Rene Bennet Protection Case: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (October 22, 1949)

“Rene Bennet Protection Case” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast October 22, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

Listen to Richard Diamond, Private Detective free, live around the clock: every episode, in the order it first aired. No sign-up.

What happens

Private detective Richard Diamond is hired by Renee Benet, a fashionable hat designer, to protect three new hat designs from being stolen before his fall showing. Benet suspects his partner Gerald Winters or rival designer George Marshon of stealing his creations. That night, Benet is found dead, burned in his car after it crashed over a viaduct, and Diamond must uncover who really killed him.

New York City, including Richard Diamond's office, Renee Benet's hat salon, and the Fifth Precinct police station.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Renee Benet, Gerald Winters, Lillian Richmond, George Marshon, Lieutenant Walt Levinson, Otis, Ellen

Listen for: The interplay between Diamond and his wise-cracking police contacts, particularly Lieutenant Levinson and the comedic officer Otis. Listen for Diamond's reasoning about the murder, especially his deductions about the gloves and the cigarette. Also note the chemistry between Diamond and the various characters at the hat salon.

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.