Let George Do It 1949 08 01 (151) The Perfect Alibi

# The Perfect Alibi

When George Valentine answers the phone on a sweltering August evening in 1949, he finds himself entangled in a murder most cunning—one where every witness swears the accused couldn't possibly be guilty. A society wife lies dead in her penthouse, and the prime suspect has an airtight alibi: he was performing before three hundred people at the city's grandest nightclub, miles away from the crime. Yet George smells deception in the air thick as cigarette smoke, and as he prowls through smoky jazz joints and marble-floored estates, he begins to unravel a scheme so meticulously constructed that it nearly fooled the police. Time runs short as an innocent man faces the gallows, and George must expose the perfect crime before the clock strikes midnight.

*Let George Do It* thrived during radio's golden age by delivering exactly what listeners craved: quick-witted repartee, byzantine plotting, and the reassuring presence of Bob Bailey's George Valentine—a detective who solved cases over the telephone as often as on the pavement. Unlike the hard-boiled cops dominating noir, George played jazz against detective work, bringing a lighter touch to murder without sacrificing genuine suspense. By 1949, the show had perfected its formula: snappy dialogue, ingenious puzzles, and the kind of logic that rewarded attentive listeners who could play detective alongside George.

This episode exemplifies why audiences kept tuning in for nearly a decade. The mechanics of the perfect alibi—that cornerstone of detective fiction—gets the full treatment here, with George's methodology proving sharper than any police investigation. Settle into your favorite chair, dim the lights, and prepare yourself for ninety minutes of sophisticated mystery. *Let George Do It* awaits.