The Collectors Item: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (August 25, 1950)

“The Collectors Item” is an episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, the old-time radio show, first broadcast August 25, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Philip Marlowe tails a suspicious character for a coin dealer client, only to discover he's been chasing an empty hat in a taxicab. When Marlowe reaches the dealer's shop, he finds the man murdered and a rare Confederate half-dollar missing from its display case. Marlowe tracks the culprit to a mansion in Sherman Oaks, where a volatile Southern collector named Appleboro and his hired thug stand in his way.

Los Angeles, including a coin dealer's shop, various streets, and Sherman Oaks

Characters: Philip Marlowe, Rayati, Appleboro, Sour Face, Joe

Listen for: Marlowe's wry observations as he unravels the scheme, Appleboro's obsessive ranting about the stolen Confederate coin, and the tense confrontation that leaves Marlowe outmatched against two men

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.