THE PORT-AU-PRINCE MATTER Original Broadcast: May 30, 1950 | CBS | Approx. 30 minutes [Old Time R...nce Matter], [oldtimerad...rchive.com] Johnny Dollar is summoned to investigate a decidedly unusual insurance problem involving wealthy policyholder Ralph Gordon, who is reportedly dying aboard his yacht in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The cause? A voodoo curse. Johnny isn't buying it. His investigation leads him from the Gordon yacht to a mysterious local practitioner said to have placed the curse, while suspicion begins falling on the very human beings surrounding the supposed victim. Johnny soon discovers that what looks supernatural may have a decidedly scientific and potentially murderous explanation. [Old Time R...nce Matter], [oldtimerad...rchive.com] It's a terrific Johnny Dollar setup, combining an exotic locale, superstition, attempted murder and the question at the center of every good detective story: Who's really telling the truth? Cast Edmond O'Brien stars as Johnny Dollar, with Earl Lee, Willard Waterman, Ted de Corsia, Charlotte Lawrence, Lou Krugman, Byron Kane, Dick Ryan and Clayton Post in the supporting cast. [oldtimerad...rchive.com] THE COLLEGIO DIAMOND MATTER Original Broadcast: June 8, 1950 | Approx. 30 minutes [oldtime.radio], [greatdetectives.net] Now Johnny's assignment revolves around something almost guaranteed to cause trouble in an old-time-radio mystery: A fabulously valuable diamond with a curse attached to it. The Collegio Diamond, insured for $200,000, has disappeared, and its owner, Charles Benson, has been found murdered with his safe standing open and the diamond gone. According to legend, the jewel brings violent death to those who possess it. [oldtime.radio] But Johnny Dollar isn't interested in legends. He's interested in motives. His investigation uncovers secret relationships, people with access to the safe, conflicting stories and suspects with plenty to hide. Before long Johnny himself is attacked, making it increasingly obvious that someone is willing to go to considerable lengths to keep both the diamond and the truth from being found. [oldtime.radio] It's classic Johnny Dollar: a priceless jewel, murder, greed, betrayal and a seemingly supernatural curse that has to survive the scrutiny of a very skeptical insurance investigator. Edmond O'Brien stars as Johnny Dollar. Contemporary episode listings confirm O'Brien in the starring role and the original June 8, 1950 broadcast date. Each story started with a phone call from an insurance executive, calling on Johnny to investigate an unusual claim. Each story required Johnny to travel to some distant locale, usually within the United States but sometimes abroad, where he was almost always threatened with personal danger in the course of his investigations. Johnny's file on each case was usually referenced as a "matter," as in "The Silver Blue Matter" or "The Forbes Matter". Later episodes were more fanciful, with titles like "The Wayward Trout Matter" and "The Price of Fame Matter" (the latter featuring a rare guest-star appearance by Vincent Price as himself). Johnny usually stuck to business, but would sometimes engage in romantic dalliances with women he encountered in his travels; later episodes gave Johnny a steady girlfriend, Betty Lewis. Johnny's precious recreational time was usually spent fishing, and it was not uncommon for Johnny's clients to exploit this favorite pastime in convincing him to take on a job near good fishing locations. His past was rarely mentioned, but Dollar in one episode described himself as a four-year US Marine veteran who then worked as a police officer for a decade before changing careers to insurance investigation. Each story was recounted in flashback, as Johnny listed each line item from his expense account. The episodes generally finished with Johnny tallying up his account and traveling back to Hartford, CT, where he was based. Most of the expense account related to transportation, lodging, and meals and served to transition between scenes, but no incidental expense was too small for Johnny to itemize, as in "Item nine, 10 cents. Aspirin. I needed them." YOUR REVIEWS AT APPLE/ITUNES ARE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
