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Transcript

Suspense - "Crime Without Passion" (Old Time Radio, 1946) · Suspense | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joseph Cotton stars as Lou Hendricks, a prominent New York
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: criminal lawyer whose private life draws him into a bitter
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: conflict with Carmen, a nightclub performer. This is Suspense, Crime
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Without Passion, Episode 2, first broadcast on CBS May 2nd, 1946.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: After a violent confrontation, Hendricks turns to the knowledge that
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: has made his name in criminal law, how an alibi
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: is built, how a case is argued, and what a
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: courtroom may be asked to believe. Kathy Lewis plays Carmen,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Wally Maher appears as a defense attorney, and Bill Johnstone
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: is heard in several roles. The radio adaptation is by
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Robert Tallman from the 1934 Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur film with
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: William Speer directing. Now, back to the golden age of radio.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Now, Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, made in California for enjoyment throughout
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: the world.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Roma Wines presents... Suspense. Tonight, Roma Wines... Selsnick star, Mr.
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: Joseph Cotton, in Crime Without Passion by Ben Hecht. A
• 1:17
  Speaker 4: suspense play produced, edited, and directed for Roma Wines by
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: William Spear. Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills, is presented
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: for your enjoyment by Roma Wines.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: to the way you live, to your happiness and entertaining guests,
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: to your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now a
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: glass full would be very pleasant, as Roma Wines bring
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: you Joseph Cotton in a remarkable tale of.
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: Suspense. She had phoned me to come over to her apartment.
• 1:58
  Speaker 5: She wanted a showdown.
• 1:59
  Speaker 6: Well, I wanted a showdown, too, and so I went
• 2:02
  Speaker 6: over to her apartment.
• 2:04
  Speaker 7: And after all the time I've given you, why, everybody
• 2:06
  Speaker 7: thinks we're engaged to be married. Now you're trying to
• 2:09
  Speaker 7: give me the go-by just like that. The girls in
• 2:11
  Speaker 7: this show, what a laugh they'll hand me.
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: Who do you think you are, anyway? Now, now, come
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: and watch your temper.
• 2:17
  Speaker 8: To think, to think I've been such a fool.
• 2:19
  Speaker 7: Earl Wilson and everybody, won't they give me the razz
• 2:23
  Speaker 7: in their column?
• 2:25
  Speaker 8: And the rest of the.
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: Bunch around the El Bravo.
• 2:26
  Speaker 8: Well, when they get through with me, I'll probably lose
• 2:28
  Speaker 8: my lead in the Bird of Paradise.
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: The nerve!
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: Feeding me as if I was a nobody.
• 2:33
  Speaker 8: Where do they get like that, taking up a girl's time?
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: She was a dancer at the El Bravo club.
• 2:39
  Speaker 6: She was number one on the line in the Bird
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: of Paradise number in the floor show.
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: That was where I first noticed her. I looked at
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: her now with complete detachment.
• 2:47
  Speaker 6: I wondered what I had ever seen in this red-headed,
• 2:50
  Speaker 6: illiterate creature with her childish face and muscular legs.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: How could I have ever considered her charming or desirable?
• 3:00
  Speaker 8: Probably for you.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: More likely, it's Eddie.
• 3:02
  Speaker 6: White calling you, that dean of collegiate hero.
• 3:05
  Speaker 5: Oh, yeah?
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: For me, by any mischance, just say I'm not here.
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: Hello?
• 3:09
  Speaker 9: Hello?
• 3:10
  Speaker 6: Hello?
• 3:12
  Speaker 8: No, he's not here. I don't know where he is.
• 3:13
  Speaker 8: He's not here.
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: You're off.
• 3:16
  Speaker 8: Always making me lie for you.
• 3:18
  Speaker 6: And as for that crack.
• 3:19
  Speaker 8: About Eddie White, you don't fool me.
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: Not for a minute.
• 3:21
  Speaker 5: Don't just stand there and say mm-hmm in that smug way.
• 3:24
  Speaker 7: You know very well I haven't been seeing Eddie White.
• 3:25
  Speaker 6: You're just using that for an excuse, aren't you?
• 3:27
  Speaker 5: Well, I.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Well, are you or aren't you? You know all the answers.
• 3:30
  Speaker 6: Sure, I know the answer to that.
• 3:31
  Speaker 7: You're just saying that because you're trying to get rid
• 3:33
  Speaker 7: of me, trying to put me on the escalator, that's what.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: Well, have it your own way.
• 3:35
  Speaker 6: Have it your own. Why, you stupid... Now, cut that out.
• 3:39
  Speaker 6: You think as you're a lawyer you can get away
• 3:40
  Speaker 6: with this?
• 3:41
  Speaker 5: I'll show you.
• 3:42
  Speaker 6: Hey, look out.
• 3:43
  Speaker 7: You're photographing this swell, expensive flame.
• 3:45
  Speaker 8: I'll show you what I think of that, too. You're
• 3:47
  Speaker 8: not going to make a sucker out of me, you stupid.
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: No, no, no. No, not my derby. Your derby? Why,
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: I'll smash your face.
• 3:53
  Speaker 6: Now, stay away from me now.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: Don't come near me. Oh, that hurts. Take a half
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: of it off me.
• 3:58
  Speaker 6: Why, you.
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: Why, you little vixen, how I hate you. I loathe you.
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: I hate all of your kind.
• 4:07
  Speaker 8: Don't you like me?
• 4:07
  Speaker 6: Don't you dare.
• 4:09
  Speaker 8: Lou, put down the candlestick, Lou.
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: Put it down, Lou. Don't, don't.
• 4:20
  Speaker 6: I was suddenly aware of a large brass candlestick in
• 4:22
  Speaker 6: my hand, and on.
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: The floor lay Carmen Brown. I leaned over her. Her
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: skull cracked and blood was running from it. Her eyes
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: were closed.
• 4:31
  Speaker 6: I listened.
• 4:32
  Speaker 5: No heartbeat.
• 4:34
  Speaker 6: I was suddenly overwhelmed with the thought that I had
• 4:37
  Speaker 6: committed a murder. I don't think there's a lawyer in
• 4:44
  Speaker 6: New York with more thorough experience in.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: The handling of criminal cases.
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: No.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: I knew all the angles.
• 4:50
  Speaker 6: I knew the pitfalls of the defense in such a
• 4:51
  Speaker 6: case as this. I knew the psychology of the prosecution.
• 4:55
  Speaker 6: I had unexpectedly and inadvertently been cast in the role
• 4:58
  Speaker 6: of a criminal. Through my mind rushed all the prejudices
• 5:01
  Speaker 6: and difficulties of such a case. And in less than
• 5:04
  Speaker 6: a minute, I had put myself on trial on a
• 5:07
  Speaker 6: plea of self-defense, reviewed the evidence, and found myself guilty.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: It's a curious thing.
• 5:19
  Speaker 6: No doubt the public at large, the layman, would expect
• 5:21
  Speaker 6: that some unpublicized and secret professional legal maneuver would be
• 5:26
  Speaker 6: used by the great Lou Hendricks in the present predicament.
• 5:30
  Speaker 6: It would seem to the reader of crime fiction and
• 5:32
  Speaker 6: the listener to radio mystery drama that some less hackneyed
• 5:36
  Speaker 6: word than alibi would be the key word to my puzzle.
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: I am sorry, ladies and gentlemen.
• 5:43
  Speaker 6: I should dearly love to shake some diabolically ingenious trick
• 5:47
  Speaker 6: out of my lawyer's sleeve. But such would be a
• 5:50
  Speaker 6: waste of time. An alibi was what I needed. I
• 5:55
  Speaker 6: needed to establish simply and conclusively that I was not
• 5:58
  Speaker 6: there at the time of Carmen Brown's murder. Time was
• 6:02
  Speaker 6: the important element. Yes, I must begin at once to
• 6:05
  Speaker 6: establish that alibi.
• 6:17
  Speaker 4: For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you Joseph Cotton in
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: Crime Without Passion by Ben Hecht. Roma Wines' presentation tonight
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: in radio's outstanding theater.
• 6:26
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• 6:38
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• 7:01
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• 7:29
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• 7:41
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• 7:47
  Speaker 3: And now, Roma Wines bring.
• 7:49
  Speaker 4: Back to our Hollywood soundstage Joseph Cotton, who as New
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: York's famous criminal lawyer Lou Hendricks, in Crime Without Passion,
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: resumes a narrative well calculated to keep you in suspense.
• 8:12
  Speaker 6: I leaned over and glanced at the watch on Carmen's wrist.
• 8:15
  Speaker 6: The dialed glass was broken. The watch had stopped. The
• 8:18
  Speaker 6: hands pointed to two minutes of four. The clock on
• 8:21
  Speaker 6: the desk had just struck four. The telephone. I let
• 8:24
  Speaker 6: it ring. Had to. Of course, the phone made it
• 8:27
  Speaker 6: impossible to establish an alibi by setting the time forward.
• 8:30
  Speaker 6: Other phone calls might come in before five o'clock. Someone,
• 8:33
  Speaker 6: perhaps a maid, might even come to the apartment in person.
• 8:36
  Speaker 6: Through my mind rushed the courtroom scene in which my
• 8:39
  Speaker 6: case would be tried. The prosecuting attorney wouldn't miss that.
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: At 3.50, Carmen Brown was alive, as witnessed the fact
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: that she answered a phone call which came through the
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: switchboard to her apartment at that time. At two minutes
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: after four, just 12 minutes later, a phone call came
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: through that same switchboard which she failed to answer.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: Why, gentlemen of the jury?
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: No.
• 9:04
  Speaker 6: What I needed was an alibi for the hour preceding
• 9:07
  Speaker 6: four o'clock, the time at which her watch had stopped.
• 9:09
  Speaker 6: I must provide not only an alibi for myself, but
• 9:12
  Speaker 6: also fortify it with evidence, tending to prove that someone
• 9:15
  Speaker 6: other than myself had done the deed. But how? Fingerprints?
• 9:21
  Speaker 6: They told a graphic story, a story that would reveal
• 9:24
  Speaker 6: that Carmen had been in a rage demanding something of
• 9:26
  Speaker 6: the killer. This would point directly to me, since I
• 9:28
  Speaker 6: was known to have been her admirer and steady caller
• 9:31
  Speaker 6: at her apartment. But if I could make it appear
• 9:34
  Speaker 6: as though the assailant was demanding something of her, he
• 9:37
  Speaker 6: was in a jealous rage that had smashed the articles,
• 9:40
  Speaker 6: including the frame-framed photograph of Lou Hendricks, and had concluded
• 9:44
  Speaker 6: with the killing of Carmen. I wiped the fingerprints carefully
• 9:47
  Speaker 6: from the articles in question with my silk handkerchiefs. And again,
• 9:51
  Speaker 6: I imagine myself on trial in the courtroom. This time
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: with my defense counsel addressing the jury.
• 9:58
  Speaker 11: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Carmen Brown had undoubtedly
• 10:02
  Speaker 11: been attacked by some other shooter who was obviously jealous
• 10:06
  Speaker 11: of the defendant, Lou Hendricks. As witness, the destroyed photograph
• 10:11
  Speaker 11: of the latter. You will also note her assailant was
• 10:14
  Speaker 11: crafty enough to remove all.
• 10:17
  Speaker 6: So far, it was good. I had set the scene.
• 10:21
  Speaker 6: I was ready to leave the apartment.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: But wait.
• 10:24
  Speaker 6: I just remembered. A gun was in Carmen's desk only
• 10:27
  Speaker 6: a few feet from where she now lay. They would
• 10:30
  Speaker 6: wonder why she hadn't defended herself with it. The prosecuting
• 10:33
  Speaker 6: attorney wouldn't miss that. Oh, no.
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: He'd point an accusing finger at me. And yet, Carmen
• 10:39
  Speaker 4: Brown did not reach for this weapon with which she
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: could have defended herself.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: Why?
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: Was it because the assailant was someone familiar with her?
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: Someone against whom she had no thought of harming herself?
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: Or perhaps because the assailant was familiar with the premises
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: and knew where the gun was and prevented her from
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: reaching it?
• 11:00
  Speaker 6: I took the gun and slipped it into my coat pocket.
• 11:05
  Speaker 6: I would dispose of it later. I took every precaution
• 11:08
  Speaker 6: to make sure that no one saw me as I
• 11:10
  Speaker 6: left the building. My trained legal mind warned me against
• 11:13
  Speaker 6: a surprise witness, which in so many court cases was
• 11:16
  Speaker 6: dramatically brought forth by the prosecutor to confound the guilty.
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: I remembered grimly.
• 11:21
  Speaker 6: How some of my best cases had tumbled by the
• 11:23
  Speaker 6: appearance in court of some aimless, stray human, someone who
• 11:27
  Speaker 6: happened to have seen the defendant during.
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: His presupposed alibi.
• 11:30
  Speaker 6: The prosecutor would have a gleam in his eye questioning
• 11:34
  Speaker 6: such a witness in the courtroom.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: You say you saw.
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: The defendant, Lou Hendricks, leaving the apartment building shortly after
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: the time of the murder?
• 11:42
  Speaker 6: This must not happen. I had my plan pretty well
• 11:53
  Speaker 6: in mind by now. I took a back short cut
• 11:55
  Speaker 6: to Broadway, the Palace Theater. It was an off hour.
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: There was not a long line waiting.
• 11:59
  Speaker 6: I bought my ticket and went quickly in.
• 12:01
  Speaker 8: Seats in the third.
• 12:03
  Speaker 5: Aisle to your right, please.
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: The moment I was seated, I got up again.
• 12:08
  Speaker 6: I returned to the lobby up the other side of
• 12:10
  Speaker 6: the aisle and went directly to the lost and found desk.
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: There's something I can do for you, sir.
• 12:16
  Speaker 6: I wish to report the loss of a pair of gloves.
• 12:18
  Speaker 5: Oh?
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: Do you have any idea where they were lost?
• 12:21
  Speaker 6: Oh, somewhere in the theater. I had them when I
• 12:23
  Speaker 6: came in. I'm not usually so careless, but the picture
• 12:25
  Speaker 6: was so engrossing, I was completely carried away with it. Well,
• 12:29
  Speaker 6: apparently I failed to carry away my gloves. Gloves. I
• 12:33
  Speaker 6: imagine they'll be turned in, sir? Oh, I'm sure they'll
• 12:35
  Speaker 6: be found. You'll just make a record of it. Lou
• 12:39
  Speaker 6: Hendricks is the name, with an X. Hendricks, huh? H-E-N-D-R-I-X, huh?
• 12:46
  Speaker 6: That's an unusual spelling. Family name.
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: Well, all right, sir, Mr.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: Hendricks, if you'll just fill out this blank with your
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: name and address and the time.
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: Oh, yes, yes, to be sure, the time.
• 12:57
  Speaker 6: Let's see, what is the time? It's exactly 20 minutes
• 13:02
  Speaker 6: after 4.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: I'll record that.
• 13:06
  Speaker 6: Could it be that late? Evans had no idea of
• 13:08
  Speaker 6: the time. Quite a long picture.
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: Yes, the picture was a little longer than most. I
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: hope you enjoyed it, sir.
• 13:13
  Speaker 6: Oh, yes, yes, indeed. I enjoyed it very much. It
• 13:16
  Speaker 6: was well worth sitting through. Well, thank you very much.
• 13:22
  Speaker 6: I had established an alibi for having spent the time
• 13:24
  Speaker 6: between 2.30 and 4.20 in the movie theater. This was
• 13:28
  Speaker 6: a period of two hours, and this was now recorded
• 13:31
  Speaker 6: in black and white at the lost and found desk.
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: I'd taken care that this should be.
• 13:35
  Speaker 6: A movie that I had already seen, so I'd be
• 13:37
  Speaker 6: able to recite the plot in question.
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: The main body of my alibi had been achieved.
• 13:46
  Speaker 6: I now went directly from the movie to my next
• 13:48
  Speaker 6: court of call, Sardi's.
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: Restaurant, where I'm well known.
• 13:52
  Speaker 6: How are you, Mr.
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: Hendricks?
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: Your usual table?
• 13:54
  Speaker 6: Yes, Henry.
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: Seen the headlines?
• 13:56
  Speaker 6: No, no, I just came from a movie. Oh, by
• 13:58
  Speaker 6: the way, what is the exact time? I've got to
• 14:00
  Speaker 6: make a telephone call. It's just 4.30, Mr. Hendricks.
• 14:04
  Speaker 5: 4.30.
• 14:05
  Speaker 6: I think I'll make my telephone call while you make
• 14:07
  Speaker 6: me a chicken sandwich. Okay, the booth is just there,
• 14:09
  Speaker 6: you know.
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: Hendricks, Brown, Walsh, and Healy.
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 14:27
  Speaker 6: Healy, please.
• 14:27
  Speaker 5: This is Mr. Hendricks. Oh, certainly, Mr. Hendricks.
• 14:30
  Speaker 8: One moment.
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: Hello? Hello, Tom.
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: This is Hendricks.
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: I've been trying to locate you all afternoon.
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: Oh, what for?
• 14:37
  Speaker 5: Oh, several things came up that needed your attention.
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: Oh, not so hard to locate. Where'd you try?
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: I tried everywhere I could think of, even Common Brown's apartment. Yeah?
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: Did you talk to her?
• 14:45
  Speaker 5: Sure. I was trying to find out if she knew
• 14:47
  Speaker 5: where you were.
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: What time was that?
• 14:48
  Speaker 5: Oh, about 3.50.
• 14:50
  Speaker 6: Well, how did you see him when you asked if
• 14:52
  Speaker 6: I was there?
• 14:52
  Speaker 5: Well, I don't know. Why?
• 14:54
  Speaker 6: Well, try and think. I'd like to know.
• 14:55
  Speaker 5: Well, come to think of it, she struck me as
• 14:57
  Speaker 5: a little curt or upset about something. Upset, eh?
• 15:01
  Speaker 6: Listen, I don't want you to call me at that
• 15:02
  Speaker 6: number anymore, understand?
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: Oh, well, sure, if you say so.
• 15:06
  Speaker 6: I'm all washed up at that telephone number.
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: Understand what I mean? In the future, that number is out.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: Any other calls?
• 15:12
  Speaker 6: No.
• 15:12
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: Again, my mind reverted to the courtroom scene in which
• 15:21
  Speaker 6: I imagined my case being tried.
• 15:23
  Speaker 3: But this time, I had my case well in hand.
• 15:26
  Speaker 6: The thought of facing the prosecuting attorney did not disturb me.
• 15:30
  Speaker 6: The thought of that little bout between the two attorneys
• 15:33
  Speaker 6: even amused me.
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: Oh, Mr.
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: Hendricks told you that you needn't try to reach him
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: at Miss Brown's apartment anymore, eh?
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, when the defendant.
• 15:42
  Speaker 11: Made this statement to his trusted friend and law partner,
• 15:46
  Speaker 11: he had undoubtedly good reason to believe there was another
• 15:48
  Speaker 11: man in Carmen Brown's life.
• 15:50
  Speaker 6: I had forged another link in the chain of evidence
• 15:53
  Speaker 6: pointing to my innocence. Everything was working out in favor
• 15:56
  Speaker 6: of a perfect alibi for my defense. Everything was going fine.
• 16:00
  Speaker 6: I was beginning to enjoy the case very much. Now
• 16:11
  Speaker 6: that the tension was relieved, I began to look upon
• 16:13
  Speaker 6: my case as a sort of a game. I began
• 16:16
  Speaker 6: to get a kick out of it, and I conceived
• 16:18
  Speaker 6: the idea of building up another witness. Eddie White was
• 16:22
  Speaker 6: the only one of Carmen's previous amours whom I knew,
• 16:25
  Speaker 6: and I considered for a moment involving him in the case.
• 16:29
  Speaker 6: He was Carmen's previous suitor just before I entered the picture.
• 16:33
  Speaker 6: He was known to be a hot-headed young gentleman given
• 16:36
  Speaker 6: to nocturnal fisticuffs in public places, but... I finally dismissed
• 16:40
  Speaker 6: this idea. This witness, I decided, would be Miss Moore,
• 16:44
  Speaker 6: who was also a dancer at the El Bravo Club.
• 16:47
  Speaker 6: She was Carmen's closest friend and confidante. I telephoned Miss
• 16:50
  Speaker 6: Moore and requested her to join me at the restaurant.
• 16:52
  Speaker 6: She came right over. You see before you, Miss Moore,
• 16:59
  Speaker 6: a man suffering from the perfidy of one whom he
• 17:02
  Speaker 6: has loved and trusted.
• 17:05
  Speaker 8: Would you mind saying that again in plain English?
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: Well, to put it more simply.
• 17:09
  Speaker 6: I think Carmen has been two-timing me. Miss Moore, I
• 17:13
  Speaker 6: am consumed with jealousy. I must know the truth, and
• 17:16
  Speaker 6: you're the only one who.
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: Can tell me.
• 17:18
  Speaker 8: I don't get you, Mr.
• 17:19
  Speaker 5: Hendricks.
• 17:19
  Speaker 6: Miss Moore, I'm going out of my mind with the
• 17:22
  Speaker 6: brooding and uncertainty of this thing.
• 17:25
  Speaker 8: Oh, that's terrible, Mr.
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: Hendricks.
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: My law practice is suffering.
• 17:28
  Speaker 6: I'll wind up by losing all my money.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: Oh, you mustn't do that, Mr.
• 17:31
  Speaker 8: Hendricks.
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: You know something?
• 17:34
  Speaker 7: No.
• 17:35
  Speaker 6: What is it?
• 17:36
  Speaker 8: Oh, honest, Mr.
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: Hendricks.
• 17:37
  Speaker 9: I wouldn't tell this to another soul. You know Carmen's
• 17:40
  Speaker 9: my best girlfriend. But you're such a swell guy. Well,
• 17:45
  Speaker 9: I think you should know. But I'll tell you the truth.
• 17:48
  Speaker 9: I don't think Carmen appreciates you.
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: That's what.
• 17:50
  Speaker 6: Miss Moore, if there is another man someone Carmen really loves,
• 17:56
  Speaker 6: I'd force myself to step aside.
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: It's her happiness.
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 18:01
  Speaker 8: Well, I ain't saying she has.
• 18:03
  Speaker 9: I just say Carmen has got an awful swell head
• 18:05
  Speaker 9: since she got the lead in the Bird of Paradise number.
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: She thinks she's some pumpkin.
• 18:09
  Speaker 8: And I'm only saying I don't think she appreciates a
• 18:11
  Speaker 8: high-class gentleman like you.
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: Thank you, Miss Mora.
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: Have you seen Carmen today?
• 18:16
  Speaker 8: No, I haven't. Have you seen her?
• 18:18
  Speaker 6: No, I don't trust myself to see her. Goodness knows
• 18:21
  Speaker 6: what I would do feeling this way. Oh, Mr.
• 18:24
  Speaker 8: Hendricks, you're all worked up.
• 18:26
  Speaker 9: And I don't blame you. Say, I have to leave you.
• 18:28
  Speaker 9: I hate to leave, but I gotta go. It's getting
• 18:31
  Speaker 9: late and the dinner show goes on before long, you know.
• 18:33
  Speaker 6: Well, then tell Carmen I'll be over to the El
• 18:34
  Speaker 6: Bravo tonight and give her a last chance to prove herself.
• 18:37
  Speaker 8: Oh, I'll sure give her your message, Mr.
• 18:39
  Speaker 10: Hendricks.
• 18:39
  Speaker 6: I sure will. I knew Carmen had not been receiving
• 18:44
  Speaker 6: attentions from another man, but if I could get Miss
• 18:47
  Speaker 6: Moore to testify in court, I could use her to
• 18:49
  Speaker 6: convince the jury that I was jealous of Carmen, but
• 18:53
  Speaker 6: that I loved her and wanted her alive, not dead.
• 18:56
  Speaker 6: This would make my case airtight. I then made another
• 19:03
  Speaker 6: telephone call. This was to Carmen's apartment. Uh, hello, is
• 19:11
  Speaker 6: Miss Common Brown in?
• 19:12
  Speaker 5: I'll ring her apartment. I'm sorry, she doesn't answer.
• 19:22
  Speaker 6: Well, this is Mr. Hendricks calling. Hasn't she been in
• 19:24
  Speaker 6: at all? I've been trying to get her all day.
• 19:26
  Speaker 5: She hasn't come in while I've been here, Mr.
• 19:27
  Speaker 6: Hendricks.
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: How long is that?
• 19:28
  Speaker 5: About three hours.
• 19:29
  Speaker 6: Thank you. I'm coming over there. Tell her if she
• 19:31
  Speaker 6: comes in, will you?
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: Hmm.
• 19:35
  Speaker 6: This would strengthen my apparent effort to contact Carmen.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: It was a bold stroke, this, to go back to
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: her house.
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: I approached the switchboard operator.
• 19:44
  Speaker 8: Good afternoon, Mr.
• 19:44
  Speaker 10: Hendricks.
• 19:45
  Speaker 6: Has Miss Brown come in since I called on the phone?
• 19:48
  Speaker 8: I haven't seen her. I'll ring her apartment again. She
• 19:56
  Speaker 8: still doesn't answer.
• 19:57
  Speaker 6: Well, please give her this note when she comes back.
• 19:59
  Speaker 8: All right, Mr.
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: Hendricks.
• 20:00
  Speaker 8: I'll see that she gets it.
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: I handed her the note. It read... Darling, don't torture
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: me anymore.
• 20:08
  Speaker 6: Give me a chance to believe you.
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: I'm willing to forget what I heard or thought I
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: heard over the phone.
• 20:14
  Speaker 6: As ever, Lou. This, too, would throw suspicion on another suitor.
• 20:19
  Speaker 6: Not only had I established an alibi for myself, but
• 20:22
  Speaker 6: also I had succeeded in pointing a finger at a
• 20:24
  Speaker 6: suspected rival. I saw myself looking winningly at the jury
• 20:30
  Speaker 6: while my defense counsel continued to address them.
• 20:34
  Speaker 11: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, if the defendant Lou
• 20:38
  Speaker 11: Hendricks had.
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: Known Carmen Brown lay dead in her.
• 20:41
  Speaker 6: Apartment, would he have written such a note?
• 20:45
  Speaker 11: The testimony reveals, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that
• 20:48
  Speaker 11: the defendant strongly suspected that Carmen Brown was receiving a.
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: But he did not know that.
• 20:54
  Speaker 11: This very afternoon, this creature had entered her apartment, struck
• 20:58
  Speaker 11: her down and killed her, while the defendant was still
• 21:01
  Speaker 11: trying to seek her out and forgive her.
• 21:08
  Speaker 6: My alibi was now complete. I had every angle worked out.
• 21:13
  Speaker 6: I summed up my case. It was perfect. From my
• 21:15
  Speaker 6: superior legal knowledge, my vast experience, I had built a
• 21:19
  Speaker 6: perfect case for myself. I was very pleased. My case
• 21:23
  Speaker 6: was ready. I had an excellent dinner. Really excellent. I
• 21:27
  Speaker 6: then put in another phone call to Carmen's apartment. I
• 21:30
  Speaker 6: was ready to hear the news of the finding of
• 21:32
  Speaker 6: the body. At the news of the crime, I would
• 21:35
  Speaker 6: rush right over and act my part of a thoroughly
• 21:37
  Speaker 6: grief-stricken suitor. This would be the finishing touch, a final flourish.
• 21:42
  Speaker 5: As it were. Miss Brown does not answer.
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: The crime had evidently still not been discovered.
• 21:50
  Speaker 6: I decided the best course would be to go to
• 21:52
  Speaker 6: the El Bravo Club.
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: I was well known there.
• 21:54
  Speaker 6: I'd order coffee and dessert and wait there until Carmen's
• 21:56
  Speaker 6: absence was noticed and her murder discovered.
• 22:02
  Speaker 5: Good evening, Mr. Hendricks. Right this way, sir.
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: Oh, good evening, George.
• 22:05
  Speaker 6: Hello there.
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: How are you? Hello, Lenore.
• 22:08
  Speaker 6: Hi, Kay. Hello, Lenore.
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: Steve Hiddle. Blood.
• 22:10
  Speaker 7: So I said to him I shouldn't look if you
• 22:12
  Speaker 7: think I'm going to sit around here.
• 22:13
  Speaker 5: Oh, come on.
• 22:14
  Speaker 6: Blonde, blonde.
• 22:15
  Speaker 8: Can't you think of anything but blonde? Oh, honey, come on.
• 22:17
  Speaker 6: Let's go home, my dear.
• 22:18
  Speaker 5: Oh, no.
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: Oh, the famous criminal lawyer Lou Hendricks. Our ex-college hero.
• 22:25
  Speaker 5: Eddie White.
• 22:26
  Speaker 6: Product of the higher education. Looking him over, I see. Yeah,
• 22:30
  Speaker 6: why don't I sit here?
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: This is the entertainer's table. I have no monopoly on it.
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: Then I'll sit down. By the way, Hendricks, I didn't
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: know you were such a movie fan.
• 22:39
  Speaker 6: Just what do you mean? Saw you going into the
• 22:41
  Speaker 6: Palace Theater this afternoon.
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: You did?
• 22:44
  Speaker 6: Just what time was that?
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: What time?
• 22:46
  Speaker 6: Ooh, a little after four, I should say.
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: You're crazy. You think you saw me going to the
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: Palace after four? I.
• 22:54
  Speaker 6: Well, I came out at 4.20 after seeing the whole show.
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: I don't care what you say.
• 22:58
  Speaker 10: I saw you going in at a quarter after four,
• 23:00
  Speaker 10: to be exact. I was going to say hello, but
• 23:03
  Speaker 10: you weren't looking my way. How'd you like the picture?
• 23:05
  Speaker 10: Ought to be in your line, all about one of
• 23:07
  Speaker 10: those crooked legal sharks.
• 23:11
  Speaker 4: And you say you saw the defendant, Lou Hendricks, going
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: into the theater at a.
• 23:15
  Speaker 6: Quarter after four?
• 23:16
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir, I did.
• 23:20
  Speaker 6: The surprise witness that I had been so carefully guarding against.
• 23:24
  Speaker 6: Jerry was, sitting opposite me in the person of all people,
• 23:27
  Speaker 6: Eddie White. In a flash, I could see all the
• 23:34
  Speaker 6: evidence I had planted turning against me. The prosecution would
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: take it apart piece by piece. The all too obvious
• 23:41
  Speaker 6: false mechanism of my alibi.
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: There was no alibi. I had no case.
• 23:47
  Speaker 6: Eddie White's simple statement of the time, 415, revealed all
• 23:51
  Speaker 6: of my subsequent actions as those of a thoroughly guilty man.
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: Look, White. It must have been somebody else you saw. Listen,
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: don't tell me.
• 24:00
  Speaker 10: I saw you looking around, buying your ticket and ducking in.
• 24:03
  Speaker 10: I know it was a quarter after four because I
• 24:05
  Speaker 10: had a date outside. And don't get excited it wasn't
• 24:08
  Speaker 10: with Carmen.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: That's a lie. What's that? I said you're lying. You
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: didn't see me.
• 24:11
  Speaker 5: Oh, that's what you said, is it?
• 24:12
  Speaker 10: Listen, I never liked you and I don't take that
• 24:14
  Speaker 10: kind of talk off a guy I got no use for.
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: Get that? You're a liar.
• 24:17
  Speaker 6: You're not only a liar, but a numbskull. A perennial
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: drop kicker. Once a drop kicker, always a drop kicker.
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: Are you little.
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: Take your hands off my collar.
• 24:26
  Speaker 5: Let me go.
• 24:27
  Speaker 6: Take your hands off me.
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: You're calling me a liar. You little shyster. You no
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: good little.
• 24:38
  Speaker 6: Somehow, I don't know how or when, I had taken
• 24:41
  Speaker 6: the gun out of my pocket. Carmen's gun. The gun
• 24:43
  Speaker 6: I was going to dispose of. I was holding it
• 24:45
  Speaker 6: in my hand.
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: It had exploded. No one heard the shot through the
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: glare of the orchestra. A new number of the.
• 24:53
  Speaker 6: Floor show was starting. Everyone's attention was focused on the
• 24:56
  Speaker 6: dance floor. The chorus girls were coming out for the
• 24:58
  Speaker 6: Bird of Paradise number. Everything was a little blurred, a
• 25:02
  Speaker 6: little hazy. I looked at the girls as they came forward.
• 25:05
  Speaker 6: Leading the chorus, I saw.
• 25:08
  Speaker 6: I saw Carmen Brown. She was dancing. This could not be.
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: I grew sick. I shut my eyes. And I opened
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: them again. There was no hallucination. It was common. Under
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: her ear, at the.
• 25:24
  Speaker 6: Back of her head, I saw strips of court plaster.
• 25:27
  Speaker 6: I knew then what had happened. I'd left her apartment
• 25:30
  Speaker 6: without taking a second look at her. Evidently, the blow
• 25:32
  Speaker 6: had merely knocked her out. She must have regained consciousness
• 25:35
  Speaker 6: and called for a doctor. It was as.
• 25:39
  Speaker 3: Simple as that. She was alive now.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: And dancing.
• 25:51
  Speaker 6: Lou Hendricks, the shining legal intelligence. I had built a
• 25:56
  Speaker 6: perfect alibi to exonerate myself of a murder.
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: Which had never occurred.
• 26:01
  Speaker 6: While across the table, slumped in a chair opposite me,
• 26:03
  Speaker 6: was the body of a man for whose murder I
• 26:05
  Speaker 6: had no defense. Every step of my carefully built alibi,
• 26:09
  Speaker 6: my perfect case.
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: Would help to convict me of the killing of Betty White.
• 26:16
  Speaker 6: This time I had no alibi. This time, there was
• 26:20
  Speaker 6: no possible defense. This time, when the judge asked the
• 26:24
  Speaker 6: foreman if they'd reached a decision.
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: There could be only one reply. Yes, Your Honor, we have.
• 26:33
  Speaker 4: We find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.
• 26:51
  Speaker 6: Suspense.
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: Presented by Roma Wines.
• 26:55
  Speaker 5: R-O-M-A.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: Made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. Before we
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: hear again from Joseph Cotton, the star of Crime Without Passion, tonight's.
• 27:04
  Speaker 6: Suspense play, this is.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: Truman Bradley for Roma Wines. One of the finest cooks
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: I know recently told me her secret for winning praises.
• 27:14
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• 27:17
  Speaker 2: about the same recipes, but her dinners win more compliments,
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: actually taste better, because she regularly serves Roma wine with meals. Yes,
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: Roma wine does make food taste better. For proof, tomorrow night,
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: savor the tempting taste harmony of red Roma California Burgundy
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: and a good thick hamburger steak or spaghetti heaped with
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: a spicy meat sauce. Or if you prefer, try Roma
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: Burgundy with Friday's.
• 27:44
  Speaker 5: Traditional fish dinner.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: You'll discover Roma Burgundy adds tantalizing new flavor fullness to
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: every meal. Let red robust Roma Burgundy win compliments for
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: your meals. Get delicious Roma Burgundy tomorrow. Remember, Roma wine
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: is America's first choice. Yet, Roma costs no more than
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: ordinary wine. So insist on Roma.
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: R-O-M-A.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: Roma wines. Made in California for enjoyment.
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: Throughout the world.
• 28:14
  Speaker 6: This is Joseph Cotton. I've always been particularly fond of
• 28:18
  Speaker 6: crime without passion, and it's been a great pleasure indeed
• 28:20
  Speaker 6: to appear in it tonight for you on Suspense. Next Thursday,
• 28:25
  Speaker 6: I know you'll want to hear a very young actor
• 28:27
  Speaker 6: whom we've all admired for a very great number of years.
• 28:31
  Speaker 6: It's Jackie Cooper, grown up and just out of Uncle
• 28:33
  Speaker 6: Sam's Navy. He'll appear on Suspense in a role quite
• 28:37
  Speaker 6: different from anything you've ever associated with him.
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: Joseph Cotton will soon be seen in the David O.
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: Selznick Technicolor production, Duel in the Sun. Next Thursday, same time,
• 28:48
  Speaker 4: Roma Wines will bring you Jackie Cooper as star of Suspense,
• 28:53
  Speaker 4: radio's outstanding theater of thrills. Produced by William Speer for
• 28:59
  Speaker 4: the Roma Wine Company.
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: Of Fresno, California.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: That was Suspense and Crime Without Passion, first heard on
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: CBS in 1946. Thank you for joining us for Classic Radio.