Speaker 1: Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho.
This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we'll
get into this week's episode of The Big Story sort of.
I'll talk a little bit about that in a moment,
but first I do want to encourage you. If you
are enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite
podcast software. I also want to highlight our other podcast,
in particular, I'm bringing up the Great Adventurers of Old
Time Radio. We have more than forty episodes there of
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and Dagger, and classic adventures from literature in Adventure Ahead.
We have so much more coming. You can follow us
as the Great Adventurers of Old Time Radio wherever you
get your podcasts from. Well, I did want to go
ahead and clarify that I came across the fact that
there are actually more episodes of The Big Story out there,
and I thought that I've had the latest set, but
looks like there were some additional research done in twenty
twenty two that included more files, and among them are
two episodes that are before the latest episode we played,
so we are going to go ahead and play those.
The first one is actually the audition recording, which was
made for networks and sponsors, and you will hear that
it was actually originated for CBS, even though the Big
Story itself became an NBC staple. The working title for
the series with the pilot was feature Assignment. For the pilot,
the series leaned into a familiar story that was really
loved in the entertainment industry. It would become the basis
of the movie called north Side seven seven seven. It
would also in five years be used as the basis
for the pilot episode of Defense Attorney, then known as
The Defense Rest starring Mercedes McCambridge. But here with the
audition day of February fifth, nineteen forty six is the
mass checkcase.
Speaker 2: An and Headrick, We Danced, Teacher Assignment, We bring you
a new and you need Rheumatic Program two and Authentic Stories.
A few paper reporters on Peat your assignments tonight. The
mat check case raised in the front page of the
Chicago Times, October eighteenth, nineteen forty five, Byeline James Maguire,
numbered in the ranks of the fourth estate, enlisted in
the Forbidion Army, whose weapons are the coffee pencil and
the typewriter. Are thousands of men and whether playful reporters
for prayer and player, and who the people.
Speaker 3: Of the press for them.
Speaker 2: It is a high point of a lifetime when the
camp comes to break through the name of much of
the daily beat with the story that earns for the
paperman his mark of recognition, the fieline. In this program
you will leave him pertain the man behind the filine
of my true stories of Joseph met These, then, are
the authentic stories of the man behind the byeline, the
stories of reporters on Preacher Outside.
Speaker 4: I asked the first slider feeding the beat of the
outside programs have won William D. London, Traffic cop in
Judy and Chicago Southside, year nineteen thirty two, the day,
December nineteen whether litter code, the stump off beauty and
alumti of six feet to the long lu Codd majesty
to a nearby a testing speaking You're yourself saved when
it's flong the door behind you, that wing off like
a three years Also the resolutely.
Speaker 3: That's got a little coffee. I still take coffee. Yeah, yeah,
Well here's the crime. Mhm, you're gonna get.
Speaker 5: In coming here.
Speaker 3: It's worse to keep me up right? Kay? Another cop Chi?
What are you looking at? Yah? That's your truck outside
of the fire plug.
Speaker 6: I got a good mind to slap a ticket on it.
Speaker 3: What do you want me to do? On a freeze up? People?
Aren't they your second noticed triggers? Give you the eye?
How would you see?
Speaker 4: Is the take at five on the table and you
hear her scream? You never see two rods snake out?
You can pick off those eleven last time you and
the William B. Ponan Chicago traffic whatever go into that. Yeah,
the name goes up on the tap of eleven twenty
one six.
Speaker 3: See that says two in nine mm hmm.
Speaker 7: Remember that gun job with the story behind that murderer
is tonight's feature assignment. Now thirteen years September nineteen, you're
in the city room at the Chicago Times, and you
have a right to be there.
Speaker 3: You are a reporter. They're a love man name give me.
That's Karen Wall to the editor wherever he wants to
send your You go and.
Speaker 5: Give me.
Speaker 3: And then this be right up your round, right up
classified mm hmm, I've.
Speaker 8: Yeah, ok.
Speaker 9: For the old mother boss, Jimmy boy, that's the angle.
There's a guy doing ninety nine years and jolly for
that job right now. So somebody's rule. Either the cops
are send him up or whoever put this so checking him.
Speaker 6: Maybe it'll make an insight pack Okay, yeah, not let
us for thirteen year old nerves.
Speaker 3: It is just check it from now on. You're run
your own. That's what you like to hear the rest
out of the air force. You don't like sitting around
on your own. But it's not the work.
Speaker 4: Oh you check the book lists, telephone numbers, personal or subscribers,
actors find out.
Speaker 3: We're gonna yeah h m pay station five to let
them stop a well in the glass. How do you
spell that again? M hm hm yeah, yeah, yeah, oh
I go over that. What do you say you did?
Speaker 2: Where did this scrub woman get five thousand dollars?
Speaker 3: Why could at that time? But I tell you how
to get five thousand dollars srubbing.
Speaker 4: You leave the brad living in high school place strubble,
and so pick a scrap of garbage off the curve
and you remember something. I caught one story with a
crime barbies where there's no garbage backstree. They grabbed the
taxi over the cross the bridge.
Speaker 3: All out of the night. Starter get your.
Speaker 10: MP I mean scrubbing Yah eye glasses delivering good.
Speaker 3: Yeah, friend, she doesn't hear you. Her eyes have a
lot true. You put an add I think probably, Oh yeah,
I'm gonna table story about h Are you afraid of
the time? Please? I didn't get.
Speaker 11: You.
Speaker 3: Wouldn't you like that? I need the woman to see
it's my boy. You don't give you don't idea you
will say that five thousand dollars to get him up?
Speaker 11: How long?
Speaker 3: Well?
Speaker 12: Certain every day community you never got to see. Well,
I say, mm hmm, nine thousand dollars to.
Speaker 3: Give me pot I offer reward you important.
Speaker 5: Us.
Speaker 3: Friend said wow, and the straight time small not carry
follow to a closet.
Speaker 5: Mm hmm.
Speaker 3: She reaches end, gets half back un the bag bundle
of so much rare?
Speaker 5: Yeah, mm hmm. What what happened to brey?
Speaker 3: You would like to be young man standing there? Had
to hear the bell when the bridge goes up. Back
in the office, thanks and yeah, yeah, look over as.
Speaker 6: You make me, huh, who's the woman who put the
ad in the mother of the man and Jalli ed
all right, like the horse stick, whether that's the way
the foe takes what it is? Can but hey can
turn me loose on the story. Well the angle is
he's sure her son, are they? Oh?
Speaker 4: We do it?
Speaker 3: Look if you got anything on it?
Speaker 9: The letter from the guy already no, no, no, no time,
tell you what right the old lady, Well, it's your story,
so stay with it. Do it your way to a
feature signing and make it good, I mean a good
story story series anyways works it works out in.
Speaker 3: Northern I mean god.
Speaker 13: Ninety nine years first check the Youth of the World,
and now all there is it tells the story.
Speaker 6: Yellow enclips tell you Nmber ten, nineteen thirty two. Kilding
hold up at ten, number twenty two, nineteen thirty two.
Youth's in Top Dead number twenty three, nineteen thirty two.
Speaker 2: Women Identified Top murder suspect Edictorial June nineteen thirty three.
Speaker 6: If the eyes of the nation focus fron Chicago, F
one in the world, there it is a disgrace of
five unsolved murders. The people of this state demanded clean up.
I got it Mber nineteen thirty three, match guilty, get ninety.
Speaker 3: The fact the first question you want to see.
Speaker 5: You you can have five minutes.
Speaker 3: During the part of times. What do you want on
top about that killing? You know you are all right?
Speaker 5: You are.
Speaker 3: Not your mother.
Speaker 2: Oh he's offering a five thousand dollars wardle as she
stopped hiding. Bes you didn't do it.
Speaker 13: H I s.
Speaker 3: Your mom. What I'm going to write now is how
it happens. See what you can do with this more
because I'm going crazy up here. Yeah, h I believe
your story, match, but I've got to prove it. If
I can't believe me, I don't want for a story.
Speaker 11: I tell me.
Speaker 3: Is there anything in your letter? We're on first?
Speaker 14: Yeah?
Speaker 3: The woman? What woman? Wh I think where? I don't know? Maybe?
But ye, what were you going to say? My girl?
My wife? Come on, I want to try to help.
I said, skip that. Just find that woman. That's all
I got, no wife anymore?
Speaker 15: Just kay, okay, yeah, you'll see you in mom.
Speaker 16: Say you don't blame your bofe. Not just something and snapping.
A man with thirteen years behind the fire the rest
of his life I have.
Speaker 3: All you have to go on is his own work.
So your work is cut out for the first you
find out and his mother.
Speaker 10: He is married.
Speaker 3: What happened?
Speaker 4: You find out the girl and after the trial waited
yah h.
Speaker 11: M hm.
Speaker 12: H m hm.
Speaker 5: Hmm.
Speaker 3: You didn't do it.
Speaker 5: You know that.
Speaker 3: I was that day, all right? The worst go ahead,
the worst, believing you want what you want.
Speaker 8: To forget about them, what you mentioned the woman.
Speaker 2: It was all like that day, weeks times five and
a half months, seeing everybody whose name turns up in
the court.
Speaker 4: The things you learn, the history of the case is
like a garbage. You have to wake the croup looking
for the truth and the pile of legal garbage. Find
the truck driver, and I know the court clerk and
mister keep my name out of a half. I got
a jack picking. But I heard the judge say after
the jewey Sam and Billy, I heard him say he
was going to get metric a new trial.
Speaker 3: But the judge, well, he died ten years ago. The
court stenography. The lawyer, he had something funny about him.
Speaker 5: Make sure had to go on the stand himself, but
he's lawyer wouldn't want tom.
Speaker 3: Finally, you run down every last three, but only one
more thing to do.
Speaker 5: So you do it.
Speaker 4: Go down to the State Attorney's office and ask for
the file. Stall yes again, stall, ask again, Finally get it,
sit down with it. Dates One thing hits you like
a piss between the eyes. A date top of the statement.
Speaker 6: Chember twenty three, nineteen thirty two half a David of
real well for twenty fine Jeorse's mattress Chember three.
Speaker 3: Three, tasting like old.
Speaker 4: What your lips and support You just go in and
ask if it wasn't very important, Larry, yeah, do favor,
will schure tell me what do you want?
Speaker 3: See if you can find out when the arrested the
guy who kills London not checking sure.
Speaker 6: And here it is not Joseph rested five forty five am,
December twenty twenty second said okay.
Speaker 4: Okay, okay, So now you've got to find they're a
Wallace checked bars, you hunk the lineup, you hang around
Polish churches. There is in your question and your dig.
One day you'll find worse and the chief scared suspicious,
and then again you ask her, come on there, what
happened between the time they picked him up and the
time you identified him.
Speaker 9: I told you.
Speaker 4: Listen there, I'm a reporter. I know when TOMPs picked
up a suspect and help someone in front of witnesses.
They don't wait a couple of days so people to
forget their hustle. You're trying to tell me the tops
wait as long to put the thing on the magic
when it was a cop who was killed. You know
what went on those two days December twenty two and
twenty three. Oh look, if he's guilty, nothing you can
say can make it any worse for him. If he
sent us in, you can make it up to him
a just one sent No, no, yeah, what are your
scar Who's hanging people?
Speaker 3: I don't nothing. You're scared, all right? I'm me.
Speaker 4: His mother.
Speaker 3: The cops are state attorney. I don't look like believe
me what I stand for?
Speaker 4: The cops and the state attorneys. The paper barrel. The
papers can make them and break them. All they need
is a truth. Now you're scared of the cops.
Speaker 11: Why why.
Speaker 3: They want Barrol? What did they do? Why not?
Speaker 4: There?
Speaker 3: You're play the rest of the line on a whim. Stand.
Oh that's it. Why don't you know what the statute
of limitation is? They can arrest you. M. It's too late,
it's too long ago. But it's not too late to
tell the truth.
Speaker 6: Now.
Speaker 3: What did they do? M? Yes, no, can take your
time now, A quiet little It was definitely established today.
Other case, M. Not chick innocent? The killing right steadily
A long time. You handed to Carroll. He looks at
it and asks you do, Yeah, what's your middle initiation?
Haven't got one? Oh? Hey, wait a minute, where are
you going. I's want to see the edition coming out.
Speaker 9: The paper's calling the best lawyers, and the stake we're
getting immediate action from the war departments.
Speaker 3: Hey, where you're doing? Or walk there? And I feel
like I've been working that case for ninety nine years.
Head generally vaguely, you realize.
Speaker 7: And the city hadit to ask you for your middle
initial That was the way of letting you know your
name is growing up in lights byeline still something more important.
Speaker 3: You can't figure out.
Speaker 11: What it is.
Speaker 3: You go down by the lake shore in.
Speaker 4: Back in the time, night after night, and one night
you find yourself outside the metrical house.
Speaker 2: The door you need to follow in a cheap soup.
Oh you're right, yeah right? Why I will forget it?
Speaker 5: And it is right now. Ques.
Speaker 3: If anybody should come with me, it's true. M M,
I'm a narrow stairs. Get you.
Speaker 5: What does she say, Joe?
Speaker 3: It's going to be all.
Speaker 2: Ye, ladies and gentlemen at this moment, the executive mentioned
at Springfield, Illinois, a distinguished group of public officials and
newspaper men. I've gathered at an informal dinner to honor
a reporter, James McGuire of Cargo Time. Teach your assignment.
I'll take you to Springfield. The next voice you will
hear will be that of the Honorable White eighth Green
Governor of the State of Illinois.
Speaker 17: James maguire, Officials of the State of Illinois and of
the City of Chicago, members of the editorial staff at
the Chicago Time, Ladies and gentlemen, the habits our honored
guest tonight, an outstanding representative of the American press, a
man who, through fearless search for the truth of.
Speaker 3: Instrumental in writing a great wrong.
Speaker 17: James maguire, you uncovered the facts which enables me to
grant a full pardon to Joseph Metcheck. People of the
State of Illinois are grateful be for you helped to
restore an innocent man to society and the re home.
Ladies and gentlemen. I'm happy to present to you, mister
James maguire. It's your call the time.
Speaker 3: Thank you, a thank you, Governor Dreen. It's a great
honor to be your guest here to night.
Speaker 6: And I'm mighty happy that Darren wilf Erry, Alan Blow
and Jackson fail and here with me. They deserve fully
in the credit. Darren gave me the feature assignment. Harry
spotted the WANTA in first place. Jack liked it with
me for months, backing down five hundred documents and forty
personal interviews. Thank you very much, Oliver, Jimme, Jimmy, I
take real pleasure and presenting to you the Feature Assignment
Award of merit. Yours is the eternal vigilance that protects
our American freedom.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Governor.
Speaker 2: You are listening to Feature Assignment, a new program bringing
you the crew and authentic stories of the men and
women behind the pielines of your newspapers and dedicated to
those people the press whose earnestness, honestly and the courage
ever strengthened the cornerstone about the markets, truth and the
free press stories of newspaper men on.
Speaker 3: Teacher assignment.
Speaker 2: Listen again at the same time, same station next week,
when Feature Assignment will bring you the true story of
a twenty two year old cub reporter who entered jail
for his teacher assignment. Teacher Assignment is a copyright teacher
and was thought to you from the New York studios
of the Columbia God Casting System. Feature Assignment was produced
by Claven and Headwick, written by Alan Sloan, written of
music by Ray Block Officer, and directed by John deets
Now Barry Kroger. Pronouncer was Frank Kellen.
Speaker 1: Welcome back, Alas this will be the only episode I
don't have a cast list for because we have cast
list because we have scripts obtained this part of the
tobacco settlement, and as this episode wasn't sponsored by anybody, Uh,
there's no particular reason to have scripts. As for the
episode itself, it's pretty close to the real life case
and unlike the actual Big Story series as it launched,
this episode didn't change the man wrongfully convicted of the crime,
and it also raises a really big difference with Call
north Side seven seven seven. Called north Side seven seven
seven had a really cool clue in order to resolve
the case, involving a flip newspaper negative and revealing the
real time. And it's a cool technological reveal for the time,
and certainly it just makes good viewing even now. But
in the real life case, it was just garden variety
police corruption which couldn't be portrayed on the screen and
wasn't as good filmmaking, but it's what happened. It also
would have probably run a foul of the Heyse code.
I should also say it's the biggest falsification in the
name of telling a good story. One of the greatest
nor films based on a true story ends with this
iconic scene of the killer being shot down in the sewer.
In real life, he not only outlived all the detectives,
but ended up getting released and outlived nearly everyone who
made the film. The one key point that this radio
adaptation misses, as does nearly every adaptation of the story,
and I think everyone I've encountered, is that there were
two men convicted of the crime, and the evidence against
both were equally perchured. Unfortunately, this illustrates the risk of
outsourcing justice to the newspapers, as the other man wasn't
a media costs lab and didn't have a mother scrubbing
floors for him, so he ended up sitting in jail
for another five years. At one point the governor offered
to commute his sentence to seventy five years, which would
have meant that he would have been eligible for parole
in nineteen fifty eight. The man in question, Theodore Man's Seawits,
was an on abbey with this offer and refused it,
which turned out to be the right choice, as he
was freed legally on a read in nineteen fifty and
both men were compensated by the legislature, with Man sequence
getting fourteen thousand more than Matchick. Well, now we turn
to listener comments and feedback, and we go to YouTube,
where Mildred comments are her first impression on the thirteenth key.
I've never heard of this show until today, so it
was basically a true crime show of the nineteen forties.
I'm a big fan of true crime. I think that's accurate,
although there are some details changed, quite a few actually
in some cases, so maybe true ish crime might be
more apt. Some of the music was too loud. I
could barely hear the narrator. Different parts were hard to hear,
making it difficult to know who's who.
Speaker 11: And what was what.
Speaker 1: I will have to listen to this again. Thanks for
the thanks for the upload, well, thanks so much. Appreciate
the common Mildred. Sorry you had a problem with the audio,
which I don't think was the worst, but probably was
a bit middle of the road in terms of quality.
Given that it was recorded in an odd way, I
can understand why some listeners might have an issue with it.
I am hopeful of this particular set that we're going
to be using now has quite a few upgrades, so
hopefully we won't have as many sound quality issues, but
do apologize for those that come up, because I know
it's frustrating when you can't hear the program. All right, Well,
now it is time to thank our Patreon supporter of
the day, and I want to thank Jim, Patreon supporter
since March twenty eighteen, 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, Jim.
That will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast,
please follow us using your favorite podcast software, and if
you're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure to like
the video, subscribe to the channel, and mark the notification bell.
We will be back next Tuesday with another episode of
the Big Story, but join us back here tomorrow for
Broadways My Beat.
Speaker 14: Where Daddy, Danny, what do you want doctor Sinski's report?
He was busy on another He asked me to bring
it to you, so leave it on my desk. All right,
you're not gonna look at it, Danny.
Speaker 11: Why I know what's in it?
Speaker 14: I thought I did too to like, glanced it over
on the way to your office. You'd better take a
look at it.
Speaker 11: You're so eager. I don't want to spoil it for you.
Tell me about it. Muggavn Dan, you tell me, i' muggavin.
We've had other kids, now, this one's no different that all, Muggavin.
Speaker 14: That's what I've been trying to tell you. This one
is different. Just what you saw when you first found her.
That's what's in the report. Beaten skull, fractioned with the
butt of a gun, nothing else.
Speaker 11: Then give me a motive, Give me another motive. Why
a fourteen year old child should gloor we're speaking.
Speaker 3: Sagan Tartaglia at this end.
Speaker 17: Homicide Danny woman in the backyard of house in eighteen
forty five West eleven people named Murray upstairs.
Speaker 11: Once you on it, shall I tell him you were agreeable?
Danny tell him I'm bring me a molded magabin upstairs
wants me to run an.
Speaker 1: Errand I hope you'll be with us then in the meantime.
Send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot nett,
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.