The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Prodigal Panda Caper 12/29/1950

Summary

Summary of "The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Prodigal Panda Caper"

Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Prodigal Panda Caper
Release Date: May 10, 2025

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Introduction

In the December 29, 1950 episode titled "The Prodigal Panda Caper," listeners are plunged into a classic Sam Spade mystery infused with unique twists involving a beloved panda bear. Hosted by Choice Classic Radio, this episode masterfully blends suspense, humor, and the quintessential charm of old-time radio detective stories.

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Main Characters

• Sam Spade: The astute and determined private detective at the center of the investigation.
• Effie: Sam's resourceful assistant, who plays a crucial role in unraveling the mystery.
• Lieutenant Dundee: A persistent police officer working alongside Sam to solve the case.
• Roby Dozier: An 8-year-old boy whose stolen panda bear sets the mystery in motion.
• Dr. Kempthorne: A suspicious character connected to the criminal activities.
• Scarlet Townsend: The enigmatic "dragon lady" implicated in the case.
• Lenny Fleagle: An ex-con involved in the illegal dealings surrounding the panda bears.

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Plot Summary

The Case Begins

The episode opens with Effie informing Sam about a peculiar case involving a stolen panda bear belonging to a young boy named Roby Dozier. Roby's father, having collected junk money, bought the panda bear from Lacy's Department Store as a surprise for his five-year-old son, Barney. However, the bear was swiftly stolen by a duo dressed in a checkered coat and a red silk dress. Roby recounts the harrowing incident, stating:

Roby Dozier [05:00]: "It's not mine really. I bought it for my little brother, Barney. ...And right away the man in the checkered coat ran up and grabbed at my panda bear."

Investigation Unfolds

Effie takes charge, deciding to handle the case herself while ensuring Roby is sent home safely. She visits Lacy's Department Store to gather information about the stolen panda bears. Here, Effie discovers that all 25 large panda bears had been sold unusually quickly, raising suspicions about the new employee, Ms. Greenbrier.

Effie [08:07]: "But would you believe it, sir? This afternoon all 25 were sold."

Effie’s inquiries lead her to uncover that Ms. Greenbrier, who appeared ill, was found dead at the store, initially ruled as a natural heart attack. However, further inspection by Lieutenant Dundee reveals:

Lieutenant Dundee [18:02]: "Yeah. No heart attack. She was poisoned."

Connecting the Dots

The investigation points towards Dr. Kempthorne and his chauffeur, Lenny Fleagle, an ex-con with a shady past. Effie discovers that the stolen panda bear was part of a larger scheme involving money hidden within the bears, intended for illicit transfers. The plot thickens when Effie finds a red convertible associated with the crime, leading her to confront Dr. Kempthorne.

Effie [21:08]: "Well, you're improving. Who's the buyer?"

Lieutenant Dundee [25:00]: "I fixed that thing for Castella myself after we took the dough out. What kid? It's got a bomb in it."

Climactic Confrontation

Effie devises a plan to recover the stolen panda bear, which contains the hidden money and potentially a bomb. She collaborates with Lieutenant Dundee and the police to track down Lenny Fleagle. A tense showdown ensues in an alley, where Effie successfully retrieves the panda and apprehends Fleagle, revealing the depth of the criminal operation.

Effie [27:03]: "What's it worth? Legal? 50,000. A hundred little kids. Got it?"

Resolution

With the panda recovered and the culprits apprehended, Effie ensures that Roby gets his beloved bear back. The episode concludes on a heartwarming note as Effie delivers the panda to Roby, reaffirming the triumph of good over nefarious schemes.

Effie [30:22]: "Happy New Year."

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Notable Quotes

• Roby Dozier [05:00]: "It's not mine really. I bought it for my little brother, Barney."
• Effie [08:07]: "This afternoon all 25 were sold."
• Lieutenant Dundee [18:02]: "Yeah. No heart attack. She was poisoned."
• Sam Spade [25:00]: "I hope Roby appreciates you."
• Effie [30:22]: "Happy New Year."

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Conclusion

"The Prodigal Panda Caper" showcases Sam Spade's unwavering determination to solve even the most unusual cases. Through Effie's ingenuity and the collaborative efforts with Lieutenant Dundee, the mystery of the stolen panda bear is deftly unraveled. This episode not only provides listeners with gripping detective work but also emphasizes themes of loyalty, courage, and the importance of community support. Perfect for old-time radio enthusiasts, this adventure exemplifies the timeless allure of Sam Spade's detective prowess.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

Broadcasting Company presents the Adventures of Sam Spade Detective.

[Sam Spade]

Sam Spade Detective Agency.

[Effie]

Me sweetheart. Merry 29th of December.

[Sam Spade]

You too, Sam. Did you take the little boy home?

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Yep.

[Sam Spade]

Straight home.

[Effie]

Well, not exactly. F. Had to make a couple of emergency stops, but we got there.

[Sam Spade]

What do you mean, Sam?

[Effie]

Well, I got my weekly knot on the head, for one thing. Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Just taking the little boy home.

[Effie]

Like I said, F. We were derailed. There was a dash of poison, for instance, a couple of pounds of thousand buck notes and an infernal machine that nearly blew up half the Mission District. But other than that, we had a peaceful ride home.

[Sam Spade]

Why, Sam, this sounds like a keeper.

[Effie]

Which is just what it is. Angel, get out our special holiday bottle of Napa Valley wine and we'll get in our premature regards to the new year following dictation of a report entitled the Prodigal.

[Sam Spade]

Prodigal? Sam, are you sure that's the right word?

[Effie]

Certainly I'm sure. The Wanderer will return to the rooster. You and your big fat roost with our last bedtime story for 1950, namely the prodigal panda caper.

[Narrator]

For NBC. William Spear, radio's Outstanding Producer, Director of Mystery and Crime Drama, brings you the greatest private detective of them all in the Adventures of Sam Spade.

[Effie]

Effie. Ms. Perrine.

[Sam Spade]

Coming, Sam, coming. I've been looking in the dictionary. Sam, you've fallen into the trap again. Prodigal. Here now see? Prodigal given to reckless extravagance. It doesn't mean Wandering at all. See, people think just because the prodigal son wandered that.

[Effie]

What are we talking about?

[Sam Spade]

The prodigal panda caper. How can a panda be given to reckless extravagance?

[Effie]

Well, let me say. Oh, here. Definition 3. Prodigal yielding abundantly luxuriant.

[Sam Spade]

A panda? You mean one of those black and white.

[Effie]

You're right. Right. See note below, it says. You ready for the note below with my pencil?

[Sam Spade]

Oh, all right, then fill in it.

[Effie]

Master Roebuck Dozier, 2318 Delaney Street, City. From Samuel Spade, license number 137596.

[Sam Spade]

Subject, the Prodigal panda caper.

[Effie]

Right. Dear Robyn, I had spent a relatively pleasant day running down a case of slow pay in north beach and flushed with success, had returned to my office for a final check of the file. Hmm. Underwood. Helen. Not sure. Roderick. Pardon? Dolly. Where the. Oh, Spirits. Holland, I guess. I sat down, put my head and my feet on the desk and was loosening my collar when I noticed just to the right of my arm, ankle, one large bag of jelly beans sighting. Past it, I saw in the corner chair an open copy of a magazine featuring on the COVID a blonde in a low cut dress taking a.38 slug from a slack jawed thug in the background under big red letters spelling out Thrilling Crime Comics. And behind all this, sound asleep, was you. Hey. Hey, Sonny. Sonny. Hey. Hey, wake up, will ya? Come on. Reveley's blowing.

[Sam Spade]

Huh?

[Effie]

Oh, hi. Hi. How long you been here?

[Sam Spade]

A long time, I guess.

[Effie]

What's your name?

[Sam Spade]

Roby. Short for Roebuck.

[Effie]

Well, what can I do for you, Roby?

[Sam Spade]

I've been to the police. They wouldn't do anything. They said I should come to you.

[Effie]

You mean you got a job from me?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah.

[Narrator]

Dangerous.

[Sam Spade]

Yeah. A hoist.

[Effie]

You mean a heist? What was it?

[Sam Spade]

My panda bear.

[Effie]

Oh, someone stole it.

[Sam Spade]

Yeah. It's not mine really. I bought it for my little brother, Barney. He's five and he's always wanted one. So when I got the junk money, I went.

[Effie]

Money?

[Sam Spade]

Oh, bottles and papers and stuff. I collected it from the Neighbors and earned $6.15. And Barney wanted the panda bear, so I bought it at Lacy's department store today, and they stole it.

[Effie]

Who stole it?

[Sam Spade]

Well, there was this man in the checkered coat and the lady in the red silk dress, just like the store. In the comic here, the man looked like that, but the lady, look, she had black hair and a red dress and her eyebrows went up this way instead of sideways. I was walking down the street with my panda bear and the lady called Me over to a car she was sitting in and started to talk to me. And right away the man in the checkered coat ran up and grabbed at my panda bear. And they chased me up a fire escape. And the man pulled out a big black gun and said if I didn't come down and give him the panda, he'd shoot me and Barney and Mom. So I came down and gave him the panda.

[Effie]

Well, that's quite a mouthful. Oh, excuse me, Robbie. Hello, Sam? Yeah, Dundee.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

This is Dundee. Oh, Sam is a little fella about 8 years old on his way over there.

[Effie]

No, he's here now, Lieutenant. What's the deal?

[Lieutenant Dundee]

He gave us quite a story.

[Effie]

Well, how'd it go now?

[Lieutenant Dundee]

We took it down. I got it right here somewhere. Let me see. It's about a man in a checkered coat and a lady in a red silk dress. Oh, here it is. Quote, I was walking down the street with my panda bear and the lady called me over to her car.

[Effie]

Okay, Dundee. He hasn't changed it any.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

We got hold of his mother. Runs an elevator in the Rust Building.

[Effie]

Good.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

She says he reads too many comic books. You better send him home.

[Effie]

Okay, Lieutenant. Thanks. Come on, Roby.

[Sam Spade]

You gonna send me home?

[Effie]

Lieutenant Dundee called your mother, old man.

[Sam Spade]

And you don't believe me either.

[Effie]

Oh, it's not that, Robie. It's just.

[Sam Spade]

But I can't go home without the panda beer. What do I tell Barney? I promised him my own brother.

[Effie]

Oh, he's home now, waiting. Yeah, well, tell you what I'll do, Roby. You let me put you in a taxi and send you home, and I'll take the case.

[Sam Spade]

You'll get my panda back.

[Effie]

Wouldn't be at all surprised. So if Barney's face hits the floor, just tell him Samuel Spade Incorporated is working on it.

[Sam Spade]

Only one thing.

[Effie]

Huh?

[Sam Spade]

I haven't any money left.

[Effie]

Oh, well, you got jelly beans, haven't you?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah.

[Effie]

Okay, you can pay me off in jelly beans. Come on, now, let's find a taxi. Which we did, Roby. Like the psychology books said, I didn't discourage the child imagination. But I did try to tout you off Thrilling Crime Comics and onto Alice in Wonderland. This, I could see, would take some doing. It was almost closing time when I got to Lacey's, but I talked my way past the man at the door and hustled up to the sixth floor and the toy department. The clerks were doing whatever clerks do at 5:30, but I found a handy floor walker.

[Floor Walker]

Dear me, Mr. Spade, I just don't know I just don't know.

[Effie]

You mean you counted your cash and everything, but you can't.

[Floor Walker]

It's not that. Mr. Spade, I am perfectly willing to stretch a point to please the little fellow.

[Effie]

We.

[Floor Walker]

We like to think we are human here, you know.

[Effie]

Well, that's nice that you like to think so. I mean.

[Floor Walker]

But you see, something very strange happened this afternoon. Come over this way, sir, by the escalator. We had the giant pandas at this counter here. 25 of the large size. I assume that's what you're interested in.

[Effie]

I guess so. Then what, then?

[Floor Walker]

Well, for Christmas, they didn't do anything.

[Effie]

Just sat here, huh?

[Floor Walker]

Yes, but would you believe it, sir? This afternoon all 25 were sold.

[Effie]

Well, how do you account for that New Year's gaiety?

[Floor Walker]

Well, if you want my personal opinion, it's Ms. Greenbrier, the new girl who came to work yesterday. She is endowed with.

[Effie]

I know just what it takes to sell pandas. Well, how about the junior model?

[Floor Walker]

Medium? Yes. Now, let me see. There were a few under the counter here. Where.

[Effie]

What?

[Floor Walker]

I was wrong. Here is a big one.

[Effie]

Well, lucky me. How much?

[Floor Walker]

5.79 plus tax. I'll make the slip out and you can get your change over the main.

[Effie]

An impressive panda bear, Ruby was. Hard to figure out how you could lose anything that big. And harder still to figure out how I'd explain this kind of thing to people who stopped me on Market Street. Be that as it may, my floor walker friend took my cash, tore off the sale slip, and I was about to set sail with my panda when I heard him make the kind of a noise floor workers make when they see what he was looking at.

[Floor Walker]

Ms. Greenbar. Ms. Greenbr.

[Effie]

He pointed weakly, turned pale even by floor walker standards and sagged to the deck. I turned in time to see Ms. Greenbrier collapse at the top of the escalator and watched her come down, draped across three steps like the COVID of one of your books of bedtime stories. Roby. She was the last passenger of the day. Or so I thought. When I looked closer, I saw she wasn't a passenger. She was freight. At the lamp counter on the floor above, busily adding up receipts as if nothing had happened. Was a dark type built along dragon lady lines.

[Sam Spade]

I'm very sorry, sir, but we closed promptly.

[Effie]

I want to know about the girl who just went down the escalator. Ms. Greenbrier? Yeah. Notice anything strange about her? Why?

[Sam Spade]

Is she ill?

[Effie]

Yeah. Did she look ill?

[Sam Spade]

I thought there must have been something wrong. I said hello to Her. And she didn't pay any attention to me. It was only a second ago.

[Effie]

Where'd she come from?

[Sam Spade]

Around the corner, I think. She'd been at the wrapping desk.

[Effie]

She had. It was a tent sized sheet of heavy brown paper, a batch of metered postage tape and a shipping label addressed to Master Frankie Carson, 281Avenida Ruiz, Havana, Cuba. Downstairs, I found my floor walker friend had come around and was bending over Ms. Greenbriar with an impressive looking gent with gray at the temples.

[Floor Walker]

Good heavens. It can't be. It just cannot be, that's all.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

I'm afraid she is though.

[Floor Walker]

In laces. It's. It's unheard of. Why should she be? Good heavens. In my department too.

[Effie]

Excuse me, floor walker.

[Floor Walker]

Oh, this is Mr. Spade. He was with me when it. Oh, dear.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

I'm Dr. Kempthorne. I was exchanging some Christmas gifts when.

[Effie]

Any idea what killed her?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Well, it's pretty hard to tell without an examination and I don't have my things with me.

[Effie]

Heart. Possibly natural causes? Well, of course. Why? Do you have reasons? There are more natural places to die than at the top of an escalator.

[Floor Walker]

And in my department at Lacey's too. Good heaven.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Well, who can say? Have to look up the girl's history if she had a heart condition.

[Effie]

Well, sure, sure. Meanwhile, I'll call Homicide. They've nothing better to do. For a minute I thought I'd been reading too many comic books. Roby. But things settled down when they pulled out the records and found Ms. Greenbrier had had a heart condition of long standing. And the medical examiner wrote it off as natural causes. So hoping you would consider a jelly bean bonus for promptness, I pick up my panda and wince outside. I'd gone about 10 steps when. Hi, Humphrey. It was Larry Healy, the cop who drives for Lieutenant Dundee. Sit in a patrol car. Oh, you and Bogard. Who's it for? A little kid in the mission.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

How come?

[Effie]

What do you mean how come? I'm buying a panda bear for a little kid in the mission who likes panda bears. Does that have to be explained? Okay, Sam. Okay, okay. It just hit me. The bear ain't turned out quite right. He needs a necktie. Oh, I just happen to have one here my brother in law got me for Christmas. Here, give me. Now, say you're. Hey, Larry. Larry. How long has there been bad blood between you and your brother in law? Bad blood? Listen, even when we were friends, he gave me ties like this. There you are. On your way, Sam. Thanks. Thanks. Taxi. Taxi. The cab let me out near the end of Delaney and I started walking up the row of dingy pre earthquake flats towards your house. Roby at the end of the street. Parked at the curb was a discordant note in this hard pressed neighborhood. A sleek custom built red convertible. One of the kind that looks like it can go 90 miles an hour standing still. The same can be said for the dame in it. Also a discordant note. You see, San Francisco is a very big, large city. You just don't run into a dame at the lamp counter in Lacey's and half hour later in a dumpy neighborhood in the Mission. Unless she wants it that way.

[Sam Spade]

Well, hello.

[Effie]

Hello, dragon lady. You. You must sell a parcel of lamps.

[Sam Spade]

The car.

[Effie]

But don't try and explain that now. Just tell me why you followed my cab.

[Sam Spade]

Follow you? Why?

[Effie]

Mr. Spade, come on, Come on, what is it?

[Sam Spade]

You're embarrassing me.

[Effie]

I know. Since that moment at the lamp counter you can't get me out of your mind. Well, that's a perfectly normal reaction.

[Sam Spade]

It's not that, it's. Oh, dear.

[Effie]

The panda bear. You want it in the worst way.

[Sam Spade]

You're kind of attractive as men go. Mr. Spade, could you give me a light, please?

[Effie]

Sure.

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[Effie]

Holding the match up to her cigarette. Three things hit me. The black hair, the red dress and eyebrows that went up instead of sideways. At that point, the sleeve of a checkered overcoat with a big arm inside it came around onto my chin from the rear. And the fourth thing hit me. How long I dwelled in panda land, I don't know, but it was real nice while it lasted. I was a panda too, I remember. And I was going somewhere with a big overstuffed private detective under my arm when a lady panda batted her big brown eyes at me and began pulling my nose. She seemed to have a very, very high voice.

[Sam Spade]

Wake up, Mr. Spade. Ruffling's blowing. I call Lieutenant Dudley. Mr. Spade, son is. Wait. Lucky.

[Effie]

Hey.

[Sam Spade]

Over here.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Good Christopher. Sam, what happened?

[Effie]

Well. Well, it was this way, Dundee. I was walking down the street with my panda bear and the lady called me over to the car she was sitting in and started to talk to me right away. The man in the checkered coat up said.

[Narrator]

You are listening to the weekly adventure of radio's most famous detective, Sam Spade. Van Heflin stars. This Sunday in State Fair, another outstanding 60 minute production by Theater Guild on the air. Co starring in this exciting broadcast is one of the leading families in show business. Jean Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart and daughter June. It's a gala New Year's Eve broadcast when Theater Guild presents State Fair Sunday over most of these NBC stations. Also means another hour and a half with Tallulah Bankhead in radio's greatest spectacle, the big show. Among Tallulah's guests will be Ken Murray, Gloria Swanson, Margaret o' Brien, Jose Ferrer and many more. Now back to the prodigal panda caper. Tonight's adventure with Sam Spade.

[Effie]

It was a humiliating experience. Roway riding back to headquarters in black defeat a dear good lieutenant. Dundee, however, was the soul of patience and understanding.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

What do you take me for, Spade? An idiot?

[Effie]

Look, Dundee, all I want you to understand is that this dame and the.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Hopped up convertible, that's three rides on that merry go round now, and I'm sick of it. The dame in a red dress and the guy in the checkered coat, they take your wallet?

[Effie]

No.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Your watch? Other valuables?

[Effie]

No, just my panda.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Sam, are you trying to tell me there's a hot panda racket going on?

[Effie]

Dundee boy, look closely now as I take off my hat.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

What?

[Effie]

There, see? Now, as you know, my head ordinarily does not come to a point, but this protuberance was made by a gunbot, not by imaginations.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Oh, someone slugged you. I believe that, Sam, but this panda bear thing. Donnie.

[Effie]

Yeah.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

What? Yeah, yeah.

[Effie]

You were saying something about my panda bear, Dundee.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Maybe I ought to take it back. That dame at the store this afternoon, the one who sold him.

[Effie]

Ms. Greenbrier?

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Yeah. I just finished the postmortem. No heart attack. She was poisoned.

[Floor Walker]

It's a strange thing, Mr. Spade. Very strange. I leave my business thoughts at the store.

[Effie]

Floor walker. Just try and remember the dragon lady's name, huh?

[Floor Walker]

Dragon lady? My good gracious, I. I can't remember my own name. I'm so upset.

[Effie]

Oh, now concentrate. Now look. Dark hair, up tilted eyebrows, red silk dress, works in lamp department on seventh floor.

[Floor Walker]

I can picture her so plainly.

[Effie]

Dark hair.

[Floor Walker]

Floor walker, dark hair.

[Effie]

Upshot Eyebrows.

[Floor Walker]

Eyebrows and red dreads.

[Effie]

Yes.

[Floor Walker]

Red, red, red. Scarlet.

[Effie]

Scarlet.

[Floor Walker]

Scarlet. That's it.

[Effie]

Easy now. I got a list of employees right here. I'll turn you scarlet. Scarlet. Scarlet. Scarlet Townsend.

[Floor Walker]

Scarlet Townsend.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

That's a deam floor walker.

[Effie]

Scarlett Townsend?

[Sam Spade]

Yes. He lived here?

[Effie]

Right in this room.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Move out.

[Sam Spade]

Good day.

[Effie]

I'll come. Huh? I said, how come, Landlady? Why'd she move?

[Sam Spade]

I tried to keep her on the right track, but her age you can't.

[Effie]

Tell em nothin' but when she framed.

[Sam Spade]

That no good dame around here, I put my foot down. I said Scarlet, I says. I said Scarlet, I says.

[Effie]

You're no good dame. What no good dame, landlady.

[Floor Walker]

Crystal McCall.

[Effie]

Oh, here.

[Sam Spade]

I found this just now as I.

[Floor Walker]

Was cleaning the room.

[Sam Spade]

Picture of Crystal McCall. Now ain't that a swell way to.

[Floor Walker]

Have your picture taken?

[Effie]

The name rang a bell and so did the picture. Crystal herself in the altogether. When I got around to the place, I made a startling discovery. Crystal was also the late Ms. Greenbrier.

[Sam Spade]

Don't look at it all day.

[Effie]

Young man. When did you see this girl? Last night, lady.

[Sam Spade]

This morning. She and a fellow in a checkered coat come around to pick up the Scarlet in a big red open car.

[Effie]

Know the fella?

[Sam Spade]

Nope. Never saw him before. But I sure know that car. Oh, you ought to see it.

[Effie]

You're not telling me a thing, landlady. I have in Los Angeles I'd have been dead. But San Francisco is not a convertible town. I found a free phone and began calling the dealers, figuring a bright red custom built convertible is something you remember whether you see it or sell it. An hour of this got me nowhere and I'd begun to wonder if the car had been smuggled up from the unmentionable side of the Tehachapi when the wind changed.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Sold the yellow one a while back.

[Effie]

Thanks, but near misses don't count for any.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

About the buyer had it painted red.

[Effie]

Special job. Well, you're improving. Who's the buyer?

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Kim Thorne.

[Effie]

Dr. Kempthorne. Right. Dr. Jules.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Kim Thorne lives on Motley Drive and bulling game. That's the only red one I know.

[Effie]

Great. That's the only red one I need.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Mr. Spade, this is utterly unbelievable. And I certainly don't intend to stand here all night discussing the pros and cons of panda bears.

[Effie]

All right, Chem. Thorne, let's slide over into your field.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Meaning what?

[Effie]

The sweet young thing at the store turned out dirty.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

The heart attack?

[Effie]

The poison attack.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Well, suicide, do you suppose?

[Effie]

What do you suppose?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Well, I'M sure I don't know.

[Effie]

Look, why don't we hold hands and tell the truth, huh?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

You'd better run along, Spade. I've had about all of this that I intended.

[Effie]

Look, the dead dame was Crystal McCall. Does that mean anything to you?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

No.

[Effie]

The same Crystal McCall was running around with a hood named Frankie Casella. Formerly of New York, now of Havana. My Department of Justice request.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

This is all very interesting. What has it to do with me?

[Effie]

She was riding around in your red convertible this morning, for one thing. That's a hot car. You know, I took a close look at it two hours ago and got slugged. I don't know how you score these things, Kempthorne, but in my book, this calls for a couple of answers.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

You're right. You're right, it does.

[Effie]

Where's the car?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

It's gone.

[Effie]

Who has it?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

My chauffeur. This is the last straw. I guess there's no point in covering up for him any longer.

[Effie]

Who is he?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Lenny Fleagle.

[Effie]

An ex con, isn't he? Yes.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

I thought I could straighten him out. He's been missing for two days. This time he just took the car and left. I knew he had something to do with that girl in the toy department at Lacey's, so I went there today. I guess I was too late.

[Effie]

You think Fleagle killed her?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

I don't know. I don't know.

[Effie]

Where.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Where did you see the car?

[Effie]

Near the end of Delaney Street. What's the license number?

[Dr. Kempthorne]

49H822. I'd better report stolen. If you need me to testify, please.

[Effie]

Feel free to call. That I will, Dr. Kempthorn. Bye. What I had in mind, of course, was to call Lieutenant Dundee and have him slap a 24 hour tail on the good doctor. But something intervened. Halfway down the walk to the street, my eye fell on a round plastic object about the size of a nickel lying in the grass. Curly. The eye of a giant panda. Since two other eyes were obviously watching me through Dr. Kempthorn's front curtains, I continued gaily on to my cab, drove up a half block, got out and walked back just in time to see Kempthorn pull away from the curb in his other car, heading towards El Camino and points north. This left me free to prowl at will. And four matchbooks later, I had found two more eyes. A pocket full of panda skin and a goodly scoop of panda upholstery. The trail led to the garage. It was no wonder his car was stolen. He must have had to leave it on the street all night because there was no room for it in the garage, which had been turned into a kind of panda abattoir, crammed to the rafters with panda bears. All a giant size, too, in various stages of dishabille. Legs, arms, eyes and innards. A sight to chill the heart of any but the sturdiest private detective. Ruby. But I braced myself and carried on.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Homicide. Dundee.

[Effie]

This is Sam Dundee.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Sam, where you calling from?

[Effie]

Phone booth and a drive in on El Camino. Listen, the license number on the red custom job is 49H822, and the guy driving it is Lenny Fleagle, an ex con.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Don't talk to me about that car. Larry Healy picked it up tonight going 90 on the bay Shore.

[Effie]

Great.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Lousy.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Why?

[Effie]

What happened?

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Next time I see one of them panda bears, I'm gonna spit right in its eye. So Larry pulls the guy down, and first thing he sees is the panda bear with a necktie.

[Effie]

What about the dragon lady?

[Lieutenant Dundee]

She came second. All Larry can think of is the hot panda bear. Figures they stole it, so he takes it back to the patrol car to return it to the kid.

[Effie]

No.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Yeah. By the time he got the exhaust smoke out of his eyes, they were gone. Oh, what's that license number again?

[Effie]

49H822.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

You sure?

[Effie]

Positive. I'm looking right at it. I. Oh. Sam Dundee. Yeah, we're all at Anderson's Drive in on El Camino. Put it on the air. Which just shows you how slow I can think. Roby, the red job was staring at me with its big chrome eyes outside the plate glass window. Fleagle and the dragon lady, bless him, were having a Saturday night. Blue plate displayed attractively on the tray racks, hung from the car doors. I sidled out of the phone booth and through the kitchen, thereby coming up on the car from behind.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

More coffee, honey?

[Sam Spade]

No.

[Effie]

We better get going. Plenty of time. Mind if I join you, Fleagle? He reached and I pushed, and instead of his gun, he came up with half a hamburger. It was too harsh a light for the dragon lady to operate effectively, and by the time Larry Healy and the Powell car pulled up, they decided to do it the easy way.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

You all comfy back there?

[Effie]

Lovely. Larry. Where you going, dragon lady? Shut up.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

What about the red job? What are you going to do with that, Larry?

[Effie]

Oh, I'm pounded till the lawyers are through talking.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Sam, you want to go by way of Delaney Street?

[Effie]

Yeah, okay.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Why Delaney Street?

[Effie]

Larry delivered the panda, huh? Sure. To the kid. Roby Dozier. We'll have to go and Pick it up, Lenny. Yeah. What's it worth? Legal? 50,000. A hundred little kids. Got it? Yeah. Oh, Marcelo will be disappointed. Flego. With the tax boys watching both him and Crystal. It looked like a safe way to get some of his dough out of the country to him.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Wasn't my idea. I hated him. I did eight years for him.

[Effie]

Spade.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

I could have killed him.

[Effie]

Shut up, Lenny.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

I don't care anymore. To heck with it. Look, it wasn't me. The guy who's running things for him here is Dr. Kempthorne. But Crystal had the dough. He killed her. He took her to lunch today.

[Effie]

Go ahead, Lenny. So he poisoned her. Then what?

[Lieutenant Dundee]

She'd fixed up one of the pandas. He didn't know which. Stuffed it with bills. 80, 100,000. I don't know. Anyway, you'll find the money in the.

[Dr. Kempthorne]

Red car under the back seat.

[Effie]

Under the seat? What are you talking about? It's in the panda. The kid's got it.

[Lieutenant Dundee]

Look. Why do you think I'm telling you this, you stupid flatfoot? I fixed that thing for Castella myself after we took the dough out. What kid? It's got a bomb in it.

[Effie]

I don't remember much about the ride from then on, Roby. All I could see was a white line unwinding in the headlights. But somehow we got to the end of Delaney street and around that corner again. Robey. Roby.

[Sam Spade]

Over here in the alley.

[Effie]

Roby. Robbie. Are you hurt? No.

[Sam Spade]

Just resting.

[Effie]

Where's the panda?

[Sam Spade]

Well, I'm through with pandas. And so is Barney. Next, junk money. I'm gonna buy him an elephant.

[Effie]

What happened?

[Sam Spade]

A policeman brought it.

[Effie]

Yeah.

[Sam Spade]

I started home with it when a car drove up and a man with gray hair got out.

[Effie]

Kim Thorne. What then?

[Sam Spade]

Same thing. He grabbed it and got in his car and drove off. He's around the corner there playing with it. Go ask him. I don't care anymore.

[Effie]

Around the corner. You may need. Period, end of report. A highly inconsiderate thing to do to a panda. But I'll give him one thing.

[Sam Spade]

What?

[Effie]

He had the good grace to park in front of a vacant lot before starting to tear it apart. And of course, to coin a phrase, he saved the people some money. And now, if you're a good, efficient girl and run that through your infernal machine. Who knows what I'll have in store for you when you're through. No jelly beans. Still, work is done. Now, scoop, scoop, scoop.

[Narrator]

Three chimes mean good times on NBC Friday. Means another visit to that entertaining eat establishment Duffy's Tavern. Archie, the manager, and his whimsical friends have cooked up another fresh half hour of laughs and typical Duffy's Tavern madness. And you're all invited. There's also another delightful adventure with Chester A. Riley, played by William Bendix. Tonight on the Life of Riley. Keep your dial set to NBC for the very best in radio entertainment.

[Sam Spade]

Here it is, Sam.

[Effie]

All official.

[Sam Spade]

Yep. I like the black one.

[Effie]

Lay off, lay off. We ain't no fair eating all the black ones. They're my favorite. Still now, Master Robotosier pays well, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

I hope Roby appreciates you.

[Effie]

Only just a kid. How can he appreciate me?

[Sam Spade]

I appreciate you, Sam.

[Effie]

Well, I appreciate you too, sweetheart. You're so pretty and so and so good about not hitting you all the time for your back salary. Yep. If when I stop and think of you, I go all choked up.

[Sam Spade]

You do? Black one.

[Effie]

Come here, angel.

[Sam Spade]

Yes.

[Effie]

It's all yours, dear. The rest of the jelly things. Happy New Year.

[Sam Spade]

Oh, good night.

[Effie]

Good night, sweetheart.

[Narrator]

The adventures of Sam Spade are produced, edited and directed by William Spears. Sam Spade was played by Stephen Dunn. Doreen Tuttle as Effie. Script for tonight's adventure by Harold Swanton. Musical scoring by Lud Gluskin conducted by Robert Armbruster. Join us again next week, same time for another adventure with Sam Spade. Enjoy the magnificent Montague, then Duffy's Tavern on NBC.

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