 The Adventures of Sam Spade Detective brought to you by Wildroot Cream Oil Heratonic the non-alcoholic heratonic that contains lanolin. Wildroot Cream Oil. Again and again, the choice of men who put good grooming first. Uh, phone down to the drug store and tell them to send up free gallons of black coffee. Who is this? Are you sure you have the right number? I'm sure I've got the right number, but I'm not so sure who I am. Oh, Sam, it's you. You must have had a frog in your throat. Did you oversleep? Effie, don't say things like that. Oh, I'm sorry, Sam. Oh, you poor dear, you've been working. You're tired, that's it. Tired? I've only just brought Lazarus back from the dead. Well, then you better get some rest, Sam. You can dictate your report tomorrow. That's what you think. Now, stay where you are. If I'm asleep when I get there, wake me up. I'll be right down to dictate my report on the Lazarus Caber. Dashel Hammett, America's leading detective fiction writer and creator of Sam Spade, the hard-boiled private eye, and William Speer, radio's outstanding producer, director of mystery and crime drama, join their talents to make your hair stand on end with the adventures of Sam Spade, presented by the makers of Wild Root Cream Oil for the Hair. Next time you buy Hairtonic, be sure you buy Wild Root Cream Oil, for you see, Wild Root Cream Oil gives you these advantages. It grooms your hair neatly and naturally, relieves annoying dryness, removes loose, ugly dandruff. Wild Root Cream Oil is non-alcoholic and contains soothing lanolin, so much like the natural oil of your skin. Yes, friends, next time you buy Hairtonic, look for that famous name Wild Root. Get Wild Root Cream Oil Hairtonic, again and again, the choice of men who put good grooming first. And now with Howard Duff starring as Spade, Wild Root brings to the air the greatest private detective of them all in the adventures of Sam Spade. But she says I'd like to know what's private about it. What's this? Overtime to relax. I don't want to relax, I don't dare. Oh, there you go again, Sam, going on nerves. How long do you think you can keep it up? With your help, I'll be in a coma inside three minutes. Thank you, Sam. Now you just lie down here on the couch and I'll take your shoes off. Now I can take dictation while you relax. Nuts, where's that black coffee? Sam, you're angry with me. Your eyes. Please don't glare at me like that, Sam. I can't bear it when you just... I am not glaring. I'm trying to keep them open. Now sit down. I got to keep moving around. Oh, you shouldn't drive yourself like this, Sam. Please, Effie, please. Date, fill it in. It's your life. Go on. Burn yourself at both ends. Yes, see it. Two A.J. Tatspaw Claims Manager, all risk insurance company, Tide Building San Francisco from Samuel Spade, license number 137-596. Dear sir. The following is an accounting of my services to your company in connection with a claim of M.R. Lazarus on the life of the assured Timothy R. Lazarus. The latter called at my office yesterday at approximately 11.30 a.m. He was tall, bald, handsome, tall, bald, gray-faced, and dusty. He looked as if he'd been buried and dug up several times. This may sound like a poor sort of jest, Mr. Spade, but my name is Lazarus, and I want you to bring me back from the dead. Wow, sounds interesting. Why did you die? When did you die? And how did you die? I was declared dead by the Appellate Court of the State of California August 28th last year by reason of seven years' absence. Who took it to court? My wife, Emma. Insurance? Yes. My wife and I agreed between ourselves to ensure my life in the amount of $100,000 that she would collect on legal presumption of death after my disappearance and continued absence for seven years. That's the law, Mr. Spade. Yeah, it's been tried a lot of times. What went wrong in your case? Wife double-cross you? If that's your attitude, I'm afraid I've come to the wrong man. Uh-huh. You're still in love with her. Well, that makes it tough. You know they'll nail her for perjury if you prove you're still alive? That's why I didn't go to the police. Even though we'd planned the deception together, she had reason to believe that I was actually dead. Suppose you cover the whole thing from the beginning, Mr. Lazarus? Yes. I married her back in 1940. And for a while we were happy. And then she became restless. You mean you were not able to support her in the manner to which she was accustomed? She was young and lovely. You wanted her to have nice things, but on your mega salary it was impossible. I know it's an old story, but life is like that. Well, you said it. Well, there you are. I was assistant cashier at the Golden Gate Bank. Oh, no, not that. I started taking small sums at first, meaning to repay them later on. Look, let's not go through the whole script. How much did you embezzle? $20,000. Yeah, so you decided to take it on the land before the auditors came in, and? I was going to give myself up, but Emma wouldn't let me. We made our plans that night. And I left for Mexico the following day. In Mexico City, I had plastic surgery done on my face, and then I settled down to wait the seven long years until I would be declared legally dead. I suppose you might call it poetic justice, but just before the end of the seventh year, I contracted malaria. It was confined to a hospital for more than 11 months. You have had it. The doctors gave me up for dead, and asked me to notify my next of kin. I gave them Emma's address. I never notified her, to the contrary, because it seemed to fit in so well with our plan. Too well, huh? Yes. I'd been to see her. And she refuses to believe that I am her husband. Of course, my appearance is very much altered, but there must be some way to prove my identity. You worked in a bank. They must have taken your fingerprints. I removed them from the files and destroyed them. How are your teeth? My teeth? Teeth. Who was your dentist here in town? Oh, Dr. Smith, the great professional building. You'll still have your dental x-rays on file. They're as good as fingerprints. You go there this afternoon. Don't give your name. Tell them you're Mark Humboldt. Have a new set of x-rays taken, and I'll do the rest. What's your wife doing these days? I, uh... Emma... Emma's married again. Who's the sucker? Pardon me? The man. Oh, he's a doctor. Dr. Ernst Wilhelm. Wilhelm? He's quite well known, I believe. Yeah, and the cops would like to know more. Now about my fee... Oh, Mr. Spade, I have no money. Oh, that's great. You have no money, and all you want is to hire a man to bring you back from the dead. And the more I succeed, the less chance I'll have of collecting. If I might make a suggestion, Mr. Spade, I don't know the ethics, but perhaps the insurance company? You would be doing them a great service. I think you're gonna live, Mr. Lazarus. They can't keep a good man down. I'll collect from them. I knew there wasn't a chance in 100,000 of shaking a fee out of your company. After all, you have your own investigators in the payroll and contract work isn't deductible under the new tax law, but something about Lazarus had gotten to me. Something else about him got to me at the Blue Bottle Bar and Grill where I stopped the lunch. Yes, indeedy. I'm Emma Wilhelm, Mr. Spade. Emma Lazarus, Wilhelm? I see you do know who I am. May I sit down? Slide down, Mrs. Wilhelm. Thank you. I'm glad to know you have a sense of humor, Mr. Spade. It's about that man, of course. Surely you didn't believe a word of his story. Which word? Oh, I'll admit there are slight traces of the truth in his raving. My first husband, Timothy Lazarus, was an embezzler. He did disappear, and it's quite true that I have collected the insurance on his life. I might even believe that Tim is still alive, but that man is not he. Then what are you so upset about? Oh, it's perfectly obvious what he wants. He's an extortionist. You're wrong. He doesn't want money, Mrs. Wilhelm. He wants you. Oh, Mr. Spade, how much do you know about my husband? Which one? Don't be flippant. Dr. Ernest Wilhelm? He made his first million, lead nuggets out of gang war casualties and lost it on a stock market. He cut his second million out of Nob Hill and called it surgery. He lost that on horses, blinds, and malpractice suits. The last time he was mentioned in the paper, there was a big picture of him pumping sleeping pills out of the stomach of an aging blessed queen. It may or may not have been coincidence that she did not recover and that she was the ex-girlfriend of one of our better-known racetrack habit-dashes. And if he got 100 bucks for the job, he was paid off and booed. Please don't say anymore. That poor girl. And he'll do the same thing to me. Wow. If you persist in helping that imposter, you'll be responsible for whatever happens to me or anyone else you involve. Mm-hmm. Anything else I should know? Yes. Both you and your client are being watched and followed. You can't escape him. He's not quite the has-been you'd like to think he is. After she had gone, I scraped her tears off my butter, finished my lunch, washed my hands with a nationally advertised soap and mushed over to the Drake Professional Building. I found my client's dentist in his lab polishing up a set of gold inlays. Humboldt? Oh, yes, yes. His x-rays have come through. Only set today. They're on the plant there. Don't touch them. They're not dry yet. Oh, I'm sorry. What's your interest, uh, police identification? How about digging in your files for the x-rays on a patient named Lazarus? Oh, yes, be glad to, of course. Well, let's see now. Larabie, LaVelle, Lawrence, Lawson, Glaskin. That's a G. What's that doing here? Ah, Lazarus. Timothy R. Is that your man? That's the name. Jimmy, April 1940. Should have been in for dental hygiene. After the mine, Miss Baker. That's my nurse. These pictures, how do they compare with this new set? Well, let's have a look. Switch on the light there, will you, please? And let's see. Malecruzion, well, the cuspids impacted third and motor. Ah, erosion in the land. Yes, it's very interesting. You mean they're the same in both sets of pictures? Oh, dear, no, no, no. Uh, man's mouth could change a lot in seven years. Oh, yes, especially with dental neglect, but that would never cause a man to grow new teeth. Oh, well. You see here, Humboldt has one more lower incisor and two more molars than Lazarus. And the whole character of the mouth is different. These two men would not look even faintly like. Oh, dear, no, Miss Baker's been with me for 10 years. Never made a mistake yet. Mm-hmm. Could I talk to her? Not in today, but out since Tuesday, cold. Oh, see, by the way, you're a detective. How's this for a mystery? She phoned me this morning and thanked me for sending a doctor around to examine her. Now, this is the peculiar part. I have no recollection of having done so and I am not acquainted with the doctor she said I sent her. That wouldn't be a doctor Ernst Wilhelm. Well, why, yes, Wilhelm. That was the name. Do her another favor, will you? Call a doctor you do know and tell him to get over there as fast as he can. Come on, come on, open up. Come on, kiddo. Which is Miss Baker's room? She's sick. Ain't having no callers. I'm her doctor. Oh, you can't fool me. Where's your little black bag? If I had one, it would be around your neck. Now, March, show me the way. You can't force me. I know my rights. Oh, you do, do you? Well, it might as do you know that your vents are faulty, your wiring is illegal, your drains are unsanitary and your apron is dirty. I'm thrusting. I'm neat as a pin. You're as neat as a mud pine. I'll get going before I have the Board of Health down on you. All right, but you can't make me climb them stairs. Come on, come on. The triadica I have. Here's the keys. Okay. First door to the right. Thank you, Elsa Maxwell. She was stretched out on a bed, her left arm twisted under her and her right dangling over the edge. On the floor beneath it was an empty pill bottle. A few red capsules were scattered near it and some more were spilled out among the bedclothes. I ended sleeping pill suicide scene, but I didn't believe it. The body was still warm but no pulse. I didn't waste time giving her the mirror test. Instead, I looked around for a phone. It was on a table near a window. I meant to dial the police number, Sutter 12020, but SU was as far as I got. It felt like a bee sting or a quick jab with a needle. I spun around and swung out blindly. The face that I missed was suntanned under a shock of iron gray hair. I was wearing the same white toothed grin that Dr. Ernst Wilhelm always wore in his service. I started towards him and he backed away, still grinning. Come ahead, Speed. Come and get me. But hurry, you have only 20 seconds more. Shall I count them off? So far you have three, four, three, six, seven. The floor kept dropping a foot at a time as I walked toward him. But every time I got to the bottom of the incline it tilted up the other way and I slipped back. He kept dropping out of sight and every time I got him back into my line of vision he was farther away. The room opened out and disappeared into some clouds. The ceiling spun around faster and faster until it whirled away like one of those flying discs. Then the floor turned into gelatin and I sank into it. The makers of Wild Root Cream Oil are presenting the weekly Sunday adventure of Dashel Hammett's famous private detective, Sam Spade. Here's important news on good grooming. If you want the well-groomed look that helps you get ahead socially and on the job, listen. Recently, thousands of people from coast to coast who bought Wild Root Cream Oil for the first time were asked, how does Wild Root Cream Oil compare with the hair tonic you previously used? The results were amazing. Better than four out of five who replied said they preferred Wild Root Cream Oil. Remember, non-alcoholic Wild Root Cream Oil contains lanolin. It grooms the hair naturally, relieves dryness, and removes loose, ugly dandruff. So if you want your hair to be more attractive than ever before, get the generous new $0.35 size of Wild Root Cream Oil, America's leading hair tonic, on sale at all drug and toilet goods counters. It's also available in larger economy bottles and the handy new tube. Get Wild Root Cream Oil again and again the choice of men who put good grooming first. By the way, smart girls use Wild Root Cream Oil too, and mothers say it's grand for training children's hair. And now, back to the Lazarus Caper, tonight's adventure with Sam Spade. The dream lasted about 300 years. Around Christmas time in a year 2247, another bee stung me. I opened my eyes, but the lights on the tree were too bright, and Santa Claus was bending over me with a brandy breath. Come on, man. Come on. Come on. Little willpower. You're conscious. That's it. That's it. Sensation returning. Here. Try and sit up. How about her? Too late. Did everything I could. Suicide packed? One of your brothers in Apollo was a little too handy with a needle. Here's the mark in my arm, and you'll find one on that stiff. Those sleeping capsules were a plant to make it look like suicide. You'll be feeling better soon. Now, come along. Up on your feet. Must keep moving. Restore circulation. Hip. Hip. Thanks. Thanks. You're the man Dr. Smith called? Yes. So you're a private detective. How do you feel now? Still dopey. You give me something to pick me up? I've given you as much stimulant as it's safe to administer. For the rest, you'll have to sleep it off. And you will. I advise you to hurry home. Get into bed before this wears off. How long have I got? A couple of hours. If you keep moving, maybe three. Yeah. But if I were you, I wouldn't stay out. You don't want to fall asleep in the middle of Marcus Street. Get run over by a bus. Worst things can happen to you in your own bed. Look at her. Murder. I don't know. I couldn't. I don't know. And I've been an autopsy surgeon for 20 years. Well, cheer up, doctor. If you miss on her, you may get a second chance. Huh? Yeah. Me. Those eyes are looking better. I think you'll live. I wasn't so sure. Unless I could nail Wilhelm before my three hours as up was the safe bet he'd nail me again with that needle. He had done me one favor. He'd convinced me that my client was really the man he claimed to be and that Wilhelm and Emma knew it. My best hope of smoking him out was to dig out some solid proof. I spent 10 minutes of my three hours getting to the Hall of Records and 10 more finding out there was nothing there on Lazarus, but his death certificate. I had a gander at the wanted file at police headquarters. They'd checked him out in August of 47 when the court had pronounced him dead. I looked at my watch. With two hours and 17 minutes of wakefulness left, I just didn't have time. I stopped by Lazarus' hotel, got a set of his fingerprints and several samples of his signature, took them to a penman I know down on the mission and between us we forged the most amazing set of documents ever assembled on one man. All dated, notarized, certified, witnessed, registered, one even bore the great seal of the state of California and the signature of the governor. I squeezed them all into a large briefcase, propped my eyes open with toothpicks while I drank half a gallon of black coffee, then phoned Dr. Wilhelm's night number. I told him I was one of Russian Leo's boys and a cop had just winged me when I am from the jewelry store job. He agreed to meet me at his office. Is that all you gotta say to the guy you knocked off an hour ago? Look, I know that you know and you know that I know. They even wrote a song about it. So let's get off the dime and don't reach for a needle. This gun is bigger and it shoots farther. I can see you mean business. What do you want? First, I want to show you a few things here. Take a look. This is very impressive. You, uh... need any more proof that Lazarus is Lazarus? What's the matter, Spade? Getting sleepy? Don't get your hopes up. I can squeeze this trigger in my sleep. Are these papers for sale? Why do you think I brought them to you? What's the price? Half the take on Lazarus' insurance. That's very high. I haven't finished. This time Lazarus has gotta be really dead and you're gonna do the job. Come on, come on, stop stalling. I can't do that. Why not? Emma, she'll make trouble. She said she won't. She's still in love with him? Why do you say that? I just wondered what reason did she give you for not wanting him knocked off? Cops work harder at identifying a dead man than they do a live derelict that looks and talks like a crank. I had the same idea myself. Then you're stupid. With him dead she can tell any story she wants to with him alive and all his proof of identity. He's in a position to nail both of you for fraud, conspiracy, perjury. Shall I go on? One thing. Does Emma know about these papers? Sure. You're lying. Sure I'm lying and those documents are forgeries that that's the way you want it. I haven't got time to argue. I can't stay awake much longer and you can't bring it off without me. I'll have Lazarus at my apartment in 30 minutes. All right, Spade. I'll be there. I made two phone calls on my way to pick up Lazarus, one to Emma and one to Lieutenant Erlinger of Homicide. Dundee was asleep. Lieutenant and Sergeant Pohlhaus were approached on the fire escape outside my window and Emma was waiting in the living room when we got there. Tim, oh my poor darling. Emma, you recognize me. Of course darling, from the beginning I can't speak out in front of Enst. I know. Mr. Spade's told me. Now listen to me, you two. You're sure you can go through with us. Oh, are you sure there's no danger? That's him now. Come on, Lazarus, get in the bedroom there. I'll do what I told you. Don't worry, Emma. I'm so frightened. Quiet. Got here, Justice. Emma, what are you doing here? Mr. Spade phoned me. I agreed. It's the only thing to do. I wanted you to know that. I can't believe that you've come to your senses for a while there. You see, you were wrong, Spade. Did you bring this stuff? Here's your money. I have the hypodermic in the case here. It's already loaded. We won't need a sterile needle. Where is he? In there on the bed. He was asleep a minute ago. The grogginess that had kept coming back over me in waves for the last two hours swirled over me again as Wilhelm leaned over the bed with his eyes closed. For a split second, I blanked out and I was afraid that it had already happened. Then I saw Wilhelm's hand coming down in the bleak angle toward Lazarus' forearm. Then my vision blurred again and my arms felt too heavy to lift. It was Emma's scream that jolted me back. I clawed out blank. Let go of it. You get it in your own arm. Let go. Swine, double-crossing. Here's a little sleeping medicine for you. Okay, boys. Yeah, a likely story. I get that broken glass, Paul House. Put it in the Dixie Cup. I handle it carefully. One analyze that medicine. You okay? Who are these people, Sam? Accomplices? Yeah, but not for homicide. What about Ernst? They won't let him go free, will they? Don't worry. He's out of circulation for good. Mr. Spade. Yeah, Lazarus. I don't know how to thank you. Yes, you don't know what this means to us. Yes, I do. It probably means another long separation. The state prisons aren't co-ed. But if you insist on being alive, you have to take life as it comes. Period. End of bedtime story. Oh, Sam, it's so sad. That poor couple so much in love. But you had to do your duty, didn't you, Sam? Mm-hmm. They had to pay their debt to society, of course. That's why you had to be so hard and unreliable. Mm-hmm. But you had to do your duty, didn't you, Sam? That's why you had to be so hard and unrelenting and not give in to your better nature. That's right. That's right. Never give in to the ship. Don't tread on me. It was, uh, Hobson's... Hobson's, um... What was it that Hobson... You may fire one ready. You know best, Sam. I'll just go type this up. And now, listen to this. A good friend of the family. Wild root cream oil hair tonic, folks. Wild root cream oil grooms the hair neatly and naturally, relieves dryness and removes loose dandruff. Now, get wild root cream oil at your drug or toilet goods counter in a new 25 cent get acquainted bottle. Also, ask your barber for a professional application of wild root cream oil hair tonic. Again and again, the choice of men who put good grooming first. Oh, I hear apron study. Sam, I'm not wearing an apron. Why don't you let me sleep? Sam, you've got to wake up. Your coffee's here. Tell them I'm in conference. No, Sam, no. The black coffee. You said to order three gallons. What? I couldn't carry it all. I'll make another trip. 24 cardboard containers. You'll have to drink it up fast now. They're leaking already. Abandon ship. Oh, Sam, what am I going to do with it? Oh, open a restaurant. Good night. Oh. Good night, Sam. Number three, turrets, open fire. The Adventures of Sam Spade. Dashel Hammett's famous private detective are produced and directed by William Spear. Sam Spade is played by Howard Dove. Lerene Tuttle is Effie. The Adventures of Sam Spade are written for radio by Bob Tolman and Gildow. Musical direction by Lud Gluckin with score composed by Rene Garriking. Join us again next Sunday when author Dashel Hammett and producer William Spear join forces for another adventure with Sam Spade. Brought to you by Wild Root Cream Oil. Again and again, the choice of men who put good grooming first. This is Dick Joy reminding you to... Get Wild Root Cream Oil Charlie. It keeps your hair in trim. You see, it's non-alcoholic Charlie. It's made with sooth and linolein. You better get Wild Root Cream Oil. You better get Wild Root Cream Oil. Charlie. Start using it to have a tough time. Charlie. Keep it all up. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.