Crab Louie Caper: The Adventures of Sam Spade (March 2, 1951)

“Crab Louie Caper” is an episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade, the old-time radio show, first broadcast March 2, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Detective Sam Spade is called to Fisherman's Wharf by judge Foskey to investigate the death of young crab fisherman Louis Maggiore, who allegedly drowned when his boat capsized a week earlier. Spade discovers that Louis's friend Dominic claims it was an accident, but the community suspects murder, and there are hints of a love triangle involving Rosalia, who was engaged to Louis. As Spade digs deeper, he uncovers a valuable secret that gives someone a powerful motive for murder.

San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach, primarily at the Museo Maggiore and surrounding waterfront locations in 1951

Characters: Sam Spade, Effie, Judge Bartolomeo Foskey, Dominic Torio, Rosalia, Louis Maggiore, Mama Luca

Listen for: The revelation of what Louis found in the sea that was worth sixty thousand dollars, and how Sam uses a clever trick involving a crab pot to force a confession from the guilty party

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.