Auto Light and its 96,000 dealers bring you Mr. Jeff Chandler in a story taken from life.
Tonight's presentation of Suspense.
Tonight, Auto Light presents The Case Against Lou Dock, a factual document concerning the
San Francisco Tongue Wars, starring Mr. Jeff Chandler.
Hello, Harlow.
Hi, Hap.
How's it going?
Oh, horrible, if you mean my car.
It wastes gas.
It's tough to start.
Uh-huh.
Yeah.
Well, why don't you go straight, Hap?
Straight, Harlow?
Sure.
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So friends, see your neighborhood Auto Light spark plug dealer soon.
And remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light.
And now, with the case against Lou Dock and the performance of Mr. Jeff Chandler, Auto
Light hopes once again to keep you in...
Lieutenant Sunjack, take your men to the other end of the alleyway.
Plan them back in the doorway.
It's plenty dark and they won't be seen.
I'll do the same down at this end.
The signal to move will be a sharp flash of a whistle.
You got that?
Right.
All right, man, you heard the captain.
Where's the DA?
Over there.
Oh, yeah.
Hanson, let's get this thing back.
Looks like I'm right on time.
Oh, oh, Glasgow, I'm glad you got here.
This must be an important one.
Looks like the whole San Francisco police force is here.
It's a big one, believe me.
Oh, you know Captain of Detective Zubin?
Yeah, yeah, we've met.
And this is Lieutenant Sunjack.
Glad to meet you.
Glasgow?
The men all have their instructions, the eight.
Good.
Then take your positions.
Okay, men, let's go.
All right, Thompson.
You want to come along with me, Glasgow?
Our stakeout's down about midway in the alley.
All right, will you?
It's a laundry.
There's a vacant storeroom upstairs.
We can watch it from up there.
The message you left for me back at the newspaper office wasn't too explicit, Mr. D.A.
Well, tonight's the night we've been waiting for.
More murder and mayhem.
Perhaps.
Look, you've arrested hundreds of Chinese before all members of some town.
What good did it do?
Well, none.
Just arresting the hatchet man isn't the answer.
Oh, sir.
Well, this is it.
Smells empty.
The Chinese launderman who ran this shop was hacked to death in the last Tong battle they
held along here.
Come along.
Up those stairs.
Who's having it out tonight?
The Hop Ying Tong and the On Sing.
Well?
Kum Jee Ho and Lou Dock.
Yeah, the two most popular and powerful Tong leaders.
I agree with you as far as Kum Jee Ho is concerned, but as for Lou Dock...
I'm more determined than ever to get him.
This man was a double-live Glasgow.
By day, a sweet, smiling and innocent silk merchant.
By night, a ruthless murder of his countrymen.
He won't stop the Tongs by convicting Lou Dock.
Well, we'll be able to see everything from this window.
Clear night?
Yeah.
A million stars in the sky.
We stood next to the open window above the laundry shop, fearless District Attorney Redmuchir
and I, and we waited.
From the window, we could see down into the dimly lit street called Sporefoot Alley.
A narrow street lined on either side with butcher markets, curio shops, tea parlors
and more laundries.
Some of those shops fronts for hidden gambling dens.
Sultry, air-opressed opium dens.
Lou Dock, the man the DA accused of being the most notorious Tong leader in San Francisco,
was all of that.
But he was more.
Lou Dock was my friend.
He was a man of principles.
Born in San Francisco and wanting to adapt himself to the ways of his Western brothers,
he'd learned to speak, read and write a pronounced English.
He'd educated himself from the thoughts and ideas of the Western world.
I knew Lou Dock.
I had my doubts that he was going to show up in Sporefoot Alley tonight.
Cigarette Glasgow?
Yeah, yeah, thanks.
What makes you so sure Lou Dock and Kum Ji Ho are going to show tonight?
They're bitter enemies.
When Kum Ji Ho learned that Lou Dock's brother was in love with one of his favorite sing-song
girls, he challenged the Hoppies.
What's the girl's name?
Hot Toy.
She's a dancer at the Golden Lamp.
On surface, the incident is just a spark to ignite the flame, Glasgow.
You know that as well as I do.
The real battle is being fought for supremacy.
Almost 12, any minute now.
We didn't have long to wait because at exactly 12 o'clock a loud shrill cry rang out at one
end of Sporefoot Alley and at the other end of the alleyway the reply.
And another full-scale Kong War began.
There were at least 50 black-suited Chinese with their plates shoved under dark slouched
hats that met head-on in the alley.
Their hats just reflected the moonlight as they crashed open enemy heads and long, gleaming
daggers found their marks in soft, easy flesh.
And as the police moved in, they scattered in every direction, stumbling over the dead
and wounded.
But the police were efficient.
They'd hold up both ends of the alley and it looked like they'd rounded up every one
of the Bu Hao Doi that was alive.
The district attorney paced the floor of the storeroom, his hands nervously twisting behind
him as he waited for his captain of detectives to report to him.
Then we heard heavy steps coming up the stairs.
In a few moments, three men appeared at the head of the landing.
Captain Wilburn, his lieutenant, Son Jack, and a smiling dark-head Chinese with his hands
tied behind him.
Well, D.A.
Oh, where's the other one?
He, uh, he disappeared.
What do you mean he disappeared?
I don't know, D.A.
He was in mixing it up with the rest of them.
I know.
I saw him.
But after we had the rest of them rounded up, I couldn't find him.
How did you know it was Lou Dark, Captain?
The big head.
I recognize his big head.
You can't accuse him of having...
Bring that other one over here.
Okay.
You, move.
This is the one they call Kum Ji Ho.
I know why you started this one, Kum Ji Ho.
Oh, yes.
How did Lou Dark manage to escape?
Oh, yes.
Lou Dark.
Very fine silk merchant.
Yes.
Don't stall with me.
It'll go a lot easier on you.
You know you're not going to get this man to talk.
We'll see about that.
Now, I want the names of every Bu Hao Doi that fought in the alley tonight.
Chang, Tao Lu, D.A.
What was that?
I can't remember.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know.
I don't know what was that.
I think he said he wants his lawyer before he speaks another word.
Correct.
A lawyer?
Yes.
Thank you.
I never heard of any...
Looks like tonight wasn't the night you thought it was going to be, D.A.
I'm afraid your net results are zero.
Judge Attorney Muccia wasn't going to get come Ji Ho to inform on Lou Dark, no matter
how hard he tried.
For a Tong member to testify or inform on another, even your most hated enemy, which
was a rival Tong, was certain death.
And in most cases, members of your own Tong would carry out the death sentence.
In the wild confusion of that battle, it would have been impossible to tell whether Lou Dark
had taken part in it.
Captain of Detective sworn he'd seen him.
I wanted to know for sure, so the following morning I went to his house of business.
A little old Chinese sitting behind the counter didn't even glance up at me as I entered.
I walked over to the door of Lou's office and knocked.
A voice yelled, enter in Chinese, and I did.
I opened the door.
Seated behind a bleached rattan desk sat the man with his big head, rocking back and forth.
Lou Dark.
Hello, Dan.
It is nice to see you again.
It's nice to see you.
Pleased to sit.
I was just about to serve tea.
Thanks.
Oh, I beg your pardon.
This Dan is my beloved brother, Tommy, Mr. Dan Glasgow of San Francisco Tribune.
How do you do, Mr. Glasgow?
Hello, Tommy.
You take tea with lemon, I believe.
Right.
I am most happy of this surprise visit, Dan.
Here you are.
Thanks.
Most delicious.
There were seven men killed in last night's Tong Walu, Doc.
Tell me, Dan, do you prefer the Chinese or Indian tea?
I said seven men were killed in last night's Tong battle.
Tommy.
What's the matter?
My words too strong for your brother's sensitive ears?
And if you were not a true friend, I would easily kill you with my own hand for such
a remark.
I'm sorry, Doc.
You as I believe in righteous principles.
It was upon this discovery that I grow very fond of you.
I've honored our friendship.
In the ways of your Western world are many things that my people do not understand.
Among my people are certain things which the Occidental does not understand.
But cold-blooded murder is not a way that either world should have to understand.
True.
As I read in the Western world books, I read of organization called California Vigilance
Committee.
Oh, look, that committee is to protect the innocent from the guilty.
Yes, no argument.
But for the protection?
In Hap Ying Tong is protection for my people.
Now comes time when most beloved brother falls in love with Sing Song girl named A Toi.
He wishes to marry with her.
She returns this love.
It must be so.
And so in order to bring about this marriage, hundreds of men may lose their lives.
If it is, it is the God's design.
Yes.
There's nothing that I can say that can convince you to settle the whole thing peaceably?
In China, perhaps by tribunal, but in San Francisco, then, it is not probable.
We must settle this difference by other means.
Oh, and I'm sorry, Lou, Doc.
I'm sorry for your people.
There is no one upon whose heart this sorrow hangs heavier than mine.
And with that, Lou, Doc rose up from his chair, stood staring at me for a moment through tear-filled
eyes.
Then he turned and strode majestically out of the room, his large head bent as if in
prayer.
In the weeks that followed, for some unknown reason or other, the Tong wars slowed down
to practically a standstill.
Had been only a couple of hatchet murders in two months.
It seemed almost too good to be true.
Then on January 4th, I received a phone call from the DA's office about four in the afternoon.
His voice had a smile in it.
Well, it took someone else to do it, Glasgow, but it was done.
What was done?
About an hour ago in Ross Alley, two Tong men shot a man and then hacked his face to ribbons
with their hatchets.
When Captain Wilburn got down there, he identified the man.
Who was it?
The man we've been after.
Your good friend, Lou Doc.
Autolight is bringing you Mr. Jeff Chandler in The Case Against Lou Doc.
Tonight's production in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Sal's Spend.
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And remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with autolight.
And now, autolight brings back to our Hollywood soundstage, Mr. Jeff Chandler, in Elliot Lewis's
production of The Case Against Lou Dock, a dramatic report well calculated to keep you
in suspense.
Lou Dock had been my friend, and the realization of what an impact his death would have on
his following hit me.
It was to be a great loss for them.
I hung up the phone and decided to go down to the police station.
When I got there, the desk sergeant lifted a tired finger and told me that Captain Wilburn
was back in the morgue with Lieutenant Sonjak.
Come in, Glasgow.
The DA said you might be down.
So you finally got Lou Dock.
We didn't.
There was a couple of rival Tongmen that did the job.
Did you pick him up?
Nope.
He got away.
Want to take a look at him?
The bloody?
Yeah.
Over here.
All right, Sonjak.
Turn down the sheet.
See what I mean when I say bloody?
His own mother wouldn't recognize him.
How do you know it's Lou Dock?
By the head.
Take a look at the head.
What's left of it.
Dock had a big head, almost out of proportion to the rest of his body.
That's how I know it's him.
But still I...
Look, Glasgow, the DA told me how you feel about this guy.
I don't want any trouble from you.
This man is Lou Dock.
I positively identify him as the notorious Tong leader of the Hop Yings.
Do you care to challenge that statement?
No.
No, of course not.
Then you will admit this is Lou Dock.
Sure, Captain.
I admit it.
That's Lou Dock.
I admitted it because the thought suddenly occurred to me that here was the opportunity
I'd been waiting for.
The dead man lying on the slab in the police morgue was not Lou Dock.
The police had no positive identification as to who the man was, but it looked like a
perfect way to ease the pressure that was being brought to bear on them.
Captain Wilbur knew that faceless man was not Lou Dock as well as I did.
The following morning I went to the business house of Lou Dock, the silk merchant.
Just as I'd expected, the name on the door had been changed.
Next door was a gambling parlor.
I gave the password at the door and was admitted.
I sat down at one of the fantan tables and began playing.
I hadn't been playing long when I suddenly felt the presence of someone familiar standing
next to me.
Three.
Sheep.
Hello, Lou Dock.
Hello, Dan.
Happy to meet with you.
Is there somewhere we can talk?
Come.
Owner of this establishment is a good friend of mine.
We shall use his office.
All right, you lead the way.
Come.
In here.
Now, we are alone.
You're still hailing Hardy even though you're dead.
That is not good joke.
Take it you read the morning papers.
Oh, yes.
In time to change the name on your place of business.
You were pleased to see elimination of Lou Dock, weren't you, my friend?
You want the truth?
Our most precious bond, Dan.
Yes, Lou Dock, I was because now it's no longer necessary for you to work with any tongue.
It surprises me that you, of all persons I respect, should think that way.
There's great work yet to be done among my people.
Forget the work, Lou.
The battle that won't be won until every tongue is disbanded.
And if I leave, what then?
Kum Ji Ho and his tongue take over leadership in San Francisco?
The terror that exists now will seem, my friend, a mere particle?
What about the police?
The police are satisfied, you know that.
The notoriety and publicity that have gone before will no longer continue to follow me.
Hap Yings will continue to exist and you still behind them.
Yes, my friend, to make decisions.
I will set up puppet leader, but the arrival of Kum Ji Ho will always know that still sitting
on the throne of the Hap Yings is Lou Dock, the man he fears.
I'm a newspaper man, I have to print the truth, you know that?
Yes, my friend, I know.
I also know something else.
You know?
I also know, San Francisco, you are a true friend of Lou Dock.
And he was right.
I knew the fight within myself had begun.
To know that he was still alive, yet never to print that fact.
Because in doing so, I'd have to betray his friendship.
A windy night in February, I was working late in the office.
It was about eight o'clock when one of the reporters came in and told me that Tommy Yu
Shu, Lou Dock's brother, had been trapped in the cafe of his dancer girlfriend, Art
Toy.
I rushed down to Dagger Alley.
There wasn't a soul in sight.
I started to walk.
It was cold and heavy wind was blowing, but my hands were soaking wet with perspiration
as I made my way up the cobblestone walk to the golden lamp.
I imagined a hundred eyes staring at me from dark doorways.
Then I was in front of the cafe.
I walked up to the door.
It was bolted.
Tommy, Tommy Yu Shu, it's me, the newspaper man, Dan Glasgow, let me in.
Let me in, Tommy.
Hurry, hurry.
Thanks.
What are you doing here?
Word leaked out the onsings had you holed up here.
They sure do.
You took an awful chance coming up that alleyway.
Well, why'd you risk your neck here for coming here?
Art Toy, Mr. Glasgow.
Oh, I see.
We planned to leave tonight, secretly.
Somehow they learned of our plans.
It was Art Toy's father who betrayed us.
He was a murderer.
He was a murderer?
A murderer of fire?
Please, Tommy.
My father was threatening me.
There was nothing he could do.
I'm willing to die with Tommy.
Does Lou Dock know you're here?
No.
Then call him.
Tell him to call the police.
You have talked with my brother, Mr. Glasgow.
You know he would never do that.
But you'll never get out of here alive.
Then it must be so.
Joy, I don't understand it.
You'd be willing to commit suicide because of some silly superstitious and clannish idea
that the only way to deal out justice is through force.
Well, you and your brother and everybody who thinks that way, Tommy, are wrong.
Maybe the idea of tongs originally were good ideas, but the goodness has gone out of them.
I'm gonna call the police.
One moment, Mr. Glasgow.
I am sorry, but I cannot allow you to do that.
All right, Tommy.
You can put away the gun.
I won't call him.
Can I call your brother?
Perhaps that is best.
Tommy gave me a number to call.
Lou Dock answered the phone himself.
His voice remained strangely calm when I told him what the situation was.
He told me he was coming right down, warned me to stay in the cafe.
Then I hung up.
The three of us, Tommy, Youshu, the sing-song girl, Atoy, and myself, sat down and waited.
Twenty minutes later, I heard a car screech to a halt down at the end of Dagger Alley.
I opened one of the small windows, stuck my head out, and looked down the narrow street.
A long black car was parked at the curb.
Then the car door opened, and Lou Dock stepped out, alone.
And he began his long walk up the cobblestones to the cafe.
He walked slowly, staring straight ahead.
His body firm, rigid, in one position.
It was just the movement of his legs.
Wearing a long black coat, he looked like a giant as he took long strides, holding his
oversized head high.
Lou!
Hello, Doc.
You better get inside.
There must be at least 25 of them out there.
I'm all right.
Tell Tommy to come out, Doc.
But, Lou, you don't have a chance.
They won't attack me.
They haven't the nerve.
Tell Tommy to come out.
Tommy, he wants you to go with him.
I've got to go, Atoy.
But I'll be back for you.
Do not fear, my beloved one.
Tommy!
I'm going.
Hello, my brother.
And you.
Good-bye, Doc.
I see you soon again.
Soon, Lou Dock.
The two of them began their long walk back to the end of Dagger Alley.
Lou Dock's hand closed tightly around his brother's arm, walking slowly but steadily
toward the black car.
They weren't 10 feet from it, when from out of one of the dark doorways a figure jumped
into view.
It was Kum Ji Ho.
Kum Ji Ho let go with four wild shots, Lou Dock whirled, covering his brother at the
same time whipping out a gun and firing.
Tommy opened the door of the car, got in and started it up.
Then Lou Dock fell to his knees, still firing.
Tommy gunned the car away.
Lou Dock pitched forward on his face, emptying his gun.
Kum Ji Ho dropped to the pavement, clawing at his bloody face.
He twitched for just a moment.
And then he lay still.
When I got to Lou Dock, he was still alive but bleeding badly.
He looked up at me.
Much pain, my friend.
Much pain.
Will there be an ambulance any minute now, Lou?
Just hold on.
This is not death I prayed my ancestors to give me then.
I died lying on wet pavement in dark alley at night.
My wounds bleed freely.
Lou, you're not gonna die, Lou.
Our most precious bond, truth in our friendship.
Promise me, promise as you hold me in your arms, my friend, that in stories that will
be written, in one of them, someone will write, someone will write that beneath, that...
Beneath the cloak of the legend of his notorious reputation, there existed a man who believed
in the principles of righteousness for all his fellow men.
Who is there who can sit in judgment and proclaim that there was any case but goodness against
a man named Lou Dock?
Suspense.
And by Auto Light, tonight's star, Mr. Jeff Chandler.
This is Harlow Wilcox speaking for Auto Light, world's largest independent manufacturer of
automotive electrical equipment.
During the early months of 1952, the Auto Light family will join together in saluting
the leading car manufacturers who install Auto Light products as original equipment
right on their assembly lines.
Our Auto Light family is made up of the nearly 30,000 men and women in 28 great Auto Light
plants from coast to coast and in still other Auto Light plants in many foreign countries.
Our family also includes more than 18,000 people who have invested a portion of their
savings in Auto Light, as well as 96,000 Auto Light distributors and dealers in the United
States and thousands more in Canada and throughout the world.
The Auto Light family will have the privilege of saluting the Plymouth Division of Chrysler
Corporation on the next Suspense television program.
If you live in a television area, check the day and time of Suspense on television so
that you won't miss this program.
And remember, from bumper to taillight, you're always right with Auto Light.
Next week, our star will be the first lady of Suspense, Ms. Agnes Moorhead as Lizzie
Borden in a dramatization of the most famous unsolved American murder mystery, a true story
we call the Fall River tragedy.
In weeks to come, we shall also present Mr. Clifton Webb, Mr. Charles Boyer, and Mr.
J. Carroll Nash, all on Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with music composed by Lucian Morawick
and conducted by Lud Bluskin.
The case against Ludoch was written for Suspense by Richard George Pedicini.
In tonight's story, William Conrad was heard as Ludoch and Joseph Kearns as Mucil.
Featured in the cast were Lillian Bajoff, Sam Edwards, Herb Butterfield, Byron Cain,
and Jack Crouchon.
Jeff Chandler can now be seen in the Flame of Araby, a Universal International Technicolor
production co-starring Maureen O'Hara.
And remember next week, the first lady of Suspense, Ms. Agnes Moorhead as Lizzie Borden
in the Fall River tragedy.
This is the CBS Radio Network.