 Family Theater presents Jimmy Durante from Hollywood, the Mutual Network in Cooperation with Family Theater presents First Law of the Jungle and now here's your host, Jimmy Durante. Thank you, Tony Lafranco. Family Theater's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention a practice that must be common and important part of our lives. If we are to win peace for ourselves, peace for our families, and peace for the world. Family Theater wages you to pray, pray together as a family. And now to our transcribed drama, First Law of the Jungle, featuring Herb Ellis as Bill. SR-7, fifth and stand-hope drive, 13-T4, a 902-T at Glendorf. How you like your second day in a radio car, Tony? Yes, SR-7 and four. I think I'm going to like it. The beach work and fig station, huh? You could say that again. I used to feel like I was standing on my ankles after about four hours. It pays a little better, too. 13-T4, hold on. Don't let that thing down. Sure. I've been on the police force for eight years now, and that thing still gets on my nerves. I can see how it might. We have the same problem at home. In a way, anyway. Wife likes the television set. Oh, yeah? You got one of those big sets, you know? 27 inches or something like that, three or four loud speakers, boy, when it's loud, it rattles the window. Hey, I was fourth in Hampton. It's over on the other side of town. Hey, look at that. That guy must be doing 50. Let's find out. Just about 50. Give me a whistle, Billy. We got us a live one. Maybe we got us a live one. He decides to run. We'd have no more chance than a gopher and a horse race. Man, what a car. He's slowing down. Out of state plates. Hey, you want this? When should I take him? I don't care. Let's both take him. Out of state, we'll see how he acts. Maybe just give him a warning, huh? Okay. Call us in out for investigation, huh? Right. I'm six. You want to bet on what this heap cost? 4,500. I was looking at one just like it the other day. It's closer to six. Wow. Well, sir, drive a little fast, weren't you? Was I? I didn't realize it if I was, officer. I'm sorry. May I see a driver's license? Oh, sure. You got it right. Yeah. Been in the state long, sir? Matter of fact, I was just passing through, officer. Beautiful state, though. I wish I could stay more than a couple of days I got. Yeah, this seems to be an order, Mr. Dorns. That's right, Dorns. Now, you know you were going 50 miles an hour and a 35 miles on. I suppose I wasn't watching the spedometer. You know how it is in a car like this. Power steering, power everything else. Speed just kind of sneaks up on you. I don't really think I was going at an unsafe speed. Power breaks and there don't seem to be many cars on the road at this time of the night. I do hope you're not going to give me a ticket. You're only going to be in town till about noon tomorrow. Oh, sir, in view of the fact. I don't know, sir. The law applies to everybody. I don't know if we can make any exceptions. There certainly would be an inconvenience to me. Frankly. We could easy, boy. You too seem to be, well, nice fellas. Smart, I'll bet. I'll bet you even know whose picture is on a $50 bill. Hey, Mr. What'll you bet? I'll bet you $50. Okay, I'll take a guess. Make your mouse. No, sir, you're wrong. It's Ulysses S. Grant. Looks like I lose. Well, here's your $50. Thanks, friend. Hey, don't go for this, Frank. It stinks. Just keep your shirt on for a while. All right. So next time, watch that speed. Sure will. But he'll be all right. Skruple's hurting him a little bit. He'll be all right. Okay. Much obliged. That's all right. Say it. Frank, if you need money for some reason, you can always get it from the police emergency. Oh, knock it off, will you? That was a bribe. Look, didn't we agree that we were just going to warn him? It was a bet, Frank. Listen, you've been a cop for a little over two months. I've been a cop for more than eight years. Well, you've been at it a little longer. Well, you've tried to raise a family on a policeman's pay and get them the things that other people have. And then if you still feel like shooting off your mouth about somebody trying to make an extra buck, maybe I'll listen to you. Somehow I think you won't. Just don't you make book on it, Frank. I guess I better call in, tell them we're back in service, huh? I'm in charge, Charlie. I'll tell you when to call in. You want me to pick you up, Bill? I don't think so, honey. I'll get one of the fellas to drop me off home. Don't forget your lunch. Oh, yeah. And Bill? Yeah. About Frank Gibbons and that bribe business. What about it? I'm sorry we had a fight about it. But to me, well, it just doesn't seem as wrong as it does to you. I see it as, well, as car payment or a home payment. And as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. Meldred won a public servant except some bribe. It's a betrayal of the public trust. It's a criminal act. All right, all right. Maybe it is. Maybe. To you, a thing's got to be either good or bad. No middle ground. Honey, a policeman's job. I know, I know. I'm sorry I brought it up. Let's just forget about it, huh? That's fine with me. But sometimes, Bill, you're just like a kid with a brand new junior G-man badge. You just had to say that, didn't you? Well? I'll see you later. Sure you don't want me to pick you up? I'll get home all right. OK. Bye. Bye. Just can't make you understand, can I? Look at the bulletin board. You got time? About, uh, 24. Funny a time yet. Oh, hey, there's something here for you. What? The officer William F. Tyler will present himself at the captain's office before reporting for duty. Hey, I wonder what for? Your guess is as good as mine. Well, I better go check out the car. Yeah, I'll see you later, Frank. Yeah, sure. Before reporting for duty. OK, Captain, if that's the way you want it. Uh, there was an order on the board outside. You, Tyler? Yeah, yes, sir. Wait a minute. Captain Gold, Tyler's out here. Have him wait. Yes, sir. Want to sit down over there? Yeah. You, uh, any idea what's about? Sorry. Pretty sure it's not a promotion, if you know what I mean. Yes, sir? Send Tyler in. Yes, sir. Right through that door. Thanks. Officer Tyler reporting, sir. Sit down, Tyler. Thank you, sir. Are you right on your records that you're setting to become an attorney? Yes, sir. I'll be eligible to take the bar examination in two years if I pass the baby bar next month. I only bring it up because of the possibility that you're spending too much time on your studies and not enough on your job. Well, I don't think so, sir. Mm-hmm. You were in, uh, 13.05 last night with Officer Frank Gibbons? Yes, sir. My second night in a radio car. Fixed station before that? Yes, sir. Traffic, Fifth and Garrison Avenue. I know. I'll get your records right here. You, uh, get along all right with Gibbons? Well, yes, sir. Everything all right at home? Wife's finding it a little hard to get along on a policeman's pay. We've only been married a year. She'll be okay. Mm-hmm. You've got a good record in traffic, Tyler. But I'm afraid the Report Frank Gibbons file on you leaves much to be desired. Sir? I said the Report Gibbons file on you is bad, Tyler. I don't understand, sir. Last night you called in a Code 6 at 1042? Yes, sir. The edit was 1.30 before you reported your car back in service. According to Gibbons' report, your Code 6 was to issue a warning to a speeder. He further reports that while he was talking to the speeder, he ordered you to report your car back in service. But... That's not true, sir. Also, according to this report, you're not too familiar with radio code. Captain, I've been listening to police calls since I was a kid in high school. I fixed up the radio on my first car so I could hear him. I know the code like I know my own name. You say you and Gibbons get along all right. Tyler, why would he lie? Well, sir... Yes? I don't know, Captain. Tyler, you have no explanation for this other than saying Gibbons lied. No, sir. Yet you can't give me any reason why you should. No, sir. Even if I did, sir, wouldn't it sound as if I were lying to protect myself? I probably would, Tyler. Does this mean I go back to traffic, Captain? Gibbons asked for it, to at least that you be transferred to some other car. And he's almost eight years seniority on you. I try to be a fair-minded man and you need the money, so I'm not going to do it. Besides, I've got too much to do this afternoon to have to juggle the manning table. Come back to your car, Tyler. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Oh, Tyler. Yes, sir? Well, I get another report like this and you still try to defend yourself the same way. You'd better be able to back it up. You'd better have proof. Yes, sir. How are you, Tyler? Hi, buddy. A little surprised. Should I be surprised? Oh, why don't you come off it? I just had a nice, long talk with the Captain, remember? He, uh... Played it on you a little hard, didn't he? Yeah, just about as hard as you did in that report of yours. I'm sorry I had to do it, kid. You had to do it? It's all preservation. What could I do, risk my own neck? The worst you could have gotten was fixed station. And the pay cut that goes with it. Is that what you had figured from me, Gibbons? Tyler, when there's a witness against you, you have to protect yourself. There's only one thing you can do. Discredit him before he gets a chance to talk. Well, you sure did that, all right. It was me or you. That man's got to protect himself. Not a wife and kids to think about, you know. You told me. You seem to think that excuses everything. Wait a minute. Now, look at it this way, Tyler. You know the pay scale for policemen in this town. My wife and I, we make out all right. It's a living. You call it a living? Out of that pay, we're supposed to pay the rent. Feed and raise a family. And besides that, buy our own uniforms, our own weapons. Side arms. Well, that's a 60-buck item right there. And suppose you have to fire your weapon in the line of duty. You pay for the ammo, right? Gibbons, that's a standard procedure in police departments all over the country. Does that make it any more right? These extra things. Find it there just isn't much room in your budget to pay for them. All I do is try to make up the difference. Yeah, like last night. Well, yeah. It's like last night. Speeders usually get fine. Okay, as speeder got fine. Most of the men in the department manage to live and they send their kids to school and they do what they have to do without shaking people down. So? I just don't like the way you think. And I don't like being given a bad report just so you won't have to worry about getting caught. It's a dog eat dog world, Tyler. I'm sorry, you almost got hurt, but I had to protect myself. You'll come around. Oh, you'll see it to it that I'm out of this car and back on fix station. Could be. Well, it could be, but I don't think so. You'll come around. What are you doing? This is a radio car and I'm turning on the radio. It's not even four o'clock. We haven't officially started this shift yet. We have according to my watch and from now on, givens, I'm playing it by the book. Well, you can turn it down a little. You got any kids, Tyler? No, not yet. We wait. Well, you got a couple in school. Maybe a few hospital bills. Then we'll see how well you play it by the book. In fact, you strike me as a pretty smart fellow, Tyler. I bet it won't take you more than a week. I'll give you a week. Mildred? Mildred, have I got any clean shirts? Did you look in your dresser drawer? Of course I looked in my drawer. Didn't you pick up the cleaning? I didn't have enough money. Oh. Well, I guess I'll have to wear the one I wore yesterday. I guess you will. You got something on your mind? As a matter of fact, I have. You want me to get it? I guess this is Mrs. Tyler. Bill, just a minute, I'll get him. Bill? Yeah. Just let me finish tying my tie. Who is it? I don't know. I hope it's not the captain. You think Gibbons filed another report on you? We got a lead on a bookie joint yesterday. If Frank followed it up after work, it just could be. Hello? Tyler, Captain Gold. Yes, sir. Anything wrong? You're getting along all right. Where's the Gibbons now? I think so, sir. Is anything... He's waiting in my other office now. I thought he might have the same kind of a thing on his mind, and I thought I'd get your side of it first for a change. Still say you're getting along all right? Sir, if you could let me talk to him first, I'm sure we can straighten things out. You mean on the phone? Well, I meant if you could put him off until tomorrow, sir. I suppose that'll be all right. I'll put him off a day. Thank you, Captain. See you tomorrow, Tyler. Yes, sir. Goodbye, sir. Another bad report? Yeah, I think so. And you put it off a day. Do you think that'll solve anything, Bill? I don't know. I just don't know. Bill, I... I don't know how to say this. Say what? I just... I just can't take much more, that's all. What do you mean? You asked if I had something on my mind a few minutes ago. I've... I've done a lot of thinking this past week. I'm tired of living in the future. Look at this house. All the things we don't have. Honey, we've only been married a year. It takes time to... It takes time? Bill, I'm sick to death of waiting. Honey, after I pass the bar, we'll... That's two years away if you pass the qualifying examinations. What do you call them, the baby bar? In the meantime, all we buy is law books. We never have a chance to enjoy life or do the things other people do. Do you know how long it's been since we've been out together? Just the other night we went out. Remember dinner or show? Oh, I mean really go out. I don't mean a Chinese dinner and a 50 cent show. And even then, it was the first time in two weeks I'd been able to get you away from your studies. I told you it would be rough for a while. Oh, but Bill, when it doesn't have to... Are you getting back to this extra money thing? If you get a pay cut, if you have to go back to directing traffic... Well, Bill... Well, what? Well, you know, my mother and father have been asking me to visit them. Visit? Until you get established. Two, maybe three years? Well, that's great! Kicking the door down isn't going to solve anything. What you're really saying to me is if I don't start operating like Gibbons and taking an occasional bribe, you're gonna leave me. Well, it's not as if I were laying down any ultimatum or even asking you to do anything really wrong. Speeders should be fine. What does it matter who does it? Because it doesn't stop there. Anyway, I don't think so, Mildred. I gotta go to work. You gonna be here when I get back? No, Bill. If you change your mind, you know the number. Yeah, I know the number. I'll just say this. You're asking me to lie and cheat when you ask me to betray a public trust. And if I do that on my job, it wouldn't be long before I'd do it other places. And how would you know I wouldn't be lying to you and cheating on you? How would you know I wouldn't wind up betraying you? Well, you think about that, honey. If you change your mind, you call the station and they'll tell me to call home. Is there any chance you'll change your mind? Mildred, I love you, but I just don't know. I said I'd be about a week, but you know something, belly boy? I didn't really believe it. And I guess I really didn't have much choice. Well, the captain pretty well. You got a hat on you. Thanks. Horse parlor upstairs? Not really a horse parlor. One guy, two phones, he books best. It sounds small, but from the way he talked last night, we ought to be able to do pretty well. You want to call us in a Code 7? Yeah. 13R5, Code 6. 13R5, 10-4. Hey, I said a Code 7 out to eat. Why do it on our own time? You got a point there. I'll do all the talking. It's okay with me. We got this guy right where we want him, quaking in his boots. Yeah, this is the door we want. Yeah? Oh, it's you, you. Hey, who's this? This guy's my partner, open up. Partner? Oh, brother, now look, the price we talked about last night. He's doubled. Doubled? Two grand and you can stay in business in this town. Hey, you look like a reasonable guy. You talk to him. He does my talking. Oh, have a heart, Gibbons, this is a small book. Take us about ten minutes to make it no book at all. Haven't you heard of track betting's illegal in this state? Two grand. Oh, brother. Come on, Bill, let's take a minute. Yeah, okay, okay. Here's one grand in the envelope. I had it ready for you. For the other, you'll have to give me some time. Come on, come on. But I'll have to lay off all my bets. Come on, one more and you'll never see us again. Okay. One hundred, two, three, four, five, a thousand. Let's go, Tyler, okay? That's nice doing business with you, friend. Get lost, will you please? You did that like an old hand, Frank. I'm sorry I gave you such a rough time, Billy Boy. It's all my fault, Frank. It's all mine. Self-preservation, you know? Yeah, first law. First law of the jungle. Maybe I better count the money in the envelope. I played with the idea. I almost bought it. But you were right in a way about the self-preservation. You've got to save yourself. You know that, Frank, even if it costs you everything you have, what you have against what you are. Is it all there? Yeah, two thousand dollars. Okay, Frank, hand it over. Hand it over? Now why the gun, Billy Boy? It's a pinch, Frank. A pinch? You'll never make it stick. I'm a law student, Frank. I think it'll stick, all right. Look, take it. Take it all. Man, that's two thousand dollars. Are you going to give me that story about your wife and kids all over again, Frank? Bill, what'll happen to him? You told me it's a dog-eat-dog world, Frank. I just don't want to be eaten. 13-R-5, this is Officer Tyler. 906, 300 block on Fallbrook. 10-4, 13-4-5. All units, vicinity, 300 block in Fallbrook. 906. Officer in need of assistance. 10-4, 7-R-5. Kind of fits you, doesn't it, Frank? Hello, Tyler. Captain? I just heard you call. I've been following you. Following me? Why, sir? Gibbons, really. I've had my eye on him for a long time now. What did I do wrong? You were just playing on the wrong team, Gibbons. I'll take your prisoner, Tyler. When your assistance gets here, you can close up that book upstairs. Then everything will be cleared away, huh? 13-R-5, Officer Tyler, call your home. 13-R-5, 10-4. No trouble, I hope. Little, sir. But I think it's at a point where I can handle it now. This is Jimmy Duranty again. You know, if there's one guy who makes my blood boil, it's the guy who wants you to think that Christmas is only the time when Santa Claus comes instead of what it is. The birthday of the son of God. He's the guy who tries to hide Easter under the bunnies and the colored eggs and tries to make you think of Thanksgiving as only the day for eating turkey. That guy really gets my nose out of joint. And you know why? Because he's spoiling our holidays. He's making us forget what they're really for. Take Thanksgiving, for instance. To my way of thinking, Thanksgiving is about the greatest national holiday anybody ever thought up. It's the day for thanking Almighty God for the nice things he's done for you. You don't need a turkey and all the trimmings or a football game to watch to keep Thanksgiving well. All you need is a memory to remember all the friends God has given you, the country he gave you to live in, and all the blessings we take for granted the other 364 days of the year. It's nice to have a Thanksgiving dinner, but I think you keep Thanksgiving a whole lot better if you take time out to pray. To kneel down with your family and pray to God, telling him how grateful you are for the things he's given you and for what he's done for you. And when you do that, you're really celebrating Thanksgiving the way it ought to be celebrated. And when you say you're Thanksgiving prayers, do it as a family for the family that prays together stays together. More things are brought by prayer than this world dreams of. From Hollywood Family Theater has brought you transcribed First Law of the Jungle. Jimmy Durante was your host. Featured in our cast were Herb Ellis, Harry Bartell, Gigi Pearson, Hal Gerrard, Barbara Fuller and Barney Phillips. The script was written and directed for Family Theater by Robert Hugh O'Sullivan with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman. This series of Family Theater broadcasts is made possible by the thousands of you who feel the need for this type of program. By the Mutual Network, which has responded to this need, and by the hundreds of stars of state screen and radio who give so unselfishly of their time and talent to appear on our Family Theater stage. To them and to you, our humble thanks. This is Tony LaFranco expressing the wish of Family Theater that the blessing of God may be upon you and your home and inviting you to join us next week when Family Theater will present Thinking Makes It So, starring Richard Denning, Bob Hope will be your host. Join us, won't you? Family Theater has broadcast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network. This is Mutual, the radio network for all America.