The Phantom Voice, Feb. 6, 1938

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The episode opens with Lamont and Margo getting out of a car. They are going to the criminal court; Lamont expects an assassination of the character of a public man, a senator.

Lamont believes the senator is being framed. The senator is accused of accepting a bribe. The two then enter the courtroom.

The judge bawls out the spectators for their noise. The defending attorney makes a statement and calls the senator to the stand. The attorney then begins to question the defendant who denies ever accepting a bribe. The prosecuting attorney then asks his questions. The prosecutor has a movie that he wants to show the jury.

The defense attorney has not seen the picture, but he doesn't object the movie being shown. The shades are drawn to be able to show the movie. The movie was made at request of a different attorney.

The film is a record of the senator's meeting some man, Rinaldi(?) It seems that the senator wants money to grant some kind of favor. (The sound is not very good in this section). The senator denies having ever said such a thing, and that the picture is a fake.

Rinaldi is dead, and the senator did not accept any bribe, according to the defending attorney. He requests a 24-hour delay.

Back in the car with Lamont and Margo. Lamont talks about Greek philosophy about believing only half of what you see and nothing of what you hear. Lamont says the film is a fake. Lamont read the senator's lips on the movie, and he saw enough to know that the senator was not saying the words that were on the film.

Lamont says the senator's political enemies are the ones who want him behind jail. The Shadow plans to talk to a crooked lawyer, the one who made the film of the senator.

Then it's time for a commercial. Save money by cutting down on the cost of heating your home; use Blue Coal. It's Pennsylvania anthracite. You can even order a trial ton. Plus, it comes in four sizes!

Back to the show. Someone is talking to the crooked lawyer. The guy wants to get a wrestling match; apparently he's the lawyer's bodyguard. The guy discusses murdering someone. Then the voice of the Shadow is heard. The crooked attorney is not scared of the Shadow.

The attorney offers the Shadow money to stay out of the case. His bodyguard locks the door. They plan to try and figure out where the Shadow is by walking through the room in a line. They do that and get to the end of the room and the thug seems to have grabbed the Shadow.

The Shadow acts like he's being choked. The attorney tells the thug to kill the Shadow while he leaves to kill some other guy.

The attorney goes to where Wilson, the other guy, is. Wilson is upset about what he did for the attorney as far as faking evidence against the senator. The guy says he plans to tell the truth about what was done. The attorney draws a gun. Suddenly the voice of the Shadow is heard.

The thug was defeated by the Shadow and he's followed the attorney there. The attorney shoots Wilson then laughs. The guy locks the room with the Shadow inside and throws the gun into the room. (But wouldn't the gun have the fingerprints of the attorney on it.)

The Shadow tries to get Wilson to say what how he faked the evidence, but the guy becomes unconscious. Margo gets to the room and opens it. The guy wakes up again and they take him into another room. It's a recording studio, and the guy says the attorney shot him. (He takes an awfully long time to die.)

The record that was made is played at the trial. Wilson says he has been shot by the crooked attorney and that he was the one who mimicked the senator's voice. Then the guy finally dies.

The voice of the Shadow is on the record, also. The Shadow says that all criminals must pay the penalty.

Then it's back to another commercial for Blue Coal.

(The guy that was shot took an awfully long time to die; it was really quite unrealistic for a guy, shot like he was, to be taken into the next room, explain what he had done, have the Shadow set up a recording record, then proceed to explain what happened, all while he's supposedly dying. Still, overlooking that, it's a good episode.)

The ending is a little different. As you sew evil, so shall you reap evil. Crime does not pay. The Shadow knows.


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