1001 Radio Crime Solvers Episode Summary

Episode Title: THE LADY WITH TOO MUCH HAIR and THE GUY FROM GOWER GULCH
Show: 1001 Radio Crime Solvers
Featured Program: Jeff Regan, P.I.
Host: Jon Hagadorn
Date: September 7, 2025

Overview

This double-feature episode invites listeners into the hard-boiled world of Jeff Regan, P.I. — a wry, world-weary private investigator, “the Lion’s Eye,” working for the dollar-driven Anthony J. Lyon.
Both dramatizations, "The Lady with Too Much Hair" and "The Guy from Gower Gulch," are classic radio crime capers brimming with snappy dialogue, false leads, quirky characters, and that trademark noir cynicism. Each story takes Regan deep into Los Angeles' seedy underbelly, where nothing is quite as it seems and everyone has something to hide.

The Lady with Too Much Hair

Main Plot

Regan is hired by the International Detective Bureau’s Anthony J. Lyon to help Hazel Carr, a “businesswoman,” with a peculiar case involving her daughter, an obsessed red-haired suitor, and a mysterious wig business. Written in classic noir style, the tale weaves misdirection, murder, and a hidden stash of contraband.

Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

1. Regan Gets His Assignment (01:05–04:45)

• Regan and Lyon’s office banter warmly sets the tone. The underfunded, dingy agency is “rigged for comfort” according to Lyon—who’s worried about his thinning hair.

  • “I shouldn’t be getting bald at my age. I’m only 39.” – Lyon (02:10)

• Lyon sends Regan to a Beechwood address to keep tabs on a large redheaded man before meeting Hazel Carr for details.

2. The Client and Her Daughter (05:00–09:00)

• Hazel Carr introduces herself as an anxious matron, concerned about her daughter Phyllis and an unstable redheaded stalker.

• Phyllis, just home from finishing school, must be met at Union Station under the guise of a date—the cover story to throw off the redheaded man.

  • “You’re going to meet the 7:10 at the Union Station. My daughter Phyllis is coming in... You must remember that. She needs protection.” – Hazel Carr (07:45)

3. Warnings and Watchers (09:00–14:00)

• Regan is visited in his apartment by “Mo,” a cigar-chomping “friend”—really, a tough warning him off the case.
  • “Being nice is really an act with me. I’m pretty nasty.” – Mo (13:17)

4. The Train Station Turn (15:00–21:30)

• At Union Station, Regan meets Phyllis: flirty, cynical, and older-acting than she looks. Their banter is brisk, sharp, and shot through with innuendo.
• Suddenly, the redhead appears—then is abruptly shot dead in the crowd. Amid the chaos Phyllis disappears.

5. Clues and Cross-purposes (22:00–32:00)

• Regan and Lyon trade information—the girl is a fake; the real Phyllis just ran off with a Princeton man (28:30).
• The story reveals the “toupee” (wig) at the center of the action is a hiding place for $50,000 in narcotics (“the white stuff”).
• In a showdown with Mo and the faux Phyllis, Regan pieces together the criminal gang’s double-cross and Hazel Carr’s desperate gambit.

6. Final Reveals & Resolution (33:00–39:00)

• The narcotics are ultimately found—with the show-closing gag that Lyon winds up in the redhead’s toupee.
• “How could he miss? The lion looked awful in that red toupee.” – Jeff Regan (38:25)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “It all made sense like a girdle on a Siamese twin.” – Jeff Regan (29:05)
• “You get lipstick on my expense account.” – Regan flirts with the substitute daughter (32:10)
• “He had an eager look, like an English setter flushing quail.” – (19:40)

Significant Timestamps

• [02:10] – Lyon’s lament about balding (comedic character insight)
• [09:40] – Mo’s threatening visit; “I’m pretty nasty.”
• [17:10] – Phyllis and Regan’s sharp banter in the station diner
• [20:55] – The redhead is shot in the station
• [28:30] – Twist: the real Phyllis never arrived
• [33:40] – Showdown over the narcotic-stuffed toupee

The Guy from Gower Gulch

Main Plot

Regan is dispatched to the city jail to aid an eccentric cowboy, Davy Crockett (yes, that’s the name), who’s tangled up with a package hidden in an alley. The errand spirals into a caper involving phony horse races, a deadly double-cross, and a Hollywood insurance scam.

Key Discussion Points & Story Beats

1. An Eccentric Cowboy’s Call for Help (42:10–46:00)

• Regan meets Davy Crockett (a pint-sized, loquacious character), in jail for “resisting arrest.”
  • “Son, there’s nothing in the life of Davy Crockett won’t stand inspection.” – Davy (45:22)
• Crockett sends Regan to fetch a sweater-wrapped package from an alley.

2. The Package and Pursuers (46:00–53:20)

• Regan is tailed by a mysterious blonde, then intercepted by “Maxwell” and another thug, who rough him up and steal the wrong package.
• The item is a can of movie film, which Regan later projects: it’s a travelogue about Peru with footage of a horse race.

3. The Chase Heats Up (54:00–1:03:30)

• Davy is killed after being bailed from jail. Regan realizes someone is after whatever secrets the film holds.

• Regan’s investigation draws him into the world of Horace Grundy, a flashy would-be horse racing impresario, and a Peruvian horse “El Romano,” involved in a high-stakes transaction.

  • “You know why? It’s sin. And sin is here to stay.” – Trenchcoat barfly (55:18)

4. The Horse with Three (Not Four) White Feet (1:05:00–1:13:35)

• Regan and the Lion discover that the horse in the film and the one sold to Grundy aren’t the same animal—a classic horse-switch scheme to defraud insurance and buyers.
• The day is saved when a key witness and evidence emerge.

5. Final Confrontations & Wrap-Up (1:14:00–1:20:00)

• Regan traps the blonde “Joan,” the travel queen, who’s part of a blackmail scheme and behind Davy’s death.

• A final shootout, plus an ironic joke about the Lion’s “reward”: a season pass to travel lectures.

  • “That was the color of the season pass they gave him to the Burton Holmes travel lectures.” – Jeff Regan (1:19:40)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “He had blue veins roaming all over his nose and a handlebar mustache to hold him up.” – Regan on Davy Crockett (43:05)
• “I got a friend who runs a streetcar.” – Regan, resisting a mobster’s “offer” (58:23)
• “You don’t want to get by me, friend. You want to stand right there and have a little drink.” – Maxwell, drunk muscle (47:58)
• “The whole thing blew up like a hoop skirt in a high wind.” – Regan, classic sign-off (1:19:52)

Significant Timestamps

• [43:05] – Introduction to Davy Crockett
• [47:58] – Maxwell confronts Regan in the alley
• [54:44] – Film projection reveals the “Peru” horse race clue
• [1:05:00] – “Horse in the stable’s got three [white feet].” Key to the scam revealed
• [1:11:30] – Julio, the “injured” horse’s handler, solves the puzzle and returns Grundy’s money
• [1:19:40] – Ironic final twist: The “reward”

Tone & Style

Both stories feature fast-talking, wisecracking narration saturated with metaphors, similes, and period references, delivered in tough-guy monotone by Jack Webb (as Regan). Noir tropes abound: femme fatales, lowlife thugs, oddball clients, and sharp-tongued office banter. Each segment builds ongoing tension, delivers a corkscrew twist, and ends with a knowing wink.

Summary Takeaways

• Misdirection Reigns: Both cases hinge on misdirection—imitation daughters, swapped horses, and fake telegrams.
• Underlying Motives: Beneath the shadowy violence, everyone is working an angle, whether for money, love, or simply survival.
• Regan’s Wit: His humor and resilience carry the investigations amid constant threats, betrayals, and tough dames.
• Period Color: The dialogue and plot mechanics are steeped in golden-age radio style—delightfully dated yet energetic.

For New Listeners

This episode is a prime example of radio’s golden-age detective drama: richly atmospheric, briskly paced, and packed with sharp wit. Even if you come in cold, you’ll quickly get caught up in Regan’s world—a place where no glass of whiskey is ever half full, but always bitter.

For more, new episodes of “1001 Radio Crime Solvers” drop Sundays at 5pm ET.