna try to find me. They'll find out my awful secret. I'll be locked in a cage. I have to stop them. I have to follow and stop them now. Even if I have to kill again. [00:12:53] Speaker E: Well, this must be teagues out here. [00:12:55] Speaker I: Hmm. Wonder what she's like. Nursemaid and trainer for a wild black panther. [00:13:00] Speaker E: I don't know. [00:13:01] Speaker G: Yes, who is it? What do you want? [00:13:04] Speaker E: I'm Lamont Cranston. Miss Lane and I have come from Mister Prouty's office. May we see you inside a moment? [00:13:09] Speaker G: Yes. Wait, please. I will lie there, lamb. [00:13:12] Speaker I: Oh, Lamont she almost hers. She's like a cat. [00:13:18] Speaker E: Did you see those green eyes in the moonlight? [00:13:20] Speaker H: Yes. [00:13:20] Speaker I: And her long blue black hair. [00:13:22] Speaker E: The lamp's lighted. Here she comes back, darling. [00:13:25] Speaker I: She even walks like a cat. [00:13:27] Speaker G: Come in, please. [00:13:28] Speaker I: Oh, thank you. [00:13:29] Speaker G: What was that? Oh, do not be frightened. That is, only my pants are. [00:13:34] Speaker I: Black beauty. [00:13:35] Speaker G: That other door across the room leads to her cage. [00:13:40] Speaker I: See ya. The animal's scratching at the door. [00:13:42] Speaker G: Yes. Black beauty hates the sound of any voice but mine. Down, beauty. Down now. Yes, that is better. Yes, Mister Cranston. [00:13:57] Speaker E: Well, it's rather shocking news, I'm afraid, about your husband. [00:14:01] Speaker G: My husband? Blinky? [00:14:03] Speaker E: Yes. He's dead. We found his body tonight. [00:14:08] Speaker G: I am not surprised. He was drunk when he left here. One of the animals got him? [00:14:15] Speaker E: Yes. How did you know? [00:14:16] Speaker G: I always thought that would happen. [00:14:19] Speaker E: Would you like to go to him now? Bodies in Mister Prouty's hut? [00:14:23] Speaker G: If you think it proper, I should. I will go. [00:14:26] Speaker E: Do you mind if we rest a moment? Miss Lane is dreadfully tired. [00:14:28] Speaker I: Am I not here? Do. [00:14:30] Speaker G: Yes, do if you wish. [00:14:34] Speaker I: Darling, why did you insist on our staying here? I don't like it very much without beast so close. [00:14:40] Speaker E: Something I want to find. Margaret. Did you close that door, darling? [00:14:44] Speaker I: No. Wind must have blown a chud. [00:14:48] Speaker E: Shouldn't be much of a draft. Only that one small window in the place. [00:14:51] Speaker I: What did you find just now? You put something in your coat pocket, didn't you? [00:14:55] Speaker E: Something very interesting, margot. Some other strands of long, blue black hair. [00:15:00] Speaker I: Get out. The lamp went out. [00:15:03] Speaker E: Someone threw a rock through that open window. [00:15:05] Speaker I: Darling. There's someone out there. You can see his silhouette of the moonlight. [00:15:09] Speaker E: Stand still, darling. Swinging over the window ledge. [00:15:16] Speaker I: It's a gorilla. [00:15:17] Speaker E: Don't move. It's crossing the room into that dark corner. Don't move. It might not touch us. [00:15:25] Speaker I: Coming back, isn't it? [00:15:28] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:28] Speaker I: It's swinging back out the window. [00:15:29] Speaker E: That's funny. [00:15:30] Speaker I: I wonder, do you think we dare go out now? It may still be around the mount. The panther in the other room, in the cage. [00:15:37] Speaker G: It's hurt us. [00:15:38] Speaker I: And it's clawing on the door again. Let's get out of here. [00:15:40] Speaker E: Margot, what's wrong? The door's locked on the outside. It couldn't be. Let me try it. Oh, Margot, someone's holding it shut. [00:15:47] Speaker I: Can you get it open? [00:15:48] Speaker E: No, I can't. [00:15:50] Speaker I: Lamont, the door of the panthers cage is opening. Look at those green eyes. He's in this room. [00:15:57] Speaker E: Stand still. Don't move, darling. [00:16:00] Speaker I: It's crouching. Lamont, it's going to jump. [00:16:18] Speaker F: The shadow returns in just a moment. You know there are bound to be some dark clouds in your future, so start painting silver linings for them now. Financial security can be the silver lining to many a dark cloud. And the best way in the world to build financial security is by investing in us savings bonds through the payroll savings plan. P's means fs. [00:16:38] Speaker E: Yes. [00:16:39] Speaker F: Payroll savings now means financial security later. Payroll savings means simply that, at your request, your employer sets aside so much money each week from your pay envelope to buy us savings bonds for you. Because us savings bonds are the best and safest investment in the world, paying $4 in just ten years for every $3 you put in. Now, you do build real financial security. Financial security is the ability to have the things you need and want when you need or want them. P's means fs. That's right. Payroll savings now means financial security later. So join the payroll savings plan where you work as soon as you can. These bonds, besides being the safest investment in the world, continue to pay the same generous interest. Now, back to the shadow. [00:17:38] Speaker E: Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane find themselves trapped in a small animal trainer's hut adjoining a huge black panther's cage. Mysteriously, the cage door opens and the panther enters and crouches. Suddenly, he springs down my door. I'll quickly get in the cage. [00:17:58] Speaker I: Look out. [00:18:01] Speaker E: And. [00:18:02] Speaker B: Oh, no. [00:18:02] Speaker E: We're safe. Can't get into this cage. [00:18:05] Speaker I: Thank goodness. [00:18:06] Speaker E: We still got to get someone to catch that beast and then get us out of here. [00:18:09] Speaker I: How did the panther get in the hut? The cage door was locked. [00:18:12] Speaker E: Figure we saw enter through the window and cross the roof. [00:18:14] Speaker I: Oh, of course. The ape unlocked the door. [00:18:16] Speaker E: Ape or man or whatever it is that tried to kill us. Marco. Someone or something knows we're on the right track and wants us both out of the way. Well, glad to be out of that panther cage. [00:18:35] Speaker I: No more than you are. I'll be it. [00:18:37] Speaker E: Now, there's the cab. [00:18:38] Speaker I: Margo and Srivi in the front seat, patiently waiting. [00:18:42] Speaker E: That's patiently sleeping. Hey, Srivi, wake up. [00:18:47] Speaker H: Hop in. Hop in, sir. Cab's empty. It's empty. Oh, it's you, Mister Cranston. [00:18:51] Speaker E: Turn on your headlights, will you, Srievee? [00:18:52] Speaker H: There you are, Mister Cranston. Brightest day, that's how bright. [00:18:55] Speaker I: What are you doing, Lamonde? [00:18:57] Speaker E: The strands of black hair we found on Blinky's body tonight. So, comparing them with these others. These belong to the beautiful beast that nearly did us in just now. [00:19:06] Speaker I: Oh. Do they match? [00:19:08] Speaker E: No. No, it's not black beauty's hair Blinky was holding. [00:19:12] Speaker I: Well, now, what are you doing, darling? Where did you get that comb? [00:19:15] Speaker E: I picked it up from Tig's dressing table before the lights went out. A few strands of her hair in it. [00:19:22] Speaker I: Oh, Lamont, they do match, don't they? [00:19:24] Speaker E: Exactly. In texture as well as color. Margot, hop in the cab, darling. Wait for me here. [00:19:31] Speaker I: Are you going back to Teague's hut again? [00:19:33] Speaker E: Yes, Blinky's wife. Teague's about to receive a visit from the shadow. [00:19:49] Speaker G: Oh, poor beauty. My poor black beauty. Did they hurt you? Trying to put you back in the cage? Yes, yes, Teague understands. She knows what you say. [00:20:04] Speaker E: You hear my voice? Can you hear me too, Teague? [00:20:08] Speaker G: What is that? Am I mad? My beast speaks. Beauty, how do you bewitch you hear. [00:20:14] Speaker E: The voice of the shadow. [00:20:15] Speaker G: Shadow? There is no one here. Where are you? [00:20:20] Speaker E: No human can see me. [00:20:22] Speaker G: Perhaps not shadow, but my pet will find you by scent, beauty. Find him. Kill him. [00:20:29] Speaker E: You would kill me like you did your husband, Teague? [00:20:31] Speaker G: I did not. It is a lie. [00:20:32] Speaker E: Prove it. Quickly. Close the door to his cage. [00:20:35] Speaker G: He has smeared you out. He is coming towards your voice. [00:20:38] Speaker E: Yes, but, Luke. Teague, here's a new animal act for you. [00:20:41] Speaker G: The chair, it is rising in the air. He's backing away. You frighten my black beauty. As the chair come nearer, he backs away. [00:20:50] Speaker B: Yes. [00:20:51] Speaker E: Now, lock his cage. If you ever want control of him again, lock him away. [00:20:54] Speaker G: Yes, yes, I locked the cage. [00:20:58] Speaker E: Is that how you killed your husband, Teague? Did you lock him in the cage with your beast? [00:21:02] Speaker G: No. No, I did not. I did not kill him, I swear. [00:21:05] Speaker E: Strands of your black hair were found clutched in his hand when his body was found. [00:21:09] Speaker G: Yes, yes, I know. That is true. [00:21:12] Speaker E: And you killed him. [00:21:12] Speaker G: No. No, I did not. But I did see him die. [00:21:16] Speaker E: And who killed him, Teague? Speak. If you would save your own life. [00:21:19] Speaker G: Yes, yes, I speak. He killed him. The gorilla man, Smith. [00:21:25] Speaker E: He killed your husband tonight. [00:21:26] Speaker G: Yes. Yes, he did. I followed my husband when he left his hut tonight. He was drunk, took a whip. I vowed this time he would not harm any beasts. [00:21:35] Speaker E: Where did he find the gorilla man? [00:21:36] Speaker G: In the cage with his pet, big boy, my husband. Struck with the whip, Smithy took him in his big ape like arms, crushing and clawing. Sent him screaming away. [00:21:47] Speaker E: You stood by and watched? [00:21:48] Speaker G: He saw me. Came running to me for help. Broken and bleeding, he grabbed at me like a man drowning, begging for help. I ran. I saw him running the other way, half crazy with fear and pain. I'm glad he is dead. He deserved the fate he met. [00:22:03] Speaker E: Why haven't you told me this before? [00:22:05] Speaker G: I protect all animals first from the evil deeds of men. [00:22:07] Speaker E: Smith is no animal. He's a man. [00:22:09] Speaker G: More beast than man. I warn you. [00:22:11] Speaker E: Where is this creature hiding now? [00:22:12] Speaker G: I do not know. I will not tell you. If I die. [00:22:17] Speaker E: He can't be far away. I promise you, the shadow will find this half man, half ape. [00:22:32] Speaker B: My plan failed. The man and woman escaped the claws of black Beauty. I ran back to my hiding place. But this time I didn't go through the door with my long arms. I swung up through a shattered window easily. I swung on arms that looked like a gorilla's. The change is coming on me faster and faster, and I'm glad. I want only one thing. I want to be a gorilla. [00:23:08] Speaker E: I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long, dear. [00:23:10] Speaker H: That's okay by me. By me, it's okay. [00:23:11] Speaker E: I was speaking to Miss Lane. Tree. [00:23:13] Speaker H: Oh, sorry, Mister Cranston. I was dozing. I guess I was dozing. [00:23:16] Speaker I: That's all right, Srievey, where were you? [00:23:18] Speaker E: Lamont, the manager's hut. I found a map of this area. And I've been checking property in the vicinity of the zoo. Chances are this smithy, whatever he is, is hiding out near there somewhere. [00:23:27] Speaker I: Well, shouldn't we inform the police? [00:23:29] Speaker E: Can't very well go to them with a story of a man turning into a grilla, darling. [00:23:32] Speaker I: No. Do you think you know where he might be hiding? [00:23:37] Speaker E: Yes. There's an old abandoned farmhouse about half a mile from the zoo. Srivi, start the motor. I'll tell you how to get there. [00:23:52] Speaker B: My arms grow longer and more hairy. Maybe the change is complete. I look in the mirror, the face of a gorilla looks back at me. [00:24:20] Speaker E: Leave the car by the main road, Srivi. We'll sneak up on the house. [00:24:23] Speaker H: Okay, Mister Cranston. I'm with you. It's you I'm with. Okay. [00:24:26] Speaker I: Is that the house there, through the trees, Lamont? [00:24:27] Speaker E: Yes, darling. [00:24:28] Speaker I: It's a frightening looking old place. [00:24:30] Speaker E: I'll take this gun, shrive in the splashlight. You better wait in the car, darling. [00:24:33] Speaker I: Alone out here? Not on your life. If you're going to meet this guerrilla man, darling, I'm going to be with you. [00:24:53] Speaker H: So far so good, Mister Cranston. You know, pretty good so far. [00:24:56] Speaker E: Be careful of those wooden port stairs, now. Don't fall through. [00:24:58] Speaker I: Yeah, the whole place looks as though it might collapse. [00:25:01] Speaker H: I hope not while we're inside. Not while we're inside. I hope. [00:25:05] Speaker E: The moon's bright enough for a while. Don't use your flash until I tell you, Srivi. [00:25:08] Speaker H: Okay, okay. [00:25:08] Speaker E: Now you take the ground floor. Srivi, Margo and I will go upstairs. [00:25:11] Speaker H: Okay, Mister Cranston. It's okay with me. I'll go down this hall first. Clear down to the end. [00:25:14] Speaker E: I will. What's happened? You all right? [00:25:18] Speaker I: Well, something's happened to him. The Monty dancing. [00:25:20] Speaker E: Shrivi. Better see what it is. [00:25:24] Speaker I: Come on. Look. Look up at the top of the stairs. [00:25:28] Speaker E: Yes, I can see it. Standing there in the moonlight. [00:25:30] Speaker I: They were right. That's not human. That's a huge gorilla. [00:25:35] Speaker E: Yes, it is. [00:25:36] Speaker I: The man is starting down the stairs. [00:25:37] Speaker E: Turn and run, Margle. I didn't count on this. Run to the car. [00:25:40] Speaker A: Hurry. [00:25:41] Speaker E: Run, mogul. [00:25:41] Speaker G: All right, but come on. [00:25:43] Speaker E: I'm falling. Margo, can you hear me? Get out of here. [00:25:47] Speaker I: Yes, yes, I'll get help. [00:25:49] Speaker E: Get out of this house. It's got me. [00:25:51] Speaker G: Run, Margo. [00:25:52] Speaker I: Kill it. [00:25:53] Speaker D: Oh, Margo. [00:25:53] Speaker G: Lama Lama. [00:25:56] Speaker D: Lamar. [00:26:00] Speaker I: Come coming back to me. [00:26:02] Speaker G: Help. [00:26:03] Speaker E: Help. I can't run anymore. [00:26:09] Speaker I: I got help. [00:26:13] Speaker D: Oh, ola. Monty. [00:26:16] Speaker I: Who went down and you got him. You killed him. [00:26:19] Speaker C: You. [00:26:21] Speaker I: Ola. [00:26:22] Speaker E: Murder. [00:26:24] Speaker I: Where are you, Donnie? [00:26:25] Speaker H: This ain't mister Crass and Miss Lane. Shrivey plugged the gorilla man. He plugged him. [00:26:29] Speaker I: Shreevy. We've got to get to Le Mans. Shreevy. The gorilla man attacked him. Come on, quick. [00:26:33] Speaker H: You're in his house, Miss Lane? [00:26:34] Speaker I: Yes, golf. We only had a flash. [00:26:37] Speaker H: You wait here, Miss Lane. You wait here. I'll go upstairs. [00:26:39] Speaker I: Well, hurry, will you, sweeby? We must find the martin. Then maybe I can. [00:26:43] Speaker B: What are you doing here? [00:26:44] Speaker G: What? [00:26:46] Speaker I: Who are you? [00:26:47] Speaker B: You killed my brother. [00:26:49] Speaker I: Your brother? [00:26:51] Speaker B: Big boy. My brother. My brother ape. You shot him outside. [00:26:55] Speaker G: Your bro. [00:26:56] Speaker I: Well, then, you're smitty, aren't you? You're the gorilla man. [00:27:00] Speaker B: You killed my brother out there. [00:27:02] Speaker I: No. [00:27:02] Speaker B: Yes. You'll die too. I'll kill you too. I got him tonight. Let him out of his cage in the zoo to run away with me. Now I'll kill you. [00:27:11] Speaker E: Let me go. [00:27:12] Speaker B: Now you die too. The gorilla man will kill you. Squeeze your life away. [00:27:20] Speaker E: The shadow knows who you are. [00:27:23] Speaker B: Who's that? [00:27:24] Speaker E: Voice of the shadow. He knows you killed Blinky. [00:27:27] Speaker B: You'll never get me. Nobody can get me now. [00:27:31] Speaker E: Shadow finds all evil. Your poor soul with the rest. [00:27:34] Speaker B: No voice or man can get me now. [00:27:37] Speaker E: The voice of the shadow will follow until you give up. [00:27:40] Speaker B: Up the stairs. [00:27:43] Speaker E: Up the stairs. The shadow follows until you confess. [00:27:46] Speaker B: I am too fast for everyone. Like a nape. I swing up over the burner stairs where you can't follow. [00:27:53] Speaker E: Shadow can follow. [00:27:54] Speaker B: Faster, faster. [00:27:57] Speaker E: You've reached the top of the stairway. There's nowhere to go. [00:28:01] Speaker B: There is a place I can go. Up this ladder to the roof. [00:28:05] Speaker E: Come down, you insane fool. [00:28:07] Speaker B: Through this skylight and onto the roof. [00:28:10] Speaker E: Come in off that roof. [00:28:13] Speaker B: My voice is here. It's followed me here. [00:28:16] Speaker E: A voice, like your conscience, follows you everywhere. [00:28:19] Speaker B: You think I'm trapped? Look at my strong, long arms, my heavy, short legs. I'm a gorilla now. And I can climb and jump as a beast. Down the rainpipe I'll climb. You'll forget my no powers. Come back down. Down I go, hand under hand. Come back quickly. [00:28:39] Speaker E: The rainpipe is breaking. Come back. [00:28:57] Speaker I: You know, Lamont, I feel sorry for that poor creature. Falling to his death like that. [00:29:01] Speaker H: Hey, where was you, Mister Cranston, when I was looking all over the house? Upstairs for you, it was for you I was looking. [00:29:06] Speaker E: You were just looking in all the wrong rooms, Srivi. And where was you, Srivi, when you left Miss Lane and me to be attacked by big boy Smithy's ape? [00:29:14] Speaker H: I had a little accident. There was little accident. I had. [00:29:17] Speaker I: Oh, that was when we heard that crash of wooden. [00:29:19] Speaker H: That was a crash of me, Miss Lane. The crash of me, it was. The floorboards came out and I landed flat on the cellar floor. The cellar floor, that is. [00:29:27] Speaker I: Well, thank goodness you revived in time to save me from that gorilla. [00:29:30] Speaker E: Yes, that ape was big boy and not Smitty turned gorilla man. Smitty had stolen to the zoo after dark tonight and let big Boy escape to the house. [00:29:37] Speaker I: Well, where was he when we got there? [00:29:39] Speaker E: He'd gone foraging for food for them both for the night. [00:29:42] Speaker I: He was going to free big boy so they could roam the countryside and be free together. [00:29:46] Speaker E: That was his plan. He thought he'd be free as no one would recognize him as Smitty. [00:29:50] Speaker I: But Lamont, I saw him when he grabbed me. He wasn't a gorilla at all. [00:29:55] Speaker E: I know, Margo. Strange quirk of his mind. Poor Smitty really believed those taunts and those jeers. He really believed he turned into a gorilla up to the moment he died. [00:30:14] Speaker F: Are you interested in engineering, electronics, ship design, travel and a steady job? If you were a young man between the ages of 17 and 22, you may qualify for a four year college education. And a career of public service in the United States Coast Guard. This oldest branch of the seagoing services maintains an academy at New London, Connecticut, for the professional training of its future officers. Applicants selected for the Coast Guard Academy by nationwide examinations begin their training each year late in July. Applications for this year's convening class must be postmarked not later than April 1, and entrance examinations are held on May 8. For complete information, write to the superintendent, US Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut, or visit your nearest Coast Guard recruiting station. [00:31:02] Speaker E: We'll repeat that. [00:31:03] Speaker F: For complete information, write to the superintendent, US Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut, or visit your nearest Coast Guard recruiting station. If you are a young man between the ages of 17 and 22, you may qualify for a four year college education and a career of public service in the United States Coast Guard. [00:31:24] Speaker E: The shadow program is based on a story copyrighted by street of Smith Publications. The characters, names, places and plot are fictitious. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Again next week, the shadow will demonstrate that the weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay. The shadow knows. [00:31:53] Speaker F: Friends. Next Sunday at a new time 03:30 p.m. pacific Standard time. Over many of these stations, the mutual network will bring you another strange and thrilling adventure in the shadows daring battle against the forces of evil. Be sure to listen at the new time 03:30 p.m. pacific Standard Time next Sunday for the shadow. And remember, the best way to save is to buy us savings bonds. And the best way to buy them regularly is through the payroll savings plan. This is the mutual Don Lee Broadcasting system. [00:32:24] Speaker A: That was the gorilla man from the shadow here on the mysterious old radio listening society podcast. Once again, I'm Eric. [00:32:32] Speaker E: I'm Tim. [00:32:33] Speaker D: And I'm Joshua. [00:32:34] Speaker A: And that was from our mysterious listener, John, who happens to be a college buddy of Joshua's. And once again, John Skyuma. And I want to find out. You tell me when he listens to this, if John knows what sky uma means. [00:32:52] Speaker D: Yeah. All went to the same college, the University of Minnesota. [00:32:56] Speaker A: And I. Josh was the only U of M grad to not know the secret sky uma. Pleasantry exchanged from graduates. [00:33:04] Speaker C: I did not go to the University of Minnesota. [00:33:06] Speaker A: And you know Sky Uma? [00:33:07] Speaker C: I do it now. [00:33:09] Speaker A: Tim went to the University of Redlands. [00:33:12] Speaker C: Yes. [00:33:13] Speaker A: Where your secret friends. [00:33:14] Speaker C: We had a fight song that was octomale. I don't actually know it real well, except for, like four years of. Of trying to keep it out of my head. It seeped through a little. [00:33:26] Speaker D: Yeah. I was not really integrated into college. [00:33:29] Speaker A: Life when I went to college. [00:33:31] Speaker D: Like, you could find John and I at Nye's polonaise room. That's where we went to me too. As quickly as possible. [00:33:38] Speaker A: Do you know what's weird? [00:33:39] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:33:40] Speaker A: We probably saw each other, if not talked to each other, before we ever knew each other. [00:33:45] Speaker C: We have stuffed you in a locker. [00:33:46] Speaker D: Yeah. Were you the guy who stole my beer money? [00:33:50] Speaker A: I love. Nice, man. [00:33:52] Speaker D: Oh, it was a great place is where I had my first legal drink. [00:33:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:33:55] Speaker D: Yeah. Awesome. I do want to give a little background of my relationship with John because it's OTR related. In college, John and I were partners in old time radio collecting because this was the nineties and you could not just pick an episode of old time radio and type it into your browser. You had basically four ways of listening to old time radio. You could buy expensive new box sets of cassettes or cds. You could scour vintage record stores for old time radio lp's from the 1970s nostalgia boom. You could scour the library for old, really warbly cassette tapes of old time radio. And finally, you could record old time radio off of various syndicated radio programs like Winradio was. [00:34:53] Speaker A: Can you. [00:34:53] Speaker D: Stan Friedberg. [00:34:55] Speaker B: I'm Stan Friedberg. [00:35:00] Speaker D: So John and I regularly did all four of these. And what's more, what we often did then, because this was the era of my awesome tape mix, that we would then dub these things and exchange them with one another when we found really cool stuff. John actually dubbed the entire mystery in the air box set for me. [00:35:24] Speaker A: Wow. [00:35:25] Speaker D: Sending me down the road to my current love of Peter Lorre. So thank you, John. And so I'm really excited to discuss this episode of the shadow, which I also had as part of a new box set. New to the nineties at least. It also had the gibbering things in it. So it was a super weird shadow box set. [00:35:47] Speaker E: Right? [00:35:48] Speaker D: And I'm sure I dubbed these for John years and years ago. So I don't think I'd be doing this podcast if we hadn't both invigorated our childhood. Lovable. [00:35:59] Speaker A: Thanks, John Skyma. So we're all fans of the shadow, as we know. Joshua indoctrinated Tim and I into the shadow. We were newbies. I knew a lot of shadow before this podcast, but not as much as I know now. And Tim didn't know any, not in the radio. And we are huge fans of it, all three of us. Now, we like it a lot. So it's okay if we are critical of some of them. Like this one. I am on the fence on this one. There are moments in this I really like. There are things about it I'm not sure if I like. I really want to. I've done this before in podcasts where I've just held back. Can I just listen to you guys talk for a while and see if I like this one or not? Because I'm on the fence. [00:36:54] Speaker C: I will start with, I fully want a teague prequel spin off of her own. I mean, she just had me. Is it my husband Blinky? On top of which was every time Blinky's name comes up, like, so Blinky, was he killed by wild animal? [00:37:20] Speaker D: Yes. [00:37:21] Speaker C: How did you. I just always assumed this is how. [00:37:23] Speaker D: He was going to die. [00:37:24] Speaker C: Anytime his name is mentioned, that's my assumption. [00:37:30] Speaker D: Yeah. I think maybe you are looking for enjoyment out of this episode that is unironic, probably, and maybe that's not fair. I think this is intentionally pulpy and over the top, but I think the fun of it is just how weird and wild it is in the come. [00:37:51] Speaker C: To Jesus sort of point of view. Though other radio episodes we listen to where they just indulge in an unnecessary gorilla. We have been a little judgmental. Love that, you know, once in our man Lamont, like, this is fine, this is fun. We love having gorillas and shows. [00:38:09] Speaker D: You name me one episode that I haven't loved up and down that has a random gorilla in it. [00:38:15] Speaker A: Spawn of the subsumin. [00:38:17] Speaker D: I love that episode. Up and down. Are you kidding me? [00:38:20] Speaker A: For the wrong reasons, not the reasons they intended you to want to love it. [00:38:24] Speaker D: Yeah. If we name any other singing animal that would be better than a gorilla, though, that we wouldn't even talked about. [00:38:30] Speaker A: It if it weren't anteaters. [00:38:34] Speaker C: I feel like our treatment of Spawn of the subunit has an element of. [00:38:38] Speaker D: Judginess in it, but it's also a love of gorillas. Don't you remember? What series was it where it was the monkeys on a train. Remember that one with the gorillas? That was awesome. Loved it. Patreons, get on this. Tell me what episode I'm thinking of. [00:38:53] Speaker A: I don't know. [00:38:54] Speaker D: I don't remember the monkeys on the exchanged murders with a monkey. You don't remember that? [00:38:59] Speaker A: Crisscross. [00:39:03] Speaker D: Okay, I'm on board from the opening line of this that has like big Herman Melville vibes. He's like Schmitty. They call me sometimes the gorilla man. And I'm just sitting upright, I'm close to that speaker. I'm like, yeah. And then it switches gears and we get this sort of gorilla noir monkey splay where he's like, I've handled bigger monkeys than most men make of themselves. It's just, ah. Ah. Awesome. [00:39:38] Speaker A: Don't look at me. Say awesome. [00:39:41] Speaker C: That every animal in the zoo is a singular person assigned to care for them, who is, in essence, like that animal. [00:39:47] Speaker D: This is one extended riff on that idea that people. People come to look like their pets. [00:39:52] Speaker A: Right? [00:39:53] Speaker D: Like made into a shadow episode. [00:39:55] Speaker A: You don't want to see the giraffe lady. [00:39:58] Speaker D: I kept imagining panther lady Kathleen Burke from the island of lost souls. Who's the panther woman in that one? And honestly, when Schmidt describes himself in the mirror, that's a lot like Bela Lugosi as the lawgiver, also from island of lost souls. So I was getting a lot of Doctor Moreau energy from this one, which is an added bonus for me. [00:40:23] Speaker C: I also loved that Lamont has an incredible knowledge of the texture of different animal furs. [00:40:31] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:31] Speaker D: Years ago in the Orient, Cranston learned the secret. [00:40:36] Speaker A: Here's the other thing of deciphering hair. You give me a hair and give me another hair. [00:40:43] Speaker C: These are hair. [00:40:44] Speaker A: Yeah. To look at a hair and say pretty similar to that here, I would have no idea. None. [00:40:50] Speaker C: I mean, I will go on with these ridiculous observations because I loved. I did. I loved this episode. And for beat. For beat, it was like, what? What of things like, so we found his wife's hair on his body. What do we think this means? [00:41:07] Speaker D: They were married. Yeah. [00:41:12] Speaker A: All right. So sometimes when I. Oh, my God, I got. [00:41:16] Speaker C: And shrive is packing heat. [00:41:18] Speaker A: Right. [00:41:18] Speaker D: And he sounds prepubescent. This actor has this really high pitched voice. I imagine this was twelve year old. [00:41:25] Speaker A: So that was, I was going to talk about Srivi. So picking up right there in my world, when I get voiceover auditions frequently, it's very funny voice. So I will sit there with the dialogue and the script and. And try the voices and try the voice and go up and down until I find the one that I think is right. I believe the actor playing Srivi did that for the entire episode because every time they came back to him, it was different. And I was like, what is happening? [00:42:03] Speaker D: Like I said, it's puberty. He was just all over the place. [00:42:06] Speaker A: Weird. [00:42:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:07] Speaker A: Like, he, the actor, like, could not settle on. He could not settle on. Just couldn't settle on what the character was. And that was distracting. It was terrible. Shreevy, can we all agree that was the worst Shrievey in the history? [00:42:24] Speaker C: That was until he pulled the gun. [00:42:26] Speaker D: Yeah, it's the worst ass kicking. Shreevye. I found it a little depressing how many physical transformations that Schmitty described about himself looking in the mirror, I could relate to as a manager's turn, all these wrinkles and hair growing out of my ears and neck. Like, I thought I was old. I'm turning into a gorilla. At least my arms haven't lengthened. [00:42:58] Speaker A: Tim and I have been meaning to talk to you. [00:42:59] Speaker D: Let's be honest. [00:43:02] Speaker C: I'm just gonna have endless. Seriously. And this thing, when the shadow was talking to Teague and accused her of, like, you didn't tell me that before. I just met you, man, and you're invisible. No, I didn't tell you this. [00:43:17] Speaker D: Yeah. I enjoyed how vocal Margo was throughout all this about, you know, not only does she scream, and that's neither here nor there, but, like, when the shadow says, hey, you know, Margot's pretty tired. We're just gonna rest here in your hut so we can search it, like, really? Obviously. And she's like, what? No, there's a panther in the other room, and she refuses to stay in the car. [00:43:43] Speaker C: There's an armed man in there, right? [00:43:47] Speaker A: A nine year old armed man with some kind of Boston New York accent. [00:43:55] Speaker D: On a more serious note, though, I did enjoy Brett Morrison's performance toward the end, when he realizes that there's an ape in this old, abandoned house. I can't believe I said this sentence, but he is actually terrified and sounds legitimately scared. So it's nice. It balances out so that Margot's scream does not seem so gendered. Like, they both seem like we're scared poopless right now. [00:44:21] Speaker C: We have, in the past, talked about actors who seem like they're not in the same show. And for much of this, Margot and Lamont, like, you are in two different shows right now. [00:44:31] Speaker A: Right. [00:44:32] Speaker D: But that moment, they're like, okay, we're gonna tell the audience that this is, our lives are really in danger. And it's rare in the shadow that whoever it is who's playing Lamont Cranston actually conveys that he's always cool most of the time and under control. And so I thought that was a really nice moment in this otherwise really fun, silly show. We recently listened to another script by this writer. In one of our Patreon happy hours. We listened to Spider Boy. And I was struck, and I admired how much he recycled. I don't know which one came first, but the ending is almost identical in the two scripts. It's a person who believes they are turning into some sort of non human. Obviously, in Spider boy, he thinks he's turning into a spider, and he thinks he can spin a web and lower himself out of a window. And here he thinks he's a gorilla and that he can climb and he can't, and they both die. [00:45:32] Speaker A: The worst one was curse of the hedgehog. [00:45:37] Speaker D: Okay, so you guys are going to be shocked by this. [00:45:41] Speaker A: I'll give you shocked. I was 58 years old when I learned that hedgehog and groundhog are the same thing. I learned that this morning. [00:45:50] Speaker C: Sorry, I was thinking of prairie dog. That prairie dog's different. [00:45:52] Speaker D: We are carrying over our pension for tangents from last week's episode. [00:45:56] Speaker A: What were you gonna say? [00:45:57] Speaker C: But the thing is, the zoo, like, the guy who cares for the hedgehog. [00:46:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:00] Speaker C: Looks like a hedgehog. [00:46:01] Speaker A: Yeah. He turned into a hedgy. [00:46:07] Speaker C: Cause it is one guy who cares for the single hedgehog at the zoo. [00:46:10] Speaker B: Right? [00:46:12] Speaker D: Each animal is assigned their own keeper. It's adorable. [00:46:17] Speaker A: Zoo used to be really lucrative. [00:46:19] Speaker E: Oh, yeah. [00:46:19] Speaker C: Big money. [00:46:20] Speaker A: Big money. Well, it was because of all the gambling. [00:46:28] Speaker D: Sadly, in some of those early zoos, you could. [00:46:30] Speaker A: You could bet on anything. [00:46:31] Speaker D: Like. Yeah, this one isn't gonna last till tomorrow. [00:46:34] Speaker A: No, it's racing. [00:46:35] Speaker C: That's a child, sir. [00:46:37] Speaker A: Flamingo races. Whatever. Race them all. [00:46:40] Speaker D: I keep sidetracking myself, but speaking of people, people at the zoo saying weird stuff. I loved the chorus of zoo goers commenting on how gorilla like, schmitty was right where they could hear. [00:46:53] Speaker A: He could hear them. [00:46:54] Speaker D: Yeah, I think we need a morals t shirt that just says glandular. Probably. But anyway, back to my point about what might shock you is that there's actually, from a shadow enthusiast point of view, something a little interesting about this, in that it is rare for the shadow to have an antagonist like this who exists outside of the usual black and white manichean worldview that the shadow has. Right, so this Schmidt, or the gorilla man, clearly has mental health issues. Clinical lycanthropy is actually what it is called when people think they are animals. Or furries sometimes it's called too. But, like, a furry. [00:47:50] Speaker C: He just wants to live on the land with. Gather fruit for his partner, for his brother. [00:47:56] Speaker D: His furry brother. I had a point. [00:48:01] Speaker C: Success. [00:48:03] Speaker D: But here you can argue that Blinky is the only one who's murdered here, and he really had it coming. [00:48:11] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:48:11] Speaker D: Yeah. Right? So if anything, was he killed by an animal? Yes. [00:48:16] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:48:17] Speaker D: Tracks. So, as shadow villains go, this is intriguing. And what's more intriguing to me is that the shadow actually acknowledges the limits of his, you know, rules based ethics. He has that great line about, like, evil does not escape the shadow. Even a poor soul like you he seems to be like, I only have these two buckets. I'm sorry. [00:48:48] Speaker A: Right. [00:48:48] Speaker D: It's like, you're a good guy or you're a bad guy, and because you killed somebody, and my rules say if I. You kill somebody, no matter what the context, no matter what the utilitarian outcome is, you are evil. [00:49:03] Speaker C: I have to chase you upstairs until you die. [00:49:05] Speaker D: I have to narrate myself chasing you up the stairs until I narrate you dying. [00:49:12] Speaker A: I love the fall that the foley came up with. Drop the pipe on the floor. [00:49:20] Speaker D: So this is one of those weird moments where I actually thought that was effective because it wasn't a overkill. Like, it was a. A pipe and a half. Yeah. Instead of it sounding like the entire building came down on him, just would. [00:49:34] Speaker A: Like it a little further away because the proximity. [00:49:38] Speaker D: Oh, you. [00:49:39] Speaker A: The clang. Made it sound like he fell 3ft. [00:49:42] Speaker D: As a homeowner who may or may not have pulled off one of his drain pipes and dropped it on the ground accidentally. [00:49:50] Speaker C: Strange reaction. [00:49:51] Speaker D: It's really loud. [00:49:56] Speaker A: Please tell me that's on video. [00:50:00] Speaker C: Like, loud enough for every neighbor to hear. [00:50:02] Speaker D: Loud enough to sound like an ape man falling to his death. [00:50:05] Speaker A: Right, right. [00:50:08] Speaker D: I like the theme of this zoo that it actually has native huts for each individual animal. Zoo came right. [00:50:17] Speaker C: Where they can live with their animals. [00:50:19] Speaker D: As an adjoining room for their animal. [00:50:23] Speaker A: If that was an actual thing, I would have considered that as a career choice. You get to live at the zoo next to the animal you're taking care of. Oh, my God. That would have been a done deal. I would have never, ever learned. Skyuma. [00:50:39] Speaker D: I love when the shadow says, well, we can't really go to the police with a story about a man turning into our gorilla, now can we, darling? Like, how about go to the police with a story about a man being murdered and people setting animals loose in the suit. [00:50:56] Speaker A: Right. [00:50:57] Speaker D: Policeable. [00:50:58] Speaker C: Policeable. Also on the list of things I loved about this episode, crime does not pay. Therefore, criminals cannot take part in payroll deduction programs. [00:51:14] Speaker D: It's funny. Cause it's true. It's true. Yeah. [00:51:18] Speaker A: Well, what other insights do we have? [00:51:21] Speaker D: It's definitely. We mentioned this years and years and years ago when we listened to the gibbering things, as many jokes as we made, this was a truly tragic and horrific 30 minutes for our characters. And they're completely nonplussed by it. [00:51:35] Speaker A: Yep. [00:51:35] Speaker D: Shreeby just pops out of his cab and plugs a gorilla and then is like, yep, gotta get back to my tab. [00:51:42] Speaker C: And then later, cab, where were you, Shreebye, saving your girlfriend? Where were you? [00:51:47] Speaker D: And afterwards, they're just sort of discussing it very nonchalantly, and it's just like, I think, in the world of the shadow, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger and a little bit sociopathic. [00:52:00] Speaker A: Right. [00:52:01] Speaker D: I just have so much fun listening to these type of just over the top stories where you're just like, what happens next? [00:52:09] Speaker A: Right? [00:52:10] Speaker C: Does it connect to what's happened so far? Maybe. [00:52:13] Speaker D: But I will say this. For such a over the top story, the animal sounds were actually quite good. They were loud and scary. In a way, they really should have been. And in some ways, they're more Shrievi. Yeah. They would have been better as Shreevi. Yes. The panther. [00:52:37] Speaker A: I'm Shreevye. [00:52:40] Speaker H: Wait, wait. [00:52:41] Speaker A: Come back later. I'll have a different voice for you. [00:52:43] Speaker D: You know how you have to have those, like, grounding words in a character's voice that you keep coming? Touchstone. [00:52:50] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:50] Speaker D: A touchstone that gets the voice back. He really needed one of those. [00:52:55] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. He has no touch tone. [00:52:57] Speaker D: No. [00:52:57] Speaker A: I'm gonna vote. I love the shadow. And Orson Welles two years makes the rest of the years difficult. I adore those first two years so much. They're so good. They're scarier. They're. They're darker, and I like that darker. And I want to be clear. There's a lot of shadows after 1939 that I love, too. But the. The gauge is those first two years, a lot for me. This is not one of my favorite shadows or even in a top whatever compared to the other shadows, not one of the best. And it's okay ish. It's. It's a little too silly for me. How's that? There's what I'm saying. Too silly. That's a new category, and I know it's why you love it. [00:53:43] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. It is. It's probably not an all time radio classic. Probably. Maybe it's glandular, my love of this. But, uh, it's on my list of favorite episodes of the shadow. And I know that every episode of the shadow we have on this podcast, I say, is on my list of favorite episodes of the shadow because it's very, very long, that list of favorites. I like the pulpy, over the top, ridiculous stuff like this. It's very fun. I actually think it stands the test of time, because it's as ridiculous today as it was in 1946. [00:54:21] Speaker A: If you told someone to go in with the right attitude, if you said, this is really scary. [00:54:27] Speaker D: No, but do you actually go into the shadow thinking it's too scary and suspenseful sometimes. [00:54:34] Speaker A: And some of them are. [00:54:35] Speaker C: They're a little pulpier. [00:54:37] Speaker A: A little pulpier. Yeah. And I also, gibbering things, to me, was terrifying, not silly. [00:54:42] Speaker D: Okay. Yeah. Well, I think gibbering things has more moments of legitimate terror around the over the top ness than this does. [00:54:49] Speaker A: Correct. [00:54:49] Speaker D: For sure. And I did enjoy the. Some of the morally nuanced for the shadow, at least. Antagonist. [00:54:59] Speaker A: Yep. [00:55:00] Speaker D: I don't know if I should do this to you, Eric, but I was planning this as part one of a gorilla themed shadow trilogy that I was going to bring. [00:55:11] Speaker A: Hell, yeah. Bring it. Bring it. [00:55:13] Speaker D: So for the next two months, my episodes are going to be shadow episodes with apes in them. [00:55:21] Speaker A: Nice. That is it, Christmas. [00:55:23] Speaker D: And I'm gonna tell you right now, this is probably the most grounded of the three. [00:55:32] Speaker A: That's fantastic. Thank you. [00:55:36] Speaker C: This was hilarious. And I don't mean like kind of backhand, like, unintentionally hilarious. I think this was purposefully, brilliantly hilarious. I think it stands the test of time, because I want to hear it again. I don't know how well this well, how well any random episode of the Shadow represents the shadow, I suppose, is the point. This seems a little out of step with most of what the episodes we've heard to my ear. But that's not a. I don't mind a hilarious episode of the Shadow. Don't mind it at all. I had a really good time. [00:56:16] Speaker D: Thank you so much, John. [00:56:18] Speaker A: Thank you, John. Yes, Tim, tell him stuff. [00:56:20] Speaker C: Hey, please go visit ghoulishdelights.com. you can listen to other episodes if you like, and then after you've listened to them, you can leave comments. You can vote in polls, let us know what you think, have your voice heard by typing it. You can [email protected] link to our store and get yourself some, you know, a mysterious old radio listening society. Sweater or hoodie or t shirt or coffee mug, all kinds of stuff. And you can also link to our Patreon page. [00:56:49] Speaker D: Yes. Go to patreon.com. the Morals and support this podcast. If by next week we reach $2,000 a month, we won't listen to any more April shadow episodes. But short of that, I'm letting loose. So become a Patreon today, and you can help shape what we do and don't listen to on this podcast. [00:57:18] Speaker A: The mysterious old radio Listening Society theater company performs live on stage recreations of classic old time radio shows and a lot of our own original work. To see us performing audio drama live on stage, just go to ghoulishdelights.com dot. There you will see where we're performing, when we're performing, and what we're performing, and how to get tickets if you can't see us any particular month. Performing live, being a Patreon, what are we laughing about? [00:57:45] Speaker D: You're probably wearing a blindfold. [00:57:49] Speaker A: If you can't make it to a particular performance, then being a Patreon, we record video and or audio of our performances, and those are part of your perks package, so you can listen or watch us that way as well. What's coming up next? [00:58:06] Speaker C: It's your choice. [00:58:08] Speaker A: Oh, right. We're doing something called the diary of fate in the episode called David Dexter. Until then. [00:58:18] Speaker E: And now, murder at midnight, tales of mystery and terror by radio's masters of the macabre. Our story by Peter Martin is the ape song. [00:58:32] Speaker F: I'm getting the five. [00:58:33] Speaker C: I might be a little more enthusiastic about this. [00:58:35] Speaker D: No, I actually really love this story and I'm prepared to defend it with the insensate passions of a huge ape. He murdered the ape's mate in the hopes to anger it to murder his mate. They switched murders. It's like monkeys on a train.