The Promise to Pay: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (May 14, 1949)

“The Promise to Pay” is an episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 14, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by Garfield Randall, a rising executive, to recover a gambling marker worth $1,000 that the man lost at a gaming club. The marker is being held by Terry Dodge, Randall's former girlfriend, who is demanding $20,000 to keep quiet about the debt. Marlowe's investigation into the blackmail scheme leads him to discover that Terry has been murdered, and he must uncover who killed her and find the marker before it destroys his client's career.

Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley in the late 1940s, including a cottage on Sunswept Drive, a gambling club on North Lancashire Boulevard, and Randall's hillside home.

Characters: Philip Marlowe, Garfield Randall, Terry Dodge, Maxine Rossi, Paul Naylor, Rip Strannigan, Quincy

Listen for: The mystery of who murdered Terry Dodge and why; the hunt for the missing gambling marker; Marlowe's encounters with dangerous criminals and an unexpected ally; a climactic confrontation that results in a fatal car crash.

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.