Yours Truly Johnny Dollar - "29 the Silent Queen Matter Part 1" (Old Time Radio)

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar presents “The Silent Queen Matter, Part 1,” originally broadcast on CBS on October 29, 1956. Episode 5610 launches a five-part case written by Adrian Gendot and directed by Jack Johnstone, starring Bob Bailey as freelance insurance investigator Johnny Dollar.

Johnny heads to Venice, California, after the murder of penny-arcade operator Bernard Slade. With a silent-film star named as beneficiary on Slade’s insurance policy and strange evidence waiting in the victim’s quarters, Dollar begins tracing a baffling connection from the arcade to the past.

Yours Truly Johnny Dollar presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned and mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.

Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:54 Original Broadcast
15:49 Closing

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Speaker 1: Bernard Slade, who operates a penny arcade in Venice, California,

has been murdered, and his insurance policy names silent film

star Mavis Gale as beneficiary, though she denies knowing him.

It brings freelance investigator Johnny Dollar into the opening chapter

of The Silent Queen Matter, Part one from Yours Truly

Johnny Dollar, originally heard on CBS on October twenty ninth,

nineteen fifty six. This is episode five thousand, six hundred ten,

the first of a five part case starring Bob Bailey

as Johnny Dollar. Adrian Gendah wrote the script. Jack Johnstone directed,

and the cast includes Paula Winslow, Virginia Gregg, Vic Perrin,

Paul Dubov, John Denner, Lawrence Dobkin, and Chester Stratton. And

now the original broadcast from Hollywood.

Speaker 2: It's time now for.

Speaker 3: Johnny Dellar, Vic Carson, Johnny State Unity Life.

Speaker 4: Oh what's on your mind? Vig?

Speaker 3: You got a job for you if you're interested. I

just received a report from our agent.

Speaker 4: In Venice, Venice.

Speaker 3: Oh, I'd love it so off Nights along the Canal

and it's California, Johnny, Okay, what is it? Murder Bernard Slade,

aged fifty six penny arcade operator in Ocean Park.

Speaker 4: That's right right next door to Venice. Go on, Well, the.

Speaker 3: Body was found in living quarters at the rear of

an arcade in the amusement zone. Killer unknown and Barney

Slade must have been quite a movie fan. The police

found his apartment plastered with photographs of the movie Greats

Silent Screen Vintage. That is at least a dozen of

more of Mavis Gale, a real queen in our.

Speaker 4: Day, Yeah, the vamp time.

Speaker 5: I know.

Speaker 4: Oh oh, it's just a vague recollection, you understand. Yeah.

Speaker 3: Well. The police also reported that somebody, the killer probably,

had drawn a big question mark in red crayon over

each of Mavis Gale's photographs.

Speaker 4: Interesting if it means.

Speaker 3: Anything we think it does, Johnny, especially since Mavis Gale

is named as the beneficiar ian Bernard Slave's insurance policy.

Speaker 2: Tonight and every weekday Night. Bob Bailey in the Transcribed

Adventures of the Man with the Action Packed expens a

cout America's Fabulous Freelance insurance Investigators.

Speaker 4: Truly Johnny Dollar expense account submitted by special investigator Johnny

Dollar to State Unity Life Home Office, Hertford, Connecticut, following

as an account of expenses incurred during my investigation of

the Silent Queen Matter expense account out of won two

hundred and ten dollars and sixty five cents playing care

farre and incidentals to Ocean Park, California. As soon as

I checked into my hotel, I got in touch with

homicide Sergeant McKay. They said would probably be down at

the pier. I saved. You can't on this one, vic.

It was a beautiful moonlit night at the beach. A

warm breeze was blowing in from the Pacific, and besides,

was only a three minute walk from my hotel to

the fund song a gordy array of neon and noise,

an occasional whiff of salt air seeping through the aromatic

blend of fried shrimp, hamburgers and popcorn. Business was good

and the penny arcade had a SHERI I headed straight

to the blonde sitting in the chain boots. She looked

tired and faded. Hie, we have a dimes worth of pennies.

Speaker 6: Were you hear real plunge?

Speaker 4: Your oh money means nothing to me?

Speaker 6: Well, here you are, don't spend them all in one place?

Speaker 4: Well, you know I might at that. This machine here

looks kindly interesting. Lola the farmer's daughter.

Speaker 7: Oh, it's kind of racing. How's your blood pressure? And

try that roll along the wall over there?

Speaker 4: I wouldn't do. How can we carry on a conversation

if I was on the other side of the room.

Speaker 6: Who wants conversation?

Speaker 8: I do?

Speaker 6: You don't look like the lonely type.

Speaker 4: Never can't tell?

Speaker 7: Long, Keny, you look you run along while I finished

back in these pennies.

Speaker 4: Huhn. Seriously, all I want is a few answers.

Speaker 6: Well I got more than a few. Honey, what's on

your mind?

Speaker 4: Bernie Slave?

Speaker 6: What about Fernie?

Speaker 4: You work for him? Long?

Speaker 6: Who wants to know?

Speaker 4: My name is Dollar, Johnny Dollar. I'm an insurance investigator here. Oh,

I'd appreciate any information you can give me.

Speaker 6: Hey, your company dropped a bundle on Bonnie.

Speaker 4: Huh, Well, that remains to be seen.

Speaker 6: Now, Bonnie was a nice guy, nice as they come.

What do you want to know?

Speaker 4: We'll just start anywhere.

Speaker 6: You want to know about his friends.

Speaker 4: Or maybe after what happened to him, you'd better tell

me about his enemies.

Speaker 6: He didn't have none, not one.

Speaker 4: Oh must have been quite a fellow, he was, mister Okay,

let's get back to his friends.

Speaker 6: Then, just about everybody along the pier, and.

Speaker 4: He won in particular.

Speaker 7: Oh Frank jessep for one runs a concession just down

the way. Uh Sam Hegstrom owns a fishing boat. Then

there's uh Guskanako's her of ghost Teme.

Speaker 6: Like I said, Barney had a lot of friends.

Speaker 4: Including you, including me. How about Mavis Gail?

Speaker 6: I don't know the day.

Speaker 4: Well she she used to be in the movies The

Salad car.

Speaker 7: Oh.

Speaker 6: I heard about her, only I never met her.

Speaker 4: Didn't she ever come around?

Speaker 6: I never saw her.

Speaker 4: Did Barnie ever talk about her?

Speaker 6: Not to me? Didn't? Why?

Speaker 4: Why? What?

Speaker 6: Why should Barney talk about Mavis Gail?

Speaker 8: Oh?

Speaker 4: I just thought he might have mentioned it sometime or other.

Uh Is that the door to Barney's apartment back there?

Speaker 6: Yeah, that's right. Why if I have a look around,

that'd be up to Sachian McKay.

Speaker 4: Well, look, if he comes in, tell him where am will.

Speaker 7: You tell him yourself? He's back there in Barney's apartment.

Speaker 4: Now. I walked on back and took note of the

heavy padlock dangling open on the door. Leaning in the

Barney slave's apartment, The small living room was empty, yet

it was crowded too, crowded with memories of the son

of greats a Zimova, Valentino, Pickford and Fairbanks, Me and Swanson,

the Gish girls, lawn chaining, all dozens more their photographs,

filling practically every inch of wall space. Mava scale was

there too, a big question mark in red grand drawn

over each of the photos. I moved through a narrow kitchen.

The back door was wide open. I stepped outside. Who

are you, Oh, Johnny Dollar, You must be Sergian McKay.

That's right. Yeah, You're office said you'd be here browsing around,

So I'm browsing. There's something bothering you. Sergeant Murder always

bothers me. Yeah, what's you mean? Like those photos in there?

Maybe scale and the question marks on all of them,

and that bothers me. Do you think the killer did it?

Could be let's go back inside run or maybe Barney,

maybe Barnie what I'm talking about. The question marks could

be pictures belonged to him. Yeah, yeah, he had quite

a gallery here looks to me though, that summer missing.

That's so, why you know, sols ergint The wallpaper isn't

faded as badly where they used to be, and there

are a lot of tack marks too.

Speaker 9: Okay, So who took him down? Bonnie? He could have

soaked the killer?

Speaker 4: That's right. Have you found anybody who could tell you

anything about him? I'm missing photographs? Not yet, Hey, Barty,

keep a lot of money in here.

Speaker 9: Twiler didn't see anything, so Twilt James Blond out front

of the change booth. Oh yeah, Barnie was sort of

particular about his apartment. Never let anybody in as far

as she knows. Not even his friends want to why.

According to Twilt, he seldom used the arcade entrance, preferred

to use.

Speaker 4: The back door.

Speaker 9: Is that the one the killer used standing wide open

when the body was found?

Speaker 4: Well, who found it? By the way, Twiler?

Speaker 9: When she showed up for work yesterday, the arcade was

closed up, so she went around back.

Speaker 3: You know, when Barney was killed, Doc figures around three am.

Two slugs from a thirty eight one would have been enough.

Speaker 4: Any signs of a struggle, Yeah, lamp over there was

on the floor that chair was turned over, and this

table had been upset.

Speaker 9: Pipe's medicine bottles, pillboxes scattered around.

Speaker 4: Uh huh, heavy bolt and chain on the inside of

both doors. Barney didn't have to let her visitor in

unless he wanted to. That's right. Of course, he could

have run into the killer outside somewhere. Sure he could.

Only you don't think.

Speaker 9: So unless Barney was in the habit of walking in

his sleep.

Speaker 6: Oh.

Speaker 9: When we came in and found Barney was in pajamas

and bathroom. The wall bed over there had been pulled out,

was mussed.

Speaker 4: Up, so it figures he was probably asleep when the

killer tapped on his door. He got up and let

him in. Yet, according to Twila.

Speaker 9: The place was off limits even to his friends, but

she wasn't around all the time and didn't know all

his friends.

Speaker 4: He found some others.

Speaker 9: I'd like to find one of them, in particular, a

man Barney referred to as the preacher, just the preacher,

no name, no, at least Sam Hextrom couldn't remember.

Speaker 4: And this preacher was he allowed into Barney's inter sanctum.

Speaker 9: Sam's pretty sure he saw the two of them come

out the back door one night a little more than

a week ago. Other times he spotted them taking a

late evening stroll.

Speaker 4: Along the Ocean front walk. Did Sam ever talk with

his preacher? No, but he got curious after a while,

asked Barney about it. Barney said, the man was a

very old and dear friend. Let it go at that,

and you haven't been able to find out anything more

about him. Huh, I'm still checking. Wow, I would sure

be a break if you could to locate this preacher.

He might be able to tell us something about those

missing photographs. What they were might also explain.

Speaker 9: Why the killer took him. Have you seen enough in here?

Speaker 8: Dollar?

Speaker 4: Oh? Yeah, sure, I guess, I said, Hey, tell me,

what does Mabe Skale have to say about all this?

Speaker 9: I only got to talk with her just a couple

hours ago when she returned from Palm Springs. She was

pretty upset when I told her about the crayon marks

and her photographs.

Speaker 4: But naturally, she couldn't offer any explanation none. How does

she react to the news of Slade's death, tears and such.

She's supposed to weep about it? Why not? Bonnie Slade

must have been a pretty good friend of hers, after all,

he named her as the beneficiary and his insurance policy.

Oh that's interesting.

Speaker 9: Why when I talked with Mavis Gail, she told me

she never heard of Barney Slade.

Speaker 4: Expense account Adam two and three one dollar and ten

cents phone call on Campfare. The call was to Navis

Gale's home in bel Air. The butler said, if it

was important, I could find her at McCartney's mortuary in Venice.

Camp Fair to Venice via what is laughing they called

the speedway and one way alley lined with backyards and

garbage cans. It took us less than a minute to

cross over into Venice, a boom that had busted out.

I've been on a mixture of all broken down buildings

in the sound of the sea, crumbling bridges, moss covered

canals or paved streets, wandering disconsolately in the sand dunes,

and ending where the money a dream that had kind

of died of a broken heart. Good evening, sir, Oh

we're not Slade please?

Speaker 8: Oh yes, mister Slade is in the slumber room at

the end of the hall.

Speaker 4: Is anyone with him?

Speaker 5: Indeed quite a number of his friends. Would you know,

Maybus Gale if you saw her the silent green style. Indeed,

I would, at least I think I would. She was

one of my favorites. She hasn't shown yet. No, I

you mean she's expected, so I understand. Well, well that's nice. Oh,

that is nice. I didn't know she was a friend

of mister Slade's. Oh you know most of Barney's friends.

I know most of the people among the pier, and

they were all his friends.

Speaker 4: Well, how about one called the preacher?

Speaker 8: The preacher.

Speaker 5: Naturally, I'm very well acquainted with many men of the cloth,

And if you could tell me his knee, I don't know.

Speaker 4: Look, you have a visitor's register here, don't you in each.

Speaker 8: Of the slumber rooms. Yes, just inside the door.

Speaker 4: Thanks, Where did you say mister Slade.

Speaker 8: Was down the hall, last room on the leaves.

Speaker 4: The room was crowded with friends who'd come to pay

their respects to Benard Slave. I eased over to the

visitors register and gave it a first rundown. There was

nothing to indicate that a minister was among the mornings present.

Then I heard the hall door creak open. There she

was neighbor scale, certainly not at all what I expected.

A vamp. The silent screen to look like thirty years later,

slender trim and a swanty tailored suit, and even more

attractive than the photographs had seen of her in Barney's apartment.

She moved down the center aisle to the casket and

stood there for a moment. As I walked toward her,

she suddenly turned her eyes wide and staring, her lips

moving sanity. Then she crumbled to the floor.

Speaker 3: I understand you've been trying to reach me, Dollard. That's right, sergeant, Okay,

what's up? I got some news for you.

Speaker 4: Mayvis Gale was once married to a small time movie

actor named Tom Sandford. Seems he was murdered during a

hunting trip in the Sierra some twenty seven years ago.

So now it turns out he wasn't. Mayvis Gale just

identified Barney Slade as Tom Sandford.

Speaker 2: Now here's our star to tell you about tomorrow's episode

of this week's story.

Speaker 4: Tomorrow a stagecoach ride, I get some lumps, and a

surprise witness turns up. Join us, won't you yours truly?

Johnny Downer, yours truly? Johnny Dollar is starrying. Bob Bailey

is transcribed in Hollywood. Written by Adrian John Doe, it

is produced and directed by Jack Johnstone. Be sure to

join us tomorrow night at the same time and station

for the next exciting episode of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar,

Roy Rowan speaking.

Speaker 1: We leave Johnny Dollar at the beginning of The Silent

Queen Matter Part one. Follow Yours Truly Johnny Dollar for

more classic broadcasts.