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September 5, 2024 41 mins
Today's Mystery: A band leader with a penchant for stealing other people's music is murdered.

Original Radio Broadcast Date: November 9, 1949

Originating from New York City

Starring: Karl Swenson as Mister Chameleon; Frank Butler as Sergeant Dave Arnold

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
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 Detectives dot net.
Follow us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us

(00:49):
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can become one of our Patreon supporters over at Patreon
dot Great Detectives dot net. You can also mail a

(01:13):
donation into Adam Graham pillbox one five nine one three.
That's peelbox one five nine thirteen Boise idahol eight three
seven one five And I want to go ahead and
thank Eddie and Carolyn for supporting the program that way.
Thank you so much for your support. Well, now it

(01:33):
is time for this week's episode of Mister Chameleon. The
original aired eight November ninth, nineteen forty nine, and this
one is the Stolen Melody Murder Case.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Next Mister Chameleon Man the Stolen Melody Murder Case. Tonight

(02:18):
we again present the famous Mister Cameleon of Central police
headquarters in his famous Cases of Crime and Murder, brought
to you by the makers of genuine Bayer Aspirin. Mister Cameleon,
as you know, is the famous and dreaded detective who
frequently uses a disguise to track down a killer, a
disguise which at all times is recognized by the audience.

(02:41):
Tonight we give you mister Chameleon in the Stolen Melody
Murder Case. That world of music and musicians, which is
known as Tin Pan Alley, is a world full of
hopes and ambitions and sometimes tragedy. But to Jimmy Phillips,

(03:04):
there is only hope and joy in his world right now,
and we find him in his tiny shabby studio on
a court picking out a lining tune on the piano
while there's adored Della brown sits listening.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Oh Jimmy, it's beautiful. It's bound to be a terrific pit.
James Phillips, the famous composer, How will it feel, darling?

Speaker 4 (03:32):
Wonderful? How will it feel to be missus James Phillips wonderful.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Oh Jimmy, it's been a long, hard pull, but we've
made it.

Speaker 4 (03:41):
Thanks to you, Della. It was you who wrote down
the notes while I worked out the melody on the piano. Now,
if I can just get a name band to feature it,
a big.

Speaker 3 (03:49):
Name band, night, Danny Peyton's He's opening tonight, Jimmy at
the Folly du Paris. I read a notice of it here.
It is Danny Peyton, the band leader and darling of society,
is expected to have a terrific opening tonight. He will
feature a new composition of his own, which is expected
to make the hit parade.

Speaker 4 (04:07):
And it won't be long before he's featuring a new
composition by James Phillips, which is expected. What's that, Della?

Speaker 3 (04:14):
What? Oh? That's Danny Peyton playing the saxophone.

Speaker 5 (04:18):
You know.

Speaker 3 (04:18):
His place is right across the court.

Speaker 4 (04:20):
Yeah, and what a place when I.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Look at this dingy little hole and think how you've started.

Speaker 4 (04:26):
Listen, Listen, he's playing my song. He's playing moondreams. But
he can't be he is. Listen, Della, he's stole it.
Danny Peyton stole my new song, Jimmy. He must have
heard me picking it out on the piano, going over
it and over it. That's my song and he's stole it.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
Jimmy, where are you going, I'm going over.

Speaker 4 (04:48):
To see Danny Payton. He's not going to use my
melody and pass it off as his own, darling.

Speaker 3 (04:52):
No, No, you'll get into trouble. You know his reputation
that the gangsters he hangs out with. He may be
the darling of society, but for friends.

Speaker 4 (05:00):
I don't care, Della. I'm not afraid he can't do
this to me.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Then get a lawyer, Jimmy, get a lawyer to handle.

Speaker 4 (05:06):
No, I'm going over to see that dirty thief myself.
I'm going after him right now, and I'll do anything
to stop him from stealing my song.

Speaker 3 (05:13):
Anything, Jimmy, Jimmy, come back here, come back.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
And a few hours later, at Central Police Headquarters, we
find the Commissioner of Police sitting at the telephone, and
as mister Chameleon the Great Detective enters the office, the
Commissioner looks up and then says into the telephone.

Speaker 6 (05:37):
Oh, he's here now to take a foley. I'll send
him right up. You've heard of Danny Peyton, haven't you, Chameleon.

Speaker 7 (05:44):
The famous bandleader he does to his music. I'm then
an occasional commissioner, the darling of society.

Speaker 6 (05:50):
And the secret friend of Underworld characters. Well, Danny Peyton
will never lead an orchestra again, Chameleon. He was beaten
to death in his place at the woodmar Studios. Beaten
did when, apparently early this evening, you managed to crawl
to the telephone get the receiver off the hook before
he died of his injuries.

Speaker 5 (06:07):
Well, it sounds simple enough. The killer shouldn't be hard
to find. Why should he?

Speaker 6 (06:11):
That's the question, and it's up to you to find
the answer. So get up there to Danny Peyton's studio, Chameleon,
take Detective Arnold with.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
You, and shortly after, in bandleader Danny Payton's luxurious studio,
mister comedian is examining the sprawling body by the telephone.
You're saying to Detective Dave Arnold.

Speaker 7 (06:37):
M So he managed to crawl to the telephone before
he died. Who is the first one to find him?

Speaker 8 (06:44):
Dave al mic Is trumpet player, mister comedian, Mister Mike.

Speaker 9 (06:48):
That's me. What do you want? You're too smart a
dick to think just because I found Danny's body, i'd
bumped him. I'm not getting myself mixed up with murder.
I'm just a trumpet player.

Speaker 7 (06:55):
With a racketeer for a brother. Larry Mac is your brother,
so what so what does that make me a crook?
Was Danny Payton mixed up with your brother's pals? Did
they have any reason for wanting to bump him off?

Speaker 9 (07:05):
Well, if they did, I don't know about a mister Comedion.
I just played the trumpet in his band, that's all.
That's all.

Speaker 5 (07:10):
Who were Peyton's enemies who hated him enough to kill him? Well?
What are you grinning about it?

Speaker 9 (07:16):
It'd be easy if he asked me who didn't hate him,
mister comedian. But there was one special little guy always
following him around, Yeah, and was always predicting that Peyton
was gonna die.

Speaker 5 (07:25):
What's his name?

Speaker 9 (07:26):
Daffy Gus. He's a character crazy as a cool.

Speaker 7 (07:29):
Dave tell Headquarters to pick up a character named Daffy Guys, Yes, sir,
Oh wait a minute.

Speaker 5 (07:36):
This window opens into a court. Whoever occupies that studio
right across the court, they must have seen or heard
something in here.

Speaker 8 (07:46):
You want me to find out, mister Camellion.

Speaker 5 (07:47):
Please, Dave bring them over him now to get back
to you.

Speaker 9 (07:51):
Well, may it's nothing to get back to mister Comelion.
I had nothing to do with Danny's staff.

Speaker 5 (07:55):
You found his body a few minutes after he died.

Speaker 9 (07:57):
So what I had an appointment with Danny here his studio,
but I didn't come in.

Speaker 5 (08:01):
You didn't come in? Why not?

Speaker 9 (08:04):
Hope will tell you. I met her outside in the hall.
She said someone was in here with Danny, so I
went out for a cup of coffee. Hope will tell you.

Speaker 7 (08:11):
Hope you mean Hope Maynard, Danny Peyton singer.

Speaker 5 (08:14):
That's her.

Speaker 4 (08:15):
She's in the next room. Detective Honord told her to
wait there.

Speaker 7 (08:17):
Yes, and miss Maynard come in please, and you al Mac,
you ate outside, Come in, miss Maynan.

Speaker 5 (08:28):
I'm comedian of Central Police Headquarters.

Speaker 10 (08:31):
Mister Comeleon, this is so awful. Poor Danny dead.

Speaker 7 (08:36):
Al Mac his trumpet player, tells me that he met
you in the hall here just before the murder, that
you told him not to come in to Danny Peyton studio.

Speaker 10 (08:45):
Why because some man was in here with Danny. The
door was closed, but I could hear them. They were
having an awful argument. It was terrifying, mister Cameleon. I
could hear the man say.

Speaker 4 (08:58):
You deliberately stole my song. You intend to feature it
with your band and pretend.

Speaker 5 (09:02):
That you're on.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
Really, how interesting, Peyton. You can't take someone's creation, something
that came from my head, from my heart. You can't
steal a thing like that and say it you're on, can't.
I try and stop me. Then you admit you stole
my song. I admit nothing, And you can't prove it's
your song. No, you're right, I can't. I can't prove
a thing. But you're not going to get away with it.

(09:24):
I won't let you get away with that. I'll wait this,
so help me. I'll kill you first. I'll kill you
before I let you get away with this rotten trick.

Speaker 10 (09:33):
That was enough for me, mister Camellion. I beat it fast.
I left the building.

Speaker 5 (09:37):
In other words, you left Danny Peyton to be murdered, Miss.

Speaker 10 (09:40):
Maynand I didn't know he was going to be murdered.
How could I know?

Speaker 7 (09:43):
You overheard someone threaten him, yet you didn't make a
move to help him. You let him be beaten till
he was barely able to crawl to the telephone.

Speaker 10 (09:51):
And it was the beating that killed him.

Speaker 5 (09:53):
Obviously, Miss Maynard. Why didn't you go into a studio.

Speaker 10 (09:58):
Because mister Camellion, if I'd go in there, Danny would
only have thrown me out. Danny was often in trouble.
The members of his band learned to keep out of
his affairs.

Speaker 5 (10:06):
Were you in love with Danny?

Speaker 10 (10:08):
In love with Danny? Why? Certainly not? What gives you
that idea?

Speaker 5 (10:14):
Nothing?

Speaker 7 (10:14):
I simply asked, uh, what did the man look like,
the one who was threatening Peyton?

Speaker 10 (10:20):
I didn't see him, the door was closed.

Speaker 5 (10:22):
Would you recognize his voice?

Speaker 10 (10:23):
Yes, mister Camellion, I'm sure I would. I know that.

Speaker 7 (10:26):
I'm million Kamari minute, Yes, Dave, right away? You wait here,
Miss Maynad, Please, what is it?

Speaker 8 (10:33):
Dave? This is the guy who has that studio across
the court, Jimmy Phillips. And this is his girl, Della
Brown my fiance. Oh sorry, your fiance. He didn't want
to come with me, mister Camellion, Why should I?

Speaker 4 (10:47):
I don't know anything about Danny Peyton's murder.

Speaker 5 (10:49):
Well, if you don't know anything, Jimmy, why do you
look so frightened? And do you too? Miss Brown? You're trembling?

Speaker 3 (10:56):
No, I'm not.

Speaker 5 (10:57):
If you really don't know anything, you have nothing to fail.
But since your studio window. Jimmy faces this room where
Peyton was murdered.

Speaker 4 (11:05):
I wasn't even in my studio at the time he
was murdered.

Speaker 5 (11:07):
How do you know what time Peyton was murdered? Dave
you tell him?

Speaker 8 (11:11):
I certainly did not, mister Chamelion.

Speaker 4 (11:13):
I heard about it. My gosh, everyone on the block
is talking.

Speaker 10 (11:16):
I heard that, mister Comelion, mister Comeleon, yes, miss that's
the man. That's the man I was telling you about.
I recognized his voice through the door. That's the man
I heard threatening to kill Danny Peyton.

Speaker 7 (11:40):
All right, Jimmy, there's no use denying it. Your voice
has been identified. You're the man who has heard quarreling
with Danny Peyton, threatening to kill him.

Speaker 4 (11:47):
Suppose I keep on denying it, mister Chamellon.

Speaker 5 (11:50):
Della, are you in love with this boy?

Speaker 3 (11:53):
He's my whole life, mister comedian.

Speaker 7 (11:55):
But then please make him understand that he must tell
the truth. He's only hurting himself this way.

Speaker 4 (12:00):
Jimmy, please, okay, Della, I'll tell the truth, mister Cameleon.
I'm the one who was with Danny Payton. I even
threatened to kill him the way Hope Maynard said, but
I didn't kill him. You beat him up, I knocked
him down, Yes, but I didn't murder him.

Speaker 8 (12:14):
You hit him over the head with a bookend from
his desk.

Speaker 4 (12:16):
No, Detective Arnold, I didn't. I I couldn't have.

Speaker 5 (12:19):
What do you mean by you couldn't have, Jimmy, He.

Speaker 3 (12:21):
Means he's not a killer, mister chameleon.

Speaker 7 (12:23):
I think he also means that he may not be sure,
that he may not quite remember what he did when
he was in the grip of a murderous rage.

Speaker 4 (12:31):
Mister Camellion, I don't have a temper like that. It
wasn't a murderous.

Speaker 5 (12:34):
Rage, Jimmy.

Speaker 7 (12:35):
That man had stolen your property, A very special piece
of property, a thing that you created, A song, right, Yes,
and you thought it was a good song.

Speaker 3 (12:48):
Mister Comeleion. Is a wonderful song. It would have made
Jimmy famous. It it would have enabled us to get married.

Speaker 5 (12:54):
And it involved a lot of work, Della.

Speaker 3 (12:56):
Oh, yes, yes, Jimmy and I worked on it together
for months.

Speaker 5 (13:02):
I don't get your point, I think you do, Della.

Speaker 7 (13:06):
No, It's strange a man can be robbed of material
possessions and take it in his stride, but a product
of your brain, a creative idea, the work of a lifetime.
You take that away from him, and a man's mind
sometimes snaps. Even a perfectly decent chap can go burst
sac and kill.

Speaker 4 (13:22):
That's ridiculous. Her mind doesn't snap that easily.

Speaker 7 (13:25):
No, Jimmy, Della, did you try to stop Jimmy from
coming over here and seeing Danny Peyton?

Speaker 5 (13:31):
Don't answer him, Della, Della, you must answer me. Did
you try to stop Jimmy?

Speaker 3 (13:36):
I begged him to go to a lawyer. I reminded
him that Danny Peyton was a dangerous man.

Speaker 5 (13:42):
And Jimmy loves you, Della.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
We love each other. We had such hope, of.

Speaker 7 (13:48):
Course, and ordinarily Jimmy would listen to you, Della, but
not this time.

Speaker 5 (13:54):
He You see who that is? Day, Please, Jimmy, if
your feelings again Peyton was strong enough to blind you
to Della's love, to all common sense thinking, then it might.

Speaker 4 (14:05):
Have been strong enough to kill mister chameleon. I still
say that you don't know what you're talking about. A
man doesn't go crazy just like that, he can't. You're wrong, Jimmy, No,
I'm not, mister. Comeon that was a detective. Folly at
the door. He's picked up that character known as Daffy Guss.

Speaker 5 (14:19):
Oh good, bring him in here, please.

Speaker 4 (14:21):
Laffy Gus. What do you want with Daffy Gus?

Speaker 5 (14:23):
You know him, Jimmy Emo.

Speaker 4 (14:25):
Everyone around ten pound Alley knows him. He's got a
hole in the wall with a battered piano and he
lives on hand.

Speaker 5 (14:31):
I'll come in, guys, I'm comedian Central Police Headquarters.

Speaker 11 (14:35):
Sure I heard you, Kappa. Hi, Hi everybody. Hey, you're
pretty girl?

Speaker 5 (14:40):
Yes, isn't she? Guys? Her name is Dela Brown and
this is Jimmy Phillips, who is suspected of murdering Danny Peyton.

Speaker 4 (14:49):
Oh that's wonderful.

Speaker 5 (14:50):
That's well. I know Danny Peyton did get it.

Speaker 4 (14:53):
I know all about it.

Speaker 5 (14:55):
Yeah, I know all about it.

Speaker 4 (15:00):
Mean that you know who killed him?

Speaker 5 (15:02):
I mean I know all about it.

Speaker 11 (15:04):
Ask me no questions, Copper, and I'll tell you no lies. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (15:12):
What is that tune at jo humming? Gus? It sounds
like Danny Peyton's famous song hit Sunset.

Speaker 11 (15:19):
Danny song, He's mine. He stole it from me. I
used to be in his band. He made a fortune
on Sunset. He said he composed it and me, I
had no copyright, so what could I do?

Speaker 8 (15:33):
Gee?

Speaker 11 (15:34):
It was shere funny how he put it over on me.

Speaker 5 (15:40):
Pretty tune, one of my favorite melodies. Guys, Hey, you
got good taste, copper. I know Danny would get it.
I know all about it, Dave. Take him in the
room with al mic the trumpet player. I'll be right.

Speaker 8 (15:54):
I'm sure.

Speaker 5 (16:00):
Well, Jimmy, now what he am the same, mister camelion.

Speaker 7 (16:04):
I there is your proof, your tragic, living proof that
a man's mind can break completely when he's robbed of
his own creation. And I repeat, it can even drive
a decent Manda.

Speaker 2 (16:16):
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Speaker 8 (17:46):
And now back.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
To mister Camellion and the Stolen Melody murder case. The
brutal murder of Danny Payton, the famous band leader has
strange angles and has brought mister Cameleon face to face
with some of the strange characters off Tin Pan Alley
and none is weirder than Daffy Guss, the pathetic, still
young madman whom mister Cameleon is now questioning in Danny

(18:10):
Payton's studio, and with him is al Mack, the trumpet player,
and Hope Maynard, Peyton's vocalist, who is saying to mister Cameleon.

Speaker 10 (18:18):
Mister Camellion, this is all so dreadful. Can I go
home in.

Speaker 5 (18:21):
Just a moment, Miss Maynard? Tell me do you know this.

Speaker 3 (18:25):
Man, Daffy Gus?

Speaker 10 (18:27):
Why everyone knows Daffy Guss and everybody knows.

Speaker 5 (18:30):
You, Hope Hi.

Speaker 11 (18:31):
You're a beautiful girl and a swell singer, and everybody
knows al Mac and his hot trumpet, the old tricks.

Speaker 9 (18:39):
That cut it out.

Speaker 7 (18:39):
Gus, keep out of this, al Mac, whatever guess has
to say, I owned to hear it.

Speaker 11 (18:43):
Yeah, I suppose I won't talk Copper. I know all
about Danny Peyton's murder, but suppose I don't talk Gus.
Where were you at the time that Peyton was killed?

Speaker 5 (18:54):
Why was the brea? Yeah, I was abrun you were around? Well, well,
I was in New York City.

Speaker 4 (19:01):
Where's the Broadway?

Speaker 5 (19:03):
And I know what I know, I know what I know.

Speaker 8 (19:07):
Come and this guy's killing you along.

Speaker 5 (19:09):
All right, Dave, I understand him better than you think. Gus.
I heard that you had a habit of following Danny Payton.
You bet I did.

Speaker 4 (19:19):
I used to make him nervous.

Speaker 11 (19:20):
Oh, I love to make Danny nervous and watch him squaw.
I used to sing like this whenever I followed him.

Speaker 5 (19:30):
That's the song that you stole from me, isn't it? Guys?
Why didn't you beat him up the way Jimmy Phillips did?

Speaker 11 (19:36):
Maybe I did, and maybe I was too timmid oh
ow mac here, he was a swart smart one. Danny
swiped one of his tunes too. But I'll stuck around.
I'll took it out on Danny. Got it mixed up
in rackets. So Danny was up to his neck in trouble.

Speaker 5 (19:51):
Shut up your poor I'll chop the breath you own.
Al mac Keep away from Gus, Keep away.

Speaker 9 (19:55):
Come on, my keeper, just mister comellion. This guy Gus
is nuts. He's been saying for a week, said Daddy
Peyton would die. How did they know? Unless maybe he
planned to do it himself.

Speaker 7 (20:03):
I'm convinced that Gus knows the truth. About Danny's death.

Speaker 10 (20:06):
Helm, But the man's obviously crazy, mister Kennedy.

Speaker 7 (20:09):
Even Somus Maynard. I think Gus knows the answer. All right,
you can all go, but don't try disappeating. I'm a
long day. I want to get back to headquarters and
mister chameleon, Yes, what is it?

Speaker 5 (20:21):
Guys?

Speaker 11 (20:22):
Don't you want to know where I was at the
time Danny Peyton died?

Speaker 5 (20:26):
Well, I don't care particularly, guys.

Speaker 11 (20:28):
I was outside this building and I saw the kid,
Jimmy Phillips.

Speaker 5 (20:33):
I saw him come running out of Danny's place, all upset.
Thank you very much, Gus. That'll help. I'm sure that
you know all the answers.

Speaker 8 (20:42):
Goodbye, mister comellon, do you really believe that poor crackpot
Daffy Gush.

Speaker 7 (20:47):
I believe that he can put the finger on Peyton's murderer, dame.
But Jimmy and Della are still waiting. Jimmy, yes, mister cameleon.

Speaker 4 (20:54):
What did he say?

Speaker 5 (20:55):
Daffy Gus plendid You can go now, both of you,
But don't.

Speaker 3 (20:59):
Go, mister comedian. You still haven't told us what Daffy
Gus said.

Speaker 7 (21:03):
Well, I am sorry to say, Della that he added
his bit to the general testimony against Jimmy. He said
that he saw you run out of this place, Jimmy,
in a rage.

Speaker 4 (21:12):
Mister Camellion, I admit I was here. I admit I
fought with Danny Payton. But you still don't have the
evidence that will convict me because I didn't kill him.

Speaker 7 (21:19):
The case is young yet, Jimmy, before very long, I
may have the vital piece of evidence that I need.

Speaker 3 (21:24):
Who's going to give.

Speaker 5 (21:25):
It to you?

Speaker 3 (21:25):
Mister comedian.

Speaker 4 (21:26):
No one has any vital evidence.

Speaker 7 (21:28):
You're wrong about that, Jimmy, just as you were wrong
when you said before that a man's mind couldn't snap
so easily.

Speaker 5 (21:35):
I'll be saying you, Jimmy.

Speaker 3 (21:38):
Did you hear what mister Comeleion said. He's going to get.

Speaker 4 (21:40):
Evidence, you mean, from Daffy gus Oh. I should have
listened to you, Della when you tried to stop me
from going to see Peyton.

Speaker 3 (21:46):
Jimmy, You've got to tell me the truth. Did you
kill him or not?

Speaker 4 (21:50):
I'm wondering if what mister Cameleon said is true. Maybe
I did pick up that book, nd.

Speaker 3 (21:56):
Did you touch it? If you did, they'll find your fingerprints.

Speaker 4 (22:00):
I don't know. I don't know.

Speaker 3 (22:02):
Well, we can't change what's past and done, but but
there's something that can be done, and I'm going to
do it now.

Speaker 2 (22:21):
Meanwhile, mister Cameleon and Detective Dave Arnold are picking their
way through the crowds on Broadway, and Dave studying mister
Comeleion's grave and thoughtful face, says.

Speaker 8 (22:31):
Mister Camellion, Did you mean it when you said that
Daffy Gus might have the evidence which would convict Jimmy Phillips.

Speaker 5 (22:36):
I didn't say that, did I, Dave.

Speaker 8 (22:38):
Well, that was the impression you gave.

Speaker 7 (22:40):
That was the impression I intended to give, Yes, and
I wanted to play it up in the newspapers too.

Speaker 8 (22:44):
But mister Comeleon, Daffy Gush he was one of Danny
Payton's victims too. Couldn't he have been mixed.

Speaker 7 (22:50):
Up in the killing somehow? M h You see, all
paths lead to Daffy Gus. That's the way I wanted.
You must find the place where Gus lives, that hole
in the world with the piano in it, and then
then I'm going in there in disguise.

Speaker 8 (23:05):
What kind of a disguise, mister companion.

Speaker 5 (23:07):
Ask me no questions, Dave, and I'll tell you no lies.
A bomb bum bum. I know the answer. I know
what I know.

Speaker 8 (23:18):
Mister Comeleon, You're gonna disguise yourself as Daffy Gus.

Speaker 5 (23:21):
I think I can do it. Dave, You're a smart kappa.
You think I can fool him.

Speaker 8 (23:26):
Mister Comeleon, you keep that up, and you'll fool Daffy
Gus himself. Even so, it's a tricky and a dangerous
thing to do well.

Speaker 5 (23:33):
I agree, But even so I need the piece of evidence,
that final piece of evidence that will wrap up the
case for good.

Speaker 2 (23:49):
And so a few days later, we find mister Comeleon
in his amazing disguise of Daffy Guss, the half crazy
song composer from Tin Pan Alley, and in the poverty
stricken room which Gus used as a workshop. Mister Cameleon
is softly playing the battered old piano when Detective Dave Arnold.

Speaker 8 (24:10):
Bursts in, mister Comellion, I just found out. Oh I
thought mister Camellion was here.

Speaker 7 (24:18):
He is, Dave, he is what I'll be done. It
was the dim candlelight that helped my disguise.

Speaker 8 (24:25):
That's new Dave Plenty, mister comedian, had any visitors, no,
nut Jan, Well you will right now. Daffy Guss is
being fed at steak dinner by Detective Foley, so that'll
keep him away from here. But Jimmy Phillips has been
watching this building for hours.

Speaker 5 (24:39):
Yes, I expected that, and al.

Speaker 8 (24:41):
Max gangster brother has been driving around the block. Mister Comellion,
these people are all laying for Daffy Gus. They think
the poor Nutt knows who killed Peyton.

Speaker 5 (24:50):
That's what I'm counting on, Dave, that the murderer will
come here to get Daffy Guss before he talks. That's
why I'm disguised he's guts to lead them on.

Speaker 8 (24:57):
Mister Camellion, you're taking a terrible wrest.

Speaker 5 (25:00):
Ready for it, and you must be two, Dave, stand
flat in back of the door, just inside, and if
you have to shoot.

Speaker 8 (25:06):
Okay, listen, someone's coming up the stairs.

Speaker 5 (25:11):
Sounds like two people, Dave. Now they've stopped. One is
coming up alone, all right, and back the door.

Speaker 8 (25:20):
Day here we.

Speaker 2 (25:21):
Go, and mister Chameleon resumes he's playing on the piano
until finally he speaks in the voice of Daffy Gus.

Speaker 5 (25:36):
Who's there? Who's outside in the hall?

Speaker 3 (25:41):
May I come in?

Speaker 5 (25:43):
Who is that? I can't see you.

Speaker 3 (25:45):
I can't see you very well either. I'm down Brown
Jimmy Phillips.

Speaker 5 (25:52):
Girl, Oh the pretty one? Sure? Sure, I know you
now I had pretty girls.

Speaker 3 (25:58):
Once too, Gus, Is it true you have evidence against Jimmy?
I mean that he killed Danny Peyton?

Speaker 5 (26:04):
How could I have evidence if Jimmy's innocent. You didn't
think of that happen.

Speaker 3 (26:09):
But he is innocent.

Speaker 5 (26:10):
I know what I know. I know what I know.

Speaker 3 (26:13):
Stop saying that. If you have evidence against Jimmy, tell
me what it is.

Speaker 5 (26:17):
I have it. I have it, but I won't tell you.
I'll tell the coppers and you'll have to kill me.
Fights to stop me if someone else might get hide fights,
you gotta day.

Speaker 8 (26:26):
I've got her, misters Communion, but she's a little wild cat.

Speaker 5 (26:30):
If you can get her gun, give me that gun. No, man,
I suppose you tell me why you tried to kill me,
or rather kill Daffy Gus.

Speaker 10 (26:39):
Mister Commeleon, you are mister Comeleion disguised as Daffy Guns.

Speaker 7 (26:43):
Yes, suppose you tell me why you use Della hair
as a shield sneaking up the stairs behind her.

Speaker 3 (26:48):
Mister Camellion, It was Hoped Maine and who persuaded me
to come here. She convinced me that Daffy Gus had
evidence against Jimmy.

Speaker 10 (26:54):
And he did. It was Jimmy Phillips who killed Danny Peyton.

Speaker 7 (26:56):
Well, I am then why should you take a shot
at Daffy Gus planning, of course, to framed Della with
a murderer of Gus.

Speaker 5 (27:04):
No, Hope may not. It was you who killed Danny
Peyton because he gave you the gate.

Speaker 10 (27:08):
What are you talking about. I was never in love
with him, nor he with me.

Speaker 5 (27:11):
What about the wedding license taken out in Connecticut three
or four months ago? What you took one out and
nothing happened. I found it among his papers.

Speaker 10 (27:19):
You're completely mistaken.

Speaker 7 (27:21):
And we searched your apartment and found the letters from
Peyton telling you that he was in love with another
girl and that he was firing you from his band.

Speaker 10 (27:28):
He was going to give that other terrible creature the job.

Speaker 7 (27:31):
So you sneaked back into the building after Jimmy left
it to murder Danny Peyton, and you were afraid Daffy
Gus had seen you sneak back.

Speaker 10 (27:38):
Even if I did go back. Danny died from the beating.
He died from the beating of Jimmy.

Speaker 7 (27:41):
Ganp No, Danny Peyton died from a blow on the head.
You struck him that blow with a metal book end
when he picked up the telephone ten full minutes after
Jimmy Phillips was out of the building.

Speaker 10 (27:54):
Danny was no good. He was no good, mister Comleon.

Speaker 7 (27:58):
I've gathered as much, but murdered is murder, No hope, Maynard,
You and Danny Peyton were two of a kind, and
there's a sort of justice in that fact that his
death should bring about your downfall.

Speaker 5 (28:10):
Two And with.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
These words, mister Chameleon concludes tonight's murder case. Mothers everywhere,
listen carefully now. Genuine Bayar aspirin is available in a
new children's size tablet containing half the amount of the

(28:40):
regular size Bayar aspirin tablet. These new children's size Bayar
Aspirin tablets make it possible for you to conveniently give
your children the proper dosage as prescribed by your doctor.
And because they're made so they can be broken right
in half, you can easily give still smaller dosages when necessary.
In addition, these new children's size Bayer Aspirin tablets have

(29:02):
another feature that appeals to wise mothers. They are neither
flavored nor colored, so they cannot be mistaken for candy,
and they can be used with complete confidence. For the
fact that doctors prescribe Bayer Aspirin's single active ingredient even
for the smallest children, shows how gentle and dependable it is.
The bottle and carton are plainly marked Children's Size Bayer

(29:23):
Aspirin thirty tablets for twenty five cents. Listen next Wednesday
Night at the same time for Mister Camellion, the man

(29:45):
of many faces in the Party Girl murder Case. The
part of mister Camelion is played by Carl Swenson, with
dialogue by Marie Baumer from the original story by Frank
and Anne Hummert, directed by Victor Arden.

Speaker 1 (30:01):
Your answer is hour training.

Speaker 12 (30:09):
A remarkable scientific discovery now makes it possible to cut
down tooth decay. You simply use new ammoniated Doctor Lion's
toothpowder based on a formula developed by University of Illinois scientists.
It actually destroys bacteria Lactobacillus acidophilus, which cause tooth decay.
Now think of the pain, worry and expense. This can

(30:29):
save you the wonderful difference it can make in the
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Speaker 2 (30:58):
Listen for mister Chameleon in the Party Girl Murder Case
next Wednesday night. At this time it is this CBS,
the Columbia Broadcasting System.

Speaker 1 (31:29):
Welcome back. It's been a while since mister Chameleon impersonated
a real character, though in this case it's kind of
obvious that Carl Swinson also originated the role of Goswitch
made mister Chameleon's impersonation easy. Still, this does make me
wonder how many times Swinson has doubled as another character

(31:53):
and I haven't noticed. Also, is there any detectives assistant
who hopes them as much Dave Arnold kisses up to Cameleon?
I think that, and being reliable with a gun and
a good shopper, explain why he gets to be a
detective sergeant. Well, now we turn to listener comments and feedback,

(32:15):
and we have a couple of comments from Ken, and
I'm going to combine a comment he left on the
website with one he put on our listener survey, and
Ken writes, Adam who knew Carl Swinson was Axel Nordstad?

(32:36):
On the Perry Mason episode the Case of the Tarnish Trademark,
Danish furniture builder Alex Norstad would have been in awesome
disguise for mister Comeleon, although admittedly hard work into a
miss to work into a mister Cameleon plot, although they
managed to put an itinerant rope ladder salesman in another show,

(32:57):
so mysterious inquisitive ikea executive might not have been too
much of a stretch to get some guilty murderists to
confess her dastardly crime. Ken adds a bit more details
on the episode, which kind of is a bit out
of our purview, but it does inspire me in a way.

(33:18):
I've not actually reviewed all. I don't think any of
the Perry Mason episodes, but a lot of the old
time radio detective actors did end up appearing on Perry Mason,
and I've just been working through our reviews on the
Amazing World of Radio summer series, where we've been posting

(33:38):
reviews of detective programs for the actors who appeared in
the nineteen sixties Batman TV series. So it might be
worthwhile for me to post reviews of some of the
TV detective programs that various old time radio detective actors
appeared in. That will get to that spacific episode on

(34:02):
this go around with Carl Swinson for some reasons that
I'll end up explaining. But Ken Lanch, who played Sergeant
Corbett on The Falcon, also appeared in an episode of
Perry Mason, and I might review that in the near future,
so I appreciate the inspiration on that Kin goes on

(34:24):
to write. What I actually wanted to mention was that
mister Cameleon had access to the same level of resources
available to mister Phelps on Mission Impossible. Sometimes, when Cinnamon,
Willie and Roland Hand were not enough, mister Phelps would
round up the Hartford Repertory Company to serve as submarine

(34:44):
crewman or railroad workman. Mister Cameleon managed to get a
film crew out on the street with about eight hours
notice so he could strut around as Enrique Salase to
stampede the guilty wife into a confession. That is definitely
a point. I guess that's part of the one benefit

(35:05):
that comes with being a famous investigator rather than an
obscure one. And Ken also writes love the commentary and
the historical tidbit you'd out of the show. Keep up
the good work. We need a deeper dive into the
influence of mister Chameleon on the ethos zeitgeist in disguise
wearing of crime fighters in the fifties. I'm going to

(35:27):
savor every moment of the next three episodes before you
cruly deprive us of more shows. Well thanks, Ken, I
will say in all series, and this is that if
I could go ahead and play all of the remaining
episodes of mister Cameleon that are going to come into
circulation without any waiting period, I would go ahead and

(35:50):
do that. And of course, mister Cameleon I don't think
had any real influence on the idea of disguise in
crime fighting. I think that the idea of the crime
fighter having the ability, the skill that they would call
on to be a master of disguise. Now that sort

(36:15):
of thing goes all the way back to Sherlock Holmes.
It's certainly convenient for writers as this tool you've got
in your belt and this ability that the detective has,
and you can find all sorts of detectives and superheroes
who from time to time dawn disguises, but few do

(36:36):
so at the rate of Mister Cameleon for seemingly no reason.
The only character to come close to that is Hannibal
Smith from The A Team, And we have no reason
to believe that Stephen Canal was at all aware of

(36:58):
Mister Chameleon, although I guess it is possible that a
young Steven Kanal may have listened to the radio with
his mother and she was a fan of this show
about a famous investigator who always wore a disguise, and

(37:19):
likely he consciously forgot entirely about the show. But some
thirty years later, when he was working on the concept
for The A Team, he got the idea to make
Hannibal Smith a master of disguise. Now we have no
evidence that any of that would actually be true. It's

(37:41):
possible I suppose, and if there were any evidence to
support it, I think everyone's opinion of mister Chameleon would
have to increase dramatically. But as far as we know,
mister Chameleon didn't actually influence anything. It is its own
unique thing, unlike anything else that has ever been created.

(38:06):
And I have to say that being unique is something
to be proud of, because there's not really anything to
compare this series too. And then we have this letter
from Eddie. Eddie writ's longtime listener to your show and
enjoy your in depth knowledge of the history, actors, etc.

(38:29):
Also your interesting personal take on the episodes really great. Well,
when I didn't think there would be anything better than
my top shows Johnny Doller, etc. I find shows like
The Falcon and Chameleon really entertaining. Thank you well, Thank
you so much, Eddie. I really appreciate the comment. And

(38:53):
I love introducing people to new series or new to
them series.

Speaker 8 (38:59):
You know.

Speaker 1 (38:59):
I think I've talked about how back when we started
the podcast, a lot of people really look forward to
us playing things like Richard Diamond or the Johnny Dollar serials,
and those are great to play their favorites that a
lot of people have listened to and enjoyed. But finding
these somewhat more off the wall treasures and being able

(39:23):
to present those is really a delight. And I think
that's definitely been true of Mister Chameleon since until a
few years ago, most people hadn't heard these episodes in
seventy years or so, and so it's really been a
delight to be able to introduce those to an audience

(39:47):
that had never heard anything like this before. And the
reactions have always been interesting, and it really has been fun.
And of course we do have one more week to go. Well,
now it is time to thank our Patreon supporter of
the day, and I want to go ahead and thank Peter.
Peter's been one of our Patreon supporters since April twenty twenty,

(40:10):
currently supporting the podcast at the Shamus level of four
dollars or more per month. Thank you so much for
your support, Peter, And that will actually do it for today.
We'll be back next Thursday with another episode of Mister Chameleon.
But join us back here tomorrow for yours truly, Johnny Dollar,

(40:31):
Where get a vote.

Speaker 13 (40:32):
To have any police department this country feeling the way
the New Boys do about our investigators Oh, come on now, bird,
it isn't it all? That's serious, Johnny. We have to
have police cooperation, and we can't force them to cooperate,
so we try to build up a sufficient amount of
goodwill first. Now it's too late to apologize.

Speaker 4 (40:49):
Apology.

Speaker 13 (40:50):
Captain Lewis chewed out my boss. My boss did it
to me, and I have orders to do it to you. Okay,
So get it over with. Well, I'm almost through, except
that no matter what it costes, it's gonna be worth
it to have goodwill restored. You understand, sure, And whatever
you do in Newboard, please keep Captain Lewis involve. See

(41:10):
if you stumble on to something that might lead to
the Dixon Girls killer, tell Lewis about it, okay for
whatever you say. No hard feelings, Johnny, No, no, no.

Speaker 5 (41:21):
Everything's just fine. Oh good boy.

Speaker 13 (41:23):
Glad to see you understand or an expense account like
the one you're going to get, I can understand the
theory of relative hope.

Speaker 1 (41:30):
You'll be with us then in the meantime, send your
comments to Box thirteen at Great Detectives dot net, follow
us on Twitter at Radio Detectives, and check us out
on Instagram, Instagram, dot com Slash great detectives from boyse
Ata Home. This is your host, Adam Graham, Sign and off.
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