The Saint: Marvin Hickerson, Private Eye (EP5071)

0:03 THE END.

0:28 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 Saint. But first, I want to encourage you, if you're enjoying the podcast, please follow us using your favorite podcast software. And today's program is brought to you in part by the financial support of our listeners. You can support the show On a one-time basis, support.greatdetectives.net and become one of our ongoing Patreon supporters for as little as $ 2 per month.

1:05 Just go to patreon.greatdetectives.net. Now, from December 3rd, 1950, here is Marvin Hickerson, Private Eye.

1:38 The Adventures of the Saint, starring Vincent Price. The Adventures of the Saint The Saint, based on characters created by Leslie Charteris and.

1:56 Known to millions from.

1:57 Books, magazines, and motion pictures. The Robin Hood of modern crime now comes transcribed to radio, starring Hollywood's brilliant and talented actor Vincent Price as. The Saint.

2:11 Will there be anything for dessert, Mr.

2:13 Templer? No, I think not, Carl. Just some more coffee, please. Certainly, Mr.

2:16 Templer.

2:16 Thank you.

2:18 Excuse me. Do you mind if I sit down here with you?

2:21 Why, I'd be happy if you.

2:22 Oh, thank you. I hope you realize I wouldn't approach a perfect stranger if it wasn't a matter of life or death.

2:27 Oh, I'm sure you.

2:28 It is a matter of life or death. That's why I had to sit down with the handsomest man in the room.

2:32 You.

2:34 Well, I.

2:34 But you certainly aren't much of a conversationalist.

2:37 Well, happily, you fill the gap. Now, how may I be of service in this matter of life or death?

2:42 Do you think you could gaze into my eyes as if I was the only woman in the entire world? But don't make it anything personal.

2:48 Well, I consider it a thespic challenge.

2:50 I want you to hug me with your eyes while I spurn you proudly.

2:54 La belle dame sans merci.

2:56 Well, now, how's this for an ardent yet humble gaze?

3:01 Not now.

3:01 He's not watching.

3:03 Sorry, I didn't mean to be fresh. Who's he?

3:06 Marvin. He's over there with that woman. He's looking at her the way I want you to look at me.

3:13 This I shall have to see.

3:14 Don't turn around. They're leaving.

3:16 They'll see you. Well, shall I start hugging you now?

3:20 I'm sure it will be good for the muscles in my eyes.

3:22 Yes, hurry up.

3:24 I'm hugging. Stop. Why?

3:26 He never even noticed me. He walked right on out.

3:30 Oh, men. Here you are, Mr.

3:31 Templer. Oh, I'm sorry, Carl. Would you mind changing that coffee to a double brandy?

3:35 Right away, sir.

3:37 But I never drink.

3:38 Not for you, dear.

3:39 Me.

3:39 Oh.

3:41 Did he say Mr.

3:41 Templer?

3:43 Not Simon Templer.

3:44 Simon Templer.

3:45 The saint?

3:45 Mm-hmm.

3:46 The Robin Hood of modern crime?

3:47 Mm-hmm.

3:48 Fate has led you to me.

3:50 I must have a word with fate. And before fate entangles us further, what's your name?

3:56 Alice. Alice Parks. But you can call me Alice.

3:59 Thank you, Alice.

4:01 Could you give me an explanation of this in a few thousand well-chosen words?

4:05 You mean to say you haven't figured it out? And you, a perfectly marvelous detective.

4:09 Well, I'm a little slow, Alice. A heavy meal.

4:12 Well, that was Marvin. Marvin Hickerson. We were engaged, practically.

4:17 And?

4:18 And then he came to the city. He's a scientific farmer, but he sold his farm.

4:22 For how much, may I ask?

4:23 Fifty thousand dollars.

4:24 How scientific can you get?

4:26 He said he had to come here to pursue his new vocation. To the city, I mean.

4:30 And what is his new vocation?

4:32 He's a private eye.

4:33 Well, I guess there's always room for one more.

4:36 You do see, don't you?

4:37 Yes, of course. See what?

4:38 How horrible the whole thing is. Marvin has met this... this woman... Then I found out he's drawn out his whole $ 50, 000 out of the bank this morning, and, well, he's carrying it around with him. Now, nobody will help me. I don't know what to do.

4:52 Alice, tell me, are you worried about Marvin, or are you worried about the money?

4:57 Oh, I'm only worried about Marvin, Mr.

4:58 Templer.

4:59 He's an awful dope, but I love him.

5:02 I see.

5:02 If you would go to him and tell him, well, the facts.

5:05 The facts?

5:06 Well, you know, about life.

5:08 Well, frankly, I'm not feeling very fatherly at the moment, but I'll try.

5:13 You will? You really will? You swear it by something sacred?

5:17 I swear it by something sacred.

5:19 Oh, Mr. Templer, you're the nicest detective a girl ever had for a detective. Come in.

5:37 Mr. Hickerson?

5:38 Marvin Hickerson, private eye. Come in, come in.

5:40 Oh, thank you.

5:42 Now, what's your problem, Mr.

5:44 Templer, I wanted to talk to you about a girl, Marvin.

5:48 A girl?

5:49 You were in your apartment alone, and then she walked in.

5:52 Well, not exactly. It was more in the nature of.

5:54 The make around her shoulders meant money, and her smoldering eyes meant trouble.

5:59 Marvin, I.

6:00 A tiny pulse started to beat in your temple as she swayed closer. And it became a tom-tom as she threw herself into your arms, murmuring words of passion, of fear, of.

6:09 Marvin, get a grip on yourself. No girl? Yes, there is a girl, Marvin, but you are not Sam Spade.

6:16 I noticed, huh? Well, we've all got to start somewhere.

6:20 True.

6:20 And I can't take your case anyway. I'm involved in a big deal.

6:24 Marvin, Alice is worried about you.

6:27 Alice?

6:28 Mr.

6:29 Templer, Alice Parks has got to learn that I am not a child. I'm a.

6:34 A man. I'll accept that.

6:36 And the sooner she stops interfering in my affairs, the better it'll be for everybody. Just because I now happen to be going around with a.

6:43 A woman?

6:44 Definitely. A woman who is going to put me in way of making a great deal of money and.

6:50 Hello, Marvin.

6:51 How are you?

6:52 Oh, uh, hello, Mr. Dorgan. Who's your friend, Marvin?

6:56 Uh, this is Mr.

6:57 Templer. Mr.

6:58 Templer, this is Mr.

6:59 Dorgan.

6:59 Honest Jack Dorgan.

7:01 He trains horses. He's from Kentucky.

7:04 Kentucky, yeah. Glad to meet you, Mr. Dorgan. So you're from the bluegrass country? Huh?

7:09 The bluegrass country, the home of fast horses and beautiful women.

7:13 Where's that? Kentucky. Oh, oh, yeah, yeah, sure.

7:17 Come on, Marvin.

7:18 Sure, Mr. Dorgan. Would you excuse us? We've got a very important appointment.

7:21 And Marvin has also got $ 50, 000.

7:26 Who is this guy, Marvin? He's got nose trouble.

7:28 Mr.

7:29 Templer, if Alice Parks thinks I need someone to protect me, she's mistaken. My experience as a private investigator has made me a pretty shrewd judge of character. And my faith in the integrity of Honest Jack Dorgan is unfounded.

7:43 Thank you, Marvin Hickerson.

7:44 Right.

7:45 Come on, Marvin.

7:46 The Colonel and Carly are waiting.

7:48 So long, friend.

7:48 So long, Honest Jack. See you at Churchill Down sometime.

7:51 Where's that?

7:52 Why, in your old home state, Kentucky. Ooh, Kentucky. Kentucky. Mr.

8:06 Templer, I'm worried about Marvin. Why doesn't he come?

8:09 I'm a little worried about him myself, Alice. I didn't have quite the same faith in Honest Jack as Marvin did.

8:15 In this penthouse, Marvin never had expensive taste, never in his life. And her picture on the piano.

8:23 All my love, Marvie, honey. You're Coralie.

8:26 She's rather sultry-looking.

8:29 Isn't she?

8:30 Oh, I suppose she's pretty, if you happen to care for that type.

8:33 Who doesn't?

8:34 Oh, you men are all alike.

8:36 It's a convenient arrangement.

8:37 Oh, he's just an absolute... an absolute.

8:40 Beast.

8:41 Don't you dare call Marvin a beast. Why doesn't he come, Mr. Templer?

8:45 I think I heard the elevator, Alice. That may be... Marvin!

8:49 Hello, Alice.

8:51 You better let me have that gun, Marvin.

8:53 No.

8:54 No, I'll need it. I'll need it when they hunt me down in the inevitable land.

8:59 Marvin, what's happened? Tell me.

9:00 Alice.

9:02 Mr.

9:02 Templer. You see before you an outlaw, a criminal.

9:07 Give me the gun, Marvin.

9:08 No!

9:09 I have lived by the gun, and in days, hours, minutes, I shall die by the gun.

9:15 What did you do, Marvin?

9:17 Alice, I.

9:19 I killed a man.

9:20 Oh, you didn't.

9:21 I did.

9:21 Or I think I did.

9:25 It's all so confused.

9:26 Sit down, Marvin.

9:27 There isn't time. The police will be after me. Maybe with bloodhounds.

9:31 Oh, I doubt if they could track you up the elevator shaft. Now, look, where was this killing and who got killed?

9:37 Mr. Dorgan.

9:38 In the hotel here. In suite A on the seventh floor.

9:41 But you didn't do it. You couldn't have. Tell him you didn't do it, Mr.

9:44 Templer.

9:45 Let him tell it, Alice. What happened, Marvin?

9:47 It was all mixed up.

9:49 There were a lot of people there.

9:51 All betting a lot of money on the horses. And I was there with the colonel and Coralie and.

9:56 Coralie? I knew she was mixed up in this.

9:59 Go on, Mike.

9:59 And I bet my 50,000 on a tip Mr. Dorgan gave us because he knew the race was fixed.

10:06 And I won 200,000. Yes.

10:08 And then Mr.

10:09 Dorgan told me to bet it all on another race that was fixed. But the horse lost, and there was a big argument, and somebody put a gun in my hand, and it seemed to go off, and... And Mr. Dorgan fell down and there was.

10:21 There was....

10:23 Blood.

10:25 Blood all over.

10:26 It was awful.

10:27 Did anyone call the police? I don't know.

10:30 I guess somebody did. Everybody saw it.

10:34 I'm a murderer.

10:35 You are not, Marvin. Just because you killed someone, that doesn't make you a murderer, does it, Mr. Templer?

10:43 I think I'd better investigate this. Marvin, you wait here with Alice.

10:46 No!

10:47 They'll never take me alive.

10:49 Marvin, come back here.

10:50 It's better this way, Alice.

10:51 Forget me.

10:53 Forget that somewhere in the night there's a pale, haunted, penniless fugitive from justice. Find someone to take my place in your heart.

11:04 Farewell.

11:04 Marvin!

11:12 Oh, Mr. Templer, didn't you.

11:13 No, Alice, I didn't. He was already in the elevator.

11:16 Oh, what are we going to do? Did he really murder someone?

11:20 I think we'd better go find out. Come on, Alice.

11:22 Where are we going?

11:23 To suite A, seventh floor, to see whether honest Jack Dorgan has really gone to his old Kentucky home.

11:42 No answer.

11:43 But there must be someone in there. Marvin said the room was filled with people.

11:46 Let's try the door. Come on. It's open. It's dark in here. Wait till I find the light switch.

11:54 Well, do you have to turn on the light? Can't we just leave?

11:57 We have to find out, Alice. There.

12:01 But it's just a perfectly bare room.

12:03 Doesn't look much like a gambling den, does it?

12:06 You don't see any body?

12:09 I don't see a sign of anything.

12:11 Well, then it didn't happen. Marvin was just imagining things. There wasn't any murder at all.

12:15 This doesn't look much like a room a murder was committed in ten minutes before.

12:19 Oh, let's go, Mr. Templer. Let's find Marvin and.

12:23 Mr.

12:24 Templer, what are you looking at?

12:26 That spot on the floor, Alice, that stain.

12:30 Oh, Mr.

12:31 Templer, it isn't... I'm afraid it is blood. Oh, I'm coming, coming. Oh, Alice, come in. Oh, Mr.

12:51 Templer. How could you sleep so late with poor Marvin roaming the streets? A hunted fugitive.

12:57 What time is it?

12:58 7.30.

12:59 Well, I forced myself. And how do we know Marvin is a hunted fugitive? Was anything in the papers about a killing?

13:06 No.

13:07 But the body will turn up, won't it? I mean, they always do.

13:10 Usually.

13:11 What are you going to do to find Marvin?

13:13 I think I'll go out and make a few bets on the horses.

13:16 What?

13:17 You're going to spend the day in carefree abandonment while poor Marvin is roaming the streets, a hunted fugitive?

13:22 I'd like to find out more about Marvin's friends, Coralie and the Colonel. Talking about horses in the bar of the Croydon, well, it might be a way of getting acquainted.

13:30 You're going to get acquainted with her? Well, I'll go along to protect you.

13:35 Thank you, but no.

13:36 You won't turn into putty in her hands. She won't mold you as she wills. Maybe even fate worse than death.

13:43 It's a pleasant way to go.

13:45 Well, all right, I trust you.

13:47 Thank you.

13:48 You're nice, Mr.

13:49 Templer.

13:50 And I want you to know that if it wasn't for Marvin, well, I might seriously consider you.

13:54 No.

13:55 And here you are, working to save your rival. Why, it's... it's like Sidney Carton.

14:00 It is a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done before. This is... Goodbye, Alice.

14:05 Goodbye, Sidney. Sidney?

14:18 Another scotch over ice, bartender.

14:19 Yes, sir.

14:22 I seen you studying the form. Got anything good going today?

14:27 Not a thing, but my luck generally is bad anyway.

14:30 You and me.

14:32 Going out to the track today?

14:34 Well, I generally like to place my bets elsewhere. I bet fairly large amounts, and at the track, this brings down the odds.

14:42 Brings down the.

14:43 You're kidding.

14:44 Oh, I generally lose, but then everyone has to have a hobby.

14:50 Everyone has to have a hobby, doesn't he, Miss Carstairs? Yes, indeed, Jeff.

14:57 Excuse me.

14:58 Would you all think I was just terrible if I started up a conversation with you?

15:02 Just as bold as that?

15:04 I would think it was terrible if you didn't. You all, that is. You're making fun of my accent. I'm from Kentucky.

15:11 The horse country. That's why I couldn't resist when you started talking horses.

15:15 The fraternity of horse players. You wouldn't be going out to the track today, Miss... Costin.

15:21 Coralie Costin. And your name?

15:24 My name is Heathcliff Coralie. Simon Heathcliff.

15:29 I'm delighted to know you.

15:31 Thank you. Are you going to the track?

15:34 I'd love to, but I have to ask Daddy. He's awful smart about the races he wins all the time.

15:39 Just scads of money.

15:40 This sounds like a gentleman I should meet.

15:43 Are you staying here in the hotel?

15:44 We have rooms on the seventh floor. Would you all care to come up?

15:48 Well, I would just love to.

15:59 Daddy, I'd like to make you acquainted with a friend of mine, Mr.

16:02 Heathcliff.

16:03 Simon, my father, Colonel Carstairs.

16:06 How do you do, sir?

16:07 Well, pleasure. Real pleasure. Now, sit down, sir.

16:13 Oh, thank you, Colonel.

16:14 Ah, Simon's a horse player, too, Daddy. I told him about you making simply scads of money on the races.

16:20 You what?

16:22 Corley, I've asked you time and again not to mention my business to strangers.

16:27 But, Daddy, all I said was you made scads of money.

16:30 I must apologize, sir. You see, the fact is. You look like a gentleman I can trust.

16:38 The fact is that I bet on races only when I have definite information.

16:43 You mean fixed races?

16:45 Well, you might.

16:46 Put it that way, yes.

16:49 Sad that the sport of kings should have fallen to such low a state.

16:53 But as long as it has.

16:55 There's a profit to be made by knowledge. Handsome profit. And I don't mind saying I have such knowledge.

17:04 Could you give him a tip, Daddy?

17:06 Oh, I couldn't ask anything like that.

17:09 Well, perhaps you can do me a favor, sir. I have a horse going in just a few minutes. But the horse.

17:16 Parlor down the hall here has been refusing my bets. You see, I'm too heavy a winner for them. If you would care to place the bet for me.

17:25 Why, I'd be delighted.

17:27 Good. And, uh, a little something for yourself. Just down the hall there, just down the hall, a sweet egg. Shall we go?

17:35 Oh, by all means. After you, sir. Oh, not at all.

17:38 After you.

17:40 You coming, Coralie?

17:41 Coming, Daddy.

17:43 I'll give you the money before we go in. Forty thousand on brave fox. And whatever you want to add of your own.

17:51 Forty thousand? Oh, that's a lot of money, Colonel.

17:54 Chicken feeding, boy. Millions in this thing.

17:57 Millions.

17:58 Oh, here we are.

18:02 Remember the knock in case you come back by yourself.

18:04 20 across, Sonsara.

18:07 Okay, you're in. Well, this is quite a place. Good afternoon, Fred.

18:11 Good afternoon. You three so fit?

18:14 Just about, Colonel.

18:15 Oh, I'm not bitten for it. No cause for love.

18:19 But Mr.

18:19 Heathcliff here would like to wage it.

18:21 Certainly, sir.

18:22 The cashier's boat's right over there.

18:23 Thank you.

18:24 Brave Fox to win.

18:24 Hurry.

18:25 I'd like to place.

18:26 $ 40, 500.

18:26 On Brave Fox to win. You're just in time, sir.

18:28 $ 40, 500 to win.

18:29 Yes, sir.

18:39 Did you make the bet, Tom?

18:41 Right, and I bet 500 for myself.

18:42 It's all I had with me.

18:43 Well, small dividends first. Big ones will come later.

18:47 Okay, okay, fellas. Quiet down.

18:48 The books are closed.

18:49 And there they go.

18:51 Oh, Tom, listen. Here's the rate.

18:52 Oh, how exciting.

18:53 At the half, it's on his choice.

18:55 By a head, see me face.

18:57 The bull raise, sack him, top, hurry. By two lengths and a break box.

19:01 You're sure of your information, Colonel?

19:03 Nothing to worry about, my boy.

19:05 Nothing.

19:06 At the three-quarters... I head Bull Ray Zack by one, see me first, and top turret by half a length, and the brave fox is trailing.

19:16 Daddy, what's the matter with that little old horse?

19:18 I don't know.

19:20 I can't understand why.

19:21 Bull Ray.

19:22 Zack is taking command by two lengths. On his choice, he is second, and the top turret, see me first, and the brave fox is beginning to close ground on the outside.

19:31 Come on, Brave Fox.

19:32 Can he do it?

19:33 He'd better.

19:34 Coming down to the line of finish, it's Bull Ray Zack in top turret with Brave Fox in the outside. And now it's Bull Ray Zack and Brave Fox. Bull Ray Zack and Brave Fox. And Brave Fox gets up to win it by a nose.

19:45 Diamond, we won.

19:47 I certainly have to hand it to you, Colonel.

19:49 Let's step outside the hall for a minute, son.

19:55 I just didn't want the boys to hear. Well, sir, my information is always correct, my boy.

20:01 Always.

20:01 How much did we win?

20:03 Well, let's see. At two to one, I get back 120,000. And Mr. Heathcliff, you get back $ 1, 500, sir.

20:12 Pity you didn't have more with you.

20:14 I don't want to appear greedy, Colonel, but do you have anything else running today?

20:19 Not today, my boy. Nothing sure. And, of course, I never bet unless it's sure.

20:24 Tomorrow?

20:26 Well, you have the fever, don't you?

20:29 Yes, yes, I have something tomorrow, or will have.

20:33 Meet me back here at the same time if you want to get in on it.

20:36 Could I draw some real money out of the bank to bet on it?

20:40 Much as you like, my boy.

20:41 Of course, that's purely up to you.

20:43 Of course, I make no guarantee.

20:45 Certainly, it's a pretty risky business, eh, Colonel? Why, I might lose my shirt. Yes.

20:54 Yes, indeed, sir.

21:05 But I don't understand, Mr.

21:06 Templer.

21:07 You actually won $ 1, 000?

21:08 Come on, money, Alice.

21:10 The whole place is working with the Colonel. The race was actually over before I bet. They let me win the money.

21:15 But why?

21:16 So I would go to the bank tomorrow, draw out $ 30, 000 or $ 40, 000, and come back and bet it. And then I'd lose.

21:21 Oh. Was she very pretty?

21:23 Who? Coralie. Well, if you care for that type.

21:26 Marvin did.

21:27 Yeah. It's a sure sign of 20-20 vision.

21:29 He hasn't come.

21:31 Marvin.

21:32 When I think of him out there, a poor, lonely, hunted fugitive.

21:35 I know, I know.

21:35 And here we are, the two of us, safe, alone in your apartment. The two of us, alone, in your apartment.

21:42 Alice, uh... What's that? Somebody outside the window. I'll open it.

21:51 Marvin!

21:52 Gee, how'd you recognize me? I was wearing dark glasses and a mustache.

21:56 Come in, Marvin. We, um, we recognized your voice. I didn't say anything.

22:01 Where have you been, Marvin?

22:03 Skid Row. How awful. That's where I belong.

22:07 I'm a human derelict, a hunted criminal.

22:09 Are you hungry?

22:10 No.

22:12 I ate at the Sunshine Mission. They wanted me to stay and sing tenor in the choir, but then I read the paper and came here. Is there any hope?

22:20 Marvin, look, I want you to stay here tonight. Tomorrow you're going to the police and give yourself up.

22:25 Never. It may not be as bad as you think.

22:27 You're going to give yourself up and then send the police over to Suite A, the seventh floor of the Croydon, where I will have just been swindled out of my money just as you were.

22:36 I was swindled?

22:38 Gee, they had a nerve swindling a private eye.

22:41 Yeah, some crooks just have no decency.

22:44 But Coralie wasn't a crook.

22:46 Was she? I'm afraid so. Gee. Marvin.

22:51 Oh, I suspected her, of course, all along.

22:53 Now, look, here's the plan, Marvin. I'll be there at two o'clock. You walk into the police station at two and send them over. That would give me enough time to lose the money.

23:02 Have you got that? Sure.

23:05 I'll... I'll give myself up.

23:07 Well, I'll go with you, Marvin.

23:08 No, Alice.

23:09 A woman's place is in the home. You wait here until I get back.

23:13 How long will you be?

23:14 If I'm lucky, ten years.

23:18 Oh, Marvin.

23:21 Alice. Oh, brother. Hello, Colonel.

23:38 Come in, sir.

23:39 Come in. I, uh, I don't quite understand, Colonel. Where is everybody? Where's Fred, the cashier, all the bettors?

23:47 Well, it's just a family party today, sir. Just Coralie and myself. Say hello to the gentleman, Coralie.

23:56 Honey. Hi, stupid.

23:58 Yeah, Coralie seems to have lost her southern charm and refinement, Colonel.

24:03 Yes.

24:04 Yeah, it's a pity. I constantly try to impress on our cast. Of course, we are all actors in a way that to be successful, you must live your.

24:11 Part 24 hours a day.

24:13 But there's not the same pride and craftsmanship there was in my day.

24:18 Sit down, sir.

24:19 Sit down. Thank you. Uh, what gave me away?

24:23 Simple thing, really. One of our personnel saw you with young Marvin Hickerson the other day.

24:28 Come in, Dorgan. Hi, nosy.

24:31 Well, honest Jack Dorgan from Kentucky. Then you really weren't shot, Mr.

24:35 Dorgan. Ah, the gun held blanks.

24:37 The blood was catching.

24:39 Really a convenient way of getting rid of a sheared lamb.

24:42 I thought as much. Now what happens? Nothing.

24:44 Nothing at all, Mr.

24:45 Templer.

24:46 No doubt you have the police outside waiting to pounce after we take your money.

24:50 How much did you bring, by the way?

24:52 Thirty thousand.

24:53 Oh, shame we have to pass it up.

24:55 We're going to pass up thirty grand?

24:56 Necessity, Coralie.

24:57 Let me at least beat the thousand out of me one from us, Colonel.

25:00 Him and his Kentucky. Ah, that would be the police.

25:05 Little early, aren't they, Mr.

25:06 Templer? Come in.

25:08 Reach for the sky.

25:09 I got you covered.

25:10 Marvin.

25:11 I didn't go to the police, Mr.

25:12 Templer.

25:13 I thought if I brought the gang in myself, I might get a lighter sentence.

25:15 Lighter sentence for what?

25:17 Why, for sure.

25:19 Mr. Dorgan. Yes, Mr. Dorgan made a quick recovery, Marvin.

25:22 Yeah, and I got a gun, too.

25:24 You see it?

25:25 Well, well, well, this is convenient. The police aren't coming, then we can't take Mr.

25:29 Templer's 30,000.

25:30 Although, of course, I deplore violence. Thins my sense of southern hospitality.

25:35 Stand up, Templer.

25:36 Oh, my feet hurt. Stand up. You forget.

25:39 I've got a pistol here. Don't anyone move.

25:42 What pistol, Marvin?

25:43 The same pistol I shot you with, that's what.

25:45 Marvin, look, the cartridges are blanks.

25:48 Blanks?

25:49 I don't believe it.

25:50 Oh, you don't, huh?

25:51 Stay away from him, Dorgan.

25:52 Yeah, you stay away from me or I'll shoot.

25:54 Go ahead. Have fun.

25:56 I will.

25:56 I'll... Shoot some more, Marvin. It tickles. Marvin!

26:02 Marvin!

26:04 Well, they're coming in like flies. You shouldn't have come, Alice. These men are trying to kill us. No, I've got her blank cartridges.

26:10 Are they? Take a look at the hole in the wall, Mr. Dorgan.

26:13 It's lucky that Marvin missed you.

26:14 Yeah, sure.

26:15 A hole in the.

26:16 Hey!

26:16 Hey!

26:17 That's a bullet hole. Yes, it is, isn't it? Put that thing down, kid. Somebody could get hurt. Alice, did you change the bullet?

26:22 Yes, I did. I know Marvin a little better than you, Mr.

26:25 Templer.

26:26 I checked his gun before he went out to give himself up to the police, just in case.

26:29 Yeah.

26:30 Get back, you rats.

26:32 You're dealing with Marvin Hickerson, private eye.

26:35 Me too, Marvin, honey.

26:37 Well.

26:37 You too, Corley, honey.

26:39 Yes, you too. And I'll take my $ 50, 000 back, too.

26:44 Oh, such a pity. You seldom meet a young man so willing to part with money.

26:48 Stay right where you are, Colonel.

26:50 Don't worry, Mr.

26:50 Templer.

26:51 I can handle him. This is only the start of a long and successful career as a private eye.

26:56 Marvin, I think Alice might have something to say about your career.

27:02 Alice? Alice, do you still.

27:06 You know... Yes, Marvin.

27:09 Very much. Ecstatically so.

27:12 Get back, you rat! You're dealing with Marvin Hickerson, the scientific farmer.

27:28 You mean this is goodbye, Alice?

27:31 Marvin's waiting outside, Mr.

27:33 Templer.

27:33 I guess that, well, it just wasn't meant to be. You and me, that is.

27:38 C'est la vie.

27:39 I agree.

27:40 But I want you to know that I'll always remember you, Mr. Templer. From the first moment in that restaurant, when you hugged me with your eyes.

27:47 That was a moment, wasn't it? Golden.

27:50 And when the first child comes, we'll name it Simon, after you.

27:54 No.

27:55 Yes, Simon, forever and ever.

27:57 I'll be very honored.

27:58 Just think, by tomorrow, I'll be Mrs. Marvin Hickerson.

28:02 I wish you'd promise me one thing, Alice.

28:04 What, Simon?

28:06 Don't ever take the hick out of Hickerson.

28:21 You have been listening to another transcribed adventure of the saint, the Robin Hood of modern crime.

28:26 And now, here is our star.

28:28 Ladies and gentlemen, this is Vincent Price, inviting you to join us again next week at this same time for another exciting adventure of the saint.

28:36 Good night.

28:58 This story of The Saint was written by Dick Powell. Our cast included Leslie Banning, Maggie Morley, Victor Rodman, Edmund McDonald, Herb Vigran, Bill Tracy, and Barney Phillips. The Saint, based on characters created by Leslie Charteris, is a James L. Safier production and is directed by Helen Mack. Vincent Price is soon to be seen co-starring with Errol Flynn and Michael Imprell in William Marshall's production of Bloodline. Your announcer, Don Stanley. Three chimes mean good times on NBC. Tonight, the big show, your hour and a half of comedy, music, and drama, includes Tallulah, Margaret Truman, Fred Allen, Danny Thomas, Douglas Fairbanks, Mindy Carson, and many, many more. And Theater Guild on the air tonight. brings you Carousel, starring Patrice

29:42 Munsell and Cornel Wilde. Remember, Margaret Truman and Doug Fairbanks join the big show today on NBC.

29:53 Welcome back. Well, this is a good illustration of what I really enjoy about old-time radio detective shows. And it's not the originality of the plot, because in many cases, programs are dealing with very similar scenarios to what other shows have dealt with. There are some very standard plots. But what can make a show... uh, stand out is how they handle that. And this is a really good illustration of this, um, because this exact same plot, uh, actually made it onto at least a couple of TV programs in the 1950s. I remember seeing episodes of Racket Squad and of the TV version of Richard Diamond Private Detective. Uh, You know, where essentially what you've got is you've got a horse racing scheme to cheat unwary gamblers out of

31:03 their money through a gambling house that is rigged, where the races are predetermined and the results are fully within their control because this is happening off track. And for good measure, you throw in the old fake shooting scam where you try to convince the person that they have committed murder. Now, of course, that can also be a standalone racket, but it also is a nice way to get people to not look too closely at another racket that you've done. And doubtless, Simon... was probably about 60% sure that this was what was going on before he ever went down there. But what it really comes down to is the style and the way it plays out.

31:59 And I.

32:01 Just love this episode for that. Marvin Hickerson and Alice are just both such fantastic characters. Really are made for each other. Like, these two... so melodramatic people, but Marvin is, you know, so inspired by the radio private eye and is just totally committed to the band. And then I just had to laugh when the Colonel turned out to be this very much, you know, stereotypical theater actor, talking about professionalism. So the idea that these were kind of like professional actors in on the scheme is an amusing idea. Although, if that's the case, Dorgan needs to learn a thing or two about researching his part because he really did not know much about Kentucky. Now, I did glance at the YouTube page for the first time we played this

33:14 about nine years ago. And there was a comment from Eileen left five years ago. And these sort of comments, when they get left on older videos, I tend not to see them or necessarily know how to respond to them. But Eileen wrote, this has inspired my script, The Case of the Double Hams with Cheese. where two thespians make life hard for a private detective. Well, I haven't heard what happened to it, but I hope it turned out well, and it's great to hear of old-time radio inspiring people to this day. All right, listener comments and feedback now.

33:57 And we have a comment on our listener survey at survey.greatdetectives.net. Alyssa in Texas writes, Absolutely love listening while soaking in a bath. It actually helps me relax. Fun, engaging, love the nostalgic feel. Thanks so much, Alyssa. I think that is a new one for when people listen to the podcast, but it does make sense. I have to admit that my head as a child of the 80s is kind of stuck in an earlier time. And the big safety notice about... The risk of listening to radio or watching television while bathing. A core memory that has stuck with me all these years is the episode of Mr. Belvedere where Bob Uker's character has a near-death experience because he was watching television while taking a bath and the TV

34:58 fell in the tub.

35:00 And I can actually.

35:01 Remember the impromptu rap song that his character's son made up about the incident after it happened. And this was 40 years ago since I heard this, but I think I need to get with the times and just realize Bluetooth speaker in the bathroom, that's a good way to go.

35:22 All right.

35:23 Well, now it's time to thank our Patreon supporter of the day, And I want to thank Connie, Patreon supporter since August of 2025, currently supporting the podcast at the rookie level of $ 2 or more per month. Thanks so much for your support, Connie. And 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 will be back next Monday with another episode of The Saint.

35:57 But join us back here tomorrow for the big story where.

36:01 Well, there was good reason for the hospital calling me in on it. More than just the law. Here, take a look at these pictures.

36:09 What are they, Dr.

36:09 Adams?

36:11 Photographs of the child's head.

36:15 Well?

36:15 I don't believe him. Well, he didn't die from natural causes. Not with these head injuries. What did this doctor.

36:26 I don't know.

36:27 But the one thing is certain, these injuries couldn't have been inflicted by the baby himself. There's just too many of them. The actual cause of death was intracranial hemorrhage. Well, that's the medical cause, but what really happened? According to the woman who runs the nursery home where the child was living, he'd been striking his head against the thighs of the crib. And that killed him?

36:47 No, it couldn't have. Not in a hundred years. I don't understand. Can anyone?

36:53 A baby with injuries such as these? I've never seen it. But wait a minute, doctor. There's no possible mistake. They weren't self-inflicted? I told you I'd know. It had to happen in some other way. But this woman said the child did it himself.

37:05 They did.

37:06 Did you say no? The only thing left is she's lying. Well, it's not my place to make accusations.

37:17 But I'll tell you one thing.

37:18 I'm not closing this case until I find out how this boy died.

37:22 I hope you'll be with us then. In the meantime, send your comments to box13 at greatdetectives.net. Follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives and check us out on Instagram, instagram.com slash greatdetectives. From Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Graham, signing off.