 First, I have a little surprise for you. Look there, right in front of you. Tombstone. Three of them. The first one is your mother. The second one is your brother. They're both sleeping soundly under them. And the third one is... It's mine. Midnight, the witching hour when the night is darkness. Our fears the strongest, and our strength at its lowest depth. Midnight, when the graves keep open and death strikes. How? You'll learn the answer in just a moment in. The man with the black beard. And now, murder at midnight. Sales of mystery and terror by radius masters of the macabre. Our story by Sigmund Miller is... The man with the black beard. A few minutes before twelve o'clock, midnight, Charles Corbett is sleeping peacefully. But not his wife, Evelyn. You can't get away. Please. You mustn't be afraid, Evelyn. You, that black beard, I've seen you before. Of course you've seen me before. Everybody does. Sooner or later. No, you can't operate on me, you can't. Just hold still. After this first incident you won't feel it. No, there's nothing wrong with me. Get Evelyn. The black beard. You're the man with the black beard who's been following me. Yes, Evelyn. You're going to die. I find you guilty. Guilty of trying to run away from the man with the black beard. You are sentenced to be guillotine. No. Step up the stairs, please. My husband. Time for that. Raise the guillotine. What was it? Was it a bad dream? Oh, Charles. It was the most dreadful dream I've ever had. Oh, there, there. There was a man with the black beard. And he was trying to kill me. No, darling. At first he was a doctor. He was going to operate on me. And then he tried to guillotine me. And the knife was just going down. Oh. Poor darling, it's all my fault. Oh, no. Why isn't it your fault? I'm telling you about that latest case of mine. Not that murder case. No, no, Charles. No, I don't think it was that. I've dreamed about that man with the black beard before. Charles, it means something. When did you dream about it before? I don't know. It was about a month ago. Oh. Oh, yes. That was... That was when I got my new job. That makes sense. No. No, Charles, there's something else. I can't help feeling it. I can't help feeling that I'm going to die. Don't say that, Evelyn. No, I feel it in my bones, Charles. I'm certain. I'm going to die. Corbin, I'm planning to get to Central Hostel and try to reach you. Who? Oh, I must have the wrong Corbin. I don't know. Okay, okay. I'm going right over. Dreamed about last night? Yes. I was going out for lunch. And I was just going out of the lobby. A man with a black beard. I realized that he was a man from my dream. He nodded to me, Charles. Just your imagination? No, Charles. It's not. It was the same man. I remember his face in every detail. Oh. I don't see... I guess we have to do something about this, darling. Look, suppose we go to see Dr. Lieber. He should be able to help you. No. It's no use, Charles. He'd after me. It's the man with the black beard. I'm going to die, Charles. Mrs. Corbin. Yes, doctor. I can. He... He has a long, narrow face, deep-set black eyes, and a black beard. Had you ever seen him before this, before you dreamed of him? No, no. I don't think so. And you believe the man you saw in the street and the one you dreamed about are the same? I know they are. I know they are. You say he nodded to you, Oh, he knew me all right. He wants me to die. You met him twice? Yes, and both times he nodded. I can understand you're being afraid of him. But I think you also hate him. You do hate him, don't you? Hate him? Doctor, I could kill him without even thinking twice about it. What do you think, Dr. Lieber? If she did not hate him, the explanation would be simple. She might have seen this man with a black beard before she dreamed of him just passing in the street. And she could have had a nightmare about him. Hate? Hate is important. Hating him the way she does, that means he has become a symbol to her. A symbol? Then you don't believe he's a real person, do you? That he's really threatening me? Not in the way you mean. What we'll have to do is to find out just what he does stand for. But, Doctor, I tell you, I know what he stands for. He stands for death. I'm not going to tell you to forget him, Mrs. Corbett, because you won't. But if you come back again tomorrow, well, we'll see if we can find out a little more about him. Here? Waiting for you, darling. We're going to have lunch together. You mean you'd like to take a look at the man with the black beard? Well, yes. Look, you say you met him right here on the street corner. Yes, right here. Twice. Oh, Charles, are you doing this because you believe me or because you don't believe me? Or is it because you think I've gone mad? Oh, my dearest, what are the questions? Well, maybe he won't show up today. Well, then I'll try again. Maybe that I can see him and maybe you can't. Maybe it's just a... How do you do? Oh, he spoke to me. He never did that before. He's getting into that car. Hey, you! Wait! Wait, I want to talk to you. He doesn't pay any attention. Charles, he's driving away. I'm going to get away. Taxi, come on. Follow that black car. We've got to see where he goes. Listen, mister, how much longer are we going to keep tailing this guy? We're way outside the city limits. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're going to tail him until we find out where he's going. You haven't lost him, have you? Well, he can't go much further because this road... Hey, he's turning off. Huh? Into the cemetery. What? What did you say? The Cypress Cemetery. He's going in. Well, stop on it, will you? And then catch him. The entrance gate's on the other side of this curve. There's an attendant there. He'll have to stop and show a pass. This is a... Holy smoke. Stop at that gate, will you? Excuse me, we're looking for a big black car that just came through here. There hasn't been a car through here for an hour. Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, I told you. I told you. Stop it. Look, there must have been one. We followed it all the way from town. A man with a black beard was driving it. Mr. I said there hasn't been a car through here for an hour. With or without a beard. With a black beard and a black car vanishing into thin air at the gates of a cemetery. But then where would you expect the trail to end that began with a nightmare? A dream of murder. Deep in another terrifying encounter with the man who haunts her day and night. You were looking for me, remember? You and your husband, right here in the cemetery. Is it? Look at me. I'm very real. Look there, right in front of you. One is your mother. The second is your brother. Do you recognize that? The inscription? It says Evelyn Corbett, beloved wife. Simple but dignified. You're brave, our businessman. I won't do it. When you fell off the bed. That's so out of my mind. I know, darling. Who's Charles? Mr. Corbett. I certainly did. He looked just as evil and described him. And he disappeared at the cemetery. Yes, doctor. He did. Well, that isn't so mysterious. He might have gone off on a side road or something like that. But he didn't, doctor. He just vanished. In the thin air. Mrs. Corbett. I want you to try to remember how many times you've dreamt about it. Right, support? Yes. Three times. Are you sure? Well, I... I think I am. When was the last time someone close to you died? Died. About six years ago. Who was it? It was my brother. My only brother. Were you very fond of him? Yes. Did you have nightmares then? Well, I... Yes, I think so. Did you dream about the man with the black beard then? I'm not sure. Think back. No, I can't remember. I have a feeling that I did. Only I can't be too certain. It will come to you. Maybe not now, maybe tomorrow, the day after. Let me know immediately when it does. I don't... I don't get this, doctor. What has that got to do with the immediate problem? A great deal, Mr. Corbett. But the man with the beard is a real person. No, he isn't. He isn't a real person. But he was there. No, I think he's dead. Hunting for me. I see. Of course, one way we can prove he's not is to get hold of him. Talk to him. Well, I'll take that job. I'll find him. And when I do, he's gonna do a lot of talking. Look at the body. It's irresponsible. Okay, I'll go down right now. Goodbye. He fished out of the river. Seven hours ago. Uh-huh. Okay. Put the sheet back. What do you think? Murder? Suicide or accident? I don't know yet. Hey! Hey, there he is. The man with the black beard, he just walked out of the slab room. I didn't notice. Hey! Hey! You just take down a man with a black beard. No, sir. But you must have. He came out of here just a minute ago. Well, maybe he walked out. It's only two flights. Oh. Where are the stairs? Right over there. Okay, I'll see. I'll call the Corbett. Anything wrong? I just saw the man with a black beard again. You did, ma'am. Down at the morgue. Did you talk to him? No, he disappeared. I ran after him, but he just vanished. That's too bad. We've got to get a hold of him, doctor. Perhaps we can meet him at the street corner near my wife's office. She's seen him there several times. I never met him. About one o'clock? Look, should I have Evelyn come too? Yes, ma'am. Maybe we can clear this up today. There's no reason to be afraid. We'll be here any minute. Well, if I see him again, I don't know what'll happen. Nothing will happen. Believe me, darling. Look, once we talk to him, here he comes. Where, Joe? Right there. Dr. Lieber. Oh. I'm glad you could come, doctor. And I'm terrified. Doctor, do we have to do this? It's the quickest way of getting to the bottom of it. What time do we got, Mr. Corbett? I have five to one. Yes, it's just about the time he passed his five. I hope he doesn't keep us waiting too long. Dr. Lieber, really, you've been wonderful about this whole thing. If it hadn't been for you, for you and Charles, I don't... What is it, Mrs. Corbett? What's the matter? It's he. And he really does have a black beard. I've got to get away. I've got to get away. Stay here. Nothing's good to happen to you. He's coming over here. Good. No, no, no. Don't let him touch me. Don't. Please, Mrs. Corbett. Good afternoon. How do you do, sir? I believe you're the people who are looking for me. How did you know that? The guard out at the cemetery told me. He described you and the lady personally. Oh, look out. I've got her. Everyone. She's fainted. Better take her someplace quiet where she gets... On my face, it's just up the street there. A few doors, if it won't bother you too much. Of course not. Show us. This... This is... It says Blakely's funeral parlor. Yes, I'm Mr. Blakely. An undertaker? Yes, a mortician. Of course. This is finally beginning to make sense. Put it down on the couch there, Corbett. It makes sense. How? Do you know Mrs. Corbett, Mr. Blakely? I've seen her a few times in the street. We seem to have lunch at about the same time. She stared at me and I assume she knew me, so I nodded to her. You've had no other dealings with her. Not that I know her, no. What was your wife's maiden name, Corbett? Huh? Uh, Harper. Why? Would you look that name up in your files, Mr. Blakely? Oh, yes, of course. Let me see. Hadley Halton. Uh, Harper. Cecilia M. Died January 26, 1926, buried at... What? That was her mother. And that's the answer. She loved her mother very much. Very much. Yes, she was only six years old at the time, but she always said... An age of deep feeling without any real understanding of cause and effect. Her mother died and Mr. Blakely came and took her away. As a result, she attributed her death to him. He came to represent death to her and thus became an object of terror and hatred. But I don't understand. After all these years... She didn't remember him consciously because she wanted to forget about him. But a subconscious mind never forgives or forgets. She must have seen him in the street without really being aware of it. Then her subconscious mind went to work, started creating those nightmares. And you think that when we tell her all this and we explain... I'm sure of it. Yes, but Doctor, how can we explain the attendant at the cemetery and the guy at the morgue? You know, they said they hadn't seen him. Now that we know that Mr. Blakely, the bearded man, is an undertaker, a... a mortician, the explanation is simple. He was such a familiar figure at the cemetery and the morgue that his presence did... not quite register on their conscious mind. Just as we never noticed our waiter at a restaurant. Oh, yes, of course. I see. Now let me take a look at her. She should be coming too now. Good Lord. What is it? Doctor, what's the matter? I... I don't seem to find any pulse. I'm afraid... of a strain and a shock. You mean... You... you mean... I... I'm afraid she is, Mr. Cribbett. After all, when we believe someone to be death, they can be death. A woman, dead of fear, created in her own mind, lying on a couch in a funeral parlor. A logical place to end the story that began with a nightmare. A terrifying dream of... a number to be with us again when death steps smiling from behind a tombstone. And the clocks strike twelve for... It was played by Mercedez for Cambridge. With music by Charles Paul, Murder at Midnight was directed by Anton M. Lee...