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Suspense - "Report on the Jolly Death Riders" (Old Time Radio, 1951) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On the Oakland Bay Bridge, a hit-and-run accident brings Lieutenant
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Harbor of the San Francisco Police Department into an investigation
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: shaped by reckless hot-rod driving. This is Suspense. Report on
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: the Jolly Death Riders, Episode 7, dated August 2, 1951.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: William Holden heads a cast that includes Jack Krushen, Sam Edwards,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Kathy Lewis, Joseph Kearns, and Eddie Firestone Jr. in a
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: dramatization based on true events. Richard George Pedicini wrote the script.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: Set around the San Francisco Bay Area, the story follows
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: the police inquiry and the consequences of dangerous driving. Ladies
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: and gentlemen, suspense now takes the stage. And now, our
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: story begins. You are about to hear a story based
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: on actual events. To protect the innocent, names and places
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: have been changed. Autolite and its 96,000 dealers bring you Mr.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: William Holden in a story taken from life. Tonight's presentation
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: of Suspense. Tonight, Autolite presents Report on the Jolly Death Riders,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: a story about the tragic misuse of hot rod automobiles
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: starring Mr. William Holden. Well, hiya, Hap. Hi, Harlow. How
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: was the vacation? Oh, uh, Autolite, I guess. Autolite. Sure, perfect.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Just like the Autolite electrical system in your Autolite-equipped car.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Why bring that up? Well, why not? Your Autolite electrical
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: system is the willing and wondrous working whiz that produces
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: and stores electricity right under the hood of your car
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: to enable you to start your engine, use your lights, horn, radio, heater. Yeah, sure, Harlow.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: But the vacation... No, there's never a vacation, Hap, for
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: the thousands of component parts that go to make up
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: the complete Autolite electrical system. So that's why my Autolite-equipped
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: car is ready to go every time I turn the switch.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Right you are, Hap, and that's why Autolite electrical systems
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: are used as original factory equipment on many leading makes
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: of our finest cars, trucks, and tractors. You sold me, Harlow. So, friends,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: take a tip from me and specify Autolite original factory
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: parts when replacements are needed. You'll find it pays because
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: you're always right. With Autolite. And now, with Report on
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the Jolly Death Riders... and the performance of Mr. William Holden...
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Autolite hopes once again to keep you in... suspense. Hi, Herb. Oh, hi, Cap. Hey,
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: you look tired. I look tired and I got a
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: right to look tired... Wrap it up? Ask me sometime
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: when I'm not so beat. I hate them like this.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: We all do. Just kids, Cap. Just a bunch of
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: punk kids that should have had more sense. They need
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: a good lesson. Well, they've had a good one. Look,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: I'll be in the other office making out my report
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: in case anybody wants me. I'll relay the information. Thanks.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Let's see now. Accident report. Huh. Murder. Yeah, that would
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: be a better word for it. From Lieutenant Harbor, San
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Francisco Police Department, 2, Traffic Division, August 27, 1951. Report
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: on the Jolly High Riders. Jolly Death Riders might be
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: more appropriate. At approximately 8.35 p.m. August 22nd, Mr. and Mrs.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Warren Milford of 3589 Glendon Drive, Berkeley, California, were driving
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: in their 1949 sedan along the Bay Flats, approaching the
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: ramp into the Oakland Bay Bridge. Brackets. Special note. August
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: 22nd was the 10th anniversary of the Milfords. Warren Milford
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: had arranged for a surprise party at his sister-in-law's home
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: in the Marina District. End brackets. As the Milprits passed
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: through the tunnel on the Yerba Buena Island and approached
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: the bay half of the bridge, traffic at that time
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: of evening was extremely light.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: I think we should have telephoned them more.
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: Huh?
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: Why?
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: They might not be home.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm enjoying the ride anyway. Nice night? Yes, it is.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: No fog. Clear as a bell.
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: Listen, Warren, I don't want you and that brother of
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: yours to get started on that baseball. That's all the
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: two of you ever talk about.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: Glad as what are you talking about.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Well, from the minute we get together, it's baseball.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Seals here, seals there.
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: You think that that's all there was in the.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Hey, hey. Look at those two cars coming this way.
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: Sure going awfully fast.
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: They must be crazy. They're racing.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: Warren, they're right in the middle of the bridge.
• 5:21
  Speaker 5: Those hot rods.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: Piled up with a bunch of youngsters. Warren, they're not
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: moving over.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: Hey, you darn fools, get over! Warren! Warren! In order
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: to avoid a head-on collision with one of the hot rods,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: Warren Milford swerved his car to the right, but he
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: lost control and crashed into one of the steel beam
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: supports of the bridge. Neither one of the hot cars
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: involved stopped, and not one of the other passing motorists
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: who stopped to render assistance was able to give any
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: specific information to the officers at the scene of the accident.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: In view of that fact, no general alarm was spread.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Results of the accident. Warren Milford was thrown clear of
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: the crash. He miraculously only suffered cuts and bruises. His wife, Gladys,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: died of internal injuries in the ambulance. Warren Milford was
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: informed of his wife's death at the receiving hospital. Our
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: 10th wedding anniversary. She didn't know a thing. Sorry. Mr. Milford,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: I'd like you to try to answer just a few
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: questions for me. Things you probably thought I hadn't remembered,
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: but I did. I know it's hard for you, Mr. Milford.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: I know it's awfully hard, but do you think you'd
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: be able to identify either one of the cars? Cars? Oh, kids.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: They were just kids. Kids? Yeah. The Opera Joyride. Could
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: you identify any one of them if you saw them again?
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: No.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: No, I didn't see any faces. They weren't all boys, though.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Some girls, I think. Just a bunch of jolly high-riders.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: What about the cars, Mr. Milford? What kind were they? Well,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: you've seen them all over town. All the young high
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: school kids have them. Hot rods. Hot rods? Could you
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: identify just one of them? Jolly high-riders took her. What
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: was that? It was in white letters on a gold background.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: Just for a second, I saw it. What did you see?
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: Jolly high-riders took... Painted on the side of one of
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: the cars. They took her. The jolly high-riders? Yes, it
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: was white letters on a gold background. All right, Mr. Milford,
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: you can rest now. Sergeant? Kids, just young kids. Out
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: for a joyride. The following morning, I assigned Detective Sergeant
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: Boyle to locate the whereabouts of the hot rod club
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: known as the Jolly High Riders. It was a simple matter.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: They were listed in one of the national hot rod magazines.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: The address turned out to be a cheap gymnasium located
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: up on West Stockton. The gym was up one flight
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: of stairs. You look inquisitive. You want something? Yeah. The
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: Jolly High Riders. I understand they meet here. Maybe they do.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: Who's in charge? Shh. You want a lot of information
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: for that? Uh-oh. Gendarme, huh? I should have smelled you.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: Where's the club meet, mister? I manage the gym, gendarme.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: I'm the head boy. The Jolly High Riders use the
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: back room. Over there. See the sign? The Jolly High Riders.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: The club meeting room. No harm, is it? No harm.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: They got five charter members. Five in the whole club.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: Just five? Yeah. Just five, gendarme. That's a big word
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: with you. Real big. I learned it young. I bet
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: you did. Who are the charter members, head boy? What's
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: this all about? It's a legitimate club. I want names. Me?
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: Larch Brisson. That's a name for you. Who else besides you, Larch?
• 9:08
  Speaker 5: Oh, there's Mickey.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: Mickey holds it from a parking garage. His girlfriend, Julie.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: And Wanda Lake. A sweet girl. Sweet to me all
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: the time. And Wally. Thank you. Fat Bergman, we call him. Wally,
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: the fat boy. He's over there. Hey, look at him,
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: stiff rope. He wants to lose weight. What a laugh, huh, gendarme?
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: Look at him.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: Don't die laughing. Come on. Hey, take it easy, you. Bergman? Yeah? Gendarme, Wally.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: A great, big gendarme. Oh, yeah. That's nice. I'm glad
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: to know you, sir. Yes, sir. Wally, do any of
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: you boys own a hot rod? Hot rod? Yeah, somebody
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: owns a hot rod, John. Who? The whole club owns
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: a car. What do you think of that? Wally, where...
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: were you last night about 8.30? Last night? Last night?
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: Where was I last night? I got such a bad memory.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: You went to a meeting in that room, Wally. You
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: went to a meeting at the club. Oh, yeah. That's right, sir.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: We had a meeting. We discussed how come somebody stole
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: our club car. What joker stole our car with the
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: name on the side, the Jolly High Riders? And right
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: before the big race on Saturday, how come? Large Brisson
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: was a hard boy. He managed the cheap gymnasium and
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: lived in one of its back rooms. Walter Bergman, just
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: out of school, lived with his family. It was Bergman
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: who later volunteered the address of Wanda Lake and of
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: the garage where Mickey Holzer worked. The garage supervisor told
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: me that Mickey was downstairs working in the mechanic's shop.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: He was working on the frame of a car. It's
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: a familiar frame. Mickey? I spotted you, mister. What do
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: you want? Lieutenant Harbor, San Francisco Police Department. Getting ready
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: for the race? Maybe, maybe not. What are those things
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: you're working on? I'm putting on single-acting shocks. Against the law? No.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: Is this your car, Mickey?
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: Part of it.
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: When it's finished. Oh, that's right. You and your girlfriend, Julie,
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: are charter members of the Jolly High Riders. So? Well,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: this must be the club car. The new one. Oh?
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: What happened to the old one? Somebody stole it. Yesterday afternoon,
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: somebody glommed it. Can you imagine? Why didn't you report
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: the theft to the police? Oh, because... Oh, you know,
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: we thought maybe one of the other rod clubs had
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: made a big joke on us. Right before the big
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: race coming up Saturday. Last night, Mickey, your old hot
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: rod car caused a big accident on the Oakland Bay Bridge. Oh,
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: that's awful. That's terrible. The driver's in the hospital. I'm sorry.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: His wife's in the city morgue. What's the matter, Mickey? Nothing.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: I just hate talk like that. I hate talk about
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: killing people. Was it wrong to hate talk like that?
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: After having spoken with the three male members of the
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: High Riders, I knew I had a tough one on
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: my hands. All three boys were lying. It was obvious.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: Wanda Lake was home when I rang the doorbell of
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: her apartment on Kearney. I took one look at her
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: and understood why she was sweet. Place Lieutenant Harbor, Miss Lake.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: May I talk to you for a few minutes? Uh-huh.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: Don't mind my curlers, huh? I want some curl for tonight.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: I was just practicing to dance at the gym.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: Come on in. Thank you.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: I'd offer you a drink, only I can't keep you
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: in the house with Hazel around.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Hazel?
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah. She's my oldest sister. She takes care of me.
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: Ever since my folks died. That's a laugh, huh? Taking
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: care of me.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: How old are you, Wanda?
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: Seventeen.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: Rightful old age? Yeah.
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: What are we going to talk about, Lieutenant?
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Oh, about the Jolly High Riders?
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: Hey, I'm a child member. What do you know?
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: That's fine. I understand your club car was stolen yesterday afternoon.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Ain't it dreadful?
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: Uh-huh. And it caused a big accident last night, Wanda.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: You mean our hot rod?
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: That's right. Hey, how dreadful. Where were you last night?
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: To a meeting of our club at the gym. We
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: talked all about our dance tonight.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: Did you talk about anything else?
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: I sure did. We talked all about our club car
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: being stolen right before the big race. Somebody stole it
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: right off the street.
• 13:42
  Speaker 5: Wasn't that just dreadful, Lieutenant?
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Wanda. Just dreadful. The High Riders had built a
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: solid alibi. Whichever one of them had masterminded it had
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: done it with careful planning. We had no lead on
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: the other hot rod involved, so I had to follow
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: through with what I had. I had one member yet
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: to talk to, Mickey's girlfriend, Julie. I made plans to
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: see her the next morning, but a break in the
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: case came sooner than I expected. It was late that
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: same night. I was in the office going over some
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: reports when the call came in. Lieutenant Harbour speaking. This
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: is Wally Bergman, the fat boy lieutenant. You know Wally? Yeah, Wally. Listen,
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: I'm so mad... Everybody's gone.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: They're going to meet again in an hour for another race.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Where, Wally? The bridge. I'll show them. Meet me at
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: the traffic item, Mr.
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: Harbour.
• 14:40
  Speaker 6: I'll be there.
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: I'm so mad. They think they're so smart. Straight away
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: onto the bridge was practically deserted when we got there.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: As we drew up to the curb of the traffic island,
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: I saw that something was wrong. Lying doubled up on
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: the grass was Wally Bergman. He had bruises and cuts
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: all over his face and was bleeding at the mouth.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: And standing next to him, hands outstretched, was Mickey Holson.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Another meeting, Mickey? Look, somebody called me. I came to
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: meet somebody. Save it, Mickey. Save it. Tell it to
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: somebody who'll believe you. All right, Cap. Put the cuffs
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: on him. Autolite is bringing you Mr. William Holden in
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: Report on the Jolly Death Riders. Tonight's production in radio's
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. Friends, the big Labor Day
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: weekend is coming up. If you're going to drive, make
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: certain that your car is in good condition. If it's
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: slow and sluggish, treat your car to a checkup at
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: your nearest authorized Autolite service station, where you will find
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: specialists trained under Autolite supervision. Just look in the classified
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: section of your telephone directory under the heading Automobile Electrical Service,
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: or pay a visit to the dealer who sells your
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: make of car. In either case, you can be sure
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: of getting Autolite Original Factory Park. Remember, only Autolite original
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: factory parts can assure you the balance, teamwork, and perfect
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: timing built into your car's Autolite electrical system right on
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: the assembly line. Because from bumper to tail light, you're
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: always right with Autolite. And now, Autolite brings back to
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: our Hollywood soundstage Mr. William Holden in Elliot Lewis' production
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: of The Jolly Death Riders, a dramatic report well calculated
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: to keep you in suspense. Suspense. Mickey Holzer was held
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: for assault and battery. After Bergman had been treated at
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: the clinic, I questioned him. I got no quarters. And
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: I knew that I'd get none from Mickey either. But nevertheless,
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: I had him brought into my office. Mickey, you're in
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: a bad way. It looks like it, doesn't it? A
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: charge of assault and battery can be a bad thing.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: You gotta prove it. Mickey, tell me who was driving
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: the car. You're so smart, figure it out for yourself. Yeah. No,
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: I'm not so smart. Just trying to see that things
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: are done right. It's the job of any police officer.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: I wonder if Julie will tell me, Mickey. Ask her.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: Go ahead, ask her. What about your mother? You try everything,
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: don't you, copper? You're bitter, Mickey. All right, bitter. Is
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: that against the law, too? I'm holding you for 48 hours.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: I'm going to find that car. Go ahead. Be bitter
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: for all 48 hours. It seems that every cop over
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: a long period of time develops a sense of intuition.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: I was like any cop. And my intuition told me
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: that Mixie Holster was not the real assaulter of Wally Bergman.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: The following morning, I had a visitor. She was a small,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: graying old woman. I told her the whole story.
• 18:29
  Speaker 5: Not Mickey, Mr.
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: Policeman.
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: Oh, no, not him. He wouldn't even hurt a little thing.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: Oh. Tell me, has Mickey ever gotten into any trouble before? Oh, no.
• 18:40
  Speaker 5: His papa died when he was only nine years old.
• 18:43
  Speaker 5: Mickey promised his papa he would never lie to me.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Mrs. Holzer, all I want to know is the name
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: of the person who was driving the car that Mickey
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: was in. If I know that person, I'll know who
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: beat up Wally Bergman. But Mickey refuses to tell me.
• 18:57
  Speaker 5: Oh, maybe I will talk to Mickey. Maybe he won't
• 19:00
  Speaker 5: lie to me.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: All right, we'll try it. Sergeant, bring in Mickey Holzer.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: As soon as you bring him in, I'll leave you
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: two alone.
• 19:08
  Speaker 5: I have faith in my son. All the faith in
• 19:11
  Speaker 5: the whole world. He promised his papa he wouldn't go
• 19:14
  Speaker 5: back on his word. Mickey is not that kind of
• 19:17
  Speaker 5: a boy.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: I believe you, Mrs. Holson. All right, inside, please. Ma. Ma,
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: what are you doing here? Oh, my son. Oh, my son.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: All right, I'll wait outside. What are you doing here?
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: Why did you come? I came because I have to
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: help you, my dear. Go home. Go home. This is
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: no place for you.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: Mama should be by her side when he's in trouble.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Who called you?
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: Nobody called me. I came because I want to help you.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: Nobody can help me.
• 19:49
  Speaker 6: Leave me alone.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: You've got no business here.
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: Well, I've got a lot of business. Mickey, the policeman
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: told me you're in a lot of trouble. He told
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: me that if you would only tell him the name
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: of the boy who was driving the car, he said
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: if you told him that, Mickey, there would be.
• 20:06
  Speaker 5: No more trouble.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: There'd be lots of trouble.
• 20:08
  Speaker 5: Mickey, Mickey, if you vote for your mama, maybe you
• 20:11
  Speaker 5: will for Papa.
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: Papa loves you, Mickey. Mark, leave.
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: For Papa, for Papa, Mickey, for him.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: Mark, get out.
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: Get out.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, Mrs. Holson.
• 20:31
  Speaker 5: Don't leave us for Papa.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: Papa. I knew my break had to come from within
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: the members of the guilty club. And Julie, Mickey's girlfriend,
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: was my last chance for that break. She worked in
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: a dime store on Mission Street. On her lunch hour,
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: I asked her to walk over to the park with me.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: We sat down on one of the benches. I know
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: that somebody in the club has told you not to talk, Julie.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Who told you? Mickey? Please. All right, all right. Can
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: you tell me who started the High Riders, Julie? Surely
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: you can tell me that. Mickey went to the gym
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: to work out.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: He got to know the fellas.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: They all talked.
• 21:24
  Speaker 5: Club got started that way.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: Who bought the hot rod? They all pitched in.
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: A few dollars from everybody.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Where's the car, Julie? We all told you it was stolen. Yes, yes,
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: I know you told me. But it's a lie. You're
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: all lying for no good reason. It isn't so much
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: what's been done, Julie. A terrible thing, yes, but we
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: want to see that it doesn't happen again. Can you
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: understand that? Was Mickey driving, Julie?
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: No, he.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, I... What do you mean, Julie?
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: I told you what you wanted to know.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: Someday when you're older, Julie, you'll understand how important this is.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: I know you will. You're not a bad girl, but
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: it's up to me right now to make you understand.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Young as you are.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: Please, I don't want to talk about it.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: It's because you're afraid. Please, Mr.
• 22:06
  Speaker 5: Harding.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Julie, someday you and Mickey will be man and wife.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: Marriage is the happiness of two people. A long time ago,
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: this man, Warren Milford, and his wife were just like
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: you and Mickey. Mr.
• 22:16
  Speaker 7: Harding.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: They made the same plans. They thought the same thoughts.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: And in each other's arms, they felt the same feelings.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: There was then no difference than there is now between
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: you and Mickey. Mr. Harper, I... You've taken a silly
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: pledge dictated by a person who in the cool of
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: evening strikes down another person in death and thinks nothing
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: about it. Do you know what a person like this
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: is called, Julie? Do you know? I'm afraid... A murderer, Julie,
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: a murderer. And if you and I let them go,
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: it can happen again. What they did was wrong, and
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: we don't want it to happen again. Tell me, Julie,
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: tell me. Help me, Keith.
• 22:53
  Speaker 5: It was Wanda.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: She was driving.
• 22:56
  Speaker 5: It was a race with the Flying Bleeders from Oakland.
• 22:58
  Speaker 5: On the bridge, Wanda wanted to drive, and Lark.
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: Said it was all right.
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: And the hot rod, where is it? I don't know.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: I don't know. When we got back to the club,
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: Lark said not to worry. He made up the story.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: He told us not to worry about the car. All right, Julie.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: The case of the Jolly High Riders was broken. I
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: needed one last item. The car in question. I poured
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: over every last bit of testimony by the kids. And
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: then it hit me. The big race on Saturday. It
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: was a hunch and I played it. A local paper
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: gave me the location of where the speed test trials
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: were being held. A long, sandy stretch of beach on
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: the west end there of the peninsula. The trials were
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: already in progress when I got there. The two of
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: them weren't hard to spot. They were racing in a low,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: cut-down blue car. The frame had looked familiar as it
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: whizzed by me. I recognized the single shocks that Mickey
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: had been working on. Hey, come to the races, huh, gendarme? Hi.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: Nice looking rod, Larch. The latest. 46 block, member mountain
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: for the master cylinder, floor shift transmission. Great for drag.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: And single acting shocks. Right. Nice paint job. When are
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: you going to put your club name on the side? Soon.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: Right now. Oh, sure you will. Right about here, Larch? Hey,
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: don't scratch the paint job with that knife. Gold. Underneath
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: the blue. And I bet if I scratch the rest
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: of it off... What do you cover? Letters J, O...
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: You got.
• 24:46
  Speaker 7: No right to touch me.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: I played a hunch, Larch. Yeah, you're crazy. My hunch
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: was that you boys couldn't resist this race. It's lousy,
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: lousy when a guy can't live his own life. I'm
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: arresting you for assault and battery, Larch. And Wanda, you
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: for manslaughter.
• 24:57
  Speaker 7: Larch, we can't race.
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: That's right, Wanda. You can't race. and it may be
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: a long time before you race again. I later found
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: out Wally Bergman's reason for wanting to volunteer information. The
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: boy had a crush on Wanda. She encouraged him and
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: then laughed him off. Wanda Lake, not yet 18, will
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: be turned over to juvenile authorities. Large Brisson, just 21,
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: and facing a charge of assault and battery, may have
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: some time to think over his mistake. Actually, the only
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: mistake he made was in trying to cover up the accident.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: Hot rods are not really bad things. They're not wrong.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: In fact, in some respects, they're healthy. For kids to
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: take them apart and put them back together again, to
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: see how fast they can make them run, it gives
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: them a direction in which to toss a lot of
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: extra energy. But there's that one important thing. Hot rods
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: should be driven in places like that stretch of beach
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: on the peninsula. Places set aside for them, like Muroc
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: and the Bonneville salt flats in Utah. Not on the highways.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: End of report. Suspense. Presented by Autolite. Tonight's star, Mr.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: William Holden. Autolite has again started its new suspense season
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: with a story which demonstrates the tragic results of careless driving.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: And now here is a man who, as president of
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: the National Safety Council, is vitally concerned with highway safety, Mr.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: Ned Dearborn.
• 27:00
  Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: Wilcox.
• 27:02
  Speaker 6: It is especially significant that Autolite chose to present... report
• 27:06
  Speaker 6: on the Jolly Death Riders this evening... because in a
• 27:09
  Speaker 6: few days the Labor Day weekend will start... with its
• 27:12
  Speaker 6: tragic toll of needless highway accidents. Through stories like this...
• 27:17
  Speaker 6: along with continued efforts of outstanding companies... like the Electric
• 27:21
  Speaker 6: Autolite Company... we are making some headway in the fight
• 27:25
  Speaker 6: against thoughtless driving. In recognition of vigorous and continued efforts
• 27:30
  Speaker 6: of Autolite... In helping to improve highway safety, it is
• 27:34
  Speaker 6: my great pleasure as president of the National Safety Council
• 27:37
  Speaker 6: to present for the third consecutive year the Council's Public
• 27:41
  Speaker 6: Interest Award for Exceptional Service to Safety to Mr.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: Royce G.
• 27:46
  Speaker 6: Martin, chairman of the board and president of the Electric
• 27:50
  Speaker 6: Autolite Company.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Mr. Durbin.
• 27:53
  Speaker 7: Safety is as much our business as making automotive, aviation,
• 27:59
  Speaker 7: and marine products In our 28 plans from coast to coast,
• 28:04
  Speaker 7: we will always cooperate with the rest of the great
• 28:08
  Speaker 7: automotive industry to help make America a safe driving nation.
• 28:14
  Speaker 7: So this Labor Day and every day, don't take chances.
• 28:18
  Speaker 7: Make sure that your car is in proper operating condition.
• 28:24
  Speaker 7: And then drive carefully. The life you save may be
• 28:28
  Speaker 7: your own.
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: Next week on Suspense, our star will be Mr. Jeff
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: Chandler in another story based on actual events and concerning
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: one of the most fantastic prison breaks ever engineered. A
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: dramatic report we call The Steel River Prison Break. In
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: weeks to come, we shall present Miss Agnes Moorhead, Mr.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: Charles Lawton, and the popular young favorite, Mr. Tony Curtis,
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: all on Suspense. Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: with music composed by Lucian Morwick and conducted by Lud Bluskin.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Report on the Jolly Death Riders was written for suspense
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: by Richard George Pettichini. Featured in tonight's cast were Jack Crucian,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: Sam Edwards, Kathy Lewis, Edith Ungold, Barbara Eiler, Joseph Kearns,
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: and Eddie Firestone. Portions of this program were transcribed. William
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: Holden will soon be seen in Paramount Pictures' Submarine Command,
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: starring William Holden and William Bendix. And remember, next week
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: on Suspense, Mr. Jeff Chandler, in another story based on
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: actual events, a dramatic report we call The Steel River
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: Prison Break.
• 30:02
  Speaker 4: Autolite and its 96,000 dealers wish you all a happy,
• 30:05
  Speaker 4: safe Labor Day weekend. Good driving, good night, and remember,
• 30:10
  Speaker 4: you're always right with Autolite.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: This is the CBS Radio Network. You have been listening
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: to Suspense, report on the Jolly Death Riders. Follow Suspense
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: for more classic broadcasts.