Jailbird: Tales of the Texas Rangers (May 25, 1952)

“Jailbird” is an episode of Tales of the Texas Rangers, the old-time radio show, first broadcast May 25, 1952. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

Escaped prisoner Jim Hackett and his wife flee after killing a constable in Oak Bluff, Texas. Texas Rangers Jason Pearson and Clay Morgan pursue them on a highway, forcing their stolen car off the road where they discover the car's owner dead inside. The rangers find a crumpled letter fragment in Hackett's handwriting mentioning someone named Len, leading them to investigate one of Hackett's former prison associates.

Texas in 1939, including the town of Oak Bluff, highways, a state prison lab in Austin, and prison files.

Characters: Jim Hackett, Hackett's wife, Ranger Jason Pearson, Ranger Clay Morgan, Constable Simmons, Len Jeter

Listen for: The rangers' investigation into Hackett's prison connections and their pursuit of the escaped convict across Texas.

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.