The Thirteen Windows of the Jade Pagoda

Smugglers! Gangsters and their Molls! Conspiracy! Ancient Feuds! Blend with a seemingly supernatural Chinese curse, and you have the makings of a highly entertaining Old Time Radio Crime Serial. The Thirteen Windows of the Jade Pagoda was a syndicated serial, apparently recorded in the mid-1930s. There are no known production notes, although it was scheduled for play over Station 2UE in Sydney, Australia, in June 1937. The production values are not up to the standard of Bruce Ells Productions or Broadcasters' Syndications. However, the actors and the announcers sound as though they are American and the action takes place, for the most part, in the Chinatown district of San Francisco, California.

A marvelous sculpture of a pagoda made of jade has belonged to the Hong family of Peiping (Beijing) for generations, The Pagoda with its eight sides (representing the eight-fold pathway to Heaven) and twelve stories (representing the Twelve Worldly Virtues and Vices) hold great religious significance to the Hongs. It is written that if the thirteen windows of the pagoda are shut, it will be at the cost of thirteen Chinese lives, and to reopen the window there must be "a life for a life". 

The pagoda was stolen by a gang of thirteen Western thugs led by the Chicago gangster, Nate Cardo, who operated for a time in Hong Kong and Macao. Several white-owned businesses in Chinatown are, in fact, depots for a smuggling ring run by Cardo. The owners of the shops are turning up dead, and near the bodies are replicas of the Jade Pagoda, each with a number of windows opened to represent the number of murders.

The shops are part of a smuggling ring which is bringing a "mysterious burning powder" into the country from China. The burning powder has obvious utility in the criminal world. Federal Investigator Frank Harvey is assigned to get to the bottom of the case, and he will, even if he has to turn Chinatown on its ear.

CAUTION: This Serial was recorded at a time when racist language and labels were considered acceptable. Although OTR Cat does not support racist attitudes, we present this show for its entertainment value. Sensitive listeners may wish to avoid the program.