 adventure, intrigue, mystery, romance, starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall together in the sultry setting of Tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean. BOLD VENTURE Once again the magic names of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall bring you BOLD VENTURE and a tale of mystery and intrigue. I just told you that hotel joke because of this place, this Shannon's Hotel Reminderman. Oh, I got another one for you. Hey, you want to hear it? Sure you do. Now look, you ask me, why do rumba dancers have such an easy time of it? Go on, go on, ask me. All right. Why do rumba dancers have such an easy time of it? You want to know why rumba dancers have such an easy time of it, Mr. Val? Uh huh. Well, get this little kid. Because all they have to do is stand around and twiddle their tubs. Twiddle their tubs, you get it? Rumba dancers. It doesn't reach you, huh? How long do you plan to stay with us here at Shannon's Hotel, Mr. Dixon? Play it straight and give me an answer, huh? Ah, you're just angry because you don't respond to my bombs. You got to depay. You got to depay because your boy Shannon has taken offense, you know, my partner, Frannie Land. Like that. The ink is barely dry on the register from her signature. He invites her out to partake of the delicacies of her manner. She accepts with alacrity. That hates us both. Slate likes to make people feel at home. How long does it take to build up a cozy little thing like that? Three hours? Four? Well, roll out the carpet. Here comes lover boy now. Ah, you should have come with us, Sailor. Frannie's a lot of girl. We had a ball. What did you do for four hours? Dribble it? Everywhere, comics. Where's my partner, Shannon? Did she make you walk home alone because she got frisky? She's in her room. I took her by way of the balcony. The moon shines brighter there. You don't mind, do you, Dixon? No, no, not a bit. Maybe Frannie can build it into a lair for the act. And look, Dixon, all we did was look at the sites. Then she'll want to show me the postcards because Frannie likes to share things with a partner. Oh, uh, Shannon. Yeah? The next time you'll bring Frannie around the front way, huh? Because she plays better to an audience. You'll do that, huh? Open up. Ah, that's my little Frannie. Okay, what do you want? Inside. Invite me to sit down. Have you gone crazy? Tell me a thing, honey. You like her, honey? Sure you do. What are you talking about? How much money you got staged away in Havana, Frannie? Twenty grand? A hundred? That's the funniest joke you ever told in your life. I'm a funny man. Do you want to know another thing? I know who you are. The face time I saw you, I knew about you. Five years ago when we teamed, for a purpose we teamed. Because I knew you were the other loving of Tommy Carper, and Tommy's a man with how much money? Twenty Gs? A hundred? All right. What do you want? Ah, that's my baby. Tommy's in the clink right here in Havana. Because that's the law. You pull a bank job in the locality, you get caught, you get the clink in the locality. That's why you were so anxious to come to Havana, Frannie. Listen to me, Hal. Sure it was. Because the dough, Tommy Robb, never turned up. Because you know where it is, because Tommy told you. All that dough for us. For you and me, baby. Take your hands off me. Oh, now, get out of here, get out. No. You don't talk to Hal like that. Never like that. Frannie, get up, baby. You hit your head on that bad old pipe, Frannie, huh? Oh, come on, come on, get up. Hey, hey, baby, you're not gonna get up, are you? Never. Well, we'll just have to put you someplace, baby. An alley? Sure, an alley. You went out with a guy named Shannon tonight and you never got home. Shannon left you in an alley. Did you bring the past key, Shannon, like I told you? Like you asked me. You did ask me, didn't you? Oh, sure, sure. What's eating you, Shannon? You got ugly memories? Did I wake you up out of a bad dream? You should be grateful. Just that I'm not used to comics on an empty stomach. What makes you so anxious to get into Frannie's room? Well, it's like this. I've been knocking on the door and she doesn't answer. Oh, you must have given her a snazzy time last night, Shannon. Frannie, Frannie, your partner said it's time for you to get up. No, I've been through all that, Shannon. So make with the key, huh? Even if it breaks your heart. Now, Frannie, what do you know? Frannie isn't here. What did you do with my partner, Shannon? Look at the bed. It hasn't been slept on. Hasn't even been sat on. And no nylons hanging up to dry. She never came home, Shannon. What did you do with her? Exactly as I would have phrased the question, senor. Huh? What are you doing here, LaSalle? Uh-huh. A policeman. A vanitype. Who are you two and want to be alone? Thank you for the courtesy, senor. Here's a pass to my show, chief. I'm a comedian. You'll enjoy me. Gracias. I asked you a question, LaSalle. What do you want here? Maybe what I want, Shannon. Maybe he wants you to bring back my Frannie to me. Have fun, fellas. This was senorita Frannie Lane's room, eh? Yeah. What about it? She is murdered, beaten to death. We found her body in an alley with a room key to your hotel, Frannie Lane. Oh. Not Frannie. Exactly, Frannie. You enjoyed Havana with her last nights in your Shannon, eh? And we know you did so. Many friends have told us. What else did your friends tell you? That I killed her? We have not yet had the rudeness to ask this question of them. But I will ask it of you. I brought her home. She said good night here at the hotel. Far from an alley, no? You know who the girl really was, senor? Frannie Lane. Part of an act. Dixon and Lane. She was more than that, senor. She was the wife of a convict whose name is senor Tommy Carpa. Yesterday, senor Carpa escaped from our escape-proof jail. It makes me sadness. I bleed for you. Thank you. This, senor Carpa. It is good for you he escaped. If he had not, I would arrest you for the murder of his senor. As it is, you will have no impulse to depart our Havana. No, senor Shannon? Slade. Hello, Slade. Hi. I've been looking all over the beach for you all day. And what do you want? Nothing. Pretty night, huh? What do you want, sailor? Look at me. What? Go ahead, look at me. What do you see? Now, look, sailor, I've got enough on my mind without making drooling noises at you. And that's why I'm here. I want to know what's on your mind, so I can worry about it too. Who killed that girl? You didn't. Well, that leaves the rest of Havana. Any of the twenty-three people registered in the hotel. You didn't kill her, did you? It crossed my mind. So it brings us back to the question, who killed that girl? Her husband? You've got to know that so you can clear yourself. Is that why? I've got to know it because she was murdered. Because she was a person I enjoyed because she gave me four hours out of her life. We laughed a lot together. She kissed my cheek and thanked me when I brought her back to the hotel. Now she's suddenly dead. That's why I've got to know who made it like that. That's why, Slade. What are you going to do? I've been spending the day thinking about it. Now I know. You want to come along? We're going to walk around Havana for the rest of the night, Slade? You want to go home? Go. You're not getting any place, are we? Well, it's not easy to get people to give you an answer when you ask them about an escape convict. Mind if I ask a question? What? How do you know all these people? The kind of people you can ask about an escape convict. No way. We've got mutual interests. Books, teas, the theatre. Friends in jail. In here, Slade. What is this? Den Santava's a dance. Stay here, Slade. Oh, Slade. You're friends' living, senorita. You dance with me, see? I am pretty. I dance the American Charleston. You're on your own, Slade. Thanks, boy. Hello, Maria. Oh, Slade, Shannon. My beautiful Slade. The Mialama Slade. I have been waiting for you. Waiting? See, I knew you would come here to Maria, to her palace of jolly, of which Maria is the foremost jolly. Also, people have been whispering in my fat ear that you have been saying where is Tommy Carper. So you've just been waiting for me to come to you, huh? Oh, could I come to you, Mr. Moser? With my big measurements, how many times a day can I give from this chair? See, I knew you would come. Where's Carper? Hey, he would be happy to see you. Where is he? Number 22 Paseo Batista on the corner, near the alley. Girl I came in with is named Sailor de Val. Oh, I saw her. She is lovely. Muy lovely. Yeah, I'll see that she gets home alone. See. Hey, once I had a figure like she has, tell her to stay off of the tamales, senor. Could be Slade Shannon. Word got to you, huh, Carper? Word moves fast in Havana. Doesn't it, though? Come on in. Make yourself cozy, Shannon. The sofa there and a pillow for your head. Don't refuse me, Shannon. I'm sensitive. I'll be hurt. Yeah, but the gun in your hand will help you get over it, huh? Sure, it will. Comfortable? Uh-huh. What have you gotten these pillows, Carper? Goose down? I never looked. Another word reached me, Shannon. A word that said you showed my wife a big time and you killed her. Is that how you operate? One pleasure on top of the other. And look, Carper, I came to you. You came to me to die, Shannon. That's why I want you to be comfortable, all warm and cozy. Because pretty soon, Shannon, it's going to turn cold. Back to Bull Venture, our stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and the second act of our story. Lady Sailor, she go to Dimer Dance, the place of jollies and bell-bottom pants. Lady Sailor, she try like a hostess to pose. Mr. Shannon, he take powder right under her nose. What are you laughing about? I made a dollar and thirty cents. How that man could Charleston. You mean you dance, Lady Sailor, and let Mr. Slate get away from you? How did I know he was getting away? I turned my back and he was gone. I needed cab fare home. So I danced. You know where Mr. Shannon go? Sure. Looking for something. And he'll find it. Why does he do it, King? Why doesn't he stay here? With you? With me. Have it your way. I think I'll take myself somewhere and dream about it. You go for a walk? With the moon dipping low in the tropic sky, I'm going to bid a fun farewell to colorful old Havana. I'm going to sleep. Hey, wait a minute. I wait, Lady Sailor. For what? The letter in the box for room twelve, Franny Lane's room. While you were out it came. I was going to mention it to Mr. Slate when he returned. Hmm, a letter for Franny Lane, for a murdered girl. Registered, postmarked Miami, and no return address. Let's see what's in it, King. Don't look at me like that. Mr. Slate would see what's in it. King Moses can compose jail song on Spurdy Moment. Well, what do you know? What is it, Lady Sailor? A baggage check for the check room at the plane terminal. A baggage check. I wonder why. If King Moses was you, he would not wonder too much. He would wait for Mr. Slate to do the wonder why. Sing me a song, King Moses, about how I was going to sleep to dream of Slate Shannon, about how I decided to wait up for him to show him a baggage check. Go on, King. Sing to me about Slate Shannon. How does a man like you go out, Shannon, with a Betty by prayer you remember as a kid? I pause because it interests me what people tell themselves when they're going to die. Have you killed me, Carpy? You'll never know who murdered your wife. You, you, nobody but you. The word is they found her in an alley. That's no place for my wife to die in, an alley. Cops say you got to a copper. You or me, they don't care. I found you. Why didn't I just turn you over to them without going through all this? Maria gave me your address. I could have given it to LaSalle. Why didn't I do that copper? It's stuffy in here. I go to open a window. I escape from a jail because I want to breathe. What do I get? A wall. A stinking alley covered with yesterday's garbage. You believe me now? You believe I didn't kill her? Relax, kid. I'll tell you about copper. Yeah, sure. Go ahead. Do that. Five years ago I did good in Havana. I split open a bank for 50 Gs. They put me behind a door for that. But they never lay hands on the money. Stick their noses every which place. Can't find my 50 Gs. And look, don't interrupt, kid. Copper is sensitive, remember? I put 50 Gs worth of dreams in a cardboard suitcase. Checked it in a place. Send the baggage. Checked the Franny. Told her to come to me when I give her the word. You find the check on her when you kill her, huh, kid? And the copper, I told you. Because it won't do you any good. It won't do anybody any good. I'll tell you more about copper. A piece of my life I spend in the army. I'll tell my friends I'm at a man who was in the army. They were good to me. I'll tell my friends I'm at a man who was in the army. I'll tell my friends I'm at a man who was in the army. They were good to me. Put me in the demolition squad. Taught me how to rig a trigger mine. I rigged them all over the place. In doorways. In suitcases. So you see, kid. If I don't kill you, death waits for you anywhere. Like it waits for... See? You see how it is? Copper. Copper. Yeah, someone just killed you. That's how it is. Mr. Shannon's a long time gone, Lady Sailor. He's a big boy now. What am I trying to be funny for? I'm worried. Maybe the funny man will make a ha-ha for you. What? Funny man. He just came in, Lady Sailor. The way he's standing there, he's just looking at you. He liked the inside of Shannon's hotel better than the outside of Havana. I wonder what he wants. I just asked myself what you wanted, Mr. Dixon. Oh, a big smile. See? I give it to you. What do you want? Let's play post office. All right. Go stick your head in a mailbox. I'll send you home to mother. Oh, that's good. Very good. Very good. See, I ain't that a letter in box 12? What about it? Give it to me. Oh, for my dead body. Yeah. Might just have to be that way. There's a gun in my pocket, Sailor Doll. It's pointed upward. If I pull the trigger, the bullet would hit you, say, somewhere between your throat and your heart. Over your dead body. Now, how am I going to top that one? The letter's addressed to Franny Lane. Poor Franny. Bumped a little head. Franny Lane had a pain in the back of her head. It made her dead. You want what I gave her? Here's the letter. Goodbye, Mr. Dixon. Goodbye, Mr. Dixon. How funny can you have to live? You tag along, doll. Wave goodbye to your friends over there. Make it jaunty and carefree and happy, happy. King Moses. Yes, Lady Sailor. Tata, King Moses and Toodle-oo. Tell Mr. Slade I couldn't wait any longer. Jaunty enough, Mr. Dixon. Welcome to your home. Anyone been asking for me, King? Me, Lady Sailor? Anyone else, like police? So far it has been a very beautiful night. Full moon with no shadow of police. However, I bring one if you want one. And suddenly everyone's a comic around here. Oh, I had no desire to be funny, Mr. Slade. I thought perhaps you would want a policeman. Look at me, King. What could make you think I'd want a thing like that? The letter's addressed to Franny Lane. How funny can you have to live? I don't know. Do you think I'd want a thing like that? The letter, maybe. The registered letter that came from Miss Franny Lane. Oh, where is it? Here in slot room 12. I knew you would want to peek into it before... It's gone. So it's gone. Who took it? Lady Sailor, maybe. Maybe she could not resist the curiosity of the baggage check she found in Miss Lane's letter when she opened it. That's what was in it. Only that. A baggage check from the plane terminal. I peeked also. Where's Sailor? In a room? Oh, no. On the arm of the man with the not-too-funny jokes. They went away together someplace. I know not what place. Yeah, but I bet I do, King. Funny, funny man could kill a girl in a place like that. Because he killed before? Uh-huh. How'd you guess? The girl was tall, slender, with honey-colored hair. She came here with a man to get some baggage just a few minutes ago. I remember. Frankly, Senor, the thing I remember about the girl was her baggage check. It was five years old. It was for a suitcase. A suitcase? Ah, that's what compliment. It's booby-tracked. Please, Senor, the name booby I do not like. Hell, where'd they go? Not that door there. Where the taxi cabs are. Thanks. Hey, Cabby. Senor. You see a tall girl and a man, both Americans, come out of here a few minutes ago. They had a suitcase. And where'd they go? I heard them tell Pedro, Pedro the driver, Senor, to take them to the beach at Punta Verde. Well, take me there, Cabby, fast. You tell me where to stop, doll. What have I got to do with it? You've got the gun. Pick a place that's pretty. Because it's your dying place. I want to do right by you. What's it to you if I'm dead or alive? You've got to be dead, doll. There's maybe $50,000 in that suitcase. I kill Franny for it in copper. I've got to kill you so you won't run to the police. I know a joke, a 50-year case, and you want to hear it? Wait a minute. Is that... Yeah, yeah, someone's following us. Lie down behind that dune, doll. I said lie down. You're looking for us, Shannon? Yeah. Yeah, I'm looking for you. You found us. Slade. Slade, are you all right? You miss, Dixon? We'll try again. Dixon, listen to me. That suitcase is booby-trapped. You'll get blown up. Your boy makes funnies, too, hand doll. Copper booby-trapped, that suitcase, he told me. You better listen to him, Dixon. You think so, hand doll? He's not going to lie to you at a time like this. This is just the time to lie to me. But I tell you what, we'll play it out. Hey, Shannon. I'm telling you it's booby-trapped. Dixon, don't open it. I'm going to slide this suitcase down the other side of this dune. You open it, Shannon. You open it, or I'll kill this girl of yours here. You got it, Shannon? I got it. Open it. Slade, run. Don't open it. Run. It's open. Strike a match so I can see it's open. All right? Look. Yeah. All that money, Shannon. Fifty grand. Copper told me that, too. Say goodbye to your girl, Shannon. I'll give you that much. Sure. I'll go tell her things I never told her before. Don't roam away or I'll shoot you in the back. I can see that far. Yeah. Thanks. You pretty money. You pretty lying there smug in this suitcase. Let me touch you. You feel nice. Let me lift you up. Let me rub you against my cheek. Let me touch you. Turn around, Sailor. You don't have to look. We're pretty lucky, Sailor. What happened? Come on, Sailor. Let's go home. Look down there, Slade. Doesn't the beach look lovely? Who needs it? I know a deserted hunk of it where there's four clumps of palm trees. So? So you can gather yourself a lovely bunch of coconuts. Goodbye, Slade. Come back here. What for? Is that a way to treat a man who saved you from the jaws of death? Then come to the beach. For what? So I can pin a medal on you. Do it here. All right. Well... That's a medal? What do you think? I think it's a kiss. Maybe I'm wrong. Come here. David Rose. We invite you to listen again next week at this time for another exciting adventure starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren McCall together in...