The Penthouse Murder Mystery #01

Summary

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The Penthouse Murder Mystery #01

Harold's Old Time Radio • January 1, 2026

Episode Overview

The debut episode of "The Penthouse Murder Mystery" transports listeners to a glamorous, mysterious rooftop penthouse in the heart of a bustling metropolis during the golden age of radio. Listeners are invited to "turn out the lights" and be swept up into a melodramatic tale involving high society, forbidden love, and a shocking murder. The atmosphere is evocative of classic radio thrillers, promising intrigue, sudden twists, and colorful characters.

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Key Discussion Points and Plot Developments

Setting the Scene (00:06–02:28)

• The host sets the stage with vivid descriptions:
  • Listeners are asked to imagine themselves atop a skyscraper, amidst "velvet lawns" and "shrubbery," home to a "millionaire...secluded among the clouds."
  • An opulent dinner party is underway, with a "jolly, happy gathering" of beautifully dressed men and women.
  • Atmospheric sound design brings the world to life, with city noises, music, and a sense of grandeur.

Awkward Engagement and Social Tensions (02:28–04:23)

• Conversation between Phyllis and Gerald reveals complicated relationships and social snobbery:
  • Phyllis has surprisingly announced her engagement to Rollins Eubank, causing distress to her former suitor Gerald.
  • Gerald expresses classist skepticism about Roland, calling him "nothing but an electrical engineer...a tradesman."
  • He reveals a dark secret: "Are you aware that his father was the gangster who was taken to the country by his own companions five years ago? ... known...as the Fox." (03:45)
  • Phyllis, unfazed, dismisses Gerald’s concerns, emphasizing love over lineage:
    • Phyllis: “What do I care if half the crew and the Mayflower are my ancestors. That has nothing to do with my loving Roland Eubank.” (03:30)

Sudden Police Intervention & Shocking News (05:01–06:13)

• Police burst into the party, demanding to know “where the murdered man is. Where's the body?” (05:11)
• The party learns someone called and claimed Richard Morley (Phyllis’s father) had been murdered.
• Phyllis is shocked: "Richard Morley murdered? ... Why, that's my father. My father's here at the reception with us." (06:11–06:13)
• Tension rises as the police move to investigate.

The Lights Go Out—Disappearance and Chaos (06:23–09:00)

• The police instruct everyone to remain still; chaos erupts as the lights suddenly go out by themselves.
• When lights return, it's revealed both Phyllis and her father’s body have vanished.
• Doors are locked, confusion and suspicion reign.
  • "The girl is gone, sir. She's not in that, sir."
  • "Mr. Morley's body is gone too, sir. The devil. The body is gone." (approx. 07:20–07:45)
• Sounds of a struggle and gunshots; doors are forced open.
  • "Shoot again. Someone has shut the door, sir. It's locked, sir. ... Shoot off the lock. ... I've got a hunch I need to take an agent Murphy before going in there belong to gun." (08:30–08:55)
• The episode ends on a classic cliffhanger: where are Phyllis and the body, and what is the source of the “maniacal laughter”?

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Host's atmospheric introduction:
  “The curtain will swing back from a gigantic stage bound only by the limits of your own imagination. Turn out the lights in your living rooms…” (00:06)

• Gerald’s snobbery:
  “Why, you know he's nothing but an electrical engineer. Oh, a tradesman, so to speak.” (03:11)

• Phyllis stands up:
  "Stop it, Gerald. Stop it. What do I care if half the crew and the Mayflower are my ancestors." (03:30)

• Police burst in, establishing the central mystery:
  “Now, some of you speak up and tell me where the murdered man is. Where's the body?” (05:11)

• Unnerving developments:
  “The girl is gone, sir. She's not in that, sir. ... And Mr. Morley's body is gone too, sir.” (07:30–07:45)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:06–02:28: Atmospheric introduction; setting the rooftop penthouse and party scene.
• 02:28–04:23: Intimate, tense dialogue between Phyllis and Gerald about her engagement and family background.
• 05:01–06:13: Police crash the party; murder mystery and victim’s identity revealed.
• 06:23–09:00: Lights out, confusion, Phyllis and the body disappear, confrontational chaos.
• 09:00–10:21: Manic laughter and cliffhanger conclusion.
• 10:21–12:19: Behind-the-scenes cast introductions, performed in the same lively tone as the show.

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Cast and Creative Team Shout-Outs (10:21–12:19)

• Segue into a playful discussion among cast members, breaking the “fourth wall.”
• Ms. Isabel Dawn (Phyllis): Praised for her work on radio and screen.
• Rush Hughes (Rollins Eubank): Introduced, along with his “rival” Hal Radish (Gerald Norton).
• Director Jimmy Reagan: Lauded for thrilling and entertaining direction.
• Encouragement for listeners to write in, as “an artist's spirits rise and fall with the volume of the applause.” (11:33)

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Tone and Style

The episode is lushly descriptive and melodramatic, filled with class tensions, romantic complications, mysterious happenings, and vibrant radio performance energy. There is a dramatic shift from genteel party to grim murder inquiry that keeps listeners engaged and ends with an irresistible cliffhanger.

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Summary for New Listeners

"The Penthouse Murder Mystery #01" sets up a classic whodunit within high society—a surprise engagement, hidden criminal past, a murder (or is it?), and a vanished body and daughter—all happening atop a skyscraper. The episode spotlights snappy dialogue, period-specific class conflict, and the allure of radio drama, while ending with a series of unanswered, tantalizing mysteries. The cast's playful outro encourages listeners to return for the next episode to uncover “where that maniacal laughter came from and what it meant...”

Transcript

[A]

Ladies and gentlemen, we present for your entertainment the Penthouse murder mystery. The curtain will swing back from a gigantic stage bound only by the limits of your own imagination. Turn out the lights in your living rooms out there, and as you hear the voices of this wonderful cast of Hollywood talking picture stars come from the atmosphere, Jimmy Reagan will unfold for you a drama of the underworld that will carry you up and away into another existence in which the other half of humanity lives and breathes. Slowly, majestically, the curtain swings back and we are on the roof of a skyscraper, looking out over the millions of twinkling lights in the city below, high above the dust and roar of its streetcars, elevated railways and honking auto traffic. Yes, we are standing on the roof of a modern skyscraper, but it does not seem like a roof. Why, there stands a beautiful home surrounded by a beautiful lawn smooth as velvet, with shrubbery growing even small trees are planted here. Awesome millionaire has secluded himself among the clouds on the roof of this modern tribute to a combination of engineering skill and money. Much money. Aha. Lights in the house and the shadows of many people thrown against the blinds as they move about the rooms inside. The strains of music filter through to us as we stand here on the launch. Ah. Someone throws open the French window. A beautifully gowned woman gazes into the night for a moment and is gone. Good. Now we can see the entire interior of the room. It is the dining room. Everyone is taking their places at the long table. What a jolly, happy gathering it is, and what a gloriously beautiful picture. The brilliantly colored evening gowns of the young ladies contrasting against the somber black and white are the evening clothes of the men. Let us draw closer and perhaps we can overhear what that jolly group of young folks standing just inside the window. I'm saying. Sh.

[B]

Oh. What was that explosion? Was that a gun?

[A]

Oh, no, Phyllis. Just one of your beastly American autos backfiring down in the street.

[B]

Oh, dear.

[A]

Oh, come, don't be nervous, dear. But, Phyllis, tell me, why have you done this thing? I'm quite stumped, you know.

[B]

Oh, now, Gerald, let's not talk about it, huh?

[A]

But, Phyllis, right out of a blue sky, you call us here and announce your engagement to this blooming chapter Roland Dubeck. Why, I thought that that was all settled about you and me.

[B]

No, no, no, Gerald, now don't bring that up again, please. I love Rollins. I don't know. He's so different from the rest of you somehow.

[A]

Different? Yes, yes, quite so. Quite so. I should say he is different.

[B]

He is.

[A]

Why, you know he's nothing but an electrical engineer. Oh, a tradesman, so to speak. Well, and this job that he has just completed for your father is his first contract.

[B]

I know that.

[A]

He isn't even established in the commercial world, you know. To say nothing of his family background. And you one of the New England Morley.

[B]

Stop it, Gerald. Stop it. What do I care if half the crew and the Mayflower of my ancestors. That has nothing to do with my loving Roland Eubank.

[A]

Well, then, Phyllis, perhaps this little statement will have something to do with your loving him.

[B]

What do you mean?

[A]

Are you aware that his father was the gangster who was taken to the country by his own companions five years ago? And his bloomin carcass left to rot in the ditch alongside the Salem Bay Drive? Yes, it's a very nasty story. But it will make a much nastier story when the reporters of the tabloid newspapers get will read something like this. Ms. Phyllis Morley, popular young debutante of Boston society, marries the son of New York's late king of the underworld, Al Eubanks, more notoriously known to the newspapers and to the public as the Fox.

[B]

Oh, you're just a fool. And you're a stupid prig, Gerald Norton. I can't pay any attention to what you say. I don't care. Well, listen, that sound as if they'd stopped in the street below.

[A]

Oh, I see. Perhaps that was a pistol shot you heard.

[B]

Oh, dear.

[A]

Probably the jolly police are down in the street now gathering up the blooming remains of another gangster, but on the spot, so to speak.

[B]

Stop it, Gerald. Stop it, I tell you. I tell you. I shan't listen to you insulting, craggy babbling any longer. Now you just get out of here. Oh, come, you go home. You've already ruined my evening.

[A]

Oh, but feel it. I couldn't help it. I can't help it, dear. I love you.

[B]

Oh, love. Maybe I did.

[A]

It's the name of the Lord. Open the door.

[B]

That's the police.

[A]

Open the door. I. Come on, Shelley, Open that door. All right, boys, all right, in with us. All right. Telly, you stand over by the French windows. Don't you let anybody out of here. Do you understand? Okay, Murphy, you stand by the door. All right? Good. Now, some of you speak up and tell me where the murdered man is. Where's the body?

[B]

What do you mean, where's the body?

[A]

What body? What are you talking about, Officer? What do you mean by bursting in here? This is a private reception. You can't burst in here like this. You can't. Can I Well, I did. And you lay off that funny business. Me find, bucko. Who in the devil are you anyway? What's your name? My name is Rollins Eubank. This young lady is my fiance, Miss Phyllis Morley.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

This group of young folks you see here in the room are guests at a little reception to announce that Miss Morley has consented to be my wife. Now get out. Just a moment, young man. Just a moment. Who phoned for the cops? That's what I'd like to know. Somebody phoned that there'd been a murder committed here.

[B]

Murder?

[A]

The eye. Sure, I guess I ought to know. I took the call myself. And whoever it said over the phone that it was Richard Morley that had been murdered.

[B]

Richard Morley murdered?

[A]

That's right, miss.

[B]

Why, that's my father. Oh, dear. My father's here at the reception with us.

[A]

Madam. Miss, what's happened?

[B]

Where is my father? Why, he was here just a moment ago. He was here in this very room. Where can you go on that?

[A]

Whoever phoned said that the buddy would be found in the study, miss. Quick, open that door, somebody. Wait. Wait, man. All right, stand back. Don't get excited. None of you try to leave this room. Do you hear me? Don't jab around that door. Do you hear what I say to you? Murphy, come here quick. Get in there with a girl. Jerry and I will take care of the crowd out here. Well, hold. The devil turned out those lights. What the devil kind of a game is this? Turn on the lights, I tell you. Stand by. Stand still, every one of you. If you don't, I'll shoot. Quiet, I tell you. Shh. Murphy, Jerry, find that switch. Turn on the lights. Who the devil did that? That's better. Now that I can see you, stand just where you are and don't move. Not a single one of you. Do you hear? Now, who was close to the switch when the lights went out, Jerry? No one, sir. I was standing by it myself, sir, and I didn't turn them out, sir. I didn't turn them on again either, sir. Watch that. You mean to say they went out and went on by themselves? Yes, sir. They must have, sir, or else they are controlled by some other switch besides this one, sir. All right, all right. We'll see about that later. Now, go in and send the girl out here. And you stay in the study with the body, Murphy. Yes, sir. Okay, Sergeant. Miss Morley, the sergeant wants you in the other room. Just a moment, please. Miss Morley. Miss Morley. Miss Morley. The girl is gone, sir. She's not in that, sir. Is that the girl is gone? Yes, sir. And Mr. Morley's body is gone too, sir. The devil. The body is gone. Thank you, sir. Officer, Ms. Marley is gone. She's not in there. She disappeared. Let loose of me. Hey, hey, hey, young man, hold on there. Hold on. Quiet. Stand back, I tell you. This is the affair for the police now. The laws in charge here. Who's fooling with those lights? Hey, back with you. Back, I say. Back, all of you. Stand by the wall and don't let anyone near the switchburt. What's that noise there? Quick, Jerry, in the study. Shoot again. Someone has shut. Someone has shut the door, sir. It's locked, sir. I can't get busted down, I tell you. I can't get a shot. Shoot off the lock. All right, I didn't get it yet, Sergeant. Stand back and give me a chance at it. Attaboy, sergeant. Now I got it. I've got a hunch I need to take an agent Murphy before going in there belong to gun. Friends of radio land. We are sorry, but our few minutes on the air with you tonight is almost finished. The time has passed as time has a habit of doing. But if you will return with us at the broadcasting of episode two, perhaps we may learn where that maniacal laughter came from and what it meant. But before we leave you, I'd like to have you hear a few words from an old friend of yours who needs no introduction to any motion picture fan. One of the famous three inch brothers. The eldest brother, in fact. Wait a minute, Jimmy. All right, John, all right, you speak for yourself. Thank you, Jimmy, for the opportunity to talk about myself. But I'd rather talk about our lovely little leading lady whose voice has charmed millions for years on the Collier Hour and other national broadcasting programs and whom you've seen on the screen and on Broadway in white cargo, this thing called Love and many other New York successes. Ms. Isabel Dawn. We all love Ms. Isabella.

[B]

Oh, that's awfully sweet of you, Mr. Wrenn, to say that about me, but, well, speaking of love. Well, I'd like for them all to meet my. My big moment. I mean, that's just my air love. My fiance. Oh, but he's only my microphone fiance. You see, he's really so charming. He's a young man who is one of Hollywood's best looking picture stars. And believe me, that's the truth. His last name is internationally known and his first name. Well, he certainly rushed me into this affair.

[A]

Say, Isabel, I thought you were a lady in distress instead of a comedienne Ladies and gentlemen, I am Rush Hughes. Rollins Eubank to you. And I'm going to return Good for Evil and have you meet my rival up here in the penthouse, Hal Radish. Gerald Norton in the play you will soon see and hear, Hal, in your own theater in new talking picture successes. Thank you, Rush. You're a very gracious rival. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to introduce our director, Jimmy Reagan. The man who is responsible for all the dirty work at the crossroads. The man whose pen thrills you and kills you and leaves you up in the air. We're all up in the air here in the penthouse, and it's Jimmy Reagan's fault. We've all worked for many directors, but never, I believe, for one that we liked and admired quite as much as our own. Jimmy. Hey, Jimmy, come on over here and step out of that green light and meet you public. Thanks. Hell, friends, I hope you like the cast and the production so well that you will write or telephone the radio station. Because after all, that is the only kind of applause they get. And that we get. And an artist's spirits rise and fall with the volume of the applause. And so, until episode two, we bid you of.

[B]

Oui, Zane.

[A]

Miss Puff. Hasta luego.

[B]

Oh, good night. Oh, there it is again.