Tums Hollywood Theater 52-02-05 Ep021 Boiler Room

Summary

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Tums Hollywood Theater – "Boiler Room" (Feb 5, 1952)

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Host: Harolds Old Time Radio
Episode: Ep021 Boiler Room
Cast: Frank Lovejoy, Michael Ann Barrett, Ann Diamond, George Neese, Paul Frees, Sheldon Leonard, Joan Banks
Airdate: September 8, 2025 (rebroadcast)
Original language & tone: Classic hard-boiled noir

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Episode Overview

This episode of Tums Hollywood Theater presents "Boiler Room," a taut radio noir drama starring Frank Lovejoy. The story dives deep into crime, family, and deception, unraveling a tale of a shady boiler room operation, blackmail, and the tangled loyalties that surround a desperate father, a suspicious business, and a charismatic detective caught in the middle. Listeners are drawn into a world where nothing is as it seems and everyone has something to hide.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Progression

1. Setting the Stage

• The story opens with Matt Harriman (Frank Lovejoy) introducing the two kinds of boiler rooms—literal and criminal—as he hints that he's in for more trouble than he bargained for.
  [00:47]

2. Jason Corbett's Plea

• Jason Corbett, a wealthy businessman, recruits Matt with an unusual job: expose Carl Beck, who runs a shady phone solicitation "boiler room" and who, Corbett suspects, is blackmailing someone close to him. Corbett offers a hefty payment—$5,000, then $10,000—to get proof. Matt is initially reluctant but is goaded into accepting.
  • Notable quote:

    “If it’s murder, you better take somebody else into your confidence.”
    — Matt Harriman to Jason Corbett, [04:00]

3. Undercover at the Boiler Room

• Matt infiltrates Beck’s operation, passing himself off as a seasoned scam artist. He meets Diane Corbett (Jason’s daughter) and Fay (the receptionist, aka Diane Corbett/Fay), who both add intrigue and potential betrayal.
• Matt realizes both the fraud of the boiler room and the complicated relationships between Diane, Beck, and Fay.
  • Notable quote:

    "Over a phone, I sound like the president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. And once I get a nibble, I never lose my fish."
    — Matt Harriman, [07:53]

4. The Blackmail Plot Thickens

• Beck tries Matt out on a new scam—soliciting sponsorships for a fake centennial book, targeting Jason Corbett himself. Beck cunningly observes Matt's attempt, suspecting Matt's real motives.
• Matt tries to uncover evidence, suspecting Beck is indeed a blackmailer, with key evidence (a bundle of incriminating letters) possibly hidden in Beck’s office.

5. Attempted Break-in and a Threat

• Matt breaks into Beck's office, searching for evidence, but is interrupted by a mysterious woman who fires blanks at him. He deduces the shooter is being blackmailed and is desperate.
• Diane warns Matt to leave town within 24 hours or she’ll tell Beck, putting his life in jeopardy.
  • Notable quote:

    "I’m giving you 24 hours to get out of town or I’ll tell Carl Beck, in which case, you’ll be dead."
    — Diane Corbett/Fay, [15:54]

6. The Murder and the Frame-Up

• Beck confronts Matt at gunpoint, accusing him of stealing the blackmail letters. Matt narrowly escapes, only to later learn Beck is dead—murdered, not by the blow Matt delivered, but by a bullet to the heart.
• Matt becomes the police’s prime suspect and goes on the run with Fay's help, who arranges an escape via a private airfield.

7. Revelations and the Final Confrontation

• Matt returns, piecing together the tangled relationships:
  • The letters weren't Diane's; they belonged to Grace, Jason Corbett’s young wife.
  • Grace tried to hide her past, and Diane tried to protect her stepmother by associating with Beck to keep him in check.
  • Fay (the receptionist) once loved Beck, wanted him back, and stole the letters to win his favor. She ultimately killed Beck and tried to frame Matt.
• The truth comes out in a confrontation with Fay. The police arrest her just as Matt reveals her guilt.
  • Notable quote:

    "To account for the last thing you did for me. Help me run away so the police would be sure that I had shot Carl Beck. Whereas, in fact, you had."
    — Matt Harriman, [24:59]

8. Resolution

• With Fay arrested and the truth exposed, Matt contemplates what to tell Jason Corbett, hinting at unfinished business and his own lingering feelings about the job … and Diane.
• In a compassionate final gesture, Matt gives the incriminating letters to Diane, urging her to destroy them and protect her family’s future.
  • Memorable Line:

    "You better take this bundle of letters with you and burn them."
    — Matt Harriman, [26:31]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Risk and Reputation:

  “There are two kinds of boiler rooms and this was the other kind. The kind you find out about from a Kefauver committee. By the time I got wise to what was going on, they turned the heat on me.”
  — Matt Harriman, [00:47]

• On Human Folly and Cynicism:

  “There’s a sucker born every minute. Maybe you don’t believe that, but there are still plenty of guys that do.”
  — Matt Harriman, [02:15]

• On Ultimate Loyalty:

  "Diane was protecting Mrs. Corbett even to the extent of going out with Carl Beck to keep him from being too ruthless."
  — Matt Harriman, [24:47]

• The Noir Sign-off:

  "Funny thing about hunches. Every once in a while they pay off. Only in this case, it was Ms. Corbett’s."
  — Narrator, [25:38]

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Important Timestamps

• [03:20] – Jason Corbett recruits Matt
• [07:23] – Matt's first meeting with Carl Beck
• [10:44] – Beck tests Matt’s loyalty and skill
• [13:58] – Matt breaks into Beck’s office; is shot at
• [15:54] – Diane warns Matt to leave town
• [18:18] – Beck confronts Matt; Beck later found dead
• [24:59] – Matt confronts Fay with the truth
• [26:31] – Matt gives Diane the incriminating letters
• [28:02] – Reflective ending, cast and credits

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Highlights of Old Time Radio Style

• The story features hard-boiled narration, sharp dialogue, and complex relationships—classic radio noir tropes.
• The plot is rich with double-crosses, ambiguous motives, and a deep sense of atmosphere, underscored by sharp sound effects and tight, fast-paced dialogue.
• The cast’s performance and chemistry, including a post-show reflection by Frank Lovejoy about reuniting with old colleagues, adds authenticity and warmth to the broadcast.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

"Boiler Room" spins a suspenseful tale of crime, loyalty, and the murky ethics of family, all delivered in the brisk, sardonic voice of Matt Harriman. The episode is a reminder of the depth and intrigue the Golden Age of Radio could deliver, with a plot that twists and turns until its final, redemptive act.

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Transcript

[Matt Harriman]

Limu Gamu and Doug Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. But now we want you to feel it. Cue the Emu music. Limu. Save yourself money today. Increase your wealth. Customize and save.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

We save.

[Matt Harriman]

That may have been too much feeling. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry Unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and affiliates excludes.

[Jason Corbett]

Massachusetts.

[Narrator / Announcer]

TUM's Hollywood Theater presents Mr. Frank Lovejoy in Boiler Room.

[Matt Harriman]

There are two kinds of boiler rooms and this was the other kind. The kind you find out about from a Kefauver committee. By the time I got wise to what was going on, they turned the heat on me. And by that time, I'd been marked for killing.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Welcome to the Tums Hollywood Theater. Tales of suspense, thrills, adventure brought to you by Tums.

[Matt Harriman]

Take Tums.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Tums for the Tummy.

[Matt Harriman]

Don't let acid indigestion get you down. Get Tums.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Tums for the Tummy. Always keep that handy little roll around.

[Matt Harriman]

Eat what you like. Don't let heartburn strike it.

[Narrator / Announcer]

T U M S Tums like well seasoned foods. Sure, we all do. Well, you may eat them without fear of acid indigestion because Tums quickly soothe and settle acid upset stomach. Ease heartburn away. You feel better fast. Get Tums tonight. Now here's the Tums Hollywood Theater presentation of Boiler Room starring Mr. Frank Lovejoy.

[Matt Harriman]

There's a sucker born every minute. Maybe you don't believe that, but. But there are still plenty of guys that do. Yep. And when you try to prove they're wrong, like I did, anything can happen. Like having your head blown off. All right, so I should have known better. I should have known that something was fishy. Fishy as a killer whale when they let me in right away to see this Jason Corbett. Tycoon. Corbett just wasn't that accessible to guys like me. No, not even with the letter of introduction that I'd been able to wangle. And yet there he sat as though he was listening to the chairman of his board of directors. And hadn't I heard him tell his secretary that we weren't to be interrupted under any circumstances? But like a fool, all I did about it was sit there and wonder what goes here? What goes?

[Jason Corbett]

Harriman.

[Matt Harriman]

Yes, sir.

[Jason Corbett]

Letter here says you once served with the OSS in Germany as a major.

[Matt Harriman]

Yes, but that's ancient.

[Jason Corbett]

Resourcefulness could have come through that.

[Matt Harriman]

Thank you.

[Jason Corbett]

And courage. You'd need plenty of that too.

[Matt Harriman]

Look, Mr. Corbett, I came here to apply for a job in your personnel department.

[Jason Corbett]

Oh, sorry. No openings.

[Matt Harriman]

Oh, well, much as I'd love to stay and chat.

[Jason Corbett]

Sit down.

[Matt Harriman]

I beg your pardon?

[Narrator / Announcer]

Sit down.

[Jason Corbett]

About to make you a proposition.

[Matt Harriman]

What kind of proposition?

[Jason Corbett]

One involving $5,000.

[Matt Harriman]

Hmm. You were saying, Mr. Corbett?

[Jason Corbett]

In confidence. Strictest confidence, you understand?

[Matt Harriman]

If it's murder, you better take somebody else into your confidence.

[Jason Corbett]

Naturally, it's nothing of the sort.

[Matt Harriman]

Go on.

[Jason Corbett]

Well, I. I have a daughter, Diane.

[Matt Harriman]

That photograph at your elbow.

[Jason Corbett]

No, no, that's my wife. My second wife. Of course, I was a widower for 15 years, and then six months ago, this other photograph is my daughter, Diane. So I know what you're thinking. That only an old fool, and yet I've been supremely happy in my marriage. No one has ever been able to breathe a word against my young wife.

[Matt Harriman]

We're digressing.

[Jason Corbett]

Well, not entirely. By which I mean having a wife almost as young as one's daughter does make things awkward.

[Matt Harriman]

With the daughter?

[Jason Corbett]

No, not that she's ever said or done anything openly. Matter of fact, she tried to make things appear quite the reverse. But I can sense how she really feels. And what makes it worse is that my daughter and I had always been so close.

[Matt Harriman]

Mr. Corbin, I still can't figure where I come in.

[Jason Corbett]

It's this way, Herriman. Lately my daughter has been going out with a man named Carl Beck. Runs a boiler room.

[Matt Harriman]

Oh.

[Jason Corbett]

Know what kind of a boiler room?

[Matt Harriman]

I mean, the kind that has no boilers. Just telephones, lots of them. With solicitors phoning sucker lists of people to raise money for all kinds of promotions.

[Jason Corbett]

You know the boiler room operation all right?

[Matt Harriman]

Yes, I do.

[Jason Corbett]

Well, imagine my daughter being interested in the man who runs one.

[Matt Harriman]

Maybe he's more legitimate than most.

[Jason Corbett]

Carl Beck is a blackmailer of the worst sort.

[Matt Harriman]

Can you prove that?

[Jason Corbett]

If I could, would I be offering you $5,000?

[Matt Harriman]

I see. You want me to expose this man as a blackmailer in order to break up your daughter's romance with him.

[Jason Corbett]

It's the only way I can protect her, I'm afraid. If I even try to talk to her about Beck. Well, you see, I didn't exactly consult her when I married Grace.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, why pick on me? Why don't you just hire a private eye? I did.

[Jason Corbett]

Beck spotted him right away.

[Matt Harriman]

Probably spot me too, then.

[Jason Corbett]

No, no, you're a stranger in town for one thing. For another, we'll take a look at your record. I think you're a match for Beck. How about it?

[Matt Harriman]

Well, first what makes you think he's a blackmailer?

[Jason Corbett]

That boiler room could never earn him the kind of money he spends.

[Matt Harriman]

Is that all, Mr. Corbett? I'm walking out with the same $5 I brought him.

[Jason Corbett]

I'll make it 10,000.

[Matt Harriman]

It isn't only the money.

[Jason Corbett]

And if you succeed, I'll make an opening for you in Personnel. If you still want it.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, there's still something else. You see, I just broke up one romance my own. Maybe this fellow make your daughter a better husband than my wife. Considered me Herriman. Yeah.

[Jason Corbett]

You can at least be honest.

[Matt Harriman]

Honest?

[Jason Corbett]

You're turning me down because it's too hazardous, aren't you?

[Matt Harriman]

If you mean I'm yellow, let's say I misjudged you. You're needling me, Mr. Corbett. But just in case Carl Beck isn't a blackmailer, I'll take a thousand in advance. Quebec's solicitation service consisted of a swanky office out front and a long, barren room with a dozen desks and telephones. In Beck, the public, to be sure, only saw the front. And Carl Beck. It was easy enough to get past his blond receptionist. You looked like a client.

[Carl Beck]

Now then, Mr. Harriman, if you'll explain your particular problem.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, my problem, Mr. Beck, is that I need a job.

[Carl Beck]

This is not an employment agency.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, I know what it is, all right. I worked for Fielder out on the coast.

[Carl Beck]

Yeah? Why aren't you still working for him?

[Matt Harriman]

The usual reason. Female gender.

[Carl Beck]

Oh, Fielder passed through town just last week. He didn't say anything about you coming here last week.

[Matt Harriman]

I didn't know it either.

[Carl Beck]

Well, I happen to be full up right now, Harriman. You might try Minneapolis, maybe Kansas City.

[Matt Harriman]

I was high man for field of nine weeks in a row. Beck over a phone, I sound like the president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce. And once I get a nibble, I never lose my fish.

[Carl Beck]

Oh, Diane.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Oh, I'm sorry, Carl. The girl didn't tell me you were busy.

[Carl Beck]

Oh, I'm not. I'll be right with you, Diane. Goodbye, Harriman.

[Matt Harriman]

Maybe we could talk some more later.

[Carl Beck]

I said goodbye. Let's go, Diane.

[Matt Harriman]

I got a good look at the old man's daughter as I followed them into the reception room. She didn't look like the type that would go for a man like Beck. But then neither had my wife looked like the type that would run away with another woman's husband. And what about Beck's little blonde receptionist? What type was she? Maybe I ought to light a cigarette and find out why she was looking at me like that.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

So all you wanted was a job?

[Matt Harriman]

When a man's in my fix, what more can he want?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

There are plenty of places besides boiler rooms for a fellow with your personality.

[Matt Harriman]

Not if he wants to make my kind of money.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Oh. And what do you do with it afterwards?

[Matt Harriman]

Guess.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Well, I just got paid. Maybe you could. Maybe you could show me tonight.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, if you'll consider it a loan, miss.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Just call me Fay.

[Matt Harriman]

I don't know how soon I can pay you back, Fay.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Well, maybe sooner than you think. It just happens that Carl, the boss that is, kind of looks to me for advice. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you went to work for him after all.

[Matt Harriman]

Next afternoon, I was working for the Beck solicitation service and finding out plenty for Mr. Jason Corbett. Work, did I say? You put on a set of headphones and wear out your right index finger. Dialing, dialing, dialing. Mr. Stebbins, I'm calling you on behalf of the friends of the homeless. I'm sure you're well acquainted with this worthy organization and all the good it performs. Now, it happens that we're planning a Sunday outing for our proteges, and we're asking leading citizens like you to help defray the expenses. Now, let me see. We have you down for the nominal sum of $25. Well, then we'll make it 10. 5. Well, thank you, Mr. Stebbins. We'll have someone there to pick up your check within the hour. The friends of the homeless and other such outfits got 40% of the take. The other 60% was split between Beck and the solicitor. It was enough to turn a man's stomach. Otherwise, I thought I was getting by okay until a week later when Beck sent for me.

[Carl Beck]

Sit down, Harriman.

[Matt Harriman]

Nothing wrong, I hope.

[Carl Beck]

So do I. Reason I sent for you, though, was to try you out on a new pitch.

[Matt Harriman]

Oh.

[Carl Beck]

Mm. We're gonna promote a centennial book for the Pontica pioneer society.

[Matt Harriman]

Pontica? What sort of a setup do they have?

[Carl Beck]

Well, how do I know? I never heard of them before. All that concerns you is that we're sucking each sponsor a C note.

[Matt Harriman]

Wow. And for this, they get what?

[Carl Beck]

Their name in the back of the book with all the other names?

[Matt Harriman]

At a hundred bucks a crack.

[Carl Beck]

Yeah. Really ought to clean up on this. Now, here's a list for you to start on. Let's see who we got on top there. Oh, yes. Jason Corbett.

[Matt Harriman]

Jason Corbett. He runs the big Corbett corporation, doesn't he?

[Carl Beck]

Yeah. Yeah, I thought you might have heard of Him.

[Matt Harriman]

I'll go right in and call him.

[Carl Beck]

Yeah.

[Matt Harriman]

Wait.

[Carl Beck]

Use my phone.

[Matt Harriman]

Ah, but Mr. Beck.

[Carl Beck]

I'll be listening on the extension so I can analyze just what happened. Do you understand? This is a test.

[Matt Harriman]

Yeah, I get it. This his office number?

[Carl Beck]

No, he should be home now.

[Matt Harriman]

He.

[Carl Beck]

Hold it.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Hello?

[Matt Harriman]

Oh, will you please tell Mr. Corbett the Pontica Pioneer Society is calling?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Oh, he isn't in just now, but this is Mrs. Corbett. Perhaps I can help you.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, thank you. No, Mrs. Corbett, I'm afraid it's about a donation. Well, it happens to be about our centennial book. We're asking the leading citizens of the community.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

How much?

[Matt Harriman]

Well, it's a hundred dollars. Of course. The name.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

I'll send you my personal check. I suppose I make it out to the Beck Solicitation Service?

[Matt Harriman]

Why, yes.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Very well then. Goodbye.

[Matt Harriman]

Satisfied, Mr. Beck? No.

[Carl Beck]

You see, Herman, for the purposes of the test, I wanted to hear you talk to Jason Corbett in person.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, that showed me where I stood. Yes, Beck knew that Jason Corbett was trying to get him and he had me tagged as the man with the mission. Which meant I was going to have to get something definite on Beck, and fast. Conveniently, Beck had a date with Diane that night. So after my own date with Fay, I dropped into the office with a strip of celluloid that had once opened a lot of Nazi doors. I had noticed that Beck kept his glass bookcases locked and he didn't impress me as the sort who valued literature, especially poetry. I was curious about a boxed edition of the complete works of Tennyson. Could it have been hollowed out to contain something besides poetry? Stop. Stop. I'm Mr. Corbett. This is Matt Harriman. Well, is it all right to talk?

[Jason Corbett]

Go on, go on.

[Matt Harriman]

I just came from Beck's place. I had a hunch about where he was keeping something hidden.

[Jason Corbett]

What do you mean, something?

[Matt Harriman]

Well, letters, let's say that's the stock in trade of most blackmailers.

[Jason Corbett]

Herriman, you talk as though you didn't get them.

[Matt Harriman]

Somebody shot at me, that's why. You mean Beck? No, no, this was a woman. Besides, Carl Beck wouldn't have used blanks.

[Jason Corbett]

How do you know they were blanks?

[Matt Harriman]

Because the shots came through a closed window and there was no shattered glass.

[Jason Corbett]

This woman, Herriman, ever see her before?

[Matt Harriman]

No, and I wasn't able to follow her. She left the motor running in her car and got away too fast. By that time, of course, people were running from all directions, so I didn't dare go back inside.

[Jason Corbett]

That's too bad, Herriman but tonight's little adventure proves that I was right. Yes, this woman who shot at you is the person he's blackmailing. She had to stop you from finding out whatever it is that Carl Beck knows about her.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, she sure succeeded.

[Jason Corbett]

Only for the time being. You almost pulled it off, Herriman. I have every confidence. I hear my wife moving about.

[Narrator / Announcer]

I better hang up.

[Matt Harriman]

Yeah, but, Mr. Corbett, about Carl Beck.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

You'd better hang up now, too, Mr. Harriman.

[Matt Harriman]

Oh, well, I'm glad to meet you, Diane.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

About Carl Beck. I just left him at his office. He's very much disturbed. Imagine if he were to know positively that you are my father's spy.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Diane Progressive knows we all crave validation.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Girl, you are not 37.

[Narrator / Announcer]

I would have guessed 27.

[Matt Harriman]

You guys are too sweet.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Sure.

[Matt Harriman]

Dewy skin. Terrific.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Um, is something wrong, Ned?

[Matt Harriman]

Why would you ask? Just because Today marks my 10th anniversary without a car accident or even a speeding ticket.

[Narrator / Announcer]

But somehow tonight's all about your skincare.

[Jason Corbett]

Wow.

[Narrator / Announcer]

With snapshot from Progressive, you can get a personalized rate based on how you drive.

[Jason Corbett]

And that's all the validation you need.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliate snapshot not available in California.

[Matt Harriman]

From all agents.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Search possible for unseat driving.

[Matt Harriman]

Beck is a blackmailer. The Boiler Room is only a front. It's for your own good.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

For Your own good, Mr. Harriman, I'm giving you 24 hours to get out of town or I'll tell Carl Beck, in which case, you'll be dead.

[Narrator / Announcer]

In just a moment. Act two of Boiler Room, starring Mr. Frank Lovejoy.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

It's like magic, Mr. Wilson. Real, honest to goodness. Magic.

[Narrator / Announcer]

You mean.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

I mean Tums and their wonderful way of letting me sleep nights. My, when I think how acid indigestion used to keep me tossing and turning, tired out, but wide awake.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Yes, Tums have stopped that kind of misery for millions. You see, Tums are community. They give you such speedy sweet relief. Tums soothe and relax your acid upset stomach. Put it at ease so you can sleep.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

And the sleep that follows Tums is restful, natural sleep. I wake up mornings feeling spry as a kitten.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Sure you do. Tums are convenient, too. Nothing to measure, mix or stir. No water needed.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

I keep a roll of Tums handy on my bedside table and take them without even turning on the light.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Hear that? Friends get Tums tonight. T U M S. Tums for the tummy. Still only 10 cents a roll. Three roll package, a quarter on counters everywhere. Now act two of Boiler Room, starring Mr. Frank Love.

[Matt Harriman]

24 hours to get out of town. A good insurance risk wouldn't have waited 24 minutes. I'd been offered $10,000 to prove that a certain Carl Beck, operator of a so called boiler room, was a blackmailer. Prove it so that Jason Corbett's debutante daughter Diane wouldn't have anything further to do with Beck. And yet it was this same Diane, confronted with the facts about him, who had given me those 24 hours. Or else she'd tell Beck. Sometimes when I can't figure a thing out, I sleep on it and wake up with the answer. This daybreak I woke up with a cold muzzle in my ribs.

[Carl Beck]

All right, Harriman.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, Mr. Beck. What's the matter, boss? Am I late for work?

[Carl Beck]

That, Herriman is guaranteed to be the last clever thing you'll say unless you tell me quick where it is.

[Matt Harriman]

You know, you aren't going to believe this, of course, but I haven't the haziest notion of what it might be.

[Carl Beck]

Oh, well, don't be so hazy about that bundle of letters you took last night.

[Matt Harriman]

Oh, so that's what you had inside the boxed edition of Tennyson. The bundle of letters. And written by the woman who fired those blanks at me. I can't help wondering, Beck, what's in those letters?

[Carl Beck]

The last time, her.

[Matt Harriman]

Now look, if I was the one who took those letters, would I still be here? I'm not that much of a fool.

[Carl Beck]

Well, you are enough of a fool to think I wouldn't check with Fielder and find out that you never worked for him out on the coast.

[Matt Harriman]

That wasn't foolishness, that was desperation. But only a low grade idiot would hang around after he got what he wanted.

[Carl Beck]

So you're a low grade idiot now. You gonna give me those letters?

[Matt Harriman]

Well, I'll do the next best thing. I'll tell you who can. Yeah, only quit poking that thing in my ribs because when I tell you who it is, you might start to twitch. And if there's anything I hate, it's being interrupted by a bullet. Ah, that's better.

[Carl Beck]

I think I know what you're gonna say, Herman, but you're gonna have to give me proof.

[Matt Harriman]

All right, in that case, I'll give you this trick, sir.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Just wait a.

[Matt Harriman]

Now, if you don't mind, I'll borrow the keys to your con. The bump on Beck's head could be a very temporary thing, so I had no time to waste. I headed out to the estate of Jason Corbett. But not to see the old man. It was his daughter I wanted to Talk to. And under the circumstances, I wasn't bothering about the proprieties.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Who's.

[Matt Harriman]

Oh, I. I seem to be very good at this sort of thing. I located your room on the very first try.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Diane, if you don't get out of here this minute, ask him for help.

[Matt Harriman]

God, wake up dear old dad. Then I'll have to explain what led up to my presence here.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

You're very smug, aren't you? Well, there.

[Matt Harriman]

Mmm. My lady sleeps with an automatic under her pillow.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

I could kill you and only have to tell the truth.

[Matt Harriman]

What truth?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

That I woke to find an intruder in my room.

[Matt Harriman]

Oh, you know something, Diane? First time I saw you, I just knew you didn't put your hair up in curlers every night or smear your face off like an Egyptian mummy.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

I will kill you if you don't get out of here.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, first you'll have to explain why you frame me.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Framed?

[Matt Harriman]

Yes. By stealing that bundle of letters.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

The letters are gone.

[Matt Harriman]

As if you didn't know.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Oh, no, they can't be gone.

[Matt Harriman]

Ask your boyfriend. Carl Beck.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Gone?

[Matt Harriman]

He thinks I took them. And I think you took them.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Well, I. I didn't.

[Matt Harriman]

Then it could only be the lady who fired the blank cartridges at me. Now, who is she?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

How should I know?

[Matt Harriman]

My dear Diane, this has gone far enough.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Are you going to get out of here, or. Who is it, Grace?

[Matt Harriman]

I thought you and your stepmother weren't very palsy. Well, jeez.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

What is it, Grace? Someone insists on seeing you. It's Lieutenant Neely from the police.

[Matt Harriman]

I didn't need any more urging to get out of there. Whatever the police wanted of Diane Corbett, I didn't want them asking questions of me. Not yet. So I left by way of the second story window and hurried to where I'd parked Beck's convertible. But a police car had pulled up alongside, so I elected to walk. Just before I got to my place, a car stopped for me. Fay.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Quick, Matt, jump in.

[Matt Harriman]

Sure. What's the rush, Faye? At this hour?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

They found him, Matt.

[Matt Harriman]

Carl Beck.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

And now they're looking for you. They were even at my apartment.

[Matt Harriman]

The police?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Half the force is working on the case. Oh, Matt, why didn't you get out of town as soon as it happened?

[Matt Harriman]

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Just because I roughed up Carl.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

He's dead, Matt.

[Matt Harriman]

Dead from a bump on the head.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

There's also a bullet in his heart.

[Matt Harriman]

You're sure?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

I just came from there, didn't I?

[Matt Harriman]

You mean he was found in my place?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

He's still there. L left Word for the medical examiner to wait until he gets back.

[Matt Harriman]

Fay, last night, after I took you home, I dropped in at the office. While I was there, a woman shot at me with blank cartridges. I've got to find that woman.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Don't try now, Matt, or the police will find you. First, you've got to get out of town.

[Matt Harriman]

But don't you see?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

When this has died down, you can come back and find your woman. All the while, Matt, I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open.

[Matt Harriman]

Fay, you've been. You've been too good to me right from the start.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Wonder why.

[Matt Harriman]

I want you to know that I'm never forget a thing. Where are we?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Private airfield. They'll take you anywhere you want to go. And no questions asked. Need any money, Matt?

[Matt Harriman]

No, no, no. I owe you too much already. It was because I couldn't forget how much I owed that I didn't take that plane ride. Instead, I hid out until dark and then sneaked back into town. Faye wasn't in when I got to her apartment, but that was the way I'd figured it.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Matt? Matt Harriman?

[Matt Harriman]

How? Surprise.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

I thought you were a thousand miles away. And this place, it looks like a cyclone hit it.

[Matt Harriman]

Yeah, well, what it all means, Faye, is that I've finally managed to add things up and get the right answers.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Answers to what?

[Matt Harriman]

Well, for instance, the very first thing that you did for me, Getting Carl Beck to hire me after he turned me down.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

It wasn't easy.

[Matt Harriman]

Yet he did it for you. Why? Could it have been because your relationship with Beck had once been more than just that of office receptionist?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

All right, and then he went crazy over that, Diane.

[Matt Harriman]

Yes, exactly. But you wanted him back. You knew the only hold he had on Diane was those letters.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

They weren't her letters.

[Matt Harriman]

No, they weren't. They were written by the woman of the blank cartridges. The woman who was now Mrs. Jason Corbett. She was afraid that if her husband ever read those old and, or shall we say, indiscreet letters, she'd no longer be Mrs. Jason Corbett.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

As if that could possibly have anything to do with Diane.

[Matt Harriman]

Diane was protecting Mrs. Corbett even to the extent of going out with Carl Beck to keep him from being too ruthless.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Interesting, if true. But why tell me all this?

[Matt Harriman]

To account for the last thing you did for me. Help me run away so the police would be sure that I had shot Carl Beck. Whereas, in fact, you had. I sure. Because Beck had already begun to suspect the truth. That the letters were stolen by you.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Well, why would I steal them?

[Matt Harriman]

Because it would take away the only hold Beck had over Diane. You'd have a clear field with him again.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

You don't really think the police will believe that cockeyed story?

[Matt Harriman]

Well, they will after I show them the letters.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

No.

[Matt Harriman]

Took a lot of looking, but I finally found where you'd. Oh, no, you don't. Drop that gun. Okay, okay, break it up.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Lieutenant Neely.

[Matt Harriman]

Funny thing about hunches.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Every once in a while they pay off. Only in this case, it was Ms. Corbett's.

[Matt Harriman]

Hello, Diane. Hello, Matt Harriman.

[Narrator / Announcer]

I'd better take a blonde down to the lockup.

[Matt Harriman]

Mosey along and see me after a while, will you? Oh, sure thing.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Oh, and about those letters.

[Matt Harriman]

I don't think we'll have to bring them up at the trial, but I'd.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Better have them anyway.

[Matt Harriman]

Where are they? Well, the fact is, Lieutenant, I couldn't find them.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Why, you dirty.

[Matt Harriman]

We'll find them if we have to.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Reduce this place to rubble. Come along, you.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Look, Milly, if you let me couple, please.

[Matt Harriman]

No dice, sister.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Matt.

[Matt Harriman]

Yeah?

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

What are you going to tell my father?

[Matt Harriman]

Well, that he owes me the rest of that 10,000 and a job in personnel, even though I wasn't able to find out who was being blackmailed by the late Carl Beck.

[Diane Corbett / Fay]

Well, I. I suppose I better go now.

[Matt Harriman]

Oh, yeah, wait just a minute. Here. You better take this bundle of letters with you and burn them.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Mr. Florida, Frank Lovejoy will return in just a moment. Have you got a great big major worry or just a lot of little ones? Either way, watch out for acid upset stomach. You see, when you worry, your worry nerve acts directly on your tummy. Starts at pumping bitter, burning acid. Then comes a spell of acid indigestion and heartburn. That's why it's wise to keep Tums handy. Tums quickly neutralize excess acid, settle and soothe your stomach. In a jiffy you're feeling fine again. You'll like Tum's fresh minty taste. You'll love the speedy sweet relief they give. And talk about thrifty Tums are still only 10 cents a roll. The big economy box contains 1210 cent rolls. Costs only a dollar. Take Tums, take Tums, Tums for the Tummy.

[Matt Harriman]

Don't let acid indigestion get you down.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Get Tums, Tums for the Tummy. Always keep that handy little roll around.

[Matt Harriman]

Eat what you like, don't let heartburn strike it. T U M S Tums.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Well, Frank, that was a great story tonight and a mighty fine performance. And I certainly hope it will be fair warning to everybody against one of the dirtiest rackets in our country today.

[Matt Harriman]

Well, Don, that's one of the reasons I jumped at the chance to do this yarn. And of course, it gave me a chance to work again with some of the old radio gang. Michael Ann Barrett, Ann Diamond, George Neese, Paul Freeze, Sheldon Leonard, and of course, my wife, Joan Banks. Thanks a lot, everybody.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Thanks again.

[Matt Harriman]

Frank.

[Narrator / Announcer]

Frank Lovejoy will soon be seen starring in Retreat Hell, a Milton Sperling production for Warner Brothers. Tonight's play was written especially for Mr. Lovejoy by Maurice Zim, with music composed and conducted by Jeff Alexander. The entire production is under the direction of Jack Johnstone. And now, in just 30 seconds, we'll meet Mr. Joseph Cotton, the star of next week's thrilling play. Laxative users by the millions say I'm enjoying life again since switching to nature's remedy, better known as NR tablets. NR tablets are all vegetable. Give gentle, thorough relief every time. Do not contain harsh habit forming drugs or phenol derivatives which too often require ever increasing amounts. Try NR tablets, plain or candy coated and just see how fine you feel. Only 25 cents a box. You're delighted or your money back. NR tonight. Tomorrow. All right. Now, here transcribed is the star of next week's Tom's Hollywood Theater, Mr. Joseph Cotton.

[Matt Harriman]

Slowly I climbed the stairs step by step in pitch darkness. The Paris police guarded the streets outside. But I climbed the stairs alone, knowing he was up there waiting for me.

[Narrator / Announcer]

The man the world had killed and buried. The man on the third floor. Thanks, Joe. The man on the third floor sounds like one of the best for next week on tonight's program. All characters and incidents were fictitious. Any similarity to actual characters or incidents is purely coincidental. Now, this is Don Wilson saying good night and reminding you that night and day, at home or away, always carry Tums.

[Matt Harriman]

Tums.

[Narrator / Announcer]

T U M S Tums for the tummy. Coming up next, Bob Hope brings you mirth and music on NBC.