 Now we present Herbert Marshall as the man called X. The Friday Night Feature on NBC's five-show festival of comedy, music, mystery and drama. Brought to you by the makers of Anderson for fast relief from panepedic, neuritis, neuralgia. By RCA Victor, world leader in radio, first in recorded music, first in television. And by Chesterfield, always milder, better tasting, cooler smoking, plus no unpleasant aftertaste. Herbert Marshall as the man called X. Wherever there is mystery, intrigue, romance, in all the strange and dangerous places of the world, there you will find the man called X. When we ask you to try Anderson for the relief of pain due to a headache, neuritis or neuralgia, we are not asking you to try a new or unproved method. For there are many people listening in now who have been introduced to Anderson tablets by their own dentist or physician. You who have received Anderson this way know the effective, incredibly fast relief these tablets bring. Anderson is like a doctor's prescription, that is, Anderson contains not just one, but a combination of medically proven active ingredients in easy to take tablet form. People by the thousands are using modern Anderson today instead of other ways. Doesn't their experience seem worth following? Try Anderson the next time you suffer pains from headache, neuritis or neuralgia. You will be delighted with the results. Ask your drugist for Anderson today. Anderson is spelled A-N-A-C-I-N. It began in a dank green world of fatted rotting vegetation, a world of oppressive heat of loathsome insects and of even more loathsome disease. Strange, but that should have been the setting for a silent, deadly battle for the souls and minds of men. Though Dr. Melick's been murdered. That's right, Ken. Sorry to hit you with news like that about an old friend on your first day back from Calcutta. Where did that happen, Chief? In a little village called Belterra up the Amazon River in Brazil. What was he doing there? Establishing a new medical clinic? Yeah. You knew, of course, that he was working with the Institute of Inter-American Affairs, cooperating with the Brazilian government. Yeah. Trying to stamp out disease, malnutrition, so somebody killed him. Chief, it's an old pattern. We've been running into it all over the Americas. Whenever we're getting strategic materials and it's not coincidence. You think Dr. Maddox's death is tied up with a plan to sabotage our defense efforts? What do you think? Maybe you're right, Ken. After all, rubber is a pretty vital material these days. So are human lives. Oh, well, you'll hear from me, Chief. From Brazil. It's lucky you got here when you did, Mr. Thurston. The boat going up River to Belterra is ready to leave. It's a pretty sudden trip for you, isn't it, Dr. Norfolk? I understood you were stator for a return to the States. I was, but they had to have a replacement for Dr. Maddox in a hurry. I'd been his assistant, was familiar with the territory. Oh, well, that makes sense. One of the few things about this affair that does. Look, Thurston, I'm going to be frank. You came to me with some pretty authoritative letters from the Institute and the Brazilian government. So I'm taking you along with me. But I don't like any part of it. Why don't you? Because there's liable to be trouble on the Amazon. The native rubber workers aren't very happy with North Americans right now. Somebody could get hurt. You sound pretty solicitous about my welfare. I don't give a hang about your welfare, but I do care about those poor devils in the jungle. Hagridden for centuries by disease and malnutrition. There's a full-time 24-hour-a-day job waiting for me in Belterra as a doctor. I won't have any time to play wet nurse to you. Why not wait until you're asked? Sometimes a man facing a gun doesn't have time to ask. Is that a threat or a warning? Let's call it a statement of fact. There's the riverboat. You still coming with me? After the fascinating picture you painted, how could I turn back now? Okay, Thurston. Let's get aboard. I'll let the captain know we're ready to shove off. Make yourself comfortable. Thanks. Hello, Mr. Thurston. What? Well, come on board, my Amigo friend. Bet you're happy to see me here, eh, Mr. Amigo? There you go. What are you doing here? Well, naturally, when I heard your old friend Dr. Maddock got himself bumped out, I just had to offer my sympathy. So you called the bureau and can't miss Brooks into telling you where I was going. Well, can I help it if she likes my hat? Ah, okay. But this trip you're on your own. Oh, sure. Well, if you don't mind, including Berrio, come out of your own pocket. Well, naturally, believe me, Mr. Thurston, I'll be happy to pay for my own burial. Yeah. The natives of the river are shrinking heads again. They are? Might be interesting to see how yours turns out. Come to think of it, it might be an improvement. Well, thank you, Mr. Thurston. Huh? See you around, Pagon. Oh, sure, sure. I'll see you trunkin' heads. See how mine turns out. Might be him an improvement. Mr. Thurston. Everything seems peaceful enough right now, Northrop. Oh, sure. Sure, it does. Hey, maybe there won't be no trouble over here after all. Hey, Mr. Thurston? The Amazon jungle doesn't announce its deadliness, Elschmit. It doesn't? Maria could be dead inside there, and the setting would be just as serene. That's a cheerful thought. Who is Maria? Maria Castello. She was Dr. Maddox's nurse. And she's been up here alone ever since Maddox was killed? Maria has a way with the natives. Unfortunately, the same doesn't hold true for you. Hey, what about me? Not even my Uncle Ahmed? That's from the clinic. Come on. You're right with you, sir. That's as soon as I time as you may, sir. My fellow, my baby, I will kill you all first. Kill you all. That is nonsense, Luis. We are not trying to hurt your son, only to keep him from dying. Maria, what is going on here? What were those shots? Villas. No, Dr. Northrop. It was not I. Our old friend Luis was a bit upset. I had to take his gun away from him. There are other pistolas in your villas. You cannot take them all. If my baby dies, you all die. You understand? You all die. Hmm. Sounds like he meant that. I can assure you that he did, senor... My name's Ken Thurston. Thurston, this is Ferdinand Villas, manager of the rubber plantations. And this is Maria Castello, my nurse. Thank you, Thurston. Do you always find the practice of medicine here as exciting as this, senorita Castello? I cannot understand it. His wife brought their infant child here. He was due for his smallpox vaccination. And then Luis broke in with that gun, threatened to kill me if I even touched the child. But you certainly vaccinated children here before. Hundreds of them. Well, there must be an explanation for this. The natives here have developed a great distrust of all Americanos del Norte, senor Thurston. They say that they are bringing death to the Amazon. Death with their shiny medicinal needles. That's superstitious nonsense, Villas. Where are the mother and child now, Maria? In the examining room, doctor. It is really most urgent that I vaccinate the child. A smallpox epidemic has broken out upriver. All right, Maria. Take care of it at once. Very well, Dr. Norte. I do not think that was very wise, Dr. Norte. Uh-oh. We're not senor Villas. You superstitious, too. Merely realistic. Luis is the headman of the village. If anything should happen to his child, I'm afraid there will be a great deal of danger to all of us. How are you? Huh? Oh. It is you, senor Thurston. Do you mind if I share the river bank with you? Please do. Thanks. You seem a little tired tonight. Too much work at the clinic? Oh, no, senor. The work, I love it. It was this afternoon, I think, that upset me. Oh, that's understandable. Oh, but that is just the point, senor. It is not understandable. Oh, why not? The natives were never like this before. Sullen, hostile, threatening. They worshiped Dr. Maddock. What caused the change, Maria? His murder? Are you certain you do not know, senor X? Well, I didn't realize Pagan was getting around that fast. You mean the strange little man who came upriver with you, no? No, he didn't tell me. It was Dr. Maddock. Dr. Maddock? Yes. Then out before he was killed, he spoke to me about you. He said that you were the only man he knew who could handle the situation down here and that he was going to write to you concerning it. That's all he said? That was all. But, uh, I will make a guess as to what he had in mind. Okay, go ahead. Someone is stirring up the trouble among the natives. Someone who is interested in preventing rubber from reaching the United States. Someone who wishes to turn the Americas against each other for the benefit of his own country. Who is he, Maria? I do not know. You have to make a round of guess. Mr. Fishman, are you who, Mr. Fishman? Uh, it is late, senor, and I'm tired. Mr. Fishman, are you out here somewhere? That's all you have to say, Maria? That is all. Mr. Thurston, are you, uh, oh, there you are. I was wondering, oh, hello, baby. Good night, senor Thurston. Ate a vista. Hey, what's your hurry, baby? Why don't you stick around a while and... Hmm, how do you like that? A brush, huh? After the way she went for me in Lisbon. Lisbon? Oh, sure. I run into her during the war. Boy, she knew more military secrets. A regular hot tamari. Senor Thurston. That's right, yes. I thought you'd go on back to the rubber plantation. No, I wish to speak with you first. Of what? Northrop tells me you came here with papers from the Brazilian government. Is that true? Go on. Someone in authority must persuade Maria and Northrop that their tactics with the natives will lead only to disaster. They are antagonizing the natives. The incident of the baby this afternoon is a case in point. Well, somebody's got a cart before a horse feels. The natives will work up before this afternoon. Before Dr. Mevick's murder. That is unimportant. Is it? What matters is that they are worked up. To such a pigeon that the slightest spark will bring about an explosion. And if anything happens to that baby of Louise, believe me, Senor Thurston, our lives will not be... Senor. Came from that hut. Come on. But that is Dr. Northrop's hut. There he is, Senor, wounded in the shoulder. Northrop, what happened? That damn Luis Mendoza shot me. Luis? You are certain? I saw him clearly enough. He gave me a warning, did not say why? No, nothing. You're wrong, Northrop. He did tell you why. Look. Here beside the door. Mother of the Deos. What is it, Thurston? Feel us when he is tearing it. Luis Mendoza's baby. Dead. We will continue with the man called X in just a moment. Here's a word from RCA Victor. Taliaveni, the great Italian tenor, toast of two continents, can be enjoyed whenever you choose to hear him on RCA Victor Red Seal Records. Yes, now you can hear the superb new album, Neapolitan Folk Songs, beautifully sung by Taliaveni, and brilliantly recorded by RCA Victor with all three record speeds. This wonderful album is available now at your record dealers, and it will be a magnificent addition to your record library, these Red Seal Records, you'll want to own and play over and over again. You'll hear Taliaveni's warm lyric tenor in all its natural magnificence as he sings these beloved, sun-drenched Italian folk songs. Taliaveni's incomparable bel canto has never sounded better than in his unforgettable performance of the album Neapolitan Folk Songs. Taliaveni has been hailed by critics the world over, acclaimed by audiences everywhere. Now, you can buy his exciting new RCA Victor Red Seal album. Ask your RCA Victor dealer for your album copy of Neapolitan Folk Songs, sung by the one and only Taliaveni. We'll return to the man called ex-starring Herbert Marshall with Leon Balasco as Pagans Elschmidt. Ken Thurston is in a small native village far up the Amazon River, trying to determine the motive behind the murder of Dr. Maddock. But even more sinister than the surrounding jungle are the unseen forces at work there, fomenting hatred against the United States, threatening to disrupt the rubber production, plotting a native uprising that will mean death to all the fallen devils who've trespassed there. It is now some 15 minutes after the attack on Dr. Norther and the discovery of the dead native baby. But it is not possible, Seniors. I tell you that smallpox vaccine could not have killed that child. That's not entirely true, Maria, but there's always the remote possibility of faulty body chemistry, lack of normal antibodies. I think you are being very professional, very scientific and completely unrealistic about the entire situation, my friends. You mean the attack on Norther up. You must liable to follow. But of course, that attack was a warning that the natives are rising against us. That is what matters, not how the baby died. You're wrong, Vilas. Wrong. How can you doubt that we are all in danger now? I don't. And the way the baby died proves it. What kind of double talk is that, Thurston? Did you or Maria examine the child's body? I... no. We were too busy with my shoulder. You should have. The vaccine wasn't a cause of death. It was botulism. Botulism? Yeah. The deadest kind of food poisoning. But that is not possible, Sen. Thurston. The child had not been weaned. A breastfed child could not possibly have died from botulism. Unless... That's right, Maria. Unless it was deliberately poisoned. Look, Mr. X, why do we have to go sightseeing in a rubber plantation at this time of night anyways? Your idea to come along with me, Pagon. Come on back alone if you don't like it. I don't like that idea even better. Listen to those natives in the compound over there. I'll bet they're already arguing about who's going to get my head for their mantelpiece. Could be. Ooh. Hey, what's this place? The Rubber Plantation Laboratory. Willis gave me the key. It's going. Hey, what are we looking for here anyways? Willis told me he'd turned part of this lab over to the clinic, and also it's using it until they get their own belt. So what? Look here. You mean those funny glass bottles? With that stuff inside? That stuff happens to be cultures. This one looks like rabbit's blood. This? Yeah. Probably based on a beef broth. Beef broth. Very interesting. So let's get out of here now before somebody comes in and looking for heads or something. Okay, there's a plantation speedboat over at the dock. Take it down river to the clinic at Monty Allegrae. I'll give you a list of things to pick up and bring back here. Believe me, I'm practically there already. You know, sir, bring some stuff back. That's right. Oh, what a joke. I wouldn't come back for a million bucks. How about 50? I'll take it. You must be crazy, Thurston. Letting Zell Smith take that speedboat? Those natives are liable to move against us at any time. Dr. Northrop is right. You have taken away our only means of escaping from here. Looks like it'd be less, doesn't it? Why are you so casual about the situations and your Thurston? What did you learn at the laboratory earlier this evening? Don't you know, Maria? How could I? Well, maybe the same way you learned I was there. When only Vilas knew I was going. Or is there another answer? Have you thought of the obvious once in your life that I followed you there to learn for myself what is going on? I thought of it. What the devil is all this talk about the laboratory? What's that got to do with the spot we're in? Everything, Northrop. I learned that we're not in a spot, unless someone in this room wants us to be. That is a rather strange statement to make, sir, your Thurston. Is it? Somebody murdered Dr. Medic, then poisoned that little child to stir up those natives. Now, why? Why? There is no answer. None of it makes any sense. No. No, that is not so, Dr. Northrop. There are some very obvious answers to stop the production of rubber to naturalize against one another. Now I see what you mean, sir, your Thurston. Only one of us could have had the opportunity to do all these things. That's right, Vilas. I can't believe it. You two are actually serious about all this. Of course they are serious, Dr. But they have left one thing unsaid, the name of the person who is responsible. Just who do you have in mind, sir, your Thurston? Suppose the three of you work it over for a while. Oh, and, uh, let me know how you come out, will you? I'm gonna get some sleep. Looking for someone? That knife. Let's have it gone. That's better. Now, suppose you tell me who... Northrop. I had to snap him off in that split second when you shoved him away. Why? Why? Well, for Pete's sake, man, he was trying to kill you. After he dropped the knife? But he was Luis Mendoza's brother. He was out to you to avenge the baby's death. Oh, you're having a little trouble making a diagnosis tonight, Northrop. If he was out to someone because of that, he'd have gone for you or Maria, not me. But there must have been some reason for his attack on you. Sure. Someone ordered him to kill me. Someone ordered him to... But who? I might have found out, Northrop. You hadn't been so fast on the trigger. You brought the stuff back with you. Oh, sure, sure. So pay me off and let me get out of here, will you, please? Believe me, I'm a sick man. And the longer I'm here, the sicker I get. Then you better come along to the clinic, Pagan. I think I've got a cure for what I was here. Going somewhere, Dr. Northrop? What? Oh, it's you, Thurston. Yes, we're leaving. Zell Schmidt came back with that speedboat just in time. The natives? That is right, senor. I have learned that they intend to strike here at the clinic just before dawn. Oh. Oh, I wonder how we'll make out. What do you mean, make out? We will not be here then. I wouldn't be too sure, Maria. Take a look at Pagan, will you, Northrop? Zell Schmidt? Of course. Hey, why do you want him to look at me for? There's nothing wrong with me that a quick trip to Rio won't fix up. I'm afraid you're wrong, Zell Schmidt. Huh? You mean, I got something? Smallpox. Smallpox? Oh, oh, no, no. That's what I thought. Thought postpones that tipped-down river, doesn't it? Looks like it. I can't risk anyone else being exposed to him. We'll have to stay here until the infectious stage is over. But we cannot do that, doctor. The natives. Sorry, Maria. There's no other answer. Perhaps there is, senor Thurston. Allow me to remain here with him while the three of you go downriver. I didn't know you were such a self-sacrificing creature, Vilas. I am not. Merely realistic. After all, the responsibility of the plantations and the inhabitants of Belterra is mine. Suppose we let Maria go and the rest of us stick around. How about it, Maria? Do you know how to run the speedboat? Huh. I am more familiar with administering smallpox vaccines, senor Thurston. And I believe Dr. Northrop is about to prescribe vaccinations for all of us here. I will stay. OK. At least we'll have the satisfaction of knowing that we won't die of smallpox. Well, you're killing me. You're killing me. Quiet, you idiot. It doesn't hurt. All right, Vilas. You're next. The rest of us are through. If you do not mind, I will forego the pleasure. There's no time to waste joking, Vilas. He's not joking, Northrop. What? You are right, Thurston. As a realistic man, I have a very healthy fear of Bacillus Botolinus. Of course. Bacillus who? Partulisim. What, the baby died of? Yes, Maria. And all of you are about to die from very shortly. What does he mean? What does he mean? Remember those beakers we saw in the lab, Pagon? With the rabbit's blood? Yeah. Beep broth? Well, our pal Vilas was cultivating death in him. Bacillus Botolinus. The vaccine. We gave it to the baby and he died of actualism. Vilas must have introduced the culture into all the vaccines. Sure. He was doing a pretty good job for the country that was paying him. Staring up anti-American feeling. Sabotaging of rubber plant production. Vilas. But why did you kill Dr. Maddock? Because he was on here? Yes, but it's quite right, Thurston. I am certain you will all excuse me now if I leave. I cannot bear this sight of suffering. And they tell me that death from botulism is quite painful. Goodbye, comrades. Senior Thurston, who? We're going to die. We're going to die. Oh, Pagon, relax. You haven't got smallpox. And there's nothing wrong with that vaccine. Jokes, he cracks at the time like this. Nothing wrong. I cooked up the smallpox diagnosis of Northrop just to trap Vilas. But the vaccine sent you Thurston. Fresh, untampered stuff. That's why I sent Pagon to Monty Allegri. He brought it back with him. It worked out as you figured, Thurston. I'll hand it to you for that. But what about Vilas? He's getting away. I don't think so, Nelson. I had Luis Mendoza listening at the window. He heard enough to learn the truth. He'll take care of Vilas. Oh. You know, Vilas said he was being realistic. But he wasn't. He was living a bad dream. A nightmare of terror, conquest, and murder. The only thing realistic about it... Mr. Rex. Yes. Come on, Pagon. Our star, Mr. Herbert Marshall, will return in just a moment. Say, Bing, how are you planning to spend Father's Day this Sunday? Oh, can Father's Day is quite a deal, you know, at the Crosby Menage. I get to sleep as late as I want to. Then the kids bring me a big breakfast in bed, ham and eggs, cereal, waffles, pancake, sausage. Then what do you do when you get up? What else? I wash the dishes. Well, I know one gift. It'll be on that breakfast tray, Bing. Right, you are, Ken. A carton of milder Chesterfields. Folks, we have a fine new Chesterfield gift carton this year, and it's just the thing for Dad on Father's Day. It's got a picture of Godfrey on it and a place to write your greetings. And inside, 200 of those milder Chesterfields. Remember, Chesterfields gives you mildness plus no unpleasant aftertaste, and that's the biggest plus in cigarette history. So drop around your favorite dealers and pick up a gift carton. Sure, Dad's a great guy, and Chesterfield's a great smoke. For Father's Day and any day, it's Chesterfield. Now, here again is our star, Mr. Herbert Marshall. Thanks for being with us. And my thanks to B. Benedett. We'll write Counten Young, Harry Bartell, and Byron King. Next week, Vienna, where an ex-wrestler, a beautiful girl in the spot with printer's ink, all add up to real trouble for Ken. And of course, where there's real trouble, there'll always be Leon Bolesk, who has pegged on Zelschmidt. So join us, won't you, where next I return as the man called ex. Good night. Man called ex, starring Herbert Marshall, is the Friday Night Feature on NBC's Five Show Festival of Comedy, Music, Mystery, and Drama, brought to you by the makers of Anison for fast relief from pain of headache, neuritis, neuralgia. By R.C.A. Victor, world leader in radio first in recorded music first in television. And by Chesterfield, always milder, better tasting, cooler smoking, plus no unpleasant aftertaste. The man called ex is a J. Richard Kennedy production with music by Milton Charles. Tonight's story was written by Sidney Marshall. All characters and incidents on this program are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual characters or incidents is purely coincidental. Be sure to hear the magnificent Montague with Monty Woolley, formerly heard on Friday, now brought to you as a Saturday Night Feature on NBC's All-Star Festival. And until next week, same time and station, this is Jack Latham saying good night for the man called ex. William Bendick stars in the life of Riley. Enjoy it on NBC.