- 7 weeks ago
The Missing Juror (1944) is a captivating mystery from the golden age of classic cinema. The story follows a determined reporter who begins investigating a puzzling case involving members of a past jury and the secrets that link them together. As he digs deeper, surprising twists and clever revelations keep the audience engaged from start to finish. With strong performances, crisp black-and-white cinematography, and a fast-paced script, The Missing Juror (1944) delivers an exciting look at 1940s suspense storytelling. A timeless film that blends intrigue, atmosphere, and intelligent writing, it remains a hidden gem for fans of vintage mystery dramas.
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00:00:00The End
00:00:30The End
00:01:00The End
00:01:29The End
00:01:59The End
00:02:29The End
00:02:59The End
00:03:29The Danger of Sudden Death
00:03:30Dropping Mysteriously
00:03:31Out of the Night
00:03:32Upon Unsuspecting Victims
00:03:33Dribble
00:03:34You see Wally
00:03:35I happen to know
00:03:35That Jason Sloan
00:03:36Is not the second one
00:03:37Of the Horton Jurors
00:03:38To have died recently
00:03:38He's the fourth
00:03:39What?
00:03:40The possibilities
00:03:41Of this kind of story
00:03:42Should be obvious
00:03:42To any real newspaper editor
00:03:44Joe
00:03:44Can't you see the headlines?
00:03:46Can't you see the headlines?
00:03:47Revenge from beyond the grave
00:03:48Members of the jury
00:03:50Quaking in fear
00:03:51Cut out the ham acting
00:03:52What's this about
00:03:53Four members of the jury
00:03:53Being dead?
00:03:54And a fifth one is missing
00:03:55Come on
00:03:56We'll talk this over
00:03:57In my office
00:03:57Put what I owe you
00:03:58On my ticket, Wally
00:03:59And that includes my coffee
00:04:01Now I see the whole thing
00:04:02As a feature series
00:04:03The jury with a dying man's
00:04:04Curse on it
00:04:05Four have died already
00:04:06Who'll be next?
00:04:07Come on
00:04:07Let's get this cab
00:04:08Now there's your Wharton jury
00:04:10The first to go was Baxter
00:04:11The next was Winstead
00:04:12Then Lewis
00:04:13Now Sloan
00:04:13With Ezra Chinning missing
00:04:14Headline
00:04:15Who will be next?
00:04:16That's a good angle
00:04:17The Wharton case
00:04:18Has sold more papers
00:04:19Than any murder trial
00:04:20In the past ten years
00:04:21What if somebody's trying
00:04:22To bump off
00:04:23The entire Wharton jury?
00:04:24Now wait a minute
00:04:25The fact the four members
00:04:26Of the jury
00:04:26That mistakenly convicted
00:04:28Harry Wharton of murder
00:04:29Have all died accidental deaths
00:04:30In the past six months
00:04:31His good human interest
00:04:33Will sell a lot of papers
00:04:34But don't make yourself ridiculous
00:04:35By implying that you have
00:04:37A private hookup
00:04:38With what's going to happen tomorrow
00:04:39All right
00:04:40It's just a thought
00:04:40You know me and my hunches
00:04:42Let me have the stuff
00:04:42As fast as you can get it out
00:04:43By the way Willard
00:04:44I'll have to have a dictaphone
00:04:45What's the matter
00:04:46With dictating to a secretary?
00:04:47Now Mr. Apple
00:04:48You know if I'm dictating
00:04:49To a pretty secretary
00:04:50My mind is apt to wander
00:04:52And a pretty secretary
00:04:53Taking dictation from me
00:04:54I know
00:04:55Her mind's liable to wander
00:04:56Well if you want the stuff
00:04:58In a hurry
00:04:58Oh
00:04:58Once again
00:05:01The tragic story
00:05:02Of Harry J. Wharton
00:05:03Finds its way
00:05:03To the pages
00:05:04Of this newspaper
00:05:05Harry Wharton
00:05:06Rich young man about town
00:05:07Who was tried for his life
00:05:08For the murder of
00:05:09Marie Chappelle
00:05:10Convicted by a jury
00:05:12Of his peers
00:05:12And sentenced to be hanged
00:05:14For a crime
00:05:15He did not commit
00:05:16Marie Chappelle
00:05:18Was one of those
00:05:19Who neither toiled
00:05:20Nor spun
00:05:20She was from a different
00:05:22Social stratton
00:05:22Than Harry Wharton
00:05:23But somehow
00:05:24She caught the young man's fancy
00:05:26Then one night
00:05:27Marie
00:05:32Wake up
00:05:34Who's there?
00:05:36Who's there?
00:05:36But Harry Wharton
00:05:42Was convicted of a crime
00:05:43He did not commit
00:05:45Mr. George Sazbo
00:05:51The D.A. is using
00:06:05George Sazbo
00:06:06As a surprise witness
00:06:07To place you
00:06:07At the seat of the crime
00:06:08Do you know anything
00:06:09About him?
00:06:11I don't think
00:06:12I ever saw him before
00:06:13Mr. Sazbo
00:06:15Am I to understand
00:06:17You actually heard
00:06:18The fatal shots?
00:06:19Yes sir
00:06:19I was outside
00:06:20The apartment house
00:06:21When I heard the shots
00:06:22Miss Marie Chappelle
00:06:24The deceased
00:06:24Had hired me
00:06:25To tail Mr. Wharton
00:06:26Follow him
00:06:27That's my business
00:06:28I'm a private detective
00:06:29Mr. Sazbo
00:06:30Why did Miss Chappelle
00:06:31Ask to have
00:06:32Mr. Wharton followed?
00:06:33Marie
00:06:34Miss Chappelle
00:06:35Was afraid
00:06:36He'd run out on her
00:06:37And not go through
00:06:37With his promise of marriage
00:06:38I object
00:06:39Mr. Wharton
00:06:45Did you
00:06:47Or did you not
00:06:47Fire the shots
00:06:48That took Marie Chappelle's life?
00:06:50I did not
00:06:51Was there any reason
00:06:52For you to desire
00:06:53The death of the girl?
00:06:54None whatsoever
00:06:55Now tell us
00:06:58In your own words
00:06:59Mr. Wharton
00:07:00Exactly what happened
00:07:02And where
00:07:03On the evening
00:07:03The crime was committed
00:07:05I was having dinner
00:07:06At the athletic club
00:07:07And
00:07:07What time was that?
00:07:09I'd say it was about
00:07:098.15
00:07:11Or quarter of nine
00:07:12You know
00:07:18I'd like to see
00:07:19That poor guy
00:07:19Get a break
00:07:20And that's on the level
00:07:21Not a chance
00:07:22They got enough on Wharton
00:07:23To hang him twice
00:07:23Yeah maybe so
00:07:25But there's something
00:07:25Too pat about this case
00:07:27Yeah
00:07:27Uh oh
00:07:28Here they come
00:07:29Please rise
00:07:51Please rise
00:07:53Be seated
00:08:00Court will come to order
00:08:06The prisoner will rise
00:08:09And face the jury
00:08:10Ladies and gentlemen
00:08:17Of the jury
00:08:17Have you agreed upon
00:08:19The verdict
00:08:19We have
00:08:22Your honor
00:08:23The clerk
00:08:24Will read the verdict
00:08:25We the jury
00:08:34Find the defendant
00:08:35Guilty
00:08:36As charged
00:08:37If that's requested
00:08:39The jury be pulled
00:08:40Your honor
00:08:40The clerk
00:08:42Will poll the jurors
00:08:44Jerome K. Bentley
00:08:46Is this your verdict?
00:08:47Yes
00:08:48Peter Jackson
00:08:50Is this your verdict?
00:08:51Yes
00:08:51But I am innocent
00:08:52I am innocent
00:08:55Emily Stagler
00:08:57Is this your verdict?
00:08:58Yes
00:08:58Charles Winston
00:09:00Is this your verdict?
00:09:01Yes
00:09:02Avery Nordic
00:09:03Is this your verdict?
00:09:04Yes
00:09:05Alice Hill
00:09:06Is this your verdict?
00:09:07Yes
00:09:08Guilty
00:09:10Guilty
00:09:11Guilty
00:09:12Those words seem to
00:09:14Burn their way
00:09:15Into Wharton's mind
00:09:16Hello
00:09:17Hello
00:09:18Hello Cherry Blossom
00:09:19Just in time
00:09:20For the first installment
00:09:21Type those up
00:09:22Like a good girl
00:09:22Will you
00:09:23And tell old
00:09:23Fallstaff
00:09:23I'm going right ahead
00:09:24It takes a long time
00:09:30To hang a man
00:09:31In this great state
00:09:31Of ours
00:09:32The sovereign people
00:09:33Are careful
00:09:34They don't want
00:09:35To make any mistakes
00:09:36Friends of Wharton
00:09:37Rallied to his aid
00:09:39There were motions
00:09:44And appeals
00:09:45And interviews
00:09:45With the governor
00:09:46All to no avail
00:09:47Harry Wharton
00:09:48Had been found guilty
00:09:49By a jury of his peers
00:09:51Twelve tried and true
00:09:53Men and women
00:09:53Sitting in legal judgment
00:09:54And the law
00:09:56Must take its course
00:09:57He comes down
00:10:09As for service
00:10:11Amnes noses
00:10:12Hesus Christi
00:10:13Di absolve
00:10:13Diabso
00:10:15Absoyes
00:10:16Diabso
00:10:17Diabso
00:10:17Diabso
00:10:17Diabso
00:10:18Diabso
00:10:22Diabso
00:10:24Diabso
00:10:25Why don't they hang me?
00:10:36What are they waiting for?
00:10:39Hang me!
00:10:41Hang me!
00:10:48I guess I was the only one who continued to believe in Harry Wharton's innocence.
00:10:52With nothing stronger than my own personal hunch,
00:10:54I kept up the uneven fight.
00:10:56Then, on the night before Harry Wharton was to hang,
00:10:59I made my way toward Wally's Grotto.
00:11:04Hello, Mr. Keats.
00:11:09Hello there, Mr. Sazboa.
00:11:11Make mine coffee.
00:11:13I've been looking for you.
00:11:15I thought I might do an interview on you.
00:11:17You know, something about the feelings of the guy
00:11:19whose testimony put the rope around the other man's neck
00:11:21the night before the other fella hangs.
00:11:24I don't give out interviews.
00:11:27I don't know what your game is, Keats.
00:11:29But let me give you a little advice.
00:11:32Snooping around where you're not wanted
00:11:33is liable to earn you a hole in the head.
00:11:42Here you are, Wally.
00:11:44The joint's getting crowded.
00:11:45Sounds kind of touchy.
00:11:55I don't know what you're going to do.
00:11:56I don't know what you're going to do.
00:11:57I don't know what you're going to do.
00:11:58I don't know what you're going to do.
00:11:59I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:00I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:01I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:02I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:03I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:04I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:05I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:06I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:07I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:08I don't know what you're going to do.
00:12:09Come on.
00:12:39This time, they got me.
00:12:44Got me for keeps.
00:12:46Who was it, Sazbo? Who shot you?
00:12:48The dirty double-crosser.
00:12:50This is the way he pays me off.
00:12:52I knew too much, see?
00:12:54But bullets are cheaper than...
00:12:56How bad am I?
00:12:57I can't tell, George. How do you feel?
00:12:59I don't feel nothing. I'm numb.
00:13:01I'm afraid that's pretty bad, then, George.
00:13:04You got something you want to get off your chest?
00:13:05Yeah.
00:13:06About Wharton?
00:13:07Yeah.
00:13:08He was framed.
00:13:11Framed by a guy named Gordon Cook.
00:13:14Framed by Gordon Cook.
00:13:16Marie Chappelle was his gal.
00:13:19The rat.
00:13:20He was supposed to give me the rest of my dough tonight.
00:13:24Hey, I'll need some witnesses to this confession.
00:13:26Listen.
00:13:27Then followed a race against time.
00:13:30Only a few hours stood between Harry Wharton and Eternity.
00:13:32There were lawyers to see, depositions to be made, last-minute appeals to the governor.
00:13:37The wheels of justice were made to turn backward.
00:13:41Then, as the cold, gray light of dawn crept into Harry Wharton's death cell,
00:13:45the warden broke the news of his pardon.
00:13:47Don't you understand, Harry?
00:13:49Harry, you're a free man.
00:13:51Mr. Keats here discovered new evidence in your case, and the governor acted immediately.
00:13:55I'm not going to hang.
00:13:59I'm not going to hang.
00:14:02Why, I've been hanged a hundred times already.
00:14:05I'm a dead man.
00:14:07One of the living dead.
00:14:08Every time somebody marched down those stairs, I marched with him.
00:14:14I've hanged so many men in the gallows, the rope no longer chokes me.
00:14:21That's funny, isn't it?
00:14:23Let's go down to my office, Harry.
00:14:24Just a minute, Wharton.
00:14:26Did you know that everything in these cells is done by 12s?
00:14:29There are 12 bars from the ceiling to the floor.
00:14:32It's exactly 12 steps around the inside of this.
00:14:34The guard takes just 12 steps from the stairs to here.
00:14:40Everything, everywhere, in 12s.
00:14:43Like a jury.
00:14:4512, 12, 12!
00:14:48Come on, Harry.
00:14:54The story of Harry Wharton, gentle reader, deserves a happy ending.
00:14:58But such was not to be.
00:15:00The man's mind had crumbled away during those dark months in the death house.
00:15:04When he was freed, he went directly to a private hospital for treatment.
00:15:10For a while, his condition seemed to improve.
00:15:12He received visitors.
00:15:14Some of them members of the jury who had convicted him.
00:15:16Anxious to make amends for the suffering they'd caused him.
00:15:19You have a visitor downstairs, Mr. Wharton.
00:15:28Would you like to see him?
00:15:29Certainly.
00:15:29I'll send him right up.
00:15:32Oh, I'm going off duty now.
00:15:34If you need anything, just ring for the floor, nurse.
00:15:37Thank you, nurse.
00:15:37I have everything I need.
00:15:52A few hours later, a nurse heard strange crackling noises coming from Harry Wharton's room.
00:15:57Help!
00:16:04Hospital attendants rushed to smash their way into the room, but to no avail.
00:16:08Weary of living within the sort of mental twilight which was his existence,
00:16:12Harry Wharton had taken 12 feet of clothesline from the hospital laundry,
00:16:16set fire to his room, and hanged himself.
00:16:18When the flames were extinguished, it was discovered that Harry Wharton's body had been burned beyond recognition.
00:16:32Harry Wharton died for the last time.
00:16:35This time of his own choice, and by his own hand.
00:16:43Good morning, Willard.
00:16:45Morning.
00:16:46Just read the first stuff.
00:16:47Sounds pretty good.
00:16:49Pretty good?
00:16:50The trouble with you, Mr. Apple, can be summed up in one word.
00:16:52Worms.
00:16:53Worms?
00:16:53Yes, worms.
00:16:54You're full of holes.
00:16:55You're eaten with jealousy.
00:16:56Look, Joe, I don't want you to give me a rehash on the Wharton case.
00:16:59I want reader interest.
00:17:01The ghost of Harry Wharton stalking the 12 people who convicted him.
00:17:04Say, whose idea is this?
00:17:05I'm going to personally interview each and every one of those jurors.
00:17:08I'll get statements and pictures and life stories.
00:17:10And incidentally, scare the pants off of them.
00:17:12That's the stuff.
00:17:13Now you're talking like...
00:17:14Like your favorite reporter, I know.
00:17:16And before I get through, I hope you get sued for violating somebody's privacy.
00:17:21Say, how's that for a publicity angle?
00:17:23Let me worry about the exploitation.
00:17:25You just get the stories.
00:17:27Would you like my coffee?
00:17:28I don't mean to seem rude, but your attempts to capitalize on a series of coincidences, to sensationalize them, are both, well, cheap and revolting.
00:17:45Just tell me what your first reaction was when you read in the record herald that five of your fellow jurors had been accidentally killed.
00:17:51Mr. Keats, you compelled me to repeat that I did not read in the record herald where five of my fellow jurors were dead.
00:17:56I don't read the record herald.
00:17:58I told you that yesterday, and I told you that the day before.
00:18:00All right, Miss Hill, but what if there is something back of all these coincidental deaths?
00:18:05Rubbish.
00:18:05You say that now, but what if tonight or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, another juror dies strangely and suddenly, what would you say then?
00:18:17I'd say good afternoon, Mr. Keats.
00:18:21Now, if you don't mind, I have an appointment.
00:18:23By the way, do you have a new photograph for yourself?
00:18:26The ones taken when you're on the jury are terrible.
00:18:27I warned you I wouldn't be a party to any of your cheap publicity stunts.
00:18:33No picture, no interview, no story.
00:18:35You make a newspaper man's life very difficult, Miss Hill.
00:18:38I'm sorry.
00:18:40A picture of you would have looked nice, too.
00:18:42Sort of dressed up the page.
00:18:45Couldn't you spare even a little snapshot?
00:18:47So big.
00:18:49Goodbye.
00:18:57You mustn't mind her.
00:19:09She's really been terribly upset about the whole thing.
00:19:12Tell her to forget it.
00:19:13She's a pretty girl.
00:19:14She'll wrinkle.
00:19:15I tell her that all the time.
00:19:17But she's so serious.
00:19:19Says her conscience has never given her a minute's peace since that poor old Mr. Walton hung himself.
00:19:24She'll have to relax.
00:19:25Oh, Mr. Keats, here's something for your personal files.
00:19:31Hey, thanks.
00:19:34Oh, Tex, did you call about that shipment of glass?
00:19:37Why, yes, Alice.
00:19:39Well, goodbye again.
00:19:40Goodbye.
00:19:43Goodbye.
00:19:45Well, goodbye.
00:19:47Goodbye.
00:19:55Nothing quite as fresh as a fresh newspaperman.
00:19:59Oh, I've got to run and have a date for tea.
00:20:01Who, Ed?
00:20:02Jerome K. Bentley.
00:20:04Who?
00:20:04He was foreman of the Wharton jury.
00:20:06He wants to talk to me about furnishing an old house he bought up near Buckminster.
00:20:09Called this morning.
00:20:10Haven't seen or heard of him since the trial.
00:20:13Well, I'll see you later, Tex.
00:20:15So long, honey.
00:20:16I remembered from our jury acquaintance that you were a dear in antiques.
00:20:33When I bought my old house, I thought of you at once.
00:20:35That's very nice of you, Mr. Bentley.
00:20:37I'm sure we'll have some things for it you'll like.
00:20:39I'm anxious to see your house.
00:20:40You shall see it, Miss Hill.
00:20:41I promise you.
00:20:43Very soon.
00:20:44Shall we go?
00:20:48Yes.
00:20:57One moment, sir.
00:20:59You forgot your gloves.
00:21:14Don't read over my shoulder.
00:21:17It makes me nervous.
00:21:18Sorry.
00:21:19I was just trying to avoid looking at your face.
00:21:21What's the matter?
00:21:21Hangover?
00:21:22Haven't had a drink for four days.
00:21:24You must be in love.
00:21:26Look, I've been thinking maybe we ought to wind up the articles on the Wharton case.
00:21:29Are you crazy?
00:21:30This is the best feature we've had since the trial.
00:21:32It's just cheap sensationalism.
00:21:34Who are we trying to fool?
00:21:35I've interviewed all but two of those people who are on the jury.
00:21:38They're nice folks, minding their business, doing their job.
00:21:40What civilian sobsister has been talking to you?
00:21:43Snap out of it, Joe.
00:21:43This is the newspaper business.
00:21:45Or am I correct in suspecting that you've been seeing too much of a certain lady juror?
00:21:49Look, let's cut the kidding about Alice.
00:21:51I'm serious.
00:21:51Okay, but do me a favor, will you?
00:21:53Go on down to Wally's.
00:21:54Need a good breakfast.
00:21:55It'll cheer you up.
00:21:56Why don't you concentrate on your own waistline and leave mine alone?
00:22:02Hello, Marcy.
00:22:03Hello.
00:22:06He's a way off his feet.
00:22:08No, it's terrible.
00:22:09The things a woman can do to a man.
00:22:11The mayor has been calling you, Mr. Apple.
00:22:13I promised him you'd call him right back.
00:22:14Oh, yeah.
00:22:26Wally, you're an authority on women.
00:22:33Tell me something.
00:22:34I don't know a thing about them.
00:22:35I don't even let them in the place.
00:22:37That, my friend, proves you're an authority.
00:22:39I want to ask your advice on a purely hypothetical case.
00:22:41A friend of mine.
00:22:43This friend of mine got interested in a girl.
00:22:45He never intended to get interested in her.
00:22:47He met her in line of duty and sort of fell for her.
00:22:50Pardon me.
00:22:53Hello.
00:22:54Oh, hello, Mr. Apple.
00:22:56Yes, yes, he's here.
00:22:57It's your boss, Joe.
00:22:58Tell him I'm seeing a man about a steam shovel.
00:23:01It's funny.
00:23:02He seems to have stepped out for a second, Mr. Apple.
00:23:07Yes.
00:23:08Yes, okay, I'll tell him.
00:23:09You bet.
00:23:11Joe, he's pretty excited.
00:23:12He said another juror on the warden case had been killed.
00:23:15This time, a woman.
00:23:16A woman?
00:23:18Was it Alice Hill?
00:23:19He didn't say.
00:23:20Just said for you to get over to the morgue as fast as you can.
00:23:22The morgue?
00:23:26Hello, Joe.
00:23:30Hello, Inspector.
00:23:35All right, Mike.
00:23:44Name of deceased, Mrs. Emile Stagler.
00:23:46Occupation, housewife.
00:23:48Cause of death, strangulation.
00:23:50Where'd they find her, Inspector?
00:23:51Out on Highway 9.
00:23:52Whoever strangled it, drove her there in her own car.
00:23:55Then he ran the car over an embankment and tried to set fire to it.
00:23:58It wouldn't burn much because the gas tank was nearly empty.
00:24:02And you're the guy who's been writing those articles about Harry Wharton and that stuff
00:24:05about vengeance from beyond the grave.
00:24:07That's right.
00:24:07How does this make you feel?
00:24:09You mean, do I feel like I've been peering into a crystal ball?
00:24:12Foretelling the future and all that?
00:24:13No.
00:24:14I mean, how does it feel being responsible for a nice, fresh crime wave?
00:24:17Everything was going along nice and quiet until you decided to revive the Wharton case.
00:24:20Then some harmless crank turns homicidal maniac because he thinks he ought to avenge a miscarriage
00:24:24of justice.
00:24:25Take it easy, Inspector.
00:24:26Don't try to pin this on me.
00:24:28There were several members of the Wharton jury who died before I even started writing the
00:24:31articles.
00:24:32Remember?
00:24:32Those were just coincidences.
00:24:34They died accidentally.
00:24:35But that red ring around the lady's neck, that didn't come from wearing a necklace.
00:24:39That's a rope burn.
00:24:40This woman was hung before she was ever driven off the road.
00:24:44Okay, Mike, put her away.
00:24:50But it's ridiculous to think that a newspaper story would inspire someone to go out and start
00:24:55to kill an entire jury without any reason.
00:24:57What's so ridiculous about it?
00:24:58This is a big town.
00:24:59There are a lot of cranks in it.
00:25:00Suggest something like this to a nut and right away he runs amok.
00:25:02He wants to become an avenger.
00:25:03You mean there's no other possible motive for this killing?
00:25:06Mrs. Stagler didn't have an enemy in the world.
00:25:12Excuse me, boys.
00:25:13I've got to make a call.
00:25:17Read all about it.
00:25:18Read all about it.
00:25:19Get your evening paper here.
00:25:20Killer eludes police.
00:25:22Get your evening paper here.
00:25:23Killer eludes police.
00:25:25Here you are, sir.
00:25:27Killer eludes police.
00:25:27Get your evening paper here.
00:25:29Night final.
00:25:30Thank you, sir.
00:25:32Paper, mister.
00:25:32Thank you, sir.
00:25:34Get your evening paper here.
00:25:36Read all about it.
00:25:37Read all about it.
00:25:38Get your evening paper here.
00:25:39Killer eludes police.
00:25:40Just a moment, please.
00:25:41Are you Jerome K. Bentley?
00:25:43Yes.
00:25:43I'm Garrett.
00:25:44Homicide detail.
00:25:45Inspector David sent me over here to kind of keep an eye on things.
00:25:47Sort of a bodyguard until the excitement quiets down.
00:25:49Hope you don't mind.
00:25:50Not at all, officer.
00:25:51In fact, it's quite reassuring.
00:25:53Killer eludes police.
00:25:54Oh, boy, but I'm tired.
00:25:56What got into you, Mr. Jerome K. Bentley, that he suddenly decided he want all this stuff shipped tomorrow?
00:26:03He wants to move to the country as soon as his house is ready.
00:26:06We should be glad, Texas.
00:26:07The biggest order we've had in months.
00:26:09Oh, I'll be glad when I've slept about 12 hours.
00:26:12Right now, I'm too tired.
00:26:15Okay, honey.
00:26:17One thing about Mr. Bentley that struck me as rather odd was that he kept asking if we had 12 of everything.
00:26:26I wonder what he wanted 12 of everything for.
00:26:42Quarter past 12.
00:26:51Look, take it easy.
00:26:51You're making me nervous.
00:26:53I'm making you nervous.
00:26:54How do you suppose it makes me feel to see you standing there munching your gum while some homicidal maniac is probably strangling my girl?
00:27:00Your girl?
00:27:01She doesn't know it yet, but she is.
00:27:03Well, can't you do something?
00:27:04About making her your girl?
00:27:06No, about finding her.
00:27:07I was told to watch the house, and I'm watching it.
00:27:09You've been watching it for four hours.
00:27:11She isn't here.
00:27:13Nobody knows where she is.
00:27:14I could hazard a guess.
00:27:15Yeah, where?
00:27:16Coming across the street.
00:27:18Girls, don't do this, Uncle Joe.
00:27:20I worry.
00:27:21Well, look who's been standing on our doorstep.
00:27:22Our favorite newspaper man.
00:27:24We worked until midnight and decided to walk home.
00:27:26Who decided?
00:27:28Haven't you heard what's happened?
00:27:29No, we didn't even leave the shop to eat.
00:27:31That policeman standing on your doorstep is there because an insane killer is trying to murder every man and woman who served on the Wharton jury.
00:27:37He may have chosen you as his next victim.
00:27:39Oh, I thought you were going to quit trying to scare people.
00:27:42Here's our runaway, Regan.
00:27:44I'm Sergeant Regan, ma'am.
00:27:45We've been instructed to keep an eye on your apartment until the killer is apprehended.
00:27:48The killer?
00:27:49Mrs. Stagler, who was on the jury with you, has been murdered.
00:27:52Mrs. Stagler.
00:27:53Say, all the way home I had the feeling we were being followed.
00:27:57How are you talking silly, Tex?
00:27:58Let's go to make a cup of coffee.
00:28:00Would you like a cup, Sergeant?
00:28:01You bet.
00:28:02Mm-hmm.
00:28:02Tex, I must have misplaced my key. Do you have yours?
00:28:16Why, clutched in my lily-white hand, sugar.
00:28:19Stand aside.
00:28:20Was I presumptuous to have let myself in?
00:28:43Do you know this man?
00:28:48Yes, this is Mr. Bentley. He's a customer of mine.
00:28:50I'm sorry, Miss Hill. I saw him into the apartment, but I thought he was going to...
00:28:52That's all right, officer. I've known Mr. Bentley for some time.
00:28:55I found Miss Hill's key in my own pocket, of all places, and dropped him to return it.
00:29:00I must have picked it up off your desk this morning, by mistake.
00:29:04Thank you so much. I'm glad to have it back. I'm always losing it.
00:29:06I also brought these, in case my unexpected visit should have displeased you.
00:29:11Oh, not at all. Thank you.
00:29:13You know Miss Tuttle, and this is Mr. Keats and Officer Regan.
00:29:16You remember Mr. Bentley. He was foreman of our jury.
00:29:19Mr. Bentley, I've been wanting to get in touch with you.
00:29:21Well, that's quite a coincidence, because I've been thinking of getting in touch with you, Mr. Keats.
00:29:25It's fate, that's what it is.
00:29:27Alice, you brought Joe and Mr. Bentley together.
00:29:29Now, I'll go bring some coffee and water together and see what comes of that.
00:29:33Want to help, Sergeant?
00:29:34Sure thing.
00:29:35Tex, would you put these in water, please?
00:29:37Sit down, won't you?
00:29:39It was Joe who dug up all the evidence that saved Harry Wharton.
00:29:42Yes, I know.
00:29:43I've been reading Mr. Keats' recent articles with considerable interest.
00:29:47In fact, I've been wondering why the police haven't arranged some sort of protection for him.
00:29:52What for?
00:29:53It merely occurred to me the mysterious killer might decide to hold you responsible for making his task more difficult.
00:30:00No, that's where you're wrong.
00:30:02The man's obviously a maniac with one fixed idea.
00:30:04He wants to do away with the jury because they mistakenly convicted the wrong man.
00:30:09He's bound to know that it was I who saved Harry Wharton from the gallows.
00:30:12Yes, so he could hang himself in an insane asylum a little later.
00:30:20I really must go, Miss Hill.
00:30:22You won't forget to ship my things tomorrow, will you?
00:30:24They're all packed and ready.
00:30:26Won't you stand and have some coffee with us?
00:30:27No, thanks.
00:30:28Will you say goodbye to the others for me?
00:30:29Of course.
00:30:30I'm sorry.
00:30:30You have to hurry.
00:30:31Good night.
00:30:31Good night.
00:30:32Don't forget about the talk we're going to have.
00:30:34I'm looking forward to it, Mr. Keats.
00:30:36I'm looking forward to it.
00:30:42If you were to ask me, I'd say the guy had his nerve walking into your house and making himself at home like that.
00:30:46Oh, I don't mind.
00:30:47He's nice and a very good customer.
00:30:49Besides, he was doing me a favor.
00:30:50Yeah.
00:30:52He doesn't seem a bit scared, either, wandering around alone at night.
00:30:55He was foreman of the jury, you know.
00:30:57Yes, I know.
00:30:58Rather quiet, but very nice.
00:31:01Oh.
00:31:02All right, break it up.
00:31:03If this coffee's so strong now, it ought to be carrying me instead of vice versa.
00:31:07Well, what happened to our little browlin'?
00:31:09Oh, he has to be excused.
00:31:11Want to know a secret?
00:31:13I think Mr. Benton is kind of sweet on a certain young lady.
00:31:16Oh, Tex, you're talking nonsense.
00:31:17Well, he certainly scooted out of here fast enough when two other men showed up.
00:31:21That confirms my good taste in women.
00:31:23To prove I have no hard feelings, I propose a toast to Mr. Bentley.
00:31:27May the killer never discover that he likes to prowl by night
00:31:30and deliver posies to pretty ladies.
00:31:40Good night, Regan.
00:31:41Keep a sharp eye on my chickens.
00:31:43I will, Joe.
00:31:43That girl from Texas makes good coffee.
00:31:45See that it keeps you awake.
00:31:46Good night.
00:31:47Good night.
00:31:47Good night.
00:32:16Hello, Black Magic.
00:32:30Say, are you following me?
00:32:32Look, Blackie, why don't you run on along home?
00:32:35You're making me nervous.
00:32:37Hello again, Mr. Keats.
00:32:39Oh, hello, Mr. Bentley.
00:32:41May I join you?
00:32:42I think we're going the same way.
00:32:43Certainly, but I thought you were probably home in bed by now.
00:32:46I have a confession to make, Mr. Keats.
00:32:48I've been waiting for you.
00:32:50That's funny.
00:32:50Back there, I had the feeling I was being followed.
00:32:52Now, you tell me you were waiting for me all the time.
00:32:55I guess that makes me psychic.
00:32:56Everyone is psychic to a more or less degree, Mr. Keats.
00:32:59Well, I don't carry a spare crystal ball around with me, but I do play hunches.
00:33:02When you're always on the lookout for news, you develop a sort of a sixth sense.
00:33:06Perhaps I've developed a sixth sense, too.
00:33:08Because I have a hunch, as you call it, that the identity of the unknown killer will be revealed today.
00:33:14What makes you think so?
00:33:16Because I know who the murderer is.
00:33:18Are you sure?
00:33:19Reasonably so.
00:33:20Well, if you have any information, you shouldn't be withholding it from the police, you know.
00:33:23That makes you an accessory.
00:33:25For a newspaper man, you are most naive.
00:33:27I said I had a hunch.
00:33:29If you wish to accompany me and see if my hunch is correct, I think you may run across a most unusual story.
00:33:34At least I can promise you a most interesting experience.
00:33:38I don't see how I can pass up a chance like this.
00:33:40Where do we go?
00:33:41When do we start?
00:33:43We start now.
00:33:45Taxi!
00:33:46Taxi!
00:33:46Taxi!
00:33:47Taxi!
00:33:48Taxi!
00:33:49Taxi!
00:33:50Taxi!
00:33:51Taxi!
00:33:52Taxi!
00:33:53Taxi!
00:33:54Taxi!
00:33:55Taxi!
00:33:56Taxi!
00:33:57Taxi!
00:33:58Taxi!
00:33:59Taxi!
00:34:00Taxi!
00:34:01Taxi!
00:34:02Taxi!
00:34:03Taxi!
00:34:04Taxi!
00:34:05Taxi!
00:34:06Taxi!
00:34:07Taxi!
00:34:08Taxi!
00:34:09Taxi!
00:34:10Taxi!
00:34:11Taxi!
00:34:12Taxi!
00:34:13Taxi!
00:34:14I come every night at this time.
00:34:21I like to watch the police lineup.
00:34:23Do you expect to find our mutual friend here?
00:34:25Keep the change.
00:34:27If one attends the police lineup often enough,
00:34:29one is apt to meet almost anyone.
00:34:32Do you know what interests me most, Mr. Keats?
00:34:34No, Mr. Bentley.
00:34:35This is getting to sound a little like an old-time minstrel show.
00:34:37What interests you most?
00:34:39As I watch the men in the lineup,
00:34:40I wonder how many evil ones are turned loose
00:34:43and how many innocent ones are found guilty.
00:34:46That's enough to keep almost anyone awake all night.
00:34:53Albert Leonard, alias Albert Lichter, alias Alfred Link.
00:34:57Age 37.
00:34:58Height 5 feet 8 and 1 quarter.
00:35:00Weight 151 pounds.
00:35:02Previous arrests 12.
00:35:03Convictions 2.
00:35:04Grand theft auto, larceny.
00:35:09William Black.
00:35:10Night after night.
00:35:11Never-ending hunt goes on.
00:35:15Searching for the proverbial needle in the haystack.
00:35:18Sifting each human straw to find the one that looks guilty.
00:35:23What started you on this night prowling, Mr. Bentley?
00:35:26Oh, I have no family.
00:35:28No business affairs that require my attention in the daytime.
00:35:31Have you always had these nocturnal habits or did you acquire them after Harry Wharton was convicted?
00:35:37After.
00:35:39Truth is, I haven't slept since Mr. Wharton was convicted.
00:35:43I spend my nights exploring the jungles of this great city.
00:35:46I find it fascinating.
00:35:49The battle of good versus evil.
00:35:51I could take you places, show you things that would surprise even a man of your white acquaintance.
00:35:57Maybe later.
00:35:58Don't forget our date to meet the killer.
00:36:00At dawn, my dear friend.
00:36:01That's several hours away.
00:36:03Let me make a telephone call first.
00:36:05A telephone call?
00:36:07Yes, I always keep in touch with the paper.
00:36:09They like to know if I'm on the job.
00:36:10Interest, one.
00:36:11I'll only be a minute.
00:36:12Conviction's one.
00:36:27Give me the desk.
00:36:29Who's this?
00:36:31Mac, listen.
00:36:32Yeah, yeah, I heard what you said.
00:36:34Jerome K. Bentley is crazy in the head.
00:36:35He's going to introduce you to the killer at daybreak.
00:36:37Well, I don't know who's the crazy, or him for telling you, or you for believing him.
00:36:42Don't be funny.
00:36:44I've got a hunch that Jerome K. Bentley may be the killer.
00:36:47Well, good luck.
00:36:49Yeah, I thought that'd make you sit up and take notice.
00:36:52This is what I want you to do.
00:36:53Be nice if you can crack this story, but don't stick your neck into anything tighter than a horse collar.
00:37:00You check in every hour so we know you're okay.
00:37:03And look, kid, if anything happens to you, we'll bury you with honors.
00:37:07In Potter's Field.
00:37:09Yeah.
00:37:16I never saw a man who looked with such a wistful eye
00:37:19upon that little tent of blue which prisoners call the sky
00:37:23and at every drifting cloud that went with sails of silver by.
00:37:27Where'd you learn that, Cully?
00:37:29Mr. Bentley.
00:37:30He taught it to me.
00:37:31He likes to have me recite while I'm massaging his neck.
00:37:33It's Oscar Wilde's Ballad of Reading Jail.
00:37:36Go on, Cully.
00:37:37Some kill their love when they are young, and some when they are old.
00:37:43I don't remember that verse, Mr. Bentley.
00:37:45I like the one.
00:37:47He does not die at death of shame, on a day of dark disgrace,
00:37:51nor have a noose about his neck, nor a cloth upon his face,
00:37:56nor drop feet foremost through the floor into an empty space.
00:38:00This is quite a way to round out an evening of revelry.
00:38:03You mean to tell me you come here every night to have your neck massaged?
00:38:05That's right.
00:38:07One hour with Cully fixes me up for another 24 hours.
00:38:10How do I feel now, Mr. Bentley?
00:38:11Your hands work miracles, Cully.
00:38:13These hands can fix anything.
00:38:15It's a gift my mother gave me, rubbing pain away.
00:38:17It's not the usual sort of pain, Mr. Keats.
00:38:19It starts as a small, dull ache in the back of the neck sometime after midnight.
00:38:25In an hour, the pain is so intense, it's unbearable.
00:38:28Then I come to Cully.
00:38:30He rubs the ache away.
00:38:32Haven't you seen a doctor about it?
00:38:34That'll be enough, Cully.
00:38:36Thanks.
00:38:37Why should I see a doctor?
00:38:39There's nothing a doctor can do.
00:38:42I know what causes it.
00:38:44It's what's known to the medical profession as sympathism, or sympathy pains.
00:38:49I've had these attacks ever since the night Harry Wharton was to be hanged.
00:38:53They've blown more and more violent.
00:38:56The steam is on, gentlemen.
00:38:58Thank you, Cully.
00:39:00Can you make it extra hot tonight?
00:39:01Sure.
00:39:23Say, this gets down to par-boiling you in a hurry.
00:39:29Just tell me if you find the heat oppressive, Mr. Keats.
00:39:32When my skin begins to peel off, I'll yell.
00:39:34Uh-huh.
00:39:35Uh-huh.
00:39:36Let's go.
00:40:06Let's go.
00:40:36You know, I was just thinking about that case.
00:40:53Bentley!
00:40:55Bentley!
00:40:57Bentley!
00:41:06Bentley!
00:41:10Bentley!
00:41:12Bentley!
00:41:23Bentley!
00:41:24Got a little hot in there for me, Cully.
00:41:41How about running down to the corner and bringing us back a pot for coffee?
00:41:45Sure, it's daybreak. Time for coffee.
00:41:47Thank you, Cully.
00:41:54I'll just be a minute, Mr. Bentley.
00:42:06Uh, take your time, Cully.
00:42:10Smells like steam miscaping.
00:42:15Don't stop it.
00:42:16I'll cut the steam valve.
00:42:24Here he is.
00:42:38I'd better call an ambulance.
00:42:41He's alive.
00:42:43Steam rises.
00:42:44He was lying on the floor next to the door.
00:42:46He probably got some air that way.
00:42:49He'll be all right.
00:42:50Don't you think a doctor ought to look at him?
00:42:52Of course, Cully.
00:42:53I'll call the emergency hospital.
00:43:00Operator, give me the emergency hospital, please.
00:43:03I wish to report an accident.
00:43:14How is he, Doc?
00:43:15I'll tell him, Doctor.
00:43:16Never mind. If he can talk, he's all right.
00:43:19I rushed right over just as soon as I got the news.
00:43:21Didn't even stop to have breakfast.
00:43:23Now, my little steam clam.
00:43:25What's this all about?
00:43:26What have you been up to?
00:43:27He must really believe I have a story if he missed eating to come over here.
00:43:30Excuse me.
00:43:31Going, Doctor?
00:43:32I'll drop back a little later.
00:43:33Now, I want you to rest, Joe.
00:43:44Don't feel badly about missing out on the story you were telling Mac about.
00:43:47Why, if this accident hadn't happened, you'd have scooped the town.
00:43:50Wait a minute.
00:43:51Maybe you know what you're talking about, but I don't.
00:43:53What happened to me last night was no accident.
00:43:55I was deliberately locked in that steam room by the same man who's trying to kill off the Wharton jury.
00:43:59Sure, Joe.
00:44:00Mac told me about your tip from Bentley.
00:44:02Evidently, Mr. Bentley knew what he was talking about when he said he'd introduce you to the killer.
00:44:07Look, I've been sopping up liquid like a bar towel, but I'm beginning to believe you're wetter than I am.
00:44:11I'm trying to tell you Jerome K. Bentley is the killer.
00:44:14You'll have a little trouble making that charge stick.
00:44:16I've got the guy dead to rights.
00:44:18Oh, no, you haven't.
00:44:19What do you mean, I haven't?
00:44:20Because the real killer has already confessed.
00:44:22What?
00:44:23The murderer walked into police headquarters this morning and gave himself up.
00:44:26The police are questioning him now.
00:44:28And that's not Bentley?
00:44:29No.
00:44:30This guy seems to know all about the killings.
00:44:32Stuff that he couldn't possibly have picked up from the paper.
00:44:36He's the one, all right, Joe.
00:44:39Not Bentley.
00:44:40Look, Willard, you know I play my hunches.
00:44:44I don't know anything about this guy who's confessed, but, well, there's something phony about it.
00:44:49But, Joe, he knows every angle, every detail.
00:44:51He's got to be the killer.
00:44:53No one but the killer could possibly have all the information he has.
00:44:55Don't fall for that confession.
00:44:57I've got to get out of here.
00:44:58You've got to take care of yourself.
00:45:00But you don't understand.
00:45:01As soon as those people on the jury hear the killers confess, they'll come out of hiding.
00:45:04They won't have any more protection.
00:45:06Behave yourself.
00:45:07Do you want to be strapped to your bed?
00:45:08Well, somebody's got to warn them.
00:45:11That's more like it.
00:45:12Now you're my favorite newspaper man again.
00:45:15Yeah.
00:45:17I guess I got a little excited.
00:45:19Will you go to sleep?
00:45:20If I leave you alone for a while?
00:45:23Sure.
00:45:24I'm half asleep already.
00:45:26That's the stuff.
00:45:28A little rest, and you'll be on your feet in no time.
00:45:30I'll see you later.
00:45:31Close the door, please.
00:45:57Sorry, Sergeant.
00:46:01I'm Joe Keats, Record Herald.
00:46:02I want to see Inspector Davis.
00:46:04It's important.
00:46:05I'm sorry.
00:46:05The inspector's busy, Mr. Keats.
00:46:07What's it about?
00:46:08I've got some information on the Wharton case.
00:46:10Important information.
00:46:15Hello, Jimmy.
00:46:16Let me speak to Inspector Davis, please.
00:46:17Inspector, Sergeant Luton.
00:46:22Joe Keats is here.
00:46:23Says he has some information on the Wharton case.
00:46:26All right.
00:46:27Tell him I'll come out.
00:46:29Have him repeat that list of jurors he killed.
00:46:32I'll be back in a minute.
00:46:39Tell us once more, Mr. Pearson,
00:46:41in exactly what order you killed the seven jurors.
00:46:44This guy, Pearson, doesn't talk like any crank.
00:46:48He's giving us chapter and verse on every one of the killings.
00:46:51I know I sound crazy, Inspector.
00:46:53I'm playing another hunch.
00:46:55There's something screwy about this whole setup.
00:46:58I can't ignore the evidence of a man who insists he's the killer
00:47:00and then proves it.
00:47:01The boys are in there now trying to break him down,
00:47:03but his story is solid.
00:47:05Meanwhile, innocent people think they're safe again
00:47:07and start going about their business.
00:47:09I'd like to have a look at this self-confessed killer.
00:47:11Come on in.
00:47:12The last time you spoke of Mr. Sloan,
00:47:18you called him Joseph.
00:47:19His real name happens to be Jason.
00:47:22What difference does that make,
00:47:24Joseph or Jason?
00:47:25He's just as dead, whichever name he had.
00:47:27I tell you again.
00:47:29I killed them.
00:47:31All seven of them.
00:47:33And I was going to kill the rest.
00:47:37Let me ask him a question, Inspector.
00:47:41You've named the seven you killed, Mr. Pearson,
00:47:43and the order in which you killed them.
00:47:45Now tell me the names of the other five jurors
00:47:47and the order in which you intended to kill them.
00:47:48The other five?
00:47:53That's quite irrelevant.
00:47:54I intended to kill them.
00:47:56That's the important thing.
00:47:57Who is this?
00:47:58This is Mr. Keats.
00:48:00A lawyer.
00:48:00I want no lawyer.
00:48:01I'll defend myself.
00:48:03He's not a lawyer.
00:48:03He's a newspaper man.
00:48:05Joe Keats.
00:48:05Oh, Joe Keats.
00:48:11I almost feel like I know you, Mr. Keats.
00:48:15I think I've read every word you've written
00:48:18on the Wharton case.
00:48:20It was all very interesting, too.
00:48:22Sometimes your guesses were right.
00:48:25Sometimes wrong.
00:48:26But then I'm the only one who knows
00:48:30all about the killings.
00:48:32Did you read what the other reporters wrote?
00:48:34Oh, yes, every word.
00:48:36But I liked your articles best.
00:48:39They were much more vivid.
00:48:42I see.
00:48:43I know why you're here.
00:48:46You want a feature article, don't you?
00:48:48And you will get it.
00:48:50You will get it just before they hang me.
00:48:54I'll make it exclusive to you, Mr. Keats.
00:48:58I'm more interested in people's innocence
00:49:00than in their guilt.
00:49:01You don't believe I killed them, do you?
00:49:08What more proof do you want?
00:49:17All right.
00:49:18Turn me loose.
00:49:29See what happens to the rest of them.
00:49:33All right, take over.
00:49:35All right, Mr. Pearson.
00:49:36Now let's go over it again.
00:49:38Inspector, that guy's mad as a mad hatter.
00:49:44You see how he stalled when I asked him to name the other five jurors?
00:49:48He's a phony, a crank.
00:49:50Maybe you're right, Joe.
00:49:51I'll admit that he couldn't name the other jurors
00:49:53and he didn't recognize you,
00:49:54but I can't take the risk of letting this man go.
00:49:56If he's a crank, the boys will break him down sooner or later.
00:49:59Meanwhile, the real killer can take his time to choose another victim.
00:50:02Joe would be reasonable.
00:50:03It'd cost me my job if I let that nut in there go.
00:50:05He knows a lot of the details
00:50:06and it's a 50-50 chance he's the man we want.
00:50:09And don't forget the other killer,
00:50:10assuming that there is another killer,
00:50:12is just as crazy as this guy.
00:50:13What does that prove?
00:50:15That proves that I can't let this man go
00:50:16when he claims to be the killer
00:50:17just because he's crazy.
00:50:19Now, can I?
00:50:20No, I suppose not.
00:50:22Do me a favor, though, Inspector.
00:50:23Don't give out the story that you have a confession just yet.
00:50:26If the press gets hold of this,
00:50:27all the other jurors are going to think the danger is over.
00:50:29I'll do what I can,
00:50:30but as a newspaper man,
00:50:31you want to know how hard it is to keep anything
00:50:33from the gentlemen of the press.
00:50:34They have a way of digging up the real facts.
00:50:37I'll be seeing you.
00:50:49I'll be seeing you.
00:51:19Peter Jackson.
00:51:38Juror number eight.
00:51:40I'd like to speak to
00:51:49Mr. Peter Jackson, please.
00:51:51This is Mrs. Jackson.
00:51:53Mr. Jackson isn't here.
00:51:55Who did you say this was?
00:51:56Joe Keats of the Record Herald.
00:51:58I don't want to cause you any alarm, Mrs. Jackson,
00:52:00but there's a possibility
00:52:01the man who's confessed the killings is a crank.
00:52:04The real murderer may still be at large.
00:52:06Is there any place your husband can be reached?
00:52:08All I know, Mr. Keats,
00:52:10is that he went to a house
00:52:11near the village of Buckminster.
00:52:12Oh.
00:52:14Thank you, Mrs. Jackson.
00:52:15Hello, Mrs. Jackson.
00:52:33Thank you, Mrs. Jackson.
00:52:37Mrs. Jackson.
00:52:37Huh.
00:52:38Come on.
00:52:39Come on.
00:52:39Come on.
00:52:40Come on.
00:52:41Come on.
00:52:41Come on.
00:52:42Come on.
00:52:42Oh, my God.
00:53:12Mr. Apple, secretary.
00:53:32Joe Keats, where are you?
00:53:34Mr. Apple's been trying to find you everywhere.
00:53:36Never mind about that. Where's the boss?
00:53:39Well, you got to find him, Marcy, quick.
00:53:40This is something terribly important.
00:53:43Yeah, that's a good girl. Have him call me back here.
00:53:46I'm at Buckminster 28. It's the jail.
00:53:49No, I'm not under arrest. I'll explain later.
00:53:52You newspaper fellow said quite a story
00:53:54about who gets a murder story on the street first, don't you?
00:53:57Yeah, we do.
00:53:58Thought you wanted to tell him about finding that body.
00:54:00Well, that's my boss's secretary.
00:54:01I want to give this story to my editor direct.
00:54:03Did you find it, boys?
00:54:09No.
00:54:11You didn't find Peter Jackson's body?
00:54:14No.
00:54:15We didn't find Jackson's or any other dead body hanging there.
00:54:18But I saw it hanging from a beam.
00:54:20Well, maybe it climbed down after you left.
00:54:23Locked all the doors and went for a swim down the river.
00:54:27We got a bad taste for practical jokes up here, Mr. Newspaper Man.
00:54:31Look, I didn't just dream up a body hanging there.
00:54:34I came up here because I was afraid something had happened to Peter Jackson.
00:54:38He was one of the Wharton jurors.
00:54:44Hello?
00:54:44Yeah, he's here.
00:54:48Is that for me?
00:54:49What'd you say your name was?
00:54:51Oh, come on.
00:54:52Let me talk to him.
00:54:54I'll do the talking temporarily.
00:54:56Yeah, he came in here a half hour ago.
00:54:59Said he found a body hanging in an old house on the outskirts of town.
00:55:02When we went there to investigate, there wasn't a sign of a dead body.
00:55:07Oh, I see.
00:55:09I see.
00:55:10Sure, sure.
00:55:12I will.
00:55:13Till you get here.
00:55:14Okay.
00:55:17Lock him up, then.
00:55:18Lock me up?
00:55:18Wait a minute.
00:55:19You can't lock me up.
00:55:20What's the charge?
00:55:21Get in there.
00:55:25I demand to talk to my editor.
00:55:27I forgot to tell you.
00:55:29That was your editor I was talking to.
00:55:31Fellow named Apple.
00:55:34That's a funny name.
00:55:35Apple.
00:55:38I bet he's a Peter.
00:55:39This came for you at the shop.
00:55:51I was pretty sure it wasn't business, so I brought it over.
00:55:53That's very thoughtful of you, Tex.
00:55:56Maybe from...
00:55:57It's from Joe.
00:55:58I knew my hunches were hitting on all cylinders.
00:56:01What does our wandering boy have to say for himself?
00:56:03He wants me to meet him in Glenlock and to come alone.
00:56:05Is that all?
00:56:06That's all except that he says it's very important.
00:56:10Glenlock?
00:56:10Well, I've been through there.
00:56:11That's a whistle-stop den to all whistle-stops.
00:56:14Say, what are you doing?
00:56:15I'm going to Glenlock.
00:56:16But it'll be dark by the time you get there.
00:56:18Maybe I'd better go along.
00:56:19I'll be all right.
00:56:19Joe says to come alone.
00:56:20He must have a reason.
00:56:21Just keep your fingers crossed, and don't tell anyone where I've gone.
00:56:25They're crossed, baby, and they'll stay that way till you get back.
00:56:35Hello?
00:56:37Yes, Mr. Apple.
00:56:38Tell her I've found Joe.
00:56:40He's up in a little town called Buckminster.
00:56:42They're holding him at the jail.
00:56:44Hey, say that again.
00:56:45Buckminster?
00:56:47That's not what his telegram says.
00:56:49Glenlock?
00:56:51Oh, there must be some mistake.
00:56:54Say, I don't like the looks of it.
00:56:56You wait there, or I'll be right over.
00:57:07Hello?
00:57:08Speaking.
00:57:10If that's my editor, I demand to talk to him.
00:57:12Keep your shirt on, newspaper man.
00:57:14It ain't your editor.
00:57:15Go ahead.
00:57:18Wait a minute.
00:57:20Where'd you say this was?
00:57:22Hold the phone.
00:57:23What's happened?
00:57:26A plan.
00:57:27Glen Poskin.
00:57:28Come here, quick.
00:57:31What'd you say that fellow's name was?
00:57:33That fellow you said you saw hanging in the Lacey house?
00:57:35Peter Jackson.
00:57:36Why?
00:57:38We'll be right over.
00:57:39What's the excitement?
00:57:40Some kids just found a man's body down by the river.
00:57:43The man's name is Peter Jackson.
00:57:44He had business cards saying he was in the real estate business.
00:57:47Maybe there was somebody hanging in the Lacey house like he said.
00:57:50This is a job for the sheriff.
00:57:52Well, I'm glad you two finally got wise to yourselves.
00:57:54Now, how about letting me out of here?
00:57:56Well, put me through to the sheriff, will you?
00:57:59Make it snappy on that telephone, will you?
00:58:01Maybe I got some important calls to make myself.
00:58:02Hello?
00:58:27Yes, Joe.
00:58:29He's on his way up there now.
00:58:31He left here to pick up tax.
00:58:33They're driving up to get you.
00:58:34Now, give me a rewrite.
00:58:37Rewrite?
00:58:38Joe Keats, take this.
00:58:41Today, another member of the Wharton jury met his death.
00:58:44While Metropolitan Police concentrated upon a crank who professed to be the murderer,
00:58:48the real killer struck again.
00:59:01Here's the latest flash on the Wharton jury case.
00:59:20Police have broadcast a warning to be on the lookout for Jerome K. Bentley,
00:59:24foreman of the jury which convicted Harry Wharton.
00:59:27He's believed still to be in the vicinity of New York.
00:59:29It is believed that Bentley is responsible for...
00:59:31someone meeting you, ma'am?
00:59:42Yes, thank you.
00:59:43Thank you, ma'am.
00:59:44Joe, I was beginning to be frightened.
01:00:13Just because I'm so glad to see you...
01:00:17Joe?
01:00:18Joe, where are you?
01:00:22Harry Wharton!
01:00:23Don't look so startled, Miss Hill.
01:00:25I'm really Harry Wharton.
01:00:26I'm not a ghost.
01:00:28Or did you like me better as Jerome K. Bentley?
01:00:30Then Joe was right.
01:00:31No, Miss Hill, I'm dead.
01:00:33Legally.
01:00:34I hanged myself in the sanitarium, remember?
01:00:36It's Jerome K. Bentley the police are looking for.
01:00:40Have you forgotten?
01:00:42I promised to show you my new house.
01:00:45The drawing room especially will interest you.
01:00:48It has a beam ceiling.
01:00:50You know,
01:00:51you hang things from beams.
01:00:54There's no answer at the Glenlock depot.
01:01:21Those little out-of-the-way places.
01:01:23The station is only open part-time.
01:01:25There won't be anybody there until tomorrow morning.
01:01:31If anything happens to that girl.
01:01:34Long distance.
01:01:35I want to put a call through to Buckminster.
01:01:37I don't know the number,
01:01:38but it's the town jail.
01:01:45Yes?
01:01:45Oh, it's you.
01:01:49Marcy told me about Jackson.
01:01:51Yes.
01:01:51The story will be on the street in a few minutes.
01:01:55I know I'm...
01:01:56Yes, yes.
01:01:58Anything you want to call me.
01:02:00But Joe,
01:02:00what I telephoned you about is Alice.
01:02:02She received a wire to meet you
01:02:04at a little place called Glenlock.
01:02:07Joe didn't send that telegram.
01:02:09Right, we'll be there
01:02:10as fast as a motor escort can bring us.
01:02:12Come on.
01:02:14Now you know
01:02:22why I ordered everything in 12s.
01:02:26Call it what you will.
01:02:28Obsession,
01:02:29insanity,
01:02:30murder complex.
01:02:32Do you believe that by destroying others
01:02:34you can bring ease to your own mind?
01:02:35I must try.
01:02:36I can't go on this living death.
01:02:39I must find myself.
01:02:40Over the bodies of your innocent victim.
01:02:42Innocent.
01:02:42Was it innocent to send me to the death house?
01:02:46Have you any conception
01:02:47what it's like inside those cold walls?
01:02:49Waiting.
01:02:50Eternally waiting.
01:02:52To fall asleep.
01:02:54And wake a night after night
01:02:55with that choking sensation in your throat.
01:02:57You and the others die only once.
01:03:00I died a hundred times.
01:03:01A thousand times.
01:03:03I must find myself.
01:03:06Can you find yourself?
01:03:08Through murder,
01:03:08through cruelty?
01:03:10I remember they said at your trial that...
01:03:12That I was the gentlest of men.
01:03:14I am.
01:03:16But only when the 12 are hanged
01:03:17can I return to the land of the living.
01:03:20To the beautiful things I loved.
01:03:24Stand up, Alice.
01:03:26It's no use screaming.
01:03:43No one will hear you.
01:03:44No one will hear you.
01:04:05That's pretty good shooting.
01:04:18Any one of them three bullets would have killed him.
01:04:28She's all right.
01:04:30They're lucky we're here in time.
01:04:32Where's Bentley?
01:04:33Not Bentley, Willard.
01:04:34If you turn him over, you'll find that's Harry Wharton.
01:04:37Wharton, now, wait a minute.
01:04:38This is another one of your hunches.
01:04:42A careful check of the sanitarium records
01:04:44showed Jerome K. Bentley visited Harry Wharton
01:04:47on the day of the latter's supposed suicide.
01:04:50It was Bentley's body that was found
01:04:52hanging in the hospital room, not Wharton's.
01:04:55What do you know about that?
01:04:56It was a miracle, Wally, absolutely a miracle.
01:04:59Another second, and it wouldn't have been too late.
01:05:04You know, you're the first woman Wally's ever allowed down here.
01:05:08Am I?
01:05:08I'm flattered.
01:05:10Yeah, I used to have to dance down here by myself.
01:05:12You hungry?
01:05:13Couldn't eat a bite.
01:05:17Anyway, three's an awful crowd.
01:05:19Well, Mr. Apple,
01:05:31you think Joe will stay with the record, Harold?
01:05:33No, I don't know.
01:05:33I guess so.
01:05:35Unless he's thinking of going in the antique business.
01:05:37Hey, Joe.
01:05:38Come on, you two.
01:05:40Your dinners are getting cold.
01:05:43Now, where'd they disappear, too?
01:05:45I think he took that other job.
01:05:48Ah.
01:05:50Love's a stuff twill not endure.
01:05:52But food, food goes on forever.
01:05:56Now, give me a little more steak sauce, will you?
01:05:58And some mustard and some horseradish and some pickles.
01:06:01Let's go.
01:06:02Let's go.
01:06:03Let's go.
01:06:04Let's go.
01:06:05Let's go.
01:06:06Let's go.
01:06:07Let's go.
01:06:08Let's go.
01:06:09Let's go.
01:06:10Let's go.
01:06:11Let's go.
01:06:12Let's go.
01:06:13Let's go.
01:06:14Let's go.
01:06:15Let's go.
01:06:16Let's go.
01:06:17Let's go.
01:06:18Let's go.
01:06:19Let's go.
01:06:20Let's go.
01:06:21Let's go.
01:06:22Let's go.
01:06:23Let's go.
01:06:24Let's go.
01:06:25Let's go.
01:06:26Let's go.
01:06:27Let's go.
01:06:28Let's go.
01:06:29Let's go.
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