Riley is worn down by his wife's uncle Buckley, who has stayed on at the house after a long visit from his brother. Buckley claims wild dogs chased him, and bets Riley five dollars that Riley cannot get the local dog catcher, Johnson, dismissed. Riley goes to Mayor Petty to argue on Johnson's behalf, and the mayor reacts with suspicion and political calculation. The series is The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role, first broadcast on May 7, 1944.
Characters: Riley, Buckley, Mayor Petty, Johnson, Junior, Jet
The transcript of “Dog Catcher”, an episode of The Life of Riley first broadcast May 7, 1944. Press a time to play from that line (a 60-second preview; Potato Plus plays it all). Search inside this transcript.
Transcript
The American Meat Institute presents The Life of Riley, a half hour with radios friendly as family and starring William Vendix and Riley. Those of us who know War Worker Riley know that his life consists of a series of emotional ups and downs.
Last week, for example, Riley, after much effort, finally got rid of his wife's Uncle Baxter, his unwelcome house guest for the last two years, and Brother was Riley up. But no sooner did the door close on Uncle Baxter than in came Baxter's brother, Uncle Buckley, and brother was Riley down.
A week has passed, but Uncle Buckley is still there, and Riley is still down. At the moment, he is brooding in the living room of the small Riley house in the suburb of the Bloletang.
Hey, where's my blue time? Oh, I think Uncle Buckley borrowed it. Stop all over again. Tomorrow it'll be my suit. First it was Baxter, now it's Buckley. I get rid of a headache, now I got a toothache.
Stop grumbling here. The way that Buckley eats. Baxter was on a hunger strike compared to this guy. Now stop criticizing my uncles. He's only human. Everybody loves food. Loving food is one thing, trying to look with our ice boxes and others.
This guy can eat a turkey leg without stopping at the bone. Well, he won't stay here forever. Just a couple of days. I'd say it. That's what you said about Baxter, and he stayed two years.
Oh, relax Riley. Here, I'll turn on the radio. You can forget your big trouble. We are Beijing political disaster, and I'm going to tell you why. Nor you ain't, pal. Oh, look, why don't you shut it off, Riley?
…
Now Uncle Bob. My dear Nick, I'm going to teach your husband a lesson. My honor is at stake and $5. Let's pause for a moment. We'll return to William Bendix in the life of Riley right after these messages.
To find out more about old-time radio, old-time video and the pleasures of listening to audiobooks, visit the audiobook club website www.audiobookclub.com where you can get four audiobooks for just one penny. MediaDay.com. And now let's return to William Vendix and Paula Winslow in The Life of Riley.
Look, Ms. I'm doing the war plan pretty soon. Can't Mayor Petty see me now? It's important. It's about a guy's job. Lots of people want to talk to the mayor about getting jobs. Yeah, but this guy's already got a job. He's the dog catcher.
What's his name? Johnson. Don't you even know him? Well, believe me, the dogs know him. Why, when a dog gets lost in this town, he goes right down to the pound and gives himself up.
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