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Audio from Internet Archive · Logs from the Old Time Radio Researchers. Goldie does not own the recordings.

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← All The Black Museum episodes

This is Orson Welles speaking from London. The Black Museum. Here in the grim stone structure on the Thames, which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homicide, where everyday objects, a picture frame, a coat hanger, a file folder, a baby buggy, all are touched by murder. Here's a hammerhead, made of cast steel, well shaped, extremely familiar, the front end blunt, solid, designed for driving nails, the clawed prongs at the rear for pulling nails, very practical, very, v…

Transcript

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Synopsis

In The Hammerhead, Orson Welles introduces a grim narrative from the Black Museum at Scotland Yard, where objects associated with murder are displayed. The episode centers on a hammerhead, a seemingly innocuous tool that becomes a lethal weapon in a chilling crime. Inspector Church is called to investigate the disappearance of nearly two dozen women, setting the stage for a dark exploration of human depravity.

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← PreviousThe Glass ShardsNext →The Jack Handle

Credits

  • Audio from Internet Archive (OTRR_Black_Museum_Singles). Curated by OTRR. Goldie does not claim ownership of this broadcast.
  • Historical context from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

BlackMuseum-18-TheHammerhead.mp3

The Black Museum, Episode 18

The Hammerhead

Tuesday, April 29, 1952 · 23:46

The Black Museum, Episode 18

The Hammerhead

Tuesday, April 29, 1952 · 23:46

Summary

In The Hammerhead, Orson Welles narrates a chilling tale of murder linked to a common tool, a hammer, as Inspector Church investigates a series of disappearances in London. The stakes rise as the investigation uncovers dark secrets and leads to a shocking confrontation.

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That night in history

Headlines

  • 1952 — Pan Am Flight 202 crashes into the Amazon basin near Carolina, Maranhão, Brazil, killing 50 people.
  • 1952 — Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in order to campaign in the 1952 United States presidential election.
  • 1952 — The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei) is signed in Taipei, Taiwan between Japan and the Republic of China to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.
  • 1952 — The Treaty of San Francisco comes into effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and ending its state of war with most of the Allies of World War II.

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  3. The Black MuseumThe HammerheadCurrently listeningEpisode 18