1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:19,000 The Columbia Network takes pleasure in bringing you Suspense. 2 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,000 Suspense. 3 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,000 Stories from the world's great literature of pure excitement. 4 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:30,000 A new series frankly dedicated to your horrification and entertainment. 5 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:36,000 Week by week from the pick of new material, from the pages of best-selling novels, 6 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:41,000 from the theater of Broadway in London, the sound stages of Hollywood, 7 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:46,000 will parade the most remarkable figures ever known. 8 00:00:46,000 --> 00:01:02,000 CBS gives you Suspense. 9 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:08,000 Tonight's presentation is one of the finest of the contemporary stories of mystery and terror. 10 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:26,000 John Dixon Carr's famous novel, The Burning Court. 11 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:31,000 Ah, a glass of sherry by the fireside of a beautiful suburban home. 12 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:33,000 What could be more comforting? 13 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,000 You're an admirable host, Mr. Depard. 14 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,000 And it's really a shame our first meeting is under such a cloud. 15 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:48,000 It's also a shame I have so little time to tell you which one of your guests here 16 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:57,000 murdered your uncle last week. 17 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Now let's see now. I believe we're all here. 18 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 Your wife, your friend Mr. Stevens, Captain Brennan. 19 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,000 Yes, and incidentally yourself. Just who did you say you were? 20 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:11,000 Well, no wonder you've had so much difficulty with the case, Captain. 21 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:16,000 My name is Cross, Gordain Cross, the writer. 22 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,000 As a matter of fact, it's because of my just completed book, 23 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,000 Poisoning Throughout the Ages, that I happen to be here now. 24 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,000 And Ted Stevens there happens to be a member of the firm which publishes my work. 25 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000 I'd never seen him until tonight, but I've been told what happened. 26 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:36,000 This afternoon he began reading my manuscript for the first time on the train, 27 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:42,000 the commuter's train, which every afternoon deposits him safely and soundly here in Crispin. 28 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,000 I imagine he was halfway home by the time he finished the first chapter. 29 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:52,000 Then he turned a page. Attached to the following leaf was a picture. 30 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:59,000 And looking at it, the young man stiffened suddenly and all but cried out his shock. 31 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:05,000 It was a picture of a young woman. And under it had been printed, 32 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:12,000 famous poisoner Marie Dobre, 1676. 33 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:17,000 Ted Stevens was looking at a picture of his own wife. 34 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:22,000 Imagine, imagine his 25 year old wife in 17th century costume. 35 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:27,000 The face, the features, even the wistfulness of expression were identical. 36 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000 Even the name Dobre was his wife's maiden name. 37 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,000 But no, no, no, that was ridiculous. 38 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,000 This woman in the picture was, well, one of his wife's ancestors. 39 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,000 And the picture was of a young woman. 40 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:47,000 No, no, no, that was ridiculous. This woman in the picture was, well, one of his wife's ancestors. 41 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,000 Yes, that was it, that was it. Simply an amazing family resemblance. 42 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:55,000 Marie would be waiting for him at the station and he'd have to tell her about it. 43 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,000 He wondered why, however, she'd never told him about. 44 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:04,000 Oh, well, but you don't discuss such an ancestor, do you? 45 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,000 Ted Stevens glanced down at the chapter to which the picture had been attached. 46 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:13,000 It was entitled, The Affair of the Non-Dead Woman. 47 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:22,000 Hello, Ted. 48 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Stevens was almost jolted from his seat. 49 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,000 It was Dr. Weldon, professor of English at the college, an old friend of his. 50 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,000 Quickly he thrust the picture beneath the manuscript and moved over. 51 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,000 Hi, hi. Didn't see you, Doc. 52 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,000 Oh, here, have a seat. 53 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Oh, I thought maybe you were giving me the, what do they call it, the brush off? 54 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,000 Oh, no, I... 55 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000 Say, as a matter of fact, Doc, you're the one man I do want to see. 56 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Yeah? Very flattering. 57 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,000 Remember those discussions we used to have about murders? 58 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,000 Better than Bridge any time. 59 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,000 Well, I got the idea that you'd made sort of a hobby out of the old cases, the historical ones. 60 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,000 Well, I've studied quite a number of them, yes. 61 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:05,000 Ever hear of a woman named Marie Dobre? 62 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,000 Marie Dobre? 63 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,000 Marie Dobre. 64 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,000 Oh, yes, that was her maiden name, of course. 65 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:19,000 One of the finest specialists in arsenic poisoning you could ever hope to find. 66 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Oh, we're almost at our station, Ted. Let's get to the door. 67 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,000 Yes, a real charmer Marie was. 68 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,000 Must have dispoiled to half a hundred husbands, lovers, suitors, and just plain friends before she was caught. 69 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,000 What happened to her, Doc? 70 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:37,000 She was beheaded and burned. 71 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,000 Crispin! 72 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,000 Oh, absurd, laughable. 73 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:56,000 Ted Stevens kept saying this to himself, and yet what he knew was a foolish dread 74 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:01,000 followed him straight through the small suburban station and clung to him as he reached the street. 75 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:08,000 And there in the roadster was Marie, leaning toward him a little to hold the door open and smiling at him. 76 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,000 Oh, Ted, what on earth are you staring at? 77 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,000 That street light shining on your hair, I like that. 78 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,000 Oh, you're tight. Come on, get in the car. 79 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:28,000 Then, like a wisp of smoke, it was gone, the whole ridiculous fear, the delusion. 80 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:43,000 When at home, Marie brought the cocktails into the living room, the logs were burning brightly in the fireplace, 81 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:49,000 throwing a soft, dancing glow upon a room that was darkening with dusk. 82 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:50,000 To you, Marie. 83 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 And to you, dear. 84 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:58,000 As Stevens placed his glass down, he noticed the manuscript of my book. 85 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,000 It was there on the table, right where he placed it when he first came in. 86 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,000 Deliberately, he turned from it. 87 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:09,000 And then turned back. The manuscript had been moved. 88 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:13,000 Only an inch or so, but it had been moved. 89 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:18,000 Keeping his back to his wife, he trumped through that early chapter and discovered, 90 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:24,000 just as he knew he would, that the photograph was gone. 91 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,000 For a long moment, he thought of what to do. 92 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,000 Then slowly, he turned around. 93 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,000 This book by Cross I brought home. 94 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,000 Yes? 95 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,000 There was a story of Poisoner in it. 96 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,000 Rather funny. Her name happens to be the same as yours. 97 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:46,000 Oh, your maiden name, that is. 98 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,000 Oh, that is odd, isn't it? 99 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,000 Darling, was she a relative of yours? 100 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,000 Why, Ted, you're serious. 101 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:57,000 In a way, yes. Oh, I don't mean it. It's really important. 102 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,000 It's just that, well, when you run across a person who's a dead ringer for your own wife 103 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,000 and who lived 300 years ago and was a top-flight Poisoner, 104 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 well, you like to hear about it, that's all. 105 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,000 What on earth are you talking about? 106 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:12,000 Darling, be honest with me. 107 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,000 Didn't you look at this manuscript when I was out of the room? 108 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:15,000 No. 109 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,000 You didn't take out a picture of a Poisoner named Marie de Bray? 110 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,000 I most certainly did not. 111 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:25,000 Oh, Ted, what is this all about? What are you getting at? 112 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:26,000 Oh, just this. 113 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,000 Somebody took that picture out of that manuscript since I've been home. 114 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,000 Now, who's that? 115 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,000 Well, I'll take a look. 116 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,000 But I don't feel like... 117 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:38,000 Why, it's Mark Sipar. 118 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,000 Mark? Ted, wait a second. 119 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:41,000 Yes? 120 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:46,000 Ted, whatever it is he wants, promise you won't do it. 121 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:47,000 Promise I won't do it? 122 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,000 I mean, promise you won't get yourself involved. 123 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,000 Please, Ted, don't go out tonight. 124 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,000 See, what in the world is... 125 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:00,000 Well, anyway, we can't let him stay outside. 126 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,000 Mark, how are you? Come on in. 127 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,000 Thanks, Ted. Just thinking about giving you a call later. 128 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,000 Oh, let me have your hat. 129 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:08,000 Oh, thanks. I... 130 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,000 Marie, I hope you'll excuse me for popping in like this, but, well... 131 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,000 I wanted to talk to Ted. It's rather important. 132 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,000 Oh, I don't mind at all. 133 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:18,000 Come on, Mark, we'll step into the library. Oh, you mind, dear? 134 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,000 Of course not, Ted. I'll be making the sandwiches for her. 135 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,000 Oh, grab that chair in the corner, Mark. 136 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,000 Well, let's hear it. 137 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,000 What's the trouble, Ted? 138 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:28,000 My Uncle Miles was murdered. 139 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:29,000 Murdered? 140 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,000 Oh, the talk hasn't reached you yet, but it's already started. 141 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:37,000 Nothing definite, of course, just that there was something wrong about Uncle Miles' death. 142 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:38,000 But I don't... 143 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,000 Mark, are you sure of this? You know he was murdered? 144 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,000 I don't know. Of course I don't. 145 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,000 I just don't see how it could be any other way. 146 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Uncle Miles, you know, had been sick for quite a while, 147 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,000 but last Saturday he seemed so much better that Miss Corbett, that was his nurse, 148 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,000 decided to take the day off, and, oh, you know all this. 149 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,000 You and Marie were over that afternoon. 150 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:02,000 Anyway, Lucy and I went to the club that night, to that masquerade party, 151 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,000 and we left the old boy completely alone. 152 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,000 I've cursed myself a thousand times since. 153 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,000 But what about your housekeeper, Mrs. uh, what's her name, Henderson? 154 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:12,000 Wasn't she around? 155 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:15,000 Sure. In that little house out in back. 156 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:19,000 We told her to look in now and then, but well, that wasn't good enough. 157 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,000 It was after midnight when Lucy and I got back. 158 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:25,000 Uncle Miles was dying. 159 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,000 Ted, it looked exactly like one of his regular attacks, 160 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:33,000 but then later, after he was gone, 161 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,000 I happened to glance under the chest of drawers in his room. 162 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:41,000 There was a small silver cup under there, almost drained, 163 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,000 and Uncle Miles' cat. 164 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:48,000 The cat was still warm, but quite dead. 165 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:49,000 Oh. 166 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:53,000 I managed to get the cat out of the house and buried without anyone seeing me. 167 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,000 The next day, I had the contents of the cup analyzed. 168 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,000 It was poison? 169 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,000 Yes. Arsenic. 170 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,000 Well, what do you want me to do? 171 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:06,000 Help me open the crypt. 172 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:07,000 What? 173 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:09,000 I want to have a private autopsy performed. 174 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:12,000 Help me get Uncle Miles' body out of that vault. 175 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:16,000 Oh, I know it's a tough job. The thing is sealed solid, but we can do it. 176 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:17,000 You mean without the police knowing about it? 177 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:19,000 Without anybody knowing about it. 178 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,000 Mrs. Henderson's visiting her sister, 179 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,000 and I managed to send Lucy over to the club. 180 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,000 You must be crazy. You're playing with dynamite, Mark. 181 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,000 This is something you've got to tell the police now. 182 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:29,000 I can't take that chance. 183 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:31,000 But they'll have to know sometime. You're only delaying the... 184 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,000 I've got to know first, I tell you. 185 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,000 You don't understand, Ted. 186 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,000 There was somebody in Uncle Miles' room that night 187 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:41,000 handing him something in a silver cup. 188 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,000 Mrs. Henderson was on the porch by the window. She saw her. 189 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:45,000 She saw her? 190 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:49,000 Ted. She thinks it was my wife. 191 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:51,000 Oh, Lucy. 192 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,000 It doesn't mean anything to Mrs. Henderson yet, 193 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,000 because she doesn't suspect anything, but, well... 194 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:59,000 Ted, you've got to see why I've got to be sure. 195 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:02,000 Why I've got to know how Uncle Miles died. 196 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,000 Because it wasn't Lucy, Ted. I know it wasn't. 197 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,000 Of course not, Mark. She had an alibi. 198 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:08,000 Well, she was with you at the club, wasn't she? 199 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,000 Yes. Except for half an hour. 200 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:12,000 I see. 201 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,000 You will help me, won't you, Ted? 202 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,000 When do we start? 203 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:16,000 As soon as you can make it. 204 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,000 As soon as you can make it? Okay. Come on, now. I'll get your head. 205 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,000 You twine on a head, and I'll come over as soon as I can see Marie. 206 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,000 You're not going to tell her about this? 207 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,000 Of course not. I'll think of something. Don't you worry about it. 208 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,000 No, thanks, Ted. Thanks a lot. 209 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,000 Uh, Marie? 210 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:32,000 I'm coming. 211 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,000 Uh, darling, Mark asked me to, uh... 212 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:36,000 I know, Ted. Here. 213 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,000 You'd better take these sandwiches with you. You'll be hungry. 214 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,000 But... you knew I was going out? 215 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,000 Yes, I knew. 216 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,000 You listened to us? 217 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:49,000 I couldn't help it, Ted. I had no idea what Mark's visit was about. 218 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,000 They talk about his uncle's death. 219 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,000 There's a lot of gossip about it in the village. 220 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,000 That's why I tried to tell you why I didn't want you to get mixed up in it. 221 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,000 But it's too late now, isn't it? I mean, you're going. 222 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:04,000 I can tell by the way you look. 223 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,000 Ted, wait a second. 224 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:10,000 There's just one thing I want to tell you before you leave. 225 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,000 And that is that no matter what happens, 226 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,000 no matter what you find or think or believe, 227 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,000 I'll love you. 228 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,000 You'll remember that, won't you? 229 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,000 I'll remember you. 230 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,000 Said so, Marie. 231 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,000 By the light of a dim kerosene lantern, Mark and Ted Stevens 232 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:41,000 pounded their way through the thick shelf of rock that covered the depar's ancestral tomb. 233 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:46,000 Pried open the great slab of stone which lay across the subterranean door 234 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:51,000 and then at last descended to the dank ink black chamber. 235 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,000 They found the coffin. 236 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:58,000 They dragged it from its crypt and placed it on the cold stone floor. 237 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,000 They unclamped the lid and opened it. 238 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,000 Mark! 239 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,000 It's empty. 240 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:07,000 That's impossible. 241 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:09,000 It can't be, but it is Mark. 242 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,000 You know what this means? 243 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:14,000 That body wasn't in this coffin when it was placed here. 244 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,000 I'll swear it was, Ted. 245 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,000 From the time that coffin was closed on Uncle Miles, somebody, 246 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,000 the undertaker or Lucy or me, somebody was with it until it was buried. 247 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000 And the crypt was sealed right after. 248 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:25,000 Then somebody beat us to it. 249 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,000 Somebody's broken in here ahead of us. 250 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:28,000 Broken in? 251 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,000 Listen, Ted, Lucy and I have hardly left the house since the funeral. 252 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,000 Do you think anybody could break in here, 253 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,000 smash through that stone and cement without our seeing them 254 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,000 or without our hearing them? 255 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:39,000 Well... 256 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,000 Well? 257 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,000 Well, you might as well come on out then. 258 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,000 Who is that? 259 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,000 Me, Mr. DePauw. Up here. 260 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,000 My name's Captain Brennan. 261 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,000 I'm from the office of the Commissioner of Police. 262 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,000 I'd like to talk to you if you don't mind, Mr. DePauw. 263 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,000 Here, follow my flashlight up. 264 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,000 But I don't understand. 265 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,000 How did you... 266 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,000 How did you know about this? 267 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,000 By listening mainly. 268 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,000 Do you mind if we go up to your house, Mr. DePauw? 269 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,000 Why, no. Not at all. 270 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,000 Oh, thank you. 271 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,000 Oh, Freddie. 272 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:15,000 Look here, Captain. 273 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,000 Freddie, this is Mr. DePauw, Lieutenant Gray. 274 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:19,000 Glad to know you, Mr. DePauw. 275 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,000 And Mr. Ted Stevens, isn't it? 276 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:23,000 Well, how did you... 277 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,000 How did you know my name? 278 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,000 Very simple. 279 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,000 I got the names of everybody who was here at the day 280 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:28,000 the old man died. 281 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,000 You and your wife were included. 282 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:32,000 Oh, here we are. 283 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:33,000 But I don't... 284 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,000 Captain, who gave you those names? 285 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,000 Why, your housekeeper, of course. 286 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,000 Mrs. Henderson. 287 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,000 You didn't think Mrs. Henderson saw the dead cat, did you, Mr. DePauw? 288 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:43,000 But she did. 289 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,000 She also saw you bury it. 290 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,000 And we've been interested in the case ever since. 291 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:55,000 Well, nice place you have here, Mr. DePauw. 292 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,000 Now, let's see. 293 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,000 According to Mrs. Henderson, your wife was wearing 294 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,000 some kind of a masquerade costume that night. 295 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:03,000 What kind of a thing was it? 296 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,000 Well, it was a... 297 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,000 There, you can see it. 298 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,000 It was copied from the dress in that old painting over there. 299 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,000 Oh, yes. 300 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:12,000 Funny. 301 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,000 Where's the woman's face? 302 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,000 It's always been that way, long as I can remember. 303 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,000 Somebody must have thrown acid on it or something. 304 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:21,000 Can't blame them much. 305 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,000 She was a poisoner. 306 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:23,000 A poisoner? 307 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:24,000 Yes. 308 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,000 The story goes that one of my ancestors was responsible 309 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,000 for her execution. 310 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,000 Marie Dobre, her name was. 311 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,000 Oh, yes. 312 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,000 I've read about her. 313 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,000 Learned all her poison tricks from one of her lovers, 314 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,000 guy by the name of Gordance Accra. 315 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:37,000 Gordance Accra? 316 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:38,000 Oh, yes, Mr. Stevens. 317 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,000 We cops read now and then. 318 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:43,000 Did you say Gordance Accra? 319 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,000 That's French. 320 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,000 We call it cross. 321 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,000 Absolutely no limit to a cop's education, is there? 322 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,000 But to get back to your wife, Mr. DePauw, 323 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,000 she was dressed like the famous Marie. 324 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,000 Now, when Mrs. Henderson looked through that window... 325 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:00,000 Just a minute, Captain. 326 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,000 Mrs. Henderson can't prove she saw a thing, and you know it. 327 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:04,000 What do you mean? 328 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:05,000 I mean you haven't any right to insinuate 329 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,000 that my wife was in that room. 330 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,000 Well, who's insinuating? 331 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,000 I'm trying to say that Mrs. Henderson, 332 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:11,000 after thinking it over, 333 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,000 realized that she was tricked by the costume. 334 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,000 The woman she saw in the funny clothes 335 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:18,000 handing the cup of poison to your uncle 336 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:19,000 wasn't your wife at all. 337 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,000 What? 338 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:24,000 Because your wife is an unusually tall young woman. 339 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:29,000 And the one Mrs. Henderson saw was fully half a head shorter. 340 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:33,000 More on the order, let's say, of Mr. Stevens' wife. 341 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:34,000 My wife? 342 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000 Captain, this is absolutely ridiculous. 343 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:38,000 Well, I don't know. 344 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:39,000 Why, what's the matter, Mr. Stevens? 345 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,000 You're trembling like a leaf. 346 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,000 Tell me now, just for fun, 347 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,000 where was Mrs. Stevens that night? 348 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,000 She was home with me. 349 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:50,000 The whole evening? 350 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,000 Certainly. 351 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,000 She retired early? 352 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:54,000 Yes, we both did. 353 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,000 You, I suppose, were sound asleep by midnight. 354 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:58,000 Yes, I was. 355 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,000 Then how do you know where your wife was? 356 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Look, Mr. Stevens, she had to have a costume 357 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,000 that would match Mrs. DePauw's. 358 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:05,000 How did she manage that? 359 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:06,000 Where did she get it? 360 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:07,000 Well, she never had one. 361 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,000 She never had a dress like that. 362 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:09,000 And what about her motive? 363 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:10,000 Why did she poison him? 364 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:11,000 I don't know. 365 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:12,000 Then for money, certainly. 366 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,000 Then what was it, hate? 367 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:14,000 Did she hate Miles DePauw? 368 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:15,000 Yes, yes, she did. 369 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:16,000 No! 370 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,000 Oh, I don't know. 371 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:19,000 I don't know, I tell you. 372 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:20,000 Brown? 373 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,000 Yes, Freddy? 374 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,000 I phoned and got hold of Mrs. DePauw and the nurse, all right. 375 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,000 That Mrs. Stevens, I couldn't reach her. 376 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,000 A phone won't answer. 377 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,000 OK, hello, Victor. 378 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,000 I'm going home. 379 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:34,000 Stevens, come back here. 380 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:36,000 I'm going to get my wife. 381 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,000 I'll be a stop in front of her. 382 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:39,000 Ah, let her go. 383 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,000 Marie! 384 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:52,000 Marie, where are you? 385 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:53,000 It's Ted! 386 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,000 Marie, what have you done? 387 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,000 Maria! 388 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,000 Oh. 389 00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,000 Oh, good evening. 390 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,000 Ah, who are you? 391 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,000 I? 392 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,000 My name is Cross. 393 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,000 Go down, Cross. 394 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:05,000 Cross? 395 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:06,000 Where's my wife? 396 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:07,000 What have you done to her? 397 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,000 You fiend, what have you done to my wife? 398 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:10,000 Why, nothing at all, young man. 399 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,000 Here, here, here, sit down. 400 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:12,000 You're lying! 401 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:13,000 Something's happened to her. 402 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,000 The police just phoned. 403 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:15,000 There wasn't an answer. 404 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,000 Why are you here? 405 00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,000 Why am I here? 406 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:23,000 Well, because your wife, reading my chapter on the dubrés, realized I knew more about 407 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:28,000 the family than even she did, because she found my phone number on the front cover of the 408 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:32,000 manuscript, and because I know an exceptional case when I hear one. 409 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,000 Does that answer your question? 410 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,000 No, and you know it doesn't. 411 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,000 Can't you see I've got to... 412 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:39,000 I've got to know whether... 413 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:40,000 Yeah, I see. 414 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:46,000 Whether your wife is that Marie dubré, who was burnt, burnt by order of the High Tribunal 415 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:52,000 for all poison cases, the burning court of France, witchcraft, black magic, the world 416 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,000 across the threshold. 417 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:58,000 You're quite sure, no doubt, also, that I'm Gordain Sancroix, who first wooed her. 418 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,000 No, no, my boy. 419 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:04,000 No, my real name happens to be, of all things, Tom Simpson. 420 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:09,000 Most unsuitable for a distinguished writing career, Anne Marie dubré is no more your 421 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,000 wife's real name than mine is Gordain Cross. 422 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,000 What? 423 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:18,000 Your esteemed wife was an adopted child, Mr. Stevens, adopted by people in Canada named 424 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:22,000 dubré, remote members of the real family of poisoners. 425 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,000 I can't believe it. 426 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,000 Why... why didn't she tell me? 427 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:29,000 Why? 428 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:33,000 Because until I told her half an hour ago, she didn't know it herself. 429 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:37,000 You see, in the course of my research on the family, I found out about it. 430 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,000 And in the course of talking with your wife, I found out something else. 431 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:48,000 How, for years, she was haunted by the fear that she might be a poisoner by inheritance, 432 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,000 by blood. 433 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:52,000 And you can see, can't you, why she never talked about it? 434 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:54,000 Her past to you? 435 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:55,000 Yes, yes. 436 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:00,000 And yet, Mr. Stevens, you had all but made her forget that past, you. 437 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,000 And that's why she was willing to lie, to steal a picture, do anything, in order to 438 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:05,000 hold you to her. 439 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,000 Yes, yes, I see that now. 440 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,000 You know, young man, I... I rather think she loves you. 441 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:17,000 But as you will see, though, I... she comes only when I call her. 442 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:19,000 Mrs. Stevens? 443 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,000 You mean she's... 444 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:21,000 Yes, Mr. Claus. 445 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:22,000 Marie, it's you. 446 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,000 You're all right? 447 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,000 Oh, yes, dear, we're both all right now, and nothing can change it ever. 448 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,000 Marie, listen. 449 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,000 Don't say Marie, dear. 450 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:30,000 Say Maggie. 451 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:31,000 Maggie? 452 00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:32,000 Oh, that's my name, my real name. 453 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Maggie McTavish. 454 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,000 And it's a lovely name, dear. 455 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:36,000 The most beautiful, gorgeous... 456 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,000 Darling, darling, please. 457 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:38,000 You don't understand. 458 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,000 The police, they think you had something to do with Miles' death. 459 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:42,000 They think I did? 460 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:47,000 So, now, Mr. Stevens, before we go back to the depots, don't you think you'd better tell 461 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,000 me everything that's been said and done up to date? 462 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:54,000 Having just saved your wife's soul from the burning court, now I'll rest her body from 463 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:55,000 the electric chair. 464 00:21:55,000 --> 00:22:05,000 Ah, yes, Mr. Departure, truly excellent sherry. 465 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,000 Don't you think so, Miss Corbett? 466 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,000 Yes, yes, it's very nice. 467 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,000 Well, that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I happened to be here. 468 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:20,000 So, let us consider first that supernatural hocus pocus in the crypt, that body that walked 469 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,000 out of the sealed tomb, that body that never was in the tomb. 470 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,000 Never was in the tomb? 471 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:30,000 No, Mr. Departure, the murderer knew that very soon Mrs. Henderson's story would bring 472 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,000 about an investigation. 473 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,000 He had to get rid of the well-known Corpus Delecti. 474 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,000 Yes, but who could have kept the body out of the tomb? 475 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:39,000 Who, Mr. Departure? 476 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,000 Why, you, sir. 477 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:42,000 What? 478 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,000 I don't understand. 479 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,000 Well, it's very simple. 480 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:47,000 You had the opportunity. 481 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,000 I believe you said yourself you were alone with the body before the burial, and you had 482 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:56,000 the strength, I dare say, you carried it down to the furnace, where it's now probably 483 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,000 nothing but ashes. 484 00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,000 Ridiculous. 485 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:03,000 Why would he spend an hour smashing into a crypt for a body he knew wasn't there? 486 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:04,000 Why, Captain? 487 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:08,000 To impress Mr. Stevens, his witness, and also apparently you. 488 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,000 Oh, that's perfectly fantastic. 489 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,000 Fantastic? 490 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,000 Oh, no, Lucy, just comic. 491 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:18,000 And I suppose, Mr. Cross, that I also put on a woman's masquerade costume, went into 492 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,000 my uncle's room and handed him a nice cup of arsenic. 493 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,000 No, no, no, that had to be done by a woman. 494 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,000 Your accomplice, as matter of fact. 495 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:31,000 Oh, now come, come, come, you mustn't all look at Mrs. Depard because Mark Depard's 496 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:37,000 one noble act was his frantic effort to prevent his wife from being charged with the crime, 497 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,000 a crime which he and Nurse Myra Corbett committed. 498 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,000 Myra Corbett. 499 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,000 Why, you... 500 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000 Yes, sir, yes, Mr. Stevens, this quiet little lady beside me. 501 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000 Why would I do such a thing? 502 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:52,000 Money, Miss Corbett, a cutout of Mark Depard's inheritance, payments for services rendered. 503 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,000 That's an absolute lie, Cross. 504 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,000 You see, ladies and gentlemen, Captain Brennan never bothered to check Miss Corbett's 505 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,000 whereabouts on the night of the murder. 506 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,000 Why even think of the nurse? 507 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,000 She was the custodian of the old man's health. 508 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,000 Oh, you're crazy, you're crazy, Captain. 509 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:09,000 And yet who but a nurse could so naturally offer the old man a cup, a cup he was sure contained medicine. 510 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,000 You're making it up, the whole thing, you're just making it up. 511 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:16,000 And who but Miss Corbett living right here in this house would know what kind of masquerade dress she must copy, 512 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:21,000 would know when Mrs. Henderson would pass the window that night, pass and see her and accept her. 513 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:23,000 She hoped for Lucy Depard. 514 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,000 No, that's not true. 515 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:30,000 Oh, yes, Miss Corbett, yes, Miss Corbett, that dress was the touch that wrecked you. 516 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:33,000 That was your own idea, wasn't it, not Mark's. 517 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,000 You weren't content with a mere murderer's share of the profits. 518 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,000 You wanted a wife's share, half of the whole estate. 519 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,000 You wanted Lucy Depard convicted and out of the way for good. 520 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:51,000 Well, I give you a toast, Miss Corbett, with Mr. Depard's excellent sherry. 521 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:56,000 To a particularly ruthless poisoner. 522 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:03,000 And yet, you know, on the whole, I'm rather partial to female poisoners. 523 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,000 Why, only tonight I... 524 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,000 Here, let me get some water. 525 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:19,000 Mr. Cook, what's the matter, Brennan? 526 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,000 This man's dead. 527 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:26,000 And from cyanide, if I know anything, cyanide from that glass of sherry. 528 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,000 Cyanide that a nurse could get quite easily. 529 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,000 That glass was right beside you, Miss Corbett, and nobody else was near it. 530 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,000 Too bad he didn't drink it as soon as you hoped. 531 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,000 A second ago, we had nobody to use against you. 532 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,000 But we have now, Miss Corbett, we have now. 533 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:56,000 And I arrest you for the murder of Godanne Cross. 534 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,000 How close to five months ago that the prominent author was murdered. 535 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,000 And tonight, Myra Corbett pays with her life for that crime. 536 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,000 The former nurse, at first protesting her innocence... 537 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:05,000 Oh, dear. 538 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,000 Yes, I'm in here, dear. 539 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,000 Oh, I thought you might... 540 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000 What did you cut it off for? 541 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:13,000 What do you mean? 542 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:14,000 The radio. 543 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:18,000 Oh, oh, yeah, well, I thought you wanted to talk. 544 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:22,000 Poor Ted, don't you think I know you better than that? 545 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:23,000 What was on the radio? 546 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,000 Well, there wasn't any... 547 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,000 Okay, it was about Myra Corbett. 548 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000 She goes to the chair tonight. 549 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,000 I didn't think you wanted to be reminded. 550 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,000 I don't, really. 551 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:38,000 But making such an effort to hide it only keeps it alive, doesn't it? 552 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,000 All right, darling. 553 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,000 Know what I came in to ask? 554 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,000 If you wanted a cocktail before dinner. 555 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:44,000 The largest one you've got. 556 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,000 Fine, I'll get off the ice cube. 557 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:47,000 I know. 558 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:48,000 If I'll fix up the fire. 559 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,000 Okay, Marie, a deal. 560 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:52,000 Where are some papers to start in? 561 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:54,000 Right there by the bookcase. 562 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,000 And the name's not Marie, it's Maggie. 563 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:15,000 Because, darling, Marie is dead and gone forever. 564 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:19,000 Oh, no, Marie, we're never dead. 565 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,000 Neither of us. 566 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,000 It was your hand that touched that glass. 567 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,000 I know that now. 568 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,000 And I could return the favor. 569 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:34,000 But instead, I shall ask that you dispatch your husband. 570 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:39,000 This one, like all the others, now. 571 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:43,000 Just a little bit of poison in the drink. 572 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:48,000 Marie, any kind of a drink. 573 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,000 What kind, Ted? 574 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:51,000 Hmm? 575 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,000 What kind of a cocktail shall we have? 576 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:58,000 Oh, any kind, darling. 577 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:19,000 Any kind at all. 578 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,000 You've just heard the burning court from John Dixon Carr's famous novel, 579 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:29,000 the first in Columbia's new series of outstanding classics and chills by world-famous authors. 580 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,000 Tonight's play, ladies and gentlemen, has one rather special significance 581 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,000 we think you'd like to know about. 582 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:41,000 As you perhaps have heard, every fine comedian is said to cherish a secret desire to do an abrupt about face. 583 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,000 He pines for the part of a blackguard. 584 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:47,000 Well, tonight you witnessed the fulfillment of one such desire. 585 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,000 The role of that literary and quite infamous diehard Gordon Cross 586 00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:56,000 was portrayed by none other than Hollywood's expert provoker of laughs, Charlie Ruggles, 587 00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,000 here in New York for the world premiere of his latest screen success, Friendly Enemies. 588 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:05,000 The role of Marie, well, that was enacted by a young lady who long ago won national acclaim 589 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,000 as one of Broadway's most accomplished dramatic actresses, Miss Julie Hayden. 590 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,000 Thank you, Charlie Ruggles and Miss Julie Hayden, for your splendid performances. 591 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:18,000 The play tonight has all plays in this series, whilst produced and directed by Charles Vande, 592 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,000 written by Harold Metford and scored by Bernard Herrmann. 593 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:27,000 Next week we bring you an intensely exciting and moving drama, The Life of Nellie James. 594 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:56,000 This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.