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The Adventures of Philip Marlowe - "The Big Step" (1950) · Old Time Mystery Radio | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Betty Cantor turns to Philip Marlowe when her friend, Shirley Vitello,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: disappears without warning. On February 28, 1950, CBS brought listeners
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: episode 73 of The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, The Big Step,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: with Gerald Moore as Raymond Chandler's private detective. A newspaper
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: account of a downtown traffic accident leads Marlowe toward Shirley's
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: work for dye developer Dr. Abraham Sofman, where allegations of
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: industrial theft and conflicting explanations widen the search. Robert Mitchell
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: and Eugene Levitt wrote this 30-minute broadcast, produced and directed
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: for the series by Norman MacDonald. Ladies and gentlemen, here
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: is the original broadcast.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road,
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: and those who travel it wind up in the gutter
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: of the prison of the grave. This time, a friend
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: with millions, a myopic chemist, and a long-haired piano player
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: were thrown into panic because a brilliant young lady with
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: a gun was taking a big step in the wrong direction.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: It happened like this.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: From the pen of Raymond Chandler, outstanding author of crime fiction,
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: comes his most famous character in The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. Now,
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: with Gerald Moore, starred as Philip Marlowe, we bring you
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: tonight's exciting story, The Big Step.
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: The Big Step.
• 1:56
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir, Mr.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: Marlowe.
• 1:57
  Speaker 6: I always figure shoes are just like faces.
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: How's that, champ? Well, they make it old and they
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: make it.
• 2:02
  Speaker 5: Wrinkled, but they're still okay as long as they got
• 2:04
  Speaker 5: a shine on them.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it keeps that writing condition, huh, champ?
• 2:08
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Hey, let me just spank up this one again, huh? Sure. Oh,
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: come in.
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: Mr. Marlowe?
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: Oh, excuse me.
• 2:16
  Speaker 7: I didn't know you was busy.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: That's all right. Okay, champ. I guess that does it.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Here you are. Oh, thank you, Mr. Marlowe.
• 2:22
  Speaker 5: I'll see you tomorrow.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Right. Well, now that my shoes have a new lease
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: on life, won't you sit down? Miss, uh... Cantor. Mrs.
• 2:30
  Speaker 7: Betty Cantor.
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: Oh.
• 2:31
  Speaker 7: I'm a waitress at the Shelton Cafe. I need your help, Mr.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Marlowe.
• 2:35
  Speaker 7: There's something you could do for me. You free to
• 2:37
  Speaker 7: take a case?
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm free, depending on the case. What is it?
• 2:41
  Speaker 7: Well, today, this friend of mine, Shirley Vitello... Comes into
• 2:44
  Speaker 7: the restaurant while I work.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 2:46
  Speaker 7: She takes her usual table, and while she's waiting for
• 2:49
  Speaker 7: her order, she starts reading the paper.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: It's all quiet so far, Betty.
• 2:53
  Speaker 7: Yeah, but just when I'm bringing in the tomato juice,
• 2:56
  Speaker 7: it happens. She sees something in the paper that scares her.
• 2:59
  Speaker 7: Scares her bad.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: What was it, Betty? Do you know?
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 3:02
  Speaker 7: She mutters something, and then she runs out of the place.
• 3:05
  Speaker 7: Her face was gray like ashes. Later, I got to worrying.
• 3:09
  Speaker 7: I called her at home, then at the lab where
• 3:11
  Speaker 7: she works. Even her husband's studio.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: No luck. Now, wait a minute, Betty. I don't quite
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: get the connection. You and Shirley Vitello, I mean.
• 3:17
  Speaker 7: Oh, I don't know her social. We're only chummy at
• 3:19
  Speaker 7: the restaurant. She's been eating there for years.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Well, that's her basis for friendship.
• 3:24
  Speaker 7: Well, about six months ago, I was in bad trouble.
• 3:27
  Speaker 7: And Shirley came through with 200 bucks when it seemed
• 3:30
  Speaker 7: like more money than I'd ever seen. It kept me
• 3:33
  Speaker 7: and my husband together. So, you see, she means a
• 3:36
  Speaker 7: lot to me.
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I see what you mean. Well, look, Bette, what
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: was this about a lab?
• 3:41
  Speaker 7: Well, Shirley's a technician. She works as an assistant to
• 3:44
  Speaker 7: a chemist named Softman. Abraham Softman, out on Melrose someplace.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: What about Shirley's husband? Do you know him?
• 3:50
  Speaker 5: Gilbert?
• 3:51
  Speaker 8: Oh, yeah.
• 3:52
  Speaker 7: He comes in with her a lot. He's a piano
• 3:55
  Speaker 7: composer and a real nice guy. He lives for his work.
• 3:59
  Speaker 7: He's unknown now, but he's a real genius, Shirley says.
• 4:02
  Speaker 7: She'd do anything to keep him and his music going.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, tell me, this friend of yours saw something
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: in a paper you said that scared her. Now, that's
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: all you know, huh? Yeah.
• 4:09
  Speaker 7: And I want you to find out why and help her.
• 4:12
  Speaker 7: Here's 50 bucks, Mr.
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: Marlowe.
• 4:14
  Speaker 7: That's what you charge, ain't it?
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: More or less, yeah. By the way, Mrs. Cantor, where's
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: your ring? Oh.
• 4:23
  Speaker 7: I sometimes take it off when I'm working.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: You do?
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: Oh, perhaps when you hock it to raise 50 bucks? Look, Betty,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: I'm a careless guy. You better hold the money, huh?
• 4:33
  Speaker 7: Oh, but Mr. Marlowe.
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Where do the Vitellos live?
• 4:35
  Speaker 7: But Mr.
• 4:35
  Speaker 5: Marlowe.
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: We're in a hurry, Betty, remember? Where's the address?
• 4:38
  Speaker 7: Well, it's 3140 Veteran Avenue. And in case you want it,
• 4:42
  Speaker 7: Gilbert's studio is Benedict Canyon 510. Thanks, Mr.
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: Marlowe.
• 4:47
  Speaker 7: And you call me at Empire 1-7087, huh?
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: When Betty Cantor was gone, I got in my car
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: and drove out to Veteran Avenue. You know, she was
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: a pathetic little creature. And with a little effort, she
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: could have that touch and glow look. Oh, well. 3140
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: was one of those small but neat houses that grow
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: like mushrooms overnight on a post-war California landscape. And it
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: was locked dark and quiet. I went around to the
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: back and started on the windows. The third one opened
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: when I tried it. I climbed in, turned on some lights,
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: and made the grand tour, then ended in the den.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: The only indication that anyone had been there all day
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: was a current issue of the L.A. Star crumpled in
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: the wastebasket. I pulled it out and started through it.
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: On page five, I found the hole where a two-column
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: story had been clipped out. And then somebody was at
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: the front door. I started toward it, but changed my
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: mind at the sound of the key in the lock. Instead,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: moved back into the den and watched. A head that
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: belonged on a gopher wearing a bedded fedora and inch-thick
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: glasses above a fur-collared coat peeked in. Gave the place
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: a myopic once over and headed straight for the den.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: So I stepped out where he could see me.
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: I have never seen you before.
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: What are you doing here? You tell me first, Pop.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: I'm bigger than you are.
• 6:05
  Speaker 5: I'm Dr. Abraham Softman.
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: Softman? Oh, the chemist Shirley Vitello works for. Is that
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: why you have a key?
• 6:12
  Speaker 5: Yes, she leaves unfinished... She leaves work here for me
• 6:15
  Speaker 5: to pick up. It's a convenience for both of us.
• 6:17
  Speaker 5: But now you. You can also explain, maybe?
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Well, a friend thinks your assistant's in trouble. I'm trying
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: to find out. The name's Marlowe.
• 6:23
  Speaker 5: Uh-huh. I suspect that now I am right.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: What?
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: Shirley came to the laboratory late from lunch today and
• 6:29
  Speaker 5: very much upset. She left again soon, right in the
• 6:32
  Speaker 5: middle of our most important crimson test.
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: Your what?
• 6:35
  Speaker 5: A crimson test.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes.
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: Without one word to me, she left. Never does this
• 6:40
  Speaker 5: happen before. In all the five years, she has been
• 6:42
  Speaker 5: my loyal right hand.
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: Well, tell me, what's the nature of your research, Dr. Southman?
• 6:46
  Speaker 5: We are developing new commercial dyes. Oh, such a beautiful
• 6:50
  Speaker 5: crimson we have now.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Really?
• 6:51
  Speaker 5: Shirley knows as much as I do about all of it.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Mr.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: Marlow. Hmm?
• 6:57
  Speaker 5: Was it you who opened the desk drawer there?
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: No. I didn't notice it till now. Two boxes of.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: 32 caliber ammunition. Nine shells gone from the top one.
• 7:09
  Speaker 5: She kept a gun there. I've seen it before. That's gone, too.
• 7:14
  Speaker 5: What kind of trouble needs a gun, Mr.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: Marlowe? Oh, I could think of a few. They all
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: say we'd better locate Shirley and soon. Now, look, Doc,
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: I want to ask you... Just one moment, please.
• 7:25
  Speaker 5: Maybe you will know if this means anything. I found
• 7:28
  Speaker 5: this under her work table after she left this afternoon.
• 7:31
  Speaker 5: Is it maybe something.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: I don't know. Let me see. Empty reservation envelope from
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: Federal Airlines. L.A. to New York. Departure 1135 tonight. Made
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: out to Ruth Britton. Ruth Britton? Who's that?
• 7:44
  Speaker 5: Well, I don't know her, but she must be something
• 7:45
  Speaker 5: to Shirley. Perhaps this Ruth Britton is the trouble.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: Now, the airline number's here. Where's the phone?
• 7:50
  Speaker 5: It's out there in the other room.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: There on the table. Yeah, I got it. Hudson to 8-6-1-0.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: Good evening, Federal Airlines.
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: Agent Frederick Stowe speaking.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: Frederick, do you have a Ruth Britton listed on your
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: 1135 flight to New York?
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: Oh, just one moment now, sir.
• 8:15
  Speaker 7: I'll check.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: Oh, no.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, we do.
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I've got it located. Do you have an
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: address or a phone number there? Oh, no, sir, I
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: do not. And even if I did, I'm afraid I couldn't... Look,
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Freddy boy, Freddy boy, this is important. I need that information. Now,
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: describe it to me. What does she look like?
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: Oh, dear, I'm afraid I can't.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: I must have sold the ticket.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: I'm the only agent on duty, but I just can't
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: seem to think where I.
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: Try, will you think?
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: I am.
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: How do you expect me to remember 75 or 80
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: faces every day?
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: Now, listen, I... Good heavens, don't you think I get confused? Yes,
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: I do. Every time nine or ten jerks come in here.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: At once, all wanting tickets.
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: At the same time.
• 8:47
  Speaker 8: Never mind.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Skip it. No luck, Doc. No luck. Do me a favor,
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: will you? What is it? Stay right here and wait
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: for Shirley. If she comes back, hold her. I'm going
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: to look up her husband, Gilbert. The first stop was
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: a newsstand. I bought an L.A. star, turned to page five,
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: and found that the missing story was on a man
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: identified only as Denica, who'd been hit by a taxi
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: on Temple Street at 8 a.m., The only reason it
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: rated two columns was that before he lapsed into unconsciousness,
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: he told the ambulance crew from the Citizens Emergency Hospital
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: that he knew he was going to die and wanted
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: to clear his conscience by confessing a crime he'd committed.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: It ended with police standing by. I drove on into
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: Benedict Canyon wondering what kind of a bridge it was
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: going to take to span the gap between a female
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: chemist and a downtown traffic accident. I was still wondering
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: when I got the number 510. All I could see
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: of Gilbert Vitello's studio over the brush around it was
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: something pseudo-Spanish that had been stuck onto a piece of
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: vertical real estate by an optimist in the early 20s.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: A path had been opened from the driveway to the house,
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: and as I walked to the door, the piano music
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: from inside got louder. louder, but not better. Even in
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: the long hair circle, that stuff needed a haircut. Hey!
• 10:07
  Speaker 8: Hey!
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: Catello, break it up a minute, will you? Hey! What's
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: the meaning of this outburst?
• 10:15
  Speaker 9: I'm working and I won't be interrupted.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: Who are you? What do you want anyway? Take it easy, Mr. Vitello.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: My name is Marlowe. Betty Cantor sent me here because
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: she's worried about your wife.
• 10:23
  Speaker 5: The waitress worried about Shirley? Why?
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: Well, she's in some kind of trouble. Have you seen
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: her tonight? No, no, no.
• 10:28
  Speaker 9: Not since this morning, but that's not unusual. I often
• 10:30
  Speaker 9: work late. My music is very demanding. Now, what gives
• 10:34
  Speaker 9: that waitress the idea that Shirley's in trouble?
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Your wife's reaction to a newspaper story has scared the
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: wits out of her. About a taxi hitting a man
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: named Deniker. Mean anything to you?
• 10:43
  Speaker 9: Deniker surely worked with a fellow by that name once,
• 10:45
  Speaker 9: I believe. But why would that story frighten her?
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: Well, I was hoping you'd tell me. Do you have
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: a gun? A little. 32 pistol. It's at home. Why?
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: It's gone. Sit here.
• 10:55
  Speaker 9: What's this all about? Tell me. Tell me the truth
• 10:57
  Speaker 9: and be quick about it.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: Oh, shut up.
• 10:59
  Speaker 9: Answer my question.
• 10:59
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: My wife was shocked by that item on Deniker. She
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: isn't at home. She isn't at Saltman's lab and hasn't
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: been all afternoon. And what's more, she's got a gun.
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: That's all I know, except for one thing. Who's Ruth Britton?
• 11:10
  Speaker 9: She's a friend of Shirley's from the East.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: She's been visiting relatives out here. Why? Nothing. Maybe Shirley's
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: got a plane reservation for her. That's all. Mr.
• 11:17
  Speaker 9: Marlowe, if that's all you have to offer, why don't
• 11:19
  Speaker 9: you get out of here so I can go to work?
• 11:21
  Speaker 9: I'm quite certain if Shirley were actually in trouble, she'd
• 11:24
  Speaker 9: come to me for help. And incidentally, tell Betty Carter
• 11:27
  Speaker 9: to take some, some, some vitamins or something.
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: She's becoming a meddlesome busybody.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: You know, there was a quality about Gilbert Vitello that
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: made me want to sock him on the temperament with
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: the heavy end of his grand piano. When I started
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: down the path to the driveway, I forgot about him.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Because a pair of headlights slashed through the foliage like
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: a giant scythe. I ran to where I could see
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: and watch the girl in a brown suit get out
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: of a sleek new Hudson and start toward the house.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: Then she saw me. She backed away, then threw me
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: one scared look and darted into a side path like
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: a jittery cottontail. I followed as fast as I could,
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: but it was home ground. I heard in 20 yards
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: I was outclassed. I lost her at the corner of
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: a sagging shed and stopped to listen for her footsteps.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: I heard something else. But not in time to duck.
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: Oh!
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: Oh. Oh.
• 12:21
  Speaker 5: Oh.
• 12:22
  Speaker 7: You there, you, you, you. Marla.
• 12:23
  Speaker 8: Is that you, Marla?
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: Marla, what happened, Marla? I heard a car come in. Oh,
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: shut up, shut up. Surely she slugged me.
• 12:29
  Speaker 9: I don't believe it. You're lying.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: Okay, I'm lying. What it's worth to you, diehard. Your
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: wife isn't kidding. She told me personally with a blunt instrument.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: Lay that knee flat, Jack.
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: Mr.
• 12:52
  Speaker 5: Marlow, did you get something?
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: Lumps. How about you, Dr. Softman?
• 12:57
  Speaker 5: No, nothing. Come in, come in. No, no one has
• 13:01
  Speaker 5: come here. You found out something?
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: Ever hear of a guy named Denica, Doc? Me?
• 13:05
  Speaker 5: Hear of Morris Denica? Five times in the past three years,
• 13:10
  Speaker 5: Morris Denica in Chicago has beaten me by introducing a
• 13:13
  Speaker 5: new dye substance or a new process just days ahead
• 13:17
  Speaker 5: of me. Five times this happens.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: He's a dye chemist, too, huh?
• 13:20
  Speaker 5: A brilliant one. I admire him. But why do you
• 13:22
  Speaker 5: ask me.
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: Listen, this is beginning to fit like a rubber glove.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: Denica's in a hospital right here in L.A. He may
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: not live, and he wants to confess to a crime. Here, look. But... Now,
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: read it yourself. When Shirley saw that story, it threw
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: her into a panic. And now, it only figures one way.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: Your assistant has been selling your new developments to Denica
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: before you released them.
• 13:40
  Speaker 5: No, it is not true. Shirley would not do this thing,
• 13:42
  Speaker 5: not to me.
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: Okay, Doc, we'll see. Now, look, why don't you go
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: back to your lab and wait? I'm going to the
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: hospital now and do some more fast addition. If it
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: comes right. Just don't forget you're a scientist, will you? Oh,
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: I would not forget.
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: Now, you remember something, Mr.
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: Marlowe.
• 13:57
  Speaker 5: Two plus two does not always make four, especially when
• 14:01
  Speaker 5: you are adding up human hearts.
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: In just a moment, the second act of Philip Marlowe.
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: But first, Wednesday's Wonderful on CBS, with Dr. Christian, Groucho Marx,
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Bing Crosby, and Burns and Allen all coming your way
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: over most of these same CBS stations. This Wednesday, Brother
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: Bob Crosby visits Bing. Gracie Allen stumps the income tax experts.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: Groucho will be on hand with his ad-libs and teams
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: of opposition.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: And Dr.
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: Christian makes a wily grandmother stick to the truth for once.
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: So be listening this Wednesday, won't you? Now with our star,
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: Gerald Moore, we return to the second act of Philip
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: Marlowe in tonight's story, The Big Step.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: It was 20 stop-and-go minutes through the snarled early evening
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: traffic over to the Citizens Emergency Hospital. All the way,
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: I kept hoping that Denica's confession wasn't going to have
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: anything to do with Shirley Vitello. But when I was there,
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: standing next to Detective Lieutenant Matthews and filling him in
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: to date, I racked that hope up under wishful thinking.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: Morris Denica had already come, too. Yeah, Marlow, about a
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: half hour ago. He didn't say too much. How much?
• 15:24
  Speaker 8: Only something about this woman you mentioned, this Shirley Vitello,
• 15:27
  Speaker 8: and the formula for some kind of a bleaching agent.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: Then he went out again.
• 15:31
  Speaker 8: Hey, look, this Vitello girl who currently adds up to
• 15:34
  Speaker 8: something very dishonest, what does she look like?
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: Oh, blonde, about 5'4, maybe 30. Wearing a dark brown
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: suit and all that? That's right. She been around?
• 15:42
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I spotted her here in the hall about 45
• 15:44
  Speaker 8: minutes ago. Claimed she was a reporter, but she didn't
• 15:46
  Speaker 8: make any small talk with the other news hands. I
• 15:48
  Speaker 8: got a little suspicious. Just then Denica came too, so
• 15:51
  Speaker 8: I went in there. When I came back out, she
• 15:54
  Speaker 8: was gone. Hey, Marlowe, you know who we can pick
• 15:56
  Speaker 8: her up?
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: No, I don't, Lieutenant.
• 15:59
  Speaker 8: Doesn't look so good for her. She could be pretty
• 16:01
  Speaker 8: desperate right now. Like a quick trip to the country.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: Or like worse. She's got a gun, Matthews. And now
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: with Danica starting to talk, very little hope left. I
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: better be going. Where, Phil? Just going. Just going, Matthews.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: I'll keep in touch.
• 16:12
  Speaker 8: Wait a minute. Look, we have a big organization, Mr.
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: Marlowe. We're equipped to handle all kinds.
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: We could do almost as good a job as you.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: Just keep that in mind, will you? Yeah, yeah. And
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: I'm glad you said almost. So long. I got back
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: into my car and pointed it toward the Vitello place
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: on Veteran Avenue again. Because I didn't know where else
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: I could possibly pick up Shirley's trail, I felt like
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: an uncomfortable emptiness was in the pit of my stomach.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: You know, like the guy who stands on a street
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: corner and watches an ambulance intern scrape up a traffic victim.
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: He knows he didn't have anything to do with it,
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: but that knowledge doesn't make him feel any better. Shirley
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: Vitello was headed for trouble, bad trouble. And the pathetic
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: little kid, Betty Cantor, who came into my office and
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: started the whole thing, could get hurt in the process. Well,
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: I parked in front of the place, which from inside,
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: a desk lamp showed a circle of light the size
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: and color of a lemon lifesaver, and the front door
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: was open inches, as though somebody had left in a
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: big hurry. I walked on eggs as far as the
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: door and nudged it, and I saw it. On the
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: table in the far corner of the room, a note
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: propped up against the lamp and nothing else. I started toting.
• 17:25
  Speaker 6: Don't move. I'm behind you, and I've got a gun.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: Oh, fine. Fine. 32 caliber, out of the desk drawer,
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: no doubt.
• 17:33
  Speaker 6: No doubt. Marlowe, why are you mixing into something that's
• 17:37
  Speaker 6: no business of yours?
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: I'm a private detective working for your friend Betty Cantor.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: She's worried about you, Shirley.
• 17:42
  Speaker 6: Marlowe, what's done is done. Betty can't help me, you
• 17:45
  Speaker 6: can't help me, nobody can help me. I stole Softman's
• 17:49
  Speaker 6: work and I sold it to Morris Deniker. I didn't
• 17:53
  Speaker 6: count on a deathbed confession.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: Why'd you do it?
• 17:57
  Speaker 6: I love my husband and he needs money to go
• 17:59
  Speaker 6: on with his work.
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: No. Gilbert's in on this with you, huh?
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: Oh, no.
• 18:04
  Speaker 7: No, he isn't.
• 18:05
  Speaker 6: He thought my wages were high, that's all. The note
• 18:08
  Speaker 6: I left there on the table makes that clear.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: Also, it... Also what?
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: It's goodbye. I love him, Marlowe. When I'm gone, he'll
• 18:18
  Speaker 6: have enough money to carry on. Keep the studio that
• 18:21
  Speaker 6: means so much to him. And nothing can be taken
• 18:24
  Speaker 6: away from him. I've seen to that. Legal-like.
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: Just what do you mean, gone, Shirley? How far has gone...
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: A long way, Marlowe.
• 18:33
  Speaker 6: All the way.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Suicide? Oh, no, surely you can't be mad.
• 18:38
  Speaker 6: Marlowe, let's not talk anymore. And don't bother about that phone.
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: It's only Gilbert.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: How do you know?
• 18:44
  Speaker 6: When I pulled up outside here after I came from
• 18:47
  Speaker 6: the hospital, he was home. I didn't want to speak
• 18:50
  Speaker 6: to him, so I drove on until I came to
• 18:52
  Speaker 6: a phone booth. And then I called here and told
• 18:55
  Speaker 6: him to meet me at the Saffron Bar. It's an
• 18:59
  Speaker 6: old hangout of ours.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: You wanted to leave a note for him, but didn't
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: want to face him, is that it?
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 19:04
  Speaker 6: He'll keep calling on and off for quite a while
• 19:07
  Speaker 6: before he comes back here. I figured it would be
• 19:09
  Speaker 6: better that way. I didn't want him chasing me. The
• 19:14
  Speaker 6: sea air might give the big lug a cold. It
• 19:17
  Speaker 6: always did. Well, Marlowe, it looks like it's about time
• 19:21
  Speaker 6: to put you away for safekeeping.
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: I don't think so, Shirley. I think the phone is about.
• 19:26
  Speaker 5: No!
• 19:27
  Speaker 6: Next time, Marlowe... It'll be more than a vase, but
• 19:30
  Speaker 6: just as fragile. Now, the closet seat align and strong.
• 19:35
  Speaker 6: It should hold you long enough. Get in, Marlowe.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: Go on. Okay. In it is, baby. But first... What?
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: This step you're about to take, Shirley.
• 19:45
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I know all about it. It's a big step,
• 19:47
  Speaker 6: isn't it, Marlowe? We'll save your breath. I wouldn't be
• 19:51
  Speaker 6: any happier in prison or running away, believe me. Not
• 19:55
  Speaker 6: a bit happier.
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: So long, Marlowe.
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: Nobody's home. Shirley Vitello was mixed up about a lot
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: of things in life, but that doesn't include closets, because
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: the one she put me in was strong. The lining
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: she called Cedar must have been hand-me-down armor plate from
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: a retired battle wagon. So all in all, I was
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: 45 minutes alternately kicking and resting while the insistent telephone
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: marked the five-minute intervals for me. But finally, it was
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: the wood around the lock that gave way. And I
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: was out. Hello? Hello, Sheriff. Who's this? Marlowe Vitello, and
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: save your questions until you hear what I have to say. Marlowe,
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: where's my wife?
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: She was supposed to meet me here at the Saffron Bar.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: I said save it. Now listen. Your wife's out to
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: kill herself. No, Marlowe. No! Yes, tell me, did you
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: two have a favorite spot out near the ocean? I
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: don't see what that has to do... I don't care
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: whether you see or not. Did you or didn't you?
• 20:54
  Speaker 9: Yes, yes, the Redondo Fishing Pier below Santa Monica.
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: Good. Now keep listening, Vitello, and do as I say.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: Come straight home. But, Marlowe... Do as I say, Vitello.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: Come back here and sit tight with fingers crossed. Don't
• 21:04
  Speaker 2: worry about the pier. Goodbye.
• 21:05
  Speaker 4: Goodbye.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: The second the connection was broken, I picked up the
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: phone again, dialed 116, got through to police emergency operator,
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: and from there to Matthews, who was still at the
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: citizen's hospital. I told him to pick me up in
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: a squad car and get ready for a fast 10-mile
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: drive to the Redondo fishing pier, where Shirley Vitello was
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: going to kill herself. Then I got outside and waited
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: the four longest minutes of my life, until finally Matthews
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: screeched up to a halt. When I piled in, we
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: took off, siren wide open.
• 21:42
  Speaker 8: It'll be less than a minute now, Marlow.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: Pier's only a couple of blocks away. Good. Better have
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: Mooney kill that siren, Lieutenant. Jack, we want to come
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: in quiet, Mooney.
• 21:48
  Speaker 4: Okay, Lieutenant.
• 21:50
  Speaker 5: Well, there she is.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: That power's out on the pier. Yeah, Mooney, pull up here,
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: will you?
• 21:54
  Speaker 8: We don't want to scare her into something.
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: Matthews. What? That crowd there, halfway out on the pier.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: There's a cop with them. Yes, so there is.
• 21:59
  Speaker 9: You better drive right up, Mooney.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: Looks like we're too late, Phil. We were too late.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: The center of a circle of the morbidly curious who
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: always stand and gape. We found her lying face down
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: in the greasy planks of the pier, dead. She'd shot
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: herself through the heart and the gun. The same. 32
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: she'd used on me was lying next to her. Two
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: bullets gone. I explained the extra shot to Matthews.
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: Uh-huh.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: Okay, one bullet fired up at her place and the
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: other one here.
• 22:29
  Speaker 8: Well, I hope you're satisfied, Marlowe.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: What do you mean, satisfied?
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: I mean single-handed.
• 22:34
  Speaker 8: You had to leave the cops out of it, didn't you?
• 22:36
  Speaker 8: You had to go up to Veteran Avenue all by
• 22:38
  Speaker 8: your lonesome, didn't you?
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: Now, you wait a minute, Matthews. I was only trying to... Oh,
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: I'm nuts. Hey, Mooney, where's the nearest phone?
• 22:43
  Speaker 9: Over there, Lieutenant, across the street, the Triple Eagle Cafe.
• 22:46
  Speaker 9: The patrolman here has already called an ambulance.
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: All right, tell him she can be moved.
• 22:50
  Speaker 8: Come on, Marlowe, I want to turn in a first
• 22:51
  Speaker 8: report on this.
• 22:53
  Speaker 9: Mooney, pick us up at the cafe.
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: Right, Lieutenant.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: Okay, Bob.
• 22:56
  Speaker 8: So Shirley Vitello was stealing formulas for those dyes from
• 23:00
  Speaker 8: her boss and selling them to this Morris Deniker.
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Oh, it was rosy until Deniker walked out in
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: front of a taxi early this morning.
• 23:06
  Speaker 8: That put him close to death and in a mood
• 23:08
  Speaker 8: to talk.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: Also put Shirley Vitello on the spot. Hey, is that
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: the place you want to phone from?
• 23:11
  Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah.
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: Look, one thing more, Marlowe. The girl's motive all the
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: way through. She loved her husband, he loved his work.
• 23:18
  Speaker 8: Yeah, her too.
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, after his work. So since he didn't make any dough,
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: she's told to keep him going and close to her.
• 23:27
  Speaker 8: There's the phone, Phil.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: Come on, will you? I may need you to fill
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: in the blanks for me. Marlowe, I said... I heard you,
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: I heard you. The phone can wait, Lieutenant. Come on
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: over here. What? I want to talk to that piano player.
• 23:37
  Speaker 8: Piano player? What about?
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: The tricky way he has of playing blue skies. What? Hey, bud,
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: that's all right. You got a mean left hand there.
• 23:45
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I open in Carnegie Hall next week. Don't miss me.
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: I'll try not to. It's just horrific what you do
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: with that tune, you know?
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: It's my own particular arrangement.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: Nobody else's, huh?
• 23:55
  Speaker 4: Oh, nobody.
• 23:56
  Speaker 5: I've been working on this arrangement.
• 23:58
  Speaker 7: For a week.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: That's all I wanted to know. Hey, Marlow, what are
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: you getting at? The phone. I've heard enough. Where'd you
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: say it was, Matthews? Over there, to the left of
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: the bar. But, Phil, what are we doing? What time
• 24:06
  Speaker 2: is it, Lieutenant? Five after twelve. Marlow, what is it?
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: A switch. A switch, Matthews. A switch? Yeah, one that'll
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: knock your badge off. Will you get a load of this?
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: All right, I'll listen to it.
• 24:18
  Speaker 5: Good evening, Federal Airwaves.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Agent Frederick Stolze. Listen, Frederick, I'm the party who called
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: before about the reservations for Ruth Britton on the 1135
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: for New York. Oh, yes, I remember you.
• 24:27
  Speaker 8: I'll probably.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: Never mind. It's police business, Freddie. Did the plane leave
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: on schedule? Of course it did.
• 24:32
  Speaker 7: But Miss Britton didn't make it, and she didn't bother
• 24:34
  Speaker 7: to call and cancel her reservation.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: Thanks, I've heard enough. So far, so good, Matthew.
• 24:38
  Speaker 8: Yeah, which means what?
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: The Saffron Bar in Hollywood. Which means what? Shirley Vitello
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: didn't commit suicide, Matthew. She was murdered.
• 24:55
  Speaker 8: Okay, Phil. Where's your man?
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: Right there. That table against the wall. Come on, Matthew.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: Hawaiian music. Sentimental rocks. Degradation. Abomination. I don't think it's
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: as bad as all that, Gilbert, old boy.
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: Marlowe.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: You a cop, the most insensitive of all people. What
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: would you know about music?
• 25:17
  Speaker 5: Just for the record, he's not a cop.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: My question still stands. What do you know about music?
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, not much. But you know,
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: I'm fascinated by what they're doing with instruments these days. Really?
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: What are they doing that might fascinate you? Well, for example,
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: take that picture where the score is done by only
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: one instrument, a zither. What's more, it doesn't sound like
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: a zither. To a trained ear, a zither is a zither.
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: You mean you can't make one instrument sound like another? Well,
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: for example, a guitar like a piano? Don't be ridiculous. Now,
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: wait a minute, wait a minute. It's not so ridiculous. Why,
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: only tonight I heard a guitar that sounded just like
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: a piano. Real tricky arrangement it was, too. Sounded... You're joking. Oh, no, no.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: You must have heard it, too. It was while we
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: were talking on the telephone. The telephone? I talked to you?
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: Sure you did. You remember? You said you were calling
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: from here, the Saffron Bar, but the conversation was being
• 26:23
  Speaker 2: scored by the pianist at the Triple Eagle Cafe at
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: Redondo Beach. A real tricky arrangement in more ways than one.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: I didn't mean it.
• 26:30
  Speaker 5: I didn't really want to.
• 26:36
  Speaker 5: All right, what's the rest of it, Phil?
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: He didn't want to quit his work and spend the
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: rest of his life hiding in some forgotten corner of
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: the globe.
• 26:41
  Speaker 8: Which was her plan?
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah. As I figure it, once Shirley knew she was finished,
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: she decided they should both run for it. He was
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: in on what she was doing all along.
• 26:48
  Speaker 8: And the suicide note?
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: It was part of her plan. Leave puppy here and
• 26:52
  Speaker 2: innocent with the money she got for her shenanigans. Then
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: frame her own suicide, a trail that would lead us
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: to the Redondo Pier, her hat and coat floating in
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: the drink.
• 27:00
  Speaker 7: Uh-huh.
• 27:01
  Speaker 8: And after a couple of days of searching, we say
• 27:03
  Speaker 8: the tide probably carried her body out to sea and
• 27:05
  Speaker 8: closed case.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: That's right. In the meantime, she's flown to New York
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: as Ruth Britton and is heading on from there. Hubby
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: here to join her at a later date. Yeah, fine.
• 27:13
  Speaker 8: Only Hubby double-crossed her and shot her, so he can
• 27:15
  Speaker 8: sit tight with the money right here.
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: That's it, Matthews. Please, please, give me your other chair.
• 27:21
  Speaker 5: Oh, shut up.
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: Wipe and dry Matthews and take him away. I didn't
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: go along with Matthews. I didn't even bother about my car,
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: which I'd left in front of the Vitello place. Eh,
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: I'd had enough for one night. Enough for the kind
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: of person who'd hitch his wagon to a star only
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: if the twinkle he saw on the horizon was the
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: reflection of a dollar sign. Oh, yeah, they were a pair,
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: all right, the Vitellos. A pair who finally canceled each
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: other out. You know what? I'm glad of it.
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, bringing you Raymond Chandler's most
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: famous character, star Gerald Moore, are produced and directed by
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: Norman MacDonald and are written for radio by Robert Mitchell
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: and Gene Leavitt. Featured in the cast were Gene Bates,
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: Paul Dubov, Vivi Janis, Edgar Barrier, and Peter Leeds. Detective
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: Lieutenant Matthews is played by Larry Dubkin. The special music
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: is composed and conducted by Richard Orant. Be sure and
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: be with us again next week when Philip Marlowe says.
• 28:57
  Speaker 2: This time I tangled with a mad Scotchman. A phony
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: English lord and a beautiful blonde corpse in a freight house.
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: All because of a butler who walked on his knuckles.
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: How about tying a metal string around your finger today
• 29:22
  Speaker 3: to remind yourself to file your 1949 income tax return
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: as soon as possible? The 15th of March isn't several
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: miles down the road the way it used to be.
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: It's almost at your front door. And you'd certainly get
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: a scare if you came home one evening to find
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: it sitting right smack in your living room saying smugly, well,
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: you forgot to file your income tax return.
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: What now, little man?
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: So why not set aside tonight as income tax night
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: and file your 1949 return? This is Roy Rowan speaking.
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: This is CBS, where Burns and Allen are heard every
• 29:55
  Speaker 3: Wednesday night. The Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: We leave Philip Marlowe and the Big Step as the
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: evening settles around the radio dial. Good night. Follow Old
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: Time Mystery Radio for more classic mystery and detective broadcasts.