1001 Radio Crime Solvers

Jeff Regan, Triple Play: "The Man Who Lived by the Sea", "The Lady in the Fountain", "The Man in the Church"

Original Airdate: October 15, 2025
Host: Jon Hagadorn

Episode Overview

This special triple-feature episode of 1001 Radio Crime Solvers brings listeners three classic cases from hardboiled PI Jeff Regan — "The Man Who Lived by the Sea," "The Lady in the Fountain," and "The Man in the Church." Set in the Golden Age of Radio, these dramatizations plunge Regan into twisting mysteries brimming with glamorous dames, sharp crooks, and LA noir atmosphere, all laced with sardonic wit and moral ambiguity. Regan, the so-called "Lion’s Eye," navigates schemes and betrayals while reporting back to his ever-money-minded boss, Anthony J. Lyon.

Story 1: The Man Who Lived by the Sea

[Starts ~01:36]

Main Plot

Regan is hired by Prince Nemo, a mysterious psychic, who claims his life is threatened. What begins as a simple protection job quickly entangles Regan in a case of blackmail, murder, and mistaken confessions, centering around an actress, a psychic scam, and the complicated web of relationships among the characters.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• The Assignment: Regan is asked to visit Prince Nemo, with femme fatale Lena Cara as his escort.
  • Notable Quote (03:17):
    "She's your date." – Regan, when introduced to Lena
• Prince Nemo’s Trouble: Nemo wants protection from Doris Patrick, a dangerous actress he claims is out to kill him.
  • Nemo admits to blackmailing Doris (07:12):
    "He said it's a delicate matter... he wants to explain it to you himself." – The Lion
• Visit to Doris Patrick: Regan encounters Doris, a sultry, sharp-tongued woman with a dangerous ex (Jesse), who tries to rough Regan up.
  • Notable Quote (10:34):
    "I thought you might be running interference, but you look like the whole team." – Doris Patrick
• Violence and Threats: Regan is warned off Doris by her jealous ex-husband Jesse, who, with his thugs, assaults him.
  • Memorable Moment (14:00):
    "Once more. Stay away from her. I've said all the right words. Maybe my punctuation's bad, huh? Lay off. Period."
• Lena’s Breakdown: Lena Cara, distraught, confesses to Regan she believes she killed her husband (Nemo), but her gun hasn’t been fired.
  • Notable Quote (17:57):
    "Tell me, Mr. Regan... do I make a good murderess? Do I?" – Lena Cara
• The Real Murderer: Upon investigation, Regan discovers Nemo shot with a .38 (not Lena’s .25), implicating Jesse in a frame-up to set Doris up as the patsy.
• Climactic Confrontation: At Doris's house, Jesse tries to pin the murder on her and then kill Regan, but Doris kills Jesse, saving Regan.

Standout Dialogue & Noir Tone

• Cynical Narration (18:34):
  "Gave me a feeling like someone was unwrapping an atomic bomb under a Christmas tree." – Regan
• Dramatic Showdown (28:25):
  "Her first slug cut him down like a blade of grass. But she didn't give up."

Outcome

The truth surfaces: Nemo tried to frame Doris for his own protection, but Jesse killed Nemo, tried to pin it on Doris, and ended up dead himself. Lena is acquitted — her confession was a result of hysteria.

Story 2: The Lady in the Fountain

[Starts ~30:14]

Main Plot

Regan and the Lion are hired to recover stolen jewelry from a Bel Air wedding heist, but what starts as a simple recovery unravels into a tale of betrayal, secret pasts, and murder within the high society Colby family.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• The Case:
  Regan investigates a $100,000 theft at the Colby wedding, where Francie, the new bride, wore the famed Colby necklace.
  • Meeting Francie: (37:32)
    "I own one Cadillac and two Buicks, but they're all on the fritz. You can help me a lot." – Francie Colby
• Inside Job:
  Regan learns Francie had a previous marriage to Frank Kilmer (alias Pete Florio), a connection key to the mystery.
  • The Pink Lady nightclub and a cigarette girl provide leads about Kilmer and Francie’s past.
• Winters (Insurance Investigator) Killed:
  Ed Winters, the rival insurance investigator, is murdered (43:04), dramatically escalating the stakes.
• Regan Discovers the Heist Plot:
  Francie's former husband Florio helped orchestrate the robbery, using her as an inside woman—she wore the jewels so Florio could snatch them, intending to stash them in the garden fountain.
• Double-Crosses and Confessions:
  Colby, having overheard the plot, planned to claim the insurance money and secretly recover the jewels.
  • Notable Quote (56:08):
    "It. . . It wasn't for me. It was for her. All she wanted was money. Now look at her, Regan. All I wanted was her."
• Violent Resolution:
  In a frantic ending, Colby kills Florio to protect his wife and reclaim the stolen jewels.
• No Reward:
  The Lion laments they won’t get a reward since the jewels never truly left the premises (57:14):
  • "We fouled out on a technicality. And I worked so hard." – The Lion

Memorable Lines & Noir Wisdom

• "Find somebody else to go around trying to make a gentleman out of you. I quit." – Regan (57:35)
• "If you got it, you're okay. If you haven't, you're a bum." – The Lion (57:38)

Outcome

Regan exposes the tangled web of the Colby affair: betrayal, heartbreak, and murder. The true motivations (love, jealousy, greed) come to light, and Regan and the Lion are once again left unpaid — and embittered.

Story 3: The Man in the Church

[Starts ~60:45]

Main Plot

Fresh out of prison, Charlie Pencole hires Regan to act as a courier, delivering $5,000 to clear an old debt. What seems a straightforward job soon reveals a web of blackmail and revenge, culminating in church with family secrets at the core.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• The Mission:
  Regan is tasked with delivering $5,000 to Sidney Chambers, a meek civic employee, at the planetarium.
  • (68:57) "Going to the lecture? It's all about a trip to the moon tonight." – Chambers
• Chambers’s Death:
  Regan follows Chambers home, only to find him murdered, money untouched.
• Regan is Framed:
  A patrol cop arrives, discovers Regan at the scene, and tries to detain him for murder (72:20).
• Family Ties & Tragic Secrets:
  Regan uncovers that Meredith Gibbons, a young woman about to be married, is Pencole’s estranged daughter, raised under a new name to protect her from the shame of his criminal past.
  • (79:26) "That lovely girl who just walked out the doors. Charles Pencoll's daughter." – Mrs. Gibbons
• Murder for Protection:
  Pencole had killed Chambers to prevent him from blackmailing Meredith and exposing her parentage; he also kills Johnny Largo, an old rival, tying up all loose ends.
  • (85:02) "So to keep your daughter from knowing who her old man was, you hired me so I could get a line on Chambers, follow him, kill him..." – Regan
• Poignant Finale:
  In the church, Pencole witnesses Meredith's wedding from afar before surrendering to Regan, fatally wounded and emotionally spent.
  • (85:17) "She looks just like a mother." – Pencole
  • (86:03) "Good luck." – Pencole, to his daughter, unrecognized

Notable Quotes

• The Lion’s Greed (62:16):
  "I've already started one. This is my first showing." – Referring to his $50 bill collection
• Regan’s Reflection (86:24):
  "There were four of Largo's slugs in him. He died in the ambulance... They were bending their eyebrows trying to figure out why Penco killed Chambers. I didn't figure it was up to me to explain it."

Emotional & Thematic Highlights

• Redemptive Paths and Consequences:
  Pencole's final acts are driven by a desperate desire to shield his daughter from a shameful past—regardless of the cost.
• Duty versus Compassion:
  Regan, as ever, is caught between enforcing justice and understanding human frailty.

Timestamps Guide

| TIME | SEGMENT | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------| | 01:36 | Story 1: "The Man Who Lived by the Sea" begins | | 30:14 | Story 2: "The Lady in the Fountain" begins | | 60:45 | Story 3: "The Man in the Church" begins | | 86:52 | Epilogue: Aftermath and emotional closure |

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Regan’s Dry Wit:
  "She waltzed in here with a check and you'd sell your grandmother to a glue factory for..." (04:13)
• Hardboiled Noir Atmosphere:
  "He looked unhappy, like somebody fed him a Vaseline sandwich." (13:36)
• Philosophy of the Detective Game:
  "Once the Lion smells a loose dollar, there’s no sense arguing with him. It's like trying to teach ballet to a herd of elephants." (45:12)
• On Family and Regret:
  "All I wanted was her." – Colby, about Francie (56:08) "She looks just like her mother." – Pencole at the wedding (85:17)

Episode Tone & Style

Faithful to the gritty, cynically humorous and deeply humanistic flavor of golden-age detective radio, the episode abounds with:

• Hard-charging narrative drive
• Acutely observed character details
• Pithy one-liners and rich similes
• A backdrop of 1940s-50s Los Angeles atmosphere: fog, neon, cigarettes, and lives lived at the edge.

Summary

"Triple Play" is a masterful showcase of classic radio detective storytelling, with Jeff Regan’s relentless pursuit of truth winding through schemes of blackmail, murder, and broken hearts. With each case, the hazards and heartbreaks of detective life—and the flawed, yearning humanity of his city—are painted in all their noir glory.

For more episodes and stories, visit 1001storiespodcast.com.