 Bold venture, adventure, intrigue, mystery, romance, starring, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren McCall, together in the sultry setting of Tropical Havana and the mysterious islands of the Caribbean. Magic names of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren McCall, bold venture, and a tale of mystery and intrigue. Mr. Slate, I have... What's wrong, King? You came back empty-handed. And with my dignity bruised in two places. Where, King? Show us. Here and here. Ha-ha-ha-ha. I never lead with your dignity, King, unless you can make the wait. What's the matter? Couldn't you handle him? I think the seafaring man in Room 6 has run amok, Mr. Slate, beating on the doors of our hotel and screaming, I am alive! I am alive! In Haiti, we have an old saying for such. I'm sure you have. All right, King. What's the old saying? King goes so. Seafaring man who run amok in hotel, beating on doors, screaming, I am alive! I am alive! Don't mess with him. Well, that leaves it up to the management. You go throw him out, Sally. The seafaring man? Sure. I'll give him the old one and the two. Hasn't failed me yet. Well, you're too eager, Buster. I'd better come along. He's also very clever at throwing things. Remember to duck to the left, he... Don't forget, Slate, to the left. Jolly tie, Pa. Yeah, let's join the fun. Okay, mate, your happy time's up. Jolly day. You sure duck pictures good, Slate. You're a whizz ding. You clean up at a carnival. I asked you once, real polite, mate. Now, you... Put down that lamp, I said put it down. You did that keen, mate. Now, tell me what you're celebrating. You want to share it, huh? Well, don't get tough. Just come on in and join me in a loud laugh. First, we have to know the joke, mate. Then, if the wind's right, we'll laugh. Well, it's all here in this paper. Go ahead, read it for yourself. Send you a little abner. Well, I chuckled over this two days ago. Well, then half so funny is the obituary, where I'm pointing. Go ahead, read it. Joe Norman Seaman, victim of a hit-and-run accident, was buried today at sea, in accordance with his lifelong wishes of voyager of the oceans. He's survived by his wife, Ethel Norman, of Hibakawa, Cuba. Funny, huh? I'm Norman. I'm Joe Norman. And Ethel's my loving wife. I'm the man in the obituary. Then why aren't you buried? It's a puzzle, huh, mate? Well, look, I'll tell you about it. We're looking. Tell us. Well, four nights ago... Yeah, four nights. Uh, whenever whoever was supposed to be me was hit-and-runned, I was in Banjo's Turkish bath. Oh, you had a bath. So? So they stole my P-jacket and my wallet. It was rolled. But I was too smart for him. A sailor in a van with no money, no P-jacket, and tingling all over from a bath. Takes brains. Pretty brainy, huh, Slake? Brainy enough to take your hotel for a room, huh, mate? Yeah, we're sure impressed. Think a clever fellow like you could find his way home? Sure, but what's there for a man? Ten acres of avocado trees and a wife who's bubbly with joy that I'm dead. I like it here, mate. I like it just... just the way it is. He said him a course, Ele. Let's go see if a wife's got a lamp and a window for laughing Joe here. You like riding with me, Gil? Anything you do, Ethel. Anything you want. If it includes me, I like it. Ah, the sweet words, roll off your tongue. Much practice, huh, Gil? I've had my share, you know that. Look, honey-dow, we're having a nice time counting your avocado trees. Don't whisper anything to spoil it, huh? Well, a woman wants to be sure. She gives you a husband to kill if she doesn't want a few. She's made a mistake in judgment. No mistake, honey-dow. I'll make you the richest grower in Havocoa. I got away with avocados. Maybe I want more than that. Maybe I... Tell me again what you want, Ethel. I'll do my best. My motto? Aim to please a woman like you. Just don't get tired of me, Gil. You'll have to please me for the rest of your life. It's no chore, honey-dow. Ah, the shade. Soft wind off the coast. It's a good place to tell me again that everything's all right. Is there something I can do for you? Oh, would you mind if... Oh, please, please come in, you two. The sun hurts my eyes. Thanks. Well, this is quite a tidy place you have here. All this from avocados? Just thanks, Slade. Next time you pinch an avocado at the fruit market, you might be pinching one of Mrs. Norman's. But don't mind her, Mrs. Norman. A sailor comes in out of the sun. It takes her a while to get accustomed. Well, you're certainly welcome here, both of you. But who are you? I run a hotel in Havana, Slade Shannon. She, uh, her, uh, uh, the sailor de Val. How do you do, Mr. Val, Mr. Shannon? Uh, Mrs. Norman, when did you see your husband last? Oh, you've come to talk to me about Joe? About Joe. He's playing hob with Slade's hotel. Or is it Havoc Slade? Havoc. Havoc. I see. Gil, Gil, come in here a minute. This is Gil Lardner. He owns the next plantation down. Well, what have they wanted? It's about Joe. Joe is dead. Everybody knows that. Joe doesn't. He's a man who'd like to know. What are you talking about? We buried him two days ago. I'm sorry, Mrs. Norman, but how sure are you it was your husband who died? What? Oh, well, you mean because he was so badly smashed up in the accident? I knew him because it was his wallet they found on him. Joe's, and Joe's P-jacket. It could have been someone else. It wasn't. As soon as Joe would hit poor, he'd head for the banjo baths, Turkish baths. And the receipt from the baths was found in his pocket. Joe's dead. I saw him lying there. He was smashed and dead. Gil, wait, please, please, Gil. You heard it. You get fun out of teasing a widow? Get out of here. Leave her alone. Daniel Bueno. Hey. Hey, is that you? Brush this steam away from your face, Senor, whoever you are. It is I. Welcome to the hot baths of Senor Bueno. Grab yourself a hot rock and sit upon it, but gingerly. Tell me something, Bueno. Do you know a man named Joe Norman? Uh, he is chilly in here. A little more cold water on the hot rocks. Hi. Is it not pleasant? Hey, look, Chico, I got a girl outside in the waiting room. She gets panicky when I take too much steam. So talk to me about Joe Norman. Every time Senor Norman comes to port, he seeks my steam for his pores. Let me make a suggestion to you, Chico. Did you roll Joe Norman, steal his P-jacket? Senor. Did you? Would the Senor mind moving his arm again like he just did? Thank you. That is a large arm muscle the Senor has. From beating people over the head with hot rocks. You have guessed it, Senor. Waldo rolls Senor Norman. Waldo in person while Senor Norman was in his very room. Hi, Waldo. Who's Waldo? My partner. Only he has now since disappeared. I got news for you. Waldo is just liable to be dead. What are you saying? At Waldo put on the P-jacket, Tuck Norman's wallet in his pocket and went out and got himself killed in a hit-and-run accident. Buried under the name of Joe Norman. More water on the rocks, Senor. I am suddenly freezing to death. So you come to the police with this fantasy. You do this to warn the cockles and bulls of my heart, Senior Shannon? I do this, LaSalle, because there's something that isn't cricket going on among the avocado trees and hibacore. If it also warms the things you mentioned, I'm happy about the whole thing. Tell them about the Turkish bath slate, which reminds me, I've often wondered what goes on in the men's dorms in a Turkish bath. You sit on hot rocks, then what happens? Glad you put the question, Sailor. Then what happens is a man named Joe Norman gets rolled of his P-jacket and wallet by a poor steamer named Waldo who evaporates in the thin Havana air. These I have told you. The man Joe Norman is dead. Correction, he's laughing his head off in my hotel. The man is dead. He was buried at sea. Correction, he's not dead. He threw a picture at me. Maybe it's Waldo the poor steamer who's dead. Maybe it's Waldo... Not Waldo. Joe Norman was buried at sea. His wife asked for permission to do so. We gave it. She identified the body to our satisfaction. You will go away now and stop tickling me with childish fairy tales. Correction, we go away now, but we bring you back, Joe Norman. Come on, Sailor. Coming. Bye, Losalzi. Stay open for another tickle. Come on, Sailor. Well, I don't know if I should. I just don't know, Sailor. What are you talking about? The places I've been today. An avocado farm, a Turkish bath, police headquarters. Is there a girl in all Havana who can say the same, Sailor? Golly, I'm lucky. Golly. Before we throw that guy in room six out into the street, how about telling me a thing? Certainly. Slave Shannon, I think you are kind, loyal, trustworthy, obedient. I'll cut it out with you. Just tell me who registered him. You are King Moses. Me. Get the register. Let's see how he signed his name. He signed it Admiral Perry. What? Only he didn't sign it. I did. He was laughing and happy and had his arms loaded with... Come on, old Perry. The one at Lake Champlain. Not the one who reached the North Pole. Aren't you going to knock? Hey, look, Cluster. Wake up. You're getting out of... Sailor. Let's have a look. I don't want to. Knife in his back. Dead. You got a bright remark for the occasion, Sailor? He's on laughing cause he wasn't dead. Fear knifing back pinned him to his bed. In Havana, this cause quite a sensation. Question, who is killer by avocation? And while Mr. Slade, he and such a big gither. Lady Sailor, as usual, her face say, Come hither. Yeah, why don't you, Slade? Why don't I want? Come hither. She said he wasn't her husband. What's he talking about, Lady Sailor? Who knows? He constructs his paragraphs very badly, King. Don't you understand what I'm saying? She said he wasn't her husband. Mrs. Norman did? That's right. I was at the morgue when LaSalle brought her in. She looked at the sailor who was stabbed in room six. All she did was shake her head, no. Well, that's what I would do if a man weren't my husband. Me too. And why not? The boy who owns the Turkish bed says he wasn't sure whether the man was Joe Norman or not. How can that be possible? Many things are possible, Mr. Slade, or impossible according to which team you're on, according to how you were feeling at the moment when a situation arises which could be possible or impossible according to... You tell him, big boy. You didn't let me finish. You finish, King. You too, Sailor. Come on, get out of here, both of you. You're going to do it again, Slade? You're going to try to figure this out in your mind? You heard what I said? Out. Stop it, Gil. I annoy you, don't I, Ethel? All right, all right. Don't you enjoy me like this, honey? Sitting on your veranda, rocking in your husband's rocker, sipping in the moonlight? You enjoy me, don't you? Oh, shut up. Gil, you killed two men. That makes me twice as devilish, doesn't it? First a little nobody in Waldo. Darling, honey, I thought he was Joe. He was wearing Joe's PJ. And dressed like Joe came out of Bonyos. And when I saw Joe this afternoon, stabbed it, stretched out in that moor. I hate avocados, don't you, Ethel? Lousy fruit. Don't you think an avocado is a lousy fruit, Ethel? What do you want, Gil? Let's sell out. You and me. You collect on Joe's insurance and we'll get out of here. What do you say, honey? I like that, Gil. Ethel? What? You want me to sit beside you, baby doll? I wish you would, Gil, please. Please sit beside me. Oh, I love you. Because I killed your husband? Sure. That's why, isn't it? You figured it, and you're going to let the cops handle it. And you're comfortable. Us late? That's an ifty idea you had, sailor. Bring the ironing board out to the patio so you can press my shirt in comfort. So I look dapper when I go calling on Mrs. Norman. You get one avocado stain on it, so help me, and I'll make salad out of you. Hey, watch the shirt front, sailor. You're burning it. St. Midriff, it's the latest thing. You'll be the doll of the... Sir, your slate channel? Hand me that shirt, sailor. Come off it, slate. The lady seemed gentleman and strapless T-shirts before. Haven't you, lady? You see, but never a gentleman with such skin you look with such shoulders. Good to business, my card. I've had the sun in my eyes. You read it to me, lady. It says Lolita Nueva, insurance investigator. Available at all hours. Hmm, says all that, huh? I don't carry much insurance, Lolita, but I bet I could dig up some for you to investigate. Hey, sailor, you're burning that collar. You're longer. She's local, no? She's crazy, no? Yeah, I get my work done cheaper that way. Let's go somewhere and investigate, hmm, Lolita? Ah, ah, you will investigate, Senor Shannon, alone. Let us say for 2% of $100,000. Now, look, honey, you go over there and stand next to the crazy laundress, huh? 2% of $100,000? That's $2,000, slate. Well, that's more... That's the fee my company would pay for a discrete investigation of Ethel Norman because of the $100,000 in insurance we paid to her on her husband's date. You, uh, accept big shoulders? Hand me the burnt rags, Ella, for 2 grand I'd investigate Congress with my slip showing. See you again, Shannon. Looking for a buy an avocado? I want to talk to Mrs. Norman, I... What about? You can tell me, I run things for her while she sleeps. That's a nice arrangement. I like it. She likes it. All the time, husband Joe was at sea, sending in the paychecks to buy the seeds for more avocado trees to retire on. All that time, I brought the sunshine into Ethel's life. Now, you know. Joe know about all this? Ethel and me? Well, we didn't want to worry him with it while he toiled. I was going to tell him, though, when he got back. Poor guy. Run over. Kill. All before I could get to him with the story of his life. It's time for me to go wake Ethel. You won't mind, huh? I'll wait for her. No, you won't, long nose. The gun pointing at your collar button says you won't. Yeah. Mm-hmm, yeah, it sure says that all right. Bye, pal. Nice avocados you raised here. Taylor! Taylor, where are you? There's a draft. How did you make out of the avocado plantation? Put your shoes on, Taylor. We're going talking to LaSalle. Then we're going to the insurance company and collect $2,000. For that, I'll wear my high buttons. Go away, go away, whoever you are. Well, come on in, Mrs. Norman. You can take a walk with it. We were just going to see the police. Gil told me he wouldn't let you see me, Mr. Shannon. I came here to tell you why. I think she wants to tell us she killed her husband, Slade. It's cruel, the whole thing is cruel. That's a good word. Let's use it for the death of Waldo. Who? You know who? A petty thief who helped run a Turkish bath. Goes like this, Mrs. Norman. Waldo stole your husband's coat and wallet. In the dark, he was killed by a hit-and-run driver by someone who wanted your husband dead. By you. For his insurance. Oh, no. It wasn't like that. That's why I'm here. I'm frightened. That was your husband who was stabbed, wasn't it? Yes. Yes. Gil killed him. After he found out he'd made a mistake. After he found out he'd killed Waldo instead. Listen to me, will you? I'm frightened. Don't blame you, the police. Oh, none of them. None of them. Oh, don't you understand? If I were you, I'd be scared of the police. It's Gil. He's a killer. He enjoys killing. He enjoys it and sometimes he looks at me. I need your help the way he looks at me. Let's go ask him what he sees. If you look up from that paper, Gil, you'll notice company. Oh, you too. Don't bite your lip, Gil. You're dreaming the whole thing. What's this all about, Ethel? Come on, honey. What are you trying to say? She's making an honest effort to say you're a killer. Oh, that's what, huh? That's right. You killed Waldo, mistake. Then you stabbed Joe Norman and my hotel. No mistake. Reason? A widow with avocados and a hundred grand. Did she tell you I didn't mind doing it either? Something like that? That's why I can't get dreaming about pointing this gun at you. You really don't have to do that. Slate's not finished. Rush me, Shannon. That way you can die in action. Yeah. Yeah, exactly that. Ethel. Ethel. Crazy woman. Crazy. Gil. That's good. Gil's dead. It's good. He needed to be dead. Sure. Sure. Give me your gun, Mrs. Norman. Take it. He was going to kill you. You know that, don't you? That's your version. I've got another one. Shouldn't we call the police and report this? Gil's dead, you know. He'll stay that way. Let's just talk about him for a while. About the promises you must have made him for killing your husband. Gil's share of your husband's plantation, your husband's insurance money, things like that. You're crazy. I just saved your life. What are you talking about? Gil told me he never saw your husband. He didn't. He never did. Of course he didn't. So you had to tell him how your husband dressed, where he would go so he could find him and kill him. Slade, watch her. Get away from that window. No, you don't. Did you think I was going to jump? Did you think that? Now let's go, Mrs. Norman. No, wait. Look at it. What was? Dawn. Isn't it beautiful? It's the beginning of a new day. It's time for wishing good things. Want to know my wish? Won't come true if you tell us. I know. Won't anyway. What is this? I wish there was some way, some way it would, it would make my new day a happy one. If there were some way I could kill you, both of you. Come on, Mrs. Norman. Let's go. $2,000, Salier. Look at it. Are we going to run barefoot through it, Slade? Uh-huh. We're just going to count it and count it and count it. That's why you made the insurance company pay off $1 bills, huh? Well, you better let me have a bucket full of it. Take a handful, Salier. What do you need a bucket full for? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. I got the list right here. Let's see. $1,996. How many candlesticks did you buy? What are you screaming about? You've got $4 you've never had before. Go ahead, take the $4, too. I'm happier when I'm broke. Carefree, happy, devil may care. Vagrant is the trade wind. Come here, Vagrant. Did you like that? Spiffy and smooth. And how was that one, Vagrant? Vagrant, huh? Come here. Oh, I just found a home. And so our two stars, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, have brought to a close our latest bold venture story. Special music was composed and conducted by David Rose. May we invite you to listen again next week at this time for another exciting adventure starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, together in bold venture.