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Suspense.

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This is the Man in Black, here again to introduce Columbia's program, Suspense. Heading our starring

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Hollywood cast tonight is Mr. Laird Kriegar, who will be seen shortly in the 20th Century Fox

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production of one of the great suspense stories of all time, The Lodger. Tonight, Mr. Kriegar

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appears as a cynical gentleman who made an unusual bet with death. With Mr. Kriegar is a

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cast of the screen's most distinguished and characteristic players, Miss Helen Vinson,

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Mr. Walter Kingsford, Mr. George Koloris, Mr. Harold Huber, and Mr. Ian Wolfe, here to bring

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us the suspense play called The Last Letter of Dr. Bronson. And so with the performance of Laird

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Kriegar as he writes for us this last letter of Dr. Bronson, and with the performances of In the

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Order of their Appearance, Walter Kingsford, Ian Wolfe, Harold Huber, Helen Vinson, and George

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Koloris, we again hope to keep you in. Suspense. My dear Dr. Mosher, forgive me if I dash this

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letter off rather hurriedly. There are but a very few minutes remaining for me. The few minutes

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between now and midnight. You have always protested my fascination with the subject of death. It irked

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you to hear me discuss the latest electrocution or hanging. I remember your sarcasm the day you

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found me staring down from the top of the Empire State Building, speculating on the thoughts of a

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man about to leap from that pinnacle. You alone, Mosher, know how this fascination led to my latest

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experiment. I should say, my last experiment. I promised you a complete account of it all. Here

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is that account. First of all, let me recall a conversation which we held here in my study a

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little over a year ago. There you go again, Bronson. Death and murder. Really, you're

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unhealthy. Please answer my question, Mosher. Why do men behave as they do? What keeps them

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from breaking loose? Why don't they kill one another as animals do? Why, because they aren't

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animals. But my dear Mosher, being neither vegetable nor mineral, they must be animals.

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What I mean is... That you do not know the answer. I do. So? I have been studying the

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question for some time, and I've concluded that there are five basic checks which serve

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to restrain man from murdering his fellow man. Oh, really, Bronson? The obvious corollary is that

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murder occurs only when some stronger drive overrides these five basic checks. You make it

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sound very simple. It is simple. And what are these five basic checks? Well, I'm not prepared to

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reveal the outcome of my studies yet. I must put my theory to the test. That would seem to be a

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difficult undertaking. Difficult, yes, but intriguing. I take it you're about to embark upon another of

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your experiments. Correct. Bronson, why must you keep on? These studies invariably bring you some

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physical or, what is more dangerous, some nervous disaster. And in turn, your handsome bill for

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putting me in shape to conduct the next. Sooner or later, you will experiment yourself into a

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position beyond my power to aid you. Let it be later, then. Meanwhile, I shall continue to pursue

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my sole interest in life. And how do you propose to conduct this, this restraint from murder

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experiment? Well, a murder is composed of four elements. The murderer, the motive, the opportunity,

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and the victim. My first step will be to select five men, each of whom will be restrained from

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murder by the particular check that I'm testing on him. That's no easy task. By no means. It will

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require an extensive search. But having found my men, I must then supply each with a motive.

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Greed, revenge, jealousy. I see. And your next step must be to give each man an opportunity.

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Precisely. An opportunity which precludes all checks but the one being tested. Well,

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not knowing what your checks are, I can't help you there. Well, that'll be relatively simple.

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And finally, I must supply an intended victim. You'll ask this victim to face five men,

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each standing to profit handsomely by murdering him? Correct. His only chance of survival being

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the correctness of your theory of checks in all five instances. Yes. And do you imagine you will

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discover a man with such utter confidence in your reckoning? There is one such man. Who? Myself.

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Bronson, this is folly. No, Mosher. I never hesitate to risk high stakes on a sure thing,

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not even my life. Now look here, Bronson. You're a doctor yourself. You told me to speak to you like

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a Dutch uncle. Now, as your physician, my advice... I haven't consulted my physician. But you will take

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precautions, provide yourself for emergencies. I tell you there's no danger. Oh, well, well, well.

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Well, when will you begin your experiment? Well, I suppose in about... Well, why wait? Why don't we

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begin right now? Mosher, I invite you to kill me. What? There's a revolver right here in my desk,

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and I want you to take this revolver. Oh, you're joking, Bronson. What possible motive could I have

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for murdering you? Motive? Why, we're known to be associated rather closely in our work. You'll

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come naturally into my entire practice. I'll put that in writing. Why, it's... it's... it's preposterous.

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Posterous? Why won't you kill me then, Mosher? Why, there are... there are dozens of reasons. In the first

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place, I'd go to Electric Chair for it. Thank you, Dr. Mosher. You've given me an admirable

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illustration of the first and most obvious of the five checks in my theory. Man refrains from

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murdering his fellow being because he himself will be killed by law. Remember, Mosher? Remember

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how it began? That was more than a year ago. Yes, I've spent more than a year in selecting my other

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four subjects because the checks I wanted them to prove were not so simple. In selecting my people,

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it was necessary that I cultivate the friendship of each so that when the time should come to

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confront him with my proposition, I should be certain of how he would act. The first of my four

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potential murders was a clerk named Totten. Totten was badly in debt, his wife in the hospital about

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to undergo an expensive operation, and he was a deeply religious man. We went to church together

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on Sunday evenings at St. Luke's right around the corner from my apartment. One Sunday evening after

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the service, I asked him to come to my apartment and we talked as we walked along. You know, Dr. Bronson,

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I was talking about you to my wife the other day before they took her to the hospital. I was saying

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what a great comfort it was to be with you these Sunday nights. Now come, Mr. Totten, you embarrass

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me. No, I mean it. In the world today, too many people seem to feel that they no longer need their

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God. Yes, but their lives are void of the great thing you have in your faith. The church is a great

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comfort to me, and I do need something to cling to in times like these. Mr. Totten, you could make

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rather good use of $5,000, couldn't you? It isn't like you to make fun of my poverty. No, I'm quite

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sincere. You know what even a hundred dollars would mean to me in the present more than ever.

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Yes, with your wife's misfortune. Oh, isn't this your apartment we're passing? I want to go in the

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sidewalk. We should be unobserved. You'll understand presently. Please come into my study.

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Here we are. And now if you'll take this chair opposite my desk. Thank you. Mr. Totten,

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you said that even a hundred dollars would be a great help to you. Here in my desk,

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I have this package containing $5,000. Well, what could I do for you that would be worth all

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that money? Let me explain. My doctor called on me yesterday and he told me, well, to be quite

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frank with you, Mr. Totten, he said that I was slowly going mad. Oh, no, that couldn't be. I'm

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quite all right at present, but it's only a matter of time and I'd rather not have to face it. I

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believe you can understand that. But there must be something you can do knowing in advance. There

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is. And I want you to help me. I don't understand. Put on these gloves. Take them. But why? As soon

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as you have them on, I shall hand you this paper knife. Notice how very sharp it is. I grip it

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firmly, thus, and clearly impress my fingerprints on the handle. Finally, here on the desk, I am

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leaving this note explaining that I have committed suicide. Suicide? When the knife is in your hand,

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I want you to drive it into my heart. Then you may leave by the same way we came in. You'll be

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quite unnoticed. And with the $5,000 in your pocket. You can't mean this. But I do. You see,

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I don't have the nerve to. Well, I can't quite make the final move myself. You would greatly

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oblige me. And with the $5,000, you will be able to give your wife the treatment she needs. What

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do you say? You can't die yet. You're not ready. Would you have me wait until I've gone mad? You

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can't take the matter of life and death into your own hands. I am not asking you to pass judgment

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upon my actions. Whether I wish to live or die is my own concern and my mind is resolved. Is that

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clear? I'm sorry for you. I'm merely asking you to do something for which I will pay you very well.

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You will, of course, be killing me. But if you could realize what life would be like for me,

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otherwise... I'm very sorry, but I can't oblige you. If it's the law, you fear? No, it's not that. You

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seem to have arranged that perfectly. Then what is it? I'm an honest Christian and I thought you

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were Dr. Bronson. If you don't understand why I can't do this monster thing, I suggest you look

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up the Sixth Commandment. Good night. So Moshe, my second point was proved. Man refrains from

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killing because it is against his religious principles. The hands of the clock now read

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fifteen minutes to midnight, one quarter of an hour in which to complete this report. My third

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proposition called for an entirely different sort of man, in fact the very reverse of Tartan,

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a man who believed neither in heaven nor hell and also a man of little intelligence. It required

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careful search. For a number of nights I frequented the rougher districts of the city. At first I had

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no luck. Then one night I came upon my man very unexpectedly. I was walking along one of the darker

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streets. There was no one in view. He was slumped down beside an ash can. He'd been shot in the chest

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and left down severing an artery. He was bleeding profusely. I tore off his shirt and made a tourniquet

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for his arm. Oddly no one came into the alley to investigate. Never mind me. Get away. Was this a

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gang shooting? What do you think? I think you're going to the hospital. No, I'll blab to the cops. Come on,

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I'll help you to your feet. I ain't going. You'll die a man if you're not treated quickly. I ain't

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going. I tell you, no cops gonna, no cops, they ain't gonna, gonna. His name was Matt Doyle. I visited

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Doyle in the hospital almost every day. Several months later I decided to put him to the test.

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I found Doyle in one of his hangouts and brought him to my apartment. I find it very pleasant.

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Have a cigarette? Thanks. Doyle, how many men have you killed? That's all right, Doyle, I understand.

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Now suppose we get down to business. Yeah, I've been wondering what you want me for. I want you

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to do something for me and I'm going to give you $5,000 to do it. Will you do what I ask you?

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For five grand? Spell it. I want you to put on these gloves so there won't be any fingerprints.

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Then I'm going to hand you this knife and you're going to kill me with it. Huh? I've arranged

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everything so it will appear to be suicide. You nuts? Not yet, but I will be before very long.

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That's why I want to die. All you have to do is stab me and slip out with this $5,000. Is this on

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the level? Absolutely. This water dough is mine if I kill you? That's right. And nobody will know

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I've done it? No one. These gloves is kind of big for me. That's all right, they'll do. Yeah.

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Yeah. Want me to put on the other one? It's safer. Yeah, I guess it is. Gee. What is it? I was just

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thinking five grand. Ah, the boss is going to pay me more next. I mean, I never got... I'll skip it.

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I want you to understand exactly what you're doing, Doyle. Without any justifiable cause,

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merely for the sake of money, you are going to murder me. You understand that? Yeah. You've

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been hired to do this before? Yeah. I suppose I don't know who to talk about it and how the joke...

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But you've never killed a friend, have you? Yeah, I have. Anyway, there was my pals till they got in

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the boss's way, but when the boss says slip it to a mat, then it was just another job to me.

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But there's a little difference in this case, Doyle. I saved your life. Yeah.

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I don't know. What? I don't know. Nope, I can't do it. But I thought you said that you... Yeah,

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take these gloves. A trade of the law. No. What's the matter then? Is it because I'm your friend?

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That's more than that. I can't bump you off, even if you want it. It would be an act of true

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friendship. I ain't so sure. When a cat has fits, you put it out of its misery, don't you? That's

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what I want. Oblivion. Sorry, Doc, I ain't the guy. It's like you said. You saved my life,

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so that's that. I'm sorry. I wish you could help me. Me too, but not that. Now, if you got some

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other punk you want to care of... There's no one. Thanks, just the same. Oh, don't mention it.

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There was my third proposition. Man will not kill fellow man if a sufficient degree of gratitude

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has been invoked. Even a professional killer and one of the lowest examples of human life,

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such as Doyle, could not bring himself to murder his benefactor.

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My next subject was altogether different in temperament. With Judith Ainsley,

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I used a special technique. I first encountered Judith Ainsley when I operated on Barrett Sheffield,

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the actor. You will recall that Sheffield was brought to the hospital with a lung abscess.

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As I prepared to do the rib resection, I noticed that the nurse standing beside me was greatly

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agitated. Thank you. Do you think this is advisable? What? This is more pronounced.

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Miss Ainsley, another hemostat, please. Do you think you really should sign on it?

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Miss Ainsley. I'm sorry, Doctor. What if you... Doctor, Doctor. Quickly, quickly, caffeine. Quickly.

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Stethoscope. Here it is. That's that. Yes, that's that. Miss Ainsley, what's the matter with you?

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You've been acting strangely all through this operation. You killed him. You killed him. You

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shouldn't have gone ahead. You know that. I warned you. I shall see to it, Miss Ainsley,

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that you are never assigned to one of my cases again. What's the matter with you anyway? Have

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you never seen a pulmonary before? Or does it upset you to see a handsome actor like Barrett Sheffield

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die? Yes, he did. Oh? Yes. We were going to be married next week. If I ever saw hate, cold,

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undying hate, it was in that girl's eyes as she turned and left the operating room that day. I

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had made the most implacable enemy of my life. As I come to my third check, dear Mosher, it

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suddenly occurred to me that Judith Ainsley was the perfect subject. One day at the hospital,

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I inquired about Miss Ainsley and learned that she had done four years of medical and was now

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interning at Cedars of Lebanon in hope of picking up a resident fellowship. I went down to the

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hospital and sat in the doctor's lounge waiting for her. Presently, she came in with another

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intern. I stood up. She turned and looked at me. I saw again in her eyes that inexorable hate. She

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had never forgiven me for what she felt was my negligence in the death of the man she loved. I

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walked toward her. Excuse me, please. I see you remember me, Miss Ainsley. Yes. Will you excuse

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me, please? Miss Ainsley, you may not believe this, but I've come here especially to talk to

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you today. To talk to me, Dr. Branson? Yes. Come along with me, please. In this treatment room,

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please. We can talk privately. Dr. Branson, I don't think there could be anything you and I can say

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to each other. Well now, Miss Ainsley, that all depends. That all depends. Sit down, Mosher.

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Miss Ainsley... Dr. Ainsley, if you please. Oh, yes, of course. Doctor, I have a little proposition

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to make to you. First of all, there are two facts I'd like to be sure of. A, you are unable to set

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up your own practice because you don't have the money to get started. Is that right? I don't see

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what business that is of yours. That happens to be true. Fine. Fact B, you still hate me and feel a

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strong desire to be revenged for the wrong which you consider I have done you. Yes, I'm afraid that's

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true, Dr. Branson. Good. Good? Yes. You see, I want to pay someone to murder me, and I think you'd

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enjoy it more than anyone, and you need the money, too. Dr. Branson, I'm very busy. There's a patient

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in 302. Will you... Wait a moment, Dr. Ainsley. I'm perfectly serious. Absolutely serious. You want

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to die? Yes. You see, I'm going mad. I can't face it. I wish to end my life immediately. You're

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smiling. Good. You're interested, then. You going mental, Dr. Parisus? Yes. Hopeless. I've been to

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five or six men about it. Are you far gone? Hallucinations? Delusions of grandeur? Yes,

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advanced ages. Agony. There must be quite a temptation to get it over with. I wonder what

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I would do if it happened to me. I want you to understand, Doctor, that I'm not asking you to

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perform a crude murder. This would look like a simple error, unavoidable. There would not be the

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slightest aspect of homicidal intent. Really? That's most interesting, Doctor. Go on. My heart.

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I've had considerable damage. Coronary occlusion. Had to spend some six weeks on my back. Just got

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up last week. Naturally, I was given digitalis. I see, Doctor. You've been heavily digitalised,

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and if someone were to give you an injection of calcium gluconate, you would have an immediate

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heart block dead within a few minutes. Exactly. I must compliment you, Dr. Ainsley. You've learned

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a great deal. What a pity you can't have your own practice. And that, of course, reminds me.

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Ah, another inducement. Of course. I plan to pay you the sum of $5,000 for your professional

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services in this matter. And I think unless times have changed greatly since I've been in

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practice myself, you ought to be able to set up handsomely with that. My own practice. You'd

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better be careful, Doctor. You may tempt me a little bit too far. I thought you'd find it

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an attractive proposition. It would be only an error. I will say that I'm feeling badly again,

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a recurrence of my pericardial pains. I'll go back to bed and ask that you be assigned to my case.

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The rest is simple. No one would ever expect you to know that I had been digitalised. Still,

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if I were on my toes, I would naturally go over your case history before giving medication of any

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kind. Well, yes, I suppose that's true. Professional people might think you had been a little lax,

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might not have the highest regard for a new doctor who launched her career with such an

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unprofessional incident. Just a slight stain on your reputation for just a short while.

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You're very clever, Doctor. You knew that would do it, didn't you? I want to thank you. You've

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done me a great service. You mean you'll do it? You've reminded me that nothing, no money,

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revenge, nothing can be worth the slightest suspicion in a doctor's career. I've worked too

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hard. I've waited too long for my practice. When I get it, it won't be soiled by any single act

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of carelessness. They'll never say that I lost any patient because of an error in judgment. You see,

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I once knew a doctor who did. There, Moshe, is my fourth check. Man, or in this case,

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woman, refrains from killing because of the fear of loss of reputation. Now I come to the testing

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of my fifth subject, a man who would not murder because he couldn't bear the sight of blood,

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much less the responsibility for shedding it. La Derne was my man, and I found him shortly after

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my search began. On that day, I saw him turn a ghastly white as a fast-moving car almost ran

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over a small dog which ran into the street. It wasn't a particularly frightening sight,

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but La Derne clutched at his throat and fell in a dead fate. I, of course, made it my business

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to become acquainted with him. I hadn't seen him for more than four months until tonight. He's

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changed, I noticed, as he took his place at my desk. He's thinner. His dark eyes seem blacker than ever. La Derne,

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I want you to do me a favor. It's a little peculiar, but I'm perfectly sincere about it.

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Well, circumstances require that my life be ended, but I can't quite reach the point to kill myself.

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I've arranged everything necessary to give the appearance of suicide. Here is the farewell note

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which I have written. I see. And here is the knife with which, apparently, I shall have killed

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myself. Notice I am carefully putting my fingerprints on it. Yes. Here are the gloves for you to wear.

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And here is $5,000 for you if you will drive this knife into my heart. What do you say? You've

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arranged everything? Everything. No one knows I'm here? No one. And you want me to kill you? I...

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Yes. Of course, it will be a bit messy. When a person is stabbed, his blood usually

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splurts out. But if you keep to one side, I don't think much will get on you. Why do you want to die?

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My doctor says that I'm going insane and that I haven't got much longer. That's strange. About

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going mad? About him saying that you're going mad. Oh, yes. It was a shock. No, I don't mean that.

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What do you mean? That's the same thing they told me. Oh, that's strange. They what? They told me

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over a year ago that I was going mad. I only laughed at them. Over a year? Well, do you...

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have you noticed any change? Not much. At least no change for the worse. That's good. In fact,

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I'm really much better. I've been having fewer and fewer of those sick spells. You remember how I was

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the day that dog was almost run over? You've gotten over those sick spells? I haven't had one

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in three months. Then there isn't any check. Check? What check? Nothing. Oh. Well, this is going to be

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a pretty messy business. We might as well get it over with. Nice gloves you've got here. Nice and

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smooth on my hand. Then you're going through with it? Yes. Can't let you down. Oh, never mind the

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knife. I've got my gun right here. Look. 38. Beauty, isn't it? Yes. Then if you'll give me back the

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knife... No, no, no. I'll keep it for you. Yeah, I've used this gun a lot in the past three months.

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I've bumped off about 50 dogs. You've done what? It's very interesting. I do it after midnight.

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It's fun watching the dogs. You have to know just where to hit them. It kills them instantly. But

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the noise in here, aren't you afraid that somebody will hear? Silence? No. I don't like to wake people

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up when I kill their mutts. But they'll find the bullet. They'll trace to your gun. They're sure to

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get you. In a suicide, the weapon stays right beside the body where it falls. Suicide? Who says

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this is suicide? It's murder. I'm going to murder you. That's what you asked me to do. Look here,

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Le Dern. This has gone far enough. I was only joking. I don't want you to kill me. 5,000,

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eh? All here. Listen to me. I was only joking. You ready? Le Dern. Shall I shoot now? No, wait.

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You want it through the heart or brain? Can't you wait just a little while? Wait? What for? Well,

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I've been conducting a little experiment. I'd like to write an account of it before I go.

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Oh, what sort of an experiment? I don't think you'd understand. Oh, okay. I'll wait till midnight.

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Then I've got to go. There's a German police dog I've been wanting to get. Big, ugly, brute.

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It'll be fun. Yes. I'll wait. Thank you. The clock says 10 minutes past 11. Yes. You've got 50

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minutes. I'll wait by the window. So Mosher, my experiment has ended. As you predicted,

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I have finally placed myself in a position beyond your power to aid. Strange, isn't it?

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But the one thing I didn't count on was the choosing of a subject who would not respond

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to my checks, who in fact had no checks at all, for insanity knows no restraint. Oh,

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yes, Le Dern, I'm hurrying. He is still at the window and he is sure to shoot me. There

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is nothing I can do to say or stop him. I know that. I'm beginning to understand exactly what

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is going on in his twisted mind. I wonder why. Now I shall sign my name for the last time and lay

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down my pen. Then I shall look up and say, all right, Le Dern. All right, Le Dern.

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And so closes the last letter of Dr. Bronson, tonight's tale of suspense. In our Hollywood

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cast tonight, Laird Gregar played Dr. Bronson, Walter Kingsford played Dr. Mosher, Ian Wolfe

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was Mr. Totten, Harold Huber played Doyle, Helen Vinson was Nurse Ainsley, and George

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Colores played Le Dern. This is your narrator, the man in black, who conveys to you Columbia's

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invitation to spend this half hour in suspense with us again next week when Robert Young

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will star in an adaptation of a story by James Thurber called A Friend to Alexander. The

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producer of these broadcasts is William Spear, who with Robert Louis Cheon, guest director,

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Richard Paulette, craic author, Lud Gluskin and Lucien Marowick, conductor and composer,

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collaborated on tonight's suspense. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.