Red Wind: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (September 26, 1948)

“Red Wind” is an episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 26, 1948. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private investigator Philip Marlowe is drawn into a dangerous case when a mysterious woman in a balaero jacket appears at his apartment building, the same night a man named Waldo is shot in a nearby bar. The woman, Lola Bosseline, is desperate to recover a valuable pearl necklace stolen by Waldo, but the investigation spirals into blackmail, murder, and betrayal as Marlowe uncovers a web of secrets involving stolen bills, a dead man in Waldo's apartment, and a ruthless killer.

Los Angeles on a hot night when the Santa Ana winds blow through the city, including bars, apartment buildings, and the Pacific coast near Malibu.

Characters: Philip Marlowe, Lola Bosseline, Waldo, Baldy, Leon Velasanos, Frank Bosseley, Eugenie Colchenko, Detective Lieutenant Ibarra

Listen for: The atmospheric description of the oppressive desert heat and wind that sets the mood for chaos and danger; the hard-boiled detective narration capturing Marlowe's cynical observations; the revelation that the pearls Lola treasured are fakes; the final scene of Marlowe discarding the phony pearls into the ocean.

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.