Podcast Summary: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode: "Ellery Queen 44-01-15 (160) The Mischief Maker"

Date: December 27, 2025
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio

Episode Overview

This episode features a broadcast of the Ellery Queen radio drama, "The Mischief Maker," originally aired in 1944. The main theme centers around a mysterious series of anonymous letters sent to several residents of an apartment house in New York City—letters that sow mistrust, threaten reputations, and ultimately drive someone to tragedy. Master detective Ellery Queen and his team are called upon to untangle the threads of suspicion, expose the “mischief maker,” and solve the puzzling web of human motives lurking behind the typewritten threats.

Key Discussion Points and Plot Breakdown

1. Introduction: The Setup

• Inspector Queen introduces the evening’s mystery: a chain of anonymous, malicious letters ("Adventure of the Mischief Maker").

  “Well, I think tonight’s mystery will keep you guessing. It’s about a strange chain of anonymous letters.” – Inspector Queen (00:35)

• The Lesters’ Domestic Dispute:
  A comedic-turned-serious breakfast squabble reveals friction between newly married Hubert Lester and his American wife. The arrival of a suspicious anonymous letter accuses Hubert of an affair, sparking marital crisis.

  “Your husband is in love with his secretary. He is leading a double life… You snake.” – Mrs. Lester (02:46/02:55)

2. The Chain of Anonymous Letters (03:40–07:25)

• Ethan Plunkett, the "rent collector," comes to Inspector Queen: He too has received an anonymous letter accusing him of theft. A twist reveals Plunkett is actually the bank president, posing as a lower-level employee to fend off gold-digging relatives.
• Another of Plunkett’s properties is the focus: 230 Hatton Ave—a five-family brownstone where each letter’s recipient resides.

3. Investigation and Suspects Emerge (09:51–16:35)

• Ellery and Inspector Queen methodically interview the brownstone residents:

  • Dr. Drayton: Receives a letter warning his daughter is in danger; believes the letters are the product of "anonymous graphomania" and points toward an adolescent, likely female, as typical of such cases.

    “It’s a form of hysteria. Not a crime or a prank, but an illness.” – Dr. Drayton (10:54)

  • Miss Bertha Lamb: The gossipy spinster claims she’s received no letter. She quickly disparages most of her neighbors!

    “That child gives me the shivers. The only person in this entire house fit to be a decent person’s neighbor is that grand Mr. Hodge.” – Miss Lamb (13:43)

  • Lewis Hodge: Initially absent from his apartment.
  • Joe, the Janitor: Bitter about Christmas gifts and denying any knowledge of the letters.

• Discovery of the Typewriter:
  Sergeant Vely finds an old typewriter in the basement, identified as the source of the anonymous letters. Only accessible to tenants, suggesting the culprit is among them.

  “This is the machine used to type those anonymous letters. New joke characters, out of line.” – Inspector Queen (15:01)

4. Tragedy Unfolds—The Climax (17:05–20:29)

• Evidence surfaces that Lewis Hodge also received a letter, one suggesting police are on to him.

• The group breaks into Hodge’s locked apartment and finds him dead—apparent suicide, with the damning letter nearby.

  “Dead for at least 24 hours, I’d say… That blasted letter drove Hodge to suicide.” – Inspector Queen (19:06/19:12)

• The revelation: Hodge was an escaped convict living under a false name—his fate sealed by the targeted letter.

5. Solving the Puzzle (20:29–26:56)

• The detectives re-examine the letters/envelopes. Each has a peculiar erased character—a clue overlooked until now.

• After group speculation, Ellery notes that the erased characters were commas after the street number—a European punctuation habit, not American.

  "In certain foreign countries, it’s accepted practice to put a comma after the street number... So I knew the erased characters must have been commas. They’d been erased after typing them in. The writer realized they betrayed his foreign origin.” – Inspector Queen (25:12)

• Process of elimination: All tenants are American except Hubert Lester, newly arrived from England.

• Motive: Hubert Lester wrote the letter to his wife to engineer a divorce without scandal, sending similar letters to others to deflect suspicion.

  “I knew it was Hubert Lester who wrote that letter to his wife accusing himself of being untrue to her. But why, Maestro?” – Inspector Queen (25:33)

• Intended scapegoat: Lester hoped suspicion would fall on Dr. Drayton’s neurotic daughter.

6. Final Reveal and Wrap Up

• Inspector Queen recounts the steps to the solution, linking the erased comma to Lester’s British roots.
• The episode ends with the assurance that Lester, the true “mischief maker,” will face justice.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You snake." – Mrs. Lester confronts Hubert with delicious melodrama after reading the anonymous letter. (02:55)
• "I give you my sacred word." – Hubert Lester, denying all accusations with exaggerated innocence. (03:18)
• "Anonymous letters have done a lot of mischief in this world. They’ve even caused death." – Ethan Plunkett foreshadows coming tragedy. (06:55)
• "It’s a form of hysteria... not a crime or a prank, but an illness." – Dr. Drayton, on anonymous letter writers. (10:54)
• "That child gives me the shivers." – Miss Lamb on Drayton’s daughter; a red herring moment. (13:43)
• "Who at 230 Hatton Ave. is not an American?" – Inspector Queen zeros in on Lester. (25:34)
• "Obviously, dad, to divert suspicion from himself. To make the writer seem to be someone of a diseased or disturbed mind." – Inspector Queen on the ‘mischief maker’s’ plan. (26:27)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Time | |------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | The Lesters’ breakfast argument & first letter | 00:58–03:30 | | Ethan Plunkett’s anonymous letter & case begins | 03:44–05:06 | | Tenant interviews: Dr. Drayton & Bertha Lamb | 09:51–14:11 | | Typewriter found in basement | 14:48–15:07 | | Only residents targeted, not outsiders | 16:18–16:35 | | Discovery of Hodge’s suicide | 18:13–19:17 | | The erased address clue and exposé of Lester | 20:33–26:56 |

Summary

This engaging episode of Ellery Queen showcases clever detective storytelling, rich character interplay, and a satisfying logical puzzle. The mystery unspools from marital discord and escalating paranoia to tragedy, with the “mischief maker’s” identity ultimately inferred from a subtle detail of British punctuation. Inspector Queen’s methodical elimination of suspects—and the psychological misdirects along the way—keep listeners guessing until the final reveal. The show blends suspense, sharp dialogue, period humor, and the signature deductive flair that defines radio’s golden-age whodunits.

For fans of classic mysteries, this is quintessential Ellery Queen: a battle of wits, red herrings, and justice served with flair.