The Shadow - "Murder by a Corpse" (Old Time Radio)
The Shadow presents “Murder by a Corpse,” originally broadcast October 31, 1948, as episode 458. In this Halloween-season mystery, Bret Morrison stars as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow, with Grace Matthews as Margot Lane.
On a stormy road near Mason City, Lamont and Margot meet a frightened woman who believes a dead man has returned to threaten her. Clues from Mount Cleardale Cemetery to the private Mancheck Sanitarium draw The Shadow into a suspenseful case of fear, false appearances, and hidden motives. Written by Edward J. Adamson for the Mutual Broadcasting System’s Blue Coal program.
The Shadow presents the original broadcast with a newly produced contextual introduction, a short closing announcement, and gently cleaned/mastered audio for a more consistent listening experience.
Chapters:
00:00 Victor Sterling Introduction
00:47 Original Broadcast
30:04 Closing
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Speaker 1: Near Mason City, Claire Bentley tells Lamont Cranston and Margo
Lane that a man believed dead has returned to kill her.
That report sets the case in motion in the shadow.
Murder by a Corpse, episode 458. Heard on Mutual on
October 31st, 1948. Cranston and Lane follow the trail to
Mount Cleardale Cemetery, an empty metal box, and the private
Mancheck Sanitarium, where a distinctive shoe and stolen securities enter
the inquiry. Brett Morrison appears as Lamont Cranston and the Shadow,
with Grace Matthews as Margo Lane. Edward J. Adamson wrote
the script. And now, our story begins.
Speaker 2: Who knows what evil.
Speaker 3: Lurks in the hearts of men?
Speaker 2: Shadow knows.
Speaker 4: Motorists, you know what type of automobile accident often happens
at night on a good road in fair weather, which
may happen when your car is the only car in
the vicinity, which is very likely to result in death
or crippling injuries to the driver.
Speaker 2: And which, unlike most accidents, has.
Speaker 4: Usually tipped you off as to what may happen? The
answer to this question, given by the National Safety Council,
which is currently conducting.
Speaker 5: A campaign against night traffic accidents, is this.
Speaker 4: The driver simply falls asleep at the wheel. And the
answer to this accident problem is simply this. Don't drive
while you're sleepy. If you must drive at night, stop
for some sleep when you feel.
Speaker 2: That drowsy spell coming on.
Speaker 4: Don't let this very violent type of accident sneak up
on you in the dark. Don't let tragedy catch you
asleep at the wheel. Drive carefully... And now, The Shadow.
Speaker 2: The Shadow, who aids.
Speaker 4: The forces of law and order, is in reality Lamont Cranston,
wealthy young man about town. Years ago in the Orient,
Cranston learned a strange and mysterious secret, the hypnotic power
to cloud men's minds so they cannot see him. Cranston's
friend and companion, the lovely Margot Lane, is the only
person who knows to whom the voice of the invisible
shadow belongs. Today's drama, Murder by a Corpse. The doctor
and the nurse walk through the white silence of the
sanitarium corridor and stop before the door of room seven.
The doctor peers through the small glass panel in the
face of the door and nods to the attendant inside.
The door is unlocked, opened, and the doctor and nurse
walk in.
Speaker 6: Morning, Dr. Manchek. Good morning, Rossi. How's our new patient, Mr. Holden?
Speaker 5: We had a tough time with him in the ambulance
last night. Dr. Adams had to give him a shot.
Speaker 7: Dr.
Speaker 6: Adams, reports on the case is on your desk, Dr.
Speaker 5: Madsen.
Speaker 6: Yes, I saw it, Miss Wagner.
Speaker 2: Mr.
Speaker 6: Holden, I'm Dr. Karl Manchak, chief of this institution.
Speaker 2: You're lying.
Speaker 6: You hear me?
Speaker 2: You're lying. You're lying.
Speaker 6: You're in with the rest of them. I'm not crazy.
This is a trick. You're a spy like the rest
of them.
Speaker 5: Same line all the time, Doc.
Speaker 6: You can't fool me with that doctor act. I know
who you are. You're one of his spies, too. I know.
Speaker 5: Spies. Same talk all the time.
Speaker 6: Typical manic-depressive fear fantasy. Miss Wagner?
Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
Speaker 6: Tell Dr.
Speaker 8: Adams I wish to see him in my office. I'll
be there when I finish examining the new patient.
Speaker 6: Yes, Dr.
Speaker 2: Mansfield.
Speaker 6: You're lying. You're in with the rest of them. I'm
not crazy. This is a trick. How was I, Doc?
You were quite excellent, Eddie. I know who you are.
You're all spies, all of you. How'd you like it, Sid?
Speaker 9: Terrific, Eddie.
Speaker 6: You were terrific. Sure.
Speaker 2: Just ask the Doc here.
Speaker 6: He'll tell you the Doc's an expert. He'll tell anybody
that Eddie Holden blew his top. Severe paranoia, Eddie.
Speaker 9: See, Sid?
Speaker 6: Paranoia.
Speaker 2: Paranoia. That's what the experts say.
Speaker 6: So severe, they've got to watch me night and day.
Speaker 2: And who do they happen to pick out to do
the watching?
Speaker 6: Nobody but Sid Rossi. Neat setup, huh?
Speaker 10: Doc, you worked it out like a man.
Speaker 6: Naturally, I specialize in cases like yours, Eddie. Yeah, it
was a lucky day I made the contact with Sid.
Speaker 2: I won't forget you two for this.
Speaker 6: Oh, you can be sure we'll keep your memory quite refreshed.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: A $ 50, 000 bundle is something to remember, ain't it, Doc?
Speaker 6: Don't worry, he'll get you, Sheriff. The doctor, did the
telegram work? Perfectly. Fenty left on the 815 train. How
about his wife, Claire? She remained, just as you said
she would.
Speaker 5: Eddie, are you sure Claire knows where the bonds are ditched?
Speaker 6: Of course she knows. Well, everything set for tonight?
Speaker 9: Yeah, all set. I let you out the fire door
at the end of the hall. You just got to
cut across the lawn to the rear gate.
Speaker 6: I'll see that the gate is left unlocked.
Speaker 5: I cover up for you here so as no one
gets wise while you're out.
Speaker 6: The lead pipe said, Jenny. But remember, you must return
before daylight.
Speaker 2: Otherwise, I'll be back. Now, uh, we're going, huh?
Speaker 6: Here you are.
Speaker 9: Eddie, you didn't tell us how.
Speaker 5: You're going to handle that Bentley thing.
Speaker 6: It all depends.
Speaker 4: It all depends on how much Claire Bentley is afraid
of a ghost.
Speaker 3: Eight-twenty.
Speaker 7: Ted and Earl will be awfully worried about us, Lamont.
We're over an hour late now.
Speaker 2: Margo, I don't know what made me turn onto this road.
Speaker 6: From now on, no more shortcuts. Don't look now, but
your sense of direction is slipping.
Speaker 2: Margo, you're a front-seat driver. Oh, it's a new rainstorm
that blows no road sign.
Speaker 6: Lamont, what are you.
Speaker 2: That fork in the road ahead, there's a signpost. Oh,
thank heaven. Mason City, ten miles. That's to the right.
Mount Cleardale Cemetery, two miles to the left. Margo, I
leave the choice to you.
Speaker 6: To the right, of course.
Speaker 2: When we get to Mason City, we'll call Nora.
Speaker 6: Mark, that car coming down the road.
Speaker 2: Get it straight for us.
Speaker 6: I'd rather pull over.
Speaker 2: Mark, look out!
Speaker 6: Margo, are you all right? Yes.
Speaker 5: You sure?
Speaker 2: I'm just shaking. Come on, we'll see how they are
on the other car. I was lucky I was able
to pull away in time, otherwise our destination would have
automatically been changed from Mason City to Mount Cleardale Cemetery.
Speaker 7: Well, Lamar, look.
Speaker 2: It's a woman.
Speaker 6: Not conscious.
Speaker 2: It's probably just the socks. Here's her bag. She didn't
find any identification. She's coming to. Her driver's license is
in the bag.
Speaker 6: This is Claire Bentley, 14 Crown Street, Grandview.
Speaker 2: Mrs. Bentley.
Speaker 6: Mrs. Bentley.
Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
Speaker 6: You were in an accident, Mrs. Bentley. Oh, please. Please,
you've got to save me from him. The ghost, he's
going to kill me.
Speaker 2: He's come back from the.
Speaker 6: Dead and he's going to kill me.
Speaker 5: You'd better get into a doctor's room.
Speaker 2: No, I'm not crazy.
Speaker 6: You've got to believe me. I know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2: He's in the backseat. Now, Mrs.
Speaker 6: Bentley, you mustn't excite yourself.
Speaker 2: But I tell you, he's in the backseat. There's nothing
back there, Mrs. Bentley, but a pick and shovel. Look.
Speaker 6: Oh, Dad, the woods. The ghost, he's in the woods.
Speaker 2: Come on, Margo.
Speaker 6: Come on, where are you going?
Speaker 2: Into those woods. This is bad.
Speaker 6: It's a strange thing, but obviously not in the right mind.
Neither am I, Margo. What?
Speaker 2: That lightning flashed a moment ago. I was seeing ghosts, too.
Speaker 6: It's not a sign of anything, Lamont.
Speaker 7: We've covered the woods all the way back to his tree.
Speaker 2: I'm not surprised he got away. It was a very
live ghost we're chasing.
Speaker 6: Live ghost?
Speaker 2: Yeah, look. The shoe. Where'd you find it? Near the stream.
Speaker 6: It fits some newly made footprints.
Speaker 2: I found. There's no lace in the shoe. Yes, I
wondered about that, too.
Speaker 6: I will look into the shoe later, after we have
a talk with Mrs.
Speaker 2: Bentley.
Speaker 6: What is it, Lamont?
Speaker 2: Maybe we won't have that talk with Mrs. Bentley after all.
Speaker 5: But.
Speaker 2: Look, Margaret, over there on the road. Her car is gone.
Speaker 7: Your hunch was right, Lamont.
Speaker 6: Mrs. Bentley must be in the cemetery.
Speaker 2: That was her car parked outside. Yes, that pick and
shovel of the rear of her car gave me the idea. Wait.
What is it? Play off the crest of the hill. Mrs. Bentley.
Speaker 6: You were right, Lamont.
Speaker 5: She's dead.
Speaker 2: Come on. Shadows along this line of trees will cover us.
Speaker 6: As quietly as you can, Margo.
Speaker 3: We're almost to her. Hello, Mrs.
Speaker 2: Bentley.
Speaker 6: How did you get here?
Speaker 2: You didn't leave any forwarding address, so I followed a hunch.
Speaker 6: Now, Mrs. Bentley, let's have it. What's this all about?
Speaker 2: Oh, please.
Speaker 6: Please don't ask me.
Speaker 2: What is it you're trying to.
Speaker 6: bury? Nothing.
Speaker 2: Nothing.
Speaker 6: Believe me. You're a difficult person to believe. Mark, look.
Behind her on the ground, that metal box. Yes. No.
Speaker 5: No.
Speaker 7: Don't touch that box.
Speaker 6: Give it to me.
Speaker 3: Please.
Speaker 2: I'll be glad to after I see what's in it.
Speaker 6: No. No, I beg you. Don't open it.
Speaker 8: Please don't.
Speaker 2: Quick, Mark.
Speaker 6: I'll get down.
Speaker 2: Well, I guess that's all the shooting for now, Margo.
Speaker 6: Get up.
Speaker 2: That shot, Lamont. Where did it come from?
Speaker 6: I don't know.
Speaker 2: But it hit its mark.
Speaker 6: Mrs.
Speaker 3: Benson.
Speaker 2: She's dead?
Speaker 3: Very.
Speaker 2: But why was she killed?
Speaker 6: Probably because of this metal box and what's in it.
Speaker 7: What could be in it?
Speaker 2: Well, look.
Speaker 6: What's in there, Lamont? Let me see.
Speaker 2: Nothing to see, Margo.
Speaker 3: What? Box is empty.
Speaker 9: I got you a new shoe out of the supply room, Eddie.
Did they ask any questions when they gave it to you?
Gave it to me, you crazy? I had to hook it. Man,
check's supposed to run this place.
Speaker 5: On the up and up.
Speaker 6: How'd you lose it, anyway?
Speaker 10: I told you, when those two chased me into the woods,
that crab played it smart, but the next time.
Speaker 5: Ah, it's Doc.
Speaker 6: Good morning, Sid.
Speaker 2: Doc.
Speaker 6: I see our patient has improved considerably in such a
short time.
Speaker 8: The marvels of modern medical science.
Speaker 2: What are you talking about, Dad?
Speaker 6: You're released from that sanitarium? Released? Of course, Sid, of course.
From all I can see, our patient is completely cured.
Speaker 2: Cured?
Speaker 6: You have the bonds. There's nothing more for us to... Bonds?
Speaker 5: Come on, Dad, come on. What are you giving us?
Speaker 6: Well, didn't Eddie tell you, Sid?
Speaker 5: The bonds.
Speaker 6: The bonds for which he killed Claire Bentley. Killed her?
Speaker 2: Claire's dead?
Speaker 6: Now, Eddie....
Speaker 5: Hey, hey, hey, what goes on here?
Speaker 2: You've given me, Doc.
Speaker 6: See, then, I might ask you the same question, Eddie.
Speaker 2: According to the.
Speaker 8: Morning papers, Sid, Claire Bentley was murdered last night at
Mount Cleardale Cemetery. The papers also told about a metal
box she had dug from a grave.
Speaker 6: The box was empty.
Speaker 2: The box? They were in that box?
Speaker 6: Yes. That's what I surmised.
Speaker 2: Where are they, Eddie?
Speaker 6: I don't know anything about it, Doc. Would I be
stupid enough to come back here if I did?
Speaker 5: He's got something there, Doc.
Speaker 6: Then you didn't kill her?
Speaker 3: Are you crazy?
Speaker 6: I just wanted to put a scare into her. I
wanted her to lead me to the hiding place.
Speaker 2: Wait a minute.
Speaker 5: Doc.
Speaker 6: Yes?
Speaker 2: You say she's dead.
Speaker 6: I didn't kill her. Go ahead. Well, don't you see
something's wrong?
Speaker 2: This is crazy.
Speaker 6: If I didn't kill her, Doc, then who dead?
Speaker 5: Huh?
Speaker 6: Who dead?
Speaker 3: Dead.
Speaker 2: We'll return to the shadow in just a minute.
Speaker 4: Somebody once said this in fun, but it was nearer
to the truth than he thought. The election polls, he said,
are places where you stand in line for a chance
to decide who will spend your money. It really amounts
to that, doesn't it? That and a great deal more.
For not only do you stand in line for a
chance to decide who will spend your money, but who
will keep the peace or make war. And who will
make you a slave or keep you free. That's why
it's so important, this year more than ever, that you
give a lot of thought to your right to vote.
Make it your business to know more about the men
you vote for, and then let your common sense guide you.
For if the wrong men guide our destiny, even our.
Speaker 2: Right to vote may be taken away. It happened in
other countries. It could easily happen here.
Speaker 6: America.
Speaker 4: from the tiniest village on up to the White House,
is built on the ballot and forced by the ballot.
Let's keep it that way. Guard your freedom by using
your right to vote. For remember, freedom is everybody's job.
In a moonlit cemetery in the presence of Margot and Lamont,
Claire Bentley.
Speaker 6: Was murdered by an unseen killer.
Speaker 4: Now Lamont and Margot are interviewing the dead woman's husband,
Ralph Bentley.
Speaker 2: Mr. Bentley, we realize the news of your wife's death
must have been a terrible shock to you. I... I
can't believe it.
Speaker 6: I just can't. We won't take up much of your time, Mr.
Speaker 5: Bentley.
Speaker 2: Just a few questions. It's all right. There isn't much
I can tell you, but I want to help all
I can. I can't understand.
Speaker 3: Who could have done it?
Speaker 2: Claire had no enemies.
Speaker 6: Not you know of.
Speaker 2: Does the empty steel box mean anything to you, Mr.
Speaker 5: Bentley?
Speaker 6: No.
Speaker 2: When we first met your wife, she said her life
was threatened by a ghost. Someone who'd come back from
the dead.
Speaker 6: I don't understand any of it. It's all so strange. Ghosts.
The wire I received.
Speaker 2: What wire? Telegram that came the night before last. It
was from my business agent. I was to meet him
at his hotel in Chicago last night. When I arrived
in Chicago, he told me he didn't send the wire.
Speaker 7: Then Lamarck, Mr.
Speaker 5: Bentley, was tricked into leaving town.
Speaker 2: The reason's pretty obvious. Gave the killer a chance to
work on Hampton. Excuse me. Hello? Yes, he's here. Just
a moment.
Speaker 6: It's for you, Mr.
Speaker 2: Cranston. Mr.
Speaker 6: Deegan.
Speaker 2: Oh, yes, I told him I'd be here. Hello, Steve.
Speaker 6: Fine.
Speaker 2: Yes, I see. Where is it? All right. Thanks very much, Steve.
Speaker 6: Well, Mr.
Speaker 2: Bentley, you've been very helpful. I wish I could have
told you more. If I think you can, I'll be
sure to call on you.
Speaker 6: Let's go, Margo.
Speaker 5: Goodbye, Mr.
Speaker 2: Bentley. Goodbye, Miss Lane.
Speaker 6: Lamont, why did we leave so quickly?
Speaker 7: Aren't there more questions you wanted to ask Mr.
Speaker 2: Ventress? There's lots more, but right now I'm more interested
in a place called the Manchek Sanitarium.
Speaker 5: Manchek Sanitarium?
Speaker 4: Private mental hospital out on Western Avenue. I'd call with
some Steve Deegan, a friend of mine in the shoe business.
Speaker 7: You had him check on that shoe we found in
the woods last night?
Speaker 6: Yes.
Speaker 2: A quantity of the same type of shoe was recently
sold to the Manchek Sanitarium.
Speaker 6: Perhaps something interesting is.
Speaker 2: Going on out there.
Speaker 6: Sid, I've been thinking about Claire's death. Something interesting.
Speaker 5: Go ahead, Eddie.
Speaker 6: About Claire and the bonds. Manchek could have done it.
Speaker 3: What?
Speaker 2: Well, he was out all last night. You told me
so yourself.
Speaker 5: You mean the doc pulled a double cross on us?
Speaker 6: Possible.
Speaker 2: Ah, go on.
Speaker 5: The doc knows better. He wouldn't cut any corners on
Sid Rossi.
Speaker 6: It's worth thinking about, Sid. Yeah. Maybe I will think
about it.
Speaker 2: Maybe.
Speaker 5: What about tonight? Do you still want to go through
with it, Eddie?
Speaker 2: I bet I do.
Speaker 6: I'm not finished yet, Sid. Not by a long shot.
Speaker 7: The supply room will check and call me right back, Mr.
Speaker 5: Cranston.
Speaker 2: You're very helpful, Dr.
Speaker 6: Adams.
Speaker 7: You're sure this shoe is the sanitarium's property, Dr.
Speaker 5: Adams?
Speaker 6: Mr.
Speaker 5: Cranston said when he found the shoe, it was without
a lace.
Speaker 9: With our more serious cases, we are particularly careful that
nothing falls into their.
Speaker 5: Hands which could be damaging to themselves or others.
Speaker 2: Oh, I see. A shoelace could spell trouble in the
hands of violent patients.
Speaker 6: Exactly.
Speaker 5: Excuse me.
Speaker 2: Dr.
Speaker 6: Adams? Oh, yes. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 5: Well, thank you, Peters.
Speaker 6: That was the supply room clerk, Mr. Cranston.
Speaker 5: He reports a shoe like this, the same size, is
unaccounted for.
Speaker 7: And Lamont, that means the killer came from this sanitarium.
Speaker 2: Get me Dr.
Speaker 5: Mantrick, please.
Speaker 6: Just a moment, Doctor. But I.
Speaker 2: Please. I'd appreciate it if you'd keep our conversation a
secret for the time being. I'd like to work this
out my own way. Could you do me that favor?
Speaker 6: All right, Mr.
Speaker 5: Cranston. Anything you say.
Speaker 2: Thank you very much. I'll be in touch with you.
Speaker 3: You ready, Margo?
Speaker 6: Ready, yeah. Goodbye. Goodbye. Thanks, Doctor. What now, Lamont?
Speaker 2: Now, Margo, I'm going to do some checking up on
Claire Bentley's husband and go back and have a talk
with him.
Speaker 6: What makes you think he'll answer your question?
Speaker 2: Oh, I'm not asking the questions, Margo. I'm leaving that
to the shadow.
Speaker 6: Who is it? Who's in this room? Who's laughing like that?
Speaker 2: It's the shadow, Bentley.
Speaker 6: Shadow?
Speaker 2: You're frightened, Bentley.
Speaker 6: What? Why are you here?
Speaker 2: A man with a clear conscience has no reason to
be frightened.
Speaker 6: What?
Speaker 2: My conscience is clear.
Speaker 6: Is it?
Speaker 2: Have you told the truth about everything? About your wife's
first husband, for instance?
Speaker 6: What?
Speaker 2: You didn't tell Cranston about Eddie Gleason and the $ 50, 000
in securities that were stolen from your firm three months ago.
Speaker 6: How did you know Claire was married to Gleeson?
Speaker 2: You didn't tell Cranston that Eddie Gleeson was killed when
the warehouse he was hiding in exploded.
Speaker 6: That was all in the papers. The story was there
for anyone to read.
Speaker 2: That story is. But not the story later. The one
of your marriage to Eddie Gleeson's widow.
Speaker 6: Claire didn't want anyone to know about it.
Speaker 2: She was always afraid of Gleeson. Even after his death
and that explosion, he haunted her.
Speaker 6: That's why she was afraid of a ghost. It's the truth,
I swear.
Speaker 2: It better be the truth, Bentley. If it isn't, you'll
regret it the next time the shadow returns.
Speaker 6: Who is it?
Speaker 2: Just a minute.
Speaker 6: Hello, Bentley.
Speaker 4: Hey.
Speaker 2: Eddie. That's right, Bentley.
Speaker 6: Eddie Gleeson. Only now it's Eddie Holden. No. You're dead. No,
it's not you. You're dead.
Speaker 2: That's the way Claire took it, Bentley. Just like that.
Speaker 6: I wanted to work on her first.
Speaker 2: That's why I sent you the wire.
Speaker 6: You sent it?
Speaker 5: Claire.
Speaker 6: I thought she... I killed her because I... Go ahead, Bentley.
Finish it. You killed Claire because.
Speaker 2: I.
Speaker 6: Thought it was a trick of Claire's to get me
out of town. I didn't go to Chicago.
Speaker 2: I got off the train at the first stop and
came back.
Speaker 6: I took the bonds out of the box last month.
I didn't tell Claire about it. And.
Speaker 2: And she was only trying to save them for me.
Speaker 6: I've been doing a little saving too, Bradley. Yeah.
Speaker 10: I was saving you for last. You thought you had
me finished in the explosion you set up, huh? But
I got out before it went off. And I'm here
to tell a story. Tell it to you.
Speaker 6: Eddie, it wasn't my idea. No?
Speaker 10: You and Claire were going to have a great time
with that $ 50, 000, weren't you?
Speaker 6: Weren't you? You can have the bonds, Eddie. You can
have them. Thanks, Bentley. I'll make sure to take them
after I finish with you. Eddie, don't do this. Don't
be a fool. If you kill me, you won't get
away with it. No?
Speaker 10: I'm hiding out at a fancy institution, Bentley. And if
they do catch up with me, I get away with
this anyhow.
Speaker 6: I'm crazy. That's what the doc said. They don't hang crazy.
Speaker 2: Men, Bentley. They just.
Speaker 6: They just let them sit around and laugh. Eddie, please!
You know I am laughing, Bentley. Don't do it, Eddie,
for heaven's sakes. Don't do it to me.
Speaker 8: I'm laughing because what I'm going to do to you
is going to make me happy.
Speaker 6: This is going to make me happy as a lark.
Happy as a lark. Marco? Yes, Lamont? Bentley's dead. What?
Speaker 2: I'm at his apartment now. I brought Commissioner Weston with me.
We found Bentley on the floor, shot to death.
Speaker 6: Commissioner Weston? Why is he with you?
Speaker 2: With evidence I gave him, the commissioner was going to
arrest Bentley for the murder of his wife. Margo, I
want you to stay at home and wait for me.
Speaker 6: What are you going to do, Lamar?
Speaker 2: Among other things, track down a murderous corpse. Happy as
a lark.
Speaker 6: That's just how I felt, Doc, when I gave it
to Bentley.
Speaker 2: A lark.
Speaker 6: You should have heard him squeal for mercy. You should
have heard him. It was beautiful.
Speaker 3: Yes.
Speaker 6: These bonds are beautiful, too, Eddie.
Speaker 5: Real pretty, Doc. Fifty thousand beautiful bucks.
Speaker 6: How about we make the split, then I get out
of here tomorrow, huh?
Speaker 8: Eddie, you know I've been thinking this over. It's my
professional opinion that it would be unwise for you to
be released tomorrow.
Speaker 5: The doc's right, Eddie.
Speaker 2: You're in a bad way, Eddie.
Speaker 5: You're much sicker than you realize.
Speaker 6: Severe paranoia. Very severe.
Speaker 5: Like the doc says, Eddie. You got a real bad.
Speaker 6: Case of it.
Speaker 2: What is this?
Speaker 6: What are you two trying to pull? It's simple arithmetic, Eddie.
Speaker 8: 50,000 divided by two is much more attractive.
Speaker 2: Than 50,000 divided by three.
Speaker 6: Got it, Eddie?
Speaker 5: The gun I'm holding is liable to go off. Go ahead, Doc.
Speaker 8: As I said before, Eddie, you're a very serious mental case.
As a matter of fact, it's my practiced opinion that
you're incurably insane.
Speaker 6: With homicidal tendencies.
Speaker 2: I'll get you.
Speaker 6: I'll get you both for this. See?
Speaker 2: There you are. Homicidal.
Speaker 5: Real bad case. Eddie, we gotta keep you locked up
here all the time.
Speaker 6: The rest of your life.
Speaker 5: Right here, in this room.
Speaker 2: You lousy, finagrant, double-crossing goons.
Speaker 6: I won't let you get away with this. I'm not crazy. Now,
let me out of here.
Speaker 4: Let me out.
Speaker 6: I tell you, let me out. A real homicidal maniac.
Too bad, eh, Sid?
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 6: It's a shame.
Speaker 2: Very amusing, isn't it, Dr. Manchek? Sid.
Speaker 5: Doc, I hear a voice.
Speaker 2: Yes, Sid, a voice. The Shadow.
Speaker 6: Shadow? Shadow.
Speaker 4: Shadow, they were going to keep you here in this
room locked up for the rest of my life.
Speaker 6: Don't listen to him.
Speaker 5: He's crazy.
Speaker 6: I'm not crazy, I tell you. It's a serious case.
Speaker 2: Paranoia, I believe.
Speaker 6: He's not responsible. He's completely mad. I know what I'm saying.
I'm a doctor.
Speaker 2: You mean you were a doctor, Manchek?
Speaker 6: Once?
Speaker 2: Years ago, under the name of Stefan Kurtz?
Speaker 6: What?
Speaker 2: I know all about you. An Austrian psychiatrist who placed
money above medical ethics.
Speaker 5: The Doctor, Frank?
Speaker 2: You can stop acting, Sid. You know all about Manchek.
And I know about you, too. Sid Rossi, alias Sam Romar.
Small-time chiseler who found an easier way to fast money
by helping Manchek to use this sanitarium as a front
to shield fugitives from justice.
Speaker 6: Now you can believe me. Now you know I'm not crazy.
You help me get out of here, huh?
Speaker 2: Oh, I'm going to help you, Eddie.
Speaker 6: See, Doc, I told you. I told you you wouldn't
get away with this.
Speaker 2: That's right. Not one of the three of you will
get away with it. Three? What?
Speaker 6: What do you mean?
Speaker 2: I heard everything that was said in here, including the
story you told to Manchac and Sid about how you
got the bonds and killed Bentley. And now all three
of you will pay for your crimes in full.
Speaker 6: I still don't understand what happened to Eddie Holden.
Speaker 2: In that explosion. Well, Eddie and his wife Claire worked
out a deal with Bentley to steal $ 50, 000 worth of
bonds by faking a warehouse explosion. Then Claire and Bentley
double-crossed Eddie, left him to die in the fire.
Speaker 7: But Eddie actually escaped and came back looking for the
money and revenge.
Speaker 6: And used the sanitarium as a hideout while he worked.
Speaker 10: Very clever.
Speaker 7: But I still don't understand why Bentley killed his wife.
Speaker 2: When he received a fake telegram and then discovered her
burying that metal box in a cemetery, he thought she
was trying to steal the bonds from him.
Speaker 6: I see.
Speaker 7: And after all that, Manchek, Sid, and Eddie still asked
you to help them?
Speaker 2: They did, Margo, and I'm going to, but not in
the way they expected.
Speaker 4: Ever complained about the way your country is being run?
Ever objected to some of the laws?
Speaker 2: Sure you have. We all have.
Speaker 4: It's part of the American scene to talk loud about
something we don't like.
Speaker 2: Only trouble is, there's too much talking going on these days,
and it isn't all our own ideas. A lot of
the ideas have been skillfully planted in our minds by
outside influences. You see, what's happening, people who are trying
to change our American way of life are doing it slyly,
doing it in.
Speaker 4: Such a way that we don't realize we're being tricked.
But that's not all they're doing. They know that very
often when voting comes around, a lot of us are
too lazy or too busy to vote. And then they
have it where it really hurts. For their candidates, the
wrong men by American standards sometimes get elected. So let's
not let it happen anymore. This story is copyrighted by
Street and Smith Publications, Incorporated. All names and places are fictitious.
Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Listen again next week, same time, same station, when the
shadow will again demonstrate that the.
Speaker 2: Weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay.
The Shadow knows.
Speaker 4: Next week, same time, same station, we bring you another
strange and thrilling adventure in the Shadow's daring battle against
the forces of evil. The part of Lamont Cranston was
played by Brett Morrison.
Speaker 2: Margo by Grace Matthews.
Speaker 4: This program came from New York.
Speaker 2: Stay tuned now for Quick as a Flash. This is
the Mutual Don Lee Broadcasting System.
Speaker 1: This concludes our visit with the shadow in Murder by
a Corpse. Follow the shadow for more classic broadcasts.