Episode 426: The House of Fear

[00:00:16] Speaker A: The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society podcast. 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. [00:00:35] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:00:36] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:37] Speaker A: We love mysterious old time radio stories, but do they Stand the test of time? That's what we're here to find out. [00:00:43] Speaker B: This week I brought the House of Fear from a series we have not yet listened to on this podcast, rogues gallery. [00:00:50] Speaker C: In 1944, Dick Powell's performance in the film Murder My Sweet transformed his career from romantic lead to hard boiled tough guy. Wanting to capitalize on the movie's success, he approached the F.W. fitch Shampoo Company, sponsor of the Fitch Bandwagon Radio Show. Powell's proposal was to star as Detective Richard Roeg in a 1945 Summer Replacement Series called the Bandwagon Mysteries. The show was so popular that when the Fitch Bandwagon returned, Powell took Richard Roeg from NBC to the Mutual Broadcasting System, renaming the series Rogues Gallery. [00:01:30] Speaker A: When the summer of 1946 rolled around, rogues Gallery returned to NBC without changing the name back. The series returned again for the summer of 1947, with Barry Sullivan replacing Dick Powell. After that, the series found another home on ABC from 1950 to 1952, featuring Powell Stewart in the lead role. Powell, in the meantime, went off to star as another iconic detective, Richard Diamond. [00:01:55] Speaker B: Rogues Gallery has another distinctive feature that we will discuss after the episode. But first, let's listen to the House of Fear from Rogues gallery, first broadcast Nov. 15, 1945. [00:02:07] Speaker C: 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 speaker. Listen to the music and listen to the voices. [00:02:34] Speaker D: The F.W. fitch Company presents Dick Powell as private detective Richard Rogue in Rogues Gallery. [00:02:44] Speaker E: Oh, I'd like to get my hands on that cup that got me through the shoulder last night. [00:02:49] Speaker F: Too bad it was through the shoulder, Mr. Crane. It should have been through your heart. [00:02:53] Speaker E: You know I like you. I like my women with a lot of spirit. I may just take you with me when I make my break from here. [00:03:03] Speaker F: You'll have to kill me first. [00:03:06] Speaker E: Oh, company Come in and keep your hands right on that tray. I'd hate to have to shoot a beautiful girl like you. [00:03:15] Speaker G: I brought up some coffee. [00:03:17] Speaker E: That's thoughtful of you. Keep your hands in the air and stay away from me. [00:03:22] Speaker F: Don't take any chances, Sandra. This fiend would rather shoot you than not. [00:03:41] Speaker H: Rogue speaking. That little scene takes me back to a night a couple of months ago. The night I met some scared people in a seaside mansion. In just a minute, I'm going to tell you the story of the House of Fear. But first, here's Jim Doyle just talking [00:03:56] Speaker D: about a grand product like Fitch's no Brush Shaving cream isn't really enough. We can tell you what a cool, solid comfort shave it gives. But you won't really know what this comfort is until you use Fitch's no Brush. The very instant you spread this rich, smooth cream on your face, you can tell the difference. You see, it contains a special skin conditioner ingredient that immediately lubricates your skin. Even men with super sensitive skin find that the skin conditioner ingredient keeps their faces from feeling irritated. Then, when you start to shave, you'll find how easily your razor glides along, even against the grain of a tough beard. After you've finished, your face will feel cool and refreshed. And you'll know what we mean when we say Fitch's no Brush gives us solid comfort shave. [00:04:44] Speaker I: You. [00:04:44] Speaker H: Men who prefer a lather cream will like Fitch's Brush Cream. It gives an abundant, dense lather that stays moist all during the shave. It doesn't become dry and make your face feel parched and uncomfortable. [00:04:55] Speaker D: Fitch's Brush and Fitch's no Brush Shaving Cream come in generous 25 and 50 cent sizes. Try it for real shaving comfort. [00:05:03] Speaker H: Thank you, Jim. And now I'd like to go on with my story. [00:05:07] Speaker D: Okay, here's Dick Powell as private detective Richard Rogue in another personally conducted tour through Rogue's gallery. [00:05:37] Speaker H: Remember that scene you just heard? Well, one day a couple of months ago, I was in my office playing a bit of gin rummy with Herb Heidi, the bookie from the cigar store in the lobby when Mr. J. McDonald called from the Great Western Insurance Company. I knew what he wanted. I'd read the morning papers. I hated to leave the game because I was winning for some reason known only to Herb Heidi, who plays cards with all the warm human abandon of a natty machine. But I have learned to love a cash case like a bookie loves a losing horse. And Great Western Insurance is a good client. So I picked up my $2.35 winnings and made tracks for the plush offices of Mr. J. MacDonald. [00:06:23] Speaker J: Sit down, Mr. Rogue. I have a case I want to discuss with you. [00:06:27] Speaker H: Well, thank you. What's on the fire, Mr. McDonnell? [00:06:31] Speaker J: I suppose you've read of the theft of the Somaliland diamond from the Home Of James E. Lee? [00:06:35] Speaker H: Oh, sure, sure. Last night during a party given by his granddaughter Sandra Lee. That much I know. [00:06:40] Speaker J: The Great Western had that diamond covered, Mr. [00:06:42] Speaker K: Rogue. [00:06:43] Speaker J: It was insured for $50,000. $50,000? [00:06:47] Speaker H: No kidding? Well, that's a lot of money. Must have been some Diamond. [00:06:51] Speaker J: We're offering $5,000 reward for the recovery of the stone. It's one of the largest in existence. [00:06:57] Speaker H: Well, bring me up to date a little, will ya? It was a slip Crane job, wasn't it? The papers used his name. [00:07:03] Speaker J: That's right. Three members of the family identified him from Rogues gallery pictures. There's no doubt that he was the man. He had an accomplice, but we have no line on him at all. [00:07:12] Speaker H: And all you want me to do is pinch Crane and get the Somaliland diamond back, right? [00:07:18] Speaker J: Yes. Crane left the Lee mansion in a yellow convertible sedan which the police found wrecked between the Lee estate and Los Angeles. There was blood on the seat. And it's thought that either Crane or his accomplice was wounded. They believe to be here in the Los Angeles area. They haven't made any attempt to run the police blockade. [00:07:35] Speaker H: Okay, Mr. McDonald. If he's here in this town, I'll have him. [00:07:38] Speaker J: And that's all the information I have for you, Rogue. I've had our auditor make you out a check for $1,000. Oh, that's your retainer. And of course if you do manage to recover the diamond, there will be another $4,000 due you. [00:07:51] Speaker H: Oh, oh, uh huh. Thanks. [00:07:52] Speaker J: And here are your credentials identifying you as our investigator. And now Mr. Rose. [00:07:58] Speaker H: Remember, I'm not promising anything. [00:08:01] Speaker J: Oh yes, there is one more thing. The Lee family has been extremely uncooperative today. Extremely so. They practically refuse to talk with either the newspapers or the police. [00:08:12] Speaker H: Well, how do you figure that? I mean, what do you suppose is their angle? [00:08:17] Speaker J: That is what we are paying you to discover, Mr. Rogue. [00:08:28] Speaker H: It was about 5 in the afternoon when I took off the Lee mansion, which was a show place up the coast about 20 miles. Old man Lee is an eccentric millionaire. His picture is always in the rotor gavure section with his two granddaughters, Sandra and Virginia, who live with him. A heavy fog billowed in about 10 minutes before I reached the Lee house and I drove the rest of the way by air. By the time I pulled up at the house, my windshield was colored like the side of a battleship and was just about as easy to see through. So I parked in the circular driveway and ran up on the huge front porch. Yes, Richard Rogue I want to see Mr. Lee, please. [00:09:12] Speaker F: I'm sorry, Monsieur Lee is not in. [00:09:15] Speaker H: Then I'd like to see Miss Sandra Lee, then. [00:09:17] Speaker F: I'm sorry, Miss Sandra is not in. [00:09:20] Speaker H: Well, I'll just take a look. [00:09:21] Speaker F: No, no, you cannot come in. [00:09:23] Speaker H: Oh, you could be wrong, dear. There, I'm in. [00:09:27] Speaker J: Who is it? [00:09:28] Speaker K: Marie? [00:09:28] Speaker F: This man is trying to force his way in. Monsieur Lee. [00:09:31] Speaker H: Oh, good evening, Mr. Lee. I hope you remember me. Richard Robe. [00:09:33] Speaker K: Oh, the detective, of course. Thank you very much, Marie. Come into the study, Mr. Rogue. [00:09:40] Speaker H: I hope you don't think I'm a heathen walking in here like this, Mr. Lee. It's my business. You know, I. I had to see you. [00:09:46] Speaker K: Oh, I suppose so. It's about that darn Somaliland diamond. I tell you, Mr. Rogue, we've just been pestered to death all day long about that robbery. I finally had to tell the police and the newspaper people to go away and let me alone. [00:09:59] Speaker H: Well, I. I don't like to be a pest, but. [00:10:02] Speaker K: Oh, we have another guest. Sandra, my dear, the Detective, Richard Rogue. [00:10:06] Speaker E: Mr. [00:10:06] Speaker K: Rogue, I'd like you to meet my granddaughter, Sandra Lee. [00:10:09] Speaker G: We've met, Grant. [00:10:10] Speaker K: And, Mr. Rogue, I'd like to introduce you to John Wood. He's a house guest. [00:10:14] Speaker H: I'm very happy to know you, Mr. Wood. [00:10:16] Speaker L: Thank you. [00:10:16] Speaker G: I suppose you're here to question us about the Samolon diamond. [00:10:19] Speaker H: Well, that's my job, Ms. Lee. [00:10:21] Speaker G: I suppose it is. [00:10:22] Speaker K: Now, now, Cassandra, please. Oh, my goodness. [00:10:25] Speaker G: Oh, Gramps, stop fidgeting. We're terribly tired of talking about the robbery, Mr. Rogue. We've talked with the police and reporters by the dozens and, well, there's just not anything left to say. [00:10:36] Speaker L: You must understand, Rogue, that Mr. Lee has been driven to the verge of a breakdown by this affair. Can't you give your information from the police? [00:10:43] Speaker I: No. [00:10:44] Speaker H: No, I can't. You know, I can see why you're tired of explaining what happened. But I'm in a little different position than the newspaper boys. I represent the insurance company. They had that diamond covered for $50,000. And naturally, they're quite interested in knowing the facts of the case. [00:10:59] Speaker K: I assure you, Mr. Rogue, that I have no intention of filing a claim against the insurance company. No intention at all. I just don't want to hear any more about the diamond or the robbery. [00:11:09] Speaker H: But, Mr. Lee. [00:11:10] Speaker G: Oh, please, Mr. Rogue. It's Gramp's own business if he wants to take the loss, isn't it? [00:11:14] Speaker H: Well, yeah, I suppose it is, but it's a little unusual, and I don't think he should make any such decision under the present circumstances. It's easy to see that you're all upset and jittery, but. [00:11:24] Speaker L: And with good reason. Really, Mr. Rogue, Mr. Lee has not been well. Couldn't you talk with him tomorrow? [00:11:30] Speaker H: No, I'm. I'm sure you won't mind, Mr. Lee, if I have a chair here in front of the fireplace. [00:11:35] Speaker K: It's. [00:11:35] Speaker H: No, it's a terrible night out. Had a tough drive the last few miles. Fog is awful. [00:11:40] Speaker K: Yes, I have noticed that the fog is in a little heavier than usual tonight. It's depressing, isn't it? Fog on top of everything else. Oh, Mr. Rogue, I'm so upset. [00:11:50] Speaker G: Maybe you better start Back to town, Mr. Rogue. It would be slow going in this fog. [00:11:55] Speaker H: What's the matter with you, Ms. Lee? You're not the hysterical type. [00:11:58] Speaker G: Will you please leave, Mr. Rhodes? [00:12:00] Speaker L: No. [00:12:01] Speaker H: I'm an investigator and I've got a job to do. I'd be a lousy investigator if I didn't try to get to the bottom of this situation. Who are you protecting? What are you afraid of? [00:12:09] Speaker L: Are you accusing us of complicity in the disappearance of that diamond? [00:12:12] Speaker H: I don't even know you, Mr. Wood. I'm talking to the Lees. I'm not accusing them of anything. Look, Mr. Lee, crime is my business. I know how to deal with crime and criminals. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind, Mr. Lee? [00:12:26] Speaker K: I'm sorry, Mr. Rogue, but as far as I and my family are concerned, the theft of the Somaliland diamond is a closed matter. I have my reasons. Now, please go. [00:12:36] Speaker G: Yes. You. You can't do any good staying here. [00:12:38] Speaker H: Where's your other granddaughter, Mr. Lee? Where's Virginia? [00:12:41] Speaker K: She's returned to her school in the city. [00:12:43] Speaker H: Oh, I see. [00:12:44] Speaker K: Oh, Grant, please make it very now, dear. I'm sure Mr. Rogue will be going. [00:12:48] Speaker F: Did you ring, monsieur? [00:12:50] Speaker K: Yes. Marie, will you please show Mr. Rogue to the door? [00:12:54] Speaker H: Okay, okay, okay. But if you ever feel like you need any help in whatever it is that's forcing you to act like this. Mr. Lee, call me, will you? I'll be waiting for your call. [00:13:05] Speaker K: Yes. Yes, I will. I'm sorry, Mr. Rogue. Good night. [00:13:10] Speaker H: Good night. Good night, Miss Lee and Mr. Wood. [00:13:13] Speaker L: Night, night. [00:13:16] Speaker F: This way, monsieur. Monsieur Roque? You are the detective? [00:13:25] Speaker H: Yes, that's right. [00:13:26] Speaker F: There are strange things going on in this house, Monsieur Roque. There is much trouble. [00:13:31] Speaker H: Ah. Can you tell me about it, Marie? Well, I. Marie. [00:13:37] Speaker F: Yes, Monsieur Root? [00:13:38] Speaker L: Mr. Lee wants to see you in the library. Good night, Mr. [00:13:41] Speaker K: Rogue. [00:13:49] Speaker H: As I got in my car and sneaked down the hill through the fog, I told myself I was wasting my time. That I was looking for a man named Slip Crane, the jewel thief. That I had no business getting mixed up in the family affairs of the Lees. There was a filling station and general store at the spot where the highway joined the private road that led up to the Lee estate. Sam's Filling Station for you and your car. I stopped in there for a sandwich and a cup of coffee. [00:14:17] Speaker I: Great night to be driving around, mister. [00:14:19] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:14:20] Speaker H: Yeah, it is. Hey, give me a slice of that pumpkin pie, will you? [00:14:23] Speaker I: Why, sure. [00:14:24] Speaker H: Here you are. [00:14:25] Speaker I: Just came down the hill from the Lee house, didn't you? [00:14:27] Speaker H: Yeah. Yeah, that's right. [00:14:29] Speaker I: Well, sir, there was plenty of excitement around here last night. Yep. Cops all over the place. Newspaper men. Best business I've done in years. The whole district is still full of cops. They've thrown up a roadblock in every direction. Hey, are you a policeman? [00:14:45] Speaker H: That profession. [00:14:46] Speaker I: You working on the case? Yeah. It must have been some diamond. You know, those Lees are nice people. The old man's a little fidgety, but the rest of them are swell people. Well, he's all right too. Yes, sir. Nice guy. [00:15:02] Speaker H: You know them? [00:15:03] Speaker I: Know them? Why, sure know them. Known them all for years. The kids, Sandra, Virginia. Been eating my hamburgers ever since they was old enough to toddle down here. [00:15:11] Speaker J: Yeah. [00:15:12] Speaker H: You know what school Virginia goes to [00:15:13] Speaker I: up in the city? Why, sure. Same one Sandra used to go to. Let me, Mrs. Whipple. [00:15:19] Speaker J: School. [00:15:20] Speaker H: Oh, well, thanks. Hey, what's the toll charge to call the city? [00:15:25] Speaker I: Two bits for the first three minutes. There's a phone booth right over there. [00:15:28] Speaker H: Thank you. [00:15:30] Speaker I: Yes, sir, those Little League girls are the salt of the earth. I've known them for 10 years, I guess. Knew the daddy well, too. Went to school with him. He's a colonel now. An Eagle colonel in Washington. A big shot. [00:15:52] Speaker H: Hello, operator, please get me Bar gate 63645 in the city, [00:16:05] Speaker G: Misses Whipple. School for Girls. Hattie Smith on duty. [00:16:08] Speaker H: Oh, hello. I. I would like to speak with Virginia Lee, please. [00:16:12] Speaker G: Ms. Lee? Why, I'm sure she isn't here. She's at her grandfather's home up the coast. [00:16:16] Speaker H: She is? Are you sure? [00:16:18] Speaker G: Oh, yes. Just a minute. Miss Lee is homeless. Yes, Miss Lee is not expected back until Monday morning. [00:16:26] Speaker H: Thank you. [00:16:29] Speaker I: Get your party. [00:16:30] Speaker H: Yeah, yeah. Hey, give me another cup of coffee, will you, Sam? [00:16:34] Speaker L: Why, sure. [00:16:35] Speaker H: Oh, tell me, Sam. I know the whole Lee family, except Virginia. She's only about 14, isn't she, Jenny? Oh, no. [00:16:45] Speaker I: Oh, she's 19 or 20. 20, I think. She's a wild one, that youngster. She's all for having fun. Nothing at all like her sister Sandra. [00:16:54] Speaker L: Oh. [00:16:55] Speaker H: Well, I guess I'll be on my way. Can't sit here all night. [00:16:59] Speaker I: Don't envy your drive none. Better take it easy in that fog. [00:17:10] Speaker H: It was all as plain as a nose on an anteater's face. Now they told me Virginia was back at her school. She wasn't. Sam told me Virginia was a wild one. I knew Slip Crane. He was a smoothie. So one and one makes two. And these two were Virginia Lee and Slip Crane. She'd run away with him. That's why the old man didn't want the case followed any further. That's why he was willing to take the loss rather than have the police arrest his daughter with Slip Crane when they caught him for the theft of the Somaliland diamond. I got in my jalopy and drove back to the Lee estate. I wanted to have a talk with that maid, Marie. I parked at the turn in the driveway and walked through the fog toward the servants cottage at the rear of the main house. I could see a halo of light back there pointing its fingers through the haze. I headed for it. Across the lawn. I heard a movement behind me. And then. Oh. [00:18:05] Speaker J: Oh. [00:18:06] Speaker H: I caught my dream train for Cloud 8. And who was waiting for me there was my alter enemy, Yugor, [00:18:17] Speaker M: in trouble again. Rogi. [00:18:19] Speaker H: What happened, midget? [00:18:22] Speaker M: You got hit on the head as usual. [00:18:27] Speaker H: Who hit me? I didn't see them. [00:18:29] Speaker M: It's a wonder you've lived so long, Rogy, dumb as you are. [00:18:34] Speaker H: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. It was a Dane that hit me, wasn't it? [00:18:39] Speaker M: Was it? [00:18:41] Speaker H: I remember the perfume. I remember getting a sniff of it just as you let me have it. [00:18:47] Speaker M: That's you, chief, sniffing when you should have been ducking. [00:18:52] Speaker H: Oh, my head. You'd think I'd get used to this, but I. I don't, do I? [00:18:58] Speaker M: You know, Rogie, you haven't time to talk with me tonight. Get back downstairs. [00:19:04] Speaker H: Oh, just let me rest a while, will you? [00:19:06] Speaker M: Oh, kid, over this side with you, please. [00:19:10] Speaker H: Don't push me, please. I'm tired. [00:19:12] Speaker M: Over you go. Come on. You got some trouble to straighten up down there. Over you go. Over this side. [00:19:24] Speaker J: Look out. [00:19:25] Speaker H: Look out. Oh, here I go again. I began to come to. I could hear voices fading in and out. I couldn't focus my mind's eye on them, but I listened without quite knowing what it was all about. [00:19:45] Speaker G: Oh, Ms. Rogue, please. Please wake up. [00:19:50] Speaker L: Sandra, don't move. I see you and I have you covered. [00:19:54] Speaker G: All right, I'm not moving. Mr. Wood. [00:19:56] Speaker L: What are you doing? Who's that lying there? [00:19:57] Speaker G: It's Richard Rogue, the detective. [00:19:59] Speaker J: Oh, Rogue, huh? [00:20:01] Speaker L: What happened to him? [00:20:02] Speaker G: I. I knocked him out with this poker. I thought it was you. [00:20:07] Speaker L: You followed me when I left the house, huh? [00:20:09] Speaker G: Yes. I was going to try to kill you. [00:20:12] Speaker L: Really? How interesting. Instead of that, you fixed it so I'll have to kill Richard Rog. [00:20:25] Speaker D: We'll return to our story in just a moment, but first I'd like to tell you that one of Hollywood's foremost hairstylists remarked recently that most women do not shampoo their hair often enough. She pointed out that movie stars hair is frequently shampooed every day because they know that beautiful hair must be kept sparkling clean at all times. Now you're probably thinking, isn't it hard on hair to wash it so often? Doesn't it become dry and difficult to manage? The answer is no, not if you use Fitch's Saponified Coconut Oil Shampoo. Thousands of women in the United States and Canada have found they can wash their hair as often as they like with this shampoo. And their hair is always soft, lustrous and easy to set. Fitch's Saponified Shampoo does not dry the hair because it's made from mild coconut and vegetable oils. These pure natural oils are kind to your hair. It makes swirls of rich fragrant lather that rinses out completely. For Fitch's Saponified Shampoo contains its own patented rinsing agent. Just rinse with plain water and the rinsing agent goes to work to remove all remaining particles from your hair, leaving it soft and full of natural highlights. You can get a generous six ounce bottle of Fitch's Saponified Shampoo for 50 cents and the economical 16 ounce size for $1. Use it often to keep your hair shining and lovely. Now back to Rogue's gallery. Richard Rogue is telling our story. [00:22:07] Speaker H: I was telling you about the time the Somaliland diamond was stolen from the home of wealthy old gem collector James E. Lee. The insurance company put me on the case and I went out to Lee's secluded country mansion, but got no place. He wouldn't even talk to me about the robbery. I left, picked up a few more clues and returned. I was walking across the lawn in a pea soup fog when I was knocked unconscious by Sandra Lee, the old man's granddaughter. And when I Returned to consciousness, I. I played possum and listened to the conversation between Sandra and John Wood, a mysterious house guest of the Lees. [00:22:48] Speaker L: So you followed me when I left the house, huh? [00:22:50] Speaker G: Yes. I was going to try to kill you. [00:22:53] Speaker L: Instead of that, you fixed it so I have to kill Rogue. [00:22:55] Speaker G: Do you think that would be smart? He doesn't know anything. [00:22:58] Speaker L: No. Come on. Help me carry him into the house. [00:23:08] Speaker H: There's a certain permanence about being killed that made me act deader than a ghost town. On Monday night. I was as limp as a wet sock when they picked me up and carried me into the house. Wood, who was a very strange house guest, lifted the rod out of my shoulder holster before they laid me out on the divan in the study. Old Mr. Lee was very upset when he saw me. [00:23:32] Speaker E: He. [00:23:33] Speaker H: He immediately started patting my hands while Wood poured some very good brandy down my throat. I was in no hurry to face facts, but eventually I figured that one more sip of brandy would be overdoing it. So I snapped out of it. [00:23:47] Speaker L: He's coming out of it. [00:23:48] Speaker H: Oh, what happened to me? Oh, my head. [00:23:52] Speaker K: Oh, dear. I knew something like this could happen. [00:23:55] Speaker G: I hit you. I didn't know who you were. [00:23:57] Speaker L: Should know better than to be caught prowling around the lawn up here after what happened last night. [00:24:01] Speaker F: Yeah. [00:24:01] Speaker H: Yeah, I suppose you're right. What did you hit me with? [00:24:04] Speaker G: A poker. [00:24:05] Speaker K: Oh, Sandra, I don't know what your father would say. [00:24:08] Speaker L: What were you doing on the lawn at this time of night, Rogue? You're lucky you didn't get shot, you know that? [00:24:13] Speaker J: Yeah. [00:24:13] Speaker H: Yeah, I suppose I am. Oh, well, I didn't think of that. Could I have another drink of that brandy? It makes me forget my headache. [00:24:21] Speaker K: Of course, Mr. Rogue. Here you are. [00:24:26] Speaker H: Thanks, y'. [00:24:27] Speaker K: All. [00:24:29] Speaker M: Yeah. [00:24:31] Speaker H: Oh, that's strong. You know, Mr. Lee, I. I came back to tell you I've got the deal figured. [00:24:37] Speaker G: What do you mean? [00:24:37] Speaker H: I mean, Mr. Lee, you told me that your other granddaughter, Virginia, had gone. Gone back to her school. [00:24:43] Speaker K: Yes. [00:24:44] Speaker H: I called Mrs. Whipple's school and found out she wasn't due back until Monday. [00:24:47] Speaker L: Yes. [00:24:48] Speaker K: Oh, you called the school. She wasn't there then. [00:24:50] Speaker H: That's right. So right away I knew why you were so anxious to get me to drop the case today. [00:24:55] Speaker L: You've got it all figured out, haven't you, Rogue? [00:24:57] Speaker J: Sure. [00:24:58] Speaker H: I'm right, aren't I, Virginia? Your granddaughter eloped with the thief. That's right, isn't it, Mr. Lee? [00:25:03] Speaker L: I guess we might as well admit it to you, Rogue. Nothing else we can do, is there, Mr. Lee? [00:25:10] Speaker K: No, I. I guess not. [00:25:11] Speaker L: That's not for publication, you know, Rogue. We'll make it worth your while to forget it, won't we, Mr. Lee? [00:25:17] Speaker K: Why, of course, if you say so, Mr. Wood. [00:25:19] Speaker H: I mean, it'll cost you. I'm not in business for my health. For a thousand bucks, I forget what I know. [00:25:25] Speaker K: That would be satisfactory. [00:25:28] Speaker L: It's something of a loss. [00:25:29] Speaker H: Aren't you, Rogue something? You can call me a loss if you'll give me that grand. [00:25:34] Speaker L: You got that much in the house, Mr. Lee? [00:25:36] Speaker K: I believe I have. In the safe. [00:25:38] Speaker G: You want me to get it for you, Gramps? We might as well get Mr. Rogue paid off and out of here. [00:25:42] Speaker H: Now, that's the kind of talk I like to hear. [00:25:45] Speaker K: Yes, Sandra, will you get it for me? There. [00:25:47] Speaker L: So that's what you came back for. [00:25:49] Speaker H: The shakedown. [00:25:51] Speaker L: You private dicks are all alike. [00:26:01] Speaker H: For the first time since I'd been carried into the house, Wood was loosening up. My attempt at a shakedown had sold him on the fact that I was just a chiseler. And I could see the hand he had on that gun in his coat pocket. Relax a little. That brandy had given me a transfusion, and I was feeling all of my faculties falling back into place. I was tense as the E string on a Heifet's fiddle and just as ready to play. When I saw Sandra sneak in the door and grab up that poker she'd used so effectively on me, I figured it was my move, so I started to get up. I wanted to get Wood concentrating on me. Oh, you know, I have. I think I've got a concussion. My head is spinning like a top. [00:26:44] Speaker J: Look. [00:26:45] Speaker H: Is this skin broken, Wood? [00:26:46] Speaker L: I don't know and I don't care. [00:26:48] Speaker H: Well, you can look, can't you? Come here. [00:26:50] Speaker L: Better take it easy, Rogue. You're in no shape to make any sudden moves. [00:26:54] Speaker H: No, I just want to see if I can sit up, that's all. [00:26:58] Speaker K: Look out. [00:26:59] Speaker H: Take it, Sandra. I've got his gun arm. Let go of that. [00:27:02] Speaker G: Ooh. [00:27:04] Speaker J: Oh. [00:27:04] Speaker H: Nice work. Sandra. [00:27:05] Speaker K: Get his gun. [00:27:06] Speaker H: Sure. He's got one of mine, too, that I want back. [00:27:08] Speaker K: Sandra, how could you dare? With Virginia? [00:27:11] Speaker G: I had to do it. [00:27:12] Speaker H: Graham, give me your belt, will you, Mr. Lee? I want to use it to tie up this character's legs. [00:27:15] Speaker K: He's one of the men who stole my diamond. He was with that crane man. They worked together. [00:27:20] Speaker H: Yeah, I. I'm. I'm still a little confused. Sandra. [00:27:23] Speaker G: Yes? [00:27:23] Speaker H: Give me a handshake will you? I want to gag our friend. Incidentally, I was conscious when you explained to him that you knocked me sully by mistake. [00:27:30] Speaker K: Please, we must get to Virginia. Poor Virginia. [00:27:34] Speaker G: We will, Gramps, we will. Just leave it to us. [00:27:36] Speaker H: Where is Virginia? [00:27:37] Speaker G: She's upstairs with Crane, holding a gun on her. She's been up there ever since 5 this morning. [00:27:42] Speaker H: What? Well, here, here, fill it in a little. What happened? [00:27:45] Speaker K: These men came back here last night. [00:27:48] Speaker H: You mean Crane and Wood robbed you and then came back here and hid out after they wrecked their car and couldn't get through the police blockade? [00:27:53] Speaker G: Yes. Crane was wounded. They waited until the police were gone about 5 this morning. Then they came in. They kidnapped Virginia and held her in a room. Crane stayed with her and would made us introduce him to the police. Newspaper man all morning. Okay, house guest. [00:28:06] Speaker H: Okay, okay. Now this guy's all taken care of. Let's go get Crane. Where is he? [00:28:10] Speaker G: He's in one of the front suites upstairs. [00:28:12] Speaker H: In a room that has windows out onto the porch. [00:28:14] Speaker G: Yes, the first window at this end of the porch. [00:28:17] Speaker L: All right. [00:28:18] Speaker H: Now listen. In exactly five minutes you knock on the door to that room. Right. [00:28:23] Speaker K: This sounds dangerous. [00:28:31] Speaker H: I shinied up the pillar at the far end of the porch, looked my rod over to see that it was in good working order. And then I inched over to the window of the room where Crane was holding Virginia. Virginia was tied in a chair. Crane was babying a bloody shoulder. I could hear them talking. [00:28:49] Speaker E: Oh, I'd like to get my hands on that cup that got me in the shoulder last night. [00:28:54] Speaker F: Too bad it was through the shoulder, Mr. Crane. It should have been through your heart. [00:28:58] Speaker E: You know, I like you. I like my women with a lot of spirit. I may just take you with me when I make my break from here. [00:29:08] Speaker G: You'll have to kill me first. [00:29:12] Speaker E: Company, come in. And keep your hands right on that tray. I'd hate to have to shoot a beautiful girl like you. [00:29:19] Speaker G: I brought up some coffee. [00:29:21] Speaker E: That's thoughtful of you. Keep your hands in the air and stay away from me. [00:29:27] Speaker F: Don't take any chances, Sandra. This thing would rather shoot you than not. [00:29:33] Speaker H: Drop that gun, Crane. My next shot goes right through your back collar button. Well, he dropped it. That's about the end of the story. Except that I took the Somaliland diamond from him and won the five grand reward which I. Which I spent on Sandra Lee during the next few months. I thought some of asking her to marry me. And believe me, I think she was all in the mood to give me the Nod. No, no, really, really. But I thought better of it and stayed single, making me one of those select, eligible young men who has never made the same mistake once. You know what I mean? This is Dick Powell again, ladies and gentlemen. Did you miss the murder in tonight's story, or do you think we can get along with that one once in a while? Ray Buffum wrote tonight's yarn, Leith Stevens composed and conducted the music, and D. Engelbach produced and directed. And don't forget to tune in again next Thursday night. We're going to present an exciting story about a horse, a jockey, and a murder. We call it Last Race. So make a date with us, will you? Thanks for listening and good night, all. Here's Jim Doyle. [00:30:55] Speaker D: Don't forget to tune in again next Thursday, same time. Oh, and by the way, be sure to see Dick Powell and his newest RKO picture cornered at your local theater soon. And as I was saying, don't forget to tune in again next Thursday, same time, same station, when you will again hear Dick Powell as Richard Rogue in Rogues Gallery. Remember, if dandruff is your problem, ask for Fitch's Dandruff Remover. Shampoo Removes dandruff the first time it is used. Fitch's Dandruff Remover Shampoo is the only shampoo whose guarantee to remove dandruff is backed by one of the world's largest insurance companies. This statement can be made by no other shampoo. Ask for Fitch's Dandruff Remover Shampoo at your drug and toilet goods counter, barber or beauty shop. Fitch is spelled F, I, T, C, H. [00:32:03] Speaker A: That was the House of Fear from Rogues Gallery here on the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society podcast once again. I'm Eric. [00:32:11] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:32:11] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:32:13] Speaker A: That was. You brought this? [00:32:15] Speaker B: I did bring this. [00:32:16] Speaker A: Should we rip the band aid off and get the elephant out of the room thing done right away? [00:32:21] Speaker J: Sure. [00:32:22] Speaker A: I had never listened to this before. I didn't know anything about the premise of this show without some kind of forewarning of the structure of this. That moment when yougor. [00:32:39] Speaker B: Yes, Rogue spelled backwards. [00:32:42] Speaker A: Okay, I didn't catch that. Thank you. [00:32:44] Speaker B: No, that wasn't the research. That's not. [00:32:46] Speaker A: If you're not prepped for that, which I wasn't and had no idea. I didn't know anything about this show. That got really weird. [00:32:57] Speaker B: I started listening to this series. Not this particular episode, but I had the same experience of what just happened here. [00:33:06] Speaker A: Where are we? [00:33:07] Speaker B: And then it went away. [00:33:07] Speaker A: That's a weird convention. Tell me if I like it or not. [00:33:12] Speaker C: According to my notes, I said I love how much Eric is going to hate. [00:33:19] Speaker A: Yeah, I pretty. I did. I hated it. It's too weird. It's so unnecessary. If he came back over and over and was his conscience like a Jiminy Cricket and guided him in decision making and was the premise of the show, that would make sense. But for him to just have some hallucination elf talk to what a weird thing. [00:33:39] Speaker B: And it happens every episode. Which clearly indicates that this man is knocked unconscious over and over and over. [00:33:47] Speaker A: Which brings us to the other point of old time radio movies. How many times you can get hit in the head and you just. Ugh, that sucked. You get hit in the head that series damage possibly for the rest of your life. [00:34:03] Speaker C: Yeah. Your brain is in your head. [00:34:06] Speaker A: These guys just pistol whipped constantly or what did she hit him with? Crowbar? Fire iron. [00:34:12] Speaker B: Fire iron? Yeah. [00:34:13] Speaker A: Oh my God. [00:34:14] Speaker C: A fire iron poker. [00:34:15] Speaker K: Yes. [00:34:16] Speaker H: Yeah. [00:34:17] Speaker B: Apparently in some episodes he's Mickey into unconsciousness. So it's not so, you know, it's better. No, no. [00:34:23] Speaker C: I wonder if Ugor shows up when he's drunk. [00:34:27] Speaker A: Well, according to the plot of this drunk is how he gets through life. [00:34:33] Speaker B: On the research I did on this. [00:34:35] Speaker A: Okay. [00:34:36] Speaker B: Drunk would be closer to Cloud nine as opposed to Cloud eight, which is where he meets Igor. [00:34:43] Speaker C: Oh, okay. So he is a certain level of [00:34:47] Speaker B: Cloud nine being this peak of enjoyment. [00:34:50] Speaker C: Peak blotto. [00:34:51] Speaker B: Yes. And just one level down is beaten into unconsciousness and God knows what the lower levels are. [00:34:57] Speaker C: This is like Dante's Inferno. It's very complicated. [00:35:03] Speaker A: Yes, it is. [00:35:05] Speaker C: I of course find this highly entertaining [00:35:10] Speaker B: once I know that it's happening. Okay. Yeah. [00:35:12] Speaker A: I guess we just had a weird conversation before this podcast started that I'm gonna bring up now. It has to do with being prepped. Like you tell me that's gonna happen, right? I know that's gonna happen. I probably would forgive it a lot more than I did. You tell me that Project Hail Mary is aimed at kids, not a SC thriller. I wouldn't have hated as much as I did. [00:35:31] Speaker B: I turned this podcast around. [00:35:35] Speaker A: If you would have told. [00:35:36] Speaker B: I'd have a certain level of professionalism. [00:35:38] Speaker A: If you would have told me there were Muppets in that movie. [00:35:41] Speaker B: All right. So mad. [00:35:46] Speaker C: I agree with you, Eric. [00:35:50] Speaker A: All right. But you know what I'm saying, Like, had I known that was the deal, I don't know if I could go back in and listen to any more of these knowing that that thing's going to show up at any point. It doesn't do anything. There's no reason to have that in this. [00:36:08] Speaker C: He is a manifestation of Rogue's subconscious, and it helps him to solve clues. He's accessing these observations he consciously made but can't with the help of his alter enemy. It's just because of the blows to the head it takes on this antagonistic form. That's how I'm trying to justify it. [00:36:32] Speaker B: That is exactly how it's described in various justifications online. [00:36:36] Speaker A: Also, the voice is terrible. [00:36:39] Speaker C: It did make me think, because Rogue calls Ugor Midget and then he calls him Dummy. And I just thought of the Great, Great Zoo. Exactly. From the. [00:36:51] Speaker A: Oh, it is. [00:36:53] Speaker C: Wow. [00:36:54] Speaker B: Yeah, I thought that. Mr. Mitzelplick. Bat mite. [00:36:56] Speaker C: Yes. [00:36:57] Speaker B: All these little. [00:36:58] Speaker A: Okay, I don't know what the other things you were saying were, but yeah. Mr. Magoo. No, no. Great Kazoo. [00:37:04] Speaker B: Yes. [00:37:04] Speaker A: Great Kazoo. Yes. [00:37:05] Speaker B: Hello, Dum dum. [00:37:07] Speaker A: It really is, though. Great Gazoo. Ish. Okay, there it is. That's a shirt. Great Gazoo. Ish. [00:37:14] Speaker C: I went briefly down a little Great Gazoo rabbit hole once. That made me think about Great Gazoo, which I hadn't done in 30 plus years. But the Great Gazoo was when they jumped the shark or fulfilled their destiny. [00:37:33] Speaker B: Their destiny. [00:37:36] Speaker C: Everything in the Flintstones was just a [00:37:38] Speaker B: prequel season after season. Are they ready yet? No, they're not ready yet. [00:37:41] Speaker C: I did find this quote from Joanna Lee, who was credited with creating the Great Gazoo. And this was part of her initial description of him as a character. Gazoo is a mirror reflecting life's vicissitudes, vagaries, ritual, magic, and dreary reality. Simply, Gazoo is life brought home to our two favorite Life participants, Fred and Barney. [00:38:09] Speaker B: Good God. [00:38:10] Speaker A: She put a lot of thought into a show that. [00:38:14] Speaker C: You tell me I'm overthinking something on the podcast. Think of that. [00:38:18] Speaker A: Right. That's a lot of effort for a show that just stole Honeymooners plots. [00:38:24] Speaker G: Wow. [00:38:26] Speaker B: I don't have it nailed down, but I did some research. I don't think Igor was there for the first summer run. I think he showed up later and [00:38:36] Speaker C: he was so popular. [00:38:38] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:38:39] Speaker A: So people liked this thing. [00:38:41] Speaker B: I mean, this show went and went and went. Not only did it last for technically seven years, I think. [00:38:48] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:48] Speaker B: But it got replayed and replayed. [00:38:50] Speaker A: Okay. [00:38:52] Speaker B: I just love to think about the writing and the decisions making and, like, the popularity of. We love this part. We have to have this part. Why? I mean, people are. This is one of Those things where people from the late 1940s are aliens to me. [00:39:08] Speaker A: Right, right. [00:39:11] Speaker B: Like, how is this good? Not that I don't like it, I love it. But I'm not a good gauge of what's good. [00:39:19] Speaker A: You got that right. [00:39:22] Speaker C: I mean, this was a very light and breezy style detective show. There was nothing hard boiled about at [00:39:30] Speaker B: all as a summer replacement to Bandwagon. The Bandwagon show was, I think, initially like just a music band show and then a variety show, and then it became a sitcom. So I think it is a pretty natural step to something light and breezy, as you say. [00:39:48] Speaker C: So it's not like this is in the middle of the Maltese Falcon. [00:39:53] Speaker A: Kind of felt like it because it is a crime procedural detective show that up until that point wasn't goofy, wasn't hilarious, or it was like a Johnny Dollar. It was like a show and then all of a sudden. [00:40:13] Speaker C: But like, it was incredibly boring up till then. [00:40:17] Speaker B: So we can unpause the rest of it here in a sec. But as a precursor to Richard diamond, maybe it's just like, hey, this is really good. Can we just nudge the level of weird back from Igor to just a song at the end, which I also [00:40:36] Speaker A: hate, which people get mad at me, who listens to podcasts because they love [00:40:40] Speaker B: that song at the end, we, well could be surrounded by an audience. Evil gang. What do you got a problem with Igor? [00:40:48] Speaker A: I'm sure, I'm sure. But I think if they stop and think about it, imagine you're me, you have no idea what this show is, and that happens, you would be at least caught off guard. [00:41:01] Speaker C: That's like experiencing art. If you'll just tell me everything that's going to happen to me, I won't have to listen to this or enjoy. [00:41:08] Speaker B: Here's the joy for you. Then you can go out in the world and play this episode for somebody who doesn't know, and you get to watch them try to figure it out. [00:41:18] Speaker A: That's what we should do, is play this, you know, and film people watching or listening to this and just see the reaction. That's what we're going to do. Reaction to Rogues gallery. We'll get 40, 50 hits. [00:41:33] Speaker B: I don't know that anyone is interested in anybody's reaction to Rogues Gallery. [00:41:39] Speaker A: I'm telling you, this is a. This is a money. [00:41:41] Speaker C: That's a good 20, 25 minutes. [00:41:46] Speaker A: That's the snippet when the thing shows up. [00:41:49] Speaker B: But to unpause and like, hey, there was also a story that went on here. [00:41:52] Speaker A: Yeah, there is no. [00:41:55] Speaker C: This is one of those flash forward issues I had. [00:42:00] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:42:01] Speaker C: Just destroyed the rest of the episode for me. And again, I have to step back and go. I don't think they were that concerned about this being a gritty mystery, a nail biting, something lighthearted that people were only half paying attention to. But I thought it started so strongly. Those opening lines suck you right in. Right. I'd like to get my hands on that cop who got me through the shoulder last night. That's the opening line. I'm like, where are we? What's going on? And I was hoping the story started there. [00:42:34] Speaker A: Yeah, me too. [00:42:35] Speaker C: And then it tells you everything that's going to happen at the end. [00:42:38] Speaker A: And you just are waiting for that [00:42:40] Speaker C: moment and you predict the ending. Then about 10 minutes in, correct. Oh, he's hiding in the house. [00:42:47] Speaker A: When he figures out in the diner, oh, she ran off with this guy because she's a bad girl. You are going, no, she didn't. So you've ruined your own story because we're not along with him on the ride because of that stupid flash forward teaser. [00:43:06] Speaker C: And we already know from Rogue's first conversation about this case that the family is reticent to cooperate with the police. So, you know they're under some kind of duress. And then you have the stranger in the house and it just is pretty much, yeah. That's the plot. [00:43:24] Speaker B: The two little nuggets I liked were. Once the jig is up and he sorts his lateral move is, I'm scum and I'm just gonna blackmail you for $1,000. That's nice. That's the unexpected little sidestep. And when he. So I got $5,000 and I blew it all on one of the people I was trying to rescue. Blew it on a college girl. [00:43:45] Speaker C: I love that. It's Gerald Moore, too. Do you recognize Gerald Moore? Philip Marlowe? [00:43:51] Speaker A: Yeah, I know who that is. But who was playing? [00:43:53] Speaker C: He was Wood, the other of the. So it just always felt like, is Philip Marlowe budging in on Dick Powell's territory here? Dick Powell, Yeah. Dick Pow. It doesn't work as well. Phil Marlowe. [00:44:10] Speaker I: No. [00:44:13] Speaker C: I did like a lot of the hard boiled world building dialogue. I thought it was quite good. The sentence I was playing gin rummy with Herb Heidi, the bookie from the cigar store in the lobby. That sentence just instantly you picture the building that his office is in. You picture his office, you picture Herb. It's a nice bit of radio writing, I agree. [00:44:38] Speaker A: What does he say? He plays like, it's like playing with [00:44:40] Speaker C: a robot plays cards with all the warm human abandon of an adding machine. [00:44:45] Speaker A: Yes. [00:44:45] Speaker C: So there's great lines like that. [00:44:47] Speaker A: That was a good. Yes, I agree. [00:44:48] Speaker B: They went in all that detail and I took my two hours in winnings and. [00:44:51] Speaker A: Yeah, $2.33 or whatever it was. [00:44:55] Speaker C: I think what happened for me is that it has these two poles in the show. That opening that is really hard boiled. Like a cop got me in the shoulder and a woman's voice. He should have got you in the head. And it's like, bang, bang, gunshots. And so. Ooh, this might be really gritty. And that's the most interesting part of the crime drama. And then nothing else, though, is as interesting or weird as. Right, so those are the pinnacles. And if they had just sort of met a little better in between or both the crime unfolding in a more interesting way or let some of the weirdness spread out evenly. [00:45:39] Speaker A: You are saying what I was saying at the beginning. You just explained exactly what my issue with this is. [00:45:44] Speaker C: But maybe Tim chose a terrible episode. Maybe this is Tim's fault. [00:45:48] Speaker B: Ooh, I'd listen to more than one. [00:45:50] Speaker A: And they all like this. [00:45:51] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. Pretty much. [00:45:53] Speaker A: Diamond disappearing. [00:45:54] Speaker B: Well, he did specifically. Hey, you guys mind that nobody died here, right? [00:45:58] Speaker C: That was a cute touch. Yes. [00:46:00] Speaker B: More murder. I did like the scene in the little diner of questioning the diner guy about the family and getting some outside perspective there. And it was really mundane and domestic, which is, again, a weird third world to live in. [00:46:17] Speaker A: Yeah, that scene. I got distracted and had to go back because I started thinking about hamburgers. [00:46:26] Speaker B: I'm not kidding. [00:46:28] Speaker C: I did enjoy Rogue's disappointment when he realized he needed to stop pretending to be unconscious and stop drinking the brandy they were pouring down his throat. [00:46:39] Speaker B: He said that and then seconds later, give me some more of that brand bourbon or whatever it was. [00:46:43] Speaker A: It was brandy. [00:46:45] Speaker C: I was being hyperbolic when I said Tim picked a terrible one because it's. It's fine. It's fun. I love Dick Powell. It's just the best parts of it are so interesting that it makes the parts that are just fine seem duller than they really are. [00:47:03] Speaker A: I couldn't agree with you more. It gives flashes of huge potential. [00:47:07] Speaker B: Would you agree with that in the historic context? Let me throw this at you, that this is the world of Dick Powell acclimating from funny leading songman into hard boiled, transitioning in from what the audiences are willing to accept from him. Because on the bandwagon show, he was like a Host in crooner. [00:47:29] Speaker C: No, this is definitely a transitional phase between Murder My Sweet, that was successful, as you said in the intro, into settling on something that I think better combines his romantic musical background with detective stuff in Richard Diamond. Yes, but so the next time one of us brings Richard diamond, are you going to complain about the song? [00:47:55] Speaker A: No. Mission accomplished. No, I actually would take that. [00:48:01] Speaker C: That is fair enough. [00:48:02] Speaker B: I think that makes the seven years of this show's run totally worth it. [00:48:06] Speaker A: Should we vote? [00:48:07] Speaker C: The sheer number of products that Fitch shampoo has. Oh, yeah, was impressive. It was just like dandruff shampoo. Saponified. [00:48:20] Speaker A: Saponified. [00:48:21] Speaker C: Some kind of weird chemical process that turns fat into soap. [00:48:25] Speaker B: Shampoo suppository combination. [00:48:28] Speaker C: You're right, Tim. Yes, of course you are. Fitch's wazoo shampoo. [00:48:33] Speaker A: At what point did we start bathing every day, by the way? [00:48:37] Speaker C: Some of us are still working on it. [00:48:40] Speaker A: You know, the Saturday night bath. You know what I mean? Like, it was like this rare thing. [00:48:45] Speaker B: It helped when you'd have to heat the water yourself. [00:48:47] Speaker J: Right. [00:48:47] Speaker A: And now, hell, I'll take two, three a day. [00:48:54] Speaker C: But did you catch the final commercial that says the dandruff remover shampoo is the only shampoo whose promise to remove dandruff is guaranteed by one of the world's largest insurance companies? [00:49:05] Speaker B: I did not catch that. [00:49:06] Speaker A: I didn't catch that. Weird. [00:49:08] Speaker C: How does it even work? You have to file a claim to get your. [00:49:12] Speaker A: And if you lose, the insurance company will cover it. So they're so sure that it will, that a lawsuit wouldn't go through. The insurance company said, yeah, we'll insure that. [00:49:22] Speaker C: It's just so hyperbolic that it seems pointless. [00:49:27] Speaker A: You know, that reminds me of the legal loophole, I guess, in the state of Minnesota, if you do something like, oh, you're picked to go on the field for a baseball game to do the dizzy bat race, anything like that, where they make you sign a waiver, and they say, so you sign this waiver in case something goes wrong. We're not responsible, so you can participate in this thing. There's a lot of things where people participate in something. They sign a waiver. Not legal in the state of Minnesota that those waivers are not. But people don't sue because they signed some kind of waiver. So there's. If they even thought about it, like, wow, I broke my ankle, but sign that waiver. They're literally. What's the word I'm looking for? [00:50:14] Speaker C: Ass covering. [00:50:15] Speaker A: Ass covering, yes. [00:50:17] Speaker C: Deterrence. [00:50:18] Speaker A: Deterrence. [00:50:18] Speaker C: Thank you, Fitch. Brand deterrence. [00:50:23] Speaker A: Okay, now can we vote? [00:50:25] Speaker C: Yes. [00:50:27] Speaker A: Thy vote is. Is that how he sounded? [00:50:30] Speaker B: I got to send you back over the side. Bye. [00:50:33] Speaker M: Bye. [00:50:36] Speaker A: After listening to. You guys. Had my opinion coming in. Listen to what you had to say. I've come out of this discussion with. I really don't like it. I didn't enjoy it that the plot's boring. They're all over the place. They don't know what they want to be. It has its moments, it has potential. I don't think it has anything to do with production value or actors. I just think it's too loosey goosey weird. It needs some better structure of what it's trying to be. [00:51:08] Speaker B: So no, I'm not going to call it a classic. [00:51:12] Speaker A: Here we go. [00:51:13] Speaker B: And I won't say it stands test of time specifically because it was so popular at the time. And I can't understand how. Not because I think it's bad, but [00:51:26] Speaker C: because Hail Mary's popular. [00:51:28] Speaker M: God. [00:51:29] Speaker C: Oh yes. [00:51:31] Speaker A: 10 years and we're setting it on fire. [00:51:34] Speaker C: I'm talking about the film. I'm not making fun of Catholics. [00:51:38] Speaker A: People ate up that Superman dog thing just trying to. Just trying to make a man. Why? [00:51:49] Speaker B: But this was clearly something that people at the time loved. This blend of gritty noir and a little silly and funny and lighthearted and a little sexy was something that obviously no one else was doing this and it had a lot of momentum. So by saying it didn't Stand the test of time. It's mostly just whatever that appeal was, didn't hang on. But incredibly historically significant. Dick Powell, specifically his transition in his career. The weird sort of relic of a genre it is or blend of genres. So I say enthusiastically, it's historically significant. [00:52:33] Speaker C: I agree with Tim. It's certainly not a classic. But it is very interesting from a historical perspective in terms of that progression of Powell from light musical star to light hard boiled star. And I think some of understanding its popularity is again just. It's the precursor to I think the more cohesive version of this idea, which is Richard Diamond, Private detective. And so from that perspective it makes sense. I actually think the detective story Stand the test of time in terms of how people consume entertainment today. Yeah, it's very much second screen radio. Most of streaming is full of shows that you know every plot point before it happens. I don't think the. Is it Ugor or Igor? [00:53:26] Speaker B: Maybe Igor. [00:53:27] Speaker C: That guy. [00:53:27] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:53:27] Speaker C: Ugor. Yes. [00:53:28] Speaker J: I think you're right. [00:53:29] Speaker C: I don't think he would likely Stand the test of time. But to my taste. It was the most interesting and surprising piece of this production. [00:53:40] Speaker A: The best thing about listening to this was your mind blowing observation that it's the Great Gazoo. I'm still blown away by that. That is exactly what that was. I wish I would have caught that. Also, to anybody who liked or is involved with the movie project, Hail Mary. After changing my perspective, I just want to get this out there. [00:54:04] Speaker L: Okay. [00:54:05] Speaker A: I found it very charming. I just want to be really clear. When I went in thinking it was something else that was hard to sit through change of perspective, I found it very charming. [00:54:15] Speaker B: I'm sure they're deeply moved. [00:54:18] Speaker A: Just want to say I want the perspective of my perspective to be perspectivized. Tim, tell him stuff quick. [00:54:27] Speaker B: Please go visit ghoulishdelights.com that's the home of this podcast. You'll find all kinds of other episodes there. Although as of right now, this is the only Rogues Gallery one we'll see in the future. There probably won't be a lot more. And you'll also find links to our store if you want to buy some Mysterious Old Radio Listing Listening swag. We want to represent, as the kids say. I don't know if the kids say that. And you'll find a link to our Patreon page. [00:54:53] Speaker C: I'm totally distracted right now because I'm wondering if I hit Tim over the head right now, [00:55:00] Speaker B: what cloud would I go to? [00:55:01] Speaker C: Would he encounter Mitt? Not. Not Romney? [00:55:06] Speaker A: I think I'm on cloud four. [00:55:08] Speaker B: Oh no. [00:55:12] Speaker C: Anyway, yeah, we have a Patreon thing. You can go there, give us money. It's cool. [00:55:18] Speaker A: Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society Theater Company also performs live on stage recreations of classic old time radio shows and also a lot of our own original work. We are performing all the time somewhere to find out where we're performing, what we're performing and how to get tickets and come see us doing these radio dramas on stage. Go to ghoulishdelights.com and that's where all the information is. We'd love to see you. What's coming up next? [00:55:47] Speaker C: Next is my pick. We will be listening to the search for Henri Lefebvre from the Mercury Summer Theater of the Air. Until then, look out. [00:56:00] Speaker A: We rolling. [00:56:00] Speaker C: We're rolling. [00:56:02] 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. [00:56:10] Speaker C: Can we take that over? I moved his computer. I have no idea if that causes any internal sound, but if you could take it from the top. [00:56:19] Speaker A: Welcome to the mysterious old radio. I'm going to do whole podcasts like this, okay? [00:56:29] Speaker C: Oh, no.