The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio – Casebook of Gregory Hood: “Three Silver Pesos” (Encore) Episode 4810e | September 28, 2025 Host: Adam Graham

Episode Overview

Adam Graham hosts this encore presentation of "Casebook of Gregory Hood," spotlighting the episode "Three Silver Pesos" from June 3, 1946. Graham introduces listeners to one of his favorite underrated detective shows from radio’s Golden Age, sharing background on its place as a spin-off and temporary replacement for the famed Holmes series, as well as highlighting the talents of its star, Gale Gordon.

This episode follows Gregory Hood, his attorney friend Sanderson “Sandy” Taylor, and radio host Harry Bartel as they inadvertently become embroiled in a complex murder and smuggling case involving mysterious silver coins, a staged suicide, a corpse that won’t stay put, and an inventive twist ending.

Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Introduction and Context

[01:29]

• Adam Graham introduces the Casebook of Gregory Hood as the show’s new default “Encore” slot.
• Brief background: Hood was created by Dennis Green and Anthony Boucher, also responsible for the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes series.
• Gale Gordon (“radio’s most essential people #6”) leads as Gregory Hood, with William Johnstone as Sandy Taylor.

2. Story Begins: The Case of the Three Silver Pesos

[05:16]

• Harry Bartel visits Gregory Hood and Sandy at Hood’s San Francisco apartment.
• Casual banter introduces characters’ backgrounds and personalities.
• Setup: Hood and Sandy recall an eventful night driving across the Bay Bridge to Berkeley.

3. Strange Encounter on the Bay Bridge

[08:54]

• Hood and Sandy notice a car weaving erratically; they stop to help.
  • Man inside is semi-conscious, mumbles about a gun and appears to be on the verge of suicide.
• The man collapses; they rush to find a doctor, but he dies en route.
• Discovery:
  • Identity: Harrison Travers, Los Angeles (from wallet)
  • Odd items: Hotel key, cigarette pack, small glass vial (smelling of cyanide), three silver pesos.
• Quote (Gregory Hood):

  “Yes, yes, a gun would be simpler... Gregory, I believe he’s dead.” [11:00]

• At the doctor’s, revelation that Travers has not died of natural causes but has been stabbed.

4. A Comedy of Errors: Corpses and Car Theft

[15:10]

• Back to San Francisco to report to Lieutenant Magruder.
• On the way, pick up “Penelope,” a brash young hitchhiker.
• In a comic switch, Penelope distracts Gregory long enough to steal his car—with Travers’ body still inside.
  • Quote:

    “Goodbye, sucker!” – Penelope, as she steals the car. [18:20]

• Magruder doubts the story, suspecting Gregory; car and body missing, no police reports corroborate their account.

5. Clue-Chasing: Coins, Hotels, and Coin Dealers

[21:30]

• Hood and Sandy investigate the Hotel Barton (from Travers’ key), met with evasive staff who deny Travers stayed there.
• They seek out Goldwasser, a coin dealer friend, to examine the mysterious silver pesos.
  • Discovery: One coin is unusually light and hollow, containing white powder (drugs).
  • Quote:

    “Oh, very ingenious… this coin unscrews… there’s white powder inside.” – Goldwasser [24:00]

• Conclusion: The coins are drug containers; the case is now tied to a dope smuggling ring.

6. Complications Multiply: More Deaths and Jail Time

[25:30]

• Magruder calls: Gregory’s stolen car (with Penelope’s corpse) has been found. Penelope has been killed.
  • Hood is now prime suspect for two murders and gets arrested.
• Jailhouse humor: Hood shares a cell with the nervous Joe, to comic effect.
  • Quote (Gregory Hood):

    “You’re talking to Sammy the Slicer… ought to see what I did to Fanny.” [27:20]

7. The Mystery Unfolds: A Killer in Costume

[29:00]

• Sandy gets Hood out on bail.
• Hood links the fake bridge cop (from the night’s start) to a missing movie actor—ties in through a production at Fisherman’s Wharf.
  • Inquiry at the Wharf leads to the discovery that actor Fred Gunn (playing a traffic cop) has disappeared; he was staying at the Hotel Barton.
• Quote:

  “Now it’s clear, Sandy, the dying man’s words meant not a weapon but a name—Fred Gunn.” [31:45]

8. Final Confrontation: The Twist

[33:00]

• Hood and Sandy confront Fred Gunn at the hotel, only to find Gunn dead—poisoned by cyanide-spiked whiskey.
• The “now familiar corpse of Mr. Travers” is in the room.
• Solution: Travers, before his death, poisoned the whiskey, resulting in Gunn’s delayed demise; thus, the murder circle is closed by the victim killing his murderer.
  • Quote (Gregory Hood):

    “He doesn't need bedclothes, Sandy. He needs a shroud... [Gunn] was murdered by his own victim.” [33:15]

9. Wrap-up and Moral

[34:10]

• Light-hearted recap: “The murderer being murdered by his victim.”
• Moral: “You get what you give.”
  • Quote:

    “We all get what we give. Look, when you drop by my house, what do I give you? A warm welcome... and a glass of Petri wine.” [34:55]

• Teaser for next week's story involving a cable car, a brunette, and a blood-stained hatchet (“The Black Museum”).

Host’s Reflections & Memorable Moments

[35:08]

• Adam Graham praises the cleverness of the plot, noting it rivals “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” in intricacy.

• Delights in Gale Gordon as an unexpectedly suave amateur detective, contrasting his later fame as a comedy actor.

• Quote (Adam Graham):

  “Having listened to a lot of the Green and Boucher Sherlock Holmes, their Casebook of Gregory Hood actually seems better. Gale Gordon does a great job... given that he’s best known for parts like Lucille Ball’s boss on The Lucy Show.” [35:08]

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “Say, who are you? Gun. Yes, yes, a gun would be simpler...” – Gregory Hood [11:00]
• “Goodbye, sucker!” – Penelope, hoodwinking Hood and Sandy [18:20]
• “Oh, very ingenious… this coin unscrews… there’s white powder inside.” – Goldwasser [24:00]
• “You’re talking to Sammy the Slicer… ought to see what I did to Fanny…” – Gregory (to Joe, in jail) [27:20]
• “Now it’s clear, Sandy, the dying man’s words meant not a weapon but a name—Fred Gunn.” – Gregory Hood [31:45]
• “He doesn’t need bedclothes, Sandy. He needs a shroud... [Gunn] was murdered by his own victim.” – Gregory Hood [33:15]
• “We all get what we give. Look, when you drop by my house, what do I give you? A warm welcome... and a glass of Petri wine.” [34:55]
• “Having listened to a lot of the Green and Boucher Sherlock Holmes, their Casebook of Gregory Hood actually seems better...” – Adam Graham [35:08]

Important Timestamps

• [01:29] Adam Graham’s introduction & context for Gregory Hood
• [05:16] The story begins at Gregory’s apartment
• [08:54] The Bay Bridge incident with Harrison Travers
• [15:10] Car theft by Penelope
• [21:30] Visit to Hotel Barton and Goldwasser’s coin shop
• [25:30] Twist: Penelope’s murder, Hood arrested
• [29:00] Fisherman’s Wharf and movie set investigation
• [31:45] The Fred Gunn revelation
• [33:00] Climax at Hotel Barton; true solution
• [34:10] Light-hearted wrap-up and the “you get what you give” moral
• [35:08] Adam Graham’s post-episode commentary

Tone and Style

The episode balances witty banter and light suspense, mixing clever deduction with screwball comedy. Hood and Sandy’s repartee, Penelope’s sassy con, and the self-parody of detective tropes evoke both homage and gentle parody of the classic mystery format.

For Listeners New & Old

Whether you are a seasoned OTR fan or tuning in for the first time, “Three Silver Pesos” exemplifies what made radio’s golden age detectives so enduring: ingenious plotting, charismatic voice actors, and escapist fun with just enough grit to satisfy any would-be sleuth.

Listen next week for: “The Black Museum."