Quiet Please - Is This Murder

Quiet please. Quiet please.

The American Broadcasting Company presents Quiet Please, which is written and directed by Willis Cooper.

Willis Cooper, and which features Ernest Chappell. Quiet please for today is called Is This Murder?

Thank you very much for coming to see me. I would have come to your office, but I'm sorry, in firmities, prevent my going out.

That's why I have so dark in here, too. I hope you won't mind. Thank you to sit down.

Just put your coat on the chair there. So, anywhere, would you care for drink?

Just mix and share it there on the sideboard. At least I've been told this excellent. Amongst the other, I think.

I don't doubt myself that you help yourself. Please do.

Amongst the other, I'd like to start that the good monthly sort was drowned in and posed a light for a story that passed couple months ago.

Do you remember the story, of course? Yes. So, help yourself.

I asked you to come here because I think I need some legal advice about murder on the plate. Yes, right.

I'm afraid I'm a little hazy about things illegal. So, you mind. Like the Shelley. So, I've been told this excellent. They help yourself, too.

I hardly know what to start, but that door, that's my workshop. I haven't been in there in quite some time.

Artificial limbs, rather unusual ones if I do say so myself. Well, I've invented a few devices you see and they've been quite successful.

Well, yesterday, the great many persons were hands, arms, legs and so on that I invented. You didn't know my assistant, of course.

Well, I don't know. I don't know where he is. As a matter of fact, it's then I wanted to talk to you about. Then Joyce. Joyce was his sweetheart.

No. No, I didn't murder them.

It's rather an awkward story to tell. Now, are you sure you're comfortable? Good.

Have you ever heard the words in that he was still craft Shelley? Have you heard of her?

Well, she was a wife of the poet Christy Bisch Shelley. She was a novelist. She died in 1830, 60 years ago.

But I'm afraid one of her novels is more or less responsible for what I'm going to ask you about. You don't. I mean, you want to meet you with her works.

I had the best new novel she wrote. This Frankenstein.

Oh, it's nothing at all like the Frankenstein you've seen in pictures. No more discolour, no baila-legal, see what it flies you like. No weird castles.

But it's a powerful book. It's a very important message. You haven't read it. Well, perhaps you want to.

I was talking with Dan about it one day in the workshop there. We could just about make as a monster with all this equipment.

Not a monster, then, old boy. I do better than Mr. Frankenstein did. At least mine would be good looking.

Wouldn't need any spare parts of dead people either. And no indeed. How'd you get it to work? That's the problem.

There's new arm almost have its own brain. Not much like the one that's lying or that.

War in the picture. Well, he had to manipulate with his other hand. That's good looking too.

No good without a brain and some live muscles to put it to work, though, is it? Nothing is.

That's an intriguing thought, isn't it?

But the synthetic man wouldn't have to feed him, wouldn't have to tame murderous. Great idea.

And he'd be good and strong. The alarm and arms and legs, chrome steel fingers and plastic muscles.

Crow me a plated head with wide angle lenses for eyes, microphones for ears. And what for a brain?

You know what Frankenstein used to be? A brain, a wrong kind of brain. That was in the picture. He got a criminal brain by mistake, remember?

I wonder what would happen if he got a good brain, but you've got the book in the pictures. Make stuff for it.

All right, but it won't happen if you could make a synthetic man and put a real good human brain in it, huh?

But it would be something. It wouldn't be... just think of muscles that never tire. A man, a thinking man that couldn't be harmed by disease.

That would be capable of superhuman things. Learn forever.

Nice. But impracticable boy.

I wonder. Well, I look bad. Don't you go messing up my nice clean workshop with mechanical man.

Ordinary ones, a couple of not.

I've got the highest things, too. I get to work, boy.

And be careful with that elbow. Will you? It bends the other way.

You're trying some more, Sherry, until this exit.

Oh, yes.

Murderer. We were talking about...

Let me see, you know, collecting rocks.

Oh, oh, yes, yes.

This first conversation that I repeated to you, took place about six months ago.

Have you heard?

Where is Dan?

Right, Sherry, I haven't the faintest idea.

If you don't find that, I would like to be orderly, methodical.

I think the next occurrence was Joyce's visit to me.

Or rather, I met her in a cocktail on downtown. Not having been there in a long time.

I dropped in one afternoon, and it was three or four weeks later.

And I was giving you a lemonade out in a breath.

My however long it's been since I had a lemonade.

Oh, no, no, thanks, Sherry.

But you hope yourself.

Can you find a bottle, all right?

It's a darkened year, but I'm afraid I have to have it that way to give me due.

Well, I was sitting quietly drinking my lemonade.

And she suddenly appeared alongside me, sat down on the table before I saw it almost.

Why Joyce, I said.

Why?

Joyce!

Hello, Ernest.

What are you drinking?

The lemonade?

Of course, say, would you have one?

No, thanks.

I've got to run.

But do have one.

No, I had a drink.

I'm just leaving.

No matter if fact, I had two drinks.

Three if you must know.

I don't want any more.

Hi, what's the matter?

Dan stood me up again.

Dan stood you up?

Third time in a week now.

Well, come, Joyce.

I thought you would eat it.

You tell me.

What?

Well, I'm sure I don't know what.

I mean, you aren't making him work nights at the workshop?

I certainly am not.

Well, that's where he is, all right.

That's the workshop.

That's what he says.

Joyce said.

My dear.

The workshop's right in my own home.

If Dan has been in it.

Hello.

Oh, my goodness.

Now what do I say?

If he isn't at the shop, where are we?

Oh, I don't know.

No, no.

I happen to love that guy.

No, I sticked by Joyce.

He isn't out with somebody else.

That's another girl I mean.

For his sake, I hope he's not.

Well, because if I catch him cheating on me,

do you know what I'll do?

I'll murder him.

Are they your brother?

No.

She didn't murder him.

I'm sorry to keep you in suspense,

but I'm afraid I'll have to take to the stallion my own way.

A few please.

Well, Joyce went away and I thought to myself,

my goodness, that Dan is very foolish.

That's a very attractive girl I said to myself.

Dan oughtn't have left her in this with her.

And she loves him too, I said to myself.

But I should have a little girl I said it.

I didn't like the way she said it.

I own her anyway.

No, sir.

I didn't like it.

But she was a very attractive girl.

But yes, I know I said was a very attractive girl.

Slip of the tongue, sir.

Far as I know she still is.

Well, anyway.

I text Dan with a penics morning, Dan, I said.

Then you look tired.

I am tired, Dan.

Sleeping all right?

All right.

Here you've been working nights.

Who told you that?

Joyce.

Oh.

Said you were working here at the shop?

She did.

I know you haven't been working here at the shop.

Because I don't know.

Of course you were.

Have you been working?

If I haven't been on my own time, I must...

Joyce seems to think it's her time too.

Yes, sir.

What do you want, Dan?

Listen, Ernest, why about crying to your affair?

Now you don't need to take that tone with me, Dan.

Sorry.

Dan.

Let go.

I love you.

So what?

Well, not really, Dan.

I'm sorry, Ernest, but I've got so many things to think about, man.

I'm sorry.

Can I help you, Dan?

You think I've gone crazy and you've never shown any signs of it all, boy?

Well...

All right.

Let's get to work.

But I really do think you ought to give more...

Considerations to Joyce all, boy.

Listen, Ernest.

You know that talk we had a few weeks ago.

Talk?

Try again, Stan.

Try again, Stan.

Try again, Stan.

Oh.

That's right.

Have you been letting that play on your mind, Dan?

I've done more than that.

Come here.

What?

Come here.

See?

Well, I told you I've done more than just think.

Do you know what he'd done?

I looked.

A gleaming chromium created the head.

Duralaman arms and legs.

And the fingers are high-test chrome and steel, Ernest.

I used your industry as high-hand, you see?

I haven't installed the lenses for the eyes.

But there's this lenient cells for light to be act on.

I got two small microphones for the ears.

And look, the hands and arms and the legs are controlled by the sun.

My Europe pulled us.

But isn't he a beauty and a beautiful?

He only had a brain.

Who's that?

You idiot.

Think so, huh?

I'll go.

Lock that thing up.

Man, it's locked up.

Who is it?

Right.

Good one, Joyce.

Is Dan here?

Uh, Mary.

Well, hello, Dan.

Hello.

I wonder if you remember we had a date last night.

Sorry, I was busy.

Busy.

Where? Here?

Yeah, here.

Where's he here, Ernest?

Yes.

He was here.

Oh.

Alone?

Well, he was.

Well?

He was alone, Joyce.

I don't believe it.

Now, look here, Joyce.

Tell me, Dan.

I'll listen to you.

Tell me what?

Tell me what, Dan.

Look.

This is all foolishness.

Joyce!

Cut it out, Ernest.

Go ahead, Ernest.

I tell you that.

Hold it, Dan.

Uh, look here, Joyce.

Dan's been working on a project to his own.

What day?

This isn't a fair, Joyce.

No.

Sure, Dan.

Now, look here.

Stop being a fool, Joyce.

I'm not the cabinet there.

Don't you see you're being a fool, Dan?

Open the cabinet.

I got one.

Well...

What in the world is that?

It's a mechanical...

It's a monster.

Oh, who do you think you are, Dan?

Pipe inside.

I told you.

Let's see.

Does it work?

Certainly does work.

Can it work?

It's made out of some of the artificial limbs I invented.

And a lot of other things too.

Can it talk?

Bring it out, Dan.

You can't talk yet.

Oh, my God.

Make it move, Dan.

Look out.

I'll make it raise the sounds.

Can't stop me here, Dan.

See?

The other one.

I have one...

Dan!

Dan!

Yes.

That was the first messap.

That mechanical arm, that arm of sturdy drunken.

The fingers of chrome steel,

smashed down in a back of Ben's neck like a sledgehammer.

Oh, no, he wasn't killed.

That's not the murder I'm going to ask you about.

He was paralyzed.

That is, his legs were paralyzed.

He was in a hospital three and a half months.

The doctors did everything they could for him,

but there wasn't anything that really could be done.

He was helpless.

Do you have another glass of the shell?

It's excellent, I'm told.

Dan used to drink it.

And Joyce loved it.

But?

Yes, I know.

I didn't mean to use the past tense.

I suppose she still loved it.

No.

No, she's right.

I assure you I'm telling you.

But do they say in court the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Yes, indeed.

Oh.

Right, we've run in back here.

Of course, no relatives, as far as I know.

And we were very close, Dan and I.

Oh, yes.

Joyce was here frequently.

Yeah, that girl really loved it.

Loves that boy.

I suppose it was really pretty frightful having to lie in bed all the time

when I was able to move.

Joyce used to stay here all day and sit with him.

Then at night, I'd come in his room,

and the three of us did sit around and talk.

Mostly about robots,

the kind of men, monsters.

And I brought the man, the machine,

in his room so we could tinker with it while we talked.

Then we talked a great deal about it.

How do you know it won't work if you put a brain in it?

It isn't possible, Dan.

Frank and Stein's worked.

Dan, that's a story.

Maybe.

Maybe it's true.

How would you get a brain, Dan?

Frank and Stein got a brain.

And look what happened if that was a criminal brain.

Look, Dan.

Even if you could, by some miracle,

a touch of brain to this thing, it'd work.

But it wouldn't work right.

Why?

Because man has no business playing along with such things.

You think any brain would turn out to be evil just to punish a man

for trying to create a superhuman thing like this?

That's exactly what I think.

Where would you get a brain, Dan?

I don't know. Stop talking this nonsense.

A thing is, Ernest, I don't think it's not where it is.

Where would you get a brain?

I need a doctor.

Well, you don't.

How would you know the brain wouldn't be evil?

I'd make sure of that.

How?

I selected.

Where do you stop talking about this?

Scare you, Ernest.

You don't have to be so gruesome.

I'd take a woman's brain, I think.

Woman is smarter than man.

Sick.

Want to lend you a brain, Joyce?

How I should say not.

You'd have a fine time, Joyce.

You live forever.

I don't want to live forever.

Nothing could hurt you.

You could do anything you wanted.

And have to live in that metal skeleton?

No, thanks.

You'd never be hungry.

I like being hungry.

Too much fun to eat.

And drink.

Never be tired.

You know, I like to be tired, boy.

Good night, sweetheart.

I wish I could put my own brain into it.

Then I could get up and walk around.

Do things.

Go, please.

Hold.

Stop this morbid talk.

This is a playtry, Dan.

You talk as it is coming to life in a minute.

All it needs is a good brain, Ernest.

Well, I tell you what I'll do, Dan.

You tell me where to get a brain, and I'll get it for you.

And we'll make a million dollars.

How's that?

Well, good night.

I'm going home.

Gee, I certainly hate to have Frankenstein here

put his arms around me.

Here's this murder.

I mean, suppose a man does take a human brain

and put it into the frame of a mechanical rubbant,

charge it with colloids that simulate blood

in a very brain structure itself.

Suppose he does it.

Successfully.

Here's this murder.

No, wait before you answer.

Suppose that the brain goes right on living.

Suppose that the operation, if you want a colloid operation,

that suppose it works.

The brain will never die.

Life goes on.

The only thing that's missing is the body of once inhabited.

Is this murder?

The only effect is that some more relative violence in the body

the brain is capable of finding noble feelings of love,

affection, friendship, but all the virtues

in addition to all the vices.

Yes, that's true, but when it's transplanted,

well, look at the Frankenstein story.

When it's transplanted, the virtues are missing.

Only the vices remain.

Intelligence?

Yes.

Awareness.

Sentience.

But good is gone.

Only evil remains.

But that's not the question, sir.

If the body only is killed and the mind survives forever,

is this murder?

You don't have to answer yet.

Oh, you.

You think you know what I'm driving at?

Well, we'll see.

Now I'm going to have the upper sherry do.

I've almost finished.

Then you can judge.

Because I have another question for you.

This kind of thing happened like before last.

I went in the dance room.

He was talking a wire under the round,

crummy and plated head of this thing.

There was this monster.

Joyce was sitting alongside him much in custody.

She didn't see Ben Wink at me,

as I closed the door.

Hello, Anast.

How do you feel, Dan?

Me?

I feel fine.

How are you, Joyce?

Well, I've got a little headache, aren't I?

Well, I'm sorry.

I haven't asked for it.

I took one.

Too bad, here.

Well, how's it going, Dan?

I'm more convinced than ever, Anast.

If you only had a brain.

If I only had a brain.

Joyce, I wish you could do something

to snap this fellow out of this.

Why?

Because...

Are you starting to believe this nonsense, Joyce?

Well, I don't think it's nonsense, Ernest.

See, she's got a brain, Anast.

Certainly she.

Dan, I'm going to take that thing away from you.

Take away my pretty friend, Anast.

Oh, well, I should say you're not, Anast.

I don't want to say this, but I'm afraid...

I mean, Joyce, don't you...

I mean, won't you help me?

Help you walk!

Get Dan's mind off this thing, I mean.

No, she won't.

Joyce, son.

Dan could only get a brain.

Joyce, Ernest.

Won't you help me?

I will not.

Please, Ernest.

It's already now.

Oh, it needs to stop that.

Don't, Ernest.

Come on, Ernest.

Help me.

I won't, Ernest.

Joyce!

Do you know what he's going to do?

What?

He's going to...

Ernest, I know what you're going to do.

I know what's in your mind, and I won't help you, right?

What's he going to do, Ernest?

What's...

What's in his mind?

Come here, Joyce.

Lean over here.

Dan darling.

Don't say that.

Joyce, dear.

No, stop.

Stop, Dan.

Stop!

And when I came to you,

how there was in my mind

was a confused memory of a pain in my throat

and bright lights,

and confused voices and choices laughter.

I tried hard to think.

I was dead.

I thought I was lying on the floor.

I got up.

Slowly.

I saw Dan still lying on the bed.

He was smiling at me.

He said something.

Yeah, well, I couldn't make it out.

And then I heard his voice.

How do you feel, Ernest?

And I tried to answer.

And it was a long time before my voice came.

And finally I stood.

I said,

please join the flight.

I said, please, Joyce.

Well, here I am!

Frank like that.

Then I stretched off my hand to steady myself.

And I looked at my hand,

arms and legs a tyralum,

and a chromey and steam and I looked in the mirror.

with lens for eyes and you can turn on the light now if you want to. I ask you

the question again is this murder? It is. And if a steel and a

element robot takes a life or more than one life is this murder because I have

been murdered you say I do not live I cannot commit murder very well I told

you what the force of evil is taking hold of my brain no I didn't till then no

choice not yet I told you I didn't know where they are I do during the workshop

like there I locked her in the closet for my my body used to be then where he's

paralyzed remember his hands are strong but against chrome steel it won't be

murder will it it won't be murdering there when I kill you first like you sir no

there isn't any more sherry just these

the title of today's quiet please story is is this murder it was written and

directed by Willis Cooper the man who spoke to you was Ernest Chappell and the

others were Joyce Gorton and Van O'Hirley as usual music for quiet please

is played by Albert Burman now for the word about next week you're the right

of director Willis Cooper thank you for listening to quiet please the next week

and have a story for you called sonner goodbye and so until next week at the

same time I am quietly yours Ernest Chappell

now a listening reminder for predictions that have a 77% chance of coming true

and even more listen to Drew Pearson on ABC tonight at ABC Drew Pearson tonight this

is ABC the American Broadcasting Company