Drama - Old Time Audio · Various Authors

Lives Of Harry Lime - See Naples and Live

March 14, 2026·29 min·1 clip

Harry admits he has laced Mrs. Donaldson’s spumante with phenobarbital to “relax” her before the theft.

1. Orson Welles presents The Lives of Harry Lime, “See Naples and Live,” as a Harry Lime story set in Naples and Pompeii. 2. Orson Welles voices Harry Lime, and Anton Kera’s zither music ties the episode to The Third Man. 3. The episode asks how Harry Lime tries to steal Mrs. Federica Donaldson’s emerald locket and why Amy Collins complicates the plan. 4. Harry says Mrs. Donaldson wears an emerald locket worth about $20,000 and calls it “a real emerald.” 5. At the Arcturus pier, Harry bribes a customs official with “a few thousand liras” and poses as Harold Lyme. 6. Mrs. Donaldson introduces Amy Collins as her hired companion, and Harry quickly notices Amy’s red hair and green eyes. 7. Harry asks Amy to help buy a gift for his sister and steers her toward jewelry in Naples. 8. Amy says Mrs. Donaldson’s husband gave her the locket just before he died, and Mrs. Donaldson swore to wear it every day. 9. Harry calls himself “a dealer in objet d’art” and says he wanders the world collecting the best things. 10. Harry and Amy trade direct remarks about liking each other too soon and “a calendar full of time.” 11. Harry warns that the locket would be safer in the hotel safe, but Mrs. Donaldson keeps wearing it. 12. Harry gets the group to a romantic dinner, then stirs spumante with phenobarbital hidden in a wooden swizzle-stick. 13. Harry says, “My keynote for the evening… was relaxation,” and watches Mrs. Donaldson become sleepy. 14. Harry studies the locket clasp, which he says opens with “a tiny wheel” and “a twist of the wrist.” 15. The party drives to Pompeii at night, and Harry describes the ancient city as lying “like a corpse at the foot of its killer.” 16. In the Casa di Ceriare, Harry slips the locket from Mrs. Donaldson’s neck while she sleeps, then hears footsteps and runs. 17. The guard turns out to be Rubio, who confronts Harry in the Roman baths and demands the locket. 18. Harry is shot in the shoulder, strikes Rubio, and then watches the police arrive as Ruby is caught red-handed. 19. The performance is direct and theatrical, with Harry narrating his own scheme in first person and using sharp, comic lines. 20. Listeners who like old-time crime stories with witty narration should enjoy it, while listeners who want no con games may skip it.

As heard by us

A sly Naples caper where Harry Lime talks, schemes, and slips toward trouble.

The episode follows Harry Lime in Naples with an emerald locket in play and trouble never far behind. Its strength is the forward motion: clipped questions, polite lies, sudden reversals, and a narrator who appears just long enough to keep the scheme from losing momentum.

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Why you'd press play

You want Harry Lyme in Naples, talking fast while an emerald locket goes missing.

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