Suspense. And the producer of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, the master of mystery and adventure,
William N. Robeson.
Once upon a time, there was a little boy who wanted to be in the movies.
So he took a screen test, and he got the part.
I know because I directed that screen test.
The part was the starring role in the Paramount picture Skippy, and the little boy was Jackie Cooper.
So it is with more than a little nostalgic pride that I again have the privilege of directing Jackie Cooper.
Now greatly grown, not only in stature, but also in talent.
Listen, listen then as Mr. Cooper stars in Remember Me, which begins in just a moment.
Another visit with Joe and Daphne Forsyte.
Joe, Joe, Joe, stop reading that paper and talk to me.
I'm listening, go ahead.
Well I was talking to Mrs. Snyder today. You know, she's the one whose boy had 31% less cavities?
Uh-huh.
Well she thinks that we should buy bigger savings bonds.
Uh-huh.
She says that when people can afford it, it makes more sense.
Oh she says there are a lot of different denominations. They start at $25, but then there are 50, 100, 200, and even $500 bonds.
Is that so?
And then with the ones we've already bought through the payroll savings plan, we'd have quite a nest egg.
Uh-huh.
Are you listening to me?
Uh-huh.
Did you know that the total accumulated compounded semi-annual interest of the Series E savings bond will amount to 93.3% of the original purchasing price?
Uh-huh.
I thought so. Joe, what did I say?
Uh, you said that United States savings bonds are a safe, easy way of investing.
I did?
That they help guard our country's freedom.
And?
They're the best investment in America's future.
I said something else too.
Oh yeah, you said that the total accumulated compounded semi-annual interest of the Series E savings bond will amount to 93.1% of the original purchase price.
Well now how did you do that?
Husband's trade secret.
And now...
Remember me, starring Jackie Cooper, a tale well calculated to keep you in...
suspense.
Ah, you're lucky. I was just going to close for the evening.
Yeah, I know. I saw you counting up the cash.
From the street? Maybe I should be more careful, huh?
Yeah, maybe you should. All right, let's have it.
What?
The cash. This is a stick-up.
No, you can't do this. You can.
This gun says I can. I'll empty that cash register into a paper bag, all of it.
But it isn't worth your trouble. This is just a little grocery store.
Get out of my way. I'll do it myself.
No, no, no, you get out of here, you dirty hoodling.
Please shut up!
I was afraid I'd be too late, Mr.
Who are you? Where's Mr. Leibowitz?
Oh, he isn't here. He had to leave.
Is Mrs. Leibowitz sick again?
Yeah, yeah, she's sick again. I've been watching the store for her.
I was just closing.
Oh.
Well, what are you looking at me like that for?
Don't I know you?
No, no, you don't know me. Look, I'm closing. You'll have to come back tomorrow.
Why, I do know you. You're Harry Norris, sure.
Huh?
Sure, we went to school together at Starbison High.
I'm Ruth Shaw. Remember me?
No.
No, no, I guess you wouldn't. But I remember you, Harry.
Yeah?
No, I just need a few things before you close. Here's a list.
Yeah, all right. You pull down the shades on the windows and throw the latch while I get them, huh?
Sure.
All the people I run into, I haven't seen or heard of you since high school.
Let's see, bread, bread, bread. Oh, here. And coffee. Where's the coffee?
Right there above you.
Oh.
And potato salad in the refrigerator.
You haven't changed a bit, Harry. I'd know you anywhere.
You know, I never forget a face, especially yours.
This kid's got a cold. She could put the finger on me but fast when they find the old man's body.
Now I gotta kill her too. But not here. Someone might have heard the shot and called the cops.
I gotta get out of here and take her with me.
All right, here's the potato salad. Now what else you want?
I guess that's all. Just put it on a bill.
Yeah, sure.
Oh, this bag's heavy.
Here, let me carry it for you.
Well...
Oh, come on. I'll walk you home. We can talk about old times.
Well, I only live around the corner on Third Avenue.
Come on, then.
Oh, I forgot.
What?
I need flour, too.
Flour?
Yes.
I'll get it.
Oh, that's all right. I can carry a bag of flour, at least.
Want me to get the light?
Yeah, please.
You know, Ruthie, it's been a long time since high school. You've got a good memory for faces.
I know.
I'm sorry. I don't remember you.
Well, you wouldn't. You were a big shot, a football player and all that stuff.
All the girls had a crush on you, Harry.
Did they?
Sure.
Who do you live with, Ruthie? Your family?
No, I'm a big girl now, Harry. I live all by myself.
That's all I wanted to know. She lives all by herself.
So I'll get rid of her in her own apartment and no witnesses.
Well, here we are. Home sweet home.
Not bad. You fix it up by yourself?
Yeah. Here, let me take the bag.
Sit down while I put this stuff away.
Sure. Yeah, you fix this place up okay. Nice view, too.
Yeah, of the ale. It goes right past the window. But you get used to that, too.
You should have seen it when I moved in. It was really a mess.
Then I went to work on... Oh, I thought you were in the other room.
What are you doing?
I got some flour on my skirt.
Oh.
I'll put some water on for coffee.
Good idea.
Come on in the other room, Harry. I want to show you something.
What?
A picture of you.
Of me?
In a football uniform. Yeah. I still have our class book. Your picture's in it.
Sit down.
Yeah, sure.
Funny running into you. I was going through this book a couple of weeks ago and I was thinking about you, wondering what ever became of you.
You were thinking about me?
Uh-huh. Well, you didn't know it, but I had a big crush on you when you were in school.
No, I didn't know. I thought I was a big shot in those days. I couldn't see anything.
You sure did. Oh, look. Here's a picture of the Thanksgiving dance in the gym. Senior year.
Yeah.
Do you remember it?
I'm not sure.
You asked me for a dance that day. Was I surprised? We no more than started and they stopped the music to take this picture. And you ran off to find Mona Stark.
Mona.
You remember her?
Yeah. I remember Mona.
You were going with her when you quit school, weren't you?
Yeah.
What happened?
We broke up.
Why?
Oh, I borrowed a car from a pal so we could drive up to Connecticut and get married. It was a big yellow convertible. I wanted to make a big impression.
Mona liked to be impressed. Only my pal forgot to tell me it was a stolen car.
What happened?
I never saw her again. I saw a picture of her though on the cover of a secret detective magazine. She had a gun in one hand and a bottle in the other and some guy was choking her. She looked pretty good.
Well, none of the good old days. What are you doing now, Harry? For a living, I mean.
Me? Nothing worth talking about.
How do you happen to know Mr. Leibowitz?
Mr. Leibowitz?
He's the sweetest old dear. He'll take credit right up to his ears, but people always get around to paying him. You must know him pretty well to be left in charge at the store.
Oh, oh well. I just... What's that?
It's the elevator. It goes right past the window.
It shakes the whole building.
How do you put up with that?
You get used to it. Noisy, huh?
Yeah.
You could fire a cannon in here when it goes by and you wouldn't hear it. You get used to it. I think the coffee's ready.
It'll only take a minute.
You could fire a cannon and I'm only going to fire a.38. Sure. All I have to do is sit and wait. We'll drink coffee and talk about the good old days.
And after the L goes by, the next time I'll walk out of here with nothing to worry about. And Ruthie won't be able to remember a thing. She'll be dead.
In a moment, we continue with the second act of...
Suspense.
The evolution of a medal.
In 1847, during the war with Mexico, Congress established a citation award for conspicuous service by members of the United States Army.
This was the certificate of merit strictly for Army enlisted men.
In 1891, almost a half century later, non-commissioned officers became eligible to receive the certificate.
No medal went with this award until 1905 when a coin-shaped medal in bronze bearing a Roman eagle was approved and adopted.
The suspension ribbon was vertically striped in red, white, and blue.
In July 1918, Congress abolished the certificate of merit, replacing it with the Distinguished Service Medal and the Distinguished Service Cross.
The medal is awarded for exceptionally meritorious service to the government, while the cross is reserved to honor extraordinary heroism in connection with operations against an armed enemy.
Before the certificate of merit was discontinued in 1918, 1,211 enlisted men had received the award.
Given in recognition of gallantry in action or exceptionally meritorious service during time of peace, the certificate of merit retains an important place among America's historic medals.
And now, starring Jackie Cooper, act two of Remember Me.
She's only got a few minutes to live, only until the elevator goes by again.
No one will hear the shot. They'll find just two bodies a couple of blocks apart and I'll be miles away.
All I have to do now is wait for the L.
Here we are. Hot coffee.
Good.
Sugar?
Black.
There you are. Hot and black.
Thanks. Good.
How long you lived here, Ruthie?
Over a year.
I wouldn't last overnight with the L going by the window like that.
I'm used to it.
Does it go by often?
Never stops, day and night.
I'll warn you the next time they hear it coming.
Yeah, you do that.
Harry Norris, here in my apartment.
What?
I just can't get over running into you like this.
Yeah, that's the way it goes, I guess.
I can still see you the way you were in school.
I remember a football game with Astoria High.
You got knocked out and they carried you off the field.
We were losing the game and you came back and all banished up and you put us ahead.
I was so proud of you.
I thought you were wonderful.
We hardly knew each other.
I knew you.
Well, I waited outside the gym that night to see if you were all right.
I saw you leave.
You had a little bandage on right there, where that tiny scar is now.
Oh, this one?
Uh-huh.
You waited around to see if I was okay, huh?
I even followed you home that night.
I was afraid you might pass out on the street and there would be no one to take care of you.
So I followed you.
No fooling.
Instead of going home, you stopped in at the pool room and I waited outside for hours.
You did?
Then it started to snow and I went home.
Funny, I don't remember seeing you and yet you were around so much.
Funny.
Well, I was a pretty horrible-looking kid then.
Nothing wrong with you now, Ruthie?
Oh, I wonder how Mrs. Leibowitz is doing.
Mrs. Leibowitz?
Oh, well you can drop by in the morning and find out.
You like living alone this way?
I love it.
Oh, don't you get a little lonesome?
Sometimes, but I have friends in the neighborhood and we get together and have crazy times.
How come you never got married, Ruth?
I never met the kind of man I'd want to spend the rest of my life with, I guess.
No boyfriends, no one?
It's kind of your fault, Harry.
My fault?
Uh-huh.
When a girl has a crush on a fella and nothing happens,
she goes on thinking that maybe someday something will happen.
And in the meantime, the other fellas just don't mean much, I guess.
You mean you felt that way about me?
I did once when we were in school, but I got over it.
Did you?
Sure, I guess.
You're a funny kid. I don't get you.
Forget it, Harry.
I wish I could remember you. What you look like.
Like I said, I was pretty awful.
What are you looking at?
Your scar. It's no larger than a match head.
Yeah.
I can hardly feel it.
Oh, and you have another tiny scar on the side of your nose, right here.
Where did you get this one, Harry?
A fight, I think.
Always the tough guy.
That's why the girls liked you so much. You treated them so rough.
Did I?
And you ignored them most of the time.
Yeah?
The way you're ignoring me right now.
Am I?
Only inches between us, and you ignore me.
Ignore this if you can, Harry.
Ruthie.
I'm here.
Ruthie, baby.
I'm here.
In a moment, we continue with the third act of...
Suspense.
We have together ample capacity in freedom to defend freedom.
This is NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
NATO's many achievements are plates of the shield which it is forging to protect peace and freedom.
But the shield is still thin and needs constant strengthening.
True, NATO forces in Europe cause any potential aggressor to exercise caution,
but these forces are insufficient to remove all threat of attack.
As NATO forces grow, so do hopes of world peace.
The United States of America is a part of NATO.
You should be aware of and alert to the objectives and programs of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
And now, starring Jackie Cooper, act three of Remember Me.
Honey.
I forgot to warn you, the yell just went by.
Ruthie.
What's the matter, Harry?
I don't know. I don't know.
I must be getting soft in the head.
I came up here to do something and now I can't.
The things you've said, the way you act, making me feel like I mean something to you.
All the time I didn't know you were alive.
Honey, honey, if I really mean anything to you, you'll help me.
I need help.
Ruthie, Ruthie, can I trust you?
Of course you can, baby. I'd do anything.
What the?
Ruthie, are you home?
Who's that?
I don't know.
Honey, it's Jimmy.
Don't make a sound.
Look, Ruthie, you do as I say or you're going to get hurt.
Now, you see this gun? It'll be against your side like this.
Act like you've been asleep and answer that guy and get rid of him, understand?
All right, now I'm taking my hand away from your mouth, but you be careful.
I don't want anyone to know I'm here. Now, get rid of him.
All right, Harry. All right, I'll get rid of him.
What's going on out there?
Ruthie?
Oh, Jimmy, is that you?
Yeah.
What do you want? It's late.
Are you all right?
Of course I am.
Why didn't you answer when I knocked?
I've been asleep. What do you want?
Nothing, honey. I was worried about you, that's all.
Worried about me?
Sure, you said you were going to stop by old man Leibowitz's place for groceries on your way home.
I did stop there. What about it?
Was everything okay?
Tell him yes.
Yes, everything was all right.
Well, Mr. Leibowitz was held up tonight. He was shot.
Mrs. Leibowitz came down to the store and found him dead behind the counter.
Ruth?
I heard you, Jimmy.
The neighborhood is full of cops. They say it happened less than an hour ago.
Get rid of him.
I was worried about you.
I'm all right, Jimmy. I'll see you tomorrow.
Okay, sweet. Hey, don't I get a good night kiss?
I'm not dressed. Good night.
Okay. Good night, honey. I'll see you tomorrow.
You killed him.
Yeah, I killed him.
You're going to kill me?
I'm going to kill you. I have to.
Yes, you have to. I could fix you good with a police.
Yes, you could. That'll teach you to remember old school sweethearts.
You almost got it before, but you mixed me up a little.
You made me forget what I came up here to do, trying to make me think you cared about me.
Harry, I did.
Yeah? Does everybody in the building stop by for a good night kiss?
Jimmy's only...
I don't care who he is. Why the routine with me? What were you after?
Harry, Harry, why don't you give yourself up?
You heard Jimmy. The neighborhood's full of police. You can't get away.
I've been in tighter spots than this, honey. I always get away.
Here it comes, Ruthie.
Harry.
Sorry, baby.
I won't tell anyone, Harry.
Sorry, baby.
Don't kill me.
Sorry, baby.
It's all right, miss. It's all right.
Is he dead, officer?
Yeah.
I didn't know whether you'd get here in time.
It was close.
You really used your head spilling flour all the way from the store to your apartment.
Did you see him shoot the old man?
No.
No, when Harry opened the refrigerator, I saw Mr. Leibowitz's reflection in the door.
He was sprawled out behind the counter, all bloody.
How'd you keep this guy here so long without him killing you?
We had a lot to talk about.
I knew Harry a long time ago.
There were things I remembered about him.
But...but he didn't remember me.
Suspense.
In which Jackie Cooper starred in William M. Robeson's production of
Remember Me, written by Gus C. Baze.
Supporting Jackie Cooper in Remember Me were Sandra Gould, Barney Phillips, and Norm Alden.
Listen.
Listen again next week when we return with Miss Agnes Moorhead
and the chilling Ray Bradbury story The Whole Town Sleeping.
Another tale well calculated to keep you in.
Suspense.
The Whole Town Sleeping
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio and Television Service.
The Whole Town Sleeping