Podcast Summary: The Great Detectives of Old Time Radio

Episode: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Glacier Ghost Matter (EP4865)
Date: December 12, 2025
Host: Adam Graham
Starring: Bob Bailey as Johnny Dollar

Episode Overview

In this unearthed 1957 episode of Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar ("The Glacier Ghost Matter"), freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar is called to Los Angeles to solve a mystery both chilling and personal—a $100,000 life insurance claim that can’t be paid until a missing policyholder’s body is found, lost somewhere amid the icy chasms of the High Sierras. As Johnny probes into the disappearance of Ray Sheldon, an outdoorsman and business partner, he finds himself navigating not just glacial crevasses but a minefield of motives, romantic entanglements, and the possibility of murder in an environment where nature—and perhaps something more sinister—can cover the truth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Call to Adventure (03:12–05:50)

• Johnny Dollar is recruited by Walter Bascom of Tri Western Life and Casualty, who wants desperately to pay out on a large life policy—but can’t, as the insured’s body hasn’t been recovered.
• Bascom’s motivation: He’s in love with the widow, Gloria Sheldon, and knows she’s in financial need.
• "I hope you can find the body." —Bascom (03:09)
• The missing: Ray Sheldon, outdoorsman, plastics business co-owner. Disappeared during a trip to the High Sierras with partner Al Rykoff. Fell into a crevasse during a blizzard (05:00–07:30).

2. Motive & Suspicion (07:45–14:13)

• Business stakes: Rykoff’s business position would improve after Sheldon's death; Sheldon’s wife Gloria appears to have been distant from her late husband, and Bascom’s own romantic interest further clouds the matter.
• Johnny interviews Gloria Sheldon (widow), who hints at the coldness of her marriage.
  • Notable: "Ray was 13 years older than me. I guess I married him because I respected and admired him so for the way he studied and worked his way up from nothing." —Gloria Sheldon (12:02)
• Tensions boil over when Johnny suggests anyone might have motive to kill Ray—including Gloria, Rykoff, and Bascom. Rykoff bursts in defensively, even brandishing a weapon.
  • "I won't stand still while some stupid insurance dick makes her tear her heart out of her." —Al Rykoff (13:21)

3. The Expedition & The Glacier (16:10–19:30)

• Johnny and Al Rykoff fly to the Sierras, retracing the fateful journey to "Lone Horse Glacier." The crevasse where Ray Sheldon vanished appears utterly inaccessible; even a helicopter can’t reach it (19:10).
• Forrest Lewis, local pack station operator, confirms no recovery is possible and paints the scene as Sheldon's "fitting tomb."

4. Johnny’s Ingenious (and Explosive) Solution (20:50–28:30)

• Johnny concocts an outlandish plan inspired by his arson squad days: using dynamite, he blasts the glacier from a small plane to dislodge the ice containing Ray’s body (24:50–27:10).
  • "Be prepared for the surprise of your life." —Johnny Dollar (23:15)
• The body floats free on the lake and is recovered. But not before Johnny discovers the real cause of death: Sheldon's body is riddled with bullets.
  • "Before Sheldon fell into that crevasse, he was carefully, repeatedly shot in the back." —Johnny Dollar (27:55)
• Rykoff, realizing the jig is up, attempts to ram Johnny’s plane with his own in a desperate attempt to escape justice, but crashes to his own doom (28:38–29:40).
  • "Not Rykoff. Look back. He crashed within a couple of hundred yards of where he thought he'd buried his pal." —Johnny Dollar (29:31)

5. Resolution & Reflection (after 29:50)

• Justice is served, albeit "in one of its own strange ways."
• Johnny is left with musings on the wildness of both human motives and his own methods.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "So why drag the whole thing out?" —Johnny Dollar, on Bascom's anxiety (06:25)
• "Let that one pass. Although I was sure Walt knew exactly what I must be thinking." —Johnny's dry internal monologue after Bascom admits to loving the widow (06:41)
• "All three of us have plenty to gain with Ray Sheldon out of the way. Especially me..." —Al Rykoff (13:15)
• "If I had killed Ray Sheldon, neither you nor anybody else would ever be able to prove it. Remember that." —Al Rykoff’s bravado and possible confession (13:19)
• "Dynamite. That'll blow these two ridges clear to the lake." —Johnny Dollar, launching his plan (26:05)
• "Sheldon's body, full of bullet holes, is enough to pin it on this guy Rykoff." —Joe Gracie, pilot (28:10)
• "Yeah, I guess maybe you'd call that justice, wouldn't you?" —Johnny Dollar, at the natural justice of Rykoff’s demise (29:31)

Timestamps of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:-------------:|:------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:12–05:50 | Dollar gets the assignment, stakes are set, Bascom’s interest revealed | | 07:45–14:13 | Interviews with Al Rykoff and Gloria Sheldon, motives and tensions | | 16:10–19:30 | Journey to Sierras, local color, and failed recovery attempts | | 20:50–24:50 | Johnny’s “fishing” with dynamite plan comes together | | 24:50–27:10 | Dynamite in action—body recovered from the glacier | | 27:55–29:40 | The twist: the body reveals murder, aerial pursuit and Rykoff’s end | | 29:50–32:00 | Adam Graham’s enthusiastic commentary |

Host Adam Graham’s Post-Episode Commentary (29:53+)

• Graham delights in the episode’s over-the-top, action-hero approach—calling Johnny Dollar’s explosive glacier plan “one of the most glorious unhinged bits of derring-do during Johnny Dollar’s entire run” (30:00).
• He draws a playful parallel to 1980s TV hero MacGyver, noting, “this story is probably as close to a golden age of radio ancestor of MacGyver as you will find.”
• Graham also gives context on show traditions, realism, and listener feedback, particularly how insurance company motivations differ for Johnny’s typical cases.

Tone & Style

• The episode uses classic hardboiled detective language, with Dollar’s voiceover deadpan and incisive, seasoned with dry humor and occasional introspection.
• The drama blends plausible investigation with wild, pulp-inspired solutions—culminating in action worthy of both golden age radio and Hollywood.
• Host Adam Graham’s commentary is warm, humorous, and appreciative, steeped in radio fandom.

Who Should Listen?

Fans of classic detective drama, lovers of radio nostalgia, mystery aficionados, and anyone who enjoys resourceful sleuths facing off against both the elements and human cunning will find this episode a high-caliber listen—equal parts tense, inventive, and just a bit audacious.

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