Caper Over My Dead Body: The Adventures of Sam Spade (November 17, 1950)

“Caper Over My Dead Body” is an episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade, the old-time radio show, first broadcast November 17, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Sam Spade receives a frantic phone call from his frightened client Chester Swan, a mortician who claims someone has been following him. When Spade investigates, he discovers a mysterious man lurking near Swan's cottage and confronts him, only to be knocked unconscious and drugged. He awakens to find himself declared dead in a fire, wearing another man's clothes, while his own funeral is underway.

San Francisco and Berkeley, California, including Sam Spade's office, Chester Swan's cottage on Claremont Avenue, Amy's apartment, funeral home, and various Bay Area locations.

Characters: Sam Spade, Effie Paris, Chester Swan, Amy, Al Tarrington, Theodore J. Swan, Dr. Jesslyn, Fireman Patty

Listen for: The mystery of who died in the fire and why Sam Spade was framed for his own death. Listen for the explanation of the insurance scheme and how Sam was switched with another man.

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.