Now, the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California presents...
Suspense!
Tonight, Roma wines bring you the suspenseful play called, A Guy Gets Lonely, starring Dane
Clark.
Suspense!
Is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines.
That's R-O-M-A.
Roma Wines.
Those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live.
To your happiness and entertaining guests.
To your enjoyment of everyday meals.
Yes, right now a glass full would be very pleasant.
As Roma Wines bring you, A Remarkable Tale of Suspense.
And with the drama called, A Guy Gets Lonely.
And with the performance of Mr. Dane Clark as Eddie Lewis, Roma Wines hope indeed to
keep you in...
Suspense!
Have you ever been lonely?
Desperately lonely?
Well, there's an emptiness in the pit of your stomach that no food can remove.
There's a coldness about people's faces that make you shudder.
And you do silly things when you're lonely.
Maybe that explains what happened to me.
Maybe.
Anyhow, I was hanging around the shooting gallery in one of those Broadway penny arcades
that night.
One of those places where you can play a game of chess, get your fortune told, have ten
shots at Hitler all fifteen cents.
And I was alone as usual.
Thinking the dull, drab, dreary things a guy thinks about when he's alone.
And suddenly an old man standing next to me said...
Well, my aim is not what it used to be.
Oh, got a match, my boy?
Match?
Oh, sure, here.
Oh, thank you.
You haven't by any chance got a cigarette to go with that match, have you, son?
Of course, here, take one.
Thanks again.
You know, with cigarettes so scarce nowadays, the only way a gentleman gets a smoke is to
smoke himself.
Yep.
Thank you, thank you.
What's the matter, kid?
You look like your ship came in, only your mother-in-law was aboard.
Oh, nothing.
Oh, come on.
Fess up to old Horace, I'm Beatrice Bearfax without the girdle.
Well, I'm just fed up with this town, that's all.
There's nothing wrong with this town, kid.
It's like all other towns.
Except the one you grew up in.
I suppose you're right.
You know what you need is a little diversion.
Oh, here, my man.
Load these guns up again, will you?
Yes, sir, both guns, chum.
Naturally.
You'll try it again, won't you, son?
All right, sir.
Okay.
You know, I think perhaps I've got just the right medicine for your homesickness, young
fellow.
Oh, what's that?
A girl.
A girl?
Yes.
Don't tell me you've never heard of them.
Well, if you haven't, bless me.
I don't want to be the one to tell you.
No, that's not it.
Here you are, sir, that'll be two bucks.
Two dollars?
That's right, chum.
There's a war on in case you haven't heard.
Ambulance is kind of hard to get nowadays.
Oh, well, as a matter of fact, it's a little dark in here and my eyes aren't what they
used to be, so perhaps I'll simply forget.
No, no, no.
Here's the money.
Go on.
Go ahead, Pop.
Shoot.
You wouldn't care to make a small wager on this, would you, my boy?
As I say, my eyes.
No, no, no, no, thanks.
Well, as I was saying, son, I have a splendid idea.
Now, tomorrow, being the Sabbath, my wife and I are bound for Minnewanka on a peaceful
little fishing expedition.
If you'd care to accompany us, there is a faint chance, just a faint chance, mind you,
that I might round up a beautiful young lady who will make it a fortune.
Well, wouldn't that be too much trouble?
Oh, not at all, son.
Meet me here tomorrow at nine.
What do you say?
Gee, that...
Well, that's swell, except that...
Except what?
Oh, do you mind if I shoot first?
No, no, go ahead.
Except that I've never been fishing before in my life.
Oh, don't worry about it.
Hey, your eyes aren't too bad.
With a fish, the big thing is not so much your experience as your bait.
The idea of not being alone again on Sunday is what excited me.
I didn't give much thought to the girl until I saw her.
If you've ever seen a truly beautiful woman walking toward you, you'll know what I'm talking about.
First, you see the tiny gray silhouette in the distance,
and then the figure seems to spring to life.
Each curve rums into place, and finally you see the smooth oval face
and the long, aw-burned hair dancing in the breeze.
And before you know it, you're in a trance, that's all.
That must have been what happened to me when I first saw Jolly,
because I don't remember much of anything until I heard myself saying...
Oh, hey, what's that?
A worm, silly.
You can't fish without a worm.
Do I have to?
Well, of course.
As captain of this boat, I promised to bring in more fish than horse.
I order you to put that worm on the hook.
No, it shakes.
Rather gracefully, don't you think?
Kind of reminds me of a shimmy queen in a burlesque show.
Oh.
There. Now you did it.
Easy, wasn't it?
Now drop your line in the water.
Okay.
Well, where's the fish?
Patience, lad, patience.
The fish haven't had a chance to read Dreadbird yet.
Well, if they could only see you, Jolly,
I doubt if they'd bother with my line at all.
Oh, your line isn't bad, Eddie.
This is so bad at all.
I guess in the next few hours, I told her just about all I could remember about myself,
about wanting to be an actor and leaving home
and coming to this town and the disappointments
and how I decided to go home while I still had some money left
and how lonely I was, how terribly lonely I was.
And before she left that night, she wouldn't let me take her home.
I made a day for the next night.
It's funny how quick you can get to feel that way about somebody when you're lonely.
We met in the Astolabian after we talked for a while.
Well, for a slow starter, you certainly pour it on in the backstretch.
No, no, no, please don't laugh, Jolly. I'm pretty serious.
About what?
About you.
How about me?
Jolly, look, look, I was planning to go home today.
I had the ticket in my pocket, and this morning I turned it in.
Oh.
Look, I still want to go home, Jolly, but I want you to go with me.
You want what?
I...I want you to marry me.
Jolly?
I heard.
Well?
You want an answer, no?
Yes.
No, Eddie.
Oh, I...
I'm sorry.
Well, is there somebody else...
No, it isn't that, Eddie.
It isn't anything you could possibly imagine.
It isn't even that I don't love you, because maybe I do.
Jolly!
But you see, Eddie, I was going to ask you something tonight, too,
and it doesn't stack up very well against what you asked me.
Jolly, what? What?
Oh, I know it's silly.
We've only known each other for 48 hours, and it shouldn't matter, but...
Oh, it doesn't matter anyway, no.
Jolly, you've got to tell me.
It's just an old, old story, Eddie.
Such an old story that you probably wouldn't even believe it.
That's the trouble.
Look, I believe anything you told me.
It's about my mother out west and how I support her and how she needs an operation, and...
I was going to ask you for $1,000.
Is that all?
That's enough.
Oh, Jolly, why did you put me through such a cold sweat for a little thing like that?
It's pretty complicated.
Oh, what's complicated about it?
Look, Jolly, look, here's a ring.
It's all I've got right now, but I wish you'd wear it.
Oh, it's beautiful.
An old Samoan chief gave it to me when I was in Tahiti.
Go ahead, look inside.
The Eddie Lewis from Question Mall.
Yeah, I had that engraved in it when I got back to the States.
I never did know the old guy's name.
Will you wear it?
Eddie, I'll meet you here tomorrow for lunch.
And if I'm wearing the ring, third finger left hand, you'll know that I do.
All right.
Jolly.
Yes?
Do you want the money now?
No, Eddie, no.
Not now.
The next day I was there waiting for her way ahead of time again, but this time she was late.
After a half hour, I began to get worried.
Then I began to get scared.
After a full hour had gone by and she still hadn't shown up, I was half crazy.
Then I felt a hand on my arm and a voice peaking over my shoulder.
You waiting for somebody?
That's right.
A lady?
Yeah, what about it?
Was your name the Eddie Lewis?
Yes.
Say, what do you know about the fact that I'm...
We found your name written in lipstick on the back of a bathroom door up on the 10th floor.
After it, it said, ask the lobby, 1 o'clock.
So we sort of put two and two together.
You see, I'm from headquarters, Eddie.
What?
I'm a detective.
Detective?
Listen, if you know anything about Jolly Andrews, I was supposed to meet you.
I was supposed to meet her here about an hour ago and she hasn't...
Would she have been wearing this ring by any chance?
Well, that's right. That's my ring.
Where is she?
She's down at the city morgue, Eddie.
She's dead.
For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you as star Mr. Dane Clark,
whom you have heard in the first act of A Guy Gets Lonely,
a radio play by Don Paul Nathanson,
which is Roma Wines' presentation tonight of Suspense.
Between the acts of suspense, this is Truman Bradley for Roma Wines.
Gracious hostess, internationally known on entertaining,
Elsa Maxwell's suggestions are always worthwhile.
Spring is here and nature is again bursting into life.
Let's bring some of this beauty to the dinner table.
A centerpiece of spring flowers will brighten your table
and there's no better way to awaken winter weary appetites
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Like all Roma wines, unvaryingly good, always high in quality.
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by the ancient skill of Roma's famed wineries.
Yet all this goodness is yours for only pennies a glass.
Remember, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wines.
R-O-M-A, Roma wines.
And now Roma wines bring back to our Hollywood sound stage,
Dane Clark as Eddie in A Guy Gets Lonely,
a play well calculated to keep you in suspense.
My mind was going round like a merry-go-round,
having an old mooch or like Horace walk up out of a clear sky
and introduce you to a girl like Jorley,
proposing to her after only 48 hours
and then having a cop come along and tell you she's dead.
They took me down to headquarters and I was there all day
answering questions and trying to dope out what had happened myself.
I even told them how she'd asked me for a thousand dollars,
but they didn't pay much attention to anything I said.
It's a simple case of suicide and that's that.
But it couldn't be! Jorley wouldn't commit suicide?
You recognized her, didn't you?
Well, I...
Well, what?
People don't look quite the same
after they've fallen ten stories on a concrete site.
But you recognized her.
Yes, yes, I recognized her, but why did she write my name on the inside of that door?
How do I know what women think about before they jump out the window?
I'm not Mr. Anthony.
Well, look, maybe somebody followed her.
Maybe somebody tried to force the door...
There wasn't any lock on the door.
Then it would have been that much easier. Maybe somebody...
Look, Eddie, just what are you trying to make out of this?
I don't know!
All I know is it couldn't have been as simple as this!
You wouldn't be thinking about murder, would you?
Maybe.
Now, Eddie, this sort of thing happens all the time.
Look, I'll draw you a picture.
A friendless girl meets guy.
They start going together.
Then she asks him for money.
He doesn't give.
The next day...
Look, I told you we were going to get married.
I'm doing the talking.
She asks him for money and he doesn't give, see?
The next day she writes his name on the handiest plain white surface and...
Boom.
Now, how does that look to you?
All right, all right.
But what about Horace?
Have you tried to trace him?
Yes, sure, sure. We tried to find Horace.
Only we didn't.
Mainly on account of he doesn't exist, if you ask me.
I talked to him, I tell you! He introduced us!
You don't have to go that far to explain how a man meets a girl nowadays, Eddie.
Look, he did introduce us. He was an old man, white-haired, was in a shooting gallery...
Eddie has a hobby of introducing guys to beautiful gals and nobody knows where he lives.
And the only time you ever met him was in the Penny Arcade that's so busy
they wouldn't remember George Washington being in there.
That and the time you were seen together by a couple of lake trouts.
I'll cut it out, will you, son?
All right, go on home, Eddie.
I wouldn't leave town just yet, though, if I were you.
All right.
And, uh, Eddie.
Yeah?
I wouldn't push that murder theory too far, either.
Why?
Because you know who's the only possible suspect for murder?
That's right. You.
First, I didn't know what to do or what to think.
I didn't blame the cops.
From where they sat, it just didn't make any sense any other way.
And then all at once, I knew what I was going to do.
First, I moved to another hotel just in case.
And then I started growing a full beard and I dyed it black.
And my hair, too. You see, I'm a natural blonde,
so it turned out pretty good. Good enough to pass off for a night anyway.
And I really am an actor. Maybe no Barry more,
but enough to give a fair imitation of an accent.
And I got some different clothes. And then I was ready.
I began haunting that shooting gallery
because I figured the old man had a system.
But after about three weeks, I had about given up hope.
When one Saturday night, I walked into a little place off Times Square
and I saw him!
My heart was jumping through hoops, but I just sort of
swung it around, tried to look as down in the mouth as I could,
kept my face out of the light.
I felt pretty safe with the beard.
So I went over and I stood next to him.
Oh! Well, my aim seems to be off tonight.
Oh, pardon me. Do you have a match?
I reckon I do. Sure, here you are.
Oh, thank you.
My boy, would you like to try your skill at the shooting gallery?
Perhaps a little wager?
Oh, thanks. I've just about had enough shooting to last me a lifetime.
I just come back from two years in the South Pacific.
So that's where you got the beard?
Yeah, a bunch of us fellas grew them down there.
I promised my kinfolk I'd let them see it before I shaved it off.
I'm not so sure I would shave it off. It's mightily becoming to you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Where are your folks?
Texas. Got a mighty nice little ranch of my own down there.
Sure do miss it.
Kind of lonely, huh?
You don't say that again, mister.
Well, son, if you'd forgive an old man for sticking his nose in somebody's business where he's got no call to...
Shanks, no. What's on your mind?
I think I know just the medicine for you.
What's that?
A girl.
That was it. That's what I've been waiting for.
First I thought of taking the old devil out in the alley and sweating it out right then and there.
Then I thought, no.
No, there'll be a girl and I want to have a talk with that girl.
In the meantime, the old man was going on about that fishing trip.
If you'd care to join us, my boy, I think I can promise you a very pleasant afternoon.
Well, I reckon I couldn't do that. Perhaps if you could make it tomorrow night.
Well, now that might be arranged. Where would you like to have us meet you?
Couldn't you just sort of give me the young lady's phone number? Tell her I was fixing it all?
I'm afraid, you see, this particular young lady doesn't have a phone.
Don't think I'm not downright grateful, Mr. Orr, that I wouldn't enjoy your company, but...
But you'd rather be alone.
Shucks. No, don't get me wrong. I'm no wolf or nothing like that.
But when a fella has his first date with a gal more than two years, maybe you can't understand what that means.
I think maybe I get the general idea, son.
I'll tell her to look for a handsome Texan with a beard.
Can you be here tomorrow night at, say, eight o'clock?
I calculate I sure can.
My boy, you've got yourself a date.
The next night I was there in plenty of time.
I had plans for that girl, lots of plans.
As I got around toward eight o'clock, I kept looking toward the street entrance,
but somehow I must have missed her because the next thing I knew,
there was somebody standing beside me and I heard a voice.
Hello there. I'm Joyce Arlen.
It seemed as though minutes went by before I was able to say a word.
If it hadn't been dark where I was sitting, she couldn't have but helped to see that something was wrong
because the girl was Jorley, my Jorley, who was supposed to be dead,
the Jorley that I'd seen it myself at the slam at the city morgue.
And somehow, somehow I managed to pull myself together and start talking.
You're Johnny Farrell, aren't you?
Yeah, well, that's right.
It was sure mighty nice of you to come.
Oh, that's all right. I wasn't doing anything.
Is there anything in particular you'd like to do now?
No, nothing in particular.
I thought maybe you'd like to go dancing or something like that.
Only I...
Only what?
Well, I discovered a terrible thing just before you got here, Miss...
Ma'am.
You can call me Joyce.
You see, I left my wallet up in my hotel room.
Oh?
If you all wouldn't mind stopping by, they would make me a drink.
If you wouldn't mind stopping by, they would meet for a minute while I pick it up,
then we could...
I suppose while we're up there, I can look over your actions or...
Oh, no, ma'am. I ain't that kind honest, I'm not.
But if you don't want to go, it...
Oh, what's the difference? Come on, let's go.
You always keep it this dark in here?
Well, there's a couple of bulbs burned out.
I told them to have them fixed, but they...
Where's that wallet?
In the closet there, my other suit.
Say, Joyce.
Yes?
Would you mind if I stepped in here and saw it slicked up a little before we went out?
No, no. Go right ahead.
I went into the bathroom and got out my razor.
My plans were still the same.
I excused myself a minute before we came upstairs,
and I made the phone call that I planned to.
There was a couple of little extra flourishes to be added on now
that I hadn't figured out before.
First I shaved off my beard.
Then I went to work on the hair dye with some rubbing alcohol.
It came out pretty easy.
And I was almost ready when I heard her voice in the next room.
Johnny!
Yes?
I think maybe I'd better go home.
You mean you reckon you don't want to go out with me?
Oh, well, it isn't you, Johnny, but...
Well, what is it?
You'll think I'm crazy if I tell you.
No, no, I won't. What is it?
Well, you sort of remind me of someone.
Who?
Oh, just someone I used to know.
Oh, but, Joyce, I'm all ready to go now.
Well...
Only first I thought maybe we'd better have a little more light on the subject.
I thought you said you didn't have any...
Hello, Jolly.
Eddie.
That's right.
Eddie, I thought you...
You thought I'd never catch up with you.
All right, Jolly, all right. Give.
What?
Come on, talk and talk fast. Who was that other girl?
The one they thought was you, the one who's dead.
Well, she was my sister.
What happened to her?
I don't know.
What kind of a racket are you and the old man running anyway?
Well, Horace is... He's my father, Eddie.
He's my stepfather anyway.
Oh, that's nice. It's very nice.
He keeps it all in the family, huh?
Oh, Eddie, you can think anything you want to.
Nothing could be quite bad enough, but...
Please believe me, I wasn't playing any games with you.
No?
No!
That's why I sent Evelyn that day, my sister.
I gave her your ring so you'd know she really came for me.
I just couldn't face her myself.
Face me with what?
With what Horace and I had planned to do to you.
The old shakedown, huh?
I guess so.
Evelyn was horrified anyway when she got wind of it.
She was a funny girl.
She belonged to one of those religious sects,
and she said we'd have to atone for our sins and be punished.
And now...
Maybe you'd better start from the beginning.
Well, that's about all.
We were awfully hard up,
and Mother really was sick.
And I'd borrowed some money once from a man I'd met.
I paid it back that time, but it gave Horace ideas.
He weaseled and threatened and said our mother might die, and...
Well, I'd had a couple of pretty raw deals pulled on me out here,
and I just didn't care anymore, I guess.
That is...
Till I met you.
And so you sent your sister to me to confess all,
and she jumped out of the window instead. Is that what you think happened?
I don't know.
Then why didn't you tell me what you knew then?
Well, I wouldn't have brought Evelyn back to life.
And Horace said we'd all go to prison, and...
You see, Mother didn't know what was going on.
It would have broken her heart.
Yes, but you went right back at it again.
Well, Horace said if he'd had just a little money, he'd go away.
He'd leave us alone and go back east.
And I was supposed to be the next victim as Johnny Farrell
with a ranch in Texas.
No, Eddie, no.
Not after I met you.
No.
No.
You weren't before, were you?
Oh, Eddie, maybe if you knew a little more about
what a girl is up against in this town, you'd understand.
Where is it? Where is it?
Telegram.
Telegram?
Well...
Ah, yes. I had a hunch about you, my boy.
Horace!
Why, you will...
Oh, don't try anything foolish.
I'm quite expert with this little gun, as you may recall, my boy.
I suggest we close the door and have a nice quiet talk
just between ourselves.
That's better.
So, in spite of all my admonitions,
you still persist in this confessional mood, do you, my dear?
Horace, what are you going to do?
You young people may not see it quite my way,
but I'm an old man and I don't fancy the notion
of spending my remaining years behind bars.
It's quite a penalty for extortion, you know?
You're telling me.
And so I'm afraid there's going to be a little accident up here,
something like the accident that happened to poor Evelyn.
So you did kill her!
Well, technically, yes, I did assist her through that window
after she insisted on making a scene.
Why, you...
Evelyn was always excitable, you know,
really not quite normal, I'm afraid.
Horace, you're mad.
Now, my dear, I want you to write a little note.
See, there's paper and pen over there on the desk.
And you will say,
Darling, forgive me,
but it will be best this way for both of us.
And sign your name.
You must be mad to think I'd do such a thing.
You wouldn't like to see me kill your lover here, would you?
Oh, yes, these old eyes can still tell love when they see it.
Jolly, look, don't do it, don't do it.
Can't you see he's going to kill us both anyway?
Horace, will you promise then?
Of course I will.
That's it, my dear.
Write it down just as I told you.
There's only one thing wrong with all this, Horace.
You want to know what it is?
Naturally.
I've already called the police.
They're waiting for me in the lobby right now.
And if I'm not down there in about five minutes, they'll be up here.
Oh, dear. This is embarrassing, isn't it?
Isn't it?
I think perhaps you'd better get on that telephone, my boy.
Give directions for the officers to go away immediately.
Say that you no longer have any need of them.
Well, all right.
Hello? Hello, desk?
You know, those two men who are waiting in the lobby for me.
Well, tell them...
Tell them to get up here as fast as they can.
Horace, no!
Jolly, why you won't...
Jolly, Jolly, are you all right?
I think so. It's only my shoulder.
Oh, darling, you shouldn't have gotten in the way.
I'd rather have had it been me than you.
Look, I'll call a doctor.
What's going on here? We heard a shot.
Look, there's the man who's responsible for the suicide of Jolly Andrews.
Only it wasn't a suicide. He killed her.
It wasn't Jolly Andrews. That's Jolly Andrews over here.
What are you talking about?
Hello, hello, hello? I've got to get a doctor. Wait a minute, will you?
All right.
Hello?
Look, don't you understand? Look, that isn't Jolly Andrews.
That's Jolly Andrews over there.
You're not making sense, man.
Look, fella, look. I met this guy at a hotel.
And then we went fishing and then we put the worms on a hook.
And then she was in a slam and she was dead.
Only she's not dead. She's wonderful. We're going to get married.
See, I love her.
And then Horace and I were in the shooting gallery.
Then I met him and I dyed my hair and I made a...
...flame taxis accent, see.
And I met him one afternoon.
I'd like to show him something over myself.
Jolly's alive.
And so closes, a guy gets lonely.
In which Roma wines have brought you, Mr. Dane Clark, a star of tonight's study in...
Suspense.
Before our star returns to the microphone, let me say a word for Roma Wines, the sponsor of Suspense.
Elsa Maxwell is known the world over for her great charm as a hostess.
Now, here's a brief message from this noted authority.
It is always a gracious act of hospitality to serve a glass of distinguished Roma wine.
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Try Roma vermouth soon, won't you?
This is Dane Clark. That I enjoyed appearing on Suspense goes without saying, all of us do.
Next week's show sounds like it'll be really swell.
It's a story written by one of the great contemporary masters of the art of suspense, Dashiell Hammett.
And starring in it will be two of your favorite Hollywood people, John Payne and Stuart Irwin.
I'll surely want to catch the one next Thursday, and I know you will too.
Suspense is produced, edited, and directed by William Spear.
Dane Clark appeared through the courtesy of Warner Brothers, and will soon be seen with Dennis Morgan
in their production, God Is My Co-Pilot.
Next Thursday, same time, John Payne will be your star of Suspense.
Presented by Roma Wines, R-O-M-A.
Made in California for enjoyment throughout the world.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.