 The Amazing Mr. Malone. Operator. Operator, get me the office of John J. Malone. The American Broadcasting Company presents The Amazing Mr. Malone. An exciting half hour of mystery starring Jean Raymond. Our locale is the city of Chicago. The time, the present. I'm the hero of these weekly adventures. The Amazing Mr. Malone. Malone is the name John J. Malone attorney and counselor-at-law. Tonight, I want to take my text for Mesa Fable. It was Eesa who first observed that appearances can be deceiving. Of course, he was thinking of the wolf and sheep's clothing that he might just as well have had Carl Riker in mind. Mr. Riker is the Paul poetic-looking gentleman in the rear of the Cadillac sedan tearing down Chicago's south side in the rain. If you were judging solely by appearances, you'd say he is a gentleman and a scholar, and you'd be right. No student could be more diligent than he is in his search for the truth. It's much further, Michael. No, it's the last house on this block. That one? Yeah. Ah, here we are. You want us to wait out here for you? As you will. Well, in that case, I think I'll go in and watch the fun, huh? Hey, will you look at it, Paul? Excuse me if I fail to admire the beauties of nature right now. Just, uh, just what are you thinking on doing, Mr. Riker? I hardly know myself. I'm such a creature of impulse. Who's that? A friend. Mr. Riker. Mr. Cromwell? That's right. Nice to know you. My name is Riker. Riker? Yes, I'm this, uh, gentleman, Mr. Michael. Hiya. What do you boys want? May we hear? Okay. I may mean little to you, eh, Mr. Cromwell? Not a thing. Perhaps my wife would mean more. The given name is Laura. Laura Riker is your... Incredible, isn't it? What do you want here? I'm a peculiar sort of a man, Mr. Cromwell. I have an unusual fixation. You're familiar with psychiatry? Nope. Well, an analyst would say to me, I have very strong acquisitive instincts. Definitely anti-social. I can't bring myself to share any of my belongings. Look, Riker, get to the point. You must forgive me, sir. I do have a tendency to wander. Any time I do, please don't hesitate. What do you want? A very simple thing. Hardly worth mentioning. Your life. You crazy. Hey, put that gun away, Mr. Riker. I didn't bargain for nothing like this. No, I'm sure you didn't. Now listen, mister, you got this all wrong. I've nothing to do with your wife. Ask her. Laura will tell you. You disappoint me, Mr. Cromwell. I expected better of you. What are you afraid of? Have you ever read Aristophanes? A big-shake man. No, well, it was he who wrote, For what is death but an eternal sleep? So I say to you, Pleasant dreams, Mr. Cromwell. No. Don't! Dave, I'm so glad you decided to come home. Yeah. You think all right? Fine, Evel. Who's there? Me. I'll take it, Evel. I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for a Dave Cromwell. Are you there? Did you have a brother named George? What do you mean, did I have? You better come in with us. Thank you. Nasty night, isn't it? Don't tell me you dropped him just to get in our Lorraine. Well, I hardly know where to begin. You might try to begin. All right. An hour ago, we got a call from the superintendent of your brother's place. Oh. When we got down there, we found him murdered. He'd been shot twice. I see. You wouldn't have any idea at all. I realize what a shock this must be, Mr. Cromwell, if you'd like, I can come back later. Yeah, you do that, Ms. Cromwell. You wouldn't want a venture deal. No, I wouldn't. I'm sorry. Yeah, sure. Well, good night. Good night, Mrs. Cromwell. Good night. Get my coat of him. Darling, you're not going home. Did you hear what I said? Oh, Steve. What are you doing? Why did you give me that gun? Shut up. You know who killed George. I got a pretty good idea. I'd like the police take care of him. I thought I told you to get my coat. Please, darling, listen to me. Why should I? You know when you don't listen to me. Now go on, get it. I've got a lot of work to do tonight. Mysterious swaying on South Side. George Cromwell, age 31. Laura. Laura, darling, I was talking to you. What do you want, Carl? Would you care to see the paper? No, thanks. You know, Angel, I can't understand you. You can't? No. You seem to have no desire to keep up with what's going on in the world. Why isn't that ashamed? It's a momentous time slot. Every day brings something new. Take tonight's edition, for example. Right here on the first page. Carl, I want to talk to you. Of course, there I'm all ears. I want a divorce. Disappoint me. I thought we were going to have a serious talk. I am serious. You can't be, Laura. You've been through this before. You know how I feel. Yes, you own me. You're bitter to me. I want a divorce, Carl. Perhaps you'd better read this first. Serious swaying on South Side. The young man's name was Cromwell. Cromwell? Didn't you know someone by that name? You... You killed him. Oh, darling, you're jumping to conclusions. You killed him. Not so loud, Laura. What will the servants think? Shall we continue our discussion of divorce? I'll pay you back for this. You're upset. Go to sleep, Lucian. You'll feel better in the morning. Larry's barn grew. It's Mr. Michaels there. Just a second. Hey, any of you boys seen Koki Michaels around? No, not tonight. I'm sorry, Pally, in here. Well, if he should come in, will you please ask him to call Mr. Carl Riker. I'll say it again. Riker. R. Hello? Hello? That's funny. Hey, any of you guys ever hear of a Carl Riker before? No, one. Well, I got a feeling I just heard the last of it. It was just one of those things. Just one of those crazy things. It's one of those bells that now and then rings. Just one of those things. It was just one of those nights. Just one of those fabulous... That's all. You know, I thought you were never going to make it. I beg your pardon? Generally, I'm interrupted on the first 16 bars. What's your name, friend? Kenneth Harrison. He's probably wondering how I got in your office. I'm not even going to ask unless you've got something better to offer than the door was open. You're not going to believe this, Mr. Malone. No, see, you might as well spare me. If I offended you, sir, perhaps this will make up for it. Hey, what do you call that stuff, anyway? Money. I thought it looked familiar. I went sourced. I'm about three years ago. There's $2,500 in it, Mr. Malone. It's all yours. A giveaway show are you with. Did you see this morning's paper? Well, you haven't noticed the story about the murder of a gentleman named Carl Riker. Yeah, the police are holding his wife. His wife happens to be my sister. I see. Do you? No. I'd like you to represent her. This money should be sufficient for retail. If I take the case, why should you refuse to? Well, first of all, you want to assure yourself that Laura is innocent. How'd you know I was going to say that? I merely anticipated. Well, I'll tell you, Harrison, after you talk to Laura, you want to talk to me again. Did you ever think of going in for mind reading? I had considered it. Well, if I... If you should want to reach me, I'll let the main at hotel. There you go again. Say, do you know everything? Just about. And maybe you can tell me why I got a feeling I'd just been had. Okay, Harrison, I'll be seeing you. You are listening to the amazing Mr. Malone starring Gene Raymond. You know, everybody likes a bargain. That's the American way. We like to know that we're getting more than our money's worth when we buy something. And buying United States savings bonds would be getting more than your money's worth. Return of four dollars for every three invested is a pretty good deal. And that's what United States E-Class savings bonds pay at maturity. So take advantage now of the opportunity to buy United States savings bonds. They can be purchased at banks or post offices or through the payroll savings plan where you work. Think of your future today and buy United States savings bonds. And now back to the amazing Mr. Malone. 32 minutes and 17 seconds later, I was down at police headquarters, which was 12 minutes and 14 seconds over schedule. And I stopped off at the bank first where I discovered that the 2,500 bucks Kenneth Harrison had wished on me were apparently genuine. With his accent, I had a feeling it might be Confederate money. Then I hustled over to headquarters to earn my fee. Believe me, when you deal with a guy like Lieutenant Brooks, you're really doing it the hard way. Well, if it isn't the amazing Mr. Malone. Uh-huh. That's a nice snappy comeback, uh-huh. How do you think of things like that? I listen to Bob Hope. Where's my client? Sussman, send in Mrs. Riker. Wait a minute, Brooks, how did you know I was representing Mrs. Riker? Oh, you think you're the only one who can be amazing? Excuse me, I was... Oh yeah, come in, Mrs. Riker. Your lawyer is here. My lawyer? I'm John Jay Malone. Who? John Jay Malone. I never heard of you. Honey, you can have anything you want on the house. Hey, no attention to him, Laura. He's just sore because I'm going to get you out. Just what is going on here? Your brother retained me to represent you. My brother? Uh-huh, Kenneth Harrison. You haven't had time to do much research, have you, Mr. Malone? What do you mean? I'm an only child. You're a what? Are you ambulance-chasing Malone? Look, Lieutenant, I give you my word. This character came in and told me he was Mrs. Riker's brother. That's very funny. You don't know how funny it is. He gave me a $2,500 retainer. He what? So help me, that's the truth. You know a tall, good-looking boy from below the mint-jewel-a-blind, about 6-1? No. You sure? I'm positive. Oh, why should he give me $2,500? I have no idea. Well, do you want me? Why should I? You could do a lot worse. Ask the Lieutenant. Oh, keep me out of this. I'm prejudiced. How do I know this isn't some trick? What can you possibly lose if you tell a straight story? Here's what you say. What can I lose? All right, first of all, did you kill your husband? No. Okay, then we can continue. You're amazing, Mr. Malone. Already, you know she's innocent. Already, I know. Do you also know that she threatened her husband last night, about two hours before he died? That's a lie. The chauffeur heard you, Mrs. Riker. What might this chauffeur's name be? Michael's. Kokey Michael's. Kokey Michael's. Is that isn't the same one? Yeah, yeah. How long has he been working for, you lover? He didn't work for me. He was employed by my husband. Doing what? I can't imagine. Well, I can tell you, he was keeping tabs on you. I don't believe it. You were seeing a boy named George Cromwell, weren't you? Who? George Cromwell? No. Now, you better be careful in your answers, Mrs. Riker. You know Cromwell was murdered last night. Do you think she did it? No. I think her husband killed him and then she went to work on her husband. You're insane. You weren't stepping out with this George Cromwell. On my word of honor. Michael says otherwise. I wonder why. So long, Mrs. Riker. You're going over to see Michael's Malone. You're wasting your time. I've already had a crack at him. I'm glad to hear that, Lieutenant. Then you certainly can't begrudge me my turn at bat. Larry, let me have another shot, will you? You're right with you, Michael. Can I find you one? What? Not a nickel. Michael, don't you remember me? Sure, I remember you, Mr. Malone. How's we sit down at a table? You sit down. I like this fine. What did you drink, Michael? I believe the bottle, Larry. Take it out of this. Hmm. Falling money. You must be doing all right. The last time I saw you. It was my tough luck. What do you want, Malone? Just came from police headquarters. Did you? I'm representing a lady you know, Laura Riker. Hey, careful, Michael. You're going to spill that drink all over you. Look, Malone, I don't know anything about the Riker case. That's not what Lieutenant Brooks told me. I don't care what he told you. Did Riker kill George Cromwell? Oh. Cromwell. Didn't you ever hear the name before? No. That's funny. You claimed Mrs. Riker was stepping out with him. Did I? You're an awfully difficult man to get anything out of nowadays. I know the truth. Wasn't always like this. Time marches on, yeah. Maybe it's just that these surroundings aren't conducive. They're good talks. Supposedly take a little stroll outside. And not that. Come on, Michael. Hey, Larry. You want me? Yeah. Come over here and bring that bunks down over here. Man. You looking for trouble? Not me. Well, good night, Michael. See you around. Oh, you're not leaving, Mr. Malone. Yeah, I can tell when I'm not wanted. You don't have to hit me over the head before I get the idea. Yeah. Good evening. Good evening. Good evening. Is Mr. Dave Cromwell at home? No, he isn't. Are you Mrs. Cromwell? Yes. Well, I'm glad to know you. My name is Michael. It's Corky Michael's. What's your first name? Evelyn. Look, Mr. Michael, if you want to see my husband. I most certainly do. Well, I don't expect Dave back too late tonight. Oh, that's okay. I can wait. Oh, but it might be odd. Don't give it a thought. I got plenty of time. Yeah. I even brought along my own refreshments. See? Hey, you got to go. You got to go. You got to go. You got to go. You got to go. You got to go. You got a refreshment. See? Hey, you got a glance. A glance? Oh, never mind. I don't need that. Yeah. Yeah, that's good. Now, it's good as you want with my husband. Oh, that's the secret, the deep dark secret. You want to drink? No. Thank you. You'll have to suit yourself. Joey, head of a man named Carl Reichen. No. That's funny. He's been on all the papers. He was murdered last night. I used to work for him. Yeah, that's what I wanted to see your husband about. You see, they got Mrs. Riker in jail, and I'm afraid it's all my fault. Get out of here. What's the matter, Evelyn? Am I such a bad company? Are you going to get out of here? Oh, now, baby, where do you think you're going? Oh, my arm. Will you behave? Oh, now sit down there. Ow! Got no right. Oh, shut up. Heh. Hey, your husband certainly keeps late hours, honey. I don't think Dave's coming home tonight. No? No, now that I remember, he told me that... He told you what? Well, hello, pal. We were just discussing, you know. What's going on here? Darling, he forced his way in. My name is Michael's, Mr. Cromwell. I wanted to talk to you about what? About the Riker case. What about it? Well, suppose you tell the Mrs. to blow, huh? Go on, Evelyn. Darling. Go on. I want to talk to this gentleman alone. Sweetheart, you must admit yourself. Go on, Evelyn. Hey, boy, you certainly got the power. How you doing, huh? He said you want to talk about the Riker case. Oh, oh, yeah. Well, you know, they're holding his Mrs. Yeah, I read the papers. Did you read John J. Malone was representing her? Yeah, so... Oh, so he's quite a boy. All he needs is a little lead, and boom. I bet he gets the answer just like that. What is the answer, Mr. Michael? Well, it goes back to your brother's murder. How's that? Oh, quit acting surprised, Cromwell. I didn't know Riker killed him. How did you know? I was there. What? Hey, hey, cut it out. You're choking me. I swear I didn't know what Riker was going to do. All right, talk. Well, somebody gave Riker a bum steer. He thought his wife was seeing your brother. Went all the while. It was me? Yeah. I guess you must have used your brother's apartment for the meeting place. What was the name of this somebody who tipped off Riker? I don't know. I think he had a private debt. You're lying. No. Come on, Michael, admit it. Who brought Riker to my brother? No, I swear I didn't. All right, get up, Michael. We're going to play 20 questions. Honey me, Laura. Thanks, Sydney. Well, isn't it amazing, Mr. Malone? I didn't expect you back tonight. I didn't expect to be back. Did you accomplish anything? Yes and no. How is that supposed to mean? I figured out a way to prove your innocence. Can you? Yes, indeed. How? You never submit to an injection of sodium amatol. A what? It's what they call a truth serum. Oh, no. Come on, lover. What can you lose? It seems to me you used that line before. I thought those kind of tests weren't admissible in court. They aren't. Well, then what good is it? Maybe I just want to convince myself. What do you say, Laura? Well, I always thought I was a pretty accomplished liar. Hang on your hypodermic, Malone. I think I can beat it. We'll be ready to roll in a minute, counselor. Good. Say hello. Yeah. I'm going to donate my life to science. Don't you think I'm entitled to know how this truth serum routine works? That's fairly simple, Laura. It all hinges on your unconscious mind. The doc's going to give you an injection of sodium amatol. That'll make you feel drowsy. But even then, your unconscious sometimes continues to function, and the sodium amatol releases a break. I mean, I couldn't hold out on you even if I wanted to. Well, there are no guarantees with this deal. All right, doctor, whenever you're ready. I'm ready now, Mr. Malone. You hold out your arm, Mr. Brighton. You just won't hurt it. Ow! Sorry. Sorry. Now, when you start counting backwards slowly from 100. 99. 98. 97. 96. 95. 93. 94. 91. 90. 95. 93. 94. 94. 91. 91. 91. 91. 90. She's off now. Okay, go ahead. What's your name? Laura Reich. Where were you born? In New York. How long did you live there? I was 17. Three hours in that little hole in the wall. You know what it's like to be cool. That's why you married your husband? Yes. And I know it's going to be worse. I thought I was bettering myself. Do you know a Kenneth Harrison? Kenneth Harrison? No. No. I never heard the name before. How about a George Cromwell? I know George. You ever go out with him? No. But you were in love with him? I couldn't stand the name. Do you think your husband killed him? I... I don't want to talk about it anymore. Listen to me, Mrs. Reich. I told you I don't want to discuss it. I'm alone. I'm alone. Now what's the score, Lieutenant? If you pass or flunk, the doc says she lied. About what? She does know a Kenneth Harrison. I thought so. But she was telling the truth when she said she didn't go out with George Cromwell and she wasn't in love with him. She wasn't? Nope. Yet Michael swore she was meeting... Wait a minute. Did Cromwell share his apartment with anybody? Nope. Does he have any close friends? Not that we could discover. He seemed to spend most of his time with his brother. His brother? Yeah, a fella named Dave Cromwell. Tall, well-set-up lad. Is this brother married? Yeah, why? Well, I would probably explain why Dave didn't use... Let's go see Michael's. What for? To check on his theory of relativity. Michael's looks like Einstein in this case. You don't answer him alone? That's strange. Why? Michael's wasn't in any of the bars. He should be home at this hour. Are you? That'll be funny. I'll tell you what. Uh-oh. What's the matter? Hey, we haven't run across one of these in ages. The doors unlock. Yeah. Got a match? See the light switch? And that ain't all. Brutal, huh? Yeah. Well, I guess we're not going to get anything out of Mr. Michael's tonight. Tonight or any night. Call Homicide Malone. You ought to know the number by this time. You are listening to the amazing Mr. Malone starring Gene Raymond. The day is never before the elementary public school system in America faces a critical situation. The facts are alarming. An increased birth rate during and since the war has resulted in expanded enrollments that will crowd the elementary schools with millions of additional children during the next five years. Immediate action is needed now to cope with the enormously enlarged school population. You can help to assure a proper education for your youngsters by working with local civic groups and school boards, actively seeking to improve educational conditions. Remember, better schools make better communities. And now back to the amazing Mr. Malone. Ten minutes later, a detail from Homicide arrived. It was a pleasure to watch them work. They all made like a swarm of bees, but from the way the lieutenant looked, I could see they hadn't found much honey. You're still hanging around, Malone? No, I left an hour ago. I wish you'd taken your head with you. Oh, that's a good one, Lieutenant. We must send that to Red Skelton. What's up? Michael's was killed with the same gun used on Riker. After someone handed him a shellacking. How would you know that? If the doers look at the body, how long has he been dead? Not very. Well, as I always say, it's the new wind that blows nobody good. Is that what you always say? Yeah, but Shakespeare probably said it first. What are you babbling about? This lets my client out. Does it? Certainly, if both Michael's and Riker were killed with the same gun, how could Mrs. Riker do it? Why couldn't she? What did she use? Thought waves? Well, I was saving it for a surprise, Malone. What? After the state's attorney heard about the results of the truth serum test, he ordered a release. He what? Yeah. Want to come along while I pick her up? Suppose you come along with me first. Remember why we came here originally? To check whether Riker could have killed the wrong Cromwell. Well, Michael's can't do that for us anymore, so let's go to the next best source. Yes. Hello, Mrs. Cromwell. Who are you? Don't you remember? I was here Thursday night to see your husband about his brother. Oh, you're... Lieutenant Brooks. Mrs. John J. Malone. How do you do? How do you do? Is your husband in? Well, he's asleep. Would you mind waking him? I wouldn't like to, Lieutenant. You know, they've been under a severe strain. He'll survive. Of course, that's no guarantee for how long. Where is he in there? No, I won't let you disturb it, nor... Now, cut that out. No! Hey, get her off of me, Malone. All right. Stop it. James. Well, the commotion was done. Well, Mr. Malone and I wanted to talk to you. Yes, indeed. What's the matter, counselor? This is Mr. Kenneth Harrison. What? Well, it's the name he used at my office. You're out of your mind. Do you know a Laura Riker? No, he doesn't. Will you let me handle it? Yeah, I know a Laura Riker. Did you kill her husband? No. That's enough, Evelyn. No, I didn't kill him, Mr. Malone. What about a boy named Cokie Michaels? What about him? He was murdered an hour ago. Well, let me out. He stays behind all night. I can prove that. No, you can't, Mrs. Bromwell. The elevator boy says your husband stepped out around 11. It's only for a patient. You're a packet cigarette. That's the kid. I was back in five minutes. You better come along with me, Dave. No, I won't let you take him away. For Pete's sake, Evelyn. I won't let them do it. I killed him, Lieutenant. What? I killed Mr. Riker and Mr. Michaels. You forgot Cok Robin. Come on, Cromwell. You've got to believe me. I did it. Honest idea. She ain't kidding. What? What's the matter with you, Cromwell? Didn't you know you should have? He did it for you. Hey, Malone. Why did Mrs. Cromwell kill Riker and Michaels? You're amazing. Well, why did she... Five seconds with the woman should have told you the reason she was crazy about her husband. Does she commit two murders? Sure. Both Riker and Michaels were a threat to the man she loved. She had no more compunction about knocking them off than you would have about squashing a mosquito that was biting your kid. I ain't got a kid. That's not my fault. Now, don't tell me she beat up Michaels, too. No, that was her husband's work. But after Dave got through with him, she followed Michaels home and let him have it. And all along, she knew about Dave and Mrs. Riker. Yep. And she never complained? That kind of woman never does. What a gal. I'll just spot her. Careful. The elevator boy could cover for Dave's alibi. Why couldn't she? All right, Mr. Bones. Why couldn't she? Elementary. She wasn't there. And if she wasn't, she was the only one left in the case who had a motive and opportunity. I still don't see why it couldn't have been Laura Riker. Because both Riker and Michaels were killed with the same gun. And since Laura didn't kill her husband... Who said so? What about that sodium amylatole we got into her? Oh, yeah. You know, I forgot about that, Malone. Ain't that true, sir? I'm a marvelous gimmick. Certainly is. I'm glad you thought of it. We ought to use it more often. So, for my dead body, that's the sort of things that could put us all out of business. Good night, Lieutenant. The heavy of the story of the timid soul will never take a chance in his life. When he bore himself a gun, he'd be surprised at the difference it made. And no time at all, he was ready to shoot the work. I'll tell you all about it next week, so why not take me up in my office at the same time? I'll be waiting for you. Good night. Gene Raymond was starred as John J. Malone with Henry Morgan as Lieutenant Brooks. Our program is written by Gene Wang and directed by William P. Russo, music by Basil Adler. The amazing Mr. Malone is based on a character created by Craig Rice and produced by Bernard L. Schubert. The events and characters depicted in this story were entirely fictional. And any resemblance to actual places of people living or dead is entirely coincidental. And now, this is Dick Chufeld inviting you to listen next week. The amazing Mr. Malone has come to you from Hollywood. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company.