Now, Roma Wines, R-O-M-A, made in California for enjoyment throughout the world.
Roma Wines presents Suspense.
Tonight, Roma Wines bring you Mr. Robert Young as star of The High Wall, a suspense play
produced, edited and directed for Roma Wines by William Spear.
Suspense, radio's outstanding theater of thrills, is presented for your enjoyment by Roma Wines,
that R-O-M-A, Roma Wines.
Those excellent California wines that can add so much pleasantness to the way you live,
to your happiness and entertaining guests, to your enjoyment of everyday meals.
Yes, right now a glass full would be very pleasant as Roma Wines bring you Robert Young
in a remarkable tale of Suspense.
I woke up in bed.
Nothing strange about that except that it was a hospital bed.
I couldn't imagine how I got there.
I didn't remember any accident.
I didn't feel sick.
Why the hospital?
I laid there trying to puzzle it out.
Last night was Christmas Eve.
I was stopping at the Beacon Hotel in Boston.
I was going to get up early this morning and go to Fitchburg and find Helen, my wife.
After three years of separation, it would be nice to be with her again on Christmas Day.
I turned in bed and looked out of the window.
Christmas?
Why, it was summer.
There were trees and grass and flowers in bloom.
I guess I twisted around or something because the next thing I knew,
a girl was leaning over me smiling.
Hello there.
Feeling better?
I guess so.
Am I supposed to be sick?
Well, no, not if you feel all right.
We were beginning to get worried about you.
You didn't seem to want to wake up.
We? Who's we?
Oh, Dr. Dunlap and all of us.
Well, what happened to me?
Well, why am I in a hospital?
You've been very ill.
Don't try to think about it, Mr. Lewis.
Just get well.
You're Amy, aren't you?
That's right.
Good for you.
Amy, how did I know her name?
Why was her face so familiar to me?
I tried to think and suddenly I remembered.
I'd been dreaming about her.
In one dream, I was up to my neck in quicksand and she was trying to save me.
She was crying and her tears fell on my face and she kissed me.
It would have to be a dream, wouldn't it?
Still, as I looked up into her eyes, it seemed very real.
I could almost feel her lips.
I dozed off thinking of her and when I woke up, Dr. Dunlap was standing beside my bed.
Well, Mr. Lewis, Miss Adams tells me you're bright and snappy this morning.
Yeah.
Any reason why I have to stay in bed?
Oh, none at all.
If you feel able, we'll get your clothes and Miss Adams will take you down to the solarium and you can sit in the sun.
Now, how's that?
The solarium was a big glassed-in veranda where the patients sat around and took it easy.
Played cards and read and talked.
It was quite a crowd when we walked in, but nobody seemed to notice us.
Amy, Miss Adams, introduced me to a girl who ran the newsstand.
Her name was Ella.
She sold cigarettes, candy bars, magazines.
I sat down over to one side and looked the people over.
Nobody seemed very sick, but they said silly things and laughed a lot.
One man acted like he was catching a ball and throwing it to second base.
Then he'd argue with the umpire over a bad decision and suddenly it hit me.
Like a smash in the face.
This wasn't a hospital. It was an insane asylum.
I jumped up, but Amy put her hand on my arm.
Dr. Dunlap appeared out of nowhere and pushed me back into the chair.
Easy, Mr. Lewis, easy. Now, don't get excited.
I'm not excited. I just found out where I am, that's all.
Let's go up to your room and talk it over.
Talk what over? I'm in the wrong place.
Maybe I'm a little sick, but I've got all my buttons.
Get me out of here.
Mr. Lewis, please, you're making a disturbance.
Go along with Miss Adams.
Let loose.
Doctor, I can manage.
Then please do it. We'll have a riot here if he doesn't quiet down.
Mr. Lewis, you don't want to get me into trouble, do you?
We were getting along so nicely.
When she put it that way, I let them take me out of there and up to my room.
But then I put up an argument, demanded to see the head man.
Amy backed me up too.
She said she was sure I was okay and didn't belong in such a place.
Dr. Dunlap hit the ceiling. They had a battle of hip.
He slammed out of the room and she had a fit of crying.
But the net result was that I was taken to the office of Professor Bird,
the man who ran the asylum.
He was a strange little guy with a head cocked to one side like he was listening to something.
Nobody else could hear.
Ah, Mr. Lewis, feeling better?
Why does everyone ask me that? Yes, I feel great.
Good. Do you remember me?
Should I?
Well, not necessarily.
What seems to be the trouble?
You just made a mistake, that's all.
Got the wrong fellow. I don't belong here.
Well, that's strange. Your commitment papers seem to be in order.
I don't care about that. Listen to me.
Yeah, yeah, Mr. Lewis. Let's discuss this calmly.
We are not in the habit of peeking people off the streets haphazardly.
Someone had to sign you in.
Who was it, your parents?
My folks have been dead for years.
Your wife, perhaps?
She doesn't know I'm back in America.
Probably thinks I'm dead.
Come on, Professor, stop stalling. You've got it all on that paper.
Never mind this paper.
Tell me about yourself.
Were you in the war?
No, they wouldn't take me.
Blood pressure or something.
I went to Burma for the International Oil Company.
Oh? How was it in Burma?
Pretty rugged. I was there for three years.
I'd be there yet only I fell in front of a bulldozer and got my leg crushed.
They shipped me back to San Diego thinking they'd have to cut it off.
Fortunately, they didn't have to.
Did your wife know you were hurt?
Funny you should ask that.
No, she didn't. You see,
we used to go to dances a lot.
I see. You didn't fancy yourself for the crutch.
Does anybody?
But after you were discharged from the hospital in San Diego,
did you communicate with her then?
No, I wanted to surprise her.
She thought I was still in Burma.
I took a train for Boston, arrived on December 23rd, a Thursday.
Yes?
So I went home looking for Helen.
She wasn't there.
Somebody else lived in the house.
She'd sold it.
Knocked me a twister.
I was born in that house. My grandfather built it.
And it was gone.
Where was your wife?
Helen? She was in Fitchburg working in a defense plant.
But I didn't find that out until I ran into an old pal of mine that night.
He almost keeled over when he saw me because everybody thought I was dead.
You know, not hearing from me for more than a year.
And did you go to Fitchburg to see your wife?
No, I...
I didn't want to see her right then.
Why not?
Oh, I was upset, I guess, about her selling the house.
Besides, I'd been away more than three years. One day more wouldn't hurt.
So I checked into a hotel, a beacon house, room 305, I remember.
I stretched out on the bed and tried to think things out.
Yes, yes.
You were lying on the bed and...
Hmm?
Oh, well, I fell asleep, that's all.
I see.
No use telling him how I laid there, thinking of Helen and wishing I'd gone on to Fitchburg.
How I kept seeing her face like a great big painting on the ceiling.
You'd think I was nuts if I told him how I could smell that queer perfume she used.
And the feeling I got that she was there in the room with me.
And how long did you sleep, Mr. Lewis?
I don't know. What woke me up was a...
someone knocking on the door.
I got up and opened it and...
Well, that's all I remember.
Who was it at the door?
I don't know. It's just like... like the lights went out. I don't remember a thing.
Until I woke up here this morning.
I see.
Do you know where you are?
No.
This is a hospital for the mentally ill.
This is the Flowerdale Hospital for the criminal insane.
Criminal insane?
I'm not insane and I'm not...
I've had a blackout, that's all.
Does that make me a criminal?
Oh, no. It's the other way around.
The crime caused the blackout.
Crime? What crime? What did I do?
I can't tell you that.
I'll say you can't. You've got the wrong man.
And you're afraid to admit it.
I wish that were true for your sake, Mr. Lewis.
However, I attended your trial.
The state called me as an authority on mental diseases.
It was my suggestion that you were sent here for treatment.
How?
How long do I have to stay?
Until I'm convinced you are no longer a menace to society.
All right. Give me a test.
I'll get out of here in a hurry.
I've just given you a test.
And you failed badly.
Why?
Because I can't remember being in trouble?
Well, that could happen to anyone.
No, not in your case, Mr. Lewis.
Your mind has drawn a certain...
a curtain across something it doesn't want to remember.
The crime you committed is buried in your subconscious mind.
Until you can remember everything that happened
from the time you opened that door down to the present moment,
I shall have to detain you.
When you remember your crime and the reason you committed it,
you can walk out of here a free man.
But you're pretty sure I won't do it, aren't you?
Okay, I'm going to fool you.
Dr. Dunlap, Miss Adams, your witness as to what he said.
Understand, Mr. Lewis, I'm interested in reasons.
You'll get everything.
You're a man of your word. I'll be on the street tomorrow.
Come on, Miss Adams.
Outside in the corridor, I felt so relieved,
I threw my arms around Amy and gave her a big kiss.
Then we walked hand in hand toward the stairway.
We met a couple of nurses and Amy stopped to talk to them.
I walked back to Professor Bird's office and listened at the door.
He and Dr. Dunlap were still talking about me.
I heard them mention my name.
I opened the door real easy so they wouldn't notice it.
He's been now a walking zombie.
He couldn't talk, had to be fed, bathed and put to bed like a child.
I'm really very encouraged.
It would surprise me a bit if he recovered.
Don't be absurd, Dunlap. Such cases never recover.
You'll struggle a few weeks, try to remember, then chuck it.
Oh, by the way, I think I ought to know.
What did he do?
Well, understand I don't want it noised around,
but you'd better tell his nurse that he's dangerous,
especially when he thinks he smells perfume.
Oh, yes. Yes, he did mention perfume.
For your information alone, the man's a killer.
Really?
A rattlesnake. He strangled a woman with his hands and he'll do it again.
Here, read his history.
That's all I heard, because Amy picked that moment to come and get me.
But I'd heard enough to realize that something was terribly wrong.
Me? A killer?
Why never hurt anyone in my life?
I'd been framed.
Somebody had committed a murder and pinned it on me because I'd lost my memory
and couldn't defend myself.
The only way to get free was to recall everything that happened,
every single thing from the moment I opened that door.
What if I couldn't remember?
What if I never remembered?
It meant being kept here, locked up for life, for a crime I didn't commit.
Nice spot for an innocent man.
For Suspense, Roma Wines are bringing you as star Robert Young in The High Wall,
a radio drama by Bradbury Foote from his play of the same name.
Roma Wines presentation tonight in radio's outstanding theater of thrills, Suspense.
Between the acts of suspense, this is Truman Bradley for Roma Wines.
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And now Roma Wines bring back to our Hollywood soundstage Robert Young in The High Wall,
a tale well calculated to keep you in suspense.
When I promised Professor Bird that I'd give him the whole story the next day,
I was absolutely sure I could do it.
But I couldn't.
I couldn't remember a single thing that happened during that lost time.
Absolutely blank I was.
I racked my brain for a clue, lay awake nights torturing myself until I nearly had a nervous breakdown.
Then after about three months, I gave up.
Just like Professor Bird said I would.
Chucked it.
When I did, a great feeling of relief came over me.
It was like a heavy weight had been lifted off my chest.
Amy noticed the change in me and I told her the reason one night very late when she came in.
She didn't like it a bit.
Bob, no, you mustn't give up. Don't stop trying.
Amy, there must be some easier way to get out of this place.
Escape, you mean? You can't do it, Bob. There's a high wall.
Yeah, well, there is another way. A sure way.
I can go out feet first.
Feet first? Bob, Bob, you wouldn't do that.
I'm not going to spend the rest of my natural life in this insane asylum.
If there's no other way to escape, I'll go out, like I said, in a box.
Suddenly she was crying like a kid.
Helen used to cry like that.
It never struck me before, but Amy was a lot like Helen.
As I watched her, it almost seemed like she was Helen.
I guess I got a little mixed up because I put my arm around her and lifted her face up to mine.
For a second, I seemed to be holding Helen.
Then I got things straightened out in my mind and I stepped back.
Sorry, Amy. I guess I got a little out of line.
That's all right, Bob.
I wouldn't want you to think I was... well, you know...
No? Why not?
Well, you're going to be Mrs. Dr. Dunlap.
No, that's off, Bob. There's somebody else.
Oh, who is it?
She didn't answer. Didn't have to, I knew.
She stood there looking like she expected me to do something about it, but I didn't.
Then she beckoned to me and made a hush sign and I followed her out of the room.
The ward was quiet, everyone was asleep.
We tiptoed into the solarium and shut the door.
I suppose you know this is liable to cost me my job.
Look at that moon.
Bob, you wouldn't really do anything to yourself, would you?
Why not? I'm not doing myself or anyone else much good locked up in this place.
Bob, dying isn't the answer.
Yes, it is, Amy. Dying is the answer to everything.
Oh, Bob, don't talk like that.
You know, in Burma once, in a jungle, I saw a snake right close to me.
A king cobra it was.
I stood perfectly still, hoping it hadn't seen me.
I didn't breathe.
Then finally I couldn't stand it anymore. I made a quick jump.
But he got me, right through the leg here.
It was a swell chance to die, but I didn't want to.
I crawled through the jungle to a first aid station and I managed to pull through.
For what?
I'd have been better off to die right there.
Oh, no, no.
I kept on talking like that, hardly knowing what I was saying,
because I had a queer feeling that I was telling it to Helen
and letting her know what I'd gone through for her.
Helen always wanted security, and I went out there to get it for her.
Those oil companies paid big money.
Bob, if you could only remember who it was when you opened that door.
Yeah.
What's that perfume you're wearing?
What? Perfume? You know we aren't allowed to use perfume.
Funny, I could swear.
Lean closer.
Of course you are. It's that same stuff that...
Go on. Why don't you?
What?
Kiss me. I want you to.
Sorry to interrupt, but we do have rules here.
Hold it, Dr. Dunlap. The light isn't necessary.
Go to your room, Mr. Lewis.
That's all right, but don't throw the hooks into Amy. It wasn't her fault.
Never mind, Bob. I can defend myself. Go along.
I knew she could handle him, so I went up to my room.
Besides, I had something on my mind.
While I was holding Amy in my arms, I had a...
A vision, I guess you'd call it.
I saw Helen. She was lying on the bed.
The doctor was bending over her.
The room was crowded with people. Everyone was tense, frightened.
Then the doctor straightened up and said,
She's dead.
Helen, my wife was dead.
I remembered it now distinctly.
But that was all. I couldn't remember how or why it happened.
It was just like a photograph.
Nothing led up to it, and what happened after was perfectly blank.
But the fact that Helen was dead didn't seem like a surprise, exactly.
After a while, I heard Dr. Dunlap come up and lock me in.
He hesitated outside the door like he wanted to go in.
He hesitated outside the door like he wanted to come in and ball me out.
Then he went away.
The next thing, Amy was shaking me, trying to wake me up.
Bob! Bob!
Huh? What's the matter?
We're sunk, Bob. He was furious.
I'm discharged, and you're going to be put in another ward.
By that louse, he can't get away with it!
Listen, listen. I know how you can escape.
What? How?
Ella quit her job. She's leaving in the morning.
Her car will be parked in the driveway outside the solarium.
All you have to do is get in the car, lie down on the floor, and pull a rug over you.
Oh, Amy, that's screwy. How would I get outside?
The solarium door is always locked.
That's it. Ella's going to unlock it before she turns in her keys.
Yeah? But I'd be seen.
No, no. They'll all be in church. It's Sunday, Bob.
The minute they start to sing, open the door and slip out.
Oh, Bob, it's the chance of a lifetime. Ella leaving makes it easy.
She'll drive right through the front gate, and they won't even stop her.
Oh, Bob, say you'll do it.
I can't go away and leave you here.
Well, what did I have to lose?
Besides, she started to cry and carry on, so I said, all right.
The funny part of it was, it did work.
I'll bet we were 50 miles from the asylum before they knew I was missing.
Ella picked up Amy at the edge of town and hit for the open road.
We kept going.
The girls got me a hot dog at a roadside stand we kept on.
We began to wonder where we'd spend the night.
I didn't know where I was, but Ella said she knew of a little motel,
one of those places where they don't ask any questions.
It was late before we found the place.
We took two bungalows, the girls in one, me in the other.
I got them settled for the night and then started to leave.
Amy followed me outside.
Bob, stop the plane.
Goodness, it's dark. Where are you?
Here.
You forgot something, Bob.
Oh.
Oh, Bob.
You're sweet.
Why, you're trembling like a leaf.
Scared?
It could be that.
We've been very lucky all day.
Yes, but I think we'd better split up tomorrow.
Oh, no.
You see, they're only looking for me.
They don't connect me with you girls, but Dr. Dunlap's no fool.
He's probably figured it out by this time.
If we travel together, we're sure to be caught.
No, no. If we separate, I'll never find you again.
Bob, don't you want me?
Amy, don't talk like that.
If you're still thinking of Helen...
I'm not. She's dead.
Oh. You know.
Sure.
But who told you?
Dr. Dunlap.
Funny you never mentioned it to me.
What else did he tell you?
Oh, Bob, she isn't here anymore, and we are.
I pulled away from her and walked across to my bungalow.
I guess she thought I was sore.
Bob.
I wasn't. It was just that I...
I knew I couldn't make her understand.
It was something I couldn't explain to anyone.
Helen wasn't gone.
She'd never be gone, not to me.
I opened the door and went in.
Bungalow is a crummy little place.
It reminded me of that hole I lived in in Burma.
I was groggy from driving all day.
Amy had started me thinking of Helen.
I laid there on the bed remembering things.
The night I met Helen.
The first time we danced together.
Our wedding.
Our honeymoon at Jack Pomeroy's cottage in the Berkshires.
I didn't know Jack very well then.
But she did.
Those were happy days.
What you don't know doesn't hurt you.
I was happy afterwards, too.
Each time I forgave her, we'd go on another honeymoon.
She called it starting over from scratch.
But I never should have gone away.
That's what did it.
She couldn't take it.
Well, I'll go up to Fitchburg tomorrow and we'll patch things up.
Someone's knocking at the door.
That's funny.
Nobody knows I'm back in town.
Hello?
Bob, let me in.
Who is it?
Bob, I want to talk to you.
Well, I'll be...
Who told you I was here?
Come in.
Bob, I was talking it over with Ella.
And she thinks you're right.
I met Sam Bradley today. He must have phoned you.
Bob, you're half asleep.
Or maybe he phoned Jack Pomeroy.
Who in the world?
That's the answer. You and Jack want to beat me to the punch.
Oh, no.
Why didn't Jack come with you?
Any other guts?
Easy now, Bob. Let's sit down and talk.
Get away from me.
Very well. I'll have to call Dr. Dunlap.
Get away from that phone.
Sit down.
Better sit down.
Merry Christmas, Helen.
So, that's it.
All right.
I'm sitting.
Who did you say you'd call?
Dr. Dunlap.
Or Dr. Hoffman. He'll give you a nice, cold bath.
That's supposed to be funny.
What do you want here, anyway?
You've been sick. I thought you might need me.
Need you? I never needed you.
I know it now.
All right, all right. Then maybe I need you.
And that's a lie. Because I happen to know what the score is.
Sam Bradley told me.
What about my home?
Somebody else is living in it.
What a rotten deal.
I'm fighting snakes and mud and slime.
Sweating it out in swill piles.
And wondering if I'll ever see daylight again.
And you're here in Boston having the time of your life on my money.
You didn't want me to come back.
But me, like a fool.
I used to drop off to sleep thinking of you.
And then pick you up in my dream.
I could hear you laugh.
See you dancing.
Smell the perfume in your hair.
I talked to you and you answered me.
We planned things we'd do when I got back.
And all the time you were hoping I'd never come back.
Bob dear, don't cry.
Don't cry.
Come on, let's go talk to Ella.
Sit down.
I'm only trying to help you.
You've helped me enough.
I promised Bradley I'd kill you when I found you.
I've got to go through with it.
Bob, I love you.
Oh, not frightened, huh?
You won't hurt me, Bob.
I love you.
The last time you begged for mercy.
Bob, Bob, I'm Amy.
This is Amy.
I'm Amy, don't do it.
Bob.
Oh!
I was pressing my fingers into her throat.
She died game this time.
Didn't kick or make much of a struggle like she did before.
It was almost like she wanted me to do it.
And yet, as long as she lasted it,
she seemed to be begging me with her eyes not to do it.
It didn't take long.
Then she went limp and I let her fall to the floor.
When I let go of her, I...
I kind of lost track of things.
Now, the blackout.
I woke up about a week ago.
It's taken me this long to get things straightened out.
It's winter now, my nurse tells me.
I think she's lying, but I can't prove it.
You see, there's no window in my room.
The walls are padded and the furniture's nailed to the floor.
Suspense!
Presented by Roma Wines.
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This is Truman Bradley for Roma Wines.
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Robert Young may soon be seen in the Hal Wallis Paramount production,
The Searching Wind.
Next Thursday, same time, Roma Wines will bring you
Hume Cronin as star of Suspense, Radio's outstanding theater of thrills.
Produced by William Spear for the Roma Wine Company of Fresno, California.
This is CBS for Columbia Broadcasting System.