The Bookworm Turns: Let George Do It (December 11, 1950)

“The Bookworm Turns” is an episode of Let George Do It, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 11, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

George Valentine is hired by Paul Humber, owner of a rare bookshop, to catch a mysterious intruder who has broken in for two nights without stealing anything. When George stakes out the shop, they spot the burglar's flashlight, but he escapes down the alley. That night, a fire breaks out in the bookshop, aimed at destroying it, though the fire department arrives in time to prevent total loss.

A rare bookshop in the city, with an adjacent apartment building, during the night

Characters: George Valentine, Paul Humber, Otto Coolidge, Rosa Brooks, Fire investigator, Suspicious man in collarless shirt

Listen for: The mystery of why someone is breaking into the bookshop without stealing anything, and the connection between the burglaries and the deliberately set fire

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.