Yours Truly Johnny Dollar - "The Open Town Matter Part 2" (Old Time Radio)

This is Part 2 of a five-part serial from the classic radio drama 'Yours Truly Johnny Dollar,' originally broadcast on CBS in 1956. Bob Bailey reprises his role as Johnny Dollar, a hard-boiled insurance investigator tasked with verifying a $50,000 life-insurance claim following the shooting death of Edgar Blake, the police chief of Greensport, Missouri. The episode continues Dollar's investigation into the circumstances of Blake's death in a town with a questionable reputation. Key plot elements include scrutiny of Blake's widow and examination of a city attorney's seemingly airtight alibi—both of which complicate the straightforward nature of the claim. The writing comes from Les Crutchfield, a veteran radio writer, with direction by Jack Johnstone. The episode runs 15 minutes and includes a newly produced contextual introduction by Victor Sterling, the original broadcast itself, and a closing announcement. The audio has been cleaned and remastered to improve consistency and listening quality. As a serialized mystery, the episode is designed to leave threads unresolved, pushing listeners toward the remaining three installments to discover who is responsible for Blake's death and whether the insurance claim is legitimate or fraudulent.

Verdict: A competent mid-serial installment that delivers on its promise of classic radio mystery, with solid production values and a clear plot hook, but limited standalone impact and no evidence of exceptional writing or performance.

Fiction rubric

• Writing 3/5 20%

  Crutchfield was a seasoned radio writer, and the setup suggests competent mystery plotting with clear suspects and complications, though the source material doesn't reveal dialogue quality or distinctive voice.

• Performance and production 3/5 20%

  Bob Bailey was a skilled radio actor, and the remastered audio promises consistency, but without hearing the actual performance, only serviceable quality can be inferred from the production notes.

• Plot momentum 3/5 15%

  As Part 2 of 5, the episode introduces complications (widow scrutiny, alibi questions) that should sustain interest, but being mid-serial, it likely has lulls between revelations rather than relentless forward motion.

• Substance 3/5 15%

  A 15-minute episode with a specific case to investigate offers solid investigative content, but the serialized format may pad runtime with setup and recap rather than dense new information.

• Delivers on its title 4/5 15%

  The title promises 'The Open Town Matter Part 2' and the episode delivers exactly that—a continuation of the insurance investigation in a morally ambiguous town, with no apparent misdirection.

• Value for time 3/5 15%

  At 15 minutes with introduction and closing, the actual broadcast content is roughly 14 minutes; reasonable for a serialized episode, though the mid-serial placement means some time goes to recap and setup.

How we score Fiction

Worth it if you're already invested in the five-part serial, enjoy classic radio drama, or appreciate the insurance-investigator procedural format with period authenticity.

Based on the episode description. AI-generated; it can be wrong.