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Suspense - "My Own Murderer" (Old Time Radio, 1945) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: British solicitor Richard Sampson receives an alarming visit from Alan
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Renwick who says he has killed his valet, Baines, after
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: a blackmail threat. Renwick demands sanctuary and Sampson soon understands
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: that calling the police may carry consequences of its own.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: From Suspense, this is My Own Murderer, Episode 4, dated
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: May 2nd, 1945. A CBS presentation sponsored by Roma Wines,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: with Herbert Marshall as Samson.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: And Norman Lloyd as Renwick.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: The play draws on Richard Hull's 1940 crime novel and
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: brings us to a solicitor's flat in England for an
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: uneasy meeting between two men. Now, back to the golden
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: age of radio.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: The Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents.
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: Suspense.
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: Tonight, Roma Wines bring you the suspenseful play called My
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: Own Murderer, starring Mr.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: Herbert Marshall.
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: Suspense is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R-O-M-A,
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: Roma Wines. Those excellent California wines that can add so
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: much pleasantness to the way you live, to your happiness
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: and entertaining guests, to your enjoyment.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Of everyday meals.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: Yes, right now a glass full would be very pleasant,
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: as Roma Wines bring you a remarkable tale of suspense.
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: And with the drama called My Own Murderer, and with
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: the performance of Mr. Herbert Marshall, Roma Wines hope indeed
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: to keep you in suspense.
• 1:51
  Speaker 5: I was never really much attracted by Alan Rennick, even before.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: He murdered Baines. It had been a raw.
• 2:00
  Speaker 5: March day, and I returned home at about half-past eleven
• 2:03
  Speaker 5: in the evening to find Alan Rennick waiting on my doorstep.
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: Hello, Dick. Alan, what on earth are you doing here?
• 2:11
  Speaker 6: It's a long story, old boy. Aren't you going to
• 2:14
  Speaker 6: ask me, you know, is it your habit to keep
• 2:16
  Speaker 6: people waiting on your threshold?
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: Well, give me a chance. After you. I say, this
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: is cozy.
• 2:27
  Speaker 5: Yeah, just about right for a bachelor who never entertains.
• 2:30
  Speaker 5: I guess it wouldn't do for you at all.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: I wouldn't be too sure of that. Just one bedroom?
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: There's a spare, but I've never used it. Not very hospitable,
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: are you, old trout? I've never had any occasion to be.
• 2:42
  Speaker 7: Well, you have now.
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: What's on your mind, Alan? I'm coming to that. Remember Baines,
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: my butler and valet? Vaguely.
• 2:50
  Speaker 6: Well, Baines turned out a bad penny, tried to blackmail me,
• 2:53
  Speaker 6: as a matter of fact.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: Blackmail?
• 2:55
  Speaker 6: Yes, he got hold of some letters written to me
• 2:57
  Speaker 6: by a lady.
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: A married lady? You guessed it.
• 3:02
  Speaker 6: Since you're my legal advisor, you may as well know
• 3:04
  Speaker 6: the whole story.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: They were from Anita Kilner. So you bolted, warned her,
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: and put the police on him? The police? No, I
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: couldn't afford to do that.
• 3:15
  Speaker 6: Warden couldn't very well produce Anita's letter.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: And you paid Baines the blackmail he wanted? Certainly not.
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: Then what? I'm afraid I lost my temper. Oh, good Lord,
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: you don't mean to say there was violence? Of course
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: there was.
• 3:28
  Speaker 6: You don't think I could let a reptile like that
• 3:30
  Speaker 6: go on living?
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Let me get this straight. You're trying to tell me
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: that you... I beat his brains out with a poker.
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: You murdered him? I suppose that's what the police will
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: call it. It happened this afternoon. Around three o'clock.
• 3:47
  Speaker 8: I think.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: If I'd only known sooner. It's probably too late now
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: to fix up an alibi for you. You'll think up something,
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: won't you, Dick? You always do when I'm in a jam.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: And in the meantime, I can hide out here, can't I?
• 3:59
  Speaker 5: What possible good will that do? They'll track you down
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: here sooner or later and then we'll both be in
• 4:02
  Speaker 5: the soup.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: No, Alan. Better get yourself up.
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: Then I'll see what can be done about getting you off.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: That's because I must sew up a bit and plead self-defense.
• 4:11
  Speaker 6: Is that the best your devious legal mind can dream up?
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: At the moment, yes. I'm a little tired.
• 4:16
  Speaker 6: Well, I'm not going to cooperate. I'm going to stay
• 4:19
  Speaker 6: right here till you figure out a way to get me.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: Clear of this.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Alan, be reasonable. For your own good, give yourself up.
• 4:24
  Speaker 6: Is it my own good you're thinking of? Or is
• 4:26
  Speaker 6: it because you're afraid you'll be caught harboring a criminal
• 4:29
  Speaker 6: and lose.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Your filthy law practice? Let's have a look. What are
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: you doing? Telephoning the police. Put that phone down. It's
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: best this way. Believe me, Alan.
• 4:41
  Speaker 6: I've already committed one murder this evening. I've nothing to
• 4:43
  Speaker 6: lose by committing another. I.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: Sorry, wrong number. You're really afraid of me, aren't you? Now, perhaps.
• 4:55
  Speaker 5: Tomorrow I could turn you in with no risk whatsoever.
• 4:58
  Speaker 5: But I don't think I will. There's a good fellow.
• 5:01
  Speaker 5: I'll let you stay.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Here, Alan. I'll save your neck for you, too. Why
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: this sudden change of heart? You've always thought me rather
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: a worm, haven't you, Alan? Oh, I say, Dicko. You
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: were the dashing man about town.
• 5:15
  Speaker 5: Your estipades and your lordly extravagance and your women running
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: after you. I was just a dull fellow trapped in
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: a musty law office. Now your very life depends on me.
• 5:23
  Speaker 5: I suppose that's why the situation appeals to me. It's
• 5:28
  Speaker 5: an adventure, if you like.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: Well, I don't. I dare say not.
• 5:32
  Speaker 5: It won't be pleasant for you, cooped up in this
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: little flat, with no one but me to talk to.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Well, after all, it's only temporary. You may not like
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: some aspects of it, even for a little while. You'll
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: have to do your own laundry, of course. I say.
• 5:46
  Speaker 5: Checking laundry is a favorite police trick. And no lights
• 5:50
  Speaker 5: must be turned on in the flat when I'm not
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: at home. You mean I've got to sit here in
• 5:53
  Speaker 5: the dark? You can go into the kitchen or the bathroom.
• 5:56
  Speaker 5: There are no outside windows in those rooms. Oh, and
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: talking of the kitchen, I think you ought to have
• 6:01
  Speaker 5: your meals there.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: Even when I'm in. You will serve me in the
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: dining room. Look here, do you think I'm your servant
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: or what?
• 6:08
  Speaker 5: As a matter of fact, it's only fair you should be.
• 6:10
  Speaker 5: Since I can't hire any.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: Help, so long as you're here.
• 6:12
  Speaker 6: Wouldn't it be simpler and more matey if we both
• 6:15
  Speaker 6: dined in the kitchen?
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: I'm not used to dining in the kitchen.
• 6:18
  Speaker 6: Neither am I.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Then the sooner you practice, the better.
• 6:20
  Speaker 5: The future's not going to be so simple for you
• 6:23
  Speaker 5: as the past has been, Alan.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: But after all, you're very lucky to have a future
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: at all.
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: Eh?
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: Eh? Well, Dick, whatever it is, one thing is certain.
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: I'll have you to thank for it. But I warn you, Dick.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: If I do hang, it won't be only for Bain's murder.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: But for yours as well.
• 6:58
  Speaker 4: For Suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you as star Mr.
• 7:01
  Speaker 4: Herbert Marshall, as Richard Sampson, with Norman Lloyd as Alan
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: Raynick in My Own Murderer by Richard Hull, which is
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: Roma Wines' presentation tonight of Suspense.
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: Between the acts of Suspense, this is Truman Bradley for
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: Roma Wines. Mention the name Elsa Maxwell and you picture
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: a famous hostess. Mention a meal featuring fish or fowl
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: and Elsa Maxwell pictures, but let's hear it in her
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: own words.
• 7:35
  Speaker 8: The thought of a piping hot fish or chicken dinner
• 7:38
  Speaker 8: naturally calls up for me the picture of glasses of
• 7:41
  Speaker 8: chilled Roma California Sauternes at each place. Roma Sauternes is delicate,
• 7:46
  Speaker 8: pale gold in color, delightful in bouquet, and even more important,
• 7:51
  Speaker 8: exquisite in taste. However, you need not wait for a
• 7:54
  Speaker 8: chicken or fish dinner to serve good Roma Sauternes. It
• 7:57
  Speaker 8: goes perfectly with any food. The one important thing to
• 8:00
  Speaker 8: remember is the name, Roma.
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: Each glassful of golden Roma Sauternes reflects the heritage of
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: all Roma wines. Flavorful grapes from California's choicest vineyards, gently pressed,
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: then carefully guided with all the ancient skill of Roma
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: wineries to the full goodness you enjoy in every Roma wine.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: Roma wines do not vary, are always high in quality...
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: yet they cost only pennies a glass. No wonder more
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: R-O-M-A, Roma wines.
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: Now it is with pleasure that we welcome back to
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: our Hollywood soundstage Mr. Herbert Marshall, who, as Richard Sampson
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: in My Own Murderer, continues a narrative well calculated to
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: keep you in suspense.
• 8:49
  Speaker 8: ¶ ¶.
• 9:01
  Speaker 5: Should Alan Rennick prove to be my own murderer, as
• 9:03
  Speaker 5: well as Baines's, this document will serve as his death warrant.
• 9:08
  Speaker 5: If not, well, I shall make good use of it anyhow. This, then,
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: is what I decided to do. I was to keep
• 9:16
  Speaker 5: Alan Rennick and hide him where he was, in my flat.
• 9:19
  Speaker 5: I had a plan for effecting his escape. But it
• 9:22
  Speaker 5: was more than a month before I had an opportunity.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: To start it in motion.
• 9:25
  Speaker 5: He came quite unexpectedly in the course of my almost
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: daily visits to the Old Bailey. An insurance case preceded
• 9:32
  Speaker 5: mine on the court docket, and I was forced to
• 9:34
  Speaker 5: wait while a revolting red-headed doctor rambled on with his testimony.
• 9:39
  Speaker 5: That red hair of his really fascinated me, but not
• 9:43
  Speaker 5: as much as his medical bag which lay on the
• 9:45
  Speaker 5: bench before me. But when he stepped down from the box,
• 9:49
  Speaker 5: I was already on my.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: Way out of the courtroom. Hey, hey, stop that man.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: He's stolen my bag.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: What's this?
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: What's the trouble, doctor?
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: That man.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: The one with the tortoiseshell glasses. He's made offering my kit.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: What did you say he took? A black leather bag,
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: you know the type, with my name on it.
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: I'm afraid he's lost in the crowd by this time, sir.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: But if your name's on it, could you identify him
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: if you saw him again? Why, of course I could.
• 10:16
  Speaker 5: He had on tortoiseshell glasses and he had a bad
• 10:19
  Speaker 5: mastoid scar just under his right ear. All the time
• 10:22
  Speaker 5: he was talking to the policemen, I was standing not
• 10:24
  Speaker 5: more than five paces away, lost among the curious crowd
• 10:27
  Speaker 5: that had collected about them. I left the room with
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: the crowd and hailed a cab. When I'd taken what
• 10:33
  Speaker 5: I needed from his bag, I threw it with its
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: remaining contents into the ever-useful Regent's Canal. Its owner's name
• 10:41
  Speaker 5: stamped on the outer side of it was as revolting
• 10:43
  Speaker 5: as his red hair. Jeremiah Bloggins. Jeremiah Bloggins.
• 10:50
  Speaker 8: Jeremiah Bloggins.
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: Now my plans for Alan's escape swung into motion.
• 10:58
  Speaker 5: Our chief accomplice was a woman friend of Alan's named
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: Margaret Farley, whom I knew to be the most intelligent
• 11:03
  Speaker 5: of his acquaintances.
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: Hello, Dick. Where's Alan? All right, Alan. You can come
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: out now. Well, it's high time. Hello, Margaret.
• 11:12
  Speaker 8: Alan. Oh, Alan, my poor, poor darling.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: Long time, Lucy. But you're still the prettiest girl in London.
• 11:20
  Speaker 5: Look, I'm sorry to interrupt this touching little scene, but
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: there's not too much time. Shall we discuss our plan?
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: Yes, of course. Well, in essence, this is it.
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Alan's going to die.
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: Huh?
• 11:30
  Speaker 8: What do you mean by that?
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: I say, isn't that rather extreme?
• 11:34
  Speaker 5: Not literally, of course. The point is to arrange a
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: bogus death of some sort. To get you declared legally dead,
• 11:40
  Speaker 5: and then you'll assume another identity.
• 11:42
  Speaker 8: That has possibilities. Well, what about the body?
• 11:45
  Speaker 5: Well, I'm afraid I'm tossed back on the old expedient
• 11:49
  Speaker 5: of the suicide note. The clothes left on the riverbank,
• 11:51
  Speaker 5: and the body that's never recovered. Later, you're declared legally dead.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: It's a very old plan.
• 11:57
  Speaker 6: And rather unlikely to deceive the police for that reason,
• 11:59
  Speaker 6: don't you think, old boy?
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Oh, we'll admit later on, if necessary, that it was
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: a put-up job. What's the good of that? Don't you see?
• 12:06
  Speaker 5: If the police ask too many questions, Miss Farley here
• 12:08
  Speaker 5: will admit being a party to a bogus suicide. But
• 12:12
  Speaker 5: stick to her story that you were really drowned by
• 12:14
  Speaker 5: misadventure while trying to carry out your plan.
• 12:16
  Speaker 8: I think it has possibilities, Alan.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: Where is this hellespont that I'm supposed to swim?
• 12:20
  Speaker 5: Well, I've been studying maps in the English coastline. We
• 12:23
  Speaker 5: should choose the mouth of a river, where the tidal
• 12:26
  Speaker 5: currents are strong enough to sweep the body out to sea.
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: Not too broad a channel, so that it can be
• 12:31
  Speaker 5: easily swum when the tide's at low ebb. And not
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: too near a town or village, so there'll be no
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: unwanted witnesses.
• 12:38
  Speaker 6: So I grow a beard, swim the river, put on
• 12:41
  Speaker 6: different clothes, and become Jeremiah Bloggins or somebody for the
• 12:46
  Speaker 6: rest of my life.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: Huh? How did you happen to mention that name? Jeremiah Bloggins?
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: Why not? Good a name as any. Don't you think so, Margaret?
• 12:55
  Speaker 8: I don't think this is quite the time for facetiousness, Alan.
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: Well, all right.
• 12:59
  Speaker 6: So I become Jeremiah Bloggins. That's better than hanging. But
• 13:04
  Speaker 6: what will Jeremiah Bloggins do for money?
• 13:06
  Speaker 5: Well, you could make out a will in favor of
• 13:08
  Speaker 5: Margaret here or whomever you have.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: Oh, I suppose I can depend on you to make
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: things stick legally.
• 13:13
  Speaker 5: Well, I'm putting myself in a position where you could
• 13:15
  Speaker 5: easily blackmail me if I didn't.
• 13:17
  Speaker 8: He has a point there, Alan.
• 13:18
  Speaker 5: Now, we'll need another confederate. Somebody to look after you
• 13:22
  Speaker 5: when you get to the other shore. You could leave
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: a car there, of course, but the effect of the
• 13:26
  Speaker 5: cold water... Well, I think it's safer to have somebody
• 13:30
  Speaker 5: waiting for you on the other side.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: Who will it be? That actress friend of Aaron's. Anita Kilner.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: That woman?
• 13:37
  Speaker 8: Well, how can you suggest such a thing?
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: Oh, come now, Margaret. It's true that Anita's a fool
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: and rather a tiresome one. I don't know whether Dick
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: told you, but her letters got me into this mess.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: Baines was trying to blackmail me for them, and that's
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: why I killed him. But Dick's right.
• 13:50
  Speaker 6: I need someone, and I can trust Anita because of
• 13:52
  Speaker 6: those letters, if for no other reason.
• 13:54
  Speaker 8: Heavens, what a scheme. Everybody's in a position to blackmail
• 13:57
  Speaker 8: everybody else.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: Yes, that had already occurred to me.
• 14:00
  Speaker 5: That's exactly why this plan can't possibly fail. The river
• 14:13
  Speaker 5: mouth we finally hit upon was near Mudeford. It was
• 14:16
  Speaker 5: Margaret Farley's choice, and it was a good one. until
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: I was afraid to trust everything to her. So I
• 14:22
  Speaker 5: decided to drive Alan down there and to leave him
• 14:24
  Speaker 5: as soon as I saw him safely in the water.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: Margaret Fowley was two meters there, and me too would
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: be waiting on the other bank. It was at times
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: a revolting journey down to Budapest that night. The trouble
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: with you, Dick, is that you like managing people.
• 14:42
  Speaker 6: Mark my words, one day I shall be a free
• 14:44
  Speaker 6: man again, and then I shall try and repay you
• 14:46
  Speaker 6: for some of the things you.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Made me put up with.
• 14:50
  Speaker 6: Cleaning up after you, making me say yes, Dick.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: Certainly, Dick.
• 14:54
  Speaker 8: Of course.
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: Dick.
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: I think it's quite useless to point out to you
• 14:58
  Speaker 5: that what I did was not only for your own good,
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: but absolutely necessary. Incidentally, I shouldn't be smoking quite so
• 15:04
  Speaker 5: much like you. You'll have to do some swimming tonight, remember.
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: You're hopelessly out of condition.
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: How I should like to give you just one on
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: the jaw. Just one? Seven is your usual number, isn't it?
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: Isn't that what it took to kill Baines? You are
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: not a rebel swine.
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: If you weren't driving the car, I'd give you something
• 15:22
  Speaker 6: to remember me by.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: I shan't forget you easily as it is. Oh, forget
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: what I said. I'm all on edge. It's a devil
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: of a cold night, too. Did you bring that black
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: coffee I asked you to? Where's the thermos? There on
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: the back seat. Help yourself. Thanks. Yeah. Filthy coffee. I
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: should have made it myself.
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: Better save a little for just before you go into
• 15:51
  Speaker 5: the water.
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: Well, Margaret's bound to have brought some, too. I'll just
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: finish this off. Bad as it tastes, it's making me
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: feel a lot better.
• 16:08
  Speaker 8: I thought you'd never come. Oh, Alan, you poor boy.
• 16:12
  Speaker 8: We would pick the coldest night in the year.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Nonsense. I feel marvelous, marvelous.
• 16:16
  Speaker 8: Well, I brought you some hot coffee. It's here in
• 16:18
  Speaker 8: this thermos.
• 16:18
  Speaker 6: Better save it for just before I dive in.
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: Well, come along. Let's get going. I wish he wouldn't
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: rush things so.
• 16:24
  Speaker 8: He'll wear himself out before he gets in the water.
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: If I know Alan, he's whistling past the cemetery. Hope
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: he doesn't lose his nerve at the last moment. If
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: he does... You.
• 16:33
  Speaker 8: Mustn't imply things like that about Alan. Besides, I don't
• 16:36
  Speaker 8: know that I could bring myself actually to push him.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: You must. You know what he is, and tonight he's
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: especially difficult. All right.
• 16:43
  Speaker 8: I'll do whatever seems necessary.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: I don't know what's come over me.
• 16:46
  Speaker 6: I feel positively numb. Really, it's much too cold. Hadn't
• 16:50
  Speaker 6: we better try another night?
• 16:51
  Speaker 8: No, Alan.
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: I can't, Margaret. I'm afraid it's too cold. Here. Here's
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: the thermos. Drink this, darling.
• 16:58
  Speaker 8: It'll warm you up.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, filthy stuff.
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: Go on.
• 17:04
  Speaker 8: Drink it up.
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: There.
• 17:09
  Speaker 2: Oh, I feel terrible. I've never been so cold in
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: my life.
• 17:13
  Speaker 8: Now, go on, Alan.
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: Be brave.
• 17:15
  Speaker 8: You were always that.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: Now, now, look, darling. Really.
• 17:19
  Speaker 6: No, don't. I.
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: No, don't. Please, don't. No. Yes? Mr. Sampson? Yes?
• 17:40
  Speaker 8: It's Anita.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes?
• 17:42
  Speaker 7: I'm calling from the inn near Mewford. I waited all night,
• 17:45
  Speaker 7: but Alan never showed up.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: Are you sure you waited at the right spot? Of
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: course I did.
• 17:49
  Speaker 7: Do you think he didn't get across?
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: Lucy, why not? It was even narrower than I expected.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: I could have swum it myself.
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: Now, look, you'd better go on home and act as.
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: If you hadn't been away.
• 18:01
  Speaker 5: And don't telephone me again. I'll let you know the
• 18:03
  Speaker 5: moment I hear from him. Day followed day with no
• 18:16
  Speaker 5: word from Alan. I had no alternative but to assume
• 18:19
  Speaker 5: that he had drowned there in the estuary that night.
• 18:22
  Speaker 5: The body had not been found, but then we had
• 18:24
  Speaker 5: deliberately chosen a place where the tides could be alleged
• 18:26
  Speaker 5: to have carried it out to sea. The uncertainty was
• 18:30
  Speaker 5: a little distressing. I had not forgotten his threat to
• 18:33
  Speaker 5: come back and even scores with me once he'd got free.
• 18:37
  Speaker 5: And tonight came an unpleasant little scene, which is not
• 18:40
  Speaker 5: to help my frame of mind.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: It began with Anita.
• 18:44
  Speaker 7: I know you're angry at me for coming here, Mr. Sampson,
• 18:47
  Speaker 7: but I've simply got to.
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: Talk to someone. You ought not to come round here.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: It isn't safe. Safe?
• 18:52
  Speaker 7: You're a nice one to talk about safety. Do you
• 18:55
  Speaker 7: think Alan's safe now?
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 18:58
  Speaker 7: I don't believe you care. He trusted you, and you've
• 19:02
  Speaker 7: let him down. Oh, why did he ever trust himself
• 19:04
  Speaker 7: to a brute like you? You and your plans and
• 19:07
  Speaker 7: your cleverness. Where are they all now? And you sit
• 19:10
  Speaker 7: back and tend it with what you've done.
• 19:12
  Speaker 5: Let me interrupt your panegyric for a moment, Anita.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: I'd better answer that.
• 19:16
  Speaker 7: You listen to me first.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: Oh, will I? We shall see about that.
• 19:20
  Speaker 8: Well, seems to be a gathering of the clan.
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Oh, it's you, Mrs.
• 19:24
  Speaker 8: Farley. Well, I want to talk to you, too. So
• 19:27
  Speaker 8: you missed him.
• 19:27
  Speaker 7: He didn't come.
• 19:29
  Speaker 8: I did my part. Did you do yours? Well, I
• 19:31
  Speaker 8: did my best.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: But I don't know.
• 19:34
  Speaker 8: I ought never to have let him go, considering how
• 19:37
  Speaker 8: cold and.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: Miserable he was.
• 19:39
  Speaker 8: I ought to have stopped him. Then why didn't you?
• 19:41
  Speaker 7: Because you had a preconceived idea put into your head
• 19:44
  Speaker 7: by this conniving group.
• 19:45
  Speaker 8: Of an attorney.
• 19:46
  Speaker 7: He planned it all. And now he isn't going to
• 19:48
  Speaker 7: turn a hand to find Alan and help me. him
• 19:50
  Speaker 7: if he needs it, because it might jeopardize his filthy.
• 19:52
  Speaker 8: Little law practice.
• 19:53
  Speaker 7: Well, I'm going to do something about it. I'm going
• 19:55
  Speaker 7: to the police and tell them the whole story.
• 19:57
  Speaker 5: Has it occurred to you the police can't possibly help
• 19:59
  Speaker 5: anyone in this case and may possibly harm all three
• 20:01
  Speaker 5: of us?
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: And if Alan is alive, you will inevitably do him harm. Yes. Yes,
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: he's right.
• 20:08
  Speaker 8: I pushed him in.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: I pushed him in. Don't be morbid. You did what
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: you could with excellent intentions.
• 20:17
  Speaker 5: Are you going to clear your conscience by getting two
• 20:18
  Speaker 5: other people into trouble?
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: Are you, Anita?
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 20:23
  Speaker 7: I confess I'm not too keen on helping Margaret to
• 20:25
  Speaker 7: be a martyr for Alan.
• 20:26
  Speaker 8: How dare you? It was you and your hysterical letters
• 20:29
  Speaker 8: that got Alan into this mess.
• 20:31
  Speaker 5: And wouldn't it be ironic if they ended up by
• 20:33
  Speaker 5: being published anyway? That would be a fine tribute to
• 20:36
  Speaker 5: Alan's sacrifice. Especially if he is dead and gone.
• 20:40
  Speaker 7: What are you driving at?
• 20:41
  Speaker 5: I have those letters. I'm not going to demand a
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: price for them like veins. But at the same time...
• 20:47
  Speaker 5: You dirty blackmailer. I'm merely forcing you to do something
• 20:50
  Speaker 5: for your own good. Just like giving a patient morphia
• 20:54
  Speaker 5: to prevent him doing an injury to himself.
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: Morphia? Morphia of speech, but I think you understand what
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: I mean. Morphia.
• 21:02
  Speaker 5: Morphia. After the women had gone, I thought over the conversation,
• 21:14
  Speaker 5: particularly that part of it in which Margaret Farley repeated
• 21:17
  Speaker 5: the word morphia.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: I think she knows.
• 21:22
  Speaker 5: But even if Alan's body is recovered and they find
• 21:24
  Speaker 5: what he really died of, they can never make an accusation.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: They have to prove possession of the morphia. And no
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: one in the world can do that.
• 21:35
  Speaker 5: I meant to call Anita Kilner and sound her out,
• 21:37
  Speaker 5: but I find that I don't even know her married name.
• 21:41
  Speaker 5: Not that it matters, considering what we're doing with Alan
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: behind her husband's back.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: In any case, I can depend on her letters to
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: keep her mouth shut.
• 21:51
  Speaker 5: On reading this over, I find that in my marshalling
• 21:53
  Speaker 5: of the facts in this case, I have omitted one possibility. Far-fetched,
• 21:58
  Speaker 5: it's true, but there is one person whom I should
• 22:02
  Speaker 5: set about finding if I were acting for the Crown
• 22:04
  Speaker 5: in this case. I refer to that abominable, truculent, red-headed
• 22:09
  Speaker 5: doctor with a ridiculous name.
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: Yes, Mr. Samson.
• 22:26
  Speaker 5: I'm leaving the office for the day, Chatsworth. Will you
• 22:27
  Speaker 5: put these files in my briefcase?
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, sir.
• 22:30
  Speaker 5: And will you please get out Rennick's file? His will
• 22:33
  Speaker 5: goes into probate tomorrow, and I want to study it
• 22:34
  Speaker 5: at home tonight.
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: Very well, sir.
• 22:36
  Speaker 9: Oh, by the way, that gentleman is still waiting in
• 22:38
  Speaker 9: the outer office.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: What gentleman?
• 22:41
  Speaker 9: Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you. He came
• 22:43
  Speaker 9: in with a lady just a moment ago.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: Dr. Bloggins. Bloggins?
• 22:48
  Speaker 9: Jeremiah Bloggins. A peculiar name, isn't it? Beg pardon if
• 22:54
  Speaker 9: it's a friend of yours, sir.
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: No.
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: No, not especially. You say I was in? Yes, I'm
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: afraid I did. Chatsworth? If you ever become a solicitor,
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: be sure your office has two entrances.
• 23:08
  Speaker 5: Shall I send him away, sir? Jeremiah Brawkins. I dare
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: say he'll be unpresently persistent. Better have him come in.
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Will you be needing me, Mr. Sampson? Yes,
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: you'd better sit down. I want you to take down
• 23:24
  Speaker 2: a statement.
• 23:25
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: Won't you come in, please? Hello, Mrs. Sampson. I want
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: you to meet... Dr. Bloggins. Yes, we've met before. Oh?
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: Strange you should have been the one to bring this about, Anita.
• 23:42
  Speaker 5: I always thought Margaret Farley the cleverer one.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: Or should I speak so frankly? Dr.
• 23:48
  Speaker 7: Bloggins knows everything, Mr. Simpson.
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: Yes, I know, but just for the record, are you
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: ready to take down that statement, Chancellor? Yes, Mr.
• 23:57
  Speaker 6: Simpson.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Very well. I murdered Alan Rennick. Well, just a moment, Mr. Simpson.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: Please don't interrupt. Yes, I murdered him. And why not?
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: He was a killer.
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: He forced himself on me and turned himself into my
• 24:12
  Speaker 5: private property. He might indeed be.
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: Called my own murderer. My motive?
• 24:19
  Speaker 5: Well, perhaps one day the world will learn that the
• 24:21
  Speaker 5: strongest compulsion to murder is hatred. I hated Alan Rennick,
• 24:26
  Speaker 5: and I planned his murder brilliantly. I'd counted on the
• 24:30
  Speaker 5: sea holding Rennick long enough for the traces.
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: Of morphia to have gone... I really can't.
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: Be responsible for the treachery of the elements. Only one
• 24:39
  Speaker 5: man has the evidence to convict me. And the odds
• 24:42
  Speaker 5: against his being found and brought face to face with
• 24:44
  Speaker 5: me were so slight that I'd risk it again. And
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: I'm not sorry I killed him. Even now I'm able
• 24:51
  Speaker 5: to say that it's been a great adventure. Requiring courage
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: and daring beyond Rennick's wildest imagination. I have proved which
• 24:59
  Speaker 5: of us was the better man.
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: You have all that, Jackson? Yes. Yes, sir. Oh, add
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: this note at the bottom.
• 25:09
  Speaker 5: In view of the customary bumbling and obtusiveness of the
• 25:12
  Speaker 5: Crown Prosecutor, it'll probably be necessary to state that his
• 25:16
  Speaker 5: case will be greatly facilitated by calling as his first.
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Witness, Dr. Jeremiah Broggins.
• 25:22
  Speaker 6: Oh, look here, perhaps I'm obtuse, but why on earth
• 25:26
  Speaker 6: are you trying to involve me in your beastly murder?
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: Oh, I say. Do you mean to say you don't
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: recognize me? Why, no. Why should I? Anita, why did
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: you bring this man here?
• 25:42
  Speaker 7: Well, I thought you knew. He's my husband. After Alan's
• 25:48
  Speaker 7: body was found, I decided to tell him everything. We
• 25:52
  Speaker 7: simply came here to get the letters.
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: And you don't even remember me.
• 26:00
  Speaker 5: When your bag was stolen while you were testifying at
• 26:02
  Speaker 5: the Old Bailey.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: Well, so you're the blighter who did that. Good heavens.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: That's where you got the morphia. Out of my bag.
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 26:13
  Speaker 5: I suppose I could get you with accessory after the fact.
• 26:16
  Speaker 5: But that would only confuse the Crown Prosecutor. Well, on
• 26:21
  Speaker 5: the whole, I'm rather glad it worked out this way.
• 26:24
  Speaker 5: After all, as Nanky Poo says in the Mikado.
• 26:29
  Speaker 5: There's much to be said for the advantage of having
• 26:31
  Speaker 5: it done by the public executioner.
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: And so closes My Own Murderer, in which Roma Wines
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: have brought you a star Herbert Marshall with Norman Lloyd
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: in tonight's study in Suspense. Suspense is produced, edited, and
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: directed by William Spear.
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: Before Mr.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: Marshall returns to the microphone, let me say a word
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: for Roma Wines, the sponsor of Suspense. Few hostesses have
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: entertained as extensively, as often, as the world-renowned hostess Miss
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: Elsa Maxwell. That's why her words are significant.
• 27:20
  Speaker 8: Back in the horse and buggy days, wine serving was
• 27:23
  Speaker 8: surrounded by all manner of do's and don'ts. Today, it's
• 27:26
  Speaker 8: fashionable to serve delicious Roma wines whenever and however you choose.
• 27:31
  Speaker 8: For example, delicious, versatile Roma California Toque is a light,
• 27:36
  Speaker 8: moderately sweet, flame-colored wine that goes well before or after meals,
• 27:41
  Speaker 8: during cocktail hour, actually delightful at any time. Serve your
• 27:45
  Speaker 8: Roma Toque cool.
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: While Roma Toque differs in flavor from other Roma wines,
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: it is like them in these respects. Always delicious, never
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: varying in fine quality. And since Roma wines cost only
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: pennies a glass, you can serve them often. Remember, more
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: Americans enjoy Roma than any other wine. And the next
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: time you use vermouth, choose Roma vermouth. Zestful, full-flavored Roma
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: vermouth is blended and developed with all the traditional winemaking
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: skill of the Roma wineries. It is made and bottled
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: in the heart of California's famous vineyards.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: Yet surprisingly low-priced. Try Roma Vermouth soon, won't you? This
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: is Herbert Marshall.
• 28:30
  Speaker 5: It's been a great pleasure, as always, to make an
• 28:32
  Speaker 5: appearance on Suspense, a show which is such a very
• 28:35
  Speaker 5: great favorite with all of us.
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: Mr. Spear has just been telling me about next Thursday's broadcast,
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: and it sounds like one of the very finest of
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: the year.
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: It's a perfectly wonderful story by W.F. Harvey, August Heat.
• 28:48
  Speaker 5: And in it, as your star, will be Ronald Coleman. Now,
• 28:52
  Speaker 5: if you'll permit me a most important word. War news
• 28:56
  Speaker 5: from the Pacific is encouraging. We're on our way to Tokyo.
• 29:00
  Speaker 5: But until Japan is beaten to our knees, the war
• 29:03
  Speaker 5: goes on. It takes dollars to buy the equipment our
• 29:07
  Speaker 5: men need.
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: Your dollars.
• 29:11
  Speaker 5: And by investing those dollars in war bonds now, during
• 29:13
  Speaker 5: the seventh war loan drive, you help your country and
• 29:16
  Speaker 5: help yourself to greater post-war purchasing power.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: Get extra bonds. Big ones. During the mighty seventh.
• 29:26
  Speaker 4: Next Thursday, same time, Mr. Ronald Coleman will be your
• 29:30
  Speaker 4: star of... Suspense!
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: Presented by Roma Wines.
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: R-O-M-A. Made in California for everyone. enjoyment throughout the world.
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: We conclude with suspense and My Own Murderer, a broadcast
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: from 1945. Follow suspense for more classic broadcasts.