Rats in a Cage Match - Episode 99

Can Falk pin the corrupt boss of Parabellum City’s professional wrestling organization? Why is the crowd so quiet? Do frogs really stay in a pot of water if you turn up the heat gradually? Listen to find out!

Rats in a Cage Match, episode 99 of This Gun in My Hand, was slammed into a turnbuckle by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, information on how to subscribe, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities.
How do I pin a person to the mat? With This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. I was going to insert a sample of “Hey Murgatroyd, let’s go-o-oo!” from “Jam On It” by Newcleus, but I couldn’t isolate the vocal from the not-very-1939 music.
2. Falk might be thinking of the Wallace Beery wrestling picture Flesh (1932).
3. Don Knotts would count as an animal shapeshifter in The Incredible Mister Limpet (1964), right? I watched the full movie last night because that’s the level of commitment I bring to researching this show.
4. Regina slips up when she says, “I already said the episode title…” proving that she is really Petra! but Falk misses it.

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950). The music clip during the commercial was from The Scar (1948, aka Hollow Triumph). The closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), all three films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: G39-09-Boxing Fight Bell.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/438626/

Sound Effect Title: bustle in the pub
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/organicmanpl/sounds/403285/

Sound Effect Title: R07-18-Light Cheering and Crowd Noise.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/486213/

Sound Effect Title: R07-05-Crowd at Sporting Event.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/486205/

Sound Effect Title: R07-27-Sporting Event with Steady Cheers.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/486214/

Sound Effect Title: R07-03-Whistling and Cheering.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/486204/

Sound Effect Title: ginger19.wav
By lyjia
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/lyjia/sounds/84659/

Sound Effect Title: R27-20-Small Crowd Gasps.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/480774/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a panel from the public domain comic G.I. Joe, Number 14 (October 1951) from Ziff-Davis Publications. Artist unknown, pencils and inks might be by Carmine Infantino and Frank Giacoia.

Do Androids Dream of His Girl Friday? - Episode 98

What happens when Falk gets stuck in a screwball comedy? Can Falk weed out the humans from the androids? Do androids dream of His Girl Friday? Listen to find out!

Do Androids Dream of His Girl Friday? , episode 98 of This Gun in My Hand, was manufactured not by the Tyrell Corporation but by Rob Northrup, using dialogue from the 1940 public domain film His Girl Friday, which was adapted from the 1928 public domain play The Front Page. The part of Walter Burns was played by Cary Grant, with Rosalind Russell as Hildy Johnson and Ralph Bellamy as Bruce Baldwin. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, information on how to subscribe, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. How do I survive a screwball comedy? With This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. The 1940 film His Girl Friday was adapted from a 1928 stage play titled The Front Page, both in the public domain. Dialogue in this episode was taken from His Girl Friday. (Link below.) It’s excellent but has (CONTENT WARNING) the kind of racism and sexism you might expect in a 1940 film. There’s also a one hour Lux Radio Theater adaptation starring Fred MacMurray and Claudette Colbert; a Screen Guild Theater radio adaptation starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell squeezed down into a half hour; and an even more offensive, grittier 1970 film of The Front Page starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. And there’s a 1931 film version of The Front Page which I have yet to watch.
https://archive.org/details/his_girl_friday

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), with transitional music from His Girl Friday (1940) and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), all films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

The two women saying “pixielated” were from the Campbell Playhouse radio adaptation of “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” broadcast February 11, 1940, public domain. 

Sound Effect Title: bustle in the pub
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/organicmanpl/sounds/403285/

Sound Effect Title: teletype_medium_speed.wav
By stratcat322
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/stratcat322/sounds/169259/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a promotional photo by A. L. Schafer for the 1940 film His Girl Friday showing Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell and Ralph Bellamy sitting next to each other. Superimposed over Ralph Bellamy’s face is the robot from The Phantom Creeps (1939) from another promotional photo (photographer unknown).

How Did This Gun in My Hand Get Made - Episode 97

We’re gonna ballyhoo some stinkeroos,
Shows as cheesy as Milwaukee.
We’re gonna box up the radio and ship it to Biloxi.
Hot Dog! This Guy’s Got Moxie!

Paul, June & Jason of the popular show HDTGGM try to answer the question: how did This Gun in My Hand get made?

How Did This Gun in My Hand Get Made, episode 97 of This Gun in My Hand, was ballyhooed by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, information on how to subscribe, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. What tool did I use to make this? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. When Jason Manticore is introduced, the audience is not booing. They’re actually shouting, “Zoooo!” A manticore is a mythical creature. They love him so much, they want to keep him in a zoo.

2. The audio credits at the end of the first episode of This Gun in My Hand said that all the voices were by one person, but not everyone listens to the credits or reads the show notes, as you might be demonstrating if you’re not reading this.

3. The reviews that Paul claims to have found in radio magazines are actual reviews of this podcast posted on various websites. It was my wife in real life who said she liked the part where a female character punches me.
https://thisguninmyhand.blogspot.com/2023/03/praise-for-this-gun-in-my-hand.html

Credits:
The opening music clip was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the cover of Detective Fiction Weekly, Volume 127, Number 4 (April 15, 1939), public domain art by Emmett Watson.

Merch and Destroy - Episode 96

Can Gary convince his client Falk to endorse a spin-off show and merchandise? Will they stop a misguided hero from broadcasting the formula for nuclear destruction? Does chili exist? Listen to find out!

Merch and Destroy, episode 96 of This Gun in My Hand, was parroted by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, information on how to subscribe, and to buy the only official merchandise for This Gun in My Hand: a short story collection called Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities by Rob Northrup. Plunge back through your memories to episode 53, in which Falk reads these stories while riding the bus. You can read the same stories he raved about. Only $2.99 in pdf format. Cheap! Not available in paper format until we get more demand for it, or any demand for it. Which item of clothing truly makes the hero? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. My teacher for the second half of first grade was named Mrs. Schiller, I think. And if you haven’t read any mysteries, thrillers, westerns or anything else by Loren Estleman, you’re missing out.
2. The Backdoor Pilot appeared in Episode 50, “The Shady Aviator.”

Credits:
The opening music was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950) and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: porto_birdmarket_22.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/mhusinsky/sounds/76437/

Sound Effect Title: Ravens.mp3
By kentdavies959
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/kentdavies959/sounds/466666/

Sound Effect Title: Shop door bell.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/775noise/sounds/494565/

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: Squeaky Car Door
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/coltures/sounds/262325/#

Sound Effect Title: Car_motor_Sound.m4a
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Blizzard123/sounds/504633/#

Sound Effect Title: radio frequency 2 08.mp3
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/TRP/sounds/575217/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a Stetson ad from Life magazine, September 9, 1940.

Ad Space - Episode 95

Will Falk prevent scandal and sabotage of the United States Rocketry Program? Does his friend Jimmy seem familiar? Is chili a myth? Listen to find out! 

Ad Space, episode 95 of This Gun in My Hand, was advertised and spaced by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, information on how to subscribe, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. How do I make space for ads? With This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Anachronism: Umberto Eco was seven years old in 1939, the time this story is set.

Credits:
The opening and middle transitional music clips were from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), with more music from The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph, 1948) and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), all films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: old pinball.wav
By mapleleaf
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/mapleleaf/sounds/34730/

Sound Effect Title: Classic Pinball Gameplay
By theshaggyfreak
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/theshaggyfreak/sounds/404144/

Sound Effect Title: Fail (Trombone wah, wah, wah…) - Sound Effect.mp3
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/NikPlaymostories/sounds/563850/

Sound Effect Title: Beep 1 sec.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/austin1234575/sounds/213795/

The image accompanying this episode is from 1950s and 1970s comic book or magazine ads, presumed to be public domain.

Seduction of the Ignorant - Episode 94

Falk wishes they would leave him be.
He first must vanquish seductresses three.
Will they charm our brave hero?
You’ve heard him before; you already know.
Listen anyway to find out!

Seduction of the Ignorant, episode 94 of This Gun in My Hand, was loved up and turned into a horny toad by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, archives, information on how to subscribe, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. My love for who is way out of line? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. Depending which dictionary you look in, “impassionate” is a contronym that can mean passionate or dispassionate.

2. Anachronism: according to Vogue India, “Designers Salvatore Ferragamo, Roger Vivier and André Perugia have all been credited with inventing the stiletto [heel], sometime between 1948 and 1954.” As so often happens in Parabellum City, Sickubus is a little ahead of her time.
https://www.vogue.in/content/the-history-of-the-stiletto

3. Catch-2022 paraphrases the “snails and oysters” innuendo from the bath scene from Spartacus (1960), which no one in 1939 would recognize. In fact, the scene was censored from the original release and wasn’t widely available to the public until a restored version in 1991.

4. I learned a new word from Freesound dot org: “borborygmus,” growling or rumbling sound made as food, fluids or gas passes through the stomach or intestines. Plural, “borborygmi.”

Credits:
The opening music was from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Sound Effect Title: Park ambience - mostly birds
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Mafon2/sounds/274175/#

Sound Effect Title: fav.stomach.growl.mp3
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/CropDub6425/sounds/703168/

Sound Effect Title: Stomach Rumble
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/yrdn/sounds/473989/

Sound Effect Title: groaning1.flac
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/borygmi/sounds/414975/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of a public domain comic book panel from Strange Worlds, Volume 5, Number 1 (November 1951). Pencils by Wally Wood, inks by Wally Wood and Joe Orlando.

A Match Made in Heck's Pantry - Episode 93

Can Falk keep control of one cuffed criminal while following a trail of clues left by another crazed spree killer? Will someone make a love connection or is this episode title completely misleading? Listen to find out!

A Match Made in Heck’s Pantry, episode 93 of This Gun in My Hand, was ignited by Rob Northrup. This episode and all others are available on Youtube with automatically-generated closed captions of dialog. Visit http://ThisGuninMyHand.blogspot.com for credits, show notes, information on how to subscribe, archives, and to buy my books, such as Little Heist in the Big Woods and Other Revisionist Atrocities. Who’s the only smoker that gets close to me? This Gun in My Hand!

Show Notes:
1. This episode was partly inspired by Columbo and other cozy or formulaic murder mysteries, in which the culprit usually offers no resistance once the detective announces the final piece of evidence that proves they did it.

2. Public defenders were not provided across the country until Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963, but there were cities, counties and states that provided them as early as 1913.

https://6ac.org/the-right-to-counsel/history-of-the-right-to-counsel/understanding-gideons-impact-part-2-the-birth-of-the-public-defender-movement/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_defender_(United_States)

3. My grandfather threatened to leave only one dollar in his will to any of his children who smoked, according to my dad. It worked! None of his kids smoked.

https://grissomlawfirm.com/disinheriting-heir-one-dollar/

4. Pete Larsen came up with the names Patch Work and Pat Schwerk. Thanks, Pete!

Credits:
The opening and middle transitional music clips were from The Sun Sets at Dawn (1950), and the closing music was from Killer Bait (1949), both films in the public domain. Most of the music and sound effects used in the episode are modified or incomplete versions of the originals.

Music in fake commercial: For He’s the Jolly Good Fellow
Excerpt from “Special Events Tracks,” Windsor Records 7641-A, 1958.
Performer unknown. Public Domain.

Sound Effect Title: R26-19-Foley Chains.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/481924/

Sound Effect Title: Curtains
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/DapperDaniel/sounds/180687/

Sound Effect Title: G26-26-Crowbar Prying Squeaky Wood.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/craigsmith/sounds/438345/

Sound Effect Title: Wood Falling - 4 Drops.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/Manim8/sounds/577452/

Sound Effect Title: Footsteps Dress Shoes Wood Floor.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/allrealsound/sounds/161756/

Sound Effect Title: House Front Door Inside 3.wav
License: Public domain
https://freesound.org/people/saturdaysoundguy/sounds/388027/#

Sound Effect Title: footsteps cellar.wav
License: Public Domain
https://freesound.org/people/gecop/sounds/545030/

Sound Effect Title: Real Colt 45 M1911 (shot)
By Carmelomike
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
https://freesound.org/people/Carmelomike/sounds/255216/

Sound Effect Title: Gun Fire
By GoodSoundForYou
License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
http://soundbible.com/1998-Gun-Fire.html

Sound Effect Title: Kimmokkeita / Ricochets
By YleArkisto
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
https://freesound.org/people/YleArkisto/sounds/401921/

The image accompanying this episode is a modified detail of the public domain image “606 Club Matchbook Chicago, Illinois.”
https://ia802602.us.archive.org/5/items/606-club-matchbook-chicago/606%20Club%20Matchbook%20Chicago.jpg