Calcutta Trunk Caper AFRS: The Adventures of Sam Spade (June 8, 1947)

“Calcutta Trunk Caper AFRS” is an episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade, the old-time radio show, first broadcast June 8, 1947. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Sam Spade is hired by a woman claiming to be Constance Pendleton's sister to stop her marriage to Major André Vrodnick, a Bulgarian officer with a history of marrying wealthy women who then disappear. When Spade confronts the bride and the groom, he discovers the real situation is far more complex than it first appeared.

San Francisco, with references to a voyage to Calcutta aboard the SS Lurene and the Bulgarian Consulate.

Characters: Sam Spade, Effie (Sam's secretary), Marsha Hopkins/Marsha Brodney, Constance Pendleton, Major André Vrodnick, Bulgarian Consul

Listen for: The mystery of Vrodnick's true intentions, revelations about Marsha's real identity and connection to the major, and Spade's investigation into the murders of six wealthy women in Europe.

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.