And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Tonight, the story of the terrifying escape of a dying man.
It's called Odd Man Out.
So now, starring Ben Wright as Johnny, here is tonight's Suspense play, Odd Man Out.
There are four of us on the raid.
Murphy, Nolan, Pat outside waiting with the car, and myself.
So there's no need to be frightened, Johnny.
It's been all planned months ago.
Slow down.
Safe will be open.
It always is.
3.30.
The wages clerk will be picking up the money.
There's the office at the end of the hall.
Slow down.
Murphy looks frightened.
I don't like the smell of this place.
Here we go, boys.
This is the one.
This is the office.
Take out the gun.
You, you, you two over there.
Get to the wall and turn your face towards me.
Shut up and do as you're told.
They're safe, Nolan.
It's open, it is.
What did you expect?
Hurry, man.
Hurry.
It's all in.
Come on, then.
Come on, Johnny, come on.
Johnny.
Come on, come on.
Johnny, look out behind you.
He's got a gun.
Run, Johnny.
Stop.
I'm hurt.
Johnny, hurry.
Hurry, get to the car.
Hurry.
Hurry, get to the car.
Hurry.
I'm hurt.
He is hurt.
Drag him in.
Come on, Johnny.
Get in.
Come on, Johnny.
Come on, get in, boy.
Come on, Johnny.
Get in.
Hold him on the running board.
Go on, Pat.
Go on.
I will, I will.
I can't get in.
Pull onto me, boys.
I'm hurt.
Pull onto him.
He's slipping.
Oh.
This is a hard bed.
And I'm woken from a dream I've had.
No.
Something has happened to me.
There was the car, and Pat, and Murphy, and Nolan, and Alan.
Ah.
I've got to get away.
I've got to catch up with them.
Wait for me, boys.
Wait.
And it hurts.
Oh, it hurts.
Just a little bit.
Oh, it hurts. Oh, it hurts.
Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, you all right?
He's dead. No, no, no, he's not.
We'll have to carry him.
Listen to that man. There's no time. We can't leave him.
Johnny, oh, look at his poor arm.
Oh, we'll never make it.
Pat! Back it up, Pat! Bring the car!
Go on, would you leave me to go on?
No, no, Johnny. There's no time.
They'll all be out looking for us. We can't get away.
Would you leave me? Would you put me down?
Run, Nolan. Go back to headquarters with Pat.
No, no. He'll be the end of you.
We'll get through somehow.
No, no. Why doesn't Pat back up?
You do as I say. I'm done for. Will you get out of it?
Oh, Johnny, no, no.
And the chief! That's an order now.
All right.
Hold on to me, Johnny.
There's a shelter across the road.
You heard what I said, Murphy.
And the devil with you. I'm staying.
And the whistles and the bells all around.
It's a dream.
Because I'm crossing the road with Murphy
and there's people standing, watching us.
And I'm wounded. It's not a dream because of the pain.
I killed a man. That's how it was.
And he wounded me.
Oh, it's all up with me now.
The police are coming and it's all up with me.
And Murphy.
Here's the shelter. All right.
Inside, Johnny.
Hurry.
It's dark in here.
I'm hurt.
Yes, it's dark.
Let's forget it now. Rest.
We got the money, didn't we?
Aye, aye, aye. We got it.
Nolan Pat will have it safe.
Now, let's have a look at that arm.
I can't feel it, but it hurts, my.
I know, I know.
It'll be all right. We'll have it all right.
I'm finished. That's all up with me.
Dennis will be next in command. You hear me?
Dennis? Hello, you?
Johnny. Johnny.
Johnny. Wake up, man.
Johnny. Johnny, boy.
Johnny. Wake up, Johnny.
I can hear you, Murphy, but you'll have to come closer.
Johnny.
Oh, I'd like to lay me down for a long sleep.
Johnny. Tired.
Tired.
Now.
Wake up, Johnny. Wake up.
Now, there's work to be done.
Work for Ireland.
Fight.
Johnny. Johnny, can you hear me?
Oh, Johnny.
I was so worried, so I was.
You'll have to go without me.
I won't.
That pain is killing me, Murphy.
I couldn't make it.
You'll have the whole police out.
There was killing. It's me or the organization.
We'll need help, maybe, but we'll get you out.
It'll be a waste. We haven't enough men. We haven't enough guns.
Can you hold on, Johnny?
Can you hold on if I go to Dennis and get some of the boys?
Don't do it.
I'll find a Dr. Johnny. I'll bring him here.
No. No.
Have they lurked in the shelters?
No, the people said they ran off to the east.
Do you trust those for witnesses?
Don't be daft. Come on.
Johnny, get back here behind the crate.
Quick.
Swatch on the torch.
Right.
Now, over there.
They wouldn't have come in here.
It's the cordon we'll be finding them when it starts to close in.
Johnny Murtaugh's the one with wounded.
He's the one we want.
Keep your eyes peeled, man.
It'll mean a promotion this night if we get him.
No.
Johnny, Johnny.
I'm sorry, Johnny. I'm sorry. Now listen to me.
Are you listening, Johnny?
You keep yourself here. You'll be safe now. They've searched.
Don't move.
Something went wrong, Murphy. We had it planned.
I know. I know, Johnny.
But it doesn't matter now. Will you listen, man?
The organization will have to lay low for a bit.
You know, we'll pass the word things will quiet down.
All right, all right, all right.
But first we've got to think of you.
I'm going to get out and bring help.
I'll do it, Johnny.
We'll get you away, Johnny, but you mustn't move from here.
What happened to Pat?
No, I'll be away.
I told you, Johnny. I told you they were all right.
What's that?
Over there. Maybe someone got in the back.
They dropped me gun at the mayor.
Shh.
It's a rat, Murphy. Get it off me, Murphy.
I can't stand rats. I hate them.
There's more of them. They'll come back after you're gone.
No, no, no, Johnny. Now easy, man. Easy. Here.
Here.
You can beat them off with this stick.
Now do you hear me, Johnny?
You stay where you are. I'm going now.
Stay where you are.
You'll be all right in no time at all.
What am I doing here in this place?
What...
What is happening to me?
I've never had such a nightmare before.
I've got to get out of this.
Oh, it's dark.
Oh, I am finished now.
That thing is killing me.
I'm finished.
Johnny boy.
Johnny motor.
It's me. It's Shel.
Are you hurt bad?
Why don't you answer me?
I've always been your friend, Johnny.
Remember? Shel?
Get out.
Leave me be.
Man, the police is looking for you so they are.
There's killing tonight.
How did you get through the patrols?
He's got to get out of my pub.
Oh, can't you see the look of him, Mr. Fancy?
The police will be here.
They're everywhere tonight.
What has Johnny motor found in here?
It ruined me.
So he wandered and he did.
You can't help that.
Think of it, Mr. Fancy.
He's a prize creature.
Worth thousands.
You'd sell him?
Shel, he's wounded.
The organization would get you for it so they would.
They might and they might not.
Who's to know?
You're a foul little rat.
Am I not?
Which one of us will go to the police?
Will it be you, Mr. Fancy?
Or will it be me?
You are listening to Odd Man Out.
Tonight's presentation in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Tomorrow night, hear Casey, crime photographer,
at work on his latest exciting case on CBS Radio.
Casey's resolution to treat his girl Friday, Anne Williams,
to a gay New Year's Eve comes a cropper,
when a note from a copper, a dead man's message,
throws a big wrench into the works.
It's Casey's last and most exciting for 54.
Casey rings out the old with gunshots on crime photographer.
Tomorrow night on most of these stations.
And now we bring back to our Hollywood sound stage, Ben Wright,
starring in tonight's production of Odd Man Out.
A tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.
There is noise.
And there is voices.
The pain hurts my eyes and my body.
I heard some talk. It was talk of police.
And I heard them that close to me, or they might have been in the same room.
But I couldn't see.
With the pain.
It won't be me who'll see the police lift him tonight.
Oh, then, Mr. Fancy.
Nor you, nor you.
I want no trouble, but I'll not turn him in.
The police is out with Tommy guns and all.
It's a big sweep.
Sooner or later, they'll get him.
But I won't do it, nor you.
Stay with him, and I'll get whiskey.
Oh, for goodness sake.
What's to become of you, Johnny boy?
You're not long for the joys of life, I'm thinking.
And alive, you're worth me fortune.
Shell? Shell?
Hi, Johnny.
Johnny, I'm your friend. It's your friend Shell.
What can I do for you, poor man?
I was supposed to stay where I was.
They're coming back for me.
Murphy's brand.
Donis, Pye, Nolan, Seamus.
I was to be where Murphy left me.
Heaven preserve us, the whole organization.
Altogether, it'll be worth it.
Where, Johnny? Where were you to be?
Where's the place, man?
I got to get back.
They'll be looking.
It's rough, dear help us, you're in a desperate state.
You can't walk the streets, you can't.
Listen to me, Johnny, listen.
I'll take you. You need someone.
You couldn't move in the city alone.
I'll take you. I'm telling you straight.
Do you hear me, Johnny?
Come on, Johnny, let me help you.
God's a-getting hot.
Yes, I'll take you.
That's it. Rest on me, Johnny.
We'll find him.
Oh, Mr. Fancy.
Careful, Johnny. We'll go the back way out.
Where do you want to shell?
Sure, I'm helping is all.
He has to meet his friends to save him.
We're going out the back. Put your head out, Mr. Fancy.
Seat the coasters clear and get a pint.
He'll need it.
Why am I cold again?
The wind.
I don't want to walk anymore.
Shell.
Shell it is, but no one trusts shell.
What am I doing with shell? Where has it taken me?
You turn me in, you dirty...
No, Johnny, no.
I want to help, not shell.
Oh, dear, help us.
Here.
Now, get a hold of this.
Take a good pull. It'll give you strength.
That's enough.
You've had enough.
Now, come on. Now, close to the walls, man.
Keep out of the light.
Where are we going?
Sure, and you were going to tell me as soon as you could remember.
Murphy's coming back.
That's right.
Dennis and the rest...
Where? Where will they be?
The shelter.
The air raid shelter.
Back there. Oh, we're going the wrong way.
Come on, Johnny, boy, we'll go back.
Shell off, yeah.
Johnny, Johnny, come on. We can't rest here in the middle of the street.
There's police all about. They'll see you sure, Johnny.
I got a gun.
What happened to my gun?
Johnny, oh, there's people coming.
Now, we're done for. You hear me, Johnny?
I didn't give you up. You hear me?
I tried.
Murphy, Murphy, it's Michelle.
I was trying to save the poor man, taking him to the shelter.
He'd wandered in his delirium he had.
Johnny, Johnny, it's Agnes.
You'll be all right now. Dennis is bringing the car around.
We have found him. Listen, they're all around.
We haven't a chance.
Agnes, down the alley. Take him along. We'll hold him off.
Yes. Put your arm over my shoulder, Johnny.
Dear, help us.
It's the police. All there in the street.
Hurry, hurry. Take them down the alley.
Quickly, Johnny, quickly.
Hurry, we'll all be killed. We'll take him to my place.
Where is he? Not too far.
No, no, Agnes. I've got a gun.
They won't lift us.
Oh, he's killing me.
No, don't go on back. Would you give me the gun, Agnes?
He wouldn't do any good. There's too many of them.
There has been killing.
I killed a man.
A man killed me.
And I'm alone now.
And I'm alone now. And it's a bitter wilderness.
Why am I running?
Oh, it's cold, sweetie.
But why am I running?
I will not run.
I will not!
Shh, Johnny.
You can't keep him quiet if he wakes him up in the tenement.
We're done for, for sure.
We're almost there, Johnny.
Then we'll get a doctor.
You must be quiet when we go upstairs to Shell's.
I am quiet. I haven't said a word. What happened to the boys?
Oh, it's all right.
Make any noise.
The old woman downstairs will give us away in a second if she knows.
Where's Nolan, Murphy?
Johnny, darling, no. You must be quiet.
I can't walk anymore. I want to rest.
Oh, my. He'll have the whole place.
A few more steps, you can do it.
Sure you can, Johnny.
I'll open the door.
Agnes.
In a minute. In a minute.
We pulled it off. We got away with it.
I know.
Inside with him, for dear sake, quickly.
There's a bed, Johnny.
Now you can rest.
His arm. His poor arm.
It's the blood that's gone out of him.
That's what it is.
He shouldn't be alive.
Maybe this will stop the blood.
Turn over. Help me, Shell.
There. Can you get a doctor, Shell?
I don't know.
I don't know what I've done this night.
I should have turned him in. I'd be rich.
I'll probably lose him in life.
I'll see what I can do.
Keep him quiet. Don't let him make a sound.
He couldn't be here.
He's an informer.
The organization will have to take care of him one of these days.
The city's too dangerous.
Agni.
We'll go to the country.
And then, when it's quiet,
we'll start again.
Yes, Johnny, yes.
But you mustn't try to talk now.
You mustn't.
Why...
Why did you come to look for me?
You should have stayed at headquarters.
I wanted to.
I'll let you do it, Dennis. No, I would not.
I had to.
I feel better.
Good. Now lie quietly.
I feel better.
It's night, isn't it?
Yes. We're safe here.
Where is it? Shell's place.
No, no.
You must be mad. He'll inform.
No, he's gone to find a doctor.
To find a police? No, he helped me bring you here.
You can't trust him. It's all right.
It is. Lie back now.
I'm sorry.
Don't talk.
No, I...
I'm sorry because I was afraid.
I've been afraid tonight.
No.
Oh. I not know.
You've never been afraid of anything.
From the first day I saw you,
even before that,
when I heard about you,
I knew you were not afraid.
Will you...
give me a kiss?
I...
I love you.
I never had time for that.
The organization...
I love you.
The organization has had you.
Let them leave you to me now.
No. No, no, no.
You're a woman. You wouldn't understand.
It's my life.
If they're coming, they must have recognized me on the street
or someone informed.
I ran, but they're moving down the street.
We get out the back way then. No, no, no.
It's a cordon. You can't. Not with him that way.
He's the one that's informed. He's the one.
No, Johnny. No, I swear it.
No. Run while you can, Shell.
No, but you'll be... Go on.
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Johnny. Sure I did my best.
Agnes, will you come with the gun? Shoot him.
He's the one. Informer! Informer!
No, it's all right.
You let him go.
Yes.
And you hold the gun.
Your hand.
We'll shoot him.
Lie quiet.
It will be all right.
They won't take us. They won't.
I love you, Johnny.
I love you.
Then this is how it might have been.
Agnes.
The scent of her.
Her mouth.
Soft.
What about the fight?
And what about the fight?
They can't beat us and they won't.
They won't.
Open the door! Police!
Why don't you give me the gun? Give me the gun.
No. No.
I'm the chief. Now will you give me the gun?
Johnny, no. Give it to me!
Agnes!
I...
Agnes.
I'm very nervous. I love you.
Suspense.
In which Ben Wright starred as Johnny
in F.L. Green's Odd Man Out.
Next week, the story of the terror and death
aboard a seagoing tug in the North Atlantic.
That's next week on...
Suspense.
Suspense is produced and directed by
John F.L. Green.
He's a great actor.
Suspense is produced and directed by
Anthony Ellis, who wrote tonight's adaptation.
The music was composed by
Lucian Morrowick and conducted by Wilbur Hatch.
Featured in the cast were
Betty Harford, Joseph Kearns,
Charles Davis, Richard Peele, Dick Ryan,
Tom McKee, and
Ray Lawrence.
America listens most to
the CBS Radio Network.