Cloak and Dagger: The Black Radio (A0028)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode: Cloak and Dagger: The Black Radio (A0028)

Release Date: October 18, 2025
Host: Adam Graham
Original Broadcast Date: August 27, 1950

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Episode Overview

This episode features a dramatization of the true-life WWII espionage tale, "The Black Radio," from the historical audio drama series Cloak and Dagger. The story follows OSS agent Major Mark Langer as he is sent undercover into Nazi Germany to operate a clandestine anti-Nazi propaganda radio, intended to undermine local morale ahead of the Allied advance. The narrative explores the dangers, paranoia, and profound courage required of underground agents and the transformative impact even small acts of resistance can have against tyranny.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. Mission Setup (02:07–07:47)

• Introduction to the OSS Assignment:
  Major Mark Langer is recruited for a dangerous mission: to parachute into enemy territory (Freiburg, Germany), join up with a deep-cover local contact, and operate a "black radio" transmitting Allied propaganda.
• Lucille, the Contact:
  • Lucille, a schoolteacher turned spy, is the local agent who prepares the ground for Langer’s mission and hides the radio.
• Perspective on Risk and Courage:
  • The episode emphasizes the extreme risks taken by ordinary people, especially women operating undercover, and the constant threat of betrayal and capture.
• Notable Quote:
  “Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission behind enemy lines, knowing you may never return alive?”
  —Narrator (02:07)

2. Life Undercover (07:47–13:33)

• Cover Identity:
  Langer assumes the cover of a war-injured film projectionist. He secures a job at a local theater with the help of Gruber, a suspicious neighbor apparently connected to the Gestapo.
• Tension and Paranoia:
  The ever-present danger is heightened through surveillance by neighbors and colleagues, with the risk of being unmasked ever lingering.
• Lucille’s Philosophy:
  “Taught history in grade school. Now I'm helping to make it. It’s a good feeling until you consider the possibility of getting caught.”
  —Lucille (08:31)

3. The Black Radio Broadcasts Begin (13:33–17:21)

• Executing the Broadcasts:
  • Langer and Lucille commence their radio transmissions, timing them to avoid detection. The operation is logistically and emotionally precarious—sometimes barely escaping Gestapo sweeps.
• Propaganda Content:
  The broadcasts aim to sow doubt among the German populace, revealing truths about casualties (e.g., Anzio), food shortages, and the war’s bleak course.
• Notable Broadcast Excerpt:
  “People of Freiburg, this is for you. I am your voice of freedom… Your men will never write again. They were killed at Anzio.”
  —Major Mark Langer, during the first “Voice of Freedom” broadcast (14:06)

4. Gestapo Pressure and Lucille’s Sacrifice (17:21–24:59)

• Rising Suspicion:
  Gruber warns Langer about Gestapo crackdowns on listeners of “the Voice of Freedom,” even as he feigns ignorance.
• Critical Climax:
  After Langer escapes a Gestapo dragnet using an OSS “noisemaker,” Lucille is captured while transporting the radio. She faces public execution.
• Lucille’s Final Words:
  “People of Freiburg, remember what you heard on your radios.… It was the truth.”
  —Lucille, defiantly at her execution (24:45)
• Host Comment:
  “The death of Lucille was so powerful… Courageous defiance in the face of death.”
  —Adam Graham (32:07)

5. Gruber’s Transformation and the Escape (25:28–29:48)

• Unexpected Ally:
  Gruber, previously thought to be a Nazi loyalist or informant, reveals he has known Langer’s true identity and chooses to help him escape.

• The Costs of Fear:
  Gruber’s arc embodies how regimes use terror to stifle not only speech but thought itself. His decision to help signals a reclaiming of personal agency.

• Memorable Exchange:
  “We may talk in whispers, but we will no longer think in whispers.”
  —Gruber to Langer (29:13, referenced in Adam Graham’s commentary)

• Dramatic Escape:
  Gruber bluffs a Gestapo checkpoint, joking he is smuggling an American spy—both a tense and darkly comedic moment. Langer makes it to freedom; the underground lives on.

6. Aftermath and Historical Impact (29:48–31:35)

• Mission Accomplished:
  The narrator closes, noting that thanks to the Black Radio’s influence, the later Allied advance into Freiburg meets little resistance—testimony to the broadcast’s successful fostering of an underground movement.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Taught history in grade school. Now I’m helping to make it.”
  —Lucille (08:31)
• “People of Freiburg, this is for you. I am your voice of freedom…”
  —Major Mark Langer (14:06)
• “It's the first time they've jammed our broadcast. We'll have to move fast.”
  —Lucille (19:33)
• “We may talk in whispers, but we will no longer think in whispers.”
  —Gruber (29:13, highlighted by Adam Graham)
• “Courage means doing what needs to be done, even when you don't know if you're getting through.”
  —Paraphrased in Adam Graham’s post-show commentary (32:07)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Event | |---------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:07 | Mission Introduction – OSS and the Black Radio assignment | | 07:47 | Langer meets Lucille in Germany | | 13:33 | The first radio broadcast and risk of detection | | 19:19 | Broadcast jammed, suspicion heightens, forced relocation | | 21:23 | Near-capture at theater, uses OSS “Heady Lamar” noisemaker to escape | | 24:45 | Lucille’s execution—her final message to Freiburg | | 25:28 | Gruber reveals his true allegiance, plans Langer’s escape | | 28:16 | Tense Gestapo checkpoint; Gruber’s bluff | | 29:13 | Gruber’s line—“We may talk in whispers, but we will no longer think in whispers.” | | 29:48 | Langer makes it out; influence of the Black Radio affirmed | | 32:07 | Adam Graham’s reflective commentary on courage and resistance |

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Host’s Commentary (32:07–end)

• Adam Graham lauds the episode’s dramatic power, particularly Lucille’s steadfast courage and Gruber’s moral evolution. He notes the nuanced performances, pointing out actor Barry Kroger’s departure from his usual villain roles.
• Historical Reflection:
  Graham contextualizes Gruber’s line about no longer “thinking in whispers,” observing how authoritarian regimes thrive by instilling not just fear of speech but fear of thought—a theme resonant beyond WWII.
• Listener Feedback:
  The post-show segment also features audience comments on the Cloak and Dagger series and reflections on the depth and unpredictability of these historical dramas.

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Summary

"The Black Radio" delivers a suspenseful, emotionally charged account of wartime espionage, emphasizing both the immense peril faced by resistance fighters and the far-reaching effects a few voices of defiance can carry. Through the fates of Langer, Lucille, and Gruber, the drama highlights the importance of courage—not only in action, but in thought. The episode mixes white-knuckle suspense with incisive moral resonance, brought into focus by Adam Graham’s thoughtful post-show analysis.

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Transcript

[Limu Emu]

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[Doug]

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[Limu Emu]

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[Doug]

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[Adam Graham]

Adventurers 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 Cloak and Dagger. But first I do want to encourage you. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your Facebook favorite podcast software. Today's program is brought to you in part by the financial support of our listeners. You can support the show on a one time basis by mailing a donation to Adam Graham, 15913. That's P.O. box 15913, Boise, ID 83715. And you can become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $2 per month at patreon.greatdetectives.net but now, from August 27, 1950, here is the Black Radio.

[Narrator]

Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission behind the enemy lines, knowing you may never return alive? What you have just heard is the question asked during the war to agents of the oss ordinary citizens, who to this question answered yes, this is cloak and dagger. Black warfare, espionage, international intrigue. These are the weapons of the oss. Today's story, the Black Radio concerns an OSS agent who broadcast allied propaganda from behind the enemy lines and is suggested by actual incidents recorded in the Washington files of the Office of Strategic Services, a story that can now be told.

[Major Mark Langer]

It was one of those quiet days. The sun was splashing in through the window and I was marking time until lunch in the cafeteria and a date I had with the red headed secretary. There were just the two of us in the big gadget room of the OSS in Washington Just me and Hank Morton. Then all of a sudden, Hank grabbed my arm.

[Doug]

Mark, get down. Air raid. Duck.

[Major Mark Langer]

Okay, okay. What's the big idea?

[Narrator]

Oh, boy, I wish I had a camera just then.

[Major Mark Langer]

Brother, did you look scared. All right, what was that thing you just threw in a wastebasket? Just a little noisemaker.

[Doug]

Great.

[Major Mark Langer]

If you get in a tight spot and want to start a ride. All right, look. Let's start from the beginning, huh? How does it work? Well, like you see, it's not very big. Just about the size of a lemon. Easy to slip into your pocket. All you do is pull out the cap and throw it.

[Limu Emu]

And when it explodes, pow.

[Narrator]

We call it the Heady Lamar. Major Lange, I have a job for you.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yes, sir.

[Narrator]

When our armies cross the Rhine into Germany, the Freiburg will become a strategic city. The less resistance we get from the people when we make that advance. The less lives will be lost. Up to date, we have no report of any underground or partisan movement there.

[Major Mark Langer]

And OSS wants me to go in there with a black radio and soften them up. Is that it, sir?

[Narrator]

Right. Cut in on the Nazi local stations. Broadcast the information we want them to get. Another of our agents infiltrated that area over three months ago. To get acquainted with the city and locate suitable hiding places for the radio.

[Major Mark Langer]

Of course, sir, it'll have to be moved every time we use it.

[Narrator]

Yes, that's right. Now, we haven't heard from our agent since she was sent in. We didn't want her to run the risk of trying to contact us.

[Doug]

Did you say she, Colonel?

[Narrator]

That's right. Have you any objection to working with a woman, Major?

[Major Mark Langer]

Oh, no, sir. I mean, no, sir. Her name was Lucille, the colonel said. I wondered if she was anything like the redhead, Ms. Lucille. Nobody had heard from her for months. Maybe she'd been caught. Maybe the Nazis had twisted out of her the reason she'd been sent to Freiburg. Maybe. Maybe I'd have a reception committee of Germans waiting for me. It gave me something to think about on the plane. Flying over the Black Forest in Germany a few weeks later. There's your underwear. Point straight ahead, Major. Straight ahead and straight down. You mean running in.

[Narrator]

Ready? Ready.

[Lucille]

Go.

[Major Mark Langer]

Good luck. I tossed the radio out first. Then I jumped after it. No matter how many times I jumped, it was always the first time. The feeling of falling. Sick feeling like a dream. I came to it with a jolt. A sharp pain across my thighs from the pull of the strap and the crack of the chute. Then air all around me. I looked down on a black forest that was blacker than ever. At 0400, 4 o' clock in the There were no Germans waiting, but no Lucille either. There was nothing but a foreign country, and up above, the plain faded away. Then it was gone and I was alone. The radio had floated to Earth about 50ft away. I checked it, made sure it was all right. Buried my parachute and wondered what to do next. There was a milk wagon coming down the road. I could hear the milk can swaying with the movement of the cart. I could see a shadowy figure holding the reins. I dragged the radio behind a clump of bushes, and then I waited for the wagon to pass. For a moment I didn't recognize the song. And then all of a sudden, the words wrote themselves in my head. Come away with me, Lucille in my merry old school.

[Doug]

Lucille.

[Major Mark Langer]

Lucille.

[Lucille]

I'm sorry I was late, Major Lang. Duume soldier, I know. Stop to talk. I couldn't break away without being impolite.

[Major Mark Langer]

Just as long as you got here.

[Lucille]

Hurry, Major. Let's go.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yes, I was ever so glad to see anyone in my life, but I. I didn't quite expect to meet the milkmaid.

[Lucille]

What did you think I'd be like, huh?

[Major Mark Langer]

Oh, I. I.

[Lucille]

Come, come, mate.

[Major Mark Langer]

Well, I had no idea.

[Lucille]

No doubt you picture the slim young thing who'd add interest to your intrigue, huh? I've been neither slim nor young for longer than I'd like to remember.

[Major Mark Langer]

Tell me, what did you do before the war, Lucille?

[Lucille]

Taught history in grade school. Now I'm helping to make it. It's a good feeling until you consider the possibility of getting caught.

[Major Mark Langer]

We've got to make sure we don't get caught.

[Lucille]

There is always that possibility, Major. Accept it, and it's much easier to take it if it comes.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yeah? Who is it?

[Doug]

May I. May I come in?

[Major Mark Langer]

Well, what do you want?

[Doug]

It's your neighbor across the hall. I wish only to make your acquaintance. My name is Gruber. Am I disturbing you, Hlange?

[Major Mark Langer]

Well, you know my name, I see.

[Doug]

As a poor old widower alone in this world with very few interests outside of the future of the fatherland, that is. I make it my business to know everyone in this roomy house.

[Major Mark Langer]

Do you?

[Doug]

You arrived in Freiburg only a few days ago, Naim.

[Major Mark Langer]

That's right.

[Doug]

You have a medical discharge from the army. You are wounded at Anzio.

[Major Mark Langer]

Is there anything about me you don't know?

[Doug]

Do not take offense, my friend. I asked the landlady about you. It was she who told me.

[Major Mark Langer]

Your information is right, Herr Gruber. I was wounded I spent two months in a hospital. Yeah, And I'd like to be left alone.

[Doug]

Yeah, you are bitter.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yeah.

[Doug]

A civilian life will not be easy. But you must mix with people, make friends. Don't keep too much to yourself. Now, here, I brought with me this bottle of schnapps and two small glasses. Will you not join me?

[Major Mark Langer]

Well, here.

[Doug]

Here. To the future, Helanger.

[Major Mark Langer]

Well, I'll drink to that. There was something about the old windbag who rented the room next door to me on the third floor that I didn't like. I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe it was the way his eyes, like patent leather buttons, kept darting around the room.

[Doug]

Well, good. Schnapps? Nein. Helange.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yeah, very good.

[Doug]

Not like we used to get before the war. Of course. I'm not complaining. It is such a little sacrifice to make for the Reich.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yes, of course.

[Doug]

Yes, of course. What are you planning to do here in Freiburg, Helanger?

[Major Mark Langer]

Well, I have my craft card. As a union motion picture projectionist, I worked in a film house in Berlin before the war and was hoping to find a position here.

[Doug]

You had no success yet?

[Major Mark Langer]

No, not yet.

[Doug]

The motion picture house a block from the mining university. Have you tried there?

[Major Mark Langer]

No, I haven't.

[Doug]

Oh, do try it. Tell the manager, Herr Schmidt. But you are a friend of mine. He's always complaining to me about being short of help. That also is just a little sacrifice to make for the Reich. Course.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yes, of course. Dhaka. I'll go there tomorrow. Oh, tell me, what is is your business?

[Doug]

Recruiter. I. Oh, I am a clerk.

[Narrator]

A clerk?

[Doug]

Yeah, in the administration building of Gestapo Headquarters. More schnaps?

[Major Mark Langer]

Yeah, more schn. I may not have liked the old windbag, but I took his lead anyway. I went to the movie house near the university and got myself a job there on a day shift. And I counted the hours until the Thursday when I'd meet Lucille at the deserted car barn we'd agreed on. On Wednesday I was in the projection room running a half hour newsreel, most of which was a close up of Hitler making a speech in Berlin and combing at the mound. I looked down over the heads of the audience, wondered if all of them were as enthusiastic about the Fuhrer as they pretended to be. Wondered how much it would take to push them into starting their own underground. Wondered how many of them would be listening to their radio the next night, listening to me.

[Narrator]

I came to tell you.

[Major Mark Langer]

I came to tell you you only have tomorrow afternoon off. Tomorrow afternoon? But I don't understand.

[Doug]

I will want you tomorrow night instead.

[Major Mark Langer]

Oh, but tomorrow night is impossible.

[Adam Graham]

I mean, Langa, you have a good job here.

[Narrator]

If I ask you to take the.

[Major Mark Langer]

Night shift this once, I see no need for argument. Oh, but you see, Is what you have to do that important that it cannot be postponed? 9, Schmidt. Not so important. I'll be here the next night. At 20 minutes past 10, the feature film went off. I set the machine. The newsreel would run by itself for.

[Doug]

Half an hour, no more.

[Major Mark Langer]

That didn't give me much time before the reel would run out. Just a half hour to get to the car barn. Broadcast. Get back.

[Doug]

Now.

[Major Mark Langer]

That's it, Lucille. 730 kilocycles, but I can't seem to get reception.

[Lucille]

Ah, they are signing off.

[Major Mark Langer]

This is Reichstagzion Karl Day signing off until tomorrow morning. Heil Hitler. Well, here we go. Keep your fingers crossed. Don't turn off your radios. People of Freiburg, this is for you. I am your voice of freedom. Bringing you news as it actually exists, not as the propaganda ministry would like you to believe.

[Doug]

Mark, that's good. Wonderful.

[Major Mark Langer]

It wasn't 50 Sons of Freiburg who died at the Anzio beach had but 500 you mothers, wives, sweethearts who have not heard from your men. You think the mails are slow? Is that why you haven't received letters? Your men will never write again. They were killed at Anzio. Women. They are taking your men away. What do you have for compensation? You have no food, you're cold. And the political leaders want to sacrifice everything but themselves. Haven't you sacrificed enough?

[Lucille]

Mark, it's late.

[Major Mark Langer]

It's all right. And now, until another time. Soon. This is the voice of freedom.

[Doug]

Good night.

[Major Mark Langer]

I will not say Heil Hitler. I say instead. God be with you. The first of many.

[Lucille]

God be with us both.

[Major Mark Langer]

We dismantled the radio. I lifted it into the back of the milk wagon, ran as fast as back to the theater and slid in through the side door. And then I heard it. Hey, Langa. Langa.

[Doug]

Where.

[Major Mark Langer]

Where are you, Schmidt? Well, I.

[Doug]

What business had you to leave the.

[Major Mark Langer]

Protection hook during the newsreel of the fjord? I only hope the authorities do not hear of this. Our leader cut off in the middle of his speech.

[Adam Graham]

Where.

[Major Mark Langer]

Where were you? Where was I? I was in the washroom. I was just going up to see if you had fallen asleep at the lo. Fix the machine quickly. When. When did this happen?

[Doug]

Happened just a minute ago. Nath.

[Major Mark Langer]

It's a wonder you couldn't hear all the distur. I ran up the stairs to the projection. God must have been with me that first night. If the machine had broken down five minutes earlier. Schmidt would have known I'd left the theater. The next week and the next and the next, we were on the air. We moved the radio to a deserted warehouse. To a cave in the Black Forest. To a barn on the outskirts of town. As a Voice of Freedom, I told the people of Freiburg, you are fighting a lost cause. The losses of the Luftwaffe are 75% higher than reported. Resistance in all German occupied territory is growing stronger. People in the city looked the same, were as respectful as ever to the Nazi soldiers that walked the streets. None of them showed by so much as a look or a word. That they ever heard those broadcasts. And then I received my first indication.

[Doug]

I saw you through the window of the coffee shop. Heilanga. May I join you at your table?

[Major Mark Langer]

If you'd like, I'll take you there.

[Doug]

So, have you been listening to your radio lately?

[Major Mark Langer]

I have no radio.

[Doug]

If you get one, then I advise you not to listen to Reichstation Ka L Day.

[Major Mark Langer]

Why not?

[Doug]

Because the Gestapo will arrest anyone caught listening to the man who calls himself the Voice of Freedom.

[Major Mark Langer]

What does he talk about, this Voice of Freedom?

[Doug]

Nonsense, of course. Allied propaganda nonsense. You sure you have never heard him?

[Major Mark Langer]

I told you, Herr Gruber, I have no radio.

[Doug]

Of course. I forgot. Why is it, Herr Lange, I have the feeling I've seen you somewhere before.

[Major Mark Langer]

It was ridiculous to suppose that he had ever seen me before. But he told me one thing. The people were listening. And the Gestapo was looking for me.

[Lucille]

Mark, with that cough of yours, perhaps I'd better broadcast tonight.

[Doug]

No, no, no.

[Major Mark Langer]

I'll be all right. People of Freiburg, this is your Voice of Freedom. I want to tell you, my friends, how step by step, Hitler has developed his program. Step by step, he has carried it out successfully. First he took our men and destroyed them. And now Hitler is destroying our cities and our factories. Allied bombings will destroy all Germany. Our men are already dead in a hundred battlefields. This is the Fuhrer's greatest achievement for Germany. He is accomplishing it all in less than 12 short years. 12 short of Hitlerite success.

[Lucille]

They are jamming the radio. Mark, you'd better sign on.

[Major Mark Langer]

It's all right. This is the Voice of Freedom saying good night. I will not say, Heil Hitler. I say instead. God be with you.

[Lucille]

I'm afraid they may be closing in.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yes, Lucille. It's the first time they've jammed our broadcast. We'll have to move fast. Dismantle the Radio and get out of here.

[Lucille]

The wagon is right outside. Hurry.

[Major Mark Langer]

Less than five minutes later, we'd left the basement of the schoolhouse near the cathedral. It was quiet in the streets, too quiet, as if the city were holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

[Doug]

Good night.

[Lucille]

Until Friday. You know the place?

[Major Mark Langer]

Yes. Let me take the radio tonight.

[Lucille]

Oh, back to your room with it under your arm. What foolishness.

[Major Mark Langer]

But, Lucille, you always take the risk of being caught.

[Adam Graham]

With you.

[Lucille]

I have the milk wagon to hide it and the barn to bury it. We'd better not stand here any longer. Good night again. And take care of that car.

[Major Mark Langer]

I started to walk quickly in the opposite direction. If German triangulation had found the general location of the radio, the neighborhood would be swarming with Gestapo any minute. The headlights of the official car came out of nowhere, around a corner and blinded me.

[Doug]

Hurt. Stay where you are. Hurt. Hurt.

[Major Mark Langer]

I started to run.

[Limu Emu]

Hunt. Hut.

[Major Mark Langer]

I ducked into a doorway, up the stairs to the roof, across the roof, down some stairs again, back into the street. Somehow I'd shaken them. I was free of them. I had to find somewhere to go, somewhere to hide. The movie house where I worked was close by. I went in through the side door. Knight hunched down in a seat, anonymous in the darkness. I was one of hundreds of people watching a Traveler. And then something happened to the film, and the soundtrack went solid.

[Doug]

Nights. Nights, Fernando. Tight. You people listen to me. There will be no more film tonight. Nothing can reject the identification of every man and his theater one by one. But we are looking for a man who is seen coming into this theater through the side door. A man who is wanted for questioning by the Gestapo. You will fire at the exit one by one and row by row with no talking. Women to the right, men to the left. There will be no more.

[Major Mark Langer]

Maybe my forged identification would pass inspection easily. But the men who were chasing me had a general idea of my height, and I couldn't take the chance. I put my hand in my pocket, pulled out a round disc about the size of a lemon. The noisemaker OSS called the heady Lamar. I yanked out the cap and throat. Started a riot, all right. The soldiers couldn't hold them back. They practically walked over them in their rush to get out. And I walked out, too, swept along in a tide of panic.

[Doug]

Guten pau KE lange.

[Major Mark Langer]

You're a gruber.

[Doug]

Just on your way to work, I see. I will walk with you part way.

[Major Mark Langer]

Well, if you'd like.

[Doug]

Tonight, when you get home from your work, listen to your radio.

[Major Mark Langer]

I told you I Have no radio.

[Doug]

Ah, yeah, I do keep forgetting. You're welcome to listen to mine then. There's to be an important announcement at 7 o'.

[Major Mark Langer]

Clock. Announcement? About what?

[Doug]

I learned about it this morning at the administration building where I work.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yes?

[Doug]

There's to be a hanging in the square at noon tomorrow. An alliance spy who was caught with a radio.

[Major Mark Langer]

What did you say, woman?

[Doug]

A spy. She was picked up last night driving a milkwear. Can you imagine such a. You look. Are you ill, Helanger?

[Major Mark Langer]

I haven't been well. Cold.

[Doug]

They haven't caught the man yet. The one who calls himself the Voice of Freedom. But I have no doubt they will soon. They're offering a large reward.

[Major Mark Langer]

Are they.

[Doug]

Very bad?

[Major Mark Langer]

Cold?

[Doug]

Hello. Tonight, when you return from work, remind me to give you some of my cough medicine. It's very. Oh, I turn off here. Be the same.

[Major Mark Langer]

I didn't stop by for the Kauf medicine. After work I locked myself in my room and stayed up all night looking out of the window up at the ice blue stars that hung over Germany. And I tried to think of something to do to help Lucille. Before noon the next day I went to the square. But I still didn't have the answer.

[Doug]

Isn't it frightening, Helia? The way an execution will draw the people like flies to honey? Is it fascination? Do you think of seeing someone else suffer?

[Major Mark Langer]

You tell me, Gruber. You should know. You're here.

[Doug]

So I am. But then so are you, woman. Have you anything to say before you die?

[Lucille]

People of Freiburg, remember what you heard on your radios.

[Doug]

Remember what the Voice of Freedom told you.

[Lucille]

It was the truth.

[Major Mark Langer]

The truth.

[Doug]

You'll need that. I'm betraying you.

[Major Mark Langer]

Goodbye, Sidis de Freiberg.

[Doug]

I will not say Heil Hitler. I changed.

[Major Mark Langer]

God be with you. It happened quickly. It was all over and I hadn't done a thing to stop it. Yes? Who is it?

[Doug]

Only I. Yeah. Gruber.

[Major Mark Langer]

Go away, will you please go away. I don't want to talk to anyone.

[Doug]

Are you my friend? About the hanging this afternoon?

[Major Mark Langer]

No, no, I. I just don't feel well.

[Doug]

Now don't torment yourself this way. There was nothing you could do to prevent it. She did not expect it.

[Major Mark Langer]

What are you talking about?

[Doug]

Trust me. You have no one else to trust. The Gestapo is going to check and cross. Check every man's papers. Every man in Freiburg. Are you sure you can stand a thorough investigation?

[Major Mark Langer]

Are you crazy? Are you accusing me?

[Doug]

You are the Voice of Freedom. I suspected it for a long time. I was never sure. I was afraid to Step forward. Soon. No, no, no. Listen to me. I know you don't like me. I have not liked myself for years. Afraid of my own shadow. Afraid to think. Afraid. Afraid. But no longer.

[Major Mark Langer]

Gruber, Look. I am a discharged soldier from the Wehrmacht. I have my.

[Doug]

Your face looked familiar. It was not your face, but it was something about you. Your voice. I thought I recognized it. And then I started to think. I, who had been afraid to think for years. You came to Freiburg about the same time the broadcast began. You were too ignorant of what was going on. And then yesterday you coughed as he had. I was almost sure then. Now, today. I watched your face when she was hanged. And then I knew. You have no one else.

[Major Mark Langer]

He was right. I had no one else. And I had to get out of Freiburg. Gruber offered to drive me across the bridge that night. From there, it would be only a few miles to the border of France. With his official pass from Gestapo headquarters, Gruber would be able to get past the guard. I got into the trunk of the car. It was open just enough to let me breathe. I still didn't know whether to trust him. There was a pretty big price on my head. The car slowed down when we reached the bridge.

[Narrator]

Let me see your identification.

[Doug]

What?

[Major Mark Langer]

There you are.

[Narrator]

What is your business outside of Freiburg?

[Doug]

Official business for the administration.

[Narrator]

This looks all right. I have orders to search all cars.

[Doug]

Well, you can see there's nothing in mine. Please, will you hurry? I'm. This is official business for the Gestapo.

[Narrator]

One moment, one moment. Not so fast. What's in your trunk?

[Doug]

The trunk? Well, go see for yourself. I have an American spy there. I'm smuggling him across the board.

[Narrator]

Don't be impudent.

[Doug]

You understand, I. I am sorry. I was just having my little joke.

[Narrator]

Well, I don't like jokes. You work as a clerk for the administration, so your head swells. You think you're Himmler. All right, pass.

[Doug]

All right, pass. Quickly, quickly. Get out here.

[Major Mark Langer]

I. I want to apologize for the things I thought when you told the guard what you did.

[Doug]

It was the only thing I could think of at the moment that would prevent him from searching the trunk.

[Major Mark Langer]

Well, goodbye.

[Doug]

Yes.

[Major Mark Langer]

And thank you. Thank you, my friend.

[Doug]

No, wait. Look, don't feel the woman died for nothing. She did not. You and she have given us the courage to look at ourselves in the mirror. We will continue to talk in whispers.

[Major Mark Langer]

Yeah.

[Doug]

But after you have gone, there will be many of us who will no longer think in whispers. Yes. Well, you. You go. Goodbye. Goodbye. Be the same.

[Narrator]

Major Mark Langer made his way back to Allied lines. And when Freyburg was taken over some months later, it offered little resistance, thanks to the strong underground that had been encouraged by the black radio. Thus, once again, the report of another OSS agent closes with the words mission accomplished. Listen again next week for another true adventure from the files of the OSS on cloak and dagger. Heard in today's Cloak and Dagger adventure. As Mark was Larry Haynes, Lucille, Lily Darvas and Gruber Barry Kroger. Others were Raymond Edward Johnson, Arnold Moss, Stefan Schnabel, Bob Weil and Jerry Jarrett. Script was written by Winifred Wolf and Jack Gordon. Music was under the direction of John Garth. Sound effects by Chet Hill, Dick Gillespie and Art Cooper. Today's OSS adventure was based on the book Cloak Dagger by Corey ford and Alistair McBain. This program was produced by Louis G. Cowan and Alfred Hollander under the direction and supervision of Sherman Marks. Three chimes mean good times on NBC. There's mystery and music tonight on NBC. The mystery is Sam Spade's latest case in which the romantic private eye solves the caper of too many clients. The music is the NBC Symphony summer concert with Antal Dorati as guest conductor and the American Album of Familiar Music, one of radio's best loved musical programs, which returns to the air tonight three times mean good times on NBC.

[Limu Emu]

And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat, helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

[Doug]

Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

[Limu Emu]

Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty.

[Major Mark Langer]

Liberty.

[Lucille]

Liberty.

[Limu Emu]

Liberty Savings Fairy, underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates, excludes Massachusetts.

[Adam Graham]

Welcome back. The first three fourths of this episode is a really great World War II espionage story. And then the final minutes really take it to another level in terms of drama. The death of Lucille was so powerful. Courageous defiance in the face of death. I will not say heil Hitler. I say God be with you. And Gruber goes on this whole journey as a person in some very subtle ways that Mark misses or misinterprets until the end and really brings home what their effort has meant and accomplished. It's a story about what courage means and how it affects and inspires others and how sometimes you don't think you're getting through to people, but you don't know what's going on on the inside. And this is such a very different performance for Barry Kroger in this series who more often than not plays Nazi officers and heavies. This is just a beautifully nuanced performance and gives us an idea of his reign. And Gruber has this line when he is talking to Mark at the end that we may talk in whispers, but we will no longer think in whispers. And this is such a powerful point that's worth really highlighting that the fascist regimes during World War II and later the communist regimes in the Cold War thrived on keeping people in fear. And that's certainly true of many regimes today. And it wasn't just fear of speaking up, but being so afraid that you shut off your brain to what's going on. And it's just such great insight. Now, in terms of lighter notes, I did chuckle at Gruber's bluff to get past the guard by telling the truth. I mean it was hilarious, but it was also really tense and going further towards the other part of the story when Mark was jumping out of the plane, I couldn't help but think about another Larry Haynes appearance in this series and jumping out of the plane and how that went and thought. But yeah, he definitely did have reason to be nervous. Listener comments and feedback and we start out over on Spotify where mechanic 66 comments regarding roof of the World how was it possible that Louise Barclay could pronounce Himalayan as Himalayan? Didn't they have rehearsals? I'd assume so. I would just assume it was a technical goof on someone's part. It's even possible that someone gave her the idea it was Himalayan. Or it could be a mistake she made while recording and they just decided it was not worth the effort to change it. Or somebody missed it. Emmett writes regarding the episode on Facebook. Dang. I like this show. Too few of them were made. Every episode has me guessing. Like today I thought maybe the Nazi was going to flip to the Americans. The writing is uniformly good. It was also a lot of fun to hear Ralph Bell in there. I think he was one of the Tibetans. I believe so as well. And this has been just a really great series that didn't receive the attention it deserved at the time and has been a bit more obscure and so we're really glad to be able to highlight this. And and then a comment from say Soft regarding the episode A recommendation from Rommel. It wasn't just Ralph Bell who played against his usual type in this episode. This is the first time that I've heard Jan Minor play a role that required her to speak in a foreign accent and then have a comment from Ann DC8934 Very enjoyable, entertaining, exciting, but not too nail biting. Just right. Well thanks so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Well, now it is time to thank our Patreon Supporter of the day and I want to thank Bruce, Patreon supporter Since March of 2024, currently supporting the podcast at the Secret agent level of $4 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support Bruce and that will do it for today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software and and if you're enjoying the podcast on YouTube, be sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel and mark the notification bell. All those great things that help YouTube channels to grow. If you are listening to the great detectives of Old Time Radio, the podcast returns tomorrow with our Sunday encore and then returns to a normal lineup on Monday with Danger with Granger. The great adventurers of Old Time Radio returns on Tuesday with the final episode of Buck Rogers. In the meantime, do send your comments to box [e-mail] but from Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.

[Limu Emu]

Limu Emu and Doug, Here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

[Doug]

Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

[Limu Emu]

Cut the camera.

[Major Mark Langer]

They see us.

[Limu Emu]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes Massachusetts.

[Adam Graham]

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[Limu Emu]

And Doug, here we have the Limu Emu in its natural habitat helping people customize their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.

[Doug]

Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us.

[Limu Emu]

Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliate excludes Massachusetts.