Suspense. And the producer of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, the master of mystery and adventure,
William N. Robeson.
For hundreds of years, they have been called poltergeists, which means noisy ghosts.
They move furniture, they break dishes and bottles, they thump on walls, shatter windows,
and sometimes even bite.
And they are not the figment of the imagination of ignorant medieval villagers.
During the past few months, poltergeists, or something, have plagued the lives of American citizens
in Clayton, California, Rest Haven, Illinois, and Nassau County, New York.
While we are learning much about satellites flying through space,
we know absolutely nothing about crockery flying across our kitchens.
One of Suspense's favorite writers, Michael Frost, has pondered this mystery and come up with a solution,
his solution at least, which is, well, listen.
Listen to one man's answer to poltergeists as Larry Parks stars in The Invisible Ape,
which begins in just a moment.
Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsythe.
Joe?
Uh-huh?
Do you think we can afford a vacation this year?
Well, I don't know. Let's see.
The car could stand some work, then there's that chair we've been meaning to buy,
and I guess we could always cash in a savings bond or two.
What?
I said we could cash in one of our bonds.
Joseph, don't you dare.
Well, I was just suggesting.
Don't even think about it. Those bonds are our future.
When they mature, we'll get back $4 for every three.
Yeah, I know that.
They're guaranteed, too, three times over, principal, interest, and replacement if lost or stolen.
The whole United States stands behind them.
Sure, Daphne, but we...
Well, if we cash them in before they mature, we'll be giving up all that lovely interest.
And what happens when we really need the money?
Daphne...
I don't see how you, who thought of buying a bond every payday in the first place,
could suggest such a thing.
I guess maybe it was a moment of weakness.
Well, don't you ever bring it up again.
Savings bonds are not only a good investment for us, but they help our country, too.
Shame on you, Joe.
I'm ashamed. I'm covered with humiliation. I hate myself.
I should think so.
Okay, if I go back to reading my paper now?
Uh-huh. But, Joe, I was just wondering...
Yeah?
Do you really think we can afford a vacation this year?
And now...
The Invisible Ape, starring Larry Parks.
A tale well calculated to keep you in...
suspense.
I figured it out today, Pat.
Figured what?
About what's happening at the Jameson house.
Them bottles jumping off shelves and all.
Eh, the water chaser?
Yeah. I figured the whole Jameson family's been hypnotized. That's what.
Hypnotized. All of them.
Well, first today. Cheers.
Cheers.
Pat?
Yeah, what is it?
Look at that bottle. No, down there, at the end of the bar.
Saints Preservus. Floating down from the shelf.
And there's nobody in this bar but us, too.
Hey, I'm Joe Taylor. You know me. The lab technician.
Let me out of here!
I work at the Optical Foundation up the street.
I'm Dr. Bernstein's assistant.
They can't see me, so they won't listen to me.
Nobody'll listen.
Maybe you'll listen to me.
Will you listen, Kitty?
Thank you.
You see, it's all my fault.
Kitty, yesterday I let that stupid chimpanzee get away.
Janice was typing a progress report when I got to the lab this morning.
Good morning, Janice.
Morning, Joe.
Dr. Bernstein said for you to check the white mice first thing this morning.
Joe! Stop that!
You know I hate being sneaked up on. Don't ever do it again.
You never minded my kissing you before. What's wrong, Jan?
Nothing.
I called you last night. Your mother said you were out.
I was.
With?
Robert.
Champagne and caviar?
He asked me to marry him.
And?
I told him I'd think it over for a couple of days.
Think it over? But we're engaged.
Oh, who are we kidding, Joe? Let's face it, you can't even afford a ring.
Suppose I could get you a ring. Any ring you wanted. Anything you wanted.
I'm $53 a week take home.
No, listen, Jan, stop that typing and listen.
I've given this a lot of thought.
I've been thinking about it ever since we first treated those mice and then Chico.
Jan, do you realize what it would mean to be invisible, like Chico, wherever he is?
You mean treat yourself?
Make yourself invisible?
Why not? Then I could do anything I want, take anything I want and nobody be able to see me.
Kiss me the shivers.
Think what it would mean if I was invisible. Engagement ring, the biggest diamond I could find.
Money, I could steal all we could spend. Janice, I could run the world.
Joe, you're out of your head. And we don't even know if it works. On people anyway.
Flesh is flesh and bones are bones. It worked on the mice and it worked on that stupid ape. It'll work on me.
What about Dr. Bernstein?
I'll buy him off with the money I can lift. I'll be able to buy anybody off.
Oh, no, Joe. Not Dr. Bernstein. You couldn't buy him off.
We'll see about that.
Good morning, Joe.
Morning, Janice.
Morning, Doctor.
You checked the mice, Joe?
No, sir, I just got in.
Well, let's take a look.
Seemed to be all right.
Well, except this little character. Come here, buster.
Now, let's see. Specimen 438, male.
Twenty Renkins to the point of transparency. Thirty Renkins to return to visibility.
He's pretty sick from something, isn't he? Well, we'll keep an eye on him.
Uh, any word on Chico?
No, sir, I'm awfully sorry about that doctor, about him getting away. It was my fault.
No, it could have happened to anybody, Joe.
You're dealing with an almost human intelligence when you handle chimpanzees.
You give one an advantage like we gave Chico. He can't be blamed if he gets away.
But you know, Joe, I couldn't sleep last night.
Why not, Doctor?
Oh, I kept thinking about what's happening out at the Jameson house.
I've come to the conclusion that it's Chico.
Oh, Doctor, couldn't be.
No, no, I'm sure of it. Anything new happen out there last night?
I don't know. I haven't seen the morning paper.
Well, let's try the radio. The news ought to be on.
But, Doctor, if Chico's out there, somebody would have stumbled over him by now.
Not necessarily. Remember, he can see, Joe. He sees somebody coming towards him. He moves out of the way.
Well, another puzzling night for detectives staked out at George Jameson's house on Carlisle Avenue.
Detective Murdoch reports that last night he saw a bottle of cough medicine jump from a medicine cabinet and crash into the sink.
Now, this is nothing new lately in the Jameson house, but this bottle wasn't broken.
And when the detective picked it up, it was warm to the touch. And so the mystery deepens.
Well, that's all on the local news front. In the quarries...
All right. That does it. I'm going to have to make it public.
But, Doctor, we still don't know for sure.
Of course we do. Remember how Chico loved cough medicine?
Janice. Yes, sir?
I want to dictate a press release.
I knew he meant it. I knew I had to move and quick.
I carry a 38-minute love compartment in my car. I slipped out and got it.
When I came back, the doctor was still dictating.
The mice were exposed to a radioactive isotope.
Their cell structure was modified to permit their organs and bones to transmit light,
like a bottle of water or a chunk of glass, rather than reflect light
as the body surface of an ordinary mouse or ape or human being will do.
The mice were brought back to opaqueness by a reverse process.
But before the chimpanzee cells could be returned to normal, it escaped.
Jan, you can see it. Yes, Doctor.
I'm going to go across the street.
Where have you been, Joe? You look like you've just run a mile.
I went out to the car. I got this.
Gun. That's right. In case he won't go along with it.
First, I have to get that ape before somebody else finds out about him.
What are you doing? Stripping.
I want you to handle the control board.
You remember the procedure? Same as Chico.
No, I won't stay here while you undress.
What kind of a girl do you think I am?
But it's for you. It's for us, Jan.
No, it's wrong. I don't want any part of it.
Okay. All right, I'll do it myself.
I put the gun in a drawer, then I moved the reactor table closer to the control board.
I climbed up on it and began to turn the knobs.
I didn't feel a thing except for a little tingling up and down my spine.
Not a thing.
Let's see. Seventy-five Rentguns for five seconds.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
Then I was afraid to look. I forced my eyes from the dials toward my feet.
Knowing what to expect, I still could hardly believe what I saw or didn't see.
It was like I wasn't there.
I looked down at my legs or where my legs should have been.
All I could see was the white enamel of the reactor table.
I ran to the mirror in the washroom.
It's as if I wasn't there at all.
I've done it. I've done it. I'm invisible.
In a moment, we continue with the second act of Suspense.
Memo on medals. Information about our military awards and decorations.
The highly honored Legion of Merit is a five-pointed white star of heraldic form bordered by purple-red enamel.
In the center of this beautiful decoration is a constellation of 13 white stars on a blue field, breaking through a gold circle of clouds.
Backing the star is a green enamel laurel wreath, interlaced with crossed war arrows in gold pointing outward.
The ribbon is purple-red, edged with white.
The Legion of Merit can be awarded to any personnel of the armed forces of the United States and of the government of the Philippines,
and to personnel of the armed forces of friendly nations who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services.
When awarded to the military of other countries, the Legion of Merit is divided into four ranks.
Chief Commander, Commander, Officer, and Legionnaire, depending upon the degree of the service we honor.
Since its creation by active Congress in 1942, the Legion of Merit has become a highly honored symbol of our nation's acknowledgement of the bravery and dedication of free men.
And now, starring Larry Parks, Act II of The Invisible Ape.
It was a warm summer day, but walking along Main Street toward Jameson's house without any clothes on had me shivering plenty.
The first woman I met, I wanted to cut and run, but she looked right through me.
I was as invisible as a glass in a store window.
But when I saw the cop outside Jameson's place, I stopped cold. He was staring right at me.
Had something gone wrong? No.
Now his eyes traveled past me. I turned around. He'd been staring at a doll across the street.
The door of the Jameson house was open. I went in. Mr. Jameson, who runs the local men's furnishing store, looked kind of tired and rumpled.
They were shooting newsreels, and he was facing a battery of lights.
Okay, Mr. Jameson. Camera. Sound.
This morning, it happened again. I was helping Mrs. Jameson with the breakfast dishes, and suddenly a dish sailed off the sink and crashed against the wall.
I crossed in front of the camera, and the cameraman never even batted an eye.
I went into the bathroom and looked in the medicine cabinet.
I found a bottle of cough medicine and put it in the middle of the floor.
And in it, I heard something breathing, but there was no one in the room, no one I could see.
I backed up next to the door and watched the bottle. Suddenly it popped into the air and tilted.
As the cap began to screw itself off, I moved toward it, and I grabbed for the air around it. I felt a furry arm.
Come on, Chico. Come on, you idiot.
What was that? In the bathroom.
Let's go, Chico.
Hand in hand, invisible as a couple of ghosts, Chico and I went back to the lab.
Janice was still out, but the doctor was there. He jumped when he heard me close the door.
What's that?
It's me, Doc. Me and Chico.
Joe! Joe, you didn't!
Yeah, Doc, I did.
Why, Joe, why?
To catch Chico for one thing so he couldn't see me coming.
What difference did it make? He wasn't hurting anybody. They'd have caught him sooner or later.
I had another reason, Doc.
What was it, Joe?
I wanted to try it out, this transparency. I wanted to see how it would work on a human being.
And now that you know it works?
I've got plans, Doc. We might as well get that straight, I've got plans.
I thought it might be something like that.
What plans?
Plans to cash in on this. Doc, I'm tired of working for Peanuts. You ought to be, too.
I can't buy decent clothes. I can't get a ring for the girl I love. We've developed something here that's worth money.
There isn't a bank, there isn't a jewelry store, there isn't a mint that's proof against an invisible man.
The sky's the limit, Doc. You handle the equipment, I'll take the risks.
I see. And if I won't go along with you?
There's always this, Doc.
A gun.
Well, what are you going to do with it?
First we're going to take Chico out in the woods and shoot him, just so he won't give us away.
Why not just bring him back to opaqueness?
Why bother? Why strain the equipment? We're going to need it.
Joe, have you thought how it would be if you were invisible the rest of your life?
If you couldn't come back?
What do you mean, couldn't come back?
Suppose we can't reverse the process. Suppose we can't bring you back to an opaque state.
Don't be silly, we brought back the mice.
Safely?
They're all right, aren't they?
Take a look.
They were all right.
Take a look, Joe.
They were all right this morning.
Oh no. No, no, Doc. Half of them are dead.
That's right, Joe. Too many Renkins.
It takes too many Renkins for a two-way trip.
Now, do you still want to shoot Chico?
No. No, we've got to try to bring him back. We've got to try, we've got to see.
Put him on the table, Joe.
We managed to get Chico onto the reactor table and to strap him down.
And I stood back, afraid of taking any more radiation while the doctor turned up the pile.
Okay, 85 Renkins ought to do it. Time check. Mark.
One, two, three.
Before my eyes, Chico slowly materialized.
It's like looking at someone through foggy glasses at first.
Like a picture out of focus. I couldn't be sure that I was seeing right.
And then suddenly, there he was.
There he was, just like before.
Ugly little chimp like any other.
But he just lay there.
An ugly little chimp like any other except...
He's dead, Joe.
No, no, no.
In a moment, we continue with the third act of...
Suspense.
We have together ample capacity and freedom to defend freedom.
This is NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
As in many other complex activities, in NATO too, it's the little things that count.
For instance, spare parts for the armed forces equipment of NATO countries.
This complex problem is handled by the NATO Supply Center at Chateauneuf, France,
which assists NATO countries in providing a common system for supply of spare parts.
The United States of America is a part of NATO.
You should be aware of and alert to the programs and objectives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
And now, starring Larry Parks, act three of The Invisible Ape.
I found myself walking up Main Street, passing people I'd known for years,
wanting to grab them by the arm and talk to them, tell them, just explain to them
that I was really here, that I was still alive.
I stood outside Carter's jewelry store looking at the diamond rings in the window.
At least this was one thing worthwhile taking.
When I walked in, I must have triggered a little bell into the mat.
Carter looked up from the newspaper he was reading at the counter.
He stared right through me for a second, frowning, then he shrugged and went back to his paper.
Janice had liked a ring in the case next to him.
I moved round him, slid it open.
I found the ring and lifted it. Carter didn't even budge.
Then I started back to the lab.
Jan was alone in the lab. I walked up behind her and put the ring on her desk.
Jan?
Joe! I told you never to sneak up on me.
Where... where are you?
Right here beside you.
No, no! Stay away from me!
Go away!
I got your ring, the one you wanted.
Stay away! Stay away from me! I don't want it!
Keep away from me!
She picked up the ring and threw it across the lab.
Then she ran screaming out of the room.
I picked up the ring and sat for a long time at her desk.
Then I heard Dr. Bernstein come in.
Joe? Are you in here?
Yeah, I'm here.
Joe, I called Professor Wilson at the AEC and I told him what you did.
He thinks if we expose you to tiny doses once a week over a long period of time,
we'll be able to bring you back to visibility.
But how... how long? How long, Doctor?
At least five years, Joe.
Five years.
It's better than forever.
I wandered down Main Street again, put Carter's ring back in his case,
then I went by Pat's tavern.
More than anything in the world, I wanted to drink.
Pat was shining glasses talking to some guy at the end of the bar.
I didn't see any way to get a drink except to swipe one,
so I reached up on the shelf and grabbed a bottle.
I figured it out today, Pat.
Figured what?
About what's happened out at the Jameson house.
Them bottles jumping off shelves and all.
I figured the whole family's hypnotized, all of them.
Well, first today. Cheers.
Cheers.
Pat?
Yeah, what is it?
Look at that bottle.
No, down there at the end of the bar.
Seems preservist. It's floating down from the shelf.
Let me out of here.
Hey, I'm Joe Taylor. You know me.
They won't listen to me. They won't even listen.
Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty.
You'll listen, won't you?
Nice kitty.
You see, it was all my fault.
Yesterday I...
Suspense.
In which Larry Parks starred in William N. Robeson's production of
The Invisible Ape by Michael Frost.
Supporting Larry Parks in The Invisible Ape were Ellen Morgan,
Lawrence Dobkin, Sam Pearce, Byron Cain, and Jack Moyles.
Listen. Listen again next week when we return with another tale
well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
The United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.