Suspense.
And the producer of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, the master of mystery and adventure,
William N. Robeson.
Almost every mouth factor starts yelling, I was framed, as soon as the law puts the arm on him.
And sometimes they have been.
Nobody will ever know how many inmates of state's prisons are there because of circumstantial evidence.
Of such a one is our story concerned.
Listen, listen then as Charles McGrath stars in The Silver Frame, which begins in exactly one minute.
Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsythe.
Joe, honey.
Uh-huh.
Joe, darling, put down the paper. I've got something important to ask you.
Okay.
Joe.
All right, all right, what?
How many savings bonds do we have?
What kind of a question is that?
A good one. How many?
I'm not sure, I'd have to count. And I'm reading the paper. What do you want to know for?
Have we got enough to make things comfortable for us?
Very comfortable. That's why I buy on a payroll savings plan. A bond a month will give us quite an estate for the future.
Enough for a college education?
Eventually. But who's going to college?
Our children, silly.
We don't have any yet.
Oh?
What do you mean, oh?
Better buy some more bonds, honey.
Daphne, you mean?
We've got a new investment.
How about that?
And now...
The Silver Frame, starring Charles McGrath.
A tale well calculated to keep you in...
...suspense.
They checked me out with the ten dollar bill and the twenty-two fifty suit that the taxpayers give you when you leave.
I took a quick look back at the place where I'd left two and a half years of my life in a cell.
Just because a Southern California district attorney had to have a pigeon in a hurry once.
Had too bad enough to frame a guy and get a conviction his favorite way.
Circumstantial evidence.
I started walking.
Just walking with no walls or iron bars or guys with sawed-off shotguns to stop me.
And somebody yelled after me. It was a reporter.
A little rat named Melvin Lester who'd crucify his own mother to get a headline.
I kept on walking.
Steve, Steve, wait a minute.
I got nothing to say to you or the crummy rag you work for. The morons that read it.
All right, all right, can't you? The bygones be bygones.
I'm just a guy working for a living.
Beat it.
All right, all right. So you got nothing to say to me.
So, what do you say to a thousand dollars?
What about a thousand dollars?
So, you say you were framed.
How'd you like to get even?
With who?
The district attorney.
All those wise guys down there in L.A.
How'd you like to frame them for a change?
For that I get a grand.
Sure. That's what I'm telling you.
Come on. Let you buy me a drink.
First bell to booze in more than two years.
Okay, what's the pitch, Melvin?
Well, there's been quite a lot of cases like yours lately.
Circumstantial evidence.
The D.A. looking for quick convictions and building himself up for the election, you know.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
So, my publisher's tangled with the D.A. a couple of times already, so we want to lower the boom on him.
That's where you come in.
How?
Like this. There's a dame, see?
What dame?
Well, that's all arranged. You pay her a little social visit, see?
You cut yourself a little with a butcher knife or something, and there's blood, she screams, you beat it.
But you leave your hat and your driver's license.
I don't have one.
So we'll get you one.
The neighbors hear the scream, they see your car driving off the driveway, they call the cops.
Now, the cops don't find the body, of course, but they find blood in your car.
Yeah, go on.
They pinch you, and you tell a straight story.
The blood is an accident.
Then you had a quarrel, and she started to yell, and you left.
But they don't believe you.
They book you on suspicion of murder, and we play it up big.
Cops picking on ex con, you know, that angle.
You sweat it out, and you clam up.
What happens to the dame?
Two days later, the dame comes back from Palm Springs, and we splash it all over the front page.
Her story, your story, circumstantial evidence again.
We bring up all the other cases. We just keep right after them.
In a week, the D.A. don't even dare show his face on the street.
He's dead, finished.
Well, how do you like it?
I like it.
Okay, kid, you're in.
Well, what about the dough?
Half now, half when we spring you.
Okay?
A thousand bucks, and the D.A. thrown in.
Okay.
Lester paid my way down to L.A., bought me a new outfit and a hat with my monogram and the sweatband.
He rented me a car and checked me into a hotel.
While I was soaking in the tub, he went over to his boss' office, the big shot publisher L.B. Rosson,
and brought back five bills and the dame's name and address.
It turned out to be a beach house at Malibu.
This was the first surprise.
I sort of expected it to be some third-rate downtown hotel.
But the big surprise came when the front door opened.
Mr. Gates?
That's right. Are you Miss Fox?
Yes. Won't you come in?
Thanks.
What's the matter, Mr. Gates? You look a little startled.
Maybe I am.
Why?
Well, I hadn't expected you to be so...
So what?
Attractive is a polite word for it, I guess.
Why aren't you used to meeting attractive women, Mr. Gates?
Not where I've been for the past few years.
Oh, of course. I forgot you were here.
Oh, of course. I'd forgotten.
Can I make you a drink?
Oh, thanks.
Why is it you always expect that anyone who's been in prison
will be lantern-jawed and have a scar on his face or something?
To tell you the truth, I'm a little startled myself.
Quite a layout you have here.
It is nice, isn't it?
Yeah, right over the ocean.
Uh-huh. Look here at this window.
You know, from this window, when the tide is in,
you can actually dive into 30 feet of water.
I've done it.
That I'd like to see.
Would you?
By the way, what's your first name?
Steve. What's yours?
Silver.
Silver?
Oh, I get it. Silver Fox. Cute.
It's my real name, too. One of Dad's ideas.
Oh, you as a character.
Yeah, I'll bet. And I'm another, huh?
What?
Come on, come on. What's this all about?
What's the angle?
But didn't they tell you?
Oh, sure, sure. They told me.
But they didn't tell me anything about a dame
at a $50,000 beach house with a half a grand of clothes on her back.
Steve, you're hurting my arm.
Talk. I'm doing this job for a lousy grand
about what your kind would spend on a weekend in Las Vegas.
Oh, no, come on. You're not in this for dough.
You're in it for something else, and I'm gonna find out what it is.
Wait, you little...
You were hurting me.
Well, you didn't have to bite clear through my hand, did you?
Well, anyway, now you won't have to lie about our having a quarrel, will you?
Oh, it's bleeding. Here, I'll get something.
Never mind that. Just talk.
Steve, I am doing it for the money, really.
What about all this?
The house is rented for only a month,
and the clothes go back to Western Costume.
Oh.
Steve, you... you hurt me.
I'm sorry.
You know what my father used to say when I was a little girl?
The character?
Uh-huh. He'd say,
I'll kiss it and make it all well.
Like this?
Uh-huh. Like this.
It must have been a couple of hours later when we heard the car
that was supposed to pick her up blowing its horn down the road.
I let her out the front way as quietly as I could.
Went back to finish up the rest of the job.
I knocked over a couple of chairs and shoved the furniture around some
to make it look as though she'd put up a good fight.
Then I threw my new hat with the initials in the band over in the corner
and dropped the bloody handkerchief that I'd wrapped my hand in
on the kitchen floor.
About an hour after that, I was back at the hotel.
I corked off as soon as I hit the sack.
Hello? Hello?
Excuse me. I must have the wrong number.
Oh, what number do you want?
Excuse me.
It was already dawn, so I got up a little later.
I knew I was going to have a pretty busy day, and besides,
I'd ordered all the morning papers and I wanted to read about myself.
When I opened the door to get them, there was a little guy standing out there.
Oh, excuse me. I'm so sorry.
No, it's all right. Excuse me.
I looked after him for a second because his voice sounded exactly like the one
who'd waken me on the phone.
So what? I went back to bed with the papers.
Sure enough, there it was, right on the front page.
How a young woman tentatively identified as Miss Silver Fox had been murdered
in a swank Malibu beach house,
and how the police expected an arrest momentarily.
And how the remains, charred almost beyond recognition,
had been found in the incinerator.
That's what it said.
Right there in black type, they'd found her body.
I was still lying there, shaking and looking at the ceiling
when the D.A. came for me.
All right, Gates, let's go downtown and talk it over.
In a moment, we continue with the second act of...
Suspense.
What constitutes a symbol of heroism?
When it comes to one of our best known military medals, the Purple Heart,
the symbol is a purple enameled heart within a bronze border.
Superimposed is a profile of George Washington
in his uniform of general in the Continental Army.
Above is his coat of arms between two sprays of leaves in green enamel.
The ribbon is purple with white edges.
The Purple Heart was the first American military decoration
and was created as the badge for military merit on August 7th, 1782,
in an order from Washington's headquarters at Newburgh, New York.
Only three were awarded for action during the Revolutionary War,
and none after that time until the order of the Purple Heart
was reinstituted on the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birthday,
February 22nd, 1932.
The Purple Heart is awarded to individuals wounded in action
against an enemy of the United States, or as a direct result of an enemy act.
The blood, often the lives of many brave servicemen,
backgrounds the Purple Heart, a proud tradition of service and sacrifice.
And now, starring Charles McGraw, act two of The Silver Frame.
Why did you kill her?
I didn't.
You was in love with her, wasn't you?
No.
You just got out of queue, you went to sea,
you found out she'd been double-crossed, and you say you killed her.
Come on, come on, don't be a sap, talk.
He's right, Steve. Why don't you make a full statement?
Maybe there were extenuating circumstances. Maybe we can make a deal.
I've told you, I've told you the whole story.
I've been framed, sure, you're always framed.
What about the blood? What about your hat? What about the body?
I don't know anything about a body. The blood is where she bit me.
You admit you had a fight with her.
Sure, but...
What about?
Look, what's the use of putting me through this routine?
Call the paper like I told you and talk to Mr. Rawson.
I've got news for you, Steve. We did.
Yeah?
He says it's the most cockeyed story he ever heard in his life.
In short, he says you're a liar.
Oh, he... Look, he's covering, he's scared.
All right, then. Get a hold of Malvin Lester.
He's a rat, but he can't be rat enough to let an innocent man go to the gas chamber
just because his boss tells him to.
I'm afraid we can't get a hold of Lester.
Why not?
He's in the morgue.
Who killed him?
That's our worry.
Oh, it shouldn't worry me a bit, huh?
Steve, be smart. Do what I tell you.
Maybe we can reduce it to second degree.
I can almost promise you the worst you'll get is life.
Oh, thanks.
But I'm warning you. If you make us go to trial on a first-degree murder indictment,
I'll send you to the gas chamber just as sure as...
Okay.
Oh, okay. I'll... I'll talk.
Now you're using your head.
Here. Here's a statement all made out.
Just a general confession, you understand.
We'll get the details later.
All you have to do is sign.
I'm not going to sign anything you wrote.
Okay, write your own statement.
I don't want to write anything.
Well, what do you want? You just said that...
Look, look.
Take me out there to her place.
Now, go through the whole thing for you, just the way it happened.
Every word, every move.
You can have a sonographer take it down, and then I'll sign it.
Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with that.
It's a deal, then?
It's a deal.
It was dark when we got out to the beach.
I was taking a long, crazy, desperate chance, and I knew it.
If it didn't work, well, the spot I was in, it wouldn't make much difference anyway.
And then we were inside of the house, and they were all standing around,
and I was in the center of the stage.
All right, Steve, do your style.
Well, we had a few drinks, and...
Well, I hadn't been in the same room with a woman for two and a half years,
and I... well, anyway, she fought me off, and that's when she bit me.
That happened here. We were standing right here.
Then what happened?
Well, she broke away and ran across the room,
and to about where you were standing, only back a little further.
Here?
Yeah, about there.
And what did you do?
Well, she bit me. It hurt. I was startled.
I backed up a couple of steps toward the window until I was standing about here.
Then what did you do?
Then I jumped!
I can't avoid your lies!
In just a moment, we continue with the third act of...
Suspense.
Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsythe.
Okay, Daphne, the slides are all set. Turn off the lights.
There. Oh, Joe, isn't that pretty? Where was that?
That was Vale Pass on the Grand Divide. Remember how hard the wind blew?
I certainly do, and it was cold, too.
Next time we go on a vacation, let's get an earliest start.
Well, we save money by waiting till fall. Remember this one?
Oh, sure. That Zion National Park. Oh, it was lovely.
We sure had a lot of fun on that trip. It was worth the money.
It was a good investment, all right. Almost as good as savings bonds.
There you go again.
Well, I just can't get over how good a bargain they are.
We women like bargains, you know.
Oh, I know. I know that.
And $4 back for every three invested is a pretty good bargain.
Right. Oh, was that where I fed the bear?
Yeah, that's Yosemite.
We were lucky the bears weren't already in hibernation.
How do they live when they hibernate?
On fat they store up during the warm months.
Just like savings bonds. Huh?
Well, you buy a savings bond a month, right? Yeah.
And it's a great way to save the way those bonds rack up interest, right?
Right. So we're just like the bears.
We're storing up fat for our future use at interest rates
that give us $4 at maturity for every three invested.
A very interesting idea.
You can learn a lot from nature.
Yeah, just imagine. Smoky the bear selling savings bonds.
Oh, Joe, show the slides.
And now...
Starring Charles McRaw, Act Three of The Silver Frame.
One thing I can do is swim.
Brother, I did some plain and fancy swimming that night.
Even with my clothes on, I must have made 30 yards underwater
before I had to come up for air.
I could see them running around with flashlights on the beach,
but out where I was, it was dark as a pocket.
There were only five of them. They couldn't cover the whole beach.
I made for a little rocky point about 100 yards north
and pulled myself out of the water.
I could see the flashlights all huddled together down by the house,
and I started crawling up the embankment to the road.
At the top, I stopped for a second or two listening
and then poked my head over the edge.
And right into the face of the little man I'd seen that morning in my hotel,
I grabbed him hard.
Please don't!
Make a sound and I'll kill you.
I won't. I want to help you. That's why I'm here.
You got a car?
Of course, right here. Right by the side of the road.
Then head for it. I'll be right behind you.
One funny move and I'll break your neck.
And I mean it.
Yeah. Oh, follow me.
Here's the car. You see?
Yeah.
Well, get in. Hurry.
Oh, boy.
You sure led me some wild goose chase today.
Uptown, downtown, out to the beach,
and then you jump out the window into the ocean.
Oh, boy, I sure earned my money today.
From who? Who pays you your money?
Well, the person I work for.
Who's that?
Well, someone who's interested in your welfare.
Oh, come on, come on. What's behind all this?
Mr. Gates, if you'll just be patient a little longer,
I promise you that where I'm taking you,
you'll get all the answers.
After climbing up through the Malibu Mountains
for a quarter of an hour,
we turned in at a big iron gate
and drove through about three acres of estate.
I had a hunch whose place it was,
and the house made the hunch look even better.
Big and impressive and strictly top bracket.
Milton rang the bell, but when the door opened,
my hunch blew higher than a kite.
Because standing there was the girl
you were supposed to have murdered, Silver Fox.
Steve!
He escaped out of the beach house!
Don't let that man in here!
Don't be silly, darling. We've got to let him in now.
I kind of thought I'd find you here, Mr. Rawson.
It is Mr. Rawson, the eminent publisher, isn't it?
I don't know who you are.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Uh-uh. I think you do.
We'd better kill him now, Mr. Rawson.
That's the best thing to do.
That's why I brought him here.
You put away that gun, Milton, and stop acting childish.
All right, now.
Just for openers, who's Milton?
Well, let's say he's my brother.
All right, let's.
Ah, you're very foolish not to let me kill him now.
He's a very dangerous man.
Please, please, don't talk about things like that.
Well, Steve, it looks as though we'll have to come
to some sort of an arrangement.
You want to tell me about it?
Yes.
You see, Charlie, that is Mr. Rawson.
Well, he's been very good to me for the last year or so.
And the house was rented,
and the clothes go back to Western Costume.
Well, you don't expect a girl to tell a man everything
the first time she meets him, do you?
Okay, so he's been very good to you.
Yes.
In fact, he even ensured my life
and made my brother Milton the beneficiary.
For how much?
$300,000.
Gates, I swear to you, I knew nothing about this.
The proposition that Lester put to you was absolutely genuine.
Well, maybe it was to start with.
But, Mr. Rawson, I think I could make a pretty accurate guess
as to who suggested the little stunt of framing the D.A.
It was Silver, wasn't it?
Yes, it was.
I thought so.
She's a very smart girl, this one.
By the way, what happened to your reporter, Malvin Lester?
Who can trust a man like Lester?
Something had to happen to him.
And the girl in the incinerator?
Just a girl, a friend of mine.
Nobody, really.
So you kids collect the insurance and I hold the bag.
Is that the way you want it, Mr. Rawson?
No, no. I had no idea Silver would do a thing like this.
How long do you think an old goat like you
is gonna hold a doll like this one
once she gets her hands on heavy dough?
Steve.
I think we can settle this, Mr. Rawson.
Of course, there's been a couple of murders.
Before we can get the cops off her,
next they're gonna want somebody to pay for them.
If it's money, I can easily...
No, no. No can do. Not a murder rap.
They'll want a victim. A Patsy.
I don't understand.
Why not Milton here?
He actually did the killings.
Why, I...
All right! I warned you!
Duck, Steve!
Thanks, baby.
You really have got everything, haven't you?
Even your own gun.
Well, a girl needs protection sometimes.
Well, there's our Patsy.
Get the money, Steve. Milton's got it on him.
You got it that quick?
Big newspaper men have ways of arranging these things.
Three hundred thousand bucks cash.
It's pretty, isn't it?
Yeah.
Steve.
Yeah?
I've been thinking about something.
So have I.
You and me.
Silver!
What about your sugar daddy here?
Oh, he couldn't say anything. He wouldn't dare.
Oh, Silver, baby, how could you?
We've got the dough.
Yeah, yeah, it could work.
Oh, I know it would, darling.
Okay.
But you'd better give me that gun of yours.
All right, Steve.
Thanks.
Well, what are you doing?
Getting some law to clean this up.
Give me the D.A.
He'll talk to me. Tell him it's Steve Gates.
Farley?
Well, I've solved your case for you.
You'd better come out here.
1124, Bolano Canyon.
No, no, no, two of them.
Steve!
A little stiff named Milton and a dame named Silver Fox.
Steve!
I got drunk the night she went to the gas chamber,
but I couldn't get drunk enough.
I heard all the reports on the radio.
And you know the funny thing?
Right up to the last minute,
she was still saying she'd been framed.
Suspense.
In which Charles McGraw starred in William and Robeson's production of
The Silver Frame by William Spear.
Supporting Mr. McGraw in The Silver Frame were
Tracy Roberts, Jerome Thor, Chester Stratton, John Hoyt,
Dawes Butler, and Jack Crouchon.
Listen.
Listen again next week when we return with Herbert Marshall in
The Long Shot, another tale well calculated to keep you in
Suspense.
Suspense has been brought to you through the worldwide facilities
of the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
Suspense.