Don't Tell Hilda (aka-Marcia Halpern): Pat Novak, for Hire (February 27, 1949)

“Don't Tell Hilda (aka-Marcia Halpern)” is an episode of Pat Novak, for Hire, the old-time radio show, first broadcast February 27, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Pat Novak encounters a mysterious woman claiming to have amnesia in a rainy San Francisco night, only to have her collapse and die of sleeping pill poisoning in a coffee joint. When police detective Helman arrives, Novak becomes the prime suspect. Investigating leads him to discover the dead woman may be connected to a wealthy family, and he must uncover the truth before he's pinned for murder.

San Francisco waterfront and surrounding areas, including a coffee joint on Powell Street, the Halpern apartment on Pacific Heights, and Sacramento

Characters: Pat Novak, Inspector Helman, Jocko Madigan, Mark Taylor, Hilda Travis, Marcia Halpern, Helen Duprey, Emory Halpern

Listen for: The clever setup and payoff of the amnesia case, the discovery of the handkerchief with distinctive perfume at the accident scene, and the unmasking of the murder conspiracy involving Mark Taylor and the imposter Marcia Halpern

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.