Fear in the Night (1947) is a suspenseful film noir directed by Maxwell Shane, based on the short story Nightmare by Cornell Woolrich. The film stars DeForest Kelley in his first major screen role, alongside Paul Kelly.
The story follows Vince Grayson, a man who dreams he has committed a murder in a mirrored room. When he awakens, he discovers evidence that suggests the dream may have been real. Haunted by paranoia and fear, Vince confides in his brother‑in‑law, a police officer, who helps him unravel the mystery. With its eerie atmosphere, psychological tension, and Woolrich’s signature “doom‑laden” storytelling, Fear in the Night is a classic example of noir’s fascination with fate and guilt.
Film Details
Title: Fear in the Night
Year: 1947
Genre: Film Noir / Psychological Thriller
Director: Maxwell Shane
Based On: Nightmare by Cornell Woolrich
Starring:
DeForest Kelley as Vince Grayson
Paul Kelly as Cliff Herlihy
Ann Doran
Kay Scott
Runtime: Approx. 70 minutes
Studio: Paramount Pictures (distributed by Film Classics)
Country: United States
Format: Black‑and‑white
#FearInTheNight #DeForestKelley #PaulKelly #FilmNoir #HypnosisThriller #CornellWoolrich #1940sCinema #MirrorMurder #NoirClassic #BlackAndWhiteFilm
The story follows Vince Grayson, a man who dreams he has committed a murder in a mirrored room. When he awakens, he discovers evidence that suggests the dream may have been real. Haunted by paranoia and fear, Vince confides in his brother‑in‑law, a police officer, who helps him unravel the mystery. With its eerie atmosphere, psychological tension, and Woolrich’s signature “doom‑laden” storytelling, Fear in the Night is a classic example of noir’s fascination with fate and guilt.
Film Details
Title: Fear in the Night
Year: 1947
Genre: Film Noir / Psychological Thriller
Director: Maxwell Shane
Based On: Nightmare by Cornell Woolrich
Starring:
DeForest Kelley as Vince Grayson
Paul Kelly as Cliff Herlihy
Ann Doran
Kay Scott
Runtime: Approx. 70 minutes
Studio: Paramount Pictures (distributed by Film Classics)
Country: United States
Format: Black‑and‑white
#FearInTheNight #DeForestKelley #PaulKelly #FilmNoir #HypnosisThriller #CornellWoolrich #1940sCinema #MirrorMurder #NoirClassic #BlackAndWhiteFilm
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Short filmTranscript
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00:03:47Oh, my God.
00:04:23A dream.
00:04:56Those two thumbprints on my neck, they weren't there last night when I undressed.
00:05:02But it couldn't be.
00:05:05It was a nightmare.
00:05:07Talk about your realistic dreams.
00:05:10I couldn't have done it to myself.
00:05:13Choked myself without waking up.
00:05:26I must have scratched myself.
00:05:28Let's go.
00:05:29Let's go.
00:05:31Let's go.
00:05:47Let's go.
00:06:00There they were.
00:06:01The buckle and that odd-shaped key.
00:06:04The things out of the drain.
00:06:06I'd never seen them before.
00:06:08I didn't have them when I undressed last night.
00:06:18That button wasn't mine.
00:06:20The key wasn't mine.
00:06:22But if they were there, it must have happened.
00:06:26The dream.
00:06:27The struggle.
00:06:28The murder.
00:06:29Everything.
00:06:30But how?
00:06:32Did something like that happen and I not know it?
00:06:35Was I going insane?
00:06:39A jackhammer started pounding inside my head.
00:06:42I had to see if the outside world was still there.
00:06:51The street below looked the same as it did last night.
00:06:55The same greasy spoon where I eat now and then.
00:06:59The same traffic noises.
00:07:01The same characters houding around.
00:07:06There was nothing the matter out there.
00:07:09It was in here with me.
00:07:11My stomach was riding a roller coaster.
00:07:14I was sick.
00:07:16I couldn't face going to work.
00:07:41Hello.
00:07:45Give me Fitzroy, 5-1-0-3.
00:07:52Fremont National Bank.
00:07:53Bill, you're speaking.
00:07:55Oh, yes, Grayson.
00:08:00What seems to be the trouble?
00:08:04Oh?
00:08:06It could be the flu.
00:08:08Mm-hmm.
00:08:10Yes.
00:08:11All right.
00:08:12All right.
00:08:13Good-bye.
00:08:16Good morning, Joe.
00:08:17Good morning, Mr. Jackson.
00:08:20Oh, isn't that a lovely morning?
00:08:22Lots of things.
00:08:23I'd rather do than work today.
00:08:27Good morning, Mr. Villier.
00:08:29Morning, Betty.
00:08:30Vince Grayson just called.
00:08:31He's not feeling well.
00:08:32Will you take his window today?
00:08:33Oh, is Vince sick?
00:08:34What did he say it was?
00:08:59What did he say it was?
00:09:03Suddenly, the room started spinning.
00:09:1340, 50.
00:09:23Federal 7-6-4-8.
00:09:29Hotel Commodore.
00:09:31Vince Grayson's room, please.
00:09:47He doesn't answer?
00:09:56Funny he shouldn't be there, isn't it?
00:09:58If he was sick, you know what I mean?
00:10:00No, I don't.
00:10:03I'd better check his books just to make safe.
00:10:07Miss, would you like to take this money or should I try another bank?
00:10:13I had to get out of my room.
00:10:15Out into the sunshine.
00:10:17I had to stay out of the shadows.
00:10:19And I knew that tonight, I'd be afraid of the dark.
00:10:24I had to talk to somebody about this crazy thing.
00:10:27Betty?
00:10:29I'd get sympathy from Betty.
00:10:31What I needed was an explanation.
00:10:34Cliff.
00:10:35My brother-in-law.
00:10:37He ought to be able to figure out something.
00:10:39I got to Cliff's place just before dinner.
00:10:42My sister, Lil, told me he was out in the garage.
00:10:48Hello, Cliff.
00:10:50Oh, hiya, Vince.
00:10:51How's the boy?
00:10:53Cliff, I want to talk to you.
00:10:55Be with you as soon as I finish sanding this.
00:10:58Exact reproduction of Martha Washington's bed.
00:11:07What's the matter, kid?
00:11:08Something on your mind?
00:11:10I need your help.
00:11:11You and Betty have a fight or something?
00:11:14Cliff, this is going to sound screwy.
00:11:18Last night I dreamed I killed a man.
00:11:20I don't know who or where it was supposed to be.
00:11:23I stabbed him with a steel ball.
00:11:26During the fight, a button came off in my hand.
00:11:29When I'd kill him, I locked the body in a closet and took the key.
00:11:34And then when I woke up...
00:11:38Well, look.
00:11:42And this morning there was blood on my wrist.
00:11:44I figured maybe I'd scratch myself in my sleep, my ear or my nose or someplace.
00:11:49So I just washed it off.
00:11:51That was before I saw these.
00:11:55You're all in pieces, aren't you?
00:11:57Cliff, you've got to help me.
00:11:59You don't know what I've been going through all day.
00:12:05Where'd you get this?
00:12:06I mean, where'd you first get it before you dreamed about it?
00:12:09Don't you understand what I've been telling you?
00:12:11I didn't have it before I dreamed about it.
00:12:14I never saw it before then.
00:12:16Then when I wake up, it turns out real.
00:12:19Now look, Vince.
00:12:19I've warned you before.
00:12:21You're working too hard.
00:12:22Don't you understand?
00:12:24There's a door somewhere this very minute this key belongs to.
00:12:27There's a man propped up behind a dead.
00:12:29And I don't know where nor who he is or how or why it happened.
00:12:32Only that I must have been there.
00:12:33I must have done it.
00:12:34Well, why would it come to me in my sleep like this?
00:12:37And these things...
00:12:37Now look.
00:12:38You had those things before.
00:12:40You picked them up somewhere.
00:12:42And you misplaced them a long time ago.
00:12:44And last night, you had a Welsh rabbit or one drink too many.
00:12:47So you dreamed up a nightmare.
00:12:49And in it, you remembered these old things and wove them in it.
00:12:52No, no.
00:12:53Now, don't say no.
00:12:55Either you dream a thing or it really happened.
00:12:58Don't worry.
00:12:59If you dreamed that you had a fight with a guy and rammed something in him,
00:13:03you'd wake up.
00:13:04What happened, Cliff?
00:13:05If I tell you it happened...
00:13:07You dreamed it.
00:13:08You had those things before.
00:13:13You've just been stretching your nerves thin, kid.
00:13:15Well, that's your answer.
00:13:17That's all you can tell me, huh?
00:13:19Cliff, Finn.
00:13:21Dinner's ready.
00:13:22If I tell you I didn't have these things before...
00:13:23Throw those things away.
00:13:25And look.
00:13:26Not a word of this to Lil.
00:13:29You understand?
00:13:30She's been worrying about you enough already.
00:13:36You haven't helped me a bit.
00:13:39I mean, when a knuckle's worked.
00:13:41Come on.
00:13:41Naturally not.
00:13:42You expect me to arrest you for murdering a man in your dream.
00:13:46Well, the rest will have to happen in a dream too.
00:13:49Because...
00:13:51I'm off duty when I'm dreaming.
00:13:53Come on, kid.
00:13:55Let's get some dinner.
00:13:56And smile for Lil, will you?
00:14:03You men coming in or not?
00:14:05You want your soup to get cold?
00:14:09I keep cracking the polish off of that one male.
00:14:12Are you lucky?
00:14:13Lil's got a rib roast tonight.
00:14:14You know I'm getting jealous of that butcher.
00:14:16Vince, why did you tell me you've been working hard at the bank all day?
00:14:19Because I did.
00:14:22How are you feeling, Vince?
00:14:24I thought you were sick.
00:14:25I was.
00:14:26I just didn't feel well.
00:14:27I kept calling your room all day.
00:14:29No one was there.
00:14:30Mr. Billio got suspicious.
00:14:32Can't a guy take a day off?
00:14:33I just didn't feel like going to work and I wasn't sick enough to stay in my room.
00:14:36Now, why does everybody have to make such a big thing of it?
00:14:40Vince.
00:14:43The blood.
00:14:45I washed it off.
00:15:08I don't know how long I was blacked out.
00:15:10Now, I hazily remembered coming to for a moment and falling asleep again.
00:15:16It was sometime past midnight when something awakened me.
00:15:32Can't fight.
00:15:34Fight out.
00:15:36You certainly did.
00:15:38The truth?
00:15:39Uh-huh.
00:15:40Not what you think.
00:15:41Not that dream business.
00:15:43The real truth.
00:15:44But you've been wearing yourself out.
00:15:46Why are you passed out like any neurotic?
00:15:49Take the key to the button.
00:15:50You must have often had less than that to start out on.
00:15:53Find out where they came from and find out what they were doing on me.
00:15:58Find out where that mirrored room is.
00:16:00Forget them once and for all.
00:16:01Forget them.
00:16:02I can't.
00:16:02They're my only clue to what happened.
00:16:04Nothing happened.
00:16:05You're just selling yourself a phony bill of goods.
00:16:07Just as phony as that idea that the nail polish was blood.
00:16:11That's the kind of trick your mind's been playing on you.
00:16:14Oh, it can't be bad.
00:16:15And don't crack to Lil about this nonsense or I'll...
00:16:19Well, just don't crack.
00:16:21She's fretted about you for years, ever since your mother died.
00:16:24Right now would be the worst time of all.
00:16:27Now?
00:16:28What do you mean?
00:16:31Well, I wasn't going to tell you until later.
00:16:35Lil's going to have a kid.
00:16:37Oh, that's fine.
00:16:39That's great, Cliff.
00:16:40Okay.
00:16:41So now you know.
00:16:42So forget it.
00:16:43And if you hop on that...
00:16:46...spooky business that will help me, I'll...
00:16:48I'll drag you off to our doctor.
00:16:51Now go on, kid.
00:16:53Try and get some sleep.
00:17:05Sleep?
00:17:06I felt I'd never sleep again until I knew the answer.
00:17:11I had to find the house where the nightmare took place.
00:17:15I had to know.
00:17:35I have a lovely house with a mirror-lined powder room on the second floor.
00:17:41Autagonal?
00:17:42No, it's only four squares.
00:17:45However, Mr. Grayson, if you'll come and look at it, I'm certain...
00:17:48No, thanks.
00:17:49I'm sorry.
00:17:49That's not what I'm looking for.
00:17:53Six days went by without a lead.
00:17:56I scoured the papers.
00:17:58Not one line about the murder.
00:18:00And all week I'd been avoiding Betty.
00:18:02I just couldn't face her with this thing gnawing in my brain.
00:18:13Who is it?
00:18:14Cliff.
00:18:18Hello, Cliff.
00:18:18Hiya, boy.
00:18:19Will you see what I've got downstairs?
00:18:21Come on.
00:18:22Put it on.
00:18:24Let's go.
00:18:24I don't want to go anywhere.
00:18:26I want you to see my new second-hand car that I just got in exchange for my old second
00:18:30-hand car.
00:18:30Please, Cliff.
00:18:31I don't want to go anywhere.
00:18:32What are you trying to be, a groundhog?
00:18:34Lil and I are taking a ride in the country.
00:18:36A little picnic.
00:18:37Listen, I'm all right.
00:18:37I don't need any fresh-air jaunts to shake the devils out of me, if that's what you're doing.
00:18:42Now, look.
00:18:42Do you want Lil to worry any more than she is, after what I told you about her?
00:18:48Come on.
00:18:59Now, look, Cliff.
00:18:59If you think this is going to do any good...
00:19:01Don't be a drip.
00:19:02Come on.
00:19:06Hello, Betty.
00:19:07Hello, Vince.
00:19:08How are you, Lil?
00:19:09I'm fine.
00:19:10Vince, I want you to know this wasn't my idea.
00:19:12What do you mean?
00:19:13I'm glad you picked me up.
00:19:14Well, where should we go, kids?
00:19:16Anywhere.
00:19:17I don't care.
00:19:17How about Solanda Canyon?
00:19:19All right.
00:19:28Solanda Canyon.
00:19:29It just popped into my head.
00:19:31Why?
00:19:32Betty and I always preferred the beach.
00:19:35But something made me say Solanda.
00:19:38Somehow, it seemed important.
00:19:55Do you know where you're going?
00:19:57Nope.
00:19:58But I got a hunch further down this road, we'll find just the right spot.
00:20:01Do you ever see anything so stubborn?
00:20:03I'm sure that the ants here are just as friendly as the ants farther down.
00:20:07Now, what's wrong with that place over there?
00:20:09Nothing.
00:20:09But, uh...
00:20:10Well, stop then.
00:20:11It's getting late.
00:20:12And besides, I'm hungry.
00:20:13Okay.
00:20:14Okay, okay, my love.
00:20:15That's just what I was going to do.
00:20:29Oh, this is the life.
00:20:31Toss me another one of those marshmallows, will you, beloved?
00:20:34But, uh, they wish, master.
00:20:37Plop.
00:20:40Mommy, you're wonderful.
00:20:42Uh-huh.
00:20:43Just as long as the marshmallows last.
00:20:52Vince, are you coming back to work tomorrow?
00:20:55I don't think so.
00:20:59Mr. Billio asked me to go out with him yesterday.
00:21:02Well, why didn't you go?
00:21:02Why tell me?
00:21:04Vince.
00:21:06What is it?
00:21:07What's the matter?
00:21:09What's the matter?
00:21:11What's the matter?
00:21:21Just forget about me, will you?
00:21:23What is it?
00:21:25Did I do something?
00:21:26No, it's not your fault.
00:21:28It's just that...
00:21:29Look, we're through.
00:21:32There's nothing we can do about it.
00:21:34Don't call me up.
00:21:35Don't pay any attention to me.
00:21:37Get somebody else.
00:21:38Get anybody.
00:21:41Be better for you.
00:21:51Nell, Nell, you're a big girl now.
00:21:53Well, I can't help it.
00:21:55You know what lightning does to me.
00:21:56We'd better go.
00:21:58Hey, kids, it's gonna rain.
00:22:01Oh!
00:22:02Holy smoke, you didn't have to take me seriously.
00:22:05Yes, Benny, come on and go.
00:22:33All right, all right.
00:22:37All right.
00:22:38All right.
00:22:43All right.
00:22:58I can't stand anymore.
00:23:00Stop at the first place you come to and let's get out of this.
00:23:03All right, baby.
00:23:04Now, calm down.
00:23:07No houses around here.
00:23:16That bridge.
00:23:18I've seen it before.
00:23:19But when?
00:23:23There's a cutoff a little ways ahead, just around the turn.
00:23:26There's a big house up there, I think.
00:23:30Do you know this section?
00:23:31Have you been here before?
00:23:34There's a cutoff.
00:23:43Are you going to get us more lost than ever?
00:23:45No, keep going.
00:23:46You'll come to it.
00:23:47Two big posts and then turn the car in between them.
00:23:50I didn't know myself how I knew that.
00:23:53But the closer we came, the heart of my heart pounded.
00:23:56And the more frightened I got.
00:24:06There they are.
00:24:07Turn cliff between those posts like he told you.
00:24:57Let's make a dash for it.
00:25:20There doesn't seem to be anybody home.
00:25:22Well, I wish we could get in.
00:25:43I thought there'd be a key someplace.
00:26:01Dan, are you going to stay out there all day?
00:26:03Come on in.
00:26:08Let's have some light.
00:26:10Not that one.
00:26:14What is this, a rib?
00:26:15How do you know so much about this place?
00:26:17It's a rib.
00:26:18Your brother Vince, the great joker.
00:26:27Hello, anybody home?
00:26:28Don't do that.
00:26:30He's cold, he's shaking.
00:26:32So are you.
00:26:33Let's find a place to dry out before you catch cold.
00:27:03Looks like they've been away a long time.
00:27:06You're being a detective comes in handy.
00:27:08In case anybody shows up, we won't get into trouble for crashing in like this.
00:27:12Yeah, yeah.
00:27:14Let's see what gives with the fireplace.
00:27:21That's a break.
00:27:22It's a gas log.
00:27:32Let's go.
00:27:33Put yourself down.
00:27:34Dry out.
00:27:34Before you catch a chill.
00:27:38I am tired.
00:27:40Come on, Betty.
00:27:41Share the warmth.
00:27:43I'll scout the kitchen.
00:27:45Some hot tea wouldn't hurt you a bit.
00:27:51I feel better already.
00:28:01Vince, why don't you come over here by the fire?
00:28:05Come on.
00:28:06Come on.
00:28:09Come on.
00:28:22Come on.
00:28:23Come on.
00:28:25Good vida.
00:28:25Good night.
00:28:25Have a sick day.
00:28:27And I'll should have a bad day.
00:28:28Come on.
00:28:28Five cooking.
00:28:28Good night.
00:28:31Good night.
00:28:31Good night.
00:28:33You're right hot.
00:28:40THE END
00:29:09THE END
00:29:35THE END
00:29:36THIS IS THE PLACE
00:29:38THIS IS THE PLACE
00:29:39ALL RIGHT
00:29:40YEAH
00:29:46WIPE YOUR BROW
00:29:51THE END
00:29:51HAVE YOU GOT IT?
00:29:58WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING UP THERE?
00:30:00KEEP HER DOWNSTAIRS, KEEP HER DOWNSTAIRS
00:30:03DOWN IN A MINUTE LIL
00:30:05WATCH THE TEA IN THE KITCHEN
00:30:06I'VE GOT SOME WATER BOILING
00:30:07ALL RIGHT
00:30:08BUT I WISH YOU'D STOP POKING AROUND
00:30:10I'VE GOT IT
00:30:28THAT'S WHAT HE WAS CROSSED IN FRONT OF
00:30:30THAT NIGHT
00:30:31HE MUST HAVE BEEN USING A BLOW TORCH
00:30:35THAT'S WHAT MADE THAT BLUISH LIGHT
00:30:38MADE HER FACE STAND OUT IN THE REFLECTIONS LIKE A MASK
00:30:45THAT
00:30:47THAT MUST BE THE ONE I PROPED HIM UP IN AFTER I
00:30:56THE END
00:30:57NO
00:30:57NO
00:30:57NO
00:30:57NO
00:30:57NO
00:30:57NO
00:30:57NO
00:30:58NO
00:30:58NO
00:30:58NO
00:30:58NO
00:31:20Somebody who is dead.
00:31:39Ben, Cliff, come on down and have some tea.
00:32:13I'll take these back to the kitchen.
00:32:15I'll take them.
00:32:16The rain ought to let up soon.
00:32:18Meanwhile, catch yourselves a nap.
00:32:33Close it.
00:32:34I don't want them to hear this.
00:32:49Now let's hear about another dream.
00:32:51You think I lied, don't you?
00:32:54You know how to get here from a dream, didn't you?
00:32:56You know where the key was from a dream, didn't you?
00:32:59Oh, that fumbling around didn't fool me.
00:33:02You even knew where the light switch was from a dream.
00:33:04If you weren't Lil's brother, I'd push a lying face out to the back of your head.
00:33:08But I tell you, Cliff, I tried...
00:33:09You had handed me for help.
00:33:10She didn't have guts enough to come clean.
00:33:12To say, Cliff, I went out to such and such a place in the canyon last night and killed a
00:33:15guy.
00:33:16Such and such a guy for such and such a reason.
00:33:18But I tell you...
00:33:18No, you had to cook up a dream.
00:33:20I can respect a guy no matter how rotten a crime he's committed, who'll own up to it?
00:33:24I can understand a guy who'll deny it flatly.
00:33:25But a guy that'll come to someone trading on the fact he's married to his sister abuses common sense
00:33:30and make a fool out of him like you did to me...
00:33:32But I didn't...
00:33:32I got no use for him.
00:33:33He's lower than the lowest rat we ever brought in for knifing somebody in an alley.
00:33:37Look, I found this key in my pocket when I woke up.
00:33:41I found this button playing on my sympathies,
00:33:43getting me to think in terms of doctors and medical observation.
00:33:46Was that it?
00:33:47Was it?
00:33:47No, I...
00:33:48Cliff, I swear to you, I...
00:33:49Some dream, that was it.
00:33:51Well, that dream's over with.
00:33:52The baby's awake now.
00:33:53I'm going to get the facts out of you,
00:33:55and whether they go any further than me or not, that's my business.
00:33:57But at least I'm going to have them.
00:33:58How can I tell you what I don't know?
00:34:00What were you doing here that night?
00:34:01What brought you here?
00:34:02I was never here before.
00:34:03I never saw the place till today when I came here with you and Liv.
00:34:05Who was the guy you killed?
00:34:07What was his name?
00:34:07I'm in agony already without...
00:34:09Are you going to answer me?
00:34:10Are you?
00:34:10I can't.
00:34:11You're asking me things I can't answer.
00:34:13That's the almighty of whoever watches over us at night when we're in conscience.
00:34:16Who was the guy?
00:34:17Why did you kill him?
00:34:18Why?
00:34:20I've handled close-mouthed guys before.
00:34:22You're going to tell me or I'm going to half-kill you with my own hands.
00:34:28Get over there.
00:34:30What is this?
00:34:31I'll ask the questions.
00:34:32What are you two doing in here?
00:34:33You came in out of the rain.
00:34:35That suit you?
00:34:35Not yet.
00:34:38Identify yourselves and be quick about it.
00:34:42Help yourself.
00:34:51Thanks, Earl E.
00:34:54Headquarters Homicide Division, huh?
00:34:56How about doing a little identifying yourself?
00:34:58Well, I'm a deputy attached to the county sheriff's office out this way.
00:35:01Torrance is the name.
00:35:02My brother-in-law, Vince Grayson.
00:35:04How do you deal?
00:35:05I'm detailed to keep an eye on this place.
00:35:06I was home having a little bite to eat.
00:35:08Then I'm away back to the station.
00:35:09Say, how'd you get in here?
00:35:10I thought I had it locked up.
00:35:11The key was under a flower box on the porch.
00:35:13It was?
00:35:14Must have been a spare.
00:35:15I have the original.
00:35:16We didn't know there was a second one.
00:35:17What do you mean, you're detailed to keep an eye on this place?
00:35:20Didn't you know?
00:35:21There was a murder committed here last week.
00:35:23There was?
00:35:25I'd like to hear more about that.
00:35:27Sounds interesting.
00:35:30Oh, no thanks.
00:35:32I cut them out about a month ago.
00:35:34I always carry a pack of these now.
00:35:38No, thanks.
00:35:39This place belonged to a wealthy couple named Belknap.
00:35:43Husband frequently goes on long business trips.
00:35:45He was away when it happened, Mexico.
00:35:47In fact, we haven't been able to notify him yet.
00:35:51His wife was a pretty little thing.
00:35:54Was.
00:35:54Kind of flirty.
00:35:56There's a young duck she used to run around with.
00:35:58His name was Bob Clune.
00:35:59Was.
00:36:01Milkman found Mrs. Belknap about daybreak Monday,
00:36:04near a road that leads over here.
00:36:05Did?
00:36:06Dying.
00:36:07Unconscious.
00:36:07Both legs broken.
00:36:08Skull fractured.
00:36:09Insides all busted up.
00:36:13Kind of gets him, doesn't it?
00:36:15Things like this are new to him, I guess.
00:36:17What had happened?
00:36:18Car did it to her.
00:36:20We found the car.
00:36:21Blood and hair in the tires.
00:36:26Bob Clune's car.
00:36:27Well, then Warner, that's my chief,
00:36:29he came over here to have a look around.
00:36:31He finds a safe busted in the mirrored room upstairs.
00:36:34Take care for sure if you want.
00:36:35Mirrored room, huh?
00:36:38Well, that gave us a case.
00:36:41Clune knew that Belknap had a lot on his safe
00:36:42when he left for Mexico.
00:36:43He came here, started to heist it,
00:36:45and Mrs. Belknap caught him.
00:36:46She ran out, afraid he'd kill her.
00:36:48He got his car, chased her down the road,
00:36:49and ran over.
00:36:50Pretty brutal.
00:36:51All of a sudden, life was swell again.
00:36:53I don't know how to drive, I kept thinking.
00:36:56Cliff knew that, too.
00:37:00Have a smoke, kid.
00:37:02Anyway, that's a case we thought we had
00:37:04until Wednesday morning.
00:37:06Thought you had.
00:37:07We sent out an alarm for Clune.
00:37:08Then Wednesday, Mrs. Belknap came, too.
00:37:10The first thing she asked was,
00:37:12is Bob all right?
00:37:13He didn't kill Bob Clune, did he?
00:37:14He?
00:37:14Yeah.
00:37:15What she told us sent us hot pudding right back here.
00:37:18We'd find Clune's body propped up behind
00:37:19one of those mirrored doors upstairs.
00:37:21He'd been stabbed with an awl.
00:37:22She died that night.
00:37:23Well, it went our case.
00:37:27Did you get anything on the real killer?
00:37:29Practically everything, except the guy himself.
00:37:32All the dope's over at my chief's office.
00:37:34I was just on the way over there.
00:37:36Are you interested?
00:37:36Oh, that's right up my alley.
00:37:39Might be able to even help you find the killer.
00:37:40Glad to have you come along.
00:37:42I'll have to tell the girls.
00:37:43We'll be gone for a while.
00:37:50Shouldn't let it get you, kid.
00:37:51This is just routine with us.
00:37:53I know.
00:37:54It's just that I'm not used to this kind of discussion, I guess.
00:37:57Yeah, I can understand that.
00:37:59I was a little bit squeaky myself when I first started on the job.
00:38:03They're both asleep.
00:38:04I left a note.
00:38:06Come on, Vincent.
00:38:11I'll stay here.
00:38:11Come on, Vincent.
00:38:24Funny I didn't see anything in the L.A. papers about it, Captain Warner.
00:38:28They've been playing ball with us.
00:38:30We had an idea if the killer didn't read about us finding the bodies,
00:38:34he might come back to take a look.
00:38:36Maybe to find out what happened to Mrs. Belknap.
00:38:39Here's a description she gave us before she died.
00:38:44The killer was about 24.
00:38:47Medium build.
00:38:49Light brown, wavy hair.
00:38:51Worn rather long.
00:38:53His eyes were fixed and glassy, as though he was mentally unbalanced.
00:38:59You got any pictures on them?
00:39:00Mrs. Belknap.
00:39:01Clune, I mean.
00:39:02We had some photographs taken in the morgue.
00:39:05Let's have a look.
00:39:08You got any ideas?
00:39:09Nothing in particular.
00:39:10Just thought it might tie in with something at our office.
00:39:15Take a look, Vince.
00:39:16Oh, no.
00:39:17You might even know these people.
00:39:20It was them, all right.
00:39:22The faces and the dreams.
00:39:24That woman and the man are killed.
00:39:27Now I knew there was no escape.
00:39:29I was a murderer.
00:39:31I?
00:39:33I?
00:39:49Out like a light.
00:39:50What do you suppose did it?
00:39:51Those death pictures?
00:39:52Things like this sure get him.
00:39:54I noticed that before.
00:39:55He's not well.
00:39:56He gets these dizzy spells now, man.
00:39:59It's only since I started.
00:40:00Shut up.
00:40:03Yeah, that's better.
00:40:05He'll be all right.
00:40:07As soon as I get him home.
00:40:11Thanks, Warner.
00:40:12I'll be seeing you.
00:40:13Okay.
00:40:40Thanks, Lil.
00:40:41I'm sorry the rain spoiled the picnic.
00:40:43You take care of yourself.
00:40:44I'll call you.
00:40:46I'm going up with Vince for a while.
00:40:48My pet, you happen to be in the low.
00:40:50Well, Smiley's on this beat.
00:40:52If he says anything, just tell him whose car it is.
00:40:54I'm going up with him.
00:41:27I'm going up with him.
00:41:28Lil's waiting downstairs.
00:41:30I'm going to take her home first before I do anything.
00:41:34I love Lil.
00:41:36I think you love Betty, but that's your business.
00:41:39All I know is I love Lil.
00:41:44It's bad enough what this is going to do to her when she finds out.
00:41:48I'm going to see that she gets at least one good night's sleep before she does.
00:41:54What am I going to do, Cliff?
00:41:56I don't have to ask you if you killed him.
00:41:58I passed out coal when you saw that photograph some dip.
00:42:03In the morning, I'm going to take you down and turn in what I know at my own precinct house.
00:42:08And they can pass it on to Warner.
00:42:14And then I'm going to turn in my badge.
00:42:19I'm scared stiff.
00:42:20Killers always are.
00:42:23Afterwards.
00:42:25I'll be back in the morning.
00:42:50Give me que rares.
00:43:05Give me great Strategies.
00:43:08See you next time.
00:43:08I love you.
00:43:17THE END
00:43:41THE END
00:44:10Trying to make up his mind
00:44:33Can't you go any faster?
00:44:34Got her wide open
00:44:43Die
00:44:43Die
00:44:57Let's go!
00:44:58Oh!
00:45:04Oh!
00:45:12Oh!
00:45:16Oh!
00:45:28Oh!
00:45:34Oh!
00:45:36Oh!
00:45:36Oh!
00:45:39Oh!
00:45:43Oh!
00:45:57Oh!
00:45:58Oh!
00:46:02Oh!
00:46:04Oh!
00:46:04Oh!
00:46:04Oh!
00:46:05Oh!
00:46:05Oh!
00:46:05Oh!
00:46:05Oh!
00:46:06Oh!
00:46:06Oh!
00:46:08Cliff, whatever it is that's come between us, promise me you'll help him.
00:46:13You go on now.
00:46:14And take care of Lil.
00:46:18Oh!
00:46:24Oh!
00:46:27Oh!
00:46:33Oh!
00:46:34Oh!
00:46:36Oh!
00:46:38Oh!
00:46:58Cliff, I wake you up?
00:47:00No, I can't sleep.
00:47:02Have a smoke.
00:47:12What about the arrest, Cliff?
00:47:15Cancel for now.
00:47:17When a guy's willing to die like you were, there must be something to his story.
00:47:20I tried to tell you.
00:47:23I don't think you really knew what you were doing that night.
00:47:26I think you're telling the truth to the best of your ability.
00:47:30I'm licked.
00:47:31I'd rather not even talk about it.
00:47:34You might as well have let me jump.
00:47:37I'm dead inside already.
00:47:40Still, I can't figure why you picked that way.
00:47:43Most of them try the bridge or poison or even gas.
00:47:46Thought of that, but this place hasn't any gas.
00:47:48Yeah, good thing, too.
00:47:50More houses didn't have gas, there'd be less.
00:47:52Yeah?
00:47:53It'd be darned inconvenient if an electric light bulb burns out unexpectedly.
00:47:58Happened to a fellow in the next room the other night.
00:48:00Yeah?
00:48:00Yeah, I had to use a candle.
00:48:02Same night I had the dream.
00:48:03Use a candle?
00:48:04How did you know?
00:48:05Were you in there with him?
00:48:06Hmm?
00:48:08No, he rapped, stuck his head in the door.
00:48:11Wanted to know if my light had gone out, too.
00:48:14What'd you have to come in here for?
00:48:16Couldn't it be told by the hall?
00:48:18I don't know.
00:48:18There's a little night light around the bin in the hall.
00:48:21Maybe that's on a different circuit.
00:48:23Still no reason for him to barge in on you.
00:48:32I'd like to hear the rest of this.
00:48:35There isn't any rest of it.
00:48:36I've told you all there is.
00:48:38Never mind.
00:48:39Now, who was he?
00:48:41Did you know him?
00:48:42Now, tell it to me step by step.
00:48:44Like to a six-year-old kid.
00:48:46Okay.
00:48:48Well, the guy's name was Berg.
00:48:51He'd been living in the room about, uh,
00:48:53oh, a week or ten days before that.
00:48:56Used to see him in the elevator.
00:48:58Chatted with him a couple of times in the lobby.
00:49:01All right.
00:49:02Now, tell me what happened the night his light went out.
00:49:05Well, I'd been in bed for some time.
00:49:08Reading the paper like I do every night.
00:49:16Just put the lamp out and got to sleep when I heard this knock on the door.
00:49:24Who is it?
00:49:26Harry Berg from next door.
00:49:37Pardon me.
00:49:38Did I wake you?
00:49:39No, I just turned out the light.
00:49:41Oh, you did.
00:49:43The light in my room just went out.
00:49:45That's why I wanted to see you.
00:49:47I thought maybe the circuit was on.
00:49:50Your light working?
00:49:52Try it.
00:50:00Yes.
00:50:02It must have been the globe that burned out.
00:50:04Sorry I troubled you.
00:50:06Not at all.
00:50:08You're tired, aren't you?
00:50:11I can see you're pretty tired.
00:50:13I'm sorry.
00:50:15Oh, really?
00:50:15It's all right.
00:50:17You're tired.
00:50:18And I woke you up.
00:50:20It's all right.
00:50:28I guess he kind of had a one-track mind.
00:50:31Used to mumbling to himself, maybe.
00:50:33Anyway, he finally closed the door and went away, and I dropped off to sleep.
00:50:38Now, wait a minute.
00:50:39Are you sure the door closed after him?
00:50:42Did you see it closed?
00:50:43Did you hear it closed?
00:50:48Did it go like this?
00:50:50Did it make a click?
00:50:52Or did it go like this?
00:50:54Without a click?
00:50:57I can see you're having trouble giving me a definite answer.
00:51:00You don't remember it either way.
00:51:02Oh, what difference does it make?
00:51:04Door must have closed.
00:51:05He went away, and I went to sleep.
00:51:07He was standing there with a candle in his hand.
00:51:10And he kept saying, you're tired.
00:51:13So what?
00:51:14Eyes fixed and glassy, as though he were mentally unbalanced.
00:51:18Unbalanced.
00:51:20What?
00:51:22I was just remembering something in the deathbed statement Mrs. Belknap gave to Warner.
00:51:28You, uh...
00:51:29You say you've chatted with this fellow once in a while.
00:51:32What about him?
00:51:33Oh, sports, politics.
00:51:37Going down the elevator one time, he had a box of methylated cough drops in his pocket.
00:51:42Go ahead, have one.
00:51:44No thanks, I don't like them.
00:51:47Oh, go on.
00:51:48They're good for you.
00:51:49No thanks, really.
00:51:52You should have one.
00:51:54Your voice sounds kind of hoarse.
00:52:01I took one because I kind of felt sorry for it.
00:52:05I really hate those cough drops.
00:52:08Testing willpower.
00:52:11You seem to make something out of this silly thing.
00:52:14What is it?
00:52:16I'm just guessing.
00:52:17That's all.
00:52:21You get some sleep, kid.
00:52:23Where are you going?
00:52:25Hey, I thought you were going to stay here tonight.
00:52:32You're going to have to take one of your hats.
00:52:35I'm going out to the Belknap home.
00:52:37And the Warner's headquarters while I'm out there.
00:52:40Now?
00:52:41All the way out there?
00:52:42This hour of the morning?
00:52:44I don't know what I've got yet.
00:52:45And if anything.
00:52:47And Vince, don't try any more shortcuts.
00:53:02That clock is always a little slow.
00:53:04It's like the horse I had yesterday.
00:53:11Hello, kid.
00:53:12Come on up to your room.
00:53:18A little cold a while ago.
00:53:19She's been worried.
00:53:20Married to a cop for 15 years and still worried.
00:53:23You didn't tell her anything?
00:53:24No.
00:53:25Good.
00:53:38Have you been up there all this time till now?
00:53:40I'll be back to town once in between and get something I needed.
00:53:43Get a leave of absence.
00:53:44What floor?
00:53:46I'll tell you later.
00:53:59Open it.
00:54:06Well?
00:54:09Who is it?
00:54:11Who is it?
00:54:34It's Bert.
00:54:35The man had the room next door.
00:54:37Where'd you get this?
00:54:38I didn't have to ask you who it was.
00:54:40I already know it from the desk clerk.
00:54:43A couple of others I showed it to.
00:54:44I stopped back here earlier this morning.
00:54:48He's also Dorothy Belknap's husband, Louis Belknap.
00:54:53What about me?
00:54:54Does this mean...
00:54:55Was he the one who...
00:54:58There's no out in this for you, Vince.
00:55:00Not yet.
00:55:00I checked your fingerprints with the ones worn from the mirrored door.
00:55:04You found your way into Belknap's home.
00:55:06You punctured Bob Clune's heart with a bore and shoved his body into a closet.
00:55:12And Mrs. Belknap?
00:55:13You didn't kill her.
00:55:14You can't drive.
00:55:16We think Belknap drove you up there.
00:55:18Was waiting for you outside.
00:55:20Mrs. Belknap ran out and her husband, using Clune's car, deliberately ran over her.
00:55:25Why didn't I know what I was doing?
00:55:28We think we know why, Vince.
00:55:31But there's only one way to prove it.
00:55:34Show that it could have happened in the first place by making it happen all over again.
00:55:38You mean go back and commit the crime over again?
00:55:41Not exactly.
00:55:42You've killed a man, Vince.
00:55:44Right now, you're guilty.
00:55:45We've got to prove you didn't know what you were doing and why you didn't know.
00:55:49What do you mean?
00:55:50We haven't got much time.
00:55:51They located Belknap yesterday.
00:55:53He's flying back from Mexico this afternoon.
00:55:55They wired Warner to have his wife reburied in the family plot today.
00:55:58He'll be back in time for the funeral.
00:56:00Get your coat on.
00:56:01Where are we going?
00:56:01There's a place you'd rather not go than all other places right now.
00:56:07But there was room where I...
00:56:09I know, kid.
00:56:10It's not going to be easy.
00:56:12You've got to go back there and stay tonight and wait for Belknap.
00:56:15He may be a dangerous killer,
00:56:17but it's your one chance to save yourself from paying for a murder.
00:56:21Think he can make it?
00:56:33I was scared sick, but I got back into that house before Belknap returned from the funeral.
00:56:39A couple of friends drove back with him.
00:56:41I waited upstairs, looking down into the living room.
00:56:44As they said goodbye.
00:56:46Why don't you come and stay at our place tonight, Lewis?
00:56:49Yes, we'd love to have you.
00:56:51Don't worry yourselves about me.
00:56:53Oh, bye.
00:56:54Good night.
00:56:55Good night.
00:56:57He was coming up.
00:56:59My blood turned to water.
00:57:00I wanted to scream out, to run away from there.
00:57:04But I had to stay.
00:57:06It was my only chance to save myself.
00:57:32I wasn't reallye.
00:57:34fun of the night.
00:57:38Bye.
00:57:42Bye.
00:57:44Bye.
00:57:47Bye.
00:57:49Bye.
00:57:50Bye.
00:57:53Bye.
00:58:11How did you get here?
00:58:12You showed me the way, didn't you?
00:58:14You remembered coming here?
00:58:16You didn't think I would, did you?
00:58:19You couldn't have.
00:58:21Then how did I get here? You explain it.
00:58:24How long have you been in here, like this?
00:58:26Since shortly before dark.
00:58:29I got in while you were at the funeral.
00:58:31Who'd you bring with you?
00:58:33Just this.
00:58:36You remembered the drive-up?
00:58:38You couldn't have.
00:58:40You had the look.
00:58:42The typical look of the hypnotized subject.
00:58:45I faked it.
00:58:46I was holding a thumbtack pressed into each palm the whole way,
00:58:49so I wouldn't go under no matter how good you were at it.
00:58:51Then why did you do everything I directed?
00:58:53When I put the knife in your hand and told you what to do, you took it, and...
00:58:55I thought maybe you'd pay off to keep me quiet.
00:58:58And then if I balked, I figured I'd get a knife in my back.
00:59:01But what happened?
00:59:03What went wrong inside?
00:59:05I let you out of the car, told you what to do.
00:59:07I dropped the knife somewhere in the dark.
00:59:09But I came up anyway.
00:59:12Clun was stealing your dough and about to run out with your wife.
00:59:14Wasn't that it?
00:59:15Yes.
00:59:17Yes.
00:59:18But how?
00:59:19I would have been killed by Clun, only your wife handed me a boar by mistake.
00:59:23And I had to use it to save myself.
00:59:25Oh, that explains how she got out of the house.
00:59:28I had to finish her with his car.
00:59:32I might have known you were under imperfect control.
00:59:34Oh, your control is perfect enough, Bell, now.
00:59:37Don't let that worry you.
00:59:38You still have the knife.
00:59:40But you just said, Dad, you fell for it.
00:59:42I didn't know what I was doing when I came up here to do your dirty job.
00:59:46I'd never found you, but I saw your picture in the paper as a husband of the murdered woman
00:59:49and recognized you as bird.
00:59:50I didn't come here to be paid off for what I did.
00:59:54Even though your will is stronger than mine, you'd know you couldn't make me commit murder.
00:59:58I killed that man in self-defense.
01:00:02But I'll never be able to clear myself into eyes of the law.
01:00:05Ever.
01:00:06I'm going to make you pay for doing that to me.
01:00:09Now.
01:00:11This way.
01:00:12Wait.
01:00:12Don't do that.
01:00:14Alive, maybe I can do something for you.
01:00:17I'll give you money.
01:00:17I'll get you out of the country.
01:00:18No one will know.
01:00:19My conscience will know.
01:00:21I've got an honest man's conscience and a murderer's body.
01:00:24You should have let me alone, Belknap.
01:00:27That was your mistake.
01:00:28Wait.
01:00:28One minute.
01:00:29Give me one minute to make you see.
01:00:31Just 60 seconds.
01:00:33You don't want to kill me.
01:00:35Those two were plotting against me for months.
01:00:38I knew it.
01:00:38That's why I planned the whole thing.
01:00:40I had to do it.
01:00:41Don't you understand?
01:00:42You can understand that.
01:00:44Stop it, Belknap.
01:00:45Just a few seconds, please.
01:00:47You don't want to kill me.
01:00:49Look up.
01:00:50Look up.
01:00:51Please.
01:00:52See?
01:00:53Just 30 seconds.
01:00:55And I'm sure I can make you understand.
01:00:59Just a few seconds.
01:01:01Shall we take him now?
01:01:03We've got to let him finish.
01:01:04We've got to have proof for a jury that he can actually put him under.
01:01:08Just 15 seconds.
01:01:09That's all.
01:01:10That isn't much, is it?
01:01:1215 seconds.
01:01:14Killing me won't calm your conscience.
01:01:17You don't really want to kill me, Grayson.
01:01:21Drop your gun.
01:01:23It's too heavy.
01:01:25Drop the gun, Grayson.
01:01:28Drop it.
01:01:29You're too tired to hold it up.
01:01:32Just drop it.
01:01:33You'll feel so much better.
01:01:36Just let go.
01:01:38Better still.
01:01:40Give the gun to me, Grayson.
01:01:43You're tired.
01:01:46Tired.
01:01:52That horrible curtain closed over me again.
01:01:55I couldn't find it.
01:01:58I knew he was taking me somewhere.
01:02:01I didn't want to go.
01:02:03But my brain was handcuffed.
01:02:08And I was walking through another nightmare.
01:02:10I was walking through another nightmare.
01:02:37I was walking through another nightmare.
01:02:38Stay quiet.
01:02:39We'd better get up there, quick.
01:02:50Hurling!
01:02:50He won!
01:02:51He's got him out in the car, out by the garage.
01:03:11The End
01:03:40The End
01:04:04Right what I say
01:04:06I am wanted for the murder
01:04:10Of those two people
01:04:13At the Belknap house
01:04:17I have no chance
01:04:24I see
01:04:26No other way out
01:04:31Sign it
01:04:32Vincent Grayson
01:04:35No other way out
01:05:25Look down there.
01:05:50All right, get out.
01:06:16Take off your coat.
01:06:33This way you'll find peace.
01:06:41This way you'll find peace.
01:09:29Yeah, all of a sudden, I'm all right.
01:09:50I'll see you inside.
01:09:51Too bad you have to go through the uranus, Grayson, but good luck.
01:09:54Thanks a lot for everything.
01:09:56Come on.
01:09:59Vince, it must have been horrible.
01:10:00It was.
01:10:02If I didn't read the newspapers, I'd never know what my wonderful husband's doing.
01:10:06If you knew, you'd never have let me do it.
01:10:09Vince, we'd better go face the judge.
01:10:11Don't worry.
01:10:12You've got a perfect plea of self-defense.
01:10:14Come on, mother.
01:10:20Scared, darling?
01:10:22I'll be glad when it's over.
01:10:23I'll be right there with you all the time.
01:10:30I'll be right there with you all the time.
01:10:35I'll be right there with you all the time.
01:10:37I'll be right there with you all the time.
01:10:37I'll be right there with you all the time.
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