Somebody Knows (radio show)

Somebody Knows is a true crime, docudrama style radio show broadcast in July and August 1950 on CBS Radio whilst the popular mystery series Suspense took a break over the summer. It is best known for featuring the Black Dahlia murder case.

Synopsis
Each episode showcases an unsolved murder. Unlike previous "based on fact" radio dramas, the scripts stayed true to real-life facts with no embellishments or name changes. A $5,000 dollar reward is offered every week for information leading to the killer's conviction..

Production
Somebody Knows was created by Jimmy Saphier to fill the Thursday night slot normally held by the popular show Suspense, whilst it took it's summer break. He was inspired by the Chicago Sun-Times who had recently run a series appealing for information on cold cases. Saphier was unable to find a sponsor, so he put up $40,000 of his own money for the reward fund for all eight episodes, a fact that was widely used to promote the show leading up to its broadcast. He was quoted saying: "I don't care if we only have one listener, as long as he's the guy who knows who did it - and will rat on his pal." Saphier was dubbed "the man who wants to lose $40k".

The show was a direct competitor for NBC's show Wanted, another summer cover show with a similar concept. Somebody knows was written by Sidney Marshall and It was directed by James Sasser and the prolific Jack Johnstone, who also narrated the show.