1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,920 The Spain. 2 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:29,560 This is the man in black. 3 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:34,360 Here again to introduce Columbia's program, Suspense. 4 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:39,760 Our distinguished star this evening is the stage and screen favorite, Mr. Paul Lupus, 5 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:44,760 whose performance is in The Lady Vanishes, and in the stage production The Watch on the Rhine, 6 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,160 you will recall with pleasure. 7 00:00:47,160 --> 00:00:51,760 Tonight's tale of Suspense is a story by John Dixon Carr, 8 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:55,560 fire, burn, and cold and bubble. 9 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:57,560 If you've been with us on these Tuesday nights, 10 00:00:57,560 --> 00:01:03,160 you will know that Suspense is compounded of mystery and suspicion and dangerous adventure. 11 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,760 In this series, our tales calculated to intrigue you, to stir your nerves, 12 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:14,360 to offer you a precarious situation and then withhold the solution until the last possible moment. 13 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:18,160 And so with fire, burn, and cold and bubble, 14 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,160 and the performance of Paul Lupus and the other members of our company, 15 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:23,760 we again hope to keep you in. 16 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:32,760 Jury Lane Theater presents the distinguished American actor, 17 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:36,160 Myron Willard, in Shakespeare's Macbeth, 18 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:52,360 with magic effects especially designed by Ludwig von Arnheim. 19 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:57,060 Double, double, toil and trouble, 20 00:01:57,060 --> 00:02:09,160 fire, burn, and cold and bubble. 21 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,960 Historic Drury Lane Theater, a relic of old London. 22 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:17,960 On this site, in the cramped and crooked lanes of Ulwich, 23 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,960 there has been a playhouse since Nell Gwynn sold oranges in the pit. 24 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:27,560 The present theater, though modernized, is heavy and darkened with time. 25 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:33,960 By daylight, it is a dinginess of red plush seats, haunted by old ghosts. 26 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,760 But at night, when the lights bloom for some new production, 27 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:43,360 when the murmur of a crowd fills the carpeted aisles, and the orchestra begins to tune up, 28 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:48,960 it is kindled with that strange magic before the rise of the curtain. 29 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,760 Oh, it's this way, sir. E12 and 13. Broderon, talk it. 30 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:53,160 Thank you. 31 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:55,760 No, madam, this is Roe E. Your seat's a G4. 32 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,760 And backstage, where nerves crawl and there is a tendency to scream, 33 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,360 the three witches of the play are huddled around the peephole in the curtain, 34 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,360 looking out into the audience. 35 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:11,360 They are hideous-looking creatures, these witches, in gray rags like cobwebs. 36 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:13,360 But as they speak... 37 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:15,760 Oh, dear, I am scared. 38 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:17,360 Don't let it bother you, darling. 39 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,760 You can't even see the audience when the floats are on. 40 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,160 There's nothing to worry about. 41 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,760 Nothing except the size of the teak at the box office. 42 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,760 You won't even have to worry about that tonight. Look out there. 43 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,560 You two are as shaking as much as I am. Now don't pretend. 44 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,160 All right, all right. Everybody's jumpy on first nights. 45 00:03:33,160 --> 00:03:37,160 What I can't understand is why they want to use young girls as witches, 46 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,360 and then make us talk in cracked voices as though we were 80. 47 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:45,360 Double, double, toil and travel. 48 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,760 Fire, burn and cauldron bubble. 49 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:51,360 Oh, oh, what's that? 50 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,560 Say, dear darling, it's only one of the ghost effects. 51 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,960 You've been hearing it for weeks at rehearsal. 52 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,760 I will say this for Martin Willard, as an actor and a manager too. 53 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:04,160 He's the first one who's ever had a real professional magician 54 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,760 to do the ghost effects of this ham show. 55 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:08,360 Oh, are they, Celia? Look there. 56 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:09,160 Where? 57 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,560 Out in the audience in the second of the box on the left-hand side. 58 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:14,360 Don't you see the woman who's just coming in? 59 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:15,960 Yes, I can see her. 60 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:18,360 Not a bad-looking bit of good for her age. 61 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:19,760 What about her? 62 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:21,760 But that's Marcia Blair. 63 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:23,160 Marcia Blair? 64 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,160 You don't mean you've never heard of her. 65 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:27,360 I can't say I have either if it comes to that. 66 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:29,360 Move over, Ivy. Give us a squint. 67 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,360 Marcia Blair used to be Mr. Willard's leading lady. 68 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:34,760 She was a very great actress 15 years ago. 69 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:36,960 Oh, 15 years ago. 70 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,360 She's had a terribly romantic history. 71 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,560 Well, she's made lots of money and retired from the stage. 72 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:45,360 Then she married some horrible no-good and... 73 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:47,760 Do you see that tall grey-haired man standing beside her? 74 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:49,960 Well, he doesn't look much like a no-good. 75 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:52,360 That's not the man I mean, Celia. 76 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:54,160 That's Howard White, her second husband. 77 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:54,960 Oh. 78 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,560 They say he loved her for years and followed her about 79 00:04:57,560 --> 00:04:59,760 and practically worshipped her. 80 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,760 But she was married to this no-good and wouldn't get a divorce. 81 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:04,960 Then the no-good died, I suppose, 82 00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:08,160 so Marcia Blair and her faithful Howard got married. 83 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:09,360 Yes. 84 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:13,160 I remember reading in the paper that they'd been married one year tonight. 85 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:15,360 I... I expect they're very happy. 86 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,960 Well, I'd be happy, too, if I had a mink coat and a string of pearls like that. 87 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:20,760 Well, you've got to admit she's beautiful. 88 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,760 All right, Katie, if you say so. 89 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,560 I used to go and see her act when I was a little girl. 90 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,560 She... she was kind of an idol. 91 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:33,360 I wonder what they're saying to each other up in that box now. 92 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:47,760 I wonder what they're saying. 93 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,160 Marcia, dear, I wish you wouldn't be so uneasy. 94 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:52,760 Nothing can happen to you here. 95 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:54,760 You're uneasy yourself, Howard. 96 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:56,760 Yes, I suppose I am a little. 97 00:05:56,760 --> 00:06:01,160 Howard, I know I shouldn't be talking like this on our first anniversary, 98 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:02,960 but that's what worries me. 99 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:04,760 What if Barry isn't dead? 100 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:06,160 What if he isn't dead? 101 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:07,960 Oh, listen to me, darling. 102 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,560 Your late husband, heaven condemn his soul, 103 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:13,360 died in New York more than a year ago. 104 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:14,560 We have proof of that. 105 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:16,160 Well, then who wrote those letters to me? 106 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:17,360 I don't know, dear. 107 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:18,560 Somebody playing a joke on you. 108 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:19,560 Joke? 109 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:23,160 If you marry him, Marcia, you won't be alive a year from then. 110 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:23,760 Joke. 111 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:26,960 But you're married to me, my dear, and you are alive. 112 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:29,560 Shall I quote you something from another play, Howard? 113 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:30,560 Well... 114 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,160 The ides of March are come. 115 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,360 Aye, Caesar, but not gone. 116 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:37,960 And it's still two hours. 117 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,360 Two hours to the time we were actually married. 118 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:41,760 Oh, look here, dear. 119 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,160 This is carrying an obsession too far. 120 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,960 It would be just like Barry to wait until the last moment, 121 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:48,360 just to make it worse. 122 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:49,360 You knew him. 123 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:50,760 Yes, I knew him. 124 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:51,960 He was a genius. 125 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:53,360 I suppose so. 126 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:57,160 As a mere businessman, I never quite understood this theatrical temperament, 127 00:06:57,160 --> 00:06:58,560 except yours, of course. 128 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,760 Barry was a greater actor than Myron Willard will ever be. 129 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:05,560 Barry could play anything, from a cockney to King Lear. 130 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:07,960 His skill at make-up wasn't merely good. 131 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:09,760 It was terrifying. 132 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:11,960 Oh, Howard, I am frightened. 133 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,560 Suppose he's managed to get close to us tonight and... 134 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,560 and yet we can't see him. 135 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:19,560 Well, the music started, Marcia. 136 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:21,160 I... I shall have to go. 137 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,360 Must you go, Howard? Really? 138 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,360 If I break this appointment with Ferndale, dear, 139 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:26,960 the deal will be called off. 140 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,360 And since I haven't got too much backing anyway, I... 141 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:32,160 All right, dear. I understand. 142 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:32,960 Go ahead. 143 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:34,360 Unless you wanted to come with me. 144 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,360 And Miss Myron's opening tonight? 145 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:37,560 Oh, I couldn't do that. 146 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:39,960 I tell you, you'll be perfectly safe here, dear. 147 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,360 Of course, Howard. I know that. 148 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:45,960 You're in full view of 3,000 people. Nobody could attack you. 149 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,160 The only door to this box is guarded. 150 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,160 Outside that door will be Miss Fenton, who's devoted to you, 151 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,560 and the chauffeur who's even more devoted to you. 152 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:54,760 What could happen, dear? 153 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:56,560 Nothing, of course. 154 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:58,960 And I'd prefer to be alone anyway. 155 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:00,360 Yes, I rather guess that... 156 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:01,760 Oh, please, dear. 157 00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:04,160 It's just that I can't endure anybody being with me 158 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,160 when I'm watching a great play. 159 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,360 But that doesn't include you, darling. 160 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:10,760 Then if you'll accept these, madam, 161 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,160 in honor of our first anniversary... 162 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:14,760 Oh, Howard! 163 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:16,360 Well, they're lovely. 164 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:17,960 Of course I'll accept them. 165 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:19,960 And here's a program. 166 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:21,560 Got everything else you need? 167 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:23,360 Yes. Yes, I think so. 168 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,360 I'll just open the door to the passage to make sure I'll watch dogs around, 169 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:27,560 and guard. 170 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:29,560 Yes, they're out there all right. 171 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,160 Good night, master. 172 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:32,760 See you in an hour or two. 173 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:34,960 Good night, Howard, and good luck. 174 00:08:36,560 --> 00:08:37,960 Miss Fenton, Bradley. 175 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:39,360 Yes, Mr. White. 176 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:40,960 Is there anything wrong? 177 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,160 Miss Fenton, you've been my wife's companion secretary 178 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:44,560 for five or six years. 179 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:47,160 Yes, Mr. White, and I've loved every minute of it. 180 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,360 And you, Bradley, you haven't been my chauffeur for quite so long, 181 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,360 but they tell me you're an ex-wrestler. 182 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:53,560 That's right, she. 183 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:55,960 Champion of the Shore Ditch Athletic Club. 184 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:58,360 And in me prime, though I says it shouldn't, 185 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:00,560 as good a man as ever climbs through the ropes. 186 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:02,160 Now, you know your instructions badly. 187 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:03,360 Yeah, trust me, sir. 188 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:06,960 Nobody gets into this here box tonight unless it's over my dead body. 189 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,360 Nothing must happen, do you understand? Nothing. 190 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:11,560 Please, you're as white as paper. 191 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:14,960 As for you, Miss Fenton, I'm afraid it's a little awkward. 192 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:17,560 I know I ought to ask you to go in and join, Marcia, but this... 193 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:19,760 You needn't apologize, Mr. White. 194 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:21,760 I know she doesn't want company. 195 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,760 She'll be leaning forward with her elbows on the box rail, 196 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:26,560 just as she always does. 197 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:28,360 She isn't merely watching a play. 198 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:30,160 She's acting, Lady Macbeth. 199 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:32,560 Every line, every gesture. 200 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:34,360 And I don't mean to disturb her. 201 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:36,360 You won't leave this door, either of you. 202 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:38,960 You trust me, sir. If... 203 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:40,560 Oh, no. 204 00:09:40,560 --> 00:09:41,560 Anything wrong, Bradley? 205 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:44,960 It is a very rummy-looking cove coming along the passage, sir, 206 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,960 wearing a big black cloak with a red lining. 207 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,160 Oh, that man, Bradley, that's only her von Ahlenheim. 208 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,360 He's a professional magician and escape artist. 209 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,560 I was just wondering... Excuse me, please. 210 00:09:56,560 --> 00:09:59,560 Don't worry, Mr. White. We'll look after her. 211 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:02,560 Von Ahlenheim. I say von Ahlenheim. 212 00:10:02,560 --> 00:10:04,560 Thou canst not say I did it. 213 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:06,160 Never shake the gory luxe at me. 214 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:07,560 I beg your pardon. 215 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:09,160 And I beg yours, my friend. 216 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,960 I was merely quoting a line from the play. 217 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:13,760 You are not leaving the theater. 218 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:15,560 Surely not walking out on Macbeth. 219 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:16,760 I'm afraid I've got to. 220 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:18,360 Oh, that's a pity, my friend. 221 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,160 You will miss some of my best effects, to say nothing of Shakespeare's. 222 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,360 When Banko's ghost appears at the table. 223 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:26,560 I don't want to hear any more about ghosts, thanks. 224 00:10:26,560 --> 00:10:28,560 Banko's or anybody else's. 225 00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:31,560 I imagine you mean your wife's late husband. 226 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:33,160 You've heard about it then? 227 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:36,160 Yes, your wife has told me a good deal. 228 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:37,560 She seems to think that in my profession, 229 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:41,160 I might have some charm over demons or spell against ghosts. 230 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:43,960 You know, von Ahlenheim, in a muddled kind of way, 231 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:46,160 that's what I've been wondering myself. 232 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:49,760 Unfortunately, no. I am all too human. 233 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:51,960 But your problem interests me. 234 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:53,560 And I confess, it worries me. 235 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:56,160 What is you? What about me? 236 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:00,360 As I understand it, her first husband was a half-made American actor, 237 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,160 who later went completely mad and died in New York. 238 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:05,360 His, uh... 239 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:06,960 Oh, what's the word I want? 240 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:07,960 Our obsession? 241 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:09,360 That's it, obsession. 242 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:11,360 His obsession was Marcia Blair's eyes. 243 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,760 Yes, always her eyes. 244 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:15,160 They seem to hypnotize him. 245 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:16,760 It is not new, you know. 246 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,160 You'll find the same motif, the eyes of a beautiful woman, 247 00:11:19,160 --> 00:11:21,760 all through the works of Edgar Allan Poe. 248 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,960 Then, as I understand it, after this man's death, 249 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:26,960 she began to receive a series of letters. 250 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,360 Foul letters, apparently, written by him, 251 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,160 and threatening her with some rather horrible form of death, 252 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:32,960 if she married you. 253 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:34,360 I tell you, Barry Lake is dead. 254 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:35,760 He can't get a part of his coffin. 255 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:38,360 Oh, getting out of coffins, my friend, is not so difficult. 256 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:39,360 I have done it myself. 257 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:41,560 Oh, please stop joking, von Ahlenheim. 258 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:43,760 You don't happen to be dead. 259 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,360 True. There is that small difference. 260 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:48,560 Um... 261 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:50,760 Is your wife here in the theater tonight? 262 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:53,560 Yes. She wouldn't have come here except that it's 263 00:11:53,560 --> 00:11:56,160 Maron Willard's first night, and we haven't seen Maron, 264 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,160 either of us, in years. 265 00:11:58,160 --> 00:11:59,560 She's back there in box, indeed. 266 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:00,760 So I hear. 267 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:05,360 I was hoping that you might invite me to share the box. 268 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,560 Look here, old man, I don't want to seem inhospitable, 269 00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:10,960 but she doesn't want company. 270 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:12,360 Well, that's about it. 271 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,760 Well, then walk back a little distance with me, this way, 272 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,160 so that you can see the stage from the back of the dress circle. 273 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,560 Now, the orchestra has stopped, and they'll ring up in a moment. 274 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:24,160 There. Look at it. 275 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:25,160 Look at what? 276 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:26,760 The stage, men. 277 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:28,160 The lights have gone out. 278 00:12:28,160 --> 00:12:32,160 All except the dim yellow footlights shining at the curtain. 279 00:12:32,160 --> 00:12:35,560 The last cough, the last murmur, the last rustle of program 280 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:38,960 dies away in one vast breathing hush. 281 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:40,560 The curtain goes up. 282 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:43,160 It goes my arm, von Ahlenheim. I've got to leave. 283 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:45,760 Now, what are the stage directions? 284 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,760 Desert place, thunder and lightning. 285 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:50,560 Enter three witches. 286 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:59,160 When shall we meet again? 287 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,760 Is the sun not rising or in rain? 288 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,960 When indeed. I wonder. 289 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:07,560 May I beg your pardon, von Ahlenheim? 290 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:09,760 No, it was nothing. 291 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:12,560 That will be the fact of the sun. 292 00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:15,960 Where the place of the deep fair 293 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:36,760 chases your shadow away will show upon you a face of 294 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:43,760 darkness and a dark slave. 295 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:45,560 A feast! 296 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:58,160 In the London newspapers for that year 1936, you may read how Myron Willard triumphed at 297 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:00,200 Drury Lane as Macbeth. 298 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:07,520 But tonight, as the clock ticks on, there is another drama in the dimly lighted corridor 299 00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:10,360 outside Box D. 300 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:16,320 There sits Miss Louise Fenton, Marcia Blair's companion secretary. 301 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:23,120 Beside her, burly and broken-nosed, is Big Jim Bradley, the ex-wrestler. 302 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,120 And when more than half an hour has passed... 303 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,120 There's the applause, Jim. 304 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,960 That was for the end of the first act. 305 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:32,960 Yes, I hear it. 306 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:33,960 Nothing's happened. 307 00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:36,800 But take my word for it, nothing's going to happen. 308 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,520 Oh, she's such a likeable person, Jim. 309 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:41,800 And I think one of our greatest Shakespearean actresses. 310 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:45,320 I don't much care for this Shakespeare business, Miss. 311 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:47,480 You give me a good movie with gangsters in it. 312 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:48,480 That's my style. 313 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:50,320 Oh, you don't understand, Jim. 314 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:56,000 I've seen her as Juliet, as Ragland, as Portia, in our own drawing room without any props. 315 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,120 I've heard her as Lady Macbeth, too. 316 00:14:58,120 --> 00:14:59,560 You should see her eyes. 317 00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:00,560 Her eyes, Miss? 318 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:04,800 Yes, you should see her eyes when she delivers that speech. 319 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,480 The raven himself is horse that croaks the fatal end... 320 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,240 Miss, look there. 321 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:11,240 What is it? 322 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,440 That foreign-looking cove in the black cape coming along the passage. 323 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:15,440 Now, easy. 324 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:16,440 I beg your pardon. 325 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,440 You are Miss Louise Fenton, aren't you? 326 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:21,120 Yes, my name is Fenton. 327 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:22,120 What is it? 328 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,720 I am looking for Arnheim, a friend of Mr. White's. 329 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:26,200 And I must see Marcia Blair at once. 330 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:27,200 No, you don't, Governor. 331 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:28,200 You're not going in there. 332 00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:29,200 Why not? 333 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:30,920 Because nobody goes in there. 334 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:32,360 Not if it was the King himself. 335 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:33,360 That's all this. 336 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:35,400 Now, listen to me, both of you. 337 00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,960 When the lights went on, I happened to be looking at Box D from the other side of the 338 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:40,960 theatre. 339 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:42,960 And I think there is something wrong. 340 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,160 But there can't be anything wrong. 341 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,720 Jim Bradley and I have been sitting here the whole time. 342 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,000 Except, of course... 343 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,000 Except when? 344 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,440 Well, except when I went in there for a few seconds. 345 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:54,360 You went in there, Miss Fenton? 346 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:55,840 May I ask when that was? 347 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:59,000 Well, it was after Mr. White had gone and just before the play started. 348 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,200 I went in to ask if she wanted anything. 349 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:03,080 She said she didn't, so I came out again. 350 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,280 Bradley's been with me all the time, except when he went to get a drink of water up the 351 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:07,280 corridor. 352 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:08,280 That's just true as Goshbrook, Captain. 353 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:10,280 One moment, and listen to me. 354 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:12,680 Marcia Blair is leaning forward across the railing of the box. 355 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,080 Oh, but that's nothing, Herr von Arnheim. 356 00:16:15,080 --> 00:16:16,920 That's the way she always is. 357 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:21,760 Does she always fall forward with her arms held straight out and her head down on her 358 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:22,760 arms? 359 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:23,760 Better be careful, Miss. 360 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:24,760 It's a trick. 361 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:25,760 Trick? 362 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,160 Why not open the door and see for yourselves? 363 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:29,160 Would that do any harm? 364 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:30,160 No, I... 365 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:31,160 I suppose it wouldn't, but... 366 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,400 Oh, there must be some mistake. 367 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:36,240 We haven't heard a sound from in there. 368 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:38,320 There couldn't be anything wrong. 369 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:40,200 You open the door, Miss Fenton. 370 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,880 I'm going to hold tight to this gentleman just in case. 371 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:45,880 Quiet, please. 372 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:46,880 Quiet. 373 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,920 What is it, Miss? 374 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,360 Walk in there with me, both of you. 375 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:54,440 Please go carefully as though nothing were wrong. 376 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:56,440 We don't want to attract attention. 377 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:57,440 Now. 378 00:16:57,440 --> 00:16:58,440 Herr von Arnheim. 379 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,440 There's blood all over her face. 380 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:02,440 Yes. 381 00:17:02,440 --> 00:17:07,440 And don't begin screaming again, Miss Fenton, when I tell you she's dead. 382 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:08,440 Bradley. 383 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:09,440 Yes, sir? 384 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,840 Pick Miss Blair's body up and carry her out into the corridor. 385 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:16,360 In another minute we'll have the whole theater wanting to know what's wrong. 386 00:17:16,360 --> 00:17:17,360 All right, sir. 387 00:17:17,360 --> 00:17:18,360 You win. 388 00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:21,280 But what about the people in the other boxes? 389 00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:22,280 Won't they see? 390 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,280 They've gone down to the bar to get a drink. 391 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:25,280 They won't see anything. 392 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:26,280 Hurry. 393 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:31,280 She ain't no lightweight, the poor lady, ain't she? 394 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:34,640 Steady does it. 395 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:35,640 Hold the door open. 396 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:36,640 That's got it. 397 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:37,640 Now, close the door. 398 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:40,640 Shall I put her down on the floor, carefully? 399 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:41,640 Yes, better do that. 400 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:42,640 I never took those threats seriously. 401 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:43,640 That's what I blame myself for. 402 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:44,640 And if something did happen, well, I thought he'd attack her. 403 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:45,640 I never thought he'd hide away across the theater and fire a shot. 404 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:46,640 And you were correct. 405 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:47,640 I was right. 406 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:48,640 I was right. 407 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:49,640 I was right. 408 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:50,640 I was right. 409 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:51,640 I was right. 410 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:52,640 I was right. 411 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:53,640 I was right. 412 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:54,640 I was right. 413 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:55,640 I was right. 414 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:56,640 M私 obaire wanted a shot. 415 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:58,160 And you were quite right, miss Fenton. 416 00:17:58,160 --> 00:17:59,500 Marcia Blair was not shot. 417 00:17:59,500 --> 00:18:01,300 She wasn't shot. 418 00:18:01,300 --> 00:18:02,300 No. 419 00:18:02,300 --> 00:18:03,300 Take a look at the wound. 420 00:18:03,300 --> 00:18:04,400 Oh I can't look at it. 421 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,160 She was stabbed. 422 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:10,120 Stabbed through the right eye with a narrow sharp blade, which entered her brain and killed 423 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:11,120 her instantly. 424 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:14,340 Not a pretty death, but a quick one. 425 00:18:14,340 --> 00:18:15,520 You seem to know a lot about this governor. 426 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:17,280 Perhaps I do, my friend. 427 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:19,600 And perhaps I can guess a lot more. 428 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,700 You mean somebody stood out there and threw a knife at her? 429 00:18:22,700 --> 00:18:24,700 Like a ready music all turn? 430 00:18:24,700 --> 00:18:26,700 No, I don't mean that either. 431 00:18:26,700 --> 00:18:28,700 There's no knife in the wound and none in the box. 432 00:18:28,700 --> 00:18:30,700 The murderer took it away. 433 00:18:30,700 --> 00:18:31,700 Took it away? 434 00:18:31,700 --> 00:18:32,700 Exactly. 435 00:18:32,700 --> 00:18:34,700 Halfon Arnheim, please wait. 436 00:18:34,700 --> 00:18:36,700 You're not saying someone climbed up from outside. 437 00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:38,700 Twenty or thirty feet from the floor 438 00:18:38,700 --> 00:18:42,700 and stabbed poor Marcia in full sight of three thousand people. 439 00:18:42,700 --> 00:18:44,700 That, Miss Fenton, is what the evidence seems to indicate. 440 00:18:44,700 --> 00:18:46,700 But it's impossible. 441 00:18:46,700 --> 00:18:48,700 Yet it happened. There is Marcia Blair's body. 442 00:18:48,700 --> 00:18:50,700 What's that? 443 00:18:50,700 --> 00:18:52,700 The warning bell for the second act. 444 00:18:52,700 --> 00:18:54,700 People will be coming back here any minute. 445 00:18:54,700 --> 00:18:56,700 What are we going to do? 446 00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:10,700 I am a man of fear. 447 00:19:10,700 --> 00:19:12,700 To be strong before young Marcia's feet 448 00:19:12,700 --> 00:19:14,700 and to be patient with the rabble's curse. 449 00:19:14,700 --> 00:19:18,700 A woman who would be confident in our cause 450 00:19:18,700 --> 00:19:22,700 being of no woman born yet, I will try the last. 451 00:19:22,700 --> 00:19:26,700 Before my body I throw my water like shield. 452 00:19:26,700 --> 00:19:29,700 Lay on that dust and damn people that first cry, 453 00:19:29,700 --> 00:19:31,700 hold enough. 454 00:19:42,700 --> 00:19:44,700 A clause, a claim, triumph. 455 00:19:44,700 --> 00:19:46,700 Myron Willard is Macbeth. 456 00:19:46,700 --> 00:19:48,700 Helen Gale is Lady Macbeth. 457 00:19:48,700 --> 00:19:52,700 Magical effects by Ludwig van Arnhem. 458 00:19:52,700 --> 00:19:56,700 Very few persons knew that there is a dead woman in the theatre. 459 00:19:56,700 --> 00:20:00,700 But at the end of the play, it is a different story. 460 00:20:00,700 --> 00:20:04,700 The crowd files out, past a cordon of police. 461 00:20:04,700 --> 00:20:06,700 The lights are extinguished. 462 00:20:06,700 --> 00:20:11,700 The great theatre is dark and mumbling with echoes. 463 00:20:11,700 --> 00:20:14,700 See the stage now? 464 00:20:14,700 --> 00:20:16,700 Only the theatre is dark. 465 00:20:16,700 --> 00:20:18,700 The theatre is dark. 466 00:20:18,700 --> 00:20:20,700 The theatre is dark. 467 00:20:20,700 --> 00:20:22,700 The theatre is dark. 468 00:20:22,700 --> 00:20:24,700 The theatre is dark. 469 00:20:24,700 --> 00:20:26,700 The theatre is dark. 470 00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:28,700 The theatre is dark. 471 00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:30,700 The theatre is dark. 472 00:20:30,700 --> 00:20:32,700 Only the great theatre is salt. 473 00:20:32,700 --> 00:20:34,700 Is the theatre dark? 474 00:20:34,700 --> 00:20:36,700 The theatre is dark. 475 00:20:36,700 --> 00:20:38,700 Only the theatre is black. 476 00:20:38,700 --> 00:20:40,700 Only the Takeshi building. 477 00:20:40,700 --> 00:20:56,700 The theatre is dark. 478 00:20:56,700 --> 00:21:00,500 Howard. Howard White. 479 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:02,700 Confounded, man. Can't you hear what I'm saying? 480 00:21:02,700 --> 00:21:04,200 Excuse me, madame. I... 481 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:05,700 This is almost finished. 482 00:21:05,700 --> 00:21:07,500 Not that I'm blaming you, old man. 483 00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:08,700 Thank you, madame. 484 00:21:08,700 --> 00:21:11,700 It's traditional, you know, that Macbeth's an unlucky play. 485 00:21:11,700 --> 00:21:14,200 But up to the very end, I thought I'd never done better. 486 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,700 Eleven curtain calls. No, twelve. 487 00:21:16,700 --> 00:21:18,700 How did you like my tomorrow-on-tomorrow speech? 488 00:21:18,700 --> 00:21:21,700 I'm sorry, madame. I'm afraid I didn't hear it. 489 00:21:21,700 --> 00:21:23,700 Yes, poor old Narsha. 490 00:21:23,700 --> 00:21:24,700 She'd have heard it. 491 00:21:24,700 --> 00:21:28,700 Yes, poor old Narsha. She'd have hated to die like that. 492 00:21:28,700 --> 00:21:31,200 Narsha was proud of her eyes. 493 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,700 Always nearsighted as an owl, but too vain to wear glasses. 494 00:21:36,700 --> 00:21:39,700 There's Von Arnheim looking at us from under the castle archway. 495 00:21:40,700 --> 00:21:42,700 Von Arnheim! 496 00:21:48,700 --> 00:21:50,700 Did you call me, my friend? 497 00:21:50,700 --> 00:21:53,700 You're rather difficult to recognize under all that Macbeth make-up. 498 00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:55,700 Yes, I was just thinking the same thing. 499 00:21:55,700 --> 00:21:57,700 Never mind that. 500 00:21:57,700 --> 00:21:59,700 Where are the police now? 501 00:21:59,700 --> 00:22:01,700 At the moment, Mr. Wheeler, the police are in your dressing room. 502 00:22:01,700 --> 00:22:03,700 They are using it for questioning. 503 00:22:03,700 --> 00:22:05,700 No reception tonight, of course. 504 00:22:05,700 --> 00:22:09,700 No, but I thought you might be interested in two items of information 505 00:22:09,700 --> 00:22:11,700 that police have just discovered. 506 00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:13,700 Well, go on. 507 00:22:13,700 --> 00:22:15,700 We had a fairly full house tonight, I believe. 508 00:22:15,700 --> 00:22:17,700 Fairly full. Every seat was reserved. 509 00:22:17,700 --> 00:22:19,700 Reserved, yes, but not occupied. 510 00:22:19,700 --> 00:22:20,700 I don't follow you. 511 00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:23,700 One box on the ground floor, box E, to be exact, was empty. 512 00:22:23,700 --> 00:22:25,700 Reserved and paid for, but empty. 513 00:22:25,700 --> 00:22:29,700 And box E, oddly enough, was just underneath the one occupied by Marcia Blair. 514 00:22:29,700 --> 00:22:33,700 Well, the same. I still don't see quite what you're... 515 00:22:33,700 --> 00:22:36,700 Now, our next item of information comes from an usher. 516 00:22:36,700 --> 00:22:40,700 An outside-eye seat in the stores, very close to that empty box, was occupied 517 00:22:40,700 --> 00:22:45,700 by a very curious stranger who arrived late in the dark and slipped out again 518 00:22:45,700 --> 00:22:47,700 by a nearby exit a few minutes afterwards. 519 00:22:47,700 --> 00:22:49,700 Just one moment, Von Arnheim. 520 00:22:49,700 --> 00:22:53,700 Are you saying the stranger climbed up and attacked Marcia in full view of the audience? 521 00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:57,700 No, my friend. The murderer did not approach from that direction. 522 00:22:57,700 --> 00:23:01,700 Then he must have reached Marcia through the door, guarded by Bradley and Miss Fenton? 523 00:23:01,700 --> 00:23:03,700 No, not from that direction either. 524 00:23:03,700 --> 00:23:06,700 I've found it, man. It must have been one way or the other. 525 00:23:06,700 --> 00:23:07,700 Not necessarily. 526 00:23:07,700 --> 00:23:09,700 Tell me how. Don't you think I've got enough troubles already 527 00:23:09,700 --> 00:23:12,700 without this nightmare on top of it? 528 00:23:12,700 --> 00:23:14,700 Hef von Arnheim! Hef von Arnheim! 529 00:23:14,700 --> 00:23:17,700 You must take it easy, Miss Fenton. You must not excite yourself. 530 00:23:17,700 --> 00:23:19,700 Have the police been... Yes. Look, you've got to help me. 531 00:23:19,700 --> 00:23:20,700 They won't believe me. 532 00:23:20,700 --> 00:23:23,700 They won't believe the young lady, sir, and that's a fact. 533 00:23:23,700 --> 00:23:29,700 I've tried to help her all I can, but there's things I can swear to and things I can't. 534 00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:31,700 You see, I did go into that box. 535 00:23:31,700 --> 00:23:33,700 Oh, just for a couple of seconds, I admitted, 536 00:23:33,700 --> 00:23:35,700 but no other person went in or could have got in. 537 00:23:35,700 --> 00:23:39,700 So they say, or at least they're hinting that I killed her, 538 00:23:39,700 --> 00:23:40,700 but I swear I never touched... 539 00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:42,700 Who was questioning you, Miss Fenton? 540 00:23:42,700 --> 00:23:44,700 Inspector Grimes or Sergeant Blake? 541 00:23:44,700 --> 00:23:46,700 I'm... Well, I'm not sure. The sergeant, I think. 542 00:23:46,700 --> 00:23:48,700 Then I shouldn't worry if I were you. 543 00:23:48,700 --> 00:23:50,700 Inspector Grimes knows better. 544 00:23:50,700 --> 00:23:52,700 He's guessed, in fact, exactly what I have guessed. 545 00:23:52,700 --> 00:23:56,700 You seem on rather familiar terms with the police, my friend. 546 00:23:56,700 --> 00:23:58,700 I am, Mr. Willard. I am. 547 00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:01,700 Anyone who practices escapes from handcuffs, sex, chest... 548 00:24:01,700 --> 00:24:03,700 And stage boxes, perhaps. 549 00:24:03,700 --> 00:24:05,700 Stage boxes, if you insist. 550 00:24:05,700 --> 00:24:09,700 Excuse me. Isn't that Inspector Grimes in the wings now? 551 00:24:09,700 --> 00:24:11,700 Yes, and he's nodding his head. 552 00:24:11,700 --> 00:24:14,700 Then I can tell you, I think, what you want to know. 553 00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:17,700 Well, if you do happen to know anything, it's your duty to speak up. 554 00:24:17,700 --> 00:24:20,700 Well, Marcia seems to have had some ridiculous idea 555 00:24:20,700 --> 00:24:23,700 that her former husband, Barry Lake, was still alive. 556 00:24:23,700 --> 00:24:25,700 Her fears weren't justified, of course, 557 00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:28,700 and she wasn't killed by any dead husband. 558 00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:31,700 I beg your pardon. Her fears were justified, 559 00:24:31,700 --> 00:24:33,700 though not quite in the way she believed. 560 00:24:33,700 --> 00:24:35,700 And she was killed by her husband. 561 00:24:35,700 --> 00:24:38,700 Then Barry Lake is still alive. 562 00:24:38,700 --> 00:24:40,700 No. Barry Lake is dead. 563 00:24:40,700 --> 00:24:43,700 Well, you don't mean Marcia was really killed by a goat. 564 00:24:43,700 --> 00:24:48,700 No. I mean she was killed by her devoted second husband, Mr. Howard White. 565 00:24:48,700 --> 00:24:50,700 What? You are so... 566 00:24:50,700 --> 00:24:52,700 Will you hear what they say? 567 00:24:52,700 --> 00:24:54,700 That's not true. It's a slanderous statement. 568 00:24:54,700 --> 00:24:56,700 I'll have you in court for it. 569 00:24:56,700 --> 00:24:58,700 Everybody knows how devoted I was to Marcia. 570 00:24:58,700 --> 00:25:01,700 Your devotion, my friend, was devotion to her money. 571 00:25:01,700 --> 00:25:03,700 And your business affairs have been shaky for a long time. 572 00:25:03,700 --> 00:25:05,700 That's not true, and you can't prove it. 573 00:25:05,700 --> 00:25:08,700 Marcia Blyer was inclined to be, shall we say, 574 00:25:08,700 --> 00:25:09,700 a little close-fisted with money. 575 00:25:09,700 --> 00:25:10,700 That's true, anyway. 576 00:25:10,700 --> 00:25:11,700 It's a lie, a lie! 577 00:25:11,700 --> 00:25:13,700 Willing to marry him, but Mr. Howard White knew 578 00:25:13,700 --> 00:25:15,700 he'd never touch a penny unless he killed her. 579 00:25:15,700 --> 00:25:17,700 He wrote the letters himself. 580 00:25:17,700 --> 00:25:19,700 Half-on-on, Harnheim. He can't be guilty. 581 00:25:19,700 --> 00:25:21,700 She was alive after he left the box. 582 00:25:21,700 --> 00:25:23,700 He wasn't anywhere near her when she died. 583 00:25:23,700 --> 00:25:25,700 Perfectly correct, Miss Fenton. 584 00:25:25,700 --> 00:25:27,700 He wasn't there, and yet he killed her. 585 00:25:27,700 --> 00:25:30,700 Exactly. But you and Bradley can supply the clue that will hang him. 586 00:25:30,700 --> 00:25:32,700 Me, sir, I don't know nothing. 587 00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:33,700 No, I don't either. 588 00:25:33,700 --> 00:25:35,700 I think you do, if you'll put your mind to it. 589 00:25:35,700 --> 00:25:37,700 Do you remember what Howard White said to her 590 00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:39,700 just before he left the box? 591 00:25:39,700 --> 00:25:41,700 Yes, he said, 592 00:25:41,700 --> 00:25:43,700 Good night, Marcia. See you in an hour or two. 593 00:25:43,700 --> 00:25:46,700 And she answered, Good night and good luck. 594 00:25:46,700 --> 00:25:48,700 No, I mean just before that. 595 00:25:48,700 --> 00:25:50,700 I... Well, there wasn't anything. 596 00:25:50,700 --> 00:25:53,700 You see, it's a slanderous statement without any proof. 597 00:25:53,700 --> 00:25:55,700 It's an insult to my position on the stock exchange. 598 00:25:55,700 --> 00:25:58,700 Wait. I do remember something rather queer. 599 00:25:58,700 --> 00:26:00,700 Think, Miss Fenton, think. 600 00:26:00,700 --> 00:26:02,700 He said to Marcia jokingly, 601 00:26:02,700 --> 00:26:06,700 If you'll accept these, madam, in honor of our first anniversary. 602 00:26:06,700 --> 00:26:09,700 And Marcia said, Howard, they're lovely. 603 00:26:09,700 --> 00:26:11,700 Of course I'll accept them. 604 00:26:11,700 --> 00:26:13,700 That's right, sir. He did say it. 605 00:26:13,700 --> 00:26:15,700 And what do you think he was referring to, Miss Fenton? 606 00:26:15,700 --> 00:26:17,700 What was he asking her to accept? 607 00:26:17,700 --> 00:26:20,700 Well, I imagined it was flowers, a corsage or something like that. 608 00:26:20,700 --> 00:26:23,700 Did you see any flowers in the box or pinned to Marcia Blair's gown? 609 00:26:23,700 --> 00:26:26,700 No. I come to think of it, I didn't. 610 00:26:26,700 --> 00:26:28,700 Then what did he give her? 611 00:26:28,700 --> 00:26:30,700 Don't look at me, sir. 612 00:26:30,700 --> 00:26:32,700 Now, here is a woman who is very nearsighted. 613 00:26:32,700 --> 00:26:35,700 Yet, yet refuses to wear glasses. 614 00:26:35,700 --> 00:26:37,700 But she can accept a pair of... 615 00:26:37,700 --> 00:26:38,700 Opera glasses. 616 00:26:38,700 --> 00:26:40,700 Miss, you can't prove it. 617 00:26:40,700 --> 00:26:41,700 Hold on, let's go. 618 00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:42,700 You better stay here, Governor. 619 00:26:42,700 --> 00:26:44,700 Thank you, Bradley, but the place is surrounded with police. 620 00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:46,700 But I still don't understand. 621 00:26:46,700 --> 00:26:50,700 Now, what happens when you lift opera glasses to your eyes and they are not in focus? 622 00:26:50,700 --> 00:26:53,700 You turn the little wheel in the middle to bring them into focus. 623 00:26:53,700 --> 00:26:56,700 For Marcia Blair, it was deadly. 624 00:26:56,700 --> 00:26:58,700 You mean that the glasses had... 625 00:26:58,700 --> 00:27:01,700 Yes, they were specially constructed glasses, Miss Fenton. 626 00:27:01,700 --> 00:27:04,700 They were invented by a French criminal years ago. 627 00:27:04,700 --> 00:27:06,700 The little wheel is a little trigger. 628 00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:10,700 It releases the spring of a sharp, thin blade which strikes through the eyes into the brain. 629 00:27:10,700 --> 00:27:11,700 Oh, don't, please. 630 00:27:11,700 --> 00:27:12,700 You can't prove it. 631 00:27:12,700 --> 00:27:14,700 Marcia Blair died instantly. 632 00:27:14,700 --> 00:27:20,700 The glasses torn from her eye by their own weight dropped over the box rail to the carpeted aisle below. 633 00:27:20,700 --> 00:27:25,700 The only witnesses who might have noticed would have been the people in the box just underneath. 634 00:27:25,700 --> 00:27:26,700 And that box was empty. 635 00:27:26,700 --> 00:27:28,700 By arrangement, yes. 636 00:27:28,700 --> 00:27:33,700 Even if anybody did see them fall, Howard White was prepared to remove the evidence instantly. 637 00:27:33,700 --> 00:27:35,700 And we haven't forgotten the curious stranger. 638 00:27:35,700 --> 00:27:36,700 Curious stranger? 639 00:27:36,700 --> 00:27:41,700 I mean the man who slipped in after it was dark, took an aisle seat just under the box and slipped out again a few minutes later. 640 00:27:41,700 --> 00:27:44,700 The pack of lies will start to finish a comp from a word of it. 641 00:27:44,700 --> 00:27:46,700 I beg your pardon, my friend. 642 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:49,700 Didn't you see Inspector Grimes nod to me a moment ago? 643 00:27:49,700 --> 00:27:55,700 You are going to hang, my friend, for one of the neatest and cruelest crimes in my experience. 644 00:27:55,700 --> 00:28:17,700 You must have just found those opera glasses with a neat set of fingerprints in the side pocket of your motor car. 645 00:28:17,700 --> 00:28:24,700 And so ends Fire, Burn and Cauldron Bubble starring the distinguished actor Paul Lucas. 646 00:28:24,700 --> 00:28:28,700 Tonight's tale of suspense. 647 00:28:28,700 --> 00:28:38,700 This is your narrator, Ted Osborne, the man in black, who conveys to you Columbia's invitation to spend this half hour in suspense with us again next Tuesday. 648 00:28:38,700 --> 00:28:44,700 Same time when Nancy Coleman stars in Fear Paints a Picture. 649 00:28:44,700 --> 00:29:01,700 William Spear, the producer, John Dietz, the director, Bernard Herman, the composer, conductor, Robert Salmon, studio technician, and John Dixon Carr, the author, collaborated on tonight's suspense. 650 00:29:01,700 --> 00:29:15,700 This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.