 The signal oil program The whistler whistle is your signal for the signal oil program The whistler I'm the whistler and I know many things for I walk by night I know many strange tales hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows Yeah, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak Yes friends, it's time for the signal oil program the whistler rated by independent research the most popular West Coast program In gasoline, you know, it takes extra quality to go farther and signal is the famous go farther gasoline So look for the signal circle sign in yellow and black that identifies signal service stations from Canada to Mexico And now the whistler strange story The murder of Byron Blake It was well past the lunch hour and the little restaurant on 56th Street was almost deserted Except for the corner table near the window where Julie Lane and Gus Hackett sat over a pair of coffee cup Julie Yes, how about some dessert? No No, thanks guys. Oh, you better eat something. You didn't touch your lunch. I don't feel like eating Sorry Waiter. Yes, sir. The window. Would you mind? Oh, yes, all right How about some more coffee? No, I'm sorry. I can't I Could use it. Oh sure sure Yeah, feel any better. I guess You do understand guys I'm sorry. Oh, of course. I understand darling. I Don't feel much like talking Just want to be quiet think a little and had a lot to think about She was grateful for the quiet of the little restaurant But somehow even though the waiter had closed the window behind her those headlines still were howling to her brain Lane had a lot to think about For all though it was really Leo Sanders story Julie had been very near the center of it from the moment Leo had come back into her life It had been at a New York party with all the trimming the penthouse the theater crowd The talented youngster from the new review doing impersonations near the piano and the party had just started to warm up when Leo got He stopped in the anti-room and adjusted his tie before he went in and glancing at himself Appreciatively in the hall mirror. He decided that no one can look more prosperous than an actor who's out of work Then Leo opened the door and the first person he ran into was Julie Julie What are you doing in New York beating the pavement looking for a job Had to get me secretary keeps a busy day and I just turning down the offers You couldn't leave me have two bits for coffee and sinkers I haven't changed a bit not since not since St. Louis. Yeah, St. Louis Who are you here with Gus Hackett who Gus Hackett the agent you mean the Gus Hackett Why not Julie darling? You have become suddenly the most glamorous woman I ever met in my life Shall we adjourn to the terrace? Please Leo not not right now. Come on. I just want to talk of her old time That's just it that that's all behind us now Leo. I'd rather we let it all have to carry you out there bodily then no other answer All right, Leo But just for a minute Go back now Gus is probably wondering where I am. Well, that's no reason at all You're afraid of me aren't you Julie? Yes, I suppose I am why? Is it important? very important I I don't want it to happen again Leo St. Louis St. Louis I Found a new life for myself new friends. You still love me Julie. Why won't you admit it? I don't know me I So confusing you're coming back this way. It can be just the way it was. I'm different now darling. I've learned a lot You can help me. You know Hackett's the biggest agent in the business if you could get him behind me I Well, there's no end to what we could do together. We can go right at the top It's not just that there's something else Leo. I don't want to talk about it now That's I want you to meet an old friend. This is Leo Sanders glad knowing how I knew each other in St. Louis I see Julie Pat Hoffman's downstairs. You better run out and say the right things Pat But he told me he's on his way up going now hurry. Excuse me Leo. I'm sorry mr. Sanders Suppose she told you about Hoffman. She started to say something queer guy. He runs the nightclub where she works Decided he's going to marry her I see I'm afraid you don't You've known her a long time. I went to high school with him. We went around together when I first started out on the stage Oh, you're an actor. Yes matter of fact, I've been trying to make an appointment with you for over a month Finished up a nice run with fallen star on the road and is do you mind if we don't talk business tonight? I guess I got the jitters or something. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean oh sure sure I've told her again and again about that Hoffman character. I don't know where it's gonna end up that bad Oh worse Look, I'll talk to Julie about you. She says you're okay. It's great with me. Maybe we can work out something That's all I can say right now But that's enough isn't it Leo a word to hack it from Julie and the door is open wide open for you to walk in and Take what you've wanted for so long Broadway Leo and your name up there in the brightest lights of all And all your dear old friends who said you'd never make the big time looking on with envy Of course it all depends on Julie So to keep her memory of those days back in St. Louis alive You drop into the Flora shop next evening. Yes, sir I'll take a dozen of those American Beauty roses the ones in the window All right, sir I send them to Julie Lane at the parakeet club on West 58th Street Do you wish to include a card? No, I'll deliver the message myself Oh, didn't you get my flowers? I didn't know they were yours they're lovely Leo, but you shouldn't have What's the matter darling? Something wrong? You shouldn't have come here Leo Why not? The show's over. Got a guy come backstage to see his girl once in a while I can't explain how please go Leo. I can see you after No that's no way to act Come here Leo Don't lie to me Julie It's still the same isn't it? Just like it used to be I don't know Leo Julie darling Please go now I'll meet you somewhere afterwards You've got to understand Julie Who's that? I'm not quite ready Pat, just a minute Get behind that screen over there What can I do? Please darling But it's a stupid, you're of age you could do What do you do as I say? All right Julie What is it? I just wanted to tell you it's all set What's all that? Tomorrow night I arrange for Lorraine to do your spots so you and I can take the night off and Wait a minute What's this? Oh the flowers I meant to tell you Who's sending you flowers? He's just a friend Pat You didn't answer my question Julie Who is he? I don't think it's any of your business If I want to have a look Don't give me that I'm tired of it Julie I told you before I wasn't going to take any more All right Pat you don't have to take any more I don't need this job I don't need you I'm not a child Pat you've no right Shut up Get this Julie You're staying here with me whether you want it or not And you can tell your friend if he makes another pass at you I'll kill him Pat That's all I'll get into your things I have the car ready for you in 15 minutes Nice guy isn't he? Why did you walk out? I'm afraid of him Leo He'd do anything What about us? I don't know You've got to fix me up with Gus Hackett Leo I told you You love me Julie It's going to mean everything to To both of us All right Leo I'll call Guy I'll make an appointment for you The murder of Byron Blake The signal oil company brings you another strange story By the Whistler But now for just a moment Suppose this were a quiz program And you were asked a question What gasoline is famous as the go farther gasoline? What would the winning answer be? Well if you've lived out west any length of time You know that from Canada to Mexico Signal is the famous go farther gasoline Now naturally we're mighty proud of that reputation But even more so we're proud of What makes signals mileage possible You see you get those quick signal starts That fast signal pick up And smooth knock free signal power Because signal helps your engine run more efficiently And naturally the more efficiently Your motor runs the more mileage you get That's why signal says Your speedometer is the best yard stick Of gasoline quality Check yours and you'll find it's true In gasoline it does take extra quality To go farther And of course signal is the famous go farther gasoline And now back to the Whistler A nice girl Julie Lane isn't she Leo? You're busy now thinking of the good things That can come out of running into her again At that New York party Of course you'll have to be careful With your boss Pat Hoffman When he said he'd kill anyone He caught hanging around Julie He meant every word of it But first things first Leo Before anything else You've got to take advantage of the opportunity Julie gave you with her good friend Gus Hackett the actor's agent A few days later you enter his office To keep the appointment she arranged It was certainly nice of you to see me Mr. Hackett Not at all Sandy sit down Thanks tell me about yourself Well I started in St. Louis Went on the road with the second company of Pretty Boy Had 16 weeks of that Then of course it was the usual summer theater work I brought along some clippings Oh good good There's one review there I'm rather proud of The guy in Seattle thought I did alright With the lead in Primrose It's that one Standout performance by a bright young newcomer Leo Sanders was well received By an otherwise restless audience Sanders showed strong presence and a genuine understanding Of Mr. Carter's principal character It's okay Of course that's all Bush League stuff to you Mr. Hackett They all have to start someplace Sanders Don't let it worry you As a matter of fact the thing I have in mind Calls for an unknown It's Mel Franklin's new play He'll be casting in about a week Mel Franklin That'll be quite a break From what he told me about it There's a good chance you might be What he's looking for Well of course Mr. Hackett you know I've only done leads I'm talking about the lead Well It's a little hard to believe Franklin would take a chance on an unknown Mel has quite a few ideas about this part Above all he wants someone who isn't identified With any other characterization I see It's that kind of a part The play might suffer if the audience Associated the actor with the wrong kind of things Which brings up something else Sanders What do you mean? Your background There were a few clippings you didn't say Right? Well now wait a minute Look has Julie been telling you about Julie hasn't been telling me anything Except how confident you are No Sanders have found these things out of my own hook It's a practice of mine And taking on any new client And Just what have you found out? Well Let's say it wasn't entirely breaks That have held you back I understand you got out a hand a few times Never anything serious Mr. Hackett That hit and run charge in Duluth was serious Enough you served time for it Well yes And there were at least half a dozen towns In the Midwest Where you've been in one kind of trouble or another That temperament routine doesn't go anymore you know All right Mr. Hackett But I don't see what it has to do with In this case everything I just want us to understand one another That's all Now in dealing with Franklin I'll do the talking I understand Mr. Hackett Well I appreciate this even more And I don't thank me thank Julie Lane I intend to She's a wonderful girl Sanders I I guess I do almost anything for her I understand Mr. Hackett I hope you do She's very fond of you you know I wouldn't want to see her hurt Of course not All right Sanders I'll arrange that try out Be at the 56th street theater at 10 tomorrow morning And that's all there is to it Leon It took Julie five minutes To do what you failed to accomplish in three months You know how important she is now That as long as she believes you're in love with her Anything is possible You arrive at the theater early the next morning Sit by yourself in the wing Studying the play script that Franklin placed in your hand An hour or two later You're going through it with a leading lady And as you read You can see Franklin and Hackett Alone in that sea of empty seats Beyond the glare of the footlights Think for a minute Mary I don't want to hurt you I don't want to hurt your father But please consider my position You're taking it too seriously Too seriously Mary and those people are counting on me They believed in me when they voted me into office Politics makes certain things necessary David If they make it necessary for me to Turn into a cheat for the lion Then I want no part of it As you read the lines You're aware of the two of them sitting out there Watching and listening You try to concentrate on the part But can't help wondering what they're thinking What sort of impression you're making On Mel Franklin And then as you finish your scene Hackett waves for you to stop The two of them put their heads together Talking earnestly And you sit on the stage waiting Wishing you could hear Well what do you think Mel? Well a guy's good guy Is he in? I had another actor in mind And I'd still like to listen to him But it's between him and Sanders, huh? Yes, I think I can promise you that Well good enough Except that I think Sanders is right Sure, sure, did a good job from first reading Only Well Gus, I've heard things about him I understand that you... That's all in the past, Mel I can promise you that Yes, but this part Has to be a clean cut guy He's really an actor And you may have something Gus Let me think it'll okay But you got a chance to hit on this one Mel Go let a few rumors spoil it for you Well how did it go Mr. Hackett? Did Franklin say anything? Looks good Leo, but what did he say? I hope you told him I wasn't my best And after all first reading Relax, I told him just enough And I still want you to stay away from him Give him time to make up his mind Make up his mind? He mentioned having somebody else He wanted to hear, but you just do as I say And it's gonna work out, I'm sure of it I hope you're right Mr. Hackett I couldn't mess with a part like that I know, but all we can do now is just wait and see Look, I gotta make a quick trip out to Hollywood But what about just sit tight I'll be in touch with Mel and if anything Breaks, I'll call Julie And another thing Leo Be a good boy, will you? You never dreamed it could happen so fast Did you Leo? Yes, in a matter of days now You'll know one way or the other The waging isn't easy, but Gus Hackett Seemed so confident, so sure It's three nights later that you pick up a rumor In the bar and hurry directly to Julie's apartment Well Leo Good, you've got your ready one What time is it? Five after seven It might not be too late Craig Wallace is on the air now He might have a tip on the cast of Franklin's play How would he know before we do? Well, he's supposed to be an old pal of Mel Franklin's Oh, that's great Craig Wallace bringing you bits of show That was picked up along the Broadway way Might be just like Gus To let us keep the good news over the radio Nothing but the usual junk about people breaking out That isn't always show that I promise to have something about the stars Of Mel Franklin's latest opus That's it Mel has picked a newcomer this time For the leading role opposite Broadway's own Vivian Marks Needless to say Probably be around for a long time When Mel Franklin picks him They're usually nothing short of sensational And so, Mr. and Mrs. Manhattan, here it is The man who will play the lead in Mel Franklin's new play is Byron Blake What? Wait, Leo, don't turn it off Why not, Julie? Byron Blake, I... I don't understand it Are you sure, Julie? Are you sure you don't understand it? What? What do you mean? It must be nice, darling I had no idea you were so clever What are you talking about? I seem to remember something you said once in St. Louis Something about evening the score sooner or later We were just kids That has nothing to do with that Anything I might have said Is just what you don't understand Go ahead, watch me squirm Isn't that what you wanted? Too bad Gus Huckett isn't here to laugh with you Leo, stop it You don't know what you're saying Why, I never heard of this This Byron Blake Leo, you've got to believe me You've got to, Leo Darling, it's just the same to... Just the way it was in St. Louis It isn't the same It's gone now Everything? I dreamed a lot of dreams, Julie There's not much fun waking up like this So long, kid Leo, please, where are you going? Do me a favor, will you? Just pretend I've never walked into the party that night It's all over Leo, it's all over You tell that to yourself again and again As you leave Julie and aimlessly walk the street It's even worse now than before you ran into her at that party Coming so close Having a dream in the palm of your hand Then watching it vanish in a casual remark from a radio commentator Yes, there are only two of you, Leo And tomorrow they'll all tell you it was close Then it was a hard choice between you and this Byron Blake And you'll smile politely and say thanks anyway And step back to where you were three months ago When you first came to New York An hour later you find yourself standing in front of a florist shop Looking at a basket of American beauty roses in the window vaguely remember it's the place you stopped a week ago and bought the roses for Julie The night Pat Hoffman said he'd kill the man who sent them Suddenly you find yourself tense Your mind going a mile a minute Just a minute Sorry, Mr. Closing up But I want some flowers Too late, buddy She'll have to wait till tomorrow Look, I've got to have them Those roses, I want two dozen Two dozen American beauties Well, never too late to make a sale like that Come on inside You've got two dozen Sure What about delivery? There's ten bucks in it if you can deliver them tonight Oh, I guess I could take care of it on my way home I... I want you to take them to the Parakeet Club I know the spot See that Pat Hoffman, the manager, gets them He'll know who they're for Okay What about a card? Yes, I want a card Just put two Julie with all my love Uh-huh And sign it by Red and Blake The Whistler will return in just a moment with a strange ending to tonight's story Meantime, a word about the extra something you get when you have your car lubricated at a dealer-owned signal gasoline station You see, signal dealers, being in business for themselves do go out of their way to give you the kind of job they're proud to stand back up It's why, for instance, they take no chances on memory when they lubricate your car Instead, they check against signals factory-recommended lubrication chart, which shows every lubrication point on your car And they use nine specialized signal oils and greases So each part will have the exact type of protection it needs But do they stop there? No, sir Just to make doubly sure not a single part has been overlooked they check each point again which is why it's called signal double-check lubrication Now that's the kind of lube service you want if your car is to give you the long, trouble-free service that was built into it And that's the kind of lubrication you get from your friendly dealer-owned signal service station And now, back to the Whistler Yes, Julie Lane had a lot to think about on that afternoon she and Gus Hackett sat in the little restaurant on 56th Street with the news boys outside shouting of the murder of a New York actor named Byron Blake It had been a terrible two days and she told the story so many times to so many police officials that it didn't seem to make sense anymore But the worst was over now At least the killer had had the kindness to plead guilty and there'd be no trial It was natural though that as she and Gus sat there her mind kept going back to Leo or although the headlines, the gossip even the police records might say something else to Julie, it would always be Leo's story Gus Yes, Julie Gus, I'm sorry I had to drag you through all this before I could come to my tent with you I think it was worth it I do love you, girl I guess it's been that way all along It's kind of hard to believe, Julie You know, I thought it was all over that night Leo came back I guess I should have known Strange, isn't it? The guy signs his own death warrant and the papers call it a tragedy Leo was a heel, Julie worse than that, he was a murderer He knew when he sent those roses exactly what Hoffman would do That's what's so wrong about it Hoffman wasn't the murderer, he was the weapon Maybe we better forget it I'm sorry I guess I just got to get it off my chest Somehow I feel responsible It's not your fault, Gus Oh, I know, but Leo would still be alive right now If I hadn't dreamed up that way of covering his past by giving him the stage name of Byron Blake Let that whistle be your signal for the signal oil program, the Whistler Each Monday at 9 brought to you by the signal oil company marketers of signal gasoline and motor oil and fine quality automotive accessories Signal has asked me to remind you to get the most driving pleasure drive at sensible speeds be courteous and obey traffic regulations It may save a life possibly your own Featured in tonight's story were Betty Lou Gerson and Tom Collins The Whistler was produced by George W. Allen based on a story by Jean Fram Hers Music by Wilbur Hatch and was transmitted to our troops overseas by the Armed Forces Radio Service This is Marvin Miller speaking for the signal oil company This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System