Prodigal Panda Caper: The Adventures of Sam Spade (December 29, 1950)

“Prodigal Panda Caper” is an episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade, the old-time radio show, first broadcast December 29, 1950. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A young boy named Robie asks detective Sam Spade to recover his stolen panda bear, which he purchased for his five-year-old brother Barney with money earned from collecting bottles and papers. The theft involves a woman in a red dress and a man in a checkered coat who chased Robie and threatened him with a gun. As Spade investigates, he discovers the case connects to a dead salesgirl at a department store and a mysterious red convertible, leading him into a dangerous underworld scheme.

San Francisco, primarily the Lazy's department store, the Mission District, and various locations around the city including El Camino.

Characters: Sam Spade, Robie Dozier, Lieutenant Dundee, Mary (Spade's secretary), Dr. Kempthorn, Scarlett Townsend (aka Crystal McCall), Lenny Flegel, Frankie Cassella

Listen for: A clever mystery blending noir detective work with a child's innocent perspective on adult crime. Listen for Spade's wise-cracking narration, his exchanges with Lieutenant Dundee, and the revelation of the panda bear's dark secret.

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.