- 2 days ago
Inner Sanctum Mystery, also known as Inner Sanctum, is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Good evening friends. This is your host to welcome you through the creaking door into
00:13the inner sanctum. Say, let me tell you about the new soap opera I heard the other morning.
00:19It's a slippery little stanza called John's Other Coffin. This program poses the question,
00:28can the murderous husband be happy with the spirit of his dead wife? It seems everything went fine with
00:38his marriage till one night at dinner his wife asked him to pass the knife, which he did right
00:43through her. Then he hit her body at the town bell. That's where he made a big mistake because
00:51the next morning she told on him. Tonight's inner sanctum mystery, Only the Dead Die Twice,
01:06was written by Ed Adamson and Bob Sloan and stars Larry Haynes in the role of Johnny with Alice
01:12Reinhardt as Vera. Well folks, sit right down and make yourselves uncomfortable. If you don't see
01:24any murder you want, just ask for it. Ready for tonight's cataleptic continuity. Okay then,
01:33let's get to Johnny Bryce as he tells his story. It all started only four hours ago when I put the
01:45wagon away for the night. Ask me how I took a job like that driving the hearse. Well ask me and I'll
01:53tell you I needed a job. Any kind. But it's a job you never get used to. All the time there's that box
02:04riding in back of you. Four hours ago I got out of the wagon and started to head for Joe's grill.
02:13But I never got to Joe's. Hello? She was standing at the door. Even in the bad light of the garage she
02:22did things to address that knocked your eyes out. So I picked up my eyes and looked again.
02:30I've been waiting for you. All your life? An hour of it anyway, Johnny. Hey, you know my name.
02:37Mm-hmm. Johnny Bryce. I know a lot about you. That puts you on up on me. I'm Vera Craig. I've got
02:47something that might interest you, Johnny. Vera, you've got plenty that interests me. I've got a
02:52thousand dollars. See? Hey, that stuff almost looks real. It is real and it's all yours, Johnny.
03:00All you have to do for it is use that hearse. What? There's a body I want you to take away.
03:07Whose body? Alex. And who is Alec? My husband. He's in our apartment. It's 23 Grove Street.
03:17Parla handles the orders. Why didn't you call them? I couldn't. Why not? My husband has been
03:22murdered. Oh. Then you call the cops. The cops like to know about things like that. I can't
03:29call the police. You see, I murdered Alec. You killed him? Yeah. I murdered my husband.
03:39You say that like you say, pass me the sugar. It wasn't hard. He was rotten, mean. I'm not
03:43sorry. I've got to get rid of the body. All you have to do, Johnny, is to get it out of
03:47the apartment and bury it. Take it out? A dead body? That should be easy enough for
03:53you. Uh-uh. I'm not touching anything dead. But you're used to death. It's around you all
03:58the time. Yeah, it's around me. That's the trouble. You think I like it? You won't do it
04:03for me. Not for anybody. Not even for this? I told you. Not even for a thousand dollars?
04:09A thousand, Johnny? Ten one hundred dollar bills, see? Look, will you stop sticking that
04:14dough into my nose? You can do a lot with a thousand dollars, Johnny. Will you stop it?
04:18Think of what a thousand can do for you, Johnny. You say you don't like your job. I hate it.
04:22And you won't have to be sick with your work anymore. You can get away from it forever.
04:27Forever? This will be the last time you'll have to drive a hearse. All you have to do is
04:33get rid of Alec's body. A thousand dollars, all for you. It'll free you, Johnny.
04:39What do you say? One thousand bucks. What do you think I say? I drove the wagon to the
04:51address Vera gave me and parked it in the side alley. The house was one of those broken
04:57down brownstones. The halls were dingy and creepy. I was trying to find the door with the name
05:03Craig on it. The hall was so dark I didn't see him standing there. You're looking for
05:10something, mister? What? Yeah, what's the matter? I scare you. What are you doing here?
05:15It's just what I was going to ask you. I don't like people sneaking around these halls. I'm the
05:20super. Oh, oh, super. Yeah. What do you want here? Uh, nothing. Well, then what are you
05:25looking at the doors for? I've been following you. Well, I'm, uh, trying to find a friend's
05:30apartment. Yeah, who's your friend? I can tell in the apartment. Uh, no, thanks. Uh,
05:33you don't have to bother. I can find it. Look, mister, I don't like the way you at. Maybe
05:37I should call a cop. A cop? Yeah, you heard me. Oh, look, you don't have to call a cop.
05:41I told you. I'm looking for a friend. Yeah, but you still didn't tell me your friend's
05:45name. Okay. Okay, uh, he's Alec Craig. Oh, mister Craig, huh? Well, why didn't you say
05:51so? That makes things different. Mister Craig's apartment's up on the next floor, rear of the
05:57hall. Uh, rear of the hall. Thanks. Hey, wait a minute. Yeah? What, what is it? No, you're
06:05scoring up there. Mister Craig ain't home. But I... Yeah, he ain't home. He ain't been home
06:10all evening. If he was home, I'd have seen him come in, sure. Okay, then I'll talk to
06:15Mrs. Craig instead. Mister, you can't do that, mister. He ain't married. There ain't no
06:22Mrs. Craig. What kind of a gag was this? The super said there wasn't any Mrs. Craig. And
06:33who was Vera? Well, after the super walked away, I went upstairs. The daughter Craig's
06:40apartment was part open. I pushed it the rest of the way and walked in. The living room
06:48was as cold and gloomy as a morgue. I wanted to turn and go out, but something kept pulling
06:55me. Ask me and I'll tell you it was death. You couldn't see it, but you knew it was there
07:00and you couldn't make it. Let go of you. Pulled me right through to the next room.
07:07Alec Craig was there, just as Vera said. On his white shirt, there was a big red circle.
07:15And on the floor next to him, a carving knife. Stained with the same red. I walked out of the
07:23room. A thousand bucks and no thousand bucks. I couldn't touch him, not for a minute. I got
07:26to the front door and opened it. Hello. He was standing there in the hall right in front of the
07:32door. A big guy in a black hat and coat. I was just going to ring the bell. My name's Steve
07:38Maxton, detective, first grade, 16th precinct. You out of Craig? No, I'm a friend of Craig's.
07:44Oh, I want to see Craig. Well, he's not home. Who are you? Johnny Bryce. You're sure Bryce
07:50that Craig isn't home? I just told you it was. Nobody's in there. Okay, then suppose you come
07:54inside with me. We'll wait for Craig. Well, he's not coming back tonight. Go on. Do like
07:58I tell you. Get inside. What is this? What do you want with me? I just got a call to get
08:02over here. The guy who called said there was a murder. A murder? That's right. He said
08:07that Alec Craig was here in his apartment. Dead. If I had gotten out of that apartment a minute
08:14before, this never would have happened to me. But now I was stuck. I warn you, Bryce, don't
08:20try any phony moves. Oh, you got this wrong, Max. Somebody's playing a gag. Maybe. Craig,
08:24isn't here. You can see nobody's here. Well, look in the next room. There wasn't a thing
08:28I could do. When we went into the room where Craig was, I kept my eyes straight ahead. I
08:33didn't want to look down and see him again. I guess you were right, Bryce. Somebody was
08:39playing a gag on me. It wasn't possible. Like, I couldn't believe it. There wasn't a body
08:49on the floor. There wasn't a murder knife. There wasn't a single trace of death.
08:55Maxton went out and left me there alone. I stood right on the spot where Craig's dead
09:05body had been. My head spinned around like one of those kids' tops that makes that whirling
09:11sound. The sound was my own voice. I had to myself a hundred questions, questions that
09:16didn't have any answers. And the whirling sound got worse and worse. All of a sudden, he's
09:21gone. Hello, Johnny. What's the matter, Johnny? Aren't you glad to see me? How'd you get here,
09:31Vera? How'd you get into that closet? There's a back entrance to the apartment. Look, what's
09:35going on here? There was a body right here on the floor. I saw it with my own eyes. Johnny,
09:38you saw Alex's body. I put it in the closet to save you. If that detective Maxton had found
09:45it, then you'd be in trouble, wouldn't you? You said Craig was your husband. He was. You're
09:50a liar. The super told me Craig wasn't married. He wasn't your husband, was he? Was he? All
09:57right, he wasn't. Why'd you lie to me? Because I wanted to make sure you'd help me. What kind
10:00of a game are you playing? When I told you I killed Craig, that was the truth. Why'd you
10:04kill him? Because he deserved to die. He was blackmailing me. Johnny, you've got to get
10:08him out of here quickly. No, no. I'll meet you out at Mount Crescent Cemetery. All you
10:11have to do is carry him down the back stairs to the herd. Nothing to it. I'm not going to
10:16touch him. I couldn't put my hands on him. A thousand dollars, Johnny. It's still waiting
10:23for you. I don't want the thousand anymore. Here, Johnny, I'll give you half of it now.
10:27No. When you finish out at the cemetery, you'll get the rest. No, I said... Here, take
10:30the five hundred. I told you, no. Now look what you've done. You only have to pick it
10:38up. I'm not going to pick it up. I don't want any part of your lousy dough. Keep it.
10:40The deal's off. Oh, no, Johnny. The deal isn't off at all. Not a bit. You're going to do
10:46exactly as agreed. Money or no money. You've got to. Now. Now? What do you mean? You told
10:56me you spoke to the super. He saw you here. They'll find Craig's body if you don't take it
11:01out. So they'll find it. So what? That detective, Maxton, he knows you now, Johnny. A detective
11:06remembers a face. They're good at that. If Craig's body is found, you'll be blamed
11:10for the murder. Why, you dirty little... So that's it? Yeah. That's it. And there's nothing
11:21you can do about it, Johnny. Absolutely nothing. I carried Alan Craig down the back stairs
11:39to the wagon. I always thought the dead were cold and stiff. But they're not that way at
11:46all. Craig hung over my shoulder like a warm rag doll. And with each step down those dark
11:53stairs, he bounced. And his face touched mine. With each step, a scream broke loose down deep
12:00inside of me. And I had to bite my tongue to keep the scream from coming out. I finally got
12:05him to the wagon. I dropped him into the box. Then I closed the lid. He was there in the
12:14box, but I could still feel his weight on my shoulder. His face brushing against mine.
12:20I shut the back door and walked to the front of the wagon. Where are you going, Bryce?
12:25Max. I said, where are you going? Uh, what are you doing here? You still didn't answer
12:31my question. Uh, to the garage. I'm, uh, putting the wagon away for the night. You didn't tell
12:37me you drove a hearse. You didn't ask me. Did I? No. Well, then I guess I didn't ask.
12:43I was waiting out front. You didn't come out that way. Oh, there, back stairs. I, uh, had
12:47my wagon parked here in the alley. Then why didn't you go in through the back? Huh? You went
12:51in the front way. How did you know? Oh, maybe I was outside when you got him. Baxton, who
12:57are you? You saw my badge. I'm a cop. What do you got in that hearse? Just a box. What's
13:03in the box? Nothing. Sure. It's empty. And you wouldn't mind if I had a look. Let go of
13:09my arm. I tell you, the box is empty. What are you so nervous about? Your hands shaking
13:12like a leaf. Look at the box. I swear, there's nothing in it. That's what you said. What are you
13:18going to do? Hmm, nothing, Bryce. Like you said, the box is empty. I'll see you around
13:26sometime. Soon. Maxton walked out of the alley, got into a car and drove off. What was the
13:38game they were playing? Vera and Maxton. Why did Maxton let me off so easy? I drove the
13:46wagon out of the alley and headed for Mount Crescent Cemetery where Vera was supposed
13:50to be waiting. When I got to the river drive, I started to breathe again. Well, I was lucky
13:58after all. I steered Maxton off. And I noticed there was a car behind me. I knew who it was,
14:06Maxton. That's why he left me off, so he could tell me. I slammed the gas down all the way.
14:10He stayed right behind, the same distance. There was a curve ahead. I rounded the turn
14:16and then cut off to the side of the road. I killed the lights and waited.
14:28Maxton's car whipped by. I got out of there fast and took a back road from my date with
14:35Vera at the cemetery. What took you so long, Johnny? Now, Maxton told me, Vera, but I shook
14:48him off. What is it, Johnny? The way you look. You know, the moonlight. What's the matter
14:56with the way I look? There's something about you that reminds me. Reminds you of what,
15:05Johnny? Death. Yeah, that's something alive or real. Here's the shovel. You'll dig the grave
15:14over there near that tree. No. I can't do it. I can't do it anymore. This way, Johnny.
15:19Stay where you are, Bryce. Maxton. But you got rid of me, eh? Maxton, believe me, I had
15:28nothing to do with it. It was all her idea. I didn't want to come out here. You picked
15:32a Lulu this time, Vera. So you found out, Steve. What are you going to do? What is this?
15:38A nice yellow Lulu. He tries to pin it all on you. What are you two talking about? This
15:43is the spot where you two have been meeting. Meeting? Cut the act, Bryce. I don't get
15:47you're wasting your breath. That's not going to save you. I told my wife if I ever
15:52caught her. Here is your wife. No use, Johnny. There's nothing we can do about it now. But
15:57I'll find out everything about us. Maxton was holding the gun level at Vera. She was
16:04right. He'd find out everything. Craig's body was a few yards away in that wagon. I couldn't
16:08let Maxton find that body. I waited a second. I jumped out. I saw the gun fly out of the sand.
16:13I held him by the coat collar. He brought us right all the way around. I jumped just to
16:17time. Then I buried my fist in the middle. I heard the wind go out of him. Then he dropped
16:21to the ground. Come on, girls. Let's get out of here. No, Johnny. He'll be around soon.
16:25We can't go yet, Johnny. Don't you see? See what? He'll find you. No matter where you
16:29go, he'll find you. I know him. He'll hang for Alec Craig's murder. But I didn't kill
16:32Craig. You did. We'll both hang. He'll fix it that way. You won't have a chance. Here.
16:38Take this. The gun? It's his. What? What do you want me to do? Take it, Johnny. You know
16:46what you've got to do? Kill him. You kill him? It's the only way out for you now. You've
16:52got to kill him. But I can't. I can't. All you do is pull the trigger. It's so simple.
16:58He shoved a gun into my hand. The metal of it burned my palm like a hot poker. Hurry
17:03up, Johnny. Shoot. I couldn't lift my hand. Hurry before it's too late. She picked up my
17:07hand and aimed the gun at him. Before it's too late, Johnny.
17:10Maxton was laying in the moonlight quiet and still. I closed my eyes against the side
17:16of him. Then I felt her finger press mine. I buried Maxton. All the time I shoveled Vera
17:28stood there watching. That same devil's smile on her face. After I dug another grave, I went
17:33back to the wagon to get Craig's body. I opened the little box and reached it. Sarah!
17:43I sat there in the dock of the wagon. My brain not believing what my hands touched. The insides
17:50of the empty box. Sarah! She didn't come. I got out of the wagon and started to the grave.
17:59Sarah! Sarah! It's not here! Sarah's gone, Bryce. What? It was Craig. Ella Craig. Standing
18:11right there in the past in front of me. She's gone, Bryce. Hey, you're dead. I put you in
18:17the box. You're dead. Here, Bryce. Touch my hand. No, stay away from me. Touch me, Bryce.
18:22Feel how dead I am. Don't you come in. You don't have to be afraid, Bryce. I'm not dead.
18:29Not really. You are. You are. She killed you. That blood on your shirt. That's where
18:32the night... The blood? Yes, I admit it is realistic. But it's only a combination of
18:37red ink and grease. But it did get the effect Vera and I wanted. You really thought I was
18:42dead. You're such a chump, Bryce. Why did you do this to me? Why me? We had to get her
18:49husband out of the way. We wanted him dead. But only a chump commits murder. A chump
18:55you can buy. A thousand dollars. Or with fear. You're having a good time, okay? Terrific.
19:02You're not going to get away with this. No? What are you going to do about it, Bryce? Go
19:05to the police? Tell them the story? Sure. You do that. Tell them how you held the murder
19:11gun. How your fingers squeezed the trigger. She made me tell it. Tell that to the police,
19:15Bryce. Tell them. And let me know what they say. I'll, uh... I'll be waiting to hear them.
19:26He walked down the path. Laughing at me. Made the prize chump of them all. Oh, this chump
19:36had one idea. One good idea that was really going to kill him. I started the wagon and
19:42headed it down the path. I caught Craig in my headlights. He turned. That hyena's smile
19:49was still on him. Then when he saw what I was going to do, the laugh dropped off his face.
19:54He jumped to the side of the path and ran up the hill. I drove right up after him. He
19:58went to the turn, but I didn't let him out of the headlights. He was just getting to the
20:02tomb at the top of the hill when I stepped down all the way.
20:04Alec, what took you so long? Hello, Vera. Johnny. What's the matter? Aren't you glad
20:23to see me? What are you doing here? We'll talk about it inside. There's nothing to talk about.
20:28I said I'm coming in. Get out of here. There's no way to treat an old friend.
20:33What? Craig told me all about it. How you framed me into the murder. Of course he told
20:40you. It was all my idea. Cute idea. Told you before. There's nothing we have to talk
20:44about it, so you might as well leave. You're expecting Craig. Is that right, Vera?
20:48None of your business, though. Either you get out. Craig won't be here. What? He couldn't
20:53make it, Vera. On account of he's dead. That's right. Good and dead. You should have heard
21:01him scream when the wagon hit him. You should have heard him, Vera. You're lying. You wouldn't
21:06do a thing like that. You're not a murderer. Sure I am, Vera. You made me a murderer. Remember
21:09this gun, don't you, Vera? Johnny, listen. It's so simple, remember? Johnny, that thousand
21:14dollars. Oh, yeah. I have a thousand. This is where I came in. You can have it now. I
21:19do a lot with a thousand bucks. Right, Johnny, that's right. You can get away from everything
21:24you hate. You won't have to be near death anymore. You can be free of it forever. The phone.
21:30What are you... It's a thousand. Is it all there, Vera? Yes, Johnny. Yes, all of it
21:36in. Yours now. You've earned it. Operator. The police. Yes. Johnny, what are you doing? Why
21:44are you calling... Hello? My name's Johnny Bryce. I want to report a murder. Oh, you crazy
21:51fool. They'll hang you... The one who was killed? Her name is Vera Maxson. No. The address
21:57says 23 Grove Street. Yes. The killer? Sure. His name is Johnny Bryce. No, Johnny. Yeah,
22:06that's right. Me. Oh, I'll be waiting right here for you. Johnny, Johnny, don't do it, please.
22:14You can have a thousand. Even more. Three thousand, Johnny. Five... Listen, Johnny, even more
22:19than five. I'll get you as much as you want. Anything. Anything. Just... Johnny. Stop.
22:25Now, that's the way I like to see our stories finish. Plenty of corpses and no remorses. Well,
22:52Johnny finally got the drop on Vera. But you should see the drop the hangman got on Johnny.
22:58There is a moral in tonight's tangy little tidbit. It comes from the grave works of the
23:04funeral philosopher, Wormley Digger, author of One Hurst Town. Now, how's it go? Oh, yes.
23:12When you plant a corpse, be prepared for anything. You can never tell what might come up.
23:20Good night, pleasant drink.
23:35Inner Sanctum was heard in the United States over CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System,
23:50and has been rebroadcast for servicemen and women overseas through the facilities of the United States Armed Forces Radio Service,
23:58the voice of information and education.
24:05The United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
24:12
|
Up next
11:24
3:21
1:13
1:26:53
Recommended
28:25
0:38
0:58
4:17