Suspense - Murder In G Flat

(4.1 stars; 9 reviews)

Stay Tuned For Murder Suspense -  Murder In G Flat April 5, 1951 Easy come, easy go.  That's probably not the first phrase that comes to mind, when thinking of Jack Benny and money.  The money, all twenty-five thousand of it, does come easily when bags get mixed up on the subway.  Soon, however, piano tuner Hercules Remington (Benny) learns that the person who picked up his tool bag, leaving the money, has identified him and wants his bag back. Of course, piano tuner Remington wanted to keep the money, despite his wife's admonitions, but when the phone call comes from the shady character who picked up the wrong bag, he learns the easy-go half of the equation.  Unfortunately, when Hercules is cajoled into returning the money to its unrightful owner, things do not go as smoothly as planned. The main focus of this 'story of treachery and greed' is not the crime that has been committed, rather it is the different attitudes of those who have received the ill-gotten gains.  Benny, finder of the money, is elated to be suddenly rich (in 1951, twenty-five thousand went a long way), but is shrewd enough to defer to his wife's better judgement.  His wife Martha, played by Bea Benaderet, is wise enough and honest enough to know that the money should be handed over to the proper authorities. The fly in the ointment is Uncle Herman, the black sheep of the family, played by Joseph Kearns.  Upon seeing the money, Uncle Herman develops the attitude of 'finders keepers', as well as suddenly becoming very friendly to his newly-rich nephew.  When Hercules tries to return the money, and things go horribly wrong, he realizes that he may be implicated in a greater crime.  Luckily, Uncle Herman is there to help.  Coincidence? While Murder in G Flat is a lighter story in the Suspense canon, it is still a tale of greed and betrayal, with the appropriate number of red herrings, and anchored by the crimes of robbery and murder.  The solution of the crime, which hinges on Hercules Remington's infallible musical ear, is clever, but not contrived. Of course, Jack Benny is and remains the amiable miser we all know and love.  In appreciation for his participation in this episode, and for his straight portrayal of piano tuner Hercules Remington, writer Richard George Pedicini did allow Jack to slip in one charming 'Bennyism' at the story's close:  "A... pay phone?" In 1956, Pedicini's story would be reworked into a comedic, slightly corny, but thoroughly enjoyable episode of the anthology television program GE Theater, retitled 'The Honest Man'.  This retelling has a stellar cast, led by Jack Benny, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Charles Bronson, and Barbara Lawrence, with host Ronald Reagan. Links: To visit the OTRR's Suspense page, with over nine hundred episodes available, click here . For another take on this episode, from the website Escape And Suspense, click here . To visit Introduction To Old-Time Radio's Suspense page, click here . To visit Introduction To Old-Time Radio's Jack Benny page, click here . To view the entire ITOTR collection, click here . To watch this story (retold as The Honest Man) on the television program GE Theater, click here . Text © 2016 W.H.Wilson

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.