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Suspense - "Nightmare" (Old Time Radio, 1949) · The 50 Greatest Old Time Radio Shows | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: A family fishing trip in the mountains is interrupted when
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Ben leaves his stalled car to walk to a nearby
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: gas station. His wife and young son wait beside the
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: road with their fishing gear. About an hour later, he
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: returns to an empty roadside. From CBS, this is Suspense, Nightmare,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: episode 348, first broadcast September 1st, 1949, and the opening
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: program of the series' 1949-50 season. Gregory Peck stars as
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Ben with Lorene Tuttle and Alan Reed. Sam Blass wrote
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: the script, Norman MacDonald directed, and William Spear produced. Settle
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: in for a mountain road story that begins with one
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: man's search for his family. Now, back to the golden
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: age of radio.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Suspense.
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: Tonight.
• 1:16
  Speaker 5: Autolite and its 96,000 dealers present Mr. Gregory Peck in Nightmare,
• 1:23
  Speaker 5: a suspense play produced and edited by William Spear.
• 1:31
  Speaker 6: Friends, Autolite welcomes you to Suspense, and this is Harlow
• 1:35
  Speaker 6: Wilcox urging you to do yourself and your car the
• 1:38
  Speaker 6: great big bountiful favor of replacing old worn-out narrow-gap spark
• 1:42
  Speaker 6: plugs with a set of new wide-gap Autolite resistor spark plugs.
• 1:47
  Speaker 6: That's the biggest news I know. But I've also been
• 1:49
  Speaker 6: told to tell you that Suspense is going to receive
• 1:52
  Speaker 6: a great big important national honor tonight during our usual
• 1:55
  Speaker 6: between-the-acts intermissions.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: And say, when it comes to.
• 1:58
  Speaker 6: Honors, you'll want to award your car a set of
• 2:01
  Speaker 6: wide-gap Autolite resistor spark plugs. Your engine will idle smoother,
• 2:06
  Speaker 6: give better performance on leaner gas mixtures, actually save gas.
• 2:10
  Speaker 6: And if you want the real lowdown on how Autolite
• 2:13
  Speaker 6: resistor spark plugs reduce television interference, see a copy of
• 2:16
  Speaker 6: this week's Saturday Evening Post and turn to pages 8
• 2:19
  Speaker 6: and 9. See your Autolite spark plug dealer today. And remember,
• 2:23
  Speaker 6: you're always right with Autolite. Oh, and remember, too, suspense
• 2:27
  Speaker 6: on television returns to many stations throughout the nation Tuesday night,
• 2:31
  Speaker 6: September 6th.
• 2:38
  Speaker 5: And now, with Nightmare, and with the performance of Gregory Peck,
• 2:43
  Speaker 5: Autolite hopes once again to.
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: Keep you in.
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: Suspense!
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: They say every nightmare has a prelude, something that inspires it,
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: something that happened or almost happened that your inmost mind
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: seizes upon. It lives there in the back of your
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: head and it multiplies itself and fattens on tiny fears
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: until it's grown into a monstrous bloated horror. And then
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: when it's full-sized with dread, it springs out at us
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: from evil blackness at night when you're defenseless in sleep.
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: The prelude to my nightmare occurred at 6 o'clock that evening,
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: the 3rd of July. Since Elsa's illness, I've been walking
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: home from the station evenings instead of having her meet me.
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: It's a pleasant six or seven blocks along Hartsdale Road
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: and then up the hill to Ridgecrest. Just at the
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: corner there, the kids play baseball. The signs say, slow
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: children and everything, but it's a nasty spot, and coming
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: down the hill, a guy might.
• 3:55
  Speaker 6: Look out!
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: Look out! Hey, you, what's the matter with you?
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: Don't you know that you can... I didn't see them, brother.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: They got no right to play.
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: Have you been drinking? Oh, me? No, because if you had,
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: I'd pull you out of that car so fast and
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: take you over to the police.
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: It's all right, brother. Calm down. Nobody's hurt. Nobody's hurt.
• 4:13
  Speaker 7: Just a little scared.
• 4:15
  Speaker 6: What are you doing?
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: I was still trembling when I got home. My head
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: ached and I couldn't eat dinner. It wasn't something I
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: could tell Elsa about. She wasn't ready yet to hear
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: things like that, so I just sat there at the
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: table looking across at Stevie, half hearing his prattle about
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: the new fishing rod and how many fish he'd catch
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: on our outing tomorrow and some little story he'd learned
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: in school about Thomas Jefferson and the first Fourth of July.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: And then pretty early I took a pill and went
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: to bed. It was the next afternoon. We were driving along,
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: my wife, my boy, and myself. You know that winding
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: road that leads up from Kingston to Falls Town in
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: the trout country? A lot of hairpin turns and a
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: few bad shoulders, but beautiful, beautiful scenery. And that's what
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: we all needed after her nervous breakdown.
• 5:17
  Speaker 7: A little flaw around the turns, Ben. Why do you
• 5:21
  Speaker 7: drive so fast?
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: You're never driving too fast as long as you feel
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: the car's under control.
• 5:25
  Speaker 8: Bet it wasn't under control a minute ago. What a curve. Ben,
• 5:31
  Speaker 8: the gas tank's almost empty. Why didn't you listen to
• 5:34
  Speaker 8: me and fill up at the last station?
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: There's always a reserve after the empty mark.
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: Bet we run out of gas.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: Well, it seems to me, youngster, that when I tell
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: you that.
• 5:45
  Speaker 7: What's wrong? Why are we stopping?
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: Oh, that's what I'd like to know.
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: You know, Dad. You know.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I know. Out of gas.
• 5:58
  Speaker 7: Oh, Ben. Will you ever learn?
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: Well, everybody runs out of gas once in a while. Okay, well,
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: it's a nice day for me to take a hike.
• 6:08
  Speaker 7: But, Ben, is it all right.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: To be parked like this?
• 6:11
  Speaker 7: On the curb, so close to the road?
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: Why not? Where's the traffic? Only adventurers like us know
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: about this road. Well... Goodbye, folks.
• 6:18
  Speaker 7: Oh, goodbye, Mr.
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: Know-It-All.
• 6:20
  Speaker 7: I'll go with you, Dad.
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: Oh, you'll stay here. Rule of the woods.
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: Always leave one man behind to protect the women.
• 6:26
  Speaker 9: Can I take out my rock?
• 6:28
  Speaker 7: Can I practice how to cast?
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: Sure. And you, lady, you wipe off that smile. With
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: my feet, this is a first-class tragedy.
• 6:44
  Speaker 10: That's a smart thing you did, coming back this way.
• 6:46
  Speaker 10: Nothing up ahead for five miles but the Royal Coachman.
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: What do you mean?
• 6:49
  Speaker 7: It's the name of a trout fly.
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: Well, I know that.
• 6:53
  Speaker 10: It's the name of a roadhouse. Fancy name for a saloon.
• 6:56
  Speaker 10: Hang out for fishermen's.
• 6:59
  Speaker 7: And they say... Oh?
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: Oh, what do you say?
• 7:02
  Speaker 7: Go, go, there crookedest-looking bunch you ever seen. Crooks from
• 7:05
  Speaker 7: the big town.
• 7:06
  Speaker 10: You go to my nephew, Sammy's place in town.
• 7:09
  Speaker 7: Sammy Crawford. Clean sheets, good beds, home cooking. Good undertaker, too.
• 7:14
  Speaker 7: Called himself a mortician.
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: Well, what do they need him for, the fish?
• 7:17
  Speaker 7: Alive or dead, he puts you to bed. Well, want
• 7:21
  Speaker 7: anything else? How's your oil?
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: Just the gas, thanks. Are we all straight?
• 7:24
  Speaker 11: Yep.
• 7:25
  Speaker 7: One dollar deposit on the can. Give it to my nephew, Sammy,
• 7:28
  Speaker 7: and let him take the dollar off your bill.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: Oh, well, we may not see Sammy. We'd like to
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: pitch camp tonight.
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: Got a place?
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: No. Oh, that's bad.
• 7:35
  Speaker 7: Gets dark mighty quick up this way. You sleep at Sammy's, mister.
• 7:39
  Speaker 7: Better make a reservation.
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: Frout season.
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: Well, maybe you're right. You got a telephone in there?
• 7:43
  Speaker 7: Sure have. Fifteen cents.
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: Oh, this is going to be expensive fishing. What's nephew
• 7:48
  Speaker 3: Sammy's number?
• 7:49
  Speaker 7: It's right here on the wall over the phone. Oh, say,
• 7:54
  Speaker 7: look at that fellow coming down the pike there.
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: Eighty miles.
• 7:57
  Speaker 7: Bound for the roadhouse. Can't wait.
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: Say, there are two dozen numbers over this phone.
• 8:01
  Speaker 7: Pick the biggest one. The one in red.
• 8:05
  Speaker 10: Oh, look at him go, would you?
• 8:08
  Speaker 7: Come on, you crazy fool.
• 8:10
  Speaker 10: You're going to save five minutes if you have to
• 8:12
  Speaker 10: kill five people to do it. Will you try to
• 8:15
  Speaker 10: straighten out some of them bends up ahead?
• 8:18
  Speaker 7: You crazy fool.
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: The pine trees were casting their last, longest shadows across
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: the road as I hiked back to the car. Well,
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: we weren't going to get too much fishing done on
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: the 4th of July, but we had to find some
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: for Stevie. What a kid, teasing his old man all
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: the time. Well, I came around that hairpin turn, and
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: there was the car a few yards away, but no family. Uh, Elsa? Hey, Stevie!
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: Stevie!
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: No family. Oh. Well, Stevie was asleep and she didn't
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: want to call out. That's right. The kid was tired.
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: A lot of excitement for one day. I stepped on something.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: Stevie's trout rod. Lying in the middle of the road.
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: These kids have no sense of responsibility. A split bamboo
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: rod with silk winding and a balance that was so perfect. Well,
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: I stepped up to the car.
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: Elsa sat in the back seat looking at me. And
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: in her lap she held my boy. Dead. Elsa couldn't speak.
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: She couldn't speak. She couldn't speak. She couldn't speak. I
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: forced some brandy between her teeth and made her swallow it.
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: Her hands were like ice. I wanted to rub them
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: but I couldn't. pry them loose from the boy. No! No!
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: I can see him.
• 10:05
  Speaker 12: No!
• 10:07
  Speaker 9: You want to make sure.
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: I know.
• 10:09
  Speaker 9: You want to make sure.
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: Get away.
• 10:12
  Speaker 7: Get away.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: Elsa, how did it happen?
• 10:14
  Speaker 9: His trout rod.
• 10:19
  Speaker 7: Always his trout rod. He was standing at the edge there, casting.
• 10:24
  Speaker 11: He wasn't on the road.
• 10:26
  Speaker 7: He wasn't.
• 10:27
  Speaker 9: And then there was a noise, a car coming up fast.
• 10:30
  Speaker 9: You could tell. And before we could move, it came around.
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: The bend and it swerved. Elsa, what?
• 10:38
  Speaker 11: There was so much dust. So much dust and pebbles everywhere.
• 10:44
  Speaker 11: Such a thick cloud of dust. And Stevie flying out
• 10:49
  Speaker 11: of it.
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: Elsa.
• 10:50
  Speaker 7: Like a ball or a bird. Flying out of it.
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: Elsa, take some more brandy. It'll do you good.
• 10:58
  Speaker 12: No.
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: No, I don't want any.
• 11:00
  Speaker 7: Get away.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: Elsa, you've got to take some more brandy. Elsa.
• 11:06
  Speaker 7: That's how he looked. Standing in the road with a
• 11:09
  Speaker 7: bottle in his hand.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: Who was standing in the road?
• 11:11
  Speaker 7: The man.
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: The man who killed us. He came back?
• 11:14
  Speaker 9: He got out of his car and he came over
• 11:15
  Speaker 9: to where I lay in the road with Stevie. He
• 11:18
  Speaker 9: had a bottle and he took a drink and he
• 11:19
  Speaker 9: offered me a drink and he said he was sorry.
• 11:21
  Speaker 9: And then he drove away. He said he was sorry.
• 11:28
  Speaker 10: Sorry.
• 11:29
  Speaker 11: Elsa.
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: Elsa, darling, Elsa. Don't, don't, Elsa.
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: Poor little Stacey.
• 11:38
  Speaker 11: Poor sweet little Stacey.
• 11:42
  Speaker 7: Poor, poor Stacey.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: And then it began to grow in me. And then
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: the hate began to grow. She couldn't remember his car
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: or the clothes he wore, and I couldn't make her
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: describe his face. But I knew that somehow I'd find him.
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: He couldn't be very far off, not in this part
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: of the country. I'd find him. And when I did,
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: I'd kill him.
• 12:08
  Speaker 6: The End.
• 12:20
  Speaker 5: Autolite is bringing you Mr. Gregory Peck in Nightmare. Tonight's
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
• 12:38
  Speaker 6: Friends, this does my Autolite heart good. It's my privilege
• 12:42
  Speaker 6: to introduce Mr. Fred Dearborn, President of the National Safety Council,
• 12:47
  Speaker 6: who will present to Mr.
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: Royce G.
• 12:49
  Speaker 6: Martin, President of Autolite, the National Safety Council's annual award for,
• 12:54
  Speaker 6: but you can't guess, an Autolite suspense program. Yes, suspense
• 12:58
  Speaker 6: not only won the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Distinguished
• 13:02
  Speaker 6: Public Service to Highway Safety, but another great honor for
• 13:05
  Speaker 6: this same program will now be presented.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: Friends, Mr. Dearborn.
• 13:11
  Speaker 13: Thank you, Harlow Wilcox. The National Safety Council wishes to
• 13:15
  Speaker 13: thank you, Mr. Martin, and the Electric Auto Light Company
• 13:19
  Speaker 13: for bringing to your tremendous radio audience the year's outstanding
• 13:23
  Speaker 13: highway safety program, James Cagney and the suspense show titled
• 13:29
  Speaker 13: No Escape. It was a wonderful story presented to perfection
• 13:33
  Speaker 13: by Mr. Cagney and his supporting cast. The judges unanimously
• 13:38
  Speaker 13: selected it as the winner. So now, Mr. Martin, I
• 13:42
  Speaker 13: have the pleasure of presenting to you this certificate of award.
• 13:47
  Speaker 13: Thank you, Mr.
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: Durbin.
• 13:51
  Speaker 14: In promoting highway safety, and you can rest assured, it
• 13:55
  Speaker 14: is a great pleasure to have suspense win this outstanding
• 14:01
  Speaker 14: recommendation from the National Security Council. I speak for one
• 14:07
  Speaker 14: and all of Autolite employees. I trust that tonight's show
• 14:12
  Speaker 14: will make an equal contribution, especially at this time with
• 14:18
  Speaker 14: the heavy travel over the Labor Day weekend. Thank you again, Mr.
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: Dearborn.
• 14:29
  Speaker 5: And now, Autolite brings back to our Hollywood soundstage Gregory Peck.
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: In Nightmare, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: I plunged the car back into darkness toward the roadhouse.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: The killer, the dirty, dirty killer.
• 14:55
  Speaker 11: There was so much dust.
• 14:57
  Speaker 9: Dust and pebbles and Stevie flying on.
• 15:01
  Speaker 7: Like a bird.
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 15:02
  Speaker 7: Like a bird.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: Yes, I'll say.
• 15:04
  Speaker 9: He got out of his car and he offered me
• 15:05
  Speaker 9: a drink. He stood there and he said, you better
• 15:08
  Speaker 9: take a drink.
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Oh, there's the royal coachman, that roadhouse.
• 15:10
  Speaker 7: And he said he was sorry.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: Well, stop here and use the phone. There's a Sam
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: Crawford in Falls Town. He runs some tourist house and
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: a funeral chapel. I'll call him from here. Yes. Oh.
• 15:24
  Speaker 7: See all the lights.
• 15:25
  Speaker 12: Yes.
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: Why are all the lights on?
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: It's a roadhouse, Elsa.
• 15:30
  Speaker 9: So many people going in.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: Why are they laughing?
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: They don't know how we feel, Elsa. They don't know
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: about us. Is it all right to leave you here
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: for a moment? I want to call.
• 15:43
  Speaker 7: There he is.
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: Would you like me to.
• 15:45
  Speaker 7: Elsa. That's him. He killed us.
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: Who?
• 15:47
  Speaker 7: That's him.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Who?
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: The one who hit Stevie? Where?
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: There he is.
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: Where? That one? The man standing in the doorway? Yes.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: How do you know? Can you see his face?
• 15:56
  Speaker 9: He came over and he stood close and he said,
• 15:58
  Speaker 9: you better take a drink.
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: He was big and fat and his body filled the
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: frame of the door. He ran a pudgy hand across
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: his face. Now, he was drunk all right and he
• 16:11
  Speaker 3: was trying to shake himself out of it. Well, he'd
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: never drink again. He'd never drive again. Not after I
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: got through with him. Elsa, sit back. Now, don't let
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: anyone see you.
• 16:19
  Speaker 6: He killed us.
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: Yes, I know.
• 16:20
  Speaker 6: I know.
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: Now, wait here, Elsa. Wait here. Don't get out of
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: the car. I watched him go inside. He walked across
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: the lobby and disappeared in the bar. I went in
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: after him. He was sitting there, his elbows on the
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: bar and his head between his hands. I sat where
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: I could watch him and still not be too close.
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: Yeah, with soda.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Before the bartender hardly let go, he had it down.
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: And then his watery, bloodshot eyes looked about the room.
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: His eyes caught mine. He called to the bartender and
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: then whispered something in his ear, looking at me, then pointing.
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: The bartender walked over.
• 16:58
  Speaker 4: What'll it be, Mac?
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: Huh?
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: Oh, uh, oh, nothing.
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: Really, I don't care for anything. Oh, it's on this gentleman.
• 17:04
  Speaker 4: Have a drink, fella. It's on me.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: No, thanks.
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: Can't drink alone, never could. Come on, now, have a drink.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: What'll it be? Can't have soda, man. You gotta have
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: a drink with him. Come on.
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: Better take a drink with him, fella. Oh, soda, just
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: plain soda, but I'll pay for it myself.
• 17:19
  Speaker 7: Just plain soda?
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: Please, here's the money.
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: What do you think you're doing? He don't want your money.
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: Ain't that right? Your money's no good here.
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: He kept breathing in my face and talking and ordering
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: more drinks. And I kept thinking of Elsa in the car.
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: The way her eyes changed when she saw him. The
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: thing in her eyes when she looked at him. That
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: man breathing down my neck and guzzling like nothing happened.
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: I'll have it again the same way. Come on, fella.
• 17:50
  Speaker 6: Drink up.
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: Come on, you can't drink that stuff without something in it.
• 17:54
  Speaker 7: Drink it.
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: Hey, give him something in that soda.
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: I don't want anything.
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: He don't want anything. He don't want anything. No, I...
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: I'll have it again the same way.
• 18:03
  Speaker 11: Coming up.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: He kept looking at me, breathing at me. He had
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: the face of such an ordinary man, only very beefy.
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: Such an ordinary man. How could he do what he
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: did and then run away? I wondered who he was,
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: what kind of work he did. Did he have a family?
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: Did he have a son of his own? Was he
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: having all those drinks to try to forget? Well, I
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: couldn't let him forget. How long was he going to
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: sit there? A couple of more drinks and he finally
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: got up. He threw a bill on the bar and
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: started to go.
• 18:35
  Speaker 7: Hey, you changed.
• 18:36
  Speaker 4: Never mind the change.
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: He waved a pudgy hand. Big shot, big tipper. Very generous.
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: Nice guy. He even offered Elsa a drink after he
• 18:46
  Speaker 3: killed our boy. I followed him into the lobby. He
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: went to the desk.
• 18:50
  Speaker 13: 2.57.
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: Good night, sir.
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: Good night. He started for the elevator. I'd hurried to
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: the stairway. I ran up to the second floor. I
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: waited off the stairway landing and watched the elevator door open.
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: Good night, sir. Wait a minute. Not so fast.
• 19:12
  Speaker 7: Please.
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: I said wait a minute. Don't shut that door. Not
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: so fast.
• 19:16
  Speaker 7: There's someone else ringing.
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: I want to ask you a question.
• 19:19
  Speaker 8: I have to go.
• 19:20
  Speaker 7: People ringing.
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: Can I ask you a question?
• 19:22
  Speaker 8: Please step away from the door.
• 19:24
  Speaker 7: You're blocking.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: Answer my question.
• 19:26
  Speaker 7: Get away from the door, then I'll tell you.
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: Sure. Now answer me. When are you going to... Smart, Alec.
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: Thinks she's smart.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: He started down the hall, coming towards me. I stepped
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: back into the stairway... Took a cigarette out of my packet.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: Started to light it. He walked past, then he stopped.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: Oh.
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: I didn't want to talk to him, just wanted to
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: do it and get it over with. I started toward him.
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: We were alone. And then somebody was coming down the stairs.
• 20:01
  Speaker 7: You wouldn't mind coming along?
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: Well, I don't like it.
• 20:04
  Speaker 14: Even the service is lousy in the place.
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: One elevator, you can die waiting. How's about a light?
• 20:10
  Speaker 7: There was nothing here to do but fish.
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: Well, before I could answer him, his fat, pudgy hand
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: closed over mine and drew the lighted match to the
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: cigarette in his mouth. He puffed loosely. His hand was
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: damp and warm.
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: I drew back.
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: Thanks. Yeah. Yeah.
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: See you around.
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: I counted the doors as he passed on down the hall.
• 20:33
  Speaker 12: One.
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: Two. Three. The fifth door down. That was his room.
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: I walked slowly down. I stood in front of his door.
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: So now, it would happen.
• 21:01
  Speaker 4: Who is it? Who is it?
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: Who is it? Oh. What do you want? What do
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: you want? I, I, uh... I want to ask you something, and...
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: May I.
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: Sure, sure. Come in, come in.
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: He waddled over to the bed and sat down. There
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: you sit down. His watery, bloodshot eyes blinking at me.
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: I didn't know how to begin or what to do.
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: The blind rage was gone. Something happened to me. Suddenly,
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: I didn't know what I was doing there. What do
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: you want? I walked over to the window, fumbling for
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: some foolish excuse... It was no use. I couldn't kill anybody.
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: I couldn't do it.
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: I asked you, what do you want?
• 21:46
  Speaker 3: I looked out of the window. The light from the
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: neon sign on the roof made everything look so lonely
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: and dead. What's the matter with you? And there was
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: my car in the driveway, and Elsa sitting there. Her face,
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: the thin outline of her face, so gray. Her mouth
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: pressed tight in a straight, hard line. What do you
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: want from me? She was holding my son... Holding him tight.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: Press close to her. Holding him.
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: My son.
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: What do you want?
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: Why did you kill my son?
• 22:14
  Speaker 7: Huh?
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: You drunken fool.
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: Why did you kill my son? You're crazy.
• 22:18
  Speaker 7: You're crazy.
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: One shot eyes bulging from his head. Frightened and guilty.
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: He reached for the phone and then I was on him.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: Why did you kill him? You killed him. You killed him.
• 22:30
  Speaker 7: You killed him. You killed him.
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: You killed him.
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: Operator.
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: You killed him.
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: Operator.
• 22:55
  Speaker 7: Operator.
• 22:56
  Speaker 4: Operator.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: It was done. All done and over with. And now
• 23:03
  Speaker 3: I felt better. Now it would be easier. It would
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: be a little less pain... when they buried my son. Elsa,
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: you all right?
• 23:21
  Speaker 8: He's dead.
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: I made sure of that. Now let's get out of here.
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: A twisted blacktop road unwound steadily under the headlights. But
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: something had changed. It was no longer a road. It
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: was a cloudy, misty jungle where everyone was old and haggard....
• 23:40
  Speaker 12: And there were no children. And then we brought our
• 23:46
  Speaker 12: boy into Fallstown. If you don't mind a suggestion, Mr. Kane,
• 23:57
  Speaker 12: you look pretty done in. When we carried the boy
• 24:00
  Speaker 12: out of the car, I had a look at your wife.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: Yes, I know.
• 24:06
  Speaker 12: Good thing you didn't stop at the Royal Coachman.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: Where?
• 24:10
  Speaker 13: The Royal Coachman.
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: That's a roadhouse.
• 24:12
  Speaker 7: Halfway between here and my uncle's gas station. You didn't
• 24:15
  Speaker 7: see it?
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: Uh, no. Well, it's all lit up with neon. Like
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: a regular Christmas tree.
• 24:21
  Speaker 7: Troopers just phoned.
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: There's a job for me. Somebody choked somebody to death.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: Lots of excitement. Oh, well, uh, who did it? Oh,
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: they'll find him. She looks bad, your wife. We ought
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: to get her right to bed. Yes.
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: Elsa?
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: Elsa?
• 24:38
  Speaker 8: Now I have no son.
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: Well, this is Sam Crawford, Elsa. He's going to take
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: care of Stevie. And we're going to sleep in his
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: house tonight. I think we need some sleep, don't you?
• 24:48
  Speaker 7: That's him.
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: What do you mean?
• 24:50
  Speaker 9: That's him.
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: He did it.
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: He did what?
• 24:51
  Speaker 7: He killed my son. Elsa.
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: I'm Sammy Crawford, ma'am. I run the local.
• 24:54
  Speaker 7: He killed us. He killed us.
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: Elsa. Elsa. Look at me. Are you all right, Elsa?
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: I don't think she knows what she's saying. He came over.
• 25:03
  Speaker 9: He stood there with a bottle. He said he was sorry.
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: Elsa.
• 25:06
  Speaker 7: Elsa.
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: Elsa, this is Sammy Crawford. He wasn't there. He was here,
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: miles away.
• 25:12
  Speaker 10: He killed us!
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: I'll get Doc Sadler. What's the matter with you, Elsa?
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: I know he didn't do it. He couldn't have. I
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: was talking to him on the telephone when it happened
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: from the gas station. Elsa, we know who did do it.
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: We know. And he's dead.
• 25:24
  Speaker 9: He said he was sorry.
• 25:26
  Speaker 7: He said he was sorry.
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: Elsa.
• 25:28
  Speaker 10: Yes?
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: Look across the street. Elsa, do you hear me? Look
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: across the street. Yes. Do you see that man walking
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: toward the streetlight? Can you see him?
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: Answer me.
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: Yes. Well, just look at him, Elsa. That's all.
• 25:41
  Speaker 4: There.
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: Now he's under the light. Well?
• 25:45
  Speaker 10: That's him.
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: No.
• 25:46
  Speaker 7: That's him.
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: No.
• 25:47
  Speaker 7: That's him.
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: He did it.
• 25:48
  Speaker 7: He did it.
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: Elsa, that's a minister.
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: He did it.
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: You know it wasn't a minister. You saw it. It
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: wasn't Sam Crawford. He was talking to me on the telephone.
• 25:56
  Speaker 7: That's him.
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: No.
• 25:57
  Speaker 7: That's him.
• 25:58
  Speaker 4: No, Elsa.
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: No.
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: No.
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: No.
• 26:00
  Speaker 13: No.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: No.
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: No.
• 26:04
  Speaker 3: No.
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: Ben.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Ben.
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: No.
• 26:08
  Speaker 7: Ben.
• 26:08
  Speaker 4: No.
• 26:09
  Speaker 7: Ben, darling. Ben.
• 26:13
  Speaker 11: Huh?
• 26:14
  Speaker 3: Ben. What?
• 26:16
  Speaker 7: What?
• 26:18
  Speaker 4: Oh.
• 26:20
  Speaker 8: Hi, Dad.
• 26:22
  Speaker 7: Hi.
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: Hello, Stevie. Hi.
• 26:24
  Speaker 7: Darling, what on earth? You're dreaming something, moaning and great racking.
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: It's a nightmare.
• 26:32
  Speaker 7: Oh, else it was.
• 26:33
  Speaker 4: It was.
• 26:36
  Speaker 7: You mean you lost your job?
• 26:39
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: Yes, that was it. How did you know?
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: Because I know everything.
• 26:45
  Speaker 13: Come on now.
• 26:46
  Speaker 12: Up.
• 26:46
  Speaker 9: Out of bed.
• 26:47
  Speaker 7: We've got a big day. Fourth of July comes but
• 26:49
  Speaker 7: once a year. Garage doors open, Stevie?
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: Well, we burn up the roads. Stevie, stop that talk. Why, darling?
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: Oh, I'm sorry.
• 27:00
  Speaker 7: You know.
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: Instead of going up by Falls Town and up there,
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: we'll cut across just before Kingston and find our fishing
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: over around Litchfield, huh? I feel like Connecticut today.
• 27:11
  Speaker 4: Okay, Dad.
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: What did you dream about, darling?
• 27:16
  Speaker 7: It was so awful.
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: Me? Well, since you have to know, I had a horrible,
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: jealous dream. I dreamt you didn't love me. Oh.
• 27:30
  Speaker 11: Oh, dearest.
• 27:33
  Speaker 7: Oh, that was the wildest dream imaginable. Now, wasn't that
• 27:37
  Speaker 7: a waste of time?
• 27:56
  Speaker 5: Suspense, presented by Autolite. Tonight's star, Gregory Peck in Nightmare.
• 28:03
  Speaker 6: Mr. Peck, the subject of our show and your character
• 28:06
  Speaker 6: portrayal won't do highway safety any harm this Labor Day weekend.
• 28:11
  Speaker 6: Today's newspapers carried some dreadful predictions of the accidents and
• 28:15
  Speaker 6: deaths likely to happen.
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: Yes, I saw them. And if I may, I'd like
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: to add a few words of my own on this
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: subject of safety. The mic is yours, Greg. Well, this evening,
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: the Electric Auto Light Company has been honored for its
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: efforts on behalf of highway safety. You, too, can earn
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: such an award. Of course, yours won't be quite the same.
• 28:32
  Speaker 3: No bronze plaque or embossed certificates. And no one will
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: pin any medals on you. Yours will be a greater,
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: more personal reward. The deep-felt satisfaction that comes from knowing
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: that you've taken care and not endangered your own life
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: or the lives of others. So drive carefully, won't you? Today, tomorrow, always.
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 28:53
  Speaker 6: Yes, folks, drive carefully and drive happily, too, by switching
• 28:57
  Speaker 6: now to new White Gap Autolite Resistor Spark Plugs. They're
• 29:00
  Speaker 6: ignition-engineered to work as a perfect team with your car's
• 29:03
  Speaker 6: complete electrical system. So for a smoother engine idle and
• 29:07
  Speaker 6: long spark plug life, just remember, you're always right with Autolite.
• 29:19
  Speaker 6: Next Thursday for Suspense, Ray Milland will be our star.
• 29:22
  Speaker 6: The play is called Chicken Feed, and it's the story
• 29:25
  Speaker 6: of a man whose life was worth.
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: Literally a nickel. It is, as we say.
• 29:30
  Speaker 5: A tale well calculated to keep you in.
• 29:34
  Speaker 4: Suspense.
• 29:41
  Speaker 6: Tonight's suspense play was produced and edited by William Spear
• 29:44
  Speaker 6: and directed by Norman MacDonald. Appearing with Mr. Peck were
• 29:48
  Speaker 6: Lorene Tuttle and Alan Reed. Music for suspense is composed
• 29:52
  Speaker 6: by Lucian Morawieck and conducted by Lud Bluskin. Nightmare was
• 29:56
  Speaker 6: a radio play by Herb Meadows from a story by
• 29:58
  Speaker 6: Samuel Bloss. Gregory Peck is currently being seen in MGM's
• 30:02
  Speaker 6: The Great Sinner. Don't forget, next Thursday, same time, Autolite
• 30:06
  Speaker 6: will present Suspense, starring Ray Milan.
• 30:15
  Speaker 8: You can buy Autolite resistor spark plugs, Autolite stay-full batteries,
• 30:19
  Speaker 8: Autolite electrical parts at your neighborhood Autolite dealers.
• 30:23
  Speaker 7: Drive right.
• 30:24
  Speaker 9: Switch to Autolite.
• 30:26
  Speaker 7: Good night.
• 30:27
  Speaker 6: This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Suspense closes with its September 1, 1949 broadcast, Nightmare. Follow
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: the 50 greatest old-time radio shows for more classic broadcasts.