What happens
Art broker John Winters travels to Venice and buys what he believes is an original Mantegna painting from the artist Giulio Donati, who is asking $75,000. Donati reveals he painted the picture himself, and the forgery plan involves a pair of canvases. Winters later learns Donati has been killed, and he finds himself in a deadly contest with Brickley, a Los Angeles dealer, and with Brickley's daughter Lorraine. Each side tries to gain the upper hand over the other. The episode is part of the radio series The Whistler, first broadcast on October 2, 1949.
Venice, Italy, and Los Angeles, California, in the late 1940s
Characters: John Winters, Giulio Donati, Lorraine Brickley, Brickley, Potter, Mr. Gross, Lieutenant Brady
Listen for: Donati's confession that he painted the Mantegna forgeries himself, and the phone call in which Lorraine arranges the appointment with Mr. Gross
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.