The Big Story: The Case of the Final Curtain (EP4857)

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode: The Big Story – The Case of the Final Curtain (EP4857)

Host: Adam Graham
Date: December 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Adam Graham presents "The Case of the Final Curtain," an installment of the classic radio series "The Big Story." The drama is based on a true crime case from 1915, fictionalized for radio, involving mysterious deaths at a care home. The episode follows reporter Aubrey Maddock as he investigates suspicious events relating to the death of a former actor and uncovers a trail of poisonings, inspired by actual events that later inspired "Arsenic and Old Lace." Adam provides historical context and listener feedback after the drama.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Arc

1. Introduction & Context

• [02:23] Host Adam Graham encourages listeners to subscribe and plugs another podcast but quickly transitions to the radio drama, giving the original airdate (December 7, 1947).

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2. Dramatization: The Case of the Final Curtain

Story Premise

• Aubrey Maddock, Assistant City Editor, is visited by Lucy Wellington—a distraught woman convinced her father was murdered at a rest home ("home for the infirm").
• Lucy feels deep guilt for persuading her aging, actor father to enter the home, only to have him die under mysterious circumstances.

Lucy’s Account

• [05:19–10:04]
  • Lucy describes her strained relationship with her father, an aging thespian unable to move past his stage glory.
  • She persuades him to stay at Mrs. Taylor’s boarding home for the elderly, intended as a kindly gesture.
  • Notable quote:
    • Lucy’s father: “My life is over. I’ve taken all my bows and curtain calls and I’m just sitting in an empty theater waiting for my exit cue.” (09:00)
• [10:51–13:38]
  • At the home, Wellington befriends another boarder, Luke Briggs, who warns of suspicious deaths, always after the victim pays $1,000 up front.
  • Eerie events unfold: deaths occur at night, often preceded by “special” food or drink and bodies are secretly removed in the dead of night.
  • Memorable moment:
    • “Late at night I can hear horses’ hoofs coming clop, clop, clop up the dirt road. I can hear the creak of a wagon as they back it up against the porch… and then the horses’ hoofs start up the road again, softer and softer, till there’s nothing more to hear but the hoot owl.” – Luke Briggs (12:31)
• [15:06]
  • Wellington’s mysterious “indigestion” and Mrs. Taylor’s insistence he drinks a “sedative.”
• [17:00]
  • Lucy learns her father died, allegedly of gastric ulcers, but suspects poisoning.

The Investigation

• [17:49–21:10]
  • Maddock is skeptical but becomes intrigued by the pattern of deaths.
  • He investigates Mrs. Taylor’s poison purchases at the local drugstore—large volumes of arsenic.
  • Mrs. Taylor gives nonchalant, plausible explanations: “If you were setting out to poison somebody, would you buy the poison at a local drugstore? Wouldn’t you steal it?” (20:23)

Revelations & Confrontation

• [22:38]
  • Maddock reviews death certificates from the county clerk—finds 48 deaths in five years at the small home, a rate matching much larger institutions.
  • Crucially, deaths cluster among residents who paid the $1,000 upfront.
• [25:20–26:46]
  • Maddock and the police confront Mrs. Taylor, pressing her on poison purchases, nighttime body removals, and the suspicious payment-death pattern.
  • Mrs. Taylor remains evasive and calm—until she is informed that autopsies have proved poisoning:
    • “You did an autopsy?” – Mrs. Taylor, shocked (26:35)
    • “Come along, Mrs. Taylor. I have a warrant for your arrest.” – Police Chief (26:40)

Resolution

• [27:07]
  • Epilogue: Mrs. Taylor is convicted of first-degree murder, later appealed to second-degree, sentenced to life, and transferred to a hospital for the insane.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “My life is over. I’ve taken all my bows and curtain calls and I’m just sitting in an empty theater waiting for my exit cue.”
  — Mr. Wellington, reflecting on his fate (09:00)
• “Late at night I can hear horses’ hoofs coming clop, clop, clop up the dirt road... and then the horses’ hoofs start up the road again, softer and softer...”
  — Luke Briggs, recounting the eerie pattern of deaths (12:31)
• “If you were setting out to poison somebody, would you buy the poison at a local drugstore? Wouldn’t you steal it...?”
  — Mrs. Taylor’s evasive logic (20:23)
• “You'll hang before I admit I did it.”
  — Mrs. Taylor’s chilling final words upon arrest (26:46)

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Adam Graham’s Post-Episode Insights

1. Historical Background

• [29:32]
  • Adam reveals the real-life inspiration: the case of Amy Archer Gilligan (1915), whose crimes inspired both this radio play and the renowned dark comedy "Arsenic and Old Lace."
  • He notes that Gilligan used massive amounts of poison: “Enough poison in one of the victims to kill six men.”
  • Adam gives credit to researchers for establishing these factual links.

2. Dramatic Choices

• Lucy dramatically “imagines” her father’s death scene, showing her theatrical heritage and emotional trauma. “She’d gotten the gene for dramatics, although her hunch turned out to be right.” (29:40)

3. Listener Feedback

• [~31:00]
  • He reads thoughtful listener comments on the tone and social context of radio crime dramas, and shares a tangential discussion about journalist Dorothy Kilgallan.

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------| | 02:23 | Adam Graham intro and transition to drama | | 05:19 | Lucy explains her relationship with her father | | 10:51 | Ominous warnings at the rest home | | 12:31 | Luke’s chilling account of nighttime deaths | | 17:00 | Lucy learns of her father’s death | | 17:49 | Maddock begins his investigation | | 22:38 | Comparison of death statistics and escalation | | 25:20 | Confrontation and arrest of Mrs. Taylor | | 27:07 | Epilogue: outcome for Mrs. Taylor | | 29:32 | Adam Graham’s historical analysis and feedback |

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a moody, atmospheric retelling of a notorious, real-life eldercare murder case and highlights classic detective-radio storytelling. Adam Graham enriches the experience with historical facts and listener community interactions, making this a rewarding episode for detective fiction and true-crime fans alike.

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For more episodes or information, visit greatdetectives.net

Transcript

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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 the Big Story. But first I do want to encourage you. If you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. Also want to promote our other podcast and today I'm highlighting the amazing world of radio where in honor of June Lockhart, we have a special episode that will be released tomorrow and you can check that out as well as last week's Thanksgiving [e-mail] But now, from December 7, 1947, here is the Case of the Final Curtain.

[A]

Mell Mal presents the big story.

[C]

Morning, Mr. Wilson.

[A]

Morning, Ma'. Am. What'll it be today?

[C]

I'd like a tube of toothpaste.

[A]

Toothpaste? Yeah.

[C]

A jar of cold cream.

[A]

Uh huh.

[C]

And a pound of arsenic.

[A]

Arsenic?

[C]

Yes.

[A]

Afraid I'll have to ask you what it's for, ma'.

[B]

Am.

[C]

Why, surely it's for rats.

[A]

The Big Story. Another in a thrilling series based on true experiences of newspaper reporters. Tonight, to Aubrey Maddock of the Hartford Daily Current goes the Pell Mell Award for. Now the exciting and authentic story of the Case of the Final Curtain. You are Aubrey Madock, assistant City Editor of the Hartford Daily Current. You're sitting at your desk one afternoon, idly tapping out a story and reflecting that things are pretty quiet around the offices of the Current, when suddenly.

[C]

Are you a reporter?

[A]

Why, well, yes, but I've just got.

[C]

To talk to you. I've got to tell you about it.

[A]

Tell me about what?

[C]

I did it. It's as if I did it with my own hands. But I didn't mean to. Honestly, I didn't.

[A]

Didn't mean to do what? Hey, look, take it easy.

[C]

I told the police, but they didn't believe me. You've got to believe me. You've just got to. I've got to talk to somebody.

[A]

No, no. Take it easy.

[C]

If I'd known what I was doing, it would have been different. But you talked until after. And then it's too late.

[A]

Relax. Cigarette?

[C]

Yes, please.

[A]

Better now?

[C]

I guess so.

[A]

Suppose you start from the beginning and tell me what's on your mind.

[C]

Would you really listen?

[A]

That's what I'm here for.

[C]

I have a tiny apartment. My father had been visiting me for a long time. I got back home one day and I could hear him rehearsing Shakespeare as I came down the hall. Maybe that's what started it. I hated it. He used to be an actor and he never got over it. I opened the hall door.

[A]

There's no blur in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outraged.

[C]

Dad, I'm home.

[A]

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them. Hello, Lucy. Just brushing up on my diaphragm. Control. Die to sleep.

[C]

Dad, won't you ever forget you were an actor?

[A]

Were an actor? My dear, you forget yourself.

[C]

Do I, Lucy?

[A]

From your tone of voice I judge that I have overstayed my visit with you.

[C]

Dad, I don't mean to be cruel, but I guess you have in a way. I can't ever have my friends up. You're always here quoting things at them or telling them about the parts you've played. It's just not fair.

[A]

I see.

[C]

Oh, Dad, I don't mean to hurt you. It's the last thing I want to do.

[A]

I am expecting a letter from my producer. He should have something for me this morning.

[C]

Oh, dad. Daddy, look. When I was in Windsor last week, I stopped in to see that Mrs. Taylor for you.

[A]

And who, might I ask, is that? Mrs. Taylor?

[C]

She runs a home in Windsor for the infirm.

[A]

Surely you don't pretend to put me in that class.

[C]

That's just what she calls her home. For a thousand dollars, she takes care of you completely. Gives you room and board from the day you get there until. Well, until.

[A]

Until they ring down the final curtain, Is that it?

[C]

Well, yes.

[A]

Are you suggesting that I go to this home for the infirm? Lucy.

[C]

Dad, it would be nice for you. You'd have a nice room of your own. And I know that every minute you'd had company and being taken care of. If you don't like it there, you don't have to stay. But you will like.

[A]

So this is Mrs. Taylor's establishment, is it?

[C]

Yes. Now remember, dad, please be charming to her.

[A]

Lucy, I have played to pack crowds in a tent in Kansas. I have done my 40 weeks at the Empire Theater on Broadway. Presidents have watched me act. And you tell me I must captivate this elderly proprietress of a boarding establishment.

[C]

Please, here comes someone. Yes? Mrs. Taylor? I'm Lucy Wellington. Oh, of course. Then this must be your father.

[A]

It is.

[C]

Well, would you come in?

[A]

Charming home you have here, Mrs. Taylor.

[C]

Thank you. I hope you'll be happy here with us.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Now, I suppose you'll want to say goodbye to your daughter, so I'll just leave you folks alone for a minute or two and then I'll be back to get you settled.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

Just make yourselves at home. Well, dad. Lucy, do you think you'll be happy here?

[A]

Don't worry about me.

[C]

I want you to be happy. Dad.

[A]

Lucy, I can be honest with myself at times. My life is over. I've taken all my bows and curtain calls and I'm just sitting in an empty theater waiting for my exit queue. This is as good a place as any to wait.

[C]

If you don't like it here, let me know and I'll bring you back home.

[A]

Thank you.

[C]

I. I guess I better go.

[A]

Good night. Good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow. That I would say good night till it be morrow. Oh, I forgot. You don't like to hear me emote. Goodbye, Lucy.

[C]

Goodbye, dad.

[A]

God bless you.

[C]

Gracious. Mr. Wellington, you startled me, standing so still there by the door. Who?

[A]

Mrs. St. I just said goodbye to my daughter.

[C]

Well, saying goodbye to kinfolk is always a little hard on the heartstrings, Mr. Wellington. But you'll be happy here, I'm sure. Everybody is. Why, nobody ever leaves my home. Except, of course, when they die. Mr. Wellington.

[A]

Who is it? Me, Luke Briggs. I come for our game of cribbage. Come in, come in, my friend.

[C]

Thank you kindly. I see you got the cards out.

[A]

Yes, yes, it's. It's just the thing to make the time pass. It doesn't seem as if I've been here at Mrs. Taylor's for almost two months. Does it? Still like it here? Of course not. Looking supert as you might. Just a little indigestion.

[C]

I see. Mr. Wellington, you got to get out of here.

[A]

What are you talking about? You paid your thousand dollars in advance. You got to get out of here. What do you mean? Mrs. Grumman paid her thousand dollars in advance?

[C]

She died last night.

[A]

They took her away just before sunup. Well, I'm sorry to hear. And old Pete Dawes paid his thousand dollars in advance. He died last week. They took him away at midnight. Death comes to everyone, Luke. Not like it does in this house. When it's natural, it comes in its time, and it comes soft. Death don't care whether you pay a thousand dollars to Mrs. Taylor in advance in hut. What are you driving at? I'm safe. I pay my room board for the week. It's no profit to Mrs. Taylor for me to die early, but with them that pays in advance. Luke, you're crazy. Listen. Late at night I can hear horses hoofs coming clop, clop, clop up the dirt road. I can hear the creak of a.

[C]

Wagon as they back it up against the porch.

[A]

And footsteps carrying something heavy. I can hear that something heavy thud into the wagon. And then the horse's hoofs start up the road again, softer and softer, till.

[C]

There'S nothing more to hear with the hood owl.

[A]

And then I know somebody else has died and they're taking him away in the night. Luke, stop it.

[C]

You're next on Mrs. Taylor's list, I'm telling you.

[A]

What makes you say that? I've seen it happen.

[C]

First, a special lemonade or a particular pie made special for someone, and then.

[A]

A night of indigestion and then I.

[C]

Hear the horses hoofs coming up the road.

[A]

Stop it.

[C]

Stop it.

[A]

Stop it, you fool.

[C]

I'm sorry.

[A]

I seem to be a little upset this evening. Suppose we leave our game until tomorrow night?

[C]

If that's the way you want it.

[A]

Yes. Yes. I'd. I'd like to lie down for a while. I. I think I'd like to go to Slee.

[C]

Daddy. If you don't like this place, let me know.

[A]

Let me know and I'll bring you home. But it's just a touch of indigestion. Just indigestion. Just a touch. You got to get out of here.

[C]

You got to get out of here.

[A]

Out.

[C]

Nobody leaves my home. Nobody ever leaves my home. Except, of course, when they die. You know, I can tell when somebody has died. I can hear the horses hoofs on the road. But they don't leave unless they die. Dad, come back. Come back.

[A]

Come back.

[C]

I'll hold this drink first. Just a little drink. No, dad, don't. Don't have a little sip. I made it special for you. Just for you.

[A]

No, no, no. Now.

[C]

Mr. Wellington, wake up.

[A]

Misses Taylor. Oh, I must have had a nightmare.

[C]

I should say you must have.

[A]

What's that?

[C]

Just a hoop owl outside the window. Here, drink this. No, no, it's just a sedative. I fixed it special for you.

[A]

I don't want to take it away.

[C]

But it will sad you. Here, now, take the glass. Drink it down. That's it. That's it. Now then, Mr. Wellington, you won't have to worry anym. Miss Wellington, this is Mrs. Taylor calling. I'm sorry to bother you this time of night, but it looks like your father's took bad. Oh, no, no. No need to come tonight. But I think you better come visit him tomorrow morning.

[A]

We'll be back in just a moment with tonight's big story. Now we return you to our narrator, Bob Sloan, and tonight's big story. You, Aubrey Maddock, Assistant City editor, sit at your desk at the Hartford Daily Current and listen intently to the half hysterical girl as she sobs out a weird and unbelievable story. Finally she says, that's about the whole.

[C]

Of it, Mr. Maddox. When I got to the home the next morning, dad was dead. He died just 10 minutes after Mrs. Taylor called me.

[A]

What did she give as the cause of death?

[C]

Gastric ulcers. But he was poisoned. He never had a sign of any kind of ulcer. He was poisoned by that horrible woman and I made him go there.

[A]

Let me ask you just one question. Ms. Wellington, you've outlined a very complete story of just how your father died. How do you know all these things?

[C]

The last time I saw dad at the home, he was so frightened underneath. I should have known then. I should have taken him away then. But I didn't know he's dead.

[A]

Well, that doesn't answer my question. You told me how he died. You even told me what he dreamed. How can you possibly know all this?

[C]

Well, I don't actually know it, I suppose. But it could have been something like that. It must have been something like that. Mm.

[A]

Well, if so, it's the biggest, hottest lead on a story I've ever gotten. But if not, it's the most malicious, evil piece of slander I've ever heard. And as a newspaper man, I guess it's up to me to find out which it is.

[C]

What are you gonna do?

[A]

I'm going up to Windsor to take a look around. Yes, sir. Something I can do for you? You own this drugstore? Yes, I do get most of the local trade here in Windsor. Sure. Do you sell poison here? Why do you want to know? I'm very interested in the sale of poison in Windsor during the past few years. Well, I don't see. Doesn't the state require every druggist to keep a poison register showing who bought what kind of poison, when and for what? Yes, but. Let's see it. Who are you anyhow? Just a guy who's interested in poisons. Where's the register? Right here. Thanks. August, September, October. October 21st, Mrs. Beatrice Taylor. Six ounces of arsenic, use for rats and mice. That's Mrs. Taylor. Runs the home out on Prospect. Uh huh. February 17th, Mrs. Beatrice Taylor. Thirteen ounces of arsenic, use for bugs and mice. And again May 26th, Mrs. Beatrice Taylor, ten ounces of arsenic, acid use for rats and mice. Ten ounces on the 26th of May. Look here, isn't this quite a bit of poison for any one person to buy? No, can't say so. Most of the folks around here buy arsenic poison for exterminating purposes. I see. Well, just the same, I think I'll go and have a few words with Mrs. Taylor. Just for the record.

[C]

Mr. Maddock, I. I can't tell you how glad I am that you came.

[A]

Why is that, Ms. Taylor?

[C]

Well, these rumors that one of my borders was poisoned and naturally upset upset me. It's nonsense, of course, but still, talk like that hurts the reputation of a nursing home.

[A]

Did you think of that when you bought the poison?

[C]

What do you mean?

[A]

I mean that I'VE been down to the local drugstore and find that you purchased pounds of arsenic enough to poison a lot of borders.

[C]

You don't think I bought that for anything except rats and mice, do you?

[A]

What should I think? Maybe you use it for rats and mice. But Jay Wellington died of a gastric ulcer just four days after your last arsenic purchase.

[C]

You're not serious about this?

[A]

I'm very serious, Mr. Maddock.

[C]

We're both intelligent folks. We can look at this whole nonsensical story intelligently. Now, if you were setting out to poison somebody, would you buy the poison at a local drugstore? Would you buy it where everybody knows you by name and where everybody knows everybody else's business?

[A]

Well, of course not.

[C]

You'd steal it or get it some underhanded way if you were going to use it for murder, now, wouldn't you?

[A]

I suppose so. Of course, I've only heard Ms. Wellington's side of the story.

[C]

That poor child is half out of her mind with grief and guilt because she didn't get here in time to be with her father.

[A]

At the end, she was terribly upset.

[C]

I gather she was a mite harsh with him from time to time. That preys on her mind. Now that he's gone, I can understand how she feels, Poor child. Lord knows I try to be forgiving.

[A]

She's very bitter about you, Mr. Maddox.

[C]

Would you like to know why?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

All right, I'll tell you. She claims her father had $500 when he came to the home. And she thinks I've stolen it.

[A]

Why?

[C]

Because she can't find it with her father's things. Fighting over that poor soul's grave for money, too. Why, he didn't have a cent. And if he did, I'd never touch a thing that didn't belong to me.

[A]

You're being very fair, Mrs. Taylor.

[C]

Heaven knows I try to be. Although at times it does seem like I have more than my share of trouble.

[A]

Well, I'm sorry to have added to it, Mrs. Taylor.

[C]

Well, it's quite all right, Mr. Maddock. Thank you for taking the bother to drop in here.

[A]

Oh, there's no bother at all, ma'.

[C]

Am.

[A]

I have another visit to pay in Windsor anyhow. This the office of the Windsor County Clerk? Sure is. Where's the clerk? Right here. You?

[C]

Me?

[A]

Well, I. I'm Aubrey Maddock of the Hartford Daily Current. Hey, I've been meaning to talk to one of you newspaper people.

[B]

Yeah?

[A]

Well, look, I. Your paper last February. Paid up full of was, too. Then come last April, I Was away for, oh, two weeks and a bit. Seemed to me I ought to get my money back for those two weeks. Well, look, Pop, I'll take it up personally with a circulation manager, but right now. That's right neighborly of you, young fella. Like the paper finer do. I'm glad to hear it. Look, farm articles. You got good recipes. My wife always looks for them.

[C]

Recipes.

[A]

Pop, do you keep the death certificates for Windsor county here? Sure do. Well then for the love of Pete, can I see them? That's all they're shouting about. Sure you can see them. You thumb through the endless certificates and just on a chance you make notes of all the deaths that took place at Mrs. Taylor's home. And you do a little extra checking. And what you find makes you sit up straight and whistle. What's up, young fella? My hair pop up on end. Hey, sorry. No time for chit chat now. Here. Where are you going with them certificates to the Hartford Chief of. You do take the certificates to the police chief later. But first you do a little checking with some of Mrs. Taylor's neighbors and former boarders. You visit the relatives of some of the deceased. And then armed with explosive information, you take the death certificates and your big story to the Hartford Chief of police. I didn't make too much of the arsenic purchases at first, Chief. Poison might have been for rats. In spite of Jay Wellington's sudden death just four days after the last purchase. Could be coincidence. Sure. Yeah, that's what I thought. Mrs. Taylor told a very convincing story. Maybe a little too convincing. So just on a hunch, I dropped in at the county clerk's office and I. Well, take a look at these statistics. What are they? The number of deaths at the Taylor home during the past five years. 48. Eh? 48. Not surprising. What do you mean? That's an awful lot of deaths. But Maddock, it's a home for old people. The death rate's bound to be high. That's where you're wrong. I checked the figures on the Hartford old people's home. Just to compare. You know how much bigger the Hartford home is than Mrs. Taylor's? About five times as big. Six times as big. And yet the number of deaths is the same in both homes. 48 in five years. How about that? Doesn't look good. It isn't. And here's another interesting point. At least 20 of the deaths Mrs. Taylor reported looked highly suspicious. And each of those 20 boarders were of the class that paid $1,000 outright for board until death. I've checked the others and found out that the week to week borders have held to a normal death rate. Now does that or does that not look like mass murder? It does, but no proof. We'll take care of that autopsy. Exactly. We'll get in touch with you.

[C]

Why, Mr. Maddock.

[A]

Yes, Ms. Taylor. And this is the Hartford Chief of Police with me. We'd like to ask you some questions.

[C]

Why. Why, surely.

[A]

Come in. Thank you.

[C]

If you'll just come into the parlor. I haven't dusted yet. Been making a special dessert for one of my boarders. Sit down, won't you?

[A]

Mrs. Taylor, the daughter of one of your deceased patients reported some suspicious facts about her father's death.

[C]

Oh, you mean that Wellington girl again.

[A]

What about it, Mrs. Taylor?

[C]

Like I told Mr. Maddock here, I'm anxious to clear up all these false rumors. So you just ask me any questions you want and I'll do my best to answer them.

[A]

All right, Mrs. Taylor. How do you account for the fact that you bought poison in large quantities?

[C]

Like I said before, it was for rats and mice.

[A]

What about the manner in which you removed human bodies from the home during the night? Ms. Wellington and others have stated that bodies were gone before their relatives arrived here.

[C]

Well, I like to get the the body out of the house. As soon as death occurs. It disturbs the other borders.

[A]

And why was it that the highest death rate was amongst those who paid you $1,000 outright for board?

[C]

I can't imagine where you got such an idea.

[A]

Why were bodies shipped secretly out of the county without a permit?

[C]

Why?

[A]

Why did an autopsy on J. Wellington and another one of your borders show that both died of poison and not natural causes?

[C]

An autopsy? You did an autopsy?

[A]

Come along, Mrs. Taylor. I have a warrant for your arrest.

[C]

You can't prove anything. That girl talked too much. But you can't prove anything. You can't really know. I was too careful. I had an answer for everything. You'll see. I'll hang before I admit I did it.

[A]

You're probably right, Mrs. Taylor. You'll hang. In just a moment we'll read you a telegram from Aubrey Maddock of the Hartford Daily Current with the final details of tonight's big story. Now read you that telegram from Aubrey Maddock of the Hartford Daily Current. Poisoner in tonight's big story was convicted of first degree murder. However, an appeal was granted and the conviction was changed to second degree. Given a life prison sentence. She was subsequently transferred to the hospital for the insane at Middletown. Many thanks for tonight's pall Mall award. Thank you, Mr. Maddock. The makers of Pall Mall Famous Cigarettes are proud to have named you the winner of the Pall Mall five hundred Dollar award for notable service in the field of journalism. Listen again next week, same time, same station, when Pell Mell Famous Cigarettes will present another Big story. A big story from the pages of the Des Moines Tribune byline Russell Wilson. A big story that reached its climax with an automobile ride that ended in death. The Big Story is produced by Bernard J. Proctor and directed by Harry Ingram with music by Vladimir Silinsky. Tonight's program was written by Gail Ingram. Your narrator was Bob Sloan and Lester Maine played the part of Aubrey Maddock. All names in tonight's story, except that of Mr. Maddock were fictitious, but the dramatization was based on a true and authentic case. This is Ernest Chapel speaking for the makers of Pall Mall Famous Cigarettes and reminding you of the ideal Christmas gift, Pal mal Famous Cigarettes in their special holiday carton. This is NBC, the national broadcasting company.

[C]

Did you know you can opt out of winter with VRBO?

[A]

Save up to 1500 dollars for booking.

[C]

A month long stay with thousands of sunny homes. Why subject yourself to the cold? Just filter your search by monthly stays.

[A]

And save up to $1,500. Book [e-mail].

[B]

Welcome back. So first of all, in addition to Les Tremaine, the rest of the cast included Alice Reinhart, Ted Osborne, Agnes Young, John Gibson and Will Gere. Now, as to the story, I do think the fact that Lucy imagined her father's death scene, including a dre, showed that she'd gotten the gene for dramatics, although her hunch turned out to be right. Now once again, I do turn to the story behind the Big Story website for full details as to the real story of this crime. And I'm indebted to Dr. Joe Webb and researchers or hard work on all of these cases. This one was probably one of the easier ones to research as it's a rather famous one. This one came from 1915 was when the investigation occurred and the perpetrator was Amy Archer Gilligan. And she was caught when a reporter started looking into it. Aside from some of the specific dramatic details, the basics of the story are pretty sound. And as implied by the amount that she bought, she used a massive amount of poison. According to the autopsy, what they found was that there was enough poison in one of the victims to kill six men. Even by the science of 1915, that's going to be caught, Mrs. Gilligan didn't have some clever scientific method to conceal her crime. Her bet was on no one suspecting deaths in a nursing home and no one expecting innocent old her. These particular killings actually would become the inspiration for the dark comedy play Arsenic and Old Lace, which had a successful screen adaptation as well as a few radio adaptations as well. This story may also have been the inspiration of a yours truly, Johnny Dollar episode with a very similar plot. Now we turn to listener comments and feedback and we have a couple on the bobby socks kid from Bayonne. And we start on Patreon where Emmett comments, that was a really gripping story, but I must admit the ending nearly knocked me off my chair. It's amazing how the tenor of the times affected the retelling of this crime. After all, forgiveness was the theme after the war right up to the early 50s. Around that time, radio detectives began to find fault with turnstile justice that seemed to be content to blame society for everything. It's just one more thing that makes listening to these stories so rewarding. History can't hide between the lines, and while you can probably find exceptions both ways, I think there's definite merit to that description of the overall tone of Old Time Radio. Then we have a comment from Mechanic 66, who writes the more interesting thing to me about Dorothy Kilgallan is the circumstances surrounding her suicide or accidental overdose while investigating the death of jfk. Very similar to the death of Marilyn Monroe. In fact, there's a book about it, Collateral Damage, and that's by Mark Shaw. Now there's a subtitle. I'm not rereading it, for one thing, it's just way too long to remember. But Mr. Shaw wrote Collateral Damage and also wrote another book on the subject, the Reporter who Knew Too Much. I'm not going to go deeper into it than that, but I appreciate the comment and I did not know that anyone had put Dorothy Kilgallen in that situation, or that she had. And what you can confirm whatever you believe about her death, that she did interview Jack Ruby, was investigating it and didn't buy the official story. Oh, always good to learn something new. Thanks so much. Appreciate the comment. Now it's time to thank our Patreon Supporter of the Day and I want to go ahead and thank Paul patreon supporter since March 2024, currently supporting the podcast at the Psalmist level of $4 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Paul. 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 from. We'll be back next Tuesday with another episode of the Big Story. But join us back here tomorrow for Broadway's My Beat, where grab yourself a.

[A]

Wicker and take a load off. What a place you have here, Milt. Wait till you see the floor show. Danny, got a dame here. Doesn't routine on a bed of hot coals. Melta, you try the authentic cuisine yet? You like fish? I got cold. Humahuma, nuka nuka Appawa. That would set you crazy. You sit still, I'll slice you some from the middle. Sit down, Milt, huh? All right, so I'm sitting. I'm sitting. So, about a bartender here, Frank Dunn. Frank Lee ain't showed up yet. Tonight he commits something. He's been murdered. Kismet. Pure kismet. Fate, Danny. The way the department figures, it took a murderer to do it. Yeah, I guess. How'd he go out? Shot. Like I say, kismet. What are you talking about? A guy like Frank, it figures. It just don't make me surprised. Come on, Milt, talk to me. What's on your mind? Well, he served smiles with the tall cool ones. When Frank wiped the bar in front of a female patronesses, it had a meaning all its own personality. Keep talking. Well, Danny, a guy like him, well, dame would be embarrassed leaving less than a fin or a phone number for a chip. Did he cause any trouble here?

[B]

Frank?

[A]

No. An operator with a head on him. Wait until the male escort was occupied elsewhere. Then. Well, Frank would drop a small onion in the cocktail glass in such a way that patronesses would leave teeth marks on the bar.

[B]

I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to Box [e-mail] follow us on Twitter Radio Detectives. Check us out on Instagram. Instagram.com greatdetectives from Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.

[A]

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