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Roma Wines presents Suspense!
Tonight, Roma Wines bring you an all-star cast of Hollywood radio players headed by Wally Mayer in Dead Ernest.
A Suspense play produced, edited, and directed for Roma Wines by William Spear.
Suspense! Radio's outstanding theater of thrills is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines.
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Accident report submitted to Police Inspector Blandon from Lieutenant Steve Healy.
Place, 15th Street and 4th Avenue, time 2.45 p.m. March 11th. Remarks.
Ernest Bowers, age 34, was crossing intersection at signal light change from green to red.
A car driven by Theodore Tobey made a legal right turn from 15th Street into 4th Avenue.
Hey, hey, look out! Hey, hey, look out!
He hit him!
All right, come on now, come on, let me through here. All right, stand back. Let's have a look.
He's a hurt pat officer. I didn't see him. Honest, I had the right of way.
He's passed out. Hey, one of you people call an ambulance.
I'll call. Yeah, all right, you. OK, move back, move back.
He's bleeding. Here, I'll prop up his head. Yeah, yeah, use his jacket. Here, I'll hold him.
Golly, he's limp. He looks like he... Just like he's dead.
Yes, Ernest Bowers felt like he was dead.
Ernest Bowers suffered from catalepsy, a strange disease.
He carried at all times a note in his inside jacket pocket stating that he was a cataleptic,
and that in the event of seeming death his wife should be immediately notified or his doctor in the event his wife is unavailable.
The letter also requested that no autopsy or embalming should be performed on his body for 72 hours,
although in his particular case the duration of the attacks were usually four hours or less.
Ernest Bowers also wore a sterling silver bracelet with an inscription reading, Do not embalm me.
I am not dead.
Catalepsy is a disease of the nerves and mind.
The physical condition of the cataleptic when he's under a spell closely resembles death in all aspects,
including the primary stages of rigor mortis.
Officer Abbott was on the scene of the accident.
He administered first aid to the injured man before making out his report.
There, that ought to stop the bleeding. Looks like just a cut in his forehead when he hit the ground.
Nothing much.
Well, he can't be hurt. Bad officer. I didn't hit him hard.
Yeah, that's right. It looked like just a little bump. That's all.
All right, all right. Clear back, clear back. Let's have a little air in here.
I'd have to take down some information. All right, what's your name?
Theodore Toby. Here's my license.
Hey, hey, you kids. Where those kids do?
They picked up something off the street. I saw them.
There's the ambulance.
Here it comes. Gee, I hope he's all right. It doesn't look like he's breathing.
By gosh, he ain't.
All right, I told you to get back. Come on now. He's back, all of you.
I'm glad you got here, doctor. He's out cold.
Hello, officer. Let's have a look here.
Yeah, I'll say yes.
All right, let's get him away.
He's dead.
Well, anyway, it didn't happen in the ambulance.
Okay, we'll take him away. Keep him back, will you, officer?
All right, keep back. All right, clear out. The show's over.
All right, it's the second one today.
Yeah. Well, let's go. Come on.
Hey, whose coat was that he was laying on?
I don't know. Did you pick it up?
No. Hey, officer.
Yeah?
Where's the coat?
Yeah. Oh, my golly, it's gone.
Okay. Never mind. Let's go, P.
Hey, what's the matter with you?
Oh, I'm fine.
Ernest Bowers had lost the identification of his condition.
The letter was in the inside pocket of his jacket.
The silver chain he wore on his left wrist
had snapped and fallen to the pavement.
Two youngsters picked up the chain.
Robert Minelli, aged nine and a half, and Tommy Sonner, eight.
You? Yeah. Maybe we should give it back.
Yeah, what for? So he can keep it?
Scor on the back of your father's shop, Bob.
Sure is a nice chain.
Hey, there's writing on it.
Maybe it's the guy's name. Would he hurt bad?
Nah, just a little bump.
What's it say?
Just a second. We'll be out of the alley.
Yeah, Pop's gone home to eat.
Well, let me see it.
Well, wait a second, will you?
It says, do not im...
Oh, do not something me.
I am not dead. It's screwy.
What'll we do with it?
Sell it, dopey.
That's stealing, Bob.
It ain't stealing. We found it, didn't we?
When we try to sell it, they'll ask us where we got it.
What'll we tell them?
Nothing. Use your head. You know what we'll do?
What?
We'll use Pop's welding torch. We'll melt it down.
He told us not to use it.
Pop ain't here, is he?
No. Well, come on.
There it is. Yeah.
Here, put it on that brick.
Okay? Yeah.
Be careful.
I don't know too much about this.
What are you kids doing there?
Huh?
Oh.
Hello, Pop.
Nothing, Mr. Minnelli. We ain't doing nothing.
Nothing, huh?
I thought I told you kids not to go near that torch.
Well, we want to melt this down.
Give me that.
Now, what's this all about?
We found this chain, Papa. We want to melt it down and sell it.
Who's easy?
We don't know, do we, Tommy?
No, no, we don't.
Where'd you get it?
We found it.
Come on, let me have it.
There's nothing wrong, Pop. We just found it. See, it's ours.
Let me see. It says something.
Do not embalm me.
I'm not dead.
Okay. What's that?
It's screwy.
Where do you find it?
In the street. Honest, Pop. I asked Tommy.
All right, all right. Go on and get out of here, please.
Well, how about melting it down, Pop? We can sell it and buy some baseball.
All right. I'll keep it back.
Pop.
Look at Tommy. See it?
Yeah, starting to melt.
See how he does it?
Keep away, I told you.
It's all melted.
They sold the melted chain to a dealer for a dollar thirty.
One dollar and thirty cents.
But the coat, the coat was the principal thing.
In the coat, in the inside pocket was the letter.
The information about Bauer's condition was in the letter.
The instructions that could save his life.
The coat was picked up from the street by honest Jerry Murdoch.
He was a very good man.
He was a very good man.
The coat was picked up from the street by honest Jerry Murdoch.
Now there's a big sign near the corner of 15th Street.
It says, Honest Jerry Murdoch, swap shop.
He brought the coat into a store, rummaged around on his shelves until he found some cleaner.
Then started to clean the bloodstain.
I'm looking for a sport jacket.
Just a minute.
And now, what kind?
Conservative.
Yeah. Will you come over here, please?
Sure.
Yeah, something on that order.
Well, pick out what you want there.
How much do you want to spend?
About five bucks.
These cost more.
How much?
From eight to twelve.
Over here we got some cheaper.
These don't look so hot for eight bucks.
From eight to twelve.
I'll take a look.
No, these don't appeal to me.
What size do you wear?
Forty.
Well, here. We'll try this one on.
This one's conservative.
Kind of tight around the shoulders.
Yeah, it looks cheesy.
Well, I guess you ain't got one of those.
Wait a minute. What's your hurry?
I'm just putting a new one in stock.
Over here with the counter.
That looks all right. What size is it?
I don't know. Here, try it on.
Okay.
Yeah, that feels all right.
Kind of stiff in front here, though.
It's almost new, ain't it?
You'll break it in.
Feels like cardboard or something.
You want it? Five dollars.
Okay.
There might still be a couple of stains on it.
I ain't had time to take up,
use some cleaner on it, or bring it to the tailor.
It'll be better than new.
Here's a five.
Ernest Bowers was brought to the receiving room
of the Vedder General Hospital, the time four ten.
If Bowers was going to awaken, it would probably be
before six forty-five.
Intern on duty, Dr. Weldon, made out his report.
He wrote it down while standing near the telephone switchboard.
Now listen, honey, get this guy's wife on the phone,
if he's got a wife.
Here, here's his wallet.
Another dead one?
Yep. That is a macro.
I'm gonna stay that way, too.
His home phone is here. I'll give it a whirl.
Let's see.
Yes?
This is Vedder General Hospital.
Is there anybody by the name of Bowers at home
that's Bowers? B-O-J-
Just a minute.
She's going to see. How did it happen?
Accident. Automobile hit him.
Funny.
What's funny?
Superficial cut on forehead.
Apparently heart failure.
I'm gonna request an autopsy.
I'd like to find out whether the heart disease was chronic or not.
Hello?
Oh, here she is again.
Nope, nobody home.
Is Mr. Bowers married?
His wife says he is.
Where can I reach her? There's been an accident.
I don't know. She's out.
Will you tell her to call the Vedder General Hospital?
Yes. What happened?
Mr. Bowers is dead.
Can't reach her, huh?
Nope.
Gee, I'd sure like to do that autopsy.
Maybe later.
After he's gone to the morgue.
Get me the orderly room.
Okay, use that one over there here.
Okay.
Hello?
Hello, Payne?
Yeah?
This is Dr. Weldon.
There's a delivery for you to go to the morgue.
Oh, now?
Yeah.
Oh, I ain't had nothing to eat since, uh...
Yeah, yeah, yeah, since lunch.
Go on now. It's down in receiving room B.
The papers are down there, too.
Uh, can I wait a few minutes?
It's gotta go now.
They'll want to start the embalming so they can go home.
How about sending one of the other boys?
I don't care, just as long as it gets there.
It was then 422 in the afternoon.
Dr. Theodore J. Weldon left, uh, honey at the switchboard
and walked upstairs to the intern quarters
and settled down to reading the sports page of the afternoon paper.
At that moment, if anyone had been in receiving room B
of Better General Hospital where the body of Ernest Bowers
lay on the patient carriage,
they could have seen a fly crawl slowly across the face of the dead man.
They would have seen his nose twitch.
For suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you an all-star cast
of Hollywood radio players headed by Wally Mayer
in Dead Ernest, a radio play by Selig Lester and Merwin Girard.
Roma Wines presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Between the acts of suspense, this is Ken Niles for Roma Wines.
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A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Henry Prince had purchased the coat in which the letter was that could save the life of Ernest Bowers.
When Henry Prince left the secondhand clothes store, he stopped to have a chat with some friends,
made some purchases at the grocery store and started home.
The time, a few minutes after five.
He lived about two blocks from the scene of the accident.
His wife was waiting for him.
Well, how do you like it for five bucks?
It looks all right.
What's that? A spot?
Where?
I'll take it off for a second.
Yeah, sure. I wonder what it is.
Oh, he said there were a couple spots. Queen will take them off.
Yeah, it looks like it might be.
What's this in the pocket?
I don't know.
Oh, honestly.
To whom it may concern, please open and read.
Oh, that's what must have felt stiff.
This note is carried on my person wherever I go.
It is to advise responsible parties that I am a cataleptic,
that if it appears as though I am dead, I am not,
and that my body is not to be molested for a period of 72 hours,
neither by autopsy nor by embalming,
although the maximum periods of my attacks usually do not exceed four hours.
Please telephone my wife, Mrs. Margaret Bowers, Fulton 11231.
This is a boarding house, address 841 and one-half,
with 25th Street.
If she is not there, please try, ask Mr. 43422.
This is the number of Dr. Benton.
It is of vital importance. It may mean my life.
Thank you, Ernest Bowers.
That's a funny one.
Where'd you get the coat, Henry?
In Honest, Jerry Murdoch.
I wonder what we can do.
I think it's probably forgotten already.
Somebody sold the coat to him, forgot to take the letter out.
No, it doesn't sound like something a guy would forget.
Oh, the devil.
Well, it might be important.
Look at that, Henry.
Those spots look like blood.
Now too dark.
That's the color blood turns.
I'm going to telephone that number.
Go ahead, but I think you're wasting your time.
All right, all right.
I don't want to mess around.
Oh, shit.
Hello.
I'd like to talk to Mrs. Bowers.
She ain't in.
Well, how do you know? You didn't even go...
She went out, and you ain't the first after her.
Who else wanted to get in touch with her?
Somebody, I don't know who.
Oh, well, thank you.
Hey, you see, you're wasting your time.
Try that Dr. Benton.
Oh.
That's gonna be fair.
One, two, three, four.
Two, two.
Look, I'm hungry.
Oh.
Oh, busy.
How about some dinner?
It's cooking, it's cooking.
You know, I just can't get it out of my head.
That guy, whoever he is lying there,
people thinking him dead when he ain't.
They be doing things to him.
What's him bombing?
Well, he do that at the morgues, preparing his body for burial.
I think they take all the blood out of his veins.
Well, that would kill him if he wasn't already dead.
Well, it couldn't kill him no better.
Henry, I'm gonna find out about that coat.
Where's this place you bought it?
On this jiffy.
Oh, now, wait a minute, Francis.
Look, I put in a good day's work. I'm tired.
Listen.
I don't want to run around the city
looking for something I don't even know about.
Well, I'll go myself.
How about me at home here while you go out?
I want to eat. I'm hungry.
Well, dinner won't be ready for another 15 minutes anyway.
Where is the place?
Oh, all right.
I'll go with you.
Oh, why don't they answer?
What?
Well, he ain't back yet.
What the signs say? 10 minutes?
Yeah, but those guys put up signs like that
after going away for an hour.
Well, we can wait just a few more minutes, Henry.
Oh, come on, Francis.
Hello.
Is, is, is Mrs. Bowers in?
No.
Mr. Bowers?
No, he's dead.
Oh, he is?
That's what they tell me.
Look, would you...
You're bothering me, lady.
I got a meal set on the table.
I can't be answering a million questions.
Yeah, listen, all I want to know is when Mr. Bowers died.
How do I know? Ask Mrs. Bowers.
She'll be home soon.
Oh, yeah, thanks.
Well?
Mr. Bowers is dead.
I found that out.
Well, see, I told you.
Well, what about the letter then?
What if he ain't dead?
What if they only think he's dead?
Well, what do you want to do, wait here all night?
No, I'm going to go down to that place
where you bought the coat.
You're going traipsing around the whole city?
If I have to.
Well, without me then.
Well, all right, all right.
Do as you please.
I'll be home. I'm hungry.
If you think more of a crazy letter
than you do of feeding your own husband,
then that's all.
What do you mean, that's all?
That's what I said. That's all.
Oh, Henry, the trouble with you
is you just don't have no imagination.
No, I just don't have no imagination.
I'm just a home-loving guy. That's all.
I don't go sticking my nose where it don't belong.
Well, go on home then.
I'll find out about it.
Busy, busy, busy.
How can a doctor's line be always busy?
Say, pardon me.
Sure, sure. What do you have?
I just want to find out about the man next door.
Do you know when he'll come back?
Who, honest Jerry? No.
Any day?
No, there's a sign on his door
that says he'll be back in ten minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
I'll be back in ten minutes.
I've been waiting for him for more than a half hour.
Maybe he went home.
Oh, yeah.
Do you know where he lives?
Search me, lady.
Well, he will come back.
He's usually there when we close up here.
That's about seven o'clock.
Yeah, well, thank you.
Oh, officer.
Yes, ma'am?
Officer, do you know where the fellow
who owns that swap shop lives?
No, ma'am, I don't.
Oh, well, I wanted to get in touch with him.
There's a sign on his door.
Why don't you ask him, ma'am?
There he is now, just going in.
Oh, gee, thank you.
Mr. Murdoch?
Mr. Murdoch?
Yeah?
Oh, gee, Mr. Murdoch, I'm glad you came back.
I was just having a bite of tea.
Yeah.
Come on in.
Thanks.
What can I do for you?
You sold my husband a jacket,
a sports jacket this afternoon.
Did I?
What kind?
It was a light blue one.
It had a few stains on it.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I can't take anything back once it's sold.
No, no, I don't want to give it back.
Where'd you get it, Mr. Murdoch?
I don't even know which one you're talking about.
I sell a lot of stuff.
It must have been just a few hours ago.
Blue, blue with thin red boxes.
Oh, what about it?
Where'd you get it?
What do you want to know, fool?
Well, because there was a letter in it,
an important letter.
I don't know.
How can I remember where I got it?
Long ago. Was it long ago?
I don't see where it's any of your business where I got it.
It may be important.
I've been trying to reach the numbers.
The doctor's number's always busy,
and his wife isn't home yet.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Please, I'm busy. I've got lots to do.
Yeah, but you've got to tell me.
Just listen, look, tell me one thing.
Did you have the jacket in here a long time?
Well...
Oh, please, it's very important.
Well, no.
No, I just got it this afternoon.
Oh, but where did you get it?
You said one question.
You asked it, I answered it.
That's all.
There was blood on it.
That I can't help.
Now, if you even excuse me...
Oh, no, listen, Mr. Murdoch, you've got to tell me.
Please.
I don't have to tell anybody anything.
Mr. Murdoch, I may be all wrong.
I'm probably just crazy doing this, but...
But listen, if that man's alive
and they do anything to him,
I'll just never get over it.
I'll just never be able to live with myself.
What are you talking about?
Well, listen, listen, there was a letter
in the inside pocket of that jacket, you see.
It said that Ernest Bowers was a cataleptic.
What's that? You mean he goes into...
No, no, no, no.
A cataleptic is somebody who looks like he's...
He's dead at times, and he isn't.
He goes into a spell, and it looks as though he's dead, you see.
And sometimes they take dead bodies to the morgue.
They bomb them, and that means
they take all the blood out of their veins.
Now, this fellow Bowers is a cataleptic.
I don't know whether he's dead or alive,
or even if he's even worrying about this letter,
but I've got to find out.
Well, there was...
What? What?
An accident before that.
Where? Who was in it?
I don't know. Believe me, lady.
I didn't know anything about all this.
You think this guy who was taken away in an ambulance
was a catalepsy?
That coat. Was it his?
Yeah, lady, but it was left there in the street.
They drove away and left it.
Who?
The ambulance.
What ambulance?
Oh, I don't know. It was on the corner.
The cop was there. He told somebody to call an ambulance.
It came and took the man away.
Is that the cop? Is that the cop out there now?
Yeah, but look, you've got to protect me.
I ain't done anything wrong. I don't know anything about...
Officer! Officer!
Ernest Bowers lay on a slab in the morgue.
If he were alive, probabilities were that he would regain consciousness before 6.45.
The two embalmers on duty at the time had decided to get a bite to eat
when the phone rang.
We're going out to eat. Yeah.
I know another one just came in. We got it here.
Well, what's the rush?
No, no, we just want to grab a cup of coffee, and then we'll get right on it.
Well, is it our fault if it comes in just when we want to have a...
a what?
We can go home after?
Oh, well, that puts a different complexion.
Okay. Yeah.
Hey, what time is it, Tony?
It's 6.30.
Doc says if we embalm this one now, we can go home.
Well, let's start in then. I'm hungry.
Okay. Let's start the motor.
Hey, young guy, ain't he?
Yeah. I was speaking to the wife about that yesterday.
Oh, get the injector out, Tony.
And she was saying more and more people die older and older.
Hey, here. Looks like we can open through the neck.
Yeah. Hey, give me a piece of that gauze.
I said the way she should be around this place a while. We get them all ages.
Hey, want me to do it?
Oh, that's all right. You get the injector ready.
Hey, look at him.
You never think that such a little thing like his heart stops beating could make him dead and not alive.
Yeah, hold it steady now, will you?
Yeah.
Okay, you ready?
Just a second.
Yeah.
All right. Here we go.
What's the matter?
My glasses. They're clouding up.
I'll take them off.
Oh, no, it's all right. I'll just clean them.
What did the wife say to that?
What? Oh, about all ages?
Yeah, yeah.
Oh, she didn't have anything to say.
Only that most of the guys we deal with probably come to a violent end.
Well, there's something in that.
Oh, okay. I got my glasses cleaned.
All right.
What's...
Hmm.
What's the matter?
They're steamed up again.
Funny. Every time I bend over near...
I wonder.
What?
Oh, it must be my imagination.
What?
I could have sworn this guy was breathing on my glasses.
Oh, is he?
No. How could he?
Well, come on, and let's go. It's quarter to seven already.
Yeah.
Hold it, hold it. I'll get the phone.
Let's get this started first.
Okay.
Now we'll just...
Al.
What?
What?
What's the matter with you?
I thought I saw the guy's hand twitch.
Oh, don't be silly.
Oh, boy.
Oh, it gave me a scare.
Hey, let's wait a second. I'll get the phone.
Oh, no, it'll probably be another job. We'll never get out of here.
Let it ring.
That might be my wife.
Oh, well, if people are gonna hang up before you can pick up the phone...
All right, come on now. Let's get this thing over with.
All right.
Okay.
Now, give me the knife again.
That's it. Now I'll make a nice, neat little inc...
Tony.
Yeah?
Look, I'm bent over like this.
I ain't gonna move.
My glasses are full of steam again.
Oh, Lord!
Is...
Is he alive?
Hey, look at me.
I'm shaking all over.
Look at him, Al.
Look at his lips.
Listen.
I...
I...
Shut that thing off.
Apparently, the life of Ernest Bowers was worth a dollar and 30 cents for a silver bracelet
and five dollars for a blood-stained jacket to honest Jerry Murdoch.
Their petty thefts brought a man to the brink of death.
As, uh, as for the busy telephone in Dr. Benton's office, it wasn't busy at all.
The good doctor had unwittingly replaced the receiver on the stand incorrectly.
There's, uh, just one more episode which perhaps doesn't belong in an accident report,
but which I would like to include.
After regaining full consciousness, Ernest Bowers put in a telephone call from the morgue.
Hello?
Hello, Mrs. Brawley. Is Mrs. Bowers in?
I don't know. I didn't see her come in.
Josie, see if Mrs. Bowers is home.
Who is it?
This is Mr. Bowers.
Who? Mr. Bowers?
They told me he was dead. The hospital called us.
I know, Mrs. Brawley, but they made a mistake.
Oh, well, here she is.
Hello? Hello, Ernest? Where are you?
Well, darling, it's quite a long story. You see...
Never mind. You just get right home, you hear?
Dinner's getting ice cold.
Suspense!
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