Now, Auto Light and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present...
Suspense!
Tonight, Auto Light brings you Pat O'Brien in Dead Ernest, one of the most famous of
suspense plays, produced and directed by Antonim Leader.
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And now, Auto Light presents Pat O'Brien in a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Accident report to Police Inspector Blandon from Lieutenant S. Healy.
Place 15th Street and 4th Avenue.
Time 2.45 p.m. March 11th.
Remarks.
Ernest Powers, age 34, was crossing the intersection as the signal light changed from green to
red.
A car driven by a Theodore Toby made a legal right turn from 15th Street into 4th Avenue.
Hey, he hit him!
There wasn't much.
Wow, look at those tile marks.
Hey, the guy's out cold.
He's bleeding.
All right, clear the way.
Come on, guys, come here.
Come on now.
We're through here.
All right, stand back.
Now, let's have a look.
Is he hurt bad?
I didn't see him.
Honest, I didn't.
I had the right of way.
Yeah, he's passed out.
One of you people call for an ambulance.
Yeah, yeah, you there.
Okay, move back, move back.
Look, look, he's bleeding.
He's bleeding.
Here, I'll prop up his head.
Yeah, here, use his jacket.
Here, I'll hold him.
Golly, he's limp.
He feels just like he's dead.
Yes, Ernest Powers felt like he was dead.
Ernest Powers suffered from catalepsy, a strange disease.
He carried at all times a note in his inside jacket pocket stating that he was a cataleptic
and that in the event of a seeming death, his wife should immediately be notified or
his doctor in the event his wife is unavailable.
A letter also requested that no autopsy or embalming should be performed on his body
for 72 hours, although in his particular case, the duration of the attacks were usually four
hours or less.
Ernest Powers also wore a sterling silver bracelet with an inscription reading, do not
embalm me, I am not dead.
Catalepsy is a disease of the nerves and mind.
The physical conditions of the cataleptic when he is under a spell closely resemble
death in all aspects, including the primary stages of rigor mortis.
Officer Abbott was on the scene of the accident.
He administered aid to the injured man before making out his report.
There, that ought to stop the bleeding.
Looks like just a cut on his forehead when he hit the ground, nothing much.
Oh, what's your name?
Toby, Theodore Toby, here, here's my license.
Hey, hey, hey, hey you kids!
What did those kids do?
They picked up something off the street.
Huh?
Oh, oh, here it comes, I hope he's all right.
Oh, it doesn't look like he's breathing.
Oh my gosh, he ain't.
I told you to get back, come on now, he's back, all of you.
What's the matter?
Have you ever seen an accident?
Come on, get up.
Oh, I'm glad you're here, Doc, he's out cold.
Okay.
Huh, I'll say he's out cold.
Let's get him away.
He's dead.
Well, anyhow, it didn't happen in our wagon.
Okay, we'll take him away.
All right, keep him back, will you, officer?
Yeah, keep back, clear out, come on, the show's over.
That's the third one today.
Yeah, there.
Hey, uh.
Well, let's go.
Whose coat was that he was laying on?
Huh?
Did you pick it up?
No.
Hey, officer.
Yeah?
Where's the coat?
Huh?
Well, but, gosh, it's gone.
Okay, never mind.
Let's go, Payne.
Ernest Bowers had lost the identification of his condition.
The letter was in the inside pocket of his jacket.
The silver chain he wore on his left wrist had snapped and fallen onto the pavement.
Two youngsters picked up the chain.
Robert Monelli, age nine and one half.
Tommy Stoner, eight.
Let's go around the back to your father's shop, Bob.
Boy, true, there's a nice chain.
Hey, there's writing on it.
Maybe it's a guy's name.
Does he hurt bad?
Nah, just a little bump.
What's it say?
Just a second, we'll be out of the alley.
Yeah, Pop's gone home to eat.
What's it say?
Wait a second, will ya?
It says, do not imbomb, do not something me.
I am not dead.
It's screwy.
What'll we do with it?
Sell it, Dobie.
We can buy some baseballs and stuff.
Yeah, but when we try to sell it, they'll ask us where we got it.
What'll we tell them?
Nothin'.
Use your head.
You know what we'll do?
What?
We'll use Pop's Walgreens torch.
We'll melt it down.
Well, he told us not to use it.
Pop ain't here, is he?
No.
Well, come on.
There it is.
Yeah, here, put it on that brick.
Okay?
Yeah.
Be careful.
Hey, what are your kids doin'?
Oh, hello, Pop.
Nothin', Mr. Minnelli.
We ain't doin' nothin'.
Nothin', huh?
I thought I told you kids not to go near that torch.
We wanna melt this down.
Yeah, gimme that.
Now, what's this all about?
We found this chain, Papa, and we wanna melt it down and sell it.
Whose is it?
We don't know.
Do we, Tommy?
No.
No, we don't.
There's nothin' wrong, Pop.
We just found it.
See, it's ours.
Do not...
embalm me.
I am not dead.
What's that?
It's screwy.
Where did you find it?
In the street.
Honest, Papa, ask Tommy.
All right, go on, get outta here.
How about meltin' it down, Pop?
We can sell it and buy some baseballs.
All right, keep back.
They melted it and took it to a gold and silver dealer.
They sold the melted chain for a dollar thirty.
One dollar and thirty cents, but the coat...
the coat was the principal thing.
In the coat in the inside pocket was the letter.
The information about Ernest Bauer's condition was in that letter.
The instructions that could save his life.
The coat was picked up from the street by Honest Jerry Murdoch.
There's a big sign to the corner of 15th Street.
It says, Honest Jerry Murdoch, swap shop.
He brought the coat into his store, rummaged around in his shelves...
until he found some cleaning fluid...
and then started to clean the blood stain.
Looking for a sport jacket?
Just a moment.
Okay.
Conservative.
Will you come over here, please?
Yeah, something on that order.
Pick out what you want.
How much you want to spend?
About five bucks.
These cost more.
How much?
From eight to twelve.
They don't look so hot for eight bucks.
From eight to twelve.
Say, wait a minute, wait a minute.
I'm just putting a new one in stock over here by the counter.
Yeah, it looks all right. What size is it?
I don't know. Here, try it on.
Okay.
Yeah, feels all right.
Kind of stiff in front here, though.
That's because it's almost new. You'll break it in.
Feels like cardboard or something.
You want it? Five dollars.
Okay.
There might still be a couple of stains on it.
I ain't had time to take out.
Use some cleaner on it. It'll bring it to the tailors.
It'll be better than new.
Yeah. Here's the five.
Ernest Bowers was brought to the receiving room of the Vedder General Hospital.
And various routine tests were made.
The time, four ten.
If Bowers were going to awaken, it would probably be six forty-five.
Dr. Weldon made out his report.
He wrote it down while he was standing near the telephone switchboard.
Yes?
This is the Vedder General Hospital.
Is there anybody by the name of Bowers at home?
Bowers? B-O-W-E-R-S?
No. Nobody home.
Is Mr. Bowers married?
I hope so. If he ain't, he's been living in sin.
Where can I reach her? There's been an accident.
I don't know. She's out.
Will you tell her to call the Vedder General Hospital?
Yeah. What happened?
Mr. Bowers is dead.
Can't reach her, huh?
No.
I'd like to do an autopsy.
Yeah. What'll I tell the wife when she calls?
If it's pretty soon, I'll talk to her.
We've still got those tests to go through. Then I'm off.
If it's more than an hour, he'll probably be on the way to the morgue.
At that moment, it was then four twenty-two in the afternoon.
At that moment, if anyone had been in receiving room B of Vedder General Hospital,
where the body of Ernest Bowers lay on the patient carriage,
they would have seen a fly crawl slowly across the face of the dead man,
and they would have seen his nose twitch.
For suspense, Auto Light is bringing you Pat O'Brien
in Radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Tuesday was the first day of spring, and I got a-coded by Ed.
Well, Hap, you should get outdoors. You need a change.
The way you're dressed, you're not going to be able to get out of bed.
I'm not going to be able to get out of bed.
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Remember, folks, you're always right with Auto Light.
And now, Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood sound stage
Pat O'Brien as Lieutenant Healy in Dead Ernest,
a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
Accident report continued.
Henry Prince had within his power the opportunity to save the life of Ernest Bowers.
He had purchased the code in which was the letter that could save him.
When he left the second-hand store, he stopped to have a chat with some friends,
made some purchases at the grocery store and started home.
The time, a few minutes after five.
He lived about two blocks in the scene of the accident.
His wife was waiting for him.
Well, how do you like it for five bucks?
Yeah, yeah, it looks all right.
Now, what's that, a spot?
Where?
Yeah, take it off for a second.
I wonder what it is.
Oh, I said there was a couple of spots.
Cleaner will take them out.
You know, it looks like...
Hey, what's this in the pocket?
I don't know.
To whom it may concern, please open and read.
My foot must have felt stiff.
This note is carried on my person wherever I go.
It is to advise responsible parties that I am a cataleptic,
that if it appears as though I am dead, I am not.
What's that?
And that my body is not to be molested for a period of 72 hours,
neither by autopsy nor by embalming,
although the maximum periods of my attacks usually do not exceed four hours.
Please telephone my wife.
Mrs. Margaret Bowers at Fulton 7, 7837.
This is a boarding house, address 841 and a half, West 25th Street.
If she's not there, please try Axminster 43422.
This is the number of Dr. Benton.
It's of vital importance. It may mean my life.
Thank you, Ernest Bowers.
It's a funny one.
Where'd you get the coat, Henry?
Honest, Jerry Murdoch's.
Wonder what we can do.
Nothing. It's probably been forgotten already.
Somebody sold him the coat and forgot to take the letter out.
It doesn't sound like something a guy would forget.
The devil with it.
Might be important.
Look at that, Henry. Those spots, they look like blood.
Too dark.
That's the color blood turns.
I'm going to telephone that number.
Go ahead. I think you're wasting your time.
7, 8...
Hello?
I'd like to talk to Mrs. Bowers.
She ain't in.
How do you know? You didn't even call...
I know. She went out.
And you ain't the first to call her.
Who else wanted to get in touch with her?
Somebody. I don't know who.
Well, thank you.
You see, you're wasting your time.
I have the strangest feeling, Henry.
You must be a terrible position to be in,
to have everybody think you're dead when you ain't.
You're helpless about it.
Go ahead. I can see I'm not going to win this time either.
I'm busy.
How about some dinner?
It's cooking. I just can't get out of my head.
That guy, whoever he is, lying there and people thinking he's dead when he ain't.
Maybe doing things to him. What's him bombing?
They do that at the morgue.
It's preparing his body for burial.
I think they take all the blood out of his veins.
That would kill him if he wasn't already dead.
Couldn't kill him no deader.
Henry, I'm going to find out about that code.
Where's this place you bought it?
Now, wait a minute, Frances. I put in a good day's work. I'm tired.
I don't want to run around the city looking for something I don't even know about.
Well, then I'll go myself.
Well, how about me at home here while you go out?
I want to eat. I'm hungry.
Look, dinner won't be ready for another 15 minutes anyway.
Now, look, where's the place?
Oh, all right. I'll go with you.
Well, he ain't here. He locked up.
What's the sign say? Ten minutes?
Yeah, but those guys put up signs like that if they're going away for an hour.
Well, we'll wait a few minutes.
Oh, come on, Frances.
Look, you wait here. I'm going in the cigar store to telephone.
Once you make up your mind to something, nothing can change it.
Unless it's an invitation to a poker game.
Very, very funny. Look, you wait here.
I'll wait here.
Five, six, seven, eight.
Hello?
Is Mrs. Bowers in?
No.
Mr. Bowers?
No. He's dead.
He is?
That's what they tell me.
Well, wait a minute. Oh, darn.
Seven, eight, seven, eight.
Hello?
Look, I just spoke to you. Will you please...
You're bothering me, lady. I got a meal set up on the table.
I can't be answering a million questions.
But all I want to know is when Mr. Bowers died.
How do I know? Ask Mrs. Bowers. She'll be home soon.
Thanks.
Eight, four, three, four.
Oh, darn. Who was that doctor's line busy?
Well?
No luck. Same as before.
Mr. Bowers is dead. I found that out.
See? I told you.
What about the letter, then? What if he ain't dead?
What if they only think he's dead?
What do you want to do? Wait here all night?
No, but we ought to wait a little while.
Maybe we can find out where he lives.
You going traipsing around the whole city?
I have to.
Well, without me, then?
Do as you please.
I'll be home. I'm hungry.
If you think more of a crazy letter than you do of feeding your husband,
then that's all.
What do you mean, that's all?
Just what I said. That's all.
You know, the trouble with you is you don't have no imagination.
No, I'm just a home-loving guy. That's all.
I don't go sticking my nose where it don't belong.
Well, go on home, then. I'll find out about this.
Now, women.
A different turn of speech. Another question.
If the boarding house woman were more cooperative,
if she knew the facts of the case
or took an interest in the death of Ernest Bowers,
if, if, if...
At the hospital, meanwhile, events were pursuing their normal course.
Couldn't reach anybody, huh?
No, doctor. I tried just a few minutes ago.
That boarding house woman snapped my head off.
Well, we're finished with the test.
I sure wish we could do that autopsy.
Maybe later, after he's gone to the morgue.
Want me to try again?
No. Get me the orderly room.
Okay. Use that one there.
Oh, Payne?
Yeah?
There's Dr. Weldon.
There's a delivery for you to go to the morgue.
Now?
Yeah.
I ain't have nothing to eat since I...
Yeah, since lunch. Go on now, Payne.
It's down in the receiving room.
The papers are down there, too.
Why can't it wait a few minutes?
It's gotta go now. They want to start embalming so they can go home.
How about sending one of the other boys?
I don't care, just as long as it gets there.
Okay.
Want me to keep trying to reach his home?
No, the rush is off. Anytime, though.
He's going to the morgue.
Tell you what, you can wait till his wife calls here.
She should be home pretty soon, I guess.
I'll be here all evening. I want to talk to her.
All right, doctor.
I'll be right across.
Oh, dear.
Oh, Mr. Murdock.
Oh, I'm glad you came back.
Come in.
What can I do for you?
You sold my husband a jacket, a sport jacket this afternoon.
Did I? What kind?
Yeah, a light blue one. It had a few stains on it.
Sorry, can't take back anything once it's sold.
Oh, no, no, no. I don't want to give it back.
You don't even know which one you're talking about.
Look, it must have been a few hours ago. Blue with thin red boxes.
Oh, that one. What about it?
Where'd you get it?
What do you want to know for?
Because there was a letter in it. An important letter.
I don't know. How can I remember where I got it?
Long ago. Was it long ago?
I don't see where it's any of your business where I got it.
It may be important. I've been trying to reach the numbers.
The doctor's number's always busy, and his wife, she isn't even home yet.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Now, please, I'm busy. I got lots to do here.
But you got to tell me. Just look. Look, tell me one thing.
Did you have the jacket in there a long time?
Well...
Look, please, it's very important.
Well, no. No, I just got it in this afternoon.
Oh. Where'd you get it?
You said one question. You asked it, and I answered it. That's all.
There was blood on it.
That I can't help. Now, if you'll excuse me.
No, now, look, you must tell me.
I don't have to tell nobody nothing.
Look, I may be all wrong. I'm probably just crazy about this.
Look, but if that man's alive and they didn't do anything to him, I'll never get over it.
I'll never be able to live with myself again.
Crazy, you said. It all sounds crazy to me.
Listen, there was a letter in the inside pocket of that jacket.
It said that Ernest Bowers was a cataleptic.
What's that? He goes into fits?
Oh, no, no, no. Cataleptic.
You know, somebody looks like he's dead at times, and he isn't.
He goes into a spell and looks as though he's dead.
Sometimes, you know, they take dead bodies to the morgue and they am-bomb them.
That means they take all the blood out of their veins.
Now, this fellow Bowers, he's a cataleptic.
I don't know whether he's dead or alive, or even if he's worrying about this letter,
but I just got to find out.
Well, I...
There was...
What?
There was an accident before.
Where? Who was in it?
I don't know. Believe me, lady, I didn't know anything about all this.
You...
You think that this guy who was taken away in an ambulance
could be one of them cataleptics?
That coat. Was it his?
Yeah, lady, yeah. But it was left there on the street.
They drove away and left it.
Who?
The ambulance.
What ambulance?
I don't know. It was on the corner.
The cop was there. He told somebody to call an ambulance.
He came and took away the man.
A cop? I saw a cop outside while I was waiting for you.
Is that the same cop?
Yeah. Yeah, look, lady, you got to protect me.
I ain't done anything wrong.
I didn't know anything like this would happen.
I would never take a coat if I...
Officer! Officer!
Ernest Bowers lay on a slab in the morgue.
If he were alive,
probabilities were that he would regain consciousness before 6.45.
And the two embalmers on duty at the time had decided to get a bite to eat.
When the phone rang, Anthony answered.
Well, we're going out to eat.
Yeah, I know another one just came in. We got it here.
Yeah, well, what's the rush?
No, no, we just want to get a cup of coffee and then we'll get on it.
Look, is it our fault if it comes in just when we want to have a co...
Right?
We can go home after?
Well, that puts a different complexion on it. Yeah.
Okay, yeah.
What time is it, Al?
6.30.
The doc says if we embalm this one now, we can go home.
Well, let's start in then. I'm hungry.
Okay.
I'll start the motor.
Young guy, ain't he?
Yeah.
I was speaking to the wife about that yesterday.
Get the inject out, honey. Yeah.
And she was saying more and more people die, older and older.
Yeah.
It looks like we can open through the neck.
Yeah.
Give me a piece of that goose.
No.
I says to her she should be around this place at once.
I said, why? We get them all aged.
You want me to do it?
No, no, no. You get the injector ready.
Do it.
Hey, look at him.
Yeah.
You never think that such a little thing like his heart stop speeding
could make him dead and not alive.
Hold it steady, will you?
Yeah.
Ready?
Just a second.
Okay.
All right.
Here we go.
What's the matter?
My glasses.
They're clouding up.
Well, take them off.
No, no, no.
I'll just clean them.
What did the wife say to that?
Huh?
Oh, oh, about all ages?
Yeah.
She didn't have nothing to say.
Only that most of the guys we deal with probably come to a violent end.
Yeah, well, there's something in there.
Okay.
Got them cleaned.
All right.
Here we go.
What's the matter?
They're steamed up again.
Every time I bend over near...
I wonder...
What?
It must be my imagination.
What?
I could have sworn this guy was breathing on my glasses.
Well, is he?
How could he?
Well, come on, let's go.
It's a quarter to seven already.
Yeah, yeah.
All right.
Yeah, I'll get the phone.
Well, let's get this started first.
Okay.
We'll just...
Out.
What?
I...
What?
What's the matter with you?
I thought I saw the guy's hand twitch.
Don't be stupid.
Well, it gave me a scare.
Well, let's wait a second.
I'll get the phone.
Well, it'll probably be another job, and we'll never get out of here.
Let it ring.
Yeah, but the docs said we could go home after if...
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I'll get the phone.
All right, come on, come on.
Let's get this thing over with.
Well...
Okay.
Give me the knife again.
I'll...
Tony?
Yeah?
Look.
Look here.
I'm bent over like this.
I ain't gonna move.
I'm gonna move.
I'm gonna move over like this.
I ain't gonna move.
My glasses are full of steam again.
Holy...
Is he...
Is he alive?
Look at me.
I'm shaking all over.
Look at him, Al.
Look at his lips.
Listen.
I...
Shut off that motor!
I'm shaking all over.
Apparently, the life of Ernest Bowers was worth $1.30 for a silver bracelet to the boys
who ran away with it, and $5 for a bloodstained jacket to honest Jerry Murdock.
Their petty thefts brought a man to the brink of death.
Oh, there's just one more episode, which perhaps doesn't belong in an accident report, which
I'd like to include.
After regaining full consciousness, Ernest Bowers put in a telephone call from the morgue.
Hello?
Hello.
Mrs. Bollie, is Mrs. Bowers in?
I don't know.
I'll see.
Josie, see if Mrs. Bowers is home.
Who is it?
Well, this is Mrs. Bowers.
Mrs. Bowers?
What?
This is Mrs. Bowers.
Who?
Mr. Bowers?
They told me you was dead.
The hospital called and said...
I know, Mrs. Bollie, but they... they made a mistake.
Oh.
Well, here she is.
Hello, Ernest.
Where are you?
Well, darling, it's quite a long story.
You see...
Never mind.
You get right home here.
Dinner's getting ice cold.
Thank you, Pat O'Brien, for a great suspense show.
Now here is Harlow Wilcox.
I still got my coat in my head, Harlow.
Well, Hap, why don't you swap it for something useful?
I'd like to.
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Now here again is Mr. Pat O'Brien.
It's been a pleasure for me to join this fine cast in bringing you another suspense play.
I'm a suspense fan of longstanding and I'm just as anxious as I know you'll be to hear
next week's broadcast when Edward G. Robinson returns in a story called, You Can't Die Twice.
Another gripping study in suspense.
Pat O'Brien may currently be seen in the RKO picture, The Boy with Green Hair.
Tonight's suspense play was written by Celie Glester and Merwin Gerard with music composed
by Lucian Morawek and conducted by Lud Gluskin.
The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Lieder.
Next Thursday same time, here Edward G. Robinson in You Can't Die Twice.
You can buy auto-light electrical parts, auto-light resistor spark plugs, auto-light staple batteries
at your neighborhood auto-light dealers.
Switch to auto-light.
Good night.
Here's great news.
Suspense on television may be seen in many parts of the country every Tuesday night.
This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.