WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:15.000 Suspense. 00:15.000 --> 00:20.000 The Columbia Broadcasting System brings you radio's outstanding theater of thrills, 00:20.000 --> 00:26.000 produced and directed by Anton M. Lieder and starring tonight, Miss Faye Bainter. 00:26.000 --> 00:32.000 In Life Ends at Midnight by Robert Tallman. A tale well calculated to keep you in. 00:32.000 --> 00:36.000 Suspense. 00:36.000 --> 00:44.000 Nurtured in the cradle and carried to the grave, the love of a mother for her child is an emotion all pervasive, all forgiving. 00:44.000 --> 00:52.000 Of all human relationships, this one which we celebrate on Mother's Day is among the strongest, most lasting. 00:52.000 --> 00:59.000 And for most of us raised in the comfort and security of a happy home, no emotional tie is more warm and welcome. 00:59.000 --> 01:07.000 But there are some few mothers for whom Mother's Day represents no joyful memories, no warmth, no tenderness. 01:07.000 --> 01:13.000 Instead, there is heartbreak and regret, unhappiness, even terror. 01:13.000 --> 01:24.000 Such a mother is the woman of our story tonight, Mrs. Bates. A poor, worn woman, kindly, gentle, forgiving, resigned, but not without spirit. 01:24.000 --> 01:32.000 The story setting, a miserable tenement apartment in the slum section of a large city, the time today. 01:32.000 --> 01:42.000 And now, with the performances of Miss Faye Bainter as Mrs. Bates, Tony Barrett as Walter Bates, and Norman Field as Mr. Chalmers, 01:42.000 --> 01:50.000 and with Robert Tormann's story, Life Ends at Midnight, we again hope to keep you in suspense. 02:13.000 --> 02:18.000 Is Walter? Walter! Is that you, Walter? 02:23.000 --> 02:28.000 That's right, Mom. Your little sonny boy, Walter. Remember my whistle, huh? 02:28.000 --> 02:31.000 Yes, I... Oh, but well, I didn't know... 02:31.000 --> 02:37.000 Never know when I'll turn up, am I? What's the matter? Do we have to stand out here, Noah? 02:37.000 --> 02:42.000 No, no, come in. It's just that... Come in, Walt. 02:45.000 --> 02:47.000 Same old crummy joint. 02:47.000 --> 02:49.000 I do my best to keep it clean, Walt. 02:49.000 --> 02:53.000 Yeah, I know. Regular old mother of it, huh? 02:53.000 --> 02:59.000 We'll have to clean up the whole south of Chicago for you to get the filth out of this flea bag. 02:59.000 --> 03:07.000 Oh, boy, I'm tired. Up all night in a stinking daycoach full of snoring jerks and scalling babies, 03:07.000 --> 03:11.000 and babies are the worst. All they do is bawl and slobber. 03:11.000 --> 03:13.000 You left Pittsburgh last night? 03:13.000 --> 03:16.000 Morning to morning. Didn't sleep a wink. Look at that collar, will you? 03:16.000 --> 03:21.000 But tomorrow is Monday, and you have to be at work in the morning. 03:21.000 --> 03:23.000 Sure. What's the matter? You worried? 03:23.000 --> 03:24.000 Oh, no, no, I just... 03:24.000 --> 03:30.000 Then don't just... Can't a guy come home to see his mother once in six months? 03:30.000 --> 03:35.000 That's a mother for you. You break your back, you sit up all night to see your mother for one day. 03:35.000 --> 03:38.000 She tells you you have to be at work in the morning. How do you like that? 03:38.000 --> 03:42.000 I'm sorry, dear. I did miss you so, but I just worried about... 03:42.000 --> 03:46.000 Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Don't worry so much, huh? It makes me nervous. 03:46.000 --> 03:50.000 Here, dear. Sit at the table. You must be starved. 03:50.000 --> 03:54.000 Well, all right. Now it's like coming home. 03:54.000 --> 04:01.000 Oh, my baby. I'm so glad to see you. You did come just to see me, didn't you? 04:01.000 --> 04:03.000 Who else? Hattie Lamar? 04:03.000 --> 04:09.000 Of course you came to see me. It's just that I always worry so about you, I mean... 04:09.000 --> 04:13.000 Forget it, forget it. What's the... 04:13.000 --> 04:17.000 I was just making a chop for my lunch. That's all I seem to have in the house right now. 04:17.000 --> 04:18.000 That'll be enough for me. 04:18.000 --> 04:23.000 It should be ready in a minute. Now tell me all about yourself, your job. 04:23.000 --> 04:27.000 Never mind about me. Come on, sit down, mama. 04:27.000 --> 04:29.000 All right. 04:29.000 --> 04:30.000 How are you doing? 04:30.000 --> 04:34.000 Well, I try not to complain, Walter, but things are not easy. 04:34.000 --> 04:37.000 Prices high, rents going up all the time, even on this old house. 04:37.000 --> 04:39.000 Honest, I don't know what I'm going to do if... 04:39.000 --> 04:45.000 You had some bonds Papa left. You had about $2,000 bonds he left you. 04:45.000 --> 04:50.000 I'm trying to tell you, Walter, things haven't been easy and I just... 04:50.000 --> 04:53.000 Always the poor mouth. Every time I see her, she's putting on a poor mouth. 04:53.000 --> 04:56.000 I'm just saying that things aren't easy. 04:56.000 --> 05:00.000 And for me, you think it's a picnic, huh? I got enough trouble and for what, for what? 05:00.000 --> 05:02.000 All year, work like crazy and for what? 05:02.000 --> 05:03.000 A man must work, Walter. 05:03.000 --> 05:05.000 A man must work, Walter. 05:05.000 --> 05:13.000 Yes, it's true. A man must work and live like a person and not be afraid so that he can sleep at night without worrying about... 05:13.000 --> 05:14.000 About what? 05:14.000 --> 05:19.000 About a bell ringing at night or a knock on the door in the morning or someone touching you on the arm. 05:19.000 --> 05:28.000 Oh, yes. It's a nice feeling and a free feeling to be able to walk down the street in the sun with your eyes meeting another man's without wondering if he's... 05:28.000 --> 05:30.000 Shut up! Shut up! 05:30.000 --> 05:34.000 I ain't in trouble again, so stop mouthing at me. Always mouthing at me. 05:34.000 --> 05:35.000 You haven't. 05:35.000 --> 05:40.000 You know what the judge said the last time, Walter? He was nice. He gave you another chance. 05:40.000 --> 05:49.000 He saw you were a really good boy and he gave you another chance. He got a nice job for you and you promised him. You mustn't. 05:49.000 --> 05:53.000 You're... you're all right, Walter. You didn't do it. 05:53.000 --> 05:58.000 A meatball, a herring on a plate. All your life you're a tomcat in the garbage. 05:58.000 --> 06:06.000 Find a fish head and say, thank you, mister. Not for me. You take a chance, you throw away the fish heads. 06:06.000 --> 06:14.000 You get one break, you're out of the garbage can for life. You're through with time clocks and shiny pants. You're in the higher brackets, nobody gets at you. 06:14.000 --> 06:20.000 You're a mister with a future. You hold your nose when you walk through the daycoach to your compartment. 06:20.000 --> 06:25.000 You leave the stinks behind in a pot of dusty air in front of you. That's for me. 06:25.000 --> 06:33.000 One break, you're hot as a rocket shooting diamonds for sparks. You're a jet job in a world full of flivers. A buck gets you two, two gets you four. 06:33.000 --> 06:37.000 Good for one, blonde, to kick her or to kiss her. Walter! 06:46.000 --> 06:52.000 So, all right, all right, I took another chance. I tried to run it up, but no dice. 06:52.000 --> 06:58.000 I gotta make it good. Tomorrow morning I gotta make it good. The books at the office will show I gotta make it good. 06:58.000 --> 07:05.000 How much? Fifteen hundred. Fifteen hundred dollars? By midnight tonight, fifteen hundred. 07:05.000 --> 07:11.000 I missed that twelve twenty tramp of Pittsburgh, it's swell up. Might as well take gas. 07:11.000 --> 07:16.000 Fifteen hundred? By midnight tonight? Where am I going to get it, Walter? 07:16.000 --> 07:18.000 The bonds, you got the bonds Papa left. 07:18.000 --> 07:25.000 The bonds. How do you think I got you out of your last trouble? Bribes, bail, paying back, every penny. Where do you think I got it? 07:25.000 --> 07:31.000 Don't give me that, you're holding out, you gotta help me. I'll give you my life, Walter. Walter, please, don't. 07:31.000 --> 07:37.000 I'll get ten years, you heard the judge last time. What can I do? What? Ten years and stir. 07:37.000 --> 07:41.000 There won't be no reform school this time, think it over, will you? Walter, Walter. 07:41.000 --> 07:50.000 Oh, please, please get me the money, mama, get it for me. I'll be good, I'll work hard, I won't give you no more trouble, but help me now. Please, mama, please. 07:50.000 --> 07:56.000 Where can I get it, Walter? I've nothing left, nothing. I don't care where you get it. It's your fault, you gotta help me. 07:56.000 --> 08:05.000 I only wanted to help you and now I don't know. Yes, yes it is my fault. I've always protected you, but I can't protect you anymore. 08:05.000 --> 08:10.000 I'll give you the few dollars I have, go away. It'll be enough to help you run away, that's all I can do. 08:10.000 --> 08:18.000 Not me. I ain't gonna spend the rest of my life being old clay pigeon. Sure, run away. Don't find me. 08:18.000 --> 08:25.000 Don't, don't you're hurting my arm. I'm not dope, I know you're holding on to me, you're worrying about your old age, making yourself a cushy setup. 08:25.000 --> 08:39.000 Don't. I'm sorry, I hope I'm not intruding. Who's this? Oh, Mr. Chalmers. This is Mr. Chalmers, Walter. He has the back bedroom. This is my son, Walter, Mr. Chalmers. 08:39.000 --> 08:49.000 How do you do, Mr. Bates? I feel that I know you very well. Your mother and I sit here in the kitchen sometimes over a cup of tea and she talks about you for hours and hours. 08:49.000 --> 08:56.000 Yes, I can see why mother's so proud of you. How do you do, Mr. Bates? Yes, and you're a fine looking young man. 08:56.000 --> 08:57.000 Yeah. 08:57.000 --> 09:11.000 Mrs. Bates, if you'll excuse me, I'm just going to the corner for my paper. I think that little man with the tiny mustache, you know who I mean, the insurance agent, I think he might call again to collect. 09:11.000 --> 09:21.000 Please tell him to go away. You will do that for me, Mrs. Bates? Yes, Mr. Chalmers. Thank you, Mrs. Bates. Tell him not to come back anymore. I don't want to pay anymore on the policy. 09:21.000 --> 09:39.000 You remember, I told you my nephew was very sick in Spokane? Yes, Mr. Chalmers. Well, the poor young man died. Yes. I was going to leave him a few dollars when I died, but now, well, I have no one left at all and, well, a dollar a week. 09:39.000 --> 09:48.000 You'll tell that to the little man with the tiny mustache? Yes, Mr. Chalmers. Thank you, Mrs. Bates. Good day, Mr. Bates. 09:48.000 --> 09:53.000 I have forty dollars in the house for rent. You can take that. Yeah. 09:53.000 --> 10:09.000 Drop me a card when you get settled someplace. Let me know where you are. I'll send you some more as soon as I get it. Maybe later I'll be able to straighten it out. Maybe later I'll be able to speak to your broths. I'll promise to pay back every cent. But now you must go away. You must. 10:09.000 --> 10:25.000 Mama, tell me something about Mr. Chalmers. He interests me very strangely. Walter. Don't be so nervous, Ma. We got plenty of time. We got till midnight. 10:25.000 --> 10:51.000 Yes? I do think I will have another cup if you don't mind, Mrs. Bates. Suppose you look at it this way. You've been paying one buck a week for how many years now? Well, I'd say twenty years. It'd be a conservative estimate. 10:51.000 --> 11:13.000 All right. Twenty years. That's fifty bucks a year. Say that's one thousand bucks that you paid in. Yes, one thousand bucks. This coffee cake, Mrs. Bates, is excellent. You like it? I made it yesterday. Forget the coffee, can you? Let's figure a percentage. How many more years you figure to live? 11:13.000 --> 11:42.000 Walter! Oh, that's all right, Mrs. Bates. After all, I am an old man, and at my age one rather well comes to terms with death. It's like the end of a long busy day. Life ends at midnight. And a new day begins. Yes, Walter, I think you're on the verge of making a very profound observation. My policy is for twenty-five hundred dollars. And in the days that are left to me, I certainly will not be required to pay in as much as I've already paid. 11:42.000 --> 12:05.000 Well, that's the exact point, Mr. Chalmers. And if you drop it now, will you get anything back? No. You've got a straight life with no cash value. If you drop the policy now, the insurance company's the winner. But say that you live another couple of years, you pay a couple of hundred more, and you leave that twenty-five hundred to somebody. Which is the smart thing. I leave it to you. 12:05.000 --> 12:34.000 Oh, yes. I should like to think that when I'm gone, I have left some things behind for someone. Mr. Chalmers, oh yes, I'll always remember him for this. It's nice to live on in somebody's memory for a little while after we are dead. But A, Mr. Bates, I have no one in this world. And B, I must be very, very frank with you and tell you that I can no longer afford to pay even the dollar a week. 12:34.000 --> 12:45.000 You see, I live on very- That's a problem of the most minor importance. For anybody to invest in you now, a buck a week would be guilt-edged. I mean, for instance, take my mother here. 12:45.000 --> 13:09.000 Oh, yes? Now, suppose that you made her the beneficiary. Now, suppose she continued to pay the buck a week. Now, who could lose on such a deal? Who can lose? Nobody. You see, you'll get your dearest wish to leave something behind, and my mother in lady here says, Mr. Chalmers, oh yes, I'll always remember him for this. You get the point? 13:09.000 --> 13:21.000 Oh, no, I couldn't. Why, it's- Why not? It's simple. Oh, no, no, no, Mr. Chalmers, no, you must- Let Mr. Chalmers decide. Mr. Chalmers, it makes good sense, no? It makes everybody happy, huh? 13:21.000 --> 13:49.000 Oh, but we're practically strangers. Now, we're- What do you mean, strangers? Who is a stranger in this world, Mr. Chalmers? We're all just little people trying to make each other happy, huh? Mr. Chalmers here can die feeling that he didn't waste a buck a week for twenty years, and he'll know that he'll live in your memory, Mama. That's what he wants. Why shouldn't he have it? Ain't every man entitled to at least live in somebody's memory. 13:49.000 --> 14:01.000 But Mr. Chalmers doesn't have to do that. I'll think about him anyway. I promise I will- So let him say something always admiring. Oh, what are you saying, Mr. Chalmers? 14:01.000 --> 14:29.000 Uh, that must be the little man with the tiny mustache. I'll tell him I'm keeping the policy and changing the beneficiary. So could you let me have the dollar, Mrs. Bates? 14:29.000 --> 14:35.000 Hey, hurry it up, will you? The old man's coming home in a minute or two. He takes his nap about this time. I want this ready for him. 14:35.000 --> 14:43.000 Relax, honey. I can't finish this job today. What are you giving me? It'll take a joint and another length of pipe. Fix it up. You can fix it up for now, can't you? 14:43.000 --> 14:51.000 Well, this room's pretty small. Why do you want the heater so close to the bed? Like I told you, he's got rheumatism. He needs plenty of heat. 14:51.000 --> 15:02.000 Well, I can run a rubber extension, but with gas, I don't like it. Okay, so with gas, you don't like it, but with gas, we gotta run this heater. The old man's got rheumatics. He can take plenty of gas. 15:02.000 --> 15:11.000 Huh? Hey, heat, heat, I mean. He needs plenty. What are you doing now? Tightening this joint. It's tight enough here. Here's your three bucks. 15:11.000 --> 15:18.000 Okay. You're the boss. Bring your tools next time. Yeah, won't be any next time, sonny. What are you giving me now? 15:18.000 --> 15:23.000 You can get somebody else to do your dirty work after this. So long, Skippy. 15:23.000 --> 15:30.000 Skippy. Come on, Skippy. Put yourself together. We gotta work today. 15:30.000 --> 15:35.000 Hello. 15:44.000 --> 15:54.000 Oh, hiya, Pa. Well, this is a pleasant surprise. Yeah, yeah, this used to be my room. Steam don't come up here so good, so I talked the old lady in the fixin' this up for you. 15:54.000 --> 16:02.000 That was very thoughtful of you, Walter. Oh, thanks. I used to stuff the cracks in the windows till zero weather gets plenty drafty in this room. 16:02.000 --> 16:09.000 You thought of everything, didn't you, Walter? Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I want to work out just fine. 16:09.000 --> 16:15.000 It'll do the job, I think. I'm going to take a little nap before dinner. Do you think the heater... 16:15.000 --> 16:18.000 Just leave it on. I'll look in after a bit to see if it's okay. 16:18.000 --> 16:26.000 Wait till now. You needn't go to all that... Oh, no trouble at all, Mr. Chalmers. When I do a thing, I like to do it right. 16:26.000 --> 16:31.000 Oh, yeah. 16:31.000 --> 16:56.000 Huh? Who's there? Oh, that's you, Walter? Yeah. Yeah, go on back to sleep, Pa. Just turn the heater off. We'll get a little stuffy in here. 16:56.000 --> 17:02.000 You're a good, considerate boy, Walter. Ah, skip it. Go on back to sleep. 17:02.000 --> 17:30.000 Please, don't walk so fast, Walter. My feet are hurting me again. Ah, you can buy no shoes tomorrow, huh? 17:30.000 --> 17:37.000 I'd like to know what with. Maybe you'll have dough tomorrow. Maybe we'll both have dough. If a miracle happens. 17:37.000 --> 17:43.000 Maybe miracles do happen. Maybe. If you're smart. Where are you taking me to, Walter? 17:43.000 --> 17:47.000 No place particular. I just thought we'd stroll around the old neighborhood like old times. 17:47.000 --> 17:50.000 Well, that's a nice idea, Walter. But my feet are... 17:50.000 --> 17:54.000 Okay, okay. So we'll turn in at the candy store in the corner and I'll buy you a dish of ice cream. 17:54.000 --> 18:00.000 So close to dinner time, dear. Trouble with you, Mars. You're in a rut. Come on. 18:02.000 --> 18:06.000 Howdy, Miss Bates. Hello. Howdy, Walter. When did you get back? 18:06.000 --> 18:12.000 He came in on the train from Pittsburgh, Nick, this morning, just to see me. Yeah, I thought I'd give the old girl a break. 18:12.000 --> 18:17.000 What? Well, what can I mix up for you folks? Mom will take vanilla and I want coffee. Black. 18:17.000 --> 18:22.000 Coming right up. Evening, Nick. Oh, hello, Mike. Take a load off your feet. 18:22.000 --> 18:27.000 You folks know Officer Flanagan? Miss Bates from Down the Block and her son, Walter? 18:27.000 --> 18:29.000 Pleased to meet you, Officer. How's business, Cap'r? 18:29.000 --> 18:35.000 Oh, much the same. Vagrancy, petty larceny, once in a while a murder. Murder? 18:35.000 --> 18:41.000 That's what they start out to do, but it's harder to pull off a murder than most people think. Yeah. 18:41.000 --> 18:48.000 A case just last week over in the next precinct. Family disconnected a gas heater in the old man's room while he was asleep. 18:48.000 --> 18:55.000 That's what we were pretty sure he did, anyway. They took out a lot of insurance on him a few days before. 18:55.000 --> 19:03.000 But you couldn't prove anything, huh? Didn't have to. They always bungle somewhere. Amateurs. Gaspetered out. 19:03.000 --> 19:05.000 They forgot to put a quarter in the meter. 19:08.000 --> 19:13.000 Seven o'clock. Sure and I got to call in. See you later, Nick. Okay, Michael. 19:13.000 --> 19:18.000 Ma. Yes, Walter? When did you put a quarter in the meter at home? 19:18.000 --> 19:23.000 Why don't we then? Goodness, I'd better get some change. Never mind. Come on, we're getting out of here. 19:23.000 --> 19:26.000 What's the matter, Walter? Nothing. Come on. Come on. 19:26.000 --> 19:31.000 Walter, why did you ask about the gas meter? Why do you think? 19:31.000 --> 19:35.000 Walter, you didn't. That isn't why you put the heater in this hotel. What do you think? 19:35.000 --> 19:41.000 I don't think anything. I just pray that that quarter ran out before... 19:41.000 --> 19:46.000 Save your prayers and get a move on. If that didn't work, I'll try another way. 19:46.000 --> 19:50.000 Either that old cluck is dead before midnight or I spent ten years in Sturr. 19:50.000 --> 19:53.000 He's gonna be dead before midnight. You understand that? 19:53.000 --> 19:57.000 If you try making any trouble, you'll be pushing daisies right along with him. 19:57.000 --> 20:00.000 Stop that sniveling. We're going in there now. 20:00.000 --> 20:04.000 If it took, scream your head off or I'll give you a reason to scream. 20:04.000 --> 20:07.000 The gas. I can smell it. Come on. 20:13.000 --> 20:16.000 Well, good evening, Walter. 20:16.000 --> 20:19.000 I'm going to get some fresh air. 20:19.000 --> 20:30.000 Good evening, Walter. Mrs. Bates, I was just on my way out. 20:30.000 --> 20:32.000 Oh, Mr. Jones, you're all right. You're all right. 20:32.000 --> 20:34.000 Of course he's all right. What's eating you? 20:34.000 --> 20:39.000 I have a slight headache, it's true, but a brisk walk in the open air will cure that, I'm sure. 20:39.000 --> 20:42.000 Hey, look at this. What is it, Walter? 20:42.000 --> 20:47.000 A hose on the heater had got unhitched. No wonder you got a headache. 20:47.000 --> 20:50.000 I thought I smelled gas. 20:50.000 --> 20:55.000 Pop, it's lucky for you that Ma forgot to put a quarter in the meter. 20:55.000 --> 20:58.000 Providence works in strange ways, doesn't it, Walter? 20:58.000 --> 21:02.000 Well, I must be getting on. Mrs. Bates. Yes? 21:02.000 --> 21:06.000 I'll be coming home rather late, so I'll just let myself in. 21:06.000 --> 21:11.000 How late? Well, I thought I'd stop in at the neighborhood picture house after dinner. 21:11.000 --> 21:16.000 That'll be around nine o'clock, so I imagine I won't be home much before eleven. 21:16.000 --> 21:19.000 Mr. Chalmers, there's something I... Yes, Mrs. Bates? 21:19.000 --> 21:23.000 Walter's a good boy at heart, you know, but he's been in some trouble lately. 21:23.000 --> 21:25.000 Is there anything I can do to help, Walter? 21:25.000 --> 21:28.000 Yeah, plenty. I'll tell you all about it when you get back. 21:28.000 --> 21:32.000 You better run along now, Mr. Chalmers. You don't want to be late for that picture. 21:32.000 --> 21:35.000 Yes, yes, of course. Well, good night, Mrs. Bates. 21:35.000 --> 21:38.000 Mr. Chalmers. Good night, Mr. Chalmers. 21:38.000 --> 21:40.000 Yes, good night. 21:40.000 --> 21:43.000 Walter, Walter, Walter, Walter! 21:43.000 --> 21:47.000 Oh, Walter! I'm your mother, Walter! 21:49.000 --> 21:51.000 You were going to tell him, weren't you? 21:51.000 --> 21:54.000 You'd like to send me to the chair, wouldn't you? 21:54.000 --> 21:58.000 Oh, stop, Walter. You struck your own mother. 21:58.000 --> 22:01.000 I ought to have messed your sad monkey face up for good. 22:01.000 --> 22:04.000 It's your fault I pulled this thing up in the first place. 22:04.000 --> 22:07.000 Why didn't you remember to put a quarter in a gas meter? Why didn't you? 22:07.000 --> 22:09.000 I forgot. He wouldn't be alive. 22:09.000 --> 22:11.000 You shouldn't have messed around with a gas, trying to spare your feelings, 22:11.000 --> 22:13.000 make it look like an accident. The thanks I get for it. 22:13.000 --> 22:16.000 She wants to blab the whole thing, turn me in. My own mother! 22:16.000 --> 22:20.000 No, no, Walter, that's not true. No, please! 22:20.000 --> 22:25.000 Don't hit me again, Walter. I can't stand it. 22:25.000 --> 22:29.000 All right. Maybe now you'll cooperate. 22:29.000 --> 22:32.000 Look, let's put it this way. It's either you or him. 22:32.000 --> 22:36.000 If it's you, I don't care whether they get me or not. Are you listening to me? 22:36.000 --> 22:37.000 Yes, Walter. 22:37.000 --> 22:42.000 All right. Now, like I said, I got very little time to get this thing done. 22:42.000 --> 22:45.000 I ought to have done it neat, clean in the first place, like I said. 22:45.000 --> 22:48.000 He's old, he's weak. Just push him over on a bed, 22:48.000 --> 22:51.000 hold a pillow on his face for a few minutes, and the job is done. 22:51.000 --> 22:54.000 Nobody to ask any questions of a guy that old. 22:54.000 --> 22:57.000 Walter, for the last time, I beg you. 22:57.000 --> 23:00.000 All right, you just make sure it's the last time. 23:00.000 --> 23:03.000 Remember, like I said, it's you or him. 23:03.000 --> 23:04.000 What are you going to do? 23:04.000 --> 23:07.000 I'll be waiting in his room when he gets home. 23:07.000 --> 23:10.000 You wait up for him. Tell him I've left to catch a train, 23:10.000 --> 23:12.000 just in case he suspects anything. 23:12.000 --> 23:15.000 When he comes into his room, I'll take care of the rest of it. 23:15.000 --> 23:17.000 How do you know I won't warn him? 23:17.000 --> 23:21.000 Because it's you or him, just like I told you. 23:21.000 --> 23:23.000 I don't think you'll warn Mr. Chalmers. 23:23.000 --> 23:26.000 Don't you try to stall him when he comes in. 23:26.000 --> 23:34.000 He's got to be dead by midnight, or else... 23:41.000 --> 23:43.000 Good evening. 23:43.000 --> 23:45.000 Good evening, Mr. Chalmers. 23:45.000 --> 23:49.000 Joe, I'll have the late edition of the Daily News as usual. 23:49.000 --> 23:51.000 Save one out for you, Mr. Chalmers. 23:51.000 --> 23:53.000 Thank you. Good night, Joe. 23:53.000 --> 23:56.000 Night. Oh, by the way, Joe, I almost forgot. 23:56.000 --> 23:58.000 Can you give me the change of a dollar? 23:58.000 --> 24:00.000 Oh, sure, Mr. Chalmers. Here you are. 24:00.000 --> 24:04.000 $15.75, $85.90, $1. 24:04.000 --> 24:05.000 Thank you. 24:05.000 --> 24:08.000 I just happened to think of something I need change for. 24:08.000 --> 24:23.000 A little good deed for a friend of mine. 24:27.000 --> 24:31.000 Oh, no. No. 24:33.000 --> 24:35.000 Oh, Mr. Chalmers. 24:35.000 --> 24:39.000 Well, I didn't think you'd be up so late, Mrs. Bates. 24:39.000 --> 24:41.000 I waited up especially. 24:41.000 --> 24:43.000 I wanted to talk to you about Walter. 24:43.000 --> 24:47.000 Mrs. Bates, your eye, it's all discoloured. 24:47.000 --> 24:48.000 Oh, yes. 24:48.000 --> 24:50.000 Well, the light burned out in the bathroom, 24:50.000 --> 24:53.000 and when I went to replace it in the dark, 24:53.000 --> 24:57.000 that is, I bumped into the door. 24:57.000 --> 25:00.000 No, I would have thought Walter would have done that for you. 25:00.000 --> 25:02.000 Oh, no, Walter didn't. 25:02.000 --> 25:08.000 I mean, Walter's left already. 25:08.000 --> 25:11.000 He had to catch the $12.20 for Pittsburgh, you know. 25:11.000 --> 25:14.000 But it's only a little after 11 now. 25:14.000 --> 25:17.000 Perhaps he had some things to do on the way, I mean. 25:17.000 --> 25:18.000 Of course. 25:18.000 --> 25:20.000 Well, I'm afraid I must be getting on to bed. 25:20.000 --> 25:23.000 No, no, not yet. 25:23.000 --> 25:28.000 I mean, won't you sit down for a minute, 25:28.000 --> 25:30.000 have a cup of tea with me? 25:30.000 --> 25:34.000 I'd like to, but tea keeps me awake, Mrs. Bates. 25:34.000 --> 25:37.000 I'll be getting along to my room now, if you don't mind. 25:37.000 --> 25:39.000 No, no, don't go into that room, Mr. Chow. 25:39.000 --> 25:42.000 Why, Mrs. Bates, whatever's the trouble? 25:42.000 --> 25:45.000 My son, Walter, there's something I must tell you. 25:45.000 --> 25:47.000 Oh, forgive me, Mrs. Bates, but I am an old man, 25:47.000 --> 25:49.000 and I need my rest. 25:49.000 --> 25:51.000 If it could possibly wait until morning... 25:51.000 --> 25:53.000 No, no, it can't wait until morning. 25:53.000 --> 25:56.000 It's got to be told before... 25:56.000 --> 25:58.000 before midnight. 25:58.000 --> 26:00.000 What was that? 26:00.000 --> 26:02.000 Sounds like someone moving about in the back of the house. 26:02.000 --> 26:04.000 Gee! 26:04.000 --> 26:06.000 One... 26:06.000 --> 26:09.000 one of the shutters is loose. 26:09.000 --> 26:11.000 The wind. 26:11.000 --> 26:14.000 Oh, you were saying, Mrs. Bates? 26:14.000 --> 26:17.000 Nothing. I can't tell you after all. 26:17.000 --> 26:19.000 I'm afraid. 26:19.000 --> 26:21.000 I'm afraid to tell you. 26:21.000 --> 26:24.000 There, there, Mrs. Bates, and perhaps in the morning, eh? 26:24.000 --> 26:26.000 Try to get some rest. 26:26.000 --> 26:28.000 Oh, you're going in there now? 26:28.000 --> 26:30.000 I think that would be the best thing to do, 26:30.000 --> 26:32.000 all the way around, don't you, Mrs. Bates? 26:32.000 --> 26:34.000 Good night. 26:32.000 --> 26:34.000 No, no, wait! 26:34.000 --> 26:36.000 Mrs. Bates, I... 26:36.000 --> 26:38.000 What is it, Mrs. Bates? 26:38.000 --> 26:40.000 That smell. 26:40.000 --> 26:42.000 Gas. 26:44.000 --> 26:46.000 Walter! 26:46.000 --> 26:48.000 Walter! 26:48.000 --> 27:01.000 MUSIC 27:01.000 --> 27:04.000 Why don't you lie down for a few minutes, Mrs. Bates? 27:04.000 --> 27:06.000 I'll call you when the ambulance arrives. 27:06.000 --> 27:08.000 BELL RINGS 27:08.000 --> 27:10.000 Listen. 27:10.000 --> 27:12.000 It's striking 12. 27:14.000 --> 27:16.000 Dead before midnight. 27:16.000 --> 27:18.000 Oh, lad. 27:18.000 --> 27:22.000 If only I hadn't remembered to go back for that change. 27:22.000 --> 27:24.000 You did it? 27:24.000 --> 27:26.000 LAUGHS 27:34.000 --> 27:36.000 You put the quarter in the meter. 27:36.000 --> 27:39.000 That's what turned on the gas that killed him. 27:39.000 --> 27:41.000 Well, you mentioned the gas having gone off 27:41.000 --> 27:43.000 and forgetting to put a quarter in the meter, 27:43.000 --> 27:45.000 so on the way to the richer house, 27:45.000 --> 27:48.000 I just went round to the back entry and dropped the coin. 27:48.000 --> 27:50.000 You did it. 27:48.000 --> 27:50.000 I suppose I should have remembered 27:50.000 --> 27:53.000 about the connection being loose on the heater in my room, 27:53.000 --> 27:57.000 but I wanted to surprise you with my good deed. 27:57.000 --> 28:00.000 I didn't mean to do anything wrong, Mrs. Bates. 28:00.000 --> 28:02.000 Truly, I didn't. 28:02.000 --> 28:04.000 You didn't do anything wrong, Mr. Chong? 28:04.000 --> 28:06.000 No. 28:06.000 --> 28:09.000 You didn't do anything wrong. 28:09.000 --> 28:15.000 MUSIC PLAYS 28:29.000 --> 28:31.000 Our thanks to Miss Faye Bainter 28:31.000 --> 28:34.000 for her wonderful performance as Mrs. Bates, 28:34.000 --> 28:37.000 to Tony Barrett, who played Walter, 28:37.000 --> 28:40.000 and Norman Field, Mr. Chalmers. 28:40.000 --> 28:43.000 Suspense is produced and directed by Anton M. Leder 28:43.000 --> 28:45.000 with music under the direction of Lud Gluskin 28:45.000 --> 28:49.000 from the original score composed by Lucian Morrowek. 28:49.000 --> 28:51.000 Miss Bainter will soon be seen 28:51.000 --> 28:54.000 in the Warner Brothers production, June Bride. 28:54.000 --> 28:57.000 Next week, we return with 60 minutes, 28:57.000 --> 29:00.000 a full hour of suspense, 29:00.000 --> 29:03.000 and a story in which a boy and a girl find themselves... 29:03.000 --> 29:05.000 and a story in which a boy and a girl 29:05.000 --> 29:08.000 find themselves trapped in an apartment with a dead man, 29:08.000 --> 29:11.000 with a short four hours to find the murderer 29:11.000 --> 29:13.000 and prove that they are innocent. 29:13.000 --> 29:16.000 How they do it, if they do it, 29:16.000 --> 29:19.000 is the intriguing question in William Irish's 29:19.000 --> 29:21.000 10th story, Deadline at Dawn, 29:21.000 --> 29:24.000 a tale well calculated to keep you in... 29:24.000 --> 29:26.000 Suspense! 29:26.000 --> 29:29.000 This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.