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Suspense - "The Death Parade" (Old Time Radio, 1951) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: From February 1st, 1951, we bring you episode five of
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: CBS Radio's suspense, The Death Parade. Agnes Moorhead stars as
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Ellen Johnson, who finds an alarming letter warning that a
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: woman she has never met is in danger. In a
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: downtown city crowded for a parade, Ellen has only the
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: recipient's name and the name Jack as she attempts to
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: find the woman and persuade others to take the warning seriously.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: The cast also includes Jeanette Nolan, Joseph Kearns, Jack Krushen,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Byron Kane, and Jay Novello. Anthony Ellis adapted Shirley Gordon's
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: story with Elliot Lewis directing.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: Here is the original broadcast.
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: Autolite and its 96,000 dealers present Suspense. Tonight, Autolite brings
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: you the story of a woman who finds a letter
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: warning of death and has only three hours to deliver it.
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: A transcribed tale we call The Death Parade, starring Miss
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Agnes Moorhead. Before our play begins, here is a word
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: about Autolite from our good friend, Harlow Wilcox.
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: Hi, Harlow.
• 1:22
  Speaker 5: You got the time?
• 1:24
  Speaker 6: Always have the time to discuss those great ignition-engineered autolight
• 1:27
  Speaker 6: spark plugs, Hap.
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: No, the time of day.
• 1:30
  Speaker 6: Day or night, those matchless marvels designed by autolight ignition
• 1:34
  Speaker 6: engineers are magic for merry motoring.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Harlow, I'd like to know what time it is.
• 1:41
  Speaker 7: Oh, oh. Ten to one.
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: Ten to one? Yeah.
• 1:45
  Speaker 6: Ten to one that when you replace worn-out spark plugs
• 1:47
  Speaker 6: in your car with ignition-engineered Autolite spark plugs, you'll get
• 1:52
  Speaker 6: smoother performance, quick starts, gas savings. Oh, three o'clock. Then
• 1:59
  Speaker 6: your watch is working. With all the precision of Autolite
• 2:02
  Speaker 6: spark plugs, Hap. Why, they're designed by the same Autolite
• 2:05
  Speaker 6: engineers who designed the complete ignition system. for many leading
• 2:09
  Speaker 6: makes of our finest cars. And that's why Autolite spark
• 2:12
  Speaker 6: plugs are world famous for quality and dependability.
• 2:16
  Speaker 4: And now with.
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: The death parade and the performance of Miss Agnes Moorhead,
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: Autolite hopes once again to keep you in suspense.
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: Some parade, huh? I'll say.
• 2:32
  Speaker 8: Something about a parade.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you can say that again.
• 2:39
  Speaker 8: Well, I guess it's all over. Sure has been a
• 2:42
  Speaker 8: nice day for it.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: Not a cloud in the.
• 2:45
  Speaker 9: Hey, hey, look.
• 2:47
  Speaker 7: Up there on the roof.
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: Where?
• 2:49
  Speaker 7: The Benson building. Hey, look out! Look out!
• 2:52
  Speaker 9: She's gonna fall! She's gonna fall! Go back! Go back? No!
• 3:07
  Speaker 7: No, don't! Don't!
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: Don't!
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: All right now, Miss Johnson, let's try and talk about this.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: This girl fell or was pushed off a roof this morning.
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: You say you were the only other person there at
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: the time.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: I was.
• 3:22
  Speaker 7: I told you.
• 3:23
  Speaker 9: Oh, what do you mean, Push? You think that I... Oh,
• 3:27
  Speaker 9: can you?
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: I know you're upset, but just take it easy.
• 3:31
  Speaker 9: I'm upset?
• 3:32
  Speaker 7: I'm nearly out of my mind.
• 3:33
  Speaker 10: I don't see how you can expect me to tell
• 3:34
  Speaker 10: you anything.
• 3:35
  Speaker 7: First you accuse me, and now.
• 3:37
  Speaker 9: How can you believe in me so unfeeling?
• 3:39
  Speaker 7: All I was trying to do was just... Oh, we're
• 3:43
  Speaker 7: freezing in here. You've no right to keep.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Me in here.
• 3:45
  Speaker 8: Here, try some coffee.
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: It'll make you feel better. You've told us you know
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: something about this accident. Something more than we already know.
• 3:55
  Speaker 7: Yes, I do, Lieutenant. I mean, it never would have happened,
• 3:59
  Speaker 7: don't you see?
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Sure, sure.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: Well, come on, Donna.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: This will help.
• 4:03
  Speaker 7: I'm so nervous.
• 4:06
  Speaker 9: Oh, it spills.
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: Oh, that's all right. We'll clean it up later.
• 4:10
  Speaker 9: That's how it started.
• 4:11
  Speaker 7: That's how it started this morning, just like that. The coffee.
• 4:15
  Speaker 10: That poor girl wouldn't have died if the coffee hadn't spilled.
• 4:17
  Speaker 10: That's just how it started. My name's Ellen Johnson. Oh,
• 4:26
  Speaker 10: I told you that. I work at the Farnsworth Chemical Plant.
• 4:30
  Speaker 10: For 12 years I've been there and never missed an
• 4:32
  Speaker 10: hour of work. That is, until today. It was so unnecessary.
• 4:36
  Speaker 10: That horrible, rude little man, he was the one.
• 4:39
  Speaker 7: I'm very precise about my daily habits.
• 4:41
  Speaker 10: Very.
• 4:42
  Speaker 7: When you live alone, you arrange things that way.
• 4:45
  Speaker 10: In the morning, I get up and allow myself time
• 4:47
  Speaker 10: to take coffee and toast at the cafe on the corner.
• 4:49
  Speaker 7: I've always disliked cooking in the morning.
• 4:52
  Speaker 10: I leave the cafe at 8.15 precisely in order to
• 4:54
  Speaker 10: be at my desk exactly at 9.
• 4:57
  Speaker 7: Well, this morning it was the same. Just the same,
• 4:59
  Speaker 7: except that horrible man. He was just awful. As I
• 5:03
  Speaker 7: sat at the counter, you know, I could feel him there.
• 5:06
  Speaker 7: He was two seats away, thin and dark, making a
• 5:10
  Speaker 7: nasty noise as he drank his coffee. It was all
• 5:12
  Speaker 7: his fault.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: Are you going to see the parade this afternoon, miss?
• 5:18
  Speaker 7: I'm afraid I'll be working.
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: Too bad.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: Should be good for business.
• 5:21
  Speaker 7: I imagine so.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: Anything else?
• 5:23
  Speaker 7: No, thank you.
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: Hey, you.
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: 25.
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: Coffee and toast, right?
• 5:26
  Speaker 7: Yeah, that's right.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Hey, you. Pass the sugar, will you?
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: Good morning.
• 5:29
  Speaker 7: See you tomorrow.
• 5:31
  Speaker 8: What's the matter? I asked for the sugar. You can't
• 5:33
  Speaker 8: pass it?
• 5:34
  Speaker 7: I beg your pardon.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, sure.
• 5:39
  Speaker 7: Oh, why, look at that. You deliberately spilled that coffee.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: All over my.
• 5:44
  Speaker 7: Oh, gee, ain't that a shame.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: What a clumsy.
• 5:47
  Speaker 7: Gee, am I sorry. He wasn't. He wasn't in the
• 5:55
  Speaker 7: least sorry. He'd done it on purpose. On purpose. I
• 5:59
  Speaker 7: was wearing a gray silk dress, and it's probably ruined.
• 6:01
  Speaker 10: And he just stood there and wiped at the stain
• 6:04
  Speaker 10: with his napkin, smiling, his dirty, crooked teeth.
• 6:08
  Speaker 7: Pushed him away and I walked out. I knew I
• 6:10
  Speaker 7: was going to be late because I had to change,
• 6:12
  Speaker 7: so I went home again.
• 6:13
  Speaker 10: But if I hadn't gone home, this awful thing might
• 6:16
  Speaker 10: never have happened. It took me 15 minutes to get
• 6:24
  Speaker 10: back to the apartment, change my dress, and leave again
• 6:27
  Speaker 10: for the office. Well, I'd walked three blocks when I
• 6:31
  Speaker 10: saw the letter. It was lying on the pavement in
• 6:33
  Speaker 10: front of an apartment house. It was unsealed and addressed
• 6:37
  Speaker 10: simply to Miss Sheila Mannix. No house number or street.
• 6:44
  Speaker 10: Dear Sheila Mannix, you don't know me. I just got
• 6:47
  Speaker 10: into the city. It doesn't matter who I am, but
• 6:50
  Speaker 10: this is a warning. Believe me, you better take notice.
• 6:53
  Speaker 10: Jack's got it in for you.
• 6:56
  Speaker 7: I stopped reading. There was some more, but I didn't
• 6:58
  Speaker 7: want to go on. It frightened me a little, and, well,
• 7:00
  Speaker 7: I'm not one to pry into other people's business, but
• 7:03
  Speaker 7: this wasn't prying, really.
• 7:04
  Speaker 9: It wasn't.
• 7:06
  Speaker 7: The letter was important.
• 7:07
  Speaker 10: Whoever had written it must have forgotten to put the
• 7:09
  Speaker 10: address on it, and it had fallen out of their pocket. Well,
• 7:12
  Speaker 10: I made up my mind then. I would go into
• 7:14
  Speaker 10: the apartment house. It was possible that the writer lived there,
• 7:18
  Speaker 10: and on his way out had dropped it. Janitor.
• 7:24
  Speaker 7: Dr.
• 7:24
  Speaker 9: Janitor.
• 7:25
  Speaker 7: Oh, janitor.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: Yes, here.
• 7:27
  Speaker 7: Shh.
• 7:32
  Speaker 10: Yeah?
• 7:33
  Speaker 7: Are you the janitor?
• 7:33
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I'm sorry.
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: We've got no vacancy.
• 7:36
  Speaker 7: No, I don't want... Look, this letter, it's not addressed.
• 7:40
  Speaker 7: Do you know the handwriting? I thought maybe you might.
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: No, nobody by that name living here.
• 7:44
  Speaker 10: I didn't ask you that. All I want you to
• 7:45
  Speaker 10: do is to tell me if you recognize the handwriting.
• 7:48
  Speaker 10: It might belong to someone living here.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: How come you opened it?
• 7:50
  Speaker 7: Well, it was lying on the pavement outside.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: So give it to the mailman.
• 7:53
  Speaker 7: It's important. I mean, what's in the letter is important.
• 7:57
  Speaker 7: I think she ought to get it.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: So the post office will forward it.
• 8:00
  Speaker 7: Well, can't you see there's no address? How can they
• 8:02
  Speaker 7: forward it? How stupid.
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: Listen, you don't have to get nasty.
• 8:06
  Speaker 5: I told you, she don't live here no more.
• 8:08
  Speaker 7: I'm sorry.
• 8:09
  Speaker 10: Who doesn't live here anymore?
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: Mannix.
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: She had 2A about six months ago.
• 8:14
  Speaker 7: Sheila Mannix lived here? Where did she move to, can
• 8:16
  Speaker 7: you tell me?
• 8:17
  Speaker 8: No forwarding address.
• 8:18
  Speaker 9: But I must find her.
• 8:19
  Speaker 7: I'm sorry, lady, I can't help.
• 8:29
  Speaker 10: Then I thought of the police. I should have told
• 8:31
  Speaker 10: them about the letter, but I didn't. I didn't know
• 8:34
  Speaker 10: what else was in it then. So I went back
• 8:37
  Speaker 10: to my own apartment, and I looked through the telephone book.
• 8:40
  Speaker 10: There were two Sheila Mannixes listed. The first lived on
• 8:43
  Speaker 10: Maple Street, and the second on South Tower. I rang
• 8:46
  Speaker 10: the Maple number first.
• 8:50
  Speaker 9: PHONE RINGS PHONE RINGS Hello?
• 8:58
  Speaker 10: Hello?
• 8:59
  Speaker 7: Is this Miss Sheila Mannix speaking?
• 9:01
  Speaker 10: Mrs. Sheila Mannix?
• 9:02
  Speaker 7: Who's this?
• 9:02
  Speaker 10: My name is Ellen Johnson, and I found a letter
• 9:05
  Speaker 10: this morning addressed to Sheila Mannix.
• 9:08
  Speaker 7: Well, I thought it was important, and I wanted to
• 9:10
  Speaker 7: make sure it got to.
• 9:11
  Speaker 9: The right party. Who's it from? Well, that's it.
• 9:14
  Speaker 7: I don't know.
• 9:15
  Speaker 9: Well, why don't you open it?
• 9:17
  Speaker 10: Well, I have, but I only read a few lines.
• 9:21
  Speaker 9: Do you know someone named Jack? Uh, Jack?
• 9:25
  Speaker 7: Yeah, I have a nephew. Well, then perhaps maybe.
• 9:27
  Speaker 9: But he's in Colorado, though. Well, it seems to be
• 9:30
  Speaker 9: some sort of a warning.
• 9:31
  Speaker 7: Warning?
• 9:32
  Speaker 10: Yes.
• 9:33
  Speaker 7: I'm afraid I don't understand. Well, the letter says that
• 9:36
  Speaker 7: Jack has got it in for you. It's a, well,
• 9:39
  Speaker 7: a warning from.
• 9:40
  Speaker 9: Oh, well, I'm afraid the letter isn't for me.
• 9:42
  Speaker 7: My Jack is ten years old.
• 9:44
  Speaker 9: Oh.
• 9:45
  Speaker 7: Oh, well, I'm sorry to have troubled you.
• 9:47
  Speaker 9: It's all right. Goodbye.
• 9:48
  Speaker 7: Goodbye. As I hung up, I looked at my watch.
• 9:58
  Speaker 7: It was nine o'clock. There was my job, but I
• 10:00
  Speaker 7: just had.
• 10:01
  Speaker 10: The second Sheila Mannix listed in the directory lived on
• 10:05
  Speaker 10: South Tower. I dialed the number and I waited. I
• 10:20
  Speaker 10: got the letter out of my purse and read it.
• 10:22
  Speaker 10: This time I read all of it. Dear Sheila Mannix,
• 10:26
  Speaker 10: you don't know me. I just got into the city.
• 10:27
  Speaker 10: No matter who I am, but this.
• 10:29
  Speaker 7: Is a warning.
• 10:30
  Speaker 10: You better take notice. Jack's got it in for you.
• 10:33
  Speaker 10: He was drunk one night and told me about it.
• 10:35
  Speaker 10: Somebody you knew pretty well died last year. He didn't
• 10:38
  Speaker 10: fall off that building. He was pushed, and Jack did it.
• 10:42
  Speaker 10: He said he was going to get you, too. I
• 10:45
  Speaker 10: would have told the police, but they'd start to get
• 10:47
  Speaker 10: nosy about me. Jack's on his way here, and from
• 10:50
  Speaker 10: the way he talks, he better not find you around.
• 10:53
  Speaker 10: He talked crazy about a parade. The corner of Main
• 10:56
  Speaker 10: and Thomas and 12 o'clock. That's when he's going to
• 11:00
  Speaker 10: do it.
• 11:01
  Speaker 7: A friend.
• 11:06
  Speaker 10: I sat there holding a piece of paper that carried
• 11:08
  Speaker 10: a death warning for a woman I'd never.
• 11:10
  Speaker 7: Seen, and I knew where and when she was going
• 11:14
  Speaker 7: to be killed.
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: Autolite is bringing you Miss Agnes Moorhead in The Death Parade.
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: Tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
• 11:50
  Speaker 10: The second Sheila Mannix's address was 317 South Tower Street.
• 11:54
  Speaker 10: I got my car out and I drove there. It
• 11:57
  Speaker 10: must have been nearly a quarter to ten when I
• 11:59
  Speaker 10: drew up outside. It was an old rooming house.
• 12:10
  Speaker 7: Oh, hurry up. Come on, come on, come on. I...
• 12:20
  Speaker 7: What do you want? I'm very sorry to trouble you.
• 12:22
  Speaker 7: Is your name... You have to talk louder.
• 12:25
  Speaker 9: I can't hear you.
• 12:26
  Speaker 7: I'm sorry. I wonder if you could tell me, is
• 12:30
  Speaker 7: your name Sheila Mannix?
• 12:31
  Speaker 9: No, it's not.
• 12:33
  Speaker 10: But the phone book has a Sheila Mannix listed at
• 12:36
  Speaker 10: this address.
• 12:37
  Speaker 7: Oh, it's her phone. She pays for it. I never
• 12:40
  Speaker 7: have no cause to use it. She does live here, then? Yeah,
• 12:42
  Speaker 7: she has a room upstairs.
• 12:44
  Speaker 9: What's the matter?
• 12:45
  Speaker 7: Does she work? Is she at work now? Well, how
• 12:47
  Speaker 7: should I know? I never ask her where she goes,
• 12:50
  Speaker 7: what she done. You mean you don't know where she works?
• 12:52
  Speaker 7: Do you know where she lived before she moved here?
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: No.
• 12:56
  Speaker 7: You see, she never says nothing. She's quiet and keeps
• 12:58
  Speaker 7: to herself. But where can I find her?
• 13:00
  Speaker 10: It's important that I learn where she is right away.
• 13:03
  Speaker 7: Well, she'll be home prompt by seven. She always is,
• 13:06
  Speaker 7: you know.
• 13:07
  Speaker 9: You come back then if.
• 13:08
  Speaker 7: You got to.
• 13:08
  Speaker 9: Well, seven will be too late.
• 13:10
  Speaker 7: I've got to find her now before twelve. There ain't
• 13:12
  Speaker 7: no you shouting at me.
• 13:14
  Speaker 9: I can't tell you no more than I already have.
• 13:16
  Speaker 9: I don't know nothing about Sheila. I'm sorry.
• 13:19
  Speaker 7: Good morning.
• 13:27
  Speaker 10: Now, I knew that I'd wasted far too much time.
• 13:29
  Speaker 10: I had to call the police. There was a drugstore
• 13:32
  Speaker 10: in the corner and I ran down the block to it.
• 13:36
  Speaker 8: Good morning. Can I help you?
• 13:38
  Speaker 9: Yes.
• 13:38
  Speaker 7: Do you have a phone?
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: One over there, but it's out of order.
• 13:41
  Speaker 7: Oh, then I... Could I use yours? It's an emergency.
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I don't have a private phone.
• 13:45
  Speaker 7: I've come to call the police.
• 13:46
  Speaker 10: I've never been mixed up in anything like this before.
• 13:48
  Speaker 10: It's a letter I found this morning. A warning about
• 13:51
  Speaker 10: somebody being killed.
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: Oh, there's a phone in the next store.
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: You can use that.
• 13:55
  Speaker 7: Maybe you know her. She lives down the block.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: Who?
• 13:59
  Speaker 7: Sheila Mannix. She's the one. At least I think so.
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: Mannix?
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: Sure, sure.
• 14:03
  Speaker 5: She comes in often to have her prescription filled. Very
• 14:06
  Speaker 5: nice young woman.
• 14:06
  Speaker 7: Do you know anything about her? I mean, where she works?
• 14:08
  Speaker 7: I've got to find her right away.
• 14:10
  Speaker 5: No, I.
• 14:10
  Speaker 7: Please, it's urgent. I asked her, landlady. She didn't know.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: Well, it seems to me she did mention it once.
• 14:16
  Speaker 7: Think you must think. Please.
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: Well, now, it was just the other day. We were
• 14:20
  Speaker 5: chatting while I filled her prescriptions. She said something about...
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: Was it a restaurant?
• 14:23
  Speaker 7: A cashier, maybe? No, no. A department store elevator operator? Hats, clothes, shoes?
• 14:28
  Speaker 7: A telephone operator, maybe?
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: No, no, doesn't hit. I'm sorry.
• 14:31
  Speaker 7: You're not thinking.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: Try to think. Listen, ma'am, if I could help you,
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: I would, but... Oh, my.
• 14:37
  Speaker 7: Friends in the neighborhood. Somebody you might know.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: Don't ever mention them.
• 14:42
  Speaker 7: Can't you remember? Maybe she worked in an office, huh?
• 14:45
  Speaker 5: Excuse me a moment, customer. You better go next door
• 14:48
  Speaker 5: and call her, please.
• 14:49
  Speaker 7: But can't you remember?
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: I'll be back.
• 14:51
  Speaker 7: Maybe a chorus girl. Does she work in a bookstore? Oh, well,
• 14:55
  Speaker 7: I can't wait. I'll come back after I've called.
• 15:01
  Speaker 10: Oh, a bar.
• 15:02
  Speaker 7: What will they think? A woman going into a bar to.
• 15:06
  Speaker 9: Ma'am, wait a minute.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: Look, I remember.
• 15:09
  Speaker 5: You said bookstore.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: It's a book company.
• 15:11
  Speaker 5: Simmons Book and Stationery Corporation.
• 15:13
  Speaker 7: That was it.
• 15:13
  Speaker 5: Simmons Book and Stationery Corporation.
• 15:15
  Speaker 9: Thank you. It's on Main.
• 15:16
  Speaker 7: Yes, I know the place. Thank you very much. Simmons'
• 15:25
  Speaker 7: book is stationary. Why, I had been there dozens of times.
• 15:28
  Speaker 7: She might even have waited on me. I looked at
• 15:30
  Speaker 7: my watch. It was 10.30.
• 15:31
  Speaker 10: I really meant to call the police from the bar,
• 15:34
  Speaker 10: but I didn't know how long it would take to explain.
• 15:36
  Speaker 7: And even then, they might not investigate without seeing the
• 15:38
  Speaker 7: letter first. I thought of the corner of Main and Thomas,
• 15:41
  Speaker 7: the parade at 12 o'clock.
• 15:43
  Speaker 10: An hour and a half. I ran to get my car.
• 15:46
  Speaker 10: I knew that once I found Sheila Mannix and gave
• 15:49
  Speaker 10: her the warning, she'd be safe.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: Good morning. May I help you?
• 15:59
  Speaker 7: Yes, please.
• 16:00
  Speaker 10: I'd like to speak to Miss Mannix, Miss Sheila Mannix.
• 16:02
  Speaker 7: I understand that she works here.
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: Yes, yes, of course. Is there anything I can help
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: you with?
• 16:07
  Speaker 7: No, no, thank you. It's personal.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes. One minute, please.
• 16:14
  Speaker 10: Oh, I'd found her, and it was going to be
• 16:17
  Speaker 10: all right now. While I waited, I looked at the
• 16:20
  Speaker 10: books lining the walls. I was standing in front of
• 16:22
  Speaker 10: the mystery section. Do you know the first title that
• 16:24
  Speaker 10: caught my eye was Time for a Murderer?
• 16:27
  Speaker 6: I'm very sorry, ma'am, but one of the other girls
• 16:30
  Speaker 6: tells me that Miss Mannix had an appointment.
• 16:31
  Speaker 7: She's not here.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry. Now, perhaps I.
• 16:34
  Speaker 7: But where did she go? Let me talk to the girl.
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: I think to the doctor.
• 16:37
  Speaker 7: What doctor? Where? When did she leave?
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: Well, if you'll wait here, I'll find out for you.
• 16:48
  Speaker 7: I could have cried.
• 16:49
  Speaker 10: It was almost 11 o'clock, and that silly, precious little salesman,
• 16:53
  Speaker 10: he took forever.
• 16:55
  Speaker 7: How long does it take to get an address? I
• 16:57
  Speaker 7: started to walk to the back of the store when
• 16:59
  Speaker 7: he came down the aisle toward me.
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry to have taken so long. A customer on
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: the phone, you know.
• 17:03
  Speaker 7: It's all right. I don't care. Just give me that
• 17:05
  Speaker 7: doctor's address.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes. Yes, I have it right here. Dr. Morton,
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: 101 Flowers.
• 17:11
  Speaker 7: 101 Flowers. Dr. Morton. When did she leave?
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: Oh, I forgot to ask if you'll.
• 17:16
  Speaker 10: No, no, I'm going there now. Listen, if she comes back,
• 17:19
  Speaker 10: if I miss her, you tell her to stay right here.
• 17:21
  Speaker 10: Don't let her leave the store again until I come back.
• 17:23
  Speaker 10: It's a matter of life and death.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: Oh, well, all right. Is something wrong?
• 17:32
  Speaker 7: Something wrong. I ran to a telephone booth.
• 17:35
  Speaker 10: I knew that I'd done as much as I could
• 17:37
  Speaker 10: alone to save that poor girl.
• 17:44
  Speaker 8: Police department, Sergeant Leonard.
• 17:45
  Speaker 7: Please listen carefully. There's a murder going to be committed
• 17:48
  Speaker 7: at 12 o'clock.
• 17:49
  Speaker 8: Who is this?
• 17:50
  Speaker 10: Oh, that doesn't matter. My name's Ellen Johnson. I found
• 17:54
  Speaker 10: a letter in the street this morning. It was to
• 17:55
  Speaker 10: a woman called Mannix, Sheila Mannix.
• 17:57
  Speaker 8: Would you spell that, please?
• 17:59
  Speaker 7: Mannix, M-A-N-N-N-I-X. There's not time for.
• 18:02
  Speaker 8: When did you find the letter?
• 18:03
  Speaker 10: I told you this morning. Oh, what difference does it make?
• 18:07
  Speaker 10: It was at nine, I think.
• 18:08
  Speaker 8: Why didn't you call earlier?
• 18:09
  Speaker 7: I didn't because, well, I tried to find her myself.
• 18:12
  Speaker 7: I think I know where she is, but I.
• 18:14
  Speaker 8: Have you got the letter with you?
• 18:15
  Speaker 7: Yes, yes, I have.
• 18:15
  Speaker 8: Would you read it, please?
• 18:16
  Speaker 7: Well, there isn't time. You've got to send some men here.
• 18:19
  Speaker 7: It's a warning.
• 18:20
  Speaker 10: Somebody called Jack is going to kill her at 12
• 18:22
  Speaker 10: o'clock on the corner of Main and Thomas.
• 18:25
  Speaker 8: Parade going on, then. What does this woman look like?
• 18:28
  Speaker 8: Can you give us a description?
• 18:29
  Speaker 7: No, I've never seen her. I don't even know her.
• 18:32
  Speaker 8: You say you think you know where she is?
• 18:34
  Speaker 7: Yes, at a Dr. Morton, 101 Flower Street.
• 18:37
  Speaker 8: Where are you calling from?
• 18:38
  Speaker 7: Simmons Book and Stationery Store. She works here.
• 18:41
  Speaker 8: Will you get a description of the woman, please?
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: I'll wait.
• 18:43
  Speaker 7: Yes, yes, of course. Don't hang up! I found the
• 18:52
  Speaker 7: young man again, and he told me what Sheila Mannix
• 18:54
  Speaker 7: looked like.
• 18:56
  Speaker 10: I got back to the phone and told the officer, short,
• 18:59
  Speaker 10: about 5'2, thin, possibly 90 pounds, wearing a brown coat
• 19:04
  Speaker 10: with a brown shoulder strap bag.
• 19:05
  Speaker 8: We'll try to find her, Miss Johnson. Now, please stay there.
• 19:08
  Speaker 8: I'll have an officer come to the store to pick
• 19:10
  Speaker 8: up the letter.
• 19:18
  Speaker 10: I put the receiver on the hook and sat in
• 19:20
  Speaker 10: the booth. I was shaking and my hands were ringing wet.
• 19:24
  Speaker 10: It was 11.20. Somewhere outside, I heard a band playing.
• 19:28
  Speaker 10: The parade must have started. I stayed in the shop,
• 19:30
  Speaker 10: and the minutes passed, 11.30, 25 to 12. At 20
• 19:34
  Speaker 10: minutes to, I just couldn't stand it any longer, the waiting,
• 19:38
  Speaker 10: you know, the awful waiting.
• 19:39
  Speaker 7: I had to do something.
• 19:41
  Speaker 10: I called Sheila Mannix's house again. There was just that chance,
• 19:45
  Speaker 10: that slight chance. Maybe she went home after the doctor.
• 19:50
  Speaker 10: Maybe she's there.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: Two more.
• 19:53
  Speaker 7: No, three. Let it go. Three more. Oh, be there,
• 19:56
  Speaker 7: be there, be there. You must. You've just got to be.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: Hello?
• 20:01
  Speaker 9: Miss Mannix? Who is this?
• 20:02
  Speaker 7: Miss Mannix, you'll never know. Listen, you don't know me, but.
• 20:05
  Speaker 9: I have to speak louder. I can't hear a thing
• 20:08
  Speaker 9: on this thing.
• 20:09
  Speaker 7: Who is this?
• 20:10
  Speaker 9: Is this Miss Mannix? Miss Mannix ain't here. This is
• 20:13
  Speaker 9: the landlady. I'm cleaning up. Is there a message?
• 20:24
  Speaker 10: I couldn't stay in that store any longer, so I
• 20:26
  Speaker 10: gave the letter to the salesman and told him to
• 20:28
  Speaker 10: give it to the police when they arrived.
• 20:30
  Speaker 7: It was quarter to twelve. Main Street was alive with people.
• 20:34
  Speaker 10: It seemed as though the whole city had turned out
• 20:35
  Speaker 10: to watch the parade. I pushed my way along the
• 20:38
  Speaker 10: street towards the intersection. I just couldn't have stayed away
• 20:41
  Speaker 10: if it were my own life depending on it. The
• 20:44
  Speaker 10: crowd was so thick that it was impossible to see
• 20:47
  Speaker 10: anything from the street, and I just had to see.
• 20:50
  Speaker 10: Then I thought of the Benson Building and the roof.
• 20:52
  Speaker 10: If I was up on the roof, I could see
• 20:55
  Speaker 10: everything that happened on that corner. It was 5 to
• 20:58
  Speaker 10: 12 when I got in the elevator and took it
• 21:00
  Speaker 10: up to the 19th floor. I had to walk to
• 21:02
  Speaker 10: the roof, and I could hardly breathe as I opened
• 21:05
  Speaker 10: the door and stepped out into the bright sun.
• 21:08
  Speaker 7: Instinctively, you know, I knew that this was the building.
• 21:12
  Speaker 10: The same building that the man in the letter had
• 21:15
  Speaker 10: been pushed from last year.
• 21:16
  Speaker 7: For a minute, I didn't see anyone.
• 21:20
  Speaker 10: And then, at the corner, standing near the edge, looking down,
• 21:24
  Speaker 10: I saw her. A short woman, quite thin, dressed in
• 21:28
  Speaker 10: a brown coat with a shoulder strap bag.
• 21:34
  Speaker 7: Miss Mannix. You are Miss Mannix, aren't you? I've... I've
• 21:41
  Speaker 7: been looking for you.
• 21:42
  Speaker 10: It's about a man called Jack.
• 21:45
  Speaker 7: He's looking... Oh, it's all right.
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: It's all right.
• 21:48
  Speaker 7: Don't be frightened.
• 21:50
  Speaker 9: Don't be frightened.
• 21:51
  Speaker 7: Don't move back.
• 21:52
  Speaker 9: Don't.
• 21:52
  Speaker 7: Don't.
• 21:53
  Speaker 10: Don't.
• 21:53
  Speaker 7: The edge. Don't.
• 21:55
  Speaker 10: What's the matter?
• 21:56
  Speaker 9: Get away from there.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: No.
• 21:58
  Speaker 10: No, you.
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: No.
• 21:59
  Speaker 10: No.
• 22:00
  Speaker 9: No.
• 22:01
  Speaker 8: No.
• 22:14
  Speaker 9: This is terrible. Uh-huh.
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: Well, that's how it happened, eh? Yes, yes, I tried
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: to stop her.
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: You spend from 9 o'clock till 12 looking for her,
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: and then you don't call us till 45 minutes before
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: it happens.
• 22:31
  Speaker 7: I told you why.
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: I just didn't know. You know something, Miss Johnson?
• 22:34
  Speaker 7: What?
• 22:36
  Speaker 4: I think you're lying.
• 22:38
  Speaker 9: Lying?
• 22:39
  Speaker 7: How dare you say that? I was doing what I
• 22:41
  Speaker 7: thought was the right thing to do.
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: You pick up a letter, a warning letter. You go
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: to a janitor. You call people on the phone, but
• 22:47
  Speaker 4: not the police.
• 22:47
  Speaker 8: What?
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: You visit Sheila Mannix's house, talk to the landlady, talk
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: to the neighborhood druggist, to the salesman in the bookstore.
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: All witnesses, all alibis.
• 22:56
  Speaker 9: But I wanted to find her, to warn her.
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: And then you call the police when you're sure it's
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: too late.
• 23:01
  Speaker 7: How did I know she'd be up there?
• 23:03
  Speaker 5: How?
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: You set up a nice alibi for yourself. You were
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: alone with Sheila Mannix. Who's to say you didn't push her?
• 23:11
  Speaker 7: Oh, stop it. You don't know what you're talking about.
• 23:14
  Speaker 7: You know right... I was trying to help her, that's all.
• 23:18
  Speaker 7: I won't listen to you. I'm going home.
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: Now you sit down. I'm holding you for a while.
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: We're going to check, Miss Johnson. We're going to do
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: a lot of checking.
• 23:26
  Speaker 9: Arrest me? I was a good citizen. I did my duty.
• 23:30
  Speaker 9: I tried to save her, and you're going to.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: Oh, yeah?
• 23:33
  Speaker 8: Can I see you for a minute?
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: Sure.
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: You stay right there, miss. We're not through.
• 23:39
  Speaker 8: This happened last year.
• 23:41
  Speaker 10: Murder. Murder.
• 23:42
  Speaker 9: That's what he's saying, that I murdered her.
• 23:44
  Speaker 8: He's saying that.
• 23:47
  Speaker 7: To me, after all the good I did. I was
• 23:51
  Speaker 7: only trying to warn.
• 23:52
  Speaker 6: The poor girl.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: Take a look at the report.
• 23:54
  Speaker 7: What are they holding? He's saying it's about me.
• 23:56
  Speaker 9: I know it. I know it.
• 23:57
  Speaker 7: I know it.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 23:59
  Speaker 8: All right.
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: That does it, then. All right, Miss Johnson. We know
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: what happened now.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: You know?
• 24:06
  Speaker 7: What do you mean you know? I told you that's
• 24:09
  Speaker 7: how it happened. Every word.
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: I'll tell you something. I've got to believe you. There's
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: nothing I can do about it.
• 24:15
  Speaker 7: Nothing you can do? Well, what should you do? Instead
• 24:17
  Speaker 7: of frightening the life out of me, you should thank
• 24:19
  Speaker 7: me for doing it.
• 24:20
  Speaker 5: You listen to me for a change.
• 24:22
  Speaker 4: I'd like nothing better than to throw the book at you.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: But I can't.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: We've got the man called Jack. He was picked up
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: in the parade.
• 24:28
  Speaker 7: There, you see, there. I was right.
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: The fellow who wrote that letter you found called the
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: police about an hour ago.
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: He told us the story. That's how we got our boy.
• 24:38
  Speaker 7: Then she was safe. He couldn't kill her. She wasn't
• 24:40
  Speaker 7: in any danger then, was she?
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, she was.
• 24:43
  Speaker 9: You.
• 24:44
  Speaker 4: Because you found her and frightened her to death.
• 24:46
  Speaker 9: I was only telling her that there was nothing to
• 24:49
  Speaker 9: be afraid of.
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: Sure, sure, that's all.
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: Do you know that she was standing in the same
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: place where her boyfriend was killed a year ago? And
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: then you come along and mention the name of the
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: man she knew killed him. Now maybe you know why
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: she was afraid and backed away from you. You didn't
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: know a thing, huh? Well, I want you to know something, though.
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: I want you to sleep with for the rest of
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: your life. If you'd called the police when you picked
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: up that letter, Sheila Mannix would be alive right now.
• 25:17
  Speaker 4: You think about that.
• 25:19
  Speaker 7: I can't see where I was wrong.
• 25:22
  Speaker 10: Oh, maybe I should have called sooner, but I did
• 25:24
  Speaker 10: call if you hadn't taken so long.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: Oh, get out of here.
• 25:28
  Speaker 4: Go on, get out.
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: It's too bad we can't send you where the other
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: guy's going. He killed last year. You did it today,
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: just as sure as if you'd shot her.
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: Go on.
• 25:41
  Speaker 7: It's all right, Lieutenant. I understand. I can see why
• 25:44
  Speaker 7: you're upset, and I'm sorry.
• 25:51
  Speaker 10: Sergeant, you understand that I was only doing what I
• 25:54
  Speaker 10: thought right, don't you?
• 26:00
  Speaker 7: It wasn't my fault. It wasn't. If it got there sooner,
• 26:05
  Speaker 7: it never would have happened.
• 26:07
  Speaker 10: I have nothing to reproach myself about.
• 26:10
  Speaker 9: Nothing. Oh, I'm so upset.
• 26:15
  Speaker 7: A whole day's work and my gray silk dress ruined.
• 26:19
  Speaker 7: They'll never be able to get that coffee stain out.
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: Suspense, presented by Autolite. Tonight's star, Miss Agnes Moorhead.
• 26:49
  Speaker 5: Backward, turn backward, old time in your flat, and give
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: us a minute to talk Autolite.
• 26:55
  Speaker 6: That's a good idea, Hap, but it would take us
• 26:57
  Speaker 6: hours to tell about the more than 400 fine products
• 27:00
  Speaker 6: made by Autolite for cars, trucks, planes, and boats in
• 27:04
  Speaker 6: 28 plants from coast to coast. These include complete electrical
• 27:08
  Speaker 6: systems used as original equipment on many leading makes of cars.
• 27:13
  Speaker 6: Electric windshield wipers, starting motors, wire and cable, voltage regulators, coils, distributors, generators.
• 27:20
  Speaker 6: All engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly as
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  Speaker 6: a part of the Autolite team. So, friends, don't accept
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  Speaker 6: electrical parts supposed to be as good. Ask for and
• 27:31
  Speaker 6: insist on Autolite original factory parts at your neighborhood service station,
• 27:35
  Speaker 6: car dealer, garage, or repair shop. And remember, you're always
• 27:40
  Speaker 6: right with Autolite.
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: Next week on Suspense, in answer to your many requests,
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: Backseat Driver, repeated for you with its original stars, Fibber
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: McGee and Molly. And during the month of March, you
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: will hear Mr. William Bendix, Mr. Ronald Coleman, and Mr.
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: Jack Carson, all on Suspense.
• 28:12
  Speaker 6: Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis, with music
• 28:15
  Speaker 6: composed by Lucian Morawieck and conducted by Lud Bluskin. Portions
• 28:19
  Speaker 6: of this program were transcribed. Tonight's cast included Joseph Kearns,
• 28:23
  Speaker 6: Jack Crucian, Byron Kane, Shimon Ruskin, Jerry Hausner, Lou Krugman,
• 28:29
  Speaker 6: Jeanette Nolan, Jane Avello, and Lou Merrill. For some interesting
• 28:33
  Speaker 6: backstage pictures of Agnes Moorhead rehearsing for today's suspense play,
• 28:38
  Speaker 6: see the current issue of Quick Magazine. The Death Parade
• 28:42
  Speaker 6: was written by Shirley Gordon and adapted for suspense by
• 28:45
  Speaker 6: Anthony Ellis.
• 28:46
  Speaker 5: Agnes Moorhead is currently.
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: On tour with Charles Lawton, Charles Boyer, and Cicetric Hardwick
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: in the drama quartet presentation of Man and Superman. And remember,
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: next week on Suspense, Fibber McGee and Molly in Backseat Driver.
• 29:10
  Speaker 7: You can buy world-famous Autolite standard-type or resistor-type spark plugs,
• 29:14
  Speaker 7: Autolite stay-full batteries, Autolite electrical parts at your neighborhood Autolite dealers.
• 29:18
  Speaker 7: Switch to Autolite. Good night.
• 29:21
  Speaker 6: This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: We close this visit with suspense and the death parade.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: Follow suspense for more classic broadcasts.