Auto Light and its 98,000 dealers bring you Mr. Frank Lovejoy in tonight's presentation
of Suspense.
Tonight Auto Light presents the story about a man who committed a murder and got away
with it for quite a while.
Frank Defender, our star Mr. Frank Lovejoy.
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an Auto Light Stayful, the battery that needs water only three times a year in normal car
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And remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light.
And now, Auto Light presents Public Defender, starring Mr. Frank Lovejoy, hoping once again
to keep you in suspense.
The newspapers say it was a matter of conscience.
Well, they're wrong, dead wrong.
It wasn't conscience or anything like that.
It was just the way he looked and talked.
Conscience?
Huh, I don't have one.
I don't think you do either.
It was a swell morning and they were having a swell parade.
The whole town was out watching it.
I was there too, I didn't want to miss anything.
I was standing on the north side of 6th Street off of Curtis, right by the alley.
I'd already spotted this lady in the fur coat.
She was about five feet from me, sort of standing on her toes, trying to look over everybody's
head.
I looked around to make sure she was alone before I came up in back of her.
What?
Easy now.
But, just a minute, that's my purse.
You weren't supposed to notice, lady, but now that you have, this is a life.
Don't make a move.
Don't make one single little move or I'll shove it right in your back.
I said not to move.
I put one arm around her and held her up until the Drummond Bugle Corps passed.
No one noticed when I let her slip to the ground.
Then I just turned around and walked away.
The papers called it the Armistice Day killing.
It said her name was Tyler and that her husband did something for the county.
Their pictures were all over the front page.
That night I caught myself a bus for St. Louis and stayed there about a month.
It's a pretty good town.
I got back here in time for Christmas and no one bothered me up until a few days ago.
Who is it?
It's Mrs. Weaver.
Oh.
What time is it?
Eight o'clock.
There are two men downstairs who want to talk to you.
They're from the police department.
Policeman?
Yes, policeman.
I told them you were sleeping and could they come back later or could you call them?
They said they wanted to talk to you right now.
You in any trouble?
I don't know.
I hope not.
Tell them I'll be right down, Mrs. Weaver.
Well, all right, Mr. Penn.
They must have made a mistake or something.
Oh, yeah, sure.
Are you Philip James Penn?
Yes.
Police.
I'm Sergeant Quinn.
Sergeant Lacey.
All right.
I was just looking around for my robe.
I was coming right down.
Isn't that a robe over there on the chair?
Oh?
No.
For golly, it is.
What's this all about?
What do you want to see me for?
Oh, just checking a few things, Penn.
Sorry to get you up like this.
Well, that's OK.
I want to get up early today anyhow.
I usually sleep on Sundays if I can, but I had some extra work to do today.
Oh, where are you working these days, Penn?
I'm not working at all.
I'm going to school eight hours a day.
Where?
Commercial Electrical College.
How long have you been doing that?
Since last January.
I enrolled on the 15th.
Why?
How do you live?
I'd saved a little money.
I worked here and there.
Oh, where are you from?
Milwaukee.
How long have you been in town?
About a part of a year, I guess.
Say, I...
How old are you?
31.
Married?
No.
Ever been in trouble?
No, sir.
Ever been arrested?
No, sir.
How about back in Milwaukee?
I've never been in any kind of trouble.
Never been arrested.
No, sir.
Do you know Walter Kalaman?
Walter Kalaman?
Now, that name sounds familiar in a way.
I can't place it at the moment, though.
Oh, he places you pretty well.
Says you worked for him once at his place over on 17th...
17th and Glenon.
Kalaman, huh?
I worked for him?
17th?
When was this?
Can't you remember who you worked for?
Well, I told you, I haven't worked regular for a long time.
I've had lots of jobs here and there around town.
You had this one around last Christmas, Penn.
From the 18th of December through the 5th of January.
Oh, yes, the Ace Habitashary.
Oh, sure, sure.
I clerked there.
You can't expect me to remember a man's name just like that when it's so far back.
Sure, I remember Mr. Kalaman now.
What about him?
Mr. Kalaman's store was burglarized last night, Penn.
Somebody got away with $400 or so.
Well, I'll be darned.
Mr. Kalaman closed his store at 6 o'clock last night.
About 10 o'clock, he was out riding with his wife and he says he saw you standing in front
of the place.
And Mrs. Kalaman saw you, too.
Yeah?
Well, how about it, Penn, you're a big, tall fella, fairly easy to pick out.
The Kalamans recognized you.
Oh, I think they made a mistake, Sergeant.
Were you around that store at any time last night?
No, sir, I sure wasn't.
Not anywhere near it.
I was right here in this room in bed last night.
Can you prove that?
I don't know, I haven't tried.
Mr. Kalaman said that you had a key to the store when you worked for him.
Do you still have that key?
I gave it back to Mr. Kalaman when he let me go.
He says you didn't give it back.
Well, then he's mistaken.
I gave him back his key.
Whoever got in there last night had a key, Penn.
How about putting some clothes on and coming downtown with us?
Do I have to go?
Yeah.
Well, I had a lot of things I wanted to do today.
I've got some studying I want to finish.
Don't you believe me?
Let's go, Phil.
I was afraid to go with him.
I didn't want to have anything to do with cops.
They asked too many questions, and if I answered too many of them, they were bound to find
out something about other things.
It was a little rougher than I expected when we got downtown.
Besides Kalaman and his wife, the guy in the filling station across the street identified
me.
Old Lady Weaver wouldn't back up my story about my being home sleeping.
And then they went out and looked over my room and found the key to Kalaman's store in my
coat pocket.
I don't know how it got there.
And everybody remembered I'd been wearing that coat the night before.
A little while later, a man named Hale, who said he was from the district attorney's office,
got me alone in a room and had me go over the whole thing.
I thought he was pretty well convinced for a while.
You know, you're in a pretty tough spot here.
Oh, I know.
I know that.
Your legal entry and burglary, you could get up to seven years.
Well, I don't want no seven years, sir.
I haven't done anything.
Then there's something else you should know.
What?
Mr. Kalaman kept his money hidden in one of the boxes on a shelf downstairs in the store.
Somebody who had worked there had to take it.
Well, why don't they ask somebody else who's worked there?
It's just a small place.
He only opened it a few months ago.
You're the only help he's ever hired.
Then you're the only one who could possibly have knowledge of where that money was hidden.
Then do you want to make a statement?
No, sir, I didn't take it.
I wasn't around that store.
Okay, Penn, that's all.
They booked me in and I was arraigned.
A couple of days later, they had a hearing.
Everybody came in and told their little story.
Philip James Penn, you have heard the charges of which you stand accused.
It is my duty to inform you that it has been determined that a public offense has been
committed.
This is not a trial, court.
You will have ample opportunity to produce witnesses and defend yourself at the proper
time and place.
Are you represented?
No, no, your honor, I don't have a lawyer.
You have any means whereby you can procure counsel?
I'm broke, your honor.
Nobody to help me out.
I don't have any money.
The clerk see that office of the public defender is notified.
I hereby commit the accused to the custody of the sheriff of this county pending the
action of the grand jury.
Adjourned.
Yeah, it was kind of rough out all right.
They had it about all fixed up against me and I saw myself doing a nice little seven
years for a burglary I hadn't committed.
Then this fellow from the public defender's office showed up.
When I saw him coming toward my cell with a turnkey there was something familiar about
his face and yet I didn't know him.
Hot today, huh?
Sure is, Jim.
Yeah, county jail's no place to be on a hot day.
Any day I guess, Jim.
Yeah.
Now here we go.
Penn, this is Mr. Tyler.
He wants to talk to you.
Did you say Tyler?
Yeah.
My mind was going a mile a minute but I couldn't think of anything to say.
So I just stood there and looked at the guy who was going to handle me in court.
I recognized him.
His picture had been in the paper with a story about her.
I'd killed his wife.
Hello Phil.
I'm here to help you.
Autolite is bringing you Mr. Frank Lovejoy in Public Defender, tonight's presentation
in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Well hello.
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Ah, you know it, Hap.
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Just phone Western Union by number and ask for operator 25.
Now quickly tell you the location of your nearest Autolite battery dealer.
Where you can get an Autolite stay full battery.
And now, Autolite brings back to our Hollywood sound stage Mr. Frank Lovejoy in Elliot Lewis's
production of Public Defender, a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
I'll be right down the hall Mr. Tyler.
All right Jim.
Just call when you need me.
Aye Jim.
Well now, as the fellow says, it was a pretty good trip but now I have to pay for it.
Like a smoke?
Thanks.
Aye.
Oh, no need to look like that.
Here you are.
Thanks.
At your hearing, you told the court that you weren't represented by counsel Phil, that's
why I came here.
I'd like to handle your case for you.
I don't have any money.
If you're in trouble, you have a right to legal counsel whether you have any money or
not.
We have a law that says that Phil.
You don't have to have any money with me, my fee's on the county.
Do you understand that?
I guess I do.
Well good.
Sit down Phil.
Sure hot huh?
Yeah.
Well now, how about telling me the whole thing?
Didn't you read the charges?
Oh yes, but I want to hear what you have to say about them.
How do I know you're not from the district attorney's office here trying to tie me up
somewhere?
No I'm not Phil, I'm on your side.
I'm representing you.
Well you work for the county, same as a district attorney.
We work pretty hard keeping people out of jail too.
I'd like you to be very frank with me and tell me everything that happened.
Well nothing happened.
All right.
Where were you Saturday night son?
Phil, Mrs. Weaver told me that you were out until midnight or better.
She heard you come in.
Phil, were you around Mr. Calliman's store?
No.
Where were you son?
I just walking and thinking that's all.
Alone?
Yeah.
Tell me what you were thinking about.
Hmm?
What was on your mind?
Were you worried about something?
Oh no, I just was thinking about a lot of things, what I was going to do.
Tell me what you mean.
Oh, just about finishing my course in electrical work and maybe getting a good job someplace
and settling down, getting married.
A lot of young fellows go around thinking just about the same things.
Ever been married?
No.
You have a girl?
No.
Do you go to church?
Sometimes, not very often.
Why did you tell the officers you were home sleeping Phil?
Well I was scared I guess.
What?
Are you afraid of policemen Phil?
I guess so.
Oh, why Phil?
I don't know.
Well now while you were out walking did you stop in any place like for a drink or something?
No.
Did you see anybody you knew, somebody who might be able to identify?
No, no I just took a good long walk.
What time did you leave the bowling house?
Right after dinner, maybe 7.30, quarter to 8.
Where'd you go from there?
I walked downtown to see if there were any movies I'd like to see.
There weren't any so I just kept walking around town.
It was a nice night.
It sure was.
You walked till after midnight, huh?
Phil, you had a key to that store.
You knew where Calliman hid his money.
You were seen in the vicinity of the store the night he was robbed.
Now if you rob Mr. Calliman's store I'll have to know all about it if I'm going to help you.
No sir, I did not rob that store.
Honest, I didn't.
All right sir.
I'll do my best to help you prove it.
I'll do everything I can for you.
We'll enter a not guilty plea.
Do you have plenty of cigarettes, huh?
Yeah.
Mr. Tyler, do I have a chance of getting off?
Oh, that depends on how good a defense we put up, mostly and whether or not we have all
the facts.
Well, you have no arrest and a dating this one, that's in your favor.
All I see now, you're a pretty industrious, ambitious sort of fellow.
All these things will come into account when we get into court.
We'll find it out together.
Now I have to run along now, but I'll be back tomorrow.
Meantime you just sort of relax and straighten out your thoughts.
What do you mean?
Oh, man hardly ever takes a five hour walk.
Maybe you'll have some things to tell me about when I come again.
We interrupt this program.
We have interrupted this program to bring you the latest on the prisoner of war exchange
in Korea.
Here are the latest names of American prisoners just released by the communists.
PFC Paul O. Blanton, Route 2, Broadhead, Kentucky.
From Philadelphia, Private John M. Jankiewicz Jr., 926 North 6th Street.
From Greenville, Tennessee, PFC Walter Mitchell.
From Covington, Kentucky, Sergeant Orville R. Mullen.
Private G. Morland, no home address listed.
PFC Harry Purvis, also no home address listed.
Sergeant Willie Patrick Jr., Sergeant Patrick and the next names coming up are also listed
as having no home address as of the moment.
Sergeant Willie Patrick Jr., Sergeant Albert L. Howard.
PFC Wilbert M. Waring, W-A-R-R-I-N-G. Sergeant Edward G. Anderson.
Private Louis O'Kerstgroe, that's spelled O-K-E-R-K-S-T-R-O.
Sergeant George W. Gray.
PFC Earl N. Wiseman.
Sergeant William H. White.
Sergeant White is listed as a litter patient.
Corporal Pedro A. Herrero.
PFC Joe T. Heath, also listed as a litter patient.
Those 16 names are the names of American prisoners of war released this evening by the communists
in Korea.
As later names become available, we will interrupt our scheduled programs to bring them to you.
This bulletin has come to you from CBS Radio News.
We now resume our scheduled program.
I'm telling you the truth.
Where'd you stay in St. Louis?
At the Hall Hotel.
How much rent did you pay?
I didn't pay any rent.
I stayed there with a friend of mine.
It didn't cost me a dime.
What's your friend's name?
Jack O'Brien.
Is he still there now?
Why?
Well, I want to wire him and verify this.
He's in the Army now.
What do you figure the trip cost you?
Just my bus fare, nothing more, a little spending money.
He paid for my meals, too.
Say, and a hundred dollars?
I had 93 dollars when I left.
When'd you get back?
By the middle of December.
When'd you leave?
Armistice...
Armistice Day.
Why'd you take a sudden trip on Armistice Day?
Well, I just wanted to go, leave town.
Why?
I don't know, Mr. Tyler.
You don't remember the exact day you got back, but... but you remember the day you left.
Mr. Tyler, I don't go around robbing people.
I just don't do it.
I didn't take that money from Mr. Calliman's store.
I never did any harm to anybody, Mr. Tyler.
You believe me, don't you?
Yeah, yeah, Phil.
We went to court the next day.
Hale, the district attorney's man, got up and told the jury what he was going to prove,
and Mr. Tyler got up and told them how none of it was true.
And after that, he asked the judge to keep all of the witnesses out of the room except
the one that had something to say.
The judge said that was all right.
And then the two cops who'd arrested me showed up and told about it, and then Mrs. Weaver
came in and told how I hadn't been home.
And finally, Hale called Calliman in and spent 15 minutes or so having him say I was around
the store the night it was robbed, that I had a key, and that I knew where the money
was hidden.
Well, Mr. Tyler listened to all of it, and then he took his turn.
You testified, Mr. Calliman, that the accused was in the vicinity of your store the night
the money was taken.
Yes, sir.
And you saw him while you were out driving with your wife.
Yes, sir.
Can you describe the clothing he was wearing at the time?
He had on a sport coat and a pair of gray pants and a blue shirt.
What color was the sport coat, Mr. Calliman?
Tan.
Was he wearing a hat?
No hat.
How close were you when you saw him?
I was driving in the outside lane, and he was right on the street, 20 feet away, I'd
say.
How fast was your car traveling at the time?
We were at this stop, sir.
Then you had a good look at him.
Yes, sir.
For how long a period of time?
Maybe 10 seconds, just while we stopped.
With the court's permission, I'd like to ask the witness to step over in front of the jury.
Any objections from the prosecution?
No objection, your honor.
All right, Mr. Calliman.
Right, right there will be fine.
Now Mr. Calliman, will you look at the juror sitting directly in front of you?
Yes, sir.
All right, Mr. Calliman, turn around, please.
Now tell me, Mr. Calliman, what does that man look like?
Why, he's got gray hair.
He's wearing glasses.
Can you tell me the color of his suit?
Brown, I think.
His tie?
No.
His shirt?
No.
This is the witness who, by his own statement, saw the accused for 10 seconds and positively
identified him.
The same thing happened to Calliman's wife and the filling station man.
Was all over in less than an hour.
The jury went out and came back and said that I wasn't guilty.
And finally everybody had left and I was standing there with him.
Well, son, how do you feel?
Pretty good, Mr. Tyler.
I don't know how to thank you.
Don't thank me, son.
Thank the law that protects you.
What are you going to do now?
Go back to school, I guess.
Let me hear from you now and then.
Glad to know how you're getting along.
I'll do that, Mr. Tyler.
You can go, Phil.
Yeah.
Well, so long.
So long.
Phil.
Yes, Mr. Tyler?
Do you have anything you want to tell me?
No, sir.
I sort of had the feeling that you wanted to say something, Phil.
Mr. Tyler, I'll say it once more.
I didn't rob Callum and Stor.
I know that.
You're innocent of that charge.
Well, what are you getting at?
I just wondered if there was anything else you'd like to tell me.
Phil?
No.
You know, a man might do something in his life sometime that no one else will ever know
about but him.
And he can go through life keeping it inside, not telling anybody about it.
Another man might have an idea or suspect him, but it wouldn't be right to come out
and say anything unless he had some facts.
Now, I have an idea of what the man was like who killed my wife.
Might be wrong, but I think I know exactly what he was like, Phil.
Did you know my wife?
Yes, sir.
Read about it in the papers that night on the bus?
No, sir.
Oh.
Where'd you get the money to go to St. Louis, Phil?
Did you get it from my wife's handbag?
I didn't mean to.
If I'd known she was your wife, sir, I'd...
I wish I hadn't killed her, sir.
Mr. Tyler, don't look at me like that, Mr. Tyler.
Please, please, sir, don't look at me like that.
Yes, sir.
This is Harlow Wilcock speaking for Auto Light, world's largest independent manufacturer of
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So remember, from bumper to tail light, you're always right with Auto Light.
Next week, a study in fear as we present Graham Greene's novel of cowardice, The Man Within.
Our star, Mr. Herbert Marshall.
That's next week on Suspense.
This is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis with music composed by Lucian Morawick and
conducted by Lud Duskin.
Public Defender was written for Suspense by E. Jack Newman.
In tonight's story, Joseph Kearns was heard as Tyler.
Featured in the cast were Paula Winslow, Larry Thor, Lou Krugman, Woodfield Connor, Herb Butterfield,
and Charles Calvert.
You can buy Auto Light resistor or standard type spark plugs, Auto Light electrical parts,
and Auto Light stay full batteries at your neighborhood Auto Light dealers.
Switch to Auto Light.
Good night.
This is the CBS Radio Network.