 Personal notice, danger's my stock and trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, you got a job for me, George Valentine. Write full details. Standard Oil Company of California invites you to let George do it. Before we join George Valentine, here's something to remember when you buy gasoline. Any gasoline can be made to stress one performance quality at the expense of others, but Chevron Supreme is balanced blended to give you all eight necessary high performance qualities. Power, mileage, starting, warm-up, anti-knock, vapor lock prevention, acceleration, and area blending. For the kind of driving you do, where you do it, your engine needs Chevron Supreme gasoline. Get a tank full tomorrow at your independent Chevron gas station or standard station, where they say, and mean, we take better care of your car. And now, tonight's story, The Woman in Black, another adventure of George Valentine. Dear Mr. Valentine, I need your help. And coming from Little Platys, that's quite an admission. I suppose you've heard about Pygmalion, who barked his shins on his own statue. Well, I seem to be the same thing, girl type. You see, Mr. Valentine, in my vast wisdom and vast love of money, I have created a monster. And since the monster is a good foot taller than I am, I'm sure you'll appreciate how much I mean it when I say, get here quick. The monster is slipping out of my control. Sincerely, Gladys Jenkins. Well, this is the address, all right, George? Yeah, but nobody's lived here for years. They can't have all those weeds and the paint coming off. It looks like a castle. It was. Yeah, that's right. Been deserted since about 1932, as I recall. How do you know? Ever since the Bunko Squad or some jealous movie queen took care of them, whatever it was. George, what are you talking about? Angel, didn't you ever hear about Gregory? Oh! Yeah, sure. Gregory the Great. Gregory the Mighty Sue, Sayer. Gregory the Widow's Wailing Wolf. Yes, of course, the greatest crystal ball man. Yeah, that's the one, Gregory the... Gregory the... What's the matter? George, I don't... Gregory the Coast. What? You mean that old man with the white hair that just... Not so old, I guess. Tied us here white when he was 20, they claimed. Increased his powers over women. Well, he was certainly attractive if that was really the... Oh, no, it can't be, it can't be. I thought he was dead, burned himself out. He drank too much. Well, who do you think it was, Julius Caesar? Private property. Well, not the sidewalk. Yes, I know, I know. Forgive me, lady, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. But this is no tourist center. I get second tired of people standing there saying the same thing. That's all. Well, now that's really too bad. And no smart cracks out of you, either. This is my property here, all of it. J.J. Clary Realtors. If you don't believe me, my house is just down the block. No, of course we believe you, Mr. Clary. But you mean you own his house too, Mr. Gregory? Yeah. Where do you get that Mr. stuff? Don't insult the Mighty G. Now, I got an option on it, though. It'll be mine soon enough, don't you worry? And when it is, you can bet your bottom dollar. There's nobody like that coming back to this neighborhood. Okay, okay. But when did he come back? A couple of weeks ago. Vations of opening up his old temple. The master will once more comfort a long line of rich women. You sound a little bitter. Now, why not? He's a fraud. He always was. He ought to be locked up. Between you and me, I've just had a few words with Gregory. He clearly understands that when I get back from meeting with my lawyer tonight, I'll have the legal ammunition to do it. You mean you've got a big real estate deal on and a crackpot in the middle of it doesn't help the desirability of property around here very much? Well, all right. I'm not ashamed of trying to clean this city up. And I'm going to. You can remember that. Sure. Come on, Brooks. And when you seem, you can tell him I said so. Tell him I'll sing at his funeral. Wow. It'd be a good place for a funeral, all right, wouldn't it? I wonder if... Oh. Oh. Excuse me, lady. Could you tell me where... Oh, I didn't see you. Well, it's a little dark in here. Even without a veil. I was only going to ask if you could... What do you want? Who are you? What do you want with him? Are you a believer? Gregory never sees callers and... Excuse me. Well, I'll let you... Huh. Well, how do you like that? For the love of... George. George, there's somebody else behind you. It's got him already. What good are you going to be, Mr. Valentine? Come on in and relax, suckers. Who's the woman in black, Miss Jenkins? How should I know? Sit down, sit down. Huh? This is the boss's old stomping ground, not mine. Ask Joe Brady. He's up on his ectoplasm if he's out of the hospital. Who? Now look, start at the beginning, will you? Yes, we didn't even know that Gregory was still alive. Neither did anybody else until I resurrected him. Hit me with the tombstone, will you? Oh, yes, yes. He's back in business, all right. Been making a fortune with his comeback in the East. Want a drink? No, no thanks. Things are muddy enough now as it is. Look, I'm a press agent who should have stayed with a typewriter, that's all. Oh, I understand. You mean this comeback of the great Gregory was your idea? It was my mistake. Oh, I've... I've made a lot of money, quite all that I want, in fact. And you've got to understand, there isn't anything to all those mutterings and predictions and things of his. There isn't. There can't be. It's just a lot of hokum. Dribble. Well... Mr. Valentine, I found him. Just a burned-out bum last year. I built him up, did the whole thing. Little Gladys pulled a genie out of the bottle. Well, go on. Well, don't you see? Now I can't get him back in. Which way do you mean that? I mean, I don't want to go to prison. Oh, I see. Party to a fraud, huh? Debunking his sentimental old clients of their dead husband's estates. Oh, no, no, no. He never does anything like that. Oh, I don't think he does. I just don't know anymore. That's a trouble. I don't even know why we came running out to this city. Oh, come on, lady. Try again. What is it you're afraid of? Him. I don't scare very easy, Mr. Valentine. But he used to take everything lying down. Now, he just smiles to himself. Well, that still doesn't explain... He had a cook and she talked back to him and he just smiled. He started laughing and she had a heart attack right then and there. What? I know. You think I'm stupid. Ah, he's feeling his oats. He's beginning to make plans. He says nobody's going to stop him. Well, I don't know what sort of thing he really used to do in the old days. Maybe he does have some sort of power. Oh, now look, lady. Only us disciples had come to him. Like that woman in black out there. You saw her. She sneaked in here to see him five times since he's been back. I don't know what he does to people, but they get a funny, fanatic gleam in their eyes. Oh, all right, wise man. Joe Brady's a skeptic, too. He writes bifocal articles exposing psychic frauds. The man in the hospital? Yes, he threatened to make Gregory look silly in a magazine article to expose him. And the master laughed, I suppose. He said a man should never act like a cat. That night, Joe Brady, out walking across the lawn here, heard this awful screech. And that's all he remembers. When he came to, his face had been clawed. Okay, Gladys. I begin to get the idea. Mr. Valentine, I want to quit my job. But when I speak of it, he says, no, no, I'll never leave him. What do you expect me to do? Spit in his eye? And life goes on like a spitting top. Yeah, sure, you said that before. Now let's clear some things up, huh? No, no, no, young man. No, no, don't turn on the lights. But what I have to say, Mr. Gregory, we don't need dim lights nor incense. So we'll open the windows too. No, no. No, many people before thought I was a fraud. And they were experts in expressing themselves. Now look, I want to talk to you about Miss Jenkins. Life goes on like a spinning top. She seems to be afraid of you. No beginning. No end. Hey, just what are you up to? I see what the future holds. I tell it to him who listens. Uh-huh. What have you been doing lately that has brought you so much money? Truth. The cook who died of a heart attack? Truth. And I'll go into a trance, I want to talk to you. Truth. The writer, the writer, Joe Brady, he had an accident. I don't know anything about that. What about the woman in black, your disciple? What kind of nonsense did you fill her with? Like a spinning top. No beginning. No end. Oh, come on, snap out of it, will you? No beginning. No end. Okay, okay, now get this. Miss Jenkins is going to leave here, Gregory, and I wouldn't try to stop her. No beginning. Gladys? Leave me? No, no, no. You heard me, Buster. Oh, she mustn't. I won't let her, never. You have nothing to say about it? I would not meddle in things that don't concern me. Why not? Sometimes we're stricken down for meddling in things we don't understand. Now what's that supposed to mean? Truth. Truth. I was talking to you, Buster, about... Truth. Truth. I see it. I tell it. Gladys, I didn't get very far with him either. Gregory the Vague. Just as I expected. He's made a lot of money in the last few years. George, couldn't you find out how? No, Bruxy, I couldn't. And frankly, I think a lot of this is just so much malarkey. Ha, you're an optimist, my friend. All right, so you're no use. A temple like something out of India, a woman in black. Life is a spinning top, all the trimmings. Enough to make anybody imagine things. But I know that, and I still don't know what to do. Well, now did I say I wouldn't take your case? All I want is a fresh air of viewpoint on this whole thing. Now, Gladys, the woman in black, you see? You don't know who she is? No one does. All right, all right. Maybe I'll find out. And there's this Joe Brady to see, and a side-crypto-police headquarters to find out what they have on our boy. Yeah, I get work to do, ladies. Oh, George, I'm going to... No, no, you stay here with Gladys. Now, even though I have a hunch there isn't much to worry about. Someone just might get hurt. Life is like a spinning top. A temple overgrown with weeds. No moon. Oh, this is just fine. What? Who's that? Oh! We'll return to tonight's adventure of George Valentine in just a moment. But right now, I'd like to remind you about something you may have forgotten. Something that is mighty important to your safety on the highway, something that can save you money. I mean the tire switching service that is available at all standard stations and independent chevron gas stations. Nowadays, it's important that you take care of your tires. Proper switching can mean longer life and more mileage. Car savers know how to take care of your tires. They know that rear wheels work harder than front wheels and right harder than left. So they recommend a scientific pattern of switching the tires, all four and the spare at regular intervals. This distributes the wear evenly and keeps the rubber in the spare flexed and lively. Car savers will check your tires for cuts and bruises when they switch them and they'll keep them properly inflated too. So the next time you're at your favorite standard station or independent chevron gas station, ask the car saver about tire switching. It's just one of the many services available to western motorists at the stations where they say and mean, we take better care of your car. Gregory the Enigma, a fabulous crystal ball man who after 20 years of oblivion is back in his weird temple resurrected by a hard-boiled publicity gal. But now Gladys is afraid of him, doesn't understand what he's up to and so she hires you. Well if your name is George Valentine you don't believe in all the trappings you find, except for one real, very real fact. It's all right darling, please don't move. I never thought I'd say it but where am I? Right out on the lawn. I thought I heard you cry out. Did you see anybody, Booksy? No, no, just a vague shadow disappearing behind those trees. There's nothing very vague about this lump on top of my head. Oh George, let's get out of here. Let me get you to a doctor. Whoever had this grudge against me sure used his strength with the right goodwill. To paraphrase our good friend Lieutenant Johnson this was done with a blunt instrument with intent of maim. Gladys is scared to death. I told her to lock herself in her room. Sometimes we're stricken down. What are you talking about, George? There are nothing. Come on, Booksy. Come on, where? Back to the house. I want to have some very definite words with the vague Mr. Gregory. This looks more like a museum than a library, George. Wait, I'll find the light. Hey, the windows. George, look, out there, the Lady in Black. Hey, hey, hey, you wait! She was peering in on us. Maybe she was looking for Gregory, the elusive tool. She found him. Huh? Yeah, in the chair. Is he? I mean, just sitting there... Wait a minute, now. Hey, Gregory. Gregory, Gregory! George! Wait a minute. Gregory! Oh, he's alive. You mean dead to the world. He's been drinking, that's all. Uh-huh, the genious bag in his bottle. So that was the reason for his vagueness before. Oh, brother, he must have been working on this bun for hours. And he didn't do it. Maybe there is something more than we know going on. Booksy, you can tell Gladys the Pygmalion that her statue is ossified. Aren't you staying here? No. No, I'm off again on my rudely interrupted journey. I want to talk to Brady. Nice to inquire about me, Mr. Valentine. Well, Mr. Brady, I was under the impression you'd be in the hospital. I'm surprised to find you here at home. People underestimate the strength of little men Gregory always did. Oh, I suppose you can't wait to get even with our mysterious friend. Oh, no, on the contrary, I have nothing against him. I wish him the best. Huh? Don't you see? Here's is the most interesting case I've ever run up against. I'm not going to stop until I understand it and explain it away. I don't want anything to interfere with that. Well, tell me, Mr. Brady, just what do you know about Gregory's recent activities? Hmm, frankly, Mr. Valentine, I thought Gregory was quite through before his retirement 20 years ago. Oh, you knew him even then? Oh, yes, indeed. And he was very excellent in his field. Quite good, really. What does he do now? I'm sure I don't know. But it has come to me that he's made a lot of money. Yes, a lot of money, since his, shall we say, rebirth. The ladies still find Gregory quite irresistible. Yes, I saw one of the ladies back there at the temple. A lady dressed in black. Yeah, yeah, you know who she is? A very interesting phenomenon. A true disciple, I believe, even when Gregory wasn't there, she would come to the temple and walk through the empty rooms, a sort of one-woman pilgrimage. Yeah, she'd do anything for him, I suppose. I wouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't be surprised if she already did. What was that supposed to mean? My accident, Mr. Valentine. The doctor who took a few stitches on my face was quite a joker. He made a number of facetious remarks about my wife scratching my face and already fencing herself a widow. A widow? Yes, wearing black. There was some black lint in one of the scratches. So that's the way it is. Of course, I hold no grudges. Each of us fights any way he can. I am Gregory's worst enemy, and I shall solve his mystery. Oh, yes, indeed. In two or three weeks of investigation... Sorry to walk out on your friend, but you're not Gregory's worst enemy. And it just occurred to me you don't have two or three weeks, neither do I. And what's most important, neither does Gregory. George, where were you? Where have you been? What are you doing out here, Brooks? I phoned you at Brady's from a phone booth. Gregory, I'm afraid your diagnosis wasn't quite right. I mean about him being out for hours. I was upstairs for a minute and I looked out of the window talking to the lady in black. What was that? Out on the lawn, where we found you knocked out. Come on, come on. They separated. I wanted to try to talk to the woman, so I called out to her from the balcony, but she pulled a gun on me. Say that again. A gun from her pocketbook. She waved it at me and then ran out across the back lawn. Well, did you see what happened to Gregory? He's somewhere in the house, but Gladys was in the kitchen. She saw her too. George, aren't you going inside? No, no, that real estate man, that Clary, he lives out across the back, doesn't he? Well, yes, I was going to phone from there, but his house was dark, so I ran down to the drugstore. Oh, come on, Angel, step on it. Don't you realize? Maybe Clary is what this is all about. He's the one who said he was out to get Gregory if it's the last thing he ever did. Well, I told you I didn't see any light in his house. Well, I may be wrong. I hope so. Oh, no. We're too late. The woman in black. Dad, you're sure she's dead? She can't be. I could barely see her. But who are you? Yeah, your concern is a thing of beauty, Buster. Whoever you are. Look, the gun is still in her hand. Well, who do you think I am? I'm the one who shot her. What? It was somebody at the door, her. She didn't say anything. She was like in a sort of trance. And the minute I opened the door, she started shooting. What would you do? Well, what are you doing in Mr. Clary's house? What are you doing with a gun? I got a license. I worked for him, a private investigator. Oh. Sure. To see what I could get on a Gregory guy. That's what Clary hired me for. Oh, poor crazy woman. She came here to kill Mr. Clary, didn't she? Hmm. Thought I was him, I guess. Well, that's it. Where's the phone here, Buster? Dan. Dan Ritchie. It's over there in the corner. There's up matters fine for the police. Yeah, I guess so, Sergeant. You have any more questions, Valentine? No, no, Clary. Since you hired Ritchie and he very obviously shot a mysterious lady in black and self-defense there. Well, there isn't very much left to do. Yeah, it's all pretty clear. I did a fine job, all right. No doubt about that gun, is this, Sergeant? Not whatsoever, Miss Brooks. As a matter of fact, I think we'll find it was the gun that was used to slug Mr. Valentine, too. I knew that Gregory guy was no good. I said so all along, you remember? He was a half-crazy woman to do his dirty work. We found out who she is. The girl is to be Gregory's secretary before he retired. First she assaulted Brady and then you, George, when she thought you were crossing Gregory. Then she was going to eliminate the biggest enemy Gregory had. With her dead, it's not going to be easy to prove enough against this Gregory character to put him where he belongs. Gregory's still in the house, Sergeant. Yes, and I have some men around, so he'll stay there. Good, good. While you straighten things out here, Sergeant, I think that if I can get Mr. Clary to help me, I can straighten out Clary. The sleep of the innocent. He must be insane to do anything like that. He must be. And he'll get away with it. You want a bet? No, Gladys. Because he should get away with it. George! You're supposed to be a joke, Valentine, a very grim joke. Everything that happened here tonight would work just as well if someone wanted to get rid of the little lady in black instead of you. Maybe because she knew too much. What could she know, George? Well, surely she couldn't know anything so important that she'd be killed for it. There's a lot of things that don't seem to jib. Mr. Clary, Gregory knew that you wouldn't be home tonight. You told us yourself that you warned him you were going to your attorney's house. Yes, that's right. I remember. Well, would Gregory then send his disciple to kill you tonight when he knew you weren't home? Hey, he wouldn't have that, would he? All right, suppose then that the lady in black was sent to your house by someone who didn't know that. Suppose that was the one fatal mistake you made in an airtight case, Miss Jenkins. You're crazy. How am I? I'm pretty tall for a boy my age. And I was hit on the top of my head. So it was not by a woman, but by a man. A man? Yeah, a tall man. Not you, Clary, because you were at your lawyer's. And not Gregory, who was out on his feet. Now, a tall, husky man like Richie. But what could Richie possibly... Yeah, yeah, Miss Jenkins' partner. Who made sure you hired him, Clary. He came to you and sold himself on the job a bit, didn't he? It's a lie. I don't know it. But if he was the one who sapped me, how did the gun get into Miss Terrell's hand? Only one way. Richie put it there after firing a shot or two from it. And you, Gladys, played the part of the woman in black. Not only when Brady got scratched, but tonight to make sure Miss Brooke saw you carrying the gun and headed for Clary's. That's right. Gladys wasn't with me at the time. She could have done it. It's a lie. You'll never prove it. Sure of that? The only reason I can see for killing Gregory's former secretary is that she knew he wasn't in any shape to do anything, let alone anything crooked, and you made money on this last year's comeback of his, Gladys. It was because you're a fraud. No. No, stop it. He only did what you told him to do, said what you told him to say, as long as you kept the genie and his bottle together. Here, there's your Gregory, the great look at him. Miss Terrell was going to expose you, Gladys, and you had it killed, presumably, in self-defense. Probably held a prisoner over there by Richie until the act was all set up with me as witness number one. Well, the police will find all that money you made out of Gregory somewhere, Gladys. Trace it to you, and then... I'll kill you. I'll scratch your eyes off. No, sister. You'll just come quietly and see the sergeant. George, it was such a silly, dangerous thing for Gladys to do. She thought she was smart enough, and she and her strong boy almost got away with it. Pigmalion. I only wonder what the statue will have to say once he comes back to life again. Ding automobile manufacturers now recommend a heavy-duty motor oil to give top protection and lubrication for today's engines. New RPM motor oil is the answer. It not only exceeds the requirements of those manufacturers, but compared with premium-type motor oils, new RPM doubles engine life between major overhauls due to lubrication. For better protection for your engine, get new RPM motor oil at independent chevron gas stations or standard stations where they say and mean, we take better care of your car. I'm sorry. Shamed and sorry. Well, it's lucky for you that the police did find enough proof to clear you. Richie worked for Gladys, all right. You didn't know any of those things you told the susceptible rich ladies. Gladys was smart enough to hire a private detective to dig up facts. I don't remember a thing. All these months, they mean nothing. Oh, but I lived well. She kept me living well. Now look, Gregory, maybe this time you should sort of retire for good, huh? Life is like a spinning top, no beginning, no end. And cut that out. I need some money, though. I have an idea. I can still use my occult powers to sell a story to Mr. Brady. How could I never tell the future? By Gregory the fraud. Oh, brother, that does it. Let's get out of here, Angel. Tonight's adventure of George Valentine has been brought to you by Standard Oil Company of California on behalf of independent Chevron gas stations and standard stations throughout the west. Robert Bailey is starred as George with Virginia Greg as Bruxy. Let George do it was written by David Victor and Jackson Gillis and directed by Kenneth Webb. Lee Patrick was heard as Gladys. Theodore Von Elts as Gregory. Forrest Lewis as Cleary. Ted Osburn as Brady. And Herb Vigrin as Richie. The music is composed and presented by Eddie Dunstetter. Your announcer, John Heaston. Listen again next week, same time, same station, to let George do it. Four out of every ten families directly benefit from community chest, hospitals, clinics, orphanages, and youth services. It's your community chest. Support it. Pledge a minute. Only one minute out of every working day for a full year. Let George do it is heard overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. This is the Mutual Don Lee Broadcasting System.