Jack Cassidy is your standard wisecracking, chain-smoking, trenchcoat-sporting PI - the sort you can’t throw a brick without hitting in 1936. But not everyone who arrives at Jack’s offices likes the idea of a dick who is also a dame - and a dame who keeps her hair short and wears men's trousers, at that. Luckily, Jack has no time for palookas who have doubts about lady flatfoots. She’s got enough on her plate, what with the all sinister disappearances, Bolshevist plots, bumbling gangsters, and general mishaps, murder, and mayhem she’s hired to deal with. And then there’s the fact that she still hasn’t sorted out her feelings for her plucky secretary, Effy, or the beautiful but enigmatic femme fatale who needs her help to track down a lost diamond…Hardboiled is a noir mystery podcast from Empress of Blandings Productions, presented in association with the Edmonton Pride Centre, the Edmonton Heritage Council, the Edmonton Community Foundation, and the Edmonton Arts Council.
An old friend has invited Jack and Effy to spend their Christmas at a luxurious hotel, and they're looking forward to the prospect of a nice, relaxing break from crime-solving. But will their holiday be the murder-free getaway they anticipated?
A familiar enemy returns to Edmonton. Cast: Ceris Backstrom, Lauren Hughes, Michael Vetsch, Murray Farnell, Rory Turner, Helen Belay, Émanuel Dubbeldam, André Lemay, Trevor Duplessis. Written and directed by Celia TaylorTechnical direction and editing by Tegan SiganskiOriginal score and sound design by Dave Clarke
Once again, our pesky protagonists spent the last episode talking during the performance of a talented singer! Here, unmarred by nightclub background noise or a murder investigation, is Kaleia Odelle's performance of "Why Don't You Do Right," accompanied by Nathanael Wilkerson on the piano.
Two bumbling criminals get more than they bargained for out of a routine bank heist, and are forced to turn to Jack for help. Cast: Ceris Backstrom, Lauren Hughes, Michael Vetsch, Rory Turner, Andrés Moreno, Kaleia OdelleWritten and directed by Celia TaylorTechnical direction and editing by Tegan SiganskiOriginal score and sound design by Dave Clarke, with special guest Nathanael Wilkerson as the pianist
When a local Métis farmhand is framed for the murder of his white employer’s family, his fiancee hires Jack to help clear his name.Cast: Ceris Backstrom, Lauren Hughes, Michael Vetsch, Damon Pitcher, Tej Swatch, Helen Belay, Trevor Duplessis, Monica Maddaford. Written and directed by Celia TaylorTechnical direction and editing by Tegan SiganskiOriginal score and sound design by Dave Clarke
Jack and Effy find themselves hobnobbing with high society when a rich eccentric decides that the presence of a real private eye would lend the right note of authenticity to her murder mystery party - but the evening takes a gruesome unexpected turn. Cast: Ceris Backstrom, Lauren Hughes, Michael Vetsch, Murray Farnell, Rory Turner, Émanuel Dubbeldam, André Lemay, Dave Clarke, Kate Sheridan. Written and directed by Celia TaylorTechnical direction and editing by Tegan SiganskiOriginal score and sound design by Dave Clarke
When Jack is hired to track down a beautiful young Chinese immigrant, she discovers that not only is the woman missing, but that she apparently never existed.Cast: Ceris Backstrom, Lauren Hughes, Michael Vetsch, Carol Chu, Marty Chan Written and directed by Celia TaylorTechnical direction and editing by Tegan SiganskiOriginal score and sound design by Dave Clarke
A beautiful, mysterious American socialite puts Jack’s resolve never to become emotionally involved with a client to the test. Cast: Ceris Backstrom, Lauren Hughes, Helen Belay, Michael Vetsch, Murray Farnell. Written and directed by Celia TaylorTechnical direction and editing by Tegan SiganskiOriginal score and sound design by Dave Clarke
Our last episode featured a performance by a talented opera singer - but those darn protagonists were talking the whole time she was trying to sing! Here, for your delectation and edification, is Amanda Smith's rendition of "Come Scoglio", from Mozart's Così fan tutte, untainted by any plot happening over top of it.
A tempestuous opera singer is convinced that the theatre where she's performing is haunted - but Jack suspects that the forces responsible for the string of sinister occurrences at the Strand are all too human. Cast: Ceris Backstrom, Lauren Hughes, Michael Vetsch, Rory Turner, Murray Farnell, Amanda Smith. Written and directed by Celia TaylorTechnical direction and editing by Tegan SiganskiOriginal score and sound design by Dave Clarke, with special guest Haley Simons as the pianist
Jack Cassidy, PI, is hired to investigate when the owner of a local meat packing plant and his beautiful young wife receive a mysterious threat. Is it a communist plot, or is there something else afoot? Cast: Ceris Backstrom, Lauren Hughes, Michael Vetsch, Trevor Duplessis, Ashley Mercia, Murray Farnell, Rory Turner, Kate SheridanWritten and directed by Celia TaylorTechnical direction and editing by Tegan SiganskiOriginal score and sound design by Dave Clarke
Meet radio's hottest new detective - Jack Cassidy, PI! She may be a dame, but she's as tough and hard-bitten as the best in the biz. In thrilling weekly instalments, you can follow Jack's adventures as she matches wits with gangsters and grifters, bootleggers and bolsheviks, fascists and femme fatales. Welcome to the mean streets of Edmonton, 1936. The prairies will never be quite the same... To keep on top of Hardboiled updates, like our page, Empress of Blandings, on Facebook, or follow our Twitter @EmpressofB and our Instagram @empress.of.blandings. And be sure to subscribe on your preferred podcast platform!
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