You are about to hear a story based on actual events to protect the innocent.
Names and places have been changed.
Auto Light and its 96,000 dealers bring you Mr. William Holden in a story taken from life.
Tonight's presentation of Suspense.
Tonight, Auto Light presents Report on the Jolly Death Riders.
A story about the tragic misuse of hot rod automobiles starring Mr. William Holden.
Well, hi, a half.
Hi, Harlow. How was the vacation?
Oh, Auto Light, I guess.
Auto Light?
Sure, perfect.
Just like the Auto Light electrical system in your Auto Light equipped car.
Why bring that up?
Well, why not?
Your Auto Light electrical system is the willing and wondrous working whiz that produces and stores electricity right under the hood of your car to enable you to start your engine, use your lights, horn, radio, heater.
Sure, Harlow, but the vacation...
Oh, there's never a vacation half for the thousands of component parts that go to make up the complete Auto Light electrical system.
So that's why my Auto Light equipped car is ready to go every time I turn the switch.
Right, you are half, and that's why Auto Light electrical systems are used as original factory equipment on many leading makes of our finest cars, trucks, and tractors.
You've sold me, Harlow.
So friends, take a tip from me and specify Auto Light original factory parts when replacements are needed.
You'll find it pays because you're always right with Auto Light.
And now with report on the jolly death riders and the performance of Mr. William Holden, Auto Light hopes once again to keep you in suspense.
Hi, Harlow.
Oh, hi, Cap.
Hey, you look tired.
I look tired and I got a right to look tired.
Wrap it up.
Ask me sometime when I'm not so beat.
I hate them like this.
We all do.
Just kids, Cap.
Just a bunch of punk kids that should have had more sense.
They need a good lesson.
They've had a good one.
Look, I'll be in the other office making out my report in case anybody wants me.
I'll relay the information.
Thanks.
Let's see now.
Accident report.
Oh.
Murder.
Yeah, that'd be a better word for it.
From Lieutenant Harbor, San Francisco Police Department to Traffic Division, August 27th, 1951.
Report on the jolly high riders.
Jolly death riders might be more appropriate.
At approximately 8.35 p.m., August 22nd, Mr. and Mrs. Warren Milford of 3589 Glendon Drive, Berkeley, California, were driving in their 1949 sedan along the Bay Flats,
approaching the ramp into the Oakland Bay Bridge.
Brackets.
Special note.
August 22nd, with the 10th anniversary of the Milfords.
Warren Milford had arranged for a surprise party at his sister-in-law's home in the Marina District.
And brackets.
As the Milfords passed through the tunnel on the Yerba Gwena Island and approached the bay half of the bridge, traffic at that time of evening was extremely light.
I think we should have telephoned them, Warren.
Huh? Why?
They might not be home.
Well, I'm enjoying the ride anyway.
Nice night?
Yes, it is.
No fog.
Clear as a bell.
Listen, Warren, I don't want you and that brother of yours to get started on that baseball.
That's all the two of you ever talk about.
Gladys, what are you talking about?
Well, from the minute we get together, it's baseball.
Seals here, seals there.
You think that's all there was in the...
Hey, hey, look at those two cars coming this way.
Sure are going awfully fast.
But they must be crazy.
They're racing.
Warren, they're right in the middle of the bridge.
Oh, the schools.
Look at those hot rods piled up with a bunch of youngsters.
Warren, they're not moving over.
Hey, you darn fools, get over.
Warren.
What?
In order to avoid a head-on collision with one of the hot rods,
Warren Milford swerved his car to the right,
but he lost control and crashed into one of the steel beam supports of the bridge.
Neither one of the rod-hot cars involved stopped
and not one of the other passing motorists who stopped to render assistance
was able to give any specific information to the officers at the scene of the accident.
In view of that fact, no general alarm was spread.
Results of the accident.
Warren Milford was thrown clear of the crash.
He miraculously only suffered cuts and bruises.
His wife, Gladys, died of internal injuries in the ambulance.
Warren Milford was informed of his wife's death at the receiving hospital.
Our tenth wedding anniversary.
She didn't know a thing.
I'm so sorry.
Mr. Milford, I'd like you to try to answer just a few questions for me.
Oh, things she probably thought I hadn't remembered, but I did.
I know it's hard for you, Mr. Milford.
I know it's awfully hard, but you think you would be able to identify either one of the cars?
Cars?
Oh, kids. They were just kids.
Kids?
The upper Joyride.
Could you identify any one of them if you saw them again?
No. No, I didn't see any faces.
They weren't all boys, though.
Some girls, I think.
Just a bunch of jolly high riders.
What about the cars, Mr. Milford? What kind were they?
Well, you've seen them.
All over town, all the young high school kids have them.
Hot rods.
Hot rods?
Could you identify just one of them?
Jolly high riders took her.
What was that?
It was in white letters on a gold background.
Just for a second I saw it.
What did you see?
Jolly high riders painted on the side of one of the cars.
They took her.
The jolly high riders?
Yes, it was white letters on a gold background.
All right, Mr. Milford, you can rest now. Sergeant?
Kids, just young kids.
Out for a joy ride.
The following morning I assigned Detective Sergeant Boyle
to locate the whereabouts of the hot rod club
known as the Jolly High Riders.
It was a simple matter.
They were listed in one of the national hot rod magazines.
The address turned out to be a cheap gymnasium
located up on West Docton.
The gym was up on flight of stairs.
You look inquisitive. You want something?
Yeah, the Jolly High Riders. I understand they meet here.
Maybe they do.
Who's in charge?
You want a lot of information for that?
Yeah.
Uh-oh. John Darm, huh? I should have smelled you.
Where's the club meet, mister?
I manage the gym, John Darm.
I'm the head boy.
The Jolly High Riders use the back room.
Over there. See the sign?
The Jolly High Riders.
The club meet room. No harm, is it?
No harm.
They got five charter members.
Five in the whole club.
Just five?
Yeah. Just five, John Darm.
That's a big word with you.
Real big. I learned it young.
I bet you did.
Who are the charter members, head boy?
What's this all about? It's a legitimate club.
I want names.
Me? Larch Brisson.
That's a name for you.
Who else besides you, Larch?
Oh, Mickey.
Mickey holds it from a parking garage.
His girlfriend, Julie.
And Wanda Lake.
A sweet girl.
Sweet to me all the time.
And Wally.
Fat Bergman, we call him.
Wally the Fat Boy. He's over there.
Hey, look at him. Skipped rope.
He wants to lose weight.
What a laugh, huh, John Darm?
Look at him.
Don't die laughing. Come on.
Take it easy, you.
Bergman?
Yeah?
John Darm, Wally.
A great big John Darm.
Oh, yeah.
That's nice. I'm glad to know you, sir.
Yes, sir.
Wally, do any of you boys own a hot rod?
Yeah, somebody owns a hot rod, John Darm.
Who?
The whole club owns a car.
What do you think of that?
Wally, where were you last night, about 8.30?
Last night?
Last night? Where was I last night?
I got such a bad memory.
You went to a meeting in that room, Wally.
You went to a meeting at the club.
Oh, yeah.
That's right, sir. We had a meeting.
We discussed how come somebody stole our club car.
What joker stole our car with the name on the side,
the Jolly Highriders?
And right before the big race on Saturday.
How come?
The Jolly Highriders.
Larch Brisson was a hard boy.
He managed the cheap gymnasium
and lived in one of its back rooms.
Walter Bergman, just out of school, lived with his family.
It was Bergman who later volunteered the address of Wanda Lake
and of the garage where Mickey Holzer worked.
The garage supervisor told me that Mickey was downstairs
working in the mechanic shop.
He was working on the frame of a car.
It was a familiar frame.
Mickey?
I spotted you, mister.
What do you want?
Lieutenant Harbour, San Francisco Police Department.
Getting ready for the race?
Maybe, maybe not.
What are those things you're working on?
I'm putting on single acting shocks.
Against the law?
No.
Is this your car, Mickey?
Part of it, when it's finished.
Oh, that's right.
You and your girlfriend Julie are charter members
of the Jolly High Riders.
So?
This must be the club car.
The new one.
Oh?
What happened to the old one?
Somebody stole it.
Yesterday afternoon, somebody glommed it.
Can you imagine?
Why didn't you report the theft to the police?
No, because, you know,
we thought maybe one of the other rod clubs
had made a big joke on us.
Like for the big race coming up Saturday.
Last night, Mickey, your old hot rod car
caused a big accident on the Oakland Bay Bridge.
Oh, that's awful.
That's terrible.
The driver's in the hospital.
I'm sorry.
His wife's in the city more.
What's the matter, Mickey?
Nothing, I just hate talk like that.
Hate talk about killing.
Is it wrong to hate talk like that?
After having spoken with the three male members
of the High Riders,
I knew I had a tough one on my hands.
All three boys were lying.
It was obvious.
Wanda Lake was home when I rang the doorbell
of her apartment on Kearney.
I took one look at her and understood
why she was sweet.
Place Lieutenant Harbor, Miss Lake.
Hey, I'll talk to you for a few minutes.
Uh-huh.
Don't mind my curlers, huh?
Want some curl for tonight, or just practicing
to dance the gym. Come on in.
Thank you.
I'd offer you a drink, only I can't keep it
in the house with Hazel around.
Hazel?
Yeah, she's my older sister.
She takes care of me ever since my folks died.
It's a laugh, huh, taking care of me?
How old are you, Wanda?
Seventeen.
Rightful age?
Yeah.
What are we going to talk about, Lieutenant?
Oh, about the jolly High Riders?
Hey, I'm a chariot member. What do you know?
That's fine.
I understand your club car was stolen yesterday afternoon.
Yeah. Ain't it dreadful?
Uh-huh. And it caused a big accident
last night, Wanda.
You mean our hot rod?
That's right.
Hey, how dreadful.
Where were you last night?
Two meeting of our club at the gym.
We talked all about our dance tonight.
Did you talk about anything else?
Oh, he sure did.
We talked all about our club car being stolen
right before the big race.
Somebody stole it right off the street.
Wasn't that just dreadful, Lieutenant?
Wanda, just dreadful.
The High Riders had built a solid alibi.
Whichever one of them had masterminded it
had done it with careful planning.
We had no lead on the other hot rod involved,
so I had to follow through with what I had.
I had one member yet to talk to,
Mickey's girlfriend, Julie.
I made plans to see her last night
and the next morning.
But a break in the case came sooner than I expected.
It was late that same night.
I was in the office going over some reports
when the call came in.
Lieutenant Harbour speaking.
This is Wally Bergman, the Fat Boy Lieutenant.
You know Wally?
Yeah, Wally.
I'm so mad. Everybody's gone.
They're going to meet again in an hour for another race.
Where, Wally?
The bridge. I'll show them.
Meet me at the traffic island, Mr. Harbour.
I'll be there.
I'm so mad. They think they're so smart.
Straight away onto the bridge
was practically deserted when we got there.
As we drew up to the curb of the traffic island,
I saw that something was wrong.
Lying doubled up on the grass was Wally Bergman.
He had bruises and cuts all over his face
and was bleeding at the mouth.
And standing next to him,
hands outstretched,
was Mickey Holson.
Another meeting, Mickey?
Look, somebody called me.
I came to meet somebody.
Save it, Mickey. Save it.
Tell it to somebody who'll believe you.
All right, Cap. Put the cuffs on him.
Auto Light is bringing you Mr. William Holden
in Report on the Jolly Death Riders,
tonight's production in Radio's outstanding
Theatre of Thrills, Suspense.
Friends, the big Labor Day weekend is coming up.
If you're going to drive,
make certain that your car is in good condition.
If it's slow and sluggish,
treat your car to a checkup at your nearest
authorized Auto Light Service Station,
where you will find specialists
trained under Auto Light supervision.
Just look in the classified section of your
telephone directory under the heading
Automobile Electrical Service.
Or pay a visit to the dealer who
sells your make of car.
In either case, you can be sure of getting
Auto Light Original Factory Parts.
Remember, only Auto Light Original
Factory Parts can assure you the
balance, teamwork, and perfect timing
built into your car's Auto Light
electrical system right on the assembly line.
Because, from bumper to tail light,
you're always right
with Auto Light.
And now, Auto Light brings back
to our Hollywood sound stage,
Mr. William Holden, in Elliot Lewis's
production of The Jolly Death Riders,
a dramatic report
well calculated to keep you in
suspense.
Mickey Holster was held for assault
and battery. After Bergman
had been treated at the clinic, I questioned
him. I got no quarters.
And I knew that I'd get none
from Mickey either. But nevertheless,
I had him brought into my office.
Mickey, you're in a bad way.
It looks like it, doesn't it?
A charge of assault and battery can be a bad
thing. You gotta prove it.
Mickey, tell me who was
driving the car.
You're so smart, figured it out for yourself.
No, I'm not so
smart. Just trying to see that
things are done right. It's the job
of any police officer.
I wonder if Julie will
tell me, Mickey. Ask
her. Go ahead.
Ask her.
What about your mother?
You try everything, don't you, copper?
You're bitter, Mickey. All right, bitter.
Is that against the law, too?
I'm holding you for 48 hours.
I'm gonna find that car.
Go ahead. Be bitter
for all 48 hours.
It seems that every cop over a long
period of time develops a sense of intuition.
I was like any cop.
And my intuition told me that
Mickey Holster was not the real
assaulter of Wally Bergen.
The following morning I had a visitor.
She was a small, graying
old woman. I told her
the whole story. Not
Mickey, Mr. Policeman.
Oh, no, not him. He wouldn't
even hurt a little thing.
Tell me, has Mickey ever
gotten into any trouble before? Oh,
no. His papa died
when he was only nine years old.
Mickey promised his papa he would never
lie to me. Mrs. Holster,
all I want to know is the name
of the person who was driving the car that
Mickey was in. If I know that person,
I'll know who beat up Wally Bergen.
But Mickey refuses to tell me.
Oh, maybe I will talk to Mickey.
Maybe he won't lie to me.
All right, we'll try it.
Sergeant, bring in Mickey
Holster. As soon as you bring him in,
I'll leave you two alone. I have faith
in my son. All the faith in
the whole world. He promised his
papa he wouldn't go back on his
word. Mickey is not that kind of
a boy. I believe you, Mrs. Holster.
All right, inside, please.
Ma.
Ma, what are you doing here?
My son.
My son. All right,
I'll wait outside.
What are you doing here?
Why'd you come? I came because
I have to help you, Mickey.
Go home. Go home. This is no place
for you. Mama should be by her son
when he's in trouble. Who called you?
Nobody called me. I came because
I want to help you. Nobody can help me.
Me alone. You got no business
here. Well, I got a lot of business.
Mickey,
the policeman told me you're in a lot
of trouble. He told me that
if you would only tell him the name of the
boy who was driving the car,
he said if you told him that
Mickey, there would be no more trouble.
There'd be lots of trouble. Mickey,
Mickey, if you won't for your mama, maybe
you will for papa. Papa
loves you, Mickey. Mark,
leave. Papa, for papa,
Mickey, for him. Mark,
get out. Get out.
Papa.
Papa.
Papa.
Papa.
I'm sorry, Mrs. Holster.
Don't leave.
Papa.
Papa.
I knew my break had to come from within
the members of the Gildy Club.
And Julie, Mickey's girlfriend,
was my last chance for that break.
She worked in a dime store
on Mission Street.
On her lunch hour, I asked her to walk over to the
park with me. We sat down
on one of the benches.
I know that somebody
in the club has told you not to talk, Julie.
Who told you?
Mickey? Please.
All right, all right.
Can you tell me who started the High Riders,
Julie?
Surely you can tell me that.
Mickey went to the gym to work out.
He got to know the fellas, they all
talked. The club got started that
way. Who bought the hot rod?
They all pitched in. A few dollars from
everybody. Where's the car, Julie?
We all told you it was stolen.
Yes, yes, I know you told me. But it's a lie.
You're all lying for no good reason.
It isn't so much what's been
done, Julie. A terrible thing, yes.
But we want to see that it doesn't happen again.
Can you understand that
was
Mickey driving, Julie? No, he...
I mean... I... What do you mean,
Julie? I told you what you wanted to know.
Someday when you're older, Julie, you'll understand
how important this is. I know you will.
You're not a bad girl,
but it's up to me right now to make you
understand. Young as you are. Please,
I don't want to talk about it. It's because you're afraid.
Please, Mr. Harbor... Julie, someday
you and Mickey will be man and wife.
Marriage is the happiness of
two people. A long time ago,
this man, Warren Milford, and his wife were
just like you and Mickey. Mr. Harbor...
They made the same plans, they thought the same thoughts,
and in each other's arms they felt the same feelings.
There was then no difference
than there is now between you
and Mickey. Mr. Harbor, I...
You've taken a silly pledge dictated by a person
who in the cool of evening strikes down another person
in death and thinks nothing about it.
Do you know what a person like this is called,
Julie? Do you know?
I'm afraid. A murderer, Julie, a murderer.
And if you and I let them go, it can happen
again. What they did was wrong
and we don't want it to happen again.
Tell me, Julie,
tell me.
Help Mickey.
It was Wanda. She was driving
it. It was a race with a flying
fleet from Oakland.
On the bridge, Wanda wanted to drive and Lark said
it was all right. And the hot rod,
where is it? I don't know, I don't
know. When we got back to the club,
Lark said not to worry. He made
up the story. He told us not
to worry about the car.
All right, Julie,
it's all right.
The case of the Jolly High Riders was broken.
I needed one last item,
the car in question.
I poured over every last
bit of testimony by the kids.
And then it hit me. The big
race on Saturday. It was a hunch
and I played it. A local paper
gave me the location of where the speed
test trials were being held.
A long, sandy stretch of beach
on the west end near the peninsula.
The trials were already in progress
when I got there.
The two of them weren't hard to
spot. They were racing in a
low, cut down blue car.
The frame had looked familiar
as it whizzed by me.
I recognized the single shocks
that Mickey had been working on.
Hey, come to the races, huh,
John Donne? Hi. Nice looking
rod, Larch. The latest.
46 block, member mountain for the
master cylinder, floor ship transmission.
Great for drag. And single acting
shocks. Right.
Nice paint job. When are you
going to put your club name on the side?
Soon. Right now. Oh, sure you will.
Right about here, Larch. Hey,
don't scratch the paint job with that knife.
Gold, underneath the blue.
And I bet if I scratch the rest of it off
you copper. Letters J-O.
You got no right to touch me.
I played a hunch, Larch. Yeah, you crazy.
My hunch was that you boys couldn't resist this race.
Lousy, lousy when a guy can't live his own life.
I'm arresting you for assault and battery,
Larch. And Wanda, you for manslaughter.
Larch, we can't race. Yeah.
That's right, Wanda, you can't race.
And it may be a long time before you race
again.
I later found out Wally Bergman's reason for wanting to volunteer information.
The boy had a crush on Wanda.
She encouraged him and then laughed him off.
Wanda Lake, not yet 18, will be turned over to juvenile authorities.
Larch Brisson, just 21,
and facing a charge of assault and battery,
may have some time to think over his mistake.
Actually, the only mistake he made was in trying to cover up the accident.
Hot rods are not really bad things.
They're not wrong. In fact, in some respects, they're healthy.
For kids to take them apart and put them back together again,
to see how fast they can make them run.
It gives them a direction in which to toss a lot of extra energy.
But there's that one important thing.
Hot rods should be driven in places like that stretch of beach on the peninsula.
Places set aside for them, like Murock and the Bonneville Salt Plats in Utah.
Not on the highways.
End of report.
Suspense.
Highway Auto Light. Tonight's star, Mr. William Holden.
Auto Light has again started its new suspense season
with a story which demonstrates the tragic results of careless driving.
And now here is a man who, as president of the National Safety Council,
is vitally concerned with highway safety, Mr. Ned Dearborn.
Thank you, Mr. Wilcox.
It is especially significant that Auto Light chose to present report
on the Jolly Death Riders this evening because in a few days
the Labor Day weekend will start with its tragic toll of needless highway accidents.
Through stories like this, along with continued efforts of outstanding companies
like the Electric Auto Light Company, we are making some headway
in the fight against thoughtless driving.
In recognition of vigorous and continued efforts of Auto Light
in helping to improve highway safety, it is my great pleasure
as president of the National Safety Council to present for the third consecutive year
the Council's Public Interest Award for Exceptional Service to Safety
to Mr. Royce G. Martin, chairman of the board and president of the Electric Auto Light Company.
Thank you, Mr. Dearborn.
Safety is as much our business as making automotive, aviation, and marine products
in our 28 plans from coast to coast.
We will always cooperate with the rest of the great automotive industry
to help make America a safe driving nation.
So this Labor Day and every day, don't take chances.
Make sure that your car is in proper operating condition,
and then drive carefully.
The life you save may be your own.
Next week on Suspense, our star will be Mr. Jeff Chandler
in another story based on actual events
and concerning one of the most fantastic prison breaks ever engineered,
a dramatic report we call the Steel River Prison Break.
In weeks to come, we shall present Ms. Agnes Moorhead, Mr. Charles Lawton,
and the popular young favorite, Mr. Tony Curtis.
All on Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis
with music composed by Lucian Marwick and conducted by Lud Bluskin.
Report on the Jolly Death Riders was written for Suspense by Richard George Pedicini.
Featured in tonight's cast were Jack Crouchon, Sam Edwards, Kathy Lewis,
Edith Ungold, Barbara Eiler, Joseph Kearns, and Eddie Firestone.
Portions of this program were transcribed.
William Holden will soon be seen in Paramount Pictures' Submarine Command,
starring William Holden and William Bendix.
And remember, next week on Suspense, Mr. Jeff Chandler
in another story based on actual events,
a dramatic report we call the Steel River Prison Break.
Auto Light and its 96,000 dealers wish you all a happy, safe Labor Day weekend.
Good driving, good night, and remember, you're always right with Auto Light.
This is the CBS Radio Network.