Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Orlando, Florida.
This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're
going to bring you this week's episode of the Big Story.
But first I want to encourage you to check out
our other podcast and today I am highlighting the Great
Adventurers of Old Time Radio. This is a series you're
gonna love. Currently we are playing some oss movies adapted
to radio, and we are also featuring a fantastic tours
and Radio Cereal. I think you'll enjoy. Check it out
at Great Adventures dot dot info, or just search for
the Great Adventurers of Old Time Radio wherever you get
your podcasts. From now. From May nineteenth, nineteen forty eight,
here is the Deadline Murder.
Speaker 2: Well now amos cigarettes present the Big Story of course please.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is Wald Kremer, the Grand Inspectory.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 5: I was just short cutting back from Cedar Lake across
the city dump.
Speaker 6: Yeah.
Speaker 5: So well I just saw a pair of silk stuck
and sticking up out of the dump.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 5: The thing is there was legs in them, a woman's legs.
Speaker 2: The Big story here is a man. It's sound and
its fury, its joy, and its sorrow, as faithfully reported
by the men and women of the great American newspapers. Minneapolis, Minnesota,
from the pages of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune. The headline
story of a murder victim who was buried alive tonight
to Ralph K. Mills of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune goes
the Pell Mell Award for the big story and now
the story as it actually happened.
Speaker 7: Ralph K.
Speaker 2: Mills Story as he lived it, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Speaker 6: Your name, Ralph Kills, Your paper, The Minneapolis Morning Tribune.
You're beat.
Speaker 7: Well that's your particular.
Speaker 6: Squawk this particular night of April twenty ninth, because you're
supposed to be working out of the city room and
instead you're on substitute duty down at police headquarters. You
thought you'd graduated from there long ago, but no, here
you are back in the Cops and Robbers department. As
for your big story, well you don't know it, but
there's one cooking. It starts way back back before you
even joined the paper like this.
Speaker 8: How many times do I have to tell you not
to plan that door when you come in. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry,
That's all you ever say and then you go right
ahead and do it all over again.
Speaker 7: I said, I was sorry. It wasn't my fault. There's
springs busters.
Speaker 8: Well, why don't you fix it? I will, I will,
I will, promises, promises.
Speaker 7: Layoff of me, don't you?
Speaker 8: Honey? Oh, you make me sick. Come on, let's go.
Speaker 7: Out and get some dy go out. I just came in.
Oh golly, I.
Speaker 4: Thought, Now.
Speaker 8: What have I done?
Speaker 9: We're always going out to eat? Can we ever stay
home once in a while?
Speaker 8: Stay home? When do we ever go out? When do
you ever take me out?
Speaker 7: Oh that's not fair unless we never.
Speaker 8: Mind, never mind, forget us. I'll go out in the
kitchen and make.
Speaker 10: Your old.
Speaker 7: Look, let's not keep squabbling.
Speaker 9: Uh oh golly, everything used to be so nice.
Speaker 7: Everything is to.
Speaker 8: Never mind, never mind. Just go inside, take your shoes off, dear,
read your papers here. Yeah, when everything's ready, you'll be
fast asleep.
Speaker 6: I know.
Speaker 9: Look, it isn't as if you've had other things to
do all day. Is it asking too much for a
guy to want dinner when he comes home? Not asking
too much, Just a little piece and quiet around the place.
You have to pick fights with me all the time, honey,
listen to me.
Speaker 8: You want what do you want?
Speaker 9: Just a little piece and choir around out, go ahead,
get sore.
Speaker 7: I'm just trying to make some sense here.
Speaker 8: Oh I know that tone of voice. I can tell
you get so noble, so high and mighty. You make
me sick. You make me just plain sick.
Speaker 9: Gonna ask print tablet yourself very clever.
Speaker 7: Someday I'm really gonna get sore.
Speaker 8: That's right.
Speaker 7: Threaten me wooden sore. Someday one of us is going
to be very sorry.
Speaker 8: Howre you trying to scare me?
Speaker 7: No, I'm just telling you. You keep this up. You
keep nagging the daylight hot of me.
Speaker 10: You keep yepping happy yet yep, yeah, but yet, yep, yep.
Speaker 7: You keep it up. And so help me out.
Speaker 8: You're what You're way door all the time.
Speaker 7: Honey, you're home, honey, hey ah, that woman bartender. My
wife's been in there tonight.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 6: You're gone, friend here and gone and nuts.
Speaker 7: For the last time. You're coming home with me for
the last time.
Speaker 8: No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 7: No, okay, don't bother coming home ever.
Speaker 6: Nothing of that.
Speaker 7: And you know you.
Speaker 6: Ralph k Ills, police reporter for the Minneapolis Morning Tribune
do not have a backward looking crystal ball. All you
know is that it's a pretty average Friday night down
at police headquarters, and average means dull.
Speaker 7: The desk.
Speaker 6: Sergeant's got a call, probably the same old routine nothing headquarters.
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 6: So yeah nothing, huh not the way you rushed into
the other room and now comes your friend Detective Peterson
with this.
Speaker 7: You say you're had a date tonight, roll yeah, and
the deadline?
Speaker 6: What you've got another date? Now you and me down
to the city dump.
Speaker 7: Very funny with who a corpse.
Speaker 6: And so stocking you're coming.
Speaker 7: All the shopling that doesn't m beating any idea who she.
Speaker 6: Is identifying marks, labels, torn off.
Speaker 4: The clothes.
Speaker 7: Safe and calling it murder? Say doctor, can you add anything?
Speaker 10: Can you give me anything more on the cause of
death beyond the beating that is?
Speaker 7: Yes?
Speaker 10: What's that?
Speaker 6: This woman has dirt in her mouth and in her throat, Yes,
proving proving she was alive when she was put here?
Speaker 4: There read alive.
Speaker 7: Where's the nurse phone. I've got to call a paper.
I'll have to hold her for the past Man edition. George, Yes, Ralph,
you'll stick with it.
Speaker 10: Oh sure, but don't set your heart on identification by
the next deadline, or a solution for the final edition,
complete with killer attached, could be done sure by Sherlock
Holmes the FBI that Hey, the man is serious. Look, George,
this one will go down to the books marked unsolved.
Speaker 7: Believe me, never can tell.
Speaker 5: Just you stay with it. After all, you've got a
whole hour until the next deadline.
Speaker 10: An hour might as well be a week, remember, George.
When I've got is a press card, not a crystal ball.
Speaker 7: Well, sorry, I've gone through all the files. What have
I found? Nothing? You try the rogues gallery mills back
to the U one. No soap Peddy.
Speaker 10: Crimes, no soap ib on missing person. Oh nothing there either,
Oh except this? Huh you think this picture looks like
the dead one?
Speaker 4: Nope?
Speaker 7: I needed to die much. Oh what do they want?
Speaker 10: My guy miracles? They sitting in an office downtown. Hey,
what time is it?
Speaker 7: A quarter?
Speaker 4: Two?
Speaker 10: Fifteen minutescola page closes? What have I got twice? What
I phoned in twice?
Speaker 7: Nothing? It was the woman just a I don't know.
I think I'll see what goes on, all right, that's right, lady.
I won't take on what's the story pit.
Speaker 6: It looks like identification, Rob. She saw your story in
the paper and told the cop on the beach. You
thought you knew the one. Missus Styles, what was that
woman's name again.
Speaker 7: Missus Kristy, Missus Sadie Kristy. What makes you think the
murdered woman is your neighbor? Man, I don't know, just
have a feeling. She hasn't been home for days. Neither
was a husband. They had a fight.
Speaker 10: They're always fighting.
Speaker 6: I see right here, miss Styles, it's doing. A word
from you is all we need?
Speaker 7: Hey?
Speaker 6: You all right?
Speaker 10: Yes?
Speaker 7: Yes, well that's why?
Speaker 6: Please ready?
Speaker 4: Amen?
Speaker 7: Yes?
Speaker 6: Oh is that your neighbor, Missus Presley, take your time,
be sure?
Speaker 4: Yes, looks.
Speaker 6: Oh face no, why I mean.
Speaker 7: Yes, Missus Styles?
Speaker 8: Hm hm, yes, yes sah.
Speaker 6: When the door opens, Ralph, let me do the talk.
Peterson from police headquarters. Does mister Cresley live here?
Speaker 7: Is he home?
Speaker 10: Not?
Speaker 7: Right now?
Speaker 6: Expect him back?
Speaker 5: Why?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 8: Would you like to come in and wait?
Speaker 4: Yes? Who are you? Yes?
Speaker 8: Why? And why?
Speaker 2: We'll be back in just a moment with the night's
big story. Now we return you to our narrator, Bob
Sloan and the Big Story of Ralph K.
Speaker 7: Mills as he lived it and a.
Speaker 6: Fine thing covering police headquarters for the Minneapolis Morning Tribune.
Speaker 7: You, Ralph K.
Speaker 6: Mills have a blonde corpse turn up in time for
the first edition, a person unknown murdered by person or
person's unknown, and the city desk hopes for the who
and the buy home for the final edition. And you
just followed a false trail to the better end. Just
another case of mistaken identity.
Speaker 7: So what do you do? Step one? You call the
desk a mistake?
Speaker 10: George, the woman who identified the corpse was wrong.
Speaker 7: I'm sorry any ideas. Didn't you say before.
Speaker 11: You thought you'd found the picture of a missing woman?
Speaker 10: Yeah, yeah, but the best cop and I agreed it
wasn't the dead one.
Speaker 7: We just saying the woman was wrong. Just now, couldn't
you be? What was the date she disappeared? Nineteen thirty five?
Her name was Ruth M. Corno.
Speaker 5: Well she could have changed in all those years, So backtrack.
Speaker 7: Everybody makes mistakes.
Speaker 10: Yeah, I know, That's why they put eracers on lead pencils,
And tonight my pencil is all a racer.
Speaker 7: Rock stone.
Speaker 10: Colin Scompton, Copley, Corneau, Ruth m Corna reported missing by
husband m hm.
Speaker 7: Talking to yourself, OAF, I don't know.
Speaker 10: Look, sergeant, this Corona woman we tossed out of the
running before anything else on her charges complaints Corneau.
Speaker 7: Let's see.
Speaker 1: Em.
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, here it is Corna.
Speaker 3: Oh oh, this is a man, Peter Cornall go On
arrested on complaint of his wife Ruth.
Speaker 7: M that's the one for?
Speaker 10: What what for?
Speaker 7: You're gonna love this? Ralph assault.
Speaker 10: Hella Joe Lopez, Yes, sir, mister Lopez, this is Ralph
Mills down at headquarters.
Speaker 7: What sweet headquarters?
Speaker 5: An trouble?
Speaker 10: No, sir, I'm from the Morning Tribune. I'm checking on
somebody who used to live in your boarding house. Can
I ask you three questions? I don't know, just three
simple yes or no questions? Okay, okay?
Speaker 4: Three?
Speaker 10: Okay? Do you remember a couple named Corno Peter and Ruth?
Speaker 6: Yes, that's one.
Speaker 7: Good. Do you know where they are now?
Speaker 6: Him?
Speaker 10: No?
Speaker 5: Huh?
Speaker 7: She run away from him, kicks herround restaurants, clubs.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 7: That's two? Three? Would you know her? If you saw?
Speaker 10: Yes?
Speaker 7: Sure, you owe me fat well? Would you come down
to headquarters? You can say three questions.
Speaker 6: No, this is Detective Peters and Lopez. Will you come
downtown to identify a body? Yes, all right, miss Lopez,
take good time, Miss Lopez. Be sure. Well, don't look
like I'm gonna get my back, Red, I guess for
the identifications. You say goodbye to Detective Peterson until later
you'll make the eleven thirty edition. By our replate and
our whisper, a murdered woman is Ruth M. Cornall, and
it's definitely established that she is separated from her husband
under conditions mutual dislike to put it mild life. And
so you have the victim, the motive, and the problem
of finding suspect number one, the husband. Then on your own,
you start checking all over town. But while you walked
the jukebox and neon Trail, the husband is being questioned
down in Florida.
Speaker 9: Private first Class Peter Canoe, reporting to Captain Carroll is directed.
Speaker 3: At least Corona. You're a Minneapolis boy. Private, ever in
trouble with the police. Nothing serious. I am instructed by
a Detective Peterson of the Minneapolis Police to tell you
that anything you tell me may be held against you.
Speaker 7: He just called me. Hey see, sir, you married, Corona separated?
Speaker 4: Sir, Sir?
Speaker 7: Later, where were your last night on passer? I reported
duty at Revelue today?
Speaker 12: Where'd you go?
Speaker 7: Can you prove it? And then I was with ken, Sir,
you didn't.
Speaker 3: Leave the state of Florida on an overnight pass.
Speaker 7: Sir, you say.
Speaker 12: You're separated from your wife? Yes, prepare yourself for a shop.
Last night she was murdered. I see what's time?
Speaker 7: Man? I said, I knew somebody would some day. Do
you want another pass?
Speaker 3: Excuse me, sir, I said, Do you want me to
write you a three day past for her funeral?
Speaker 7: No? No thanks, sir.
Speaker 6: Suspect eliminated And there you are looking for him in
the local bars. But at one you learn about this
tasteful little incident from a bar girl.
Speaker 8: You used to paler around Ruthie and me. She was
I thought she was kind of hot.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 8: Everybody was just another sucker for her. What I mean,
well money, you know? So one night we was here
her night. All of a sudden, she leaves me flat
and goes outside, goes turn through the door, and I
follow it just in time to see her crash. Hey,
why don't you walk where you're looking.
Speaker 7: I'm sorry, lady, you're sorry.
Speaker 8: Look at my stacking. You'll ruin my stacking. Sorry. That's
all I ever here is sorry. I'm not the lift off.
Speaker 7: My shoes, I said, I was sorry. It's for the shoes.
Speaker 6: I'll drive you home, okay, And what a bus hit
the road?
Speaker 7: Okay? Haven't you away?
Speaker 6: Hey?
Speaker 8: Wait a minute, is is this your car? Did you
just drive it for somebody?
Speaker 7: It's my car. I drive it for my SHLFA.
Speaker 8: Why didn't you say so? O?
Speaker 4: Jane?
Speaker 7: The name is Cashle Wally Cuss and suck. Nice blondie.
You're not bad looking at all. Where'd you say you
wanted to go?
Speaker 8: You're not bad looking either. For a guy who picks
girls up. I knock him down, he.
Speaker 7: Said, sug nice baby.
Speaker 6: Wait says do you want to ride?
Speaker 1: Oh?
Speaker 4: No, I want to ride.
Speaker 8: Let's go someplace and have some fun.
Speaker 6: Huh. While the bar girls telling this, you check your
watch a half hour the final deadline.
Speaker 7: You're coming closer, very close.
Speaker 10: All you need now is what'd you say the name
of that pickup guy was?
Speaker 8: You're having him steady?
Speaker 9: After that?
Speaker 4: Thanks?
Speaker 7: Thanks?
Speaker 10: All right, I'm gonna try another bar, but here buy
yourself a drink with something in it to drink for
a change.
Speaker 6: Well, like I said, everything's going nice and quiet when
it's blind. Yeah, she comes in and takes over the
end of the barn. Now I've seen her husband come
and drag her out, and I seen him tell her
not to come home.
Speaker 7: And I don't want that kind of traight. Just a
home type bar.
Speaker 6: I know, I know the win.
Speaker 7: Huh.
Speaker 6: Well, she's feeling fine, no plan at all, drinking up
some guy's door. At again, I'm wondering how I can
get rid of her quiet. When all of a sudden,
somebody does it for me. The door opens and then
walks the sky cart.
Speaker 7: Realdy.
Speaker 8: Somebody call me, Oh it's you.
Speaker 7: It's me all right, Well you have been the last
two days.
Speaker 8: Who wants to know?
Speaker 7: I want to know?
Speaker 8: You want to know? You owe me or something? Stop
pushing me around?
Speaker 7: Who push her?
Speaker 4: Run?
Speaker 7: You make up to me? You take me for everything
I got? You call up me pushing you around? Come on,
you're getting oaty.
Speaker 8: Your mate is running.
Speaker 7: Come on, I like it here, I said, get out.
Speaker 8: Come on you square. You may go on hit the road,
You'll get out of here. You let me take your
hands off me?
Speaker 10: Do you think around?
Speaker 7: I said, it's none of my business.
Speaker 6: I would have paid him to take away anybody.
Speaker 11: And that's so when did you say this was?
Speaker 4: What did I tell you only last night? It was
this last night? That is it?
Speaker 6: Motive and man Wally corson last man to see Ruth
Corner alive. A check on the city directory gives you
his address. A call of Peterson and you have a
good cop with you. One short ride and you have
ten minutes to go to the final deadline with your story.
On the other side of this door, Peterson unbuttons the
flap on his whole stone. You shift a little behind him.
You never can tell.
Speaker 7: Nobody you think.
Speaker 6: I don't know here, take the gun, come and me
stand back. I'll force the door.
Speaker 7: Shambles with the blood in the walls.
Speaker 6: Cautin, watch up the other room, Carson, come out with you.
Speaker 4: Pete.
Speaker 10: It's a note in the count uh okay to read it?
Go ahead, dear mother, mother, I'm sorry. We had a
terrific fight. I loved her and I couldn't stand a loser.
Speaker 7: But I couldn't hold it.
Speaker 10: I guess nobody could. Money and watch pocket for rent
I'm going away. I hope we meet soon from the coop.
Can I use the phone?
Speaker 6: You're sure? And you can read them the note too.
Speaker 7: Thanks.
Speaker 10: You know there's there's something about this note. Money and
watch pocket, money and watch pocket. Hey, he expects to
be found.
Speaker 4: What's that door?
Speaker 7: Lead to closets? What's this money? Last of the garage?
Speaker 6: Come on on the front way blocked from the inside.
Wait a minute, listen, engine's running. He gets down on
his knees. So do you you sniff at the bottom
of the door. You'd both say one word, no too.
Speaker 4: Curl up my nice.
Speaker 2: In just a moment, we'll read you a telegram from
Ralph K. Mills of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune with the
final outcome of Tonight's Big Story. Now we read you
that telegram from Ralph K. Mills of the Minneapolis Morning Tribune.
Speaker 10: On entering garage, we found that killer in Tonight's Big
Story had escaped beyond the law by committing suicide. Solution
of case came at three am, nine hours after start
of investigation and in time for the final edition. Many
thanks for Tonight's pell Mell Award. Thank you, mister Mills.
Speaker 2: The makers of Pellmell Famous Cigarettes are proud to have
named you the winner of the Pell Mail five hundred
dollars Award for notable service in the field of journalism.
Listen again next week, same time, same station, when Pell
Mail Famous Cigarettes will present another big story.
Speaker 7: A big story from.
Speaker 10: The front pages of the Mobile Alabama Press Register Byeline
George Cox.
Speaker 7: A big story about a murder and escape and a manhunt.
Speaker 2: A big Story is produced by BERNARDJ. Pocter with music
by Lotta Misslensky. The night's program was written by Alan Sloan.
Your narrator was Bob Sloan, and ur Conne played the
part of Ralf Kills. In order to protect the names
of people actually involved in Tonight's authentic big story, the
names of all characters and the dramatization were changed, with the.
Speaker 7: Exception of the reporter, mister Mills.
Speaker 2: This is Ernest Chapel speaking for the makers of hell
Mel Famous Cigarettes.
Speaker 7: This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company.
Speaker 1: Welcome back, all right well. In our cast, in addition
to Art Carney, there was Joe Bowan, Joan Alexander who
I thought I recognized her voice, Joe DeSantis, Ray Johnson,
Grace Kendy and Grant Richards and as always with the
big story, and I'll probably stop talking about this, but
it seems like the biggest thing they looked for was
somebody who could perform doubles. And it's just a case
of you've got your budget and you need your actors
to give as much as they can to give the
story enough believable variety. Of course, Art Carney probably one
of the most famous people we've heard on this series.
He's probably most remembered as Ed Norton on The Honeymooners,
but of course he had such a fantastic acting career,
including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and multiple Emmys.
This episode is interesting and it kind of plays into
this fact that this is such an odd situation for
real life, but certainly was common enough for people who
went to movies. A reporter comes on a baffling crime
and wraps up the case in an hour or so.
Most of the time, if the identity of the killer
isn't apparent, it's going to take some time for the
case to be solved, and it's going to be solved
by the police. So this episode really does lean into
the rarity of the event portrayed now. This was based
on a nineteen forty three case where the victim was
missus Ruth Shebleau, and essentially the main facts of the
episode are pretty well represented. Mills was working this case
because of a fluke, the body was found buried alive,
and the killer did take his own life. The one
detail that the Stories behind the Big Story website adds
is that mister Chableaux had actually filed for divorce from
his wife for the reason of desertion a couple of
years before, but given the way that divorces were handled
back then, it was going to be coming to court
in a few weeks, and this would have of course
been complicated by the fact that he was serving in
the military. So a pretty factual account that perhaps reminds
us that just because something is not really in touch
with how things actually happen in movies doesn't mean that
it couldn't happen in theory, or that it might not
happen every once in a while. I also want to
say that I love the questioning scene with mister Lopez
and how much he was going to make Mills stick
with the whole I'll only ask you three questions thing,
and of course the police had to get on the
line to get him to come in for questioning, although
I guess it does make the question why the police
weren't asking the questions in the first place. But I
gather that the police were cooperative and helping the reporter
get his story and didn't mind the reporter doing some.
Speaker 7: Of the work.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, now it's time to thank our Patreon
supporter of the day, and I want to thank Zant,
Patreon supporter since February twenty seventeen, currently supporting the podcast
at the Detective Sergeant level of seven dollars and fourteen
cents or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Zant,
and that will do it for today. If you're enjoying
the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software
and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever
you download it from. We'll be back next Tuesday with
another episode of the Big Story. But join us back
here tomorrow for Broadways my beat where.
Speaker 11: And I'm taking my will earned rest.
Speaker 13: You want to help mister Clovin, sure mind advice? Sit
down us. Yes there, you were almost a hero today, Russ.
You're kidding, that's how I make my daily summer bread
fifty bucks a week, agle a girls save a light
longer been a lifeguard rush oh six maybe seven summers
time out for a frolic on Anzio Beach. Then you've
had a lot of experience saving people from drowning?
Speaker 11: Am I allotted share?
Speaker 13: The medical examiner down a headquarters says that man. You
try to say, I remember, Our medical examiner says he
was murdered.
Speaker 11: Well, I'll come.
Speaker 13: Our man says it was murdered because artificial respiration wasn't
applied properly.
Speaker 11: Well, you're a man, is a smart man. But a
four bit of week lifeguard does the best he can.
He studies in classes, he follows a first aid manual.
You call him a murder because he didn't make out
with one poor slop. You tell me, Russ, you murder
the man are considering the percentage of lives that are
saved and not saved by such as we. That's a
question you may never be able to answer.
Speaker 1: Hope you'll be with us then in the meantime, send
your calm mins 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 signing off.