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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. A repository of death. A museum of murder. Yes, here in the grim stone structure on the Thames, which houses Scotland Yard, is a warehouse of homicide. Where everyday objects, a portable typewriter, a jack for an automobile, an ice pick, all are touched by murder. Here's a pair of spectacles. It's a familiar object, neat, not too large, toward the shell, framed with gold tops. You've seen them a hundred times on g…

Transcript

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Synopsis

In The Pair of Spectacles, Orson Welles introduces listeners to the Black Museum, a grim repository of objects linked to murder. The episode begins with the discovery of a pair of smashed spectacles belonging to Daisy Oliver, a young woman whose mother, Mrs. Oliver, is frantic over her daughter's unexplained absence. Mrs. Oliver's visit to Inspector Caswell at Scotland Yard sets the stage for a tense investigation, as she reveals her fears about Daisy's relationship with Ron Smith, a chicken farmer with a questionable reputation.

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← PreviousThe Open End WrenchNext →A Piece of Iron Chain

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-30-ThePairOfSpectacles.mp3

The Black Museum, Episode 30

The Pair of Spectacles

Tuesday, July 22, 1952 · 27:34

The Black Museum, Episode 30

The Pair of Spectacles

Tuesday, July 22, 1952 · 27:34

Summary

In The Pair of Spectacles, a mother fears for her missing daughter, Daisy, leading Inspector Caswell into a web of deceit and violence surrounding a chicken farmer named Ron Smith. As the investigation unfolds, the truth behind Daisy's disappearance becomes increasingly ominous.

Chapters

Fifties Fade

When TV took the living room (1950 and after).

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Latest Air Dates

The newest broadcast dates in the archive.

24 episodes

That night in history

Headlines

  • 1952 — General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the real power behind the coup) in overthrowing King Farouk of Egypt.
  • 1952 — The 7.3 Mw Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
  • 1952 — Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

On the air that night›

  1. The Black MuseumThe Pair of SpectaclesCurrently listeningEpisode 30