Podcast Summary: Broadway Is My Beat – "The John Dobson Murder Case" (01/05/1952)

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Host: Choice Classic Radio
Episode: Broadway Is My Beat – "The John Dobson Murder Case"
Date Aired: February 18, 2026
Featured Detective: Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover

Main Theme

A brooding, atmospheric investigation set in the heart of 1950s New York, this episode thrusts Detective Danny Clover into the case of John Dobson’s mysterious poisoning and death. The narrative explores the allure and dangers of ambition, beauty, and the lengths to which someone might go to hold onto love—or a lavish lifestyle—beneath Broadway’s neon lights. The episode paints a portrait of Edna Dobson, a twice-widowed woman whose desire for beauty and attention surfaces as the chilling motive behind murder.

Key Discussion Points and Plot Breakdown

1. The Call to Action: John Dobson Found Poisoned

[00:54–02:50]

• The opening sets the moody post-New Year’s tone of Broadway, soon interrupted as Clover is called to the emergency hospital to see John Dobson, found collapsed and poisoned in his car.
• Dr. Sinski reveals the victim is "not in any pain" and the initial examination points to poisoning, but not self-administered—"You ever hear of anybody drinking poison and going for a car ride?" (Detective Danny Clover, [02:36])

2. Meeting Edna Dobson: The Unfeeling Widow?

[03:48–05:27]

• Clover arrives at the Dobsons’ luxurious Park Avenue apartment. Edna, initially annoyed, shows indifference masked by self-absorption.
  • Notable quote: "The woman's anger tears at her heavily creamed face..." (Detective Danny Clover, [03:51])
• Edna claims they shared a romantic dinner before John left to meet "old friend" Floyd Gilmore. Her primary concern, however, is her appearance: "Few men have ever seen me in this... Even John." ([04:17])

3. The Friend and the “Outside Interest”: Floyd Gilmore

[05:55–07:49]

• Clover questions Floyd, who gets flustered but admits to orchestrating a meeting between John and a "friend," Isabel Martin, intended as a romantic escape from Edna.
  • Notable quote: "You were going to introduce him to an outside interest?" (Detective Danny Clover, [07:19])

4. Isabel Martin and a Trail of Drinks

[08:59–11:25]

• At Isabel Martin's hotel, the detective finds her alone and drunk, waiting for John. She offers little besides melancholy and coquetry. Crucially, Clover collects her unfinished drink for testing.

5. John Dobson’s Death and Edna’s Reaction

[11:43–12:58]

• John dies in the hospital, calling out for Edna one last time: "Danny... opened his eyes and said his wife's name. Said Edna. Said my beautiful wife Edna. Beautiful, even in all her grief." (Dr. Sinski, [12:00])
• Edna's grief is more performative than heartfelt, obsessed with her appearance in the moment of loss.

6. Detective Work: Piecing Together Edna’s Past

[17:03–20:32]

• Sergeant Tartaglia and Detective Clover uncover Edna’s background:
  • She married into money twice; her first husband, Timothy French, was a wheelchair-bound man who died in a suspicious accident (a fall).
  • She inherited a sizeable estate.
  • Of her marriages, "Mr. Dobson did attach himself and married Mrs. Dobson while she was still in widow's weeds." (Gino Tartaglia, [17:39])
• Insurance man Jonathan Harvey recounts how Edna met Timothy and later reveals that Edna underwent transformations—bank clerk to beauty—after accumulating wealth.

7. The Beauty Parlor: A Ritual of Reinvention

[21:07–22:23]

• Investigation at Lawson’s salon reveals Edna’s obsessive, expensive pursuit of beauty began the same day as her first husband’s funeral.

8. The Interrogation and Confession

[22:41–27:24]

• Brought in for questioning, Edna deflects, grows defensive, then coldly rationalizes her actions:
  • Confronted with the pattern—a plain woman turned beauty, sustained by money from dead husbands—she finally breaks.
  • Notable quotes:
    • "I killed them. I killed both of them. Will the reporters be here soon?" (Edna Dobson, [26:55])
  • Edna’s motive emerges: She killed to preserve her lifestyle and the illusion of beauty and adoration from others.

9. The Coda: Broadway Endures

[27:24–28:16]

• Narration closes on the loneliness and spectacle of Broadway—the world moves on, even as tragedy fades into the city’s endless night.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the City:
  • "Broadway's My Beat, from Times Square to Columbus Circle, the gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world." – Detective Danny Clover ([00:24])
• On Motive:
  • "With money, you could make yourself beautiful... The way you always wanted to be." – Dr. Sinski ([25:40])
  • "The lovely one is the woman Johnny knew. The woman Johnny saw when he died. There was never any other." – Edna Dobson ([15:30])
• On Confession:
  • "I killed them. I killed both of them. Will the reporters be here soon?" – Edna Dobson ([26:55])

Important Timestamps

• 00:54 – Opening depiction of New Year's Broadway, initial hospital scene
• 03:48 – Detective Clover questions Edna Dobson
• 05:55 – Interview with Floyd Gilmore
• 08:59 – Visit to Isabel Martin’s hotel room
• 11:43 – John Dobson dies at the hospital
• 17:03 – Tartaglia provides background on Edna and her late husbands
• 21:07 – Visit to Lawson's beauty parlor, Edna’s transformation revealed
• 23:10 – 26:55 – Showdown and confession from Edna Dobson
• 27:24–28:16 – Reflective closing narration

Tone and Style

Atmospheric, noir-laden, and steeped in a blend of weary cynicism and empathy, the episode’s tone is set by Clover’s world-weary narration and edged by the brittle, almost tragic glamour of Edna Dobson. Dialogue is stylized, sharp, and rich with metaphor—the city itself is a character, looming and watching over the drama.

Conclusion

A classic Golden Age radio mystery, "The John Dobson Murder Case" layers social commentary about class, gender, and appearance into a story about murder and motive. Its legacy lies in the hard-boiled poetry of its narration and characters whose tragic flaws are amplified by the backdrop of New York’s most dazzling, desperate mile—Broadway.