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Suspense - "Dame Fortune" (Old Time Radio, 1946) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: October 2nd, 1946 brings us to Suspense, Episode 4, Dame Fortune.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Susan Hayward stars as Jean Nicholson, a popular singer whose
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: life with her wealthy husband, Frank, is interrupted by a
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: telephone call from Charlie Prescott, a man from her past.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: As Prescott's return places Gene under pressure, Frank Nicholson is
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: drawn into a blackmail scheme. Hans Conrad appears as Prescott,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: with Wally Maher as Frank. Kay Thompson supplies Hayward's singing
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: voice for part of Cole Porter's I've Got You Under
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: My Skin. This edition of Suspense was heard on CBS
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: under the sponsorship of Roma Wines. The script is credited
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: to Max Wilk and Ed Merkland and William Spear directed.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: We now take you back to the original broadcast.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: And now, Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, made in.
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: California for enjoyment throughout the world, Roma Wines presents.
• 1:03
  Speaker 4: Suspense.
• 1:08
  Speaker 5: Tonight, Roma Wines bring you Miss Susan Hayward as star
• 1:12
  Speaker 5: of Dame Fortune, a suspense play produced, edited, and directed
• 1:16
  Speaker 5: for Roma Wines by William Spears.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills, is presented for your
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines, those excellent
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: way you live, to your happiness in entertaining guests, to
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now, a glass
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: full would be very pleasant, as Roma Wines bring you
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: Susan Hayward in a remarkable tale of Suspense.
• 1:56
  Speaker 6: Nobody's believed this so far, but maybe someday somebody will.
• 2:01
  Speaker 7: Not that it really matters.
• 2:03
  Speaker 6: It's just something to do to pass the time while
• 2:05
  Speaker 6: I'm waiting. It was our fifth anniversary and we were
• 2:09
  Speaker 6: having a party. And as usual, partly because a ham
• 2:13
  Speaker 6: is always a ham no matter how long they've been
• 2:15
  Speaker 6: out of the business, and partly because it's really easier
• 2:18
  Speaker 6: to go ahead and do it than to spend your
• 2:19
  Speaker 6: whole evening refusing.
• 2:21
  Speaker 7: I was supplying the entertainment. But each time.
• 2:24
  Speaker 8: I do, just the thought of you makes me stop.
• 2:29
  Speaker 9: Before I begin, cause I've got you. Under my skin
• 2:43
  Speaker 9: Cause I've got you Under my skin.
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: It's not every party you go to where the hostess
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: can entertain, is it?
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: Well, certainly, certainly.
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: Why do you think I married her? Broadway's loss was
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: Nicholson's gain.
• 3:01
  Speaker 7: Oh, darling, for someone.
• 3:02
  Speaker 6: Who's been married to me for five whole years, you
• 3:04
  Speaker 6: still say some awfully nice things.
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: Well, why not, darling?
• 3:07
  Speaker 5: Say, Jean, seeing you'll be so nice to come home to,
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: were you in that show?
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: What was the name of it?
• 3:12
  Speaker 10: Oh, no, dear.
• 3:13
  Speaker 7: Frank had already snatched me from my career by that time.
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: Excuse me. Jean, darling, you want it on the phone? Phone?
• 3:19
  Speaker 7: This hour?
• 3:20
  Speaker 6: Who is it?
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: I don't know, dear. It's a man, probably one of
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: your old admirers.
• 3:24
  Speaker 7: Oh, don't be silly. All my old admirers gave up
• 3:27
  Speaker 7: ages ago.
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: All right, I'll take your word for it, my sweet.
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: But now you'd better go see who it is.
• 3:32
  Speaker 10: All right.
• 3:33
  Speaker 7: Don't anybody go away. I'll be right back.
• 3:35
  Speaker 4: All right, now, I'll buy you a drink.
• 3:41
  Speaker 7: Hello?
• 3:42
  Speaker 10: Hello, Jane.
• 3:44
  Speaker 7: Who's this?
• 3:45
  Speaker 10: Perhaps I should say Mrs. Nicholson. You're not Jean Marley anymore.
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: Are you?
• 3:50
  Speaker 7: Who is this? Is there something I can do for you?
• 3:54
  Speaker 7: I'm rather busy right now.
• 3:55
  Speaker 10: I was afraid you might forget me. I've been away
• 3:57
  Speaker 10: such a long time. This is Charlie.
• 4:01
  Speaker 7: Charlie?
• 4:02
  Speaker 11: Charlie Prescott of the San Quentin Prescotts. You remember now,
• 4:07
  Speaker 11: don't you? You're still there, aren't you, Jean?
• 4:11
  Speaker 7: Yes, I'm still here.
• 4:13
  Speaker 10: You surprised?
• 4:14
  Speaker 7: So you're back.
• 4:15
  Speaker 10: Out is what we call it, sweetheart. Only yesterday. And
• 4:19
  Speaker 10: I want to see you.
• 4:20
  Speaker 7: Oh, no, Charlie. That's all over.
• 4:21
  Speaker 10: You mean you don't want to see me?
• 4:23
  Speaker 7: Save it, Charlie. I suppose I knew all along this
• 4:26
  Speaker 7: would happen someday. When will it be?
• 4:29
  Speaker 10: Oh, the sooner the better. How about tomorrow?
• 4:31
  Speaker 7: I can't tomorrow. Make it Wednesday in the afternoon.
• 4:34
  Speaker 10: Say three o'clock? Same old place?
• 4:36
  Speaker 7: No, not there.
• 4:37
  Speaker 10: All right. What about the Shangri-La?
• 4:41
  Speaker 7: All right.
• 4:42
  Speaker 11: You'll be sure and be there, won't you, sweetheart? Because
• 4:45
  Speaker 11: if you're not, I'm going to feel very bad.
• 4:48
  Speaker 7: I'll be there.
• 4:49
  Speaker 10: Three o'clock then, sweetheart.
• 4:50
  Speaker 7: Three o'clock. Oh, there's me. Hey, where have you been?
• 4:59
  Speaker 7: Come on, sing another song.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Who was it, darling?
• 5:01
  Speaker 8: Anyone I know?
• 5:02
  Speaker 7: No, just an old friend.
• 5:03
  Speaker 4: Oh, why didn't you ask him over?
• 5:05
  Speaker 6: Oh, he was just passing through town and wanted to
• 5:07
  Speaker 6: say hello, that's all.
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: Well, maybe some other time.
• 5:09
  Speaker 7: Yes, some other time. Don't let anybody tell you that
• 5:19
  Speaker 7: prison doesn't change people. It does. And Charlie had seven
• 5:24
  Speaker 7: years of it.
• 5:25
  Speaker 6: It's not just the prison pallor they always tell you
• 5:27
  Speaker 6: about or extra dividends and gray hair.
• 5:31
  Speaker 7: It's something else. An expression in the eyes. And more
• 5:35
  Speaker 7: than that, something I didn't figure out until quite a
• 5:38
  Speaker 7: while later.
• 5:39
  Speaker 12: I'll say you're looking great, sweetheart.
• 5:41
  Speaker 7: Let's cut out the compliments, Charlie. You don't mean them
• 5:43
  Speaker 7: and neither do I.
• 5:44
  Speaker 11: Now, wait a minute, sweetheart. Don't get me wrong. You
• 5:48
  Speaker 11: don't think I'm sore about anything? Like, say, because you're married?
• 5:51
  Speaker 11: You don't think that now, do you?
• 5:52
  Speaker 7: Why, should you be?
• 5:54
  Speaker 6: You knew I wasn't going to wait around for you.
• 5:56
  Speaker 6: It was never that serious between us.
• 5:57
  Speaker 12: That's what I'm saying.
• 5:59
  Speaker 11: Why, I'm tickled pink you married the guy. Particularly since
• 6:03
  Speaker 11: I hear he's really in the dough, huh?
• 6:05
  Speaker 12: But good.
• 6:06
  Speaker 7: The trouble with you blackmailers is.
• 6:07
  Speaker 12: Oh, that's a nasty word, sweetheart.
• 6:09
  Speaker 6: The trouble with you blackmailers is that you think all
• 6:12
  Speaker 6: a woman with a wealthy husband has to do is
• 6:14
  Speaker 6: just run down to the cellar and bring up a
• 6:16
  Speaker 6: basket full anytime she wants to.
• 6:18
  Speaker 7: Well, it's not like that. He spends the money. I don't.
• 6:21
  Speaker 12: No joint bank account?
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: Oh, sure.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: What do you think.
• 6:24
  Speaker 7: Happens when all of a sudden two or three hundred
• 6:26
  Speaker 7: a month just starts disappearing?
• 6:28
  Speaker 12: I wasn't thinking of hundreds, sweetheart.
• 6:31
  Speaker 7: Oh, of course not. And the bigger you think, the
• 6:34
  Speaker 7: hotter it gets. Don't you see that?
• 6:37
  Speaker 12: Well, he's got a will, hasn't he?
• 6:40
  Speaker 7: I suppose so.
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: Don't stall, sweetheart.
• 6:42
  Speaker 12: You know he has. You know what's in it. It
• 6:44
  Speaker 12: all goes to you, doesn't it?
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 6:46
  Speaker 7: I guess it does.
• 6:47
  Speaker 12: You know it does.
• 6:49
  Speaker 7: And you want a cut.
• 6:50
  Speaker 12: I want half.
• 6:54
  Speaker 7: Before taxes are deducted or after?
• 6:56
  Speaker 13: Don't get wise. I did a lot of figuring where
• 7:00
  Speaker 13: I was, and I figured you owed me something, sweetheart.
• 7:02
  Speaker 12: I figured you owed me plenty.
• 7:03
  Speaker 7: Well, you're going to have a long time to wait
• 7:05
  Speaker 7: for it, darling.
• 7:06
  Speaker 6: I'd say about 30 years, because he's healthy.
• 7:09
  Speaker 7: As a horse.
• 7:10
  Speaker 12: Who said anything about waiting?
• 7:14
  Speaker 7: You do have big ideas, don't you?
• 7:17
  Speaker 12: You like it?
• 7:19
  Speaker 6: You don't really think I'm going to become a party
• 7:21
  Speaker 6: to the murder of my own husband, do you?
• 7:22
  Speaker 12: Sweetheart, you mustn't use those words.
• 7:24
  Speaker 7: You must have gone a little crazy up there, Charlie.
• 7:27
  Speaker 12: Who said anything about your being a party to her?
• 7:31
  Speaker 7: Oh, you handle it. I just wait. Is that it?
• 7:34
  Speaker 11: Well, I know it's not as big a part of
• 7:36
  Speaker 11: the job as you handled the last time, but that's
• 7:39
  Speaker 11: a general idea.
• 7:40
  Speaker 13: What do you say?
• 7:42
  Speaker 7: What do you think?
• 7:44
  Speaker 13: Sweetheart, did you ever stop to figure out what they'd
• 7:47
  Speaker 13: give you? If they found out?
• 7:50
  Speaker 12: I don't know. I do. The same as they give me.
• 7:54
  Speaker 12: Maybe worse.
• 7:55
  Speaker 7: Listen, Charlie. Suppose I told you I love him.
• 7:58
  Speaker 4: You?
• 7:59
  Speaker 12: I wouldn't believe you.
• 8:01
  Speaker 11: I wouldn't believe it if he combined the best features
• 8:04
  Speaker 11: of John D. Rockefeller, Albert Einstein, and Clark Gable.
• 8:08
  Speaker 7: No, I suppose you wouldn't.
• 8:11
  Speaker 13: Well, that's the way it is, sweetheart. That way or
• 8:15
  Speaker 13: the other.
• 8:16
  Speaker 12: Make up your mind.
• 8:19
  Speaker 7: Well, it would have to be an accident.
• 8:22
  Speaker 12: That's okay. It could be an accident.
• 8:26
  Speaker 7: All right, Charlie. You win. There's only one way that
• 8:37
  Speaker 7: I know of to deal with blackmail.
• 8:40
  Speaker 6: Agree to the terms first and find it out afterwards.
• 8:43
  Speaker 7: And that's how I'd plan to play it.
• 8:45
  Speaker 6: I will confess that the murder of my husband for
• 8:47
  Speaker 6: his estate was a little stiffer price than I'd been
• 8:49
  Speaker 6: prepared for.
• 8:51
  Speaker 7: But by the time I left, I knew how I
• 8:53
  Speaker 7: was going to play that tool. Charlie had never been
• 8:56
  Speaker 7: quite as smart as he thought he was.
• 8:59
  Speaker 6: That's one reason why he went to prison, and I didn't.
• 9:03
  Speaker 6: That evening after dinner, I went in to see my
• 9:05
  Speaker 6: husband in his study.
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: Oh, hello, darling.
• 9:10
  Speaker 7: Frank, there's something I have to tell you.
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: Well, what is it, darling?
• 9:15
  Speaker 7: It's pretty serious.
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: Well, all right. What is it?
• 9:19
  Speaker 7: Frank, I'm being blackmailed.
• 9:21
  Speaker 10: What?
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: Blackmailed?
• 9:23
  Speaker 7: This is going to hurt you, darling. Afterwards, you can
• 9:26
  Speaker 7: do anything you like. But I know that the only
• 9:28
  Speaker 7: sensible thing and the only decent thing is to tell
• 9:31
  Speaker 7: you the whole story.
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: Jean, no matter what it is, no matter what, I
• 9:36
  Speaker 4: love you, darling. That's all that really matters. Do you
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: understand that?
• 9:41
  Speaker 12: Yes, I do, darling.
• 9:44
  Speaker 7: Frank, a number of years ago, before I knew you,
• 9:47
  Speaker 7: I had some trouble. Bad trouble.
• 9:50
  Speaker 6: I was just a kid, and, well, I got mixed
• 9:52
  Speaker 6: up with the wrong man. His name was Charles Prescott.
• 9:57
  Speaker 6: I didn't know how wrong he was until someone got killed.
• 10:01
  Speaker 6: Charlie managed to convince the jury, more or less, that
• 10:03
  Speaker 6: it was an accident. His sentence was from 10 to
• 10:07
  Speaker 6: 20 years. He got three years off for good behavior.
• 10:11
  Speaker 7: Frankie's out of prison now and he has evidence that
• 10:13
  Speaker 7: I was involved. I was involved much more than ever
• 10:17
  Speaker 7: came out in the trial and Well, that's the story.
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: Well, that's not so bad, darling. What's his price?
• 10:27
  Speaker 7: His price is.
• 10:29
  Speaker 7: Oh, Frank.
• 10:30
  Speaker 4: Oh, there, there, darling. It's all right.
• 10:32
  Speaker 12: It's all right.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: Now, come on. Tell me the whole thing.
• 10:35
  Speaker 6: His price is that he plans to murder you and
• 10:37
  Speaker 6: make me give him half of what I inherit.
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: Good Lord, Jean, the man must be crazy.
• 10:42
  Speaker 7: That's just it. He is. He's just crazy enough to
• 10:45
  Speaker 7: try it. He's planning some sort of an accident. Oh, Frank,
• 10:48
  Speaker 7: I'm frightened.
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: Now, darling, don't you worry a bit. I know just
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: how to handle this.
• 10:52
  Speaker 7: Oh, Frank, not the police.
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: No, darling, no. Not the police.
• 11:03
  Speaker 6: Early the next morning, we were visited by a chunky
• 11:06
  Speaker 6: little man named Sparks from the Continental Detective Agency. I
• 11:10
  Speaker 6: told him the story, or most of it. And all
• 11:14
  Speaker 6: the time I was talking, he kept watching my husband.
• 11:17
  Speaker 6: I got the impression he might be a little difficult
• 11:19
  Speaker 6: to deal with. As it turned out, I wasn't far wrong.
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: It's a good story, Mr. Nicholson. But it's not right.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: Not right?
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: What do you mean?
• 11:29
  Speaker 8: Well, for instance, why don't you go to the police?
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: I've told you it's a case of blackmail. But it's
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: not just a case of blackmail. Hmm?
• 11:38
  Speaker 8: According to your wife, here's an ex-con with 13 years
• 11:42
  Speaker 8: still hanging over him out on parole, and he's threatening
• 11:45
  Speaker 8: your life.
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: We can throw him back in the can just like that.
• 11:49
  Speaker 10: Look, Mr.
• 11:49
  Speaker 8: Sparks, you don't have to know all my family affairs
• 11:53
  Speaker 8: to handle this case to you.
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: No, but it would help.
• 11:57
  Speaker 8: Suffice it to say that it's a delicate matter. We
• 12:01
  Speaker 8: can't go to the police. Then perhaps you better tell
• 12:03
  Speaker 8: me just what you do want me to handle. I
• 12:06
  Speaker 8: want you to locate him and then follow him day
• 12:08
  Speaker 8: and night. Never let him out of your sight.
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: Eventually, I suppose, he'll try to kill you.
• 12:15
  Speaker 7: Oh, Frank.
• 12:15
  Speaker 8: Now, Jean, darling, remember you were going to let me
• 12:17
  Speaker 8: handle this.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: I know, but.
• 12:18
  Speaker 8: But don't you see, dear, if we actually catch him
• 12:21
  Speaker 8: in the act, attempted murder, then we can send him
• 12:23
  Speaker 8: back to prison and nobody would ever believe anything he said.
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: Must be a very delicate matter.
• 12:29
  Speaker 8: It, um.
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: It is, Mr. Sparks.
• 12:33
  Speaker 10: Well.
• 12:34
  Speaker 4: You'll hear from me.
• 12:35
  Speaker 8: Mr.
• 12:35
  Speaker 7: Sparks, suppose he should try to contact me.
• 12:39
  Speaker 8: You mean you think he'll try to shake you down
• 12:41
  Speaker 8: beforehand anyway, just for love?
• 12:43
  Speaker 7: Well, you see, he thinks I've agreed with his plan.
• 12:46
  Speaker 7: The accident.
• 12:47
  Speaker 6: Hmm.
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: The way we're handling it, there's only one thing to do.
• 12:52
  Speaker 4: Play him along. I see.
• 12:54
  Speaker 7: Well, is that all the information you need, Mr. Sparks?
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: If that's all you'll give me, that's all I need.
• 13:08
  Speaker 6: By Friday night, they'd located Charlie. By Monday morning, they
• 13:12
  Speaker 6: knew more about him than his own mother. Frank took
• 13:16
  Speaker 6: the train for San Francisco that night. He wasn't due
• 13:18
  Speaker 6: back until Wednesday morning. Tuesday afternoon, Charlie called me as
• 13:22
  Speaker 6: I told him to.
• 13:23
  Speaker 10: Hello?
• 13:26
  Speaker 7: Hello, Charlie.
• 13:27
  Speaker 10: Oh, hello, sweetheart. Everything in order?
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 13:32
  Speaker 10: You get that, what you said you'd get for me?
• 13:35
  Speaker 7: Yes, I got it.
• 13:36
  Speaker 10: I hope you got enough, because what I mean, what
• 13:39
  Speaker 10: is going to be, what expenses?
• 13:41
  Speaker 7: Expenses?
• 13:42
  Speaker 11: Yes, I got to make contacts. You know, I don't
• 13:45
  Speaker 11: let anybody else in, but I'm going to need a
• 13:47
  Speaker 11: little outside help on one or two things.
• 13:49
  Speaker 7: Oh, I see.
• 13:51
  Speaker 10: These things take time, maybe quite a while. I'm not stalling,
• 13:55
  Speaker 10: you understand, but you can't expect action on a thing
• 13:57
  Speaker 10: like this right away.
• 13:58
  Speaker 7: I think I understand.
• 14:00
  Speaker 10: Maybe two, three weeks, even more. It's got to be
• 14:04
  Speaker 10: laid out right, you know what I mean?
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
• 14:06
  Speaker 10: Well, where can I pick it up? The stuff you
• 14:09
  Speaker 10: got for me.
• 14:10
  Speaker 7: You can come out here.
• 14:11
  Speaker 10: Out there?
• 14:12
  Speaker 7: Yes, this evening about 10. There'll be no one here.
• 14:15
  Speaker 10: Listen, I don't think that's so good.
• 14:17
  Speaker 7: You're not afraid, are you, Charlie?
• 14:18
  Speaker 10: No, no.
• 14:20
  Speaker 7: Besides, you ought to see the layout of things. It
• 14:22
  Speaker 7: might give you some angles.
• 14:23
  Speaker 10: Well, yeah, but.
• 14:24
  Speaker 7: You remember what we said? How it had to be done?
• 14:27
  Speaker 10: You mean accident?
• 14:29
  Speaker 7: That's right.
• 14:31
  Speaker 10: Sure, sure.
• 14:32
  Speaker 6: Well, you'll be here at 10, Charlie. I'll have everything
• 14:35
  Speaker 6: ready for you. I knew then what prison had done
• 14:44
  Speaker 6: to Charlie. He'd lost his nerve.
• 14:47
  Speaker 7: Now that he faced it, murder was too much for him.
• 14:50
  Speaker 7: He'd never go through with it.
• 14:51
  Speaker 6: It would all come down to one petty shakedown after another,
• 14:54
  Speaker 6: year after year. It was even more obvious now that
• 14:57
  Speaker 6: I'd have to do what I'd counted.
• 14:58
  Speaker 7: On from the beginning. If my husband was to be murdered,
• 15:02
  Speaker 7: he'd have to be murdered by me.
• 15:18
  Speaker 5: For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you Susan Hayward in
• 15:23
  Speaker 5: Dame Fortune.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: By Max Wilk and E.R.
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: Merklin.
• 15:27
  Speaker 5: Roma Wines' presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
• 15:40
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• 15:44
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• 16:18
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  Speaker 3: because Roma starts with California's choicest grapes. Second, because Roma,
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: with America's finest winemaking resources, guides this luscious grape treasure.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: Unhurriedly to tempting taste perfection.
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: Third, because only Roma selects from the world's greatest wine
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: reserves for your pleasure. Delight your Halloween guests with better
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: tasting Roma wines.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: Tomorrow, ask for Roma.
• 16:53
  Speaker 10: R-O-M-A.
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: Roma Wines. Largest selling wines in America.
• 17:00
  Speaker 5: And now, Roma Wines bring back to our Hollywood soundstage
• 17:03
  Speaker 5: Susan Hayward in Dame Fortune. A tale well calculated to
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: keep you in suspense.
• 17:23
  Speaker 6: Charlie arrived that evening in a rented car, right on time.
• 17:28
  Speaker 6: As I opened the door to him, I noticed another
• 17:30
  Speaker 6: car just putting out its headlights about a quarter of
• 17:32
  Speaker 6: a mile down the hill from our driveway.
• 17:34
  Speaker 7: That would be Mr. Sparks.
• 17:37
  Speaker 6: Charlie had never seen the house before, and he was impressed,
• 17:40
  Speaker 6: but a little nervous. I took him into the drawing room.
• 17:43
  Speaker 13: Hey, quite a layout you got here, sweetheart.
• 17:46
  Speaker 7: Frank likes to have the best of everything, and he
• 17:48
  Speaker 7: can afford it. Sit down.
• 17:50
  Speaker 12: Well, uh, You know I can't stay but a minute
• 17:52
  Speaker 12: or two.
• 17:53
  Speaker 7: What's the matter with you, Charlie? You seem jumpy.
• 17:55
  Speaker 12: Oh, me? Why should I be jumpy?
• 17:58
  Speaker 7: I don't know. I'll tell you.
• 17:59
  Speaker 12: Something, though. How's the clock?
• 18:03
  Speaker 13: I have had the funny idea that somebody was following me.
• 18:05
  Speaker 12: The last couple of days.
• 18:06
  Speaker 7: Who'd want to follow you?
• 18:08
  Speaker 11: That's what I can't figure. I'm clean with the local dicks.
• 18:11
  Speaker 11: And they don't tell you unless they think you're working
• 18:13
  Speaker 11: on a job. Nobody else would want to tell me.
• 18:18
  Speaker 12: Unless I've been double-crossed by somebody. Like you, sweetheart.
• 18:23
  Speaker 10: But if I.
• 18:23
  Speaker 7: Double-crossed you, you'd see that I was sent to the penitentiary,
• 18:26
  Speaker 7: wouldn't you, Charlie?
• 18:27
  Speaker 12: I would devote my entire time to it, sweetheart.
• 18:30
  Speaker 7: And that's why I wouldn't double-cross you, isn't it, Charlie?
• 18:33
  Speaker 13: Yeah, I guess you're smart enough to see that, all right.
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: You got the dough?
• 18:37
  Speaker 7: Yes, I've got it.
• 18:39
  Speaker 12: How much?
• 18:40
  Speaker 7: A thousand dollars.
• 18:41
  Speaker 10: Well, uh.
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: Oh, I know you'll be around shaking me down for
• 18:44
  Speaker 6: more before you get to business.
• 18:46
  Speaker 7: But that will hold you for.
• 18:47
  Speaker 12: A while, won't it? Sure, sure. Well, I'd better be moving.
• 18:52
  Speaker 12: Where's the dough?
• 18:53
  Speaker 7: I don't have it here.
• 18:54
  Speaker 12: You don't have it?
• 18:55
  Speaker 6: No, it's in the car. Frank was home for a
• 18:57
  Speaker 6: while and I didn't want to bring it into the house.
• 18:59
  Speaker 6: He's inclined to be a little snoopy sometimes.
• 19:01
  Speaker 12: Well, let's get it.
• 19:02
  Speaker 7: You can get it on the way out. It's in
• 19:04
  Speaker 7: the glove compartment.
• 19:05
  Speaker 12: No, no, wait a minute. I'm not sure I like this.
• 19:07
  Speaker 7: Oh, don't be silly.
• 19:08
  Speaker 6: The car's in the garage and nobody's around. It's chilly
• 19:11
  Speaker 6: and I just don't want to go out, that's all.
• 19:14
  Speaker 6: It's in the Cadillac convertible.
• 19:16
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 19:17
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 19:18
  Speaker 13: I guess you're in no spot to pull any fast
• 19:19
  Speaker 13: ones at that, are you, sweetheart?
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 19:23
  Speaker 12: You'll be hearing from me.
• 19:25
  Speaker 7: Yes, Charlie, I'm sure I will.
• 19:32
  Speaker 6: Through the glass panel by the door I watched him
• 19:34
  Speaker 6: head for the garage. Somewhere out there in the darkness,
• 19:37
  Speaker 6: I knew that Mr. Sparks would be watching him, too.
• 19:41
  Speaker 6: Then I buzzed the house phone for Olsen, the chauffeur.
• 19:44
  Speaker 7: He lived over the garage.
• 19:48
  Speaker 10: Olsen speaking.
• 19:49
  Speaker 7: This is Mrs.
• 19:50
  Speaker 12: Nicholson.
• 19:50
  Speaker 6: I'm sorry to disturb you, Olsen, but I happened to
• 19:53
  Speaker 6: glance out of the window just now and I thought
• 19:54
  Speaker 6: I saw a man prowling around the garage.
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: A man?
• 19:57
  Speaker 10: Yes.
• 19:58
  Speaker 6: I suppose it's silly, but would you mind looking out
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: your window and see if you notice anything?
• 20:03
  Speaker 10: Sure, sure, Mrs. Nicholson. Say, Mrs. Nicholson, that's right. I
• 20:08
  Speaker 10: seen him. He was running away. You want me to
• 20:10
  Speaker 10: go after him?
• 20:11
  Speaker 7: He was running away?
• 20:12
  Speaker 10: Sure, he's running plenty, but maybe I can catch him.
• 20:15
  Speaker 7: Oh, no, that's all right.
• 20:16
  Speaker 6: If he was running away, I'm sure he won't come back.
• 20:18
  Speaker 6: There's nothing he could take out there anyway.
• 20:20
  Speaker 10: If you want, I'd be glad to. Oh, no.
• 20:22
  Speaker 7: No, that's all right. I'm sorry I bothered you, Olsen.
• 20:25
  Speaker 7: Good night.
• 20:35
  Speaker 6: I waited almost two hours until I was sure Olsen
• 20:38
  Speaker 6: would be asleep. Then I went out to the garage myself.
• 20:42
  Speaker 6: I'd taken a course in automobile mechanics during the war.
• 20:46
  Speaker 6: I hadn't learned much, but I'd learned enough to know
• 20:49
  Speaker 6: what would make a steering knuckle fall apart after about
• 20:51
  Speaker 6: an hour or two of hard driving. And Frank was
• 20:54
  Speaker 6: driving down to San Diego the next morning as soon
• 20:57
  Speaker 6: as he got back from San Francisco. And Frank was
• 21:00
  Speaker 6: a hard driver. Frank left the next morning on schedule.
• 21:11
  Speaker 6: I won't say it was pleasant waiting. I paced the
• 21:14
  Speaker 6: living room in the hall for almost an hour, but
• 21:16
  Speaker 6: never more than ten steps from the telephone.
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: Hello?
• 21:21
  Speaker 10: Jean? This is Charlie. I gotta talk to you.
• 21:25
  Speaker 7: I can't talk to you now.
• 21:26
  Speaker 10: Listen, Jean, I gotta tell you something.
• 21:27
  Speaker 7: I can talk to you now. I began my pacing again.
• 21:34
  Speaker 6: The phone rang three more times in the next 15 minutes,
• 21:37
  Speaker 6: but I didn't answer it.
• 21:40
  Speaker 7: Then it stopped. Almost three hours went by.
• 21:44
  Speaker 6: I'd begun to be afraid that one of those other
• 21:46
  Speaker 6: calls had been the one I was expecting.
• 21:49
  Speaker 7: And then it rang again. Hello?
• 21:54
  Speaker 10: I'd like to speak to Mrs. Frank Nicholson, please.
• 21:56
  Speaker 7: This is she?
• 21:57
  Speaker 6: Mrs.
• 21:57
  Speaker 10: Nicholson, this is Dr.
• 21:58
  Speaker 5: Whitty of the La Jolla General Hospital. I'm sorry to
• 22:02
  Speaker 5: have to tell you this, Mrs. Nicholson, but there's been
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: an accident.
• 22:05
  Speaker 10: Your husband.
• 22:05
  Speaker 7: My husband? Oh, is he?
• 22:07
  Speaker 10: Well, it's hard to tell just yet, Mrs. Nicholson, but
• 22:10
  Speaker 10: I think you'd better come down here.
• 22:22
  Speaker 6: I got out the sedan and started for La Jolla.
• 22:25
  Speaker 6: I was terribly nervous and depressed. I crept along at
• 22:28
  Speaker 6: no more than 40 miles an hour. But somehow I
• 22:31
  Speaker 6: got there. They showed me directly to Frank's room.
• 22:35
  Speaker 7: He was all covered with bandages, but he was sitting
• 22:37
  Speaker 7: up in bed. And with him was Mr. Sparks.
• 22:41
  Speaker 4: Hello, Jean.
• 22:42
  Speaker 7: Frank, are you.
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: Oh, not too bad.
• 22:45
  Speaker 12: Oh, darling.
• 22:46
  Speaker 8: A couple of ribs and an arm. They thought I
• 22:48
  Speaker 8: had a fractured skull for a while, but I... I
• 22:51
  Speaker 8: guess I have a pretty hard head.
• 22:52
  Speaker 7: Well, what happened?
• 22:53
  Speaker 8: Well, something went wrong with the car, Jean. I was
• 22:56
  Speaker 8: going pretty fast. I'm lucky to be alive, I guess.
• 22:59
  Speaker 10: Charles!
• 23:00
  Speaker 7: Prescott! Frank, I saw a man prowling around the garage
• 23:03
  Speaker 7: last night. Olsen saw him, too.
• 23:05
  Speaker 4: You think Prescott might have tampered with the car?
• 23:08
  Speaker 7: Oh, Frank, I told you not to go through with
• 23:10
  Speaker 7: this thing.
• 23:11
  Speaker 11: Well.
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: I don't know. What do you think of that theory, Mr.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: Sparks?
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: Oh, you remember Mr. Sparks, don't you, Jean?
• 23:18
  Speaker 7: Of course.
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: It couldn't have been Prescott, Mr. Nicholson. He never got
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: into the garage. I was right behind him and I
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: guess maybe he heard me. Anyway, he beat it. I
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: understand you were in the garage last night, Jean. Isn't
• 23:31
  Speaker 4: that correct, Mr. Sparks? We had another man posted on
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: the grounds. That's what he reports.
• 23:37
  Speaker 7: Of course I was. There was a book in the
• 23:39
  Speaker 7: car that I wanted.
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: There was a thousand dollars in currency in the glove compartment, too.
• 23:43
  Speaker 7: Yes, I know. I didn't have time to tell you
• 23:45
  Speaker 7: this morning, but he wanted money. I talked him out
• 23:48
  Speaker 7: of it. Mr. Sparks knew he was at the house.
• 23:50
  Speaker 7: You told me to see him if.
• 23:53
  Speaker 7: Frank, you don't think that I.
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: I don't want to think so, Jean.
• 23:57
  Speaker 7: Oh, how could you?
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: How could you?
• 24:01
  Speaker 8: Well, it's just that steering knuckles don't usually come loose
• 24:03
  Speaker 8: by themselves.
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: That and all the rest of it.
• 24:06
  Speaker 7: Then it must have been an accident, a real accident.
• 24:08
  Speaker 7: Don't you see that? Oh, Frank, how could you believe
• 24:12
  Speaker 7: that I'd do a thing like that? I love you.
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: Oh, I know. I've thought and thought and thought everything Mr.
• 24:17
  Speaker 4: Sparks has told me and I... Oh, I can't believe it, Jean. Mr.
• 24:22
  Speaker 7: Sparks, you don't think I could have done anything like that.
• 24:25
  Speaker 7: You can't.
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: It's just a matter of your beliefs, I guess.
• 24:29
  Speaker 7: Beliefs?
• 24:30
  Speaker 4: What you want to believe and who you want to
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: believe in. My office will send you a bill, Mr. Nicholson.
• 24:37
  Speaker 4: Good day.
• 24:40
  Speaker 7: Oh, Frank. Frank, darling.
• 24:42
  Speaker 4: Oh, I'm sorry, Jean. I'm horribly sorry, darling. It's just that, well,
• 24:45
  Speaker 4: it looks so bad and... Oh, I wanted so much to.
• 24:49
  Speaker 12: Hear you say you didn't.
• 24:50
  Speaker 7: Oh, I didn't. I didn't. You know I didn't.
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: Of course I do. Of course I do. Look, darling, look.
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: Cheer up. Cheer up. I've got a plan.
• 24:58
  Speaker 7: A plan?
• 24:58
  Speaker 4: Yes, yes. We need a vacation.
• 25:00
  Speaker 8: I'll be out of here in a week or so,
• 25:01
  Speaker 8: and then we'll go away. We'll just drive around the country,
• 25:04
  Speaker 8: do a little hunting and fishing, whatever we like.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: You always used to love those trips.
• 25:07
  Speaker 7: Oh, yes, Frank.
• 25:08
  Speaker 4: Let's.
• 25:09
  Speaker 10: Sure.
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: Sure, we'll just go off and take it easy for
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: a while and forget the whole thing.
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: Yes, let's.
• 25:14
  Speaker 7: And forget the whole thing.
• 25:22
  Speaker 6: That's what we did. And I almost did forget the
• 25:25
  Speaker 6: whole thing. It seemed like a nightmare that I'd dreamed
• 25:28
  Speaker 6: a long, long time ago. I couldn't believe that I'd
• 25:31
  Speaker 6: really done what I'd done.
• 25:33
  Speaker 7: And I knew I'd never do it again.
• 25:37
  Speaker 6: As though by mutual consent, we never spoke another word
• 25:39
  Speaker 6: about it. But I was at peace for the first
• 25:42
  Speaker 6: time since I could remember. And I knew that even
• 25:45
  Speaker 6: Charlie could be dealt with somehow when we got home.
• 25:49
  Speaker 7: We drove all.
• 25:50
  Speaker 6: Over the state for almost three weeks.
• 25:52
  Speaker 7: And on the way back, we stopped over at Little
• 25:55
  Speaker 7: Lake in the Sierras.
• 25:56
  Speaker 6: One day we rode across it and had a picnic
• 25:58
  Speaker 6: lunch on the other side.
• 25:59
  Speaker 7: Oh, it was beautiful and so peaceful.
• 26:03
  Speaker 6: There wasn't another soul around for miles. Frank still had
• 26:07
  Speaker 6: the cast on his left arm. It made him a
• 26:09
  Speaker 6: little clumsy. Getting back into the boat again, he stumbled
• 26:13
  Speaker 6: over the shotgun, tilted up against the seat.
• 26:17
  Speaker 7: I knew he was dead even before I got to him.
• 26:28
  Speaker 7: At police headquarters.
• 26:30
  Speaker 6: They questioned me a little while and then they left
• 26:32
  Speaker 6: me in the room alone. But a few minutes later
• 26:37
  Speaker 6: the door opened and somebody came in.
• 26:39
  Speaker 12: It was Mr.
• 26:40
  Speaker 7: Sparks.
• 26:41
  Speaker 4: Well, so you finally did it.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: Oh, no.
• 26:46
  Speaker 7: No!
• 26:46
  Speaker 8: The trouble with you amateurs is you don't know your
• 26:48
  Speaker 8: case history as That hunting accident gag is too old, Mrs.
• 26:53
  Speaker 4: Nicholson. Much too old.
• 26:54
  Speaker 7: But I didn't. I swear. I swear to you I didn't.
• 26:58
  Speaker 8: Well, you've got the money now anyway. At least you
• 27:01
  Speaker 8: can hire yourself a flock of good lawyers.
• 27:03
  Speaker 12: Please.
• 27:04
  Speaker 7: Please don't. I can't bear it. I didn't do what
• 27:08
  Speaker 7: I tell you. You can ask Charlie. Charlie Prescott.
• 27:10
  Speaker 8: Charles Prescott killed himself this morning when the police arrived
• 27:14
  Speaker 8: to question him.
• 27:16
  Speaker 4: Look, Mrs.
• 27:16
  Speaker 10: Nicholson.
• 27:18
  Speaker 8: I'm in this thing up to my neck, unfortunately. I'm
• 27:21
  Speaker 8: going to have to tell what I know. And I
• 27:23
  Speaker 8: know somebody tampered with the steering knuckle on that car.
• 27:27
  Speaker 8: And it wasn't Prescott. I know you tried to kill
• 27:31
  Speaker 8: your husband and put it on Prescott. It just doesn't
• 27:35
  Speaker 8: add up any other way.
• 27:36
  Speaker 7: All right. Yes, I did. But I didn't do the other.
• 27:41
  Speaker 7: You've got to believe me. I didn't.
• 27:44
  Speaker 4: You didn't shoot him, eh?
• 27:46
  Speaker 7: By all that's sacred in the world, I swear I didn't.
• 27:49
  Speaker 12: Hmm.
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: Could be.
• 27:52
  Speaker 7: You do believe me. Say that you believe me.
• 27:56
  Speaker 4: What's the difference? Nobody else will.
• 28:06
  Speaker 7: That's all. Except my execution will be on the 31st,
• 28:11
  Speaker 7: one week from today.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: The End.
• 28:26
  Speaker 4: Suspense.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: Presented by Roma Wines.
• 28:30
  Speaker 4: R-O-M-A.
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: Made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. And now
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: this is Ken Niles returning for the curtain call with
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: the lovely star of tonight's suspense play, Miss Susan Hayward.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: Susan, we think you were wonderful.
• 28:45
  Speaker 7: Well, it was a wonderful part, Ken.
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: For your grand performance, Susan, here's a gift basket of
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: Roma Wines with Roma's compliments.
• 28:53
  Speaker 7: Thank you very much.
• 28:55
  Speaker 12: Ken.
• 28:56
  Speaker 7: Will you grant me one tiny little favor?
• 28:58
  Speaker 4: Why, certainly. Just name it.
• 29:00
  Speaker 7: I'm simply fascinated by the way your narrator says suspense.
• 29:04
  Speaker 7: Ask him to say it again, huh? Just for me.
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: For you, Susan, he'd probably say it in Technicolor.
• 29:10
  Speaker 4: Joe? Suspense!
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: And Susan, you needn't be in suspense about what to
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: serve when friends drop in. For the Roma California Sherry
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: in your gift basket is the favorite of millions for
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: afternoon or evening entertaining. And Roma Sherry is the perfect
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: first call for dinner.
• 29:29
  Speaker 7: Roma Sherry. I'll remember, Kim.
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: And when you serve Roma Sherry, Susan, your guests will
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: remember its finer taste. For to make Roma Sherry better tasting,
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: Roma Vintners select counterfeits.
• 29:40
  Speaker 4: Choicest grapes.
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: Then, with America's finest winemaking resources, Roma guides this grape
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: treasure to tempting taste richness. Later, Roma selects from this
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: world's greatest reserve of.
• 29:53
  Speaker 2: Fine wines for your pleasure.
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: No wonder more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine.
• 30:01
  Speaker 6: That's a real recommendation, Ken. Now tell me who's on
• 30:05
  Speaker 6: suspense next week.
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: Well, next week it's Brian Donlevy in a suspense play
• 30:09
  Speaker 3: about a man upon whom a freak of nature.
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: Confers a terrifying attribute. He is a human lie detector.
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: It's impossible for him to hear a falsehood without instantly
• 30:19
  Speaker 3: knowing it and revealing the deception.
• 30:22
  Speaker 6: Terrifying is right. I'll certainly be listening. And that's no lie.
• 30:27
  Speaker 4: Thanks, Susan.
• 30:28
  Speaker 3: And we're looking forward to seeing you in the Walter
• 30:30
  Speaker 3: Wanger production, Smash Up.
• 30:31
  Speaker 10: Thanks, Ken.
• 30:32
  Speaker 7: Good night, everybody.
• 30:33
  Speaker 5: Next Thursday, same time, you will hear Mr. Brian Donlevy
• 30:37
  Speaker 5: as star of Suspense.
• 30:41
  Speaker 3: Produced and directed by William Spear for the Roma Wine
• 30:45
  Speaker 3: Company of Fresno, California. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: We conclude with Suspense, Dame Fortune, first heard in 1946.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Follow Suspense for more classic broadcasts.