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Transcript

The Whistler - "Appointment for Murder" (Old Time Radio, 1950) · The Whistler | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Bill Foreman is heard as the whistler in this CBS
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Pacific Network broadcast, sponsored by Signal Oil. First heard February 26, 1950,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: it is episode 404, Appointment for Murder. A husband discovers
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: that his wife has gambled away a fortune. The loss
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: fractures the security of their marriage and sends him down
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: a desperate road toward murder. It is a domestic crime
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: story where money and marital tension are already in motion
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: before the Whistler's voice draws us into the affair. From
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the Whistler's 1950s Signal Oil period, here is Appointment for Murder,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: and now the original broadcast.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: And now, stay tuned for the program that has rated
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: tops in popularity for a longer period of time than
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: any other West Coast program in radio history. The Signal
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Oil program, The Whistler.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: S-I-T-N-A-L Signal Signal Gasoline Signal, the famous Go Farther Gasoline,
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: invites you to sit back and enjoy another strange story
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: by The Whistler.
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: For extra driving pleasure, the signal to look for is
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: the yellow and black circle sign that identifies signal service
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: stations from Canada to Mexico. And for Sunday evening listening pleasure,
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: the signal to listen for is this whistle that identifies
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: the signal oil program, the Whistler.
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: I walk by night. I know many strange tales hidden
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: in the hearts of men and women who have stepped
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: which they dare not speak.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: And now, for the Signal Oil Company, the Whistler's strange story,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Appointment for Murder.
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: The early evening was crisp and dark, with only a
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: handful of winter stars overhead, remote and distant. But the
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: street itself reflected a quiet warmth as Harold Ellis turned
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: into it. Slowly, resolutely walked past the trim, well-kept houses
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: that lined either side. Farther down the block, the lights
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: of his home reached out in the darkness. His home
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: and Valerie's. But Harold wasn't looking ahead to the lights
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: of his home tonight. His gaze was detached, expressionless. This
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: thing had been on his mind for two days. This
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: thing and Valerie. Their marriage had been drifting for some
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: time now, and he wasn't sure when he'd stop loving her.
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: It was a quiet breach, his and Valerie's. As quiet
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: as the street on which they lived. He'd told himself
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: long ago that he'd never leave her. It had something
• 3:25
  Speaker 4: to do with honor. Harold's idea of honor. But this
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: other matter, this thing... Something had to be done about
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: it right away, tonight.
• 3:37
  Speaker 5: Is that you, Harold?
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: Yes, dear.
• 3:40
  Speaker 5: It's me. You had me worried.
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: You're late, Harold.
• 3:43
  Speaker 5: Almost an hour.
• 3:44
  Speaker 6: Yes, I know.
• 3:46
  Speaker 7: Sorry, Valerie.
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: Is everything all right?
• 3:49
  Speaker 8: I want to talk to you, Valerie.
• 3:50
  Speaker 5: Of course, Harold.
• 3:52
  Speaker 6: Valerie, I went to the bank yesterday to put some
• 3:56
  Speaker 6: papers in the safety deposit box.
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: Harold, I.
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: Let me finish, please.
• 4:01
  Speaker 6: The bonds are gone, Valerie.
• 4:04
  Speaker 5: $ 7, 000.
• 4:05
  Speaker 7: Worth, all we had.
• 4:07
  Speaker 8: I want you to tell me about it.
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: Oh, Harold.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: I've wanted to, I've tried to, but I didn't know how.
• 4:16
  Speaker 8: What did you do with the money?
• 4:19
  Speaker 5: I lost it.
• 4:20
  Speaker 7: Gambling?
• 4:21
  Speaker 4: Yes, Harold.
• 4:23
  Speaker 5: Gambling.
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: Oh, don't ask me why. I didn't want to lose
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: our money, Harold.
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: But I did.
• 4:29
  Speaker 5: I just couldn't help it.
• 4:31
  Speaker 8: I thought you were all through with that. I thought
• 4:35
  Speaker 8: you were.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 4:38
  Speaker 8: I thought so, too.
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: But....
• 4:41
  Speaker 8: Well, I guess I'm not.
• 4:44
  Speaker 5: Oh, Harold, what are we going to do?
• 4:46
  Speaker 7: Nothing.
• 4:47
  Speaker 6: There's nothing to do, except forget it. The money's gone now.
• 4:51
  Speaker 7: Wait, Harold.
• 4:54
  Speaker 5: That isn't all.
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: I still owe the casino $ 5, 000.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: $ 5, 000? I have to pay it by the end of
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: the week or.
• 5:05
  Speaker 5: But we can't.
• 5:07
  Speaker 6: We don't have $ 5, 000 and we won't have it.
• 5:10
  Speaker 5: By the end of this week or next.
• 5:14
  Speaker 8: We just won't pay it, that's all.
• 5:16
  Speaker 6: We have to.
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: Cregan won't stand for it. I don't know what he'd
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: do if we didn't pay it.
• 5:21
  Speaker 7: Cregan?
• 5:22
  Speaker 5: Kirk Cregan.
• 5:23
  Speaker 6: He's one of the owners of the casino.
• 5:26
  Speaker 5: Harold, you've got to see him.
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: Talk to him.
• 5:29
  Speaker 5: Make him give us time.
• 5:30
  Speaker 6: I don't want to.
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: See him?
• 5:31
  Speaker 8: It wouldn't do any good.
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: You must, Harold.
• 5:33
  Speaker 9: Don't you see?
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: It's our only chance.
• 5:37
  Speaker 5: Oh, I'm frightened, Harold.
• 5:40
  Speaker 7: Please go. Please.
• 5:43
  Speaker 6: Please do it for me.
• 5:45
  Speaker 7: All right, Valerie.
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 5:46
  Speaker 8: I'll go.
• 5:47
  Speaker 5: I'd better phone.
• 5:49
  Speaker 6: Make an appointment for you.
• 5:50
  Speaker 7: See if you can make it tomorrow night.
• 5:52
  Speaker 6: Around eight.
• 5:59
  Speaker 4: The following evening at eight, you arrive at the casino.
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: It's like another world to you, isn't it, Harold? A
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: sudden maze of faces, some intense, harried, others flushed with frantic,
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: unreal smiles. The man who greeted you at the door
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: is motioning you toward another door at the back of
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: the casino, and you follow him.
• 6:19
  Speaker 7: You did say you wanted to see Mr.
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: Cregan, not Mr.
• 6:23
  Speaker 7: Layton. Cregan?
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: Kirk Cregan.
• 6:25
  Speaker 8: He's the owner, isn't he?
• 6:27
  Speaker 7: He's one of them. Latency, Erwin. It's Mr.
• 6:29
  Speaker 8: Cregan I'm looking for.
• 6:32
  Speaker 7: Okay.
• 6:32
  Speaker 8: This is his office.
• 6:38
  Speaker 7: Mr. Ellis to see you, Mr. Cregan. Come in, Mr.
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: Ellis.
• 6:41
  Speaker 7: We'll be off soon. Okay.
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: You look around the office, Harold. Not at all what
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: you expected. It looks like the office of any well-established
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: business executive, doesn't it? And Kurt Cregan is a surprise, too.
• 6:56
  Speaker 4: He might be a business executive or a professional man.
• 7:00
  Speaker 7: Sit down, Mr. Ellis.
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: Tall, attractive, graying at the temples. He looks you straight
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: in the eye and smiles like the family doctor, perhaps.
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: Only one thing about him seems out of the ordinary.
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: You notice he's wearing gloves. Skin-tight gloves. You stare at
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: him and Kirk quickly answers the question that you haven't asked.
• 7:21
  Speaker 7: The gloves seem strange to you?
• 7:23
  Speaker 6: Oh.
• 7:24
  Speaker 8: Sorry, I didn't mean to stare.
• 7:25
  Speaker 7: Forget it. Everybody does. They're doctor's orders. Trying to beat
• 7:29
  Speaker 7: a skin irritation. Hope to get them off soon. Now then, Mr. Ellis.
• 7:33
  Speaker 5: It's... Well, my wife.
• 7:36
  Speaker 6: I understand she owes you $ 5, 000.
• 7:38
  Speaker 8: That's right.
• 7:40
  Speaker 7: Would you care for a drink? No. No, thanks.
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: About the $ 5, 000, Mr.
• 7:47
  Speaker 7: Cregan.
• 7:48
  Speaker 8: I can't pay it. I don't have it. I don't
• 7:51
  Speaker 8: know much about.
• 7:52
  Speaker 7: These things, but I....
• 7:54
  Speaker 8: Well, I just can't pay it, that's all.
• 7:57
  Speaker 7: Well, Mr.
• 7:58
  Speaker 10: Ellis, gambling debts are no different than any other kind.
• 8:01
  Speaker 10: When they're incurred, they have to be paid. When we
• 8:04
  Speaker 10: owe the customers, we pay them. We expect them to
• 8:06
  Speaker 10: pay when they owe us. That's just good business, don't
• 8:09
  Speaker 10: you agree?
• 8:10
  Speaker 8: Well, yes, it's good business, all right, but I just
• 8:14
  Speaker 8: don't have that kind of money.
• 8:15
  Speaker 7: I see. Tell you what I'll do, Mr. Ellis. By
• 8:21
  Speaker 7: the way, are you a gambling man?
• 8:23
  Speaker 6: No, I'm not.
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: Hmm.
• 8:25
  Speaker 10: Well, even so, I think you'll agree this is fair.
• 8:28
  Speaker 10: Suppose we cut for high card, you and I. If
• 8:32
  Speaker 10: you cut the high card, the debt is canceled. If
• 8:35
  Speaker 10: I cut it, you'll have to pay me the 5,000. Now,
• 8:39
  Speaker 10: even if you lose, you're no worse off than you
• 8:41
  Speaker 10: are right now.
• 8:43
  Speaker 7: How about it? Well, I.
• 8:45
  Speaker 8: I don't know.
• 8:47
  Speaker 7: I mean, this is a straight deck. You can look
• 8:48
  Speaker 7: at it if you want to.
• 8:49
  Speaker 8: Oh, no, no, it isn't that. It's just because I...
• 8:52
  Speaker 8: I'm giving you a chance, Mr.
• 8:53
  Speaker 7: Ellis. That's all.
• 8:54
  Speaker 10: A chance to cancel a debt. I don't often do that.
• 8:58
  Speaker 10: But I'm a gambler. In your case, I want to
• 9:01
  Speaker 10: give you a break because you're on a hook through
• 9:03
  Speaker 10: no fault of your own.
• 9:05
  Speaker 6: All right, Mr.
• 9:06
  Speaker 7: Cregan. Go ahead.
• 9:09
  Speaker 4: Cut.
• 9:11
  Speaker 8: As you say, I have nothing to lose.
• 9:14
  Speaker 7: Okay. There you are. Ten of spades. Your turn.
• 9:20
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 9:21
  Speaker 6: Okay.
• 9:23
  Speaker 7: The Queen of Diamonds. Well, well, you win, Mr. Ellis.
• 9:27
  Speaker 7: The bet's canceled. Now, now, how about that drink? Yes,
• 9:34
  Speaker 7: I think I will.
• 9:35
  Speaker 8: Have a drink now.
• 9:36
  Speaker 7: Thanks, Mr. Cregan.
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: Good, good.
• 9:38
  Speaker 7: Scotch and soda, okay?
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: Fine, just fine.
• 9:42
  Speaker 6: Well, I don't mind telling you, I feel much better now, Mr.
• 9:46
  Speaker 7: Cregan. Here's your drink.
• 9:48
  Speaker 5: Thanks.
• 9:49
  Speaker 7: Oh, excuse me a moment. Oh, Jerry, come in. Oh,
• 9:54
  Speaker 7: I didn't know you were busy, Kirk. I'm not busy, Jerry. Mr.
• 9:57
  Speaker 7: Ellis and I were just having a drink. Come on in.
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 10:00
  Speaker 7: This is Mr.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: Ellis.
• 10:01
  Speaker 6: Mr.
• 10:01
  Speaker 7: Ellis, my partner, Jerry. How do you do? How do
• 10:03
  Speaker 7: you do? Sit down. Join us, Jerry. This is a celebration. Mr.
• 10:06
  Speaker 7: Ellis just won $ 5, 000 from you. Well, congratulations, Mr. Ellis.
• 10:11
  Speaker 7: You're a lucky man.
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: Thank you.
• 10:14
  Speaker 7: Yes.
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: Mr.
• 10:15
  Speaker 7: Ellis is a very lucky man. But you, Jerry... You're unlucky.
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: Hey, watch it.
• 10:21
  Speaker 7: No, you're not so lucky, Jerry. I'm taking over the
• 10:23
  Speaker 7: club as of now. Now, Kirk, now wait a minute.
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: Why, you, you shot him.
• 10:30
  Speaker 7: No, Mr. Ellis, I didn't shoot Jerry.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: You did.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: I did?
• 10:35
  Speaker 7: No, you, you shot. You shouldn't have shot my partner, Mr. Ellis.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: Now I'm afraid I'll have to call the police. Tonight's
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: $ 20 signal gasoline book goes to Earl Dixon of Salinas, California,
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: for this limerick. After hearing the whistler one night, we
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: tried signal, and to our delight, we find that our
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: car now goes farther by far, which proves the announcer
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: is right. When tonight's limerick writer said he had tested
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: Signal's mileage and found the announcer right, it was mighty
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: sweet music to my ears. Yes, although Signal has long
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: been famous as the go-farther gasoline, we're always happy to
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: hear when someone puts Signal to the test. For we
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: know that in addition to Signal's good mileage, he'll also
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: discover quick starting, peppy pickup, and smooth power. That's because
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: mileage and performance naturally go hand in hand. you get
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: all the things that make driving more pleasure when you
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: switch to Signal, the famous go-farther gasoline.
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: You can't believe what you've seen, Harold. You can't even move.
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: You just sit there riveted to your chair. Kirk Cregan
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: has just fired two shots at his partner, Jerry Layton,
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: and killed him.
• 12:35
  Speaker 5: You saw that, Harold.
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: But Kirk says that you killed Jerry. You're frozen with shock.
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: All you can do is sit there staring at Kirk,
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: who smiles down at the automatic in his gloved hand,
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: then smiles quickly at you, and then suddenly tosses you
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: the gun.
• 12:50
  Speaker 7: Here, sucker, catch this gun.
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: Why?
• 12:52
  Speaker 7: Now, little man, your fingerprints are all over the murder weapon. No.
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: You did it.
• 12:58
  Speaker 7: The gloves. Yeah, the gloves. They don't leave prints. You
• 13:02
  Speaker 7: killed one man, Ellis. You're going to kill me, too?
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: No, I... I didn't.
• 13:06
  Speaker 7: Go on. You got the gun. Pull the trigger. Shoot me.
• 13:09
  Speaker 7: Just like you shot Jerry.
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: No, I.
• 13:11
  Speaker 9: No, I didn't do it.
• 13:13
  Speaker 7: No, you sure did. And I've got to defend myself.
• 13:16
  Speaker 7: You're about to shoot me, too.
• 13:18
  Speaker 5: Go on.
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: Pull the trigger.
• 13:21
  Speaker 7: That was a blank.
• 13:23
  Speaker 10: Would you fire the gun, Ellis? The parents and Tess
• 13:25
  Speaker 10: of your hands will prove it. And now, killer, I'll
• 13:29
  Speaker 10: have to knock you out.
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: Kirk lunges at you, swings a blow that grazes your cheek,
• 13:35
  Speaker 4: and then falls off balance against the desk, stunned. Panic
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: seizes you. You look around.
• 13:40
  Speaker 7: The window.
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: Must lead somewhere, Harold. Yes, a fire escape, a landing
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: right outside the window. You've got to run, Harold. That's
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: all you can do now.
• 13:48
  Speaker 6: Run.
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: Stumbling, you make your way down the fire escape, then
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: along the dark alleyway.
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: Hey, get that guy!
• 13:55
  Speaker 9: Stop him!
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: Yes, Harold, all you can do is run. Run into
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: the night until finally you stagger into a darkened doorway
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: to catch your breath. As you stand there and watch
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: the first drops of rain hit the sidewalk and hear
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: the distant rumble of thunder, you realize that you've left
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: your hat and overcoat back there in Kurt Cregan's office.
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: That will help to incriminate you, just as a pistol
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: will with your fingerprints on it. And it's your hand
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: that has the microscopic gunpowder blasted into the skin. The
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: paraffin test will show that you and not Kurt fired
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: that gun. Turning up your collar, you move away. You
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: walk for hours in the rain, wondering what to do. Finally,
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: just before dawn, you wander into a cheap little hotel
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: on the waterfront.
• 14:52
  Speaker 7: The lobby is deserted.
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: At the desk, you ring the night bell. As you
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: stand waiting, your eyes fall on a midnight copy of
• 15:01
  Speaker 4: the morning edition.
• 15:04
  Speaker 7: Gambler.
• 15:05
  Speaker 6: Shot by irate husband. Please seek insurance, man, for murder
• 15:10
  Speaker 6: of Jerry Layton. Dead man's partner tells a quarrel over
• 15:15
  Speaker 6: gambling debt.
• 15:16
  Speaker 5: What's on your mind, mister?
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: What?
• 15:19
  Speaker 8: You look up from the paper.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: A man, unshaven, sleepy-eyed, wearing a soil-gray bathrobe approaches you. I, uh.
• 15:27
  Speaker 8: I'd like a room, please.
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: You got any luggage?
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: No.
• 15:32
  Speaker 5: You have to pay in advance.
• 15:34
  Speaker 8: How much?
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: Back and a half, front room.
• 15:38
  Speaker 7: Here you are. Okay. Here's the key.
• 15:42
  Speaker 8: Thank you.
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: Hey, Mr.
• 15:43
  Speaker 5: Tech. Got it registered.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: Oh.
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: Just sign your name here.
• 15:48
  Speaker 5: Yours or anybody else's, I in particular. Just as long
• 15:51
  Speaker 5: as you sign a name. That's fine, Mr.
• 15:58
  Speaker 4: Farnsworth.
• 16:00
  Speaker 5: By the way, where'd you get the fat lift, Mr. Farnsworth?
• 16:03
  Speaker 7: What?
• 16:03
  Speaker 5: The fat lift. You been in a fight?
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: Oh, my lift.
• 16:09
  Speaker 8: No, no, I.
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: Here, here, here.
• 16:12
  Speaker 5: Room 219, one flight up. Three doors down the hall
• 16:14
  Speaker 5: on your left.
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: Upstairs in the room, you stretch out on the bed
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: and lie there, staring up at the ceiling. It's hard
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: to believe this has happened to you, Harold. It's like
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: a nightmare. The police of the city are looking for you,
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: the charge, murder. And they'll never believe it was a frame-up,
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: will they? You close your eyes and listen to the
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: sounds of a city awakening. A storm. Wonder what you're
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: going to do. Presently, you get out of bed, stand
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: by the window, and watch the gray dawn approach. And
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: then suddenly, your attention is drawn down to the street below.
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: A police car pulls in at the curb. A man
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: hurries out of the hotel to meet it. You recognize
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: the desk clerk. Quickly, you slip into the car. Start
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: for the stairs and realize the police will be coming
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: up those stairs. And at the far end of the car,
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: do you see a window? A sign over it. Fire escape.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: It won't open. As you hear footsteps on the stairs,
• 17:20
  Speaker 4: you look around frantically. See a door a few feet
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: away and slightly ajar. You don't know what's on the
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: other side, but it's your only chance. You find yourself
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: in a linen closet. Leave the door open, Crack. hear
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: the footsteps coming down the hall and recognize the clerk's voice.
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah. Suddenly it hits me, see? I read in
• 17:40
  Speaker 5: the papers about the Parallelus guy and suddenly it hits me.
• 17:43
  Speaker 5: He sent a description, all right.
• 17:45
  Speaker 7: When did he check in?
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: A few hours ago. Say, is there a reward out
• 17:48
  Speaker 5: on this guy, huh? No, there isn't. How do you
• 17:51
  Speaker 5: like that? What a lovely book for me.
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: You watch them through the crack in the door as
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: they walk down the hall and turn into the corridor
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: and disappear. Quickly, you slip out of the closet, down
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: the stairs, Through the lobby. Out into the street.
• 18:08
  Speaker 6: Hey!
• 18:09
  Speaker 5: Hey, you down there!
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: You glance up. See the policeman leaning out of the
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: window of your room. You turn and break into a run.
• 18:15
  Speaker 9: Hold it, Ellis! Stay where you are!
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: Ellis!
• 18:27
  Speaker 4: That was close, wasn't it, Harold? For a moment, you
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: were trapped. You make your way to the railroad yards
• 18:32
  Speaker 4: and find an empty boxcar. For the rest of the day,
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: you remain there, huddled behind the big packing cases and
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: not daring to move. You know the police are out
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: there somewhere in the railroad yards looking for you. You
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: wait for darkness and a chance to slip away. That evening,
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: under cover of darkness, you move along the back street
• 18:57
  Speaker 4: and finally walk into a drugstore and step into a
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: phone booth. Can't go on hiding and running forever, can you, Harold?
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: You don't know what else to do. You've got to
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: talk to someone. Someone who can help you. You wonder,
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: don't you, Harold? Wonder why you're dialing this number. Why
• 19:16
  Speaker 4: you turned instinctively to Judy for help and not your wife.
• 19:20
  Speaker 7: Judy, Mr.
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: Fleming's secretary, a girl at the office. A girl who
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: has suddenly become something more than just another one of
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: the employees.
• 19:32
  Speaker 6: Judy.
• 19:33
  Speaker 7: This is Harold.
• 19:35
  Speaker 8: Harold Ellis.
• 19:35
  Speaker 5: Harold!
• 19:36
  Speaker 6: I'm sorry if I woke you.
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: No, no, it's all right.
• 19:38
  Speaker 5: I wasn't asleep. Where are you?
• 19:40
  Speaker 8: At the corner of Grove and Fifth.
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: Harold, stay right there.
• 19:43
  Speaker 5: I'll drive by and pick you up.
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: No, Judy, wait.
• 19:56
  Speaker 5: I don't know quite what to say, Harold.
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: You should turn yourself in, I suppose.
• 20:00
  Speaker 7: The police wouldn't believe me.
• 20:03
  Speaker 6: Can you blame them?
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: But you didn't kill Layton.
• 20:06
  Speaker 5: Harold, I wish I knew what to do.
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: Maybe it's as.
• 20:09
  Speaker 8: Simple as, well, running.
• 20:13
  Speaker 5: Harold.
• 20:13
  Speaker 7: Yes?
• 20:14
  Speaker 5: Whatever you decide, I'll help you any way I can.
• 20:18
  Speaker 8: Money, my car.
• 20:19
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 20:22
  Speaker 5: Here we are in my apartment house.
• 20:25
  Speaker 6: Come on, Harold.
• 20:26
  Speaker 7: No.
• 20:28
  Speaker 6: No, Judy, I'm not going with you.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: What's wrong?
• 20:30
  Speaker 6: I can't do it, Judy.
• 20:31
  Speaker 5: It isn't right. I.
• 20:34
  Speaker 6: I can't implicate you in this.
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: Oh, Harold, I don't care. Well, I do.
• 20:39
  Speaker 6: I don't want you to get mixed up in this mess.
• 20:43
  Speaker 8: Goodbye, Judy, and thanks for everything.
• 20:46
  Speaker 7: No, wait. I guess a ride, a little.
• 20:49
  Speaker 6: Talk, did me some good. Judy, I'm tired of running.
• 20:56
  Speaker 6: I know what I've got to do.
• 20:57
  Speaker 5: You're going to give yourself up?
• 20:59
  Speaker 6: Yes. But first, I'm going to have a little talk
• 21:02
  Speaker 6: with Kurt Cregan.
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: So long, Judy. Yes, Harold, you know what you've got
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: to do. You've got to get to Kurt Cregan alone
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: and make him talk. You're not certain just how you're
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: going to force him to tell the truth to the police.
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: But he'll tell them, won't he?
• 21:24
  Speaker 8: He's got to.
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: The following night, after long, endless, sleepless hours of hiding,
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: Fading and sinking. You decide to make your move. You
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: hurry over to the parking lot and back to the
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: gambling casino. Look over the cars and carefully examine the
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: registration cards. You find Cregan's dark convertible. Ease into the
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: back and lie flat on the floor. Then pulling the
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: auto robe over you, you settle down to wait for him.
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: But the sleepless hours have caught up to you, haven't they, Harold?
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: Somehow you've dozed off. And when you rouse yourself from
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: your heavy slumber, the car is in motion. You stretch
• 22:04
  Speaker 4: your cramped leg, try to sit up. The car suddenly
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: comes to a stop. You pull yourself up. Watch Kirk
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: as he walks away. And then as you look around,
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: you realize he's walking up the path to your house. Guns,
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: you watch him as he enters. You know you shouldn't
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: take the chance of being seen. And you're sure the
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: police are watching your house. But you've got to find
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: out what Kurt Cregan is doing there. So get out
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: of the car. Hurry around to the side of the house.
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: Kitchen window is open.
• 22:37
  Speaker 7: I just wanted to see you, baby.
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: You'll hear voices.
• 22:40
  Speaker 5: You shouldn't have come.
• 22:41
  Speaker 7: Relax, sweetheart.
• 22:42
  Speaker 10: The cops aren't covering this place anymore. Harold wouldn't be
• 22:45
  Speaker 10: stupid enough to show up here.
• 22:46
  Speaker 7: They know it.
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: All right, all right.
• 22:49
  Speaker 5: When you shot Jerry Layton, why didn't you hold Harold
• 22:51
  Speaker 5: at the club.
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: Until the police got there?
• 22:53
  Speaker 10: Well, he was a little too fast for me. But
• 22:55
  Speaker 10: don't worry, they'll get him. He's a dead pigeon. It'll
• 22:59
  Speaker 10: all work out just the way we planned it, baby.
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: Are you sure?
• 23:03
  Speaker 7: Well, what do you mean?
• 23:05
  Speaker 5: I think you've played me for a sucker, that's all.
• 23:08
  Speaker 4: And now that you've got what you want, what you
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: really wanted all the time, the club all to yourself, you're.
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: Going to walk out on me.
• 23:15
  Speaker 7: Oh, baby, how can you say that?
• 23:17
  Speaker 5: Because I... I just found out you've been going around
• 23:20
  Speaker 5: with another woman.
• 23:21
  Speaker 7: Oh, now, honey.
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: You deny it?
• 23:24
  Speaker 7: You're all wrong, believe me.
• 23:26
  Speaker 5: All wrong, Valerie.
• 23:28
  Speaker 4: You move away from the kitchen window, Harold. You've heard enough,
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: haven't you? Besides, you can't take the chance of staying
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: around your house any longer. Valerie and Kirk, they planned
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: it together to frame you for murder to get you
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: out of the way. It's all quite clear now, isn't it?
• 23:44
  Speaker 4: Her story of losing $ 5, 000, making the appointment for you
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: to meet Kirk at the club. You move quickly around
• 23:51
  Speaker 4: to the back of the house, to the porch. Only
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: a few feet away from you now, Harold, is a closet.
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: And in that closet, your old hunting rifle. You can
• 24:01
  Speaker 4: use it, can't you? Kill them both for what they've
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: done to you. Suddenly you stop, one foot on the step,
• 24:09
  Speaker 4: and stand there in the darkness for a moment. Then
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: you close the door again and turn away. You can't
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: do it, can you? In spite of what they've done
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: to you, you just can't kill. No, you can't kill,
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: and you can't.
• 24:32
  Speaker 7: Go on running.
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: An hour later, you decide the only thing to do
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: is to turn yourself in.
• 24:40
  Speaker 7: Police Department, 3rd Precinct Station, Sergeant Groves. Yeah. Yeah. Give
• 24:46
  Speaker 7: me that again. Oh, okay. Okay, right, Lieutenant. Oh, someday
• 24:54
  Speaker 7: that guy's going to drive me... Oh. Now, what can
• 24:58
  Speaker 7: I do for you, sir? I....
• 25:02
  Speaker 8: I want to give myself up.
• 25:04
  Speaker 6: Oh?
• 25:05
  Speaker 8: My name is Harold Ellis. You've been looking for me.
• 25:10
  Speaker 7: Harold Ellis, huh?
• 25:13
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 25:14
  Speaker 7: Yeah, we sure have been looking for you, Mr. Ellis.
• 25:16
  Speaker 7: Harold Ellis.
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: Because many of you drivers will be buying a new
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: battery before the cold spell ends, here's a word of wisdom.
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: When you compare the cost of various batteries, remember this.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: The important thing is not the first cost, but the
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: cost per month, which, of course, depends on how long
• 25:42
  Speaker 2: the battery lasts. Measured by that yardstick, one of today's
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: most economical batteries is the new Extra Long Life Signal
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: Deluxe Battery. Instead of being guaranteed for only 12 or
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: 18 months like ordinary batteries, the new Signal Deluxe batteries
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: are guaranteed a full 30 months on a service basis.
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: And so that you'll enjoy quicker cold weather starting, Signal
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: Deluxe batteries deliver up to 35% more power because their
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: improved type microporous all-rubber separators hold twice as much acid
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: solution between the plates. Now, these are just two reasons why,
• 26:18
  Speaker 2: before you buy any battery... you'll be wise to get
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: your signal dealer's trade-in offer for your old battery plus
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: his convenient credit terms. Prove it for yourself that on
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: a per-month basis, it actually costs less to enjoy the
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: quicker starting and long dependability of today's finest battery, a
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: Signal Deluxe battery.
• 26:53
  Speaker 4: It was a shock, wasn't it, Harold, learning that your
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: wife Valerie and the gambler Kirk Cregan had planted together
• 26:59
  Speaker 4: to frame you for murder. As you listened outside your
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: kitchen window and heard them talking about it, you wanted
• 27:06
  Speaker 4: to kill them both, didn't you? Yet somehow you couldn't.
• 27:10
  Speaker 4: So you hurried away, and finally you'd made up your
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: mind to give yourself up. Now you stand in the
• 27:15
  Speaker 4: police station facing the desk sergeant.
• 27:18
  Speaker 7: Yeah. We've been looking for you all right, Mr.
• 27:20
  Speaker 4: Ellis. I.
• 27:22
  Speaker 8: Don't suppose anyone will believe me. I didn't kill Leighton.
• 27:26
  Speaker 7: We know you didn't. What? We've already got Leighton's murderer.
• 27:31
  Speaker 8: You have who?
• 27:32
  Speaker 7: Kirk Cregan, the gambler.
• 27:34
  Speaker 10: He's at the emergency hospital right now.
• 27:37
  Speaker 7: Pretty bad shape. He confessed.
• 27:40
  Speaker 8: But why? If he was in the clear, if the
• 27:43
  Speaker 8: police were looking for me.
• 27:44
  Speaker 7: He got into an argument with his girlfriend. Your... Sorry, Mr. Ellis.
• 27:50
  Speaker 7: Your wife. She stabbed him with a kitchen knife.
• 27:53
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 27:54
  Speaker 7: When the officers walked in on her, your wife broke down,
• 27:56
  Speaker 7: told them everything. Everything? That's right. The whole story of
• 28:01
  Speaker 7: how she and Cregan framed you.
• 28:04
  Speaker 8: That makes me feel better.
• 28:06
  Speaker 6: I'm glad Valerie finally.
• 28:08
  Speaker 7: Told the truth. There wasn't much else she could do.
• 28:11
  Speaker 7: The boys had her in custody a few seconds after
• 28:13
  Speaker 7: she'd stabbed Cregan. She didn't have time to make a getaway.
• 28:17
  Speaker 6: She should have realized the police would be watching the
• 28:19
  Speaker 6: house looking for me.
• 28:20
  Speaker 7: Nope. That's a funny thing. We hadn't been watching your
• 28:24
  Speaker 7: house at all.
• 28:25
  Speaker 6: And how did it happen the police got there so quickly?
• 28:27
  Speaker 7: One of your neighbors called. Tipped us off that you
• 28:30
  Speaker 7: were there, looking in the kitchen window. We came after
• 28:34
  Speaker 7: you and found your wife and Cregan.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: Let that whistle be your signal for the Signal Oil program,
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: The Whistler, each Sunday night at this same time. Brought
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: to you by the Signal Oil Company, marketers of Signal
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: gasoline and motor oil and fine automotive accessories. Remember, if
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: you would like the fun of having your friends hear
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: a limerick of yours on The Whistler, the address to
• 29:15
  Speaker 2: which to send it is The Signal Oil Company, Los
• 29:18
  Speaker 2: Angeles 55, California. All limericks become the property of The
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: Signal Oil Company. Those selected for use on the Whistler
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: will be chosen by our advertising representatives on the basis
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: of humor, suitability, and originality. So, of course, they must
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: be your own compositions. Featured in tonight's story were Bill Foreman,
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: Harley Bear, and Rye Billsbury. The Whistler was produced and
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: directed by George W. Allen, with story by Gil Thomas,
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: music by Wilbur Hatch. and was transmitted to our troops
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service. The Whistler is
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: entirely fictional, and all characters portrayed on The Whistler are
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: also fictional. Any similarity of names or resemblance to persons
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: living or dead is purely coincidental. Remember, at this same
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: time next Sunday, another strange tale by The Whistler.
• 30:33
  Speaker 9: S-I-T-N-A-L Signal, Signal, call me.
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: Over 228,000 disaster victims received aid last year from the
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: Red Cross. So that no unfortunate person will be turned
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: away this year, let's all give enough when we're asked
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: to give to the Red Cross. Marvin Miller speaking for
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: the Signal Oil Company. By the way, Whistler fans, if
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: you didn't hear Jack Benny's parody on The Whistler this afternoon,
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: be sure to tune in his repeat broadcast at 9.30
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: tonight over these same stations. This is CBS, the Columbia
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: Broadcasting System.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: The Whistler fades from the air after Appointment for Murder.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: Follow The Whistler for more classic broadcasts.