The Stolen Purse: Richard Diamond, Private Detective (May 22, 1949)

“The Stolen Purse” is an episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 22, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A black patent leather purse left behind at a newspaper stand becomes the center of a deadly mystery when Richard Diamond agrees to find its owner. The purse triggers a chain of violence involving a counterfeit ring, a stolen fortune, and murder, forcing Diamond to uncover the truth before more people die.

New York City, including Diamond's office on 53rd Street, a downtown hotel, a newspaper stand, Helen Asher's residence at 975 Park Avenue, the Adams Hotel on 28th Street, the East River shacks, and a subway station at 34th Street.

Characters: Richard Diamond, Glenda, Helen Asher, Lieutenant Levinson, Francis, Dorothy King, Stanley, Al

Listen for: The interplay between Diamond and Lieutenant Levinson; the comedic banter between the bumbling thugs; the tense confrontations in Dorothy King's hotel room and the subway station finale.

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.