Auto Light and its 96,000 dealers present Suspense.
Tonight, Auto Light brings you Love, Honor or Murder, a suspense play produced and edited by William Spear and starring Kathy and Elliot Lewis.
Hello Alice. Yeah, this is Helen. Look kid, I'm not going to be able to go to the dance after all.
Well, Harry works the late shift with that taxi of his, so I've got to stay home and look at the four walls again.
I'm so fed up sometimes I feel like leaving this house and Harry and the whole works.
Believe me, the only reason I haven't is because I need the money to do it.
Seven years of wedded bliss. All I can show for it is this stinking place.
If I ever get my hands on a thousand bucks I'd get out of here so fast I'd make it.
I said if I had a thousand bucks I'd kiss off Harry so fast I'd make it.
Hold it a minute Alice, somebody came in. Is that you Harry? Yeah, it's me. I came home early.
Well, if you expect to find dinner at this hour you're going to be disappointed.
It's Harry, Alice. Honey? What was I saying? Oh yeah, the same old thing.
Honey, cut the conversation. Something's happened. What? I said cut the conversation. Here, give me that phone.
Alice, Helen will call you later. Goodbye. Big man. Baby, you know what I got here? Twelve thousand dollars.
Yes, in a moment Cathy and Elliot Lewis and a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Well, I'll spend. Wilcox, where'll you spend your summer vacation?
On the open road, Hap, my hapless pedestrian, enjoying the remarkable performance of my auto light stay full battery.
The battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use. Ah, what? Sweet stay fullment.
Correction Wilcox, you mean sweet fullfillment. Ah, you walked into a trap, Hap.
Milad, the auto light stay full battery brings sweet stay fullment.
Because it has three times as much liquid reserve as batteries without stay full features.
That's why it needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
A man who puns like that won't live long, Wilcox. Ah, but Hap, the auto light stay full battery lives an incredibly long life.
According to tests based on SAE life cycle standards, for example, this famous battery gave 70% longer average life than batteries without stay full features.
I shouldn't have started all this.
Oh, and speaking of starting, my friend, the auto light stay full battery has plenty of starting stamina and dependability.
So friends, see your friendly auto light battery dealer tomorrow and ask for an auto light stay full battery for your car.
And remember, you're always right with auto light.
And now with love, honor or murder and the performances of Cathy and Elliot Lewis, auto light hopes once again to keep you in suspense.
That's what I said, baby. $12,000.
Are you out of your mind, Harry?
Helen, I found this wallet in my cab just a few minutes ago.
Wallet?
Here, look inside. Open it up.
Harry, $100 bills.
I have 50s and 20s and 10s. More than $12,000.
$12,000.
Now is it all right to come home early?
Why, gee, I don't know what to say.
Take it easy, baby. Don't get too excited. I got to give it back.
Give it back?
Well, yeah. Look at the name inside the wallet.
Well, for...
Belongs to a regular custom-mined, Sidney Walker, the news commentator. I take him around town every afternoon. He calls up for me personally.
$12,000.
Yeah, but as far as we're concerned, it's not worth 12 cents, huh?
If I don't turn it into the company before Walker calls about it, they can throw me in a pen for five years.
Then why did you bring it home?
I don't know. I guess I shouldn't have at that. It's just that I never saw so much money before. I wasn't so far away. And I just had to bring it home and show it to you.
You had to bring it home and wave it under my nose. That's like you.
Oh, now, Helen.
That's just like you, Harry.
No, give me the money, Helen. Walker's going to remember leaving the money in my candle, call up the company.
Wait a second. How long ago did you find the money?
Twenty minutes ago. I came straight home.
So what's the hurry?
What?
Nothing. As long as you're home, why don't you wash up? I'll fix you some supper. I'll make you a good supper.
Well, I don't know. I ought to get back.
Go on, honey. Go on. Wash up. Go ahead.
Give us a chance for a little while to kind of pretend the money belongs to us.
Ah, this coffee really hits the spot. Why didn't you eat, honey?
Hmm? I was thinking.
About the 12,000 bucks? Well, someday we'll have it too, baby.
We've got it right now, Harry.
Well, yeah, for about five more minutes.
Well, I guess I'd better report in now. It's been almost an hour. Walker will be calling the company pretty soon.
I want the money to be in the safe when he does.
Uh, you giving me the wallet, Helen?
How do you know Walker will call the company?
We've been through all of that. He'll call because he'll remember the ride with me. We went over a bumpy stretch.
Easy for his wallet to pop out then. He'll probably remember that.
He could have lost it in so many other places. He may not even think of the cab ride. And if he doesn't, won't you feel like a fool?
Well, it's better than cooling my heels in some jail.
I know what I'd do if I were you.
What?
I'd take the chance that Walker wouldn't remember, that he wouldn't call. I'd keep the money.
Well, Helen, stop that.
That's what I'd do. But not you. You've always been afraid to take a chance. You'll always be content to be nothing.
I'm sorry I ever came here with the money. Now give it back to me. I'm turning it into the company.
You love me, Harry.
Well, that's got nothing to do with it.
No, it has everything to do with it. If you leave this house with the money, when you come back, I'll be gone.
Now you're talking like a sad...
I mean it.
Come on, give me your wallet.
Here it is, Harry. When you come back, I'll be gone.
Yeah, I'll bet you will.
Well, I gotta be gone. I'll see you later, honey.
I'll be home later.
Doesn't matter when you come home. You won't find me here.
Fine. You stop talking like that. So long, Helen.
It's really goodbye, Harry. I mean it.
You. You.
You. The first day we were married, you've been twisting me around your little finger.
Only because you know how much I love you. How much I need you.
I guess you'll never stop doing that, will you, Helen?
Well?
What do you want me to do?
Nothing. Nothing. Leave everything to me.
Fearless Cab Company.
This is Mr. Sidney Walker's personal secretary calling.
Don't tell me that Cab Mr. Walker order hasn't got there yet. I sent it out hours ago.
Oh, oh, it got here all right. It's not that.
We're trying to locate Mr. Walker and I just wondered if by any chance you might have heard from him.
What? Oh, no. If he got his cab all right, why should he have called us?
Of course you're right. Well, thank you very much.
Well?
He hasn't reported anything yet.
That don't make sense. 12,000 bucks is a lot of money even for Walker.
Give me the phone book.
If we're gonna call now.
Mr. Walker, of course. We gotta find out why he hasn't reported losing his wallet.
Huh?
Oh, look. Why don't you let me bring the money back? Maybe...
Hey, maybe he'll give me a good reward. He might even give me a...
You're not gonna do anything.
You're gonna get us in trouble, Helen.
I know what I'm doing.
Hello?
I'd like to speak to Mr. Walker, please.
Well, he's not in right now. This is Mr. Walker's housekeeper. Could I take a message?
No, no. This is a personal matter. Where could I be certain of reaching him?
Nowhere until ten o'clock.
Ten o'clock?
Yes. That's when he does his nightly broadcast, you know.
Oh, yes, of course. And what time does he reach the station?
Five minutes after.
Ah. You're quite sure he'll be there then.
Oh, my heavens. You could stake your life on it.
That's been his schedule for a good many years. Who's this talking? Are you a friend of Mr. Walker's?
Oh, yes, yes. My husband and I have known Sydney for a long time.
Well, as long as you're a friend, I can tell you. Mr. Walker has a busy evening ahead of him.
Oh?
He lost his wallet an hour or so ago. It contained a lot of money. Enough for a payment on a house he's wanted.
That's too bad. I do hope he finds it.
Oh, he'll find the wallet all right. He's out looking for it right now.
Do you have any idea where he might have lost it?
Oh, yes, he certainly has, and he's mighty disappointed it hasn't been returned.
He knows who found the wallet?
Not exactly. The way he told it to me, he knows who should have found it.
But that is, he didn't tell me the rascal's name.
I see.
He's too kind and easygoing. That's what he is.
He's always been that way.
I'd have called the police right away.
Why hasn't he?
Oh, he doesn't want to cause any embarrassment or hard feelings, you know.
So first he's going to look everywhere else he's been this evening.
And if it still doesn't turn up?
Well, he says that this fellow he suspects hasn't come by the apartment to return the money by the time he gets home.
Then he'll report it all right.
Oh, but my precious, here I am, gabbing away a mile a minute. I'm sure all this doesn't interest you.
Oh, it does. Of course it does.
Now, if we want to reach Sydney before he gets home, you say he will arrive at the radio station just before ten.
At five minutes to ten, on the dot.
Well, then we'll contact him there. Thank you.
Harry.
Yeah?
That was his housekeeper. About what she said, he knows he left the wallet in your cab.
See, I told you.
Yeah, but he hasn't reported it yet. Mr. Walker is a very fair man.
Well, I'll have time to bring it down to the company.
Harry, how many times do I have to tell you we're not going to bring it down to the company?
Now, come on, we've got to decide what we can do between now and midnight to keep Walker from reporting his loss.
There's nothing we can do. You just said he knows he left the money in my cab.
That's right.
Well, then what is there to decide? What are you smiling about?
Was I smiling? I was thinking of something.
Of what?
You know, there is really only one way in all the world to keep Walker from telling about that wallet.
What are you talking about? The only way to keep Walker from telling would be to kill him.
Now, now, look, we've got to decide what we're going to do, so let's stop the jokes.
Do I look like I'm joking?
No. No, you don't.
Is that gun in the dresser drawer? Never been used? They could never trace anything to you.
Oh, Helen, what are you talking about?
You've got to kill him. It's simple arithmetic.
But how can I? He's never done me any harm.
If he lives, he'll call the police and tell them you've stolen his money.
Well, that's the way I've got to return the money.
If you do that, you'll lose your wife.
No, but Helen, look...
Listen to me. Look how simple it is.
At five minutes to ten, you can be absolutely certain that he'll be entering the broadcasting studio.
If you were waiting outside for him, there are so many quiet places you could take him with a gun.
Yeah, but Helen, listen to me. Even if I wanted to kill him, I couldn't. I have no nerve.
Oh, yes, you have.
What?
You see, Harry, there are some men who can kill a hundred times.
It doesn't bother their appetite. They still get a good night's sleep.
Yeah, but not...
No, I know. No, not you. Not you, Harry.
But every man, even a weakling like you, can kill once.
He's got to kill to get rid of the thing that'll destroy him.
Oh, Helen, please, I can't.
You can. Harry, you can do it for me.
Why don't you let me just bring the money back? It'd be so much better that way.
Harry, what time is it?
What?
What time is it?
It's ten after nine.
You couldn't bring the money back now, even if I let you.
But why?
What time should you have reported in with your cab?
I have passed date. What difference...
Oh.
So that's it.
See what I mean?
If Walker reports his loss now, you're in trouble no matter what you do.
They'll know you were thinking of keeping the money.
In their eyes, that's almost as bad as really keeping it.
Yeah, but I...
You know the rules of that company.
You're supposed to inspect your cab after every fare.
If they don't arrest you, they'll fire you.
They'll blackball you. You'll never get another job.
That's why you kept me here.
I made supper for them. It's all around.
You figured that one out too, didn't you, Helen?
Yes, I figured that one out too.
Walker will get to the station at five to ten. You've got 45 minutes.
Start out in actors if you're on a regular run. That'll be your alibi later.
Just stop at all the usual places and talk to the boys.
And actors will be just another night.
What about my schedule? I was supposed to be in at eight thirty.
You can always tell them that business was so good you couldn't come in.
Shall I get the gun, Harry?
Yes.
Auto Light is bringing you Kathy and Elliot Lewis in Love, Honor or Murder.
Tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Say, Wilcox, if you drive across the Arizona desert, take special note of the barrow cactus.
What? I have.
It's a desert phenomenon. Holes water like a well.
Well, well. That reminds me of the Auto Light's day full battery, the battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
I was afraid it would.
No need for fear, lad, because the Auto Light's day full battery has plenty of starting stamina and dependability.
You see, this super battery has a fiberglass retaining mat protecting every positive plate.
That keeps the power producing material in place and means extra long life.
The little cactus lives a mighty long life too.
Now pardon me, half, but SAE life cycle standard tests show that the Auto Light's day full battery gives 70 percent longer average life than batteries without day full features.
Oh, there's no use talking.
You're so right, half. The thing to do is see your friendly Auto Light battery dealer tomorrow.
Ask for an Auto Light's day full battery, the battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
And remember, you're always right with Auto Light.
And now Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood sound stage our stars, Kathy and Elliot Lewis.
In love, honor or murder, a tale well calculated to keep you in...
...sus-pen-t!
Harry? Is it you?
Beg pardon?
Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was my husband. What do you want?
Oh, you must be Mrs. Blake, Harry's wife, huh?
Yeah, what do you want?
Say, have I talked to you on the phone before?
Why?
Your voice sounds kind of familiar.
You may have. Who is this?
This is Dave Harris over at Peerless Cab Company.
Peerless Cab Company?
Yeah. Say, have you seen Harry in the last couple hours?
No, he's out working.
Well, he should have been through with his shift at 8.30.
It's 25 to 10 already. That's not like Harry.
25 to 10. Is something wrong?
Well, I don't know. One of Harry's regular customers, Sydney Walker, called up a few minutes ago from a restaurant on the way to that broadcast he is.
Yeah?
He thinks he left a wallet in Harry's cab.
I said he thinks he left a...
I heard you.
Well, there was $12,000 in the wallet, Mrs. Blake.
Walker says he looked everywhere else so that he might have lost it and it hasn't turned up.
He just wants me to contact Harry as soon as possible and tell him to look in the back of his cab.
Well, if Harry should call, I'll tell him to get in touch with you right away. I should...
What did you say before?
Huh?
Walker called and told all this before he started for the station?
What are you talking about, Mrs. Blake?
Nothing. Nothing.
Walker called before he reached the station. Harry will be waiting at the station to kill him.
But now Walker's already told him that maybe Harry took the wallet.
Everything will point to Harry. They'll arrest him ten minutes after he's killed Walker.
Harry will tell him everything. He's weak.
He'll try to blame me. He'll tell him I made him do it.
I gotta call him back. I gotta stop him before he kills Walker.
Twenty-five to ten.
Twenty minutes to reach him. I've got to reach him.
Twenty minutes to reach Harry. Twenty minutes to call him back.
I told Harry to make all the regular stops. Everybody will remember him.
I'll let me think.
He'll stop for gas at the taxi garage.
Yeah, yeah, I reached him there before. His number's written down someplace.
Where's that little book?
I'm shaking so I can't...
Here. Here it is.
Here, 265-52.
Here, 265-52.
Five.
Five.
Fearless garage. Max speaking.
This... this is Mrs. Blake calling. Harry Blake's wife?
Yeah, Miss Blake.
Has Harry been there yet? To get his gas, I mean.
Oh, he hasn't been here all night.
Say, what's he been up to?
What do you mean?
I just got a call from the main office to hold him here when he does show up.
Look, Mac, Harry always told me you were his friend.
Well, sure.
Well, he's in trouble, terrible trouble. I haven't got the time to explain.
If I don't reach him right away, I don't know what'll happen.
Well, I don't know what I can do, Miss Blake.
Well, you can tell me the names and the telephone numbers of some of the places that cabbies like Harry stop off at...
Well, he...
...while they're on the runs?
Well, sometimes the boys stop at Gus's coffee shop on Sixth Avenue for coffee.
What's their number?
Uh, wait a minute. It's, uh...
It's State 8-5-7-0.
Yeah, State 8-8-5-7-0. All right, all right. Where else?
Oh, maybe if he had a few minutes to spare, he'd go into Frank's Tavern on Washington Boulevard.
I don't know the phone number there.
I'll look it up, I'll look it up. Where else?
Of course, he might go up to Union headquarters to chew the rank with the boys.
Union headquarters. Yeah, where else?
Look, there's lots of places he might stop off at.
You gotta reach him by ten o'clock, huh? Well, that doesn't leave you much time.
No, it doesn't leave me much time.
I'm trying to locate Harry Blake. Has he been there tonight?
He hasn't.
Well, if he does show up, will you tell him to call his wife? Tell him it's very important.
You're sure Harry isn't in?
Could you just kind of look around again? It...
All right, if you're sure. But listen, if he does drop in, tell him to call home right away.
Harry Blake. Yeah, the cab driver. He was in your place just a few minutes ago.
Can you call him back? Please, it's terribly important. I know you're awful busy and everything.
Hello? Hello? Hello?
Hello?
What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? I gotta stop him.
How? Fifteen minutes to ten. Ten minutes. Only ten minutes. I gotta think. I gotta think.
Radio station's on Sixth and Main. That's two miles away.
Maybe I could get to Harry before Walker reaches there. I've got to try. I've got to try. I've got to stop him.
Driver. Huh? When I got in your cab, you told me you could get me to the radio station in ten minutes.
I didn't give you no guarantees, lady. I'm doing the best I can.
But I've got to get there before five or ten. You told me you could make.
It don't do no good to holler in my ear, lady.
There must be some way to make better time. Can't you take side streets or something?
Again, you're stuck. It's the traffic, lady. But you told me.
I know what I told you, but I didn't figure out so much traffic.
Please hurry. Yeah, yeah. I'll pay you anything if you get me there.
Oh, dang. Always hurry. Oh.
Now what's wrong? I told you, lady, the traffic is lousing us up.
What time is it now? About ten minutes to ten.
Don't tell me about. I want the exact time. Exact time? Seven minutes to ten.
Seven minutes to ten? How much farther is it to the station?
Well, I can tell you this. We're not going to make it in two minutes.
And there's no need to make it at all.
Take me home.
Just a minute or two before ten.
He'll be coming home soon.
Wanting to hide under the bed, whimpering like a dog.
He'll chase the killing to him fast enough. They'll come here. They'll take us both away.
And the money, too.
Money? The money, too.
Wait a minute. Why should they come here? Why should they get the money?
Why do I have to take the blame for what he did?
Why do I have to take the blame for what he did?
I didn't commit the murder.
If I had money, I could get away.
They would look for me too hard.
Yeah. Yeah, why should I take the blame for what Harry did?
Police Department, Sergeant Graham speaking.
I want to report a murder.
What's that?
You're too late to stop the murder, but you can still catch the killer.
Wait a second. Now, just who is this killer?
His name is Harry Blake. He drives a taxicab.
He's a cop.
He's a cop.
His name is Harry Blake. He drives a taxicab.
Taxi number is 365.
You should find him somewhere around the radio station.
Just who did he kill?
He...he killed...Harry?
Good evening, Helen.
Go on, finish your conversation.
How did you get back here so soon?
Good cabbie can make time when you ask him.
You killed him?
Just after ten o'clock. Turn on the radio and find out.
Oh, you're talking on the phone.
I'll turn the radio on for you.
Harry, the police will come here and look for you. They'll catch you, Harry.
Did anybody see you do it? Did they try to...
This is a brilliant analysis of foreign affairs, Mr. Sidney Walker.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is Sidney Walker.
Tonight I'm going to bring you a report on a recent interview I had with one of the most prominent industrialists in the nation.
I told you his name.
Oh, I saw what I wanted to hear.
You didn't kill him at all.
I should have known.
I should have known I actually thought you went through with it.
You didn't have the nerve.
No. I didn't kill him.
But I did have the nerve.
What?
Yeah. You gave me the nerve.
That pep talk before I left, it was very true, you know.
What are you talking about?
You remember? Even a weakling like me can kill once if he's got a kill to get rid of the one thing that'll destroy him.
Those were your very words.
Then why didn't you kill Walker?
Because I got the thinking about what you said and how right you were.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realized.
Realized what?
That I was headed in the wrong direction.
What do you mean by that?
Put that gun away, Harry.
In order to rid myself of the one thing in the world that can destroy me, I had to come back here to you, Alan.
Hello? Hello, what happened there? Hello?
Hello. This is the police department, isn't it? I heard her speaking to you as I was opening the door.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sure, it's the police department. What's going on there? What were those shots?
Wasn't my wife reporting a murder?
Yeah, she was. She gave us all the information except she didn't tell us who was going to be killed.
Well, you see, officer, until this very moment, she really didn't know.
Suspense presented by Auto Light. Tonight stars Cathy and Elliot Lewis.
Well, Harlow, I hope you and your Auto Light stay full battery, have a wonderful vacation together.
Thanks, Hap, and the same to you. See you August 31st when Suspense will return to the CBS Airways, same time, same stations.
Until then, we'll say so long for Auto Light, makers of more than 400 products for cars, trucks, planes, and boats in more than 28 plants coast to coast.
Now, if you're planning a vacation motor trip, be sure to have your car carefully checked at your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage, or repair shop.
And if your Auto Light equipped car needs replacement parts, ask for and insist on Auto Light original factory parts,
because they're engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly, because they're a perfect team.
Best wishes for a happy, carefree summer, and remember, friends, you're always right with Auto Light.
Remember Thursday, August 31st, Suspense returns to the air with the first of a series of stories that is, as we say,
a tale well calculated to keep you in Suspense.
Tonight's Suspense play was produced and edited by William Spear, directed by Norman MacDonald.
Music for Suspense was composed by Lucian Morawec and conducted by Lynn Murray tonight.
Love, Honor, or Murders, an original play written for radio by Larry Marcus.
Kathy and Elliot Lewis can be heard in their new Columbia record albums, Happy Anniversary and Happy Holiday.
Don't forget, Suspense returns to the air Thursday, August 31st.
You can buy Auto Light staple batteries, Auto Light standard or resistor spark plugs, Auto Light electrical parts at your neighborhood Auto Light dealers.
Switch to Auto Light. Good night.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.