WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:04.200 In just a moment, suspense with Edward G. Robinson. 00:05.940 --> 00:07.940 Boy, have I got the hiccups. 00:07.940 --> 00:09.940 I'll say you have. 00:09.940 --> 00:13.940 And the way you're sputtering, you sound like a car that needs a set of new auto lights bar clubs. 00:13.940 --> 00:17.940 No, Hap, it isn't funny. Billy, have you tried drinking a glass of water while you hold your breath? 00:17.940 --> 00:19.940 Mom, I'm so full of water now I feel... 00:19.940 --> 00:22.940 I feel like an auto light stay full battery. 00:22.940 --> 00:24.940 Men never take anything seriously. 00:24.940 --> 00:26.940 Maybe what Billy needs is a hiccup. 00:26.940 --> 00:30.940 I mean a checkup at an auto light ignition service station. 00:30.940 --> 00:32.940 It might help if I could get my mind on something else. 00:32.940 --> 00:36.940 Say, I know what'll make you forget those hiccups and give you a bunch of thrills to boot. 00:36.940 --> 00:38.940 Switch to auto light, Mary. 00:38.940 --> 00:40.940 It's time for suspense. 00:40.940 --> 00:52.940 Suspense. 00:58.940 --> 01:06.940 Auto light and its 60,000 dealers and service stations bring you Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills. 01:06.940 --> 01:16.940 Starring tonight, Mr. Edward G. Robinson in Anton Leder's production of The Man Who Wanted to Be Edward G. Robinson. 01:16.940 --> 01:22.940 A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. 01:27.940 --> 01:33.940 I'm making this statement in accordance with a promise to a very dear friend. 01:33.940 --> 01:40.940 It's a complete statement in every detail, including those matters which are to me personally most incriminating. 01:40.940 --> 01:44.940 Because my trust in my friend is such that I haven't the slightest concern on that score. 01:44.940 --> 01:46.940 Or any other. 01:48.940 --> 01:52.940 What follows concerns primarily two persons. 01:52.940 --> 01:58.940 Myself, Homer J. Hubbard, and my wife, Ada Sampsey Hubbard. 01:58.940 --> 02:05.940 Even when I was courting Ada, I was aware that hers was a strong and domineering personality, say the least. 02:05.940 --> 02:13.940 And after we were married, well, at first I put up with Ada's constant nagging and petty persecutions as best I could. 02:13.940 --> 02:17.940 I'd put up with them for 20 long years. 02:17.940 --> 02:27.940 It wasn't until a memorable evening a little over a year ago that the first dim outlines of an escape and finally a plan began to take shape in my mind. 02:27.940 --> 02:35.940 You see, I never was much of a one for movies, but Ada and I had gone to see a picture called Little Caesar. 02:35.940 --> 02:42.940 It was a reissue, I think they call it, with an actor in it whom I'd never even heard of before. 02:44.940 --> 02:46.940 Oh, so you thought you were right on me, huh? 02:46.940 --> 02:49.940 Well, get this. Nobody rats on Little Caesar, see? 02:49.940 --> 02:51.940 Everybody! 02:56.940 --> 03:03.940 The moment I saw that face on the screen, the minute I heard that voice, the world of reality around me simply ceased to exist. 03:03.940 --> 03:08.940 I lived that picture. I was Little Caesar. I was Edward G. Robinson. 03:08.940 --> 03:17.940 I was dimly conscious that my voice was like his, that even my face without my spectacles and with my hair parted differently might have been mistaken for his, 03:17.940 --> 03:24.940 but it was more than that. It was his personality that fascinated me, and that I assumed. 03:24.940 --> 03:31.940 Calm, assured, tough, kind of a man who made people do what he wanted done, the way he wanted it done. 03:31.940 --> 03:36.940 Walking out of the movie theatre afterward, I knew something had happened that was going to change my whole life. 03:36.940 --> 03:42.940 Well, there's a man. Oh, Caesar, they call him, and well they may. 03:42.940 --> 03:46.940 And that Edward G. Robinson, I'll wager he's no Casper Milktoast, either. 03:46.940 --> 03:50.940 Yes, dear. Is that all you have to say? Yes, dear. 03:50.940 --> 03:54.940 What does it take to arouse a little enthusiasm in you, anyway? 03:54.940 --> 04:01.940 Here you've seen a fine performance, a picture that'd get anybody in the world excited, and all you can say is, yes, dear. 04:01.940 --> 04:04.940 I wish you were half the man that Robinson is. 04:04.940 --> 04:11.940 But from that moment I no longer really cared what he'd wished to thought. 04:11.940 --> 04:18.940 I'd begun my escape into a dream world of my own making, a world in which I was Edward G. Robinson. 04:18.940 --> 04:22.940 As the weeks went by, I began to identify myself with him more and more. 04:22.940 --> 04:29.940 I imagined myself in countless dangerous situations, and when no one was looking, I imitated him and I affected his mannerisms. 04:29.940 --> 04:38.940 I would start daydreaming at my desk wondering what the other people in the office would think if I suddenly exposed this hidden side of my personality. 04:40.940 --> 04:44.940 Okay, everybody, stay where you are. You ready? Hold your hands over your heads. 04:44.940 --> 04:46.940 I don't want any monkey business, see? Now stand back there, Ryan. 04:46.940 --> 04:48.940 Any funny stuff from you and I'll let you have it. 04:48.940 --> 04:53.940 This is preposterous. What do you mean by such behavior? Is this your idea of a joke? 04:53.940 --> 04:56.940 You'll see whether it's a joke or not if you make one false move. 04:56.940 --> 04:59.940 Now, this isn't a water pistol I'm holding here, you know. 04:59.940 --> 05:01.940 You're fired. Leave this office immediately. 05:01.940 --> 05:06.940 Well, I'm getting out all right, but I'm not fired, see? I'm leaving well here. That's where you come in, Mr. Ryan. 05:06.940 --> 05:08.940 Please, please, Hubbard, be reasonable. 05:08.940 --> 05:12.940 Now shut up and do what I tell you. Keep your hands up in the air, will you? Walk over to that safe. 05:12.940 --> 05:17.940 Open it up. Get all the money out of it and put it right here on the desk in front of me. Now get moving. 05:17.940 --> 05:23.940 I don't want to have any trouble with you, Ryan. I'm going to count three, and if you're not moving when I finish, you'll never move again, see? 05:23.940 --> 05:26.940 One, two... 05:28.940 --> 05:29.940 Hubbard! 05:29.940 --> 05:31.940 What are you doing daydreaming? 05:31.940 --> 05:35.940 You'd better get busy or I shall be forced to report you to Mr. Pemberton again. 05:35.940 --> 05:44.940 Oh, oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Ryan. I'm terribly sorry. I can't understand what could have come over me. 05:44.940 --> 05:56.940 Well, that's the way it went. At the office, walking down the street, riding home on the bus. My life outwardly, calm and well-ordered, possibly even dull. 05:56.940 --> 06:04.940 It was actually 24 hours of harrowing adventure with myself as the central figure. I saw every Edward G. Robinson picture that came out. 06:04.940 --> 06:13.940 It was the day after seeing Key Largo for the third time that Ada finally caught me. I was lathering my face and talking to myself. 06:13.940 --> 06:24.940 Okay, a rat, you asked for it. You don't come out, say we're coming to get you, see? And we're coming in shooting, see? What's that? Oh, yeah? 06:24.940 --> 06:28.940 Well, only a dirty yellow rat would say that. Okay, boys, let them have it. 06:28.940 --> 06:35.940 Well, I never. Of all the full performances I ever heard of, this beats everything. What in the world are you jabbering about in here? 06:35.940 --> 06:43.940 Oh, well, it's really nothing, dear Ada. I was just sort of trying to imitate Edward G. Robinson. 06:43.940 --> 06:49.940 You were what? Edward G. Robinson? 06:49.940 --> 06:50.940 Yeah. 06:50.940 --> 06:55.940 Oh, that's rich. You tried to imitate Edward G. Robinson. 06:55.940 --> 06:57.940 Hmm. Yeah. 06:57.940 --> 07:10.940 Oh, I can't stand it. Don't stop. Don't let me interrupt the performance, Mr. Movie Star. Come on, come on. Do your act for me. 07:10.940 --> 07:13.940 Well, dear, I don't see anything so funny about it. 07:13.940 --> 07:24.940 Oh, maybe you don't. But you're the only person in the world who wants to. Oh, my. I'll leave you to your rehearsing. 07:24.940 --> 07:31.940 Why don't you imitate any Bracken or Margaret or Brian? I think you'd find it easier. 07:31.940 --> 07:46.940 It was right then that I decided to kill her. 07:46.940 --> 08:02.940 For suspense, Auto Light is bringing you Mr. Edward G. Robinson in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense. 08:02.940 --> 08:08.940 Say, Mary, looks like Billy's all over those hiccups thanks to Edward G. Robinson and suspense. 08:08.940 --> 08:13.940 Shh. Don't mention hiccups again. He might get them back. Let's switch his mind to something else. 08:13.940 --> 08:20.940 Well, you know how he is about anything Auto Light makes. Let's listen to Frank Martin. That'll do the trick. 08:20.940 --> 08:26.940 Friends, money can't buy better electrical equipment for your car than Auto Light. And here's why. 08:26.940 --> 08:32.940 In the first place, Auto Light is the world's largest independent manufacturer of automotive electrical equipment, 08:32.940 --> 08:36.940 original factory equipment for many of the finest cars and trucks in America. 08:36.940 --> 08:44.940 In its 26 nationwide plants, Auto Light manufactures distributors, generators, starting motors, spark plugs, batteries, wire, 08:44.940 --> 08:53.940 not to mention such things as bumpers, die castings, horns, instruments and gauges, lights, ornamental plastics, and over 400 other products. 08:53.940 --> 09:00.940 What's more, Auto Light service stations all over the country are staffed with trained men and specialized machines 09:00.940 --> 09:03.940 to give your car the best possible electrical service. 09:03.940 --> 09:09.940 So friends, when your car's electrical equipment needs attention, drive into your nearest Auto Light service station 09:09.940 --> 09:14.940 or the dealer who sells your make of car and ask for original factory parts and service. 09:14.940 --> 09:24.940 Remember, Auto Light service stations are listed in your classified telephone directory under automotive electrical equipment. 09:24.940 --> 09:37.940 And now, Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood sound stage Mr. Edward G. Robinson in The Man Who Wanted to Be Edward G. Robinson. 09:37.940 --> 09:42.940 A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense. 09:42.940 --> 09:52.940 The Man Who Wanted to Be Edward G. Robinson 09:52.940 --> 09:58.940 I, uh, I might have decided to have mercy on her if she'd only let me alone. 09:58.940 --> 10:01.940 But Ada could never leave anyone alone. 10:01.940 --> 10:04.940 She ridiculed me at home and in front of our friends. 10:04.940 --> 10:10.940 Sometimes she'd let a few weeks go by without saying anything and I would think that perhaps she had forgotten. 10:10.940 --> 10:13.940 No, Ada never forgot. 10:13.940 --> 10:17.940 She would wait until we were in a group of people and then she would come out with it. 10:17.940 --> 10:22.940 Well, my dear, you mean I haven't told you about Homer's dream world? 10:22.940 --> 10:25.940 He thinks he's Edward G. Robinson. 10:25.940 --> 10:27.940 Oh, no! 10:27.940 --> 10:38.940 Do tell us, Mr. Homer G. Robinson, when do you think you'll be getting your next contract from Hollywood? 10:38.940 --> 10:42.940 Oh, you folks have got Homer all wrong. 10:42.940 --> 10:57.940 He's a killer at heart, just a cold-blooded killer. 10:57.940 --> 10:58.940 I want to buy a gun. 10:58.940 --> 11:01.940 Yes, sir. What kind of a gun? 11:01.940 --> 11:07.940 Well, I don't know much about guns, but that one looks all right. 11:07.940 --> 11:09.940 Yes, yes. That's a nice little gun. 11:09.940 --> 11:10.940 Yes, isn't it? 11:10.940 --> 11:12.940 2850. 11:12.940 --> 11:14.940 Do I have to have a license? 11:14.940 --> 11:17.940 Oh, not unless you're going to carry it on your person. 11:17.940 --> 11:20.940 Otherwise, we just register it for the police records under your name. 11:20.940 --> 11:22.940 What's the name? 11:22.940 --> 11:25.940 Oh, Edward G. Robinson. 11:25.940 --> 11:27.940 I beg your pardon? 11:27.940 --> 11:30.940 You heard me, Mug. Edward G. Robinson. See? 11:35.940 --> 11:38.940 I had made my plans very carefully. 11:38.940 --> 11:42.940 My plan was that her murder would look like suicide. 11:42.940 --> 11:48.940 It would be a night when the moon was full so that I could see her head on the pillow and aim carefully. 11:48.940 --> 11:55.940 I would fire the shot through the temple, quickly wipe my fingerprints from the handle of the gun, and then push it into her hand. 11:55.940 --> 11:59.940 And as the shot and buried husband, I would call Dr. Wallace. 11:59.940 --> 12:03.940 The police wouldn't come until later, and when they did, I would be ready for them. 12:03.940 --> 12:09.940 I was so busy laying my plans that I hadn't been reading the papers and had to be told the big news. 12:09.940 --> 12:10.940 Homer? 12:10.940 --> 12:14.940 Oh, I beg your pardon. Mr. Robinson. 12:14.940 --> 12:15.940 Oh, please. 12:15.940 --> 12:21.940 Would you mind passing the spinach? That is, if you're not too preoccupied with planning your next murder. 12:21.940 --> 12:23.940 Oh, please, please, Ada. 12:23.940 --> 12:26.940 Yeah, held up any banks lately, Homer? 12:26.940 --> 12:28.940 Here you are, dear. 12:28.940 --> 12:32.940 Oh, say, that reminds me, all kidding aside. Did you know that he's going to be here next week? 12:32.940 --> 12:33.940 Who? 12:33.940 --> 12:34.940 Edward G. Robinson. 12:34.940 --> 12:35.940 What? 12:35.940 --> 12:37.940 He's going to address the hobbyist convention. 12:37.940 --> 12:38.940 Oh, is that so? 12:38.940 --> 12:41.940 Yeah, sure. Well, hi. I'd like to hear him. 12:41.940 --> 12:48.940 I would too. Oh, I'd love to see what a real he-man is like. Not just a poor imitation. 12:48.940 --> 13:03.940 We went, and at first it was the most terrible this point in my life, because he wasn't tough or hard-boiled or anything like it. 13:03.940 --> 13:09.940 He seemed to be a mild-mannered little fellow, a little shy, almost like me. 13:09.940 --> 13:18.940 He talked about orchids and modern art. They were his hobbies, he said, raising orchids and collecting paintings, modern paintings. 13:18.940 --> 13:25.940 As the lecture went on, I began to understand. By the time it was over, I knew. 13:25.940 --> 13:29.940 And so, ladies and gentlemen, I consider myself twice blessed. 13:29.940 --> 13:34.940 Every man is blessed who has a hobby, but I am among the fortunate few who have two hobbies. 13:34.940 --> 13:39.940 And as the fellow said, whose fiancé had a twin sister, I love them both. 13:39.940 --> 13:43.940 Thank you, thank you very much. 13:49.940 --> 13:57.940 Later that evening, I made an excuse to get away from Ada and went down to the hotel where I knew Mr. Robinson was staying. 13:57.940 --> 14:02.940 I bribed the bellboy $1.75 to tell me which was his room. 14:02.940 --> 14:06.940 I went down the hall and knocked at the door of 708. 14:06.940 --> 14:08.940 Yeah? 14:08.940 --> 14:13.940 Western Union. Come on in. 14:13.940 --> 14:15.940 Just put it on the... 14:15.940 --> 14:21.940 Well, say, Western Union dresses their boys up pretty snappy in this town, don't they? 14:21.940 --> 14:30.940 I must apologize for adopting the subterfuge, Mr. Robinson, but I have something of the utmost importance to discuss with you. 14:30.940 --> 14:36.940 I was afraid you might not see me since, well, we've never been formally introduced. 14:36.940 --> 14:41.940 Ha, ha, ha! Formally introduced? That's all right. What is it, autograph? 14:41.940 --> 14:46.940 I'm afraid it's something a good deal more serious than that, Mr. Robinson. 14:46.940 --> 14:52.940 Yeah? Well, you caught me right in the middle of shaving, as you see, but if you don't mind my finishing the job while you talk, I... 14:52.940 --> 14:55.940 Come right along inside. Tell me all about it. 14:55.940 --> 14:57.940 Thank you. 14:57.940 --> 15:01.940 Well, now, what's on your mind? 15:01.940 --> 15:09.940 Well, Mr. Robinson, I have a problem and I feel you are the person best fitted in the world to tell me what to do. 15:09.940 --> 15:12.940 That so? Well, what is the problem? 15:12.940 --> 15:19.940 Well, Mr. Robinson, suppose... Of course, this is purely hypothetical. 15:19.940 --> 15:22.940 But suppose you were going to kill somebody. 15:22.940 --> 15:24.940 Kill somebody? 15:24.940 --> 15:31.940 Yes, in your own home, somebody who is, shall we say, related to you. 15:31.940 --> 15:37.940 Now, hold on a minute, Mr. Hubbard. Homer J. Hubbard. 15:37.940 --> 15:44.940 Mr. Hubbard, I may look like a bad guy on the screen, but when I'm not working, I'm just a plain, peace-loving citizen like anybody else. 15:44.940 --> 15:51.940 Oh, you can fool people like that. Audience night with all that talk about orchids and modern art. 15:51.940 --> 15:55.940 It was very good and I quite understand why you do it. 15:55.940 --> 16:01.940 A man in your position must have a front, of course, but you didn't fool me. 16:01.940 --> 16:09.940 I didn't, huh? Well, I know. Rather, I knew I could come to you and be perfectly frank. 16:09.940 --> 16:11.940 Yeah, about what? 16:11.940 --> 16:13.940 About the murder. 16:13.940 --> 16:15.940 About the what? 16:15.940 --> 16:24.940 Look at me, Mr. Robinson. I'm a shy, inhibited, weak, utterly ineffectual person. 16:24.940 --> 16:30.940 I have none of your assurance, your hardness, your ability to cope with any situation, to direct ruthless wha... 16:30.940 --> 16:42.940 Yeah? Well, how many times I wished I had, because for 20 years my life has been made horribly, unbearably miserable by one person. 16:42.940 --> 16:44.940 My wife. 16:44.940 --> 16:54.940 Oh, so that's the way it is. Yes. For years I bore it as best I could and then one day I thought, how would you have coped with it? 16:54.940 --> 16:57.940 And of course I knew it once. You would kill her. 16:57.940 --> 16:59.940 Yeah, now, wait a minute. Are you kidding me? 16:59.940 --> 17:02.940 Oh, no, no, Mr. Robinson. I wouldn't think of such a thing. 17:02.940 --> 17:09.940 Look, look here. I've even secured a gun to do it with. Hmm? 17:09.940 --> 17:15.940 Yeah, here, you better give me that. No, no, don't point it. Hand it at me by the barrel. Here. 17:15.940 --> 17:19.940 Put it over here. Safer, you know. 17:19.940 --> 17:25.940 Yeah, I must admit I know very little about firearms and they're quite distasteful to me. 17:25.940 --> 17:27.940 Yes, you and me both. 17:27.940 --> 17:29.940 You, Mr. Robinson? 17:29.940 --> 17:36.940 Well, I mean, small arms like that. Of course, a Tommy gun, that's different. That's the only thing to use. 17:36.940 --> 17:41.940 Yeah, I suppose you're right. But I didn't know where to get a Tommy gun. 17:41.940 --> 17:45.940 I was afraid even if I did, I'd never master the art of using it. 17:45.940 --> 17:52.940 Yeah, well, now you want to kill your wife, is that it? You want me to help you? 17:52.940 --> 17:58.940 If you would, Mr. Robinson, if you could spare the time, I can't tell you how grateful I'd be. 17:58.940 --> 18:04.940 Yeah, well, you know, Mr. Hubbard, you look like a pretty nice little guy. 18:04.940 --> 18:09.940 Well, it must really be an old battle axe to have got you in a frame of mind like this. 18:09.940 --> 18:13.940 All right, now I'll tell you what I'll do. I will help you. 18:13.940 --> 18:18.940 Oh, Mr. Robinson. Yes, but it's got to be done my way, see? It's got to be done right. You got to plan these things. 18:18.940 --> 18:22.940 Yeah, now, take this gat, this little flea, for instance, that you got over there. 18:22.940 --> 18:29.940 That's no kind of a rod to kill your wife with. Why, the caliber is all wrong. The ballistics would be all wrong. 18:29.940 --> 18:34.940 Fix would be on your trail just like that. Now, I got to get home. That's perfect for the job. 18:34.940 --> 18:39.940 Get me? I've knocked off Orson Welles, Jimmy Keag. Oh, I don't know how many guys with this. 18:39.940 --> 18:42.940 Now, the first thing when I get home, I'll send it to you parcel post, see? 18:42.940 --> 18:47.940 Would you, Mr. Robinson? Oh, sure, sure. Now, when you get it, just lay low, see? 18:47.940 --> 18:54.940 Now, don't do a thing till you hear from me. I'll lay this thing out for some of my boys, and then I'll get in touch with you. Okay? 18:54.940 --> 19:01.940 Oh, yes, Mr. Robinson. I don't know how to thank you. Ah, forget it, pal. 19:01.940 --> 19:03.940 What's a little moiter between friends? 19:09.940 --> 19:13.940 I could scarcely maintain my composure in the two days that followed. 19:13.940 --> 19:22.940 The second day, sure enough, the gun arrived. It was a great heavy thing, the kind that's referred to, I think, as an automatic. 19:22.940 --> 19:27.940 Remembering its history, I handle it with the utmost care of reverence. 19:27.940 --> 19:33.940 I hid it in the garage where I keep my pipe that Hader won't let me smoke in the house. 19:33.940 --> 19:37.940 It was the next afternoon, Saturday, that the phone rang. 19:37.940 --> 19:45.940 I rushed into the bedroom to answer it and close the door after me so Hader wouldn't hear in case it was. 19:45.940 --> 19:47.940 Hello, Homer? Yes? 19:47.940 --> 19:50.940 This is Eddie. Eddie? 19:50.940 --> 19:52.940 Yeah, yeah, you know, Eddie Robinson. 19:52.940 --> 19:56.940 Oh, yes, yes, Miss... uh, Eddie. 19:56.940 --> 19:58.940 You get that package I sent you? 19:58.940 --> 20:00.940 Oh, yes, yes, I got it. 20:00.940 --> 20:04.940 Okay, but don't fool around with it, will you, until the time comes. Kind of tricky. 20:04.940 --> 20:06.940 Oh, no, no, no, I won't. 20:06.940 --> 20:11.940 Now, listen, the bed line is tomorrow night. Midnight, got it? 20:11.940 --> 20:12.940 Yes. 20:12.940 --> 20:19.940 Now, here's the layout. Tomorrow night, you go to bed, just as always, but have that cat handy and leave the front door open, see? 20:19.940 --> 20:21.940 I understand. 20:21.940 --> 20:26.940 Oh, I say, wait a minute, I meant to ask you, is it safe to talk where you are? 20:26.940 --> 20:31.940 Oh, yes, yes, the phone's in the bedroom and the door is closed. 20:31.940 --> 20:34.940 The bedroom, huh? That's well... 20:34.940 --> 20:38.940 Well, now, listen, a little before midnight, you get up, see? 20:38.940 --> 20:42.940 When she's asleep, you take a spot just outside the bedroom door, see? 20:42.940 --> 20:46.940 Where you can keep an eye on her and on the front door, too, see? 20:46.940 --> 20:47.940 Yes. 20:47.940 --> 20:49.940 Well, at midnight, I'll contact you. 20:49.940 --> 20:54.940 We'll do your job and then make a quick getaway and you can hole up in the hide until he eats off. Get it? 20:54.940 --> 20:56.940 Tomorrow night, midnight. 20:56.940 --> 21:01.940 I'll do everything just as you say, Eddie. 21:04.940 --> 21:07.940 I followed his instructions to the letter. 21:07.940 --> 21:10.940 It seemed hours before Ada went to sleep that night. 21:10.940 --> 21:14.940 It seemed days until my watch finally crept around towards midnight. 21:14.940 --> 21:18.940 But at last, the time had come. 21:18.940 --> 21:22.940 I crept out of bed, got the gun out of my coat pocket, 21:22.940 --> 21:29.940 and took my position on the landing outside the bedroom door as he had told me to. 21:31.940 --> 21:34.940 And then suddenly, suddenly the phone rang. 21:34.940 --> 21:36.940 The plan was ruined. 21:36.940 --> 21:39.940 Even Edward G. Robinson couldn't have foreseen this. 21:39.940 --> 21:44.940 I rushed back into the bedroom hoping against hope that I could catch it before Ada woke up. 21:44.940 --> 21:46.940 But she already had the light on. 21:46.940 --> 21:52.940 Homer! What in the world are you doing prowling around at this time of night with a gun in your hand? 21:52.940 --> 21:54.940 I thought I heard a burglar. 21:54.940 --> 21:59.940 Burglar? When I've answered this phone, I want to talk to you, Homer Jeremiah Hubbard. Hello? 21:59.940 --> 22:01.940 Yes. 22:02.940 --> 22:04.940 What? 22:04.940 --> 22:05.940 Oh. 22:05.940 --> 22:06.940 What? 22:06.940 --> 22:07.940 Homer, there is a burglar. 22:07.940 --> 22:08.940 Is there? 22:08.940 --> 22:10.940 Someone just saw him trying to get into the house. 22:10.940 --> 22:11.940 Are you sure? 22:11.940 --> 22:15.940 Of course I am. A man just phoned that he saw the burglar. 22:15.940 --> 22:17.940 Well, don't just stand there. 22:17.940 --> 22:19.940 You've got a gun. Go on down and stop him. 22:19.940 --> 22:20.940 But Ada... 22:20.940 --> 22:23.940 Go on. Do you want us to be killed in our beds? Go on, I say. 22:23.940 --> 22:27.940 Oh, wait. Why do you have to spoil everything? 22:30.940 --> 22:32.940 There was nothing to do but go. 22:32.940 --> 22:36.940 I crept down the stairs in the darkness. 22:36.940 --> 22:39.940 I knew what Edward G. Robinson would have done. 22:39.940 --> 22:44.940 He would have gone down and captured the burglar without the slightest trouble and turned him over to the police. 22:44.940 --> 22:46.940 After giving him the beating he deserved. 22:46.940 --> 22:51.940 But somehow I didn't feel much like Edward G. Robinson just then. 22:51.940 --> 22:56.940 It was at that moment that the terrible thought occurred to me that maybe it wasn't the burglar. 22:56.940 --> 22:58.940 Maybe this was Edward G. Robinson. 22:58.940 --> 23:00.940 I had no time to pursue the thought further. 23:00.940 --> 23:01.940 Let him have it! 23:01.940 --> 23:06.940 Suddenly, suddenly there was a barrage of shots and a confused yelling of voices. 23:06.940 --> 23:09.940 In my terror I suppose I must have squeezed the trigger of my own gun. 23:09.940 --> 23:12.940 Because it began jumping and thrusting in my hand. 23:12.940 --> 23:17.940 I tripped on something and the next thing I knew I was tumbling headlong down the stairs and that was the last I remember. 23:25.940 --> 23:30.940 When I woke up Ada was holding my head in her arms and she was crying. 23:30.940 --> 23:34.940 They made me stay in bed for a couple of days but I really didn't mind. 23:34.940 --> 23:39.940 There were reporters to see me and take my picture for the paper and all kinds of people. 23:39.940 --> 23:42.940 Even Mr. Ryan and Mr. Pemberton came to see me. 23:42.940 --> 23:46.940 Ada? Well Ada was simply a changed person. 23:46.940 --> 23:48.940 Nothing was too good for me. 23:48.940 --> 23:51.940 My slightest wish was literally her command. 23:51.940 --> 23:58.940 If the whole thing hadn't been an accident, if I'd planned it that way, it couldn't have turned out better. 23:58.940 --> 24:05.940 And then, then was the final climax that afternoon when the phone rang by my bed. 24:06.940 --> 24:09.940 Yes? Oh yes! 24:09.940 --> 24:13.940 Eddie? You did, you did, huh? 24:13.940 --> 24:16.940 Oh nothing, nothing really. 24:16.940 --> 24:19.940 Yes? Oh. 24:19.940 --> 24:24.940 Well, about that, things have changed. 24:24.940 --> 24:27.940 Oh yes, they have changed quite a lot. 24:27.940 --> 24:31.940 I don't think we'll have to go through with it. 24:31.940 --> 24:33.940 Yeah, that's right. 24:33.940 --> 24:36.940 Oh sure, sure, she's right here. Just a minute. 24:36.940 --> 24:38.940 Eddie wants to talk to you, Ada. 24:38.940 --> 24:39.940 Eddie? 24:39.940 --> 24:42.940 Yeah, Eddie Robinson. Quite a pal of mine. 24:42.940 --> 24:44.940 You mean Edward G. Robinson? 24:44.940 --> 24:50.940 Oh yes, he, we had quite a little chat that night. He was in town after I let you. He got pretty chummy. 24:50.940 --> 24:51.940 Here, go on. 24:51.940 --> 24:55.940 Hello? Oh yes. 24:55.940 --> 25:00.940 Oh yes, Mr. Robinson. Oh I know he is. 25:00.940 --> 25:04.940 Oh I certainly will, Mr. Robinson. 25:04.940 --> 25:08.940 Yes, yes, I know I'm very lucky. 25:08.940 --> 25:13.940 All right, Mr. Robinson. Goodbye. 25:13.940 --> 25:17.940 Oh Homer, he knew all about it. He'd seen it in the papers. 25:17.940 --> 25:18.940 Yeah, so he said. 25:18.940 --> 25:24.940 And he said you were a hero. A real hero. Bigger than any movie hero that ever was. 25:24.940 --> 25:25.940 He did, huh? 25:25.940 --> 25:26.940 Oh Homer. 25:26.940 --> 25:32.940 Well, if Eddie Robinson says I'm a hero, I guess maybe I am. 25:32.940 --> 25:40.940 MUSIC 25:40.940 --> 25:43.940 Couldn't have turned out better, Eddie. You know how grateful I am. 25:43.940 --> 25:49.940 I'm a regular little Caesar around town now and my married life is all I've ever wanted to be. 25:49.940 --> 25:52.940 Of course, there are some things about the whole thing that confuse me a little. 25:52.940 --> 25:58.940 It has even occurred to me, I'll confess that you might have had more of a hand in it that was generally known, 25:58.940 --> 26:01.940 and that the gun you sent me might have contained blanks. 26:01.940 --> 26:07.940 I believe you called them because in spite of all the shooting, there wasn't one bullet hole anywhere in the house. 26:07.940 --> 26:10.940 And the gun had disappeared, which confused the police somewhat too. 26:10.940 --> 26:14.940 And the burglars might have been some of your boys playing a little joke. 26:14.940 --> 26:19.940 But I don't think you would do a thing like that to a pal, Eddie. Would you? 26:19.940 --> 26:26.940 I don't even think you would use the statement that you asked me to send you to hold over my head as a guarantee that I wouldn't try to kill Eddie again. 26:26.940 --> 26:28.940 Now, not that I ever would. 26:28.940 --> 26:33.940 Yes, but even if you did all that, Eddie, I don't really mind. 26:33.940 --> 26:38.940 Because as you might say yourself, what's a little joke between pals? 26:38.940 --> 26:46.940 MUSIC 26:46.940 --> 26:53.940 Thank you, Edward G. Robinson, for a splendid performance. Mr. Robinson will return in just a moment. 26:53.940 --> 26:57.940 My, that was a wonderful performance, wasn't it, Hap? 26:57.940 --> 27:01.940 Sure was. Oh, say, Billy, how are the hiccups? 27:01.940 --> 27:05.940 Oh, God, Dad, I think I lost them during Mr. Martin's last Auto Light commercial. 27:05.940 --> 27:14.940 Yeah, that's fine. Well, I guess it's time to... Oh, my gosh. Now, I've got them. Mary, turn up Frank Martin again, quick. 27:14.940 --> 27:23.940 Auto Light Original Factory Parts and Auto Light Service Stations work as a team to help you maintain carefree, economical performance for your car. 27:23.940 --> 27:35.940 So, friends, when your car's electrical system needs attention, drive into your nearest Auto Light Service Station or the dealer who sells your make of car and ask for Original Factory Parts and Auto Light Service. 27:35.940 --> 27:42.940 Money can't buy better electrical equipment than Auto Light. And remember, Auto Light means spark plug. 27:42.940 --> 27:52.940 Ignition engineered spark plug. Auto Light means batteries. Stay full, batteries. Auto Light means ignition system. The lifeline of your car. 27:58.940 --> 28:01.940 And now here again is Mr. Edward G. Robinson. 28:01.940 --> 28:09.940 It's been fun appearing in our suspense story tonight, but just so nobody gets the wrong idea, it was only a story. I'm not really so doubtful. 28:09.940 --> 28:20.940 Only get this. I'm telling you, see, you better listen to suspense next week, see, because Ray Milan will be hearing the story called Night Trial by William L. Stewart. 28:20.940 --> 28:25.940 Another gripping study in... Suspense. 28:27.940 --> 28:32.940 Edward G. Robinson may soon be seen in the Paramount production, Night Has a Thousand Eyes. 28:32.940 --> 28:39.940 Tonight's suspense play was written by Leslie Raditz with music composed by Lucian Morawick and conducted by Lud Gluskin. 28:39.940 --> 28:42.940 The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Leeder. 28:42.940 --> 28:50.940 In the coming weeks, Suspense will present such stars as William Powell, Lucille Ball, John Garfield, Sydney Greenstreet and many others. 28:50.940 --> 28:55.940 Make it a point to listen each Thursday to Suspense, Radio's outstanding theater of thrills. 28:55.940 --> 29:02.940 And next Thursday, same time, hear Ray Milan in Night Cry. 29:07.940 --> 29:16.940 This is the Auto Light Suspense Show. Drive as if your life depends on it. It does. Good night. Switch to Auto Light. 29:16.940 --> 29:26.940 This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.