The Coward (Olan Soule): Let George Do It (September 20, 1954)

“The Coward (Olan Soule)” is an episode of Let George Do It, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 20, 1954. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

George Valentine investigates after Douglas French receives a mysterious telegram accusing him of murdering 37 people during World War II. When French is shot on a bridge and a writer who covered the wartime incident is found dead, Valentine must untangle the truth about a betrayal in Singapore that cost lives and led one of four survivors to bear a terrible secret for over a decade.

A city with a bridge over a river, rooming houses, a telegraph office, and a downtown club; flashbacks to Singapore and Japanese prison camps during World War II.

Characters: George Valentine, Douglas French, Lieutenant Johnson, Brooksie, Nick Atkins, Mr. Anselo, J.J. Farrell, Emil Martinez

Listen for: The gradual revelation of a wartime tragedy involving the betrayal of 37 refugees fleeing Singapore, and how guilt and the fear of exposure drive a desperate man to murder.

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.