Case Closed! – "Richard Diamond and Broadway Is My Beat"

Date: December 10, 2025
Podcast: Case Closed! (old time radio)
Host: RelicRadio.com

Episode Overview

This episode presents two classic radio crime dramas from the golden age: an installment of Richard Diamond, Private Detective starring Dick Powell, followed by an episode of Broadway Is My Beat featuring Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. Both stories plunge listeners into the gritty underworld of mid-20th century urban America, filled with double-crosses, shadowy motives, and crime-fighting detectives with a sharp tongue or a world-weary heart.

Segment 1: Richard Diamond, Private Detective

(Starts at ~01:31)

Main Theme

Richard Diamond is drawn into a dangerous web after an unknown man, Eddie Burke, insists Diamond has a mysterious "package." What follows is a tale of mistaken identity, criminal betrayal, and murder, as Diamond races to solve the case—and clear his own name.

Key Discussion Points & Story Highlights

Playful Banter to Propelling Crime

• Lighthearted Opener: The episode starts with Diamond's characteristic banter with his friend Helen, poking fun at his poverty and her wealth.
  • "You spent the dime, you name the crime." (01:47)
  • Helen: "Maybe, but you know, I seem to remember a past generation where the men took the women to dinner. I suppose you never heard of that arrangement." (02:23)
• A Mysterious Intruder: Eddie Burke arrives, demanding a "package" and alleging Diamond has already been paid for its safekeeping. Diamond is clueless but is pistol-whipped for his trouble.
  • "If you'd like to hire me and pay 100 a day, then I'll humor you and pretend to know what you're talking about." (03:36)

Diamond's Search for Answers

• The Package's Possible Importance: Police Lieutenant Walt Levinson brings up that Burke was previously involved in counterfeiting, suggesting the package might contain missing plates for printing fake money. (07:34)
  • "When Eddie was picked up, we never found the plates...Chances are he hid them." – Walt Levinson (08:35)
• Interview with Manny Warren: Manny, an old acquaintance of Burke now running a "legit" garage, is evasive but reveals Burke's girlfriend is Nancy Casey. (10:53)
• Dangerous Encounter with Casey: At Casey's apartment, Diamond is drugged after being served coffee by a woman posing as a roommate—Casey herself.
  • Casey: "You dropped your cup, Mr. Diamond. Oh, you shouldn't try and get up. That drug takes effect fast, you just tire yourself." (13:45)

Frame-Up and Climactic Confrontations

• Diamond Awakes to Murder: He regains consciousness, gun in hand and Burke dead before him—framed. (15:04)
• Detective Work and Showdown: Clues and a phone call lead Diamond to the Carter Hotel, where he finds Casey mortally wounded and confronts Manny Warren on the fire escape.
  • Memorable scuffle soundscape (21:08-21:15)

The Truth Revealed

• Casey, dying, confesses: The package contained the missing counterfeit plates. She lied to Burke and implicated Diamond to buy time, but was double-crossed by Manny. (21:34-22:52)
  • "All those stinking plates, they meant more to him than I did. He didn't trust me." – Nancy Casey (22:34)
• Melancholic Resolution: Diamond comforts Casey in her last moments with small talk as she slips away, underscoring the noir pathos.
• Back-to-Normal Banter: The story closes with Diamond and Helen exchanging quips about his dangerous profession followed by a tender song.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Diamond, after being pistol-whipped:
  "Oh, it isn't fun getting a face full of cold steel...I go to the blood bank once a week for a refill." (05:26)
• Casey's last words:
  "No, no. Got it. Talk. Talking keeps my mind off the pain. Talk to me. Talk to me, Diamond. Talk." (22:53)
• Diamond (singing to Helen):
  "How deep is the ocean, how high is the sky..." (25:04)
• Helen, wisecracking about Diamond's battered face:
  "Somehow that sweet song doesn't go with that battered face of yours. It's like Frankenstein whistling Mother McCree." (26:39)

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Event | |-----------|------------------------------------| | 01:31 | Richard Diamond episode begins | | 03:10 | Eddie Burke confronts Diamond | | 05:26 | Diamond recovers from attack | | 10:13 | Interview with Manny Warren | | 11:17 | Diamond seeks out Nancy Casey | | 13:20 | Casey drugs Diamond | | 15:04 | Diamond awakes, framed for murder | | 21:08 | Confrontation with Manny Warren | | 22:34 | Nancy Casey's dying confession | | 25:04 | Diamond sings to Helen | | 26:39 | Helen's wisecrack |

Segment 2: Broadway Is My Beat

(Starts at ~30:01)

Main Theme

Detective Danny Clover is drawn into a peculiar case involving a stabbing in Central Park, mysterious envelopes, strange bench-side gifts of money, and the haunting presence of a silent observer—culminating in a domestic drama laced with blackmail and psychological torment.

Key Discussion Points & Story Highlights

The Crime Scene & Mysterious Witnesses

• A Park Bench Stabbing: Danny arrives at the scene in Central Park, where a boy named Paul Gilbert reports seeing a man with a knife in his back and another man in a hat observing before fleeing. (31:18-32:06)
  • "I saw the man take it out of his own back and throw it down. And then the man staggered away." – Paul (31:31)
• Canvassing the Witnesses: Danny interviews a host of quirky park regulars: a comic "governess," evasive men, and someone referred to as "the looker"—a woman who sits at her window watching the park each day. (35:24-36:24)

Victim's Home and The Money Trail

• Home of Harry Foster: Clover learns the victim regularly found envelopes of money on the bench—sometimes turning them in, sometimes keeping them at the urging of his wife. (44:07-45:43)
  • "For five weeks in a row... I told Harry he didn't have to turn it in anymore." – Mrs. Foster (45:43)

The Blackmail and the Final Confrontation

• The Envelopes Unveiled: An envelope found and brought to Danny is addressed to George Mason. It suggests Mason is being blackmailed for a murder he may not have committed. (49:17-50:02)
  • "It says you've made a terrible mistake, that's all. Not another word, see?" – Witness (50:02)
• Focus on Mrs. Mason ("the looker"): The narrative tightens around Mrs. Mason, a wheelchair-bound woman who is revealed to have orchestrated the blackmail plot, manipulating her own husband into murder out of spite and bitterness from a past accident.
  • "It's not much to ask, is it? Wanting George to suffer. Look at me." – Mrs. Mason (55:48)

Dramatic Unveiling of Motives

• Twisted Motives: Mrs. Mason, harboring spite after a life-altering accident she blames her husband for, manipulates the events to emotionally torture him, resulting in the murder of an innocent man who was simply in the wrong place.
  • "You're an evil woman." – Clover (56:27)
• Emotional Fallout: The confrontation devolves into bitter recrimination between the Masons.
  • "I didn't push you, Diane. I didn't push you. You fell off that ride." – Mr. Mason (56:05)

Closing Reflection

• Clover's weary internal monologue, underscored by the night noises and neon glow of Broadway, cements the melancholy, existential undertone of the episode.
  • "It's Broadway—the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway, my beat." (57:11)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Paul's innocent description:
  "All of them, except for midgets." (31:51)
• Bleak noir prose:
  "And try to erase from memory the other, the eyes of the woman filled with the name Terrors..." (38:59)
• Mrs. Foster, on the money:
  "For five weeks in a row. I told Harry he didn't have to turn it in anymore. I told him to go back, to be sure and keep going back every week. Yesterday too. And we'd be rich." (45:43-45:53)
• Mrs. Mason’s haunting malice:
  "It's not much to ask, is it? Wanting George to suffer. Look at me...Am I? What can you do to me? A cripple in a wheelchair in a prison. Would that be different?" (55:48-56:05)

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Event | |-----------|----------------------------------------| | 30:01 | Broadway Is My Beat episode begins | | 31:18 | Paul describes the stabbing | | 35:24 | Interview with Ms. Cram, the governess | | 44:07 | Detective visits Mrs. Foster | | 49:17 | Envelope with blackmail letter received | | 53:01 | Letter confrontation with Mr. Mason | | 55:06 | Mrs. Mason’s chilling confession | | 57:11 | Detective Clover's closing narration |

Final Thoughts

Tone & Style

The original language—rapid-fire wisecracks, poetic narration, wounded romanticism—results in an authentic, atmospheric immersion into radio noir. The performances are marked by witty repartee, melancholic monologues, and sharply-drawn emotional climaxes, especially in the unraveling of criminal schemes rooted in betrayal and personal tragedy.

For New Listeners

This episode is a classic showcase of radio crime drama’s power. The Richard Diamond story blends humor with hard-boiled detective action, while Broadway Is My Beat delivers a more somber, psychological tale of cruelty and loss. Both offer a window into the anxieties and artifice of their era, making this a memorable offering from the golden age of radio.