You're 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 Miss Jean Crane in a story taken from life.
Tonight's presentation of Suspense.
Tonight, Auto Light presents the case study of a murderer.
A factual document from medical reports.
The tragic story of a woman's refusal to believe that within her husband lived the murderer among us.
Well, hello sheriff.
Hi Harlow.
Say, what am I going to do?
My battery's dry as a cactus.
Well, lasso opacilus sure snappy starts from an Auto Light Stay Full, the battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
Three times a year?
Are you a hog washing me Harlow?
No, I'm shooting straight sheriff.
Three times a year in normal car use.
That's because that great Auto Light Stay Full has three times the liquid reserve of ordinary batteries.
And the Auto Light Stay Full gives longer life as proved by tests.
Conducted according to accepted life cycle standards.
Why, she sounds better than Chow calling me Harlow.
Right you are sheriff.
So friends, see your neighborhood Auto Light battery dealer and ask him for an Auto Light Stay Full.
The battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
To quickly find his name, call Western Union by number.
And ask for me.
I am operator 25.
I'll gladly tell you the name of your nearest neighbor.
I'll gladly tell you the name of your nearest Auto Light battery dealer.
And remember from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light.
And now with the case study of a murderer and the transcribed performance of Miss Jean Crane, Auto Light hopes once again to keep you in suspense.
It's funny to be married to a man three years and find out he's kept secrets from you.
Or not secrets like drinking or cards of women.
Oh no, my Hank was never like that.
I mean he was like two different men.
Really two men.
He kept it a secret even from himself.
That's what I'm beginning to understand.
Because the man I knew, the Hank Lathrop I loved, he was a sweet, sweet, a wonderful sweet husband.
The doctor says, he says the baby coming on its way.
He won't inherit it because nobody can inherit Hank's kind of trouble.
His mind sickness.
And I'm not asking for sympathy.
I'm just telling you.
That's all.
I never asked for help.
Neither did Hank.
Oh no, he did ask.
And the only way he could, he tried to ask to let me know.
But too late, too late.
It was last spring.
It was that day he came home so upset.
Been married two years.
Waited on the south side.
Well, not really the south side.
It was too close to downtown, to the factories and warehouses.
But with no kids, it wasn't too bad.
No kids.
Well, anyway, we'd been married over two years.
Hank, that you?
Hi, darling.
Hi.
Good day at work?
Yeah, sure.
Have something real good for dinner.
What are the headlines?
What do you mean?
I mean, what's the headline in the paper?
Oh, Hank, what's wrong, honey?
Headache or something?
A gruesome murder.
What?
The headlines.
Didn't you ask me what the headlines were?
Oh, well, yes, honey, sure.
But you don't look well.
What is it?
What should it be?
What's it always?
The paper's jammed up to here with murder and killing all the time.
A man comes home from work.
Work's hard enough, but a man comes home and sees pictures and columns
on a mother and a baby killed.
Killed near the lake.
More than a baby murdered.
But Hank was always like that, one way or another.
It gets upset like that when the pressure's too heavy,
and when it lets up, he's okay again.
Except it didn't let up.
Not this time, because a couple of weeks later it really hit.
Well, that's the last check the boom dropped the sack.
Oh, no.
Yeah, mean about eight other guys.
Oh, Hank, I'm sorry.
Makes the guy think he doesn't count for much.
Oh, that's not true, darling.
You know, you begin to think on a job that maybe they can't get along without you,
that you're pretty important, and the whole place would fold if you left.
And then poof.
Bye, sonny boy.
Maybe they had a good reason.
If they could have kept you, they would have.
Yeah, sure, sure.
You say it, and they say it, and it's right.
Only something inside me says it just got kicked,
and I don't amount to much at all.
Not much at all.
Well, I'm plenty, see? Plenty.
Yes, darling, you are. You are plenty.
You're the most wonderful man in the world.
You know I feel that way, don't you?
That I really feel that way.
Well, then I figure I'm kind of lucky, too.
Kind of.
Sure, darling. Sure, honey. Sure, you are.
Luckier than the poor guy whose wife got killed with a baby.
Luckier than him.
Hank, you can't keep getting upset by that. You can't.
Not that one. A new one. A second one.
Been a second killing at Lincoln Park, just like the first.
The papers are full of it.
Wouldn't you like your dinner?
It's too hot to eat. It's too hot to do anything.
How can you keep up your strength to look for a job if you don't eat enough?
The whole great, big, brainy city, and mayor and cops and everybody.
Can't find him.
Hank, please stop reading about those murders.
Oh, yeah.
Hank, you're not listening.
Sure I am.
Why don't we go to the beach? Wouldn't it be swell? Or the amusement park?
Remember last year we went. That was fun. You winning that Cupid doll and all.
It was fun, wasn't it, darling?
It was...
Can't you stop looking at that paper for a minute?
I just wanted to find out when some news broadcasts. There must be one on now.
No.
What?
We've had enough of those murders. Enough of them.
You have to stop thinking about them all the time.
Every minute, that's all you think about.
Don't tell me what to do. Not like that. Ever.
Oh, Hank, I...
I'm sorry, darling.
I said I'm sorry if I...
And the chief of police says it's almost impossible to tell whether Miniat would strike next.
There has been a few crews. Maybe the man might be...
Something was happening to Hank.
A man gets kind of dizzy just from being alive sometimes, I guess.
It's from being hit too many times by too many things, all kinds of things.
Half of them I didn't understand and still don't all the way.
Oh, but I should have understood.
Three months later, that summer night, three months later.
Look at them. Look at all these papers.
All the same story of everybody running around getting no place.
Hank, couldn't you read the newspapers at Walgreens?
No. No, I couldn't. Bums read papers for free and I'm no bum.
I got a wife and I'm no bum. I'm somebody. Just understand that, Beth.
I'm somebody and so are you.
Sure, honey, but wouldn't one paper be enough? One a day?
They all have the same story mostly and you spend a dollar, a dollar and a half a day on newspapers.
Well, what do you want me to do? I'm trying everything I can.
What are you accusing me of? That I'm not a good husband?
No, Hank. No, nobody's... I'm not accusing you of anything.
You mustn't think that.
You act like I did something wrong, that's what.
Not just like I wasn't working, but like I was almost a murderer.
Like I was that murderer they're all looking for.
Oh, it's hot. It's too hot in here.
If you'll let me, I'll open the windows.
Let you? The temperature's over 90, sure I'll let you. Why wouldn't I?
You...
Why what?
Nothing.
Well, don't start to say something and stop. Say it.
Well, you told me to shut it.
I did? I told you to close it? Why would I tell you to close it?
Well, you did, that's all. It isn't important.
What's so important about a window being open and closed to make all this argument?
Because I didn't.
Oh, what time is it?
Ten.
Oh, the news. I...
No, no, I...
I don't want to listen to the news.
Would you like a cold glass of beer?
Yeah.
Yeah, beer.
Nice, tall glass of beer.
Only not here, not in this house.
At Marty's on the corner, that's the place for a beer.
But it costs so much more.
Yeah, I know, I know, darling, but I...
I just got to get out of here.
I have to get with people.
Yes, darling, of course.
I have some cash, a few dollars.
I've been saving it for your birthday.
But we can celebrate your birthday whenever we want.
Sure, honey, sure, darling.
I only had three dollars and 28 cents.
Funny to remember it exactly like that.
Three dollars and 28 cents that I slipped into his pocket when he wasn't looking.
And we had beer with the jukebox banging away and me shaking inside.
Shaking.
I just kept sipping my one beer and watching Hank.
Maybe waiting for him to smile and make a joke and then I'd know everything was okay.
But he never smiled, didn't even talk.
Just drank beer and glared.
You know what happened?
Himself in the mirror just glaring at himself until he stood up.
Go home.
Together?
No, you by yourself.
But Hank, you're...
You're kind of tight, darling, kind of...
Come on, come on, let me take your arm.
Don't pull.
Please, please, Hank.
I said don't pull. Now go on, go home.
He almost ran out of the place.
I knew if I followed him I'd see something terrible.
I had to know. I had to know if what I guessed was true.
And then I saw him rush up to a cop on Lake Street and scream something at him.
I couldn't hear. I couldn't hear at all and the crowd was there in no time.
I kill him. I kill him.
Please. Please let me through.
I can't stand anymore. I'm telling you.
I'm his wife. Please let his wife through.
Hank, Hank, darling, Hank.
Officer, please. He didn't do anything, officer.
I did it. I can't stand it anymore. I can't stand the killing and the murder anymore.
I did it.
I waited in that police station for hours.
I waited and wondered because no one told me anything.
Except a kindly man. He gave me a cigarette and talked to me.
And then hours, oh, hours and hours later he called me into his office.
Can't I see him? Can't I?
In a few minutes.
Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.
I'll never forget you for letting me see him, mister.
Doctor, Doctor Broughton.
I told you hours ago in the outside office.
Did you hear me then?
Oh, yes. Yes, I remember.
And the rest of what I told you?
Please let me see him. He didn't do any harm. He didn't kill anyone.
He didn't kill anyone!
We know he didn't, Mrs. Lathren.
You know, you're sure you know?
Please listen to him.
He didn't kill anybody.
But he could. He might.
How can you say that?
Haven't I been through enough? Don't say that to me.
He confessed to two murders he did not commit.
He admitted to two murders he had no part of.
And he didn't do wrong. Nothing wrong.
Will you permit your husband to take treatment?
You're saying he should be put away. You're saying he's crazy.
I'm saying he has an illness. I'm saying he's sick and he can be cured now.
Maybe not later, but now he can.
No. No, all he needs is love and kindness.
The only words. They have no meaning to him right now.
They might have once, but not now.
Now he only sits, cunning and sharp.
Everything is a secret. He should be treated.
I should bring him before a board and have him undergo therapy.
I'll fight you. I'll work day and night to get the money,
but I'll fight you with lawyers to keep you from disgracing him like that.
You won't have to. As a doctor, I say he's dangerous,
but no court would uphold me.
He hasn't committed any overt act.
To all appearances, he's normal.
He is. He is normal.
He isn't. But we can't make him accept help.
You're the only one who can do that. No.
He can be cured now. No.
He confessed to murders he fantasized himself as having committed.
He needs love, not psycho doctors like you.
He might easily commit murder if he doesn't get help.
Take me to my husband. A month, six months, a year.
I don't know when, but he'll kill Mrs. Lathrop.
He'll kill.
Off Hooked is bringing you Miss Jean Crane with William Conrad in The Case Study of a Murderer.
Though you go everywhere, there's none can compare with that auto light stay full of mine.
And it's because the auto light stay full is that famous battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
Them's just the words to describe her, Hollow.
And there's more, Sheriff, because every positive plate in the great auto light stay full is protected by fiberglass retaining mats to reduce shedding and flaking.
That's why the auto light stay full gives longer life as proved by tests conducted according to accepted life cycle standards.
You never said nothing true, a Hollow.
So friends, call Western Union by number and ask for Operator 25.
She will gladly tell you the name of your nearest auto light battery dealer where you can get an auto light stay full battery.
The battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car use.
So just call Western Union and ask for Operator 25.
Remember, you're always right with auto light.
And now auto light brings back to our Hollywood soundstage Miss Jean Crane in Elliot Lewis's production of The Case Study of a Murderer.
The dramatic report well calculated to keep you in suspense.
I took him right home. Sleep. He needed sleep. More sleep than he could ever get. I know that much at least now.
He sat by the bed all that time, all the time, wiping his face with cold cloths and waiting, waiting and kissing him when it started that awful morning.
Love was all he needed. That's what I was so sure about then. So awful sure while he slept like he'd been hit or something.
For 16 hours, 16 straight hours and I knew he'd be fine, just fine.
He couldn't kill, not Hank. Oh no, he'd be fine.
And I remembered from a magazine or something, I had turned on the radio.
I remember that music helps people who are upset kind of. So I turned it on real soft.
Beth?
Yes, darling.
What time is it?
Eight thirty about.
Have I been sleeping long?
It's eight thirty in the night.
Oh. Do you know why I did it?
It's not important.
But it is.
Oh no, darling. No, it isn't. It's past. It doesn't make any difference.
Showing off. That's what it was. Showing them up. Cops, I mean.
Whatever your reason was, it was yours and it's all right, honey.
You don't believe me. You don't believe I did it to show them up.
Whatever your reason was.
Well, it was... it was the...
Lie back, darling. No, no. Lie back and rest, Hank.
The papers. What did the papers say?
Whatever they'd say, it wouldn't mean anything.
I've got to know. I've got to.
If they're making fun of you, well, they're not, honey. Nobody is. Nobody would.
There's nothing to be ashamed of. It's a silly thing. We all do silly things.
There's nothing to be ashamed of.
It's a disgrace. A real disgrace.
Nothing. I'm nothing.
I even... like a kid, I even feel like I could... like... like I want to cry.
Cry, darling. A man isn't weak if he cries, darling.
He just had too much happen to him.
Like women have too much happen. Like anybody.
Cry. You'll feel better, baby. You will.
I'm weak. No man likes a man who's weak.
No woman likes a man who can't admit he's weak sometimes, honey.
You know, he saw me cry. I never cried before. I never cried when I was a kid. Never.
I love you, darling. You have to know that. I love you.
You wouldn't leave me, would you?
Never. Never.
You don't believe what that doctor said.
What doctor?
The police. That doctor.
What did he tell you?
Nothing. But I got the idea. I smelled it. I figured out what he was driving at.
He didn't say much to me.
He's a liar. For publicity. All those guys are like anything for publicity.
But I can't blame him. I did it for publicity.
Really, that's why I...
I don't believe me. I don't know why I did it. I don't know why.
Because you had too many bad things happen in a row.
Because you had too much beer. Too much hit your baby. Too much all at once.
I don't know why. I felt like I...
Like somebody should be punished for all those terrible, terrible murders.
Like somebody should. Somebody had to.
Listen, we'll move from Chicago. Maybe change our name.
Run away?
Not run away. Leave. Put it all in the back of us.
Run away like I did something wrong?
I told you not run away. Don't twist what I'm saying. I only said...
That I should run away from here with you. Let them push us away.
Nobody pushes me around.
No, Hank. I know that. Nobody does.
Nobody leaves me places like a kid.
It was only a suggestion.
Did the doctor tell you to say that to me?
No. I told you that the doctor didn't tell me anything.
You're lying. You're keeping things from me.
He must have told you something.
He didn't. Not really. He just said for me to take good care of you. That's all.
First nothing and now something. You lied to me.
What else did he say?
I don't know. Nothing. Just...
What else? Tell me.
I don't...
Suddenly everything Dr. Broughton said was right and everything I said was wrong.
Then I felt sick. I was turning against Hank.
When he needed me most, I was turning against him.
It wasn't as easy as saying I was turning against him.
I had to have some advice. I had to be sure.
I needed help. I had to go see Dr. Broughton.
You wanted to turn him over to me?
No. No, not that.
Then why did you come to see me?
For advice.
Well, you've done what you could.
Why don't you make him submit to care, Mrs. Lathrop? There's still time.
Only if he wants to.
He'll never agree. Not now. Not by himself.
He will. He has to.
Logic doesn't reach him very well.
This is something more than logic. More than doctors or anything else.
He'll want to get cured when he knows he's going to be a father.
Well, doctor, don't you figure it that way too, doctor?
Don't tell him.
Not tell him? Not tell him we're going to have a child.
Something we both wanted so much.
It might have the wrong effect right now.
Oh, no. It'll make him stronger. Make him more sure of himself.
It'll make some men stronger and make others weaker. Less sure and less certain.
Is that all the advice you can give me?
Not to tell him. Not to tell my husband he's going to be a father.
But tell me honestly, Mrs. Lathrop.
In your heart, inside, do you feel he's getting better or worse?
That's not fair.
Will you talk to him about getting treatment?
I'm not promising anything.
Will you not mention the baby?
No promises. I said no promises.
He slapped you again. Will you call me?
Goodbye.
And his and your child's, Mrs. Lathrop.
When I came home, he didn't even look up. He just kept staring at his hands.
I decided maybe I'd let him talk first, so I sat in a chair near the window.
Wasn't much to see with buildings all close in, but the air smelled good.
I waited till I almost wanted to scream.
And for no reason he got up and went into the kitchen and washed his hands.
When he came back and sat down...
A way out. I've got to figure a way out.
Listen, honey, listen. Everything's going to work out fine.
I'll figure it out. It's a man's job to figure it out. I don't need help.
It's a man's job.
Hank.
Hank, Hank, I was wondering...
wondering if maybe we don't need some other help.
What kind of help?
I meant like...
What kind? What kind? What kind?
Stop! Stop talking like that.
Like what? Like I'm adult, huh? Like that?
No. Yes.
Hank, there are places that help when it gets too tough to figure.
No help. Don't need any help.
It wouldn't hurt.
It's dirty.
Oh, Hank, please try to understand, Hank.
A dirty sign.
It isn't. It isn't.
In the magazine. I read it in the magazine. It's a dirty, filthy sign.
They lied. It's not.
What do you know? What do you know about anything?
Can't even keep a house.
What's wrong with it, Hank? What would you like me to do? Just tell me.
It's dirty. Like everything is dirty.
I'll clean it every day and wash.
Nothing will get it clean. Never clean again.
Hank, don't talk like that. You scare me, Hank. Please don't talk like that.
We'll throw it dirty.
We'll never get clean.
Listen to me. Listen. You have to come with me.
Why? Because you ask? Why? For you?
For our baby, Hank. For the baby.
Baby?
Baby!
Come out! Come out here!
You lied to me! You lied to me!
You cheated and lied to me!
Come out! Come out here!
How did it get in my hand? That funny little cupid how we won at the beach.
How? When I worked all the time, how did I find the door to stand behind it?
How did I raise my arms and wave like tons of lead?
How could I bring it down a thousand miles down on him?
Again and again, down and up and down and up.
Again and again and down.
Maybe he'll get over it. Maybe his sickness didn't go on too long.
Maybe a thousand and million maybes and ifs and prayers.
Dr. Broughton. He said he could do something.
Oh, Dr. Broughton, you will. Dr. Broughton, you must.
You would, kind doctor. Doctor.
Suspense.
Presented by Auto Light. Tonight's star, Miss Jean Crane.
Friends, this is Harlow Wilcox again to remind you that Auto Light is the world's largest independent manufacturer of automotive electrical equipment.
In 28 plants from coast to coast, Auto Light makes over 400 products for cars, trucks, tractors, planes and boats.
These include Auto Light batteries, including the famous Auto Light Stay Full Battery.
Electrical systems used as original factory equipment on many leading makes of our finest cars.
A complete line of ignition engineered Auto Light spark plugs, including standard and resistor types.
Auto Light also makes automotive and industrial wire and cable, bumpers and hubcaps and many more.
And all are backed by constant Auto Light research and are precision built to the most exacting standards of quality and performance.
So remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light.
Next week on Suspense, our star will be Mr. Herbert Marshall in the most fantastic spy story ever told.
A dramatic report we call Betrayal in Vienna.
In weeks to come, we shall also present Mr. Cornell Wild, Mr. Ray Milan and Mr. Richard Widmark all on Suspense.
Suspense is transcribed and directed by Elliot Lewis with music composed by Lucian Warwick and conducted by Ludlaskin.
The case study of a murderer was written for suspense by Arthur Ross.
In tonight's story, William Conrad was heard as Hank and Howard McNeer as Dr. Broughton.
Gene Crane and Cary Grant can currently be seen in People Will Talk.
And remember next week on Suspense, Mr. Herbert Marshall in another story based on actual events.
A dramatic report we call Betrayal in Vienna.
For the location of your nearest Auto Light battery or spark plug dealer or your nearest authorized Auto Light service station,
phone Western Union by number and ask for Operator 25. Switch to Auto Light. Good night.
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