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The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio| Daily Mystery Dramas
Charlie Chan: The Case of the Romantic Engineer (EP4812)
00:34:31
Today's Mystery: A woman believes her husband has been kidnapped, but instead of a ransom note, she's being sent money. Original Radio Broadcast Date: 1950 or 1951 Originating from Sydney Starring: William Rees as Charlie Chan; Rodney Jacobs...
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Sam.
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Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. In a moment, we're going to bring you this week's episode of Charlie Chan. But first I do want to encourage if you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And I also want to encourage you to check out our other podcast in this case. Today we are promoting our World War II podcast, the The War. During that series, I played through 277 episodes taking you through World War II from the pre war era all the way through the entire war, BJ day and even some post war epilogue. We do that not only through news programs, but also through comedies, dramas, even music. You can check it all out at thewar.greatdetectives.net and find all of our a podcast series over the Great detectives of Old Time Radio. Now here is the case of the romantic engineer.
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The incomparable Charlie Chan. We proudly present the incomparable Charlie Chan in a new and exciting series. Join this famous detective of fiction, films and radio as he combines the wisdom of the east with the science of the West. In the dramatic chapter from the Adventures of Charlie Chan, Charlie Chan humbly bids you good evening and extends warm welcome. It is written, honesty of man is measured by greed of fame. Tonight we hear of persons who subtracted greed from honesty and obtained murder. Listen, please. Thank you. Tonight, the venture the Case of the Romantic Engineer. You can't miss the Polo Cafe. Walk to the darkest street in San Francisco's underworld. Turn down the blacker Sally. Stop at the worst tavern you come to. That will be the Polo Cafe. Men don't go there for entertainment. They go to talk business. Crooked business. Excuse me, mister. This table taken? I'm sitting here. I don't mean that anyone else. You alone? Yeah. Mind if I sit down? Yeah. I'm not just trying to be social, understand? This is business. Only last week I said to myself, doc Nash is the fellow I need. You know me. I do. I want to talk business, Doc. Thanks. He called me Emery Haggett. Hi there. They tell me you're pretty smart, educated fellow, Doc. With everything but luck, huh? Take a look at this. Worst counterfeiting job I've ever seen. You're not telling me a thing. Listen, Doc, you ever hear a Barney Whale? Just a very professional farmer whale they call him. He runs a counterfeiting school over on the south side. At 500, the farmer teaches you how to make them, though he says, I took those lessons. Doc, you didn't study Very hard. Those coins wouldn't fool a school kid. The farmer holds out, Doc. He doesn't teach everything he knows. I finished up learning everything except the last step. I figure that's where you come in. Go ahead. Now, you don't get that doc title for being a sawbones, huh? They say you're a doctor of engineering. All right, we'll make a deal. I make the coins and bills as far as I can. You do the rest, huh? You know all about these scientific things like silver plating and presses and ink and stuff. Yeah, I know. I do the groundwork, you add the artistic touch. It's as simple as that. What do you say, huh? How do we share? 50. 50, doc. Well, what do you say? All right, it's a deal. We'll get started right away. Gee, that's great, Doc. I always knew Marie. Yeah, doc? Don't call me Doc. Now, come on. We'll show Uncle Sam how money ought to be made. Hi there, Pop. Number one son reporting for duty. Been assigned by Mrs. Charlie. You home in half an hour for dinner. Let's go. Hi. Miserable father in presence of son like reed before storm. Cannot even solemn walls of police headquarters restrain son's violence. Not when there's cat Andese duck for dinner. Honorable mother has prepared Doc. This bad disappointment indeed. Are you kidding? You know you're crazy about that. Now, come on. Pada does not refer to menu but to departmental duty which will delay attendance at dinner. What duty? Very strange telephone call to police requiring instant investigation. What's it all about? Woman recently complained about kidnapping of husbands. What's strange about that, Pop? Husbands get kidnapped. Kidnapped all the time. Woman complains kidnappers do not request ransom. Instead are paying her ransom. Paying her ransom for the love of. Well, I think we better see her right away. Maybe we can straighten up before dinner. I'll drive you. What's her name? Address? Lady resides at 1215 Muir Hill. His wife loves Dr. John Nash. Please sit down, Inspector. 10. Many thanks. Now, regarding your strange telephone call, Mrs. Nash will give facts briefly, please. It's the strangest thing, inspector. I don't know what to make of it. John? Well, he hadn't been doing well lately, and two months ago he came home and told me he'd got a good job, a chance to start engineering work down in Texas. Well, he. He left home and it all seemed true. He wrote every week wonderful, romantic letters and sent money. And I was happy. Until I went to the library this morning. Source of grief, please. I was looking through an old novel in the library, I found that all my husband's romantic letters, all the details of the people he was meeting and the work he was doing was taken out of that novel. Holy smokes. I've got the novel and some of John's letters here. You can compare them. I've marked the passages in the book. That's most strange. The envelopes are postmarked Texas. And they're dated right post? Yes. I thought maybe John was being held. Maybe he was in some kind of trouble. And whoever had got him was sending the letters to. Well, I don't know. You cannot understand why money was sent if that was true, huh? Yes. These ancient eyes perceive two $20 bills and most recent letter have been wrapped around with newspaper for security. Why should kidnappers send money? It doesn't make sense. Investigation of newspaper wrappings makes sense. If son will examine things, exercise vision. Please. Sheets of newspaper have been cut from San Francisco papers. Why? I never know. They ought to be Texas papers. If he's really in Texas. Very good, number one. Son leads to correct conclusions. Now we inquire if Dr. Nash is not in Texas, why does he copy passages from book in attempt to convince wife that. What is it, Pop? One moment. Why are you staring at the money, Inspector? Because second question answered by fame. Twenty dollar bills packed in envelopes. A counterfeit. Counterfeit? Both needles. One might be accident. Two inspire this ancient person with suspicious doubts. Will begin search for husband tomorrow morning at office of Secret Service Mrs. Nash. But are afraid will not find sane kidnapped. Will find Dr. Nash engaged in manufacture of currency. Hi, George Chan. You don't know how happy we are to see you at Secret Service with your bit of news. I'm most kind to miserable old Charlie Chan, Mr. Dean. This ties in perfectly with our problem. You got trouble too, Mr. Dean. For the past month, we've been flooded with the finest counterfeit notes and coins we've ever seen. Detection for the inexperienced eye is practically impossible. Yeah. Move these over. Ah, yes. Now you bring in your evidence, and it's the biggest break we've had so far. Nash has been sending his wife the same counterfeit notes that have been bothering us. He's an expert engineer. He must be behind these expert jobs. This person of same opinion. So let's get after Nash, both of us. We'll keep in touch with each other. And between us, we'll break him wide open. If any breakage performed will be by esteemed Secret Service. Charlie Chen will only fracture small splinter. Ksan will now go out and search for saint. But where in offices of merchant tong whose sign is 3 golden sun refers to pawnbroker. Truly a pawn shop contains all the secrets of the world. Oh, why try this one, pop? It's the 35th hot shop we've been in. Quite done without the moon yet. What's your favor today? Are interested in purchase of trophies. Please. You referring to trophies of the chase kit? Spears, arrows, stuffed heads. I got the fine moose heads. Magic refer to trophies of sport loving cups loinch. Sorry. Fellow come last week and brought me out. Ah, no doubt was dreaded business rival of this person, Mr. Richard Wu. Huh? No, this wasn't a Richard Wu. It's a fellow which used to be a firefighter far away. Remember him? Wait a way. He'd call his Larry Earth thanks to her at the Polo Cafe. I guess he's kind of punched buying up all them loving cups. Oh, but only as Ricky Rich. He who begins search must be prepared to find what is not lost. Come, son. Drop around next week, James. I'm expecting a big shipment right after the tennis tournament. It's most annoying are searching for John Nash but repeatedly find nothing but former pugilist farmer Wales. Pop, will you please explain? I'm all mixed up. What's all this about loving cups? Attention. Biggest problem of counterfeiter is obtaining proper metal for coins. So cheapest and best imitation of silver is Britannia metal. I get it. Counterfeiters go around buying up old loving cups that are turning the phony coins. At last miserable son exercises brain. And you thought Nash should be buying loving cups? Precisely. My father has discovered only purchaser of same. His pugilist farmer Whale. Perhaps same is in business partnership with Dr. Nash. Fact makes immediate location of farmer Whale urgent. He hangs out in Apollo Cafe, notorious abode of villains. Unfortunately, father too well known by underworld to visit fame without recognition. Therefore becomes reluctant duty to send number one son on dangerous missions. They will recognize me, huh? Go ahead, Pop. I'm with you. Ah, how eagerly youth. Welcome, stranger. You want me to hang around the Apollo Cafe, right? Until I locate this Whale character? Yes. Father will provide son with inferior counterfeit coins. If and when pugilists located son will display fame to suspect and let nature take natural criminal course. Then what do no more. Make an appointment for a future meeting, then report back to father. Sir, let me buy another drink. Farmer. Yeah, you got good bringing up, kid. So, as I was saying, I dropped Smiler with the left. That could have punched holes in us. And I. Hey, where'd you get that money? Job got paid off. Farmer don't hand me that. Where'd you get the money? Oh, gee, Farmer. Come on. Come on. Maybe I better be going. Look where you are. Don't listen to him, kid. Oh, me a pint size. You're all right, I can see that. You make this money, huh? What about it? That's no good, that's what you couldn't fool a baby with them. Now take a look at this. I'm looking, Farmer. Uncle Sam had nothing to do with this. You're kidding. All right, nut kid. I make pretty good stuff. And I could teach you how. How? What's your name? Tommy woo. You got $500, Tommy? I could rate it. Then you come with me, Tommy. You're going to get yourself a college education for 500. You come with me, Tommy, and I'll teach you so much you won't ever have to work for a living again. It looks as though Charlie Chan's number one son is all set to discover a valuable clue in the case of the romantic engineer. But now, here is your announcer. And now back to the incomparable Charlie Chan. Tracking down a gang of counterfeiters involved in the disappearance of mining engineer Dr. John Nash. Charlie Chan has sent his son to the Polo Cafe to seek out a certain ex pugilist Farmer, well believed in many so to be connected with the case. Some time has passed since Jan's son left the cafe accompanied by whales. And now at the door of the cellar that serves his apartment workshop. What's the idea locking the door? Don't take chances, Kent. I got a nice business here. There's always a chance, Tommy. Some coppers trying to quirk things for me. But you're all right, kid. Come on now. I'll explain the layout. And as soon as you reach that 500, I start teaching. Yeah, Farmer, open up. I've heard about him. He's dynamite. Well, whatever time. TNT power. I want to talk to you. Go ahead, Doc. Don't call me Doc. I'll call you what I like. Seek your beast. Don't get on your way in front of the boy. That gets. All right, Farmer. We want you to stop operating. Get out of this city. Your rotten, cheap counterfeiting is making things dangerous for us. The police are looking for you. They may end up finding us. What do you mean? Rustin sheep. Don't let your work atrocious. $500 from Emory Haggart to teach him the game. You don't know enough to teach him. You can't. Wait a minute. Yeah. While me and Nash are talking business, Suppose you see about getting hold of that 500 we've been talking about, huh? Got another chump, eh? Shut up. Go ahead, Tough. Get hold of that money and meet me back here. I'll be waiting. And don't take too long. All right. F. All right. Don't worry. I'll be back sooner than you think. This is it, Pops. Mama Wells place. Come on, Lolisa. It is written much is accomplished through delay. Show father door of pugilist's workshop, sir. Is he going in to arrest them? This person never carries fire out. Would you have father engage in heated argument with lethal weapons? That's it with the door to the cell. Hey, it's open, Pop. Strange. I'm a whale. Notoriously cautious. According to your report. Harp Alan. He's up and closed door. Golly. That's Farmer Whale on the floor. Regret to inform son that solution of case won by courage of fame is now lost. Farmer Whale dead, has been murdered alongside body. These ancient eyes perceive cartridge ejected from automatic pistols. I get it. It's the shot of kill, Thomas, huh? No doubt. One bullet in the heart. Cartridge is especially interesting. Why? May lead us to Dr. Nash after all. A special 9 millimeter Luger cartridge manufactured for Luger pistols. Very few dealers sell such cartridges in cities. May be possible to trace sales to hideouts of Dr. Mash. Shall we follow this lead, huh? After sun notifies homicide division of murder. Must request son to depart instantly in search of public telephone. Father will remain with bodies. Okay, Pop. Back in a flash. Also telephone Agent Dean of Secret Service regarding counterfeiting lands in fellow. Then return right away. Pop. Hello, kid. You've been in there already, eh? I told you to come back. I didn't expect you'd get back so soon. That's a pitney, kid. You're in a jam. Don't move. I'm not moving. You're coming back to my place. Maybe I can work out a way to keep you alive. Maybe not. You know too much. Right now I'd say you've got about one chance in a million. I don't like this, Doc. I'm not in favor of ope. Call me Doc. I bash my friends out working out an airtight alibi, and you walk in with a kid. There's only one thing to do if he knows you were the last person with Farmer. Go ahead. Get rid of him. You don't have to. I've got a good memory for forgetting. I didn't finish him off right away, Emory, because there was something screwy about him. Let's work out what he is. I'm listening. There's a Chinese detective operating in town. His name is Charlie Chan. His kid works with him. This is the kid. Holy smoke. The kid's the breathing space we need. We're going to use him to keep Chan running in circles until we can pack the plant and move it out of the city. Come on, Junior. Not going to write a letter to your daddy this time? It isn't coming out of any romantic novel. Inspector Chance. This is a ransom note. It will cost you money to get your son back alive. If you want to do business, instruct the announcer on station WSAN to cough before giving the midnight time signal. Tonight. Though you will know this note is not a fake. We have forced your boy to write it and sign it with his name. Sign Xian Sang sheik. So now Mr. Dean are aware of fate of lost number one son. How'd you get? Was thrown through window of police headquarters five minutes ago. Let's see if you live in a clock now. You've got less than an hour. Yes. You go ahead and take care of your boy, Chen. I'll continue with the Nash case. One and the same case, Mr. Dean. Connection obvious, no doubt. Nash was lurking near scene of murder. Captured son. An attempt to mislead father with kidnapping threat. Quickest way to rescue son is to capture Nash. If we don't know where to look. Chad already know where to look. Son has instructed father. Has utilized native intelligence to inform father of locality. Has done the same with signature of letter Karen Xian Sang Xi. Not number one son's Chinese name. His message. Message translation is look for me at Market Square. Give me five minutes. Chen. I'll have every available agent ready. May take 10 minutes. Mr. D. This person also has preparations to make haste would be fatal. Is written every minute of preparation lost Means extra hour of struggle. Charlie Chan makes no mistakes when gambling for life of sun. All set on the side Squad's got the square covered. Our agents are ready to move. All we've got to find is the right house. Yes, this is the it's 11:45. That gives us 15 minutes to check every house in the cake. The right one. I've got squads ready for that job. Have already located house. Mr. Bean. Squad, this way please. On the side squad has traced clue of Luger bullets. This person had good fortune to discover a scene of murder Rochester and resident of number 20 Market Square. Most probably residence of Dr. John Nash. Now we bring you the 1155 WSAN news roundup. When the signal gave chance. Told him to have you announce a cough before the midnight time. Signal? How could he do that? He'll do it. Police can do anything and then we're in the clear. What a brain you got, Doc. Maybe I was pretty smart too, when I joined up with you, huh? You talk too much. Keep quiet. Dark. I. Doc, turn off the radio. Exclusive. Doc. Turn off the lights, quick. Doc, I keep quiet and do what I tell. Okay, okay. Get to the right window. I'll take the lift. Be careful. Dr. John Nash. Dr. John Knight. Opening speaking. You are cracked. Dr. Knight. As police and secret Service with miserable leave Surrender at once. Please don't end that. Emery, look. What? Where? That fat fool's got his men around the wrong house. They surrounded number 10 across the way. We've got nothing to worry about. Put your gun away. What do you know? Listen to them blazing away. I can hardly hear myself think. What a laugh, Emery. What a laugh. Look at them. Sneaking around number 10 like kids playing cowboys and Indians. Where do they think they're going? Who are they going to get? No one. Dr. Nut. Doc, behind us. It's Chad. Chad. Drop guns, please. Drop them. Many thanks. This person would deeply regret operation of riot gun. In efficient hands of Mr. Dean had died. Prefer saving you for grimmer justice of court. But. But the door was locked. You were down in the square. I've got the wrong hair. Hijink after this miserable person. Untie's number one son and removes gags from mouth of sale. Charlie Chan will relate parable of foolish detective and clever crook and explain how foolishness can sometimes be wisdom. Golly. Pop. Oh, what a pleasure to be driving home tonight. I thought you'd never find me. Father could not fail after sun wrote clear instructions in ransom letter. Well, that was a break. When Nash said he wanted me to sign my name, I told him I'd do it in Chinese to make sure you knew it was me. I acted scared. Very wise of miserable son. It is written sometimes fear is great wisdom. But I still can't see how you sneaked into Nash's place and ambushed him with Mr. Dean. Was extreme. Extremely simple. Your father played fool and had police attack wrong building. While Nash and Haggard stared out windows and laughed. This person slipped locked with penitent teeth. And that's why you had that shooting, eh? To distract Nash and Haggard? Yes. They had your broadcasting down on the square in the public address. I heard you too. Son forgets miracle of time that enables person to be in two places at same time. Father refers to Phonograph that record. Add speech recorded at police headquarters before coming to market Square. Broadcast same from police public address truck. And I guess Nash forgot about that, too. And he was so clever. Dr. Nash forgot that no wisdom is any greater than purpose for which same is used. Only is written, he who sows grain shall reap grain. That he who sows this. It's all right, Pop. I'm just in a hurry to get home. It's obvious. Miserable Charlie Chan must get new sun or new automobile for sale. Or else son will have to find new father. If you put it that way, Pop, I'll slow down. I wouldn't want to trade you in. After all, there's only one Charlie Chan. Before relating our next exciting adventure, here is an answer with words of wisdom. In next adventure involving curious Ride of the Sea Witch. This inferior person required to discover motives behind series of strange crimes committed on board yachts. Say excessive persons are dangerous. The ware man who gives too much will end in taking faith. Good night. Thank you. The adventures of Charlie Chan are based on the famous character created by Earl Sir Figures. Charlie Chan is played by William Reed. This is the Grace Gibson radio production produced by VEG Johnson.
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Welcome back. Some fun clues in this one. I like the loving cup angle, though. It seems like having to use that to obtain the medal would have been obvious whoever had been buying them. But I also did like Charlie Chan's plan at the end to distract the criminals. And of course, number one son leaving the clue was a nice opportunity for him to shine. The crook's action is probably the one that's a bit more puzzling. Because it was not really clever for the engineer to send counterfeit money to his wife. Sending the fake letters I could get because he needed to justify his location. And I don't think we ever got an explanation of how he got them. Having a Texas postmark. But sending the money. And particularly as Charlie Chan pointed out, sending two bills really did set someone up to look into the counterfeiting and point back to him. I do get why he sent the letters. And it was just impossibly bad luck that his wife happened to pick up the same romance book that he was using to take the dialogue and letters from. Though I don't know. Maybe he customized which book he chose to be something that was within her taste. And it made it likely that she would pick up that book. Now, I will also note that the end of the episode that they did list Rod of the Sea Witch as what was going to play next week. But I don't feel it's a mistake or something I need to fix. It's one of the things I might have done it differently if I'd listened to every single episode in detail before playing, but oftentimes when these episodes were played, they might play in a different order in one city rather than another. So it's tricky to establish anything definitively with a series like this. Alright, listener comments and feedback. Now when we go to YouTube regarding the episode the Pearl of Great Price, I think it's worth mentioning that Sergeant X was played by the great Elliot Lewis, who worked for the Armed Forces Radio Service during the war. Well, thanks for the comment, saysoft. I have actually heard a couple of different things. One is that Sergeant X was voiced by Howard D. Duff, and the other, and this seems plausible because their voices are so similar, is that Duff and Lewis would often take each other's assignments and impersonate each other on the air. That's certainly plausible. It's tricky to say for sure though, but I appreciate the comments asoff and then I've got an email from Sam who writes hello, Big fan. I listen to most of your uploads on Spotify every evening. Just had a question for you. I've been kind of diving into the golden age of radio and was wondering if you have any episodes of up for Parole. I've been looking everywhere and I can't find. Maybe there's only 10 episodes, but do you even have access to those? I do have access to those in terms of something I would ever play. I listened to it quite a ways back and thought it didn't quite fit with Great Detectives, but I don't know, might be revisiting again. I've been kind of stretching definitions for programs such as the Big Story, which we're going to do in a few short weeks, so I'll think about that one. Thanks so much. Alright, well, now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter Alpha the Day and I want to go ahead and thank Ken patreon supporter, since November 2023. Currently supporting the podcast at the Psalmist level of $4 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Ken, and that will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and be sure to rate and review the podcast wherever you download it for free from. We'll be back next Tuesday with another episode of Charlie Chan, but join us back here tomorrow for Broadway's My Beat.
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Where yeah, it's very intriguing what you tell me, Mr. Clover, look, why don't we go downstairs and chat about it over a cup of coffee? Now, Mr. Kogan. Oh, you don't understand, kid. I haven't had my breakfast. How can I do my best for Imperial Insurance without something hot in my stomach? We're trying to find out who killed a man. For this, I have to miss my breakfast. I tell you. You don't understand. My wife sleeps in the morning. She doesn't then. Justin used to work for you. I want you to give me what you know about him now, because it won't wait on an empty stomach. All right? All right. Yeah. He worked for us. One of our hottest cases. Year ago. He kissed us goodbye. You don't know anything about him after that. You're just. Look, kid, did I say that I know a lot about Ben? Let me open my mouth a little, huh? It's open. A year ago, we put Ben on the Colton murder case. Remember it? Who doesn't? Mrs. Colton found murdered. Shot to death in her house on Long Island. That one cost us the company 100 grand. Police were handling it. Why'd you put a private investigator on it? Oh, don't let it bother you. Justin flopped, too. He said he couldn't find a thing to prove that Mrs. Colton's nephew and his wife committed the.
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Ma'. Am.
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Remember Johnny and Dottie Reed? The lovable kids that all of us thought were the murderers? The state us till they were acquitted. No evidence. Not even from our own boy, Ben. After that, Ben quit. How did you know? Oh, I told you. Yeah, he turned in a memo that we should pay the kids the hundred grand insurance. The aunt left, the boy shook hands all around, resigned. Then right away, we find out he was making merry with the Reed kids all over town. In their home. How do you know that? It was a password in our office. How Ben and his wife were always in the company of the kids. Why the kids were acquitted. They have the right to make their own friends. For 100 grand. We keep trying.
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I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to box13, greatdetectives.net follow us on Twitter at radiodetectives and check us out on Instagram. Instagram.com greatdetectives from Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.