The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962) s01e08 Episode Script

1
Good evening, and welcome
to the Alfred Hitchcock Hour.
With trailer camps
springing up at every corner
I thought you might be interested in this.
I thought you might be interested in this, the latest in trailers.
This model is a superb gasoline saver,
for it comes complete with this lovely
violin,
a set of earrings,
and two stolen horses.
I see it is time for you
to face the music.
Here it is, after which we shall view tonight's story.
(Music)
Why didn't Daddy come today? He was
going to teach me how to swim under water.
Daddy couldn't, darling.
He had to talk to some parents.
It's vacation time, isn't it?
I know, but Daddy always
has to think of the next term.
These parents might send
their son to another school.
I wish he could see my castle.
It's a beautiful castle,
and it's a beautiful
day. We have the
whole beach to ourselves.
No we don't. There's a man out there.
A man?
Yeah, out there.
Well, he has some nerve. I thought I
had the whole Pacific Ocean Reserve today.
Mom, can I go in the water once more?
Oh, all right, Tony. They'll be
sure to stay in the shallow port.
Okay. Toss me my ball.
Tony! Tony, you're much too far out!
Tony! Tony, come back now!
Mom!
Mom! Mom!
Tony! Tony!
Tony!
Mom!
Tony!
Go back! Go back! I'll get him!
Mom!
Tony!
Tony!
Mom!
Mom! He's all right.
He's all right.
He's all right.
I don't know how to thank you.
Please don't even try.
Oh, Tony, I don't know whether
I should hug you or spank you.
Right now I think you better drive.
I'll be right back.
Oh, Tony, are you cold, dear?
Manny!
How you doing?
What were you trying to do, swim to Hawaii?
I told him to stay near the shore.
I'm very grateful.
I can't swim if you hadn't been there.
Well, I'm only glad I could help.
I'm Sally Mitchell, and this
awful boy is Tony, though I
I don't know if you
should even talk to him.
Hi, Tony. Hi.
Say, you're cold, aren't you?
Yes, I am rather.
Well, it's a natural reaction.
Thank you.
I recommend an old Air Force remedy.
Slip out of that wet
suit into a dry martini.
I think I just assumed
soaking a long, hot bath.
Are we going home? Yes.
Well, let me help you with your things.
Oh, thanks.
There you are, Colonel.
There you go.
Here, Tony.
Would you hand me my shoes, dear, please?
Here, let me take those things.
Oh, thank you.
Thanks.
Didn't you bring your car?
I'm afraid I couldn't. I haven't got one.
Oh, do you have far to go?
I'm staying at the edge, boy.
Please, let me drive you.
No, no, no, no, you need that hot bath.
Besides, I can still get a
couple of hours more sun.
Are you sure? Positive.
Hey, Tony, stay out of
deep water now, here.
Okay.
I don't know what's the matter with me.
I can't just drive out of your
life after what you've done.
You said thanks.
That's all that's necessary.
No, it isn't. My husband will
want to meet you and talk with you.
Perhaps you could have
dinner with us tomorrow night.
All right, thanks. I'd love to.
We'll pick you up at
the Edgewater at seven.
Fine. Oh, wait a minute.
I don't even know your name.
Roscoe. Ray Roscoe.
I guess the trouble is I
began to take that off we
go into the wild blue
yonder stuff too seriously.
It's basically the off we go part.
It made me restless. Thank you.
Anyway, I couldn't
see staying in the Air
Force until I was too
old to do anything else.
So you quit after 12 years of service.
It takes a lot of courage
to make a decision like that.
I can't say that I've ever
regretted one minute of it.
But then I've only been out three weeks.
Well, what are you going
to do now? No thanks.
I'm looking for a
little place of my own.
Somewhere where I can sit
on the front porch and prop
my feet up and watch the
oranges drop out of the trees.
John, Arthur Richardson's
in the orange business.
Yes, they own one of the
largest grows in the county.
They ought to know if
there's any land for sale.
Well, it'll have to be a pretty small
piece from what I've seen around here.
Even on flying pay, you can't save
very much money in the Air Force.
Oh, the liquor and the
cigarettes are cheap enough.
The poker is terribly expensive.
I'll call Phyllis Richardson
first thing in the morning.
See if she has any ideas.
Oh, Kira, this is Mr. Roscoe.
Hello, Kira.
How you do, sir?
Kira's from Norway.
She just came over last year.
Dinner will be ready in five minutes, Mrs.
Mitchell.
Thank you, Kira.
You know, I've been thinking.
If you do find a place you like,
how are you going to finance it?
I'll have to get a loan if I can.
Look, you did something
pretty important for me.
If you need a loan, I'd be glad to help.
I couldn't do that.
Why not?
Well, for one thing,
I'm sure it isn't any
easier saving money
teaching than it is flying.
Sally and I own this school.
We built it up ourselves.
It was a struggle at first, so I
know what it's like getting a start.
But it's quite a thriving place now.
I think we can manage
five thousand dollars.
Five thousand?
Wow! Well, that's.
.. that's most generous of you.
But, no thanks.
I prefer to do it on my own.
Well, how are you going to look
for an orange grove without a car?
Well, I got four fingers and a thumb.
I've also got some pretty
big ideas too, haven't I?
Here I am one step away
from being a beachcomber,
and I'm talking about
blithely sailing around
the country looking for
a beautiful orange grove.
Oh, I can I can hitchhike, all right.
I should be hitchhiking down to the
employment office looking for a job.
You know, the world gets to look
very small looking down from a plane.
Like you could handle it easily.
But it gets pretty big
when they clip your wings.
Pile up the tower!
Pile up the tower! Clear for landing!
Tower to pilot! Tower to pilot!
Clear for landing!
Roger!
Let me try it, Uncle Ray.
Let me! Boy, you
don't really need to fly.
Girls don't care much about
flying airplanes, do they, Cara?
Tell you what, uh, why
don't we play hide and seek?
You may be it, Uncle Rain.
Okay.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Ready or not, here I come!
I guess we should be grateful.
And he keeps Tony amused.
Tony is just crazy about him.
What about you?
Me?
Oh, he's very charming.
It's just that he's been
here three weeks already.
It's our idea, Sally. We invited him.
Has he mentioned anything to
you about orange groves lately?
Not since he looked at the place
that the Richardson suggested.
He said it was too big for him.
Don't you have the feeling
he's looking very hard?
Sally, you know how I feel about Ray.
He did something for
me I can't ever forget.
Sometimes I wake up in a sweat
thinking what could have happened.
Oh, I'm grateful too, John.
Glad you're Uncle Rain!
Now you're it! You're it!
Okay, everybody hide!
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Here I come, ready or not!
Gotcha!
Kira, you don't understand American games.
You lose, I win.
And the winner always collects.
Do you want me to talk to him?
No, I guess it's better coming for me.
Hi!
Something wrong?
I want to talk to you.
Would you like a
beer?
No, thanks.
What about Kira?
It seems you've been making a pass at her.
Kira been complaining?
No, it's Sally.
Oh, come on, John.
Don't tell me your wife's been
spying on me. I didn't know she cared.
Tony saw you in the summer house.
And what did Tony say that he saw?
Mind if I ask him?
I want Tony kept out of this.
Okay.
Kira's very young.
We're responsible for her.
If anything happens Oh, John, we
were just having a little harmless fun.
You know how it is.
Or maybe you don't.
You've got your honor to think
of and the position of the school.
So long as you're here,
I want that girl left alone.
Okay.
Kira isn't the only well-shaped
pebble on the beach.
Class dismissed? Yeah.
Good.
I think I'll take the car out
and check on an orange grove.
Hello.
Anybody hurt?
Well, I'm glad of that anyway.
What is it? It's Ray.
He's had an accident.
Well, the policy's right here at my desk.
All right, I'll bring it out then.
What happened?
Nothing very serious, but the
other driver's kicking up a rile.
He wants to see our insurance policy.
I guess he doesn't take Ray's word for it.
What'd you expect me to do?
Run off the road just so
that you could pass me?
I could have sworn you
had more room on the right.
You hadn't been in such a hurry.
Here he is now.
John?
John, I'm sorry about this.
Are you the owner of this car?
Yes, my name is John Mitchell
and this is my wife, Sally.
Mr. Roscoe is our house guest.
Yeah, so he told me.
I should think you'd be more
careful of who you lent your car to.
He came racing up behind us.
This is Mr. and Mrs.
Sherston from Washington, D.C.
And you can tell by the tire
marks I was well to the right.
It was just an accident, George.
Nothing to get heated about.
Why don't we go inside and have
a drink and talk this over calmly?
I think that's a fine idea myself.
So do I.
You're right. The damage is done.
Oh, good, getting into an uproar.
Did you drive all the way from Washington?
Yes, and we've had a wonderful trip.
George has been saving
up his leave for three years.
So we have four whole
months vacation this summer.
Oh, this is wonderful.
You're our first guest.
You have a bedroom, living room, something.
It's like a real home.
You work for the government, Mr.
Sherston? Internal revenue.
Ouch! Nothing to do with
collecting taxes. I'm a statistician.
You just figure out how much you
need and let the other boys collect it, eh?
One thing about working for Uncle Sam.
Just a few more years
and George gets a pension.
Well, sit down, make
yourselves comfortable.
I'll go fix the drinks.
Let me help you.
Do you plan to stay in California?
If we can find a nice
quiet spot around here.
Even I don't like trailer camps much.
We prefer to be off on our own.
I don't blame him.
We've heard of a place
in the woods few miles
north of here that sounds
ideal for a week or two.
By the way, before I forget, here's
the name of my insurance agent.
Oh, thank you.
Here we are.
Thanks.
Well, what shall we drink to?
No more accidents?
To the nicest people I ever bumped into.
What's the matter?
Oh, I'm sorry, John.
I had a terrible time getting
Tony off at day camp this morning.
He doesn't do anything
anymore without his Uncle Ray.
Where's Kira?
In her room, brooding.
She knows you talked
to Ray about her, or them.
He probably told her.
She practically accused me last night.
Oh, it's so ridiculous.
Of being jealous of her.
I'll get it.
Hello?
No, he is not here.
Oh, hello, George.
What?
What happened?
Well, that's terrible.
Hasn't he any idea how to behave?
All right, George.
Is that George Sherston?
Yes.
About the insurance?
He was somatic.
I hardly talk.
Ray's been pestering his wife.
Oh, no.
He drove out of the
trailer the other night
while George was away
and made a pass at Eve.
Well, I'm not surprised. I saw the
way he looked at her in the trailer.
What's the matter with him?
First he manhandles Keira, now Eve.
The next one may be you.
I think it's time Ray
found another place to live.
Don't worry.
I'm still grateful, but
There's something very
wrong about this guy.
I'm uneasy every minute he's around.
Yes, so am I.
John, please, you will ask him to leave.
As soon as he comes in.
Ray?
Yeah?
Hi.
I've got some mail for you.
Hope you get better news than I did.
I want to talk to you.
Coincidences never cease.
There's something I want to ask you, too.
What I've got to say isn't very pleasant.
I'd like you to leave as soon as you can.
Tonight, if possible.
Have you been talking to our friendly
taxman, George Sherston, by chance?
He isn't feeling very friendly toward you.
He shouldn't leave a pretty
young wife like that alone.
She's bound to get restless.
He says you forced yourself on her.
And you believed him.
But of course you did.
Because that gives you a
reason to get rid of me, doesn't it?
Let's call it the last straw.
You're tired of me.
I'm still grateful to you for what you did.
How grateful, John.
How much is it worth
to you to get rid of me?
Well, if you need a couple of
hundred dollars A couple of hundred?
You once offered me five thousand.
I offered you a loan to help you
finance an orange grove, if you found one.
Oh, I see.
That offer still stand?
On the same conditions.
You're a nice guy, John.
You really are.
I knew you were a nice guy
the first moment I ever saw you.
But five thou isn't going to get it.
I need twenty thousand,
I've got to have it.
Twenty thousand?
I'm in trouble.
My past is catching up with me.
I just had a letter from an old
friend of mine, a retired sea captain.
I once saved his life, too.
I told you, saving
lives is a hobby of mine.
Anyway, he was properly
grateful and invested in
a small business that I
was supposed to start.
Now he wants his money back.
And?
This school of yours is a going concern.
What about the money you saved?
Oh, oh, my air force pay?
Well, I'm saving that for my orange grove.
Got to think of my future, you know.
You practically admit you
swindled this man out of
his money and now you
expect me to lend you some?
You're absolutely right.
Lending money always
does create a bad feeling.
You'd better make it an outright gift.
Why? Why should I?
Well, let's put it this way.
Now, if you had known in advance
that you could save your child from
drowning by paying $20,000, you
would have paid it, wouldn't you?
Well, of course you would.
So I just extended you credit.
I saved the child first and
gave you a chance to pay later.
I think the price is very
reasonable, don't you?
It's payday, John.
You are going on a long
journey to your local stations, but
please do not disembark or
you'll miss the last half of our story.
I don't mind the local stations
identifying themselves, but they
seem bent on identifying a large
number of other people as well.
But take heart. We have only one more
interruption before we return to our play.
Did you find out what you
suspected? We're right.
Where's Tony?
I put him to bed as soon as he came home.
Ray hasn't seen him all day.
Good.
Oh, hello, John. Did you bring the money?
There isn't gonna be any money.
Suit yourself. I can sit it out
here all summer if I have to.
You're leaving tonight, Ray.
Oh, no, John, no, John, no, John, no.
I drove down to Carmel this afternoon
and saw an old friend, General Beckett.
He made some inquiries for me. There
never was any Ray Roscoe in the Air Force.
You mean I don't
exist? Well, then I guess
I'll have to throw your
kid back in the ocean.
Get out.
You're not reading me very good, John.
I like it here. Nice climate.
Lots of pretty women.
Kira, Eve. Your
wife's not bad either.
Oh, please, John, don't be physical.
You're not the type.
If you don't leave right now,
I'm gonna call the police.
And what are you gonna tell the
police, John? That I saved your child from
drowning? That you were properly grateful
and invited me to stay in your home?
And then you threw me out? Oh, come on.
You know, Sally, Kira
thinks you're jealous of her.
I could give a nice little
story to the newspapers.
A scandal at South Mead
School. Headmaster's wife and
foreign girl in triangle with
hero who saved child's life.
Mitchell boy says I still
believe in Uncle Ray.
Tony do that for me, too.
That kid's crazy about me.
Well, he won't be so crazy
about you when he finds
out you lied to him about
being in the Air Force.
The papers will never believe that story.
They might not believe
it, but they'll print it.
And a lot of high-principal
parents will be reading it.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I
think I'll take a little walk outside.
I know you two
have a lot to discuss.
Oh, John, that's 20,000.
That's a two and four zeros.
I just can't believe it. It's monstrous!
Two ordinary people haven't
done anything to be ashamed
of. We must be able to
get rid of a man like that.
We can. We'll go to the police.
Watch out! He's crazy.
He tried to kill me.
Ray! Ray! He's all right.
He's just knocked out.
I'll get some water. No, leave him.
He'll come around soon enough.
I'd feel a lot less trouble if he didn't.
What happened? How did it start?
He came to the trailer again today.
I wasn't there. He tried to attack Eve.
Oh, no. She fought him
off, scratched his face, and
when she told me, I grabbed
her gun and came over.
I'll call the police. No! I came
after him with a gun. I fired at him.
That's assault with a deadly weapon.
George, you said he was strangling.
I'll back up your story.
You don't understand.
This'll be in the papers.
The Civil Service
Commission will read it.
Even if I don't go to jail,
I'll lose my job for sure.
They won't stand for anything
messing your personal life.
But you were trying
to protect your wife.
It'll be Ray's story
against the three of us.
They don't fire a man for
protecting his home and family.
Look, that sounds very
noble, but it won't read like that.
I know what's happened
to other men in the
department who've gotten
mixed up in less than this.
The slightest cloud of
suspicion and I'll be finished.
He's still unconscious.
Better call a doctor.
I'll take him to the hospital.
Where's the nearest?
Centerville.
Have you helped me with
him to the car? I can't sleep.
Neither can I.
Poor George.
I hope he managed
alright at the hospital.
He was so scared.
About his job.
I know.
Hello?
Yes, George.
Are you sure?
Alright, I'll be right over.
Just before George got rid of the hospital,
he noticed that he'd stopped breathing.
What?
Ray's dead.
I killed him.
George! I'm so glad you
came. He won't listen to me.
Where is he?
Over there.
George!
You can't do this.
I know what I'm doing.
We've got to go to the police.
We have to tell them the truth.
They'll never believe us. Never.
You listen to me.
I've had more chance to
think about this than you.
This is the only thing to do.
But it was an accident.
Can you convince the police of that?
You know, the police don't do that. Do
you have any other questions they'll ask?
Why did you kill Ray Roscoe, Mr.
Mitchell? He was strangling you.
Self-defence when it was two
against one and he was unarmed?
I didn't mean to kill him.
Did you call a doctor?
You saw he was badly injured.
We tried to get him to the hospital.
Can you prove that?
My wife.
Did you like Ray Roscoe, Mr.Mitchell?
No.
Then why did you keep him in your house?
Was he blackmailing you?
You wanted to get rid of him, didn't you?
You wanted him dead.
And you killed him.
That's enough.
Look, that's only a sample.
Think of the questions
they're going to ask me.
About Eve.
Why I brought a gun to your place.
Can't you see it's the only thing to do?
Or we'll both be facing a murder charge.
But the last query is,
what happened to him?
No one will know.
Even I'll be away from here in an hour.
We'll keep in touch with you in
case there should be any trouble.
John.
I'm sorry about this.
It isn't your fault.
Brought it on himself.
Even though he is dead.
I still hate his guts.
I'll help.
No.
You better go home.
And you tell Sally what we've decided.
I'll finish here.
Alright.
Can we go to the beach this morning, Mom?
Well, if I don't have
time, Kira can take you.
I wish Uncle Ray was still here.
He's much better at volleyball than Kira.
I told you, Tony.
He had to go away.
You know we only invited
him for a few days anyway.
Your mail, Mr.Mitsu.
Thank you, Kira.
Tony.
Run along and finish your breakfast
with Kira, would you, please?
Why? I always have it in here.
Do as I say.
I'll do you some eggs, the
special where you like them.
There's a letter for Ray.
Get rid of it. Tear it up.
He's out of our lives. He never existed.
Sally, he isn't out of our lives.
Whoever sent this letter
knows he was staying here.
It was sent care of us.
Dear Mr.Roscoe,
I've had no word from
you about the $20,000 you owe me.
It seems I'm unable to
force you to return this,
but let me tell you, I shall
spare no expense to expose you
and have you arrested for fraud.
Unless the money is in
my hands within 24 hours,
I'm putting the whole matter
in the hands of the police.
Captain Charles Faulkner,
Seagate Apartments, Santa Monica.
I'm looking for a man named Faulkner.
His landlord said I might
be able to find him here.
That's him.
Thanks.
Mr. Faulkner.
Captain Faulkner.
My name is Mitchell.
I'm from the Southmead School in Dana.
Oh, yeah. Friend of Roscoe's.
He was just staying with us for a while.
Was staying with you? Where is he now?
Well, he left our place very suddenly.
He didn't tell me where he was going.
I don't believe you.
Your letter just came this
morning, right after Ray left.
Oh, you're in the habit of opening
other people's mail, are you?
There was no forwarding
address on the outside.
I thought it might be important.
You bet it's important.
I'm setting the dogs on that lad, mister.
Took me three months to run him
down at your place and I'll find him again.
Maybe I could help.
I'll go to the police this time.
They'll splatter the name of
Ray Roscoe all over the country.
Couldn't we keep it down a little?
Boy, let the whole world know.
Roscoe swindled me out
of nearly every penny I had.
But he might have some friends.
They could warn him.
Books like that don't have any friends.
Look, how much did he take you for?
Twenty thousand.
That's an awful lot of money.
You're telling me it's a lot.
My whole nest egg, practically.
He was gonna buy a
fishing boat company with it.
I was the first fish he caught.
Well, I'm wiggling off the hook, matey,
I'll give you that money back.
I'd like to give you that money myself.
Why? It ain't your debt.
Roscoe did something for me.
He saved my boy from drowning.
I guess there's some good in everyone.
Well, there's no good in this lad, matey.
Don't let him get off the hook.
I'd like to settle our account.
I don't like being under
obligation to a man like that.
I don't like it.
Twenty thousand dollars.
You're just both even with him.
Don't make sense.
The check's good, I assure you.
You can call the bank.
But this is Saturday.
I can't go to the bank till Monday morning.
That gives Roscoe two more
days to get lost if you're in cahoots.
I can't lay my hands on twenty
thousand dollars cash right this minute.
Well, you got something in mind.
I take the check and you run to the cops.
Accuse me a balcony or something.
No, I think I better go to the cops myself.
Get them to flush out Ray Roscoe.
Be reasonable.
I'm a reputable owner of a boy's school.
Why should I be mixed
up with a man like Roscoe?
I dislike him as much as you do.
Maybe even more.
Well, that's why it don't
make sense for you to
be laying out twenty
thousand dollars for him.
Captain Faulkner, will you please stay?
Easy, guys!
Why don't you take it
out in the alley?
I'm sorry.
I'm a little on edge.
Problems at the school.
Now this I'm sorry.
Mitchell!
I guess I know how you feel.
I'll take the check.
Everything's gonna be all right.
Will be as soon as I get to
the bank Monday morning.
Don't worry about that.
Goodbye, Captain.
No, it's not possible. Not there.
What is it, John?
They're making a survey for a new
freeway right through that old quarry.
You mean where George
Sherston Barrett They'll find it.
When they start digging, they'll find it.
Wouldn't it be almost a relief if they did?
Relief? The police will move in.
Is that any worse than what we've
been going through for three weeks?
I've got to find Sherston.
Get him to move that body.
John, wait a minute, please.
Let's be reasonable.
We keep getting in deeper and deeper.
You thought it'd be all over
when you paid off Mr. Faulkner.
Now there's this. There'll always
be something to keep us on edge.
And if it doesn't happen,
we'll be expecting it to happen.
Ocean View Park.
That's where the Sherstons are now.
I'll drive up there right away.
No, John. John, go to the police yourself.
We've gone too far for that.
What could I tell him now?
The truth!
And what if George panics
and puts all the blame on me?
Remember, I was the one who killed Roscoe.
In self-defense, John.
Oh, darling, you're an intelligent man.
How many times have you
said the full truth can never hurt?
You tell that to your students.
It's different when it happens to hit home.
I'm going to Sherston.
John?
Keith?
John!
Nothing's gone wrong, has it?
They've decided to put a
road through your old campsite.
They're making a survey and
digging up the whole area, George.
Oh, no.
Wait, wait.
Nothing to worry about yet.
If they're just making a survey now,
it'll take weeks before they start digging.
We have to remove that
body right away, tonight!
John! It's Saturday.
People are all over
that place weekends.
I tell you what, we'll
go back Monday night.
No, I can't wait.
I wouldn't have a moment's peace.
Take it easy, John.
George is right. Monday would be safer.
I'm sorry, Eve.
You don't have to come with me.
Wait, wait.
I didn't realize that you were this upset.
I'll tell you what you do.
You go on home and forget all about it.
I'll take care of Roscoe.
No, we're in this together.
I've got the trailer.
I'm going to have to take him
and bury him somewhere else.
That's a risk.
Why should you take it, too?
I let you go through
this alone once before.
This time I share the responsibility.
I said I'd do it.
What I meant was that there's no
need for you to stick your neck out.
I want to.
Let's go there, then.
Let's say, uh, nine o'clock.
Nine o'clock.
Charlie!
Oh, John, I've been so worried.
What did they say?
Sherston practically broke down.
He begged me not to go to the police.
Don't let him influence you, dear.
He's just worrying
about his government job.
That's all.
I think it was something else.
I had a feeling he wasn't
being straight with me.
He was so insistent on going there alone.
There's something he's hiding from us.
John, please listen to me.
Go to the police right now.
I'll go with you.
We're in just an hour. I want to be sure.
Well, let me go with you.
We'll both No, stay there.
John, please.
Is John here?
No, he hasn't arrived yet.
Hello, Sally.
I thought I'd get started.
No sense to standing around.
What time are you supposed
to meet John?
Nine o'clock.
Yeah, we made a better time
on the highway than we expected.
Have you already
It's still only quarter to nine.
If I hadn't come, you
would have finished
and left before John
had a chance to arrive.
Why not?
It wasn't a very pleasant job.
You ought to be glad.
You wanted to do it alone.
John said you wanted to do it alone.
I only wanted to do him a favor.
Favor?
Like the night you buried Ray.
You didn't wait for John that night either.
Why not? What were you afraid of?
You didn't want John to see the body
because you killed Ray, didn't you?
I've had enough of this.
We're clearing out of here right now.
No, you're going to wait for John.
Eve, go start the car.
You, get out of here.
Well, if I do, I'm going to
go straight to the police.
It's true, isn't
it?
You shot him.
What's the matter, Sally?
See a ghost?
No, you see, you made
all this fuss about nothing.
I wasn't even dead.
You were all in this together.
This was just a horrible
trick to blackmail us.
Well, I'd rather like to think
of it as a good melodrama.
A cop, a grisly, but very effective.
Hey, let's get going.
Patience, George, patience.
After all, Mrs. Mitchell is one
of the stars of our little drama.
We wouldn't want to cheat
her of the clever Daniel Moore.
I can't believe you
planned the whole thing.
How did you manage to be right
there when my boy was drowning?
Ah, the one flaw in my
otherwise perfect script.
I simply called out to the boy
and lured him into the deeper water.
I suppose he hadn't gone.
Then I had three alternative
openings for our little playlet.
Fortunately, the first one
worked smooth as glass.
You didn't even save him.
In fact, you might have killed him.
No, no, you don't
understand good dramaturgy.
There would never be a
killing in one of my scripts.
Oh, come, come, Captain.
No need to whisper.
Speak up, speak up.
Well, if you ain't gonna wait
for Mitchell, let's get rolling.
Oh, Captain Faulkner, this is Mrs.
Mitchell.
The captain is a senior member
of our little repertory company.
Confidentially, he's a bit of a ham.
Captain Faulkner.
About your husband.
His sense of timing is atrocious.
Now, if only he'd given
the check to the captain,
say, on Friday, we wouldn't have
had to hang around here this weekend
and play out the final
scene for you and John.
The final scene should
go so long and no longer.
This one's already gone long enough.
You'll never be able to cash that
check when John finds out about this.
Why? Why should John stop the check?
He has no reason to
associate the captain with us.
And how could he possibly tie in
the check with your disappearance?
And if he has an ounce of the actor in him,
he'd be so grief-stricken, he
won't even think of the money.
Now, Captain, Eve, you
better start driving now.
We're on the road.
And now, Sally, we come to
the final scene of our little playlet.
I'm truly sorry it had to end this way.
But then, except for the final curtain,
it's exactly the way I wrote it.
John! John!
Now, Kevins, you're all right.
Yes, I'm all right.
Oh, you did call the police. You did.
I decided to take your advice for once.
I wish you'd taken mine
and stayed away from here.
You see, I couldn't really let you kill me.
I told you, saving lives was my hobby.
Oh, you wouldn't be interested in
buying a slightly used trailer, would you?
I think the lesson of
our story is quite clear.
If a stranger offers to
save your life,
think it over.
You may be letting yourself
in for a great deal of trouble.
This concludes my part of the program.
Next time, I shall
return with another story,
some scenes of which
will be shown after this next,
and last commercial.