 Autolight and its 96,000 dealers present suspense. Tonight, Autolight brings you the story of a man who talked to death, all those who stood in the way of what he wanted. A story we call Death Pitch, starring Mr. Jack Carson. Hey, there's Sam, my friendly Autolight spark plug man. Hiya, Sam. Shhh. Hello, Mr. Wilcox. What are you doing? Hunting. Hunting? For what? For cars that have lost their pep and power. Cars that are slow and jerky in traffic. Cars that are not up to par on the hill. Ah, you can't kid me, Sam. I know you're looking for worn out spark plugs, because they're usually the cause of all those troubles. You bet I am, Harlow. And when I'm through, you ought to see those cars zoom out of here with the smoothness of a trout going after a meal. Well, Sam, that's because all Autolight spark plug dealers have the exclusive Autolight plug check indicator to help recommend the best type of spark plug for every car and every style of driving. Plus all the tools and equipment to offer the best spark plug service money can buy. And when replacements are needed, Autolight spark plug dealers are the only ones that can offer you Autolight standard or resistor type spark plugs. The spark plugs that are ignition engineered to work as a perfect team with your car's ignition system. So friends, look for your friendly Autolight spark plug dealers this week. And remember, you're always right with Autolight. And now with Death Pit and the performance of Mr. Jack Carson, Autolight hopes once again to keep you in suspense. That morning I decided to talk to Death, all those between me and what I wanted. I would talk and they would listen and die. Words. Words are what makes the world go round. People dangle on words like marionettes and a string. Step a little closer, folks, and they step a little closer. Test your skill, three chances per dime, and they pay their dimes. Harry, Harry, Harry, and they do hurry to obey. Words. That morning I was standing as I often stood, just inside the entrance to the big top, my head back, watching, and that's rehearse. I love to watch trapeze artists. What ease, what confidence. But so far above me, out of my reach, in more ways than one. I own the show. Yes, I, Nick Arnold. If I own the show... Nick, Nick, snap out of it. Always dreaming, all the time in a fog. Meet Peter Balington, Peter the Great. He's with it now. Pete, my brother, Nick. Hello there. Peter the... Oh yes, yes, I think I caught your act in Dallas last season. Escape artist? Wriggle out of chains and handcuffs? That's good act. Pete's wagon ready for him, Nick. Well, don't go blank on me. Didn't I tell you to get a wagon ready for him? Where's he gonna bunk if he has no wagon? You didn't tell me, Duke. It's all Lee to take care of him. Well, I don't do everything myself. Nothing gets done as if I didn't have my hands full already. Now I have to drop everything and find an empty wagon. Pete, you wait here. We'll see about your wagon. Come on, come on, Nick. See you around, Pete. Yeah. Come on, come on, walk. Walk a little faster. I don't have all day. Lee, the fine partner that loopy rumhound is, gets half the profits and leaves me all the grief. Yeah, he'd be lost without you, Duke. I gotta do this. I gotta do that. Fire, fire, square the badges, everything. And does he cooperate? Bring back those wonderful days. Hear that? He's barreled again. Bring back those wonderful days. Lee! Well, what's the matter, Duke? Are you mad about something? You luscious, you rum-dumb. The Star-Rack joins the outfit and there's no wagon ready for him. Oh, man, I'm sorry about that, Duke. Guess it slipped my mind. Really? You're sorry? That's just dandy. Fluck! I'm finished. One of us has to get out. I want you to sell your half to me. Sell? Yeah. I do that, Duke. This show has always belonged to my family. My grandfather started it. It belonged to my father. I broke in the show business with this circus as a lion tamer. Kind of law, but... I couldn't sell it. It don't impress me. A fine lion tamer you must have been. You get clawed once, your nerve breaks, and you don't go near a cat for 15 years. That's true. I was a good lion tamer. Why'd you give it up then? Because of my other responsibility. Running this show and looking after my wife and raising my son Robbie. I brought it to the sparrows. You don't run this show. I do. You don't look after Nora. She looks after you. Yeah. She's a better tamer than you ever was. Because she's got the monster to do. Me something. Incredible. A few words. Mere wins. And a grown man powers like a whip dog. No words. Okay. You won't sell out to me? Buy me out. No, no, please. Sloppy hands off me. Please. You're the only one who can run this show. What's going on here? Nora, Nora. I said what's going on? I'm talking to you, Duke. I don't talk business with Dane. Nora, he... I still got a performer out there waiting for a wife. I'll see about that right now. Nora. Go ahead, Lee. I'll take care of that. I might take care of it myself, but I have to get away. No dice, Nora. He won't buy and he won't sell. I told you he wouldn't. Duke. Duke, don't bear down too hard on him. He really used to be something once. I'm sorry. Working with him is like trying to crack a whip under water. I lose my temper. You look tired, baby. Well, I've been trying to work Jezebel all morning. It's no use. She's turned a killer cat. We'll have to shoot her. Come here and give me a kiss. Duke. That's only Nick. You're going to fade into the background once too often, brother. Feed it. Lee. I decided then to start with Lee. With Lee gone, Duke would have Nora and the show for himself. It would fatten him like a Christmas turkey. And then, the axe. Hi, Nick. Oh, hello. And that way you're going? To the cookhouse. Walk me over. Was that you down there watching me rehearse this morning? Yeah. What do you think? Ah, you're getting big time. Now, if I owned the show, I'd give you a star billing. Not only that. Here comes Robbie, but then we don't see him. All right. But if I owned the show, I'd make it a... Oh, dreamy eyes. You got a smile for Robbie. You grab my arm again and I'll... When are you going to give me the green light, dreamy eyes? Come on. I hate that. That... Just because Lee's his father, he thinks... Always trying to play footsie under the table in the cookhouse. Want me to take care of him? You. I can take care of myself. Look, they're rolling a new wagon next to mine. Yeah, we have a new star act. Peter the Great, escape artist. Oh. Well, see you later, Nick. Well, that night, sitting in the dark and the steps of my way, I saw Nora and Duke pass arm in arm. A little later, Robbie and his way to town. I finished my cigarette and stretched. It was time. Ring back those wonderful days. Ring back those wonderful days. Hello, Lee. Oh, you. Have a drink. Thanks, thanks. Hey, what's that? A photograph album? Yeah, I'll look through some old pictures. Here's me. The day I first did my lion painting. Good looking costume. It wasn't a big success. Stop show cold. I bet you did. Did you join me? Oh, good. Yeah, you see this picture? Me and my cat. This big one's name was Rondo, mean cat. But I'd hand them. How many did you work? 30 at one time. And then five tigers. Greatest thing he ever saw. I think Nora's good. She would have seen me. I'm as good as I ever was. As a matter of fact, I want to know something. I'm thinking of going back to her. Really? Let's have a drink on that. You'll be right here. I never would have left it, you know, if I didn't have more important responsibilities. Well, it's true. It's true, you'll see. I didn't lose my knowledge. Sure, sure, of course. Why? I bet you could even handle a killer cat like Jezebel. Jezebel? I could have Jezebel purring inside of five minutes. Used to work 30 at one time, I tell you. And then five tigers. All right, give me that. I'd build them in a pyramid. It was me. I knew it best. Now you. You five. And you. And you. And you. And you. And you. And they think me. With the audience screaming itself crazy. I'd like to see an action. Any time, any time at all. Well, how about now? With just Jezebel. Yeah, that's it. Sure. I'll show you. You know something? When I'm done with Jezebel, I'm going to have a little talk with Nora. Getting out of hand lately. Some women have to be changed. And the bully boy who can tame them, I can tame anything, anything, anything. Look at that. That can, boy? You Jezebel, you mean looking. Are they don't come to mean for you? Yeah, you watch me work her over. I remember the way it used to be. Ringmaster used to say, Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest of them all, Lee Duncan. And I'd be standing there in the spotlight. Oh, shiny and proud. Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest of them all, Lee Duncan. Yeah. Oh, Jezebel, you. Oh, Head Lee. Almost. No, no, no, it's not your fault. It's a loose board. You wash me, Nick. Wash a man. Good luck, Jezebel. Take a good look. I'm going to... Back, Jezebel. Back! Back! What am I doing? No! No! No! No! Buried Lee the next day. The month later, Duke married Nora and became the sole owner of the circus. The money-made exhibiting Jezebel the man killer almost paid for the banners and posters advertising the Duke Arnold show. The Duke Arnold show. I'd see my brother staring at those poor little words for minutes at a time. His eyes filled with their wonder and their glory. Yeah, Duke was a happy man. Except for one or two little things. Little things? I could kill you, you little punk. Mom, stop it, Duke! What's Robbie done? I'll tell you what your little Robbie has done. He's made three of the Cooch kids' hand in their notices. They're leaving. Walking out on the show in the middle of the season because he's been throwing his weight around. I was only having a little fun. What? Is that what you call it? Putting me to the trouble and expense of bringing three more girls down if I can find them. You stay away from my performers. You hear me, panty-waste? Leave them alone! And if I catch you annoying, then that again, I'll... You better calm down. I can hear you all over the lot. Let them, I'm the boss. Yeah. And how'd you get to be boss? You little... Duke! Brother of the owner of the show. I was coming up in the world. And that began to look at me as though samey for the first time. But it needed more, and it wasn't enough. And then a name popped into my head. Robbie. Yes? Robbie. Robbie and Duke's murderous temper. The next afternoon, I was in the office working. Seen, Mom? Ah, come in, Robbie. Come in. Seen, Mom? You know, nobody... I've seen someone else. Come on in. What's up? I have a message for you from Annette. No kidding. What? Ah, you're a lucky guy. She wants to see you in her wagon after tonight's show. No fool. Huh? What do you know about that? Well, it's about time. That's all I have to say. It's about time. She should... Wait a minute. Are you sure she said Robbie? Last time I spoke to her... That's the way some women are. Take their own sweet time. You know what I mean? Yeah. Thanks a lot, Nick. See you around. Don't mention it so long. In her wagon after tonight's show. Words. Auto light is bringing you Mr. Jack Carson in Death Pitch. Tonight's production in Radio's Outstanding Theatre of Thrills. Suspense. I stood in the shadows that night and watched Robbie get ready for his date with Annette. He spent at least 15 minutes in front of his mirror tying the knot in his tie just so and plastering his hair down with goo. And there was no doubt about it. He was going to make an elegant corpse. He even winked at himself in the mirror. He put on his gaudiest jacket, took a large box of candy from the table, and put out the light. He came down the steps whistling and swaggering down the line to Annette's wagon. I followed. Dreamy eyes? Here's your Robbie. Oh, feed it or I'll tell your mother I'll move. Look. Candy. For you. Five bucks worth. That's the way I am. How about a little kiss for Robbie? Go away, little boy. Sure. Sure. You don't have to pretend with Robbie. See how I mean? Pretend. You know. But don't come near me, Act. For the others, yes. Sure, why not? But not for little Robbie. How about that kiss? If you could only see how funny you look, trying to act like a grown-up man of the world. Go away, Robbie. Go away. Come on. Give me a kiss. You little. Kill me here. Let me go. Let me go. Let me go. Duke. Duke, over here. Annette. Annette. Who's she? Annette and her wagon, Robbie. I'll kill that little punk. Duke. I know. The lights of the wagon's all down the line. I can see Robbie running, dodging, stumbling over tent ropes, heading straight for Nora and Duke pounding after him. After her wagon, Robbie was inside, hiding behind her while she tried to keep Duke back with her whip. Duke, get back. Get out of my way. I'll kill him. I told you. I told you. I told you. I couldn't help thinking. In the beginning was the word. Robbie strangled to death, Duke shot to death, Nora in the jail for manslaughter, bingo. All good things come in threes. That was good to be boss of the Duke Arnold Circus. You see, I kept the name and memory of my dear brother. But Annette wasn't turning to me as I'd planned. She was growing more and more attractive to Peter Valenka, Peter the Great. He had a sureness about him and a conqueror struck that some women find attractive. If it were possible to describe Peter in one word, that word would be egotist. He was top star of our show and aware of it. It wasn't hard to think of the words to use. You wanted to see me, Nick? Yeah, you sit down, Pete. Pete, I was wondering how you'd feel if I gave Annette star billing along with you. You know, she's getting to be a big drawing guy. Sure, give it to her. She deserves it, I don't mind. In fact, I'm glad for her. She a bigger draw than me, do you think? Well, she's right up there with you. You know how it is. The marks always like something new and different. She keeps adding new routines. Yeah, I know. She's good all right. You, um, think I ought to change my routine a little? No, no, no, you have a good routine, but... Well, if I may suggest... For sure, guy. Your act isn't sensational enough. After all, even though you are the best of them, Escape Artists haven't been too much of a novelty since Soudini. You need some kind of a flash stunt. Something that'll make the yaps' ears flap back and forth with excitement. Soudini, what does he do I can't do? Underwater escapes? I can do underwater escapes? You can? Well, sure. Don't give me hoodies. Well, say, how about something like this? Now, let's say you're handcuffed, and then after a thorough search for hidden keys, you get into a crate of some sort. The crate is sealed and lowered beneath the surface of the water. A couple of minutes later, your head appears above the surface. You're out of the cuffs and you're free of the crate, something like that. Could you do it? Oh, sure. It's just a question of shucking the cuffs. The rest is only trimming. Okay. Let's do it that way. Now, you're sure you can handle it? I don't want you to try it if it's too dangerous. I mean, maybe you're not good enough to escape from... I can escape from anything. All right, then. By the way, how will you get out of the cuffs, or is that a strict secret? Master key. I use a master key. Yeah, but you'll be wearing only bathing trunks. It'll be a search from head to foot. What'll you do? Hide it in your mouth? They can look at my mouth all they want. No, there's one place they never think of looking the soles of the feet. I fasten the key to my arch with flesh-colored tape. I always wanted it. Well, I'll start working it right away. Some kind of advanced buildup. Our next date is Scudderville. Now, there's a bridge across a pretty large stream right across the street from the fairgrounds. And I was thinking... You will see Peter, Peter the Great, while handcuffed you the impossible right before your very eyes. Now, folks, you have just seen your chief thoroughly. Chief, come up here. Tell the folks, did you discover any keys, pick watts, or other concealed devices? I did not. Thank you. There you are, folks. And now, Peter, step into the casket. All set, Pete? Yeah. Nick, you double-checked the winch and the rope. I don't want any slip-ups there. That current's like a runaway horse. Unless this casket is anchored to the bridge, I am a gun-bridging. Oh, you tell it to it personally. Okay. And remember, if I'm not above water hold me up fast. Hold it, brother, hold it. As you see the casket containing Peter the Great is being lowered into the raging rapids below. Will he be able to perform this stupendous feat? Will he be able to wake himself free? If he does not, the joke is on us. And there you are, folks. He is now below water. The casket will soon be resting on the bed of the stream, 34 feet below water. Notice the strong pull of the current. Let me draw your attention to the manner in which the rope from the casket to the winch is being straight. And also notice that... Of course the rope snapped. I attended to it personally. I turned my back in the crowd and left the bridge a happy man. There's no greater satisfaction than that afforded by the knowledge of a good job well done. I had the show. It was a question of time before I had Annette as well. She would come to me for guidance, lean on me more and more and pleasant prospects. That, meanwhile, it was worth it. I led her to the billboard and formed that bible of the carnival of the unfortunate currents of the Scuderville bridge and an ad for a new escape artist for the Duke Arnold Circus. Words, words. I draw them to me by words, move them like marionettes and strings of words as I send them away. It's words that make the world go round. I sat back in my chair and looked into the future. The possibilities were infinite. Stretching far beyond the canvas walls of a small carnage show, why could conquer the world? Time seemed always to be right for a man like me, a man who can manipulate people. The earth is filled with fools who are open to suggestion. If one knows the proper words, he'll be the next one. Neck. Peter? Surprised. There's your rope. The one you attended to personally. Peter, listen to me. Let me explain. You're naturally upset and excited, and I understand what you must be thinking, but please give me a chance to explain, will you? I just did it to make it look good. I mean, more exciting, you know? You understand, don't you? You see, I knew the casket would hold plenty of time to escape even without the rope. You see? You see what I mean? Peter! Peter, tell me you understand. Well, Annette, you understand, don't you? Annette! Tell him to listen to me. He can't listen to you, Nick. He can't listen to anyone. He can't hear at all. The water pressure down there broke his eardrum. You can't hear me? You mean my words? I'm going to kill you. No, no, please stay where you are. I'll give you half the show. You can have it all. Don't come any closer. Can't you hear me? The show Peter, the show will belong to you. The show I kill Leifor and Robbie and Duke. Peter, can't you hear me? Listen to me! Can't you hear me? Suspense. Presented by AutoLite. Tonight's star, Mr. Jack Carson. Friends, this is Harlow Wilcox again to remind you that AutoLite makes over 400 fine products for cars, trucks, planes and boats in 28 plants from coast to coast. These include complete ignition systems used as original factory equipment on many leading makes of our finest cars. Generators, coils, distributors, electric windshield wipers, voltage regulators, wire and cable, starting motors and many more. They're all engineered to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly because they're all part of the AutoLite team. So friends, don't accept electrical parts supposed to be as good. Ask for and insist on AutoLite. Original factory parts. At your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage or repair shop. Remember, you're always right with AutoLite. Next week on Suspense, you will hear in his first appearance on this program an only dramatic appearance of the season America's favorite comedian, Mr. Jack Benny. And in weeks to come, you will hear such famous stars as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnais, James Stewart and Anne Baxter. All on Suspense. Suspense is produced and directed by Elliott Lewis with music composed by Lucian Morrowick and conducted by Lud Blusket. Death Pitch was written for Suspense by Walter Newman. In tonight's cast, Ed Max was heard as Duke, Francis Cheney as Nora, Georgia Ellis as Annette, Dick Crenna as Robbie, Herb Butterfield as Lee and Joseph Kearns as Peter. Others in the cast were Eddie Marr and Byron Kane. Jack Carson may soon be seen in the universal international picture and remember next week on Suspense, Mr. Jack Benny as a man who found $25,000 and death in Murder in G Flats. You can buy world famous auto-like resistor type or standard type spark plugs, auto-light faithful batteries, auto-light electrical parts at your neighborhood auto-light dealers. Switch to auto-light. Good night. Strengthen your future as America strengthens hers. Join the National Guard. You'll be well trained with and by men from your own hometown and you'll be well paid. If you're over 17, get the story from your nearest National Guard headquarters. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.