Box 13 - "The Great Torino" (Old Time Radio, 2012)
Box 13 presents “The Great Torino,” originally broadcast October 24, 1948. This is episode 10 of the Mutual Broadcasting System adventure series, starring Alan Ladd as writer and trouble-seeker Dan Holiday.
A desperate message from Maria, a magician’s assistant afraid to involve the police, sends Dan to the Tivoli Theatre and a ticket waiting at the box office. Behind the scenes of The Great Torino’s illusion show, danger is waiting in the wings. Written by Russell Hughes.
Box 13 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
00:56 Original Broadcast
27:34 Closing
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Speaker 1: A desperate note from Maria, an assistant in a magician's act,
reaches Dan Holiday. She believes her life is in danger,
but refuses to go to the police. Following her instructions,
Holiday finds a ticket at the Tivoli Theater box office,
where Maria's appeal draws him into the backstage world of
The Great Torino's Act and a perilous stage illusion Ladies
and Gentlemen. From October twenty fourth, nineteen forty eight comes
Box thirteen, Episode ten, The Great Torino starring Alan Ladd
as adventure seeking writer Dan Holliday with Sylvia Picker as Susie.
Russell Hughes wrote this mutual broadcasting system program produced by
Richard Sandville and later distributed through Mayfair and Now we
returned to the original broadcast.
Speaker 2: Box thirteen with the Star of Paramount Pictures. Alan Ladd
as Dan Holliday.
Speaker 3: Box thirteen, Care of Star Times. I know my life
is in danger. I think you can help me. I'm
desperate and don't dare go to the police. Please, if
you want to help, call at the Tivoli Theater box
office for the ticket left there. Our handbill will tell
you more.
Speaker 4: Our handbill will tell you more. Yeah, that's the way
it started. A note from the girl Maria, the theater ticket,
and then murder.
Speaker 2: And now by too box thirteen.
Speaker 4: It was Thursday when I received a letter from Maria
through Box thirteen. Some of the letters I get are
from cranks, some from people who are just curious about
a reporter turned fiction writer who advertises adventure, want it,
will go any place, do anything. But with this one,
it was just like Susie said.
Speaker 5: Mister Holliday, it doesn't look like one of those crank
letters or somebody that's just curious thinks you crazy or something.
Speaker 6: How can you tell, Susie?
Speaker 5: Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's just female ignition.
Speaker 4: There's a dictionary over there, Susie, look up ignition.
Speaker 5: Don't you know what it means, mister Halliday, It's when
a woman gip.
Speaker 6: It's Susie skip.
Speaker 4: Oh okay, I'm supposed to pick up a ticket for
the night's show Atativily. Take a look at this hand though, Torino,
the Great Torino like his looks Susie, Well, I don't
know that's what I thought. Okay, Susie goes up Chopp
for the day.
Speaker 7: You can follow it up.
Speaker 4: Huh, that's the general idea. Yes, I want to see
what Maria has on her mind and why she's afraid.
Speaker 6: This was it. I pick up the ticket at Pativoli.
Speaker 4: A big poster told me this was a charity affair
with the acts doing a two night stand. Tickets ten
dollars a throw. I circled around the lobby, looked at
the axe advertised singers, dancers, a dog act and then
there it was big life size cut out of the
Great Torino, complete with mustache and goateee. Nice looking guy,
maybe too smooth looking, but it was what he was
doing that made me take a better look. He held
a rifle to his shoulder and was aiming it across
the lobby at another cutout, and this one, this one
was a girl. Mm hmm, big eyes, maybe a little
scared looking, and looking straight across at the Great Torino
and right into the barrel of that rifle pointed at
her head. Well, if this was Maria, she had a
right to have something on her mind. Anybody who stands
up and lets a rifle be fired at her is
earning a living the hard way. I was thinking about
it when the call buzzersived in my ear. I didn't
then with the crowd during the overture and took my
seat first. We're all right on the aisle, easy to
get in, and I shred shoved the program in my hands.
The Great Torino was schedule next to closing. Okay, that
may I'd have to sit through the rest of the eggs.
Speaker 6: I did.
Speaker 4: It was skipping. But the Great Trina was something different.
He had two assistants, a girl and a good looking
young guy. Was a magic dect with class, and Toreno
was clever with his hands. He did a trunk effect.
It was really great, and the girl who helped was
the same girl who's cut out was in the lobby.
Torino tied her with a rope, slipped the big canvas
bag over and locked her in a trunk. He fired
a shot and banged. The girl came running down the aisle,
and the trunk she was put in well empty. All
done in a split second.
Speaker 6: Two.
Speaker 4: The Great Torena took his bow, but I noticed something
when he restarted to take the girl's hand and bowed
with her. She managed to be busy at something else. Okay,
she didn't like him. He gave her a funny look
then walked to a rack and picked up a nice
nickel plated rifle. I sat up in my seat because
the girl threw a quick look at me in a
tiny nod. No one would have noticed it but me.
I looked back at Torino, who was speaking.
Speaker 8: Ladies and gentleman, I wish you to call you attention
to my final effect, a most dangerous one, sodgerous that
few lousionists will attempt it.
Speaker 9: The history of the magician's art has recorded several deaths
during the fee. My assistant will go into the audience
now and select a committee of volunteers.
Speaker 10: Will please come upon the stage, Maria, if you please.
Speaker 4: So the girl was Maria. I guess, Mike, you is
to be selected as one of the committee. I raised
my hand.
Speaker 6: She pecked me.
Speaker 4: I went on the stage with fathers from the audience
stood there while Torena went to the butt lights and
spoke again.
Speaker 10: Please to music, no music, please, no music. Thank you.
Speaker 11: Now, ladies and gentlemen, I shall give the gentlemen of
the committee this rifle.
Speaker 10: It may be examined thoroughly.
Speaker 11: Also three bullets, which they may mark later for identification.
Speaker 10: Gentlemen, And here the bullets. Please mark the lead in
any way you choose.
Speaker 4: Unmistakably, we took the rifle and the bullets, and the
great Torino. Well, he had the audience sitting on the
edges of their seats. No one knew exactly what was
going to happen, and Toreno wasn't going to tell him
until the right time came. And one of the other
men in the committee spoke to him in bullets look
okay to you, as good as any bullets can look
twenty twos?
Speaker 6: Huh yeah, how do we mark them? Initials? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Yeah, good idea. The three of us cut our initials
in the lead. That all right with you, mister good.
How about the rest of you?
Speaker 6: Suits me. I've got a knife here, Let me see
the rifle. Yeah, sure, here rifle Look okay, no gimmicks,
not that I can see. All right, My initials are
cutting the bullet. Uh you want to cut yours? Oh?
Speaker 4: Yes, I cut my initials DH in one of the bullets.
So we had three bullets with initials cut in the lead.
No chance for us institution. Then Terarina took the rifle
and the bullets.
Speaker 10: Thank you, gentlemen. That's it. You are satisfied.
Speaker 6: Yes, good.
Speaker 11: Now, if you will all watch closely, I shall load
the bullets in the rifle.
Speaker 10: So, and what is your name, sir Holiday? Good then, mister.
Speaker 11: A Holiday, if you will please hold the loaded rifle.
Speaker 10: Until I am ready for it.
Speaker 6: Oh?
Speaker 11: Sure, in this way there can be no trickery. Ladies
and gentlemen. You saw me load the market bullets. Yes, so,
and you have the loaded the rifle. Good Now, ladies
and gentlemen, may I introduce once more Maria. Maria, the
young lady is as courageous as she is lovely Maria,
you will take your place, please, mister Holliday, would you
care to shoot that Maria?
Speaker 6: Oh no, no, thank you.
Speaker 10: Then that leaves it up to me. No the rifle please?
Speaker 6: Oh here are.
Speaker 10: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I shall ask for complete quiet.
Thank you Maria. You are ready?
Speaker 3: Yes, I'm ready.
Speaker 4: The great Torina walked to the other side of the stage.
He raised the rifle to his shoulder, pointed at a Maria.
She was pale as death. Her arms were tense, tight.
Perspiration stood out on a ford not mine, and on
everyone in the audience. Then, so help me. This is
what happened a bullet appeared between Maria's teeth. She let
it drop to her plate she held in her hands.
Then and two more bullets popped between her teeth and
fell of the plate. No one in the audience moved,
no applause, just that tense feeling. To Reno walked over,
took the plate. His hands never touched the bullets. I'll
swear to it. He walked to me and the other
three men with me, and gentlemen, you will please do
identify the bullets.
Speaker 10: Yes, this one initials.
Speaker 6: P G that's me. Yeah, yeah, that's mine, all.
Speaker 10: Right, thank you. And this one k R mine, thank you.
Speaker 11: And the third the age, that's mine.
Speaker 6: How did he do it? I don't know.
Speaker 4: All I know is that when I walked off the stage,
Maria managed to get a note into my hands. When
I read it later, it asked me to meet her
a little coffee shop about three blocks from the theater.
All right, that's what I did. We sat on the booth,
back out of the way, and Maria talked.
Speaker 3: Thank you for coming, mister Holliday.
Speaker 4: That's all right, Maria. I I saw a great act,
but what am I doing in it?
Speaker 3: You can help me, Please help me how doing what
you can keep to Reno from killing me.
Speaker 6: My coffee?
Speaker 3: Didn't you hear me?
Speaker 6: Oh? Sure sure, but I don't get it.
Speaker 3: You saw the act, the rifle trick.
Speaker 6: Yeah it was great.
Speaker 3: Then you must see how easy it would be for
to Reno to kill me while doing it.
Speaker 6: Slow up a little, Maria, Let's start from the beginning.
Speaker 3: All right. You saw the other assistant.
Speaker 6: You mean the good looking kid.
Speaker 3: That's Billy. I love him and he loves me.
Speaker 6: Then what's your problem?
Speaker 3: To Reno? He hates Billy and he hates me for
loving Billy.
Speaker 6: Jealous insanely?
Speaker 3: Well quit then I will after tomorrow night's performance.
Speaker 6: But why wait? If you're afraid, I won't be afraid.
Speaker 3: If you're there, What could I do beyond the committe again?
If I think anything's wrong, I'll.
Speaker 6: Signal you and then do anything.
Speaker 3: Drop the rifle, but don't give it back.
Speaker 6: To to Reno. Now wait a minute, how could he
kill you?
Speaker 3: He'd claim it was an accident. Three magicians or their
assistants have been killed accidentally doing the trick. The mechanism
of the gun goes.
Speaker 6: Wrong, giving away secrets. Maria have to there's.
Speaker 3: A mechanism in the breach of the gun. He drops
the real bullets down into to Reno's hand when he
closes the breach.
Speaker 6: Oh, then I get an unloaded gun.
Speaker 3: There are blanks in it. The mechanism substitutes then for
the real bullets.
Speaker 6: That's good. And he slips the real bullets to you.
Speaker 3: Yes, when he takes my hand to introduce.
Speaker 6: Me, and you slip them into your mouth while.
Speaker 3: The audience is watching to Reno in the rifle.
Speaker 12: I see, Aria, Yes, why don't you go to the
police to Rena would know? He'd know how He watches me,
aren't you if fight he's watching now?
Speaker 3: No, not tonight. I slipped away. I don't think I
could manage it again, don't you see, mister Holliday, You're
my only chance. I saw you I had in the
paper box thirteen.
Speaker 4: You mean the police would ask him questions and he'd
lay low until he got the chance to Yes.
Speaker 3: Will you be there tomorrow night, mister Holiday. Look, I
have a ticket for you here, the same secret.
Speaker 12: Please please all right, Maria, I'll be there, thank you,
thank you, and.
Speaker 4: We'll try to keep the trick from being trumped by
the Great Torino.
Speaker 2: And now back to Box thirteen with Alan Ladd as
Damn Holiday.
Speaker 4: Well, it sounded like a great assignment from the way
to set up. Look from where I sat, it gave
the Great Torino a perfect chance to kill Maria. I
checked on Maria's story about the accidental deaths during the trick,
and Jonesy at the Star Times verified it. A smart
cookie like Terino could take an accident. And who's going
to pin the black ribbon on him?
Speaker 6: Nobody?
Speaker 4: Okay, it's up to you Holiday to figure it out.
The next night, I sat in the same seat and
which Terina go through his acts. Her trunk thing still great,
knocked the audience off their seats. Me too, couldn't figure it,
but the big stuff was still to come. The rifle trick.
I went on the stage, kept my eyes on Maria.
I marked one of the bullets again, oddly enough to
Reno didn't seem to recognize me. That was all right
with me. Tona went through his same speel word for word.
I kept my eyes on Maria, but it was though
she had never seen me before and alive. She looked well,
it's sounds silly, but she looked hypnotized. Then I heard
Tina saying to me.
Speaker 10: Mister funny day, would you care to shoot at Maria?
Speaker 6: Oh? Thank you.
Speaker 4: Sorena looked at me hard. My name and my face
together might have tipped him. There was a funny look
in his eyes. I stared up.
Speaker 6: Maria. Not a sign from her.
Speaker 10: Maria, you aren't ready?
Speaker 3: Yes, I'm ready.
Speaker 4: I relaxed a little. She hadn't given me a sign.
Everything was all right?
Speaker 6: And then Maria, Maria, she dropped.
Speaker 4: Maria dropped right between her eyes was a little round hole.
Speaker 6: Look, Holliday, is that straight? That story? Sure? It is clanged.
She was afraid she'd be killed. But you say she
didn't give you a hy sign. No, she didn't even
look at me. But she told you.
Speaker 12: If there was anything wrong, she'd tip you.
Speaker 6: Yes, but she didn't tip me.
Speaker 12: Okay, Lieutenant Torino over here, yes said all right yo,
Lieutenant Thling.
Speaker 6: Won't you the ideas?
Speaker 13: Holiday?
Speaker 6: Dry bone, dry clean? What about this guy Billy she
told you about? I told you he was accident, accident?
Speaker 10: Do something she was going wrong?
Speaker 6: Please lie now?
Speaker 10: Accident, she's a wrong, accident to the cappin. I am
an artist. Do you tell me I do something wrong?
Speaker 6: And no, no, no, it is wrong. Shot what this
guy in his dress? Can they close off that head
of sne.
Speaker 10: I went off from outside?
Speaker 12: Come on, it's funny clean, I'm hysterical. I don't think
what's funny. The girl Maria, I don't think she knew
me tonight. She looked right at me, didn't give me
a tumble. Yeah, so she told me she'd signal me
if anything was wrong. I I don't get it. But
it looks as though she she what she deliberately let
Toarino fire a gun she knew was set to kill her.
Speaker 6: Okay, that makes great sense. I know no sense at all.
Besides that there with it. You're gonna let them tell
you with all that accident, we don't believe her.
Speaker 10: He kill her.
Speaker 12: That's billy cling. Let me ask him a couple of things. Now, Look, Holliday,
I'm in charge of this case. You're in on a
rain check, okay, but I'm in huh yeah, for the
one reason that Maria told you about it.
Speaker 6: Now he killed her.
Speaker 10: It was in an accident.
Speaker 4: I better go help the sergeanty Any objections if I
mosey along with you, none, Just keep your mouth closed,
that's all, sure, all right, So I listened about Kling
asked questions, but there was something knocking at the back
of my head, asking to be let in. Something i'd
seen her remembered I didn't know. But what bothered me
was Maria not giving me a signal when she said
she'd know if to Rena was up to something.
Speaker 6: Answered Kling's question, No, all I know is the Torino
bluff Maria.
Speaker 14: He said he'd kill her if he saw me hanging
around her.
Speaker 10: Who loves the rifle with blanks?
Speaker 6: Maria?
Speaker 10: Maria? She do it tonight. She always does it.
Speaker 4: Maria loaded the rifless she did before the performance. So
I got an idea. I left the stage where the
investigation was going on, and I walked backstage toward the
dressing rooms. I wanted to talk to Torino, but there
was a large blue cop sitting at the door.
Speaker 6: He looked at me and wait holiday him her. I
feel lousy.
Speaker 4: No, it's too bad, say I think I could talk
to Torino. No, oh no, Look, you can watch and
listen tell cling everything that goes on, pray, introjective, holiday, Nope,
playing unch?
Speaker 6: What about?
Speaker 4: Why not listen and find out and if you learn
anything tell Kling and you might learn something good. You
mean something that might break the Yeah, my, well, what's
the matter?
Speaker 6: Merph? And you use a couple of stripe?
Speaker 13: Hey, sure, okay, but I'm standing right here to in
the stand. Sure right, Hey, you get up it? Oh, brother,
h Ain't nobody going to ask him no questions? No,
I don't think he's in any shape to answer a promotion.
You say a promotion. I'll be lucky if you fouled
up for good.
Speaker 6: This guy's been knife right under my nose. That's right.
Speaker 4: Somebody stabbed Torino. He was as dead as Maria. And
nobody saw anybody go in or out of the dressing room.
There was one window. It was open, but the officer
outside swore he had his eye on it. Nobody in
or Ah, and nobody in the room. But to Reno
the knife was in his back, so suicide was on.
Clegg and his boys turned the room upside down to
Reno's apparatus and funks were shoved around. Still nobody, and
it turned out nobody had a motive for killing Terrono.
Speaker 6: Accept Billy me, me, are you crazy?
Speaker 10: I never left the stage. I was talking to you.
I was answering questions. I can't be in two places
at once, can I?
Speaker 6: He was so right?
Speaker 4: Kling was tearing his hair, then more questions. The rest
of the acts were strangers to Torono. Knew nothing about him.
I was thinking about it when something hit me, something
Billy had said. While Kling was still firing questions. I
got to a phone.
Speaker 12: Hello, ah, hi, Kenny, still running that private eye, so well,
do something funny, Willian m hmm, okay, put a man
on Nativoli Theater right now and getting to Taylor.
Speaker 6: Guy named Billy. Huh.
Speaker 4: Here's what he looks like, about five nine, stuckey like complexion,
wearing grapes.
Speaker 5: Good morning, mister Holiday.
Speaker 6: Hi you Susie. Any messages?
Speaker 5: Uh huh the detective agency called?
Speaker 6: And why what's the message?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 5: I wrote it down shorthand here uh trail Billy in shoe.
No wait a minute, oh terribly Uh Oh I got
two insurance company this morning. He plays claim for double
indimnity policy for his wife Maria upday.
Speaker 7: Hey wait a minute, mister Holliday, that's not all.
Speaker 15: Later to Reno Tono, step on, Oh you want to
add facts? It takes time to find him even in
the Morgagter Star at times.
Speaker 6: Okay Jonesy, Okay, but hurry up with you.
Speaker 14: Ah, here we are to Reno, born, Italy.
Speaker 6: Skip that. How long has you been in the country?
Speaker 14: Six months? Noted magician in Italy and Europe before the war.
Speaker 4: Only six months, Jonesy. If you were a magician you
wanted assistance, how would you get them?
Speaker 14: Advertising? A billboard magazine for show folks?
Speaker 6: What else where can I see? The last six months
copies of the Billboard?
Speaker 14: And they got a local office in town. All the
copies you want? Hey, where are you born?
Speaker 6: Thanks?
Speaker 10: Jonesy, be saying you. I've got a lot of reading
to do.
Speaker 6: Six months copies of the Billboard. I look through every.
Speaker 4: One of them, and when my eyes were falling out
of my head, I saw it an advertisement, the one
I wanted, and the one that tied up was something
Billy said and something I saw during Torino's act. I
tried to get playing on the phone, but no dice.
Speaker 6: He was out.
Speaker 4: I left word for me to meet me at the
Tivoli and I went there myself. There was nobody there
but the watchman. Five dollar bill got me in. Oh,
there's no place gloomier than backstage in an empty theater.
I headed for to Reno's dressing room because I had
a good idea how someone got in and stabbed to
Reno then disappeared. I opened the door, stepped inside.
Speaker 6: It was dark.
Speaker 4: The shade on the window must have been down. I
was fumbling for the light switch when somebody pulled a
shade on me.
Speaker 6: Oh god, the idea slugged your holiday?
Speaker 12: Yeah, cling, I have all right? Who Billy? Maybe no dice?
He didn't come near this place. We had a tail
on him.
Speaker 6: You know about the insurance.
Speaker 12: Sure, but he couldn't have killed his wife because she
loaded the blank citt of the gun.
Speaker 4: And the medical examiner's report on the bullet that killed her,
what about that twenty two? No initials on it?
Speaker 6: No? None.
Speaker 12: So it looks like this Maria deliberately planned her own death.
It wasn't an accident. If it had been, the bullet
in her head would have been marked Clay put out
a dragon man for who? But the one has slugged me.
I'll cut it holiday. Do you know any spill it
before I lose my temper. Who do you want to
pick up?
Speaker 4: Here's a description, young woman about twenty six six, brown hair,
lovely blue eyes. It's about five foot two. Worked as
a magician's assistant. Hey, what are you giving me? That's Maria?
Speaker 12: Uh huh, Maria, she's dead, your dope. You mean her
twin sister's dead. Cling twins? What are you talking about?
Speaker 4: The trunk effect work could have only been done with twins.
Billy tipped me off on it. Billy sure when he
said nobody could be in two places at once, and
to Reno advertised on the billboard for twins.
Speaker 6: You are dreaming this, but I I dragged it from Maria,
who stabbed to Rena.
Speaker 4: Maria she got her twin sister to take her place
in the rifle trick last night. That's why I didn't
get a signal from her. The sister didn't know me
from Adam.
Speaker 12: Now, look, Holliday, we searched this dressing room. There was
nobody in it when to Rena was stabbed.
Speaker 4: Maria was here, Look false back in his cabinet, good
old magicians, gimmick.
Speaker 6: She was here all the while.
Speaker 4: Maria and Billy took out an insurance policy on her
and planned to make me the patsy because I'd testify
that she told me to Reno hated it, that she
was scared Toreno was knife to keep him from spilling
about the twins. Billy was in the clear on that
because he had an alibi when Toreno was killed.
Speaker 6: Okay, clean, Okay, we'll put out a.
Speaker 7: Dragnet and they got her, mister Holiday.
Speaker 6: Yeah, Susie, they got her.
Speaker 5: Geez, sounds just like a story. Uh huh, only nobody
will believe it.
Speaker 4: Look, I've got an out on my forehead to prove it.
Does that make you hysterics?
Speaker 5: No?
Speaker 6: But I was just thinking, go be reckless, Susy.
Speaker 5: What about I was just thinking, with that bump, you'll
have to wear off the faith hats for a while.
Speaker 6: You're a great help.
Speaker 2: Good Night, Susie. Next week, same time. Ellen Ladd stars
as Damn Holiday in Box thirteen. Alan Ladd appears through
the courtesy of Paramount Pictures and may currently be seen
in Wild Harvest. Box thirteen is directed by Richard Sandvill,
with original story by Russell Hughes and original music composed and.
Speaker 6: Conducted by Rudy Schraker.
Speaker 2: The part of Susie is played by Sylvia Picker.
Speaker 6: This is a Mayfair production.
Speaker 1: Our presentation of Box thirteen Episode ten, The Great Torino
Ends Here follow Box thirteen for more classic mystery broadcasts.