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Transcript

Suspense - "I Won't Take a Minute" (Old Time Radio, 1945) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

0:00
Speaker 1: Cornell Woolrich's 1940 story, Finger of Doom, later published as
0:05
Speaker 1: I Won't Take a Minute, comes to suspense in a
0:08
Speaker 1: radio adaptation directed and produced by William Speer. First broadcast
0:13
Speaker 1: by CBS on December 6, 1945, this is Suspense, Episode 6,
0:20
Speaker 1: I Won't Take a Minute, with Lee Bowman as Kenny.
0:24
Speaker 1: On a nighttime street outside 415 Martine Street, Kenny waits
0:29
Speaker 1: while his fiancée, Stephanie Risca, takes a delivery upstairs. When
0:34
Speaker 1: she fails to return, he turns to the building's residents
0:38
Speaker 1: and Lieutenant Gilman for help. The search begins at an
0:41
Speaker 1: apartment building where the details Kenny knows seem increasingly difficult
0:46
Speaker 1: to establish. And now, we return to the original broadcast.
0:52
Speaker 2: Now.
0:53
Speaker 3: The Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents.
1:03
Speaker 5: Suspense!
1:11
Speaker 6: Tonight, Roma Wines bring you Mr. Lee Bowman as star of...
1:15
Speaker 6: I Won't Take a Minute, a suspense play produced, edited,
1:18
Speaker 6: and directed for Roma Wines by William Spear.
1:25
Speaker 3: Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills, is presented for your
1:30
Speaker 3: enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines. Those excellent
1:36
Speaker 3: California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the
1:39
Speaker 3: way you live, to your happiness and entertaining guests, to
1:43
Speaker 3: your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now a glass
1:47
Speaker 3: full would be very pleasant, as Roma Wines bring you Mr.
1:51
Speaker 3: Lee Bowman in a remarkable tale of.
1:53
Speaker 4: Suspense! She was very good to look at, which is.
2:02
Speaker 7: Why I waited till I was 25 and met her.
2:04
Speaker 4: Here's how she went.
2:07
Speaker 7: First, a lot of gold all beaten up into a
2:09
Speaker 7: froth and poured over her head and allowed to set
2:11
Speaker 7: there in crinkly little curls. Blue eyes and a mouth
2:15
Speaker 7: with real lines. And in addition, well, she had everything
2:20
Speaker 7: just about right. And believe me, I was going to
2:22
Speaker 7: throw away the sales slip and not return the merchandise
2:25
Speaker 7: once it got to my house. That's why I nearly
2:28
Speaker 7: went nuts every evening waiting for her to come out
2:29
Speaker 7: of the building where she worked. She was always the
2:32
Speaker 7: last one out, and this particular evening she was later
2:35
Speaker 7: than usual.
2:35
Speaker 4: It got dark.
2:38
Speaker 7: The streetlights came on. And the rush hour was over
2:40
Speaker 7: before she put in an appearance.
2:44
Speaker 8: Oh, gee, Kenny, I'm sorry.
2:45
Speaker 2: You been waiting long?
2:47
Speaker 5: Oh, no, no.
2:47
Speaker 7: I just nearly got run in for picketing the place.
2:50
Speaker 4: That's all.
2:50
Speaker 8: I hurried all I could. Please don't be mad at me, Kenny.
2:53
Speaker 7: I'm not mad at you. The slave driver you work for.
2:56
Speaker 7: Why do you always have to be the last one out?
2:59
Speaker 8: Oh, it's only for another week.
3:00
Speaker 5: Yeah.
3:02
Speaker 4: Come on, let's go.
3:03
Speaker 8: I gotta deliver this package on the way home for
3:05
Speaker 8: his nibs.
3:06
Speaker 4: But you're not going home. We're going to Philharmonic. Thursday, remember?
3:10
Speaker 8: Oh, it won't take any time at all, honey. It's
3:11
Speaker 8: just around the corner. 415 Martine Street.
3:15
Speaker 5: Okay.
3:16
Speaker 7: That guy nerves me up, making you play messenger girl
3:18
Speaker 7: after hours.
3:19
Speaker 8: Oh, let's don't talk about Mr.
3:20
Speaker 2: Heston.
3:21
Speaker 8: Let's talk about us. Been counting the days?
3:24
Speaker 4: All day. Thirteen left.
3:26
Speaker 8: And a half. Don't forget the half if it's to
3:28
Speaker 8: be a noon wedding.
3:29
Speaker 7: Why all the fuss about the half?
3:31
Speaker 8: Oh, I don't like thirteen by itself. I'll be glad
3:34
Speaker 8: when it's tomorrow and only 12 days left.
3:37
Speaker 4: See, you're cute. The more I know you, the cuter
3:40
Speaker 4: you get.
3:41
Speaker 8: I bet you won't say that a year from now.
3:43
Speaker 8: You'll be calling me your old lady then.
3:45
Speaker 4: You'll always be Steffi to me. Just Steffi.
3:48
Speaker 8: Not even Stephanie?
3:49
Speaker 7: No, too sophisticated, too foreign sounding.
3:52
Speaker 4: Steffi, that's you.
3:53
Speaker 7: Hey, what number are you supposed to deliver that package to?
3:55
Speaker 8: 415. That must be it.
3:58
Speaker 4: What a dump.
4:00
Speaker 7: Your boss have many customers in dumps like this?
4:02
Speaker 8: I don't know. Hold a match for me, will you, Kenny?
4:05
Speaker 8: I can't see the name.
4:08
Speaker 4: There, that better?
4:09
Speaker 8: Yeah, uh-huh. I still don't see it.
4:11
Speaker 7: What was the name?
4:12
Speaker 8: Muller, apartment 4B. Oh, here it is. Name card's fallen
4:16
Speaker 8: out of the slit and gotten lost. No wonder I
4:17
Speaker 8: couldn't find it.
4:18
Speaker 9: Maybe they're not home.
4:30
Speaker 8: I'll ring it again. There it is.
4:35
Speaker 7: I don't like those automatic door latches. You never know
4:37
Speaker 7: who's up there.
4:37
Speaker 8: Don't be silly. Wait here, honey. I won't take a minute.
4:47
Speaker 7: I never timed a cigarette. I suppose they take around
4:50
Speaker 7: five minutes. This one seemed to take longer, but then
4:53
Speaker 7: look who I was waiting for. I punched it out
4:55
Speaker 7: with my foot and let another. I thought, won't take
4:59
Speaker 7: a minute. Yeah, I might have known it. I thought,
5:02
Speaker 7: what's she doing, saying a T up there? I counted
5:05
Speaker 7: my change just to give myself something to do. I
5:07
Speaker 7: took off my hat and looked it over like I'd
5:09
Speaker 7: never seen it before.
5:11
Speaker 4: Five cigarettes later, she still hadn't come back. Things happened.
5:20
Speaker 4: Nothing much.
5:21
Speaker 7: Little things that were to last so long. A stout
5:24
Speaker 7: lady in a ratty-looking fur coat came in holding some
5:27
Speaker 7: candy in one hand and a.
5:28
Speaker 4: Little boy by the other.
5:29
Speaker 9: Ah!
5:32
Speaker 2: Oh, you shut up or I'll.
5:33
Speaker 8: Smack you good.
5:34
Speaker 2: I'll cut off your head and put it in the
5:35
Speaker 2: garbage can.
5:36
Speaker 3: Now, Dwightie, I don't want to hear another word.
5:38
Speaker 7: If you don't hush up, I'll... After they'd gone, more
5:42
Speaker 7: waiting started in. I commenced tracing patterns with my feet.
5:46
Speaker 5: Circles.
5:47
Speaker 4: Diagonals. Maltese crosses. Finally, I got fed up.
5:51
Speaker 7: I stepped over to the bell panel, picked out 4B,
5:54
Speaker 7: and nearly sent the button through to the.
5:55
Speaker 4: Other side of the wall. I could hear it ringing
5:58
Speaker 4: away off somewhere. Quiet house. Too quiet.
6:03
Speaker 7: I leaned on the belt when my thumb joint got
6:05
Speaker 7: all white down to my wrist. And something did happen.
6:08
Speaker 7: I heard the door of the automatic elevator open. I waited, nonchalant-like,
6:13
Speaker 7: filing my fingernails. I thought I'd play a little hurt
6:16
Speaker 7: when she arrived. I could see it was her, all right,
6:19
Speaker 7: walking toward me. She opened the door and then... walked
6:24
Speaker 7: past me like she never saw me before.
6:25
Speaker 4: I let her go on.
6:28
Speaker 7: Figured she'd turn around by the time she got to
6:29
Speaker 7: the door.
6:31
Speaker 4: But no.
6:33
Speaker 2: Steffi.
6:34
Speaker 6: Hey, Steffi, wait.
6:36
Speaker 2: Steffi.
6:37
Speaker 4: Hey, Steffi, what's the big idea?
6:39
Speaker 8: I beg your pardon?
6:42
Speaker 4: Oh, I thought you were... I mean, you're dressed just like.
6:46
Speaker 2: I would advise you to be sure to whom you
6:47
Speaker 2: are talking before you go to grab a strange girl
6:50
Speaker 2: by the coat.
6:51
Speaker 4: Oh, no kidding.
6:52
Speaker 7: You look a lot like her, even the clothes.
6:55
Speaker 4: That little tan and the red shoes.
6:56
Speaker 7: Really, I don't find this amusing.
6:59
Speaker 4: Okay, sister, pardon me for living. Next time, make sure
7:03
Speaker 4: it's one of the girls that live here. It was
7:07
Speaker 4: a shock.
7:07
Speaker 7: I didn't like the looks of the place from the beginning.
7:11
Speaker 7: Up to then, I was just sore. Now I began
7:13
Speaker 7: to get scared. Maybe there's some guy up there trying
7:16
Speaker 7: to get funny with her, I thought. I better get
7:18
Speaker 7: up there fast and find out what this is. So
7:20
Speaker 7: I laid my hand flat over all the bells in
7:22
Speaker 7: the place so somebody'd open up.
7:29
Speaker 4: Open up in there. Open up or I'll bust the
7:31
Speaker 4: door down. Do you hear me?
7:33
Speaker 2: Steffi, are you in there, honey?
7:36
Speaker 7: Baby, why don't you say something?
7:37
Speaker 2: Yeah, what is, what is, what is?
7:40
Speaker 4: Oh, that's what I want to know.
7:41
Speaker 2: Who are you?
7:41
Speaker 7: Building superintendent.
7:43
Speaker 5: You got a pass key to this flat?
7:45
Speaker 9: I have.
7:46
Speaker 2: What do you want in there?
7:47
Speaker 4: My girl.
7:49
Speaker 7: She took a package up. I've been waiting for her downstairs.
7:51
Speaker 7: I don't know how long. She never came down again.
7:53
Speaker 7: Now they won't answer the bell.
7:54
Speaker 2: Oh, wait a minute, young fella.
7:56
Speaker 4: She couldn't be in this flat. Don't try to tell me.
7:59
Speaker 7: Hey, don't you try to tell me.
8:00
Speaker 4: I say she couldn't be.
8:02
Speaker 2: Why?
8:02
Speaker 3: I'll show you why.
8:04
Speaker 4: Hey.
8:09
Speaker 5: Now, you see why? It's empty.
8:11
Speaker 2: Empty.
8:13
Speaker 7: Nobody lives here. But there was someone here a while ago.
8:15
Speaker 7: She rang the bell and they let her in.
8:17
Speaker 2: Mister, this place ain't been rented for six months.
8:20
Speaker 4: Listen, she came in here, I tell you.
8:22
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
8:22
Speaker 2: Maybe you and the little girl had a quarrel. Maybe
8:25
Speaker 2: she figured to play a little joke on you.
8:27
Speaker 5: Give you the slip.
8:28
Speaker 7: We never had any quarrel. We're getting married.
8:31
Speaker 8: Why don't you go to her place? You'll probably find
8:34
Speaker 8: her there.
8:35
Speaker 7: She didn't come out again, I tell you. I was
8:37
Speaker 7: there at the door the whole time. What about the
8:39
Speaker 7: back way?
8:39
Speaker 4: Is there a back way out?
8:40
Speaker 2: Not a back way. There's a delivery entrance, but that
8:43
Speaker 2: goes right past my quarters.
8:45
Speaker 8: Nobody went out that way.
8:47
Speaker 5: Muller.
8:48
Speaker 4: The name was Muller. Well, if he doesn't live in 4B,
8:50
Speaker 4: where does he live?
8:51
Speaker 5: Muller.
8:53
Speaker 8: We never had anyone with that name.
8:54
Speaker 7: In the whole 12 years I've been working here.
8:57
Speaker 9: Muller.
9:09
Speaker 6: For Suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you a star Mr.
9:13
Speaker 6: Lee Bowman in I Won't Take a Minute. Roma Wines'
9:16
Speaker 6: presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
9:29
Speaker 3: Between the acts of Suspense, this is Truman Bradley for
9:32
Speaker 3: Roma Wines. In the hurried, hectic shopping weeks between now
9:37
Speaker 3: and Christmas, there'll be many a night when you'll be
9:39
Speaker 3: glad to relax in the warmth and comfort of your
9:41
Speaker 3: own home. And what more delightful way to enjoy a quiet,
9:45
Speaker 3: restful evening than with a glass full of Roma California
9:49
Speaker 3: Muscatel and nuts or cake. You'll thoroughly enjoy this magnificent
9:54
Speaker 3: Roma wine, so tempting with the distinctive fragrance of the
9:58
Speaker 3: world-famous Muscat grapes. with its rich, mellow sweetness, its glowing
10:03
Speaker 3: golden fire. Roma Muscatel is delightful with desserts, too. Famed
10:09
Speaker 3: hostess Elsa Maxwell says, Roma Muscatel is a sure-to-please, easy-to-serve
10:14
Speaker 3: entertainment wine when guests drop in. Like all Roma wines,
10:20
Speaker 3: Roma Muscatel is a true wine, crushed from selected grapes,
10:25
Speaker 3: unhurriedly guided to taste perfection by age-old winemaking skills. And
10:30
Speaker 3: Roma's new low prices save you as much as one-fourth.
10:34
Speaker 3: Get Roma Muscatel tomorrow. Insist on Roma, R-O-M-A, for uniformly
10:40
Speaker 3: fine wine quality at low cost. That's why more Americans
10:45
Speaker 3: enjoy Roma.
10:46
Speaker 4: Than any other wine.
10:48
Speaker 6: And now Roma Wines bring back to our Hollywood soundstage
10:52
Speaker 6: Lee Bowman as Kenny in Cornell Woolrich's story of a
10:55
Speaker 6: vanishing lady.
10:56
Speaker 4: I won't take a minute.
10:58
Speaker 6: A play well calculated to keep you in suspense.
11:06
Speaker 7: The cop on the beat was a nice guy. He
11:11
Speaker 7: rang every bell in every flat of the building and
11:13
Speaker 7: questioned the occupants. No one had heard anything. No one
11:16
Speaker 7: had seen her. Finally, a single, plain-clothes man was dropped
11:20
Speaker 7: off at the door. Lieutenant Gilman. He kept calling me Bud.
11:24
Speaker 7: He looked around the empty flat, and then he looked
11:26
Speaker 7: at me. Bud, there's nothing to show that this girl
11:28
Speaker 7: or anyone else came in here. I tell you, she
11:30
Speaker 7: rang the bell of this flat, and someone released the
11:32
Speaker 7: door catch for.
11:33
Speaker 4: Her from up here.
11:34
Speaker 5: All right, all right.
11:34
Speaker 2: Assuming she got in here, how'd she get out?
11:36
Speaker 4: I don't know. I don't know. Maybe the fire is.
11:38
Speaker 5: Look at those windows. Look at the dust on these frames.
11:40
Speaker 2: A person can't move in a place like this without
11:42
Speaker 2: it showing.
11:43
Speaker 7: Listen, don't do this to me, will you? You make
11:44
Speaker 7: it sound like she didn't come here with me at all.
11:46
Speaker 5: That's what it does sound like, bud.
11:49
Speaker 7: Look, I was taking her to the concert tonight.
11:51
Speaker 4: We go every Thursday. Here's our ticket.
11:54
Speaker 2: I think we'd better build this thing from the ground
11:55
Speaker 2: up and see what we've got. Now, what's this girl's name?
11:58
Speaker 4: Stephanie. Stephanie Risker.
12:00
Speaker 5: Address?
12:01
Speaker 7: 120 Farragut.
12:03
Speaker 5: Uh-huh.
12:03
Speaker 4: What's she look like? Well, she... She comes up to
12:07
Speaker 4: about here next to me.
12:09
Speaker 7: Blonde, little curls close to her head, blue eyes.
12:15
Speaker 4: I'm no good at descriptions. Don't let her get you, bud.
12:19
Speaker 4: I'm not scared because she's gone.
12:20
Speaker 7: I'm scared because she's gone in such a crazy way.
12:22
Speaker 4: I can't get a grip on her.
12:24
Speaker 2: Now, you say you met her at 6.15 outside the
12:26
Speaker 2: Bailey Goodwin building with a package to be delivered here.
12:28
Speaker 7: Who'd she work for? A press clipping service. The Green Star,
12:32
Speaker 7: it's called. It's operated by a guy named Hessen.
12:34
Speaker 4: Big outfit?
12:36
Speaker 7: Just him and a secretary and an office boy. She
12:39
Speaker 7: was getting 22 a week.
12:40
Speaker 4: All right, bud.
12:41
Speaker 5: You've given me something indefinite. We'll do some checking.
12:44
Speaker 2: But first of all, we go back to the place
12:46
Speaker 2: she worked.
12:58
Speaker 4: Oh, what a telephone booth.
13:00
Speaker 7: She told me the place was small, but I never
13:01
Speaker 7: figured on this, not even a window.
13:03
Speaker 5: All right, all right, let's have a look. Desk. Filing cabinet.
13:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, clippings.
13:13
Speaker 5: Well, so far, your story checks. Except for one thing.
13:18
Speaker 4: What's that?
13:19
Speaker 2: There's no file for anyone named Muller. Oh, this must
13:23
Speaker 2: be her desk.
13:25
Speaker 8: Yeah.
13:25
Speaker 9: Yeah.
13:27
Speaker 4: Shears.
13:28
Speaker 5: Glue.
13:29
Speaker 4: Clips.
13:32
Speaker 5: Not much of a personal touch here.
13:33
Speaker 2: Not even a hefty.
13:35
Speaker 9: Uh-oh.
13:36
Speaker 4: Find something?
13:37
Speaker 5: Uh, nothing special.
13:38
Speaker 7: Oh, you found something there. I saw you drop it
13:40
Speaker 7: in an envelope and stick it in your pocket.
13:41
Speaker 2: Listen, bud, who's running this investigation, you or me? Sorry.
13:45
Speaker 5: You, I guess. Okay, let's keep it that way. No!
13:56
Speaker 7: Our next stop was one of those bungalow-type places in
13:58
Speaker 7: the outskirts. That was where Heston lived, the guy she
14:01
Speaker 7: worked for.
14:01
Speaker 5: Oh, good evening.
14:04
Speaker 2: Good evening. You're Mr.
14:05
Speaker 5: Heston?
14:06
Speaker 9: That's right.
14:07
Speaker 5: I'm from police headquarters. May I come in? Oh, why, certainly.
14:11
Speaker 6: Won't you sit down, gentlemen?
14:13
Speaker 2: We won't take up much of your time, sir. First
14:15
Speaker 2: of all, do you know anyone named Muller at 415
14:18
Speaker 2: Martine Street?
14:19
Speaker 4: No, I don't know anyone by that name. I think
14:22
Speaker 4: we have a Miller... Mrs.
14:23
Speaker 6: Elsie Miller on our list, who divorces and marries quite frequently.
14:27
Speaker 6: Will that do?
14:29
Speaker 4: She owes us $ 29.
14:30
Speaker 2: You didn't send a package over to Muller, apartment 4B,
14:33
Speaker 2: 415 Martin Street at 615 this evening?
14:36
Speaker 4: No, I'm sure I didn't. But wait a minute. It's
14:39
Speaker 4: easy enough to confirm that. Oh, Stephanie.
14:42
Speaker 5: Stephanie.
14:46
Speaker 8: Did you call me, Mr.
14:47
Speaker 7: Hathaway?
14:48
Speaker 4: Yes, my dear.
14:49
Speaker 7: Oh, this is my assistant, gentlemen, Miss Stephanie Riscoff.
14:53
Speaker 4: That isn't Steffi.
14:54
Speaker 9: She's calling somebody else by her name.
14:56
Speaker 4: My dear young man.
14:57
Speaker 7: She came out of that building while I was waiting.
14:59
Speaker 4: I spoke to her. We'll discuss that later.
15:00
Speaker 2: Now then, miss, how long have you been working for Mr.
15:03
Speaker 4: Hessen? Since October of last year. About eight months now.
15:07
Speaker 5: And your name is Stephanie Risker?
15:08
Speaker 8: Why, yes, of course.
15:10
Speaker 2: Have you any identification on you?
15:12
Speaker 7: I don't know.
15:13
Speaker 4: Maybe there is something here in my handbag.
15:16
Speaker 5: Do you mind if I look?
15:17
Speaker 4: It's all right, my dear.
15:18
Speaker 5: He's from the police. Oh. Oh.
15:21
Speaker 4: Oh, well, in that case.
15:22
Speaker 5: Thank you.
15:23
Speaker 7: Listen, I don't know what these two are trying to pull,
15:25
Speaker 7: but she's not Steffi. You've got to believe me. She
15:27
Speaker 7: came out of that building dressed like Steffi. The way
15:30
Speaker 7: Steffi was dressed when she went in.
15:31
Speaker 2: Stop that, will you?
15:33
Speaker 5: Thank you, Mrs. Disker. I'm sorry to inconvenience you.
15:36
Speaker 8: It's quite all right.
15:38
Speaker 2: I noticed you have quite a supply of chewing gum there.
15:40
Speaker 5: That's hard to get these days.
15:42
Speaker 4: I make a hobby of it.
15:44
Speaker 8: Have some?
15:44
Speaker 6: Oh, thanks.
15:45
Speaker 5: My mouth's kind of dry. Well, uh, Mr. Hess.
15:49
Speaker 4: Oh, it's quite all right.
15:50
Speaker 6: I don't know what this young man has got himself
15:52
Speaker 6: mixed up in.
15:53
Speaker 4: But if we were able to help.
15:54
Speaker 5: Oh, you did help a lot, sir. Now, come along, bud.
15:58
Speaker 2: I've got some more checking to do.
16:01
Speaker 5: This time, it's on you.
16:02
Speaker 2: Okay, bud, now stop talking.
16:10
Speaker 5: Spill it. What's your pitch?
16:11
Speaker 4: I told you the truth. That girl wasn't Steffi. I
16:13
Speaker 4: never saw her before.
16:14
Speaker 2: Was, uh, the man Hesson.
16:16
Speaker 4: He looked just like him.
16:18
Speaker 5: This girl of yours, what kind of gum did she chew?
16:22
Speaker 4: She didn't chew gum. She hated it.
16:24
Speaker 2: You ask me what it was I picked up back
16:26
Speaker 2: there in the office.
16:28
Speaker 5: Well, here's what it was. A wad of gum stuck
16:31
Speaker 5: under the edge of the desk.
16:32
Speaker 2: That girl back there at Heston's place belongs in an office, Bud.
16:35
Speaker 2: She had a letter addressed to herself in that handbag
16:37
Speaker 2: and her initials on the outside of it. It wasn't
16:38
Speaker 2: a new one and it wasn't fake.
16:41
Speaker 5: What's your racket, Bud?
16:43
Speaker 2: Are you a pushover for mental observation? Or did you
16:47
Speaker 2: do something to some little blonde, blue-eyed number? And are
16:50
Speaker 2: you trying to pass the buck before we even found
16:53
Speaker 2: out about it?
16:53
Speaker 7: I don't know. I don't know.
16:54
Speaker 4: Maybe I am nuts.
16:56
Speaker 9: Things like this.
16:58
Speaker 4: Things like this just don't happen.
16:59
Speaker 5: They can't.
17:01
Speaker 4: One minute she walks into a building.
17:02
Speaker 5: You haven't produced a.
17:02
Speaker 2: Single personality in the long that actually laid eye on
17:04
Speaker 2: this girl of yours.
17:05
Speaker 5: Where's her folks? Where'd she come from? Wisconsin, I think.
17:08
Speaker 4: Her folks are all dead.
17:10
Speaker 5: I thought so.
17:12
Speaker 2: Well, I'll give you one more spin for your money, bud.
17:15
Speaker 5: You stand or fall by the place you say she lived.
17:19
Speaker 5: Have you been there?
17:20
Speaker 9: Yes.
17:21
Speaker 5: Could you describe it?
17:24
Speaker 4: Okay.
17:26
Speaker 7: Sticking in the mirror of the dresser, she's got a
17:29
Speaker 7: litho of the Holy Mother. On the radiator, she's got
17:33
Speaker 7: a rag doll that I won for at Coney Island.
17:36
Speaker 7: On a little shelf against the wall, she's got a
17:38
Speaker 7: gas ring with a tube running up to the jet.
17:41
Speaker 7: From the light fixture to the jet, there's a string attached...
17:44
Speaker 7: And she'll have stockings hanging there to dry.
17:45
Speaker 5: Are you listening? Yeah, yeah. Go on, go on.
17:48
Speaker 4: Will you remember those things?
17:49
Speaker 5: Yeah, bud.
17:51
Speaker 4: We'll see.
17:52
Speaker 5: Now listen, bud.
18:00
Speaker 4: Get this straight.
18:00
Speaker 2: I don't want one word out of you the whole
18:02
Speaker 2: time we're.
18:03
Speaker 5: Here, yeah?
18:04
Speaker 4: I won't say a word. So help me.
18:07
Speaker 5: Yes?
18:07
Speaker 2: You got a girl named Stephanie Risker living here?
18:10
Speaker 8: Second floor front. She ain't home now.
18:12
Speaker 5: I'm from the police. I think you better let us in.
18:14
Speaker 4: Oh, certainly.
18:17
Speaker 5: Let's see her room, please.
18:18
Speaker 8: Yes, follow me. She's a nice, clean roomer. I'd hate
18:21
Speaker 8: to lose her.
18:22
Speaker 4: I hope she's not in any trouble.
18:23
Speaker 5: No trouble.
18:29
Speaker 4: Now, Gilman, right over there. Hey, it's changed.
18:34
Speaker 6: They've changed it all around.
18:35
Speaker 5: Shut up. Has she always had it fixed this way, ma'am?
18:39
Speaker 7: Well, since the first day she's here, only one thing
18:41
Speaker 7: I got to complain about.
18:43
Speaker 8: There it is again, chewing gum. She leaves it all over.
18:45
Speaker 5: Let's see that. Aha, I thought so.
18:50
Speaker 2: Exhibit C, bud. Same as the other two. She belongs
18:53
Speaker 2: in that office and she belongs in this room.
18:55
Speaker 8: Look out. You better hold your friends.
18:57
Speaker 4: Let him hold.
18:58
Speaker 2: This isn't anything to the falls he's going to be
19:00
Speaker 2: taking five or ten minutes from now.
19:02
Speaker 8: What did he do? Murder her?
19:04
Speaker 2: Not her, but I've got a good hunch he murdered someone.
19:07
Speaker 2: And picked the wrong number and name out.
19:09
Speaker 5: Of her hat.
19:11
Speaker 7: I didn't hear any more they said while we were
19:13
Speaker 7: going down the stairs. The light bulbs in the place
19:15
Speaker 7: were doing funny things.
19:16
Speaker 4: Turning red.
19:18
Speaker 7: Spinning around in spirals. I was still on my feet,
19:21
Speaker 7: but not so as you'd notice it. The spinning didn't
19:23
Speaker 7: stop till we got to the foot of the stairs.
19:26
Speaker 7: The thing that stopped it was an umbrella stand beside
19:28
Speaker 7: the front door. It had a knotty walking stick jutting
19:31
Speaker 7: up out of it. I grabbed it in my free
19:33
Speaker 7: hand as he walked me past it.
19:34
Speaker 8: Watch out, Lieutenant. He's going to.
19:36
Speaker 2: Hey, you!
19:45
Speaker 7: I didn't stop to investigate whether I killed him or
19:47
Speaker 7: only knocked him out. I was a block down the
19:48
Speaker 7: street before the landlady could open her mouth.
19:50
Speaker 2: To scream.
19:51
Speaker 4: I made for the Martine Street flat.
19:52
Speaker 7: That was instinctive. The place I'd last seen her, calling
19:55
Speaker 7: me back. When I got there, I ganged up on
19:57
Speaker 7: the janitor's bell and waited a thousand years.
19:59
Speaker 5: Oh, it's you again. What is it? Didn't you find
20:06
Speaker 5: her yet?
20:08
Speaker 1: What happened to that detective fellow that was with you?
20:11
Speaker 7: He sent me back to take another look. You don't
20:13
Speaker 7: have to come up. Just give me the passkey.
20:15
Speaker 4: All right, son.
20:17
Speaker 5: Come on.
20:20
Speaker 4: In.
20:24
Speaker 7: My head was still spinning when I let myself into
20:26
Speaker 7: the door.
20:26
Speaker 4: Of apartment 4B.
20:28
Speaker 7: I don't know what I was looking for. Some clue,
20:30
Speaker 7: I guess. Some magic clue that would pop up and
20:32
Speaker 7: give her back to me. I tested the walls for
20:35
Speaker 7: secret panels... What a laugh in a 50-buck-a-month flat. I
20:39
Speaker 7: dug out plaster with my bare nails, cased the cracks
20:41
Speaker 7: between the floorboards. I'd been there about 10 minutes when
20:44
Speaker 7: I heard steps coming up the hall.
20:47
Speaker 4: I held my breath.
20:48
Speaker 5: All right, Sonny. Come out of there with your hands
20:51
Speaker 5: up or I commit you.
20:53
Speaker 4: Give me a minute, please.
20:54
Speaker 7: One minute.
20:54
Speaker 4: Maybe I'll find it.
20:55
Speaker 5: Find what?
20:56
Speaker 2: Please, one minute. If you want out of there by
20:58
Speaker 2: the time I count 10, I commit you. Can you
20:59
Speaker 2: hear me?
21:00
Speaker 5: Yeah.
21:01
Speaker 7: Yeah, I hear you.
21:02
Speaker 2: One. Two.
21:06
Speaker 7: I didn't stop to think. I crossed the room and
21:07
Speaker 7: threw open the window. The one that opened on the
21:09
Speaker 7: fire escape. Down looked too far, so I started climbing.
21:18
Speaker 7: I didn't yell back at him. I was saving my breath.
21:21
Speaker 7: On the roof, I took a quick look both directions.
21:25
Speaker 7: There was about a yard high partition wall dividing it
21:27
Speaker 7: from the next roof over.
21:28
Speaker 4: But before I could get there.
21:35
Speaker 4: If that light focused on his eyes, he may be fainted.
21:37
Speaker 4: I think I busted my leg.
21:39
Speaker 5: Well, let's see. Now, just bark your shin a little. Oh,
21:46
Speaker 5: wait till I finish with you, wise guy.
21:48
Speaker 4: Oh, what are you waiting for? Go ahead. You promised
21:53
Speaker 4: me a beating.
21:54
Speaker 5: Go ahead.
21:54
Speaker 4: Don't you worry.
21:55
Speaker 5: Hey, where did that come from? What?
21:59
Speaker 2: That package there beside you.
22:00
Speaker 5: Package?
22:02
Speaker 9: Package.
22:02
Speaker 5: That's it.
22:04
Speaker 4: The package she took inside with her.
22:05
Speaker 5: Hold that light steady.
22:07
Speaker 4: What's in it?
22:08
Speaker 8: What is it?
22:09
Speaker 5: Newspapers.
22:10
Speaker 7: Newspapers?
22:11
Speaker 4: It's a dummy.
22:12
Speaker 5: Look.
22:13
Speaker 7: Those papers. They've had stuff clipped out of them. That
22:16
Speaker 7: proves they came from Hesham's clipping agency.
22:19
Speaker 5: Well?
22:20
Speaker 4: Doesn't it?
22:20
Speaker 2: Someone did bring a package here tonight.
22:22
Speaker 5: Oh, what a sap I've been. I kept thinking about
22:24
Speaker 5: that womb. She was never in that womb.
22:26
Speaker 2: I was right about that. They must have grabbed her
22:28
Speaker 2: in the hall and taken her straight up here to
22:30
Speaker 2: the roof through the skylight.
22:31
Speaker 4: But why? I don't know.
22:33
Speaker 2: Maybe that steel-painted landlady knows, and if she does, she's
22:35
Speaker 2: going to talk, and talk fast.
22:44
Speaker 5: All right, Grandma, come on, spill it.
22:46
Speaker 8: You can't scare me. I've got bigger men than you
22:48
Speaker 8: on my side.
22:49
Speaker 4: What do you mean, your side?
22:50
Speaker 8: You should like to know. All I have to do
22:52
Speaker 8: is make one telephone call. I have the number right here.
22:55
Speaker 5: Let's see that number.
22:56
Speaker 2: Take it.
22:56
Speaker 8: Call it yourself.
22:57
Speaker 4: Who gave you that number?
22:58
Speaker 8: Ask me no questions. I'll tell you no lies.
23:00
Speaker 2: Who gave you this number?
23:01
Speaker 8: The FBI man who was here. Now you know who
23:04
Speaker 8: I'm working for.
23:05
Speaker 6: Go ahead.
23:06
Speaker 8: Call the number.
23:07
Speaker 5: Oh, I get it.
23:09
Speaker 2: Tell me, Grandma, what did this FBI man look like?
23:14
Speaker 7: All right, I'll tell you.
23:15
Speaker 2: All you have to do is say yes or no.
23:16
Speaker 2: The guy's about my height, bald, wears.
23:19
Speaker 5: Pinch glasses, right? Many.
23:20
Speaker 2: He got you to work with him so this woman
23:22
Speaker 2: he described as one of his agents could step into
23:24
Speaker 2: the identity of this Stephanie Risker, right?
23:26
Speaker 8: You seem to know all about it.
23:27
Speaker 5: I know more than that.
23:28
Speaker 2: He wasn't an FBI man, and the girl who took
23:30
Speaker 2: Stephanie Risker's place was not a federal agent.
23:31
Speaker 8: Then who was he?
23:32
Speaker 2: I'm not sure, Grandma, but I've got a hunch. Calhoun! Yo! Calhoun,
23:36
Speaker 2: get out to Heston's place, Myrtle Avenue, fast, and keep
23:37
Speaker 2: it spotted till we get there.
23:38
Speaker 7: Gilman, Gilman. Do you think she's already... I don't know.
23:41
Speaker 5: Keep your fingers crossed, bud, and pray. Where are they?
23:52
Speaker 5: I told them to keep this house covered.
23:56
Speaker 2: Gone.
23:57
Speaker 4: Nobody here.
23:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah.
23:59
Speaker 5: Hey, douse that light. Douse it. Stand back against the wall.
24:01
Speaker 5: Somebody's coming.
24:05
Speaker 2: Gentlemen, you in here?
24:06
Speaker 4: What's the big idea?
24:08
Speaker 2: I told you to keep this place spotted.
24:09
Speaker 5: Now they're gone.
24:09
Speaker 2: I tailed them.
24:10
Speaker 6: They piled into a car, locked up the house and left.
24:12
Speaker 4: Where to? Pier 7, North River.
24:14
Speaker 6: They got in some kind of a fuzzy tramp steamer
24:16
Speaker 6: and it shoved off in less.
24:16
Speaker 4: Than a quarter of an hour. I tried to reach.
24:18
Speaker 5: Was the other girl with him?
24:20
Speaker 7: No.
24:20
Speaker 5: Two men in a stringy.
24:21
Speaker 2: Blonde they call Auger.
24:22
Speaker 5: That's all. Too late.
24:23
Speaker 4: We're too late. We can pull them off at quarantine.
24:25
Speaker 5: I'll make them talk. Come on, let's get out of
24:26
Speaker 5: here and get some fresh air. Thanks.
24:27
Speaker 2: Don't.
24:28
Speaker 1: Yeah.
24:29
Speaker 7: Smells like they'd had the place fumigated or something.
24:31
Speaker 9: Hey.
24:32
Speaker 5: What's the matter? That smell.
24:34
Speaker 4: That's gasoline.
24:35
Speaker 5: Gasoline?
24:36
Speaker 4: I hear something.
24:37
Speaker 5: A clock.
24:37
Speaker 2: It's a basement. Come on.
24:42
Speaker 5: Yeah.
24:42
Speaker 7: Yeah, she's down here, all right.
24:44
Speaker 9: Go back upstairs, bud.
24:44
Speaker 5: I'll bring her up. Tell me.
24:45
Speaker 4: Tell me now. Don't wait till you get her.
24:46
Speaker 7: Yeah, she's alive.
24:47
Speaker 6: Come on.
24:48
Speaker 9: Get her out of here.
24:48
Speaker 8: Come on.
25:05
Speaker 5: Yes, you'll be around in a second or two.
25:07
Speaker 4: How's Calhoun?
25:08
Speaker 7: Burned pretty bad.
25:09
Speaker 5: It was an incendiary.
25:11
Speaker 7: Kenny.
25:12
Speaker 4: Oh, baby, it's okay. Sure.
25:15
Speaker 5: Everything's okay now, Steffi.
25:16
Speaker 7: Who are you?
25:18
Speaker 4: This is Lieutenant Gilman. We owe a lot to him, Steffi.
25:20
Speaker 8: Thanks, Lieutenant Gilman.
25:23
Speaker 5: I'm just a dumb flatfoot, Steffi.
25:25
Speaker 2: And I had to be conked over the head before
25:26
Speaker 2: I got wise to what was going on. Even then,
25:29
Speaker 2: I didn't figure it right. I figured Heston and his pals.
25:31
Speaker 5: Were a bunch of spies or something.
25:33
Speaker 4: Well, weren't they?
25:35
Speaker 2: Well, Heston became an American citizen in 1929. Up to now,
25:37
Speaker 2: his record's absolutely clean.
25:39
Speaker 8: Oh, I'm glad of that. I'd hate to be working
25:40
Speaker 8: for a spy.
25:41
Speaker 4: But I don't get it. Why did they want Steffi
25:44
Speaker 4: out of the way? That was Olga's doing.
25:45
Speaker 2: The girl who was impersonating you, Steffi. You see, she's
25:48
Speaker 2: Heston's sister. She's a fugitive from a couple of war
25:51
Speaker 2: crimes and figured the least her brother could do for
25:53
Speaker 2: her was to furnish her with a nice, clean nationality.
25:56
Speaker 2: Their original plan was to bump Steffi off in that
25:58
Speaker 2: empty flat and leave her there without anything to identify her.
26:01
Speaker 5: Only, only they figured.
26:03
Speaker 4: On her coming there alone.
26:05
Speaker 2: There was no time to work out a plan on
26:06
Speaker 2: the spot, so they scrammed over the roof, taking Steffi
26:09
Speaker 2: with them.
26:09
Speaker 5: Hey, Gilman, we're doing headquarters. You coming?
26:11
Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, yeah, run away, run away.
26:14
Speaker 5: Well, I gotta go, kid.
26:16
Speaker 4: Thanks, Gilman. Thanks for everything.
26:18
Speaker 2: I'm glad to help you out.
26:19
Speaker 5: Hey, another thing, bud, you weren't lying about. She is pretty.
26:25
Speaker 4: No hard feelings? I mean about me hitting you over
26:27
Speaker 4: the head?
26:28
Speaker 5: Oh, say, I almost forgot.
26:30
Speaker 2: Something I meant to give you before we say goodnight.
26:32
Speaker 4: Oh, you've done enough.
26:35
Speaker 5: That's what you think.
26:44
Speaker 7: It was a while before I knew what hit me.
26:47
Speaker 7: It felt like a cement mixer. When my head cleared,
26:50
Speaker 7: Steffi and I had changed roles. She was the one
26:52
Speaker 7: bending over me.
26:53
Speaker 8: And he said to tell you no hard feelings, but
26:56
Speaker 8: when anyone socks Dick Gilman with a walking stick, they
26:58
Speaker 8: get socked back even if they're the best of friends.
27:01
Speaker 4: He said that, did he?
27:03
Speaker 8: Does it still hurt?
27:04
Speaker 4: I'm still seeing stars.
27:06
Speaker 8: Oh, gee, Kenny, I'm sorry.
27:08
Speaker 5: I don't care.
27:10
Speaker 4: I'm seeing you, too.
27:11
Speaker 2: Listen.
27:12
Speaker 8: Listen, it's midnight.
27:14
Speaker 6: Yeah.
27:15
Speaker 7: Only 12 days to the wedding now, baby.
27:18
Speaker 4: We've licked the 13th.
27:30
Speaker 6: Roma Wines have brought you Lee Bowman as star of...
27:33
Speaker 6: I won't take a minute. Tonight's study in... Suspense.
27:39
Speaker 3: This is Truman Bradley for Roma Wines. The sponsor of Suspense.
27:44
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Speaker 6: Lee Bowman appeared through the courtesy of Columbia Pictures and
28:56
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Speaker 6: She Wouldn't Say Yes. Next Thursday, same time, Roma Wines
29:03
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Speaker 3: throughout the world. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
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Speaker 7: The Skippy Hollywood Theater, KQW San Jose, follows in just
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Speaker 1: Suspense, I won't take a minute, concludes this 1945 CBS presentation.
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Speaker 1: Follow Suspense for more classic broadcasts.