Original subtitles

Good evening.

We are broadcasting my portion of this evening's program by radio instead of

television. I seem to have lost some weight and I don't wish to mar my image.

I cannot reveal exactly how much weight. I can only say that had I lost ten more

pounds, I would have had to file a missing persons report.

For the uninitiated, I should explain that radio is simply television with the

tube burned out. In radio, sound is a rather important ingredient.

When it does not exist, it is manufactured. For example, this

cellophane stimulates the sound of a crackling fire.

This sound effect is so authentic, one can almost smell the smoke.

This evening's play tells of two nurses.

who spend one terrifying night in a large house in the country. But first,

sound and fury signifying our sponsor's product.

Thank you for everything.

You're sure you're all right? Because I can go in and get my coat and walk you

back to the clinic. I'm absolutely fine.

Good night, Mr. Crispin. Good night, Miss Little.

Frida. Who's there?

You're such a pretty nurse, Frida.

Well,

the news from overseas is filled with explosive new developments.

Here in the city, the tension continued to mount with each new dramatic turn in

the current rash of brutal killings.

Now there is another one.

And this is the third nurse murder committed in this area in the past two

The search for Nurse Freda Little, who disappeared last Thursday evening, was

ended early today with the discovery of her body here in Northside Park at 7 o

'clock this morning by a park gardener.

The victim had been dead for several days.

Miss Little was returning from an assignment where she'd been engaged for

past three days.

Newsman Al Rubin interviewed Mr. Boris Crispus, the last man to have seen Miss

Little alive.

And you had no idea when she walked out of this door you would never see her

again? Well, no.

No.

She was a real fine nurse.

My wife has been sick about a year now, and, uh, well, we've had a lot of them

through here, and she was saying just this morning that she was the best.

We were wondering why she'd never phoned.

Did Miss Little ever speak of the other two murders? The nurses that were killed

two weeks ago?

Yes, we spoke about it a little bit.

She said she knew one of them.

She was upset about it, I guess you could say.

Was there ever anything else that was strange or unusual that happened while

was here in the house?

Yes, as a matter of fact, there was. It happened the night before she left.

Oh, I pooted at the time.

You see, my wife has been...

bedridden about a year now, and she woke up one night yelling that she saw a man

standing at the window looking in at her and Miss Little.

Well, I took a flashlight and I went outside, but I couldn't see anything.

Thank you very much, Mr. Christmas.

All three murders in this neighborhood.

The police are now searching for a definite suspect, and they are certain

he is still in this area and have cautioned all residents, particularly

nurses. To be extremely careful until the killer is caught.

You are urged to speak to no strangers.

To keep your doors and windows locked.

Now let's take a look at the weather.

The official weather forecast for the next two days... He obviously finds out

where nurses are working and waits for the chance to get at him.

That's horrible.

I wouldn't go out tonight on a bet. Not for a million.

Lock every door, every window.

I'll check everything downstairs.

Fine.

I read in a book about a man who only killed trombone players. He beat them to

death with their own trombones.

You know, this is the same kind of thing, only this one just... Oh, now.

we're going to have to have some rules. We're going to have to start knocking at

the postman. Sorry.

Is everything all right?

I'm just checking that everything is locked.

The kitchen's tight as a tick.

Stella? Yes?

Stella?

What is it, Miss Haynes?

When was the last time you checked the oxygen tank?

I don't remember.

Is there another tank in the house?

No. Why?

The pressure's very low. It won't last the night.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Sam, you'll have to go into the clinic and get another tank. We must have it.

Stella, you simply can't forget things like this.

I'm sorry, Sam.

I just go to the clinic, ask for a tank of oxygen.

Yes, they know. There's a signing order there for Mr. Baker. You just sign for

it. I'll go with you.

You stay here and do your job. You've got to feed these people, Maude.

Isn't there anyone there who can bring it out?

Not this time of night.

I don't want to be left here alone. You're not alone.

Three hefty women ought to be able to give good account of themselves with

someone came scratching at the door.

Well, I'll be back as soon as I can.

Just lock up good behind me and don't let anybody in.

Did you check the cellar?

There's no light down there.

I wouldn't go down there for anything in the world.

Have you got a flashlight?

The fixture's broken down there.

Sam started a picnic the other day.

Then he left it dangling like he does everything else.

I'm right here if you need me.

wants to try to kill a couple of people with a butcher knife.

He was my father's best friend.

As far as I know, he's still locked up somewhere.

I wonder why this one just wants to kill nurses. Now, I know why my father's

best friend wanted to kill those people.

Let Gus earn his keep.

Come on, Gus.

Get him.

Why am I so terrified of such a little thing? I know better.

Turn that way about snakes.

Just show me a snake, any kind of a snake, and I'll show you how fast my

legs can carry me.

The way that they... They fight and they're brave and they...

Swallowed them whole. You know, I read in a book about a snake that swallowed a

full -grown goat.

I think I'll be going upstairs.

I'll bring your supper up in just a few minutes.

How is he? About the same.

Sam will be back as soon as we get.

Have you checked everything?

Yes, I think so. Every door, every window?

Yes. Yes.

You're hesitating.

Have you forgotten something?

No.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Stella, you have all the qualities to assure a very good success, but you must

always be on guard about a very serious handicap.

I know.

I just get excited and then I get rattled. Well, you must not get excited

rattled. It makes you forget things.

I know.

Someday you'll forget something vital.

Oh, it won't be a name or a spoon or even to check the pressure on an oxygen

tank.

Last night when I arrived, I thought it was just because you were tired.

But it's more than that.

He's waking up.

How do you feel?

Better. Crisis over?

Mm -hmm. All over.

Who is that?

This is Nurse Betty Ames.

Dr. Jones felt I was working too hard, so he sent her over last night to help

out. Oh, yes. I vaguely remember.

Oh, I do feel better.

Well, he's all yours now.

I'm going downstairs for a cup of coffee.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I was just going to knock. I was just trying to balance the tray on my knee to

knock. Is there any coffee downstairs?

Fresh pot.

I'll be in the kitchen if you need me, Stella.

How's the patient?

Coming up for air.

Can Stella tell you about the new murder?

The third nurse in two weeks. Strangled, just like the rest of them.

Chicken soup.

Poor thing. He was killed walking home from a job.

You don't like my chicken soup. I made that from scratch.

You even wrung the chicken's neck.

Sure. Ah, you're a suspicious character, Maude.

You ever watch Maude start the soup from scratch?

Oh, she's a champion neck wringer.

Now that's enough.

Oh, she lures it closer and closer, then she grabs it and twists it around.

There she stands, one hand on her hip and that look on her face and the poor

bird.

Oh, I don't want any soup.

It's going to rain.

It's really going to rain, and that road turns to mud when it rains.

It rained one day last year. Sam was in town, and he couldn't get back up the

hill for all the mud.

I'll get it.

I bet you think I can't get out of this bed. Well, you better not try.

I could, though, if I wanted to.

Hello, Mr. Baker's residence.

Yes? Oh, hello, Dr. Jones. It's Maude.

Yes, I'll call her.

Dr. Jones.

If you like, I'll sit with Mr. Baker and make sure that he eats his dinner.

Hello.

Hello, Dr. Jones.

Oh.

Are you at the clinic?

No, we have no car.

No Sames arrived in a cab.

Well, Sam's gone to the clinic to get a tank of oxygen.

Yes, of course.

Yes.

Yes, everything's locked up.

All right.

Thank you, Doctor.

There's been another murder.

When?

They've just discovered the body two miles from here.

Dr. Jones doesn't know much about it and he's on his way over to make an

examination.

He said he'd call back, but until then he said we're not to leave, not to let

anyone in.

Please think that the killer is still in the neighborhood.

I'll relieve you in an hour.

In the neighborhood.

There sure is in the neighborhood.

Well, we'll be all right as long as we keep everything locked up tight.

And we don't let anyone in.

1 ,001, 1 ,002, 1 ,003.

Three miles.

What?

From the time of the lightning flash to the clap of thunder in seconds, it's how

far away the storm is.

Three miles. I counted three seconds from the flash of lightning to the

1 ,001, 1

,002.

I'm getting closer.

Jen.

Well, I better go see if they need anything.

Yeah, it's about time I went on duty, too.

What's on top of it? The rain.

Listen.

He didn't eat enough.

Aye, he ate enough.

It's great kidney pie.

You didn't eat enough.

Stella, your dinner's on the stove.

I'll take care of him while you eat.

Well, it's time for some more oxygen.

Well, goodbye.

Goodbye.

Bye to you all.

One thousand.

This house, isn't it lovely?

Oh, it's full of charm.

There are places to hide in every corner.

On every landing.

Can't have just a simple house with simple walls to work in. Gotta have this

thing full of angles and funny turns and dark pockets.

Ooh, I'll be so glad when Sam gets home and the sun comes up. I can't even force

myself to look out the window again.

Every one of those little old trees looks like a mad old... crouched down

creeping up toward the house.

What amazes me, makes me wonder, is how all of those poor girls... Now, how did

he?

He's like a snake creeping around, following them and making his plans.

When and where and how.

You have to make plans to do something like that.

You know, I knew this man that started to act strange.

He wanted to get rid of his wife. So, he got this trunk from the attic.

It was only about so big.

Too small for her. So he got this knife and he started to cut.

I know you told me.

What is it?

There's something there.

There's something in the window.

That's only a tree limb, Mort.

A tree limb?

It's not what I saw.

Of course it is.

No, it's not.

That's not what I saw. I saw something else I did.

I saw something else.

that when you're taking care of me, I feel so good, and when the new nurse is

hovering over me, I feel really rotten.

Haven't the foggiest.

No? No.

I really do feel better, though.

You can give Miss Ames her walking papers in the morning.

Ah, well, we'll see.

I don't intend to have any kind of relapse, unless... Unless what?

Unless you say no.

To what?

To marrying me.

Oh.

If you say no, I intend to spend the rest... of my days in hypochondria. I'll

build a little house there with room for you because I'll always need a nurse.

That's not a nice place to live, you know. The climate's terrible.

Friends say yes.

I promise to get well instantly. Take your hunting tomorrow.

I don't like hunting, fishing or hiking.

I'm afraid I'm a city girl and I tire of this place awful bad.

We don't have to live here.

Don't you like my house?

I can't tell you how much I love it. sank when the doctor drove me up here

got my first look at the baker's bake.

I bought it last year. I had to have some place to hide from my students at

university. But I don't want and I don't intend to have that kind of peace and

quiet any longer.

I like the house, though.

I was hoping it was haunted.

I've never lived in a haunted house before. I was kind of looking forward to

All right.

Time to go back under the tent.

A real estate agent assured me there'd never been a murder, a suicide, or any

kind of violence within these walls.

Belonged to a family, a little old lady, finally, who died peaceably in a clinic

at the age of 95.

Too bad a hideous old house like this has no hideous pistol to go along with

Goodbye again.

Who is it?

Who's there?

What are you doing?

I heard something.

I heard something.

Stella. Miss Stella.

I heard a man talking.

What are you doing?

I'm turning on all the lights in the house. I want to be able to see.

It was Glendon you heard.

I know Mr.

Baker's voice. It wasn't him.

I know his voice.

Turn off the lights more. The darkness protects us.

Now that there's someone outside, he can see in and see that we're alone.

Don't turn on another light, Maude. I want to be able to see.

He may be hiding up there.

Didn't you hear me, Maude?

What is it?

What is it?

What happened?

He's here!

You've blown a fuse.

Why didn't you listen?

We shall return in a moment, but first we ask your local station to take it

away.

They're all blown, every single one of them.

Well, there won't be any electricity in the house tonight.

Are these all the candles, Maude?

There's a candelabra in the hall.

Well, go and get it and take it upstairs.

I can't. I can't go in there alone.

Come on, Maude.

Come on.

Hey, Lon.

You can't bring that in. The oxygen's on.

Oh.

I gave him a pill.

Luckily, there are candles in the house.

No fuses?

Not a one.

I hate it! Come on, Lord. Come on.

Now, that's enough, Maude.

No, you can't have any more.

No.

I heard a voice. He is in the house.

Around,

around the cat in the mouth.

And the chicken, the poor skinny little chicken. Chicken, chicken. You have a

flock of chicken.

I'll show you.

First, you throw him in the hot water.

And then you go... Stella,

don't forget to fend the feathers before you put her in the pot.

Stella, you forget to fend the feathers.

I'll bet you would, because you've got a bad memory.

You only kill nurses, don't you?

I'm not a nurse.

Do I look like a nurse?

No. No.

Thank goodness.

He's in the house.

Oh.

Oh.

Like that.

Nothing could have stopped it.

Well, we can't leave her here. She's too heavy to get downstairs.

We could put her on one of the singles in my room.

Right. Huh?

There we go. Good morning.

Good morning.

Where are we going?

Hi.

Stella?

Come on, Stella.

Listen, you're not going to leave me.

Don't take me in there by myself.

Oh, she's like a great big bug.

You know, the kind with the dark two -section shells.

Stella, leave a light.

Stella. This morning there were four of us who were capable of defending

ourselves. And now there are only two of us.

And the police are sure he's in the neighborhood.

Have you ever seen someone after they've been strangled?

No. And I'm not up to any graphic descriptions.

Oh, I'm sorry.

We're neglecting our patient.

Health is strong.

I'm not so sure how sick he was.

What do you mean?

He seems much healthier than he pretends to be.

He was very sick three days ago.

I sat with him through the crisis. It was terrible.

Stella, he's asked you to marry him.

How do you know? He told me so tonight.

He wanted my opinion of you.

And? Why, he said you're everything a wife should be.

A little absent -minded, perhaps, but love conquers all failing, sooner or

later. Have you ever been married?

Yes, years ago.

That was the case where love conquered nothing.

Disaster. I'm sorry.

Oh, there's no need for you to feel anything akin to sorrow.

It was a long time ago and it had nothing to do with you.

I'm on duty now.

You go and get some rest.

I don't think I can sleep.

You ought to try.

Afraid? A little, I suppose.

But everything is locked up, isn't it?

Isn't it?

Yes.

What is it? I heard him again.

He was in the room. I couldn't see him, but I heard him. He was laughing.

There's nothing here.

Nothing. Oh, yes, there was. I heard him. I know that I heard him. I heard

voice. He was right in here with me.

We better give her a sedative.

Yes, please.

Give me something to put me out.

All right, I'll get it.

It's going to be all right.

Oh.

Tony Stella?

It sounded like... Just

like that.

He was right here with me. He was going...

Like that.

Did you hear anything?

No. Did you? No.

He said he's been watching you for days.

He was out front last night when the cab brought me to the door.

He knows we're alone.

And he intends to pay us a visit before the night is over.

Leave us alone.

Yes? Yes, that's right, Sergeant.

You take the first turn off at Cutticut Road.

Then you continue on five miles further till you come to a sign, Private, keep

out.

Then you go on about 50 yards more.

You take the turn off and come out to the hill.

Yes. How soon?

Yes.

Yes.

No one?

Yes.

Thank you, Sergeant.

Please hurry.

Well, they're on their way.

They won't be here for at least an hour.

I think he thought I was a bit of a crank.

Well, at least they are coming.

Yes.

What are you doing out there, Gus?

What is it?

The cat.

She was down in the cellar.

I wonder how... The window.

That's what I was trying to remember.

There was one window down in the cellar.

One window I forgot to check.

Go upstairs.

Go on. Go to your patient.

What do I do?

Go on.

Go on.

Landon? Wake up, Landon.

Hussain? Hussain?

Missing? Stella!

Stella!

Missing?

Miss A?

Tell her.

Tell me.

She's in the house, Joe.

She's in the house.

Here.

Here.

Are you all right?

He's had strength.

He had a dance on my throat.

His eyes go. Where is he? I don't know.

Did he go out?

I don't know.

He's in the house.

John! Sam!

I'd forgotten about Sam.

Sam!

Stella, you have a bad memory.

You're

the

man! The police!

There are no police coming, Stella.

I faked that call to the police.

It doesn't matter, Stella.

Stella, you're such a pretty nurse.

Stella.

Thus ends our story.

Nothing more remains to be told.

That is, unless you are interested in knowing more about Nurse Ames. You see,

later made a regrettable mistake and found himself attempting to throttle a

nurse who turned out to be a policeman in disguise.

It was most embarrassing.

Now I have another radio sound effect to test.

Until next week then, good night.