Podcast Summary: “Johnny Madero, Pier 23: Find Pete Sutro” (Original Air Date: 06/19/1947)

Overview

This episode of Choice Classic Radio Detectives features a classic tale from the Golden Age of Radio, starring Jack Webb as hard-boiled private investigator Johnny Madero. The episode, “Find Pete Sutro,” is a tangled web of lost identity, old crimes, blackmail, and a search for truth on the foggy San Francisco waterfront. Madero is hired to find a man whose very existence is in question—a job that rapidly spirals into murder, deception, and a dramatic showdown.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Progression

1. The Case Begins: A Mysterious Client

• Johnny Madero’s Introduction (00:26): Madero sketches his gritty, noir world on Pier 23, setting the tone with classic hardboiled narration.

• Client Appears (02:13): Nat Finley, a nervous, retired man from Nob Hill, hires Johnny for $50 a day (and a $200 bonus) to find "Pete Sutro"—a name that’s been haunting Finley’s mind as if out of nowhere.

• Finley’s Strangeness: He doesn’t know why he’s fixated on Sutro or how he encountered the name. The only clue is a recent dream with “General Delivery, San Francisco” attached to the name.

  "Lately, a name's been ringing in my ears. Just a name. Pete Sutro. Over and over again." - Nat Finley (02:47)

2. Digging for Leads

• Madero Investigates (04:08): Madero learns others are also searching for Sutro: tough guy Marty Kane and torch singer Evelyn Day.

• Meeting Marty Kane (05:20): Madero confronts Kane in a rundown motel; the conversation turns tense, layered with threats.

• Financial Motives: Kane admits he wants Sutro for a debt, and flashes a gun to get information.

  "Who's Nat Finley? … He said the name was giving him nightmares." - Johnny Madero (06:14)

3. A Bribe from the Wife

• Sheila Finley’s Entrance (07:36): Nat’s glamorous wife, Sheila, tries to bribe Johnny—offering $500 to drop the case, urging him not to feed her husband’s paranoia.

• Sheila’s Plea: She claims Pete Sutro doesn’t exist, that her husband is sick and imagining things.

  "There is no such man." – Sheila Finley (08:54)

4. Complication: Murder!

• Marty Kane is Killed (10:13): Inspector Warcheck, SFPD Homicide, confronts Madero at the bowling alley. Marty Kane was found murdered after Johnny’s visit.

• Johnny Becomes a Suspect: The motel manager’s testimony and circumstantial evidence paint Johnny into a corner, but he insists he’s innocent.

  "So far you don't have a way out. Why not plead insanity?" – Father Leahy (13:14)

5. Searching for Truth and Confessions

• Consultation with Father Leahy (12:24): Johnny talks through his troubles with a waterfront priest, getting both moral support and investigative help.

• Madero Questions Evelyn Day (15:12): Evelyn, a sultry singer and Sutro’s ex-girlfriend, reveals that Pete Sutro was mixed up in a Detroit robbery with Kane and later disappeared.

  "I used to be Pete Sutro's girl in Detroit. Then one day he skipped out and left me hanging on the vine." – Evelyn Day (16:18)

• Tensions Escalate: Evelyn still loves Sutro and, like Kane, has been searching for him.

6. The Truth Unravels

• Finley Returns, Paranoid (18:04): Nat is unraveling—convinced his wife and Sutro are plotting against him; he produces the gun that killed Kane, found in Sheila’s closet.
• Police Pressure Intensifies: Warcheck catches Johnny with the murder weapon, but Johnny explains it was planted.

7. Final Confrontation & Revelations

• Showdown at the Finleys’ (24:33): Johnny, Sheila, Nat/“Sutro”, and Evelyn converge. Evelyn claims Nat is actually Pete Sutro, unmasked by his voice and memories from Detroit.

  "So you gave him another name and another face, but you can't give him another voice. That's Pete Sutro." – Evelyn Day (26:13)

• Nat (Pete) is Confused: Suffering from amnesia after an accident, he’s been living as Nat Finley, under Sheila’s guidance.

• Sheila’s Confession & Violence: Sheila, desperate, pulls a gun; in a struggle, Evelyn is shot, but as she dies, she affirms to Pete/Finley that he remembered her.

  "You remembered me. She... she broke us up for good." – Evelyn Day (27:23)

• Tragic Resolution: Nat (Pete) briefly regains clarity, realizes everything, and the saga ends with shattered lives and the case closed.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Noir Opening:

  "The only time San Francisco really gets hot is when a tourist calls it Frisco. … About the same spot you'll find dust in a bride's parlor, you find Pier 23." – Johnny Madero (00:26)

• Cynical Wit:

  "Fifty bucks a day buys a lot of hangover, lady." – Johnny Madero (08:30)

• Blackmail & Motives:

  "Kane wanted $10,000 from Sheila to keep quiet about Sutro." – Nat Finley (18:28)

• Identity Crisis:

  "Tell him that he's Pete Sutro. Tell him that you stole him from me. Tell him you killed Marty Kane." – Evelyn Day (26:45)

• Tragic Realization:

  "I told you, Madero. Pete Sucro was gonna kill me in the end." – Nat Finley / Pete Sutro (28:18)

Important Timestamps

• 00:26: Johnny Madero’s gritty opening narration
• 02:13: Nat Finley hires Johnny to find Pete Sutro
• 05:20: Johnny’s confrontation with heavy Marty Kane
• 07:36: Sheila Finley bribes Johnny
• 10:13: Inspector Warcheck accuses Johnny after Kane’s murder
• 12:24: Madero seeks counsel from Father Leahy
• 15:12: Interview with torch singer Evelyn Day
• 18:04: Nat Finley’s paranoia peaks; confesses finding the murder weapon
• 24:33: Showdown at the Finley apartment; true identities revealed
• 26:13: Evelyn outs Nat as Sutro
• 27:23: Evelyn’s last words as she dies
• 28:18: Nat realizes the truth and his fate

Conclusion & Tone

Classic radio noir at its finest, this Johnny Madero case is dripping with sharp banter, femme fatales, amnesiac antiheroes, and cynical wit. The labyrinthine mystery ultimately reveals that everyone is chasing a ghost—until the truth (as usual) brings disaster for all. Jack Webb as Madero delivers snappy, world-weary commentary with a tough but humane edge. The episode packs the punch of Golden Age detective drama into a twisty, emotionally intense story of identity, guilt, and fatal memory.

For Further Listening

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