AustLit

The proprietor of an expensive night club is holding auditions for an eight-piece band and singer: in the middle of the auditions, the proprietor dies, murdered by anturin poison from the upas tree, administered through a small dart and blowpipe: both poison and blowpipe are said to be of Malaysian origin.

The radio play allowed the audience to guess the identity of the murderer:

'Here is a novelty in radio—a mystery drama that is a game. Max Afford has written a rather light-hearted play about a murder. There is the victim, the usual group of suspects and a rather unusual crowd of investigators, for this time the listeners are given a chance to beat the author's detective—and incidentally the author—to his conclusion. Before the actual unmasking of the villain a pause of 30 seconds will be made. During this interval, an announcer will enumerate all the clues and will invite listeners to work out their own solution. The play will then continue. The author guarantees that he has played perfectly fair. The audience will, at the break, know just as much as the detective. Will the listener be the one to guess who committed the murders at the Angel's Face Night Club; or must Jeffery Blackburn tell?'

Source:

'Highlights of the A.B.C. Programme', Dubbo Liberal, 7 November 1940, p.2.

'Mystery Play by Max Afford', Wireless Weekly, 18 November 1939, p.13.