The Jeanne Maxwell Matter (FEN-AFRTS): Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (July 20, 1954)

“The Jeanne Maxwell Matter (FEN-AFRTS)” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast July 20, 1954. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar is hired by Corinthian Life Insurance to look into the death of Jean Maxwell, a young woman found drowned in a Boston-area stream. The police are treating it as a possible suicide, but Dollar's examination of the evidence suggests foul play, and he begins interviewing those close to the victim to uncover the truth.

Boston and Hartford, Connecticut, present day (1954)

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Lieutenant (Boston police), Marionne (Jean Maxwell's roommate), Harold Corey, Edward Hollis, Mrs. Hollis, Mr. Templin

Listen for: The detective's careful reasoning about the circumstances of Jean Maxwell's death, particularly the details that don't match the typical suicide pattern.

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.