Old Time Radio Researchers Group First Lines Project

Completed First Lines : That Hammer Guy

Based on Otter Logs As of May 26, 2005

Date Aired : 53/01/06
Available : -
Title/Plot/Host: First Episode
First Line :

Date Aired : 53/04/07
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: The Lillian Martin Case
AKA: Saddle Shoes
AKA: Sophisticated Lady
Starring : Larry Haines
First Line : “You’ve been prowling the town like a happy tomcat with night full of delicatessen garbage cans, but by the time the dawn rolls around you’ve got that washed out gray feeling.”

Date Aired : 53/04/14
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Laura Fenton Case
AKA : Baby Sits Jolie
Starring : Larry Haines
First Line : “Like the song says, there is nothing like a dame, and there isn’t you know. You have met all kinds from the obvious bar room type….”

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Barney Miller Syndicate
AKA : The Hank Busby Case
Starring : Larry Haines
First Line : “You don’t get it. You can’t understand it at all. You walk into Pat Chambers Office in Homicide and the sight you see brings you up short, with your jaw bouncing off the floor in amazement.”

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Contract on a Dead Man
Starring : Larry Haines
First Line : “You don’t mind walking down a dark, lonely street with a guy, but when he stays behind you in the shadows all the way, that’s where you draw the line.”

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Dead Dame in the Park
AKA : Hammer Framed For Murder
Starring : Ted de Corsia
First Line : “You’re not a poetic guy, at least you won’t admit to it around the joints where you hang out, but come spring and the hard core inside you starts to crack and melt away.”
Notes : It is possible that there may be another episode using the same plot, starring Larry Haines (instead of Ted de Corsia). Since the copies we have seem to all be identical, we will just keep this episode and make note of a possible second episode.

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Faye Durando
Starring : Ted de Corsia
First Line : “Grand Central is as crowded as as a “Glasgow department store on ______?dale Day.You’re broken-fielding it through the sardine pack to your train when you’re intercepted by somebody’s suitcase parked smack in your path.”

A Scotsman’s take on the garbled words:

We are struggling over this one. No one recognises the saying. I do not think the Glaswegians would refer to a Department store. The saying has probably been tidied up a bit, for the American market. We think the original saying would be “as busy as the Poly on Fair Friday”. Now you know why it was tidied up. Poly was the nickname given to the big department store in Argyll Street, because it was converted from a large Poly-Technic School. Fair Friday was the start of the fortnight in July when everyone in Glasgow took their Summer Holiday. As everyone got paid that day. the shops were crowded with people buying holiday stuff. This info came from Marion’s mum, she is 94 and remembers the Fair Fridays, and the saying well, we of course are far too young.;-).
Hope this helps.

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Man In A Wheelchair
Starring : Larry Haines
First Line : Accident Prone. That’s the expression psychiatrists use for a guy who goes around getting into one bang-up after another.”

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Mike’s Friend Murdered
AKA : The Jim Gordon Case
Starring : Ted de Corsia
First Line : “You’ve got your feet propped up on the corner of your desk, and you’re all tilted back and relaxed.”

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: The Mark Judson Case
Starring : Ted de Corsia
First Line : “The August heat overlays the city like a cellophane cover. Business has ground down to a spectacular standstill and the bills are starting to collect in your file and in your conscience.”

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Wakefield Dame
Starring : Ted de Corsia
First Line : “A guy skids on a banana peel and for every one of those to pick him up, seven characters stand around and laugh. Yeah, the joke is always on the guy who gets hit.”

Date Aired : 53/xx/xx
Available : YES
Title/Plot/Host: Velda’s Brother
AKA : Zelda’s Brother
Starring : Larry Haines
First Line : “You know every shading of Zelda’s voice, but you’ve never heard it shiver with fright like this. You forget all about your bitterness and get over there fast.”

Date Aired : 53/10/05
Available : -
Title/Plot/Host: Last Show
First Line :