This Is Your FBI: The Big Breakout 11/30/1945

Summary

Podcast Summary:

Podcast: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio
Episode: This Is Your FBI: The Big Breakout (Original Airdate: 11/30/1945)
Release Date: October 19, 2025
Host: Choice Classic Radio

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Overview

In this episode, "The Big Breakout," Choice Classic Radio brings listeners a nail-biting case from the postwar radio series This Is Your FBI. The story follows the dramatic prison escape orchestrated by criminal mastermind Earl Dixon. The episode dives deep into FBI investigative work, criminal psychology, and the inevitable defeat of those who see themselves as above the law. The narrative, based on real FBI files, features betrayal, family loyalty tested to the limit, and a tense cat-and-mouse pursuit.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Criminal Mindset: Overconfidence and Downfall

• (02:33) The narrator opens with a psychological insight: "All criminals suffer from the same organic disorder, enlargement of the ego. And sooner or later, it proves fatal to their career of crime." Earl Dixon, serving time for hijacking, sees his incarceration not as a setback but as an opportunity for one-upmanship against the law.
• (02:43 – 05:00) Dixon persuades his cellmates, Louie and Rock, to join his escape plan, subtly exploiting their weaknesses—Louie’s insecurity about his girlfriend and Rock’s willingness to follow.

2. The Prison Break

• (05:00 – 07:13)
  • The plan involves impersonating the prison doctor to get past security using the doctor’s car.
  • Tension escalates as they drive to the gate. The ruse falls apart, leading to violence and Rock’s apparent fatal wounding.
  • Quote (07:13): "Throw him out. ... I had anticipated that whoever drove the car would get killed." – Earl Dixon’s cold calculus underlines the ruthlessness of his plan.

3. The FBI's Response

• (08:02 – 11:12)
  • The escape triggers a multi-state FBI manhunt. Special Agents Connor and Whitman coordinate with Washington for intelligence on the fugitives.
  • They profile Dixon as “the brains,” well-educated and dangerously clever, with Muncie as his loyal but less capable sidekick.

4. Family Ties and Moral Dilemmas

• (09:00 – 13:29)
  • Earl and Louie seek refuge with Dixon’s reluctant sister, Annette.
  • Annette refuses to harbor a criminal this time, saying (10:03) “I’m not harboring any criminals.”
  • Dixon manipulates her by revealing a guard was killed in the escape, pushing her toward complicity.

5. The Next Move: River Escape & Betrayal

• (13:00 – 14:34)
  • Dixon reveals a cunning escape plan: use Annette’s houseboat to elude law enforcement.
  • An ominous twist—Dixon plans to kill Louie, who has “served his purpose.”
  • Quote (14:14): "Unfortunately Louis, you're not really coming along... now your usefulness has ended."

6. FBI Investigation Intensifies

• (16:57 – 17:33)
  • The narrative shifts to the relentless FBI pursuit, highlighting their adaptability despite errors.

7. Hostage Situation: Standoff at Annette’s Apartment

• (18:47 – 20:41)
  • Special Agent Connor arrives at Annette’s apartment, confronts Dixon, and is taken hostage.
  • Quote (19:01): "I have a gun here, Mr. Connor. I often wanted to match wits with the FBI."
  • Dixon cynically decides to use Connor as a driver and cover on their journey, along with the corpse of Louie (“transporting a corpse”—20:19).

8. Race Against Time

• (21:06 – 24:15)
  • The FBI tracks clues, including the abandoned car and Connor’s deliberately dropped wallet, which tips his partner off about the crisis.

9. High-Stakes Showdown: The Houseboat Finale

• (24:33 – 26:42)
  • On the houseboat, Connor is forced to help dispose of Muncie’s body (weighted down with the car keys).
  • The psychological duel peaks, with Connor revealing he’s been sabotaging Dixon’s plans throughout:
  • Quote (26:00 – 26:37):
    • Connor: “You didn’t see me drop my wallet … I left it there because I knew my partner would find it … I left a note under a tool when I was under the car. It must have been picked up by now … that we were coming here.”
    • Dixon: “Well, that makes you almost even.”
    • Connor: “I’d say that puts me a little bit ahead.”
  • Dixon discovers the car is unusable—keys are at the bottom of the river—just as the police arrive, sealing his fate.

10. Resolution & Moral Takeaway

• (27:22 – 28:05)
  • Dixon is captured, tried for murder, and returned to prison.
  • Narrator’s summary (27:22): “Like all criminals, Dixon had an inflated estimation of his own ability to beat the law. … No one is smarter than the law.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On criminal psychology:

  • "All criminals suffer from the same organic disorder, enlargement of the ego." – Narrator (02:33)

• On loyalty and betrayal:

  • "Throw him out. ... I had anticipated that whoever drove the car would get killed." – Earl Dixon (07:13)

• Annette's refusal:

  • "I'm not harboring any criminals." – Annette Dixon (10:03)

• Dixon's manipulation:

  • "Now, my dear, could you make us some coffee?" – Earl Dixon, after revealing a killing (10:28)

• Standoff with the FBI:

  • "I have a gun here, Mr. Connor. I often wanted to match wits with the FBI." – Earl Dixon (19:01)

• Connor's wit:

  • "You didn't see me drop my wallet on the floor of your sister's apartment... I left a note under a tool when I was under the car. ... that we were coming here." – Special Agent Connor (26:01 – 26:37)

• Final moral:

  • "No one is smarter than the law. Sooner or later, this inescapable fact is known to all criminals." – Narrator (27:22)

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Key Timestamps

• 02:33 – Introduction to Dixon and his motives
• 03:22 - 05:04 – Dixon rallies prison accomplices
• 05:00 - 07:13 – Execution of prison escape and Rock’s death
• 09:00 - 10:03 – Dixon confronts Annette; Annette refuses to help
• 13:12 – 14:34 – Dixon’s plan to kill Louie, betrayal revealed
• 18:47 – 20:41 – Agent Connor taken hostage by Dixon
• 21:06 – 24:15 – FBI closes in, clues discovered
• 24:33 – 26:42 – Showdown on the houseboat; Connor’s ingenuity
• 27:22 – 28:05 – Dixon’s capture and enduring moral

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Tone and Atmosphere

• Language/Tone:
  Classic 1940s procedural: crisp, formal, and driven by equal parts suspense, drama, and moral clarity. Dixon’s speech is urbane and manipulative, Annette’s is emotional and conflicted, while the FBI agents are calm, methodical, and clever.

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For New Listeners

This episode offers a compelling slice of vintage radio drama—where every spoken line forwards the action, character, or theme. It delivers not just a suspenseful police chase but a meditation on criminal ego and law enforcement perseverance. The ending hammers home the series’ core belief: those who think they can outsmart justice sooner or later face an unescapable downfall.

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Transcript

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[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

The Equitable Society presents this is your FBI. This is your FBI, an official broadcast from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Presented as a public service by the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and the Equitable Society's representative in your community. To your FBI, you look for national security and to the Equitable Society for financial security. These two great institutions are dedicated to the protection of you, your home and your country. Tonight's file, the big breakout.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

All criminals suffer from the same organic disorder, enlargement of the ego. And sooner or later, it proves fatal to their career of crime. Or as an ancient thinker once said, he is most vulnerable, who believes himself invincible. For some criminals, one heavy prison sentence is enough to deflate their ego. But in tonight's case, from the files of your FBI, Earl Dixon accepted his first set of prison bars not as a defeat, but as a great opportunity to prove himself smarter than the law in a Midwestern penitentiary. Dixon, serving a term for hijacking, and two fellow inmates are seated in their cell after the evening meal.

[Earl Dixon]

Cigarette, gentlemen?

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

Rock thanks, Dixie.

[Earl Dixon]

Louie if that's the best you can do.

[Special Agent Connor]

Dixie.

[Earl Dixon]

Of course I'm used to lighting a.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Corona after a pheasant.

[Special Agent Connor]

You're used to talking too much. Louie.

[Earl Dixon]

Somebody's got to keep the order chatter.

[Special Agent Connor]

Alive in our little home.

[Earl Dixon]

Rock is a man of action rather than words. Louie. Well, you ain't exactly the gabby type yourself, Dick. I've been interested in only one subject since matriculating here. But you ain't talking about it, huh? I never talk on a subject until I'm qualified by research. When'll that be? No. Oh, yeah? Then what's the title of your subject? Escape. Escape? Shut up, Louie. Are you gentlemen interested? Gee, Dixie, I don't know. I only got three more years here. Just the weekend, Louis. No, no, it's not that. But guys can get shot trying something like that. I wonder what your girl is doing tonight, Louis.

[Special Agent Connor]

What do you mean?

[Earl Dixon]

Just curious. I know what she better not be doing.

[Special Agent Connor]

What's that got to do with it?

[Earl Dixon]

Three years is a long time to sit and wonder. Maybe it'll be too late after that. What about you, Rob?

[Special Agent Connor]

Count me in, Dixie.

[Earl Dixon]

Good. We'll make it a twosome day. No, no, wait a minute.

[Special Agent Connor]

Yes, Louis?

[Earl Dixon]

What did you really mean about my dame? I told you three years is a long time. Oh, she better not pull no double deal on me. I'm in. Splendid.

[Special Agent Connor]

What's the gimmick, Dixie?

[Earl Dixon]

Well, the doctor is on duty in the hospital until 11 o'.

[Special Agent Connor]

Clock.

[Earl Dixon]

He lives outside, drives home, and his relief comes.

[Special Agent Connor]

Yeah.

[Earl Dixon]

Lights out in here at nine. Turnkey makes a round of inspection at ten. Uhhuh. Tonight, when he comes around you, hospital ward. Dr. Wilson. Oh, hello, Evelyn. Yes, honey, I'll be on my way home in about 10 minutes, soon as Dr. Blaney comes in to relieve me, huh? Oh, sure, sure. I'll bring some. Okay. Bye, Sugar. What are you doing in? Keep a watch at that door, Louie. Okay. Doctor's about your size, Rock. His jacket should fit you rather neatly.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Just so it helps me drive us through the gate.

[Earl Dixon]

Okay. Here you are. Into it quickly, now. I'll take a look outside. Everything's all right, boys. Come on. Quietly, please.

[Special Agent Connor]

Right.

[Earl Dixon]

This is his car. Take the wheel, Rock, Louie, and I'll crouch on the floor right behind you. Okay. All right. Make for the gate. Keep your head down.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

Don't worry.

[Special Agent Connor]

I want to keep it.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Okay, Doc.

[Earl Dixon]

I'll open the gate.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Leaving kind of early to. Hey, wait a minute. You're not the doc.

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

Rock said.

[Earl Dixon]

I'll wrap the field. We'll rock over.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

Okay.

[Special Agent Whitman]

You make it?

[Earl Dixon]

Yes.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Rocks hit bad, Dixie.

[Earl Dixon]

Really? What can we do for him? Throw him out. Huh? I said throw him out. But he's still alive. Do as I say.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Okay.

[Earl Dixon]

Sorry, Rock. See, I hated to do that. Consider yourself fortunate. It could easily have been you. What do you mean? I had anticipated that whoever drove the car would get killed.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

After the jailbreak. Had been accomplished and the convicts had made a successful getaway. The penitentiary warden immediately contacted the nearest office of the FBI. Just across the state line where Special Agent Connor took the call.

[Special Agent Connor]

Gray Pontiac, two door sedan. License number seven five, four. All right, I've got it. Which direction was it going when it left the penitentiary? Thanks, Warden. We'll get on it right away.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Jailbreak, Fred.

[Special Agent Connor]

Yes? Three made the break, but one got killed.

[Earl Dixon]

Who are the other two?

[Special Agent Connor]

Take their names. Earl Dixon and Louis Muncie.

[Special Agent Whitman]

I've got him.

[Special Agent Connor]

While I'm getting out an alarm, you contact Washington and ask them to teletype all information they have on Dixon and Muncie.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

In Dayton, Ohio, a few hours after the prison break, two men walked quietly along a fog shrouded street. They stopped in front of a modest apartment building. A minute later, a young girl occupying the ground floor apartment was aroused by the insistent sound of the door buzzer.

[Annette Dixon]

Just a minute. Oh, I'm coming. Who is it?

[Earl Dixon]

Open the door, Earl. Hello, sis. Earl. I go in, Louis. Okay.

[Annette Dixon]

What are you.

[Earl Dixon]

Be quiet. Lower that window shade, please, Louis. All right.

[Annette Dixon]

Earl. What are you doing here?

[Earl Dixon]

Okay, Louis.

[Annette Dixon]

What are you doing here? How did you get out of prison?

[Earl Dixon]

Quite cleverly, I escaped.

[Annette Dixon]

Oh.

[Earl Dixon]

It was a very monotonous life. I needed to change. Well, you don't seem very happy to see me.

[Annette Dixon]

I'm not.

[Earl Dixon]

No. I asked him. Louise. Is that. Isn't that a shocking admission for one's own sister?

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

Yeah.

[Earl Dixon]

Oh, by the way, Annette, allow me to present my fellow Houdini, Huey Muncie. Pleased to know you.

[Annette Dixon]

Why did you come here?

[Earl Dixon]

Seemed a natural thing to do, Earl.

[Annette Dixon]

You can't stay now, Annette, I mean it. You've got to leave here at once.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Hey, what is this? I thought she was okay.

[Earl Dixon]

She will be.

[Annette Dixon]

Earl, listen to me. In the past, I've always weakened and tried to help you. Always thinking maybe you'd straighten out. But this time it's different. I'm not harboring any criminals.

[Earl Dixon]

I'm staying, Annette.

[Annette Dixon]

Oh, no, you're not.

[Earl Dixon]

Where are you going?

[Annette Dixon]

I'm calling the police.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

Now, wait a minute.

[Earl Dixon]

Hold it, Louis. What are you going to tell them, Annette? That you're turning your brother in? Did you want him sent back to prison?

[Annette Dixon]

Yes.

[Earl Dixon]

Then I'd better acquaint you with just what that would mean. A man was killed when we escaped.

[Annette Dixon]

Oh.

[Earl Dixon]

Now, my dear, could you make us some coffee?

[Special Agent Whitman]

Is that Teletype from Washington, Fred?

[Special Agent Connor]

Yes, with the dope on Dixon and Muncie.

[Special Agent Whitman]

What does it say?

[Special Agent Connor]

It looks like Dixon was the brains behind the break?

[Special Agent Whitman]

Yes.

[Special Agent Connor]

College education. And always boasting how much smarter he is than the law.

[Special Agent Whitman]

What was he in for?

[Special Agent Connor]

Hijacking. He was sentenced in federal court. Suspected of a killing too. But there wasn't enough evidence to pin it on him.

[Special Agent Whitman]

What about Munsey?

[Special Agent Connor]

They're just finishing up on him now. Here. Here we are. Muncie seems to be a kind of a stooge in a gang that was mixed up in hijacking too.

[Special Agent Whitman]

He'd probably stick with Dixon then, for guidance.

[Special Agent Connor]

I wouldn't be surprised.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Any reports on the fugitives while I was out?

[Special Agent Connor]

No.

[Special Agent Whitman]

They could be clear out of the state by this time.

[Special Agent Connor]

Yes. That makes them our game more than ever.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Any leads on Dixon and that stuff in Washington?

[Special Agent Connor]

I was just looking it over. It says Dixon lived with his sister in Cincinnati. Just before he was sent up. You know, he might make for there again.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Wouldn't that be an obvious move?

[Special Agent Connor]

Well, since Dixon considers himself smarter than the law. He might think the obvious thing to do would be least expected.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Let's get Cincinnati on the phone. We'll tell him not to wait until daylight to check up. But go out right now and keep a watch on our address.

[Special Agent Connor]

Right.

[Earl Dixon]

Remember this piece, Annette? How I Used to Slave to Learnette. As I recall, it was Mother's favorite.

[Annette Dixon]

Stop, Earl, please.

[Earl Dixon]

What's the matter?

[Annette Dixon]

The difference between then and now. I. I don't want to think of it.

[Earl Dixon]

Dear Annette, always the sentimentalist.

[Annette Dixon]

Oh, yes. How long is this going to go on?

[Earl Dixon]

What?

[Annette Dixon]

This staying here.

[Earl Dixon]

Oh, oddly enough, I was just thinking about that.

[Annette Dixon]

Police are bound to come here sometime. You saw the morning paper. They're combing three states looking for you.

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

I know.

[Annette Dixon]

Please, won't you give yourself up?

[Earl Dixon]

Oh, stop being childish.

[Annette Dixon]

What else can you do?

[Earl Dixon]

I have a very definite plan in mind. You're right about their eventually coming. But when they arrive, we'll be gone.

[Annette Dixon]

What do you mean?

[Earl Dixon]

We still have that little houseboat on the Ohio River.

[Annette Dixon]

Yes.

[Earl Dixon]

Then I think we should use it.

[Annette Dixon]

We?

[Earl Dixon]

Yes, you and I.

[Annette Dixon]

No, please.

[Earl Dixon]

I'll adieu in that. You'll have to drive.

[Annette Dixon]

Oh, why can't you leave me alone?

[Earl Dixon]

Very pleasant. Like a vacation.

[Annette Dixon]

Vacation with two murderers.

[Earl Dixon]

Oh, I forgot to mention. My good companion, Mr. Muncie, who sleeps so peacefully in your bedroom, will not be with us.

[Annette Dixon]

Do you intend to leave him here?

[Earl Dixon]

Not exactly.

[Annette Dixon]

I don't understand.

[Earl Dixon]

Well, he has already served his purpose.

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

You see.

[Earl Dixon]

Oh, greetings, Louis. Well, I was just talking about you. Oh, yeah? Yes, I was telling My sister that we are going to take a little trip. Oh, blowing out of you. Yes. Where are we going? Well, unfortunately Louis, you're not really coming along. What do you mean? I needed you for the getaway just as I needed Rock. But now your usefulness has ended. Wait a minute. Sorry, Louie darling. He'll be with us in spirit.

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

We momentarily close the Equitable Society's presentation of the FBI file on the big breakout. We will return to this case in just a moment. Let's look at America through the eyes of a GI just back from the Pacific. He's flying cross continent to his home in the East. Perhaps he's wondering what sort of job he'll land when he takes off his uniform. Well, no matter what route his army transport plane follows, at some time in almost every hour of the flight, he's looking down on places where Equitable Society investments are helping to provide jobs for ex servicemen. Whether his plane soars over the cattle studded plains of Texas or the waving wheatlands of Minnesota, over the cornfields of Iowa or the tobacco plantations of Kentucky, Equitable Society dollars are right there, soundly invested with progressive American farmers to promote farm prosperity. Or take practically any industrial center in which his plane might land. Take Chicago or Detroit, Cleveland or Pittsburgh. These also are centers for the investment of Equitable Society funds in steel mills and mines, in railroads and shipyards, in textile mills and industrial plants of all kinds. Yes, with Equitable Society dollars at work in every section of the country and with the Equitable Society's three and a quarter million members living in every state in the union, this great mutual organization is well named the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United states. For since 1859, equitable society dollars have helped make the whole United States the land of opportunity. Yes, by serving its members for 86 years, the equitable Society has served America. And now back to the file on the big breakout.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

FBI agents make no pretense of infallibility. And although highly trained in their profession of criminal investigation, things happen so fast at times that human judgment is bound to err in one step or another in their investigative procedure. But this they have never failed to do. Readjust. The long hours of the day have dragged past and now darkness is falling. Earl Dickson sits with his sister in the living room of her apartment.

[Earl Dixon]

Who's that?

[Annette Dixon]

How do I know?

[Earl Dixon]

See who it is. I'll stand just behind the door and don't let anyone in, understand?

[Annette Dixon]

Very well.

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[Special Agent Connor]

Good evening.

[Annette Dixon]

Good evening.

[Special Agent Connor]

You're Ms. Annette Dixon, are you not? Yes. I'm Special Agent Connor of the FBI.

[Annette Dixon]

The FBI?

[Special Agent Connor]

Yes. We just learned that you had moved here from Cincinnati. But.

[Annette Dixon]

But why are you interested in where I live?

[Special Agent Connor]

The automobile in which your brother escaped from prison last night was found early today abandoned just outside of town. May I come in? But.

[Annette Dixon]

But my brother isn't here.

[Special Agent Connor]

Then there's no reason why I shouldn't come in, is there?

[Earl Dixon]

No. That is, I. I have a gun here. Mr. Conair. I often wanted to match wits with the FBI. Don't reach for yours.

[Special Agent Connor]

I wouldn't have any wits left for you to match if I did.

[Earl Dixon]

I was sure they trained you to be practical.

[Special Agent Connor]

Yes, that's one of the reasons we usually win.

[Earl Dixon]

Dixon, have you always won until now?

[Special Agent Connor]

I wouldn't say that now is exactly over.

[Earl Dixon]

You fellows travel in pairs. Is your partner outside in the car?

[Special Agent Connor]

No, I came here alone.

[Earl Dixon]

Where is your partner?

[Special Agent Connor]

I'm afraid you'll have to proceed without that knowledge.

[Earl Dixon]

He and your office must have known you came here.

[Special Agent Connor]

Do you think so?

[Earl Dixon]

Yes. In that event, I think you'd better come along with us.

[Special Agent Connor]

Where to?

[Earl Dixon]

My sister and I are taking a little trip. She'd be a very welcome companion.

[Special Agent Connor]

Really?

[Earl Dixon]

Yes. With an FBI agent driving us in an FBI car, we should find it rather a safe journey.

[Special Agent Connor]

At your service, Mr. Dixon.

[Earl Dixon]

Thank you. Oh, by the way, you wouldn't mind transporting a corpse too, would you? It would be rather awkward leaving him here.

[Special Agent Connor]

Louis Muncie?

[Earl Dixon]

That's right.

[Special Agent Connor]

Bring him along. I'd be very glad to have his body as evidence of murder against You.

[Earl Dixon]

What makes you think you'll be able to produce this evidence?

[Special Agent Connor]

This was to be a match of wits. Remember.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

When Special Agent Connor did not return to Dayton Police headquarters within the designated time to rejoin his partner, Special Agent Whitman? Whitman and a police officer drove to Ms. Dixon's address. Whitman is now returning to the car.

[Special Agent Whitman]

There's something funny about this, Sergeant. I saw you go inside after you got no answer. I found this on the floor in the living room. What is it? Connor's wallet. What? Dresser drawers had been pulled open like somebody had packed and left in a hurry. Well, I'd say Connor ran into Dixon all right. And possibly Muncie too.

[Special Agent Connor]

And?

[Special Agent Whitman]

And he dropped his wallet to let you know he'd been here and something was wrong. Yes. With his car gone, that means only one thing. Let's put out an alarm on that car.

[Earl Dixon]

Oh, this is such a pleasure. Rolling fields, the green trees. You know, I've looked at penitentiary walls so long, I'd forgotten this even existed. Isn't it lovely, Annette?

[Annette Dixon]

Please don't talk to me.

[Earl Dixon]

My sister doesn't approve of me, Mr. Connor.

[Special Agent Connor]

I'd say she has excellent taste.

[Earl Dixon]

Poor Louis. Poor Louis would have enjoyed this. So. Which reminds me, I've decided not to dispose of his body anywhere along the way.

[Special Agent Connor]

Really?

[Earl Dixon]

The river will be a much better place.

[Special Agent Connor]

Bodies have a disconcer way of rising to the surface.

[Earl Dixon]

Not when they're properly weighted, Mr. Conrad.

[Special Agent Connor]

Oh.

[Earl Dixon]

And that should offer a cue to your own fate.

[Special Agent Connor]

Thank you.

[Earl Dixon]

Too bad you won't be able to enjoy a weekend on our little houseboat. You'd like to have his company, wouldn't you, Annette?

[Annette Dixon]

Please, Earl.

[Special Agent Connor]

Uh.

[Earl Dixon]

Oh. What's the matter?

[Special Agent Connor]

Car trouble.

[Earl Dixon]

Accidental, of course.

[Special Agent Connor]

What other kind is there?

[Earl Dixon]

That sounds like a flooded carburetor. What have you done to it?

[Special Agent Connor]

The car stalled. Would you like to get out and diagnose the trouble yourself?

[Earl Dixon]

You'd like that, wouldn't you? You go ahead and fix it. And I'm warning you, if you take too long.

[Special Agent Connor]

I won't, I assure you.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Why don't we get some word, Sergeant? Well, we've done everything we can, Mr. Whitman. Something should come in. That's the toughest thing about this business.

[Earl Dixon]

The waiting. I know.

[Special Agent Whitman]

They must have taken Connor along as.

[Earl Dixon]

Cover if they did.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Connor's driving the car. We put all that on the alarm. Is there any more background on the Dixon family? Any place he'd be likely to go to? I'm having that checked now. Meantime, the clock is running out, running out fast. I'LL get it. Police headquarters. Sergeant Gillen speaking. Yes. Yes. Where was this? Just a minute, Mr. Whitman. Yes, this is State police. They got something on Connor.

[Earl Dixon]

Let me talk to them.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Police.

[Earl Dixon]

Sure.

[Special Agent Connor]

Here you are.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Hello, this is Special Agent Whitman speaking.

[Earl Dixon]

What have you got?

[Special Agent Whitman]

I see. Will you read it, please?

[Special Agent Connor]

Yes.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Thank you very much.

[Earl Dixon]

Goodbye.

[Special Agent Whitman]

Come on, Sergeant. We've got a definite lead on Connor. I just hope we're not too late.

[Earl Dixon]

Where did my sister go, Connor?

[Special Agent Connor]

Into the houseboat, I guess.

[Earl Dixon]

You've got Muncie's body weighted sufficiently now.

[Special Agent Connor]

Enough to keep it from drifting. That'll make it easier for us to locate.

[Earl Dixon]

Us?

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

Mm.

[Earl Dixon]

I admire your optimism. Now, if you will just drag the body out onto the deck. There. That will do nicely. And now I'll ask you to hoist it over the side.

[Special Agent Connor]

You're really running up a big score, Dixon.

[Earl Dixon]

Just remember this gun. Go ahead, Gunner.

[Special Agent Connor]

Okay.

[Earl Dixon]

And now I suggest that we return to the cabin. Go ahead. After you, Mr. Cutler.

[Special Agent Connor]

Thanks.

[Earl Dixon]

Annette. Annette, will you stop that crying?

[Special Agent Connor]

Leave her alone.

[Earl Dixon]

Well, Sir Galahad, will you have a drink?

[Special Agent Connor]

No, thanks.

[Earl Dixon]

Then I guess we'd better pass on to the next item on the program that turns out to be you, Mr. Conor.

[Special Agent Connor]

Oh, you can't hold it, Ms. Dixon.

[Earl Dixon]

Yes?

[Special Agent Connor]

You said this was to be a match of wits.

[Earl Dixon]

That's right. And it's been rather unbalanced in my favor, wouldn't you say?

[Special Agent Connor]

No, I wouldn't.

[Earl Dixon]

What do you mean?

[Special Agent Connor]

You had that pistol on me all evening, but it didn't keep me from working.

[Earl Dixon]

Working?

[Special Agent Connor]

You didn't see me drop my wallet on the floor of your sister's apartment back in Dayton, did you?

[Earl Dixon]

Now, don't pull that. What? Annette, why didn't you?

[Special Agent Connor]

I left it there because I knew my partner would find it very shortly and know something was wrong. Look, Connor, I'm just trying to get my wits on the record.

[Earl Dixon]

Very well.

[Special Agent Connor]

And you were right in suspecting I caused the car trouble back on the highway.

[Earl Dixon]

All you gained was time if you did.

[Special Agent Connor]

No, I left a note under a tool when I was under the car. It must have been picked up by now.

[Earl Dixon]

And what did the note say?

[Special Agent Connor]

That we were coming here.

[Earl Dixon]

Well, that makes you almost even.

[Special Agent Connor]

I'd say that puts me a little bit ahead.

[Earl Dixon]

Annette, I think we're getting out of here.

[Special Agent Connor]

I hate to keep piling up points, Dixon, but the keys to the car are in the river with Muncie's body.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

Why, you.

[Special Agent Connor]

Now, don't be a bad loser, Dixon. I haven't lost.

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

Oh, no.

[Special Agent Connor]

Look at that car coming along the riverbank.

[Earl Dixon]

Where?

[Annette Dixon]

Oh, thank heaven. Is it the police?

[Special Agent Connor]

It isn't even a car. That was an old trick, Ms. Dixon, but I won the match.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

Earl Dixon was returned to the penitentiary and subsequently tried and convicted for the murder of his fellow convict. Like all criminals, Dixon had an inflated estimation of his own ability to beat the law. And this was one of the most effective contributing factors to his inevitable downfall. No one is smarter than the law. Sooner or later, this inescapable fact is known to all criminals.

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

You'll hear about next week's case in just a moment. This week at the Equitable Society, I was shown three checks that were ready to go out in the afternoon mail. One was the biggest check I've ever seen in my life. A six followed by six zeros. A six million dollar investment of Equitable Society funds in a great industrial concern which will employ several thousand men, many of them returning servicemen. The second check was for $16,000, a loan to a farmer in Iowa who came to his Equitable Society so that he could buy a piece of land he's had his eye on for many years. The third check was for $6,000. And it was going to help an ex sergeant of the Marines buy that little house he dreamed about while he lay in a hospital recovering from wounds received on Guadalcanal. Now he's going to own that little home with the aid of the Equitable Society's Assured Home Ownership Plan. And there you have three of the principal ways in which Equitable Society dollars are put to work. In promoting home ownership. In lending farmers a helping hand. In keeping the wheels of industry turning. That's why we think this life insurance business we're in is a good business. We collect premium dollars from our members for their good, then invest them in ways that are good for the entire nation. Yes, this week and every week for 86 years, the equitable Society has been building security for you, your home and your country.

[Narrator / FBI Commentary]

Next Friday, Dec. 7, is the fourth anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Our program that evening will present a thrilling and factual account of the FBI's work on that momentous day.

[Narrator / Equitable Society Announcer]

The incidents used in tonight's Equitable Societies broadcast are taken from the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. However, all names used are fictitious and any similarity thereof to the names of persons living or dead is accidental. Programs in this series of particular interest to service men and women are broadcast overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. Tonight, the music was under the direction of Frederick Steiner the author was Frank Ferries. And your narrator was Dean Carlton. This is your FBI is a Jerry Devine production. Now, this is Carl Frank, speaking for the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. And the Equitable society's representative in your community. And inviting you to tune in again next week at this same time for this is your fvi.

[Special Agent Connor]

This is abc, the American Broadcasting Company.