WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.000 The strange Dr. Weird. 00:12.000 --> 00:13.000 Good evening. 00:14.000 --> 00:16.000 Come in, won't you? 00:18.000 --> 00:20.000 You seem a bit nervous. 00:21.000 --> 00:24.000 Perhaps a story would take your mind off whatever's worrying you. 00:25.000 --> 00:28.000 I have a very important matter to discuss. 00:28.000 --> 00:30.000 I'm sure you'll like it. 00:31.000 --> 00:35.000 It takes place on a tiny island in the mystery-haunted South Pacific. 00:36.000 --> 00:39.000 And I call it White Pearls of Freedom. 00:49.000 --> 00:52.000 And now for my story, White Pearls of Terror. 00:53.000 --> 00:56.000 In the small harbor of the tiny island of Barota, 00:56.000 --> 00:59.000 a barren, desolate bit of coral lost in the South Pacific, 01:00.000 --> 01:03.000 a dilapidated pearling boat rides at anchor 01:04.000 --> 01:07.000 in a trading shack of corrugated iron on the shore. 01:08.000 --> 01:12.000 Two burly-bearded white men watch a half-breed merchant 01:12.000 --> 01:14.000 gather together supplies, 01:14.000 --> 01:18.000 listening as they wait to the monotonous beating of a native drum 01:18.000 --> 01:20.000 in the darkness outside. 01:21.000 --> 01:24.000 Repeat, sake, Wong. What's that infernal racket anyway? 01:24.000 --> 01:27.000 Honored Father sacrifices chicken to turn away anger 01:27.000 --> 01:29.000 out of the storm card, Captain Blake. 01:29.000 --> 01:31.000 Well, tell him to stop it. It's getting on my nerves. 01:31.000 --> 01:34.000 Take it easy, Blake. We'll be gone in a few minutes. 01:34.000 --> 01:37.000 The glass is falling fast and there is a storm coming up. 01:37.000 --> 01:39.000 We're in the typhoon season now, you know. 01:39.000 --> 01:42.000 And I'll be plenty glad to see the last of this rotten speck of coral, 01:42.000 --> 01:43.000 believe me. 01:43.000 --> 01:46.000 Even though we're leaving with empty pockets, we can't go too soon. 01:46.000 --> 01:50.000 Wong, sorry you'll find no pearls. Another year better, maybe. 01:50.000 --> 01:52.000 Here are supplies. 11 dollars. 01:52.000 --> 01:53.000 All right, pay him, Phelps. 01:53.000 --> 01:58.000 In a moment. Wong, why do you and your father live all alone here on Barota? 01:58.000 --> 02:00.000 Don't you ever find it lonely? 02:00.000 --> 02:03.000 Wong, an honored father never lonely, Mr. Phelps. 02:03.000 --> 02:07.000 You know, Wong, in Tahiti I met a native who knew you. 02:07.000 --> 02:10.000 He told me your mother was Chinese and your father used to be a Tahiti witch doctor. 02:10.000 --> 02:12.000 Ah, it's true. You pay now, please. 02:12.000 --> 02:14.000 He told me something else, too. 02:14.000 --> 02:18.000 He said the two of you live here because you know a secret pearling bed down the reef 02:18.000 --> 02:20.000 and that eating it is a good thing. 02:20.000 --> 02:24.000 You have a leather bag full of the finest white pearls that ever came out of the South Seas. 02:24.000 --> 02:25.000 It's not true. 02:25.000 --> 02:27.000 I think it is. Grab him, Blake. 02:27.000 --> 02:28.000 No, no, no, no. 02:28.000 --> 02:30.000 Stand still, Wong, or I'll break your arm. 02:30.000 --> 02:32.000 It's not true, Wong, an honored father have no pearls. 02:32.000 --> 02:34.000 And I say it is true. 02:34.000 --> 02:37.000 And so we're not leaving Barota with empty hands. 02:37.000 --> 02:51.000 Before we leave Wong, you're going to tell us where you keep those pretty white pearls. 02:51.000 --> 02:56.000 Phelps, I'm going out there and put a bullet through that infernal witch doctor father of Wong's. 02:56.000 --> 02:58.000 That drum is driving me crazy. 02:58.000 --> 02:59.000 Ah, stop it, Blake. 02:59.000 --> 03:01.000 We got to finish with Wong and get away. 03:01.000 --> 03:03.000 There's a storm coming up and we got to be well offshore when it hits. 03:03.000 --> 03:05.000 All right, then. Make him come out. 03:05.000 --> 03:08.000 A little more pressure on this cord around this for it. 03:08.000 --> 03:09.000 Ah, ah, ah. 03:09.000 --> 03:11.000 Yeah, well, Wong. 03:11.000 --> 03:13.000 Yes, Wong, sir. Wong, tell the old one. 03:13.000 --> 03:15.000 Yeah, it's more like it. 03:15.000 --> 03:17.000 Ah, where are they? 03:17.000 --> 03:19.000 The cord behind you. 03:19.000 --> 03:20.000 The board is loose. 03:20.000 --> 03:21.000 Take a look, Blake. 03:21.000 --> 03:22.000 Right, sure. 03:22.000 --> 03:23.000 Oh, oh. 03:23.000 --> 03:25.000 Yeah, there's a loose board here, all right. 03:25.000 --> 03:27.000 And a little leather pouch under it. 03:27.000 --> 03:28.000 I've got it. 03:28.000 --> 03:29.000 Bring it here. Let's take a look. 03:29.000 --> 03:31.000 Yeah, hold out your hand. I'll pour him out. 03:31.000 --> 03:33.000 Oh, look. 03:33.000 --> 03:35.000 Six white pearls as big as marbles. 03:35.000 --> 03:36.000 Only six. 03:36.000 --> 03:37.000 Yeah, there should be more. 03:37.000 --> 03:38.000 Where are the rest, Wong? 03:38.000 --> 03:40.000 Oh, no more, please. Six pearls all... 03:40.000 --> 03:42.000 Wait a minute. I think he's telling the truth. 03:42.000 --> 03:44.000 It helps. Listen, I find it weird. 03:44.000 --> 03:46.000 We got to get outside the reefs in a hurry. 03:46.000 --> 03:48.000 All right. I thought there'd be more. 03:48.000 --> 03:50.000 But these six will do nicely. 03:50.000 --> 03:52.000 They should bring a couple of thousand apiece. 03:52.000 --> 03:55.000 In two months, we'll be in San Francisco living like kings. 03:55.000 --> 03:56.000 No, too late. 03:56.000 --> 03:57.000 What do you mean? 03:57.000 --> 03:59.000 Listen. 03:59.000 --> 04:01.060 The drum. It's got to be in the 04:01.060 --> 04:03.060 drum. It's getting louder. 04:03.060 --> 04:05.060 Listen to it. 04:07.060 --> 04:09.060 Now, stop. 04:11.060 --> 04:13.060 And God of the storm hath answered. 04:13.060 --> 04:16.060 Prayer of honored father for vengeance accepted. 04:16.060 --> 04:17.060 What are you talking about? 04:17.060 --> 04:19.060 Honored father knows you taught your wongs. 04:19.060 --> 04:22.060 In the darkness, he makes prayer to bring punishment. 04:22.060 --> 04:24.060 Now he will make sacrifice. Listen. 04:24.060 --> 04:26.060 Ah! 04:26.060 --> 04:27.060 What was that? 04:27.060 --> 04:31.060 Honored father makes greater sacrifice to his gods. 04:31.060 --> 04:33.060 He gives his own life. 04:33.060 --> 04:35.060 Now you have pearls. 04:35.060 --> 04:37.060 But they bring you only evil. 04:37.060 --> 04:38.060 They bring you death. 04:38.060 --> 04:40.060 The creeping death that walks with you in life. 04:40.060 --> 04:43.060 When you hear the drum, think of the father of wong and the death he sent you. 04:43.060 --> 04:45.060 Shut him up! Will you make him stop? 04:45.060 --> 04:47.060 Shut him up! 04:51.060 --> 04:53.060 Yeah, that's that. 04:53.060 --> 04:54.060 Now they're both dead. 04:54.060 --> 04:56.060 Come on. We got to get to the boat. 04:56.060 --> 04:57.060 Hey, folks. 04:57.060 --> 04:58.060 Eh? 04:58.060 --> 05:00.060 Listen to that wind. It's too late. 05:00.060 --> 05:02.060 We can't get away. 05:02.060 --> 05:04.060 We can't get away! 05:11.060 --> 05:13.060 Our story will continue in a moment. 05:13.060 --> 05:16.060 But first, is there a doctor in the house? 05:16.060 --> 05:18.060 Young man, I am a doctor. 05:18.060 --> 05:21.060 Oh, so you are, Dr. Weird, after a fashion. 05:21.060 --> 05:23.060 But can you handle this case? 05:23.060 --> 05:25.060 I cure all cases. 05:25.060 --> 05:27.060 Heh. Permanently. 05:27.060 --> 05:28.060 Well, here are the facts. 05:28.060 --> 05:30.060 The patient is seen frequently in business offices. 05:30.060 --> 05:32.060 On street corners. Everywhere. 05:32.060 --> 05:34.060 His clothes are always neat. 05:34.060 --> 05:35.060 Impeccably stylish. 05:35.060 --> 05:37.060 Yet something about him just isn't right. 05:37.060 --> 05:40.060 Brief diagnosis shows he's in perfect shape. 05:40.060 --> 05:42.060 Except for his hat. 05:42.060 --> 05:45.060 Gentlemen, this may be your case. 05:45.060 --> 05:49.060 Too often, a poorly made shapeless hat can spoil your whole appearance. 05:49.060 --> 05:51.060 Don't take chances. 05:51.060 --> 05:53.060 Choose a smart, up to the minute, Adam. 05:53.060 --> 05:55.060 They're correctly shaped and styled. 05:55.060 --> 05:58.060 And made of the finest all-fur felt. 05:58.060 --> 06:03.060 No wonder men who are tops in the business, sport, and entertainment world wear an Adam. 06:03.060 --> 06:06.060 For Adam is tops in hats. 06:06.060 --> 06:10.060 So stop in at any Adam store or authorized dealer. 06:10.060 --> 06:13.060 There are thousands from coast to coast. 06:13.060 --> 06:17.060 And set yourself up in a nice new Adam hat. 06:17.060 --> 06:23.060 Now, Dr. Weird. 06:23.060 --> 06:27.060 And now to continue my story, White Pearls of Terror. 06:27.060 --> 06:31.060 For two days, a typhoon raged over the tiny island of Barota. 06:31.060 --> 06:37.060 While Phelps and Blake cowered inside the trading shack that had belonged to the dead half-breed merchant Wong. 06:37.060 --> 06:40.060 The wind hurled their boat on the reefs and sank it. 06:40.060 --> 06:43.060 Blew down most of the palm trees on the island. 06:43.060 --> 06:47.060 And wade away to storehouse where Wong's provisions had been kept. 06:47.060 --> 06:51.060 When at last the wind died and the sun shone again, 06:51.060 --> 06:59.060 Blake and Phelps crawled out of the shack to stare dazedly at a scene of utter desolation. 06:59.060 --> 07:02.060 Phelps, look, the boat's gone. 07:02.060 --> 07:05.060 We're stranded here. I tell you, we're stranded here. 07:05.060 --> 07:08.060 Oh, stow it, Blake. There'll be a trading vessel along soon. 07:08.060 --> 07:10.060 Yeah, but suppose there isn't. We'll die here. 07:10.060 --> 07:12.060 The grove's open, washed away. The palm trees are down. 07:12.060 --> 07:14.060 We'll start to death. 07:14.060 --> 07:17.060 It's the curse, the curse Wong's father put on us. 07:17.060 --> 07:19.060 We shouldn't have taken the pearls. We shouldn't have taken them. 07:19.060 --> 07:22.060 I said stow it. Suppose we have to stay here a few months. 07:22.060 --> 07:25.060 We got the shack for shelter and we can live on shellfish. 07:25.060 --> 07:28.060 We stowed out the pearls. When we do get away, we'll live like kings. 07:28.060 --> 07:30.060 We'll never get away. We're gonna die here. 07:30.060 --> 07:35.060 All during the storm, I heard that drum beating, the witch doctor's drum, telling us we're going to die here. 07:35.060 --> 07:37.060 Get a grip on yourself, will you? 07:37.060 --> 07:40.060 Wong's dead. The old witch doctor's dead too. 07:40.060 --> 07:43.060 Their bodies are gone. The sharks have finished them by now. 07:43.060 --> 07:46.060 When we are rescued, we only have to say they were killed in a storm. 07:46.060 --> 07:48.060 And we'll be in the clear. We'll be all right. 07:48.060 --> 07:50.060 No, no, the drum. I heard it beating. 07:50.060 --> 07:53.060 We'll never get away. We're gonna die. 07:53.060 --> 07:55.060 This'll shut you up. 07:55.060 --> 07:59.060 There. I say we're gonna be all right. 07:59.060 --> 08:04.060 The days became weeks and the weeks became months. 08:04.060 --> 08:09.060 Blake and Phelps lived on shellfish and coconuts and drank rainwater. 08:09.060 --> 08:14.060 Day after day, they scanned the horizon, a sign of a rescue ship. 08:14.060 --> 08:18.060 And day after day, Blake's despair mounted. 08:18.060 --> 08:21.060 Blake, Blake, come on, get up. 08:21.060 --> 08:24.060 It's your turn to go down to the beach and dig clams and keep an eye out for the sharks. 08:24.060 --> 08:29.060 No, it's no use. We're never going to be rescued. 08:29.060 --> 08:32.060 We may be rescued today. Come on now, turn out. 08:32.060 --> 08:35.060 I tell you we're gonna stay here forever. We're gonna die here. 08:35.060 --> 08:36.060 We're still alive, ain't we? 08:36.060 --> 08:40.060 Alive. Nothing to eat but clams and crabs and coconuts. 08:40.060 --> 08:44.060 I'd rather be dead. You hear me? I'd rather be dead. 08:44.060 --> 08:47.060 I tell you we're gonna be rescued. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. 08:47.060 --> 08:50.060 Listen, do you hear me? 08:50.060 --> 08:54.060 No, I didn't hear anything. 08:54.060 --> 08:57.060 There it goes again. Don't you understand? 08:57.060 --> 08:59.060 It's a ship. We're as good as rescued right now. 08:59.060 --> 09:02.060 I didn't hear anything except the drum. 09:02.060 --> 09:04.060 The old witch doctor's drum. 09:04.060 --> 09:07.060 It's beating again just like it did that night. 09:07.060 --> 09:08.060 Blake, get hold of yourself. 09:08.060 --> 09:11.060 Come on, I'll prove that with the ship we heard. 09:11.060 --> 09:12.060 Here, come on down to the shore. 09:12.060 --> 09:15.060 The drum. I can hear the drum. 09:15.060 --> 09:17.060 Look, I can hear the drum. 09:17.060 --> 09:20.060 I can hear the drum. 09:20.060 --> 09:23.060 Look, Blake, a British gunboat off the reefs 09:23.060 --> 09:25.060 and a ship's boat heading for the shore. We're saved. 09:25.060 --> 09:27.060 No, it's too late. The drum. 09:27.060 --> 09:30.060 He said when we heard the drum to remember his vengeance, 09:30.060 --> 09:31.060 the creeping death. 09:31.060 --> 09:34.060 Blake, get hold of yourself, will you? 09:34.060 --> 09:37.060 Hello, hello, the island. 09:37.060 --> 09:39.060 They see us. They call us. 09:39.060 --> 09:42.060 Oh, we're saved and we got the pearls. 09:42.060 --> 09:46.060 In a month we'll be in San Francisco living like kings. 09:46.060 --> 09:48.060 Well, no, it's too late. 09:48.060 --> 09:51.060 The drum is beating. It's bewitching the pearls. 09:51.060 --> 09:53.060 We haven't got any pearls anymore. 09:53.060 --> 09:55.060 They've stuck to your face now. 09:55.060 --> 09:58.060 Little round pearls, two of them, three of them. 09:58.060 --> 10:00.060 They're stuck to your face. 10:00.060 --> 10:02.060 I tell you there's no drums beating. 10:02.060 --> 10:04.060 It's just your mind. It's... 10:04.060 --> 10:06.060 There. 10:06.060 --> 10:08.060 Now you hear it too, don't you? 10:08.060 --> 10:10.060 No, but on your face. 10:10.060 --> 10:13.060 Two little white spots, silvery white spots. 10:13.060 --> 10:16.060 Yes, they're the pearls that have been bewitched. 10:16.060 --> 10:19.060 The drum. You listen to it? 10:19.060 --> 10:21.060 Blake, those silvery spots. 10:21.060 --> 10:23.060 The drum, it won't stop. 10:23.060 --> 10:26.060 Blake, we've been on this island almost a year. 10:26.060 --> 10:30.060 Living in that stinking little shack where Wong and his father lived. 10:30.060 --> 10:33.060 Eating out of their dishes, sleeping in their blankets. 10:33.060 --> 10:35.060 That's louder and louder. 10:35.060 --> 10:37.060 You know I know why Wong and his father lived here all alone. 10:37.060 --> 10:39.060 They didn't want anyone to know. 10:39.060 --> 10:41.060 That's what the marks on our face mean. 10:41.060 --> 10:43.060 The creeping dead. 10:43.060 --> 10:46.060 The drum. It says that we're never going to get away. 10:46.060 --> 10:48.060 That we're going to die here. 10:48.060 --> 10:51.060 Yes, your Roger. We are going to die here someday. 10:51.060 --> 10:54.060 Because now nobody's ever going to take us off the island. 10:54.060 --> 10:56.060 Wong and his father were lepers. 10:56.060 --> 10:58.060 And now we're lepers too. 10:58.060 --> 11:12.060 We've been on this island. We've both become lepers. 11:12.060 --> 11:14.060 Well, how do you feel now? 11:14.060 --> 11:20.060 Perhaps what you really need to steady your nerves is a nice trip. 11:20.060 --> 11:23.060 A voyage to the South Seas. 11:23.060 --> 11:27.060 You could stop at Barota and meet Phelps and Blake. 11:27.060 --> 11:29.060 Yes, they're still living there. 11:29.060 --> 11:31.060 Great alone. 11:31.060 --> 11:34.060 They'd welcome a little company and... 11:34.060 --> 11:36.060 Oh, you're going? 11:36.060 --> 11:39.060 We'll drop you in again soon. I'm always home. 11:39.060 --> 11:44.060 Just look for the house on the other side of the cemetery. 11:44.060 --> 11:58.060 The house of Dr. Weird.