 Box 13, with the Star of Paramount Pictures, Alan Ladd as Dan Holliday. Box 13, Kara Starr Times. I'm a stranger in your city. I don't know a soul here, but I'm in trouble. At least I think I am. I can't go back home until I know what happened to me yesterday and the day before. It's hard to explain in a letter, but if you'll come to 14 East Central Street... Believe me, I need help. And maybe you're the one. Jerry Fuller. Uh-huh. He needed help, all right. First, I didn't think he did. I went at the whole thing with my tongue in my cheek, but I put it back where it belonged. Fast. And now, back to Box 13 and Dan Holliday's newest adventure, Flash of Light. Why can't he go back home? And what does he mean until he finds out what happened to him? Just that he's lost two days out of his life. Nobody can do that. You know you should go to the movies more often, Susie. Sometimes you get an Academy Award for losing a weekend. Well, if you ask me, this Jerry Fuller sounds pretty silly. Two days are hard to mislead. Besides, maybe he's just making a mountain out of a mole skin. I was wondering when you'd finally kick one around. Now I can leave. For number 14 East Central Street and Mr. Jerry Fuller. East Central Street runs through the part of town where the kids played tiddly winks with manhole covers. And number 14 was no writs. A cheap, shabby, rooming house to which paint was just all lying xime. Finding Jerry Fuller was no problem. The landlord pointed down the hallway and 15 minutes later Jerry Fuller finished telling me a story. Maybe I looked skeptical because... You don't believe me, do you? Oh, sure. I believe the part about the blackout, but... But you believe I was drunk, is that it? Well, you admitted having a few. But not enough to knock me out for a couple of days. Okay. I'll tell you and you see how it sounds. You had two cocktails before dinner. After dinner you wandered into the red swan and... Say, why did you pick the swankiest spot in town? Well, just to tell the folks back home I'd been there. Uh-huh. So you had another drink there. Maybe two? All right, two. Three? Two, I said. Okay, take two. They're small. But where are you alone at the red swan? Well, maybe I talked to somebody like people do at bars, but I was alone. Remember to whom you talked? No. Remember anything at all? Well, I don't know, but I kind of remember a flash of light. It sticks in my head. Flash of light? I've got another flash for you. That was your second drink. Look, I can't go back home until I know what happened. Maybe you'd better tell me why not. All right, I guess maybe it's better if you do know. So, Jerry told me a story that had happened a million times before. A small town kid in a big city. And a few drinks that were like dynamite to a kid who never had anything stronger than malted milks. And there was a girl. A girl he couldn't remember. And another girl back home. The girl he was supposed to marry. I listened and knew every word that was coming. I could have even added a few that he'd left out. But when he finished... And that's why I can't go to the police. If I did, they'd have to wire back home for... Verification of your identity? That's it. And everybody back home would know. Find out. I know this is throwing cold water in your face, Jerry, but don't you think you'd better take your medicine? Chalk up the experience to... Experience. Oh, wait a minute. Look, my wallet. What about it? Every cent I had. Even my ticket back home is gone. Did a good job. Listen, if you or anybody else can prove I was robbed, then I've got an explanation. I've got a reason. Okay, I'll give it a whirl. But I think it's cut and dried before we get around to it. Now, the first thing to do is to get you out of this fire trap. But where can I go? My apartment. I'll lend you the money to get back home. I won't go back home until I know what happened, how I got here and why. All right, all right, Jerry. Leave it at that. Now, come on. Hey, wait, where's your baggage? I checked it at the depot before I... Before I went to the Red Swan. Oh, I'll pick it up for you. Now, come on, let's get out of here. Sure are humidity. He was scared stiff and like any frightened kid was building up a big thing in his mind. But there was one thing that bothered me. The place Jerry said he had been in before he blanked out. The Red Swan. It wasn't a hangout for cheap crooks and nickel snatchers. It was ultra-slank and the odds were heavy against anyone taking him over the boards in there. Okay, maybe he went somewhere else afterward. We got to the front door and I sent Jerry to the car to wait for me. Well, hello. Are you Dan? What's yours? Kitty. Okay, Kitty. Is your daddy in? Uh-huh. Who are you? Remember me. Yeah, you'll find the guy. Yeah. He was with a real pretty lady. Shut up, Kitty. Go back in the kitchen. She's a cute little kid. So, that what you come to tell me? I didn't come to tell you anything. I want to ask. What? Who brought Jerry fuller here? Dame. Sure, then? Yeah, sure, I'm sure. That all you want to know? That all you can tell me? What else? Was he drunk? Mister, I didn't ask him. Who was the girl? I didn't stop to get introduced. Look, she brings him here, says she's his wife, gives me a couple of days rent, that's it. Did she leave right away? What do you want from me, a quiz game? Did she leave right away? I don't know. I showed him the room, I got my dough. I don't push questions, see? She gave you two days rent, huh? So long, mister. What'd you do up there, Mr. Holiday? Got unpopular? Okay, Jerry, now we'll go to my apartment. Yes, a lot, thanks. Ah, we'd better see about shipping you back home. Oh, but you said you were gonna help. I am, and the best way I do that is to ship you out of the big city. You come back and say, ten years. You think I'm just a kid that got in bad, don't you? You were the church social for two days, Jerry. And I'm telling you, I was robbed. So you were. What can I tell the folks back home? What you told me? Oh, you don't understand, Mr. Holiday. Mr. Simmons. Mr. Simmons, who's he? He's Millie's father. Oh? And Millie, I take it, is the girl back home. You make him fun of me. No, no, I'm not, Jerry, not at all. But the best thing you can do is face the music. You won't be able to dance to it, but, well, it's the best way. I don't know. Ah, you wait here. I'll run to the depot and get your baggage. Here, yeah, got the check for it? Yeah, it's the only thing they left me. I had it in the inside compartment of my wallet. All right, Jerry. Now that we've got it figured, you'll feel better. I'll see you later. You'll feel better, I said. Everybody makes mistakes, but just how big can they get? I went to the depot, picked up the one Valise Jerry had left there, and hurried back to my apartment. The automatic elevator was just coming down to ground level. Oops. I'm sorry. Yeah? How sorry? I beg your pardon? What for? Keep your eyes in front, pal, and you won't run into people. Just a minute. You came out of that elevator a little too fast. So that's the way I always move. Objections? I might have. Like what? You don't live in the building, do you? Nah, I own it. So long, punk. I, uh, I mean, so long. Holiday. Holiday? I didn't know him, but he knew me, and he came from upstairs. Something told me that character had been in my apartment. Got in the elevator, pressed the floor button. I never realized until then how slow those things can move. Then, Jerry. Jerry, what happened? Nothing. Look at me, Jerry. I said, look at me. Oh, no. I'm all right. Yeah, sure. You're all right. Like you ran into a meat chopper. Jerry, who is that man? There wasn't anybody. Now, listen to me. There was somebody here. He just left. Tell you there wasn't anybody. Give me my police. You may not sit down. Let me go. Be quiet now. Be quiet now. Sit down. Now, why did he go for you? Nobody did. Sure, sure, you poked your face in electric fan to see the pretty blades go around. Come on, Jerry, talk. I'm going back home. Wherever that was, saws at the place I picked you up. Followed us, waited an entire left, then came up here. What'd he say? What'd he want? Nothing. Nothing. I cut it out. I don't want it. All I want to do is get out of here and go back home. All right, Jerry. But you've got to get cleaned up first. Yeah. Go in the bathroom, wash up. Got to change your shirts and those police. Uh-huh. Okay. You... You're going to let me go? Why not? You won't talk. You won't let me help. Mr. Holliday, believe me, I... Are we going to say? Nothing. I'll get cleaned up. Okay, Jerry. Have it your way. Sure. Thanks. Thanks anyway. Towels in the back of the door. Honest, Mr. Holliday. I appreciate what you've done. But I know now I just got to go back and do like you said. Ah, sure. Be a good little boy and wander back home. I... I can finish cleaning up on the train. Let me see your wallet. What? Your money. Count it as a loan. Send it back later. Oh... Oh, sure. Here. Ah. Now, suppose you answer a question. What? How do you explain this? Your railroad ticket. It's back. I guess I must have overlooked it before. Stop lying. I'm not. Okay. Here. $10. Your wallet. Your release. Now, there's the door. You're mad, huh? So long, Jerry. All right. He said quarters. Griffin speaking. Lieutenant Kling, please. On the side. Kling. Hello, Kling. This is Dan. Well, my arch desire. What are you? We'll make with the jokes and funny patterns some other time. Right now, I want to work fast. Huh? A man just left my apartment. He's on his way to the railroad station. Pick him up. Are you nuts? Here's what he looks like. 5 feet 7, light brown hair. Where's horn-rimmed glasses? No hat, dark blue-surge suit carrying a suitcase with initials J.F. on it, a foot high. Even some of your boys could spot it. I'll take a breath and listen to me. I can't order a guy picked up because you want to play games. You've got to have a charge. Pick him up and I'll sign the complaint later. You'll find my wallet in his valise. And now, back to Flash of Light, another Box 13 adventure with Alan Lan, as Dan Holliday. It was a nasty way to keep Jerry in town, but it was the only way to keep him and still tuck him away where he wouldn't be the target for tonight. Kling and I asked him questions, but if he'd been scared before, he was twice as scared now. And the second scare was big enough to make him forget what he wanted to find out. Why he'd been mickeyed and packed off into that boarding house on East Central? But I was real curious about it, and because Kling had nothing to work on, I was on my own. I went back to East Central Street. I knew I wouldn't get anything out of the landlord, but I spotted a little kitty. And I remembered something she'd said, so I asked her. Uh-huh, and there was a real pretty lady. Well, did you hear her name, kitty? Uh-uh. Do you remember if she left right away? Uh-huh. She did. In a car? What was the taxi cab? Why? I... I want to find her. She had red hair and a real pretty fur coat. Oh, that's nice. But when she got into the taxi, kitty, uh, were you near? Uh-huh. I like to look at her red hair and her pretty coat. Now, think carefully, kitty. Did you hear her say anything to the driver of that taxi? Uh-huh. What? She told him where to go. Where? Where she told him. Oh, I know, but where did she tell him? What did she say? 245. 245 what? Well, that's the number of the street, I guess. Did you hear the street? Uh-huh. What was it? It wasn't the street. She said Avenue. All right, kitty, that's fine so far. Now, what was the name of the avenue? 245. That's the number of the avenue. Uh-huh. You just said it was? Oh, no, I didn't. I said 245 Avenue. What avenue? 245. Look, kitty, I... I gotta go play now. Goodbye, miss. Kitty, wait, I... Well, that was that. Dead end. And I was 10 minutes and two miles away when it hit me. Kitty was right. The number was 245 Avenue. A half hour later, I was there. And it took $10 to bribe the clerk in the apartment house to give me the name of the real pretty lady with the red hair and pretty fur coat. And a couple of minutes later... Hey, you, Marty? Yeah, Beth. I see ideas showing up this late. Hey. And ah-ha, nani-nani. I see ideas. Oh, pardon the intrusion. You get out of here. Who are you anyway? I'm the man who makes the survey. Survey? What survey? Are you listening to your radio? What do you want? Answers. Have you got any? He ain't a cop. Expecting one? Get out. Sit down, Beth. I've got questions to ask about a kid named Jerry Fuller. Nobody could call you a little poker face. Meaning what? Meaning that name was a direct hit. You're crazy. Now you get out of here before I call a cop. Okay. Alexander Graham Bell was a great man. He said it was a lot of steps and bother. Go on. Call the police. You don't think I will, huh? Maybe. But when they get here, they might ask questions about Jerry Fuller and why he was drug-framed and holed up on East Central. I said you're crazy. Oh, yes, I know you did. Well... Listen, I don't know who you are, what you're doing here, but I'm going to give you a break. You don't look like a bad guy. Maybe a nut, but you can go and we'll forget this. I don't want to forget it. I'll take it from here, best. Well, hello, hello. If it isn't my elevator, friend. How did you get here, Holiday? I drove. Why? I thought maybe you crawled, because that might be the way you'd get out. Marty, don't start nothing here, please. Shut up. What did you do? Leave a trail, dope? No. I don't know how this guy got here. What are you doing here, Holiday? I want to know why that kid, Jerry Fuller, was framed the way he was. Just curious, Holiday? Maybe. You don't know, huh? Okay, okay, so you don't know. That's nice and healthy for you, Holiday, because if you did know, well, well, you forced your way in here, and I have a perfect right to use this. I, uh, I could find out. Maybe from your pal Fuller, huh? Could be. Okay, okay, go ask him. But get out of here. No, come back again. I might, I'd be so nice about it. Come on, Peter. I might be back. I might be waiting. Maybe you let me out of secret, Holiday. Just where are you heading? Clang, I want to talk to Jerry Fuller. Fuller? You kidding? We let him out. Out? I told you I'd shop and sign the complaint. Sure, then Susie walks in and tells us you've decided not to sign a complaint. No charge. Susie. Yeah, Susie. Let me use your phone. Why not? I'll use the whole police department. Why stop at a phone? Susie. Yeah? Never mind that. Did you go to the police and tell them to drop my charge against Jerry Fuller? Well, yeah. Why? Because you told me to. I told you to. Susie, what's the matter with you? But you can tell him you didn't want to. Oh, okay, Susie. Did I do something wrong? All right. It doesn't matter now. Well, didn't she? Yeah, but it's not her fault. It looked like a legitimate message from me because she knew I got that letter from Jerry Fuller. Oh, no, I get it. Box 13 again. I'm not superstitious, but I'm going to be if I know you much longer. Listen, somebody wanted Fuller out of here. Out of the way because that somebody is afraid of what Fuller knows. Now what? How do I know? I just got off the bench to come in the game. Cling that kid's in danger. We've got to find him. Maybe you better start from the beginning so I can at least look intelligent about it. All right. Fuller sent a letter to Box 13. He wanted me to help him because he was afraid to go back home before he knew what happened. Right, that's the story. But Fuller can't know anything because he said he was blanked out. You've got to find him. There must be something he knows. Okay, hold on. Sergeant, get a description of Jerry Fuller from the clerk. Left here about half hour ago. Put out a dragnet for him. Watch bus, railroad, plane terminals. Right away. Good boy. Now, one more thing. This Marty character you talked about. Short? Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's stocky, a little scar on his chin. Clothes were neat, but gotty. I thought so. Marty Cain. Oh, you know him? Every police department in the country knows him. Killer. I had by anyone who compares price. Killer? You got anything on him? No. Stunley's tipped us off. He was in town. Two days after he gets here, Billy Dufrey was killed. Dufrey? Yeah, he was going to be a state's witness against Billy Farn. He thought nobody knew it. Oh, he gave Dufrey protection, but not enough. Cain got to him. And you lose the fraud case against Farn. Yeah. But if we can get Fuller back, you'll have a case against Cain and Farn. If Fuller talks. Yeah. What do we do now? If you've got any fingernails left, start working on them while we wait. We waited. Two hours. Then three hours. Kling and I stared at each other, each of us afraid of, well, to say what he was thinking. Jerry Fuller would be dead when they found him. There's one point against that, though. The fact that it must have been Marty Cain and Susie with that fake message from me. She could identify him. And if Fuller was killed. Let me go. I tell you, let me go. I didn't do anything. That's all, Sergeant. I'll check over. Come on in, Fuller. What have you got me back here for? Mr. Holiday. Look, Jerry. You're a very lucky boy. You're not decorating the bottom of the river right now. You're safe here, kid. Nobody can get at you here. What do you want? I don't know anything. Maybe you do. I told you I don't. I was on my way home. Jerry. Why don't you let me? Jerry, that night in the Red Swan. What did you see or hear that put Marty Cain after you? I don't know any Marty Cain. I never even heard the name before. He was the man who beat you up in my apartment. I didn't know him. I never saw him before in my... But you did. Why did you stop talking just then? I don't know. Maybe I talked to him at the cocktail bar at the Red Swan. I don't know. You talked to him at the Red Swan. Did he tell you anything about a man named Ufrey? Ufrey? No, I tell you, it's all hazy. Look, Dan. A guy like Cain wouldn't pay to anybody. Just doesn't make sense. Why is Cain anxious to get Jerry out of town? If this kid knew anything, Cain wouldn't let him live 10 seconds. And what's the angle? Jerry, did you ever hear of a man named Billy Farn? No. No, I didn't. I don't know why Cain's after me. All I want to do is go home. Wait a minute. Well, uh, when did you get into town? Oh, that clean? Everything. Because Ufrey was killed on the 5th. Five days before this kid even got near this town. That made it better than ever for people who like puzzles that don't fit together. But there had to be a reason for the whole thing, and because I believed that I had it for the Red Swan. I went to the cocktail bar and looked around. I didn't know what I expected to find, but maybe nothing. Then there was a flash of light. A flash of light. A flash bulb set up by a camera girl, one of those who take pictures in nightclubs. And that was it. Two flashes of light, one from the bulb and another in my head when the idea hit me. It took me 10 minutes to find the man who owned the concession. Yes, sir, we keep all negatives. They're numbered and dated. Got the ones for the night of the 12? Sure, but I can't show them to you. Oh, look, look, look. Check first with Lieutenant Kling, police. He'll tell you it's okay for me to look through those negatives and find the one I want. How big can you project this thing, Kling? As you want. Lab made a positive from the neck you've got. You ready? Yeah, go ahead. Bring it up. Mm, plenty. Jerry, recognize that picture? Yeah, I had the girl take one of me at the bar for a souvenir to take back home. But you haven't got that picture? Well, no, I forgot all about it. Jerry, at the bar, you were a little tipsy. You got talkative. You showed the picture to somebody. Was it Cain? Well, I don't know. It could have been. So what, Dan? What's this picture got to do with it? Don't look at Jerry, Kling. Look at the figures in the background. In larger little more. Yeah, that's what you want. Hey, that's Marty, Cain. Yeah, taking money from someone. And that's someone who's really fine with Legman. Now, you got your case, Kling. Fine's Legman paying off Cain for killing to free. Better look at it the light, Dan. This picture shows Cain getting money. Okay, so what? A smart lawyer could make up a dozen reasons. Cain won it from far. He was getting changed from the Legman. A couple with this business about Jerry Fuller would stand up in court. Fuller hasn't been hurt. Cain was smart that way. Yeah, I... Hey, listen. You want a case? But how? Let me have that negative and listen to your Uncle Dan for a few minutes. Good evening, Marty. So, you did come back, huh? Uh-huh. Want to talk to me? Sure. Come on in. Oh, leaving town, Marty? You're all packed. Maybe you better do the same. I like it here. You must. Now beat it. Uh-huh. I thought you were smart, Marty. What? You got the picture from Jerry Fuller, but there's always the negative. You've got a much better poker face than your girlfriend. But you've had it in my life. Marty, who is it? Oh, you. Sit down and stay out of the way, Beth. Well, Marty... So, uh... So you got the negative, huh? Maybe. You should have thought of it. But that's the trouble with you smart boys. You play a ring around the rose and get yourselves dizzy. What's your angle? Nothing. Oh, and before you pull that trigger, there are cops all around this place. Marty. Shut up. This guy's pulling the bluff. So... Now, why don't you be smart this time, Marty, and go along quietly? The police could use your evidence. Turn stooly, huh? Nothing done! Marty! Marty, come back! You'll see him again, Beth. Let him run. Oh. I'll kill him if they did. Oh, no, Beth. Kling's too good a shot to kill his best witness. Did he go back home? Glad he did, Susie. And right now, he's probably a hero in his hometown. Gee. And all because of a flash in the pan. Huh? I made a joke. Get it? Face. Pan. Flash in the pan. Oh. Good night, Susie. Next week, same time, through the courtesy of Fairmont Pictures, Alan Ladd stars as Dan Holliday in Box 13. Box 13 is directed by Richard Sanville, with an original story by Russell Hughes. Original music is composed and conducted by Rudy Schrager. The part of Susie is played by Sylvia Picker and that of Lieutenant Kling by Edmund MacDonald. Production is supervised by Vern Carstensen. This is a Mayfair production from Hollywood. Watch for Alan Ladd in his latest Fairmont picture.