Episode 428: Double Indemnity

[00:00:16] Speaker A: The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society podcast. [00:00:27] Speaker B: 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. [00:00:36] Speaker C: I'm Tim. [00:00:36] Speaker D: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:37] 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 today. [00:00:43] Speaker B: I chose Double Indemnity from Rocky Fortune. [00:00:47] Speaker D: Rocky Fortune debuted on NBC on October 3, 1953. The series starred Frank Sinatra as Rocky Fortune, a footloose and fancy free young man who drifted from job to job courtesy of the Ridley Employment Agency. Each new assignment gave Rocky another chance to stumble into a crime and rescue a damsel in distress. [00:01:11] Speaker C: The series was created primarily by George Lefferts, who shared writing duties with Ernest Kanhoye. The pair had previously collaborated on NBC's science fiction anthologies Dimension X and X Minus One. Lefferts kept Rocky Fortune light and self aware, frequently slipping in references to Sinatra's career outside the show, including several nods to his performance in From Here to Eternity. He even winked at his own resume in the episode the Rocket Racket, when Rocky finds himself test piloting a rocket ship and remarks that the whole thing sounds like Dimension X. [00:01:41] Speaker B: When Rocky Fortune premiered, Frank Sinatra's career was at a crossroads. He had been dropped by Columbia Records, his television series had been canceled, and his personal life was making almost as many headlines as his professional setbacks. But during the show's 26 week run, everything changed. Just before Rocky Fortune debuted, Sinatra signed with Capitol Records, where he would make some of the defining recordings of his career. A few weeks earlier, From Here to Attorney had been released to widespread acclaim, and in March 1954, Sinatra won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Ironically, the comeback that restored his career also brought Rocky Fortune to an end. With films, concerts and recording sessions competing for his time, there was no room for radio in his schedule. [00:02:29] Speaker D: And now let's listen to the Double Indemnity from Rocky Fortune, originally broadcast Oct. 13, 1953. [00:02:38] 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 [00:02:49] Speaker A: to the voices Frank Sinatra transcribed as Rocky Fortune. NBC presents Frank Sinatra starring as that footloose and frequently unemployed young gentleman, Rocky Fortune. Hi, I don't know about you but I'm the kind of guy who can't stay put. I get restless. Give me a nice soft job, a buck in my pocket and a meal ticket and one will get you 10 I'll quit the job, lose the buck on the GGs and exchange the meal ticket for a train ticket. You take last week, for instance. The employment agency sends me down to Houston street for a job as a chauffeur. Hey, Mac, this 159 Houston. And what do you want? Somebody wants to hire a chauffeur. A chauffeur? I made a joke. Here. Take a look around this neighborhood, mister. Who you think got money for a chauffeur? Not even for food. He got money. Look, all I know is the agency got a call for a chauffeur. Five foot nine, thin, chauffeur's license, must be able to wear pre cut uniform. And you got the wrong blade. 159 Houston, sixth floor. This is 159 Houston. My name is iconic. I'm the janitor. You take a look how many floors we got. Eh, maybe they meant fifth floor. I better go up. Go ahead. Let me know if you're getting a job. [00:04:39] Speaker E: Eh, [00:04:49] Speaker A: This don't look like chauffeur land to me, but I figure I already blew a subway token to get here. So I legged up four flights of stairs, left over from a Charles Adams cartoon. As I am rounding the turn of flight number five, a funny looking little guy steps out of the shadows. Hey, buddy. Yeah? You got change for a buck? Sure. Here. Thanks. Hey. Huh? Where's the clam? Here. Oh. Now I've been rolled before, but this guy works on my skull like he's a Sherman tank in the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. When I come to, I'm in a white room with iron grill work in the windows. It's morning, which means I made an evening of it. Alongside my bed stands a gorilla in a white coat. I figure this place for a pad at Bellevue. I am mistaken. Okay, take it easy, Steve. Oh, how do you feel this morning? You've had a couple of bad nights, Steve. A couple? What day is this? Tuesday. Holy smokes. I've been out since Saturday. Last week you were pretty good. Only a couple of lapses. Did you say last week? That's right, Steve. The name is Rocky. Rocky Fortune. You're not gonna start that again, are you, Steve? Start what? That Rocky Fortune bit. Dr. Harris wouldn't like it. Listen. Oh, what a hangover. Take it easy. Look, where am I, buster? Mount Kenzie Rest Home. Mount Kenzie? Is that in the Bronx? It's near Denver. Denver, Denver, New York. Denver, Colorado. Okay, buddy, if the joke's over, I'll take my clothes and get out of here. Joke, Steve, joke. Jake, give me the clothes. I'm afraid I can't do that. Not without Dr. Harris. Order. Will you tell a good doctor that Rocky Fortune wants to have a word with him? Now, if you're gonna insist on that, Steve, I'm afraid we'll have to try the treatment again. What treatment? Come along. Take the hands off, buster. You're etching the epidermis. You coming along? Not if I can help it. Okay. Johan's a big guy in a judo department. Besides which, they got me drugged like a hypochondriac with a third degree hangnail. He drags me into a white tile room and starts to massage my head with a fist like a sledgehammer. Only this bum's got a new wrinkle. First he puts a pail on my head and then he hits the pail. After 20 minutes of this, I begin to feel like the main bell on St. Mary's Christmas morning. Just when I think I can't take it anymore, a gray haired guy with a scarred face ambles in. All right, Johan, all right, that's enough. Take the pail off his head. How do you feel, Stephen? Oh, just dandy. Johan is so impulsive, repulsive. Would you like a cigarette? Yeah. How about get me out of this polo coat? Yes, in a moment. First I want to see if you've come to your senses. Look, would you mind telling me what this is all about? One minute I'm being rolled in a hallway in New York City and the next minute I wake up in Denver, Colorado. Steven, you've been here at Mount Kenzie for eight years. My name is Rocky, born Rocco Fortunato. Your name is Stephen Crandall iii. Eight years ago you were thrown from a polo pony and sustained a head injury. You suffered from delusions. You've been under treatment here. Come on, Doc, what's the ransom? Ransom? How much do I have to raise to get out of here? You see, Johan, he's still very sick, poor fellow. Yes, I'm afraid we'll just have to continue the treatment. All right, Johan, put the pail on his head. Now, once again. What's your name? Rocky. And if you don't like it, you can. All right, Johan. Now we'll try it once more. Your name? Go jump in, Johan. Name? That's enough. Johan. Harry. Well, young man, your name? Stephen. Stephen what? Please. Stephen Crandall III. Your age? 32. How long have you been here? Eight years. Why did you come here? Polo accident. Good, good. And now once again, Your name? Crandall. Stephen Crandall. By the time Johann and the phony doctor decided to call it a night, they almost had me convinced I was Stephen Crandall. Pardon me. The third. They doped me up again for the night and next morning we cover the course again. Good morning, Stephen. You slept well. I had a funny dream. So I dreamed I was a guy named Rocky Fortune. I dreamed I went to apply for a job as a chauffeur in New York City and somebody stopped me. Pretty funny, huh? But you understand it was only a dream. Oh sure. I'm happy to hear that. You see, today we have a surprise for you. Can you guess? I get a new pail. No jokes. No jokes. Check. What's the surprise? You're going home. I thought you said no jokes. This isn't a joke, Stephen. I feel you're ready to leave at last. We're going to let you go home. On trial, of course. Now, at the first sign of your delusion that you are someone other than Stephen Crandall, I'm afraid you'll have to return. When do I fly? Tomorrow morning. Johan will accompany you. I get another shot of Essence, a vampire and wake up next morning feeling as strong as a mouse. Before I know what happens, they hustle me into a black Duesenberg and drive toward Denver. About two miles out of town. We cut up a winding private road and stop in front of a 28 room bungalow. The Doc and Johan walk me to the door close enough so I can feel the muzzle of Johan's 45 caressing my spine. The door is opened by a medium sized butler right out of Dickens with side whiskers and all. Yes, gentlemen. Hello, deems. Why it's Dr. Harris and Mr. Stephen. We weren't expecting you so early. Mr. Stephen, how are you? Speak up, Steve. Hmm? Oh, fine deamsy old man. Just peachy. Come in, sir. Come in. Welcome home. Thanks. Have a seat, Mr. Stephen. I'll inform Ms. Laurie you're home. I lower myself into a chunk of Chippendale and wait. My head aches and everything looks like a 3D movie without glasses. After a couple of minutes through the blur, I see a dame come floating down a staircase. Even in my weak condition I can appreciate that she's got more curves than the Jersey Turnpike. She takes one look and comes on like gangbusters. [00:12:44] Speaker E: Steve, darling. Oh, darling. Darling. [00:12:50] Speaker A: Sis. This is your wife. Steve. He's still a bit confused, Laura. [00:12:54] Speaker E: I understand, Doctor. Oh, it's good to have you home, Steve. Kiss me again, darling. [00:13:01] Speaker A: You know Something, Baby, it's good to be home. We go into a clinch again, and I am just beginning to enjoy my new identity when Demesey clears his adenoids and announces. Excuse me, Ms. Laura. Judge Harley is calling. [00:13:27] Speaker E: The judge here? Dr. Harris, is it all right? [00:13:31] Speaker A: Judge Harley is an old friend of the family, isn't he? [00:13:33] Speaker E: Yes. He's known Stephen since he was a boy. [00:13:36] Speaker A: I think it'll be all right. Just behave yourself, Stephen. Oh, sure. [00:13:42] Speaker E: Very well. Deems, show him in. [00:13:43] Speaker A: Yes, ma'. Am. Remember, Stephen. How can I forget? This way, your honor. Laura. Well, well, well. And, Stephen, I heard you were coming home, but I didn't expect I'd actually find you here. How are you, my boy? Great, Great. Let me look at you. He's changed, Laura. Thin ought to eat more. Well, I expect eight years and a half away. It can change a man. Even eight hours can do it. Very thin indeed. I hate to see a thin man or woman. [00:14:19] Speaker E: This is Dr. Harris from the rest home and his assistant, Mr. Fiddler. Judge Harley, gentlemen. [00:14:24] Speaker A: How do you do, Judge? I won't intrude. I just dropped by to see how you were progressing with your personal bankruptcy. [00:14:31] Speaker E: My attorney will file in a week or so, Judge. [00:14:34] Speaker A: Yes, well, it mustn't delay too long, you know, as a friend. I'll hold back the flood as long as I can, but creditors will be creditors. Yes, well, I. I'll be running along. Stephen, it's been wonderful to see you back in the bosom of your family. You fatten them up now, Laura. Hate to see a thin man or woman. Good day. I give the judge a couple seconds. The leg down to his black limousine which I can see through the French window. I toss a haymaker at Johann and pull an Esther Williams through the casement. I land in a bramble patch snatch just as the judge gets to his car. Judge. Judge. Holly, hold it. Hold it. Stephen. Now what is it? Get in the car. I can't talk now. Come on, let's get going. But Steve and I. Look, I'm not Stephen. My name is Rocky Fortune. This whole thing's a big hoax. Now, step on it before they get here. Of course, Stephen. Rocky. Stranger, don't start. The ignition's not on. Okay, hold it. Don't try to get away, Steve. Fat chance. You okay, Judge? What happened? Steve here tried to do away with himself right out of the window. Lucky it was the first floor. What was he telling me about being Rocky something or other? Oh, he's Rocky all right. Judge. Listen, call the Gridley Employment Agency. In New York with you. Steve, you know what I got in my pocket? Now be a good boy and I'll give you some candy. Okay, ape man. You win this time. Sorry to have troubled you, Judge. Come on, Steve. Glad I was of service. Take good care of Steve now. Don't worry about that, Judge. It's thin. Very thin. Johan lugs me back into the house like a piece of stale mackerel. And the good doctor immediately slips me a needle full of wink and blinking and nod. There we are. [00:16:49] Speaker E: The poor darling. He's all scratched up. Let me take him up to our room. [00:16:54] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:16:54] Speaker A: My dear, you see how unstable he is. I'm afraid he'd better be in a separate room. Johan will stay with him. [00:17:00] Speaker E: But we haven't seen each other for eight years. [00:17:03] Speaker A: Yeah. I'm sorry, Laura. As his physician. I'm no more physician than I am Steve Crandall, baby. They're trying to put one over on you. I don't know why. [00:17:11] Speaker E: Johan. [00:17:11] Speaker A: Yes. Dr. Johann puts the muscle on me. And I'm locked into the guest room on the second floor floor. By the time we reach the door, my head feels like the steam room at an all night Turkish bath. I get my ear on a pillow and pass out. [00:17:37] Speaker E: Rocky, it's me, Laura. I've been waiting for you. [00:17:47] Speaker A: I've arrived. [00:17:50] Speaker E: Kiss me, Rocky. [00:17:52] Speaker A: Why not? Say, that's nice perfume. [00:17:59] Speaker E: I'm glad you like it. [00:18:01] Speaker A: Makes me sleepy. Sleep. Smells like. [00:18:07] Speaker E: Like. [00:18:09] Speaker A: Smells like marsh gas. Gas. Gotta. Gotta wake up. Gotta open the window. Come on, Rocky. Come on, boy. That's the boy. Crawl. Crawl, boy. That's it. Now the chair. Window. Come on, boy. [00:18:42] Speaker E: Steve. Steve, what is it? I was in my room and I heard a crash. [00:18:45] Speaker A: Nothing much, baby. Let me get some air. [00:18:49] Speaker E: You're sick. [00:18:50] Speaker A: I ain't healthy. Turn off that gas heater, will you? Where's Johan? [00:18:59] Speaker E: He's downstairs with Dr. Harris. Well, Steve, what happened? [00:19:03] Speaker A: Your friend Johan tried to fit me for a casket, that's all. [00:19:06] Speaker E: Steve. [00:19:07] Speaker A: I am not Steve. Let's get it straight, honey, before Muscles gets back. My name is Rocky Fortune. I'm a ringer. The doc and Johan are trying to pass me off as your husband. You ought to know better. [00:19:20] Speaker E: I. I do. [00:19:22] Speaker A: It's a nice time to say so. [00:19:24] Speaker E: I didn't dare. They threatened to murder me. [00:19:27] Speaker A: Okay, let's have it. [00:19:30] Speaker E: My husband committed suicide in their sanatorium some months ago. He carried very heavy life insurance. Naturally, we couldn't collect on a suicide. Johan and the doctor decided that they wouldn't report the Death. They got you to take Steve's place. [00:19:45] Speaker A: I begin to get it. I have an accident. You collect double indemnity and they pry you loose from the money. [00:19:50] Speaker E: They forced me into it. [00:19:52] Speaker A: Okay. We gotta get out of here, baby. [00:19:53] Speaker E: But they'll kill us. [00:19:54] Speaker A: Not if they want me to look like an accident, they won't. I'm worth a lot of loot, kid. [00:19:58] Speaker E: How can we do it? [00:19:59] Speaker A: Is there anybody in the house you can trust? [00:20:02] Speaker E: Deems. [00:20:03] Speaker A: Fine. Get to him. Tell them to have a car ready in front of the house in exactly five minutes. Where's Johan? In the dock downstairs, probably giving me plenty of time to soak up the ether. Okay, look, go down, tell him I'm lying here dead. When they come up, you get out to the car. Got it? [00:20:17] Speaker E: Yes. [00:20:17] Speaker A: Wish me luck. [00:20:18] Speaker E: Good luck, Steve. [00:20:20] Speaker A: Rocky. [00:20:21] Speaker E: Good luck, Rocky. [00:20:30] Speaker A: Soon as Laura leaves, I fix up a dummy out of pillows and stuff it in the bed. And I slip out of the room and hide in an alcove about 10ft away. I wait. A minute later, the doc in your hand comes stumbling up the stairs like a thundering herd. I let him rush into the room, take two giant steps and lock the door behind. Open that door. Open that door. Can't hear you, Uncle. Open the door. Temper, temper. Open the door. So long, gentlemen. Don't think it hasn't been a pleasure, because it hasn't. I am down the steps like a grasshopper in a granary and on my way out when I see the telephone and get a sudden inspiration. [00:21:16] Speaker E: Operator. [00:21:17] Speaker A: Operator, I want the municipal courthouse. Judge Harley. It's an emergency. [00:21:20] Speaker E: I'll connect you with information. [00:21:21] Speaker A: I said emergency, baby. [00:21:23] Speaker E: If it's an emergency, baby, I'll give you the hospital. [00:21:25] Speaker A: I'll settle for information. Make it fast. Upstairs. I can hear your hand and the doctor making headway with the door. And I don't have much time to waste on explanations. I need something that'll knock the judge right off his bench and bring him out here in a hurry. Hello? Judge Harley? Yes. This is Deems, the Crandall butler. [00:21:48] Speaker D: Oh. [00:21:49] Speaker A: What is it, Dean? Master Stevens has just murdered the entire family, sir. He's kidnapping me. What? What is this? What's that banging noise? It dynamite, sir. He's blowing up the house room by room. I think you'd better get out here, sir. Here they come, teams. Bye. I figured this ought to bring him out on the double, so I write a message on the mirror with Laura's lipstick and leap out to the car one jump ahead of the hounds. [00:22:18] Speaker E: Are you all right, Roddy? [00:22:19] Speaker A: Fine. [00:22:20] Speaker E: What took so long? [00:22:21] Speaker A: Had to call my bookmaker and was sure a bet. [00:22:23] Speaker E: What about the dark and Johan on [00:22:25] Speaker A: the inside looking out. Head for the local constabulary. Deamsy, old sock. Yes, sir. I spend the next few minutes gazing fondly into Laura Crandall's lavender eyes. And she gazes back. I can see the fine blue blood surge through her cheeks. And on her blue surge looks pretty good. I'm ready to surrender to the beast of me when Deemsy makes a screaming turn off the main highway and pulls to a stop 10ft from the the edge of of a cliff. Hey, what gives? There's been a car following us, sir. I didn't see any car. If I may say so, sir, you weren't paying much attention. All right, all right. Let's get going. I'm afraid not, sir. Listen, egghead. I said let's get. You were saying? Put down the gun, Dimsy. I'll Give the orders, Mr. Fortune. Get out. Wait a minute. What is this? Just step over to the edge of the cliff, if you please. What if I don't please? You take on weight all of a sudden. [00:23:19] Speaker E: He means it, Rocky. [00:23:20] Speaker A: Okay. Mind if I ask what happens next, or am I being naive? Next, Mr. Fortune. You accidentally fall off the cliff, the car follows you. Accident, double indemnity. Exactly. Now turn around. What makes you think they're gonna believe it? You're suicidal. Even Judge Harley saw you go through a window. Very neat. Turn around. We have much time. Okay. Okay. Laura, push him over. [00:23:45] Speaker E: I. [00:23:45] Speaker A: Come on, this is no time to lose your nerves. [00:23:47] Speaker E: Steve, I. [00:23:48] Speaker A: Push him. [00:23:48] Speaker E: I can't do it. [00:23:49] Speaker A: All right, take the gun. I'll do it myself. [00:23:52] Speaker E: I hear a car. [00:23:53] Speaker A: Stop worrying. All right, Mr. Fortune, that first step looks like a lulu. Get going. [00:23:58] Speaker E: Wait, wait. Listen. [00:24:00] Speaker A: The police car. Come on. Okay. [00:24:06] Speaker E: Hold it. [00:24:06] Speaker A: Hold it or I shoot. [00:24:07] Speaker E: Steve. [00:24:08] Speaker A: Steve. [00:24:09] Speaker E: Watch out for the cliff. Oh, no. [00:24:13] Speaker A: Grab her. I've got her. [00:24:14] Speaker E: Let me go. Let me go. [00:24:16] Speaker A: Take it easy, baby. You all right, Mr. Fortune? I'll let you know later. Right now I'm a little numb. He picked up the car and then lost the it again. What convinced you I was telling the truth when I called? I know you weren't Stephen Crandall the first time I laid eyes on you. I also know I couldn't do anything about it at the time. When you phoned me before you left the house a few minutes ago, I'd already checked the employment agency in New York City. You're lucky we picked up the car. What about the guy who fell off the cliff, Judge, Is he dead? Sergeant, I didn't have a chance. Who is he? As far as I know, he's the Crandall Butler. You got it wrong, Judge. You know him? I think if you take off those phony side whiskers, you'll find out. He's the guy I was supposed to impersonate. Steve Crandall. What? Blossom here called him Steve just before he took the Brody. Laura. Is it Steven? [00:24:58] Speaker E: Yes. [00:24:59] Speaker A: Why did you do this? [00:25:02] Speaker E: We had no money when Steve left the institution. He cooked up this scheme with the Doc and Johan to cash in on his own insurance. [00:25:12] Speaker A: Next time I answer an ad for a chauffeur, remind me to make sure they want a live chauffeur, not a corpse. Tonight, NBC Radio has presented transcribed Frank Sinatra as that footloose and fancy free young man known as Rocky Fortune. Others in the cast included Frances Urie, Maurice Hart, Jack Mather, Herb Ellis, Stanley Fraser, Lynn Allen and Stephen Chase. Andrew C. Love directed. Eddie King speaking. Now, to tell you about next week's adventure, here's Frank Sinatra as Rocky Fortune. So that's how come I'm back on unemployment insurance again. Not for long, though. Next week I'll tell you about the next job. I had Stewart on a big luxury line at a Bermuda. I figured I'd like to see the ocean, you know? A couple of guys were trying to help me too, only they wanted me to see it the hard way from the bottom. Next week, then. Tune in again when Frank Sinatra returns as Rocky Fortune. We join American business and industry in saluting the National Safety Council and the thousands of safety minded men and women who are this week attending the 41st Annual Safety Council Congress and Exposition in Chicago. With the cooperation of business and industry, the National Safety Council is making life in America safer for everyone. Enjoy fiber McGee and Molly tonight on the NBC Radio Network. [00:27:09] Speaker B: That was Double Indemnity from Rocky Fortune here on the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society podcast once again. I'm Eric. [00:27:17] Speaker C: I'm Tim. [00:27:17] Speaker D: And I'm Joshua. [00:27:19] Speaker B: I brought that this week. It was my choice. I brought it because I said, let's see if there's a Rocky Fortune. We have never done one on this podcast. [00:27:31] Speaker D: We did one for Secrets for our Patreon supporters. But not here, right? [00:27:37] Speaker B: So I was like, all right, let's see. I'll dabble in this and find if there's something I want to bring. This is the first one I listened to and I was done. And I said, I'm bringing that one. [00:27:50] Speaker C: I Will listen to no more. It is this and only this, pretty much. [00:27:55] Speaker B: I will not tip my hat in any other way. I will not give any other indication. [00:28:01] Speaker C: Your fedora sits perfectly straight on your head. [00:28:03] Speaker B: Thank you. I just want to hear what you thought and then I'll tell you what I thought. I'm just really curious what you guys thought. [00:28:12] Speaker D: Well, I'm biased because I adore Frank Sinatra. Yes, we all do. I don't think we all do. [00:28:21] Speaker C: I don't have the same adoration. I have some respect. [00:28:23] Speaker B: I see. [00:28:24] Speaker D: Yes. [00:28:24] Speaker B: Okay. [00:28:25] Speaker D: One thing that struck me this time, after listening to ten years of old time radio on this podcast, is I really, really loved Sinatra when he was in the scenes with other people. But his narration sounded really bored and phoned in. There were moments where it really felt like you could see the page in front of him and he was reading off of it because it was transcribed. He just did it for money. But when you give him some funny lines to say to other people, he is always charming and funny. [00:29:02] Speaker C: Rocky Fortune is a challenging character for me, and this is just my whole spiel. On the episode of he comes across, he's portrayed as smooth, tough tucking. Tough tucking. That's not. Neither of those were right, tough talking, charismatic. And yet the plot is, this guy is a mess. This guy is just a goof. And what I really came to appreciate, the script recognizes both of those things and it's not denying them that he is both this charismatic, not a detective, but a little bit of a hard boiled ish, but is also a goof. Then I appreciated it. I like the character. [00:29:44] Speaker D: I think the character is leaning heavily on the audience's notions of Sinatra where he is at this crossroads. He was the tiny, skinny waif of a romantic figure in the 40s that, you know, women wanted to take home and, you know, give a bottle to gross infantilizing attraction they had to him. But also in his personal life, he, you know, would get into fist fights with reporters and was having affairs. So I think it's an attempt to kind of marry those two images. He's a skinny little guy who's trying to overcompensate for that. [00:30:29] Speaker B: I think it's also interesting that Rocky Fortune is going on in this point in his career because the character is just waiting for a phone call to get a job and. Yeah, I'll take it. You mean like doing this radio show? Yeah, I'll do that. That's fine. [00:30:47] Speaker C: I think in part to your dichotomy of Sinatra addressing the audience solo versus Being in a scene with other people. The reaction to I went to get a job and I woke up in a radically different place seemed to have minimal emotional impact on him. [00:31:07] Speaker D: Yes. [00:31:08] Speaker C: That is for me challenging to like this character. But as this sort of ne' er do well, like, okay, I guess this happens to him all the time. [00:31:17] Speaker D: You get the idea that he is being fed these pages in the studio studio and has not read ahead in the script. [00:31:24] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, for starters, the character of Rocky Fortune accidentally runs into crime more than the gang from Scooby Doo mining his own business. I mean, it's great. At what point do you go back to your employer and go, what are. What is happening the agency every time you send me out. So that's. It's a weird premise in that way that like I thought Johnny Dollar was a weird premise at first. Insurance investigator, but then I came around and no, that's actually a brilliant premise. This is a hard premise to sustain that he just keeps getting sent to jobs where he has to solve it. [00:32:07] Speaker C: Where we send people out the jobs all the time and what they do is they get a job. I don't know what your problem is, [00:32:13] Speaker D: sir, that you keep getting. I assume that Rocky is absolutely talentless and this is the like worst employment agency ever. Like this is basically an agency that just sends recently released ex cons. [00:32:29] Speaker C: Like a knockoff Craigslist. [00:32:31] Speaker D: Yes. You know, it's that trade off thing where this show goes, hey, we just want you to believe this idea that he just stumbles into crime at every job he's sent to in exchange. You'll have a little fun. And so I'm more than willing to buy that concept. [00:32:47] Speaker B: Well, the reason I stopped listening and brought this, the concept of Rocky Fortune is on thin ice, as I just said. You can say Frank sounds like he's phoning it in sometimes and sometimes he doesn't. You can say, oh, you didn't really react to that. Here's why I brought it. The script itself, the plot itself was wonderful for me. You wake up in Boulder, Colorado and you don't know what the hell's going on. And the reveal of what is going on, I think is substantial and legitimate and suspenseful. I liked the script a lot. I thought it was a great story. I would have loved to have seen it in the hands of Hitchcock, you know, on the screen. [00:33:38] Speaker D: Yeah. As the classic wrong man. But it's not really wrong man, it's the right man. But from his perspective, right the wrong man. [00:33:45] Speaker B: And then as he slowly tries to figure out where am I? What's happening? And then does figure out why this is happening. [00:33:54] Speaker C: I also love the move and storytelling of I'm gonna tell the authority figure here the reasonable thing to say. And it turns out, like, oh, he heard me. And he investigated that. And like, yeah, the reasonable thing to do Got a good, reasonable result. [00:34:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:34:12] Speaker D: Oh, you mean telling the judge. Yes. And the judge was like, yeah. [00:34:14] Speaker B: Immediately, I loved the script. Would love to have the script and perform it differently and get rid of [00:34:25] Speaker D: the Rocky Fortune framework. [00:34:28] Speaker B: Get rid of the framework. If you get rid of the Rocky Fortune framework and just. I'm a guy and I took a job and I got hit in the head and I woke up in Boulder, Colorado, and what's going on? Like, that in itself would be. And I'm making the pitch. [00:34:43] Speaker C: The nice detail of the job required him to fit into this size suit. [00:34:47] Speaker B: Yes, I'm making the pitch. I would like to rewrite this a little bit and put it on stage. [00:34:54] Speaker D: Well, the first thing you have to do. And it's not the script's fault because I think the title was added later by collectors. I don't think they ever say the title in the radio show. I can't remember. But the title spoils the entire plot. [00:35:10] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:35:10] Speaker D: As soon as it's called. Also stupid to use the title of one of the greatest movies of all time. Well, and crime novels. [00:35:17] Speaker B: Crime novels. Yeah. [00:35:18] Speaker D: Is based on. [00:35:19] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:35:20] Speaker D: Call it something else. That was the unfortunate part of this. It was called as soon as he says, oh, I have to fit into this suit. And, yeah. You immediately know, oh, they're trying to do a. A workaround of the double indemnity suicide clause. And. [00:35:36] Speaker B: Well, I didn't catch that right away, but you are right that if you got rid of that at the top, the name and all that. I think it's a great suspenseful thing that an audience could be along with you, like, what's going on? I believe they called it Limo to Boulder. [00:35:53] Speaker C: Was it? [00:35:55] Speaker B: No. [00:35:56] Speaker D: Go for it. It certainly would not explain the story in any way, shape or form ahead of time. [00:36:01] Speaker B: Anyway, that's my pitch. Are we doing it? Did I win? [00:36:05] Speaker D: Wait, why would we not make it Rocky Fortune if we're doing it as a. [00:36:08] Speaker B: Because I want to get rid of that framework. I just want to do that script without that framework. [00:36:13] Speaker D: Well, I'm going to step in and really defend the Rocky Fortune idea. I think it is great fun to just go, I have Frank Sinatra. I want him to get messed up in some kind of crime caper every week. But my God, there are so many detective series out there and we're all tired of it. Can we just all agree Frank Sinatra getting into trouble is fun? Like, do we have to go through all this work and make Frank Sinatra a detective, which no one's going to believe anyway? [00:36:44] Speaker B: Yeah, that's. [00:36:45] Speaker D: And just roll with it. [00:36:47] Speaker B: Okay. You just. Wow, you just won me over. [00:36:50] Speaker D: Thank you. [00:36:51] Speaker B: Yeah. I want to do this on stage with the Rocky Fortune framework. [00:36:56] Speaker E: Yes. [00:36:57] Speaker B: And I'm playing Frank. [00:36:59] Speaker D: We'll audition. The judge in one of those meta moments is obsessed with how thin Frank Sinatra is. [00:37:11] Speaker B: Right, Right. [00:37:13] Speaker D: There's a great delivery line from Sinatra when Laura is upset that the doctor wants to put Rocky Steve in a separate bedro with the bodyguard. But we haven't seen each other in eight years. And like, underneath her dialogue, Snapchat is like, yeah. Really long, extended. [00:37:34] Speaker B: Yeah, [00:37:36] Speaker D: I rewounded several times. [00:37:40] Speaker C: Because you listen on cassette. [00:37:42] Speaker D: Yes. All right. [00:37:44] Speaker B: Yeah, you rewound it. [00:37:45] Speaker D: There's a great moment when Frank Sinatra doesn't even bother to imitate. The actor's bad. [00:37:52] Speaker C: Oh, the butler. [00:37:53] Speaker D: British accent as the butler. He's just like, yeah, I'm Dimsy the butler. Yeah, it's me. Trust me. So I think at some point the charm of this is absolutely meta. To me, part of the fun is imagining Sinatra reading these lines into a telephone. [00:38:19] Speaker B: So speaking of script wise, there are some great lines in this episode. I'm guessing you wrote some of them down. Please hit me with them again. [00:38:31] Speaker D: It's mainly the delivery again when the doctor says, I have a surprise for you. Can you guess? I get a new pail. Which, if we can kind of take a side trip here and talk about that pale torture, is pretty bizarre. [00:38:47] Speaker B: Yeah, that's awful. The pale torture is another reason I brought this. Because you're right. Frank didn't give it what it needed for us to be horrified and terrified for him. But. But think if the actor would have been going, oh, God, please stop. Or, you know, instead he's going, ding [00:39:08] Speaker D: dong in my head. [00:39:09] Speaker B: Yeah, you're gonna hit me with a bucket again. Yeah. Well, that sucks. I don't like it. But. But imagine if it was played differently, how torturous that would be for the listener. Because you are absolutely right. Putting a bucket on someone's head and hitting it is. Oh, my God, that would be. [00:39:28] Speaker C: But then that would be awful. [00:39:30] Speaker B: But then you get that great line, I get a new pail. [00:39:38] Speaker D: And when he says I, I pull an Esther Williams through the casement. [00:39:42] Speaker B: Yes. [00:39:44] Speaker D: That's the first Esther Williams reference in an all time radio show that I've heard. Yeah, I had to go back and watch Dangerous When Wet after. [00:39:53] Speaker B: Oh, you had time for that, did you? [00:39:55] Speaker D: Yes. You make time for movies titled Dangerous when wet? [00:40:02] Speaker C: You got 15 minutes. [00:40:04] Speaker B: You can't type that in anymore. [00:40:08] Speaker D: Just the bad vaudeville material in here. When Rocky's on the phone with the operator, I said, emergency, baby. If it's an emergency, baby, call the hospital. [00:40:21] Speaker B: Yep. [00:40:23] Speaker D: So, yeah, that's the stuff that I loved. [00:40:25] Speaker C: I love that because the operator's tone was. I've heard this a thousand times. Yes. [00:40:33] Speaker D: Oh, I'm your straight man now. [00:40:34] Speaker B: All right, should we vote? [00:40:38] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:40:38] Speaker B: Okay. [00:40:39] Speaker C: Okay. I'm not going to say this is a classic, but I really did enjoy it and I think it Stand the test of time. I will confess. Part of that is the historical context of Sinatra at this particular moment and kind of transitional moment. There's a little bit of a throwback to talking about Richard Dick Powell's Bowman Rogues Gallery, I think a couple weeks ago. But it's interesting. Sinatra is not a towering voice in the history of radio, but he's fun and he's funny and he gets used well here. [00:41:13] Speaker B: I couldn't agree more. I found it really fun and enjoyable and a great script. I love the script. It worked the way they did it, but I'd really like a crack at it to same words, same everything. Little bit different of an approach by the actors to give it more gravitas and suspense and fear. [00:41:35] Speaker D: No, like, let's do it on stage and suck all the joy out of it. [00:41:42] Speaker C: That's my motto. [00:41:44] Speaker A: Right. [00:41:44] Speaker B: That is what Ghoulish delights is. But I really did love it. And most, I loved the patter and of Sinatra. I love the concept and I love the script. [00:41:59] Speaker D: Before I vote, I wanna go back for one other observation that is worth, in my mind, worth mentioning. And there's a nice bit of direction. When Rocky dreams of Laura and her perfume, which smells like marsh gas, she shushes him in the dream and as he wakes up, her shushing melts into the gas spewing into the room. And I thought that was a nice little audio transition, a bit of cleverness. [00:42:32] Speaker B: I loved it. [00:42:32] Speaker D: Amidst a lot of people phoning in [00:42:35] Speaker C: their roles, she seems very comfortable with marsh gas. [00:42:40] Speaker D: Yes. [00:42:42] Speaker C: Does your room normally smell like this? [00:42:45] Speaker D: What does? Marshmallow. [00:42:47] Speaker B: Yeah. I have no idea. [00:42:49] Speaker D: I thought Dangerous When Wet is a great film. No, it Stand the test of time, certainly as an easily digested Crime drama. It's got a number of great hooks as you mentioned, getting knocked out and waking up in a whole nother state. I loved all the period cultural references, but really, you take Frank Sinatra away and for me, to your point about making it dramatic, it feels like a lot of the crime drama that's on the radio at the time. And so for me, this is all about the historical interest of Frank Sinatra and this weird old time radio side trip that his career took that's pretty much mostly forgotten. And how it overlaps was such a pivotal point in Sinatra's career where he could have been a flash in the pan. Instead, this radio show got him through this moment that led him awkward career adolescence arguably to my taste. I know you and I differ on Sinatra here. I love the Capitol records and everything forward is everything I love about Sinatra. I put up with the 40s stuff. [00:44:00] Speaker B: But we don't disagree. I love it. I just think Dean's a better singer. [00:44:05] Speaker D: Oh, that's where we disagree. [00:44:07] Speaker B: Yeah, I just think. [00:44:10] Speaker A: Yeah, get him. [00:44:12] Speaker B: Yeah, you guys fight. Tim, tell him stuff. Tim, tell him how Dean's a better singer. [00:44:18] Speaker D: Define singer. [00:44:20] Speaker B: Just the tone of his voice is more pleasant to my ears than Frank's. [00:44:24] Speaker D: I will let that go. But as a interpreter of emotion lyrics meaning I will give you that Dean's entire career, people were just handing him the sheet music correct in front of his face and he just sing like this. [00:44:38] Speaker B: I think what it is, Joshua. That's exactly why I'm enamored with him. He's effortless and couldn't give a no. He's just. And it's that beautiful. He's so good. [00:44:50] Speaker D: Don't get me wrong, I love that [00:44:52] Speaker B: he can just throw it away and then go golfing. [00:44:54] Speaker D: Shut up, Tim. [00:44:55] Speaker C: Agree that Dean is funnier. [00:44:57] Speaker B: Oh, yes. [00:44:59] Speaker C: Okay, good. [00:45:00] Speaker B: Yes. [00:45:00] Speaker C: Thought I had us there. Okay, good. [00:45:02] Speaker D: Please go visit ghoulishdllast.com see how Tim brought us together. [00:45:07] Speaker B: That's his job. [00:45:11] Speaker C: Please. [00:45:11] Speaker D: The man glue. [00:45:13] Speaker C: Let's all come to. [00:45:14] Speaker A: Oh [00:45:18] Speaker B: yeah. [00:45:19] Speaker C: It's all come together for man glue to ghoulishdelights.com [00:45:26] Speaker B: I can't wait to see if that's edited out or not. [00:45:31] Speaker D: Nope. [00:45:32] Speaker C: It's like onlyfans for everyone. It's like not only fans. [00:45:39] Speaker D: Barely fans. [00:45:41] Speaker C: Maybe fans. You'll find other episodes of our podcast there. Listen to all these other charming conversations we have that all inevitably are metaphors for man glue. And you'll find links to our store if you want to buy some mysterious old radio branded merch. You love merch. We got merch. And you'll find a link to our Patreon page. [00:46:04] Speaker B: Yes. [00:46:04] Speaker D: Go to patreon.com themorals and please support this podcast. You make it possible for us to continue doing this podcast. [00:46:15] Speaker C: I know it seems like your fault. [00:46:17] Speaker D: I know it seems like this isn't much work or that we're barely trying. Same difference. But we actually put a lot of time and energy into this podcast and your support is incredibly meaningful. And in exchange for that support, we do offer all kinds of bonus material. We have extra podcasts, hundreds of them now just sitting there waiting to be consumed. And we have Zoom Happy Hours where we hang out with our patrons and book clubs. And Tim has just started an online gaming. [00:46:53] Speaker C: Figure out how that works. Yes, it's coming soon. [00:46:54] Speaker D: At this point, it's just an idea, so it hasn't turned into the inevitable disaster. So join us for the promise of that. [00:47:03] Speaker B: And the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society is a theater company that performs live on stage, classic old time radio shows. We do recreations of those shows and a lot of our own original work. Come see us performing audio drama live on stage. Where this all began for us on the stage theater. That's how we met. Anyway, go to ghoulishdelights.com see what we're performing, where we're performing, and how to get tickets. And we record the audio of those performances, which means that as a Patreon, you get access to those audio recordings as well. Well, what's coming up next? [00:47:40] Speaker D: Next? Speaking of Patreon, we are listening to a Patron Request Spider from Lights Out. [00:47:49] Speaker E: Until then, we haven't seen each other for eight years. [00:47:53] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm sorry.