 Now, Auto-Lite and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present... Suspense! Tonight, Auto-Lite brings you Pat O'Brien in... Dead Ernest, one of the most famous of suspense plays, produced and directed by Anton M. Leader. Friends, officially, Spring has sprung, and you'll want a spring pep for your winter weary car. That means when you replace old narrow-gap spark plugs with wide-gap Auto-Lite resistor spark plugs, your car will idle smoother, give you better performance on leaner gas mixtures, save gas dollars. Yes, you actually can tell the difference in your car. Auto-Lite regular-type spark plugs have long been standard factory equipment on many leading makes of cars and trucks. And now six, that's right, six of these leading makes of cars and trucks have switched to Auto-Lite resistor-type spark plugs for factory installation on their new 1949 models. The new Auto-Lite resistor spark plugs are the spark plugs of today and the future. Remember, you're right with Auto-Lite. And now, Auto-Lite presents Pat O'Brien in the 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 Bowers, age 34, was crossing the intersection as the signal light changed from green to red. The car, driven by a Theodore Tobi, made a legal right turn from 15th Street into 4th Avenue. That wasn't much. Whoa, look at those trial marks. Hey, the guys are cold. He's bleeding. Hand back now. Let's have a look. Has he hurt bad? I didn't see him. Honest, I didn't. I had the right away. Yeah, he's passed out. One of you people called for an ambulance. Yeah, yeah, you're there. Okay, move back. Move back. Look, if 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 Bowers felt like he was dead. Ernest Bowers suffered from catalepsy, a strange disease. He carried out all the times a note in his inside pocket stating that he was a cataleptic and that in the event of seeming death his wife should immediately be notified or his doctor in the event his wife is unavailable. The 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 Bowers 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 in 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. Now to stop the bleeding. Looks like just a cut on his forehead when he hit the ground, nothing much. Now, what's your name? Toby, Theodore Toby, here's my license plate. Hey, hey, hey, hey, you kids! What did those kids do? They picked up something off the street. Oh, here it comes. I hope he's all right. It doesn't look like he's bleeding. Oh my gosh, he ain't. I told you to get back. Come on now, he's back. I'll say he's out, Carl. Let's get him away. He's dead. Well, anyhow, it didn't happen in our wagon. Okay, we'll take him away. We'll take him back, will you, officer? Yeah, keep back, clear out. Come on, the show's over. That's the third one to take. Yeah, there. Well, let's go. Whose coat was that he was laying on? I don't know. Did you pick it up? No. Hey, officer. Yeah? Where's the coat? 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 into the pavement. Two youngsters picked up the chain. Robert Manelli aged nine and one-half. Tommy Stoner, eight. After your father's shot, Pa. Wait, shoot, there's a nice chain. Hey, there's right in on it. Maybe it's a guy's name. Is he hurt, Pa? Nah, just a little bump. What's it say? Just a second. We'll be out of the alley. Yeah, a pop's gone home to eat. What's it say? Wait a second, will ya? It says, do not in bomb. Do not something me. I am not dead. It's screwy. What do we do with it? Sell it, dopey. We can buy some baseballs and stuff. Yeah, but when we try to sell it, it asks us where we got it. What do we tell him? Nothing. Use your head. You know what we'll do. What? We'll use pop's walking 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 doing? Uh, uh, hello, Pop. Nothing, Mr. Minnelli. We ain't doing nothing. Yeah, nothing, huh? I thought I told you kids not to go near that torch. Well, we want to melt this down. Yeah, give me that. Nah, what's this all about? We find this chain, Papa, and we want to melt it down and sell it. Who's is it? We don't know. Do we, Tommy? No. No, we don't. There's nothing wrong, Pop. We just found it. See, it's ours. Do not em... em... bother 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 out of here. How about melting it down, Pop? We can sell it and buy some baseballs. Hmm. All right, keep back. They milled it and took it to a golden silver dealer. They sold the milled chain for $1.30. $1.30, but the coat, the coat was the principal thing. In the coat and 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 Murdock. There's a big sign to the corner of 15th Street. It says Honest Jerry Murdock, swap shop. He brought the coat into his store, he was 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. Good service. Oh, will you come over here, please? Yeah, something on that order. Pick out what you want. Eh, 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, 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. Ah, it's because it's almost new. You break it in. Feels like cardboard or something. You want it? Five dollars. Okay. Eh, it might still be a couple of stains on it. Ain't had time to take out. Use some cleaner around it to bring it to the tailors. It'll be better than new. Yeah. Here's a five. Ernest Bowers is brought to the receiving room of the Vedder General Hospital. Various routine tests were made. The time, four-ten. If Bowers are going to awaken, it will probably be six-forty-five. Dr. Weldon made out his report. He wrote it down while he was standing near the telephone switchboard. This is the Vedder General Hospital. Is there anybody by the name of Bowers at home? Bowers, B-O-W-E-R-S. Is Mr. Bowers married? I am. Where can I reach her? There's been an accident. I don't. 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. Well, what'll I tell the wife when she calls? Well, 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 Theatre of Thrills Suspense. It was the first day of spring, and I got accoded by head. Well, Hap, you should get outdoors. You need to change. The way a car with old worn-out plugs needs white-gap Auto-Light resistor spark plugs. I know. For your winter weary car, replace old narrow-gap spark plugs with white-gap Auto-Light resistor spark plugs. A car idle smoother gives better performance on leaner gas mixtures actually saves gas dollars. And what's more, white-gap Auto-Light resistor spark plugs cut down spark plug interference with radio and television reception. I gotta get rid of this code. We should all get rid of winter ills and get rid of old narrow-gap spark plugs. Everybody should install a set of white-gap Auto-Light resistor spark plugs. Everybody could cure somebody else's code. Ah, but only Auto-Light offers smart car and truck owners everywhere the sensational advantages of resistor-type spark plugs. They're ignition engineered to meet the highest standards of automotive engineers. Remember, folks, you're always right with Auto-Light. And now, Auto-Light brings back to our Hollywood soundstage 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. At 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. Oh, what's that, a spot? Where? Yeah, take it off a second. I wonder what it is. Oh, I said there was a couple of spots. The cleaner will take them out. You know, looks like... Hey, what's this in the pocket? I don't know. To whom it may concern, please open and read. That's what 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. This is Margaret Bowers at Fulton 77837. This is a boarding house. 841 and a half, West 25th Street. If she's not there, please try Axe Minster 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. Well, it doesn't sound like something a guy'd forget. I had to double with it. It might be important. Hey, look at that, Henry. Those spots, they look like blood. Yeah, too dark. Yeah, that's the color blood turns. I'm going to telephone that number. Go ahead, but I think you're wasting your time. I'd like to talk to Mrs. Bowers. She ain't in. Well, how do you know? You didn't even call. I know. Who else wanted to get in touch with her? Oh, sorry. Well, thank you. Yeah, you see? You're wasting your time. I have a strange feeling, Henry. You're in a terrible position to be in. To have everybody think you're dead when you ain't. You're helpless about it. Well, go ahead. Go ahead. I can see I'm not going to win this time either. Busy. How about some dinner? Oh, it's cooking. I just can't get out of my head. That guy, whoever he is, lying there and people thinking he'm 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. Well, I would kill him if he wasn't already dead. Couldn't kill him no deader. Henry, I'm going to find out about that coat. Where's this place you bought it? Now, wait a minute, Frances. I've 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'll 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. Don't you make up your mind to something. Nothing can change it. Unless it's an invitation to a polka game. Very, very funny. Look, you wait here. Is Mrs. Bowers in? No. Mr. Bowers? No. He is? That's what they tell me. Well, wait a minute. Oh, darn it. Look, I just spoke to you. Will you please... You're bothering me. But all I want to know is when Mr. Bowers died... How do I know that doctor's lying busy? 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? Well, 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're 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. Well, go on home then. I'll find out about this. 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? It 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? Uh, no. Get me the orderly one. Okay. Use that one there. Well, Payne? Yeah. There's Dr. Weldon. There's a delivery for you to go to the morgue. Now? Yeah. I ain't had nothing to eat since I don't know. Yeah, since lunch. Go on now, Payne. It's down in the receiving room. The papers are down there too. Oh, why can't it wait a few minutes? It's got to go now. They want to start embalming so they can go home. How about sending one of the other boys? No, 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 any time now. 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, Dr. Oh, uh, don't get your wires crossed. Mr. Meridoc. Yes? 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 work 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 want to give it back. Where'd you get it, Mr. Meridoc? I 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's important. I've been trying to reach the numbers. The doctor's number's always busy. His wife, she hasn't even home yet. I don't know what you're talking about. Now, please, I'm busy. I've got lots to do here. But you've 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. I can't help. Now, if you'll excuse me. No, no. Look, you must tell me. I'm probably just crazy about this. Look, if that man's alive and they'd do anything to him, I'll never get over it. You know, I'll never be able to live with myself. 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 in a fit? Oh, no, no, no. A cataleptic. You know, somebody who 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 ham bomb him. 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 a... What? An accident before. Where? Who was in it? I don't know. Believe me, lady. I didn't know anything about all this. 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. 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 have taken a coat if I... 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 decided to get a bite to eat when the phone rang. Answered the answer. Well, we're going out to eat. Yeah, I know another one just came in. We got it here. Yo, well, what's the rush? No, no, we just want to get a cup of coffee and then we'll get on it. Well, look, I said I'll fall if it comes in just when we want to have a... Right? We can go home after? Well, that puts a different complexion on it. Yeah. Okay, yeah. What time is it now? 6.30. Doc says if we embalm this one now, we can go home. Well, let's start in, then. I'm hungry. Oh, okay. I'll start the motor. Young guy, ain't he? Yeah. I was speaking to the wife about that yesterday. Get the injector out, Tony. Yeah. And she was saying more and more people die, older and older. Yeah. Yeah, it looks like we can open through the neck. Yeah. Give me a piece of that goose. Yeah. I says to her, she should be around this place at once. We get it more late. You want me to do it? No, no, no. You get the injector ready. Yeah. Hey, look at him. You never think that such a little thing like his heart stopped 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 are clouding up. We'll take them off. No, no, no. I'll just clean them. What did the wife say to that? Huh? 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. Oh, well, there's something in there. Okay. Got them clean. 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 in. Let's go. It's a quarter to seven already. Yeah, yeah. All that. Yeah, I'll get the phone. Well, let's get this started first. Okay. We'll just... I... What's the matter with you? I thought I saw the guy's hand twitch. Okay, don't be stupid. Well, get me a scare. Well, let's wait a second. I'll get the phone. Well, probably be another job and we'll never get out of here. Let it ring. Yeah, but the doc said we could go home after if... All right, come on. Come on. Let's get this thing over with. Oh. Okay. Give me the knife again. I'll... Yeah? Then to over like this. I ain't gonna move glasses up full of steam again. Holy... I'm shaking all over. Look at him, Al. Look at his lips. Listen, I... Shut off that motor! Apparently, the life of Ernest Bowers was worth one dollar and 30 cents for a silver bracelet to the boys who ran away with it and five dollars 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, Mrs. Bowers. Is Mrs. Bowers in? This is Mr. Bowers. I know Mrs. Bowers, but they... they made a mistake. Well, darling, it's quite a long story. You see the... Never mind! Thank you, Pet O'Brien, for a great suspense show. Now, here is Harlow Wilcox. All right. Still got my coat in my head, Barlow. Well, Hap, why don't you swap it for something useful? The way folks are swapping winter chills for springtime thrills, replacing old narrow-gap spark plugs with white-gap auto-light resistor spark plugs. Auto-light resistor spark plugs are made by auto-light men who make over 400 products for cars, trucks, airplanes, and boats in 28 auto-light plants from coast to coast. And auto-light also makes complete electrical systems for many makes of America's finest cars. Batteries, spark plugs, generators, starting motors, coils, distributors. All ignition engineers to fit together perfectly work together perfectly because they're a perfect team. So, folks, don't accept electrical parts that are supposed to be as good. Ask for and insist on auto-light, original factory parts at your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage, or repair shop. Remember, you're always right with auto-light. 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 long-standing, 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. At 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 Mervyn Gerard with music composed by Lucian Moraweck and conducted by Lud Bluskin. 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.