The Richard Splain Matter: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar (October 7, 1950)

“The Richard Splain Matter” is an episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 7, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Insurance investigator Johnny Dollar is called to investigate a mysterious crime scene in a tenement apartment where all the signs point to murder—blood stains, broken furniture, evidence of a violent struggle—but no body is found. The apartment is rented by Richard Splain, who holds a life insurance policy with his estranged wife Clara as beneficiary. Johnny must piece together what happened to Splain, a ship's carpenter who works on vessels traveling between New York and North African ports.

New York City, 1950—including a tenement apartment on the East Side, a police precinct, Mrs. Splain's apartment on Second Avenue, and the offices of the Corinthian Life and Liability insurance company.

Characters: Johnny Dollar, Bruce Hardwick, Sergeant (homicide), Mrs. Clara Splain, Mark Bond, Shorty

Listen for: The discovery of a mysterious crime scene with no victim, Johnny's interviews with the estranged Mrs. Splain and her new companion Mark Bond, clues about Splain's work as a ship's carpenter, and a late-night phone call from Clara with urgent news.

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.