The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode Summary: Cloak and Dagger – "The Wine of Freedom"

Date: December 6, 2025

Host: Adam Graham

Overview

This episode of The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio features an espionage drama from the classic WWII-era series Cloak and Dagger, entitled “The Wine of Freedom.” Based on real incidents from the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) files, it follows OSS agent Vince Keller as he attempts to organize the German underground resistance against the Nazis deep within enemy territory. The host, Adam Graham, provides brief commentary and historical context after the drama.

Key Plot Points & Insights

1. Mission Introduction & The OSS

• [02:06-02:50]
  The episode opens with a reflection on the risks taken by OSS agents in WWII:

  "Are you willing to undertake a dangerous mission behind the enemy lines knowing that you may never return alive?"
  The story is introduced as "suggested by actual incidents recorded in the Washington files of the Office of Strategic Services."

2. Keller’s Arrival and Suspicion

• [03:27-05:15]
  OSS agent Vince Keller, posing as a wine salesman, seeks out Ludwig Holtzmann, an underground leader in Osnabruck, Germany. He’s met by Frau Holtzmann, who is wary and suspicious – appropriate behavior under the tension of Nazi Germany:
  • Initial contact veers with secret code:

    Keller: "I'd like to talk to your husband."
    Frau Holtzmann: "What do you want to talk to him about?"
    Keller: "Wine."

  • Keller's real mission: strengthening anti-Nazi resistance and connecting isolated cells.

3. Testing & Establishing Trust

• [09:23-11:32]
  When introduced to "Ludwig Holtzmann," Keller faces a test—Holtzmann quizzes Keller about a fictitious vintage to verify his credentials. Keller stumbles, arousing suspicion as a possible Gestapo agent. Only upon using the phrase "Dame Freiheitwein—the Wine of Freedom" does he establish his true purpose.

4. The Underground’s Isolation and Hopes

• [12:27-14:17]
  Keller updates the Holtzmanns on resistance progress:

  Frau Holtzmann: "Then we are not as isolated as we sometimes think?" Keller reassures them and pushes for a local meeting to build trust and organize the resistance.

5. Layers of Deception and Betrayal

• [14:35-18:27]
  Suspicion lingers: Keller overhears Frau Holtzmann making a secretive, coded call warning someone not to come to the house and to meet her elsewhere.
  • He tails her and discovers her rendezvous with a Nazi officer, Paul—the two share an intimate, traitorous moment amidst the threat of a bombing raid.

  Narrator: "She was kissing a Nazi soldier and selling the underground movement down the river." [19:54]

6. Confronting the Aftermath

• [20:10-22:50]
  The air raid kills Frau Holtzmann and Paul. Keller returns to "Holtzmann" (actually Fitzhabel, a Gestapo agent), who arranges a resistance meeting. Holtzmann's grief seems hollow to Keller.

7. The Real Ludwig Holtzmann—Revelation

• [23:23-25:02]
  Keller learns from a neighbor that the real Ludwig Holtzmann died weeks before; the man posing as him is likely Gestapo.
  • Genuine contact with the real underground:

    "Perhaps I could interest you in a special kind called... Der Freiheitwein."
    "Ah, you're familiar with it? ... Won't you step in?"

8. Gestapo Trap and Reversal

• [25:02-29:21]
  Keller deduces Fitzhabel’s plan: to lure resistance members into a fatal Gestapo trap at the "resistance meeting."
  • Instead, Keller and the underground turn the tables, ambushing Fitzhabel and his agents:

  "They saw the guns of the underground that were shoved through every bombed out window." [28:53]
  "They died. All eight of them." [29:21]

9. Mission Accomplished & Epilogue

• [29:47-30:20]
  Keller’s work helps catalyze the organization of resistance in several German cities.

  "Soon, due in large part to Lt. Vince Keller of the OSS, the resistance was well organized throughout Nazi Germany... Mission accomplished."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the reality of espionage and trust:

  "I’d been too busy suspecting them to consider how deeply they must have been suspecting me." (Vince Keller, [11:32])

• On the sad transformation underground work demands:

  Frau Holtzmann: "This underground work is his life. Food means nothing to him... Not even I, the woman he married." ([14:00])

• Bitterness after betrayal and death:

  "You don’t like to tell a man that his wife is lying dead in the park. Or what she was doing there before she died." (Keller, [19:54])

• On peril and paranoia:

  "If a man's a Nazi, and if he's going to betray you... There are other things you don't like to do either." (Keller, [19:54])

• The final reversal:

  "If you look around you, you'll get a real lesson in how we fight... They saw the guns of the underground that were shoved through every bombed out window." (Keller, [28:53])

Key Timestamps

• 02:06–02:50 OSS theme introduction & promise of a true story
• 05:15–06:20 OSS mission briefing; goal of organizing resistance
• 09:23–11:32 Initial suspicion, coded test, and Keller’s near exposure
• 14:35–15:30 Frau Holtzmann’s secretive call (suspicion confirmed)
• 16:49–18:27 Discovery of her betrayal, confrontation in the park, air raid
• 20:10–22:50 Keller’s realization of the double-cross and interviews with the impostor
• 23:23–25:02 Revelation: Real Holtzmann is dead, new contact with genuine underground
• 27:06–29:21 The climactic showdown—Gestapo agents ambushed at the meeting
• 29:47–30:20 Epilogue: Resistance growth, mission wrap-up

Host Commentary & Trivia (Adam Graham)

• Mel Ferrer’s performance:

  “Mel Ferrer is such a great casting. Really noted former and director in film as well as a huge presence on Broadway... did not do a lot of radio...” ([32:05])

• Frances Robinson’s role:

  “Frances Robinson’s appearance... is a bit of a puzzle... longtime fans... will remember her as Brooksie, the first Brooksie in Let George Do It." ([32:05])

• On production value:

  “Probably the worst sounding episode of the series but given the state of some of the other series we played, it’s really not that bad. And again, another great story...” ([32:05])

Tone and Style

The episode’s drama is tense, paranoid, and filled with the moral ambiguity and betrayal of wartime espionage. Keller’s narration is brisk, understated, and sometimes world-weary, reflecting both the dangers of undercover work and the emotional toll it takes. Adam Graham’s commentary is warm, knowledgeable, and tailored to old-time radio aficionados.

Conclusion

“The Wine of Freedom” is a gripping example of WWII-era radio drama, blending suspenseful spy craft with tragic human stories of trust and betrayal. At its core, it celebrates the bravery—and the heavy cost—of those who fought the Nazi regime from within. The clever twist, moody narration, and authentic period detail make this a standout in the Cloak and Dagger series, presented with insight and enthusiasm by Adam Graham.

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