Suspense.
Tonight, Auto Light and its 96,000 dealers present Ms. Dorothy Maguire in Last Confession,
a suspense play produced and edited by William Spear.
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And here's a reminder, suspense on television may be seen in many parts of the country
every Tuesday night.
And now with Last Confession and with the performance of Dorothy Maguire, Auto Light
hopes once again to keep you in suspense.
Isn't that horrible, Edna?
Let's see.
Gee, is that the way they found him?
Yeah, that's the way they found him.
Oh, he was knifed.
All twisted up like that.
Lying there in the mud.
Oh, who do you suppose is guilty?
They didn't even find the knife.
They'll never find out who did it.
Oh, sure they will.
No, they won't.
Oh, Jesse, put that paper down.
Every time something awful happens, you have to read all about it down to the last detail.
No, I don't, Edna.
Yes, you do.
What can you see so fascinating in horrible things that make such a bad impression on
you?
Remember when we went to see Johnny Belinda in the movies?
You could hardly talk for a week.
That imagination of yours.
Oh, look.
It says here they found a lady's glove.
Black.
Size five.
Hey, that's my size.
Well, see, it could be anybody's size.
Five is my size, too.
Just think how many people could have done it.
They'll find out.
Somebody's conscience that will begin bothering them and then you'll see.
A person that would do a thing like that wouldn't have a conscience.
Besides, maybe he deserved it.
How do you know?
Everybody has a conscience.
They'll get whoever it was.
Don't you worry.
I wonder who did it.
I wonder who it could have been.
It's funny how murders affect me.
reading about them in the papers or listening to the radio.
When someone's killed, I always feel like I did it.
Still, how can one person kill another person?
How can he? Human flesh and blood.
And then, not to confess it, how can he stand that guilt?
Could I ever kill someone?
You wouldn't think so.
You wouldn't think I'd be the sort of...
Well, then, nobody is ever the sort of person to be a killer
until he's killed someone.
I don't know.
Every time something like this murder comes up,
I keep thinking maybe...
Maybe I did it.
Maybe when I was asleep or something, I got up and did it.
Edna.
Hmm?
What day was he killed?
What day?
Yeah, what day?
Tuesday.
I think it was. It says here, someplace.
Wait a second.
Oh, during the woods, four miles from the city limits.
No, no, it isn't.
Yeah, yeah, here it is.
Police believe Howard was killed sometime between 5 and 7 p.m.
on Tuesday, July 12th.
Tuesday, July 12th.
How can they estimate that closely?
Oh, they can, all right.
Oh, is that his picture?
Yeah, here. Here, you take it.
Thomas L. Howard of Los Angeles, who was found dead,
in Woodland Grove here last...
No, tonight.
Poor Tommy.
Tommy, did you know him?
I went out with him once.
Hey, did you turn off the heat?
Huh?
Did you turn off the heat, Jesse?
The house seems awfully warm.
Yeah.
Oh, no, no, I didn't turn the heat off.
It's roasting in here.
Imagine turning on the heat anyway
during the summer months in Los Angeles.
Well, it was chilly in here this morning.
Hey, Edna.
I can hear you. Keep talking.
Look at him.
At who?
At this picture of Howard, the man who was killed.
What about him?
Let's see.
Yeah, so what? What about him?
He's just like him.
Who?
Remember Henry Hackers, the boy I used to go with,
the one on Morella Avenue,
the dark-haired one with the funny kind of eyes?
You mean the one who...
Yeah?
Oh, sure.
But Tommy didn't look anything like Henry.
You're crazy. Look at that hairline,
and the cleft and the chin.
Oh, for Pete's sake.
Well, now, don't tell me you don't see any resemblance.
It's just like Henry Hackers.
Well, a little, maybe, but...
Gee whiz, Jesse.
You've got the darnedest imagination.
Henry Hackers.
He sure wasn't what you'd call good-looking.
Had a cute smile, though.
And sort of funny little way
he'd brush his hair out of his eyes.
And then he'd walk with one shoulder
just a little higher than the other.
Henry Hackers.
You're such a nice boy.
Although, I never thought he'd want to get serious.
A man can make you feel so guilty if you don't love him.
Just because he loves you, he thinks,
oh, and that awful thing he said the last time.
When was that?
But, Jesse, I...
I can't help it. It's just the way I feel about you.
But at least let me call you.
You might change your mind.
I won't change my mind, Henry.
But you can't do it, Jesse.
We had something, you and me.
We made such a swell couple.
I had wonderful plans for it, Jesse.
Well, Henry, I can't help it.
But the way I feel is just the way I feel.
It's been getting too serious lately.
You know what I mean?
And when a slight flirtation grows out of hand,
things can happen that'll only make people
awfully unhappy when things don't work out.
Slight flirtation?
Well, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry.
But I thought it was a little more than a slight flirtation.
The nights I laid awake thinking about it.
Oh, don't get so...
Well, I want you to know this, Jesse.
I just want you to know it and remember it
as long as you live.
You've done something to me that's beyond repair.
And if something should happen to me,
and believe me, it very well might,
I just want you to know you're responsible.
Henry!
What a horrible thing to say.
It's like...
It's like a curse.
Now, if you want, I'll drive you home.
Responsible.
Telling me I'd be responsible.
Ah, poor Henry.
I should have talked to him again after that.
He kept calling.
But I felt so guilty.
Wouldn't it be funny if instead of this Tommy fellow here,
it was Henry that got killed?
Between 5 and 7 o'clock on Tuesday, July 12th.
Tuesday, July 12th.
Let's see.
Tuesday, July 12th.
I came from work at 4,
and I told Ed and I was going out and I wouldn't be back.
Now, where was I going?
Gosh!
My memory.
Where was I going?
What's the matter with me?
Where was I between 5 and 7 on Tuesday, July 12th?
Of course, that wasn't so long ago.
I should remember that.
I remember later that night.
I remember at 11, I was in bed because Wednesday,
I had to be down to work an hour early to get out those new invoice forms.
Hey, you know, if they hauled me down to the police station right now
and began asking me where were you on Tuesday, July 12th,
between 5 and 7 p.m., I wouldn't have a thing to say.
Edna?
Have you read a little after yet?
Edna, listen, put down that paper.
Yeah?
Look, now don't laugh, will you?
At what?
At what I'm going to say.
What I'm going to ask you.
Go ahead, I won't laugh.
Do you remember where you were on Tuesday, July 12th,
between 5 and 7 p.m.?
Why?
Do you remember?
Well, let's see.
Sure, July 12th.
Sure, I went shopping over at Rockins and then I ate dinner
and then met Carl Maffaletti and we went to a movie.
Gee, that's funny.
What?
Well, you remember so easy.
Oh, well, I know it was Tuesday because Tuesday was the day
they had the sale at Rockins.
That's why I went shopping that day.
I can't remember at all.
What do you mean?
Do you remember what I did between 5 and 7?
I was gone all day, honey.
I just explained that.
Well, it's funny, but I can't remember a thing during those two hours.
Well...
Well, I must have done something.
I just didn't die between 5 and 7 on Tuesday, July 12th.
Oh, forget it, Jesse.
I'm going out on the fire escape and take the sun.
If the phone rings, get it, will you?
Sure.
I haven't talked to him for such a long time.
I'm going to call him.
It's the least I can do after all the times he called me and
I didn't even answer the phone.
Hello?
Mrs. Hackers?
Yes, who is this?
This is Jesse Larkin, Mrs. Hackers.
Yes.
Is Henry there?
Henry?
Yes, is he there?
If this is your idea of a joke, Jesse, it's in terribly bad taste.
A joke?
I'm not joking.
I'd like to talk to him.
I know how you feel about the way I treated him, Mrs. Hackers, but really...
I don't know what's the matter with you, Jesse.
I don't know whether you're crazy or what.
You know that Henry is dead.
Dead?
Henry Hackers, dead.
How could I forget a thing like that?
It's simple forgetting your coat in a restaurant or
your purse in a movie, but forgetting the boy you used to date.
The boy you refused to marry just a few days ago.
Forgetting he's dead.
What just doesn't happen?
Henry dead.
How?
I'm responsible, just like he said.
Like a curse.
Just like I took a knife out of the kitchen drawer and deliberately
plunged it into his heart.
Yeah.
But could I?
Could I murder?
Actually murder?
With a knife?
Kill?
Black glove.
Size five.
Was found at the scene of the crime.
Only one.
Just one black glove in the drawer.
Oh, Jesse.
Oh.
What'd I wear on Tuesday?
Oh, there'd be tears in the dress from the twigs.
And mud, baby.
From when I dragged them.
No.
Oh, everything's all right.
Oh.
My blue dress.
The seam on the sleeve and the hem and the mud on the skirt.
I did it.
There lies poor Henry.
Henry face down in the mud in the woods.
And I did it.
I did it.
Auto Light is bringing you Miss Dorothy McGuire in Last Confession,
the night's production in Radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
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And now, Auto Light brings back to our Hollywood sound stage
Dorothy McGuire in Last Confession.
A tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
This is where the paper said I left him.
I don't really remember the place, not really.
It's like being someplace you think you've been before and you're not sure.
I've got to find out. I've got to know.
Gosh.
I wonder why I picked a place like this. All these bushes.
Hmm, might be snakes and all sorts of dangerous things.
Stand where you are.
What?
Okay, you don't move.
Just stay right where you are.
Lieutenant Fleming.
Oh.
Hello, Lieutenant.
What are you doing here?
Oh, just, just curious really.
You know, I read about it in the papers.
What's your name?
I'm just curious, that's all.
What's your name?
Jesse.
Jesse Larkin.
Okay, Jesse.
Run along.
You ought to know better than to hang around a place like this,
especially so late at night.
Well, it was the glove size.
The black glove.
I, I, I know a girl that wears that size.
You think so?
Yeah.
Have you found the murder weapon yet?
Not yet.
That's pretty essential to find, isn't it?
I mean to prove somebody's guilt.
Yeah.
Sometimes they save us all the trouble, though.
Come in and confess.
Oh.
Say, it's terrible, isn't it?
A nice young man like that.
Yeah.
Well, there you are.
You still don't know who did it.
No, we've got it pretty well narrowed down to one of his girlfriends.
Oh.
Hey, you run along now.
I wouldn't worry too much about the Tommy Howard killing if I were you, Jesse.
Howard killing?
Oh.
No, I won't.
Howard.
He called him Howard.
Why?
Why would that lieutenant call him Howard?
I've got to buy a paper and found out if they know that it really was Henry Hackers.
But then Mrs. Hackers told me and...
I'm so mixed up.
I'm, I'm forgetting so many things.
Henry's last name was Hackers.
Henry Hack...
No.
Henry Howard.
Henry...
Howard.
Yes, that was it.
I remember when Edna showed me the paper.
That's what it said.
Henry Howard.
His girlfriends, the officer said.
Henry didn't go out with very many girls.
Let's see, there was Fran Gilbert.
I know he took her out a couple of times.
And Barbara.
Barbara, what was her name?
Oh, I've got to see them.
I've got to see whether they've got alibis.
If none of them did it, then it must have been me.
Well, I've got to be clever about it.
Not let them know what I'm after.
I'll say, real casual.
By the way, Fran.
What were you doing between 5 and 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12th?
Well, it's been a nice chat, honey.
I still don't know who you are or what you're doing here, but it's been real nice.
Well, I told you, I heard you were an actress and I've always wanted to be one.
Oh, come on, leave us on up.
You hear about Henry, what's his name?
Henry.
Yes.
Something about his estate?
Well, he left me nothing but the memory of two miserable evenings over some warm beer.
No, nothing like that.
I was just sort of wondering what you were doing between 5 and 7 on Tuesday, July 12th.
Between what and what on when?
5 and 7 on Tuesday, July 12th.
Wait a minute.
Are you a cop gal or something?
That was the time the paper said that Howard was killed.
Howard?
Look, blue eyes talking in circles makes me dizzy.
You're either crazy or a cop or a digger with an angle.
Whichever it is, I'm surprisingly uninterested. Scoot.
Well, all right.
If you're sure you know what you were doing.
Just to ease your mind, my lady, I was swabbing decks on the USS New Mexico with a vacuum cleaner
and the Navy will back me up. Satisfied?
Well, thank you. Goodbye.
It was nice meeting you.
Oh, no.
She's got an alibi. She didn't do it. She couldn't have.
She didn't even remember Henry's last name.
I don't quite understand, Miss Larkin.
I'm from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Los Angeles Police Department, Miss Keely.
What do you want?
I'm a policewoman, you understand?
Yes.
I'm interested in a Henry...
Hackers? Yes.
Yes. You knew he was found four miles from the city limits in the woods?
Henry? Henry Hackers is dead, but...
Were you talking about the Howard case?
I don't know a thing about that.
Where were you and what were you doing between the hours of five and seven on Tuesday, July 12th?
I don't see any reason for answering any of your questions.
Do you have a warrant?
Well, I thought it best to make this an informal visit.
I thought perhaps I wouldn't need to go into any legalities.
We can make this very simple without a lot of complications.
Now, what were you doing between five and seven on July 12th?
I think you'd better talk to my lawyer, Miss Larkin.
I'm answering no questions without his permission. Good day.
Very well. Goodbye.
I'll be seeing you again.
Goodbye.
Just remember, we have your name on file.
All of them have alibis. I knew they would, really.
And that leaves only me. I must have done it.
Henry was right. I am responsible for his death.
I deserve what I'll get. I'll deserve it when they sentence me.
And the judge and no one to stand by me.
No one in the world but Edna.
Edna, I'll tell her everything.
She'll understand how it is.
Jesse, say, where have you been? Where did you go?
I've been so worried.
I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything.
I've got to trust you, Edna. You're the only one in the world I can trust.
Well? Well, you know the murder in the papers.
Yeah, what about it?
It was me.
What? Yes, it was me.
You're out of your head.
No, I wish I was, Edna. Honest, I wish I was.
You ought to see a doctor, kid. Honest, I mean it.
No, we were out there together in a car.
I remember it so clearly. And he started getting fresh.
But I mean fresh. And I slapped him.
Well, I had this knife with me. I don't remember where I got it.
But I had it in my purse. And I stabbed him.
And I stabbed him. And I stabbed him.
And then I realized what I'd done. And I was terribly sorry, Edna.
Oh, I was awfully sorry. But I had to get rid of him.
So I dragged the body to the woods, inside, away from the highway.
And I left him there. And I took the knife.
But I forgot one of my gloves.
Jesse. Jesse, we've been roommates for three years, honey.
I would have sworn you couldn't have dreamed of anything like this.
Do you honestly believe it?
I always had a violent temper. You know that, Edna.
Not to kill.
Well, I did. And now the only thing is I can't find the knife.
Where would I have put it, Edna?
Look, Jesse. Jesse, you stay here.
Will you promise to stay here until I come back?
I can't, Edna. I've got to confess.
I couldn't live with a thing like that on my conscience.
Promise me. Please, Jesse, promise.
You're not to leave the house.
Well, all right.
If you say so.
See what kind of a person I am?
I couldn't even keep a simple promise to my best friend.
I had to go.
Maybe after I confess, this terrible headache will go away.
There it is. The police station.
Well, I certainly will deserve what I get.
I hope they give me the maximum penalty prescribed by law.
Yes? Oh, hello.
Are you in charge here?
Almost. What can I do for you?
I'd like to confess to the Howard murder, who was the victim.
I'm sorry.
I'd like to confess to the Howard murder. Who do I see?
Hello, Jesse. May I talk to you?
Certainly, Lieutenant. Sit down.
Thank you.
Jesse, I...
Well, your case is solved, isn't it?
Yes.
You don't seem to feel too good about it.
I don't. I don't, Jesse.
Did you find the knife?
Yes.
Jesse, we have a couple of visitors for you.
I think after you've seen them, you'll feel much better.
That's what our doctor thinks.
Visitors who?
Mrs. Hackers, will you come in, please?
Mrs. Hackers.
Oh, don't hate me too much, Mrs. Hackers.
You're going to be released, Jesse.
The police can take no action on your case, and not at the present time.
Mrs. Hackers here read about your confessions in the papers.
She called us and told us you couldn't have killed Howard.
Oh, Jesse, my poor child.
Why did you call him, Mrs. Hackers?
When you knew I deserved it, when you knew I killed him, your only son.
Tell him the truth, Mrs. Hackers.
You didn't kill Henry, Jesse.
Between 5 and 7 on July 12th...
Jesse, don't you remember where you were?
I was... I was...
No, I can't think. I can't remember.
Now think, Jesse. Try to remember.
Between 5 and 7 on July 12th.
If you remember, everything will be straightened out in your mind.
I can't.
The flowers, dear. You were crying.
You cried when I put down the flowers.
The flowers.
You cried, Jesse. Don't you remember?
The flowers. The funeral.
I... I cried when you put the flowers down.
That's right, dear.
The doctor says maybe you felt guilty inside or something because he was dead.
But you're going to be all right.
Yes, Jesse.
Apparently you just blotted those two hours out of your mind.
Doctors sometimes it happens that way, some of us.
Your mind just blots out a thing that's too painful to remember.
Yes, but then... I dressed in the gloves.
Oh, no, I must have somehow. I must have.
Just a minute, Jesse. Please.
All right. Come in, please.
Oh, hello, Jesse.
Edna, I'm so glad you came.
Jesse, you promised me you wouldn't leave the house.
Edna, I couldn't have done it. I couldn't have.
Mrs. Hacker said I was with her at Henry's funeral between 5 and 7 on July 12th.
The only thing I can't figure out is my missing glove and my blue dress.
Jesse, I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid to, but...
That day on July 12th, I borrowed your blue dress and your gloves.
You borrowed them?
I had a date.
I knew you'd be wearing your black dress to the funeral, so I...
Oh, Jesse, I kept quiet when it looked as though nobody else was going to be blamed for it, but...
Edna, I don't believe it.
It's true, Jesse.
If it hadn't been for you, I'd never have told anybody.
I didn't know that all these days you've been convincing yourself that you...
Edna, Edna.
When I went out, when I told you not to leave the house, I went and got the knife.
I buried it in a vacant lot.
And I brought it to the police.
Poor Edna.
All that guilt.
But I want you to know, Jesse, that Tom Howard was no good.
And if anybody ever deserved...
Can I please go now?
Yes.
How do you feel now, Jesse?
What?
How do you feel?
Poor Edna.
She was your roommate, wasn't she, Jesse?
Not just a roommate, Mrs. Hackers.
She was my best friend.
Come on, dear.
I'll take you home.
Mrs. Hackers.
Yes, dear?
How did Henry die?
Of pneumonia.
He died very badly.
Of pneumonia. He died very peacefully.
Oh.
I'm sorry.
I'm very sorry for all the trouble I caused.
I'm very sorry.
Suspense presented by Auto Light.
Tonight's star, Dorothy McGuire, in Last Confession.
Notice the day is getting shorter, Harlow.
Did you say shorter?
Don't use that word around here.
We're only interested in things that last longer,
like Auto Light Resistor Spark Plugs,
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Next Thursday for Suspense, John Lund will be our star.
The play is called Experiment 6R, and it is, as we say...
A tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense!
Tonight's Suspense play was produced and edited by William Spear
and directed by Norman MacDonald.
Music for Suspense is composed by Lucian Morrowek
and conducted by Lud Bluskin.
Last Confession was a radio play by David Ellis.
Dorothy McGuire will soon be seen in the 20th Century Fox picture, Oh Doctor.
In the coming weeks, you will hear such stars as Charles Lawton,
June Havoc, Van Johnson, and Betty Davis.
Oh, and don't forget, next Thursday same time, Auto Light will present
Suspense, starring John Lund.
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