Podcast Summary: Harold’s Old Time Radio

Episode: Top Secret 1950-06-26 (003): "A Package in Tangiers"
Date: October 5, 2025
Host: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Featured Classic Radio Drama: “Top Secret” starring Ilona Massey as the Baroness Karen Gaza
Episode Focus: Intrigue and espionage in WWII-era Tangiers

Episode Overview

This episode of Harold’s Old Time Radio presents an exciting espionage drama from 1950 titled “A Package in Tangiers.” Centered on Baroness Karen Gaza, a spy navigating the dangerous world of WWII intelligence, the story follows her covert assignment to Tangiers. As Karen seeks to uncover the source of leaks in Allied intelligence while maintaining a façade as an agent for Nazi Germany, she becomes entangled in a web of betrayal, danger, and moral complexity.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Highlights

1. Espionage and Double Lives

• Baroness Karen Gaza is introduced as a secret agent posing as a maid to Emmy Goering, wife of the prominent Nazi.
• She’s sent to Tangiers by her Allied handler, “The Farmer,” to uncover the source of intelligence leaks.

Key Quote:

“In espionage, Baroness, your first mistake will be your last. There will be no protection in danger, no recognition even in death.”
— The Farmer (04:00)

2. Assignment to Tangiers

• Karen is pulled from her valuable post in Goering’s household to travel urgently to Tangiers to meet a contact and investigate leaks.
• Her cover: retrieving a mysterious package for Emmy Goering, which she is instructed not to question.

Notable Instructions:

“Go to the Bazaar of the Singing Fountain. There is a blind beggar who walks the bazaar with a little boy leading him. In the Bazaar of the Singing Fountain, there is only one.”
— The Farmer (05:49)

3. Layers of Deception

• Despite suspicion from both sides, Karen maintains her guise as a German agent. Emmy Goering appears to manipulate Karen for personal gain, assigning her the Tangiers mission under the pretense of a vacation.
• Emmy tells her contact:

“Franz, the most amazing luck. My maid wants to go to Tangiers … Will you arrange for payment? 25,000 American dollars.” (07:00)

• Karen’s journey is fraught with double-crossing and mistrust, even from her supposed allies.

4. Danger in Tangiers

• Upon arrival, Karen navigates a perilous city rife with spies and betrayals.
• She connects with the blind beggar’s son, a precocious and cynical boy, still traumatized by Nazi actions.
• A deadly incident occurs: The boy kills a suspected Nazi agent in Karen’s hotel room, intensifying the stakes.
• Memorable exchange:

“I hate Germans, Madame. They blinded my father, killed my mother.”
— The Boy (13:11)

5. The Package

• Karen collects a small package (much to her surprise) from Suleiman Abdel Kadir, under Nazi orders.
• She is shadowed and distrusted by the boy and his father, who fear she may be a double agent.

6. Captured by Allied Intelligence

• Allied Intelligence intercepts Karen; their agent Brown suspects her of being a Nazi courier.
• They find the package—a jar of face cream filled with hidden morphine.
• Brown attacks her credibility:

“Oh, come off it, lady. You had a private plane from Berlin … Don’t give me this cover stuff.”
— Brown (20:12)

7. Betrayal and Survival

• Karen is handed over to a group (posing as Allied agents) who plan her murder to eliminate her as a liability and “leak plug.”
• Chilling Reflection:

“Murder is like love. The essence is quietness and privacy.”
— Captain (01:25, 22:01)

• At the brink of execution, Karen realizes the ringleader is the actual traitor leaking intelligence. He secretly arranges her escape, exposing the true villain within the Allied ranks.

8. Resolution

• Karen narrowly escapes, aided covertly by the traitor exposed in the end.
• On her return, it’s revealed the package was morphine for Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, and Emmy Goering was acting to ensure his supply.
• The Allied handler, “The Farmer,” assures her the leak is sealed.

Closing Note:

“The package of Frau Goering’s … a small fortune in morphine. The jar got broken. I told Frau Goering I dropped it. She admitted it was medicine for Hermann … and the leak in Tangiers is plugged for good.”
— Karen & The Farmer (27:44)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Espionage’s Cost:

  “No recognition even in death. There would be nothing to identify me as the little manicurist who became the personal maid, almost the confidential companion of Emmy Goering.”
  — Karen Gaza (04:06)

• On Mistrust:

  “It is difficult, Madame, these days to believe anybody.”
  — The Boy (13:56)

• On Moral Ambiguity:

  “What better way to find a leak in Allied Intelligence than to pose as a German agent? I have a card signed by Hermann himself.”
  — Karen Gaza (09:14)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Espionage & Assignment
  • [03:23–06:13] Karen’s background, instructions from “The Farmer”
• Missions Unfold
  • [06:25–09:14] Karen negotiates with Emmy Goering, departs Berlin
• Tangiers Arrival & Intrigue
  • [09:44–15:52] Contact with local network, hotel confrontation, the boy’s drastic actions
• Allied Interrogation & Betrayal
  • [18:50–22:15] Confronted by Allied agent, package revelation, peril escalates
• Resolution & Escape
  • [23:45–28:06] Karen’s near-execution, rescue, leak closure, final debrief

Final Thoughts: Tone and Atmosphere

The episode blends suspense, fatalism, and a noir sense of danger with a dose of dry wit and vintage radio drama flair. Ilona Massey’s portrayal of Karen Gaza captures both the peril and personal cost of espionage, set against a backdrop of moral ambiguity and shifting alliances.

Next Week’s Teaser:

“Next week, Assignment 4: Philip Cornelius. His courage, his bravery, his tenderness, his escape. It is a personal story of mine, and until now, it has most certainly been top secret.”
— Karen Gaza (28:39)

A classic slice of radio espionage with sharp commentary on the fog of war and the high price of double lives.