The Blue Lion Passport Racket by Dangerous Assignment

Summary

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Relic Radio Thrillers – "The Blue Lion Passport Racket"

Show: Dangerous Assignment (NBC, 1953)
Date Featured: October 17, 2025
Main Voices: Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell; Herb Butterfield as The Commissioner

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Episode Overview

This episode follows government operative Steve Mitchell as he is dispatched to London to break up a forged passport ring believed to be operating out of the Blue Lion pub. Armed with only a seven-year-old newspaper and a set of forged passports discovered in a damaged home, Mitchell must unravel a tangled web of past and present crimes, track down elusive witnesses, and unmask the dangerous criminal mastermind behind the "Blue Lion passport racket."

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. The Assignment and the Cold Trail

(01:27–03:25)

• Steve Mitchell is called into the Commissioner's office and given an assignment involving a string of illegal passport forgeries traced back to the Blue Lion pub in London.
• A lead surfaces—a small package with several forged passports, found hidden behind some bricks in a London basement, wrapped in a newspaper from April 29, 1945.
• The Commissioner warns it's mostly a cold trail:
  • "Brace yourself, Steve. April 29, 1945." – Commissioner (02:45)
• Mitchell is tasked to follow this slender lead and coordinate with Inspector Jellicoe of Scotland Yard.

2. Investigation at Scotland Yard and the First Clues

(04:32–07:24)

• Inspector Jellicoe explains the house where the package was found had been used as an air raid shelter, suggesting the stash could have been made under police pursuit.
• Newspaper wrapping holds part of the "Rooms to Let" section; six listings are marked—possible leads on the suspect’s past lodgings.
• Mitchell and Jellicoe divide efforts: addresses for Mitchell to check, while Jellicoe hunts for Clara Fitzsimmons, a maid from the Mews house.

3. Pounding the Pavement: The Rooming House Trail

(07:24–10:20)

• After several dead ends, Mitchell gets a break at 61 New Romney Road, where landlady Mrs. Farland recalls a 1945 tenant:
  • "Never forget it, dearie. Never. It was a gent named Pinto. Jaegers Pinto... Mr. Pinto was my first mistake." – Mrs. Farland (09:52)
• Pinto’s past comes to light: arrested as a burglar shortly after moving in; this could explain the stashed passports.

4. Linking the Threads: Pinto, Clara, and the Blue Lion

(10:31–11:06)

• Inspector Jellicoe reveals Clara Fitzsimmons, the missing maid, is now Mrs. Jaeger Pinto—recently separated from Pinto and working as a barmaid at the notorious Blue Lion pub.
• The web draws tighter: both suspect and connection are tied back to the pub at the center of the investigation.

5. The First Murder and New Suspects

(11:00–17:15)

• Mitchell and Jellicoe go to confront Pinto at his current address. They arrive only to find Pinto has been murdered.
• Boarding house interviews ensue. The first witness, Sam Cathcart, reports hearing Pinto meet an unidentified visitor before the fatal shot.
• Another resident, "insurance solicitor" Walter Michaels, claims to be visiting a friend but is contradicted by Johns, another boarder.
• Tensions run high as Michaels' alibi grows sketchy and Johns bristles under questioning.
• Notable exchange as suspicions swirl:
  • "I've never seen the man before in my life." – Johns, about Michaels (15:53)

6. Tracing Motives—Mrs. Pinto’s Account

(17:15–18:45)

• Mitchell brings news of her husband’s death to Mrs. Pinto. She shares details:
  • Pinto hid in the basement at St. Margaret's Mews, where she let him hide; after his arrest, he later came to find her at the Blue Lion and they eventually married.
  • She left him due to his ongoing criminal activities, but he would still visit the pub, presumably to pass phony passports to clients.
  • She mentions a mysterious associate:
    • "Tracer was his name, I think. Tracer, the old Tracer will fix me up, he always used to say." – Mrs. Pinto (18:14)

7. Attempted Shooting and Crucial Slip-up

(18:45–20:02)

• As Mitchell prepares to call Inspector Jellicoe, a shot is fired at him from across the street. Mrs. Pinto is shaken but unharmed.
• Mitchell notices Mrs. Pinto’s coat sleeve is damp despite her earlier claim to have not left her flat—a crack in her alibi.
• She admits she started to warn Pinto about the police but turned back without seeing him.

8. Revelation: The Mastermind Unmasked

(20:02–22:30)

• As Mitchell returns to his car, he is ambushed—held at gunpoint by Johns, the boarding house tenant. The true mastermind behind the passport racket is revealed.
• Mitchell has deduced his identity from a vital detail:
  • "When you put on the act about storming back… I remembered the sleeve to your suit was damp, but you were carrying your topcoat over your arm. That meant you got caught in the rain without your topcoat… You also picked up your topcoat. That took me until now to put the pieces together." – Steve Mitchell (21:07)
• Johns intends to kill both Mitchell and Mrs. Pinto to eliminate witnesses. But Mitchell has left the patrol car’s radio switch on, unwittingly broadcasting everything to nearby police.

9. Climax and Epilogue

(22:11–22:30)

• Police arrive in the nick of time, and Johns is subdued.
• Mitchell closes out the case with a wry remark:
  • "That's how come you got the business. Matter of fact, you might call it a singing commercial." – Steve Mitchell (22:12)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Sometimes the guy who tries to take somebody for a ride ends up getting taken." – Steve Mitchell (01:37)
• "It was a gent named Pinto. Jaegers Pinto... my first mistake." – Mrs. Farland (09:52)
• "Tracer, the old Tracer will fix me up..." – Mrs. Pinto (18:21)
• "Keep looking straight ahead… So you're the big cheese of the passport racket." – Steve Mitchell, to Johns (20:25)
• "When I reached down to start the car, I also flipped the radio switch. We've been on the air all this time." – Steve Mitchell (22:03)

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• Assignment Given: 01:27–02:55
• Inspector Jellicoe Debrief: 04:49–07:24
• Rooming House Leads: 07:24–10:20
• Mrs. Farland’s Recollection: 08:43–10:20
• Murder Discovery: 11:41–12:15
• Boarding House Witnesses: 13:30–16:11
• Mrs. Pinto’s Revelations: 17:15–18:45
• Attempted Shooting: 18:45–19:13
• Reveal of the Mastermind: 20:02–22:12
• Resolution & Arrest: 22:11–22:30

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Tone and Style

The episode is brisk, witty, and suspenseful, staying true to the "hard-boiled agent" genre with Steve Mitchell’s blend of dry humor and sharp deduction. The banter between characters, particularly with colorful witnesses like Mrs. Farland, adds period charm and comic relief amid the unfolding tension.

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For Listeners

This episode masterfully weaves together crime scene investigation, personal history, and quick-thinking deductions, offering a classic old-time radio blend of intrigue, humor, and suspense. Both fans of noir mysteries and newcomers will find themselves absorbed by the clever twists and period-authentic flavor of Steve Mitchell's latest "dangerous assignment."

Transcript

[Narrator]

Relicradio.com presents stories of mystery and intrigue, espionage and suspense. Hear tales of ticking time bombs, mysterious crime scenes and cloak and dagger action. This is Relic Radio Thrillers. This week on Relic Radio Thrillers, we'll hear from Dangerous Assignment. An NBC series that aired from 1949 to 1953. Produced 167 episodes. There was a separate Australian produced version that aired for 52 episodes in 1955. Our story today stars Brian Dunlevy as Steve Mitchell as we smash the Blue lion passport racket. Their episode from January 14, 1953.

[Announcer]

Dangerous Assignment. Transcribed Starring Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell.

[Steve Mitchell]

Yeah, Dangerous. My assignment. I get sent to a lot of places I can't even pronounce. They all spell the same thing, though. Trouble. But when I walk into the commissioner's office, I don't realize that assignment's going to prove that sometimes the guy who tries to take somebody for a ride ends up getting taken. Morning, Commissioner. You sent for me?

[Commissioner / John]

The Blue lion has sent us another guest, Steve.

[Steve Mitchell]

The Blue Lion, a pub in London.

[Commissioner / John]

Acting on a tip, we arrested a man on his arrival in the States last night. His passport and other identification were forged. He's the fifth illegal entry we've picked up in a month.

[Steve Mitchell]

So how does the Blue lion fit into the picture?

[Commissioner / John]

That's where these people picked up their phony passports. They don't know or won't tell us.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Any more than that.

[Steve Mitchell]

I guess that calls for a visit to the Blue lion, huh?

[Commissioner / John]

The Scotland Yard's given the place a clean bill of health, Steve. The owners are well known, respectable. And I doubt the man behind this racket is still using the place as a rendezvous since so many of his clients have been arrested.

[Steve Mitchell]

Any other leads, Commissioner?

[Commissioner / John]

Several days ago, a crew of workmen found a small package behind some loose bricks in the basement of a house in St Margaret's Mews in London. The package, wrapped in newspaper, contained a.

[Steve Mitchell]

Half dozen forged passports identified as our friend's work.

[Announcer]

Right.

[Steve Mitchell]

I see. So if I can find out who put that package there, I might find out. Our master penman.

[Announcer]

Exactly.

[Steve Mitchell]

Mm. And the date on the newspaper, Commissioner.

[Commissioner / John]

Brace yourself, Steve. April 29, 1945.

[Steve Mitchell]

1947 years ago. You mean that package was stashed away all that time? Right.

[Commissioner / John]

I know it's a long shot and a cold trail, but we've nothing else to go on. Get over there, Steve. Check with Inspector Jellicoe of Scotland Yard. Find out what you can about that house in St. Margaret's Mews. Pick up the trail and and nail the man who's running this passport racket. Well, that's it. You've got your assignment. Good luck.

[Announcer]

The National Broadcasting Company is presenting Dangerous Assignment starring Brian Donlevy in the role of Steve Mitchell, colorful two fisted government agent. At all those places of the world where danger and intrigue walk hand in hand. There you will find Steve Mitchell on another Dangerous Assignment. This Friday evening on most of these stations you'll hear a program by the NBC News and Special Events department titled End of an Era. The program will review the history of the past 20 years. Narrated by Burgess Meredith, this hour long panorama of the Roosevelt truman period from 1933 to 1953 will bring the happy moments of the 30s and 40s mingled with the sad, the joys and sorrows, the victories and the defeats. The title for this survey of the past two decades is taken from a remark by President Truman made the morning after General Eisenhower was elected president that this is the end of an era. So hear this special broadcast Friday on the NBC Radio network.

[Steve Mitchell]

Sure, I've got my assignment. Get over to London and track down a master penman who's running a flourishing racket and phony passports. And all I have to start with is a package wrapped in a seven year old newspaper. The package that was found hidden away in the basement of an old house. It's late Thursday afternoon when my plane lands. I head for Scotland Yard in the.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Office of Inspector General. 350 of the house, Mr. Mitchell. List of occupants and owners, past and present.

[Steve Mitchell]

Look Inspector, about this newspaper. The wrapping on the package that was found in the basement.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Oh, yes, I. I have it right here. Mr. Mitchell.

[Steve Mitchell]

Is there any possibility that the package might have been hidden away in the house during, say, the past year?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Hardly. You see, Mr. Mitchell, the house in St. Margaret's Mules were severely damaged during the war years. A good deal of repair work was done in the basement in the Latter part of 1945. Your walls, reinforcements, so on.

[Steve Mitchell]

I see. And the package was found behind the new construction work?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

That's right.

[Steve Mitchell]

Exactly when did this repair job begin? Do you know?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Let me see. Yes, yes, here we are. The work was begun in August of 1945.

[Steve Mitchell]

And this newspaper is dated April 45. Well, that narrows it down to roughly three months when it could have been put there. I wonder why the package wasn't removed during that time, why he didn't come back for it.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

It's hard to say.

[Steve Mitchell]

Who owned the house then, Inspector.

[Announcer]

It's in the report.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Here, let me see. Yes, yes, Ian, Mackay, the second cousin.

[Steve Mitchell]

Of Sir John, lived there alone.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

He was with the Royal Air Force at the time, living at the house with his wife, Emily. Two youngsters, Ronald and Valerie.

[Steve Mitchell]

Any servants?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Three, yes. An elderly couple named Denny and a maid named Clara Fitzsimmons.

[Steve Mitchell]

Where are they now, do you know?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Well, Ian Mackay was killed in a plane crash in 1946. His wife remarried three years later and is now living in Canada. And the children are with her. The Denny's are both dead. As for the maid, Clara, well, we.

[Steve Mitchell]

Haven'T been able to track her down yet. Who could have had access to that basement other than the people living in the house?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Anyone in the whole of London.

[Announcer]

Mr. Mitchell.

[Steve Mitchell]

What?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Yes. You see, it was used for a time as an air raid shelter.

[Steve Mitchell]

Oh, great. Now, let's get back to the item you were wondering about, Inspector. Why was the package stashed away there in the first place? Any ideas?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Well, let's examine this possibility. The person carrying the package believes he's being followed.

[Steve Mitchell]

The police. And he doesn't want to get caught with the evidence on him.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

So he slips into the air raid shelter. It's deserted. He finds a place to hide. The package slips out again.

[Steve Mitchell]

This piece of newspaper seems to back up that line of thinking, Inspector.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

You've noticed that, have you?

[Steve Mitchell]

Sure. Here we have a single sheet torn from the rest of the newspaper. And what is it? Part of the want ad section. Up at the top of the page is the tail end of the column.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Rooms to Let, indicating that our friend, aware that he was being followed, was seeking a change of address. You'll notice the last six listings in that column have London addresses and there's some pencil marks beside them.

[Steve Mitchell]

Be too much to expect to find him still living in one of those rooming houses after seven years, but it might give us a lead.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Right on.

[Steve Mitchell]

I'll take a crack at it, Inspector. You have any plans?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Well, I thought I'd drop around to the Blue Lion Inn, check with a man I have there, and then go on trying to track down that mate of the Mackays. Clara Fitzsimmons.

[Steve Mitchell]

Good idea. Well, see you later, Inspector. The odds on our long shot are growing. And the chances I'll find the gent I'm after looks slimmer by the minute. As I say, start out with my list of addresses. The first one is a bust. The same goes for the next address and the next. Things must have been tough in April. Four down and two to go. Now it starts to rain. I rush on to the next place. 61 New Romney Road.

[Mrs. Farland]

Come in, Dee Dee.

[Steve Mitchell]

At the door of the landlady, a rather large one greets me. There's a pleasant air about her, and that air includes a faint trace of gin. I settle down into a heavy oversteppedness.

[Mrs. Farland]

Well, now, dear, that's going to take a bit of thinking, I'm afraid You.

[Steve Mitchell]

Don'T keep a record of your borders, Mrs. Farland.

[Mrs. Farland]

Never bothered to. Might I offer you a little nip of something? I always have a small glass before supper. Helps the appetite, you know.

[Steve Mitchell]

Thanks, but I'll skip this round, if you don't mind.

[Mrs. Farland]

Also takes the chill out of one's bones. Nasty weathered out, ain't it, dearie?

[Steve Mitchell]

So it is. Now, about this advertisement, Mrs. Farland. It appeared in the Dover Times on April 29, 1945.

[Mrs. Farland]

I don't seem to recall it at the moment, but if you say so.

[Steve Mitchell]

Here'S a copy of the paper.

[Mrs. Farland]

Oh, yes. Oh, I see. So I see. 1945. We'd had it proper, if you know what I mean. 41 was a nasty year. It was dreadful. Them Nazi bombers over here day and night.

[Steve Mitchell]

I'm trying to locate a man who might have answered this ad, Mrs. Farland.

[Mrs. Farland]

That was more than seven years ago. Did he?

[Steve Mitchell]

I know it's going back a long time, but there's something in the back page of this paper that might spark your memory. It's the continuation of a story regarding Mussolini?

[Mrs. Pinto]

No. Him.

[Mrs. Farland]

What about Baldy?

[Steve Mitchell]

He was killed at Lake Como the day before April 28, 1945.

[Mrs. Farland]

Was it really?

[Steve Mitchell]

That's right. Help any?

[Mrs. Farland]

Course it does. I remember it clear as crystal, I do. Stella and the young man were supping with this. They'd just got married. Stella, one of my roomers. Been with me for five years. Awful mo. Now, the Stella's room was advertised in the paper. Course it was. It all comes back to me now.

[Mrs. Pinto]

I rented the room the very next day.

[Steve Mitchell]

And do you recall who took that room, Mrs. Farland?

[Mrs. Farland]

Well, I'll never forget it, dearie. Never. It was a gent named Pinto. Daggers Pinto. I'm a good judge of character and all that, deary, but Mr. Pinto was my first mistake.

[Steve Mitchell]

Oh, what happened?

[Mrs. Farland]

Police came for that nasty little twerp the day after he moved in. Why, that's right. With his fine manners and all. He turned out to be a common burglar. Smash and grabman, you know. Got five years, as I understand.

[Steve Mitchell]

Thanks, Mrs. Farland. That's all I wanted to know.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

What was that name again? Mr. Mitchell?

[Announcer]

Jaegers.

[Steve Mitchell]

Pinto, Inspector. He was picked up at 61 New Romney Road on May 1, 1945. Smash and grab artist. Ah.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Served five years. That could explain why the package wasn't picked up from the basement. His present address is 924 Bexhill Place.

[Steve Mitchell]

Hey, how'd you know that?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

I've been checking up on you, Mr. Pinter, through quite another lead. You see, I found Clara Fitzsimmons.

[Steve Mitchell]

The maid who worked for the people who had the house on St Margaret's Mews in 1945.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Right. She's a barmaid now. And her Married name is Mrs. Jaeger Pinto.

[Steve Mitchell]

Oh, brother. Wait a minute. Did you say a barmaid? I did. And just where is she working?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Can't you guess?

[Steve Mitchell]

Yeah. The same pub where those people we arrested picked up their phony passports. The Blue Lion Inn. Right. Ten minutes later, Inspector Jellicoe picks me up in his car and we roll out to 924 Bexhill Place, the present address of our long lost friend, Jagger Spint. It stops raining as we pull up in front. We go inside and the landlord gives us the room number we want. Then, just as we start up the stairs. Hey, Mitchell, come on.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Upstairs.

[Steve Mitchell]

Sounded like. Yes.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Look there on the floor. Yeah.

[Steve Mitchell]

I hope it isn't.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

I'm afraid it is, Mr. Mitchell. Yes. He matches this picture I have of him. It's Jaeger's Pinto. He's dead.

[Announcer]

Steve Mitchell will continue his dangerous assignment in just a moment. If your child can run and skip and jump, he's lucky. Just think how you'd feel if he'd been crippled. In last year's record infantile paralysis epidemic, more than 186,000Americans, most of them children, were stricken by infantile paralysis in the last five years. And last year's polio epidemic was the worst on record. Would you like to save 30 million children from attack by infantile paralysis? Well, it takes millions of dimes and dollars spent in medical research before a protective vaccine is discovered. And now your national foundation is $7 million in debt. Yes, the 1952 blow of polio has gotten its fighters rocking on their financial heels. And remember, you can't fight your child's enemy just by wishing. It takes giving your giving. Take a walk now, won't you? So the polio stricken may walk later join the 1953 March of Dime. Now back to dangerous assignment and Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell.

[Steve Mitchell]

The inspector and I set up headquarters in the parlor to question the boarders. The first one we talked to is.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

A Mr. Sam Cathcart.

[Mr. Sam Cathcart]

Up in his room, he was.

[Steve Mitchell]

Pinto's room?

[Mr. Sam Cathcart]

That's right. There was a knock on the door. Pinto went and opened it.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Did you see who it was?

[Mr. Sam Cathcart]

No, sir. I was sitting on the other side of the room. I heard Pinto say, oh, it's you. Then he stepped out into the hall and closed the door. I sat there several minutes, and just as I was about to go and see what had happened to him, I heard that shot. I ran outside and down to the back hall and, well, they were you two gentlemen bending over his body. Blimey.

[Steve Mitchell]

The person who knocked on the door, Mr. Cathcart, did he say anything at all to Pinto?

[Mr. Sam Cathcart]

Not a word as I could hear, sir.

[Steve Mitchell]

Then you don't know whether it was a man or a woman?

[Mr. Sam Cathcart]

That I don't, sir.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Very well, Mr. Cathcart. That'll be all. Please send it the next person.

[Mr. Sam Cathcart]

Right, sir. Poor Pinto. Blimey.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Blimey. Quite.

[Announcer]

Well.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

He tells a straightforward story. Be interesting to know if it also happens to be a true one.

[Steve Mitchell]

Yeah. The way it figures, Pinto was the leg man in the passport racket. And the forger probably killed him to shut his mouth.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

All right. Come in.

[Steve Mitchell]

Please.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Say, the inspector. Yes, yes. Your name, please?

[Announcer]

Walter Michaels.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

I'm an insurance solicitor. I was calling on a client of mine whose rooms are on the third floor.

[Announcer]

Mr. Jones. He didn't answer the door.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Johns. Well, let's see. The landlord informed me that Mr. Johns had left the house for the railroad station a half an hour or so before the killing. On a business day?

[Commissioner / John]

You've no right to prevent me, you know.

[Steve Mitchell]

Wait.

[Commissioner / John]

Job, please.

[Steve Mitchell]

Sounds like a bit of a hole. Take a look. What seems to be the trouble?

[Commissioner / John]

This policeman will simply not allow me to go upstairs to my room. It's ridiculous.

[Steve Mitchell]

Your name?

[Commissioner / John]

Johns. But I don't see what business this is of yours.

[Steve Mitchell]

Will you step in here a moment, please, Mr. Johns?

[Commissioner / John]

All right, all right. You needn't tug at my sleeve. It's enough out of shape with the damp as it is. Malcolm.

[Steve Mitchell]

Sorry. This is Mr. Johns, Inspector.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

How do you do?

[Commissioner / John]

What sort of foolishness is this, Inspector?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Just routine questioning, Mr. Johns. If you'll just put your overcoat on that chair.

[Commissioner / John]

Look here, I'm in a frightful hurry. Can't I make you understand that? I was almost to the railroad station when I realized I'd forgotten some important papers. So I hurried back. Now your man tells me I can't even go up to my room to get them. Since when?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

You see, there's been a murder, Mr. Johns?

[Announcer]

Since when?

[Commissioner / John]

Murder?

[Steve Mitchell]

Good Lord, Mr. Johns, you haven't said hello to your insurance solicitor here.

[Commissioner / John]

My what?

[Steve Mitchell]

Mr. Michaels here.

[Commissioner / John]

I've never seen the men before in my life.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

What's that?

[Steve Mitchell]

Well, well. How now, Mr. Michaels?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Gentlemen, if. If I could speak to you in private. That'll be all for now, Mr. Johns, but your trip will have to wait.

[Commissioner / John]

But it's a business trip. See here, you've no right.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

That will be all, Mr. Johns.

[Commissioner / John]

I shall speak to your superior.

[Announcer]

Fine.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

I'll be glad to make an appointment for you.

[Announcer]

I.

[Mrs. Pinto]

You.

[Steve Mitchell]

Heh. Sounds like my old college yell. Right.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Good night, Mr. Michaels. Well, I. I really came here to see Dora Mays. She has a room across the hall from John's.

[Steve Mitchell]

Your girlfriend?

[Announcer]

Yes.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

We had quite a row last night. I had a date tonight to thrash.

[Announcer]

The whole thing out, but she didn't show up.

[Steve Mitchell]

So you came here to her room?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Yes, but she was out.

[Announcer]

That's where I was when I heard the shot.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Why didn't you tell us this first off, Mr. Michaels? I was afraid it would get back to pater. I see.

[Announcer]

You chaps don't seem convinced. But that's my story.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Take it or leave it.

[Steve Mitchell]

Before we take it, Mr. Michaels, we'll check it. But Michael's girlfriend, Doris May, still isn't back. So for the time being, there's no way of checking up on his story. I leave Inspector Jellicoe at the rooming house to continue the questioning, borrow a police car and head for Mrs. Pinto's flat to break the news to her about her husband.

[Mrs. Pinto]

End up like this. I guess that's why I left him.

[Steve Mitchell]

You were separated?

[Mrs. Pinto]

It's been a year now.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

I see.

[Steve Mitchell]

Mrs. Pinto, as I understand it, you were a maid in the house on St. Margaret's Mews back in 1945.

[Mrs. Pinto]

That's right. Pinto came to see me one night. I let him hide down in the basement.

[Steve Mitchell]

That's when he ditched the package of phony passports down there.

[Mrs. Pinto]

I suppose so. The next morning he was gone. Then later I learned he'd been arrested.

[Steve Mitchell]

I see.

[Mrs. Pinto]

As soon as he was out, he looked me up. I'd just started his barmaid at the Blue Line. Then he promised to turn over a new leaf. So we got married.

[Steve Mitchell]

But it didn't last very long, huh?

[Mrs. Pinto]

I found out he was still mixed up in something shady, so I left him. Year ago, as I said.

[Steve Mitchell]

Did you see anything of him after that?

[Mrs. Pinto]

Oh, yes. He'd drop in every now and then at the Blue Lion. I thought he was coming to see me, actually.

[Steve Mitchell]

He was probably using it as a contact point to hand out the passports. You happen to know any of his friends?

[Mrs. Pinto]

No, can't say I wanted to.

[Steve Mitchell]

He ever mentioned the man or woman that he worked for?

[Mrs. Pinto]

Well, there was a gent he always turned to when he needed a bob or two. Tracer was his name, I think. Tracer, the old Tracer will fix me up, he always used to say.

[Steve Mitchell]

Wait a minute. Tracer was probably a nickname. And it would sure fit a passport forger. That's probably the boy I'm after. Did you ever see him?

[Mrs. Pinto]

Not that I know of. Pinto used to talk to him over the telephone mostly.

[Steve Mitchell]

Did you ever answer the phone when he called?

[Mrs. Pinto]

Oh, yes.

[Steve Mitchell]

You think you might recognize his voice?

[Mrs. Farland]

I might.

[Steve Mitchell]

Is there a phone here?

[Mrs. Pinto]

No, but there's a phone box down the street.

[Steve Mitchell]

Come on. I want to call the inspector and have him line up all the suspects for you to listen to. Mrs. Turner puts on her coat and we go outside. I step into the phone box and the little light goes on. Just as I start to dial a number, I spot a glint of metal across the street, and I hit the floor fast. I dive outside, but there's no one in sight across the street. Nothing but the mouth of an alley and the sound of some distant running steps. I could never catch up to him now.

[Mrs. Pinto]

Mr. Mitchell.

[Steve Mitchell]

You okay, Mrs. Pinnell?

[Mrs. Pinto]

Yes. I jumped into this doorway when it happened.

[Steve Mitchell]

Okay, come on. I've got a police car down the street.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Huh?

[Steve Mitchell]

What is it, Mrs. Pinto? You told me you hadn't been out of your flat all evening, didn't you?

[Mrs. Pinto]

That's right.

[Steve Mitchell]

Earlier this evening, while we were looking for Pinto, it started to rain.

[Mrs. Pinto]

What about it?

[Steve Mitchell]

It rained for just about half an hour. It stopped just as Inspector Jellicoe and I arrived at Pinto's rooming house.

[Mrs. Pinto]

I don't see what all this has to do with.

[Steve Mitchell]

Your coat sleeve is damp, Mrs. Pindo, why you didn't tell me the truth? You were out of your flat this evening during the time it rained.

[Mrs. Pinto]

But, yes, I was.

[Steve Mitchell]

Where'd you go?

[Mrs. Pinto]

I started for Pinto's rooming house to tell him the police were making inquiries about him. Halfway there, I changed my mind. I came back.

[Steve Mitchell]

You sure you didn't go to the rooming house?

[Mrs. Pinto]

Quite sure.

[Steve Mitchell]

Hey, hold everything. The damn sleeve.

[Mrs. Farland]

What about it?

[Mrs. Pinto]

I told you.

[Steve Mitchell]

Yeah, you just told me the answer. I take Mrs. Pinder back to her flat and tell her to lock herself in. Then I go outside and slide behind the wheel of the borrowed police car Just in time to feel a gun barrel nudge me in the back of the neck. Well, well, that would be Mr. Johns, I presume.

[Commissioner / John]

Quite right, Mitchell. Keep looking straight ahead.

[Steve Mitchell]

Okay. So you're the big cheese of the passport racket.

[Commissioner / John]

Start the car straight down the street. I'll tell you where it's heard.

[Steve Mitchell]

You've been waiting for me here ever since you took that shot at me in front of Mrs. Pinto's, huh, John?

[Commissioner / John]

Yes, I double the block. Return here.

[Steve Mitchell]

Gilbert place. Where are we heading?

[Commissioner / John]

Quiet room, where you're going to phone Mrs. Pinto and have her join us.

[Steve Mitchell]

Oh, get rid of us both, huh?

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Right.

[Commissioner / John]

She may have seen me occasionally in the blue lion. She's heard my voice over the phone. I can't afford to have her around. Left here.

[Steve Mitchell]

Epping square.

[Commissioner / John]

You knew it was I in the car as soon as you felt the gun barrel.

[Steve Mitchell]

How? When you put on the act about storming back to the rooming house for some forgotten. I remembered the sleeve to your suit was damp, but you were carrying your top coat over your arm. That meant you got caught in the rain without your top coat. When you went out the first time, your plan was to make a departure, then sneak back and kill pinto, which you did. You also picked up your top coat. That took me until now to put the pieces together.

[Commissioner / John]

Rather neat.

[Steve Mitchell]

Wait.

[Commissioner / John]

There's a police car ahead of us. Turn around. Okay, back the way we came. To the first turn right.

[Steve Mitchell]

Then.

[Commissioner / John]

Another police car.

[Steve Mitchell]

What do you know?

[Commissioner / John]

Slow down.

[Steve Mitchell]

I'm getting out.

[Commissioner / John]

Sorry.

[Steve Mitchell]

You're not leaving.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

John.

[Steve Mitchell]

Let go.

[Commissioner / John]

My wrist.

[Steve Mitchell]

Let's go. With a gun? Drop it or your wrist goes with it. No. My, but you're hard to convince. Now just sit back and we'll wait for our friends the police. How could they follow us?

[Commissioner / John]

How did they know where we were?

[Steve Mitchell]

Real simple johns. This is a police car, remember? When I reached down to start the car, I also flipped the radio switch. We've been on the air all this time.

[Commissioner / John]

The radio?

[Steve Mitchell]

Yep. You sang plenty. That's how come you got the business. Matter of fact, you might call it a singing commercial. Huh?

[Announcer]

Our star, Brian Donlevy will return in just a moment. Here's another reminder about NBC's special program, the end of an era. The end of an era will survey the past 20 years in our nation's history. During the program, we'll recall when Eddie cantor was singing potatoes are cheaper and Neville chamberlain announced that he had brought peace in our time. Those were the days of Hugh Johnson and the Blue Eagle of the nra, the time of Cab Calloway's Hidey Ho, those were the times of the sidewalk apple peddlers at street corners of the hit song Brother, can youn Spare a Dime? Of swing music such as the Music Goes Round and Round. As NBC presents this special survey, listeners will HEAR Again Franklin Roosevelt's inaugural address in 1933, Hitler's angry speeches, Churchill's magnificent replies, the thud of bombs, the rhythm of marching feet, the events at Pearl harbor that made December 7, 1941, a day of infamy. Yes, be sure to hear this full hour documentary program End of an Era, Friday evening on most NBC stations.

[Steve Mitchell]

Next week, Burma the road to Mandalay almost turns into a one way street.

[Announcer]

And that will be Steve Mitchell's Dangerous Assignment next week. Included in tonight's cast were Virginia Gregg, Ben Wright, Don Morrison and Dan o'.

[Inspector Jellicoe]

Herlihy.

[Announcer]

This is John Storm Speed Dangerous Assignment, starring Brian Donlevy as Steve Mitchell with Herb Butterfield as the commissioner, is written by Bob Rife and Adrian John Doe and is directed by Bill Karn. Be with us again next week at this same time when Brian Donlevy, starring in the role of Steve Mitchell, will embark on another transcribed Dangerous Assignment.

[Commissioner / John]

Always tune where you hear the familiar NBC chimes.

[Announcer]

They're your invitation to find radio entertainment.

[Commissioner / John]

This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company.