Mona Lisa Murder: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (November 15, 1950)

“Mona Lisa Murder” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast November 15, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Richard Diamond is hired by wealthy art collector Arnold Bryce to investigate grounds for divorce from his beautiful wife Della, whom Bryce suspects of seeing an old boyfriend. When Diamond visits the Bryce home, he discovers a household filled with modern art—except for one painting, a copy of the Mona Lisa, which captivates the family's devoted butler Timothy. Before Diamond can report his findings, Bryce is murdered with a fireplace poker, and Diamond begins to suspect the killer's identity lies in an unexpected obsession.

The Bryce home on Riverside Drive in New York City, an opulent mansion filled with modern art.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Arnold Bryce, Della Bryce, Timothy, Walt Levinson, Sergeant Otis, The Maid

Listen for: A haunting song about the Mona Lisa that Diamond uses to put Timothy in a vulnerable emotional state, and the shocking revelation of why someone would kill over a painting.

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.