Podcast Summary

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Johnny Madero, Pier 23 – "Find Pete Sutro" (Originally aired: June 19, 1947)
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Summary by: [Your Name / Date]

Episode Overview

This classic episode of "Johnny Madero, Pier 23" delivers a hardboiled detective tale set against the foggy backdrop of San Francisco's waterfront. Johnny Madero – a boat shop owner with a knack for trouble – is hired by a troubled man, Nat Finley, to track down a mysterious figure named Pete Sutro. What begins as a nebulous missing person job quickly spirals into a web of blackmail, murder, lost identity, and psychological manipulation, concluding with Madero unraveling a shocking truth about Sutro’s identity.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Beats

1. Setting the Scene: Madero’s Boat Shop & Nat Finley’s Plea

• [00:00–03:14]
  • Madero, in his trademark sardonic tone, sets up the gritty scene of San Francisco’s piers.
  • Nat Finley arrives, haunted by the recurring name "Pete Sutro," and hires Johnny to find him, offering $50/day and $200 bonus despite only knowing the name and a vague address ("General Delivery, San Francisco").
  • Quote: "For 50 bucks a day, I'll chase anybody's dream. Because with that kind of dough, you're rich enough to run down a couple of your own." – Johnny Madero ([03:28])

2. Others Want Sutro: The Motel Meeting with Marty Kane

• [03:14–06:20]
  • Madero learns that a tough named Marty Kane and a torch singer named Evelyn Day are also searching for Sutro.
  • Kane, armed and aggressive, reveals Sutro owes him money from a past deal.
  • Tensions run high, with threats and evidence (Finley’s check), but no new leads.
  • Quote: "You're tough, Kane. I'll bet you got your dandruff scared stiff." – Johnny Madero ([05:23])

3. Enter Sheila Finley: A Wife’s Desperation

• [06:20–08:49]
  • Madero returns home to find Nat’s wife, Sheila, pleading for him to drop the job, calling her husband "a sick man" with wild imaginations.
  • She offers Madero $500 to walk away.
  • Quote: "You're not building a case. $50 bucks a day buys a lot of hangover, lady." – Johnny Madero ([07:51])

4. Murder on the Waterfront: Inspector Warcheck Steps In

• [08:49–11:18]
  • At a bowling alley, Inspector Warcheck tells Madero that Marty Kane’s been murdered, with Madero a prime suspect due to his visit.
  • Madero insists Kane was alive when he left, but circumstantial evidence is stacking against him.
  • Quote: "Some days it's harder to duck trouble than a handful of pebbles." – Johnny Madero ([10:57])

5. Seeking Counsel: Father Leahy’s Raffle & Advice

• [11:18–13:47]
  • Madero visits the kindly Father Leahy for advice (and is pressed into buying raffle tickets).
  • Leahy and Madero recap: Finley’s delusions, Sheila’s payoff, and Kane’s murder. Leahy agrees to help dig for info.

6. Interview with Evelyn Day: Connections and Betrayals

• [13:47–16:12]
  • Madero finds Evelyn at the Jade Club. She reveals romantic history with Sutro in Detroit, and that Kane and Sutro were partners in a deal gone wrong—Sutro disappeared with the money.
  • Madero threatens, but Evelyn insists Pete was a "good guy," and blackmail with Sheila is mentioned.
  • Quote: "He was my boyfriend. But I haven't seen him lately." – Evelyn Day ([15:07])

7. Finley’s Collapse: Paranoia and Evidence

• [16:12–18:40]
  • Finley, now convinced his wife and Sutro are trying to "get him," scurries Madero away, confesses to finding the murder weapon in Sheila’s closet, and pleads with Madero to help clear him by finding Sutro.

8. Knockout and the Realization: Madero Framed

• [18:40–21:18]
  • Madero is knocked out as Finley hands him the gun.
  • Warcheck arrives, receives an anonymous tip and retrieves the murder weapon from Madero, who tries to plead innocence.

9. The Truth Unmasked: Identity, Memory, and the Fatal Showdown

• [21:18–26:32]
  • Father Leahy confirms Sutro’s involvement in a Detroit payroll robbery with Kane, and both Sheila and Evelyn were Sutro’s lovers.
  • Madero goes to the Finleys’; Evelyn and Sheila face off, and Evelyn recognizes Finley—her lost lover Pete Sutro, facially unrecognizable after an accident.
  • Sheila admits Sutro died "two years ago" as a cover; gunplay erupts. Evelyn is shot; Finley (Sutro) wrests the weapon and, tormented, exacts final vengeance on Sheila as she tries to escape.
  • Quote: "Try Pete. See how it sounds... You chilled, Evelyn." – Finley/Sutro ([26:00])

10. Resolution: Madero Sums It Up

• [26:32–28:11]
  • Madero puts the pieces together: Sutro lost his memory after the robbery and accident; Sheila married him for a fresh start and the loot; Kane and Evelyn tracked the couple down, resulting in murder and madness.
  • Quote: "Seems that Sutro and Kane were in a big robbery in Detroit... Sutro got smashed up in an auto accident, never made it. Face had to be remodeled... Sheila made her pitch. She promoted a wedding and cut herself in on half the stolen cash." – Johnny Madero ([27:01])

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On San Francisco’s lawless charm:
  "You rent boats and do anything else you can blame on your environment. It works out all right. But pretty soon word gets around you got a reputation that doesn't pay to argue..." – Johnny Madero ([00:38])

• Finley’s haunted mind:
  "Lately a name has been ringing in my ears. Just a name. Pete Sucho... It's a nightmare." – Nat Finley ([02:08])

• On detective work:
  "For 50 bucks a day, I'll chase anybody's dream." – Johnny Madero ([03:28])

• Identity confusion revealed:
  Evelyn (to Sheila): "You'll give him another name and another face. But you can't give him another voice. That's Pete Sutro." ([24:26])

• Tragic denouement:
  Finley/Sutro: "I told you, Madero. Pete Sucro was gonna kill me in the end." – ([26:36])

Important Timestamps

• Nat Finley’s first visit and job offer: [00:50–03:14]
• Confrontation with Marty Kane: [04:41–06:20]
• Sheila Finley's payoff and plea: [06:57–08:49]
• Discovery of Marty Kane's murder; Warcheck’s accusations: [09:34–11:18]
• Consultation with Father Leahy: [11:45–13:47]
• Interview with Evelyn Day: [13:47–16:12]
• Finley’s paranoia and reveal of the murder weapon: [17:24–18:40]
• Madero knocked out and Warcheck’s intervention: [19:07–21:18]
• Father Leahy’s discovery and final confrontation: [21:44–26:32]
• Truth revealed, gunfight, and final confessions: [24:03–26:32]
• Post-mortem wrap-up by Madero: [26:41–28:11]

Tone and Style

The episode brims with classic noir narration—cynical, fast-talking, world-weary, but laced with gallows humor. Witty imagery and snappy dialogue keep the story moving at a brisk pace, as Madero’s dry delivery contrasts sharply against the desperate, fraught characters he encounters.

Conclusion

“Find Pete Sutro” delivers an intricate mystery blending amnesia, blackmail, and femme fatale intrigue, culminating in a dramatic reveal that transforms the entire investigation. Madero’s journey from a routine missing persons case to the heart of a tragic criminal romance is a classic Golden Age radio twist, told with style and dark wit.