The Dead Duck Caper: The Adventures of Sam Spade (February 2, 1947)

“The Dead Duck Caper” is an episode of The Adventures of Sam Spade, the old-time radio show, first broadcast February 2, 1947. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Sam Spade attends a birthday party for Effie's mother where a guest named Marty dies under mysterious circumstances during a charades game. When armed men kidnap Effie's mother demanding a mysterious "duck," Sam must navigate between a criminal mob, federal authorities, and his own code of honor to secure her safe return.

San Francisco, including Effie's home, Sam's office, a coastal shack, Maxie's arcade, and Sam's apartment

Characters: Sam Spade, Effie, Mrs. Herring (Effie's mother), Lola Brent, Marty, Ducky Morton, O'Rourke (lawyer), Jenny

Listen for: The clever setup of the charades game that opens the mystery, the discovery of Marty's poisoning, and the twist involving Lola's hidden message in the charade slip

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.