The Blow Off: Tales of the Texas Rangers (November 25, 1951)

“The Blow Off” is an episode of Tales of the Texas Rangers, the old-time radio show, first broadcast November 25, 1951. Listen free on Stupid Potato.

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What happens

A gas station attendant is robbed and shot at his pump on a rural Texas highway. Two drifters in an old car commit the crime but return to the scene to report the murder, posing as innocent witnesses. Ranger Jay Person begins investigating the case and discovers fingerprints that lead him to question the helpful couple.

A gas station at the intersection of a farm road and Highway 75 near Glenwood, Texas, and the town of Corsa Cana, during June 1947.

Characters: Ranger Jay Person, Sheriff Pruitt, Aaron Kortwright, John Bishop, Belle

Listen for: The criminals' arguments about how to escape without enough gas in their tank, and their clever decision to return to the scene and report the crime themselves to avoid suspicion.

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.