What happens
Harry Lime, a con man, sets out to swindle the oil tycoon Sam Corder by posing as a go-between for a rich Arab princess, Laila. Lime's scheme involves an oil concession in the fictional kingdom of Qualabad and a supposed sultan's daughter. The episode is part of The Mercury Theatre on the Air, a radio series starring Orson Welles, and is drawn from the Harry Lime stories inspired by the film The Third Man. Lime travels with Laila, becomes entangled with the rival oil dealer Van Blicker, and finds himself in a tense chase through the streets of Qualabad.
Switzerland, Paris, Italy and the fictional kingdom of Qualabad, c. 1952
Characters: Harry Lime, Sam Corder, Princess Laila, Van Blicker, Professor Birdlake, Jakob Ben-Ali, Yocka
Listen for: Lime's narration as he works his way into Corder's confidence and his encounters with Van Blicker and the Grand Vizier in Qualabad
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.