The Strangle Hold: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe (October 15, 1949)

“The Strangle Hold” is an episode of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 15, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

Listen to The Adventures of Philip Marlowe free, live around the clock: every episode, in the order it first aired. No sign-up.

What happens

Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by radio transcription company owner Manny Faber to find proof supporting inflammatory statements made by now-deceased sports commentator Frank Gaynor about wrestler John Peachy Keene. Keene is suing Faber for slander, and Marlowe must locate evidence that Gaynor's accusations were factual or Faber faces a costly lawsuit. Marlowe begins his investigation at Gaynor's private recording studio, where he encounters trouble.

Los Angeles, 1949: a wrestling arena, Manny Faber's home in the Hollywood hills, and Frank Gaynor's private recording studio on Sunset Boulevard.

Characters: Philip Marlowe, Manny Faber, John Peachy Keene, Jules Caesar, Frank Gaynor, Ruth Gaynor, Coll Bennett

Listen for: A tense investigation into a dead man's accusations, the mystery of the brunette woman connected to the wrestler, and danger lurking in a soundproof studio after dark.

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.