The Relic Radio Show – February 24, 2026

Featuring: Box 13 ("Last Will and Nursery Rhyme") & Radio City Playhouse ("Long Distance")

Episode Overview

This week, The Relic Radio Show brings listeners two compelling dramas from radio's golden age:

• Box 13 starring Alan Ladd in "Last Will and Nursery Rhyme," a mystery involving an eccentric uncle's hidden fortune and cryptic nursery rhyme clues.
• Radio City Playhouse presents "Long Distance," a tense, real-time drama of a woman’s desperate attempt to save her husband from execution with a last-minute phone call.

Host RelicRadio.com provides brief interludes but primarily lets the vintage recordings speak for themselves.

Segment 1: Box 13 – “Last Will and Nursery Rhyme”

Originally aired: February 6, 1949
Starring: Alan Ladd as Dan Holiday

Main Theme

A suspenseful mystery as writer-sleuth Dan Holiday visits an old friend’s crumbling mansion, only to unravel the secret behind a vanished inheritance left in a cryptic nursery rhyme.

Key Discussion Points & Plot

Arrival at the Estate (00:11–05:53)

• Dan Holiday is invited by friend Ted Kenworth for a restful weekend at Fair Oaks.
• Ted reveals he's broke, despite inheriting the huge house from his rich Uncle Thaddeus.
• The uncle, known for his frugality, apparently left no money—just his eccentric collections.

"You see, Ted was my closest friend at college and, well, he had inherited Fair Oaks … It looked like an insane wedding cake." — Dan Holiday (01:10)

• They discuss the missing fortune and strange circumstances:

“Uncle Thaddeus fooled everybody. He didn’t have a nickel.” — Ted (04:58)

• Helen Stark, former secretary, is clearing out old papers and is drawn in by Dan’s questions about the will and any possible secrets.

Mystery Unfolds: The Clues (05:54–13:36)

• That night, Dan hears someone prowling the house, and later a car driving away.
• The next morning, they inspect Ted's childhood playroom and trunk; Ted feels something’s missing, but can't recall what.
• Mr. Wilson, the attorney, presents the will. Dan notes an odd clause:

“The happiest days of all of our lives are those spent in innocence. If you would become happy, Theodore, and remember your childhood and those things that were dear to you…” — Quoting Uncle Thaddeus’s Will (12:06)

Danger and Revelation (13:36–19:29)

• A coping stone falls (pushed, not accidental), narrowly missing Ted—someone wants to stop them from discovering the truth.
• Dan deduces the missing item wasn’t a toy but something different altogether.

The Investigation Heats Up (19:29–23:28)

• Suspecting both Helen and Wilson, Dan and Ted agree to follow them.
• Dan tails Helen to town, where she is seen searching toy stores for an old linen-covered children’s book. She is unsuccessful.

Confrontation & Solution (23:28–26:10)

• Dan confronts Helen, who admits to taking the book but can’t find what she’s looking for inside it. She threatens Dan with a gun before he takes both the book and the gun.

“There must be a lot of money to make you attempt to murder and threaten another. I want that book, Helen.” — Dan to Helen (21:37)

• Dan and Ted analyze the nursery rhyme book; they notice a missing rhyme: "Hickory Dickory Dock, the mouse ran up the clock".
• Remembering the grandfather clock in the hall, they adjust the hands until it strikes one; the face opens, revealing a letter which leads them to the sundial in the garden, where the bonds and securities are hidden.

“The clock struck 1… Look, the face came open. Hey, there’s a letter. Well, get it out and read it.” — Dan & Ted (25:55)

Memorable Quotes

• Dan: "You’re so tied up with fiction that you look for a deep dark plot in everything." (04:23)
• Ted: "Uncle Thaddeus fooled everybody. He didn’t have a nickel." (04:58)
• Dan: “What was missing? … It must be different from those.” (14:50)
• Helen: "All right, you can have it. But it won’t do you any more good than it did me." (21:32)

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• [01:10] Dan’s description of the mansion as "an insane wedding cake."
• [12:06] The will’s cryptic nursery rhyme line.
• [16:10] The confrontation atop the roof, the stone sabotage.
• [21:37] Dan’s standoff with Helen over the missing book.
• [25:55] Solving the mystery with the grandfather clock and discovering the letter.

Segment 2: Radio City Playhouse – “Long Distance”

Originally aired: August 23, 1948
Starring: Jan Minor as Mrs. Leon Jacks
Written/directed by Harry W. Junkin

Main Theme

A real-time drama depicting the desperation and obstacles faced by Mrs. Jacks as she battles red tape and time to reach the only man who can save her husband from wrongful execution.

Key Discussion Points & Plot

The Call for Help (29:16–31:13)

• In an emotional plea, Mrs. Jacks tells the prison warden she has found a new letter proving Leon’s innocence, but the execution is mere minutes away.
• The warden insists only Judge McLean can stay the execution.

“I found it tonight, quite by accident… This letter proves my husband didn’t commit the murder.” — Mrs. Jacks (29:43)

Race Against Time (31:13–53:00)

• Mrs. Jacks calls Mrs. McLean, learning the judge is in San Francisco; she attempts a long distance call, facing delays due to "busy circuits."
• The drama escalates as operators repeat information, misroute calls, and generally thwart her efforts, heightening the sense of helplessness and bureaucracy.
• Each failed connection ratchets up the tension, and Mrs. Jacks, nearly frantic, begs God for help during one poignant scene (approx. 35:00–40:00).

“Operator, it’s a matter of a man’s life. Do you understand that?” (34:30)
“Please, God, let him be here at the telephone. Don’t let him be out.” (35:18)

Dead Ends and Final Desperation (45:00–52:00)

• Mrs. Jacks tries Mrs. McLean’s sister, then a neighbor (Henderson), learning the Judge left on a train to Portland.
• Henderson suggests trying the train station at Dunsmuir, California.
• Mrs. Jacks pleads with the local Dunsmuir operator to find Judge McLean as the minutes tick away before the execution.

Tragic Climax (52:00–53:51)

• Finally, Judge McLean is reached at the station. Mrs. Jacks explains; he understands the urgency and will call the prison.
• The episode closes on an ambiguous but heartbreakingly grim note—dead air, grief, and agonizing uncertainty.

“Get off the phone. I’ll call the prison at once. Get off the phone.” — Judge McLean (53:24)

• Mrs. Jacks’s devastated wail:

“They killed him. You killed the only man I have. Stop it. Stop it.” (53:36)

Memorable Quotes

• Mrs. Jacks: “You can’t do it, I tell you, you can’t! He’s innocent, this letter proves he’s innocent.” (29:58)
• Operator: “The circuits are busy west of Chicago, madam. There are several calls ahead of yours.” (33:20)
• Mrs. Jacks: “Why don’t they answer? God, please make them wait… just five minutes more.” (51:15)

Notable Moments & Timestamps

• [29:43] Mrs. Jacks’s initial, desperate call to the warden.
• [33:20] The operator’s bureaucratic stonewalling.
• [35:18] Mrs. Jacks’s prayer for her husband's life.
• [51:15] Inconsolable panic as she waits for word from the Dunsmuir station.
• [53:24] The call with Judge McLean—moments too late.

Tone and Language

The episode maintains the suspenseful, classic style of mid-20th century radio drama. The language is crisp, period-authentic, with dramatic delivery, especially in Jan Minor’s tour-de-force performance as Mrs. Jacks.

Summary

A stellar pairing of golden age radio dramas, blending Box 13’s puzzle-box mystery and tense whodunit with Radio City Playhouse’s emotionally raw, real-time race against the clock. Both segments explore desperation—one for answers and inheritance, the other for nothing less than life itself.

For fans of classic audio suspense and vintage drama, this episode is a standout, featuring clever plots, atmospheric storytelling, and powerhouse performances.