Broadway Is My Beat: The Artie Blanchard Case 02/14/1953

Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Old Time Radio

Detective Danny Clover investigates the suspicious death of Artie Blanchard, who fell from the marquee of the Hotel Marquis. The investigati

Key takeaways

• Artie Blanchard was found dead on the Hotel Marquis marquee with significant cash in his pockets.
• Detective Danny Clover discovered over $25,000 in cash associated with the victim and his room.

Main topics

• Murder investigation
• Illegal gambling rings

Notable quotes

This man didn't jump.

Conclusion

A gripping classic noir mystery that explores how greed and gambling c

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:00) Welcome to Choice Classic Radio, where we bring to you the greatest old-time radio shows. Like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube, and thank you for donating at choiceclassicradio.com. Speaker 2 (0:23) Broadway's My Beat, from Times Square to Columbus Circle. The gaudiest, the most violent, the lonesomest mile in the world. Speaker 7 (0:35) Broadway's My Beat, with Larry Thor as Detective Danny Clover. Speaker 2 (0:52) Into February on Broadway now, near the tail end of the winter wind, the frantic wind that drifts, that whips around corners, that gathers itself into squalls out of the secret hiding places it knows, then rushes down alleys, searching for what the world has left behind. And things happen. Earmuffs bloom under turned-down hats. Discarded newspapers wing low, then scurry over pavements and wrap themselves around hurrying feet, and home suddenly becomes where the coffee is. Wind of February. Beauty in nylon in a street corner. And above it, where I was, where Detective Denison was, on top of Hotel Marquis. Platform over the street, ringed by neon advertising rates and a Roomba band. Platform also serving the purpose of catching the body of a man who jumped or was pushed. Speaker 1 (1:39) Hold the light over here a minute, Danny. I want to take a look at his wallet. Thanks. Speaker 1 (1:45) Name's Artie Blanchard. Home address, upstate Utica. Speaker 2 (1:48) Money in his wallet, too? Speaker 1 (1:49) Let's see. Speaker 2 (1:50) Hey, look here. Five $100 bills. Speaker 1 (1:55) About a half a dozen fifties. How much you find in this coat pocket, Danny? A Speaker 2 (1:58) couple thousand, I guess. I didn't count it. Must Speaker 1 (2:00) have been that much in his pants pocket, too. Hold the light a minute, will you? Speaker 2 (2:04) These Speaker 1 (2:04) bills aren't real. They're close enough to it to make me happy feeling them. Speaker 1 (2:09) Nope. No what? This man didn't jump. Speaker 2 (2:12) All this money, why should he? Stick around for technical, Dennis, and I'll see you later. Speaker 2 (2:18) So it was this, entertainment for winter night. Look down over edge of marquee and gathering to it, lifting face to it, the crowd people anchored in shadow pools, wavering, blurring, floating faces on wind drift. But the constant thing, pierce and dark of neon reflected pinpoint and ring of staring eyes. And from swell of crowd, a shelter detaches himself, runs wildly the street, shouts violence, summons more spectators and the whisperer too. elbows crowd, walks to a doorway to edge of woman, makes his whisper, shrugs, comes back to spectacle alone. The entertainment, and leave it. Back into hotel now, and to hotel manager, who offers his services freely. The use of himself, his master key, his shock. Speaker 4 (3:10) I can't get used to it. Happens on and off in this hotel. Last time, six years ago, a young girl. I took a whole month off. I just can't get used to it. Mr. Speaker 2 (3:18) Blanchard's room on this corridor? Yes, Speaker 4 (3:20) yes. He seemed a very usual kind of man, Mr. Blanchard. Especially out of the ordinary. For this kind of a hotel, I mean. This was his room, Mr. Hochstetter? Yes. Can you open it, please? Yes, I'll open it. I'll get it open for you. Yes, very usual kind of man. And his friend, too, the man who shared this room with... Speaker 4 (3:39) Oh, how unusual. How varying. All that money. All that money just tossed around like across the bed on the dressing. And here, a clump of it on the... Speaker 2 (3:49) Just leave it alone now, Mr. Hochstetter. Speaker 4 (3:50) Oh, yes, yes. I didn't mean to... But you must confess it's startling to walk into a room, a man is dead out there, and there's all those bills just thrown about as if they were confetti. 20, 10, Speaker 2 (4:02) 100, 50. Oh, you were saying, Mr. Arsene? Speaker 4 (4:05) What sort of madness could have hit him? Or maybe it was a kind of joy just before... I meant Speaker 2 (4:11) you were saying someone shared this room with him. Speaker 4 (4:13) Yes, yes, Mr. Joe Tobin. They registered here, let me think, yes, a week ago, from Utica. I believe it was Utica. I can check. Speaker 8 (4:23) Don't bother yourself. Speaker 4 (4:26) I'm Utica. Me and Artie. Oh, Mr. Tobin. I'm afraid we have rather saddening news for you. Speaker 8 (4:33) Don't bother. I know about Artie. Lobby dames are all excited with his name. What happened to him? One of your bellhops spread the word. You police? Uh-huh. I'm Joe Tobin. Speaker 8 (4:49) This was my bed and that one was Artie's. It's been like that for a lot of years now. Like what, Mr. Tobin? Bank night in the hotel room, huh? How do you figure, officer? Somebody shove Artie through the window, then toss dough around like it was corn for your picture. I asked you Speaker 2 (5:05) something, Mr. Tobin. Oh, let go. Speaker 8 (5:09) Killers, Artie's. What do you mean about me and Artie? How we were? Uh-huh. Pals, friends, buddies, everything 50-50. Born and raised in Utica. Everything, but everything, half mine, half his. Finally kicked together 10 grand, come to this large town to buy a filling station. Artie had a brain. He said, filling station, Joe, in a year, double our investment. That's how we were. Everything 50-50. Speaker 8 (5:37) Except... Except what, Mr. Tobin? Except up to the point where it got squeezed out of him in a hotel marquee. That's where I cut out. I don't die. I go back to Utica and live. You Speaker 2 (5:46) scared of something? What happened to Artie can happen to you? Speaker 8 (5:50) How do I know what happened to Artie? Maybe it could, but it won't. Utica's nice. Man can live there nice with five grand in the kick. Real nice. Another question. Where were you tonight? Where have you been? Very large town, lots of places to do. I did a bushel of them. Then I got tired, come back here, got the word about Artie. I'm still tired. The fella's mine, I lie down on my own bed. And to do on it, you can do... One Speaker 2 (6:22) thing, Mr. Tobin. Speaker 8 (6:23) Yeah, yeah, I know. Know you to get till I hear from you, huh? You know why? What? It ain't the same without Artie. Not one little bit. Speaker 5 (6:53) Good Speaker 2 (6:53) morning, Gino. What's the good word? Speaker 5 (6:57) Danny, if I am green this morning, blame it on my chlorophyll. Speaker 2 (7:01) That's a good word? Speaker 5 (7:02) On my soap, Danny, for I am not a greedy man. What are you talking about? This morning, before you came in, I counted $25,000 of which not a cent belonged to me. So if green is the color of Tartaglia, blame it on... That's how much money Blanchard had with him, Speaker 2 (7:17) $25,000. Speaker 5 (7:19) On his person, plus what was found in his room. Speaker