Phone Call from Death: The Whistler (September 10, 1945)

The Whistler, old-time radio on Stupid Potato

“Phone Call from Death” is an episode of The Whistler, the old-time radio show, first broadcast September 10, 1945. Listen free on Stupid Potato: no sign-up, no app.

Listen to The Whistler free, live around the clock: every episode, in the order it first aired. No sign-up.

What happens

Ellen Livissey, a secretary who has long lost out to others in love, learns that her best friend Sheila Blaine has been shot dead in her apartment. Glenn Reed and Paul Carroll, both once close to Sheila, are questioned by Captain Haslett. Ellen inherits Sheila's estate, and she turns her attention to Paul, whose affections she hopes to win. Glenn grows convinced that Paul is responsible for the killing, and Ellen decides to act on her own.

Present-day city of the 1940s, including police headquarters, an attorney's office, a restaurant, and Sheila Blaine's apartment building.

Characters: Ellen Livissey, Sheila Blaine, Glenn Reed, Paul Carroll, Captain Haslett, Wilson Andrews

Listen for: Listen for the telephone call Sheila makes to Ellen and the clues that follow about who was really speaking on the line.

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.