 And now, AutoLite and its 60,000 dealers and service stations present... Suspense! Tonight, AutoLite brings you Miss Joan Fontaine in... Lovebirds. A suspense play, produced and directed by Anton M. Lieder. Suspense replace old narrow-gap spark plugs with wide-gap AutoLite resistor spark plugs. Your car will idle smoother, give you better performance on leaner gas mixtures, actually save gas dollars. It's the new thing. Yes, sorry, friends, AutoLite regular-type spark plugs have long been standard factory equipment on many leading makes of cars and trucks. And now, six, that's right, six of these leading makes of cars and trucks have switched to the new AutoLite resistor-type spark plugs for factory installation on their new 1949 models. The new AutoLite resistor spark plugs are the spark plugs of today and the future. Remember, you're right with AutoLite. And now, AutoLite presents Miss Joan Fontaine in a tale well-calculated to keep you in suspense. You know, Sam, I used to laugh just as everyone else does when I heard someone say... I've given you the best years of my life. But it's not funny to me anymore. No, because that's what I've done, Sam. I've given you the best years of my life waiting for you to die. But you wouldn't die. For seven years, you've been hanging on and I've been playing a part, playing it so well that people call us the lovebirds. Lovebirds. Now, here it is, our seventh anniversary. You wanted to show off that portrait you had painted of me to Doug and Betty Wilson and Doc Roberts and the others. You were proud. They were envious. I was sick. Yep, that's my thought, all right, right down to the last eyelash. Like a duck? Perfect, Sam, just perfect. The perfect portrait of the perfect girl. Well, it's after midnight and I'm a nine o'clock guy. Yeah, I've got to shove off, too. How's the asthma these days, Sam? Seems to be getting better, Doug, but my arthritis... Don't blame you, Sam. If I had my than to look out for me, I'd stay sick, too. Here's your coat, Doug. Oh, oh, thanks, my dear. Now, Doug, where did I... The hall closet, I'll get it. Oh, get mine, too, darling. Coming up. Oh, it was a lovely party, Martha. Thank you. And let me tell you, Mrs. Lovebird, if you keep on taking the kind of care of old Sam you have been, we'll all be here for number 50. Oh, go on, Doug. I'm serious. When you two first got hitched, I wouldn't give you two years, Sam. Now, I'd give even money you make... Oh, come on in. Oh, it's nothing, Doug. Here, I'll put it away. Don, box fell off the shovel and I reached for my hat. Here, let me put it away. No, Doug, please, it's nothing, Doug. You fellas keeping secrets? What's the trouble, Doug? Well, looky here, a travel fold. There's a whole box full of it. A luring Alaska, Acapulco, 30-day cruise, Samoritz, Capri. Say, what is it? Oh, come on, Sam, spill it. You two love birds planning to migrate somewhere? News to me. The mine, Doug. Oh, well, Martha's kind of a pack rat. Keeps all kinds of trash stowed away in strange corners. You wouldn't kid us, Sam. You're not really planning a trip because it's out of the question, you know. Out of the question, Doc said. It sounded so final, Sam. Out of the question. Ran through my mind over and over after they got and I stood washing the pile of dishes in the kitchen. Out of the question. How are you coming with the dishes, Angel? I could feel your hands thin and dead, while touching my shoulder and I wanted to scream. What right had you to touch me? Why did I have to bear your half-dead hands when I was alive? What's the matter, honey? You're kind of quiet. I feel quiet, I guess. Say, say, where are my glasses? I don't know. Doc Gunnard, I never can remember where I put the darn things. I'm blind as a bat without them. Look in the front room on the mantel. A lot of good data do. I can't find my glasses without my glasses. Take a look for me, will you? My hands are wet, Sam. Can't you wait until morning? Gotta have them now. All right, but I can't see why you need them in bed. It's these sleeping pills. Jim was out of my kind and gave me these. Said they were just as good, but I can't read the directions. But is it that important? Of course it's important. Why, just the other day, I read where a fellow in Chicago took a couple too many and bingo. Oh, I'll see if your glasses are on the mantel, Sam. I leaned back against the wall for a minute. Out of the question. It was ringing in my head like a bell out of the question. Then, Sam, right then, I knew I couldn't take it any longer. I went into the living room. Picked up the pair of glasses on the mantel. Seven years, seven long years of caring for you like a baby. One sickness after another. Everyone in the book. Nearly died a dozen times. And each time I saved you. That's what everyone said, even the doctor. What a joke. Here I was waiting for you to die, but you wouldn't, Sam. You wouldn't have the decency to die and leave me the money so I could get away from this little town and live like a normal human being. Find them, darling? No, no, Sam. These are my glasses. They might not be in here somewhere. Well, it's too late tonight to worry about them, darling. Here, let me see those new pills. Yeah, yeah, take a look. These are different. It says 2% instead of 5. Six pills instead of 2. Really? They don't sound very good, Sam. I'll try to get some of your regular kind next time I go to Chicago. Six? That's what it says. Funny. Jim didn't say anything about it. Haven't you better get ready for bed? It's nearly one. In a minute, in a minute. Martha, would you tell me something honestly? Of course. What is it? Well, that business about the travel folders. I suppose it's nothing, but, well, somehow, I can't get it out of my head. What about the travel folders? Martha, would you really like to go to those far-off places? Just you and me? Don't be silly. You know what Doc Roberts said. I didn't ask you that. I asked you if you wanted to go with me. It's awfully important to me now, Martha. Whether you'd want to go with me. Why worry about it? You know we can't go. That's why I need you worse than ever, Martha. That's why I... I guess it kind of hurts me to find you collecting travel folders like you wanted to get away from me. Well, I guess you're right. I'd better get up to bed. I watched you go up the stairs and I put the glasses back on the mantle. Your glasses, Sam? Not mine. I waited a long time downstairs, listening to you shuffling around in your sandals. Heard the bathroom faucet go on and I knew you were taking your pills. Six pills instead of two. Then there was the shuffling again and quiet. The whole clock struck one. Then two. Then I couldn't wait any longer. I went upstairs to your room. Sam? Sam? I turned on the light. Sam, wake up, Sam! Sam, can you hear me? Sam! It's working. It's working! For suspense, auto light is bringing you Miss Joan Fontaine in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, suspense. The newspaper says smart men are now wearing pastel colored shirts for business. Well, now that you mention it half, I have noticed a trend among smart men. Smart men are replacing old narrow-gap spark plugs with white-gap auto light resistor spark plugs because they make a car idle smoother, give better performance on leaner gas mixtures, actually save gas dollars. Why, when you install a set of the new auto light resistor spark plugs, you can tell the difference in your car. This article says Petunia Pink is getting a great reception. Reception? Auto light resistor spark plugs cut down spark plug interference with radio and television reception. And it says only this style offers smart men the advantages of... Only auto light offers smart car and truck owners everywhere the sensational advantages of new resistor-type spark plugs. So head for your nearest auto light dealer and replace old narrow-gap spark plugs with auto light, ignition engineered resistor spark plugs. Your car will be glad you did. And now auto light brings back to our Hollywood sound stage Joan Fontaine is Martha in The Lovebirds, a tale well-calculated to keep you in suspense. Yes, Sam, it was quite a moment there in your bedroom as I looked down at you, drugged and helpless on the bed. I shook you and you didn't even groan. I shook harder. I shouted in your ear and pinched you. You didn't move. It was wonderful. For the first time in seven years, I could laugh and mean it. I gave you plenty of time, Sam. You were gone. I couldn't feel your pulse when I called Doc Roberts at six in the morning. I waited downstairs for him to break the news to me. Easy now, Martha. Just lean back and rest. Tell me what is it, Doc? What's wrong with him? He's going to die, isn't he? He's going to leave me alone. Sit down now. Just let go, that's it. He wouldn't wake up, Doc. I shook him. Yes, yes, I know. Is he dead? No. He'll live, Martha. What? Sam will be all right. He's sleeping now. Probably will till late this afternoon. But what? Martha, I think it'll be better if I say this straight out. Say what straight out? Looks to me like Sam took an overdose of sleeping medicine. No. Well, he might have made a mistake in counting or... Suicide? Maybe. You noticed anything strange about him lately? Well, you know how he's been since his asthma started. Yeah. What are you going to do, Doc? I'm supposed to make a report on these things. You can't do that. What if it got around town? What if it got back to Sam? There's no telling what he... All right, that's true. It still might have been an accident. Oh, we've got to give him the benefit of the doubt. It's a touchy business, though, Martha. He mustn't think that we suspect it. Doc, there's no telling what he'd do. I'll tell him he had a fever in the night. Maybe you're right. You know, the body's a pretty durable thing. Even a body like Sam's. But the mind, that's something else again. I'll do all I can, Martha, but the big job is yours. For a second after he left, I thought I was going to faint. I got a drink from the sideboard. Make me feel better. Until I remembered something else. The doctor didn't suspect. But you, Sam, when you read the instructions on that box of pills... I drove all the way to Chicago that morning, Sam, and I got what I wanted. It wasn't quite new when I returned to your room. Put the new box on the stand beside your bed and threw the other in the furnace. It was a long way to go, but you gave me plenty of time. Where have I been? Martha! Right here, Sam. I feel... I feel dopey. Doc said you had a touch of fever last night. Doc? Mm-hmm. He looked you over this morning. What time is it? Noom. Honey, I don't remember anything about it. Hmm. What's this? What? The box on the stand here. That's not the one I bought. I got rid of your new pills. Picked up some of the regular kind this morning while I was shopping. You never quit, do you? What do you mean, Sam? Spoiling me like this. First thing you know, I'll be as helpless as a baby. Hmm-hmm. What's for lunch? It was that easy, Sam. You never suspected. I was afraid of Doc Roberts at first, but he didn't say a thing. And for a while there was whispers you didn't hear. They were so sure you tried to kill yourself, Sam. They were so afraid you tried a second time. And I stopped being afraid. This was no time to lie back and wait. They'd given me a weapon. This was the time to do it. Well, let's see, Martha. I reckon the surest thing would be poison. Thyosionim. But isn't that sort of dangerous, Jim? Not if you're careful. How much will I need? Oh, one package ought to do it. Depends on how bad they are. The rats. Here. There you are. Hope it does the trick. Thanks, Jim. So do I. It's going to be different this time, Sam. This time I knew where I was going. That's where I'd made the mistake before, you see. I hadn't planned. A week later, I was ready. I remember you came home early that evening, and I was in the kitchen starting your dinner. Salad. Tossed lettuce and garlic. Plenty of garlic. Getting dinner, Martha? It's almost done. Have it ready in a minute. That roast smells good. Better go and wash so things won't get cold. What's that? You're mixing there. Dressing for the salad. Dressing? You sure? What do you mean? Wouldn't be a love potion for me, would it, Martha? Or maybe just maybe a death potion. Oh, dear. You've cracked the salad bowl. What's the matter, Martha? Afraid you'll fail this time, too? You're talking nonsense. I don't know what you're talking about. You should, Martha. Jim tells me they haven't had my kind of sleeping pills at the drugstore for a long time. How far did you have to go to get them? You're sick, Sam. You're building things up in your mind. I wish I were. You see, I made a mistake this morning, Martha. I decided to wear my white shirt, the one with the French cuffs. Shirt? You can't wear a shirt like that without cuff links. I guess you forgot that, Martha, didn't you? That I kept my cuff links in your jewelry box. Yes. Yes, Martha. I found it. I found the poison. Oh, that's what's worrying you. It's for the rats, Emma. I bought it for the rats. Rats. Should have bought some rats, too, because there aren't any around here. There's a certificate from an extermination company in the file that says so. That's a nice-looking salad, Martha. Here. Taste it. Don't be a fool. You're the fool. You bought the poison for some rats that don't exist. I ran out of the kitchen upstairs to my room. I was scared, Sam, and lost. I grabbed my coat and hat without thinking and started down the stairs. Leave me alone. Do you want to hang? Hang. Don't be ridiculous. There's got to be a murder first. There will be. The minute you leave this house. Remember, my dear wife, I have the poison. So? Okay. Go on. Go on and leave, Martha. But just remember, when you walk out that door, I'll cut you down from one end of the earth to the other. I'll take enough of it to make them hang you 20 times. If someone had put a gun in my hand, I'd have killed you right there. But all I could do was swallow the screen that rose up in my throat and fight the weakness in my knees. And yet, Sam, I think with it all, I think with all the terror and sick defeat inside me, I still wanted to laugh. Remember, this was the house of the lovebirds. That night, I lay in bed twisting and turning, waiting for you to go to sleep. I was in a prison, Sam. And only one thing would free me. I had to destroy the evidence. I had to find that poison. At one o'clock, I walked across to your door, opened it quietly. Listen. You were asleep. Your clothes were draped over a chair next to the bed. I went through them first, ended the closet and your other things, and then the dresser. It had to be somewhere. I tried to put myself in your place. Where would I have hidden it? Your snoring seemed to grow louder, pounding in my eardrums. I think it was then that I felt the paperweight on the nightstand. And for a moment, I thought if I stopped that snoring, everything would be all right. I held it above your head ready to smash and smash again and again. Why don't you strike, dear? You know better than to kill me, don't you? That'd be silly, Martha. Stupid, too. Where did you put that poison? In a good, safe place. You're wasting your time, you know. You'll never find it. I plan to use it myself in my own good time. What do you mean? You'll find it one of these days when the mood strikes me. Sam! Why not? Remember, you bought the poison and they'll figure you got caught in your own trap. Maybe got hold of a cup of coffee or a cheese sandwich or something you'd fixed for me. By mistake. Better get back to bed now. Get some rest. You've got a trying head a day ahead of you. There was no sleep for me after that, Sam. Just white-heart nightmares, endless hours of darkness. And day after day of torture of a cat and mouse game with each of us watching each other. I didn't eat her. I couldn't let you poison my food. It was closing in on me, Sam. Something I couldn't stand. I had ache. My stomach was sick from hunger. I'll give it to you, Sam. You know your business. You know how to torture. And then one day I got dizzy and nearly fainted. I had to eat something. I went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The milk hadn't been opened. I put a glass and drank it. It tasted so good. But then I remembered some poisons are tasteless. I was crazy to drink milk of all things. I poured it down the sink feeling spasms and cramps in my stomach. I could feel and sound they were real. Don't care for milk water. You're not being sensible at all. Milk is nature's perfect food. Sesso on the bottle. Oh, let me alone. Let's see here. Pretty good selection. How about some cheese? Cheese is awfully good. And the roast beef is fresh cut. Doug brought it in from the country today. How long are you going on with this, Sam? Why? I can't stand it much longer. Afraid to die, Martha? Well, just relax. You're dying right now. The milk... You poisoned the milk! No. No, I didn't mean that. It's just that... Well, Martha, you're not as beautiful as you were. I was just looking at that portrait over the mantle. Did you know you were getting circles under your eyes? And your figure isn't at all what it was. I'm not sure even an invalid would want you now. I guess I lost track of time for a while after that. The days slid by. The nights, too. I was hungry all the time. At first I found some canned goods, but then you caught on and you punched holes in the rest of the cans. And I didn't dare touch them after that. I couldn't go on, Sam. I knew I couldn't last out. I was at the end of my rope that night when Betty and Doug stopped by. I can never forget that night, Sam, because as we sat in the middle of the night as we sat there in the living room with that terrible smiling portrait of me staring down at us, Betty said something. Something that made me realize I wasn't trapped. That there was a way out after all an easy way. Let me get you a drink, Doug. Sure, Sambo. Easy on the soda. Me, too, but easy on the liquor. Check. How about you, Martha? You look a little tired. You look tired, Martha. Oh, it's nothing, Doug. I know, the old slave driver here is probably working you too hard, Martha. You need a vacation. How about driving down to Florida with us next week? Florida? We can't make it, Doug. The doc wants to keep an eye on me. Heaven knows I like my home as well as the next one. But if I had to stick as close to it as Martha does, I'd probably go right out of my mind. I sat very still. It was all I could do to keep a smile frozen on my face like a mask. At that moment, Sam, I felt like a prisoner who'd just been handed the key. It was a marvelous feeling, surging up inside me like fire. Well, of course, if they thought I was crazy, they'd take me away. And no matter what you did, you couldn't touch me. I looked around the room, saw the poker by the fireplace under the portrait. I remember how your eyes followed me as I got up and walked to the fireplace, picked up the poker. I gave you one last smile. And then I turned to the painting and I raised the poker high. Hey, Martha! Give me that poker! Sam! Good Lord. She's here. Here. A lot of rest. I'm getting my weight back. But most of all, it's nice to feel safe. How long is it now? Three months? Four? Pretending I'm insane? Anyway, I'll take my time. Think it through very carefully. And then, when I'm ready to drop the act, show them I'm qualified to leave. I think you know what I'm going to do, don't you, Sam? I'm going to kill you. That'll give you something to think about during the long nights alone in the lovebird house in Pinewood Drive. I'm going to kill you. Kill you! Kill you! Cool down. I got her. She's down on the cot. She'll be all right. Gets like that once in a while. Too bad. Nice looking woman. Goes off like that every once in a while. Sure makes enough noise. Gets a little wild sometimes. Used to be a guy come to see her, little fella. I can remember he used to get down on his knees there beside her and say something like, Martha, I didn't have it on us, darling. Yeah, that's it. Then he'd say, I threw it away as soon as I found it in your jewelry box. He'd say it over and over like he thought it didn't bring her out of it. Then he'd just stand there and cry like his heart was broken. Sure must have loved her an awful lot. But he was like the rest of them. After a while, he stopped coming. I don't suppose he's been back now for 10 or 11 years. Cue Joan Fontaine for a splendid performance. Miss Fontaine. Yes, Mr. Wilcox. I ran across your picture today in the new two-color auto-light spark plug advertisement in this week's issue of the Saturday Evening Post. Oh, yes, I saw that. Reading it, I learned more about auto-light-resistor spark plugs. Oh, that's swell. You know, Miss Fontaine, during the coming weeks, that same two-color advertisement will appear in many national publications. Auto-light wants to make sure that car owners everywhere replace old narrow-gap spark plugs with sensational new wide-gap auto-light-resistor spark plugs. They're made by auto-light men who make over 400 products for cars, trucks, airplanes, and boats in 28 auto-light plants from coast to coast. Auto-light also makes complete electrical systems for many makes of America's finest cars. Batteries, spark plugs, generators, starting motors, coils, distributors. All ignition engineer to fit together perfectly, work together perfectly, because they're a perfect team. So, folks, don't accept electrical parts that are supposed to be as good. Ask for and insist on auto-light, original factory parts at your neighborhood service station, car dealer, garage, or repair shop. Remember, you're always right with auto-light. Now here again is Miss Joan Fontaine. I very much enjoyed my appearance on Suspense tonight, and I'll be listening next week when Van Heflin appears in a really unusual story by Cornel Woolrich called Three O'Clock. I know it will be another gripping study in Suspense. Joan Fontaine can currently be seen in You Gotta Stay Happy, a rampart production co-starring James Stewart. Lester Sharp played the part of Sam. Tonight's Suspense Play the Love Birds was written by Cheryl Hendricks and adapted by Harold Swanton with music composed by Lucian Morrowek and conducted by Lud Gluskin. The entire production was under the direction of Anton M. Lieder. Next Thursday, same time, here Van Heflin in Three O'Clock. You can buy auto-light electrical parts, auto-light resistor spark plugs, auto-light staple batteries at your neighborhood auto-light dealer. Switch to auto-light. Good night. How to relieve human suffering across the nation, across the world. Give through your Red Cross. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.