Episodes

  • The Nathan Gayles Matter

    The Nathan Gayles Matter
    Apr 27 2026
    Originally Aired: November 17, 1953
    Johnny Dollar #189, "The Nathan Gayles Matter,"
    Johnny Dollar investigates the murder of Nathan Gayles, a New York police lieutenant shot in his own garage. Sergeant Bill Kemper believes the killer is a hood named Bancroft, whom Gayles had been pursuing relentlessly. On the day of the murder, Gayles told Kemper he was meeting with a stoolie named Virgil Cummins to obtain damaging evidence against Bancroft. When Kemper arrived at the Gayles home, he found the lieutenant dead and Cummins was later discovered strangled in his room. The only witness, a neighbor named George Fisher, initially identified Bancroft from police mugshots but later changed his story after viewing a lineup.
    Dollar meets with the victim's widow, Evelyn Gayles, who was celebrating their seventh anniversary the day her husband was killed. She mentions that Fisher has been avoiding her, clearly terrified despite having four children of his own. When Dollar attempts to question Fisher, his wife refuses to cooperate, stating the family has been bothered too much. With the key witness too frightened to identify Bancroft and the suspect's girlfriend providing an alibi, Dollar faces the challenge of breaking through a wall of fear to solve the case.
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    28 mins
  • The Bobby Foster Matter

    The Bobby Foster Matter
    Apr 26 2026
    Originally Aired: November 10, 1953
    Johnny Dollar #188, "The Bobby Foster Matter," Johnny is called to investigate an insurance claim in Riggs City, Florida, where a young boy has suffered a devastating medical emergency. Five-year-old Bobby Foster lies in a coma at the local hospital, facing permanent paralysis as the result of a botched injection that caused an air bubble to enter his bloodstream. Dr. Grant Howell, the hospital director who had to fly in a team of neurosurgeons from Boston to try to save the boy's life, believes Bobby is the victim of a criminal racket.
    A polio scare has gripped the small Florida town, and panicked parents are desperate to obtain gamma globulin injections for their children. Dr. Howell suspects that someone is taking advantage of this fear by offering black market injections, but Bobby's parents refuse to admit their son received any treatment. As Johnny begins his investigation, he faces a wall of silence from frightened parents who may have put their own children at risk with an unscrupulous operator who remains hidden in the shadows.
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    28 mins
  • The Gino Gambona Matter

    The Gino Gambona Matter
    Apr 25 2026
    Originally Aired: November 3, 1953
    Johnny Dollar #187, "The Gino Gambona Matter,"
    Johnny Dollar is hired by an insurance company to investigate the murder of Barney Rico, a former racketeer who went straight seven years ago and built a successful chain of barbershops. Rico's death is particularly suspicious because he was the man whose testimony sent mob boss Gino Gambona back to Sicily. Lieutenant Briggs fills Dollar in on the details, noting that Gambona threatened revenge at the trial. The case seems straightforward until Dollar visits Rico's main barbershop and discovers Dave Rico, Barney's brother, fatally stabbed. With his dying breath, Dave names Gambona as his killer, which seems impossible since Gambona is supposedly still in Sicily.
    Dollar begins investigating Gambona's former associates still in New York, including Virginia Barrett, a singer who was once romantically involved with the mob boss. As Briggs cables authorities in Sicily to confirm Gambona's whereabouts, Dollar heads to the Pirates Den nightclub on East 34th Street to track down Virginia. The question remains: is Gambona somehow back in town seeking revenge, or is someone else eliminating the Rico brothers while hiding behind the gangster's fearsome reputation?
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    28 mins
  • The Howard Arnold Matter

    The Howard Arnold Matter
    Apr 24 2026
    Originally Aired: October 27, 1953
    Johnny Dollar #186, "The Howard Arnold Matter,"
    Johnny Dollar is hired by his old friend Hanley Conrad to protect Howard Arnold, a prominent attorney who has represented crime boss George Castro and his syndicate for years. Arnold has had a falling out with Castro and fears for his life, but he refuses to go to the police unless he's ready to expose the entire organization. When Dollar meets with Arnold, the nervous lawyer reveals he possesses an envelope containing enough evidence to send Castro and his associates away for a hundred years. Arnold asks Dollar to safeguard this explosive evidence, believing it will keep him alive as long as Castro knows the material will reach authorities if anything happens to him.
    Dollar agrees to hold the envelope, but trouble arrives quickly when Marty Fleet, one of Castro's trigger men, breaks into his hotel room demanding the evidence. After a violent confrontation, Dollar manages to keep the envelope hidden, but Arnold realizes the situation has become too dangerous. He arranges a secret meeting to retrieve the evidence, taking precautions to avoid Castro's surveillance as the deadly game intensifies.
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    29 mins
  • The Allen Saxton Matter

    The Allen Saxton Matter
    Apr 23 2026
    Originally Aired: October 20, 1953
    Johnny Dollar #185, "The Allen Saxton Matter,"
    Johnny Dollar travels to New York to investigate a potential insurance claim on a supposedly priceless painting purchased by wealthy collector Allen Saxton for two hundred thousand dollars. The problem: several experts have declared the masterpiece a forgery, while Saxton insists he bought it from Rene Francois, one of Paris's most reputable dealers. Dollar meets the gruff, cough-plagued Saxton at his impressive New Jersey estate, where the collector alternates between reminiscing about Paris and fuming over accusations from a critic named Lippert. The investigation is complicated by Saxton's spirited daughter Barbara, who takes an immediate interest in the insurance investigator despite her father's protective protests.
    While waiting for museum expert Mr. Farmer to conduct the definitive examination that will determine the painting's authenticity, Dollar finds himself caught between professional duty and personal intrigue. Barbara's determination matches her father's stubbornness, and when she tracks Dollar down at his hotel through persistence and resourcefulness, it becomes clear this case involves more than just verifying a painting's provenance.
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    30 mins
  • The Phillip Morey Matter

    The Phillip Morey Matter
    Apr 22 2026
    Originally Aired: October 13, 1953
    Johnny Dollar #184, "The Phillip Morey Matter," Johnny is called to New York by Mr. Maynard to investigate a costly production shutdown at Maury Productions Incorporated. Television star Philip Morey has allegedly suffered a nervous breakdown, halting filming and leaving the cast and crew under contract while the insurance company foots the bill. When Johnny arrives to assess the situation, producer Milton Gradke seems strangely evasive about allowing him access to the ailing star. At Philip Morey's Park Avenue apartment, Johnny discovers the truth isn't quite what the insurance company was told. Instead of finding a man incapacitated by nervous exhaustion, he encounters Morey in the throes of what appears to be a serious drinking binge. The actor's writer-director Richard Long explains that Morey's wife has left him and plans to sue for divorce, sending the troubled star spiraling into the bottle. With millions of dollars at stake and a history of similar incidents threatening to end Morey's career permanently, Johnny faces a difficult decision about what to report to his company.
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    30 mins
  • The Alfred Chambers Matter

    The Alfred Chambers Matter
    Apr 21 2026
    Originally Aired: October 6, 1953
    Johnny Dollar #183, "The Alfred Chambers Matter,"
    Johnny Dollar travels to Michigan's exclusive Les Chenaux Islands to investigate the shooting death of Alfred Chambers, a Pittsburgh steel executive found dead in his rented lakeside cabin. Captain George Lane of the Sault Ste. Marie Police briefs Johnny on the puzzling circumstances: Chambers was shot in the chest with a .22 caliber rifle, likely while standing on the dock at twilight. Evidence suggests he fell into the water after being hit, then staggered into the cabin where he died. With no electricity or phone in the isolated 60-year-old cabin and several other homes scattered across the island, the killer could have come from anywhere.
    The case grows more complicated when Johnny interviews the victim's wife, who reveals that she and her husband had recently separated over his affair with a young college student named Jane Elkins. Mrs. Chambers had come to the island to discuss giving her husband his freedom, only to discover his body. As Johnny examines the crime scene and interviews witnesses, he must determine whether this was a crime of passion or something more calculated in the remote island setting.
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    30 mins
  • The Amita Buddha Matter

    The Amita Buddha Matter
    Apr 20 2026
    Originally Aired: September 29, 1953
    Johnny Dollar #182, "The Amita Buddha Matter,"
    Johnny Dollar flies to Los Angeles to investigate what initially appears to be a tragic house fire that claimed the life of William McEdwards. However, Beverly Hills Police Chief Anderson reveals a disturbing truth: McEdwards was murdered, stabbed and struck with a severe skull fracture before the fire was set to cover up the crime. Dollar interviews the victim's young widow, who had been married only six months. She explains that she was in Pasadena on the evening of the murder, having taken an antique Chinese Buddha to their friend Charlie Wilkins for appraisal. The statue was a belated wedding gift from Bill's father, John McEdwards, who discovered it during a film production trip to Korea.
    Dollar's investigation leads him to the elder McEdwards' estate, where he's greeted by four giant Great Danes guarding the property. As Dollar begins questioning the victim's father about the mysterious Buddha statue and the circumstances surrounding his son's death, the case grows more complex, with the rare oriental artifact emerging as a potential key to understanding why someone would commit murder.
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    29 mins