'Against a background of sinister mires and tors on Dartmoor, the author has woven a curious and intriguing story. The rambling old house contains a huge iron door which according to legend has hot been opened for centuries. A Cistercian brother accused of trafficking with Satan, was supposedly walled up behind this door. With the coming of the Clinton family, flickering scarlet lights are seen under the door and the shadow of the monk in dark garb haunts the corridors after dark. Into this brooding atmosphere comes Jeffrey Blackburn with his wife of twelve months, Elizabeth. They have been invited to the abbey by the Clintons. One of the guests is found murdered, amid clues point to the killer as 'Mr. Lynch'. Blackburn starts out on a trail that brings danger and thrills in its wake. What secret lies behind the strange barred door? Why does a mysterious figure in plus fours haunt the moors each night? And who is Mr. Lynch. [sic]'
Source:
'Broadcast Features', Cloncurry Advocate, 6 October 1939, p.7.
The Mysterious Mr Lynch served as a sequel of sorts to an earlier Jeffrey and Elizabeth Blackburn play, Revenge with Music, in as much as the comedy role from Revenge with Music, Detective Piggot, turned out to have a central (and entirely different) role in The Mysterious Mr Lynch, when he was revealed to be the mysterious eponymous criminal.
Max Afford noted that this revelation was one that brought a particularly strong outpouring of listener indignation ('Write Tough–but Aren't', Lockhart Review and Oaklands Advertiser, 23 January 1940, p.2).
Began broadcast on 9 October 1939, and ran for the following three months.
Revenge with Music
Australia
:
Australian Broadcasting Commission
,
1939
8618027
1939
single work
radio play
thriller
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.
