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Suspense - "Vamp Till Dead" (Old Time Radio, 1951) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Amy Watkin, a secretary, takes a position with novelist Paul
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Gentry at his isolated country estate, where the circumstances surrounding
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: his wife Isabel's death have left the household unsettled. That
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: is the situation in Suspense, Episode 1, Vamp Till Dead,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: dated January 1st, 1951. Ginger Rogers stars as Amy, with
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: John Hoyt, Jeanette Nolan, and Ed Max. E. Jack Newman
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: and John Michael Hayes wrote the script, and Elliot Lewis
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: produced and directed. As Amy takes Gentry's dictation and looks
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: into the questions surrounding Isabel Gentry, the story moves through
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Gentry's study, the estate grounds, and a nearby cottage. From
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: CBS's Suspense, with Autolight, Vamp Till Dead. And now, we
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: return to the original broadcast.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: Autolite and its 96,000 dealers present Suspense. Tonight, Autolite brings
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: you Vamp Till Dead, a suspense play starring Miss Ginger Rogers.
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: Hello?
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: Sure.
• 1:25
  Speaker 5: Honest.
• 1:26
  Speaker 4: Goodbye. Sparkling conversation, Harlow.
• 1:29
  Speaker 5: Well, that's the owner of a new Autolite Stay full battery, Hap.
• 1:32
  Speaker 5: The battery that needs water only three times a year
• 1:34
  Speaker 5: in normal car use.
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: Hello?
• 1:39
  Speaker 5: Why, sure. You're telling me.
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: Bye. Harlow, are you speechless? No, Hap. That's my friend again.
• 1:46
  Speaker 5: He wants me to know his new Autolite Stay Full
• 1:48
  Speaker 5: battery has fiberglass retaining mats protecting every positive plate to
• 1:52
  Speaker 5: help prevent shedding and flaking and keep the power-producing materials
• 1:56
  Speaker 5: in place.
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: And you said nothing?
• 1:58
  Speaker 5: Well, there is nothing to say after such a sound statement, Hap.
• 2:02
  Speaker 5: And then he said the Autolite Stay Full battery gives
• 2:04
  Speaker 5: 70% longer life, as proved by tests conducted according to
• 2:08
  Speaker 5: SAE minimum life cycle standards. So, friends, see your.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: Neighborhood Autolite battery dealer.
• 2:13
  Speaker 5: And have him install in your car an Autolite stay-full battery,
• 2:18
  Speaker 5: the battery that needs water only three times a year
• 2:20
  Speaker 5: in normal car use. And remember, you're always right with Autolite.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: And now, with Vamp Till Dead and the performance of
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Miss Ginger Rogers, Autolite hopes once again to keep you
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: in suspense.
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: Your first name, I've forgotten. What did you say it was?
• 2:53
  Speaker 6: Amy, Mr.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Gentry.
• 2:54
  Speaker 6: Amy Watkins.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: Amy. Amy, Amy, Amy, Amy.
• 2:58
  Speaker 6: Yes, yes, yes.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: And are you a good secretary, Amy?
• 3:00
  Speaker 6: Why, you have all of my recommendations, Mr. Gentry. I
• 3:03
  Speaker 6: mailed them to you a week ago.
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes.
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: To be sure, I must have looked at them or
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: I wouldn't have hired you and had you come all
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: the way from New York now, would I? You never
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: worked for a writer. You think you'll like it here
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: in this big house working for me?
• 3:16
  Speaker 6: I hope so, sir.
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: Sir.
• 3:20
  Speaker 6: Sir.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: That's very good. Did that politeness come from some secretarial school,
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: or perhaps your dear old.
• 3:26
  Speaker 7: Mother taught it to you?
• 3:27
  Speaker 6: No, I know, sir. I mean.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Never mind, Amy. As soon as we finish eating, you
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: may unpack, write whoever you have to write, and explain
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: that you are safely here. We start work first thing
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: in the morning.
• 3:36
  Speaker 6: I'll attend to all that, Mr. Gentry.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: What do you think of me?
• 3:40
  Speaker 6: I beg your pardon?
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: Me? How do I strike you? What am I? A
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: gentle person? A wit? A profound talent? A buffoon? Tell me, Amy.
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: I'd be interested in your opinions.
• 3:50
  Speaker 6: Well, I've only known you half an hour, Mr. Gentry.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: Then I'll tell you I'm a writer. Amy, do you
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: know what it means to have a million words inside
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: of you and not be able to let them out?
• 4:00
  Speaker 6: No, sir.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: It's an utter horror, and that's the way it's been
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: with me for almost a year. But now I'm ready
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: to go back to work again and release those million words.
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: To take them down, that'll be your job.
• 4:10
  Speaker 6: I'll do my best, Mr. Gentry.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: It's not going to be easy, very demanding, Amy. That's
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: why I'm paying you a good salary. I'll make you
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: work when it's working time.
• 4:19
  Speaker 6: I understand, Mr. Gentry.
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: Sometimes I feel like working and sometimes I don't. And
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: sometimes I... I like carnations on the dinner table, Amy.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: Very hard to get. Shipping problems in winter like this. Delicate,
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: fragile things.
• 4:33
  Speaker 6: Yes, they are. But they are my favorite flower.
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: The cook's name is Jenny. She'll help you find your
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: way around the house. And for heaven's sake, call me Paul,
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: not Mr. Gentry.
• 4:43
  Speaker 6: Yes, Paul.
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: That's better. I suppose you're tired.
• 4:48
  Speaker 6: Yes, I am. It was a terribly long trip.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: You can find your way to your room. Wait a moment, Amy.
• 4:56
  Speaker 7: Wait.
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: First time I've had a good look at you. Can't
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: see by candlelight over a dinner table. Tilt your head
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: toward the lamp. I want to see your face more clearly.
• 5:06
  Speaker 6: But I... Don't. Do as I say.
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: Come on. You're trembling as I touch your face, Amy.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: You're frightened.
• 5:16
  Speaker 6: Oh, no, I'm not. I'm not at all.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: At this instant, you can't decide whether or not I'm
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: a madman. You must need this job very badly.
• 5:26
  Speaker 6: I want to work for you. I have an invalid father.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: I'm not interested in your problems. Don't tell them to me. Amy,
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: it's an assistance to me if people adjust to new
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: situations as quickly as possible. Have you heard about my wife?
• 5:41
  Speaker 6: No, sir. I haven't.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: Well, you will, so I'll tell you. People around here
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: say I killed Mrs.
• 5:49
  Speaker 7: Gentry.
• 5:55
  Speaker 8: His great black.
• 5:56
  Speaker 6: Eyes set deep back in his head seemed to be
• 5:58
  Speaker 6: laughing at me when he said that. as though he
• 6:00
  Speaker 6: expected me to run from the room and get as
• 6:02
  Speaker 6: far away from him as I could. But I didn't move. Somehow,
• 6:07
  Speaker 6: in that moment, I knew that I wanted to be
• 6:11
  Speaker 6: near him, no matter what he had done.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: Good night, Amy. I went upstairs to my room.
• 6:29
  Speaker 6: I could still hear laughter even after I closed the door.
• 6:33
  Speaker 6: And then, finally it stopped. And I was lying across
• 6:37
  Speaker 6: my bed when I was aware that someone was standing
• 6:41
  Speaker 6: beside me.
• 6:43
  Speaker 8: He's like that, child. You mustn't mind him.
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: What?
• 6:46
  Speaker 6: It's his way. A way you'll come.
• 6:49
  Speaker 8: To know and understand if you remain here and work
• 6:51
  Speaker 8: for him. I'm Jenny the cook.
• 6:54
  Speaker 6: Oh, yes. I'm glad to meet you. He said you'd
• 6:59
  Speaker 6: show me around. Somehow I didn't imagine you'd be like this. Oh,
• 7:03
  Speaker 6: my dear.
• 7:05
  Speaker 8: Well, I find more satisfactory inspiration in serving meals for
• 7:10
  Speaker 8: a fine writer like Paul Gentry than I ever found
• 7:13
  Speaker 8: in the 23 years I taught a high school English class.
• 7:17
  Speaker 6: Jenny, I'm going to like you.
• 7:19
  Speaker 8: Don't let him upset you. He really doesn't mean it.
• 7:22
  Speaker 8: He can be as gentle as he is harsh. No
• 7:25
  Speaker 8: one really understands him.
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: Did, uh... Did Mrs. Gentry understand him?
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: No.
• 7:33
  Speaker 6: No, she didn't.
• 7:35
  Speaker 8: She never made an attempt. There's a question in your eyes, Amy.
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: Was.
• 7:41
  Speaker 6: Was she murdered? Yes. In that little guest cottage down
• 7:47
  Speaker 6: by the bridge. You can see it from this window. There?
• 7:51
  Speaker 6: It seems so still and quiet, Jenny. It's... It's hard
• 7:57
  Speaker 6: to realize.
• 7:58
  Speaker 8: Happened almost a year ago. I served dinner that night.
• 8:02
  Speaker 8: They argued over something trivial, the flowers on the table.
• 8:06
  Speaker 6: Mrs.
• 8:06
  Speaker 8: Gentry ran from the house. A few minutes later, I
• 8:09
  Speaker 8: could hear her playing the piano from that cottage. Some
• 8:12
  Speaker 8: little tune that always infuriated him. The next morning, her
• 8:17
  Speaker 8: body was found slumped over the piano. Her neck was broken.
• 8:23
  Speaker 8: That's all.
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: Hmm.
• 8:25
  Speaker 6: Thank you for telling me about it, Jenny. There was
• 8:28
  Speaker 6: no evidence against Mr. Gentry. No proof. Only hearsay and talk.
• 8:33
  Speaker 6: I see.
• 8:34
  Speaker 8: You'll hear that talk from time to time, Amy. Will
• 8:38
  Speaker 8: it disturb you?
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: No.
• 8:42
  Speaker 6: I don't think so. Strange. What? Your appearance, my dear.
• 8:49
  Speaker 6: It's really quite remarkable how much you resemble Isabel Gentry.
• 8:58
  Speaker 6: I didn't go right to bed that night. Instead, I
• 9:01
  Speaker 6: slipped out of the house after everything became quiet and
• 9:04
  Speaker 6: followed the path across the bridge to the guest cottage,
• 9:08
  Speaker 6: where she had been murdered. The door was unlocked, and
• 9:13
  Speaker 6: even though it was dark, I found the piano. As
• 9:22
  Speaker 6: I played, I wondered how much of poor Gentry I
• 9:26
  Speaker 6: might have understood... if I had been Isabel. The next
• 9:43
  Speaker 6: three weeks I took dictation from morning till night. The
• 9:46
  Speaker 6: whole place was geared especially for his return to work.
• 9:49
  Speaker 6: Jenny seemed to be everywhere, bringing in meals at all hours,
• 9:52
  Speaker 6: slipping in and out of rooms silently so as not
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: to disturb anyone. And then one afternoon, when I walked
• 9:58
  Speaker 6: into his study... there was another man standing there beside Paul.
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: Oh, Amy, this is Al Pender, a local newspaper man.
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: He tried his best to have me indicted for murder.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: Oh?
• 10:10
  Speaker 6: How do you do, Mr. Pender?
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: I'm a celebrity, Amy. Pender wants to interview me about
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: my new book. Why don't you tell him all about it?
• 10:18
  Speaker 6: I wouldn't want the responsibility, Paul.
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: You can tell him how bad it is as well
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: as I can.
• 10:22
  Speaker 6: No, Paul. I couldn't say that about it.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: What could you say about it? Anything worthwhile? The dropped eyes.
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: The withdrawal. Isabelle used to react the same way when
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: I became.
• 10:34
  Speaker 7: Angry with her.
• 10:34
  Speaker 6: Do I remind you of her?
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: Yes, you remind me of Isabelle. Of all the things
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: in her that stopped me from writing. How do you
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: like that, Pender? There's a story for you to print.
• 10:44
  Speaker 7: You want me to print it, Gentry?
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: I'd kill you if you did.
• 10:47
  Speaker 6: I'm sorry that I remind you of Isabel, Paul.
• 10:50
  Speaker 7: Are you, Amy?
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: Are you really? No, I don't think you are. I
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: don't think you are at all.
• 11:02
  Speaker 7: Well, has he been like this much?
• 11:05
  Speaker 6: I'd rather not say, Mr. Pinder.
• 11:07
  Speaker 7: Al.
• 11:08
  Speaker 6: Oh.
• 11:09
  Speaker 7: I'm glad he left, Amy. I think you're a nice person.
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 11:13
  Speaker 7: Too nice to work for him. How'd you meet him?
• 11:16
  Speaker 7: How'd you get this job?
• 11:18
  Speaker 6: I found out he was going back to work and
• 11:20
  Speaker 6: needed a secretary.
• 11:22
  Speaker 7: Did you know that no one in town would work
• 11:23
  Speaker 7: for him?
• 11:24
  Speaker 6: Yes. Because of Isabel Gentry.
• 11:27
  Speaker 7: And still you came here?
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 11:30
  Speaker 7: He killed her. Everyone knows it.
• 11:32
  Speaker 6: It was never proved.
• 11:33
  Speaker 7: No. Because of the technicality. I watched him here with you.
• 11:38
  Speaker 7: He looked at you the same way he used to
• 11:40
  Speaker 7: look at Isabel with that... That fury in his eyes.
• 11:43
  Speaker 6: I know that.
• 11:44
  Speaker 7: And there's a reason... At times, Amy, you look a
• 11:48
  Speaker 7: great deal like her. That means you're in danger as
• 11:51
  Speaker 7: long as you're around him. He's a madman. He might
• 11:53
  Speaker 7: actually think of you as Isabel.
• 11:55
  Speaker 6: I want him to think of me as Isabel. In
• 11:57
  Speaker 6: every way possible. Every day, every minute. There must be
• 12:01
  Speaker 6: some way to prove he killed her.
• 12:04
  Speaker 7: Who are you?
• 12:06
  Speaker 6: I'm Isabel Gentry's sister.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: Autolite is bringing you Miss Ginger Rogers with John Hoyt
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: in Vamp Till Dead. Tonight's production and radio's outstanding theater
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: of thrills, Suspense.
• 12:44
  Speaker 4: No phone calls, Harlow. I guess I'll start to go.
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: Well, you'll have plenty of starting power to get going
• 12:50
  Speaker 5: in your car, Hap, with an Autolite stay-full battery, the
• 12:53
  Speaker 5: battery that needs water only three times a year in
• 12:55
  Speaker 5: normal car use.
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: Harlow, you throw those lines so fast, I need a
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: chest protector.
• 13:00
  Speaker 5: Protection? Why, the Autolite stay-full battery has over three times
• 13:03
  Speaker 5: the liquid protection of batteries without stay-full features. So, the
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: stay-full needs water only three times a year in normal
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: car use.
• 13:10
  Speaker 4: Go on, Harlow, and remind me.
• 13:12
  Speaker 5: That the Autolite Stay Full battery has fiberglass retaining mats
• 13:16
  Speaker 5: protecting every positive plate to help reduce shedding and flaking
• 13:20
  Speaker 5: and keep the power-producing materials in place.
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: How long can this last?
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: Autolite Stay Full batteries last longer, give 70% longer life,
• 13:27
  Speaker 5: in fact. as proved by tests conducted according to SAE
• 13:32
  Speaker 5: minimum life cycle standards.
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: Good night, Harlow. Yes, friends, it's a.
• 13:36
  Speaker 5: Good night to join the legion of lads and lassies
• 13:39
  Speaker 5: who've latched on to an Autolite stay-full battery, the battery
• 13:43
  Speaker 5: that needs water only three times a year in normal
• 13:45
  Speaker 5: car use. See your neighborhood Autolite battery dealer. And remember,
• 13:50
  Speaker 5: you're always right with Autolite.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: And now Autolite brings back to our Hollywood soundstage Miss
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Ginger Rogers in Elliot Lewis's production of Vamp Till Dead.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: Suspense.
• 14:19
  Speaker 6: For the next few days, Paul gently threw himself into
• 14:21
  Speaker 6: his work with a vicious sort of concentration and purpose.
• 14:24
  Speaker 6: But his efforts were all in vain. His writing seemed
• 14:26
  Speaker 6: to go from bad to worse. The stories were twisted, perverse,
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: distorted studies in human behavior. The women were inevitably deceitful.
• 14:34
  Speaker 6: The men tortured and driven to insane rages. Terrible.
• 14:39
  Speaker 5: Terrible!
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: Not a word, not a single word in the whole
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: mess that's printable at all.
• 14:44
  Speaker 6: Perhaps you're trying too hard, working too hard, Paul.
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: How can you accomplish anything worthwhile if you only have
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: to try?
• 14:49
  Speaker 6: I'll ask Jenny to bring us some coffee.
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: I don't want any coffee. I don't want anything. Maybe
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: I expect too much, want too much, need too much.
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: What is it that's the matter with me? What is it?
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: Tell me. Tell me.
• 15:03
  Speaker 6: I can't tell you, Paul. I don't understand you.
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: You don't even try, Isabel.
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: You.
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Why do you smile?
• 15:10
  Speaker 6: You just called me Isabel.
• 15:13
  Speaker 7: I did.
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: Well, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. It was an accident.
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: Yes, Paul, of course it was. It was an accident.
• 15:30
  Speaker 6: For the first time since I had met him, Paul
• 15:32
  Speaker 6: Gentry was confused. And it was the confusion I had
• 15:35
  Speaker 6: been hoping for. I began to do everything the way
• 15:38
  Speaker 6: I had remembered Isabel... I wore her favorite perfume. I
• 15:41
  Speaker 6: held my head to one side and smiled the way
• 15:43
  Speaker 6: she used to. I started dropping her expressions in my speech.
• 15:47
  Speaker 6: I wasn't sure all the time whether I was torturing
• 15:50
  Speaker 6: him or he was torturing himself. But unconsciously, he began
• 15:55
  Speaker 6: to think of me as Isabel. Even Jenny noticed it.
• 16:06
  Speaker 7: Amy!
• 16:06
  Speaker 6: Oh, I didn't notice you come in, Jenny. What are
• 16:09
  Speaker 6: you doing here in the cottage? Practicing. It was the
• 16:15
  Speaker 6: little melody she used to play. He's been calling you
• 16:23
  Speaker 6: by her name, hasn't he? No, it's probably because his
• 16:26
  Speaker 6: mind is on his work and an old habit is
• 16:28
  Speaker 6: difficult to break. When you're not thinking about it, you've
• 16:32
  Speaker 6: fixed your hair the way she used to wear it.
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: Have I?
• 16:35
  Speaker 6: I often put it up like this. Do you think
• 16:39
  Speaker 6: my hair would really bother him, Jenny? Oh, it's hard
• 16:42
  Speaker 6: to tell. The poor man.
• 16:45
  Speaker 8: She was such a part of his life. I guess
• 16:48
  Speaker 8: he can't quite give her up even yet. Oh, maybe
• 16:52
  Speaker 8: it'd be better if he didn't even try. A memory
• 16:55
  Speaker 8: is sometimes a wonderful thing.
• 16:57
  Speaker 6: Not hers.
• 16:59
  Speaker 8: There was something about her that killed his inspiration to
• 17:02
  Speaker 8: create and left him with a feeling only to destroy.
• 17:08
  Speaker 6: And he's done a good job starting with himself. His
• 17:12
  Speaker 6: writing is very bad. What do you think I could
• 17:14
  Speaker 6: do to help him? Leave. Because no one can help
• 17:18
  Speaker 6: him but himself. And if he's going to write, he
• 17:20
  Speaker 6: needs me.
• 17:21
  Speaker 8: Do you want to go through life with a picture
• 17:23
  Speaker 8: in your mind of man being eaten alive by the
• 17:27
  Speaker 8: acids that are burning inside of him?
• 17:30
  Speaker 6: Jenny, where do you stay?
• 17:32
  Speaker 8: Oh, I'm like his desk or the chair he sits on,
• 17:35
  Speaker 8: just a piece of furniture doing a job. He doesn't
• 17:38
  Speaker 8: think about me one way or the other. Someday I'll
• 17:43
  Speaker 8: be able to see him get back to writing the
• 17:45
  Speaker 8: way he used to.
• 17:46
  Speaker 6: You mean without her?
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 17:50
  Speaker 6: Do you think he killed her, Jenny?
• 17:53
  Speaker 8: That's something I don't dare think about, Amy.
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: No!
• 18:05
  Speaker 6: I thought about it. In the days that followed, Paul's
• 18:09
  Speaker 6: work went from bad to worse, and so did his temper.
• 18:12
  Speaker 6: He was unmanageable most of the time. Then his headaches
• 18:15
  Speaker 6: finally came upon him and couldn't work for hours at
• 18:17
  Speaker 6: a time. He would sit in his chair, drinking and
• 18:20
  Speaker 6: staring at me. Just staring, staring, staring. Sometimes I expected
• 18:27
  Speaker 6: him to leap out of his chair and beat me
• 18:28
  Speaker 6: to death. And other times I was afraid he was
• 18:31
  Speaker 6: going to fall on his knees and throw his arms
• 18:33
  Speaker 6: around me. begging forgiveness. I knew he was almost ready
• 18:38
  Speaker 6: to break the day he went into a rage and
• 18:40
  Speaker 6: started throwing things around his study. I left the house
• 18:44
  Speaker 6: and walked down to the bridge. I was only alone
• 18:48
  Speaker 6: for a minute.
• 18:49
  Speaker 7: Hello, Amy. I heard all kinds of noise in the house.
• 18:52
  Speaker 7: What's going on?
• 18:53
  Speaker 6: Suppose I ask you what's going on. You seem to
• 18:56
  Speaker 6: be keeping a pretty close watch on me. Why?
• 19:00
  Speaker 7: Call it humanity. Call it what you like. I don't
• 19:04
  Speaker 7: want anything to happen to you.
• 19:07
  Speaker 6: Is that the only reason?
• 19:09
  Speaker 7: No. I want to be around when he breaks up completely.
• 19:13
  Speaker 6: Are you sure it's just humanity? Or trying to catch
• 19:17
  Speaker 6: a murderer? It looks more like a campaign of personal revenge.
• 19:21
  Speaker 7: I said call it what you like. But if you
• 19:23
  Speaker 7: stick around here another minute, you're out of your mind.
• 19:26
  Speaker 6: Suppose I told you I wasn't worried about myself.
• 19:29
  Speaker 7: Then I'd say you're crazy. You're in more trouble than
• 19:31
  Speaker 7: Isabel was. He's going to go. And when he goes,
• 19:34
  Speaker 7: nothing or nobody around him is going to be safe.
• 19:36
  Speaker 6: Al, I'm going to tell you something. Isabel used to
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: write to me, and she was pretty frank. She told
• 19:46
  Speaker 6: me about a newspaper man she was interested in. Could
• 19:50
  Speaker 6: you be that newspaper man?
• 19:52
  Speaker 7: How many of them do you think there are in
• 19:55
  Speaker 7: this town?
• 19:56
  Speaker 6: Is it because you loved Isabel that you want to
• 19:58
  Speaker 6: see her murderer caught? Or would you just like to
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: sacrifice Paul Gentry because he was married to her when
• 20:04
  Speaker 6: you wanted her?
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 20:07
  Speaker 7: So I knew your sister. There were very few young
• 20:10
  Speaker 7: men in this town who didn't. She didn't like living here.
• 20:14
  Speaker 7: She didn't like Paul Gentry. She didn't like this lousy
• 20:17
  Speaker 7: small town.
• 20:18
  Speaker 6: Then why didn't she get out?
• 20:20
  Speaker 7: You can't walk when you're dead.
• 20:22
  Speaker 6: I mean before.
• 20:23
  Speaker 7: Because she was afraid of him. Cowed by him, mentally
• 20:26
  Speaker 7: beaten down by his peculiar form of sadism.
• 20:28
  Speaker 6: You really hate him, don't you?
• 20:30
  Speaker 7: Look, I brought you something. This gun.
• 20:33
  Speaker 6: What do I want that for?
• 20:34
  Speaker 7: Because if you're foolish enough to stay on in that house,
• 20:36
  Speaker 7: you need some protection.
• 20:37
  Speaker 6: But not a gun.
• 20:38
  Speaker 7: Everything's on your side, Amy. The first time he comes
• 20:40
  Speaker 7: at you, let him have it. No jury in this
• 20:42
  Speaker 7: town would ever do a thing to you.
• 20:43
  Speaker 6: I came here to get proof that Paul Gentry killed
• 20:46
  Speaker 6: my sister. And I want him to pay for it,
• 20:49
  Speaker 6: under the law. It seems to me that you want
• 20:51
  Speaker 6: me to be judge, jury, and executioner.
• 20:53
  Speaker 7: Take it, you little fool. He's dynamite. What did you
• 20:55
  Speaker 7: come here for, to play games? Take it.
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: Hurry up.
• 20:59
  Speaker 7: Put it in your pocket.
• 21:00
  Speaker 6: All right.
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: And are you aware that this land belongs to me?
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: What are you doing on it?
• 21:04
  Speaker 7: Talking to her. What does it look like?
• 21:06
  Speaker 6: Paul, please.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: How many times do I have to tell you to
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: leave my wife alone?
• 21:10
  Speaker 7: Your wife?
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: It's bad enough that I have to tolerate you in
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: public places. But this land is private. And it's mine.
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: Go on. Get off it while you can still walk. And, Isabel,
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: you get back to the house where you belong.
• 21:27
  Speaker 6: I ran back and locked myself in my room. Downstairs,
• 21:30
  Speaker 6: I heard Paul moving around in his study. Then I
• 21:33
  Speaker 6: heard a bottle crash against the wall. And then his
• 21:37
  Speaker 6: heavy steps coming up the stairway. And then, suddenly, before
• 21:41
  Speaker 6: I could do anything, he was standing in my doorway.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: Isabel!
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: Isabel! Isabel!
• 21:48
  Speaker 6: Paul. Paul, come to me.
• 21:50
  Speaker 7: Isabel.
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: Isabel, why did you make me do it? I.
• 21:54
  Speaker 6: Why did you do it, Paul?
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: I couldn't help myself. It was those men all the time,
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: especially Pend.
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: Amy. Isabel's dead. You're Amy. Why do you keep making
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: me think that you're Isabel?
• 22:08
  Speaker 6: Please let me go, Paul.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: What's this all about, Amy?
• 22:10
  Speaker 6: Let me go, Paul.
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: All right. A few weeks ago, you came here and
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: began talking and acting like her. Or is it my imagination?
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: Maybe I'm going crazy.
• 22:19
  Speaker 6: Paul, I think it's mostly your imagination. Maybe I happen
• 22:23
  Speaker 6: to be a little like her.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: No, there's something more to it than that. Something I
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: can't figure out. Something in the air or inside of me.
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: I don't know what it is. But I do know
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: one thing. Another week of this and... Amy, why don't
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: you leave here while it's safe?
• 22:38
  Speaker 6: I think it is safe, Paul.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: You aren't afraid of me the way you were that
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: first night. You aren't afraid of what I might do
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: to you.
• 22:46
  Speaker 6: No, Paul. If you really want me to go, I will.
• 22:52
  Speaker 6: I'd rather stay. I want to be close to you.
• 22:56
  Speaker 6: Closer to you than anybody in this world has ever been.
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: I don't want you to go, Amy.
• 23:02
  Speaker 7: Ever. I love you.
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: I know.
• 23:06
  Speaker 6: You love me the same way you once loved her.
• 23:11
  Speaker 6: Isn't that so?
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: Yes, Amy, that's so. And I want you to marry me.
• 23:15
  Speaker 6: Of course, Paul. Of course. Of course. I've always wanted
• 23:19
  Speaker 6: to be your wife.
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: Amy. Amy.
• 23:30
  Speaker 6: I let him kiss me then, hoping he wouldn't feel
• 23:33
  Speaker 6: the gun in my pocket. I knew that very soon
• 23:36
  Speaker 6: I might have to use it. The next evening, when
• 23:45
  Speaker 6: we came back from the wedding license bureau, he planned
• 23:47
  Speaker 6: a wonderful dinner for two. The table was beautiful with
• 23:50
  Speaker 6: candles and flowers and expensive silver. When I walked into
• 23:54
  Speaker 6: the dining room, I was dressed in the perfect image
• 23:58
  Speaker 6: of my sister, as I remembered her.
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: Isabelle, you'll never look more beautiful.
• 24:04
  Speaker 6: Thank you, Paul.
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: Your chair.
• 24:07
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: We're having roast mallard duck. I shot them myself and
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: kept them in the deep freeze.
• 24:16
  Speaker 6: Are you ready for dinner, Mr. Gentry?
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: Yes, Jenny.
• 24:19
  Speaker 8: Yes, sir.
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: Oh, Jenny, use the large soup bowls, please, for Isabel.
• 24:26
  Speaker 8: I understand, sir.
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: I know you prefer them, darling. Yes. Something wrong, Isabel?
• 24:32
  Speaker 6: Oh, I just noticed. You have carnations on the table.
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: Why, yes.
• 24:40
  Speaker 6: You know... You know I don't like carnations, Paul. I
• 24:45
  Speaker 6: don't like them at all.
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: Isabel, they were all I could get. I'm afraid you'll
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: have to like them, darling.
• 24:49
  Speaker 6: I don't have to like anything. Have Jenny take them
• 24:51
  Speaker 6: off the table.
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: Now, see here. You'll either get rid of them or
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: I won't eat dinner with you.
• 24:56
  Speaker 6: Do you hear me?
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: Then don't eat dinner with me, my dear. I'd like
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: it better that way. Then I won't have to look
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: at your bored, critical face all the time.
• 25:03
  Speaker 4: Isabel.
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: Isabel. Come back here. Come back here. Come back here.
• 25:13
  Speaker 6: I rushed out the door and down toward the cottage.
• 25:15
  Speaker 6: And then I remembered it had been a year to
• 25:20
  Speaker 6: the night that Isabel had died. And then I was
• 25:33
  Speaker 6: in the cottage where it had happened, sitting at the piano,
• 25:39
  Speaker 6: playing her tune. I sat there waiting. I knew that
• 26:09
  Speaker 6: I would hear steps first, then a door. But I
• 26:14
  Speaker 6: heard nothing. Nothing. but the wind outside. And then I
• 26:30
  Speaker 6: heard the steps. You!
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Oh, no!
• 26:36
  Speaker 7: Don't!
• 26:37
  Speaker 6: Don't! Don't!
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: Don't!
• 26:43
  Speaker 7: Amy, are you all right?
• 26:45
  Speaker 6: Yes, I had to do it this way.
• 26:48
  Speaker 3: I had to.
• 26:48
  Speaker 7: Don't try to talk to me, Amy.
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: It's all right. Stay where you are, Pender. I'll blow
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: your head off. You're wrong, Paul. It wasn't me. Paul. Paul, darling.
• 26:56
  Speaker 6: She was the one.
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: Jenny.
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: Jenny.
• 27:01
  Speaker 7: She tried to kill Amy the same way she killed Isabel.
• 27:03
  Speaker 7: She thought Amy was going to take you away from her.
• 27:06
  Speaker 3: Amy, my darling, I'm sorry you had to go through this.
• 27:09
  Speaker 6: Paul. Paul, do you know who I am? Who I
• 27:14
  Speaker 6: really am.
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: Yes, I know you're not, Isabel. I've known all along.
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: I had to pretend as you pretended.
• 27:21
  Speaker 6: Oh, I'm sorry, Paul, for the pain I've caused you.
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: It's all over, my darling.
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: Ended.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: Yes, Paul.
• 27:29
  Speaker 6: It's all over. Isabel is truly dead.
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: Suspense. Presented by Autolite.
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: Tonight's star, Ginger Rogers.
• 28:03
  Speaker 5: Friends, this is Harlow Wilcox again. I'd just like to
• 28:06
  Speaker 5: remind you that you're always right with the more than
• 28:09
  Speaker 5: 400 products made by Autolite for cars, trucks, planes, and
• 28:13
  Speaker 5: boats in 28 plants from coast to coast. These include
• 28:17
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  Speaker 5: makes of America's finest cars. Electric windshield wipers, starting motors,
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  Speaker 5: voltage regulators, coils, distributors, wire and cable generators, all engineered
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  Speaker 5: to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly, because they're a
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  Speaker 5: perfect team. So, friends, don't accept electrical parts supposed to
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  Speaker 5: repair shop. And because all Autolite parts are original factory parts,
• 28:53
  Speaker 5: you can be sure you're right.
• 28:54
  Speaker 7: Because you're always right with Autolite.
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: Next week on Suspense, Miss Eve Arden as star of
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: The Well-Dressed Corpse. And in weeks to come, you will
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: hear such famous stars as Ezio Pinza, Paul Douglas, and
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: James Stewart. all appearing in tales well calculated to keep
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: you in suspense.
• 29:29
  Speaker 5: Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis, with music
• 29:32
  Speaker 5: composed by Lucian Morawieck and conducted by Lud Bluskin. Ramp
• 29:36
  Speaker 5: Till Dead was written for suspense by E. Jack Newman
• 29:39
  Speaker 5: and John Michael Hayes. Included in tonight's cast were John Hoyt,
• 29:43
  Speaker 5: Jeanette Nolan, and Ed Max. Ginger Rogers is soon to
• 29:47
  Speaker 5: be seen in the Universal International Picture The Groom Warspurs.
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: And remember, next week on Suspense, Miss Eve Arden in
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: The Well-Dressed Corpse.
• 30:16
  Speaker 6: You can buy Autolite stay-full batteries, Autolite standard-type or resistor-type
• 30:20
  Speaker 6: spark plugs, Autolite electrical parts at your neighborhood Autolite dealers.
• 30:23
  Speaker 6: Switch to Autolite. Good night.
• 30:26
  Speaker 5: This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: Our presentation of Suspense, Vamp Till Dead, now comes to
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: its close. Follow Suspense for more classic broadcasts.