A Man, a Girl and a Plot: The Man Called X (May 25, 1951)

The Man Called X, old-time radio on Stupid Potato

“A Man, a Girl and a Plot” is an episode of The Man Called X, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 25, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato: no sign-up, no app.

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What happens

Jim Kendall, a Bureau agent working with Mr. X, travels to Hong Kong to investigate illegal shipments of medical supplies from the House of Lee into Red China. He is hired by Chen Wong, who seems to know a great deal about his movements. Kendall learns that Sammy Lee, the manager of the House of Lee's Hong Kong branch, has been found dead, and his widow Marliss is frightened and eager for help. Kendall and his companion Peggy Smith follow the trail to a warehouse and a doctor's calling card stained with blood. The story here ends on a tense cliffhanger aboard a sampan.

Hong Kong and the surrounding waters off the Kowloon Peninsula, with scenes in San Francisco

Characters: Jim Kendall, Peggy Smith, Chen Wong, Mr. Lee, Sammy Lee, Marliss Lee, Dr. James Harvey, Mollis

Listen for: Kendall discovering the blood-stained card under Sammy Lee's body and the mystery of who was really behind the smuggling

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.