"A Special Pick-proof Lock on Her Bedroom Door, Iron Bars on All Her Windows, Never Leaves the House, Sees Hardly Anyone . . . This Sounds Bad"

WE surmise from the headnote that today's story seems to have been the first time that Ellery Queen (the editor) published an Ellery Queen (the detective) radio play script in their magazine . . .

"The Adventure of the Frightened Star."

By Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay, 1905-82, and Manfred B. Lee, 1905-71; Wikipedia HERE and the ISFDb HERE and HERE).

Reprinted in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine “Overseas Edition for the Armed Forces,” August 1945 and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (Australia) #13, July 1948.

Radio play script (15 pages).

First broadcast on CBS, July 14, 1940, as The Adventure of the Frightened Star.

Online at Archive.org (HERE).

   "Shot through the chest. Funny place for a suicide to shoot herself. Maybe they do it different in Hollywood."

TRACKING DOWN criminals on the East Coast isn't enough for Ellery Queen (the detective). He heads west in search of research material and possible problems to solve and finds both when a reclusive, bordering on hysterical, movie star is found dead in a locked room. A simple suicide it seems to be, but Ellery notices something everyone else, including the local law, have overlooked. "Then," he politely asks, "where’s the revolver she’s supposed to have shot herself with?" . . .

The famous Challenge to the Reader:

  "Ellery Queen has just said he knows who the murderer is. Do you? You can have some additional fun by stopping here and trying to get the solution before Ellery gives it. Getting the correct criminal is not enough, if you play the game. You must get the correct reasoning, too! Now go ahead and read Ellery’s own solution to The Adventure of the Frightened Star."

References:

- Grand Central:

  "Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan." (Wikipedia HERE).

- (Ad libs):

  "In music and other performing arts, the phrase ad libitum (Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to 'ad lib' (as an adjective or adverb) or 'ad-lib' (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation."

  "In film, the term ad-lib usually refers to the interpolation of unscripted material in an otherwise scripted performance." (Wikipedia HERE).

- U. S. Postal Savings passbook:

  "The United States Postal Savings System was a postal savings system signed into law by President William Howard Taft and operated by the United States Post Office Department, predecessor of the United States Postal Service, from January 1, 1911, until July 1, 1967.

  "From 1921, depositors were fingerprinted. Although this practice was initially 'not to be associated with criminology', the early 1950s Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar radio show suggested that in some instances, Postal Savings account fingerprints were used for positive identification in criminal cases." (Wikipedia HERE).

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From Ellery Queen: A Website on Deduction (HERE):

Episode 57: "The Frightened Star".

First broadcast: 07-14-40. Running time: 30:00 mins.

Repeated 10-21-43 or 10-23-43 (Episode 148).

Script printed in EQMM Spring '42.

Guests: Armchair Detectives. West: Mitzi Cumming. East: Dr. Henry R. Junemann (dentistry professor).

Ellery visits the West Coast at the urgent request of movie producer Tony Pepper who wants to discover why his greatest star, Nina, an actress with one name, suddenly retired from public life and work at the height of her career. Pepper believes that if he can learn the reason for Nina's queer actions, he can induce her to resume screen work. A locked-room mystery involving the death of a mysteriously retired Hollywood actress ...

Plot gimmick from The American Gun Mystery (1934).

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Resources:

- Our last encounter with Ellery Queen (the detective) was the case of an unamusing murder in an amusement park, "The House of Darkness" (HERE).

- Other EQ plays that we've featured: the three plays in The Case Book of Ellery Queen (HERE); "The Scorpion's Thumb" (HERE); "Mr. Short and Mr. Long" (HERE); and "The Adventure of the Mouse's Blood" (HERE).

The bottom line:

Unless otherwise noted, all bibliographical data are derived from The FictionMags Index created by William G. Contento & edited by Phil Stephensen-Payne.

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