Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This
is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it
to me Box thirteen at Greatdetectives dot net. Follow us on Twitter at Radio
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month at Patreon dot Great Detectives dot net. Well, now it is time
for this week's episode of Dangerous Assignment. The original air date January the fourteenth,
nineteen fifty three, and the title is The Blue Lion Dangerous Assignment Transcribe,
starring Brian dun Leave as Steve Mitchell. Yeah, danger is my assignment.
I could send to a lot of places I can't even pronounce. They
all spell the same thing though, trouble. But when I walk into the
Commissioner's office. I don't realize that this assignment's going to prove that sometimes the
guy who tries to take somebody for a ride ends up getting taken. Morning,
Commissioner, you sent me the Blue Lion sent us another guest, Steve.
The Blue Lion pop in London, acting on a tip, we arrested
a man on his arrival in the States last night. His passport and other
identification were forged. He's the fifth illegal entry we've picked up in a month.
So how does the Blue Lion fit into the picture? That's where these
people picked up their phony passports. They don't know, won't tell us any
more than that. I guess that calls for a visit to the Blue Lion.
Scotland Yard's given the place a clean bill of health, Steve. The
owners are well known, respectable, and I doubt the man behind this racket
is still using the place as a rendezvous since so many of his clients have
been arrested. Any other leads commissioned. Several days ago, a crew of
workmen found a small package behind some loose bricks in the basement of a house
in Saint Margaret's Mews in London. The package wrapped in newspaper contained a half
dozen forged passports identified as our friend's work. Right, I see, So
if I can find out who put that package there, I might find out
our master penman exactly and the date on the newspaper. Commissioner, grace yourself,
Steve, April twenty ninth, nineteen forty five, nineteen forty seven years
ago. You mean that package was stashed away all that time? Right?
I know it's a long shot and a coal trail, but we've nothing else
to go on. Get over there, Steve, check with Inspector Jellico Scotland
Yard, find out what you can about that house in Saint Margaret's Mews,
pick up the trail and nail a man who's running this passport racket. Well
that's it. You've got your assignment. Good luck. The National Broadcasting Company
is presenting Dangerous Assignment, starring Brian don Levy in the role of Steve Mitchell,
colorful two fisted government agent. At all those places of the world where
danger and intrigue walk hand in hand. There you will find Steve Mitchell on
another Dangerous assignment this Friday evening. On most of these stations you'll hear a
program by the NBC News and Special Events Department titled End of an Era.
The program will review the history of the past twenty years. Narrated by Burgess
Meredith. This hour long panorama of the Roosevelt Truman period from nineteen thirty three
to nineteen fifty three will bring the happy moments of the thirties and forties,
mingled with the sad, the joys and sorrows, the victories and the defeats.
The title for this survey of the past two decades is taken from a
remark by President Truman made the morning after General Eisenhower was elected president. But
this is the end of a mirror. So here are the special broadcast Friday
on the NBC Radio Network. Sure, I've got my assignment. Get over
to London and track down a master penman who's running a flourishing racket and phony
passports. And all I have to start with is a package wrapped in a
seven year old newspaper, the package that was found hidden away in the basement
of an old house. It's late Thursday afternoon when my plane lands, I
head for Scotland Yard in the office of Mitchell and mister documents and earned his
past and president. Look Inspector about this newspaper, the wrapping on the package
that was found in the basement. Oh, yes, I have it right
here, mister Mitchell. Is there any possibility that the package might have been
hidden away in the house during say, the past year or hardly you see,
mister Mitchell. The Hussins and Margaret's mew was severed damage during the war
years. A good deal of repair work was done in the basement in the
latter part of nineteen forty five, the wall's reinforcements. So on, I
see, And the package was found behind the new construction work. That's right.
Exactly when did this repair job begin? You know? Let me see,
yes, yes, here we are. The work was begun in August
of nineteen forty five, and this newspaper is dated April forty five. Well
at narrows it down to roughly three months when it could have been put there.
I wonder why the package wasn't removed during that time, why he didn't
come back for it. It's hard to say who owned the house, then,
Inspector, it's in the report. Yeah, let me see, yes,
yes, Ian McKay. The second cousin of Sir John lived there alone.
He was with the Royal Air Force at the time, living at the
house with his wife Emily, two youngsters, Ronald and Valery, Andy servants
three, an earlyer couple named Denny, and a maid named clariup at Simmons.
Where are they now? Do you know? Well? Ian McKay was
killed in a plane crash in nineteen forty six. His wife remarried three years
later and is now living in Canada and the children are with him. The
Dennis are book dead. That's for the maid Clara. Well, we haven't
able to track it down yet. Who could have had access to that basement
other than the people living in the house, anyone in the hold of London,
mister Mitchell, Why yes, you see it was used for a time
as an aird schilder. Oh great, well, let's get back to the
item you were wondering about, Inspector. Why was the package stashed away there
in the first place? Any ideas well, let's examine this possibility. The
person conning the package believes he's being followed the police and he doesn't want to
get caught with the evidence on him, so he slips into the air raid
Hilder it's deserted. He finds the place to hide the package, steps out
again. This piece of newspaper seems to back up that line of thinking.
Inspector, are you notice that any sure? Here we have a single sheet
torn from the rest of the newspaper, and whatever part of the want ad
section up at the top of the page is the tail end of the column
rooms to let indicating at our friend, aware that he was being followed with
seeking a change of address, he let us the last six listings in that
column have London addresses, and there's some pencil Knox decidement. Be too much
to expect to find them still living in one of those rooming houses after seven
years, but it might give us a lead right out. I'll take a
crack at it, Inspector, you have any plans? Or? I thought
I'd drop around to the Blue Lawn in check with a man I have there,
and then go on trying to track down that maid of the Mackays clad
pit. Simmons, good idea, I'll see you later, Inspector. The
odds on our long shadder growing, and the chances I'll find the gent I'm
after looks slimmer by the minute. As I start out with my list of
addresses, the first one is a bust. The same goes for the next
address, and the next. Things must have been tough in April. Four
down and two to go. Now it starts to rain. I rush on
to the next place, sixty one New Romney Road. Come. Indeed,
at the door of the landlady, a rather large one, greets me.
There's a pleasant air about her, and that air includes a faint trace of
gin. I settle down into a heavy overstone. That's going to take a
bit of thinking. I'm afraid you don't keep a record of your borders,
Missus Farland, never bothered too, Might I offer you a little nip of
something I always have a small glass before supper, the happy tipe. You
know, thanks, but I'll skip this round if you don't mind. Also
takes the chill out of one's bones. Narsty weathered out, did he?
So? It is now about this advertisement, Missus Farland. It appeared in
the Dover Times on April twenty ninth, nineteen forty five. I don't seem
to recall it at the moment, which if you say so, here's a
copy of the paper. Oh yeah, so I see, so I see
nineteen forty five, Hey, we did it proper, if you know what
I mean. Forty one was a nasty year. It was dreadful Nazi bombers
over a day or not. I'm trying to locate a man who might have
answered this ad Missus Farland. That was more than seven years ago, did
he? I know it's going back a long time, but there's something in
the back page of this paper that might spark your memory. It's the continuation
of a story regarding Mussolini. No, m what about boldly? He was
killed at Lake Coma the day before April twenty eighth, nineteen forty five.
Was it really? That's right? Help Anny? Of course it does.
I remembered it clear as crystial. I do Stella and the young men were
supping with this. They just got married Dullah, one of my rumors been
with me for five years for mo. Now Stiller's room was advertised in the
paper, of course it was. Don't comes back to me now I've rented
the room to ity next day. And do you recall who took that room,
Missus Farland. Well, I'll never forget it, did he never?
It was a gent named Pinto, Jaggie's Pinto. I'm a good judge of
character and all that, deary, but mister Pinto was my first mistake.
Oh what happened? Police came for that nasty little twype the day after he
moved in. Why that's right? With his fine manners and only turned out
to be a common smash and grab man. You know, got five years,
as I understand, Thanks Missus Farland. That's all I wanted to know.
What did that name again, mister Mitchel Jagger's Pinto inspector? He was
picked up at sixty one New Romney Road on May first, nineteen forty five.
Smash and grab artist. Ah, sub five years? I could explain
why the package wasn't picked up in the basement pending. The bess is nine
hundred and twenty four Dexil Place. Hey, how'd you know that? I've
been checking up on your mister Pinto for quite another lead. You see,
I found Peroff at Simmons, the maid who worked for the people who had
the house on Saint Margaret's muse in nineteen forty five. Right, she's a
bombaide now and that name is missus Jaeger Pinto. Oh, brother Wait a
minute, did you say a bar maid? I did? And just where
is she working? Can't you guess? Yeah, the same pub where those
people we arrested picked up their pony passports, the Blue Lion in right.
Ten minutes later, Inspector Jellico picks me up in his car and we roll
out to nine twenty four bex Hill Place, the present address of our long
lost friend Jagger's Pinto. It stops raining as we pull up in front.
We go inside and the landlord gives us the room number we want. Then,
just as we start up the stairs, Hey Mitchell, come on upstairs.
Sounded like, yes, look they're on the floor. Yeah. I
hope it isn't. I'm afraid it is, mister Mitchell. Yes, he
matches this picture I have on It's Jega's Pinto. He's dead. Steve Mitchell
will continue his dangerous assignment in just a moment. If your child can run
and skip and jump, he's lucky. Just think how you'd feel if he'd
been crippled. In last year's record infantile paralysis epidemic, more than one hundred
eighty six thousand Americans, most of them children, were stricken by infantile paralysis
in the last five years, and last year's polio epidemic was the worst on
record. Would you like to save thirty million children from attack by infantile paralysis?
Well, it takes millions of dimes and dollars spent in medical research before
a protective vaccine is discovered. And now your national foundation is seven million dollars
in debt. Yes, the nineteen fifty two blow of polio has gotten its
fighters rocking on their financial heels. And remember, you can't fight your child's
enemy just by wishing. It takes giving your giving. Take a walk,
now, won't you? So the polio stricken may walk later join the nineteen
fifty three March of Dimes. Now back too dangerous assignment and Brian don Lavelle,
Steve Mitchell, the inspector, and I set up headquarters in the parlor
to question the boarders. The first one we talked to is a mister Sam
keithcart Up in his room. He was Pinto's room. That's right. There
was a knock on the door. Into went and opened it did to see
who it was. No, Sir, I was sitting on the other side
of the room. I heard Pinto say, oh, it's you. Then
he stepped out at the door and closed the door. I sat there several
minutes, and just as I was about to go and see what had happened
to I heard that shot. I ran outside and down to the back hall,
and well they were you, two gentlemen bending over his body? Blimey
the person who knocked down the door, mister Cathcart, did he say anything
at all to Pindell? Not a word? Is akadiasa? Then you don't
know whether it was a man or a woman that I don't, sir,
to call your own you please send it the next person, right chair,
Poor Pinto, blindy, blinding, quiet, Well he tells a straightforward story.
Be interesting to know if it also happened to be a true one.
Yeah. The way it figures, Pinto was the leg man in the passport
racket, and the forger probably killed him to shut his mouth. I come
in, Yes, Yes, your name Walter Michaels. I'm an insurance solicitor.
I was calling on a client of mine whose rooms were on the third
floor, and mister Jones, but he didn't answer the door. John's see,
the landlord informed me that mister Johns had left the house for the railroad
station. Half an hour phone killing a business, no right to prevent,
you know, sounds like what seems to be the trouble. This policeman will
simply not allow me to go upstairs for my room. It's ridiculous. Your
name John's, but I don't see what business this is. A go step
in here a moment, please, mister Johns. All right, all right,
you've beaten tug at my sleeve. It's enough out of shape with the
damp as it is. I'll come. Sorry, this is mister Johns inspector.
What sort of foolishness is this inspector? I just routine questioning, mister
John's. If you'll just put your other girt on that chair here, I'm
in a frightful hurry. Can't I make you understand that I was almost to
the railroad station when I realized I'd forgotten some important papers, so I hurried
back. Now your man tells me I can't even go up to my room
to get them. Since when you'll say there's been a murder, mister Johns,
Since when, good, good lord, mister Johns, you haven't said
a lord of your insurance solicitor here? What mister Michael's here. I've never
seen the man before in my life. What's up? Well? Well,
how now, mister Michaels. Gentlemen, if if I could speak to you
in private, that will be orpan on mister John's. But your trip will
have to wait. But it's a business trip now, see here, you've
no right there, mister Johns. I shall speak to your superior and I'll
be glad to make an apartment for it. You bah, sounds like my
old college. Yell right good, my mister Michaels. Well, I really
came here to see Dora Mays. She has the room across the hall from
Jon's. You're a girlfriend, Yes, we had quite a row last night.
I had a date tonight to thrash the whole thing out, but she
didn't show up. So you came here to her room? Yes, but
she was out. That's where I was when I heard the shot. Why
didn't you tell us his first off is to Michaels. I was afraid it
would get back to pet Her. I see you chaps don't seem convinced,
But that's my story. Take it or leave it before we take it,
mister Michaels, we'll check it, but Michael's girlfriend Doris May still isn't back,
so for the time being, there's no way of checking up on his
story. I leave Inspector Jellico at the rooming house to continue the questioning,
borrow a police guard and head for Missus Pimbo's flat to break the news to
her about her usband. End up like this. I guess that's why I
left him. You were separated. It's been a year now. I see,
Missus Pinto as I understand that you were a maid in the house on
Saint Margaret's muse back in nineteen forty five. That's right. Pinto came to
see me one night. I let him hide down the basement. That's when
he ditched the package of phony passports down there, I suppose. So next
morning he was gone, and later I learned he'd been arrested. I see
as soon as he was out, he looked me up. I'd just started
his bar made at the blue line. Then he promised to turn over a
new leaf. So we got married, but it didn't last very long,
huh. I found out he was still mixed up in something shady, so
I left him year ago. I said, did you see anything of him
after that. Oh yes, he'd drop in every now and then at the
Blue Line. I thought he was coming to see me. Actually he was
probably using it as a contact point to hand out the passports. You happen
to know any of his friends? No, can't say I wanted to.
He ever mentioned the man or woman that he worked for, well, the
last of James he always turned to when he needed a bob or two.
Traycer was his name. I think Tracer, the old Tracer will fix me
up. He always used to say, Wait a minute. Tracer was probably
a nickname, and it would sure fit a passport forger. That's probably the
boy I'm after. Did you ever see him? Not that I know of
him too. Used to talk to him with the telephone mostly. Did you
ever answer the phone when he called? Oh? Yes, you think he
might recognize his voice? I'm right. Is there a phone hear? No,
but there's a phone box down the street. Come on, I want
to call the inspector and have him line up all the suspects for you to
listen to. Missus Kinda puts on her coade and we go outside. I
step into the phone box and the light goes on just As I start to
dial a number, I spot a glint of metal across the street and I
hit the floor fast. I dive outside. There's no one inside across the
street, nothing but the mouth of an alley and the sound of some distant
running steps. I could never catch up to him. Now, mister Mitchell,
you okay, Miss Pennell, Yes, I jumped into the story when
it happened. Okay, come on, I've got a police card down the
street. Huh, what is it? Missus Pinto. You told me you
hadn't been out of your flat all evening, didn't you. It's earlier this
evening while we were looking for Pindo it started to rain. What's about it?
It rained for just about half an hour. It stopped just as inspected.
Jellico and I arrived at Pindo's rooming house. I damp. See what
all this has to do with your coat sleeve is damp? Missus Pindo.
What you didn't tell me the truth? You were out of your flat this
evening during the time it rained, But yes, I was. Where'd you
go? I started for Pinto's rooming house to tell him the police were making
inquiries about him. Half Way there, it changed my mind. I came
back. You sure you didn't go to the rooming house? Hey, hold
everything that damn sleeve? What about it? I told you, Yeah,
you just told me the answer. I take Missus Pinda back to her flat
and tell her to lock herself in. Then I go outside and flight behind
the wheel of the barrow police car, just in time to feel a gun
barrel nuts me in the back of the neck. Well, well that would
be mister John's I presume quite right, Michel, keep bruggae raight of head.
Okay, so you're the big cheese of the passport. Rackets out of
the car straight down the street. I'll tell you where it's hurt. You've
been waiting for me here ever since you took that shot at me in front
of Missus Pender's not John, Yes, I double around the block he Gilbert
place. Where are we heading? Quiet room? Where you are going to
phone missus Pindo and have her join us. I'll get rid of us both.
Huh. Right. She may have seen me occasionally in the Blue Lion,
and she's heard my voice over the phone. I can't afford to have
her around. Love her epping square. You knew It was I in the
car as through as who felt the gun barrel. How when you put on
the act about storming back to the rooming house for some forgotten papers, I
remembered the sleeve de your suit was damp, but you were carrying your top
coat over your arm, so that meant you got caught in the rain without
your top coat when you went out the first time. Your plan was to
make a departure, then sneak back and kill Pindo, which you did.
You also picked up your top coat. That took me until now to put
the pieces together. Wait, it's a police car ahead of us, Coral.
Huh Okay, back the way we came to the first turn right,
then another police car. How do you know I'm getting out? Sorry,
you're not leaving, John's, let's go. Let's go to the gun.
Drop it of your wrist, goes with it? No, my, but
you're hard to convince. Now, just sit back and we'll wait for our
friends the police. How could they follow us? How did they know where
we were? Real simple? John's, This is a police car. Remember
when I reached down to start the car, I also flipped the radio switch.
We've been on the air all this time. Yep, you saying plenty.
That's how come you got the business. As a matter of fact,
you might call it a singing commercial. Our star Brian don Levy will return
in just a moment. Here's another reminder about NBC's special program, The End
of An Era. The End of an Era will survey the past twenty years
in our nation's history. During the program, we'll recall when Eddie Canter was
singing Potatoes are Cheaper, and Neville Chamberlain announced that he had brought peace in
our time. Those were the days of Hugh Johnson and the Blue Eagle of
the NRA, the time of Cab Callaway's Heidi holl Those were the times of
the sidewalk apple peddlers at street corners, of the hit song brother, Can
you spare a dime? Of swing music? Such as the music goes round
and round. As NBC presents this special survey, listeners will hear again Franklin
Roosevelt's in Augill address in nineteen thirty three, Hitler's angry speeches, Churchill's magnificent
replies, the third of Bombs, the rhythm of marching feet, the events
at Pearl Harbor that made December seventh, nineteen forty one, A Day of
Infamy. Yes, be sure to hear this full hour documentary program end of
an Era Friday Evening on most NBC stations. Next week, Burma the road
demand Delay almost turns into a one way street, and that will be Steve
Mitchell's dangerous assignment next week. Included in tonight's cast were Virginia Gregg, Ben
Wright, Don Morrison, and Dan O'Hurley. This is John Storm speaking Dangerous
Assignments, starring Brian don leve as Steve Mitchell with Herb Butterfield as the Commissioner.
Is written by Bob Right and Adrian John Doe and is directed by Bill
carn Be with us again next week at the same time, when Brian don
leve is starring in the role of Steve Mitchell will embark on another transcribed dangerous
assignment. Always tune where you hear the familiar NBC chimes. They are your
invitation to find radio entertainment. This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company.
Welcome back. It's worth noting that the credits list Virginia Gregg and we had
two very different female characters in the story, which means she did them both,
and if you didn't have inside knowledge, you'd never know the difference.
We talked about this a little bit yesterday when I was reading some comments on
the Nick Scharn matter. But she was able to do these parts where she'd
play two different characters and you'd have no clue that it was the same actress.
Bob Bailey's daughter told the story in an interview that she did with John
Dunning, that Virginia Gregg would form one part in a story, and if
she had a part later, she would sit down and knit until it was
time for her to play the other part, and then she would jump up
and be in the other character. And she wasn't the only one doubling up
this episode. The villain was played by Herb Butterfield, aka the Commissioner.
If you're wondering why you had so few credited actors this week, once you
realize Butterfield and Greg are in it, you don't have to wonder anymore now.
The documentary end of an Era I sounded intriguing. It wasn't just two
decades with two presidents of the same party with much the same political philosophy in
the White House. It's also the changes what they dealt with and how they
and those changes shape the country. And there might also be some news clips
in that documentary that haven't otherwise survived. I can't actually find a copy of
this documentary anywhere, but according to Radio Gold Index, a copy did exist
at one point, which obviously they were able to catalog. Who knows,
maybe I'll find a copy one of these days. All right, well,
listener comments and feedback now, and we start on Facebook with Emmett and he
writes regarding the Streetcar seventeen episode, seems to me the last month or so
of Dangerous Assignment has had better scripts than the first few months. I can
honestly say today's episode kept me on the edge of my seat. Well,
thanks so much, And I would agree that the Streetcar seventeen episode really was
just superb and did a great job of keeping me engaged. And it does
come down to the question of, I think the length of the episodes,
because for the first season, Dangerous Assignment had a thirty minute toimeslot and the
episodes we're hearing now it's been reduced to twenty five minutes, and it's can
vary how that affects some series. Johnny Dollar had a similar traction after it
returned from being a serial to being a self contained half hour episodes. And
I actually think that the later Johnny Dollar episodes are not as good because they
didn't have time to develop the plot, and I don't think Jack Johnstone really
got the hang of consistently telling a story in you know, twenty minutes or
something like that. On the other hand, I think Dangerous Assignment is actually
a little bit better for it. It's required tightening up the scripts, getting
to the point more quickly, and really getting us more into the good stuff
of the story. So I think that while the primary reason for reducing the
length of Dangerous Assignment wasn't to make the scripts better, I think it definitely
did have that effect. Well, now it's time to think our Patreon supporter
of the now, I want to go ahead and thanks Susan. Susan has
been one of our Patreon supporters since October twenty eighteen, currently supporting the podcast
at the Detective Sergeant level of seven dollars and fourteen cents or more per month.
Thank you so much for your support, Susan, and that will do
it for today. If you are enjoying the podcast, please follow us using
your favorite podcast software. If you're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure
to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and mark the notification bell
all those great things that make the channel grow. We'll be back next Wednesday
with another episode of Dangerous Assignment. But join us back here tomorrow for mister
Chameleon. Where missus Kendall. Yes, it's that cop again. What do
you want, elfriend? I just wanted to tell you and your mother that
your father's buddy was recovered from the bending building. I would like to ask
what made you so sure that he was suffocated? But he was, mister
Commedion. I could see my husband lying there and I couldn't get through to
him. I couldn't get through. He was lying on his face in the
back room of the store. Yes, Alfred, with a bullet in his
back. I don't believe it. My father murdered. Yes, Alfred,
your father murdered. And I presume you want to find your father's murder,
Elifred, Oh, Helfred, take it easy, mother, I'm still here.
You've still got me. I've got you, darling. Mister Comedion,
who could have done this awful thing? Who could have hated my husband so
much that they'd kill him. Well, don't you know, missus Kendall,
don't you have any idea? No, no, I hope you'll be with
us then. In the meantime, do send your comments to Box thirteen at
Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check
us out on Instagram, Instagram, dot com, slash Great Detectives from Boise,
Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham sogning Off