The Rifle Case: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (June 28, 1953)

“The Rifle Case” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast June 28, 1953. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Richard Diamond agrees to protect Gustav Haydn, an elderly German gunsmith who has developed a new rifle and fears it will be stolen. When two men brutally beat Diamond seeking plans Haydn allegedly gave him, the case takes a sinister turn as Haydn disappears from Grand Central Station and Diamond must track him to a remote cabin in the Catskills to uncover a web of espionage.

New York City and the Catskill Mountains, present day.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Gustav Haydn, Lieutenant Levinson (Walt), Anna Ehrlich, William Ehrlich, Albert (Baxter), The ticket agent

Listen for: The tense beating scene in Diamond's office, the mysterious disappearance at Grand Central, and the shocking revelation of William Ehrlich's true allegiance at the cabin.

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.