Suspense.
Radio's outstanding theater of thrills brings you an hour, a full 60 minutes of suspense.
Tonight, Crossfire.
Our stars, Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, and Sam Levine, with George Cooper and
William Phipps, all playing their original roles from the current RKO radio picture in
an adaptation for Suspense, produced and directed by Anton M. Lieder.
Crossfire.
Robert Young stars as Captain Finley, Robert Mitchum is Keely, Robert Ryan is Monte, Sam
Levine is Samuels, and Marlo Dwyer is Ginny.
With these performances and with Crossfire, we again hope to keep you in Suspense.
My name is Finley, Captain of Detectives Homicide, Washington, D.C.
I was the cop on the case.
A call came in at 945, a girl.
I told her to stay there and we went up.
It was an apartment on E Street, the third floor, number 307.
The girl was still there and let us in.
The place didn't look too bad, considering there was a chair knocked over and a lamp
and a little liquor slopped around, but aside from that, not bad.
Except there was a man lying in the middle of the floor, a man named Joseph Samuels, and
he was dead, beaten to death.
Ah, no, no, take it easy, Miss Lewis.
I'm all right.
Was Samuels drunk when you left him in this bar, Miss Lewis?
No.
Had he been drinking?
Yes, but he was all right.
What was he arguing with the soldier about?
They weren't arguing, they were just talking.
I sent Sammy over to talk to the soldier myself.
The kid seemed so upset about something.
Here's the man's water, Captain.
I found it behind the cushions on the sofa.
Well, let's have it.
Corporal Arthur Mitchell.
What rank was the soldier, Miss Lewis?
I didn't notice.
I left them.
Where did you go?
I went up to my room.
It was the bar in my hotel.
I had a change, so I told Sammy I'd meet him here in his apartment.
We had a date for dinner.
I rested a while and then I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I phoned the apartment to say I'd be a little late, but there wasn't
any answer.
I came over as soon as I could find a cab.
Then I called you.
Do I have to stay here any longer?
No, I'll get somebody to drive you home.
O'Hara.
Take Miss Lewis home and check in the bar at her hotel.
I will do.
Come on, Miss Lewis.
Oh, wait a minute.
Take this wallet to the Provo Marshal's office and see if they can locate this man.
Sure.
Well, what do you want?
Oh, I'm sorry.
I must have the wrong place.
What place are you looking for?
Well, I thought it was this apartment.
I was looking for a buddy of mine.
You're cops?
Yeah, we're cops.
Has something happened?
Tell us about your buddy.
Yes, sir.
Well, we was here.
He left before we did.
He wasn't feeling good.
He said he'd be right back.
Who was we?
Me and another buddy of mine.
Who did you come here with?
With these two buddies of mine and this fellow.
What fellow?
This fellow we met in the bar.
And Miss Lewis?
Yes.
Soldier, do you recognize this young lady?
Come on.
Did you see this young lady in the bar?
Yes, sir.
Miss Lewis, is this the man who was with Samuels when you left?
No, it was another.
What's it all about?
Come in, soldier, and give a look.
Geez, that's tough.
Yeah, isn't it?
Somebody killed him.
Could you identify him?
Same fellow you met in the bar?
Yeah, that's him.
What's your name?
Montgomery, sir.
Were you drunk tonight?
Well, I had a couple, but I can handle that.
I see.
How long have you been out of the service?
Two weeks, about.
Live here?
No, sir.
What are you doing in Washington?
I just came back to see some of my buddies.
Where are you staying?
At the Stuart Hotel.
That's where I used to be stationed.
I'm sponging a free bunk from one of my buddies.
What's your buddy's name, this one who was sick, the one who was coming back?
Mitchell.
Mitch, we call him.
Oh, here, hand me that wallet.
Here you are, sir.
Corporal Arthur Mitchell.
Yeah, that's him.
Ever see this wallet, soldier?
Where did you find it?
In the sofa.
It must have dropped out of his pocket, but believe me, Mitch couldn't have.
What's his outfit?
Same as mine was.
What were you in?
Signal Corps Detachment, Stuart Hotel.
Well, here, let's clean it up.
Get the coroner up here and give me a full report.
Okay, boys.
Let's go, Montgomery.
Sure, but where are we going?
The headquarters.
See what I mean?
Routine, just routine.
I put a man on the finding this Mitchell, the one who belonged to the wallet, and I
talked some more to Montgomery.
Nothing.
Not a cooperative type, but nothing.
Pretty soon my man came back.
He couldn't find Mitchell, but he had his roommate, a guy named Keely, the uncooperative
type.
There he is, Captain.
Oh, thanks.
You, Keely, Sergeant Keely?
Yeah, I'm Keely.
I'm sorry to break up your Saturday night game, Sergeant.
You want to see me about something, Captain?
Yes, I want to see you about Mitchell.
What about Mitchell?
About Mitchell killing a guy.
Killing a guy?
You know Mitchell, don't you?
Yeah, but who's he supposed to have killed?
Sit down, Sergeant.
We'll talk about it.
When did you see Mitchell last?
This afternoon, two o'clock.
Where was he going?
Crawling.
Where?
Nowhere.
Soldiers don't have anywhere to go unless you tell them where to go.
When they're off duty, they go crawling or they go crazy.
What did you do before you got in the Army?
What's that got to do with it?
It might help me understand your answers.
I worked on newspapers.
Oh.
What sort of a job are you doing now?
Ink job.
Purple ink.
Instead of the purple heart, we get purple ink.
Mitchell too?
He's an artist.
He used to do cows eating grass.
He's branched out now.
He does signs.
Keep this washroom clean.
You think he killed anybody, you're crazy.
Why?
He's not the type.
Everybody's the type.
He couldn't kill anybody.
Could you?
I have.
Where?
Where you get medals for it.
I see.
This Mitchell boy couldn't do that either?
No.
Tell me about this afternoon when Mitchell left.
There isn't anything to tell.
He left.
What did you talk to Mrs. Mitchell about?
Why, I just...
Here it is.
Here what is?
According to the hotel charge slip, you called Chicago at 2.30 and talked to Mrs. Mitchell.
His mother?
His wife.
It was personal.
It wouldn't interest you.
What did you call Mrs. Mitchell about?
She called me first.
Last week she was worried about him.
He hadn't written.
I don't know.
Then guess.
He's homesick.
He's wife-sick.
I don't know.
Anyway, he's got snakes.
He's been nuts, but not nuts enough to kill anybody.
How was he this afternoon?
Oh, he was trying to act like a soldier.
I think he went out to look for a girl.
What's your name anyway?
Finley.
Look, Finley, this sort of life doesn't bother some soldiers.
I haven't seen my wife for two years.
When I do, maybe we'll pick right up again.
Maybe we won't.
But I don't worry about it now.
Mitchell's not like that.
He's not tough.
He needs his wife.
I called her this afternoon, told her to hop a plane and come cheer him up.
Here's her wire.
She's on her way.
She'll be here tonight.
That's good.
Still don't know what this is all about.
Why'd you pick me up?
You're Mitchell's closest friend, aren't you?
I don't advertise it.
Mitchell's other friend told us about you.
His other friend?
Who's that?
Hello?
Hi, let's have Montgomery back.
Right away.
Where does Montgomery come in?
He was with Mitchell and a boy named Floyd Bowers this afternoon in a bar.
They met at Mr. Samuel's there and went up to his apartment.
Mitchell left first, but he told Montgomery to be back.
We were looking at Samuel's body when Montgomery came back looking for Mitchell.
You're taking Monty's word for all this?
Not entirely.
You ever see this?
That's Mitch's wallet.
How'd you get it?
We found it in Samuel's apartment down behind the sofa cushions.
Where's Bowers?
Where's Monty?
Ask him yourself.
Hiya, Keely.
Did you hear all this they're trying to pin on Mitch?
Part of it.
Well, this is serious, they're crucifying the kid.
You know Mitch, he won't have a chance.
What do you mean by that?
Well, Captain, I just mean it.
Mitchell's not the kind of guy who knows a scoop on things like this.
He's an artist.
He's sensitive.
And you know all about things like this.
Well, sure, like I told you.
I've been a cop myself in St. Louis.
Four years in the jungle on the East Side, I know the score.
Well, then you can understand my problem, why I need your help.
I'm not helping anybody stick my pal in trouble.
I'm not asking you to, I'm just asking for facts.
How did all this get started in the bar with Samuel's?
Like always, bunch of people in a bar.
Something happens and first thing you know you're talking to somebody.
What happened?
Leroy knocked a drink all over this, what'd you say her name was?
Miss Lewis.
You didn't tell me about Leroy.
Oh, he's just a dumb hillbilly, he's a friend of Floyd's.
He came in with Floyd, but he didn't stay long.
Go on, tell me about it.
Well, like I said, we was talking, me and Floyd and Mitch.
Only Mitch was getting high and clamming up.
I was worried about Mitch.
What's eating you, Mitch?
Nothing's eating me.
Come on, man, let's go.
Sit still, Floyd.
You don't get to meet people going in and out of one bar after another.
Hey, look out, Leroy, that tray.
Oh, my dress.
I'm sorry, lady, I didn't mean to spill.
You silly hillbilly, why don't you watch what you're doing?
That's all right, it was an accident.
A lady with you?
Yeah.
I'm sure sorry about my buddy.
Oh, that's all right.
Here, honey, here, here's a napkin.
Waiter, give me that towel.
Here, miss.
Thanks.
You'll have to forgive Leroy here.
Leroy's from Tennessee.
He just started wearing shoes.
Apologize to the lady, Leroy.
I said I'm sorry.
It was just an accident, soldier.
Leroy's all right.
He's just dumb.
We won the war with him by not letting him go across.
The crowds had caught him and...
Hey, Leroy, where you going?
I'll see you, Floyd.
Well, now, look there.
I heard Leroy's feelings.
I'd better change.
I'll meet you up at your place, Sammy.
Sure, sure, take your time.
Hey, soldier.
Yeah?
Buy a drink?
Sure, why not?
Well, Captain, as Samuel and Mitch went off to the other end of the bar, me and Floyd
was just sitting there talking.
I don't know how long.
This Floyd can really talk when he gets started.
Man, what I couldn't do with a thousand bucks.
What would you do with a thousand bucks?
I'd man with a thousand bucks, I'd go to Mexico.
I'd fish and live on the beach and eat and just live on that beach.
Mexico?
I've been to Mexico.
Them guys down there would have your thousand bucks before you was there a week.
Yeah, not my thousand bucks they wouldn't.
I'd steal me an air-cooled machine gun and I'd just...
Hey, hey, Floyd, Floyd, look, they're leaving.
Who?
Mitch and his pal.
Come on, let's go.
Oh, why do we have to go?
The Jew boy is setting up the drink someplace.
Who?
The Jew boy.
The Jew boy.
Well, Captain, we followed them to Sammy's place and just walked in.
We all had a couple of drinks.
Next thing I knew, Mitch was getting a little green and pretty soon he left.
Floyd was getting kind of stinko too.
So after a while, I got him out of there and started walking him back to the Stewart Hotel.
But then I got worried about Mitch.
So I put Floyd in a cab and went back to look some more for Mitch.
And that's when I met you, Captain.
And you came up to Samuel's apartment even though you saw the police cars outside?
Well, how did I know they had anything to do with Samuel's?
You're just a bunch of hick cops down here anyway.
You'll never pin anything on Mitch, not in a hundred years.
I'm sorry, I'm just worried sick about Mitch.
Did you have any sort of an argument with Samuel's?
What was there to argue about?
What was there to argue about?
Liquor was good.
Everything was okay.
Had you ever seen him before?
No, I told you.
I just met him in the bar.
I never seen him before.
You're sure?
Sure, I'm sure.
Of course, I've seen a lot of guys like him.
Meaning what?
Oh, you know, guys that played it safe during the war, scrounged around keeping themselves
in civvies.
They got swell apartments, swell dames.
You know the kind.
No, I'm not sure that I do.
Just what kind?
You know.
Some of them are named Samuels.
Some of them got funnier names.
You'll be at the Stewart?
Sure, I got nowhere else to go.
I'm just sponging a bunk from one of the boys.
You coming, Keely?
There are one or two more questions I want to ask Sergeant Keely.
Well, so long, Captain.
If there's anything else, just call on me.
You should look at a casualty list sometime.
There are a lot of funny names there, too.
I said Monty's a literate.
I said he ought to read more.
I was just philosophizing.
I'm not interested in philosophy.
I'm trying to solve a murder.
Pardon me.
Mitchell was in a strange mood tonight.
You admit that.
Uh-huh.
He left Samuels' apartment intending to come back.
We arrive and find Samuels beaten to death.
We find Mitchell's wallet in the sofa.
I say Mitchell did come back.
Some sort of an argument developed.
I say nuts.
Why?
Or don't you think Mitchell would kill Samuels that way?
I don't think Mitchell would kill anybody anyway.
You still don't know where he is.
No, I don't.
I didn't know when I came in here, and I haven't suddenly gotten any brighter.
You don't believe you did it yourself.
He could have.
He was there.
So were Monty and Floyd.
But they left.
Mitchell said he was coming back.
According to Monty.
According to Monty.
Monty's a liar.
What makes you believe his story?
It just happens to be the only story I've got.
Then why did you let him go?
Did I?
You don't really think he'll lead you to Floyd Bowers, do you?
I don't know.
Is that all for me?
Yeah, I guess so for now.
Okay.
You know where to find me.
I'm Keely.
You've heard from me already.
I was Mitch's friend.
And, brother, when I walked out of that smart cop's office, I knew if I didn't find him
before the fuzz nabbed him, he was a dead pigeon.
When I got back to the hotel, the lobby was so full of cops and MPs, they were dancing
with each other.
So I rounded up a couple of my scouts, told them Mitch was up to his ears in trouble,
and I stationed them around the lobby to keep an eye out for him.
I also told them to keep on the lookout for Floyd Bowers.
He might know something.
And I waited at the counter of the coffee shop where I could see the street from the
window.
Sure enough, about half an hour, I saw Mitch cutting across the street for the hotel entrance.
I managed to get outside and put the snatch on him before the cops knew what I was up
to.
And ten minutes later, we were sitting in the balcony of an all-night movie house with
nobody around, a few drunks and bums.
And I gave them the pitch.
Keely, I couldn't have killed him.
But that's not the point.
You've got to have a story for the cops.
They've got monies, and it sounds pretty.
But not for you.
I want you to tell me everything you did tonight.
How drunk were you?
I don't know.
Pretty drunk, I guess.
How long were you with this girl?
Well, I think...
Oh, you ought to know.
Was it one hour, two hours, three hours?
I can't remember.
My head hurts.
I can't remember anything very well.
So it hurts.
You've got to remember.
You ran into Monty and Leroy and Floyd, didn't you?
Yes.
And you went in the bar with them.
That's right.
Okay.
Now take it from the bar.
Take it slow and remember everything you can.
Well, we were there quite a while, I guess.
I got restless and I wanted to shove.
I was sick of Monty and I was sick of Floyd.
I wanted to be somewhere else.
So I drifted off to the other end of the bar, and this fellow, Sam, came over and he sat
next to me and began to talk.
First I didn't pay much attention.
I was feeling so low myself.
My girl is worried about you.
She says you're not drinking, but you're getting drunk anyway.
Anybody who can do that has got a problem.
So what?
That's a funny thing, isn't it, how it gets worse at night?
I think maybe it's suddenly not having a lot of enemies to hate anymore.
The war is over.
And now we don't know what we're supposed to do.
We don't know what's supposed to happen.
We're too used to fighting.
But we don't know just what to fight.
Know what I mean?
I guess so.
You can feel the tension in the air right here in this bar.
A lot of fight and hate that doesn't know where to go.
A guy like you may start hating himself.
One of these days maybe we'll all stop hating and start liking things again, huh?
What sort of an artist are you?
I did a mural once for the WPA.
Oh, a lot of fine artists came today.
I saw one that was about that.
He seemed like a nice fellow, this Samuel's, a real nice fellow.
I think he must have been on a newspaper or something.
We talked a while.
Then we decided to go up to his place.
He was going to meet his girl there.
Monty and Floyd must have followed us because after we got to the apartment, they walked
in.
I guess I must have been getting pretty tight because I don't remember exactly what we talked
about up there or how long it was before Monty and Floyd came.
All I remember is that the radio was on playing some nice music, Debussy, I think.
Monty was yammering away doing most of the talking.
You're doing all right, Floyd.
You're doing all right, Mitch Kid.
Sammy, let me tell you something.
Not many civilians will take a soldier into his house like this required talk.
Is that right, Floyd?
That's right, Monty.
Well, let me tell you something.
A guy's afraid to take a soldier into his house, he stinks.
He ought to have the screws put to him.
Am I right or am I right?
Sergeant, don't you think that you...
I asked you a question, Sammy.
What was that?
You know what was that.
Am I right or am I right?
You're right, Sergeant.
You can say that again.
You're all right, Sammy.
Boy, you're okay.
Mitch, are you all right?
I'm all right.
I just need a little air.
Can I get you anything?
No, I'm all right.
I'll be right back.
I'm all right.
He's all right.
You heard him say he's all right.
Let's have another round.
I'm afraid there isn't time, Sergeant.
I have to...
What kind of a brush is this?
What's the matter, Jew boy?
Afraid we'll drink up all your stinking things?
You know how I am, Keely.
I hate to hear anybody yelling at anybody.
So I decided not to go back when I got out.
The air felt good.
I must have started to walk.
I don't remember how far or in what direction.
But the next thing I knew, I was in a joint called the Red Dragon.
I was talking to this girl named Ginny and buying her drinks.
Do I have to tell you my name again?
Well, it's Ginny because I'm from Virginia.
Oh, yeah?
Oh, yeah.
Oh, this joint stinks.
I sure get tired of it here.
What do you work here for, then?
For laughs, dear, for laughs.
Every night?
Every night.
Come on, up with your glass.
Here's to nothing.
You work here and until when?
Until we close.
Then what?
Then I sleep.
Me and myself in my great big bed we sleep.
You know, I could have killed my roommate the other morning.
She was making...
You got that in quick, didn't you?
Drink up and be nice.
You know what I'd like to do?
Yeah, yeah, I know.
No, no.
I'd like to take you dancing.
That's what that music's for.
I work here.
I mean really take you dancing.
The two of us going somewhere, eating something, talking about ourselves.
You're a character.
I'm serious.
Sure, sure, I know.
I remind you of your sister.
You remind me of my wife.
Look, be nice.
Order some more drinks.
Then we'll dance.
I've had enough to drink.
Well, toodaloo.
Wait, Ginny.
Don't go.
I've got some things to do.
I was looking all over for you, Ginny.
What did you leave for?
Well, you didn't want a drink.
All you wanted to do was yelp.
I don't make money on that.
You're not getting so rich out here on the terrace all by yourself.
Well, it's nicer out here on the terrace all by myself.
What's wrong with me anyway?
You're corny.
Well, what did I say?
We were just talking.
Is that what that was?
You know what I'd like to do?
I'd like to take you dancing.
You remind me of my wife.
What's the idea of saying a thing like that?
Well, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to insult you.
You know something?
I haven't really been dancing for almost two years.
Why not?
Because I haven't.
Why?
Because I've been working for a living.
What are you doing?
You're not working for a living.
I'm just here to dance.
How much would you charge to dance with me here?
A lot.
Do you hear a smooth dance with Jenny?
You're not so bad yourself.
It's nice out here.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, this used to be a spaghetti restaurant with tables out here.
They don't use the terrace anymore.
Say, say how would you like me to make you some spaghetti?
You mean here?
Oh, no, silly.
Look, I live at the Regal Apartments on Southern Street.
You could wait for me.
Well, I won't be there for a couple of hours, but you could sleep or something.
Here's the key.
Jenny, will you let me kiss you?
Oh, you're nice.
Look, I'll try to get away early, but if you don't want to wait for me, you can just lock
the door and put the key in the mailbox.
I'll wait.
I guess it was a crazy thing to do, Keely, but it made sense at the time.
Besides, I thought I could use a little shut eye.
So I walked around some more, then I went up to Jenny's apartment.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember, somebody was knocking on
the door.
How about some light?
Sure.
Hasn't she come home yet?
I don't know.
I don't think so.
You mean Jenny, don't you?
What do you mean?
I guess I mean Jenny.
Do you belong here or something?
Or something.
How long have you been waiting?
I don't know.
That's great.
Have a cigarette.
Thanks.
I just woke up.
I don't even know what time it is.
I've got a key here somewhere she gave me.
I know.
I saw you with her at the journey.
Oh?
Who are you?
I'm a man who's waiting for her.
Is that all right?
Sure.
Want some coffee?
Sure.
I'm a husband.
I'm Jenny's husband.
Are you?
I was a soldier too, but I conked up.
I guess you're wondering about this setup, aren't you?
I guess I am.
Well, ask her about it then.
She was a tramp when I married her.
I didn't know it at first, but I knew it before we were married.
It's one of the reasons I enlisted, to get away from her.
I couldn't wait to get out and come back to her.
When I did, she didn't want me.
Funny, isn't it?
But I still want her.
I still love her.
How's that coffee doing?
We'll be ready in a minute.
You know what I just told you?
What's a lie?
I see.
I'm not her husband.
I met her the same as you did the jerk.
I can't keep away from her.
I want to marry her.
She won't have me.
I see.
Do you believe that?
Well, that's a lie too.
I don't love her.
I don't want to marry her.
She makes good money there.
Got any money on you?
Well this screwball goes on with his double talk.
I suddenly remember you, Keely, about having to meet you at the hotel at midnight.
So I decided to get out of there.
I went straight back to the hotel and the next thing I knew you were pushing me around
and hauling me off to this joint.
Listen, I don't like all night movie houses any more than you do.
But you're in a jam.
Now how long was it from the time you left Samus till the time you met this Ginny?
I don't know.
That's a help.
How long were you in a apartment altogether?
Well I think...
You ought to be kept in a cage.
Keely, what's happened?
Is everything suddenly crazy?
I don't mean this.
I mean everything.
Or is it just me?
No, it's not just you.
The snakes are loose.
Anybody can get them.
I got them.
But they're friends, am I?
I think Samuel's understood it.
Yeah, maybe he did at that.
You still in love with your wife?
I guess I am.
She still in love with you?
That's a screwy thing to ask.
Maybe it is, but she's here now, or she should be.
I've got to figure out how much of this to tell her.
Mary?
Here?
Well, what's she...
Don't worry.
She doesn't know anything yet.
She was coming anyway.
Why?
To see you.
I talked to her this afternoon.
Maybe she's here now.
She was supposed to be on a plane.
You sit tight.
I'll go see if I can find her.
Keely.
I couldn't have killed this guy, could I?
Hey, there's Leroy.
I wonder what he wants.
Keely, listen.
I found Floyd.
Floyd?
Where?
In a room in a place down on Maryland Street where he's hiding out.
He just phoned me and tried to raise some dough for something.
He sounded awful scared.
You got the address?
I don't want to have nothing to do with this.
I shouldn't have told you.
I don't want to get in any trouble, Keely.
You won't get in trouble.
All you have to do is tell us where Floyd is, then you can go back to the hotel and stay
there and forget it.
And you, Mitch, you just keep right on watching the picture and don't move.
Don't even move to another seat.
You want Leroy to bring you a sandwich or something?
No.
But, Keely, where are you going?
We're going to see Floyd Bowers.
I didn't have any trouble finding Floyd.
He was just where Leroy said he was, crummy little room on the second floor.
And he was scared, scared to death and wanting to get rid of me the worst way.
Why?
I didn't know then.
I talked to him for quite a while, but I couldn't get a thing out of him.
Well, I didn't have all night to waste either, so after 15 or 20 minutes, I got up to leave.
Well, thanks for dropping around, Keely.
It's okay.
You sure you haven't got anything on your mind?
No, no.
Not a thing, Keely.
Well, I'll be seeing you.
Sure.
Sure.
So long, Keely.
Night, Floyd.
I went on out and down the stairs.
I couldn't figure it out.
Of course I couldn't.
Because what I didn't know was that all the time I'd been in that room, Monty had been
there too.
After I left, he was still there.
It's okay, Monty.
He's gone now.
I know he's gone.
Monty, I didn't call Keely up here.
No?
Oh, Monty, don't.
I told you not to go out anywhere, Floyd.
You went out, Floyd.
You didn't do like I said.
You went out and got in touch with Keely.
You shouldn't have done that.
No, I didn't, Monty.
I didn't get in touch with Keely.
I called Leroy.
Leroy must have told him.
Try money, Monty.
All I did was try to get some dough.
Now, look, you got plenty of dough, Monty.
Give me some dough.
I had everything figured out.
Just what we was going to do.
I told you to stay here.
You went out and phoned.
You spoiled everything.
I didn't, Monty.
I didn't spoil nothing.
I told Keely I hadn't seen you.
You heard me say that.
Nobody can pin anything on you.
That's right, Floyd.
Nobody can pin anything on me.
Now, look, Monty, I'll go to Mexico.
I'll never come back.
I didn't have nothing to do with it.
I don't want to get mixed up in it, Monty.
Cry money, Monty.
You went crazy or something.
Samuels didn't do nothing to you.
You went crazy.
I didn't do nothing to Samuels either.
Except I flicked him like that.
Not that hard, maybe.
More like that.
Or that.
Or that.
Not hard enough to hurt anybody.
Stop it, Monty.
Monty, stop it, you wimp.
I haven't got nothing against any Jews.
I just don't like Jews.
And I don't like nobody who likes Jews.
In tonight's full hour of suspense, our stars are Robert Young as Captain Finley, Robert
Mitchum, Robert Ryan, and Sam Levine in Crossfire.
Tonight's study in suspense.
In just a moment, we will return with Act Two of Suspense.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.
And now, back to our Hollywood soundstage and Act Two of Crossfire.
Starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, and Sam Levine with George Cooper, William
Phipps, and Marlo Dwyer in a narrative well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Like I said before, I'm just a cop.
By this time, I was a tired cop.
Dog tired.
I'd been doing a lot of work for the last six hours, most of it leading nowhere.
Because still, no Mitchell.
But by this time, I had Mrs. Mitchell right in my office.
And figuring maybe she might be anxious to see her husband too, I asked Gohara to locate
that helpful character, Keely.
Okay.
And bring him in.
Right.
Why, here's Sergeant Keely, Captain.
Come on in, Sergeant.
Captain Finley was just sending me out to find you.
I've been waiting to see him.
Hello, Keely.
Mary.
What are you doing here?
We picked up Mrs. Mitchell at the airport.
Oh.
Well, what do you want me for?
Floyd Bowers is dead, Sergeant.
Dead?
He was alive a couple of hours ago.
I just saw him.
Well, when I saw him about 20 minutes ago, he was good and dead, strung up by the necktie.
I just came here, Captain, to tell you I'd talked to Floyd.
If you'd come here right away, Sergeant, as soon as you found out where Floyd was, I could
have talked to him myself and he'd still be alive.
You win, Captain.
Now, don't you think you'd better tell me where Mitchell is, Sergeant?
Why?
I don't want anybody else killed if I can help it.
You might as well work with me now if you really want to help Mitchell, because you're
in custody in case you didn't know it.
I'll listen to anything constructive you have to say, but I won't stand for any more interference.
You've got a mind like a dog catcher.
Okay, I'm in custody.
Everybody's in custody.
What does that prove?
Except that you've got a big jail.
If you want Mitchell so bad, you can go out and find him.
All right.
I was just hoping there was an easier way.
I talked to Mitchell a little while ago.
Where is he?
I said I'd talked to Mitchell, Captain.
He couldn't have killed Samuels.
He didn't go back to Samuels' apartment after he went out for some air.
He went straight to a...
He went straight to a joint where he met a girl.
Oh, Keely.
Take it easy, Mary.
Mitch was in this girl's apartment for the next couple of hours.
What does that prove?
It proves he went to a joint and he met a girl.
What, a man who's just killed somebody do a thing like that?
I'm sorry, Mary.
And it proves where he was for two hours.
Which two hours?
He doesn't remember.
But all you have to do is ask the girl.
Who is she?
She's a girl.
She calls herself Ginny.
Mitch knows where she lives.
When did he tell you all of this?
Just before I went to see Floyd.
Did he know where you were going?
Yeah.
Then he could have killed Floyd himself.
He didn't know the address.
He could have followed you.
Captain Finley, if Keely tells you where Mitch is, will you let him go and will you promise
to let me see Mitch first by myself?
No, I won't let Keely go.
But I'll let you talk to your husband alone.
I'll be waiting outside wherever he is.
Please tell him, Keely.
Please.
He's in the balcony of an all-night movie, The Regent, about four blocks from the hotel.
I took Mrs. Mitchell to the Regent Theater and waited downstairs by the popcorn machine
while she had her private talk with her husband.
I don't know what they said to each other, but it wasn't hard to imagine.
A guy and his wife separated for four years and then sock off this deal.
But you could tell from the way they looked at each other when they came out that whatever
came between them from now on, it wasn't going to be that other girl.
I put Mitchell in the squad car with O'Hara and then Mrs. Mitchell and I went on to pay
our call.
Mitchell had given his wife the address, Regal Apartment, Southern Street, the name Ginny.
Captain Finley?
Yes, Mrs. Mitchell.
Can I go in and talk to Ginny first?
I mean, go in alone.
Why?
Well, she might tell me more than she'd tell you.
All right.
I see the transoms open.
I guess I won't miss anything.
What is it?
Ginny?
Who's there?
I'm Mrs. Mitchell.
Great.
How's Mr. Mitchell?
My husband is so...
Look, what do you want anyway?
It's late.
I'm sorry.
I wanted to talk to a girl named Ginny.
My husband's a soldier who was here tonight.
Well, there aren't any soldiers here now.
Just me.
I don't have anything to do with soldiers.
Sorry.
Good night.
Please wait.
Please.
I've got to talk to you.
It's terribly important.
I know it's late, but you've got to help me.
Can I come in for just a minute?
Please.
Oh, all right.
My husband's in trouble.
Look, I don't know anything about your husband.
Honest, honest, why don't you go home?
Maybe he's waiting for you.
He's in jail.
They say he killed a man, but he didn't.
Okay.
Then there isn't any problem.
What do you want from me anyway?
A character reference?
All I want you to do is to say that he was with you tonight.
Tonight's a long time ago.
I wouldn't be able to remember.
You'd remember Mitch.
Why?
Does he have two heads or something?
You danced with him.
You danced with him out in back of where you work, in a sort of a terrace garden.
You gave him your key and you told him your address.
He told you that he was up here with me tonight?
Yes, he...
Well, he lied to you.
If he was here, I didn't know about it.
I don't know where you got my name and address.
I can't tell you anything else.
You better go now.
Hello, Jenny.
Who are you?
What do you want?
I want to talk to you.
What's your name?
Are you a cop or something?
What's your name?
I don't like cops.
Nobody likes cops.
What's your name?
Virginia Tremaine.
Why?
Where are you from?
From here.
Before you were from here.
Pennsylvania.
Wilkes-Barre.
So what?
What do you do?
I work.
Where?
The Red Dragon.
Well, what's wrong about working there?
Does that make me a criminal or something?
Does that give you the right to bust into my house and start asking a lot of questions?
Is that where you met Mitchell, at the Red Dragon?
That's where I... where I meet a lot of people.
I never heard of this, Mitchell.
You live here alone?
Sure.
Is there something wrong in that?
Jenny, Jenny, the police won't hurt you.
He promised me.
All we want you to do is to tell the truth.
Sit down, Virginia.
Now, about Mrs. Mitchell's husband.
He's in pretty deep Virginia.
Looks like he killed a man.
Maybe two.
Mrs. Mitchell doesn't think he did, of course, but that's only natural.
Jenny, don't you see?
I know he was here.
He told me.
But that doesn't matter anymore.
Never mind me.
You've got to think of him.
Oh, brother.
Listen to that.
Never mind me.
You've got to think of him.
Oh, now, it's time to go.
I'm going to go.
I'm going to go.
I'm going to go.
I'm going to go.
Oh, now, isn't that sweet?
Isn't that just too sweet?
He wasn't here with me, see?
He could have been, but he wasn't.
He could have come up.
I could have cooked him something and we could have talked.
And what would have been wrong with that?
What's the matter with me being with her precious husband?
Does he break or something?
Where was she?
Okay.
Where were you when he needed you?
Maybe you were someplace having beautiful thoughts.
Well, I wasn't.
I was in a stinking gin mill where all he had to do to see me was walk in, sit down
at a table and buy me a drink.
And that's all I know about it.
I didn't ask him if he killed anybody.
Virginia, listen.
You're not involved in this murder, so nothing's going to happen to you.
That's the first point.
Got it?
You bet I got it.
Okay.
Now, when was...
I mean, what time?
What time was Mitchell with you at the Red Dragon?
I don't know.
We found the body of this man, this Samuel, about 10.
He'd only been dead about a half hour.
So if Mitchell was with you from, say, nine to 10, he's all right.
Tell me the truth.
No.
Oh, no.
I gave him my key.
I don't know.
Maybe 8.30.
I liked him.
I felt sorry for him.
I was sick of the stinking joint.
I was going to ditch early, only I couldn't.
I didn't get home until one, or maybe two.
He wasn't here.
He had been here, and he'd gone.
He left the key.
But I don't know what time.
Jenny, is that the truth?
I said it's the truth.
What do you want me to do?
Light up like a Christmas tree?
We're wasting our time, Mrs. Mitchell.
This isn't going to help your husband.
Let's go.
By the time I got to my office, it was dawn, gray and dirty, which is how I felt.
Plus disgusted.
Mitchell and I were going around in circles.
I didn't murder anybody.
Why would I murder him?
What motive would I have?
Maybe you didn't like him.
Maybe you hated him.
Hate's a good motive.
Why would I hate him?
I hardly knew him.
I only talked to him for a couple of hours.
He seemed like a nice guy.
You know he was a Jew?
No.
You mean to say you didn't know he was Jewish?
No.
I didn't think about it.
What would that have to do with it?
We got Montgomery for you.
All right.
I'll see him in a minute.
I'm through here with Mitchell, but I want to talk to Keely again.
Okay, boy.
That door, Mitchell, over there.
Okay.
Here are the papers you wanted from the water department on Samuels.
Oh, yeah.
It was hit on Okinawa.
It got a medical discharge last summer.
Let's give a look.
Samuels Joseph, ASN 392-32880, Army of the United States.
Joseph Samuels was discharged 28 August 1945 upon recommendation of a medical board because
of disability from wounds received at Okinawa.
So that's our stinking civilian.
All right, O'Hara, let's have my...
Okay.
Come on in, Monty.
Okay.
You want to see me, Captain?
I figured it must be important.
I want to help all I can.
Yeah, sit down.
Yes, sir.
Sergeant, how did you know Samuels hadn't been in the Army?
When I talked to you earlier this evening, you were sure that Samuels had never been
in uniform.
How did you know that?
Well, like I said, you could tell.
You could see.
Those kind of guys got ways of keeping themselves from getting dirty.
Why do you ask that, Captain?
I'm just curious.
You know who killed him yet?
Yes, I think I do.
Was that all, Captain?
Didn't you want to ask me something else?
No, that's all.
I can go now?
Yes.
Okay, then, Captain.
Oh, Montgomery.
Yes, sir.
You haven't seen anything of this friend of yours, Floyd Bowers, have you?
No, sir, I haven't.
I can't figure out what...
Well, let me know when you do, will you?
Yes, sir.
So long, sir.
Oh, here, send Keely in.
Well, now what?
You look all in, Keely.
Thanks for the concern.
I'm going to bed.
Sunday morning.
Mrs. Finley is just about leaving for early mass.
Now that I know that, can I go back to bed?
Well, what's the matter?
I thought you were going to have this all solved by now.
I'm in a cage.
I'm not doing anything except breathing.
You've got Mitchell, you've got your little fairy tale all written.
Trunk, trouble at home, can't tell a clear story.
Open and shut.
What's holding you back?
Is that all?
That's all.
All right, then.
Do you really want to help me wind this up?
I thought you didn't like me.
You talk too much sometimes.
Oh, you're appealing to my better side.
Yes.
Making me some sort of a proposition?
Yes.
I'd like to sleep on it.
You can sleep all day when we're finished.
Okay, then.
You usually have to know something about a man to have a reason to kill him, don't you,
Keely?
Yeah, I guess.
You have to know him well enough to be in love with his wife or well enough to know
he has some money.
Mm-hmm.
Samuels didn't have any money, he didn't even have a wife.
So what?
None of these men knew that or anything else about Samuels.
They hadn't known him well enough or long enough to have an ordinary motive for killing
him.
Mitchell talked to him for maybe an hour or the others less.
So it had to be something else, a motive inside the killer himself.
What's going on?
The killer had to be someone who could hate Samuels without knowing him, who could hate
him enough to kill him under the right circumstances, not for any real reason, but mistakenly and
ignorantly.
You interest me, Captain.
Well, once I figured that out, the rest wasn't too hard.
I looked around at my suspects.
I thought back over the answers I'd had tonight, some of them fit.
I knew who killed Samuels.
You booked him?
No, not yet.
I'm taking the chance that you're smart enough to know what I'm talking about.
You don't have to draw me pictures.
I know what you're getting at.
I think you're right.
What do you want me to do?
Yes, I have nothing on Montgomery, nothing at all.
I might never get anything.
I want to take a long chance on nailing him quick.
How well do you know him?
Well, I've tried to like him, but he's not my type.
Does he have many close friends?
He had one, Bowers.
I think he killed him.
So do I.
What about that other southern boy, Leroy?
No, I don't think so.
He was in Monty's platoon.
Just how do you think he feels about Monty?
You're getting ahead of me.
Well, I was hoping he didn't like Monty.
I think he's scared to death of him.
Is he really as dumb as Monty says?
Well, he's pretty young.
He doesn't always know which end is up.
Monty doesn't think he's smart enough to lie.
What if Leroy told Monty a fantastic story?
Would Monty believe him?
Yeah, he might.
I'll risk it.
Ahar?
Yes, sir?
Keely's on his way out.
I don't want to see anything in the papers about Floyd Bowers' killing.
Not a word.
As far as we know, he's still alive.
We've never heard of him.
We'll do, Chief.
Keely, I want you to get Leroy out of the Stuart Hotel without being seen and bring
him here.
Can you do it?
If I have to sandbag him.
In an hour on the nose, Keely was back at headquarters with Leroy.
But it wasn't going to be easy.
Leroy was suspicious and he was scared.
It isn't that I don't want to help, Captain.
It's...
Well, I don't...
Well, I've never been around with Monty and Floyd much.
Monty never wanted me around.
He says I'm stupid.
I guess I am.
Sir, how do you know he really killed him, like you say?
We don't.
That's what we want you to help us prove.
Keely, I told you I didn't want to get in any trouble.
You're not going to get in any trouble and stop worrying about Monty.
Captain Fiddly won't let anything happen to you.
Maybe you're right, sir.
But I can't think he'd do a thing like that without no reason.
He thought he had a reason.
You know the way Monty feels.
You've heard the things he says.
Well, yes, I...
I guess I heard him say a couple of times about Jewish people living off the fat of
the land while he was out there.
And you say that's all lies.
I guess it is.
I don't know, but look, maybe Monty roughed this guy up a little and that was all.
That was all he started out to do, yes.
He didn't have a plan or anything like that.
This business of hating Jews comes in a lot of different sizes.
There's the you can't join our country club kind, and the you can't live around here kind.
Yes, and the you can't work here kind.
Because we stand for all of these, we get Monty's kind.
He's just one guy, we don't get him very often, but he grows out of all the rest.
Look Leroy, you know we have a law against carrying a gun?
Sure.
We have that law because a gun is dangerous.
Well, hate.
Monty's kind of hate is like a gun.
If you carry it around with you, it can go off and kill somebody.
It killed Samuel's last night.
Monty was in my outfit.
It killed Floyd.
I hate to think of anything like that happening to Floyd.
And I hate to see Monty get away with anything.
But look, I'm getting out soon.
I might get in trouble.
And I don't see this as any of my business anyway.
Has Monty ever made fun of your accent?
Well, sure, lots of times.
Why?
I don't know.
He calls you a hillbilly, doesn't he?
He says you're dumb.
He laughs at you because you're from Tennessee.
He's never even been in Tennessee.
Ignorant men are afraid of things they don't understand.
They end up hating them.
You get me all mixed up.
How do I know what you're trying to do?
How do I know you aren't a Jewish person yourself?
Something.
You don't?
But would it make any difference?
I guess not.
Well, all right, Leroy.
But just one more thing, then you can go if you want to.
About a hundred years ago in Ireland, the potato crop failed.
A lot of Irish immigrants came over here.
Their talk was different, like yours, Leroy.
They were Catholics, most of them.
One of my new bots stayed in Boston.
Thought of himself as just another American until suddenly one day he looked around and
saw that something had happened.
It frightened him.
Fear and hatred of all Irish Catholics had developed and spread like a terrible disease.
He saw he wasn't an American anymore.
He was a dirty Irish mick.
He didn't understand.
He didn't know what to do.
But one day when a bunch of men attacked his parish priest on the street, he waited in
to help him.
That night on the way home from work, he stopped off for a beer.
When he left the bar, two men followed him carrying empty whiskey bottles.
They didn't mean to kill him.
They were just going to rough him up a little.
They just started out hating the way Monty started out.
But 20 minutes later, my grandfather was dead.
Your grandfather?
That's history, Leroy.
They don't teach it in school, but it's real American history, just the same.
Thomas Finlay was killed in 1848 just because he was an Irishman and a Catholic.
And last night, Joseph Samuels was killed just because he was a Jew.
Do you see any difference, Leroy?
Hating is always the same, always senseless.
One day it kills Irish Catholics, the next day Jews.
It's hard to stop.
It can end up killing men who wear striped neckties or people from Tennessee.
Will you tell me exactly what to say?
Yep, I'll tell you exactly what to say.
If it would work at all, I knew it would be just the same as if I'd been listening in
on them.
I already knew what Leroy was going to say, and I thought I'd sized up Montgomery well
enough by this time to figure him out too.
And Leroy cornered him in the hotel washroom while he was shaving.
Hiya, Monty.
Hiya.
You heard about everything that happened, Monty?
Uh-huh.
I heard they got Keely and Mitchell and they're holding them.
I guess it's a good thing I left the bar when I did, or I'd be mixed up in it too.
Floyd didn't have anything to do with it, did he, Monty?
Knock it off.
What's the matter, Monty?
Monty, no kidding, Floyd couldn't have done it, could he?
Floyd wouldn't bump anybody off, would he?
I don't know.
He sure acted funny when I saw him last night.
When did you see him?
I saw him after.
After what?
After all that happened.
He wants to see you, Monty.
He asked me to tell you he wanted to see you.
He did?
Honest, Monty, I didn't know whether I ought to tell you or not.
You don't want to get mixed up in anything anymore in your art, but he was acting crazy,
Monty.
He gave me a crazy thing to tell you.
He said, tell Monty the necktie wasn't any good.
What do you mean by that, Monty?
What was this you saw, Floyd Leroy?
How did you happen to see him?
He called me and asked me to come over to where he was.
Where was he?
Some old place down on Maryland Street on the second floor.
Let's see, I wrote down the address.
What did I do with it?
It was on a little piece of paper.
It must have been in my other pocket.
Gosh, Monty, Floyd was really acting crazy.
He said you shouldn't come today.
He said to come tonight before 10.
Well, here it is.
404 Maryland Avenue.
That's it.
Huh?
Will you go see Floyd, Monty?
Will you give him some money?
I wouldn't say anything about this if I was you, Leroy.
Understand?
I wouldn't say a word to anyone.
It was a long shot, but what else could I do?
Ohara and I went down to the Maryland Avenue place and waited.
We'd been waiting about 20 minutes when we heard steps on the stairs.
They stopped on the landing, then started shuffling along the hall.
They stopped again outside the door.
Somebody was fumbling at the doorknob.
Then the door opened.
It was Montgomery.
I, uh, oh.
Hello, Montgomery.
Well, I, uh, I was looking for Floyd Bowers' room.
Somebody said he was here.
Well, that's too bad, Sergeant.
Floyd was here, but he isn't anymore.
Well, what's wrong?
Has something happened, Captain?
Bowers is dead.
Dead?
Mm-hmm.
He was killed today.
You know who killed him?
Mm-hmm.
Not yet.
How, uh, did you know he was here?
When I talked to you last night, you didn't know where he was.
I didn't then.
I didn't know then where he was.
I was talking to a fellow back at the hotel.
He told me Floyd was here, and Floyd was scared, and he wanted to see me about something.
I just come.
I didn't even know which room it was.
I was looking for the right room.
He was knocked off in this room.
Mm-hmm.
The same guy who knocked off Samuel's, maybe.
Well, it could be.
I like Floyd, Captain.
I like Floyd a lot.
I naturally came to help him.
This fellow said he needed some dough for something.
Well, you should have come right away.
Well, this fellow said...
Floyd said not to...
Not till tonight.
I figured if Floyd said that, he must have got a reason.
I see.
Well, it looks like somebody was stringing you along.
Yeah.
What was this fellow's name, the one who told you Floyd wanted to see you?
Look, Captain, I don't want to be a pigeon, this guy.
What was his name?
Leroy something.
He was a friend of Floyd's.
Maybe you'll remember me mentioning him.
Yeah, yeah.
Have you, uh, never been to this house before?
No, no, no.
I never been here before.
I never even been in this part of town.
I didn't know which room it was, except it was on the second floor.
Like Leroy said, I was looking for the right door.
Seems like you have a lot of trouble with doors, Sergeant.
First time we met, you were looking for the right door.
That's... that's right, sir.
But you knew the address.
You knew which house to come to.
Sure.
Leroy, give me the address.
Was it written down on a piece of paper?
Yeah.
Do you still have this piece of paper?
Yeah, I guess so.
Uh, here it is.
Let me see it.
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
I'll have to arrest you, Montgomery.
Why would you arrest me, Captain?
What would you arrest me for?
For the murder of Samuels and Bowers.
You're kidding, Captain.
I never even been here before.
You didn't look at this paper carefully.
This is the address of the house next door.
I wrote it down myself.
You made a mistake, Sergeant.
You came to the right house anyway.
Gee, Captain, you got this all wrong.
Just let me explain.
You see...
The next thing I knew, I was on the floor and O'Hara on top of me.
Montgomery hit him so hard, he bowled me over like a 10-pin.
Then O'Hara was up going down the stairs after him and I was over at the window in time to
see him come out onto the street.
I tried to get the window up, but it wouldn't budge.
I smashed the glass with the butt of my gun, then I took aim.
Montgomery, stop!
Montgomery!
That was all.
By the time I got down to the street, Montgomery was dead.
The crowd was gathering and Keely was standing there looking down at what lay in the street
and sort of shaking his head.
Break it up now.
Break it up.
I'm afraid he was a bad boy.
Bad?
Maybe.
Ignorant.
Fed with it.
Fed to the teeth with it from the day he was born.
Yeah.
All right, O'Hara, clean it up.
Okay, Captain.
How's Mitch?
With his wife.
Want to see him?
I guess not.
Can I drop you anywhere?
No, thanks.
Well, good night, Captain.
Good night, Sergeant.
And good luck.
And good luck.
Our sincere thanks to a wonderful cast.
To Robert Young, who was Captain Finley.
Robert Mitchum in the role of Keely.
Robert Ryan, who played Monty.
And to Sam Levine as Samuels.
To George Cooper as Mitchell.
And William Phipps as Leroy.
To Marlow Dwyer as Ginny.
Julie Bennett as Mary.
Bill Johnstone as O'Hara.
Bill Lally as Floyd.
And Louis Van Rooten as the man.
Our thanks for your superb performances in this suspense adaptation of Crossfire.
Robert Young may currently be seen in Relentless.
Robert Mitchum will soon be seen in the RKO radio picture, Rachel and the Stranger.
Robert Ryan will soon appear in Berlin Express.
And George Cooper in Blood on the Moon, both RKO radio productions.
Sam Levine's next picture is the Babe Ruth story.
Crossfire, based on the original novel, The Brick Foxhole by Richard Brooks, was adapted
for suspense by Robert L. Richards and Henriette Martin, and was produced and directed by Anton
M. Leder.
Lud Gluskin is our musical director and conductor.
And Lucia and Marowak composes the original scores for radio's outstanding theater of
thrills, one hour of suspense.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.