 Good evening, friends of the Inner Sanctum. This is Raymond Jehoce. We have an expert on murder here tonight. He has a rather strange idea. Something about everybody being a potential murderer. Perhaps he's right. Perhaps one of us here right in this room is capable of committing a murder. Take a good look at your neighbor. Maybe he's the one. Well, uh, maybe it's you. In the Sanctum Mystery, a friend by Hyman Brown, brings you one of Broadway and Hollywood's best known stars, Boris Karloff. Now appearing in the smash Broadway hit Osnic and Old Lace. Tonight Mr. Karloff appears as Herbert Larch in the study for Murder, an original radio drama by Sigmund Miller. One of the cells of a death house stands a man holding tightly under the barge. A dazed expression on his young face. His alive and precious minutes moved swiftly away. A curtain of death draws closer. It is only a few hours before his execution. Suddenly, you must still miss our footsteps. For a moment, the dazed expression on his lips face changed to black. Hello, Sam. Hello. My name's Herb Lodge. Are you from the governor? No, Sam. I'm just a psychologist. Oh, my work is to try to keep other people from doing the things that you did. You can help me by answering a few questions. That's not going to do me any good. No, but you could at least help other people from making the same mistake. I've got to get out of here. I want to live. I don't want to die. You were never convicted of a crime before. Where are you, Sam? No. No, I never even got a traffic ticket. I never harmed anyone in my life until that terrible night. You believe me, don't you? Well, of course I do. Please, Mr. Lodge, please, you said you're a psychologist. Can't you do something for me? Can't you say I'm insane or something? No, Sam, I can't. You're not insane. But I never meant to kill her. My hands went for a throat as if they weren't my hands. It's so hard to believe. Me, who never even had a fist fight her. Very interesting. You didn't even hate your wife, did you, Sam? No. No, I didn't hate her. She used to get on my nerves. We used to fight a lot about money, but I never hated her. She was spending more money than I earned. She got you angry, but she ridiculed your small earnings. That's right. How did you know? I think she did that every time you had an argument about money. Yes. I couldn't stand it anymore. I know she didn't really mean it, telling me that I didn't work hard enough. But when she told me that last time, I don't know my hands went for a throat. You didn't feel any kind of pity for her? I don't want to talk anymore. Please, please leave me alone. I can't stand it. This one question is very important. You saw her dead on the floor. What do you want to do? For a minute, I was glad that suddenly I realized what I'd done and I got scared. I tried to revive her, tried to bring her back to life. You talked to her, didn't you? I don't remember much after that. You feel full of remorse now, don't you? No, I don't. I hate you. I hate everybody. Get out. Get off the porch and you'll turn. Very much. I'm going to have trouble taking him to the chair. Doesn't make any difference, Wharton. He'll all be over in two hours. Makes a great difference. We don't want Edwards' last few minutes to be agonizing terror. He was quite calm until you spoke to him. Well, no one has ever reconciled the debt. These last few minutes are really of no importance. If you have a cold blood of a few, Mr. Lodge, perhaps it is. I'd imagine you'd be just as sensible. I prefer to think that all murderers are sick men and should be treated as such. Oh, then perhaps we're not so far off from each other in our thinking. I'm trying to understand the disease of murder, the disease that all of us have, every one of us. You probably know that more than two-thirds of all murderers are committed by what we call the average citizen. The most harmless, law-abiding man is capable of murder under certain circumstances. I'd like to observe the execution. Well, I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Why not? I don't understand your taking a dislike to me. Certainly, I can do no harm. Well, you can do no good, but satisfy I am more of a curiosity. I really believe you'd enjoy watching a man being put to death. I don't like you, Mr. Lodge. You want to take a good look at poor Edward and the failure of yourself? Yeah, but for God's sake, why? Good night, sir. Ah! So, Margaret, Edward says just paid with his life. I managed to get a lot of valuable information out of him before he went to P.C. Herbert, you ought to take a rest. Stop working on your book so far. A vacation would do you good. I shall not worry about me, are you, Margaret? But no good can come of it at the rate you're going. The only thing on your mind is it's male. Oh, you don't understand. I've got to know more about the desire to kill. All of us are capable of murder and knowing that, that even I can commit murder fills me with a horrible passion. You don't know what you're saying, Herbert. I've got to explore the whole field of crime practically every detail that leads to murder. Everyone I meet is a subject for study. And I myself am my own best subject. I've never felt so keen about anything in my life. I can't stop now. Well, yes, perhaps I am. But you can't write about fire unless you've been burned. Oh, please give it up. I don't write the only world people you've been associating with. You mean Whitey? Yes. I can't stand him. No, I'm sorry. But I'm going to see him again tonight. It's taken me a long time. But I've finally succeeded in forming a tribe of my own. A tribe? What are you talking about? It's the only world term for gang. Why, you're out of your mind. You've become a gangster. I'm completely temporary. But I've subdued brains of the mob. I'm going to see crime and murder from the first row. We're going to muster in on some racketeers territory. I absolutely forbid you to do it. Oh, please, Herbert. I've made up my mind. Don't waste your time trying to stop me, Margaret. I, uh... I don't want to be unpleasant with you. Whitey? We're going to cut him on cannonball, Jerry's racket. He's had it too long already. It's about time it was taken away from him. Cannonball's funny tough. As soon as he gets white, he's going to go gander in for us. I wouldn't like to be in front of his choppers when he's mad. You don't have to worry about him. No. Well, you ain't seen him when he's soft. I never will. We'll get him before he knows what's happened. You mean you're going to blast us? That's right. He sure took on a tall order. Who's going to do it for you? You are, Whitey. Oh, yeah? How are you going to get him here? That's very easy. He's coming here. Come here! I've kept him off for the new mob. He's going to cut in on him. Let him find out my name and the address of this room. You ought to be here in a minute. You and Johnny ought to meet him outside. He'll be coming up with the lieutenant right into a trap. But I want Cannonball Jerry brought to me alive. I don't care what happens to the tricker man. I mean, he's going to be an easy job. Well, you're not afraid, are you, Whitey? I'm not afraid at all, buddy. But I've been strictly a sticker party. He'd never had to come off a guy before. We'll take a couple of the boys with you. You won't have too much trouble. And hurry up. Cannonball inside. What's going on here? What's again? A boss wants to see you get in. Oh, you must be the terrible Cannonball Jerry. Nice of you to come visit me. Who are you? I've never seen you before. I'm the man you were going to take Cannon. Except that the table's returned. Where's the tricker man, Whitey? I had to slug him. Johnny's outside doing spot duty. Johnny, you killed a lot of people in your life, haven't you? I haven't got no people to kill. You haven't? But didn't you come here to kill me? No, I wasn't coming to see you. I never seen you before. You're not going to bump me. I'm sorry to disappoint you, Jerry. You're not going to leave here alive. I wasn't going to kill you. I was only going to scare you. You've got to believe me, please. Let me go, I'll never bother you. Well, well, well, running through the touch. Breaking down completely. Let me go. I leave the city. I never come back. I swear it. All right, you'll leave the city and you'll never come back. Never. Shall I let him have it now, boys? Ain't no sense in wasting time. Any second. We'll give Cannonball a chance to compose himself. You ain't going to get away with it. You'll be following me. You ain't going to get away with it. Here you are, Whitey. Use this silence, sir. Go ahead. No! No! Don't shoot! I didn't hear it. Is this the first man you killed? Yeah, yeah, it's me first. How do you feel? I don't know. You've just ended a man's life, Whitey. Doesn't it make you feel powerful to be able to lock off 30 years of someone's life in a second? I don't know. All right. All right, all right. It's a bit upset. Mother, we're moving on Jerry's business. Come on. We'll go home. I hope you sleep well. As well as I will. You are as late as now. In the small hours of the morning. Well, I just sleep. Top is in his bed, isn't he? Here's a familiar voice. Who is that? It's me. How did you get here? You are dead. Yes, I'm dead. But maybe you wanted to ask me a few more questions. You came back? I can't be honest. I must be dreaming. I came back to tell you I was sorry about going to pieces. We're scared then. I'm nothing to ask you. I'll tell me everything. No, I did not see your last question. No, you don't have to answer that. I knew who you must aid into me like that. Make me hate myself. I'm reaching out to you. You're out anymore. You love us too much. I'm talking in the sleep. What did I say? You keep repeating I'm no murderer. I'll never kill anybody. What? I've never talked in this sleep before. It's been a very dream. You've got to stop this horrible research of yours. You can't go on. You ought to get a nervous breakdown or actually kill someone. Oh, please. But I'm sorry. None of you are fair, Margaret. I've told you before not to interfere. This is my fear. I'm not going to stand by unless you get yourself deeper and deeper in this rotten business. Oh, you make me cry. I'd like to see some of our clients so you'll find yourself staring up at the ceiling. Now hand over that money. For life it's a little more valuable than the payment. Behave yourself. Hand over the money. Unless you won't forget him again. Nothing's happened to me. I told you it's nothing. Now stop bothering me. Oh, Herbert, you're in trouble. I know. Please tell me. Maybe I can help. There's nothing that you can do. I told you before. I don't want you to bother me. I don't know what's come over you. It's just impossible to talk to you lately. You act as if you see me. Well, I don't like you standing around staring at me. Ever since you got involved with those gangsters, you've begun to act like one. I warn you, Margaret. Don't make things any worse than they are. You've become a criminal. You think I've run an act like one. Don't be quiet. You've made life unbearable for me. You treat me as if I were just in your way. I don't recognize you anymore. You've become a hoodlum. A vicious, ruthless hoodlum. Perhaps. All right. Well, let me get away. I'll lose my temper completely. The voice of yours anymore isn't what's going to kill me. There's nothing I can do to never learn from poor Edward. What are you never meant to do? Very few murders are committed in cold blood. So you never liked me, did you? You're glad I'm going to the chair. I'm never glad to see anyone go past that door. You are. With a lot to do with yourself. You want me to die? I didn't expect a man like you to go to pieces. I don't want to die. I'm going to get out of here. Relax, Lodge. Learn a little too much about murder. That next book you're going to write will be called What Happens After Your First Murder on My First Thousand Years in a Grave. As soon as it's published, Mr. Lodge will go on a lecture tour. I hope you'll get a chance to hear it. He's really fascinating. You know...