Podcast Summary: The Falcon – The Case of the Dirty Dollar

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: The Falcon: The Case of the Dirty Dollar (06/08/1952)
Date: November 27, 2025
Host: Choice Classic Radio
Featured Characters: Mike Waring (The Falcon), Johnny Stone, Steve Haines, Paul Dollar, Lisa Dollar, Sergeant Corbett, Cokie Myers

Episode Overview

This episode of Choice Classic Radio Detectives features The Falcon in "The Case of the Dirty Dollar," a quintessentially noir crime drama tracing betrayal, trust, and murder in the underbelly of postwar New York. Mike Waring—a.k.a. The Falcon—claims to be “retired” from the detecting game, but is soon drawn back into the orbit of tough-talking gamblers, love gone wrong, and a deadly frame-up.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: The Falcon's "Retirement"

• Mike Waring opens, voicing his disillusionment with the PI racket and intention to retire.
• He’s quickly pulled in by Johnny Stone, a bookmaker, who suspects his employee Paul Dollar has stolen $2,568.23.
• Notable Quote ([01:34]):

  "No more playing cops and robbers for me." — The Falcon

2. Confrontation with Paul Dollar

• Johnny Stone and Steve Haines confront Paul and his wife Lisa about the missing money.
• Lisa stands up to Johnny, displaying loyalty and courage, slapping Johnny and telling him to stay away from Paul.
• Notable Quote ([05:04]):

  "How could you hit a man half your size just because he stood up to you? But you're not used to that, are you, Mr. Stone?" — Lisa Dollar

3. Johnny's Fascination with Lisa

• Johnny is intrigued by Lisa’s loyalty and enlists The Falcon to investigate her, wagering cynically that she’s no different from other women Johnny’s met.
• Waring is reluctant but agrees, with Johnny betting all women are out for the same thing.
• Notable Quote ([08:14]):

  "So I believe all women are alike. They're only out for one thing. I'll give you a thousand to one. This Lisa Dollar is no different from the rest." — Johnny Stone

4. Revelations About Paul Dollar

• Waring tells Lisa about Paul’s history of gambling and embezzlement, producing Paul’s IOUs.
• Lisa is devastated by Paul’s betrayal, confirming her worst fears.
• Dramatic Exchange ([10:02]):

  "That's not true." — Lisa Dollar
  "Look, Mrs. Dollar, I've done a little investigating. It's happened before with Paul..." — The Falcon

5. The Fatal Breakdown

• Lisa confronts Paul—he pleads, but Lisa leaves, promising only ambiguously to come back.
• Shortly after, Paul is murdered in his apartment.

6. Murder Investigation: Suspicion and Confession

• Lisa is brought in for questioning. She protests her innocence, but circumstantial evidence weighs against her.
• Johnny Stone is also a suspect due to his prior interest in Lisa.

Sergeant Corbett’s Interrogation ([13:33]):

"Anybody in your place would have been fed up years ago. Your husband was no good." — Sgt. Corbett
"He was weak." — Lisa Dollar

• Steve Haines confesses to the murder, hoping to exonerate Johnny.
• He tries to buy a false witness, Cokie Myers, but Sergeant Corbett quickly disproves the alibi, revealing Cokie was in jail at the relevant time.

7. The Key Clue: The Witness on the Phone

• Waring realizes the murder was reported by Lisa’s friend Trudy—who was on the phone with Paul during the shooting, information known only to the murderer.

• This detail exposes Steve’s guilt, as only the killer or someone close to the case could have known the sequence.

• Notable Exchange ([25:28–25:35]):

  "Don't you see, Corbett? That piece of information wasn't released to the papers. No one but the killer could have known it." — The Falcon

8. Motivation Revealed: Twisted Loyalty

• Steve Haines’s motive is revealed; he idolized Johnny Stone and thought killing Paul would win Lisa for Johnny.
• The Falcon reflects on the irony and tragedy of loyalty perverted by crime.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• The Falcon's World-Weariness

  "You see people at their worst. Guys who'd stab you in the back for two bits, even with inflation. And sometimes you even feel sorry for some of them." ([07:16]) — The Falcon

• Lisa’s Integrity

  "I've been packing and unpacking them for the last eight years." ([14:18]) — Lisa Dollar (on leaving her husband)

• Sergeant Corbett's Sharpness

  "You were right to retire, Mike. Only your timing was off. You should have done it a week ago." ([22:08]) — Sergeant Corbett

• The Reveal

  "Don't you see, Corbett? That piece of information wasn't released to the papers. No one but the killer could have known it." ([25:28]) — The Falcon

• Steve’s Confused Sacrifice

  "When I saw how you went for Lisa, it came to me. You're not sore, Johnny?" ([25:42]) — Steve Haines
  "No. No, I’m not sore, Steve." ([25:59]) — Johnny Stone

• Closing Irony

  "Isn't that a beautiful hunk of irony? But then, the whole case was loaded with the stuff.” ([26:59]) — The Falcon

Key Timestamps & Segments

• [01:34] Falcon’s retirement soliloquy and introduction of the criminal cast
• [05:04] Lisa Dollar confronts Johnny Stone and stands up for her husband
• [08:14] Johnny proposes his cynical bet about Lisa's character
• [10:02–10:21] The Falcon shows Lisa the IOUs—her heartbreak is plain
• [13:33–14:30] Lisa is interrogated, and The Falcon enters to clarify facts
• [17:00–19:08] Steve Haines confesses, but his story unravels under scrutiny
• [24:03–25:35] Waring connects the phone call detail to the true murderer, Steve
• [26:24–27:19] The Falcon and Sergeant Corbett reflect on the case's bitter lessons and Waring’s "retirement"

Tone & Style

Classic hard-boiled radio noir—dialogue is sharp, witty, and filled with chess-like back-and-forth; the ambiance is one of resignation, moral ambiguity, and the city’s dark underpinnings. Lisa’s dignity stands out in contrast to the cynical, world-weary men around her. Steve’s misguided loyalty and The Falcon’s dry detachment drive the story to its ironical resolution.

For New Listeners

This episode is a perfect primer for the Golden Age detective genre—fast-talking, morally gray, and laced with irony. It highlights a complex web of trust, devotion, and missed connections, all resolved by a keen ear for detail and human nature. While Mike Waring claims retirement, the case proves he—and the noir world—can never really let go of each other.