Podcast Summary: "Broadway Is My Beat – John Howard Murder Case (11/10/1951)"

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Host: Choice Classic Radio
Episode: Broadway Is My Beat: John Howard Murder Case
Original Air Date: November 10, 1951
Summary Prepared For: January 14, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of "Broadway Is My Beat" follows Detective Danny Clover as he investigates the mysterious deaths of two men found in the morgue, victims of methyl alcohol poisoning. What appears at first to be the tragic fate of Bowery drunks twists into a case of murder, high-stakes betrayal, and war-time secrets, involving a wealthy retired colonel, John Howard, and his circle. The story unfolds in a moody, narrative-driven noir style, with personal anguish, witty banter, and a deep sense of Broadway itself as a living character.

Key Discussion Points and Plot Breakdown

1. Morgue Discovery: Two Deaths on Skid Row

• Timestamps: [00:48]–[02:57]
• Detective Danny Clover and Detective Mugavan examine the bodies of Joey Macklin ("Bowery pickpocket, bum, panhandler, rummy") and an unidentified, well-groomed man in shabby clothes.
• Striking detail: The unknown victim wears silk underwear under ragged outerwear.

2. Identification and Mystery Deepen

• Timestamps: [03:48]–[05:48]
• Sergeant Tartaglia brings word: The fingerprints belong to John Howard, retired Lieutenant Colonel and current bond salesman.
• Tartaglia notes he’s also contacted Howard’s wife, Mrs. Lila Howard, to come to the morgue.
• Danny: “John Howard, Lieutenant Colonel, retired from the Army. Present address 3212 Park Avenue. Occupation, bond salesman.” ([04:37])

3. Mrs. Howard’s Grief and Revealed Backstory

• Timestamps: [05:48]–[07:43]
• Mrs. Howard identifies her husband’s body in a highly emotional scene.
• Detective Clover allows her space to process the loss, delaying deeper questioning.

4. Skid Row Leads: Benny Fane’s Tip

• Timestamps: [07:43]–[10:43]
• Danny tracks down informant Benny Fane for leads on the dead man’s recent whereabouts.
• Benny describes seeing Howard drinking with Joey Macklin, leading to a Bowery boarding house.
• They discover Mickey Thomas, another derelict, who has been blinded by the same poisoned liquor and is desperate for help.
• Mickey cries: “Help me, help me! …I drank it. That liquor. Now I can’t see. I’m blind. Help me!” ([10:10])

5. Victim’s Past: Halloween, A Bet, and Disappearance

• Timestamps: [12:02]–[14:47]
• Mrs. Howard recounts last seeing John on Halloween night, when he made a drunken bet to live on Skid Row for a week (“…a crazy one. The kind he liked. That he could go to Skid Row dressed as he was and live there for a week…”) ([13:38])
• The plan had involved their friend Frank Clifton, Howard’s adjutant in the war.

6. Frank Clifton’s Motives and Relationship

• Timestamps: [15:13]–[16:00]
• Frank Clifton, preparing to set sail for Europe like Mrs. Howard, details Howard’s penchant for high-stakes bets and confirms the ill-fated challenge.
• Frank describes his relationship with Howard: “Everything was a bet… that’s how I spent the war, making book for him.” ([16:00])

7. Unraveling the Crime: Evidence and Army Secrets

• Timestamps: [18:13]–[22:21]
• In the hospital, the blinded Mickey Thomas, questioned by Clover and Mugavan, reveals he unknowingly stole the fatal bottle and a cigarette case from Howard’s room.
• The pawn shop owner Mr. Fring identifies the cigarette case with an American intelligence insignia, linking it to Howard’s war service.
• Mugavan uncovers Howard’s army history: Howard, Clifton, and another (deceased) were part of an intelligence unit recovering Nazi loot in Germany. “Only the original owner screamed that some stuff was missing…” ([22:00])

8. Confrontation and Confession

• Timestamps: [22:51]–[25:31]
• Detective Clover confronts Mrs. Howard and Clifton before their departure to Europe.
• He lays out his theory: Howard, Clifton, and their unit found Nazi loot, but not all was turned over—Howard hid part of it in Europe, planning to retrieve it.
• Clover accuses Clifton: “Frank murdered your husband.” ([25:23])
• He lays out the method: Clifton, needing silence to cover the secret, poisons Howard with lethal alcohol through Macklin, not knowing that fate would expose him via the stolen cigarette case and pawn ticket.
• Mrs. Howard, devastated: “You killed him, Frank.” ([25:31])

9. Noir Reflection: The Lonely Mile

• Timestamps: [25:33]–[27:22]
• Episode closes with Clover’s signature soliloquy about Broadway’s allure and emptiness: “On Broadway there’s always a vision that stands in the doorway at the end of night. You run after it—but a hand at your sleeve tugs you back…”

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Broadway's mood:
  “From Times Square to Columbus Circle. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world.” — Narrator ([00:23])

• On the morgue’s chill:
  “The windows are high on the moist walls, high so that dead fingers can't reach open... The warmth is taken and held before it can touch the people of a room that is forever cold. All of it has been yours countless times and still the shudder comes.” — Danny Clover ([02:57])

• Mrs. Howard on her husband's whimsy:
  “John was a man of whims. Let's only say of him that he indulged his last one. Shall we?” — Mrs. Lila Howard ([14:39])

• Frank Clifton on John Howard’s character:
  “Everything was a bet. Could be walking along, he'd pick any stranger… make you wonder about him or her. And then bet you were wrong…” — Frank Clifton ([16:00])

• Clover's closing rumination:
  “On Broadway there’s always a vision that stands in a doorway at the end of night. …It’s Broadway. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Broadway. My beat.” ([27:22])

Key Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------|--------------| | Morgue discovery & mystery setup | 00:48–02:57 | | Howard identified, Mrs. Howard arrives | 03:48–05:48 | | Mrs. Howard's grief, introduction to Bowery| 05:48–10:43 | | Halloween party bet & Skid Row challenge | 12:02–14:47 | | Frank Clifton, army background revealed | 15:13–16:00 | | Pawn ticket, investigation deepens | 18:13–22:21 | | Final confrontation, confession | 22:51–25:31 | | Detective Clover’s closing monologue | 27:22–27:45 |

Tone and Style

The episode’s tone is brooding, lyrical, and deeply noir — blending world-weary detective narration with rapid-fire banter and compassionate asides. The drama unfolds through snappy exchanges and reflective soliloquies, drawing listeners into both the hard facts and the emotional undercurrents of the case.

Summary

Detective Danny Clover’s investigation unravels a web of postwar secrets, personal betrayals, and a tragic bet gone wrong. Wealth, nostalgia, and greed intersect on Broadway’s shadowy corners, as a rich man's flight of fancy leads to murder and heartbreak.

Listeners are swept into the evocative world of postwar New York, with all the drama, loss, and dark glamour that defines the Golden Age of Radio noir.