The Charles Ralston Murder Case: Broadway Is My Beat (December 20, 1952)

“The Charles Ralston Murder Case” is an episode of Broadway Is My Beat, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 20, 1952. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Detective Danny Clover investigates the brutal beating of Jimmy Barton, a nineteen-year-old found unconscious in an alley on a cold December night. The case takes a darker turn when Charles Ralston, a businessman who accidentally hit Jimmy with his car nine months earlier, is found murdered in an alley. As Danny digs into the connections between the two incidents, he uncovers a web of manipulation and secrets involving Ralston's wife Claire and the young man she has been caring for.

New York City, particularly Broadway and the surrounding neighborhoods, during the Christmas season; includes alleys, Jimmy's apartment, Ralston's office area, a hospital, and police headquarters.

Characters: Detective Danny Clover, Jimmy Barton, Ina Smar, Charles Ralston, Claire Ralston, Sergeant Enoch, Dr. Adler, Mr. Covert

Listen for: The atmospheric opening description of Broadway during the holidays contrasted with the darker alley violence; the revelation that Claire Ralston has been secretly supporting Jimmy Barton since the accident; the insurance details that hint at financial motive; the emotional confrontation in the Ralston apartment.

Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.