 Now, Roma Wines, present. Suspense. Tonight, a black curtain starring Cary Grant. Suspense is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines. That's R-O-M-A, Roma Wines. Those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live. To your happiness in entertaining guests. To your enjoyment of everyday meals. Yes, right now a glass full would be very pleasant. As Roma Wines bring you... Suspense. This is the man in black here for the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California. To introduce this weekly half hour of Suspense. Tonight in Hollywood, we are honored and happy to have with us one of the entertainment world's most distinguished gentlemen, Mr. Cary Grant. This becomes somewhat of an anniversary broadcast. Since it was one year ago tonight that Mr. Grant inaugurated this series of suspense programs sponsored by Roma Wines. And in response to requests from our listeners, he will appear once more in the suspense play by Cornel Woolrich, which starred him on that occasion. And so with the black curtain and with the performance of Cary Grant, we again hope to keep you in suspense. It began, or rather life began again for me. I guess you'd say that day on that street, my head was pounding terribly. I could hear all the noise and the people milling around. Everything was a jumble at first. All right, all right, gangway. Let the duck through. Oh, I'd seen it happen, Mr. Policeman. He was running and boy, he really gave himself a clunk on the bean. Get back there now. Oh, my head. Take it easy, take it easy. His wallet fell out of his pocket and a big boy grabbed it and ran away. Back everybody back. Give the duck the room. Oh, I'm okay. Never mind, duck. I'm okay. Oh, mm-hmm. There seems to be nothing much to matter with you, sir. No, I'm all right. I guess I can talk to him now, duck. Yeah, sure. Go ahead, officer. It's just a bad bump on the head, I think. Yeah, you're all right. You're all right. You can walk now, can't you? Sure, sure. Here, here. Let me brush you off. Oh, thanks. I'll be fine. Hey, wait a minute. What am I doing with an overcoat on? All right, now, Mr. Just so they got it on the plotter, what's your name and where do you live? Townsend. Frank Townsend, 820 Rutherford Street. Here, have a cigarette. You're still shaking. No, thanks. I don't smoke. Okay, well, I'll be getting back. Drop in at the receiving hospital if you want us to check you out. Yes, I will. All right, here's your hat, Mr. I found it. Thanks, kid. That's all now. Come on. Move along. Move along. This guy's all right. Oh, thanks, un-thanks. Hey, sorry about the fellow that got your wallet. Anyway, here's your cigar case, Mr. Townsend. I found it right alongside of you. But I don't own a case. No, besides, look at the initials. Dn. I don't know. Same initial as in the hat. Dn. Yes, but this isn't my hat. Don't you even know your own hat, Mr. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I'm trying to think. Where is this? What? This street. You're on Tillerie Street. Tillerie Street? What am I doing on Tillerie Street? He's lost. All right, now, sir. Look, my suggestion is that you go on home and go lie down. It's cold. Startin' the snow again. Oh, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't leave me. Tell me, what... what happened? Well, you slipped on this icy sidewalk. Well, down hit your head good and hard in the curb. You're up about 20 minutes. Wait. Wait. Ice on the sidewalk. Look at it. That street cleaning department ought to clear away that snow, too. But, but, snow and ice? Sure. Why? Snow and July? July? It's December. December 1944. 1944? You better get on home, son. Good night. 1944? December 1944? The last I remember was July 1941. Three years just gone. Amnesia. A black curtain comes down over your mind out of nowhere. That black curtain had been over my eyes for three years. Where'd I been? Who'd I been? I hadn't been Frank Townsend. I'd been someone else. DN. Someone whose initials were DN. I walked on artillery street thinking about it. Those three years. What? Well, I could have been married. I could have been a thief. Something made me turn around on the street for a moment. And that was when I first saw him. Grey eyes. He'd been talking to the cop who took my name. He looked up as I did. And then he started to walk rapidly in my direction. I backed away instinctively. Something about him spelled trouble. He caught me and came forward. Hey! Hey, you! Stop! Stop, Townsend! Stop! Townsend! Instinctively, I knew I should run. Get away from him. Hey, you! I looked back as I was under the corner. I had a gun in his hand. He raised it. Then I turned around for my life. What lay behind that black curtain which separated Townsend from his past? Roma wines are presenting Hollywood's distinguished karigrant, a star of tonight's tale of suspense. Haven't you often realized that many of life's finest enjoyments are simple and moderate rather than the opposite? I give you the words of a high and well-loved authority, Miss Elsa Maxwell, international expert on smart entertaining and gracious living. Good hospitality is always simple, genuine, and moderate. That is why I often suggest enjoyment of delicious Roma sautern when you have friends into dinner or with your everyday meals. Serve this delicate golden sautern well-chilled with any food in any glasses you have. Special wine glasses are pretty, but not very important. Now, what can I add to such charming good senses that maybe just this. Roma sautern and all Roma wines are the best that California's magnificent sun-ripened grapes can provide. In glorious color, fragrance, and flavor, protected for you by the ancient wine skill of Roma's famed wineries. That's why Roma wines and Roma quality do not vary, never fall short, but are always enjoyable. Unchanging high quality gives tremendous popularity to Roma wines and makes low cost possible. Only pennies a glass. Remember, more Americans enjoy Roma than any other wines. R-O-M-A. Roma wines. And now it is with pleasure that we bring back to our sound stage Mr. Kerry Grant and the Black Curtain, a story well calculated to keep you in suspense. Why was that man following me with a gun? What did grey eyes want with me? I must have done something. I had to get away to some place to be safe and think. I beat it down into the subway and hid. For two hours I stayed down there. I thought it all out carefully during those two hours. I knew I was on the spot for something. Grey eyes meant business. What could it be? Who had I been during those last three years with that Black Curtain in front of them? Well, maybe I've been a gangster when he was one of a mob that wanted to rub me out. I didn't know. No identification, my wallet stolen, nothing in my pockets about help. Just DN in the hat and DN on the cigar case. DN. My head was aching with worry. My stomach had panic in it. I had to find out who I'd been what I had done. But how? Where? Tillery Street. That's where I'd been when I woke up. Tillery Street. Well, maybe grey eyes would go back there too looking for me, but I had to take that chance. Tillery Street. Hello there. Oh, you know me. Sure, couldn't see under that hat at first. What can I do for you? Have you got an evening paper I could look at? No, sorry, never read them. Too much trouble in the world these days anyhow. Say, how you been? You haven't been around two or three weeks. Well, I've been busy. Oh, look, Pop. I made a bet with a friend of mine that even though you see so many customers, you'd walk right up and give me my full name. Oh, well, I'm sorry, I don't know it. I don't think I ever heard your name. But I know your girl. My girl? Oh, you do? Well, now, maybe I can still win my bet. Well, of course. Ruth lives right across the street, the Tillery apartment. Oh, well, that's right. Ruth. Ah, ah, but now, what apartment? A apartment 3C, of course. Don't I take the sandwiches up there every night? 3C? Yeah. Yes, well, thanks. Will you win your bet, mister? Huh? Oh, yes, I think I will. What is your name, sirs? I'll know it next time. I'll tell you tomorrow. I hope. So long. So long, Pop. Obviously. What's the matter? Drop something? No, nothing. Nothing. Just tying my shoe. I'd just been going to walk out when I saw him standing across the street. Grey eyes again. I dug down behind the store window and watched him. He looked over in my direction and then up and down the street. Then he lit a cigarette and slowed down to the corner. The minute he disappeared, I rang the door open, dashed out and ran across the Tillery apartment and went in. It's me. Hello, Ruth. Oh, Danny, why did you come here? He's been around twice today. He may be in the neighborhood right now for all you know. Yes, who? Who? Well, Slattery, of course. Slattery? Oh, has he got grey eyes? What? Did you ever see a detective that didn't? No. Oh, sure, sure. Danny, what's the matter with you? You're acting so strangely. Well, I just want to look at you. You seem so different, so far away. You haven't kissed me. Well, that's easily fixed. Oh, darling, where have you been for three weeks? Oh, all around. Miss me? Oh, you know I did. Danny, Danny, you're supposed... Do you think we could get away tonight? I've got $3,000 saved up. We could go to Mexico or South America, and we could get married. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Neering, the tour of the world. Daniel Neering. Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Sounds plenty good to me. Yeah, oh, you'll never know how good. And we'll get out of here tonight. I'll call up and tell them I'm quitting my job. I'll say I'm sick. All my stuff's here, nothing's out there, but a couple of uniforms. I'll make Ada and Franklin a present of those. Ada and Franklin? Oh, don't you bother your head about those two. They weren't glad when it happened. A couple of vultures, by to them. Oh, would you back? Would you back? Just think with my $3,000. Well, do you think you ought to quit your job? Well, absolutely, I think so. I never was cut out to be a nurse anyway. No, you weren't. Any more than I was... Any more than you were meant to be a secretary. Oh, yeah. That's right. I never wanted to be a secretary. Yeah, just drifted into it, I guess. They kind of got him a nurse, especially toward the end. The, uh, the boss was no cinch to work for. He certainly wasn't. He was a rat. Oh, the whole different bunch of mean, rotten, whole family. Yeah, that's right. I'll accept the old man. Oh, the old man? Yes. I sort of liked him, didn't I? Mm-hmm, he loves you too, then. I think he wished you'd been his son. Poor old man. He's the only reason I've stuck around out there this long. Mm-hmm. How are things out there? Oh, they've been questioning all of us. They've laid off lately, though, since you... Oh, don't let's talk any more about it. You're back. That's the main thing. I want to forget New Jericho and I'll hold you. New Jericho, huh? Yes. Oh, Danny. Danny, if only it hadn't happened. What hadn't? You know what? Danny, what's going to become of you and me? I wish I knew. Danny, get away from that window. Leave that shade down. He's down there. Who? Gray eyes. He's standing in front of the hydrant. He's coming in here. In the building. Oh, did he see you? Look, Ruth, will you help me? What are you going to do? Give myself up. No! No! Well, it's better than getting shot at. What can they do to me? You crazy fool, they can send you to the chair. The chair? Well, what do you think happens to a man when he's guilty of murder? Murder? Ruth, listen to me. I'm not a murderer. But the whole world says I committed murder. I say I didn't. The meanest of me says I didn't. I never said you were, Danny. I always said you didn't do it. But they found the body and they... Oh, only you hadn't run away. Oh, so that's it. All right, Nearing. Open up. Oh, why did you come here, Danny? Why? Why? Ruth, quick. We've got to get out of here. How about the fire escape? Shaft, don't wait her. Don't wait her. Oh, in here. I'll take her to the door, quick. Get in. I'll stand on top and work the ropes. I don't think it can hold us both. It's got to. So, can you hear me? Yes, Danny. We're going back there to New Jericho. Jericho? Oh, no, Danny, don't. No, please. For me, don't, don't. I've got to. I've got to find out. We're going together. No, no, Danny, no. I've got the money. We can get out of here and... Now stop it. Oh, Danny, my arm! Ouch! You're hurting me. From here on in, we're sticking together. You're going to take me back there, Ruth. Back where it happened. All right, darling. Crazy, but I'll go wherever you go. I can't lose you again. On the train, Ruth and I said very little to each other. While I had hidden the telephone booth at Pennsylvania Station, she'd bought us a couple of cheap overcoats. And I sat hunched up in mine, thinking. Thinking. Ruth had brought along the newspaper clippings. I looked at what they said for the 20th time, trying to see if there was anything there that would help me. Dietrich Slayer's sort, it said. Secretary wanted him brutal slaying at suburban estate. Police suppressing the search for Daniel Neering, secretary and the employee of the late John Dietrich, 58, member of a well-known local family who was shot and killed in the drawing room of his new Jericho estate on the morning of November the 7th. Neering disappeared November the 7th. On the morning of which date, he is known to have had a bitter quarrel with the deceased. This last was attested to at the inquest by Ada and Franklin Dietrich, widow and brother of the murdered men. Well, I had all the facts now. Wanted for murder. And yet everything that was in me told me that no matter who I'd been, however many memories I'd lost, but I was no killer, and I just couldn't. Good Jericho! Good Jericho! I had to get into the Dietrich house and stand again in that room where it had all happened. Maybe something would come back to me. Maybe there would be something... Good Jericho! Ada and Franklin just left. They're down to the village. Did they say anything about you being out here on your day off? Yeah, Ada made some crack. But I said I had nothing to do in town and came out to write some letters. Let's go then. Danny, I'm scared. Please, let's not stay here. You said you loved me. I do, Danny, I do. That's why I'm scared. They're only going to the village. They'll be back in half an hour at the most. Open the door, Ruth. Hurry. I've got to see the inside. That room, the place where it happened. No, it's wrong, Danny. I'm telling you, you're crazy. They'll find you. Open the door, Ruth. Quickly. Now, let's have a look at that room. Please, Danny, don't talk about it. Please. This is where I'm supposed to have murdered John Dietrich. Please. Where was it? Show me exactly where it was, Ruth. I've got to know. It was there. Right there. It was standing by the grandfather's clock. Are you going crazy, Danny, if they get to your hang? Find the clock. You still believe me, don't you, Ruth? I believe you, Danny. Wait, Ruth. What's that? Listen. That don't look the old man. He's just leaving that room off there. Don't go in there, Danny. Don't please, you'll wake him. I want to see him. No, he can't help you. You know he's paralyzed and he can't talk. Turn on the light. I want to see him. There, you're walking. It's me, Mr. Dietrich, Ruth. This is Danny. You remember Danny, don't you? Hello, Mr. Dietrich. See how his eyes are shining. Yes. Tell me, was he here when it happened? We didn't know that, Danny. Why do you ask such funny questions? He's been in bed here for five years. Well, that mirror. On the wall here. That clock. Look. You can see the grandfather's clock in the other room. What are you getting at, Danny? Well, he could see it. The old man could see the murder through the mirror. Oh, if he only could talk. But he can't talk. You scare me, Danny. Don't... He saw the man who killed John Dietrich. Look. He understands what I'm saying. He's blinking his eyes. Oh, stop torturing him, Danny. You can't just see what you're doing to him. He's trying to say something. Look. He's going to help me. Go outside and watch, Ruth. Go on. I'll watch out at the entranceway. Be careful, Danny. They'll be back any minute. Leave me alone with him. I hope I hear them coming. Look now. Mr. Dietrich, don't be afraid. I'm going to ask you a question. I'd like you to answer me. Are you trying to tell me something about the murder? Now, blink your eyes. Blink twice if you are. That's it. Once, twice. That's good. Did you see it happen? Here? In your mirror? Blink once if the answer is no. Twice if the answer is yes. Once, twice. You did, huh? You saw it. All right, Mr. Dietrich. Now then, is the murderer in this house? Danny, they're coming. Franklin, Nader. Get out of here and hide. Run, Danny, run. Is the murderer in this house? Blink once for no, twice for yes. Yes. In this house. Danny, Danny, they're coming. Wait, I've almost got it. Mr. Dietrich, was it me? Once for no, twice for yes. Was it me? Get out of here, damn you. Behind the curtains. I'll talk to them. Okay. Thanks, Mr. Dietrich. I'll be back. Is that you and Father's room? Yes, Mrs. Dietrich. Are you here alone? Yes. Why? We thought we heard voices. What are you so jittery about, Ruth? I'm tired, that's all. Can I go to bed now? Father's still awake, Ruth. Well, he'll go to sleep all right. I'm going upstairs, Mrs. Dietrich, now. Good night, Ruth. Good night. She's brought someone back here with her. It's him, I think. Dan? Oh, Franklin. Take it easy, darling. Take it easy. If he's here, we'll get him. Up to the evidence we gave against him at the hearing. Oh, I'm scared. Let's get out of here fast. No, no. Call the police here. I'll do it. Hello? Hello? It's too late. The wires have been cut. Come on, we'll both drive to the village. He may be waiting for us out by the car. Uh... What? Oh. What are you doing there, Franklin? I think I might just need my gun. Come on, let's be on our way. The moment they left the house, I made for the old man's room. I called for Ruth, but she was gone. Maybe Franklin and Ada had called her after she cut the telephone wire, but I couldn't wait. My life was hanging on minutes now. I shot the flashlight on the old man's face again. Now, Mr. Dietrich, you're helping me fine. You know I'm trying to save my life, don't you? Now, the murderer, was it me? Was it me who did it? Me, Danny Neering. Blink once for no. Once. You're sure? You're sure it wasn't me? You're sure it wasn't me? Oh, you're smiling, Mr. Dietrich. Smiling. Now, now, it was somebody in this house. And who was it? Oh, can't you make a sound? Help me, you've got to. Was it Ada? Price for yes, once for no. Once, not Ada. All right then. Was it Franklin? Up with the hands, Danny, or you'll never go to trial. Franklin, wait a minute. You've got to listen. And I've got to. You're going to kill the old man, too, eh? The murderer returns to the scene of his crime. You know I didn't kill him. Tell it to the police. It'll have him here in a couple of minutes. Where's your girlfriend, Ruth? She's not here. I don't know where she went. Never mind. They'll find her. You're a dead duck, Neering. You killed my brother and beat it. What did you ever get out of it? That's always puzzled me. You killed your brother, and now you're going to kill me. You've got nuts, too. Why should I kill my own brother, you idiot? To get his share of the estate that you can't stop with killing me. Someone else knows the truth. The old man saw it in the mirror. What? Yes. You'll have to kill your own father, too. The old man saw it. How do you know? He told me. You're lying. He can't talk. He can't even move. He can hear, and he can blink his eyes. Come over here. Look. Look here, you are. I had to do it. I heard he was going to kill you. Give the gun, Danny. Take it. You'll be all right. Ruth, you shouldn't have done that in another minute. I'm not sure it was Frank, Ruth. Please, please, let's run for it. They'll be here in a second. It's your last chance. They'll all swear you did it. If I can be with the old man another half a minute. Mr. Dietrich. Mr. Dietrich, it's Danny again. Don't, Danny. Don't, don't, don't. Tell me, Mr. Dietrich, was it Franklin? Did Franklin kill your son, John? Blink once if he did. What's the matter, Mr. Dietrich? Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. Why are you afraid? Oh, he's afraid, Ruth. Oh, it's this gun. Here, take the gun, Ruth. You take it. He's afraid. I'm not going to hurt you, Mr. Dietrich. What's the matter? Why don't you answer me? Who killed John Dietrich? It wasn't me. It wasn't Ada. It wasn't Franklin. But someone in the house. Was it Ruth? Ruth! You! I told you. I told you not to come. Oh, I love you, Danny. I wanted you. I wouldn't have let them get you. Oh, why? Why, Ruth? Why did you kill John Dietrich? He was always after me. He wouldn't leave me alone. I hated him. And then, at night, he came at me, threatened me. But he'd kill me. He couldn't have me. Nobody could. He had a gun, Danny, and I got it away from him. He hit the cloth. He leaned against it. I thought he'd never fall down. Die. It was the day you ran away, and I was crazy. They thought it was you, and they started looking. You? Why was it you? I love you, Danny. I love you. I beg you not to come back here. Ruth, please, put down that gun. No. Stand back, Danny. Stay over there. I just want to look at you. I was hoping we could get away together. But you've been through enough, Danny. I'm all because of you. Now you're clear, Danny. And this is going to clear me. Darling. Ruth. Dear Ruth. Well, that's about all there is to tell. I've tried to put it all behind me to resume my life where it left off three and a half years ago. Sometimes, when it gets toward evening, I go and walk along Tillerie Street. And once in a while, somebody, somebody I don't know, somebody I don't know, will say, hello, Danny. And I just say hello and walk on. I don't want to find out anything more. I want it all to die away and be still. And it will. All except Ruth. Because somewhere behind that black curtain, I was loved. And loved someone. We must have known a love that I'll never know again. And so closes the black curtain starring Karen. And so closes the black curtain starring Kerry Grant. Tonight's study in... Suspense. Suspense is produced and directed by William Spear. We are sometimes asked, why does Miss Elsa Maxwell always say it is smart to serve Roma wine? Her explanation is simple. It is smart to serve Roma wine. First of all, because Roma wines are so delicious, so good with food or any time. It is smart further because Roma wine affords simple pleasure. Enjoyment that is truly moderate. Finally it is smart because it is such an easy and inexpensive addition to hospitality and everyday living. Yes, in every way it is smart to serve and enjoy Roma wines. They are California's finest, always good, unvaryingly fine in flavor and quality. And remember, the cost is only pennies a glass. More Americans enjoy Roma than any other wines. R-O-M-A Roma wines. This is Gary Grant. I certainly enjoyed reappearing tonight on suspense. It is a program I have always admired tremendously and it has achieved a distinguished success during this past year. Two weeks from tonight, my friend Robert Montgomery will be your star in one of the really all time great suspense plays The Lodger. Next Thursday, there will be no performance of suspense because the time will be given over to a special Pearl Harbor Day program for a four-lone drive. And that brings me to the seven most important words I could say to you at this time. Buy more war bonds and save them. Thank you, Mr. Grant. Two weeks from tonight on December 14th, Mr. Robert Montgomery will be your star of suspense. Resented by Roma wines made in California for enjoyment throughout the world. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.