The Open Window: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (October 8, 1949)

“The Open Window” is an episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 8, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A terrified woman appears at private detective Philip Marlowe's apartment with complete amnesia—she doesn't know her own name, why she's being followed, or how she arrived in Los Angeles. All she has are a few clues: a card with Marlowe's name, an address on North Virgil Avenue, and a snapshot album missing one picture. Marlowe begins investigating her mysterious past, discovering connections to a man named Tompkins who has suddenly fled town to Vancouver with cash provided by a mysterious red-haired man connected to a dive bar.

Los Angeles, California—Marlowe's third-floor apartment, a run-down rooming house on North Virgil Avenue, and a dive bar called the Pearls on Highland Avenue near 3rd Street.

Characters: Philip Marlowe, The amnesia victim woman, Jake Philpotts, Tompkins, The red-headed man, Cooper, Gerard, Norm

Listen for: A woman's desperate plea for help, the gruff manager Jake Philpotts revealing clues about Tompkins's sudden departure, and cryptic conversations at the bar suggesting trouble involving a woman and betrayal.

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.