Betrayal In Bumpus Hell Caper Afrs: The Adventures of Sam Spade (January 16, 1949)

“Betrayal In Bumpus Hell Caper Afrs” is an episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade, the old-time radio show, first broadcast January 16, 1949. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Sam Spade is drawn into a complex case involving an actress named Rosemary Fell, who claims a man named Joe Donnegan is threatening her life. When someone fires shots at Rosemary from a fire escape, Spade investigates, only to discover that multiple people have motives to harm her, including her lover's wife who has been orchestrating an elaborate scheme.

San Francisco, primarily in an apartment building and a talent agency office

Characters: Sam Spade, Rosemary Fell, Joe Donnegan, Warner Hobson, Belita Wilkes, Lieutenant Dandy, Effie

Listen for: A clever plot involving faked blackmail recordings, mistaken identities, and a surprise revelation about who actually committed the crime. Also notice the running joke about Sam Spade reading a Western pulp novel called 'Sheriff and Outlaw' featuring a character named Red Gillis.

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.