What happens
Archie, the manager of Duffy's Tavern, is persuaded to hire the English actor Sir Heathcliff Batswick as a comedian, after Batswick is recognized as a former performer. Batswick arrives for a night at the tavern and tells his old stories, while Archie hopes to use one of his mystery plays, The Purple Dragon, for the movies and to win George Sanders for the lead. Later, Archie and his friends act out the play, with Batswick taking part in the story of a note warning of a murder at the Yellow Parrot Cafe. The episode is part of the Duffy's Tavern series and was first broadcast on February 23, 1945, with Ed Gardner and Shirley Booth among its regular cast.
Duffy's Tavern, a bar in New York, and the Yellow Parrot Cafe in the story
Characters: Archie, Duffy, Finnegan, Eddie, Sir Heathcliff Batswick, George Sanders, Bob Graham, Happy Bodkin
Listen for: Archie's pitch to George Sanders about The Purple Dragon and the mock radio drama they perform together
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.