Mexican Boat Ride: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (July 30, 1949)

“Mexican Boat Ride” is an episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, the old-time radio show, first broadcast July 30, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by a man confined to darkness with a temporary eye ailment to investigate why his wife was seen on a boat off the Mexican coast, despite her supposed fear of water. Marlowe travels to Ensenada to find the woman, but discovers he's become entangled in a dangerous situation involving mysterious figures and threats.

Los Angeles and Ensenada, Mexico in 1949

Characters: Philip Marlowe, Carl Esterbrooke, Ona Esterbrooke, a man with frog-like eyes in a grey suit, Crabby, a knife-wielding attacker

Listen for: Marlowe's sharp observations about his clients' secrets and his characteristic wisecracks as he navigates from a wealthy man's darkened bedroom to a Mexican hotel and into a dangerous confrontation.

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.