 If you really want to know what happened, Inspector, ask Toby. Yes, Toby, who is only a vintilical dummy for who knows more than you think. If you want to hang me, let him be a witness. Out of this world, Columbia's parade about standing stories of those moments when reality turns to illusion, when fancy becomes fat, sharp, shocking fat. Tonight we're a remarkable adventure from the successful English motion picture Dead at Night. A story which for the next half hour will take you out of this world. Come in here now. Enough of that noise. You're disturbing all the other prisoners. God, tell me where it's Toby. What has it done with Miss Toby? Ah, so it's Toby again, is it? Now stop all that fuss about the dummy. I won't ever put any more noise in that solitary confinement for you. I must be Toby. Oh, God, I'll pay you anything if you bring Toby to me. Ah, you ventriloquist with a queer one. All this fuss about a talking dog. He's not a talking dog. Don't you understand him? Toby. Where is he? What's happened to him? How should I know? Probably safe enough. The Inspector will take care of him. Well, you tell the Inspector to send Toby back to me. Back to me, do you hear? Tell him I want Toby and I want him right now. For sure. The Inspector's dog will be happy to do anything you say. Oh, the President, fellow. Oh, yeah, you're a rap one, all right. You're just lucky, ain't he, if I murder. Lucky that fellow, Lesville, your shot is coming along, all right. Lesville, whatever happens to him makes no difference to me. I wish he was, then. He tried to steal Toby from me. Now, ain't that a pretty thing to say? Thank you, my child. I'm sorry, I can't let you trouble me. All I want is one trainer. Go to the Inspector, go to somebody, go to anybody, and tell them I've got to see Toby. I've got to see Toby. Constance, Inspector, he's raising a devil of a row down in the hills. Keeps yelling he wants his dummy brought back to him. I see. Well, if letting Tompkins have the dummy, we'll keep him quiet. Perhaps we can arrange it. Oh, good evidence, sir. Is that him there, in the chair? Oh, yes, that's Toby. Oh, true. Sits up in the chair real lifelike, don't you, Inspector? Amazing, isn't it? It's fantastic that a man could be attached to such a thing. Queer how Tompkins keeps saying, uh, if you want to know why he shot Lesville, ask the dummy. He's an odd one, all right. Imagine asking anything from the likes of this. Blank any other little face he's got. Yeah, so you're Toby, are you? So it's you that's responsible for all the trouble I'm having with your master today. Poor Mr. Tompkins. If I wasn't a mild man, I'd change that smelly smirk on your face. I'd give you a real sad look, I would. All right, now, hold on there. Do you think that stick of wood will answer you? Eh? Oh, you know very well only a ventriloquist can make a dummy talk. Sorry, sir, I'm just odd. You look a bit silly here, so before we all do, we'd better get to the bottom of this. God, bring Tompkins up here. Time we had a little talk. Tompkins, if I promise that Toby will soon be returned to you, will you cooperate with me? Toby? Is he here? Is he near me here? Yes, but you can't see him yet. But I must see him in fact. You will, but not before I have certain facts. Certain facts. Tell me about your quarrel with Mel Laswell. If you tell me the whole story, I may be able to help you. Help me? Why? Why should the police help me? Because it's part of my job. If you've done your job, I've admitted I shot Laswell. I did it. What else matters? Your motive. He tried to steal Toby from me. Isn't that motive enough? Tompkins, I really can't understand you. Understand? Of course you can't understand. I wouldn't expect you to. You've never spent years, endless years, playing showbiz, cheap music halls, starving out of the elbow because you couldn't find a partner who understood you. You never saw a day and night for weeks on end, creating somebody like Toby who could go to the big town with you. Oh, Toby could tell you what it seemed like all right. Unfortunately, Tompkins, Toby has shown no inclination to speak to me as yet. There we would appreciate that, exactly. Indeed you would. What have you done? See him soon enough, I promise you. But first, I want to know what makes you think Mel Laswell tried to steal Toby. I'm not aware of that. Those intentions right from the start have made it even before I met him. I had a premonition that something somebody he might separate me from Toby. I couldn't stand that. I just want to hear him, yes, he can hear me. I see. When I met Laswell at the club that night, I realized almost once that he might be the one who caused the trouble. I thought you'd see him, Laswell, you know, the sort he is, the regular troublemaker. Yes, Tompkins, I've seen him. Now come to the point. Well, as I indicated before, Toby and I have been playing all the better music halls in the last few years. Top building, you know? And then we got our engagement at the kids' club. West End night club. That's about as high as Toby and I, or any act for that matter, can go. We were standing backstage, waiting for the dark act to finish their turn. So we were standing there, not particularly hard for us to follow. And then Bigelow, the master of ceremonies came along. Dad, see you ready to go, Tompkins. You're on, as soon as they finish the wall. We know our acts, Mr. Bigelow. Well, just so you know yours as well. Not Toby. Well, I don't want him to forget to take the chair out tonight. I have the chair right here, and don't worry, it won't happen like it did last night. And do us the favor of getting off the floor when you've introduced us. You messed up the whole first part of our act standing behind us. Here and now, and I don't say that, I thought it was your opening night, and how was I to know your act? You did it deliberately. You were trying to cut in on our last. Oh, look here, I don't have to take this kind of stuff. Toby, that was not at all professional. Mr. Bigelow, I apologize, and Toby doesn't seem to have the grace to do it. Very well, I accept it. Huh? Well, what do you think of that? How do you think you take me, Tompkins? Do you think I don't get to thinking that dummy is a living thing? Bigelow is a terrible ass, isn't he, Tompkins? Right, Joe, it's remarkable. Tremendously real, you know the illusion. Oh, by the way, you want to be particularly good this evening. You have a rival out there. Lazwell, Mel Lazwell, the American, the ventriloquist from the States. Lazwell? Oh, don't tell me you haven't heard him on the wireless. Yes, look, have a look. He's at the front table over to the left. Oh, yes. Yes, I've seen him. Oh, well, who's the gorgeous young lady? His wife. He's awfully good. Well, the greatest ventriloquist I've heard say. I like her. Don't you recognize Petters and Bigelow? He may be the best in the game, he may not be the best. And you're pretty jealous, aren't you, Tompkins? I'm nothing of a source. In fact, you'll feel more uncomfortable than ever tonight, working in front of a real artist. I'll see you here, Toby. But if you will, I'll carry you along. You'll carry me. Now, have you no, I carry the service. Please, please, both of you. Stay out of the stock, Mel. Now, see here, jokes are joke. But when you used to bite George, you took me up the road again, Tompkins. I thought you and this wooden limb were rowing. I thought he was human. In fact, he means thinking he's actually human. Well, let's get out there and wiggle on. Yes, yes, of course. And don't forget to kiss. Wait, wait, wait. Oh, oh, here it is. Look, I'm going to introduce you to that. That's why I've been here long. You must be old man. And I'm still wondering if you could do that. Right, here's a long, long, great big hand. And I, Mr. Tompkins, see you in all the United Kingdom. And now, ladies and gentlemen, and visiting royalty, before I present to you our next little feature, I'd like to call on a distinguished variety artist who is here tonight. You've all heard him on the American wireless and seen him in the American cinema. Mel, that's hospitality. I'm sure that beautiful woman he's with is a much happier person on his knee than Michiel Tool, whom you've seen so many times. Stand up, Melvin. Melvin, that's what I'm offering on the next, the life of which Mr. Lideswell has never seen. Our own British friend from the Brits, Eric Thompson, and his talking timber, Toby! Well, good morning, good morning, good morning. Hey, Thompson, go easy on that morning stuff. Oh, come, Toby. Well, that man over there looks like the fluent officer. Why, that shouldn't bother you, Toby. You've been a very good boy, haven't you? Yes, but I'm out of school. Out of school? Why? I've been invited. Out of school because you have a peniphan? No, not because I have it, but because I couldn't stand it. You're my lad. You've been a once-part appendix of yours. After all, people die of appendicitis, you know? And then you should be a skeleton. I bet you don't even know what a skeleton is. Yeah, that's good. We're upon your nose, darling. That guy's got the worst material in the British iron. I just know you're enjoying this. People are watching me. What is that? What is a skeleton? A skeleton with a lot of bones with all the people's great doors. It's the same thing the other day. Toby, are you listening to me? I said I saw a very strange thing the other day. All right, you saw a very strange thing the other day. I don't blame the dummy. You're being embarrassed. You're asking my own master. No, Toby, that's not the problem at all. We'll provide that back to you. I said I saw a strange thing the other day. The trout man standing under one of them and not one of them got wet. And not one of them got wet. I know the payoffs of this game, but I won't say. And Mr. Ladwell knows well. So what goes on here now? Some come down, Mr. Ladwell. I know you do. You get the answer. Toby, please, darling. This is embarrassing. Well, Mr. Ladwell... Now, this guy keeps writing me. I will get into this. These dummies, dummies, says that he's all 12, man, under one of them, bro, and not one of them got wet. Why not, Mr. Ladwell? Because it wasn't raining. Ha, ha, ha, ha! Now, you see, everybody knows your joke. I'm humiliated. Actually, humiliated to be up here on the third grade then pulling it like you. Well, if you don't like your material, why don't you try rewriting it? Rewriting? Uh, do you have anybody going into St. Paul's and offering to rewrite the Bible? Did you have me? Uh, Mel? Hey, Claudia. May I...? Hey, Mickey, oh, two 75 cents a week. He'll wind up in my fireplace and you'll work for 50. Ha, ha, ha, ha! Yeah, well, he did. He was the greatest man to fill up with in the world. Ladies and gentlemen, please don't blame me for this. It's Ladwell. He's speaking all this through Tobi. He's trying to see Tobi away from me. Mel, is that true? Do you have something to do with it? Relax, honey. Get the rest of this routine. I'm being quite sincere, Mr. Ladwell. I'll work for you and you won't have to save me at the time. Mel, are you sticking through Tobi? Well, Mr. Ladwell, will you take me on? Watch him try to get out of this one, Claudia. I'm thinking about it, Tobi. Oh, Mel. Tobi, I view behavior proper. I'll take you off the floor. That's right. That's right. Just so I'm about to get a good job. Inspector, with Ladwell had taken more than casual notice to Tobi. I could have forgiven him for his interference on the floor of the club. That might have been mere professional discourtesy. But there was something else in Ladwell's attitude that made me fear the man. It was his personal interest in Tobi. Now, what is this, Tobi? I became certain of this later when he came back to my dressing room pretending friendly. Anyone in there? Who is it? No one. Well, Compton. Mr. Ladwell. Well, how do you do? You mind if we come in for a moment? All right. Please do. Oh, this is my wife, Mr. Compton. This is Ladwell. Mr. Compton. What is it on? So, those dressing gowns on the floor. Thank you. Well, so this is your boy. Nice carving job. I'm very handsome. Don't you think so, Mr. Ladwell? Well, you certainly are Tobi. Tomkins, I've been curious to know who made him for you. Don't put your hands on him. I prefer that you let Tobi alone. Well, certainly you needn't worry. I'm quite handy with dummies myself. You certainly surprised me with that little act out front. Your own part, and it surprised me, Mr. Ladwell. Well, believe me, Tomkins, you'll see, Mr. Ladwell, Tomkins' attitude requires some sympathy. He's quite aware he's not our equal. Keep quiet, Tobi. Tomkins, how far does this gag go? That depends on you, Mr. Ladwell. And on just why you came to my question room. Oh, on their professional courtesy. You've come to make some sort of a bargain to Tobi. I am not going to commit it. No, wait, Mr. Tomkins. I will not commit it. Wait, Tomkins. I will not commit it. Whatever the Ladwell has to say to me is my affair. You might even pretend you're a gentleman and make a great look for exit. Tobi, if you're trying to make me look ridiculous... I'm succeeding. Yes, I know. Now go on over behind the screen and get your makeup off. Very well, Tobi, as I warn you. Pay that. Pay no attention to him, Mrs. Ladwell. I don't. No, I don't understand. This fellow's amazing. Not at all. He's stupid, really. Constantly interfering in my affairs. Mrs. Ladwell, now that we're alone, may I tell you something? Something I'm sure you've heard before. What is it, Tomkins? That you're very beautiful. But I'm very fond of you, Mrs. Ladwell. Oh, now look here. And whatever Tomkins thinks, Mrs. Ladwell, you're really a very nice woman. Well, love me. No, no, I don't like this. Tomkins. Yes? Come out here. Well, what is it? How far do you want to carry a joke? A joke? Either you apologize to Mrs. Ladwell or I don't. Apologize? For what? The best crack you just made through Toby. Did I? Listen, you... Here, Mrs. Ladwell, I don't know what you're talking about. Mel, darling, let's get out of here. You're not going to leave me, are you, Mr. Ladwell? Well, please don't. You're an awfully funny fellow, Tomkins. Don't blame me for all this. Take me with you, Mr. Ladwell. I just want to be near her. If you're afraid I'll make love to her, you needn't worry. I wouldn't. Tomkins, this is the most disgraceful demonstration I've ever heard. What can I do about him? Mel, please, come on. I love her. I'll do anything if you'll just let me go Mr. Ladwell, any... All right, Tomkins, you ask for it. What's going on? I don't know what's eating that fellow. Ribs are ribbed, but he doesn't know where to stop. I guess he got the last lap on me, making me lose my temper on him. Well, he doesn't seem to be doing much laughing. He's all right. And if it's done him, can't say he didn't have it coming, though. Oh, darling, I'm glad he didn't break the dummy when he fell. Oh, don't care what happens to me. I love you, Mrs. Ladwell. In fact, I should have known then that I couldn't prevent Ladwell from getting to me. I knew they'd be talking with two of them. Oh, I see. One question, Mr. Tomkins. Would you say that Mrs. Ladwell is an exceptionally attractive woman? Who's some men, perhaps? And since we know that you think and speak through the dummy, isn't it just possible that you may yourself find Mrs. Ladwell, uh, appealing? Oh, what is this rubbish you're talking? Are you interested in learning the truth of what happened? Or are you trying to muddle me up? I'd like to hear the matter out, Mr. Tomkins. As you well know, I was sacked by the Kit Kat on the spot. I hardly spoke to Toby all the way home. I wanted to impress upon him that it's fortunate he caused us. But first I hoped that Toby's attention and Mrs. Ladwell had embarrassed them both so much that Aswells would no longer feel any interest in him. Look, in my heart I knew the Ladwells hadn't finished, but at that very moment they must have been plotting. They're plotting their next move to get Toby away from me. I'll tell you what that next move was. In our hotel, I carefully turned the key in the lock. Toby and I were secured for the night. I put him in his own little bed and he made ready for bed myself. As I moved around the room, his eyes followed me, scorned for it. Then I thought of the revolver in my bag. I took it off. The revolver in my right hand and the key in my left. I lay down on the bed. I go to sleep. I don't know for how long. Suddenly I was awake. My eyes staring. Toby was gone! What is it? Aswells, I want to talk to you. Yes, be careful. It's Tomkin. I don't want to talk. Well, it's Toby. Get out, Tomkin. Now come to Toby very easy. You've stolen Toby from me and I want him back. I don't know what you're talking about. But if you're referring to your dummy, I haven't seen him. Now get out. What? What's wrong, dear? On the floor. On the floor at the foot of my bed. Toby. Toby, there you are. I found you. Oh, my poor little Toby. You've been kidnapped. Look, Tomkins. I don't know how your dummy got here. Toby. Toby speaks to me. Wake up, Toby. Look at me. Look how he's shaking now, Aswells. And he's trying to weaken me. You're not deceiving me, Toby. You know very well I'm here. Go away and leave me alone. I'm thrilled with you, Tomkins. Take it easy, Claudia. We've had all we can take of this, Tomkins. Are you going to deny you stole Toby from me? I certainly am. Look here, man. You're mad. You're ill. Ill? You took Toby from me and you say I'm ill? I didn't take Toby. You brought the dummy here. You must have brought it here. Maybe while you were walking in your sleep, but you brought it here. I'm going to prove it. Stay away from her phone. No, you have to come. You can shoot at your life. But I'm going to prove to you that... Hello. Hello. Give me the desk, Berkeley. Tomkins, I won't go with you. I'm going to stay with her forever. If Mr. Aswell will let me... Look, this is Mr. Aswell in 722. I want to know if someone came to my room a few hours ago. Did some sort of trick? A man came, you say, and he was carrying a bin full of quest dummy. You let him come up. Did you hear that, Tomkins? I'm not deceived by this. Will you describe the man for me, please? No, no, no. No, you're a devil, Aswell. You stole Toby from me, now you're trying to drive me mad. Well, here, take the phone. No, no! I'll take this! You're tricking me again! This time! No, I don't deny that I shot Aswell, Inspector, but I... I believe that provocation was an... I dare say so to grief. After all, Aswell turned a friend against me. An old and a very valuable friend. He reminded me very much. Tomkins, in due time, I may ask you to sign a formal confession on the basis of the story you just told me. No, Jack, you know, I'll sign it. Well, by the way, Inspector, I wonder if now you're my captain for you, Toby, again. I'd like to oblige you, but... But you told me for a short while, so I thought rather badly about not seeing you, especially after our trouble. And if we're given a little time together, perhaps Toby and I could straighten out our affairs. Well, if you like, I think I can manage with... perhaps, uh, having brought down to yourself. Yes. Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing Toby again. I am indeed. And that's the story as Tomkins told it to me, Mr. Aswell. And it's incredible. I had some idea what was going on in the fellow's mind, but that is... No, I'm so sorry for... Uh, just one question, Mr. Aswell. You thought my asking. Yes? Did you have anything to do with what's happened to the Kit Kat? I mean, you didn't project your voice through Toby. Certainly not. Yes, so I thought this business has me battle. If I thought Tomkins might be more dangerous than he's already true... Well, I'm afraid there is that possibility, Inspector. Huh? It may be that Tomkins has become so accustomed to thinking as two persons that the personalities have actually become divided. Is that possible? For one man to have two separate and distinct personalities? Yes, that's not rare. Well, I'll admit, I've never heard of anything exactly like this business. What will happen to him now? In the battle that Tomkins will have to fight out within himself. As long as he's in that cell without the dummy, he may learn to think for himself as himself again. Good heavens, man. Look here, I've permitted that dummy to be taken to the Tomkins in his cell. You what? Tomkins was so keen on having a dummy with him that I... No, do you think that will harm him? Well, I don't know, but... It's bigger. It's bigger. Oh, here I am. It's that Tomkins, sir, that Karen knows something awful in this cell. What's happened? We put the big doll in with him, like you said, sir, and right off he began all getting with it, carrying on a fight real off like... It's just like two people one-eating each other. Well, as well. You were right. Come on, we'd better get to them before it's too late. Well, all I can say is I knew you'd wind up this way sometime, put away for keeps a jailbird. Oh, Toby, I can't stand you having to talk to me that way. How can you be so ungrateful? I made you everything you are. You made me, did you? You were the smallest of the small till I teemed with you. Have you forgotten that once you were an empty lifeless stick of wood... Oh, come off it, Tomkins. You're a regular slush pot of sentimentality. Please, please be a little kind to me. Get away from me. Cut down the bigger. Why should I have anything to do with you? You've never done anything right. You couldn't even kill us. Oh, shut up, Theresa. Don't talk to me. I wish you had killed him, and his wife would belong to me. I could be with her. Oh, you fool. Don't you know that's impossible? You're just saying that you're jealous because I love her. Oh, no, I can't stand to get rid of you. I'm going to kill you. Throw you. Tomkins, take your hands off me. I'm through with you. Take your hands off. No, you swine. Oh, talk back to you little monster. No, tell me I've failed in everything. I've missed your face. You can't have killed me, Tomkins. No matter how you try. I'll be told I've never met him. You didn't reach him in time. He seems to have fainted. I guess you'd better see what we can do for the poor devil. He certainly made a pile of kindling out of his dummy, didn't he? Oh, well, what would it do to him? He seems to have turned to Toby. How is he, Inspector? He's coming around all right. Tomkins. Tomkins, come out of there. Tell him everything's going to be all right. He's residing. He's opening his eyes. Come on now. I'll help you sit up. That's a fellow. Feeling a little better now, aren't we? It's a dog. He's looking around for the dummy. Here we are, Tomkins. I guess this is what you're looking for. The dummy's broken up a bit, but you'll be all right. He said he'd kill me, but I told him he couldn't. I killed him. Isn't that wonderful, Mrs. Lazzwell? Tomkins is dead. Now we can be together forever, the three of us. You want me, don't you, Mrs. Lazzwell? You've got to want me because I think you're beautiful. And I love you, and I'll be your slave always and always. The past 30 minutes, CBS has presented Out of This World, bringing you Charles Gussman's adaptation of the motion picture Dead of Night. Barry Kroger was featured as Tomkins and Art Connie Assobi. Original music by Albert Berman. Out of This World is directed by John Mosman for CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.