The Big Story
Case of the Cornered Cat
by
The Big Story presents dramatized crime stories inspired by cases reported by newspaper journalists. In this episode, the story concerns a notorious gangster’s arrest, recast under the name “The Cat.” The accompanying account connects the case to Walter Winchell, whose reporting and role in the arrest helped build his reputation as a crime-stopping journalist with an inside understanding of underworld figures.
The program takes a dramatic rather than documentary approach: it turns reported events into radio storytelling, and, as the episode’s commentary observes, changes names and obscures some basic facts even while presenting its stories as authentic. That tension gives this installment a particular historical interest, especially for listeners familiar with the real case and the public figures associated with it.
Winchell’s distinctive, staccato delivery and forceful public persona are part of the story’s wider context. The result is a crime drama shaped by the conventions of radio fiction, alongside a real-life case whose notoriety and later retellings made the boundary between journalism and dramatization especially striking.
This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.