 Mr. District Attorney, starring David Bryan. Mr. District Attorney, champion of the people, defender of truth, guardian of our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And it shall be my duty as District Attorney, not only to prosecute to the limit of the law, all persons accused of crimes perpetrated within this county, but to defend with equal vigor the rights and privileges of all its citizens. This is David Bryan. In a moment we'll bring you another case from the files of Mr. District Attorney, but first a word from our sponsor. Here is our star, David Bryan, as Paul Garrett, Mr. District Attorney. One of our biggest problems is the crook who preys on charitable activities, particularly those of local organizations. These groups are often singled out as easy pickings by confidence men, mainly because people connected with the groups are not worried about personal security and are therefore less cautious in their dealings with outsiders. The prevention and prosecution of crime is a difficult job at best and all too often complicated by the carelessness of honest citizens. Citizens whose lack of vigilance invites lawlessness and violence, as in the case we're about to hear. Haven't you got that money ready yet? I'm doing it as fast as I can. Here, here, never mind the silver. Here, let me do it. Oh, don't get so excited, Ralph. Marty's going to get here any second. I want this stuff ready for him. Mr. Bentley, I chased you all the way across the lawn. I just heard that we've taken in more than $3,000. Something like that, Mrs. Pruitt. But if you don't mind, I'm pretty busy at the moment. Well, I just came in to compliment you on your management of the most successful lawn party we've had in years, but of course, if I'm in the way. I'll be happy to talk to you later, Mrs. Pruitt. Well, I must say. That old battle axe. Why don't you lock that door? Make it look too suspicious. But if that old cow is going to keep coming in here every other minute. Get the money in the bag. Here comes Marty. All set. Where's the car? Bag of the building, like you said. Engine running. Here's the money, Marty. We'll meet you at the motel. Uh-oh. Bentley, what's going on here? Who is this man? What's he doing with our money? I told you she caused trouble. That money is supposed to be turned over to me. Well, I believe you were going to steal it. Ah! But you have a gun. Yes, I have a gun. You're meddling old fool. No! Oh, no! You can't! Are you crazy, Bentley? What did you do that for? Shut up and get out of here with that money. Let's do it. Miss Miller gave me a message. This is the welfare league charity affair, isn't it? That's right. Raising money for crippled kids. Miss Miller said it was a woman who was killed. That's right. Mrs. Donald Pruitt, president of the welfare league. Bentley says the band had did as he ran past them. Who's Bentley? He's the promoter of this thing. He and his wife are counting the take when this hood moved in on him. All right, folks. One side, please. Let us through, eh? The medical examiner just left. You want to take a look at it, Chief? Ah, I suppose that better. Not very pretty, is it? Never is. You know, Chief, lots of people kid these old dames who run around helping the community. But when they can raise 3,000 bucks for a bunch of crippled kids, well, I figured they're doing a lot of good. Yes, I'd say so. With the cover back, aren't you? What was she doing here? Taking care of the money? No. Now the Bentley's were taking care of that. I guess it's part of their job. Do you know if Mrs. Pruitt was already here when the band had showed up? No. She walked in on him while he was holding up the Bentley's. I guess he just turned around and pumped bullets into her. Too bad. Sounds like a lone gunman deal, doesn't it? Yeah. Of course. The guy waiting outside, Chief, in the getaway car. Yes, we'd better figure that as a possibility. You say they got all the money that was taken in? All but a few hundred dollars in silver. And I imagine the crippled kids could have used it. Well, maybe we'll be able to get it back for them. Any description of the killer? There was a couple of girls cleanly saw a tall blonde guy running out the back, but the Bentley's don't agree with that. I'd like to talk to the Bentley's. They're out here in front. I'll go get them. Mr. and Mrs. Bentley, would you come in, please? This is Mr. Garrett, folks. The District Attorney. How do you do, sir? How do you do? Were you both here together when the band had appeared? Yes, we were. We were accounting the money and talking to Mrs. Pruitt. When she saw the man had a gun, she tried to run out past him and he shot her. She tried to run through the front door? Yes. And which way did the band had come in? Well, he came in the front door, didn't he, Ralph? That's right. In this description we have a tall blonde. Do you agree with that? We certainly don't. He was short and thin and dark. And he wore colored glasses. I see. You got that, Harrington? Right. Mr. Garrett, will you need us for any more questioning? That body bothers me. I think that takes care of it for now, Mrs. Bentley. I might want to talk to you later. Of course. Please, Ralph. Well, we know exactly what to look for, don't we? Oh, sure. A tall blonde who's short and dark and wears colored glasses. Oh, ought to be a cinch. I noticed several people in the crowd had motion picture cameras. Talk to them, Harrington. See if you can get the use of their film for a viewing. Okay, Chief. Attorney's office. Hello, Miss Miller. I'm at the Welfare League playground. There's been a holdup and a murder here. Woman victim. Some bystanders were taking motion pictures and we figured one of the cameras might have caught an accidental shot of a killer. How about our 16-millimeter projector? Is it back from the shop yet? Came back yesterday. Good. I'll eat it for this afternoon. What time this afternoon, Mr. Garrett? As soon as we get the films developed. Take care of it for me, will you? I'll check back with you later. Are you sure this is the right motel? Of course I'm sure. You coming in? Yes, I'm coming in. Took you long enough to get here. I figured something had gone wrong. We couldn't run away, you know. We had to stay and answer questions. After that killing, you're lucky they let you go. Why shouldn't they let us go? They have no record on us. I never kill people. You look crazy to do that. What do I have to do for you? Draw pictures? That woman you made in me, she knew what we were doing. I had to kill her. There's a lot of difference between picking up fast and don't commit murder. I just bluffed with a gun. I told you that. Who cares what you do? The cops keep after you more when you kill somebody. Stop yammering about it. Where's the money? A little over 2,700. I counted it. Not bad. That's not good either. Not when you have to leave a corpse behind to get it. Maybe I misjudged you, Marty. Maybe you're not the one to work with us after all. Who says so? We can get someone else, you know. And if we were to describe you to the police. What's that supposed to be? A threat? It's not supposed to be. It is. I didn't say anything about quitting, did I? Then stop the whining. It irritates me. All right, all right. Let's put the dough. That can wait till we take care of the next job. Yeah? And when is this gonna be? Three days from now. Then you'll get your money. And you'd better move out of here right away. Find another place and let me know. Come on, Mita. This is the last real film, Chief. If they don't recognize the crook from this one, we've wasted our time. We'll see. Wait a minute. There he is. That was it. Hold it. Hang him. I'll rewind. Just tell me when to stop. Uh, right there. That's the man. Are you sure, Mita? Oh, I'm puzzled here. Was he in this spot when you saw him? Well, no. I was going back to our car with a couple of prizes. I heard the shots and then I saw this man running. He got into a car and drove away. What kind of car? Well, some kind of a CDN. I guess I can't say for sure. Did you notice the license? Oh, gosh, no. I didn't even think of that. Well, you've been a big help to us anyway. Better rewind the film, Harrington. Then get a negative off that likeness. I want photos made up right away. Okay, Chief. Has Marty moved away? No, he hasn't. He's out somewhere, that's all. Get going. How do you know he hasn't moved? His clothes are still there. Stupid jerk. I don't want to these small-time crooks get caught. They're too moronic to take simple precautions. The trouble is, if he gets caught, we might get picked up too. Now, don't start sniveling about that again. We're not going to be picked up. What are you going to do about him? I'll come back in the morning. I'll get him into another place if I have to drag him out of here by the hair. Good morning, Miss Miller. Oh, good morning, Mr. Garrett. Harrington here yet? He's in your office. He has a report on your blonde holdup, man. Good. Hi, Chief. Good morning, Harrington. Seen the paper? Yes, I looked at it. Quite a spread on the killing. It's the kind of thing that hits home. It makes people realize that this kind of violence could happen to anyone. Miss Miller says you have a report on the picture we took from the film. Yeah. Suspect turns out to be one John Martin Mallory, alias Marty Manning. Five arrests, one conviction. Not exactly the type you'd call an innocent bystander. The department's got the dragnet out. But Padway thinks the guy might have left town. Does this Mallory usually work alone? No. The report says he likes to work with partners. And he's never been a brain. Always did jobs planned by somebody else. Well, that doesn't end up in this case. What else does it say? Here. Take a look at it. Age 35, parole to August 8, 1950. Mallory's M.O. features an unloaded gun in all operations. Submits quietly to arrest. That don't sound like a killer, does it? Well, unless he's had a complete change of personality. There's nothing peculiar about this situation, Harrington. Yes, Miss Miller? This is for Harrington, Mr. Garrett, a message from Lieutenant Driscoll. Oh, oh, yeah. It was Driscoll who got me the report on this guy, Mallory Chief. Now, what do you want, Miss Miller? It was Sergeant Raiden who called. He said to tell you Lieutenant Driscoll had a lead on where Marty Mallory's been staying. He's going out there and picking him up. Driscoll is? That's right. Miss Miller called Driscoll back right away. If he's already left, ask them to contact him in his car. Yes, sir. Is something wrong? It seems to me that Driscoll works alone most of the time. That's right, but I just... Go ahead, Miss Miller. Lieutenant Driscoll left homicide about 30 minutes ago, Mr. Garrett. And he must be out of his car right now because they can't seem to contact him. Well, they know where he went. Hold it and view Motel on Channel Road. You ain't worried about trouble, are you? Now, with the M.O. we got on this guy Mallory. That's the way Driscoll's going to think. He'll be expecting an easy arrest. Come on, Harrington, let's go. Driscoll could be walking into plain murder. This is David Bryan. Before we continue with Mr. District Attorney in the case of the charity killer, here's an important message I'd like you to hear. And now back to David Bryan starring as Paul Garrett, Mr. District Attorney. A charity affair had been held up. Money raised for crippled children had been stolen. And a woman had been murdered in the process of the crime. This was a case of decent people lending support to a worthy cause, suddenly finding themselves at the mercy of a crook with a gun. A criminal who killed as violently as a mad dog. By means of motion picture film exposed by people in the crowd, we had been able to establish the identity of the person who had taken the money. But because of information listed in the police report on this man, I felt sure the actual killer was still unknown. And you'll see that this was our greatest problem. Oh, it's you. Come on in. I thought you were going to get moved out of here. I am, I am. You know what I ought to do to you? Oh, now don't try getting rough with me, Bentley. You'll get you nothing but trouble. Marty, you need a lesson. And here it is. Make it easy, will you? A guy can make a mistake, can he? I don't like mistakes, Marty, of any kind. On your feet. All right. I was going to move tonight. You'll move this morning. Get your clothes. We're leaving right now. Who's that? I don't want to. You answer it. Move over there. Who are you looking for? A man named Mallory. Marty Mallory. You better try the other rooms. Nobody here but that name. The manager said this was it. The manager made a mistake. I'm a police officer. Any objection? Am I coming in looking for myself? I guess not. Come ahead. Hello, Marty. Hello, Lieutenant. Who's your friend, Marty? That's Mr. Bentley. What do you do for a living, Mr. Bentley? What difference does that mean? You said Marty wasn't here. What made you say that? You said something about looking for somebody. I didn't quite catch the name. You caught it all right. Marty, the manager of this place tells me you haven't been working lately. Oh, I've been working here and there. What kind of work? Well, you know, anything I can get. Yeah, I know. I'm taking you in, Marty. What for? Suspicion of armed robbery. And you'd better come with us, Bentley. I'm going to say the same thing Marty did. What for? I'd like to ask you a few questions. And you'd better get your hands out of your pockets. I'm afraid you thought about that a little too late, Lieutenant. You shot him. You shot a cop. Come on, let's get out of here. Here comes the ambulance, Chief. It won't be much help to us, Harrington. Just goes hard to stop beating. Son of a gun. When we found him breathing, I thought there might be a chance. Another cop dying the hard way. Yeah. And him with a couple of kids. I'm going to turn him over to the ambulance, boys. Then I want to get right back to the office. Did you find a Lieutenant Driscoll? Yeah, we found him. Dead. Oh, no. Two bullets in him. Somebody got him by surprise. Well, that's the thing that's bothering me right now. That report you got on Mallory. What did it say about his prison record? Did he give any trouble? Mm-mm. Model prisoner. Always cooperative. That's why he was paroled. This thing is beginning to look sticky. It just doesn't shape up as an ordinary hold-up operation. Miss Miller, would you feel like taking on an undercover job? I'll be glad to. I'd like you to cultivate the bentleys. You might pose as a society reporter interested in charity affairs. What do I try to find out? I want to know if they're tied in with Marty Mallory. If that can be established, we'll break the case. But play it carefully. One of these people is a dangerous killer. You don't think Mallory did the shooting? M.O.'s don't usually lie, Harrington. Mallory's behavior pattern just doesn't include killing. And there's something else. Bentley said Mrs. Pruitt was killed when she ran past the gunman to get out the front door of that field house. Why would she do that when there was a back door? And the bentleys gave us a funny description. They said Mallory was a little guy with dark hair. We'd better figure that bentleys is being very smart and very deadly. Well, why don't you let me do the undercover with them? The bentleys would never fall for you as a society writer. Yeah, I guess I'm just not the type. But I'd sure like to square things for Driscoll. You'll have your chance. Get the daily press on the phone, Miss Miller. I'll arrange for reporters' credentials for you. Okay, Chief. Did you find a place for Marty? Yes, I found him a place. What are you fussing around for? I'm having a caller. A reporter from the daily press. Reporter? What are you talking about? She's a society reporter. She's coming to get some information on the charity bizarre. She wants to do it from our angle. You mean you told her she could come here? A reporter? Well, I thought it would be nice. Our names will be in the society column, and it's about time. Why did you do that for her? Oh, the stupid... You pull another fat-headed trick like this and I'll give you something you really want about it. I told you I didn't want any... I suppose that's your reporter now. I'll get your face straightened out. Miss Miller from the daily press. Yes, we've been expecting you. Come in. You'll have to excuse my wife's appearance. She's suffering from hay fever. Oh, I'm so sorry. I'll be all right. What was it you wanted to know, Miss? Well, let's see the charity bizarre as tomorrow, isn't it? That's right. I thought I'd like to join Mrs. Bentley there and just sort of stay with her. You know, to get the flavor of this sort of thing from the viewpoint of people like yourself? Well, we'll be pretty busy. Oh, I promise not to get in the way. Don't turn me down. My editor's expecting quite a column out of this. It might be all right. But could you contact us again at the auditorium? We're pretty busy right now. Well... And Mrs. Bentley isn't feeling too well. I'm sure you understand. Yes, of course. I'll phone you again this evening, Mrs. Bentley. You and your publicity. What are you going to do now? What do you think? I'm going to call the newspaper and see if that girl really works for you. That didn't take long. My husband was there. He wasn't very gracious. What happened, Miss Miller? I think he'd been pushing Mrs. Bentley around. Her face was red and she'd been crying. He said she had hay fever. You think they were suspicious? Not the woman. She was too nice to me over the phone, but I think he was. How about tomorrow? I said I wanted to spend time with Mrs. Bentley. He didn't like it, but he didn't say no. No sign of Mallory around? Nothing I could see. Well, I guess all we can do is wait. Let's go, Harrington. Number 43, and I had 41. It's too bad, Harrington. That's a set for your wife. Yeah. Now, this is quite a party. Can you still see Miss Miller? She's near the ticket booth talking to someone. Must be a friend. How about the Bentley's? I can't see Mrs. Bentley. He's at the ticket booth. When he picks up the money, Miss Miller's going to give us the nod. Ralph. Where have you been? Don't head for the office with that money. Come with me to the front door. Something wrong? One day. Come on. What's the trouble? You were right about that girl. I just heard her talking to some people she knew and they asked her if she still worked for the district attorney. What? Mm-hmm. It looks like a trap, Ralph. This is a thing for you. Is there something wrong? For you, there's plenty wrong. This thing I'm holding in my pocket's a gun. We're going out this door and you're coming with us. You make even a squeak and you get it. Understand? Yes, I understand perfectly. Let's go. Can you still see Miss Miller, Harrington? Well, all of a sudden, she don't seem to be around. Bentley either. Something's gone wrong. Come on. Get ready to move out, Marty. Get in there, you. Head for your place, Marty. Get moving. Come on, Mater. You too, sister. What are we going to do, Ralph? I don't know yet. We'll hold up in here until I make up my mind. Get that door open. You don't think you can get away with this, do you? Get over there and sit down. Such a big, brave man. Just great at slapping women around. Shut up or I'll really give you one. Ralph, I've been figuring maybe we ought to get out of here. I kind of think we will follow. You kind of think? Why didn't you tell me this before? Well, I was watching through the mirror and I thought maybe I shook them off, but I can't be sure. What about her? She stays here. But she'll give you help for the cops. Enough when I get through belling her alongside the head with this. Better enjoy yourself while you can. I always enjoy shutting a woman's mouth. Grab her, Marty. That's it. Now, sister up. Don't try to pick it up, mister. Hold it, Marty. You too, Mrs. Bentley. All right. All right. I quit. You all right, Miss Miller? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Chief. But I wouldn't have been if you hadn't arrived. Get your hands higher, Marty, Friskham Harrington. I've got it. You won't find no bullets in that gun. I didn't do them killings. Then you'd better tell us who did. You open your mouth, Marty, and you'll wish you hadn't. Take it easy, Bentley. You don't seem to realize it, Bentley, but your days of violence are over. Yeah. And if you think I'm keeping quiet, you're crazy. What do you want to know, DA? Save it until we get downtown, Marty, and then you can tell your story to a stenographer. Let's go. This is David Bryan. I hope you enjoy this case from the files of Mr. District Attorney. I'll be back in just a moment after this message from our sponsor. Here's the star of Mr. District Attorney, David Bryan, with a word about the program you have just heard. I'm sure you read about these people. In a short trial, the man we call Ralph Bentley, his wife, Maida, and his accomplice, Marty Mallory, were found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder. They are now serving long sentences for their crimes. And now this is David Bryan inviting you to join us when we present our next case based on the facts of crime from the file of Mr. District Attorney. Mr. District Attorney was originated by Phillips H. Lord.