Theater of the Mind
Crime Does Not Pay
58 episodes · 1949–1951 · Syndicated · Detective
Play Crime Does Not Pay on Radio Days
Syndicated by MGM from 1949 to 1951 and first heard on WMGM, New York. Each half hour follows a crook, a con artist or a racketeer from the first easy money to the moment the law catches up.
Sources: RadioGOLDINdex
Episodes
Tap a year to see its episodes, then a title to play it on Radio Days.
19499 episodes
- All-American Fake
Con man Taylor Dunn looks just like football hero Kit Marlowe and cashes in on it. Even his wife doesn't know he's a fake. - Trigger-Man's Moll
Tootsie grows a conscience and the mob rubs him out. Two years later, his girl figures he's worth more dead than alive and won't name his killer. - The Body of the Crime
Sarah and Alma Johnson have vanished from the Swenson homestead. Norman Williams knows exactly what happened, but without the bodies the law seems helpless. - Summertime Take
The take from the slot machines at Swan Lake is too low, and Bugsy Portnoy is sent to teach somebody a lesson. - Female of the Species
The gang has rubbed out Jeff Curtis, and his wife Mary pays them a visit to make a deal. - A Piece of Rope
Dukie Defore works for a murder-for-hire "service," and he always uses a rope. - Gasoline Cocktail
An arsonist from Transylvania gets put out. - Dead Pigeon
Louie "the Dasher" Monroe decides Georgie is a stool pigeon, and the best stool pigeon is a dead one. - Glossy Finish
Rich Uncle David will leave each of his two nephews half a million dollars, and one of them has big gambling debts.
195035 episodes
- Clothes Make the Woman
A gang of shoplifters hits the big time when Betty Page gets a better idea. - Law of the Jungle
After a machine-gun killing, a grim triggerman called "Chuckles" is sent to rub out Mary Parker. - He's a Jolly Good Fellow
The life of the party has money, position and a beautiful fiancée, and he's planning several murders. - Death on the Doorstep
An out-of-town hit man does his job with a smile on his face and a silencer on his rifle. - Kangaroo Court
A vacationing gangster defies a California boss and is put on trial by a kangaroo court of criminals. - What's in a Name?
A woman with the same name as a famous actress checks into the actress's hotel, and when a $50,000 necklace arrives, the wrong woman gets it and vanishes. - Thick as Thieves
Two pals, one smart and one not, go their separate ways in crime. - Ingenious Woman
A gang leader's wife has a lot more brains than he does. - Don't Write, Telephone
Marty White and his henchman "Shiv" fly across the country to rub out a stool pigeon, and make their getaway by plane. - Between the Dark and the Daylight
A war in the numbers racket puts "Joey the Poet" on the road to his own rubout. - The Second-Hand Pistol
A poor couple pawn their last possession to buy two pistols and start a life of crime. Afterward, Nancy Coleman says society is to blame. - Imported Headache
A crooked German offers smuggled aspirin by the truckload, but it's a sting run by an ex-Nazi with a saber scar who is a wanted war criminal. - Clip Joint
The owner of a crooked dance hall double-crosses a fellow crook who carries a sawed-off .38. - The Professor Pulls a Switch
"The Professor" runs a chain of grocery stores, cheats poor immigrants and keeps murder in stock. - The Lady Loves Kittens
A woman arsonist and her partner use kittens to start their fires. - Once Too Often
A triggerman takes the rap for murder and expects a reward when he gets out on parole, but his boss wants him to go straight. - Burglar Alarm
Three childhood friends grow up into crime and try a big job: set off a jewelry store's alarm, then rob it after the police leave. - Horseshoes Are for Luck
Mitch "the Smoothie" Daniels rubs out his rivals, but an Italian waiter identifies him and he has to go on the lam. - Beauty and the Beast
A Bluebeard works a circuit and keeps careful files on his many romances. - Giddyup Horsie
A jockey won't be blackmailed into fixing a race, so he's murdered and the horse is framed. - The Gangster Was a Lady
A tough woman sells jukeboxes, protection and brass knuckles, and kills a competitor and his dog. The dog lives to be a witness. - Murder Makes Book
Red Thompson and two pals go into the bookmaking business. - Father's Boy
A boy grows up in a bad neighborhood, ends up driving a getaway car and sinks deeper into trouble. Told in flashback. - The Weak Spot
A small-time bookie's girl has big-time ambitions, the syndicate takes an interest, and two murders follow. - Horse Face
"Horse Face" wants the cheap nightclub owned by "Dimes." Two police officers are killed, but one gives a very distinctive description before he dies. - They Gotta Have What to Eat
Rival protection gangs fight for control of the town's produce market. - Voice of Death
A British ventriloquist kills, follows his rich girlfriend to America, murders her father and uses the dead man's voice to inherit more. - The Recruit
A protection racketeer skims from his bosses, and his girlfriend gets beaten up for it. - Escort for Hire
An escort bureau branches out into robbery, murder and blackmail. The last show of the season. - The Big Book
A small-time bookie who owes $5,000 skips town, and when he comes back he's caught between two crime bosses. - Mow the Man Down
A new district attorney is making trouble for the mob, so a hit is planned. - The Celluloid Candle
"Sparks" Davis and "Matches" Andrews are in the arson business, and they team up with a Mr. Finchley, who has connections and a special device. - The Doll
"The Doll," a nightclub owner as tough as nails, takes a contract to rub out "the Duke." - Strange Token
How the dope racket gets people hooked, cuts the dose and recruits runners and pushers. - Building Blocks
During the housing shortage a gangster takes over a building union and has the workmen build his houses on the city's payroll.
195114 episodes
- Death on the Upgrade
A husband poisons his wife and makes it look like an accident. - Edge of the Desert
An Eastern racketeer builds a California resort hotel with the local syndicate's money and learns that crime does not pay. - Cards and Spades
A smart young racketeer runs an afternoon gambling den for housewives. - Love Is Not All
A con man running a lonely-hearts club swindles a woman out of $20,000 to start a nationwide fencing ring. - Heir Apparent
An old gangster takes on a young assistant, the syndicate moves in, and after a murder the waiter who saw it has to be found. - Carnival Frail
A hard-boiled carnival girl meets a rich old man, becomes the rich girl on the hill, and he gets a knife in the back. - Rough Customer
Mickey Brook starts a protection racket by breaking a candy store's window five times in ten days, then moves up to armed robbery. - For Sweet Charity
A society gentleman fronts for a phony charity gambling racket. - Operation Payroll
A story called "Operation Payroll." - Diamond Trump
Diamond smugglers in South Africa have some unusual ways of getting the stones into the U.S. - Through the Hoop
A woman who runs a college lunchroom plans to take the chance out of basketball games. - Plug-Ugly
A tough mobster fights his way to the top and becomes a killer for hire. - Front, Boy!
The bellhops at a big hotel are into theft, blackmail and any other crooked buck. - Violets, Sweet Violets
The last show of the series. Racketeers beat up a flower wholesaler for protection money, and trouble follows him to the candy store he opens.