Solving the Murder Mystery

Fibber drags Molly to the detective bureau, boasting about his sleuthing skills. Soon he’s swept into the case of missing millionaire department store owner Chester Checkstub, supposedly “taken for a ride by the boss of the underworld.” With Colonel Boomer and the Wistful Vista police chief in tow, Fibber interrogates a parade of suspects: a nervous valet, a parlor maid, a Chinese cook named I Sing, Silly Watson as the furnace tender, and even the veiled femme fatale “Orchid.” Cameos include Harlow Wilcox (as himself in the rogues’ gallery) and Butch Weems (the “dance bandit”). After all the wild accusations, Fibber discovers Checkstub alive—he’d just gone for a ride with the boss of the underweardepartment. Mystery solved, sort of, and Johnson’s Wax ties it all up with Glow Coat pitches

Air date: August 24, 1936
Series: Fibber McGee & Molly
Sponsor: Johnson’s Wax (Auto Cleaner, Auto Wax, Glow Coat)
Notables: Colonel Horatio K. Boomer, Chester Checkstub, Silly Watson, “Orchid,” Butch Weems, Harlow Wilcox (cameo), Police Commissioner Henry Handcuff, I Sing (cook); music by Ted Weems & his Orchestra

 

Keywords: detective parody, murder mystery spoof, Chester Checkstub, parody police work, Colonel Boomer, Silly Watson, Johnson’s Wax ads, Glow Coat, Wistful Vista comedy

 

Cast: Fibber McGee, Molly McGee, Colonel Horatio K. Boomer, Chester Checkstub, Silly Watson, Orchid, Butch Weems, Harlow Wilcox, Police Commissioner Henry Handcuff, I Sing (cook), Ted Weems & Orchestra