Episode 76: The Newspaper Reporter

[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. [00:00:34] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:00:34] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:00:35] Speaker B: We love mysterious old radio stories, but do they stand the test of time? That's what we're here to find out. [00:00:41] Speaker C: This week, I chose an episode of the Chase entitled the Newspaper Reporter. The Chase debuted on NBC April 4, 1952, and ran a little over a year, bowing out June 28, 1953. As the title suggests, the Chase focused on stories of pursuit, pitting the hunter against the hunted in a desperate struggle for survival. Veteran radio announcer Fred Collins provided the show's distinctive opening, inviting listeners to enter the Chase. A few years later, Collins gave voice to radio's most famous countdown on X minus 1. [00:01:16] Speaker A: The chase was created by radio writer Lawrence Klee. In the early 40s, Klee wrote for the popular soap opera Hearts in Harmony and later for Chaplin Jim, a wartime production designed to boost troop morale. Later in the war, Clee donated his time and talents to the Victims, Victory Players of the American Theatre Wing, an organization of professional writers and actors who created patriotic material for the war effort. [00:01:39] Speaker B: After the war, Klee created his first original series for radio, the Clock, followed by stints as a writer on the fat man and Mr. Keene, tracer of Lost Persons, before creating another successful series, Man Against Crime. Both the Clock and Man Against Crime were adapted for brief runs on television, and in early 1953, NBC began production on a television version of the Chase as well. It was planned to star Doug Fowley, who later found television success playing Doc Holliday in the Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. But for reasons lost to time, NBC abandoned work on the TV series. At the same time, it canceled the radio version. [00:02:17] Speaker C: And now let's listen to the newspaper reporter from the chase, originally broadcast May 25, 1952. [00:02:24] Speaker A: It's late at night, and a chill has set in. You're alone, and the only light you see is coming from an antique radio. Listen to the sounds coming from the speaker. Listen to the music and listen to the voices. [00:02:49] Speaker D: The National Broadcasting Company invites you by transcription to join the Chase. In the animal world, there is the. [00:03:15] Speaker E: Hunter and the hunted. [00:03:17] Speaker D: Hound and fox, hawk and sparrow, chicken and worm. We, in the topmost spot, species have. [00:03:24] Speaker E: Also joined the hunt. [00:03:25] Speaker D: But who is to judge precisely which of us are hounds or foxes as we enter the chase? Pottery. Pottery. You're a bum. You heard me. [00:03:51] Speaker F: You're a bum. [00:03:52] Speaker D: This is Charlie Morgan. Telling it right to you in your own dictaphone. Potter, because of your pigheadedness, you missed the biggest news beat since the atom bomb. And I'm laughing at you, Potter, right up my sleeve. I only wish the joke was really funny. But it's. It's sad, Potter. It's downright pitiful. Remember the day you can me, Mr. Editor. Remember the day you bounced me off the stage? Big wheel sitting on a rubber inner tube behind your lousy desk. Fat, complacent, smug. A law under yourself down here in South America. Top foot kisser for the Continental Press. Yeah, I can still see you wiggle that fat cigar around your gritty mouth. [00:04:31] Speaker G: And hear you tell me, Morgan, you're fired. [00:04:36] Speaker D: I. I'm what? [00:04:37] Speaker G: Fired. Five letter words, look it up. Synonym for bounce. Can withhold salary from and dismiss without notice. [00:04:47] Speaker D: Why? [00:04:47] Speaker G: Why? [00:04:48] Speaker D: What am I fired? [00:04:50] Speaker G: Oh, several reasons. I won't list them all, just two of them. A, you drink too much. B, you're a rotten reporter. [00:04:56] Speaker D: Now, wait a minute. [00:04:57] Speaker G: No part in arguing, Charlie. As a newspaper man, you're through. Particularly here in South America. And you know. [00:05:05] Speaker D: Yeah, I guess I do. [00:05:07] Speaker G: The AP fired you first and you lost your berth with up. I gave you a birth here on Continental because I felt sorry for you. You didn't appreciate it. [00:05:15] Speaker D: I don't want a lecture, Potter. [00:05:17] Speaker G: Too much vino, Charlie. Too many senoritas. This is a newspaper office, not Hollywood's version of what a newspaper office ought to be like. Days are gone when reporters wore their hats on the backs of their heads and scooped it down while having a quick one at Harry speak. You gotta work for a living if you want to keep a job journey. [00:05:36] Speaker D: Yeah, I guess you're right. [00:05:38] Speaker G: I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll stake you to the tourist plane fare back to New York. It's 5,500 miles due north, Charlie, and I don't expect you to walk. [00:05:48] Speaker D: Keep your stake, Potter. Oh, I'll get along. Maybe you were right about the Hooch and Dame, but when you call me a rotten reporter, I should have kicked your teeth. [00:05:59] Speaker G: Don't try any rough stuff, Morgan. [00:06:00] Speaker D: Blind drunk. I'm better than you'll ever be, and I'll prove it. [00:06:04] Speaker F: How? [00:06:04] Speaker D: I. Well, I'll let you know right after I wind up cockeyed. You were half right anyway, Potter. I couldn't hold a job. That's why I came down to SA in the first place. My rep in the States was getting too bad, but the atmosphere south of the Amazon didn't change me, Potter. And I knew it when I wandered into that tourist ridden cocktail at the Elcato Hotel and found a place for myself at the bar. None of scotch, Chico. Pronto. [00:06:46] Speaker F: You are an American reporter, are you not? [00:06:48] Speaker D: I was. [00:06:49] Speaker F: You do not remember me? [00:06:51] Speaker D: No. [00:06:51] Speaker F: The name is Gonzalez. We met in Rio two years ago. I worked for a magazine at that time. El Estilo. [00:06:57] Speaker D: So what? [00:06:58] Speaker F: I have something to offer you, senor. For a little money. [00:07:01] Speaker D: No thanks. [00:07:02] Speaker F: You don't even know what it is. [00:07:03] Speaker D: I have for whatever it is, I'm not interested. Go pedal it somewhere else if that. [00:07:07] Speaker F: Is how you feel. Not the most astounding piece of news since Hiroshima. [00:07:11] Speaker D: What are you gassing about? [00:07:14] Speaker F: I am taking a big risk by talking to you this way, senhor. More than one man has been thrown into the river for the piranha fish to feast on. Within minutes they can strip onto the bone so that nothing is left. [00:07:25] Speaker D: You're a cheerful character. [00:07:26] Speaker F: But for a sum, signor, a small sum. I will give you the newspaper of the century. [00:07:31] Speaker D: You better try drinking your martinis through a straw. You're loaded. [00:07:34] Speaker F: Don't be a fool. Won't you even listen to me? [00:07:36] Speaker D: I'm listening, but you don't say anything. What's this big news scoop all about? [00:07:41] Speaker F: I can only tell you at this time that it concerns a missing person. The man the world thought was dead, who has suddenly reappeared. [00:07:49] Speaker D: How? [00:07:49] Speaker E: Big deal. [00:07:50] Speaker F: It is a big deal, senor, since you were so stubborn about it. [00:07:54] Speaker G: Wait a minute. [00:07:54] Speaker D: Wait a minute. Well, all right. You've got a beat. I'll buy it if it's right. But what is it? [00:08:03] Speaker F: Will you pay? $500? [00:08:07] Speaker D: Maybe. [00:08:08] Speaker F: Do you have $500 in American money? [00:08:10] Speaker D: I can get it. [00:08:12] Speaker F: Very well, senor. In that case. You're being watched, senor. [00:08:18] Speaker G: Watched? [00:08:19] Speaker F: Do not look around. I am in the hotel, room 413. Meet me there in exactly one hour. [00:08:25] Speaker D: 41 3. [00:08:26] Speaker F: Leave the hotel first and then return. Make sure you are not followed, seor. Your life may depend on it. [00:08:35] Speaker D: He turned and slunk out of the bar like an animal afraid of being cornered. I waited 10 minutes, then walked through the lobby and left the hotel. I strolled up the Avenida to kill a little time, then crossed the plaza and started to circle back. It was at that point that I first had the feeling of being shadowed. 20 minutes later I was standing in front of room 41 3. I wrapped once, waited, then wrapped again. Then I tried the door and found it open. The room seemed empty at first but when I crossed to the window, I saw an arm sticking out from behind the couch. There was a body attached to the arm. Potter. Gonzalez's body. And as I lifted his head, I saw the bullet hole in his chest. Gonzalez. Senor Morgan, who plugged your Gonzales? Tell me. [00:09:32] Speaker F: They know about you, seor. You will be next. [00:09:36] Speaker G: Run. [00:09:38] Speaker F: Run, senor, for your life. [00:09:48] Speaker D: The next I heard was a death rattle. And I lowered what was left of guns on us to the floor. My first impulse was to get out of there fast. But as I started for the door, I noticed a photograph standing near the bed. It was a picture of a woman, and I grabbed it on a hunch and yanked it out of the frame. That was when they made attempt number one, Potter, to shut me up. The shots came from the window, and they missed me by a hair. I bounded out into the car and started racing down the hall when I heard footsteps behind me and I knew I was being chased. I could almost hear the next two bullets whistle past my air. And it was no time to stand on ceremony. I grabbed the nearest doorknob with a prayer that was answered when the door pushed open and I slammed in and locked it behind me as I staggered into somebody's room. [00:10:27] Speaker E: I beg your pardon. [00:10:30] Speaker D: Excuse me. [00:10:31] Speaker E: May I ask who you are? [00:10:32] Speaker D: 10 more seconds and it would have been who I was. [00:10:36] Speaker E: What are you doing in my room? [00:10:38] Speaker D: I'm running, mister. [00:10:40] Speaker G: What? [00:10:40] Speaker D: I mean, from a gun. Somebody out in that car that thinks there's an open season on Americans. [00:10:46] Speaker E: Is this some kind of practical joke? [00:10:50] Speaker D: Didn't you hear the shots? [00:10:52] Speaker E: No. [00:10:53] Speaker D: Well, I heard them, mister, and they were meant for me. [00:10:56] Speaker E: Just a moment. [00:10:57] Speaker D: Don't open that door, please. [00:11:02] Speaker E: Well, all is empty. [00:11:05] Speaker D: You're sure? [00:11:07] Speaker E: Look for yourself. [00:11:11] Speaker D: The guy who was chasing me must have taken a parlor which suits me fine. [00:11:15] Speaker E: Please. Exactly what is this all about? [00:11:19] Speaker D: Man's been murdered in room 413 on this floor. Let me see. Now, wait a minute, Mr. They've had five tries at me up to now. And I don't want number six to hit the jackpot. [00:11:28] Speaker E: I tell you, there's no one here in the corridor, my friend. Now show me the corpse. [00:11:37] Speaker D: This way. [00:11:40] Speaker E: Incidentally, who are you? [00:11:42] Speaker D: Charlie Morgan's my name. [00:11:44] Speaker E: Well, mine is Steuben Court. Steuben And Charlie, do you mind if I suggest that you have liquor on your breast? [00:11:52] Speaker D: Okay, okay. So I had a quick one. One, mind you, that's not enough to dream up a yarn like this, is it? Yes, this is the room. [00:12:00] Speaker E: Very well. The room is empty. My friend. [00:12:07] Speaker D: Empty. [00:12:08] Speaker E: Quite. [00:12:09] Speaker D: But he was lying over there near the couch. [00:12:13] Speaker E: Perhaps your corpse or down to the bath or beer, huh? [00:12:17] Speaker D: Ah, these boys work fast. They got him out here while I was ducking slug. Oh, I'm sure now, the Gonzalez kind of story. And what a story. If it's hot enough to kill for, it must be played. [00:12:26] Speaker E: What kind of a story story are you referring to? [00:12:28] Speaker D: A missing man. Must be a big shot. I guess he turned up somewhere, but. [00:12:32] Speaker F: But who? [00:12:33] Speaker D: Where? I. What are you smiling at? [00:12:37] Speaker E: Was I smiling? [00:12:39] Speaker D: You think I'm off my conch? [00:12:41] Speaker E: No, not exactly. Perhaps you did run into something important and the man was killed because of it. Wouldn't it be wiser to forget? [00:12:56] Speaker D: Is that a suggestion or a threat? [00:12:59] Speaker E: A threat? Why should I threaten you? [00:13:03] Speaker D: Look, I've got part of a front page banner headline in my pocket, Bob, and if a certain fatted editor will give me five minutes, you can read all about it in the next edition. He smiled again, then stuck a monocle in the corner of his eye and looked me over like I was some kind of bug under glass. He was still gawking at me with all his molars showing when I left the room. As soon as I stepped out in the street from the hotel lobby, I knew I'd made another mistake. I should have called your father from a home booth inside, but it was too late now. Right behind me, locking the doorway, was a guy with a chest like a barrel and a face like an apes. He was watching me with an ugly scowl. One of his mitts was inside his pocket, wrapped around a gun. I began to walk and so did he. And then I started to run. I tried to lose myself in the narrow streets, but he stuck to me like glue, and any second I expected to hear his revolver crack and feel the lead burn through my spine. Then, just as I thought my legs would give out, I spotted a shopping arcade and I ducked inside with the crowd. A few seconds later, I looked behind me and he was gone. I ducked into a phone boat. [00:14:30] Speaker G: Hello, Potter? [00:14:31] Speaker D: The Charlie Morgan Potter. Well, Charlie, listen, I'm calling from a phone booth near the Avenue of Rio. Carter. I just got a tip at the Hotman. [00:14:38] Speaker G: What kind of a tip? [00:14:39] Speaker D: The guy's been missing. He's supposed to be dead, but he's shown up again. [00:14:42] Speaker G: What guy? [00:14:44] Speaker D: Well, I don't know yet. [00:14:45] Speaker G: Oh, brother. [00:14:46] Speaker D: Now, now listen to me, Potter. [00:14:48] Speaker G: What kind of a pitch are you trying to hand me? Morgan, you drunk again? [00:14:51] Speaker D: Don't be a chump. A man's been murdered because of this thing. I saw his body. [00:14:54] Speaker G: Where? [00:14:54] Speaker D: The Ocado Hotel. [00:14:56] Speaker G: You notify the police? [00:14:57] Speaker D: I. Well, no, I. [00:14:59] Speaker G: Why not? [00:15:00] Speaker D: Because his body disappeared along with the pink elephant. Oh, for the love of Mike, stop baiting me, will you? This is. On the level, Potter. I swear it. I've got a photograph. Some dame. She might be his lady friend. If I can find out who she is. All right, all right. [00:15:11] Speaker G: Come up to the the office. Let's see what goes. [00:15:13] Speaker D: Do I get my job back if this thing hooks up? [00:15:15] Speaker G: If it doesn't, I'll have you thrown in the river. Bet the piranha fish is eat you alive. [00:15:20] Speaker D: I'm on my way, Potter. Just sit tight. But I wasn't on my way, at least not yet, because I suddenly spotted the gorilla who'd been chasing me coming through the arcade. I ducked out of the phone booth just as he caught my eye and we both started moving together. He was big, but I was fast. And 10 seconds later I tumbled into a cab that was parked in front of the arcade and yelled. I looked back through the window and saw him standing on the curb. The sun was down, the streets were getting dark, but I could have sworn I saw a smile on his face as my cab jumped away. Five minutes later, I knew the joke was on me. [00:16:05] Speaker E: Driver. [00:16:07] Speaker D: Hombre. [00:16:08] Speaker F: You called, senor? [00:16:09] Speaker D: Where are you going? [00:16:10] Speaker F: Calle Marte, senor. [00:16:12] Speaker D: This isn't the way to the Calle Martes. You're going north. [00:16:14] Speaker F: Si, senor. Como a shortcut, senor. [00:16:18] Speaker D: Esta usta bien. Seguro. Oy. [00:16:20] Speaker F: Si, senor. [00:16:21] Speaker D: Hey, wait a minute. Stop the car. I'm getting out here. Did you hear me, hombre? Stop this jalopy, you stupid looking crumb, before I. [00:16:29] Speaker F: Be quiet, senor, and enjoy the ride. [00:16:34] Speaker D: I saw it when I leaned over a German Luger as big as a cannon of a strapped to his gear shift. And he had one hand on the wheel and the other on the gun. But we drove for 20 minutes more in silence while I weighed the odds against trying to take him from behind. He was doing 50 by that time and we were on the open road at least five miles from town. But gun or no gun, I wasn't going to let him walt me around again, will he? So I moved up suddenly and grabbed his throat while his hand shot up and pressed the Luger muzzle against my cheek. Got him. Lock this car, Victor. [00:17:06] Speaker F: I shoot. [00:17:06] Speaker D: Go ahead and I'll twist this wheel rope. I swear, I shoot. [00:17:10] Speaker F: Let go. [00:17:10] Speaker D: Hey, look out. We hit a tree head on, and the car Was a wreck. I got out of it lucky with a twisted shoulder and a cut on my cheek. While the driver's head smacked into the dashboard and knocked him cold. Hombre. Wake up. Hombre. [00:17:42] Speaker F: Que cephy zombre. [00:17:45] Speaker D: Now I've got the Luger. Can you stand? [00:17:50] Speaker F: No bueno. [00:17:50] Speaker D: I'm better. Try it. Come on, get on your feet. [00:17:53] Speaker F: Got arm rods? [00:17:54] Speaker D: Better now. Let's keep it in English. You were pretty good at it before. [00:17:59] Speaker F: What's the deal, Senor? [00:18:00] Speaker D: Who paid you to take me for a ride? [00:18:02] Speaker F: I do not remember. [00:18:04] Speaker D: Will you remember better if I massage your skull with this Luger? [00:18:07] Speaker F: Senor, I'm a poor man. For a few pesos, I do someone a favor. [00:18:12] Speaker D: A few pesos? I'm not worth much, am I? [00:18:14] Speaker F: I was not to hurt you, senor. Just to drive you to the house. [00:18:18] Speaker E: What house? [00:18:19] Speaker F: It is near here. [00:18:20] Speaker D: Okay, let's go. [00:18:22] Speaker F: Senor. [00:18:22] Speaker D: I said let's go to that house. Hombre. He took me through the woods about a half a mile. Till we reached a broken down shack with a car parked in front of it. It was a big job, European Mercedes. And it looked incongruous standing in front of that hovel. I nudged the guy with my gun and we stopped for a minute while I took stock of our surroundings. This the joint? Hey, who owns that car? [00:18:50] Speaker F: I don't know, senor. [00:18:51] Speaker D: Who lives in the shack? [00:18:52] Speaker F: I don't know, senor. [00:18:54] Speaker D: Do you know? You're alive. Congratulations. Come on. We're moving up to that busted window to see who's inside. We approached the window slowly, bent half over. And when we reached the house wall, I raised my head inch by inch until I could peer through the broken glass. The first guy I noticed was the hatchet man who'd chased me through the street. And then I spotted the guy who called himself Kurt Steuben. Between them was another character with his back to me and his head hunched over, almost hidden by an upturned coat collar. This was the missing man, the guy Gonzalez told me about. But before I could get a good look at his face, his sidekick spotted me, raised his hand and fired point blank through the window. I felt a stab of pain in my right wrist and I dropped the gun. Then everything happened at once. The driver lunged the shack door open. The air was filled with oath orders and whistling. How I got back to town, Potter, I don't know. I remember how dark it was as I tore through the woods. And the way my spine crawled every time I heard a noise behind me and thought they were Closing in. But I found the highway at last and bummed a ride back into the city on a banana cart. Was when you came into the picture again, you great big lovable slob. [00:20:06] Speaker G: Morgan. [00:20:07] Speaker D: Yeah? [00:20:08] Speaker G: Morgan, what's happened to you? You're. You're a mess. [00:20:11] Speaker D: I'll tell you what happened to me, Potter. I've been conned, chased, mauled and shot at. I played tag with a gunman and wound up crawling out of a car wreck with a radiator cap in my teeth. [00:20:19] Speaker G: On your wrist. [00:20:19] Speaker D: Ah, it's just a little flesh wound. Forget it. Listen, I'm convinced I walked into the biggest rhubarb since Lincoln's assassination. Somebody big's on the loose, Potter. Someone so hot his pals go in for mass murder just to keep it quiet. [00:20:30] Speaker G: Now, wait just a minute, Charles. [00:20:31] Speaker D: Oh, you wait. How do you think I got into this condition, playing Jackson? I tell you, there's something tremendous going on, Potter. Bigger than anything I've ever handled in my life. Look. Look at. Look at this picture. It's the one I took from Gonzalez's room. She must have been his girlfriend, and he knew all the answers. And if he knew who this mystery character is, she will. But she doesn't if I can find it. What did you say? [00:20:51] Speaker G: I said she doesn't. The whole thing's a tempest in a teapot. [00:20:55] Speaker D: Now, that's an original expression. How can you tell what this dame knows? [00:20:59] Speaker G: Because she's inside my private office. [00:21:01] Speaker D: She's what? [00:21:02] Speaker G: They found Gonzalez's body half an hour ago. She came in to give me the story. Gonzalez was mixed up with a small time heister. A crook who broke out of jail. [00:21:11] Speaker D: A crook who? Can you believe that yarn? [00:21:14] Speaker G: Why not? [00:21:15] Speaker D: Look at me, that's why not. Would a small dime crook have an organization so slick I can't move down the street without being tailed by a walking arsenal? [00:21:23] Speaker G: Take it easy, Charlie. [00:21:24] Speaker D: Here she comes. [00:21:29] Speaker H: I'm going now. [00:21:31] Speaker G: Well, thank you for coming in to see us. Oh, this is Mr. Morgan. He was the man who found your fiance's body, Ms. Briar Tower. [00:21:43] Speaker H: Must have been terrible. I warned him, Faced him to change his way. He wouldn't listen. Then when he tried to tell you where Rovera was hiding out, he was murdered. Found his body in the woods outside of the city. [00:22:01] Speaker G: Those Rivera, the Khan who escaped, they got an alarm out for him. [00:22:07] Speaker D: You're an American, Ms. Callum? [00:22:09] Speaker H: I was educated in Chicago. [00:22:12] Speaker D: Why do I. Gonzalez Waspanic, of course. I was just wondering where he met him. [00:22:21] Speaker H: Here. I knew him for the past two years. He wasn't a criminal. He was a well educated man. Met the wrong companion. I love him very much. Goodbye, Mr. Potts. You've been very kind. [00:22:38] Speaker G: Goodbye, Miss Town, Mr. Morgan. [00:22:42] Speaker H: Goodbye. [00:22:43] Speaker D: Goodbye. [00:22:44] Speaker H: I wish I could help you both. [00:22:47] Speaker D: Please. She's lying, Father. [00:22:54] Speaker G: What? [00:22:55] Speaker D: They set this up to put us off the scent. They'll probably knock off this escape con themselves so he can take the rap for killing Gonzalez. But I'm not going to let it go at that. [00:23:02] Speaker G: What are you going to do? [00:23:02] Speaker D: They've been on my tail for the past eight hours. Now it's my turn. I'm going to face Ms. Friar Talon. I saw her enter a cab as I hit the sky and I climbed into another one and followed. We drove up the main drag to the center of town. And her taxi stopped in front of one of the plushier joints. A big whitestone affair that looked like an embassy. She walked inside and I went around to the back and let myself in through the service entrance. I passed through a butler's pantry, then a hall and found her in a reception room just taking off her hat. Hello again. [00:23:36] Speaker H: You. [00:23:37] Speaker D: Me? [00:23:39] Speaker H: You followed me? [00:23:40] Speaker D: Sure. [00:23:42] Speaker H: Why? [00:23:43] Speaker D: Because you lied before. Gonzalez wasn't mixed up with a small time gangster. This rhubarb is bigger. [00:23:50] Speaker H: You're very rash, my good looking friend. [00:23:54] Speaker D: The word is stubborn. [00:23:56] Speaker H: As long as you're here, sit down, relax. I'll get you a dinner. [00:24:00] Speaker D: No, don't bother. And stay away from that desk drawer. [00:24:03] Speaker H: What are you looking for? The gun. [00:24:06] Speaker D: I'm becoming a very cautious guy. [00:24:08] Speaker H: Lady, don't be silly. [00:24:11] Speaker D: You've changed a little in the last half hour, baby. [00:24:14] Speaker H: Have I? [00:24:16] Speaker D: Potter's office. You gave a pretty good imitation of the beret, sweetheart. [00:24:19] Speaker H: Well, since you were astute enough to see through my story, why bother to play act anymore? [00:24:25] Speaker D: Who's the man with the upturned cook collar? [00:24:28] Speaker H: Beg your pardon? [00:24:29] Speaker D: I saw he's back in the hovel outside of town. He's the one who's supposed to be dead, isn't he? [00:24:32] Speaker H: I thought you already knew all the answers. [00:24:34] Speaker D: What's his name? [00:24:34] Speaker H: Honey, I haven't the slightest idea. You sure you won't have a drink? [00:24:39] Speaker D: And have you flavored it with cyanide? No, thanks. [00:24:43] Speaker H: You don't mind if I have one then? [00:24:46] Speaker D: You were educated in the States, huh? [00:24:49] Speaker H: I was. [00:24:50] Speaker D: Where were you born? [00:24:52] Speaker H: In a hospital. [00:24:55] Speaker D: Very funny. You got me in stitches. [00:24:57] Speaker H: You're such a nice looking boy. Why do you want to bring trouble on yourself? [00:25:01] Speaker D: I like trouble. Agrees with my appetite. [00:25:04] Speaker H: Be Careful of your choice of food. I wouldn't want you to upset your stomach. [00:25:08] Speaker D: As soon as you finish that drink, sweetie, you can get your hat. [00:25:12] Speaker H: Oh. We going somewhere, Felicia? [00:25:15] Speaker D: Senorita. [00:25:17] Speaker H: You're not serious? [00:25:19] Speaker D: Do I look like I'm laughing? [00:25:21] Speaker H: You couldn't possibly take me to the police, darling. [00:25:24] Speaker E: No? [00:25:26] Speaker D: Why not? [00:25:27] Speaker H: Because that gun you were looking for is in someone else's hand. And he's standing right behind you. [00:25:34] Speaker E: Good evening. [00:25:36] Speaker D: Herr Steuben, I presume. Looks like we're back where we started. I was running, wasn't I? And one of your goons was on my tail. [00:25:45] Speaker E: But the chase ends here. Fry up. [00:25:49] Speaker H: Yes. [00:25:50] Speaker E: Bring the car around to the back. Then call Bauer. [00:25:53] Speaker H: What shall I tell him? [00:25:55] Speaker E: Say the fox is cornered. We will dispose of the pelt on the bridge. [00:26:02] Speaker H: You want me to drive you there? [00:26:03] Speaker E: Yes. [00:26:06] Speaker D: Are we taking a little ride? [00:26:09] Speaker E: Exactly. [00:26:11] Speaker D: Is this trip necessary? [00:26:15] Speaker E: You are a warm one, mein Herr. But we will cool you off. [00:26:20] Speaker D: You will walk out of this house. [00:26:21] Speaker E: And into the car with both your hands in your pockets. But be careful not to utter a sound. Make myself clear. [00:26:28] Speaker D: Very good. [00:26:30] Speaker E: And let me warn you, my friend. One false move and I shoot to kill. [00:26:42] Speaker D: We drove in silence until we left the city limit. And any bright ideas I had about making a break were dampened slightly by the rod he was pressing against my rib. I didn't know where we were going, and I didn't bother to ask because I had a funny feeling I wasn't coming back. [00:27:01] Speaker E: Stay on this horde fire. [00:27:02] Speaker H: I know the way. Course. [00:27:05] Speaker E: Are you comfortable, my friend? [00:27:07] Speaker D: Oh, extremely. [00:27:09] Speaker A: Good. [00:27:10] Speaker D: Look, as long as my future doesn't look very promising, you might. You might ease that gnawing sense of curiosity that's been burning me up for the past 12 hours. [00:27:18] Speaker E: And for which you have paying six. [00:27:22] Speaker D: Who is he? [00:27:22] Speaker E: Who's this Mr. [00:27:23] Speaker D: Guy who's so hot you've got to keep him under wraps by leaving a trail of stiffs from here to the Amazon? [00:27:27] Speaker E: You will know who he is very shortly, my friend. [00:27:30] Speaker D: You mean I'm going see him? [00:27:32] Speaker G: Yes. When? [00:27:34] Speaker E: As soon as you reach the bridge. [00:27:36] Speaker D: And what happens after that? [00:27:40] Speaker E: I prefer not to discuss that. [00:27:42] Speaker D: It's a very distressing subject, especially for me. [00:27:47] Speaker E: You see, it is very important that your body is not found. It would create a greater disturbance than Gonzalez. Merely if. Because you are a newspaper man. [00:27:54] Speaker D: Oh, you flatter me. [00:27:56] Speaker E: So we will leave it to the tirana fish to dispose of you. Have you seen them? [00:28:01] Speaker F: Upper lake. [00:28:03] Speaker D: What? [00:28:04] Speaker E: They attack in school. Give them 10 minutes and they can do away with anything alive that happens. [00:28:11] Speaker D: To go up into the water. I just can't wait. [00:28:16] Speaker E: Yeah, I see the kite there already. [00:28:18] Speaker D: Stop here. Try out. The bridge was a wobbly affair made of wood suspended across the river below. A car was parked in the center. The Mercedes I saw before. And the guy behind the wheel must have been the gorilla who chased me in the arcade. But it was the second man I was interested in, the one with the upturned collar. And he was standing just outside the car in the center of the bridge, watching him. [00:28:44] Speaker E: You asked to have your curiosity satisfied, my friend. Look for yourself. [00:28:49] Speaker D: Who is he? [00:28:51] Speaker E: You cannot see? [00:28:52] Speaker G: No. [00:28:52] Speaker D: He's in the shadows. And his collar still turned his head. [00:28:55] Speaker E: Friar. [00:28:56] Speaker H: Yes? [00:28:56] Speaker E: Drive on across the bridge. I will take care of this one here. You are honored, my friend. He has come down himself to see that we dispose of you properly. [00:29:09] Speaker D: But who is he? I. I can't see him. What. What's his name? [00:29:12] Speaker E: His name, my friend. [00:29:13] Speaker D: The bridge is crack. The bridge was weak and it couldn't hold the weight of those two heavy cars. Just as it buckled, I'd leap free to the bank, but Steuben went down with the others. As the cars bubble underwater, I saw the service suddenly come alive with piranha fish. As they moved in for the kill. The next thing I knew, a head bobbed up in the water, gasping for air. It was mystery man with the upturned coat collar. And just before the fish pulled him under, I caught a glimpse of a trick mustache and heard him scre. Well, Potter, you know what piranha fish can do. I searched the riverbank for an hour or two, but all I found was part of an overcoat. The coat the trick mustache was wearing. Inside I found a billfold, Potter. And in the billfold, a water soaked card. It looked like some kind of a political party identification tag. Only the ink had run and I could hardly read what it said. But I was able to make out two things on the card. Potter. One was a cross symbol in the form of a swastika on the upper right hand corner. And the other was what was left of a name on the bottom, a first name. Potter. Adolf. The Chase was created and written for the National Broadcasting Company by Lawrence cle. Featured in tonight's cast was Vinton Hayworth. [00:30:55] Speaker E: Others were Doris Dalton Snein Schnabel, Wendell Holmes and Louis Van Ruton. [00:31:00] Speaker D: The chase was directed and Transcribed by Walter McGraw. Next week, another exciting script involves a search for gold and sudden death. [00:31:21] Speaker E: When you follow the chase. [00:31:55] Speaker D: Next, it's Best Nighter on NBC. [00:32:04] Speaker A: That was the chase here on the mysterious old Radio Listening Society podcast. Once again, I'm Eric. [00:32:11] Speaker B: I'm Tim. [00:32:12] Speaker C: And I'm Joshua. [00:32:13] Speaker A: And that episode was the Newspaper Reporter. But the full title of that is Newspaper Reporter chases Nazis or Finds the Germans or something like that. [00:32:25] Speaker C: I've seen it listed in so many different ways, but all of them were essentially a synopsis of the story. [00:32:31] Speaker A: Right. [00:32:32] Speaker C: However, I have seen it listed as just the Newspaper Reporter. So I chose the most spoiler free version of the title to include here because one of them somewhere says the newspaper reporter chases Germans in South America. I mean, it starts getting really specific. Wearing size nine and a half shoes. [00:32:49] Speaker A: Yes, that's a brand new one for me. Never even heard of the radio series the Chase. So you know a hound and fox, right? Chicken and worm, roadrunner and coyote. [00:33:02] Speaker C: It seems to work its way down the evolutionary ladder. Chicken and worm, fruit, flying banana. [00:33:10] Speaker A: Let's start with you, Joshua. Where did you find it? Why did you bring it to us? [00:33:16] Speaker C: Why did I bring it to you guys? Hitler eaten by piranhas. You're all very welcome. No, but I stumbled on the Chase after listening to some episodes of the Clock, which Tim introduced to us. Several. [00:33:34] Speaker A: You were on the alphabetical Old Time Radio playlist. [00:33:39] Speaker C: Yeah. And I really like these stories, the ones I've heard from Mr. Klee. They are all very action oriented but they vary a lot in tone. There are ones that are pretty light hearted and comical, some that are a little surreal. This is a really nice standard, super action packed one. And I thought Eric would like a little action after the navel gazing of the Wendigo last week. [00:34:10] Speaker A: That's a fact. And you'll be very glad to know what I'm about to read to you from my notes in big giant capital letters. Now that's my kind of radio show. I can't tell you how much I loved every single second of this. I love how it was written, I love the action of it. This is so why I got into Old Time Radio. This is my kind of story for millions of reasons. It is a Maltese falcon feel, a film noir feel. [00:34:42] Speaker C: Very hard boiled dialogue. [00:34:44] Speaker A: Very hard boiled dialogue. But it's got that, that Hitchcock feel, man. In a situation that he was uninvited, yet now he's got to solve the situation he's in. Innocent bystander ends up in a bad place. It's very film noir. And I was like, oh, well, I'm going to ask Joshua, are they all like this? Because I want to Listen to more. And you just answered that, that they're not all like this. [00:35:06] Speaker C: I haven't listened to all of them. A lot of them that still exist. I've maybe listened to the first eight or nine of them. [00:35:12] Speaker A: Okay. [00:35:13] Speaker C: I just went through in chronological order. [00:35:14] Speaker A: But they were all a little different. They're not all like this. [00:35:17] Speaker C: No, there are some. I think this is one of the best for just straightforward action sequences that I have heard so far. [00:35:24] Speaker A: It was an absolute joy. Nazis and as you mentioned, oh, my God, Hitler getting eaten by piranhas. You can't ask for a better ending. You cannot. [00:35:35] Speaker B: That they really transformed the experience for me of everything that had come before. I'm gonna have to unpack this metaphor. But for me, it was like being at the mall at Christmas. [00:35:46] Speaker A: Here we go. [00:35:48] Speaker B: It was such a quintessentially hard boiled story that it almost wasn't a hard boiled story. So it was like, I'm surrounded and inundated, like you are at the mall at Christmas was something I enjoy. [00:36:02] Speaker C: And somewhere there's Hitler. [00:36:05] Speaker B: But it was a lot of, like, this is a lot of hard boiled going on right now. And the whole chase concept of the show was always sort of present with me of this is a story that we've sort of hung some ornaments on a chase. And they're really nice ornaments, but it also. I sort of disengaged a little because, like, it's just at its heart running around. It's a couple guys running around. [00:36:34] Speaker A: I saw a double feature once, and forgive me, one of the new Star wars, meaning the second three that were made and the first Marvel Spider Man. Okay. We watched him back to back with my buddy and I said, so what you think? And he was lighting a cigarette and he lit a cigarette and he blew it off. Well, that was a lot of jumping around. And I thought about it. Yeah, that pretty much sums up both those movies. Let me say something about Old Time Radio. For me, you guys have introduced me to a genre that I really didn't pay much attention to. You guys being fans of, like, Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, and you like scary things and you like horror stories. And these aren't things that I really paid much attention to before I met you guys. And especially since doing this podcast. Choosing a scary story like that wouldn't be what I. But choosing a suspense and mysteries and murder mysteries. So you get into. I love a mystery and the shadow, and those are the things that attracted me to Old Time Radio and what I love the most. And I've learned to love the genre that you fellas really enjoy. But this was exactly what I love about old time radio. I had so much fun listening to this. It had every single thing. You're running into another room and meeting a German. Oh, my God, he puts on a monocle. That's how you know they're Nazis. That and how they hold their cigarettes. [00:38:05] Speaker B: And to finish my little half complaint of I was going through this and, like, it's really sort of both a total embodiment of this idea and a stereotype. And then there's the mysterious guy in the coat. Who's the mysterious? It's Hitler. I love this. That takes some nerve. Put Hitler in that coat. [00:38:28] Speaker A: At what point did you realize it was Hitler? [00:38:30] Speaker B: When they said Adolf. I was in such denial up to that point of like, oh, it's gonna be the woman. Oh, no, no, no, the woman's somebody else. Okay. It's gonna be his boss. No, no, the boss isn't. Okay. It's some Nazi high Adolf. I just did not accept it had. [00:38:46] Speaker C: To be some other Adolf. [00:38:48] Speaker B: Still kind of halfway like, it's not necessary. The mustache was fake. Guys, come on. [00:38:53] Speaker C: Well, that's what I wanted to ask you guys. I felt at the end that I should have called this right away, and I didn't until he said trick mustache just didn't even cross my mind. I think partly because it is so hard boiled and follows so many of the, like Tim is saying, hard boiled tropes, you know, finding a dead body in the hotel room. We've got the femme fatale. All the things you've already mentioned that it kept derailing me. And on a second listen, I was like, this is so obviously gonna be Hitler. [00:39:24] Speaker A: When he was approached in the bar and he said, there is a man presumed dead who has come back to life. Are you interested for $500? I said out loud because I had headphones on. My wife was next to me on her computer doing work. And so out loud, remember, I haven't talked for, you know, an hour, and all of a sudden she hears me go, Hitler. And she said what? I said, nothing. I just figured this out. I knew where we were going because I recognized this form and what was going on so fast. And I was so happy. I was just like, here we go, Hitler. What I didn't know what was coming is that he was going to be eaten alive by piranhas and scream. And that was so awesome. But, yes, I knew where it was going. [00:40:18] Speaker C: Well, they're in South America. Like, oh, yeah, you should have known from the top. [00:40:22] Speaker A: Correct. [00:40:22] Speaker C: I just didn't. Didn't cross my mind. [00:40:25] Speaker A: There is also another interesting thing at the beginning of this that it reminded me. Not reminded me. It seemed a lot like reading Hunter S. Thompson's the Rum Diaries. Have you ever read the Rum Diaries? [00:40:35] Speaker C: I have not, no. [00:40:36] Speaker A: It's his first novel, I think. His first novel. But he, when he was very young, ended up working for a newspaper in Cuba and took notes and a lot of journal stuff. And then much later in his life, he wrote the Rum Diaries about writing for this newspaper in Cuba. It was very, very similar up until Hitler, but it was really funny. Here he is in this locale. He's getting fired. He's a drunk. He does not want to work. It was. Oh, my God, this is the Rum Diaries. It was really interesting. And there's about three people out there that have read that and said, you are right, Eric. [00:41:10] Speaker B: I love reference this time, too. You're on fire. [00:41:14] Speaker C: This is your podcast, but I loved the opening. Potter, you're a bum. Yeah, you heard me. You're a bum. This is Charlie Morgan telling you right into your own Dictaphone. And I just want that to be how we tell people off from now on, whether they have a Dictaphone or know what a Dictaphone is. If you're wrong, I'm just gonna tell you right in your Dictaphone. [00:41:39] Speaker A: Make sure you add the word to phone. [00:41:42] Speaker B: I also want to call out, in particular the scene of spying through the window and the first time they see the shadowy figure and the gunshots through the window. That's all such amazing action sequence for radio. [00:41:57] Speaker A: I thought it was extremely well done, how easily you could see what was going on. And I love the Foley and how it was written and how fast it moved. It was almost like watching a movie. And I really enjoyed that about it. And no one stopped to recite poetry. Okay, Take that, Wendigo. [00:42:18] Speaker C: Okay. I wasn't gonna make this a postmortem on the Wendigo, but you don't mind if conversation doesn't sound realistic, if it's a unrealistic conversation you like, because there's nothing natural or realistic about the dialogue in here. [00:42:33] Speaker A: That's how they talk back then. That's why I want to live then. [00:42:37] Speaker C: They did not. This is highly stylized poetry. They are speaking in hard boiled poetry, Eric. [00:42:45] Speaker D: Correct. [00:42:46] Speaker C: And I'm telling you this in your Dictaphone. [00:42:51] Speaker A: That is correct. Here's the difference. The difference is getting the feeling of I'm stopping Moving forward. There. [00:42:58] Speaker C: You are absolutely right. This never loses any momentum. [00:43:01] Speaker A: They can talk like that all they want, and I like the language of it. You're right. There's a poetry to that that I like, that kind of talk, but it doesn't. Let's all stop and sit on while I pontificate about some things for a while. It's him saying it, and you get the feeling like he's saying it while he's, you know, running full speed down a street. You know what I'm saying? It's that energy level that just keeps driving forward, and it's not only moving forward, but urgency. [00:43:25] Speaker C: Yes. It never loses his urgency, ever. He's basically yelling all of his lines. [00:43:31] Speaker A: While he's on a banana yard. [00:43:34] Speaker C: The other thing I really like about the opening is that Morgan is so angry for reasons we don't know yet. He's basically at the beginning, he's angry because Hitler got eaten by piranhas and no one will ever believe him, which is kind of funny. To retroactively fill in why he's so angry. Doggy to Potter. But then we segue to the scene in which he is fired, and his boss, Potter, he's played in such a mellow manner, and then we find out, well, maybe it's not irrational on Potter's part. He's being fired because he's a drunk and has lost most of his job, so now he has no choice but to go to South America to be a not very good reporter. And so I like right away that you're a little unsure of your protagonist at first. [00:44:14] Speaker A: Right. [00:44:14] Speaker B: But he's still sympathetic. [00:44:16] Speaker C: Yeah. And I love when his boss goes, you know, I'm firing you for several reasons, but I'll just give you two. You're a drunk, and you're a terrible reporter. Do I need to say more? [00:44:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I want to know what the rest of them were. What you did to that dog. Yeah, I wrote, man, that is a terrible, really mean way to fire someone. I mean, it's just so. He wasn't even apologetic. You know, he was gonna give him. [00:44:39] Speaker C: Money for a plane ride home later. [00:44:41] Speaker A: He got. All right, I tell you what I'll do for you. But here's an interesting thought I had about this story. What. What year is this? 1950. [00:44:51] Speaker C: 52. [00:44:52] Speaker A: 52. It's this. We're seven years removed from WWII. We didn't have the satisfaction of an eyewitness account that could tell us how Hitler died or film of it. So we can say we watched him die or Someone watched him die. It was a horrific death. Do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. [00:45:17] Speaker C: This is wish fulfillment. On the. Probably someone who wrote this was in the war. [00:45:22] Speaker A: They never got the satisfaction of seeing his face devoured by piranhas. I think there's something about this, though, that's beautiful, fulfilling for that whole generation to have him die in a horrid way. We won the war and it was all great, but just to watch. And then he screams in this. Yeah. Scream and beg and be in pain. And I think that there is something to that that is satisfactory. Yeah. [00:45:50] Speaker C: Cathartic and more cathartic to listeners in 1952 than to us right now. [00:45:54] Speaker B: And there was the ongoing process of, what do you do with the surviving Nazi command? And trying to bring them to justice. And. [00:46:03] Speaker C: And they were still out there. [00:46:04] Speaker A: Yeah, they still are. [00:46:06] Speaker C: Yeah, they're still finding them. And now they're like 90 and 100 years old. Getting out places. [00:46:10] Speaker A: Found one near us not too long ago. Remember that guy up in northeast Minneapolis? [00:46:16] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:46:17] Speaker C: No piranhas up there to get them. Just hipsters. [00:46:25] Speaker A: Well, I'm looking at my notes here, and, you know, it's all. [00:46:28] Speaker C: I'm looking at mine, too, and I have in big letters, eric, better like this. [00:46:32] Speaker A: That's so funny, because my last note was, thank you so much, Joshua. I know you picked this for me. [00:46:41] Speaker C: But I love it. [00:46:42] Speaker A: God, it was fun. It was so ridiculously fun. And I had a great time. [00:46:47] Speaker C: The dialogue is great. I love this piece here because it pretty much sums up the story. Morgan is saying, I'll tell you what happened to me, Potter. I've been conned, chased, mauled and shot. And I played tag with a gunman and wound up crawling out of a car wreck with a radiator cap in my teeth. [00:47:03] Speaker B: I'm curious. [00:47:04] Speaker C: Very naturalistic dialogue the rest of this. [00:47:06] Speaker B: Series, because if it is, they take the concept of a chase and reconfigure the genre of it over and over again. That's fascinating. [00:47:14] Speaker C: They really do. I mean, not in a radical way, but they're willing to do things that are not what you would always expect, which you would have to do if your show is called the Chase. And every week it was this, Eric would be happy, but not everyone else. [00:47:30] Speaker A: The ecstatic. I can't wait to listen to more of these. But maybe if you've listened to them all already for me, you can just tell me which ones I should listen to. [00:47:39] Speaker C: I will screen them for you. Thank you. [00:47:41] Speaker A: Because you got nothing but time. [00:47:42] Speaker C: Yeah. I'm like the old radio sampler for the king. He doesn't die of boredom while listening to it. [00:47:53] Speaker A: All right, well, any other thoughts, gentlemen, on this? Thank you again. I owe you, man. I owe you. I will tell you that I believe it stands the test of time from the standpoint, if you like this kind of thing, it's really good at what it is, and if you like it, it stands test of time in that specific little area of what it is. It is a classic. But it is, you know, of course, not a classic of old time radio, but gosh and golly, it was definitely great for that. [00:48:26] Speaker B: I, I would, I would even unqualified say it stands the test of time. It is really well written, it is really well paced, and both the writing and production of it technically are so sharp to make everything so vivid and well done. [00:48:40] Speaker A: And Hitler gets eaten by piranhas and he screams. [00:48:44] Speaker C: Not a very manly scream either. Yeah, I mean, not that you do manly screams while being eaten by piranha. [00:48:50] Speaker B: Just a lot of ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. [00:48:52] Speaker C: Oh, but it was really high pitched and I thought someone had fun being like, let's see how effeminate we can make Hitler while being devoured by piranhas. [00:49:01] Speaker B: I don't know that I would go the full classic, although I would not begrudge Eric for saying so, but definitely sets the test of time. [00:49:07] Speaker A: Yes. [00:49:08] Speaker C: Yeah, I agree. This is just solid, great. Old time radio definitely stands the test of time. Verges on classic. But what I think after maybe hearing a few more episodes of the Chase, I think the Chase might end up being an underrated classic as a old time radio radio show. And I'm surprised that I don't hear it talked of more. [00:49:27] Speaker A: It's never heard of it. [00:49:28] Speaker C: Really solid, beautiful. [00:49:30] Speaker A: All right, well, thank you everybody for listening. Tim, tell us some stuff. [00:49:34] Speaker B: Hey, I invite folks, if not already there, to go to ghoulishdelights.com there you can find other episodes of this podcast. You can find information about our live performances. We sometimes do live performances. You can find information about a link to rather our threadless store. We sell some swag. Link up to visit that store and buy some stuff, please. We appreciate it. We'll also link you to our Facebook and Instagram pages because we love to interact with folks and relatively new Joshua. [00:50:06] Speaker C: We also have a Patreon page where you, our listeners, can become members of the mysterious old radio listening society. And for your generous support, we have a lot of really cool rewards and bonus junk that you get, including an additional monthly podcast called the Secrets of the Old Time Radio, mainly dealing with even weirder old time radio curiosities than what we talk about on this version of the podcast. So yeah, go to patreon.com themorals and check it out. We also want to recommend podcasts that we've been talking about for a couple weeks and that is Breaking Walls. They're doing a series on the history of old time radio, specifically radio drama from the inception of radio through to the creation of radio drama, how it all ended. Would radio drama be coming back? It's really interesting so please check that [email protected] alright, well the next episode is. [00:51:10] Speaker A: My pick and I have picked a request from a listener, a very heartfelt request from a listener that we'll talk about next week. But we're going to be doing an episode of the Shadow called the Laughing Corpse. [00:51:22] Speaker D: Until then I caught a glimpse of a trick mustache and heard him scream.