
Haunting Hour 45-06-23 09 The Hands of Mr. Smith
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Time is precious, and so are our pets. So time with our pets is extra precious. That's why we started Dutch. Dutch provides 24. 7 access to licensed vets with unlimited virtual visits and follow ups for up to five pets. You can message a vet at any time and schedule a video visit the same day. Our vets can even prescribe medication for many ailments and shipping is always free. With Dutch, you'll get more time with your pets and year round peace of mind when it comes to their vet care. The haunting hour. No, no. Stay where you are. Do not break the stillness of this moment. For this is a time of mystery. A time when imagination is free and moves forward silently, swiftly. This is the haunting hour. The hand of Mr. Smith. Midnight. An alleyway. Dark and ominously quiet in the dimly lighted factory district on the outskirts of a big city. In the black shadows, two men wait. Their hats pull down over their eyes, their hands tense in their overcoat pockets. Suddenly, one of the men leans forward into the velvet darkness to peer down the deserted street. Hey, don't see him, Russ. He'll be along. I can hardly wait to get my hands on that doe. Yeah. Hey, look, Russ. My hands, the way they're shaken. Take it easy, Tiny. It's funny. Every time I wait in a stick up a guy, my mitts get shaken like this. You keep them paws under control. Oh, sure, sure. I'm not kidding. Oh, I won't do nothing. I won't touch the guy. Remember that. But why don't he come right back here? But where is he? I can see the factory door, but he ain't come out yet. Get back here, I said. Okay, okay, okay. A car's coming. Cop, huh? Police car. A couple of lousy cops. Shut up. Maybe they'll spot our car. Maybe they'll stop, start looking around. I said shut up. Oh, look, they're going by. They ain't stopping. Stand still. They turned the corner. That's better. Gee, now my hands are shaking worse than ever. I told you to keep them big paws quiet.
B
Damn.
A
Try and do rustic. I can't do more. Now do it. When this cashier comes along, keep your hands in your pocket and you won't be tempted. I remember. I won't touch him, Russ. Here he comes. Are you sure? That's him? He's all alone. He just came out of the factory. He's carrying something. A paper bag. He sat the dough in a paper bag. There's this one trip to the bank. He ain't never gonna finish. Steady now. Okay, Mister, get him up. Who are you? Get him up. The man said take a bag. Tiny. Don't shoot. I won't yell. He won't yell. He says take that bag. Tiny, you SAP. I don't like this guy. Keep your hands down. Tiny, give me that bag. I said I would. How much is in here? $3,000. 3,000? Beckon, you punk. Gout, tiny. But only 3,000. He said, joking. I don't like him. Go ahead, but I don't like him. He looks like that guy in the big house. I give the money and I'm giving you something. Stop, Tiny. Let's go around like a cold. Yeah. This guy won't stand still. Okay, okay, I'll let him go. You killed him. Huh? You killed him, you SAP. He's dead. But he looked just like that guard that slugged me. Get in the car. They gonna leave him here? Get in the car, I said. Where's the door? I gotta get in. Move. Address him laying there. Suppose them cops come back? Shut the door. We're getting out of here. Hey, Russ, where are we going? This ain't the way. The apartment. We're not going to the apartment. Well, why not? I told Claire I'd bring the money home tonight. Keep watching that rear view mirror. There ain't no cops on our trail. But where are we going? We're ditching this car. You're dope. Oh, yeah, sure. We don't need this hot jalopy no more tonight. I thought I told you to keep your hands off that cashier. Aw, now listen, Rudy. He had this stick up in the bag, but you had to go and scrag the guy. I didn't mean to kill him, but there was something about him once I got my mitts on his throat. I know you can't make those big paws behave. I'm sorry, Russ. I had my run on him. All you had to do was take the bag, get in the car while I knocked him cold and we had sm. I said I was sorry, Russ. You're always sorry. But look, look. We got the three grand, didn't we? We're in the clear. Nobody saw us. Nobody heard it. What do you mean, us? I didn't kill him. Hey, what's the matter back there? I think a proud car just turned the corner. Well, is it? No, that ain't no proud car. Just a black sedan like this one. They pulled up the curb. We'll turn off at the next corner. Brain. Plenty deserted around here. Why don't we stop here? Goin a little further along. Where it's darker. Claire's gonna wonder what's happened. I said I'll be at the apartment by half past 12. Well, no. Soon enough. Yeah. Wait till I show her the three grand we got. Wait till she hears about the murder. Oh, I won't tell her tonight. No, she can read it in the morning papers. Hey, you know, we're getting kind of far out of town. When are we gonna stop? Right here. I'll go off the road. Okay. We'll leave her here. Yeah, that's a good spot. Not even a house in sight. Give me your gun, Tiny. My gun? Your gat. Give it to me. But what for? To keep you out of trouble. Aha. That lifts it. Ratchet. Now, we're leaving this car. We're walking to the nearest bus line. If there's a cop on the bus and he looks at you twice, you're gonna start shooting. So hand over your ride. Okay, Here it is. That's better. And now, Tiny, give me the money. Huh? The paper bag with the money. Hand it over. Hey, what is this? Give me the money, Tiny. Oh, sure. Here it is. Come on now, let's get out of this car. Let's go. Yeah. You're staying here. Wait. Hey, wait a minute. Keep those hands clap. Hey, Russ, watch that gun here, pointing it right at me. You said it. I'm washed up with you. And so is Claire. What? Claire? Yeah, Claire, your wife. She's fed up to her teeth. So am I. You and Claire. Oh, so that's why you didn't drive the apartment. That's why you came way out here. You and Claire, crossing me up. You're figuring them bumping me off. That's right. Give me that gun. You bet I will. Oh, Rush, I'll get you for this. I'll get Claire and you if I have to take my way out of my own grave.
B
We've got to beat it, Russ. We gotta pack up and beat it out of here tonight.
A
What? At 2 o' clock in the morning? Man on your life. We're staying here until this whole thing blows over.
B
But that cashier. Maybe the cops have found him already. They're bound to find him sooner. They're bound to find Tiny.
A
Well, now. But Claire, they can't connect it up with you and me.
B
I'm scared, Russ. Suppose Tiny wasn't dead. Suppose he drove the car back here to the apartment somehow.
A
You must believe in ghosts.
B
He said he'd get us, didn't he? He said he'd get us if he had to dig his way out of his own grave.
A
Oh, I shouldn't have told you that.
B
Come on, let's get out of here.
A
Nothing doing, Claire. We're staying right here. Come on, baby, unlock the trunk. The trunk? Sure. We'll hide the dough in your trunk until this whole thing blows over. Come on, honey, unlock it.
B
It is unlocked.
A
This lid is kind of rusty, huh? There we are. I'll shove this three grand under all these clothes.
B
Those are Tiny's clothes.
A
Come on, relax, Claire. Now, let me lock it. What's the matter?
B
You've locked the trunk.
A
Oh, sure.
B
But Tiny has the only key. He always carries it with him.
A
What about it? We'll get another one. I'll have a new one made tomorrow.
B
What was that?
A
Sounded like glass breaking.
B
It was here in the apartment somewhere.
A
Maybe it wasn't.
B
I'm sure it was. Sounded like it came from the bathroom.
A
Well, but find out.
B
Wait a minute.
A
What for?
B
Have your gun ready.
A
My gun?
B
That window in the bathroom. Maybe Tiny climbed up the fire.
A
Oh, when you forget Tiny. He's dead, I tell you. Come on, let's find out what that noise was. There, you see? There's no one in the bathroom.
B
The window's open. I closed it and locked it tonight before you and Tiny left.
A
Oh, now listen, Claire.
B
Look. Look, they're on the windows.
A
What's the matter now?
B
Blood. Blood on the window, sir. And here on the floor. More of it. I tell you, Tiny did come back. He drove that car back here, climbed the fire escape, and he's hiding here in the apartment, waiting to tell us.
A
Quiet, Claire. Quiet.
B
I'm getting out of here. No.
A
No, you're not. You'll go flying down the street at this time of night. Some cop will pick you up as sure as my name's Rogers.
B
But that blood on the cell on the floor, the window open.
A
Wait a second. Oh, this is blood.
B
Of course it's blood.
A
Oh, Clay, you're wrong. Look, look, look. Look. There, under the bathtub.
B
What is it? A bottle.
A
A little bottle of that stuff you paint your nails with.
B
I kept that bottle on the window sill.
A
All right. Okay, so the wind, something blew it off. That's what we heard. This bottle breaking. That's what made those spots in here. Listen.
B
Up in front of the building, find out.
A
Come out of the way.
B
Suppose they follow Tiny here. Suppose he drove the car back here.
A
Will you stop talking about Tiny? Prop lights.
B
What for?
A
Put out the lights, Claire.
B
All right.
A
Peek under this window shade and see where that police car is.
B
Are they out Front?
A
Yes. Yeah, they are. Two cops in the front of the building.
B
What are they doing there?
A
Look, another car.
B
What car?
A
A black sedan parked in front of a building.
B
You said the car you used tonight was a black sedan.
A
All right. There's a million black sedans in this country, Mike.
B
But why are the cops looking at the one out front? Why are they putting their flashlights on the running board? Why are they looking in? Sorry.
A
How do I know?
B
Because Tiny drove it here. Whoever gobble you didn't kill him. He drove that car back here, climbed the fire escape. And he's in the apartment somewhere waiting to get it. Somebody at the door.
A
Sh.
B
What are you gonna do?
A
Open up. Open up. Smith. We want in. What are we gonna do? Put on the lights.
B
You gonna give yourself up?
A
Let me handle this. Put on the lights. Okay. Open up with that. Mr. Smith, we want in. Just a minute. I'm coming. Ah, you folks are heavy sleepers. What's the matter, officer? There's a black sedan parked in front of the building with a lot of blood on the running board.
B
Blood?
A
Yeah, all over the running board and a lot more inside. What's it gonna do with us? We don't own a car. You don't, huh? No. Maybe you know whose car it is then. Take a look out the window. I already did. I thought you just got out of bed. I did. I heard the siren out front, came in the living room and looked out the window. I went back to put on some clothes to get downstairs and find out what it was all about. Who owns that car out front? I don't know. I never saw it in my life before. Where's the janitor? This joint? Janitor?
B
Mr. Monks and his wife live in the basement.
A
There's nobody home.
B
Sometimes the Monks stay overnight with Mrs. Monk's sister. She lives over in Glendale somewhere.
A
Do the Monks own a car?
B
Not that I know of.
A
Who lives in the apartment above this one? Let's see.
B
An old bachelor man named Weaver.
A
Maybe that black sedan belongs to him. We wouldn't know. Okay, folks. Sorry to get you out of bed at this time in the morning. That's all right, Officer. I'll go up and talk to this Weaver guy. Maybe that stuff on the running board ain't blood. Eh? Blood. All right. Good night. Good night, Officer.
B
Denied to me.
A
Russ.
B
That black sedan out front is the one who killed Tiny.
A
Now, listen, Claire.
B
Tiny didn't die. He drove the car back.
A
Oh, yeah? You're nuts. Tiny's dead. That car in front of the building only Looks like the one I used tonight.
B
Then how do you explain the blood on the running board? How do you explain the blood inside?
A
I can't explain it.
B
I can, because it's the car you shot Tiny in. He came back here. He's hiding in the apartment somewhere, waiting to kill us. He. He said he'd dig his way out of his own grave to get it.
A
Oh, what a SAP I was to tell you that.
B
Let's get away, Russ. Let's beat it out of here and.
A
Leave that three grand locked in the trunk.
B
Why did you have to lock that trunk? I told you Tiny had the only key.
A
And I told you I'd have another key made in the morning. I heard it.
B
Somebody's out in the kitchen.
A
Oh, don't be a trap. There's no one in this apartment but you and me.
B
Then what was that noise?
A
I don't know. Prior probably the cat knocked over something on the kitchen table.
B
There it is again. I tell you. Tiny hear me stand.
A
He's dead. Do you hear me? In that car two miles away?
B
Wait. Where are you going?
A
I'm going out in the kitchen.
B
Don't leave me alone.
A
I'm not leaving you alone. You're coming with me. Maybe you believe in ghosts. I don't. Come on.
B
Look. Look in the bedroom.
A
Oh, it can't be. That. That's impossible.
B
I knew it. I knew he'd come back.
A
But it can't be. It can't be Tiny. We're seeing things.
B
Why doesn't he say something? Why doesn't he do something? Why does he just lie there on the bed?
A
I'm going in the bedroom.
B
No, don't go near.
A
I'm going to get the key to that trunk.
B
Don't touch him now. Don't go near.
A
But Tiny has the key. You told me. I got to get it out of his pocket. We'll get. Get the money and beat it.
B
He is breathing. I. I can't look.
A
Nothing. All right, steady now. I'll slip my hand in his pocket. I got it. Got the key. All right. Let go of my wrist. I said I'd come back, right? Let go of my wrist. Drop the key. Clear. Get the gun out of my back pocket. A gun won't help you rush. You ought to know that. Now you're breaking my wrist. Then drop the key on the bed. Okay, Okay. I dropped it. That's my pal. Claire. Don't come near him. Claire, take the key. Claire. Don't come near him, I tell you. Pick up the key. Come around on the other side of the bed and get it.
B
Yes, Tiny.
A
You've always been a good wife, Claire. Take the key. The money we got tonight belongs to you, Tiny.
B
With this money, we can all get away.
A
Sure, we can. Pick up the key. Don't be afraid.
B
All right, I will. Now let go of me.
A
Now we're all together again.
B
Your tendant's breaking my wrist.
A
We're all together again. You and me and. Russ.
B
Russ, why don't you do something?
A
Yeah, Russ, why don't you do something? I can't even move these big hands of mine. They're better than a gun. They can hold you two here maybe forever. Excuse me, Mr. Farquhar, but your new aircraft carrier has arrived. What? Oh, put it over there next to the others, will you? Oh, and Jives, get me a Manhattan. The city or the drink, sir? Good one, jive.
B
Wow, Mr. Farquhar, how did you ever get so rich?
A
Actually, it all started at the University of Guelph. Welcome, class of 72. University of Guelph. I have to do what to this fish? Fairchild A. Farquhar, C. No, Judy. I gotta study tonight. Judy, no. And don't call me farts. Farquhar A. Congratulations. You have been awarded the scholarship in marine biology. I have to do what to this mermaid? So after graduating, I went into animal management. Flipper, Morris, the cat, all my clients. I owe everything to the University of Guelph. You could owe it all to the University of Guelph.
B
Oh, Barky.
A
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B
Go on, monks, where's the buzzer again?
A
Ah, dora, it's only 8 o' clock in the morning. The Schmidts don't get up this early.
B
We'll get him up. I'm gonna find out about this.
A
I'm going back downstairs and finish my breakfast.
B
You are not. You're the janitor of this building and you're supposed to know what's going on with the tenants.
A
Well, that don't mean I gotta wake him up and ask some foolish questions.
B
I want to know if the man we heard about on the radio is our Mr. Smith. It can't be. How do you know? Go on, go on, push the button.
A
We've had enough trouble last night over to your sister's house. Why go looking for more?
B
This ain't looking for trouble. If it was him, we got to know sooner or later, and I want to know now.
A
Sure gonna be mad.
B
I want to know, that's all. Never can tell, Lieutenant. Who'd think that mild old Mr. Weaver was the kind to go out hunting wild animals?
A
Nah, that's different. All right, all right.
B
Stop the buzzer, Monks. You'll buzz long enough to wake the dead.
A
We're crying out loud, Dora. This is a fine way to start the day.
B
I have by the door. The door amongst. Go on, try it. Maybe it's unlocked.
A
Hey, it is unlocked.
B
Well, open it. Go on in.
A
Hey, I got the lights in the living room all turned on.
B
I knew it. I tell you, there's something wrong with them.
A
Sm, for crying out loud. Do you see what I see, Dora?
B
Money. It's money laying all over the floor.
A
They must have been stolen. That money in that trunk. Look, it's open.
B
Yeah, some money inside of it, too.
A
But the Schmidts never had so much.
B
Money as far as we knew. Ah, there was always something fishy about them Smiths. And their friend, too. Mr. Rogers.
A
Yeah. Hey, what are we gonna do? Someone in the bedroom. It don't sound like Mr. Smith.
B
No, that's not Mr. Smith.
A
Hey, come on, let's get out of here.
B
Are you crazy? We're gonna find out what's the matter here. We're going into that bedroom.
A
No, no, no, no. Be careful, Dora. There's no telling who it is.
B
Wait, wait, don't come over.
A
Wait. It's Mr. Rogers.
B
What in the world happened to him?
A
Listen. Listen to what he's saying. That was tiny. He came back.
B
Oh, you must have seen Mr. Wheeler's car outside with all the blood on it. You'd better tell that old dead that he's scared of the other tenants. None of our business if he wants to go off shooting wild animals, but to bring him home dripping blood. It's enough to scare the woods out of anyone.
A
Blood dripping? It was tiny. And now Mr. Rogers. That was deer blood. Mr. Weavers upstairs went hunting yesterday. No. Make them let me go. Make them take the cuffs off. Cuffs? I need that. He clamped me to the bed. You're not Clamped to the bed. Mr. Rogers, your sleeves caught in the rod at the edge of the bed.
B
Monks. Look at his hair. He didn't have white hair when he was here yesterday.
A
What happened, Mr. Rogers? What happened to you? Tiny did it. He put his hands around her throat. Tiny did it.
B
He got it. His head.
A
Dora, it's. It's two on the other side of the bed. Mrs. Smith, she's on the floor.
B
Oh, maybe. Maybe she fainted.
A
No, no, no. There's marks on her neck. Say, Roger, cut the act. Maybe you killed her. Diane. He did it with his hands on her throat. Make him get off the bed. Make him get off the bed. No. Open these cups. Make him get off the bed.
B
There is no one on the bed, Mr. Rogers.
A
Don't lie to me. I can see him. He's right in front of me, lying on the bed.
B
Good. Mr. Rogers. The bed's empty. This bread hasn't even a wrinkle.
A
But I see him. I see him. It's Tiny, I tell you, it couldn't be Mr. Smith.
B
Even if something was there, it couldn't be Mr. Smith.
A
It couldn't? No. He was killed. Police found him with four bullets in him. He was in a black sedan, they said. We heard it on the radio this morning. They found him dead about two miles from here.
B
Yes, they described him on the radio, too. And we KNEW it was Mr. Smith. Died about half past 12 last night.
A
Yeah, they said he had big hands like Mr. Smith.
B
But the funny thing is, he had a key in his hand.
A
A key?
B
Yes, Mr. Rogers, a trunk key. A little trunk key in one of his great big hands.
A
From shadows and stillness, mystery weaves a spell of strangest fascination in the haunting. This is 104 Chum FM's Theater of the Mind. We'll continue tonight's show in just a minute with the mysterious traveler, Diana. Blazing in the life, let it shine in the sun. For a special someone, let the Jury Boutique make it right. The Jury Boutique. Other major jewelry retailers may boast about exceptional quality. Others may boast about excellent selection. But there's one thing that sets the jewelry boutique apart, and that's their low, low prices. Whether you're interested in precious pearls, dazzling diamonds or glittering crystal tableware, you'll find exactly what you're looking for at the jewelry boutique. Why pay more for a comfortable piece of jewelry someplace else? Shop the jewelry boutique at Consumers Distributing, where you pay for the diamond, not for where you.
Episode: Haunting Hour 45-06-23 09 – The Hands of Mr. Smith
Date: October 31, 2025
Host: Harolds Old Time Radio
This episode presents a classic suspenseful radio drama from the Golden Age of Radio, The Haunting Hour: The Hands of Mr. Smith (original air date: June 23, 1945). The story plunges listeners into an atmospheric tale of crime and supernatural vengeance, where a botched robbery and murder set off a chain of eerie events, centered on the enormous and deadly hands of a criminal known as Tiny. Unfolding through tense dialogue and evocative sound, the episode personifies paranoia and guilt, culminating in a chilling twist that merges hard-boiled crime with ghostly justice.
[01:00–08:00]
[08:00–16:00]
[18:28–22:46]
Tiny (on his hands):
“Once I got my mitts on his throat. … I know you can't make those big paws behave.” — 04:30
Russ (betraying Tiny):
“I'm washed up with you. And so is Claire.… you and Claire, crossing me up.” — 07:40
Tiny (threatening revenge):
“I'll get you for this.… if I have to dig my way out of my own grave.” — 07:55
Claire (paranoia):
“Suppose Tiny wasn't dead. Suppose he drove the car back here... you must believe in ghosts.” — 08:20
Tiny (supernatural):
“I said I'd come back, right? … These big hands of mine… [can hold] you two here maybe forever.” — 15:45–16:22
Dora (after the murder):
“He didn't have white hair when he was here yesterday. ... What happened to you?” — 21:25
Dora (on the key):
“The funny thing is, he had a key in his hand... a little trunk key in one of his great big hands.” — 22:45
The episode expertly builds tension, transitioning from gritty crime drama to gothic horror. The dialogue is crackling and direct, evoking the noir style of its era. The supernatural element is left ambiguous enough to haunt the listeners long after the final line, blending psychological terror and possible ghostly vengeance in equal measure.
The Hands of Mr. Smith is a vintage radio thriller that demonstrates the power of audio storytelling in conjuring both suspense and fear. It weaves together classic crime and supernatural elements, leaving the audience questioning the boundaries between guilt, paranoia, and the unexplainable.