Welcome to the Great Detectives of Old Time Radio from Boise, Idaho. This is your host, Adam Graham. If you have a comment, email it to me Box thirteen at Great Detectors dot net, Follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and become one of our friends on Facebook, Facebook, dot com slash Radio Detectives. Today's episode is brought to you by the financial support
of our listeners, and I want to thank Roger for his support. And as we do with all donations of seven dollars or more, we'll send access to our premium site. Well, I do want to let you know about the articles we have a Great Detectives dot net. This week, on Saturday, we will have a brief review of the Peter Eustinov plural movie dead Man's Falling, and on Sunday we continue our countdown of radio's most essential people with
number six. Well, now it's time for today's episodode of the lineup the Cigar Box case. Ladies and gentlemen, we take you now behind the scenes of the police headquarters in a great American city, where, under the cold, glaring lights will pass before us the innocent, the vagrant, the thief, the murderer. This is the lineup. Sit right here, missus Denny next to me. Thank you, litten. No, don't be nervous. The people on the other side of the screen, of the ones who are
supposed to be nervous, they can't see us on this side. Not a thing that's for sure now. No one in the lineup can see you. Maybe the man you've got is the one I saw running away from the hold up. Hope. Yeah, you'll people out there on the other side of the wire in the audience room, May I have your attention to one? Thank you. Find name as Grab, Sergeant Matt Grab. I'll explain the lineup for you. Each of the suspects you will see will be number.
I'll call up a number, the name a charge. If you have any questions or identifications, please remember the number of a side of the prisoner as I called his name at the end of the line when I asked for questions or identification of the number. If you're sure or not too sure of the suspect. Captain Hell, the officers and took your name will assist you.
They're seated among you. Please be prop with your questions or identifications. When the prisoners leave here, and they are sent to the wash room and dressed back into their jail phone. It makes it quite difficult to bring them back after they leave here. The questions I asked these suspects, and maybe they're got a natural tone of voice. It will not be too much attention to
their answers, as they often lie. Bring on the line. All right, all right, the sway boarders moving up to the end of the stage, I answer him, Keep us moving, moving all right, not turning face front, hands the assign look straight ahead ahead inchnin at your bees. Yes you number three? H yeah, okay, Number one, thank deal. I'm robbery suspect. Where do you live? Frank live? Who lives? I see no beach? Just tell us where you live? Got a one room at what do you call it? A lama? Get too hot
for you? And Detroit? Frank who spending the Detroit? Who sold you the gun? You were carrying without a license. I wouldn't know. Some guy in Dettoy fences off so I don't have a shout out that gun to stay good. Get your hands with in your face. That's correct. Number two bow has dragon Eddias bows dragon Eddias bows. Aggon perspected the bomb, hold up? Where are the bow ends? Shack the river, shanny Town? Where were you last night? Boass? We didn't find your home.
I was setting up with a friend, sick friends. Yeah, we got him too. How did he happen to have that slug in him? These guys are always in bad. We got it out of the slot. The story of a slug. You're in the clear on that and the something my place half in lives right? Where did you get all those names of yours? Boas? Bows ball as? People are still when they can't pronounced with the dragger? The agger and I did bad? Agger is dragons? Bag uh huh? I wasn't any places on me last night? What happened?
All right? Boys? All right? Number three? George dnch Harrington sealed weapon five years take pen attentory for on the hold up and armed assault? What hap is it? One? Stretching up? George? My lawyers coming down? Your lawyer? You've gotten classes? Were last stopped here? A lawyer? What's your lawyer's name? George? I got none to say? You're my lawyer? I want? Says, let's see the mob and isn't he a lawyer? He went to a good college a good college. Yeah
for years number four? Will it? Will it? Or will will it? Hold up? Suspect as a contact as soulting an officer resisting a rent? Where who do you worked? Well? Hill and night car park? Quite a celebration in your hotel last night, wasn't it? Yeah, somebody's birthday. The laylady said. Some shooting was going on. Oh, just annoys you party. Nobody got hurt. Why did you see up the performan? Who are and Graham? Now I'm a far hold for interrogation? Oh
so now I'm Missus Denny. That chair for missus Dennis Hern. Yeah, we won't keep you much on here. You are, thank you, And before we question the prisoner, we want to make the identification as strong as possible. Missus Denny. Alright, you sure, pretty sure? Nick? Was rather late at night, wasn't it eleven pm? How did you happen to be parked outside the drug store? I was parked across the street. I had mailed a letter at the corner mailbox, and when I got home,
I remembered I'd forgotten to put a stamp on it. You had to go out last night? Oh, you were waiting for the mailman to make his pickup. Then I was waiting to see if I could get some letter back to put a stamp on it. You saw this wiry little man go into Harn's drug store, yes, Sergeant. Then I saw him come running out, run down the street. Well, did he have anything in his hand to carry anything? Anything into him? You mean a gun? Anything?
Well, I don't remember. I just remember him. It's light near the store windows. And it was that little celling you had on the stage today, the lineup as well, we call him. I'm almost sure it with him. I made a point remembering him. Why Missus Denny, Missus Denny. There have been descriptions of the cigar box banded in the papers. Polly operates what he looks like. He must be careful not to let those descriptions. No, no, no, no, no no. That was
the man I saw run out of the drug store. I'm not saying I saw a gun at this the gu box, But I saw that man. Did he have a cigar box under his arm? I didn't know this. Yeah, I got the prisson are out here when you want him? Good, Uncle, you can I go. I better go take that other door on. Missus Denny, I'll show you missus Billy Jo. You would tell him not to be any trouble and you've been a find goodbye. Well, I I think she knows what she saw, all right. But the suspect
hasn't got a record. It's pretty cool, man. I'm going through their motor supper entity files. Nothing paper bag robbers, Mutton, Jeff robbers, put it in the hat robbers. But nobody who showed a cigar box at the victim and told him to pull it up. Well, it's the same general family. No cigar boxes, Regulan quiney, I hope this is our guy, man, I wish he had a record. He's pretty cool. Then here's that. Thanks quine stick around, have a cherry will? Thanks?
Sure? Cigarette? What can you guy? No? No, I ain't my and sorry, well amst the occasion boys. We just want to ask you a few questions. What were you doing about nine fifteen last night? Well, I don't you want to know a couple of other things. Nine o'clock last night? Where were you? Then? You said nine fifteen the first time between nine and nine thirty. Well the stick up was later than that. How did you know that? Will? The other man and
myself says, I look just like the cigar box bandit he said. The guy stuck up another drug store around eleven o'clock last night. That makes about thirty don it thirty seven? Very good? All right? And where were you around eleven last night? Well? I wasn't parking cars. That is just my own That is I had a date with my girl. Are you off every Saturday night? Will? Or I'm off every Saturday night sometimes? And what do you mean by that? Well, some months here every Saturday
night and some months not. It's abolic stop schedule, changing health all the time, all the time you're on, you're off, you're on, you off, You never know day of the makes if your hom duty, I'm not. Why don't you get back to your flat last night? She all right around two am, picked up some friends and they're dates. Were a little party. What about the gun play in your hotel room last night? Will you know that? Landlady of us? She's a case. She's a
mental case because she objects to shootings, so got shot. There wasn't even a gun around. So you don't smoke cigarettes? An, I don't smoke your brand, but I don't smoke his cigars any kid can get an empty cigar box. He doesn't have to smoke an empty anyway. I'll do. I give you my girl's number. You call her, you ask her where I was last night during the hold up at a deal. Check that man, right, just go Hannah fo two five part, Hey Sargeant, you're
married. Well, this girl a mine. She's dynamite. Dynamite and we'll put a man from the bomb squad on it. Oh that's very good. How long you lived here? Will I'm born and raised here. I went to pack at grade school to put junior High, Maxwell Fish a senior High, and I did a year in Spooned Business College. You can check it. Bunk with your girl around eleven last night? Yeah, jess Avon where Dermdory Hill? You can ask her? Ruth Hurlier's the name Susquehanna four two
five part say I think our names will be in the papers. This is only an interrogation. Well, we don't mind. The name is Willard Willard. That's sort of an interesting name in it. There spike a story with Willard willis This is just a routine questioning Nora news value at all. Well, wait a minute, sure some paper can get something good out of that, you know, you know, false alarm, you know, get the public. You've been identified as the man who held up Horns drug store late
last night. Oh go, that's silly, that's silly by Horn himself. No, then it's just silly. The robber was seeing to run out of the store and around the corner. Did you see the car on the witness who said there was a car? Now, wait a minute, would you stick up a place with att a car in that neighborhood of man on foot could disappear into the night better than a man who's driving. There has been
a car and the other cigar box stick ups? Yeah, what kind you tell us, Sergeant Skin the kid, Lieutenant Guthrie, Yeah, uh huh, thanks, Captain Waldo. Yeah, the Galen Ethical Pharmacy on Quincy Avenue was held up five minutes ago by the cigar box Bandit. High prices are more than justin Newson. They can wreck our economy and seriously injure every one of it. Yet, with goods going into defense and with more money in our pockets to spend, the cost of living won't stay down unless we do
something about it, all of it. We've got to work better by only what we need, watch the prices we pay, keep from asking too much for the goods or the work we sell. Inflation can be led if we are all good neighbors. Tell you that guy's a fake. He's a dirty, low down fake. Who's a fake? The bandit? What do you mean a bandit? I'm an a bandit. I originated a scarboxide there, I stuck up all those other drug stores. I've been clean enough and nobody
could lay a finger on me. So where's this? Where does this phony come in? If this is a confession, we'd better get the stenographer. I'm not confession anything. I'm telling you that this other guy is thickly a phony. And I'll go before any guy I ever stuck up, and I haven't identify me as the one and only genuine answer. Gonna stop Bennett? And that's an offc Wow, what do we do? Ben Clin? You show mister Willen back to us. Cell Come on, thanks, lit Tenant.
I'm low down, crust of that crumb that What do you think of that? Some guy? He's a cia s Hey, what do you say? Your name is? Well? Crank leo cycle? What's the full of them? And to happen cases like this poem. Yeah, but missus Denny identify them. Of course she could make a mistake, Yes, she couldn't man durn them loose, Yes, Lieutenant, he took a shot at me, all right. He hit me right here in chest, smashed my hearing aid device. Lucky, I got a spare with always smashed it all a
bit. You were lucky, Doc. Where were you standing when the bandits came in? When I was right here, I was counting up after a hard day in the store, trying to concentrate on putting prescriptions and doing business and listening, listening, listening all the time. It's relief to close up. I turn off my hearing aid and count up. Oh my, one of a relief silence, you know, I wouldn't like to have all my hearing back. And then the bandit came in. I didn't hear him.
I saw him and opened the door. First thing I know, he's pushing this little pistol into my chest and saying something. When that actually I held up my hands. Well, gentlemen, he gets positively red in the face, and I know he's screaming something at me, so I put down one hand and I return to my coat to turn up my hearing aid. Oh, he whirled around. He stops at the door with a nest. He's look on his face and he fires once and then he runs out. What
kind of a gun was? It's very small gun? Twenty two? My boy shoots the bid. He has a twenty two and twenty five we think from the slug ballistics has it. It doesn't tell you again, and it's a different gun from the last time. Maybe he's got a lot of gun. Well, it's just a little girl. Luckily it was my heart of the man look or even small wiry dark eyes. All he kept looking around brown tweed coat brown, and I was pretty excited. That's our boy,
dirty cigar box. Never got to shove it at me, but he had it under his arm. All right. That's him, Ben, that's our boy. What does Captain Waldo want? Ben? Here's something now on the cigar box man number thirty nine, Uh, incidental intelligence. Something stirring. And I figure it's trouble because we haven't caught anybody. The Alumni Association wants victories or the coach has got to go. Hello, Ben Man, hell Bill, sit down, boys, Thanks, thanks Kevin. You know Gilbert
Frompson Druggist Corner seventy nine grand been there forty years. He's a very big man in this business. He's demanding protection for druggist getting embarrassed. I know the man eye for headlines, and I know he's got the eye on a seat on the council, a nice little local issue of a cigar box bandit chairman of the County Merchants Association, and he's jumping with indignation, Captain.
Isn't he the man who fleded Grant Avenue when I was left unpaved after some cable installation and stock them a hole with fish, had small kids fishing in the middle of the city. That's Thrompson. They find him a good one for that, as I recall, and I also paved the street. I think Thompson wants us to catch the cigar box bander. We can't put a policeman in every back room in every drug store in town every night. Brompson just wants us to catch the man, see if he can sue the favorite
brow. He's expecting your boys, So calm him down, will you, mister Thrompson? All right, I don't see salesman on Wednesday. I'm Lieutenant Guthrie. This is Sergeant Grim Police Sports Scattherne Walladles that I could expect you. We'd like you to know and to pass on to your association that we're
putting forth every effort to catch the cigar box man. It's a shaming and Aubrey gentleman shaming, a autraven assigning details share of the Country Merchants Association of the eleven hundred active members, and we're up an armed about this shame and we understand how you feel. Member. It's premation romany man. There are lot of the citizens mind your citizen furious? What join? What if? What's being done about it? I ask you what is being done about policeman
of being stationed alicement. We're putting every officer we can spare into the back rooms of drug stores. Mister Fromson, I am a drug store. What about my back room? Yes? For example, that's our assignment, mister Thrompson, Joging Greb and I intend to spend every night this week in your prescription room starting right now. Is that's all the brass? Well? I am f there, Lieutenant. Now if you show us your back room and the pepoles will go to work the day. Seven prescriptions tonight, hard night.
Now I know, I drug us go to college. I hope we haven't been in your way back here, Oh, not a bit. I'm grateful to you, gentlemen. But as the Feller said during the war, defense won't win the war. You might wait until doomsday to get the cigar box man and never catch him. He's got the initiative, and that's back when he's new to us. We're learning his methods. We know a little more. We hope to go on the offensive. I hope. So excuse
me, pharmson scripts and pharmacy. One minute we return and thanks. Then I guess we're speaking. Yeah, yeah, well that was fast. Captain Waldo, wanting to know what we're doing here when drug store in the next corner has just been stuck up by the cigar box bandit. We are making progress, Bill, in spite of our failure to lay our hands on cigar box I and since that, we're making progress. MPI aren't you, Captain and knee Chief of Police Villa. We've told you we had to wait and
watch and study. There's a very definite pattern emerging from this cigar box picture, right Man, Well, yes, yes, there are some puzzling features all right, like no agreement on the gun he uses. It's been a revolver of twenty two woods Woodsman a twenty five in general Captain. The description of the bandit Tally's. So there must be something funny about the gun. Anhing funny man owns a small arsenal. How do we get him? That's
all the concerns us get him? Will We can't spare enough police to give every drug store protection. He's he's smart enough to case any job he's gonna pull, so he probably knows the stores that are being protected any given night. Then stop wasting time and patrolman and plainclothes men back. I don't think we're wasting them, Bill. We've learned several things about our men, and he doesn't strike at random. And it's never open prescription rooms. It's always
drug stores with back room prescription departments. So it can hurt the helping back out of side of the street. By covering certain areas, we've confined the bandit to certain other areas. Now, if on some particular night we went all out and really detail all areas, we might have a chance. I need a lot of men for two or three nights. Say one hundred men one night, twenty five men. Less than two nights is useless. I'll
settle for seventy five men. Were sixty men or one night two nights impossible, fifty men two nights, thirty five top figure two nights one night useless? All right, two nights, twenty five men, thirty men. That's all thirty men plus Matten me including you in Matt, but up detailing the story hasn't worked so far, it isn't going to work. It might now we've got something worked out. Captain, the bandit knows which stores are garden.
We're going to help him know which stores these are. Be very open about it in some cases, and as cagy as possible in others, within the same small neighborhood, just so you get him before as iories do. Thanks Bill, Let's go back right, Oh, Ben, thirty a man? Thanks captain. What's that you're mixing up now? Picture of hyastin But I shouldn't side trade and alixs reflactated pips. Now you know as much as
I do. How long does it take someone to learn to be a lady pharmacist as long as it takes play to be a gentleman pharmacist for years, By how long does it take for an entire police force to catch one fresh little hold up man? Oh, we'll get him and see how its to be an idiot to try to hold me up tonight? After the way you've been showing yourself in stunt all evening, anybody can tell you're a cop. Ah, I can tell. Don't answer that. You're not going to catch
anything back here? How maybe you're fright? And we had a protest boat at our last meeting Billy's Pharmacy. One moment use huge and grave nice Hello, how ben? Oh? Uh huh? Be right there? No, No, I'm not nervous, lieutenants, not too nervous to cooperate, that is. I don't think we're good now. Look, if that suspicious person your customer set is watching the place is a man, we may see some action. Well, just tell me what to do, all right? If he comes in, you go out and wait on him. Be as natural
as possible. I see, I'll be in here. Sergeant grab will be across the street watching, and he'll close in when it's time. The moment I come out of the prescription room, you'll drop you understands at chenney drop Just collapse on the floor and you'll be all right, Yeah, fine, going on, Okay, good evening that. Hey what are you that for a toothache? Got? It is this small cabaleer. Lord, it's just a toothache. I don't know. I give you some lot of clothes,
all right, and you can put it right in this box. I don't understand. This is a steak up. Now keep your hands down, all right, all right, open the register, come on, open it up. Come on, come on, I'll go ahead and punch. It's all right, listen in the stuff in the in the box. Put it in the box. Come on, come on, I'm hurry and the bill's told. All right, that's all. It's been a very slow day getting back.
Now get in the back room and lying the floor in it. Rock Jenny to Crow's he clop stop her, I'll drop you stop or I'll stop your stay lo chinny, Yeah, stay LOLd, stay lod. I'm out there. Who's gonna shilt po sail again? Huh? Who's shilting? Who? This is a pretty good little soda pop don't you make self cover. Look on there he's behind the sad parting. You get him man, Yeah, yeah, in the side. He did knock him out. He's all right, Get on. That came from my side. Yeah yeah, there
behind the mail box, he's down. Then I'll go take a look bouquet. Oh oh oh, they get easy, they get easy. Oh he's dead. Then it was Will Willard. Here's his gun. A cold woodsman. That's the answer. That they were two of them. Oh yeah, that's it, two of us, copper. But we had you cops guessing and we brothers. Yeah, sure twins, no wonder they look alike. Then sure, he'd do a job. I do a job. He'd do a job. I do a job, he'd work. I'd watch. I'd
work, he'd watch. You know, we know now you know brothers. The one we hadn't let go. Yeah, we we figured it out. Whether you caught. He'd stall around till the other one pulled a job. Then the courtland he confessed bullet Craig, I get me confess, you know what I mean? Yeah, you think maybe that was a smart guy? Huh, that was nothing nothing will He had better ones, you know. Yeah, we'll tell us in the prow will he was a smart boy,
you know. Yeah, that's why he's so dead now, because he smide You know the lineup where before you pass the innocent, the vagrant, the thief, the murderer. Listen again next week when we again bring you the lineup. May I any attention? Please? Can we flout there on the other side of the wire in the audience room, May I have ATTENTI plea, thank you. My name is Greb, Saat Greb. I'll explain the line up to you. Each of the spect you will see will be numbered.
I'll a number the name enjoy. Do you have any questions? Invocation? Please renumber the number of sid at the end of the The Lineup, starring Bill Johnstone as Lieutenant Ben Guthrie and Wally Mayer as Sergeant Matt Grebb, was written by Milton Geiger, with music by Eddie Dumpsteader. Featured in tonight's cast were Peggy Webber, Dave Young, Ed Begley, Walter Kathlet, Howart's McNair and John McIntyre. The Lineup is produced and directed by Highmi del Vay.
An hour of new music and an hour of dramatic highlights of the news. They're yours on most of these same CBS stations. Every Friday night. Jan Murray is on hand with his new songwriters and their songs for sale. Edward R. Murrow is here with the voices of the people who've made news in the past seven days, all appearing on here it now. Listen to
songs for sale and hear it now. Joe Walters speaking that the CDs where the Jack Smith, Dinah Shaw and Margaret Widing show has heard every weekday evening the Columbia Podcasting System welcome back. Well, they've got a lot of this slice of life stuff. That Dragnet did so so well down. I loved him negotiating with his commanding officer, and I also love the U loudmouthed druggist
who would not actually listen, So I think good on that point. The whole plot of the story reminded me of a nineteen sixties Dragant episode, though in that case the perpetrators turned out not to be twins but just look likes. But overall a pretty good as solidly put together episode. Well, we do turn out a listener comments and feedback, and we got some positive comments
on our x one podcast that we did for a nine hundredth episode. Marjique writes in, I listened to the X minus one episode last night and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was actually sad one is over, and now I'm going to questify more. I've been listening to your podcast for a while now, and I'm a big fan. My favorites are Johnny Dollar, loved the itemized expenses in Sherlock Holmes, enjoy especially the friend ship between Holmes and Watson.
Keep up the great work app from Margik Canadian fan uh. And then Val writes in, I just wanted to write to say how much I enjoyed this episode. I love the mashup of UH sci fi and OTR detectives. Well, thanks so much, Marjorie. We don't have a ton of those. I think we have one other one, so I will save it for another episode, for another time, you know, probably in another few hundred episodes. But I definitely like the mix. It's like taking two of my
favorite things and mixing it together. Uh. Then we have this comment from Bob, who says, dear Adam, just a quick note to let you know how much I enjoy your phone app. I phone app and the bonus extras. I listen every day. You're excellent introductions and in depth commentary. Ad I see to the cake. I'm a real fan from Bob Well. Thank you so much, and I appreciate all your comments and support that will actually do it for this week. Join us back here on Monday for yours
truly Johnny Doller. And this weekend we're going to give you an episode of I'm the Law, that great George Raft series over television. And join us back here next Saturday for another episode of the Lineup. In the meanwhile, send your comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and be sure and take our listener survey survey dot Great Detectives dot met. But from Boise, Idaho, this is your host, Adam Grahamson and off