The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Red Star Caper 01/12/1951

Summary

Detailed Summary of "The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Red Star Caper" (01/12/1951)

Podcast Title: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: The Adventures of Sam Spade: The Red Star Caper
Release Date: May 24, 2025
Original Air Date: January 12, 1951

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Introduction

"The Red Star Caper" is a gripping episode of the classic detective series The Adventures of Sam Spade. Set against the backdrop of post-war tensions and international intrigue, this installment showcases Sam Spade's unparalleled detective skills as he delves into a complex case involving espionage, betrayal, and murder.

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Setting the Stage

Opening Dynamics

The episode begins with Sam Spade arriving late to his office, much to the chagrin of his efficient secretary, Effie. Their banter sets the tone for the interplay between Spade's laid-back demeanor and Effie's no-nonsense attitude.

• Effie: "[00:02:08]" (Effie expresses concern over Sam's tardiness and the resulting loss of clients.)
• Sam Spade: "[00:02:16]" "Well, that's life. I'm thinking of quitting private detecting anyway."

This light-hearted exchange quickly pivots to the heart of the mystery, establishing Spade's initial reluctance to engage in the upcoming investigation.

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The Murder at the Lecture

The Tragic Incident

Sam Spade attends a lecture by the renowned foreign correspondent, Cyrus Manning, at the Central Municipal Auditorium. Manning's presentation on the suspicious shipment of materials to Communist China is abruptly interrupted when he is assassinated on stage.

• Narrator: "[00:07:04]" "It's the most terrible thing that ever happened to me."
• Cyrus Manning: "[00:06:46]" "My answer, in a word, is yes."

Sam Spade finds himself at the center of the chaos, witnessing the murder firsthand and realizing the gravity of the situation.

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Entering the Investigation

Taking Charge

Determined to uncover the truth, Spade is hired by Dick Davis, the foreign news editor from The Tribune, to serve as Manning's bodyguard. Despite his initial hesitation, Spade agrees to take on the role, setting the stage for his deep dive into the case.

• Dick Davis: "[00:08:05]" "He needs a bodyguard. I don't know anybody else who would be crazy enough to take the job, so I called you."
• Sam Spade: "[00:08:39]" "Who’s paying?"
  "[00:08:40]" "We are. $50 a day."

This agreement marks the beginning of Spade's intricate investigation into Manning's murder.

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Unraveling the Clues

Key Discoveries

As Sam delves deeper, he uncovers several vital clues:

1. The Red Star Tattoo: The sole witness, Cyrus Manning, spots the murderer fleeing with a "red star" tattoo on his hand.

   • Sam Spade: "[00:14:02]" "It was a tattoo on the back of his hand. It was a red star."

2. Manning's Secret Notes: Manning was in possession of sensitive information about shipments to Communist China, but his notes are missing from his room.

   • Sam Spade: "[00:14:35]" "I searched Manning, and the notes from which he was speaking were gone."

3. Manning’s Wife, Fay Kearney: Fay's restricted movements and mysterious behavior hint at deeper conspiracies.

   • Cyrus Manning: "[00:23:35]" "She never stayed here at night. She only came in in the morning and left in the afternoon."

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The Confrontation and Revelation

Piecing It Together

Spade's investigation leads him to Fay Kearney, Manning's estranged wife, revealing a tangled web of espionage and personal vendettas. Fay discloses that her marriage to Manning was clandestine and fraught with tension due to Manning's covert activities.

• Fay Kearney: "[00:25:08]" "She had met and married Cyrus Manning secretly, against her father's will."

Further revelations uncover that Fay smuggled critical information in exchange for her father's approval, but Manning's insatiable ambition led to lethal consequences.

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The Final Showdown

Climax and Resolution

In a dramatic climax, Sam Spade confronts Dick Davis, the real perpetrator behind Manning's murder. Davis's obsession with scooping the biggest news story drove him to eliminate Manning to secure exclusive information for The Tribune.

• Dick Davis: "[00:21:20]" "Are you going to tell me something or am I going to beat it out of you?"
• Sam Spade: "[00:26:37]" "This time it's for cheap singers."

The confrontation culminates in Davis meeting his demise, ensuring justice is served and the truth about the Red Star Caper is unveiled.

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Conclusion

Reflections and Aftermath

In the aftermath, Effie reflects on the emotional toll the case has taken on Sam. Their conversation underscores the personal costs of Spade's relentless pursuit of truth and justice.

• Effie: "[00:27:10]" "Did he. Did he die, Sam?"
• Sam Spade: "[00:27:14]" "It was a matter of seconds, Beth."

The episode concludes with Sam Spade returning to his office, contemplating the complexities of human nature and his role as a detective amidst a backdrop of moral ambiguities.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Sam Spade on Mental State:
  "[00:27:31]" "I'm tempted, Effie. I'll say that much. Now go tighten that up."

• Effie on Sam's Poetry:
  "[00:28:16]" "Here it is, Sam. Believe me, I didn't enjoy typing at all."

• Sam Spade’s Poetic Phrase Attempt:
  "[00:28:55]" "There was a young girl with a heart as big as the wheels on a car. At the end of the day, she always would say, good night, Sam. No, no. Good night, sweetheart."

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Production Notes

• Producer/Director: William Spear
• Lead Actor (Sam Spade): Stephen Dunn
• Actress (Effie): Lorene Paddle
• Scriptwriter: John Michael Hayes
• Music: Lud Blefkin, conducted by Robert Armbruster

This episode masterfully blends suspense, character development, and intricate plotting, hallmark traits of the golden age of radio detective dramas. Sam Spade's unwavering dedication and sharp intellect shine through, making "The Red Star Caper" a standout installment in the series.

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Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[Narrator]

Presents the Adventures of Sam Spade Detective.

[Sam Spade]

Sam Spade Detective Agency Me Sweetheart.

[Effie]

Sam, most of the day is gone and you haven't even come in with the office.

[Sam Spade]

I slept in, Effie.

[Effie]

Did you have a busy night?

[Sam Spade]

Rather. Didn't you read the papers today?

[Cyrus Manning]

What?

[Effie]

Oh, I've given up reading the papers. They're so full of bad news lately.

[Sam Spade]

Well, they're especially full of bad news today. Eff, what happened?

[Effie]

Did your bowling team lose again?

[Sam Spade]

Effie, I'll thank you not to mention my bowling team in public. It's just a matter of getting a little exercise. And it didn't lose. It won even without me.

[Effie]

It only seems to win when you don't play on it, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Hippie, don't forget your position.

[Effie]

Sorry, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Anyway, how do we get on this bowling kick? We're supposed to be talking about something else.

[Effie]

About last night.

[Sam Spade]

Oh, yes. Well. Well, this one has more than local complications. Intrigue, foreign correspondence, dirty work on a grand scale. It's international in scope. You'll chill with me. You'll thrill with me. Half rogue and half renegade, it's Sam Spade in the Red Star 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.

[Sam Spade]

Effie?

[Effie]

Yes, Sam?

[Sam Spade]

Yeah, I'm here.

[Effie]

It's about time.

[Sam Spade]

Well, I'm here.

[Effie]

It's about time.

[Sam Spade]

Effie, you sound more like a shrew every day.

[Effie]

Thank you, Sam. I'm just being practical. You know, how can we make money if you don't show up? Well, I had to turn away three clients today.

[Sam Spade]

Well, that's life. I'm thinking of quitting private detecting anyway.

[Effie]

You are?

[Sam Spade]

Really?

[Effie]

What would you do?

[Cyrus Manning]

Well.

[Sam Spade]

Well, I know. Reporter's job. That's open now. How would that sound? Scoop Spade, My Beat is the Universe.

[Effie]

Oh, that sounds terrible. Sam, you make a silly reporter. You can't even type sometimes.

[Sam Spade]

Effie, you hit the nail right on the point where it hurts. Let's get down to business.

[Effie]

I hope I didn't offend you.

[Sam Spade]

Well, watches date January 12, 1951. 2. Lt. I.C. kelsey, Homicide Detail, San Francisco police from Samuel Spade. License number 137596. Subject, the red Star caper. Dear Kelsey, it had been some time since I had attended a lecture. In fact, the last one I can remember is when Margaret Sanger passed through town. But last night at 8:00, I filed into the Central Municipal Auditorium along with several hundred other people, including college students, newspaper men, professors of political science, the usual curious compliment and a goodly sprinkling of snuffling indigence who welcomed any easy means of escaping the cold winds that whoop through the Mission District at this time of the year.

[Cyrus Manning]

Ladies and gentlemen.

[Chairman]

Pleasure to see so many politically minded faces gathered in this auditorium tonight to let the world know that so many of us are trying to keep abreast of the fast moving and sometimes confusing events of our troubled days. Serves as a graphic example to those who would try to take our liberties away from us that we are ever alert and that we will continue to defend those liberties. Only by taking every opportunity to display our willingness to understand and act on the problems that face us can we serve notice to the world that we are ever ready to pick up the gauntlet of international challenge whenever or wherever it may be thrown down. The subject for tonight is, are we helping our enemies? And our speaker scarcely needs introduction. But just in case there are a few hermits in our audience who have never owned a radio set or seen a newspaper in the past 10 years. Well, just in case there are, let me introduce a man who really needs no introduction. The most distinguished foreign correspondent, Cyrus manning.

[Cyrus Manning]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good Evening, ladies and gentlemen. Are we helping our enemies? That is the question. My answer, in a word, is yes. And that answer is not hasty or ill advised. I have just returned from a thorough coverage of the Orient. I have visited the tragic, blood soaked battlefields of Korea. I've talked with the military leaders of the armed camp of Formosa. I've plod the nervous, defenseless soil of the Philippines and Japan. And I have even made two secret trips incognito, right into the bastion of the communist stronghold on the China mainland. And this is my report. This materially from this very city. Shipments are being made regularly to Red China.

[Sam Spade]

I was sitting halfway up the hall when the lights went out. I cut for a side aisle and raced for the stage. Someone was running for a back exit and I followed. I was too late. The car had roared out of the back alley and was gone. On the stage someone had rung down the curtain. Cyrus Manning was on the floor and the chairman was bending over him. He's dead.

[Cyrus Manning]

They almost shot me too.

[Sam Spade]

Let me see. Yeah, you're right. There's nothing anybody can do for him right now.

[Chairman]

The lights went out and then the shot.

[Sam Spade]

This is the most terrible thing that ever happened to me. To you? Shall I ask him to get up and call the police? Or do you think that with one last dying effort you might do? I'll call him. I'll call him. I guess he did get the worst of it. I guess he did. And that's how the news reached you, Kelsey. Now suppose you want to know how I happened to be at a lecture where the lecturer happened to be shot. Well, I'll tell you. And don't think it makes me happy. You see, I was supposed to be his bodyguard. Now, let's start at the beginning, shall we? It's early afternoon. Our stupid hero is sitting around trying to break the code on a scratch sheet.

[Effie]

Sam, are you in?

[Sam Spade]

Only the client. Who is it?

[Effie]

Davis. Foreign news editor on the tribunal.

[Sam Spade]

He probably has me confused with Mr. X, but I'll take it. Yeah. Dick.

[Dick Davis]

You ever hear of Cyrus Manning, Sam?

[Sam Spade]

The foreign correspondent?

[Dick Davis]

Yeah, that's the one. He's in town. He got here yesterday.

[Sam Spade]

Well, what is it? A benefit you want me to do card tricks or something?

[Dick Davis]

He needs a bodyguard. I don't know anybody else who would be crazy enough to take the job, so I called you.

[Sam Spade]

Oh, gee, thanks. Read the letters to the editor column tomorrow for my reply.

[Dick Davis]

I didn't know whether you'd take the job, but I sent him over to see you anyway.

[Sam Spade]

Who does he want to be bodyguarded against?

[Dick Davis]

Well, I'll let him tell you about it, Sam, but I'll give you a clue. Their home base runs west from the center of Berlin east to slightly below the 38th parallel.

[Sam Spade]

Oh, those people, huh? Well, there are only two or 300 million of them. I shouldn't have any trouble.

[Dick Davis]

Then you'll take the job, Sam?

[Sam Spade]

Who's paying?

[Dick Davis]

We are. 50 a day.

[Sam Spade]

60. Haven't you heard of the cost of living index?

[Dick Davis]

Yeah.

[Sam Spade]

All right, it's a deal. Good.

[Dick Davis]

Just one thing, Sam. If you have a good picture of yourself taken recently, kid, we'd appreciate a copy.

[Cyrus Manning]

Why, probably that is possible.

[Dick Davis]

Obituary.

[Sam Spade]

Davis, what are you saying?

[Dick Davis]

If I don't see you again, Sam, good luck.

[Sam Spade]

I quit. I won't take the job, Davis. Effie, I'm leaving town for a few days. F. Look, throw some things in my suitcase in the closet.

[Effie]

Oh, that's Sam. But wait. There's someone here to see you.

[Sam Spade]

I don't suppose his name is Cyrus Manning?

[Effie]

Did you ever guess, Sam?

[Sam Spade]

Oh, it was easy. Easy. I just thought of a name of a man I would least like to see. Send him in.

[Effie]

Sam, sometimes I just can't understand you.

[Sam Spade]

I have the same trouble. If I send him in and forget about the suitcase, I am not going to succumb to hysteria.

[Effie]

Are you sure you're all right?

[Sam Spade]

Of course I am. In these troubled times, we must keep our heads cool and our powder dry.

[Effie]

Well, I try to.

[Sam Spade]

Now send them in.

[Effie]

All right, you may come in now, Mr. Barnes.

[Cyrus Manning]

Ah, thank you, thank you. How do you do, Spade?

[Sam Spade]

Sit down, sit down.

[Cyrus Manning]

Oh, thank you, old man.

[Sam Spade]

You. Could you lift up your hat brim so I could see your face and maybe even take off your trench?

[Cyrus Manning]

Yeah, I never take them off, Spade. They're the mark of my profession. Oh, the life of a foreign correspondence isn't his own. You know, I might be with scarf to Berlin or Siberia in a matter of minutes. Sometimes I even sleep in these clothes. Well, best I wore this trench coat when I interviewed Hitler. When I stood knee deep in water on the shores of the Philippines next to Nagartha.

[Sam Spade]

Really?

[Cyrus Manning]

Why, the commandant of the prison camp didn't dare take it off of me when I was captured by the Chinese guerrillas.

[Sam Spade]

And when. Mr. Care for a drink? Drink? Yeah. Yes.

[Cyrus Manning]

Thank you, sir. I see you pouring deep.

[Sam Spade]

Well, here's the crime.

[Cyrus Manning]

I know. No, Spade, no. Just a minute. I never drink without first offering special toast offer.

[Sam Spade]

Ah. May the great white wings of the.

[Cyrus Manning]

Thunderbird much lightly over your Grave. A literal translation of an old Tibetan toast.

[Sam Spade]

Swell. So? Well, of course it probably loses something on the translation.

[Cyrus Manning]

Ah, it's good to get back to the States where they have real liquor. I'm getting tired of sake and Korean moonshine.

[Sam Spade]

I didn't know they had time to make it.

[Cyrus Manning]

Well, let's get down to business, Spade. This is my problem. I have been no respecter of censorship or official red tape. That's why I've scored some of my biggest news beats.

[Sam Spade]

I take it you're working on one now? Oh, the biggest.

[Cyrus Manning]

Did you know that material is being shipped out of San Francisco to the Chinese Communist forces? Stuff that they are even now using against us on the battlefield?

[Sam Spade]

Well, no, I didn't, but I could believe it.

[Cyrus Manning]

Well, for weeks now I have been tracking down the truth, documenting the facts, ferreting out the COVID ups, the lies, the falsehoods.

[Sam Spade]

Good for you.

[Cyrus Manning]

Now, tonight. Tonight I'm giving a lecture at the Central Municipal Auditorium. Press representatives from every newspaper and syndicate will be there.

[Sam Spade]

Of course, I.

[Cyrus Manning]

Well, I'll give the general outline of my revelations and it'll hit every newspaper in the country. Then when the public's appetite is whetted, I'll publish the specific details in the Tribune the following day and we'll score a clean scoop.

[Sam Spade]

I see. And you feel somebody's gunning for you?

[Cyrus Manning]

I know they are.

[Sam Spade]

Anybody specific?

[Cyrus Manning]

I'm. I'm not at liberty to name names just now, but after I give my first lecture tonight, it might be 30 for me.

[Sam Spade]

Well, the Tribune's hired me and I'll do my best.

[Cyrus Manning]

I've been in tight spots before, Spade, but my duty is clear before me and I'll not shirk it. I won't need you before the lecture, but immediately after. Your services will be appreciated.

[Sam Spade]

Well, why don't I stick with it starting right now?

[Cyrus Manning]

Now? After the lecture will be soon enough.

[Sam Spade]

You know best.

[Cyrus Manning]

They think I'm afraid to talk, but I guess I'm going to give them a surprise, huh? Yeah. One that they can read in their morning newspapers, huh, Spade?

[Effie]

Yeah.

[Cyrus Manning]

Yeah.

[Sam Spade]

Well, he was half right, Kelsey. Might not have been a surprise, but they were able to read it in the morning papers. And at least Manning got a laugh out of it, which is more than I did. You arrived at the murder scene three minutes after you were call. He was shot, Sam? I would say so. Kelsey. I would say so. Well, and it's easy. We'll search everybody in the audience before.

[Cyrus Manning]

We let them go.

[Sam Spade]

Kelsey. I was in the audience, Manning Was shot from backstage and Rover did it. Ran out the back door. Oh, that's right, Sam. You already told me that. That makes it a little harder. Now, look, Kelsey, the doorman is sitting right over there. See? The. The killer knocked him down coming into the stage. Now, why don't you question him? You're not kidding me, Sam. Chelsea, so help me, it's straight. All right, let's question him. You the doorman?

[Cyrus Manning]

Yeah. Yeah. He hit me right in the jaw, just like that.

[Effie]

Oh, no.

[Sam Spade]

You. Kelsey, for heaven's sake, get out. Hitting a police officer. I'll have you arrested.

[Cyrus Manning]

I'm sorry, officer. I'm terribly sorry.

[Narrator]

It was an accident.

[Cyrus Manning]

I was just showing you how he hit me.

[Sam Spade]

Oh. Oh, all right. But when you come to the shooting.

[Narrator]

Part, you be careful.

[Cyrus Manning]

Well, the door opened and a big man barged Lucy. And before I could open my mouth, he hit me and I fell flat on my back.

[Sam Spade]

Did you get a good look at him? No.

[Cyrus Manning]

All I saw was a tattoo on the back of his hand. It was a red star.

[Sam Spade]

You mean he stood there and shot Manning and you didn't see him?

[Cyrus Manning]

As soon as he knocked me down, he put out the lights and then he run out. I started to get up and saw.

[Sam Spade]

The car pull away. What kind of a car?

[Cyrus Manning]

It was a light blue convertible.

[Sam Spade]

You remember anything else?

[Cyrus Manning]

Absolutely nothing else.

[Sam Spade]

Are you sure?

[Cyrus Manning]

Absolutely sure. Oh, I don't suppose it's worth much, but the license number was 4N75323.

[Sam Spade]

No, I don't think. Oh, yeah. After you recovered from your apoplexy, Kelsey, and checked the license number, we were more confused than ever. Belonged to Cyrus Manning himself. While you were calling headquarters, I searched Manning, and the notes from which he was speaking were gone. I reasoned that he might have had a carbon copy or handwritten notes in his hotel room or wherever he lived. The Tribune supplied his address. The Congress on Fillmore, above van Ness, room 612. Coming out of the elevator, I bumped into a tall, handsome brunette hurrying in. Oh, excuse me. It was my fault.

[Effie]

If you go to the right, I'll go to the left.

[Sam Spade]

All right. Ready? Shift going down.

[Effie]

Oh, hurry, please.

[Sam Spade]

She was nice, but I had other things to worry about. No one answered Manning's door when I knocked, just to see what might happen. So I let myself in before I even had time to look for any notes. I knew it wasn't any use, because lying on the floor with his skull fractured was Dick Davis, late of the Tribune.

[Narrator]

You are listening to the weekly adventure of radio's Most famous detective, Sam Spade.

[Cyrus Manning]

Foreign.

[Narrator]

Minutes of comedy, music and drama, all presided over by the glamorous Tallulah Bankhead. That's the big show brought to you every Sunday on NBC. This Sunday's big show features such bright stars as Jack Carter, Jimmy Durante, Lewis Calhearn, Martha Ray and many more. Plus music by Fran Warren and Meredith Wilson's chorus and orchestra. It's the Big Show. And Sunday over most of these NBC stations also means a one hour adaptation of a famous play or story by Theater Guild on the air. This Sunday's Theater Guild production is Trilby, starring Rex Harrison and Teresa Wright. And now back to the Red Star caper. Tonight's adventure with Sam Spade.

[Sam Spade]

Cyrus Manning's room had been worked over thoroughly. There were no notes lying around which described the activities of anyone sending war material to the Chinese communists. The only pertinent piece of evidence was the corpse of Dick Davis. I didn't call your office right away, Kelsey, because I wanted to get out of there and begin asking some questions before the trail was called. Strangely enough, in a man's hotel room there were many items that belonged to a woman. Clothes, makeup and so on. Never called to mind the girl I bumped into getting out of the elevator. And this recalled to me the elevator operator.

[Bartender]

I seen her coming up and down a few times.

[Sam Spade]

I know who she is. You know Manning when you saw him?

[Effie]

Yeah.

[Bartender]

Oh, I knew him as celebrities, but I can't remember like everybody.

[Sam Spade]

Was the girl ever with him as you remember?

[Bartender]

Well, not that I remember.

[Sam Spade]

Do you recall a short, dark, thin man coming up, name of Davis?

[Bartender]

They don't pay me to remember the people. I just get paid to take him up and down. And not very much either.

[Sam Spade]

Will this help you remember anything?

[Bartender]

What 10 bucks will do for your memory? A thin, dark man went up about 8:30. Didn't see him come down though.

[Sam Spade]

He was alone. Good memory. Did anyone else in the elevator tonight stick in your mind?

[Bartender]

The only guy I can remember is one who didn't look like he belonged here. Big, had a pockmarked face. Oh, and on the back of one hand he had a red star tattooed.

[Sam Spade]

Manning was going to reveal something about material being shipped to China. Shipped was the word I'd overlooked. And someone tattooed who looked as if he didn't belong in a good hotel and had the smell of a waterfront on him. So I sloshed myself with cologne and went looking for the man who knows most about the strange smells of a waterfront. In fact, he's one of them. He's an indescribably low man A fungus on the tree trunk of honesty A spider in the lunch pail of lawfulness. Porky Grouse, a stool pigeon solo he has to climb down a ladder to tie his shoelaces. I found him at the Blue Lantern bar. Took a capsule to settle my stomach Ordered a bottle and two glasses and somehow forced myself to wail.

[Porky Grout]

My old buddy, my old drinking power. Good Time Charlie.

[Sam Spade]

Straight.

[Porky Grout]

You pouring, Sam?

[Sam Spade]

Porky. Porky, the other side of the table, please. I might need room in case of fire.

[Porky Grout]

I like it on this side, Sam. I can keep my eye on the window.

[Sam Spade]

All right, I'll move.

[Porky Grout]

Oh, Sam. Sam, you're too far away.

[Sam Spade]

I can hardly see you, Pork love. Now, look, tell me something, Porky. Do you know anybody who's shipping stuff to China from here? Or someone with a red star tattooed on his hand?

[Porky Grout]

I mean, Joe's so dry, I don't think I could squeeze a word out of it.

[Sam Spade]

All right, here's one.

[Porky Grout]

You are your prince. Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Please.

[Porky Grout]

It's still kind of dry, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

Okay. No.

[Porky Grout]

There's nobody like you, Sam. You're beautiful. Where was we? Who was I stolen on?

[Sam Spade]

Usually me. But if you can't think of anything else, try to remember where these drinks came from and talk accordingly.

[Porky Grout]

I really want to talk about Sam. You better get me quick before my throat dries up.

[Sam Spade]

Have you ever heard of anyone shipping war goods to China? A Porky or a man with a red star in his hand.

[Porky Grout]

Has to be something else, Sam. I'd rather not answer that.

[Sam Spade]

We'll see if this changes your ethics.

[Porky Grout]

Oh, you're a prince, Sam. Now, let me see. I heard about somebody shipping goods to the heathen Chinese, but I. Sam, I gotta get going.

[Sam Spade]

Come back here.

[Porky Grout]

Sorry, Sam. I just remembered I left something home on the stove.

[Narrator]

You don't have a home.

[Sam Spade]

I turned around a watching scuttle out the door and I saw from the first time what must have caused his haste. A face as evil as any I've seen these days. Outside of yours. Kelsey was staring through the dirty window. The face moved for the door and entered, perched upon a big body under a sea cap. His arms were shoved into a pea jacket and his legs hit the floor like slow jackhammers as he walked toward me.

[Dick Davis]

You're trying to pump information out of grout, pal.

[Sam Spade]

Why else would anyone in his right mind give Porky grout free drinks? Or stand that close to him?

[Dick Davis]

Who are you? What are you trying to find out?

[Sam Spade]

Franklin, it's none of your business.

[Dick Davis]

Look, pal, I grew up on the waterfront the hard way. I've knocked guys like you all over every port in the world. Now don't make me mad.

[Sam Spade]

Why don't you make it easy and tell me who you are and what you want?

[Dick Davis]

I never answer questions. I just do the asking. Are you going to tell me something or am I going to beat it out of you?

[Sam Spade]

Well, I guess it's going to have to be the hard way.

[Dick Davis]

Okay, palace, but just remember this. After I get through with you, I don't want never to see you down around here again because you bother me.

[Sam Spade]

Now we come to the embarrassing part of my report. Kelsey, I did everything I usually do, but this time it didn't work. And now I know how those other puppies I batted around for the past few years feel. But all was not lost. It was a crashing right hand coming in from the side that did the damage. And it hit me right under my good eye. And on the back of that hand was tattooed a big red star. When I got up from the floor, he was gone. So was everyone else in the place but the bartender.

[Bartender]

Oh, you feel better now, mister? I told you not to have that last drink.

[Sam Spade]

What drink? Who was the guy who did it? Did what? Knocked me down. What do you think?

[Bartender]

Oh, brother, you really got one on. I didn't see anybody knock you down.

[Sam Spade]

You didn't see a big red headed guy in a pea jacket take a swing at me?

[Bartender]

Look, have a drink on the house. Maybe you'll feel better, huh?

[Sam Spade]

Don't give me that lost weekend routine. Who was he? Let me go with me. I don't know what you're talking about. What happened to all those other people who were drinking here?

[Bartender]

Now look, mister, you can believe it or not, the only two people I've served in here tonight have been you and Porky Grout. And as for a guy knocking you down or you must have hallucinations.

[Sam Spade]

Threats, money. Nothing worked. And I knew nothing would either because the sign had been put on me. So before anything more serious happened, I got out of there. By there, I mean both the bar and the neighborhood. It was not that I was scared, but I'd long ago learned the value of an orderly retreat. Or as they used to say in my neighborhood when I was a kid, he who hits and runs away lives to hit another day. I decided to go at things from another angle. Like who owned the woman's things that I saw in Cyrus Manning's room?

[Cyrus Manning]

They belong to Mr. Manning's wife, Burke.

[Sam Spade]

Are you sure Manning had a wife?

[Cyrus Manning]

Well, they registered as man and wife. Mrs.

[Sam Spade]

Tape. What did she look like?

[Cyrus Manning]

Tall, good looking, brunette. You know, now that we're talking about her, there was something strange in their relationship.

[Sam Spade]

What?

[Cyrus Manning]

She never stayed here at night. She only came in in the morning and left in the afternoon.

[Sam Spade]

Do you know her first name or anything else about him?

[Cyrus Manning]

No, Mr. Spade. Not another thing.

[Sam Spade]

Well, it was a start at least. She was obviously the girl I'd met on the elevator. I looked up a number of Manning's friends, but the first three or four couldn't help me. But the fifth said that Manning had married about six months ago and he'd never seen the wife. Her name, as he remembered, was Fay Kearney and her father was a ship's captain. I ran down the name Kearney over at the maritime office and discovered that he owned three ships, two of which were in port. On the first ship, the Downwind, they told me Kearney lived on the other one. It was the western sun. Appear 92. I went up the gangplank to the forward housing where the captain's cabin normally was located. Yes? Say, Kearney. Yes?

[Effie]

Who are you?

[Sam Spade]

Remember me from the Congress Hotel? Elevator, sixth floor.

[Effie]

I'm not sure.

[Sam Spade]

Perhaps I should have called you. Mrs. Cyrus Manning.

[Effie]

Why didn't you come in? Who?

[Sam Spade]

Sam Spade. I was hired as a bodyguard for your husband. But I got there too late. Yes, everybody did. Mostly me. Oh, please don't cry just yet. Why do you say mostly me?

[Porky Grout]

I might have done something about it.

[Sam Spade]

Why were you running out of the hotel?

[Porky Grout]

I found Misty Davis.

[Sam Spade]

Have you any idea who did it?

[Effie]

Yes. Who in person? Who killed Sigh?

[Sam Spade]

Who was that?

[Effie]

Me, I suppose. Yeah.

[Porky Grout]

I'm really responsible.

[Effie]

I caused the whole thing.

[Cyrus Manning]

The whole thing?

[Sam Spade]

She poured her misery out over my shoulder and then she told me the whole story. She had met and married Cyrus Manning secretly, against her father's will. When he found out, he took her aboard one of his ships and kept her prisoner. While she was aboard the ship, she found out what her father was doing carrying essential war material. The Communist China. So somehow smuggled the information to Manning. She did. And the arrangement was that they were going to trade the information for her father's blessing on their marriage. But once Manning got the information, he wanted to scoop more than he did his wife. That's when the trouble started.

[Effie]

Here he comes down.

[Porky Grout]

Here he comes.

[Sam Spade]

You got out of the way.

[Effie]

Why don't you hear it?

[Sam Spade]

Get in the back room.

[Dick Davis]

What are you doing here?

[Sam Spade]

Just came to pay Your visit.

[Dick Davis]

You should have learned your lesson the first time.

[Sam Spade]

This time it's for cheap singers.

[Dick Davis]

That's the way I feel.

[Effie]

I couldn't let him kill again.

[Sam Spade]

I just couldn't. Period. End of report.

[Effie]

Did he. Did he die, Sam?

[Sam Spade]

It was a matter of seconds, Beth.

[Effie]

Oh, Sam. All that poor girl wanted was love, and look what happened to her. Her father.

[Sam Spade]

Yeah.

[Effie]

You were the only witness, Sam. You think. You think you might better trick the evidence with self defense?

[Sam Spade]

I'm tempted, Effie. I'll say that much. Now go tight that up.

[Effie]

All right.

[Narrator]

Three chimes mean good times on NBC. There's music and fun tomorrow on NBC to help your Saturday evening along. Your hit parade brings you the top.

[Sam Spade]

Tunes in the land.

[Narrator]

With Raymond Scott, Nookie Lanson and Eileen Wilson. The Dennis Day show sparkles with songs and madcap adventures. Starring charming, boyish Dennis Day. And Grand Ole Opry presents Red Foley and his friends in 30 minutes of music and laughter, Western style.

[Effie]

Here it is, Sam. Believe me, I didn't enjoy typing at all.

[Sam Spade]

I didn't expect that you would have. As a matter of fact, it surprised me that you enjoy any of them.

[Effie]

Oh, I never liked the killing pot, Sam. But sometimes we are the funniest people for clients. And when I write down the things they say, I can't help it laugh.

[Sam Spade]

Well, if it makes you happy, I'll try to get more comedians for clients. In the meantime, you'll have to suffer along on whatever dregs of humanity the winds of fate blow into my office.

[Effie]

Sam, that was absolutely poetic. The winds of faith.

[Sam Spade]

Oh, it's nothing. Nothing. I expect to appear in the next edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Now, would you like to hear one of my longer attempts at poetic phrases?

[Effie]

Oh, yes, Sam, I'd love to hear it.

[Sam Spade]

Good. This is called cigar. A cigar isn't far from a large cigarette in the raw material it employs. But the smoke is no joke if you haven't learned yet, for it weeds out the men from the boy.

[Effie]

You ought to be able to sell that to someone.

[Sam Spade]

Effie. I can't even sell me.

[Effie]

Give me another one, Sam.

[Sam Spade]

All right. There was a young girl with a heart as big as the wheels on a car. At the end of the day, she always would say, good night, Sam. No, no. Good night, sweetheart.

[Effie]

Oh, thanks. So wonderful.

[Narrator]

The adventures of Sam Spade are produced, edited and directed by William Spears. Sam Spade was played by Stephen Dunn. Lorene Paddle as Effie. Script for tonight's adventure by John Michael Hayes. Musical scarring by Lud Blefkin, conducted by Robert Armbruster. Join us again next week, same time for another adventure with Sam Spade. Enjoy the magnificent Montague. Then it's Duffy's Tavern on NBC.