The Crystal Lake Matter - Ep 5: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (August 17, 1956)

“The Crystal Lake Matter - Ep 5” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast August 17, 1956. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar arrives at Crystal Lake to search for Edward Russell, only to discover the man is dead—shot and hidden in a cabin. When taxi driver Hiram, a key witness, is also murdered, Johnny realizes the killer is eliminating anyone who could identify him. Working through a tangle of suspects and motives, Johnny pieces together a shocking conspiracy involving a forbidden affair and a husband's discovery that threatens to expose it.

Crystal Lake resort town and surrounding area, with scenes at a ravine, hotel bar, rooming house, and lake shore cottage

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Deputy Sheriff Ansel Garrett, Edward Russell, Hiram the taxi driver, Betty Norton, Leona Russell, Bill Cullen the bartender, Bill Jensen

Listen for: The clever reveal of Clarence Bixby's middle name William, connecting him to the mysterious 'Bill' that Russell was seeking; the tense confrontation at the lake where Johnny discovers the full conspiracy and its tragic resolution.

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.