Civic Pride Caper: The Adventures of Sam Spade (April 13, 1951)

“Civic Pride Caper” is an episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade, the old-time radio show, first broadcast April 13, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Private detective Sam Spade investigates the collapse of a newly-built municipal auditorium in Westover that killed five people. Architect Garrett Welch hires Spade to find who was responsible, but when the building inspector who approved the structure is found murdered, the case becomes far more dangerous and complex.

Westover, California - a small city with a collapsed auditorium that was meant to be a war memorial, and various locations including the Fairchild Building, the mayor's office, and the ruins of the auditorium.

Characters: Sam Spade, Garrett Welch, Howard Kesley, Albert Mitchell, Kitty Mitchell, Mayor Sullivan, Ralph Kesley

Listen for: Gunfire, a confrontation between Spade and multiple suspects, the revelation of bribery and inferior building materials, and a dramatic shootout in Garrett Welch's office where the murderer is revealed.

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.