And now, transcribed for tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theatre of thrills,
Suspense.
Tonight, the story of a man who learns far too late that in horse racing or life, there
is always an equation of chance and mischance.
So now, starring High Aberback, here is tonight's Suspense play, The Sure Thing.
Hiya Phil.
What do you know, Lefty?
Go on in, Marty's here.
Yeah, I know.
Come in, Phil.
Hello Marty, how are you?
Not bad.
Lefty.
Yeah?
Go on over to Atkins Place.
Yeah?
He's ready to pay off.
Dough will be in cash, five grand.
Right.
And close the door when you go out.
Gotcha.
Now Phil, sit down.
I haven't got too much time, Marty.
I just came from my dough.
What's with you anyway?
Don't you have any fun?
I'll have my fun when it's time.
Right now I got money on my mind.
Yeah, you sure have.
You know you clipped us for eight grand yesterday.
Eight thousand forty-two dollars is the exact amount.
Like always, you're here right on the dot to collect.
How much time do you give your clients?
About as much time as you give us.
There it is.
Left up nice and neat.
Want to count it?
This isn't your money, it's a syndicate's.
They don't shortchange.
You've got a lot of respect for the syndicator.
It's a good operation.
Drink?
No.
Phil, if you're interested, I've got a deal for you.
Yeah?
The syndicate wants to take you in.
They figure a bookie who's smart enough to keep making money from them should be on their
side.
Well, they could be right.
Can you go for it?
No.
Why not?
Look, Marty, I've been making book independently for a long time.
I've got a good clientele and I make a few bucks.
I know.
Okay, so I'm not just another independent bookie.
I also know horses.
Sure, I go by morning line and I get the word on clothes to work out now and then, but basically
I know the horses.
You admit that?
Sure.
Why not?
So the syndicate has heard him because I know when to lay off a few bucks on him.
But you do it every day.
Yeah, yeah, it's just it.
I got him in a good position.
I'm not going to let them buy me off by letting me into the organization like they did you.
They won't like it.
Marty, when I get ready, I'm going to own a piece of the syndicate.
When I get ready, I'm going to buy my way in and it's going to be with their loot.
Then that's what you want me to tell them?
Just that.
Okay.
If you change your mind, let me know.
I won't change it.
See you tomorrow.
Same time.
What for?
I want to cover myself, so I'm going to lay off some more dough today.
Have my payoff in cash as usual.
Be seeing you.
You shouldn't have taken it, Phil.
Told you why I didn't.
But honey, with a syndicate, you'd have steady money.
Enough maybe to get a divorce.
Eileen, divorce is for people who can afford it.
I can't.
You've been saying that ever since we got started.
How much money do you want?
Have to buy my way out clean, no alimony, a big hunk of cash, and it's over.
How do you know Barbara will go for that?
Barbara's no fool.
There's enough money in it, she'll go for it.
And until then?
Until then, we go on like we're doing.
Suppose I don't want to.
I can't force you to wait.
I'll wait, but I won't like it.
Maybe it won't be as long as you think.
How do you figure?
The syndicate won't quit with one offer.
They want me in and they'll keep on until they get me.
When is that?
When I can write my own ticket.
Phil, don't take chances.
Honey, people are more predictable than horses.
I know horses.
I'm sure not going to miss on people.
Hi Phil.
Marty ain't here right now.
Where is he?
I don't know, he left about two hours ago.
He told me to watch the phone.
When's he due back?
He said he'd be back in time to pay you off.
Well, I'll wait a while.
Hey Phil, do me a favor.
Watch the phone for me while I go for a sandwich, will you?
Well Marty might not like it.
Oh, he don't care.
You're his buddy.
Go on.
You can sit in his office.
Okay.
Oh, if you get thirsty, it's in that cabinet.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know.
If you get any action while I'm gone, just mark them down.
Yeah, I'll do it.
Go on, you take it, Phil.
I'm leaving.
Well, no, wait a minute.
It might be Marty.
Well, take it anyway.
If it is, I'll wait here a minute.
Okay.
Hello?
There's a fix in the 8th today.
Somebody told me you're an honest bookie, so I'm calling.
You want to hear about it?
Hold the line a minute.
Go on, I'll have to...
It isn't anything important.
Okay, see you.
Yeah.
Now, what were you saying?
This is Marty, ain't it?
Yeah, where are you calling from?
Downstairs, in the lobby.
Okay, look, there's a flight of stairs to the left of the phone, but there was one flight
up turn right, first door.
Be there in 15 seconds?
Right.
Come in.
You, Marty?
What's in your mind?
Like I said on the phone, there's a fix going in the 8th.
What track?
Right here in town.
Where'd you hear about it?
I'm a stable boy.
That don't mean a thing.
You overhear of a jock named Ferris?
Yeah.
He ain't doing so good since his fall at Hialeah.
So?
So the jocks in the 8th are going to see to it that Ferris wins today.
You heard this, huh?
With my own ears.
I was sleeping one of the empty stalls last night and I hear these two jocks making up
the deal.
Yeah, well, what are the jocks getting out of it?
Nothing.
Nothing.
They're doing it just to make Ferris a couple of bucks.
They ain't even betting on the race themselves.
Who's Ferris on today?
Happy Wandra.
And he's in at 1.06 and at 8 to 1 on the morning line.
Well, how come you came to see me about this?
Well, I figure if I give a guy like you a tip, he'll maybe slip me a couple of C-notes,
you know.
And then bet them for me on the race.
Yeah.
Well, why didn't you just bet it and keep quiet?
Because I wanted some real dough on the race.
So I ask around for the number of a good, honest bookie and I get you.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
This is a legitimate fix.
If it wasn't, I wouldn't take my pay and win tickets.
I don't know.
Marty, I got a clincher for you.
What's that?
I know that the favorite's gonna be scratched an hour before the race.
You do?
Yeah.
Connors is gonna be too sick to ride him and they won't let anybody else ride him, so he'll
be scratched.
I'll tell you what.
If they scratch the favorite, I'll buy the rest of your story.
How will I know you're buying?
Five minutes before post time, I'll hand you $200 worth of win tickets.
Okay.
Okay, it's a deal, Marty.
Hey, see you at the track in front of the paddock.
I'll be there.
Don't worry.
I'll be there.
Hello.
Chuck?
Did you find out about...
He is, huh?
How sick?
Aren't they gonna get another rider?
Uh-huh.
Uh-huh.
You sure now?
Definitely scratched.
Right.
Thanks.
Bye.
Let's see.
Okay.
Curly, Phil Branham.
25G on Happy Wanderer in the 8th.
Yeah, the win.
Long distance.
I want to place a call to Chicago.
The number is Michigan 52694.
Yeah, yeah, I'll wait.
If you hadn't stopped to talk with that character, we might have been in trouble.
I had to give him some win tickets, 200 bucks worth.
200 bucks?
What for?
Some information I needed.
Who was it?
Stable Boy named Les.
Big deal.
So the only race we see is the last one.
Come on, Eileen.
This race I gotta see.
How did it go?
We'll never get through in time.
Well, at least I gotta see the finish.
Come on.
Excuse me, please.
I'm sorry.
Hang on to my hand, Eileen.
Will you?
Yeah.
Phil, Phil, I can't get through.
You have to.
I've gotta see the end of this race.
I'm sorry.
Why is the eighth race so important?
What?
Because I have a quarter of a million going on a sure thing.
That's why.
Excuse me.
Excuse me.
Come on, Eileen.
A quarter of a...
Phil, where'd you get that kind of money?
Never mind.
This is a sure thing.
Now the syndicate has to pay off and make me a partner.
Hold on, kid.
We're almost there.
Sorry, mister.
Eileen, come on.
Come on.
Oh, it's over.
It's over and I didn't see it.
Hey, who won?
Hey, mister, who won the race?
Who won?
Doc Stranger by a mile.
I didn't see it.
I didn't see it.
I didn't see it.
I didn't see it.
Who won?
Hey, mister, who won the race?
Who won?
Doc Stranger by a length and I had two bucks right on the nose.
Hey, Louie.
Louie, I had him.
I had him.
I lost, Eileen.
I lost.
What are you gonna do here?
I don't know.
I don't know.
Take a cab home.
I'm going to the office.
I got some calls to make.
Can't you drop me off?
I gotta think.
I don't want to be bothered right now.
Go on, Eileen.
Beat it.
Hello, Charlie.
Phil Brannon.
I gotta talk to you.
I'm in a jam.
I need some dough and I need it fast.
Over 200,000.
You'll get it back?
What did he say?
Word gets around fast, doesn't it?
Well, look, Charlie, I just gotta have the dough.
Yeah, by tomorrow morning.
Please, Charlie.
Please.
Okay.
Okay.
It'll be my turn someday when it is out.
Charlie.
Charlie.
Come in.
Mr. Brannon?
Yeah.
Come on in.
Mr. Brannon, my name is Sternbilt.
Yeah?
I represent the
big people who are interested.
Oh.
They tell me your place with their syndicate bets in excess of 200,000.
You lost.
You here to collect?
Oh, I didn't expect you to have it now.
My instructions are that the money must be paid by nine o'clock tomorrow morning.
Well, now, look, I...
And if it's not paid, you might end up awful dead.
You are listening to The Sure Thing, tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding theater
of thrills, Suspense.
Today in America, we worship where we please, when we please, and how we please.
Let us all thank God for this freedom of religion, each in his own way, each at his own temple
of worship.
Let us exercise freely, regularly, the freedom for which men fought and died, taking our
families to church or synagogue every week.
And now, we bring back to our Hollywood soundstage, Hi, Aberback, starring in tonight's production
of The Sure Thing, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Come on, come on, come on.
Bill.
Let me in.
I gotta talk to you.
What about?
I'm in trouble.
I know.
Look, honey, I wanna stay in your place for about a week.
They'll never look for me here.
I gotta stay somewhere.
Until I find some money, I just gotta...
No, Phil.
No?
No, not here.
What are you talking about?
I said there's no room for you here.
What are you talking about?
Bill, the syndicate says you're on the list.
I lived a long time without you.
I can live a lot longer.
You can't stay.
But last night...
That was last night.
Last night, you had something to offer.
Now you got nothing.
Nothing.
Last night you were Phil Bronin.
Tomorrow morning you're just another dead man.
I got no use for dead men.
Phil, what do you want?
I gotta talk to you, Marty.
I'm pretty busy.
Party, you know.
Please, please, Marty.
Just a few minutes, huh?
Okay, come on in.
Come on into the den.
Okay.
Start talking, Phil.
Marty, I'm in a jam.
I know.
But I couldn't help it.
It was a wild chance.
No, it wasn't wild.
It was a shoe and I couldn't lose.
But you did.
Yes.
Now look, you gotta talk to the guys in the syndicate.
Give me time.
I need a little time.
I'll pay them off.
I'll be right back where I was if they just give me a little time, huh?
They know that.
They do?
Sure, kid.
But they don't want you back where you were.
What?
They want you out of their hair.
Marty, what are you talking about?
So they worked out the stable boy bit.
Bit?
The stable boy bit?
Who do you think sent Lester up to my office with a story about the hungry jockey?
You?
The syndicate.
Now, you won't bother them anymore.
You're going to be dead.
Though it wasn't my idea.
I only followed orders.
Well, if the syndicate did all that, why do they have to kill me?
Isn't it enough that they broke me?
It's a little more complex than that.
You see, the syndicate isn't going to pay off certain well-chosen bets.
On you is an excuse for being short of money, and those certain parties that aren't being
paid off are going to take it out on you.
You see, Phil, the syndicate wants you out of the way.
Now somebody else can do the dirty work for them.
You got to help me, Marty.
Help me get out of town.
I can't.
You're being tailed right now, and you will be until nine o'clock in the morning.
They know you haven't got the dough.
The syndicate will make plenty of trouble for whoever gives it to you.
You better go now.
One thing.
Yeah?
Is Lester really a stable boy?
No.
Matter of fact, he's a tout.
If you happen to be looking for him, you could find him at the morning workouts.
Name's Lester Callum.
Goodbye, Phil.
Who's there?
It's me, Phil.
What time is it?
Two.
What are you doing home?
I'm in trouble, Barbara.
I know.
What do you know?
All about how big shot Phil Brannon fell on his face trying to pull a fast one.
How'd you find out?
I've already had my visit from the boys who are going to make you dead tomorrow morning.
They told me to do right.
They'd make it a double ceremony.
What's right?
That you say goodbye now, walk out the door.
I'm making a hit all around today.
What do you expect?
I'm still your husband.
What do you want me to do?
Save your life so you can live it with Eileen?
You'd give more help to a stranger than you're offering me.
I wish you were a stranger.
Stranger couldn't hurt me the way you have.
I wouldn't hate a stranger the way I hate you.
That all you're going to say?
Just about.
Now get out.
Lefty.
Who's that?
Me, Phil Brannon.
Try to move it.
I'll break your arm.
Where do you keep your gun?
I don't have...
You do?
Look, I haven't got time to fool around.
Where is it?
It's in the bedroom.
Left hand drawer.
The dresser.
Okay, let's go.
Come on.
You're taking a big chance, Phil.
The guys are tailing you.
No, not right now.
I lost him.
Here.
This is it here.
You're through, Phil.
They're going to get you.
I know, but I'm going to get somebody before they get me.
Lester?
Yeah, that's right.
I hear he hangs out at the track, right?
Yeah.
It'll be another hour before it's light.
I'm going to stay here till then.
Here?
I'm going to tie you up when I leave, Lefty.
I can't take any chances on your tipping, Lester.
Who, me?
I hate that guy.
I don't like what he did to you.
Now look, Phil, you've always been good to me.
I'm on your side, only...
Only what?
Phil, look, Marty might not like you hiding out here.
The syndicate guys might do something to me.
Why don't you leave, huh?
You got the gun?
Come on, Phil.
Don't get me in a jam.
I'm your buddy, huh?
Sure.
Well, I'm going to treat you like a buddy.
I don't want to see you getting bad with a syndicate either.
Thanks, Phil.
I...
No.
No, Phil, no.
No, no, no.
Stay here if you want.
I don't care.
Only don't...
Don't, don't.
Please, Phil.
Don't.
Lester?
Yeah, what is it?
Don't turn around or I'll blow a hole in your back big enough to put my fist into.
Pramon?
Yeah.
Now, walk over toward the paddock.
Why?
Because I want to talk to you.
I got nothing to say.
I didn't think you would.
I don't want to talk to you, Brandon.
That's too bad because you're going to.
Okay.
Then let's go over to the paddock.
Okay.
If you want to die in the infield, I can take care of that too.
Hey, mister, don't cross the track.
Hey!
Hey, mister, get off the track!
Look out!
What'd you...
No!
No!
What'd you clock him at?
48.3.
Me too.
How about that?
Yeah.
Some coffee?
Yeah, sure.
See, you hear about the joker that got killed this morning?
Yeah, how about that?
Run across the track while the nags are working out.
They say he was a bookie.
Well, that figures.
Never did know a bookie knew anything about horses.
Suspense.
In which high over back starred as Phil.
Next week, the story of an actress who's still in her dressing room after the theater is
emptied spends the most terrifying moments of her life.
All as the result of a most innocent note to an admirer.
We call it blind date.
That's next week on Suspense.
Suspense is produced and transcribed by Norman MacDonald with music composed by Lucian Morawick
and conducted by Lut Bluskin.
The sure thing was specially written for Suspense by Ross Murray.
Featured in the cast were Clayton Post, Julie Bennett, Jerry Hausner, Peter Leeds, Charlotte
Lawrence, Lou Krugman, Jan Arvand, and William Euler.
Harry Como sings for you Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights on the CBS Radio Network.