Adam Hatch presents...
The Strange Doctor Weird.
Good evening.
Come in, won't you?
I'm here to see you.
Don't you?
Why, what's the matter?
You seem a bit nervous.
Perhaps it would help calm you
if I told you a story that I just heard.
A strange story about a raven
as black as sin
that could talk like a man.
I call my story
The Dark Wings of Death.
Before Doctor Weird takes you to his world of mystery,
a brief look at the world of fashion.
When the new Adam 5 was first designed,
Adam's expert hatters spared no time nor expense
to make sure that the Adam 5 would be smart.
Down to the very last detail.
They got what they wanted, and so will you.
For just five dollars.
The new Adam 5 is now on display
at the thousands of Adam Hatch stores
and authorized dealers from coast to coast.
Step into the one nearest you
and ask to see an Adam 5.
Notice the handsome style.
The perfect fit.
The quality all perfect.
Then, try it on.
Yes, sir.
You'll look like a new man in your Adam 5.
Now, Doctor Weird.
And now for my story
The Dark Wings of Death.
It begins in the small east side apartment
of Ned and Helen Kennedy
who are having a slight discussion.
Ned, I tell you, if your Uncle Simon won't lend you the money
you'll have to kill him and take it, do you hear?
But look, Helen, if we just wait a little longer
he's so old and feeble he may die any day now.
He's so old and feeble he may die any day now.
We can't wait. That shortage in your accounts
will be discovered by next week.
We've talked this all over before.
Why are you hesitating now, you afraid?
It's that pet raven of Uncle's.
It makes me so uneasy.
His raven? So that's it. You're afraid of a bird?
Now, wait a minute, Helen. That raven isn't an ordinary bird.
The way it watches me
with those red eyes and the way it screeches
whenever I'm in the room.
Well, it almost acts as if it knew I was thinking of killing Uncle Simon.
All right, Ned, go to prison then.
No, I'll do it if I have to.
I'm going to try to borrow the money from him first.
You can try, but you won't get it.
Now, you'd better get over to that horrible old tenement
building with his supper.
After he's eaten it and fallen asleep,
remember just how he planned everything.
Turn on the gas heater, unlight it,
so it would look as if it had been blown out
and he'd died in his sleep.
A few minutes later,
Ned Kennedy was entering a small, bitterly cold room
on the top floor of an ancient tenement building
that stood on the very banks of the East River,
its windows looking directly down
from the cold, gray water.
its windows looking directly down from the cold, gray water.
In a bed against the wall,
a white-haired old man lay,
his face lighting up
with malicious amusement as Ned entered.
On the head of the bed
curched a huge black raven,
and as it saw Ned,
it strapped its wings angrily.
It strapped its wings angrily.
Come on in, Ned.
You needn't be afraid of Lucifer.
I brought you some soup and sandwiches for your supper, Uncle Simon.
I'll put them on the table here.
Not poisoned, darling, Ned.
Not poisoned by that pretty little devil you married.
Uncle, for heaven's sake,
don't be absurd.
Here, eat your supper before the soup gets cold.
All right, Ned.
Now then, what's on your mind?
You want something, I can tell.
Out with it, Ned.
All right, Uncle Simon.
I'm $4,000 short in my accounts at the gas company.
I've got to replace the money this week,
or I'll be caught.
You want me to lend it to you, is that it?
Please, Uncle, you've got to.
You wouldn't let your only living relative go to jail, would you?
Ay, of course I would.
If you've stolen, you should pay the penalty.
Why, you miserable old skinflint!
No!
Go!
Lucifer!
Get away from me!
He's trying to get in my eye!
That'll teach him to try to peck on me!
Get him away from me!
He's trying to peck my eyes out!
Lucifer, peck your peck!
Look at my hand!
It's bleeding!
Serves you right.
Next time I won't stop him,
Lucifer will peck your eyes right out of your head,
and your soul right out of your body, Ned.
Yes,
carry them away to be healthy by his master, too.
For heaven's sake, stop that!
Lucifer isn't any ordinary bird.
He's a winged demon,
straight from inferno.
Yes, and as sure as ever you harm me,
Lucifer will snatch you up
and fly off to the pit with you.
I said stop it!
Yes, Mrs. O'Rock, the superintendent's wife downstairs.
Many of the nights she's seen Lucifer
flying away from the window in the darkness,
his eyes gleaming with red fire,
and his claws glowing with phosphorus,
off to pay a visit to the devil,
his master.
Oh, that's just nonsense.
Now, if you're finished, I'll take the dishes away.
You...
You're sure you won't lend me the money, then, Uncle Simon?
No, I won't.
Ten thousand dollars
hidden in the wall here beside my bed, as you know.
You shan't have that
till I die.
I tell you, there's no other way.
If your uncle won't lend you the money,
you have to kill him and take it, you hear?
Good night, Ned.
I'm going to sleep now.
After they put you in jail,
Lucifer and I will come and visit you.
Now and then.
The old skin flint.
He's asleep.
When he's asleep, turn on the gas heater,
unlight it, so it'll look as if it had been blown out.
In an hour, he'll be dead, and it'll look like an accident.
Yes, I have to do it.
I have to do it.
Ah! Ah! Ah!
Ah! Ah!
Ah! Ah! Ah!
Before you take a rest, Dr. Weird,
would you tell me the time?
You're not leaving already, are you?
Oh, not yet, doctor.
I just wanted to remind the man of our audience that
whatever the hour, they're usually meeting
people whose opinions they just naturally value.
Calling on business associates,
joining a friend at lunch,
going to the theater.
Those are the times you want to look your best.
And nothing counts more
in making a good impression than your personal appearance.
Naturally,
clothes are important.
But what's equally important is that
every article fits into the picture.
That's where Adam hats come in.
Because the style of an Adam
is just right.
Made of fine quality, all fur felt,
in the smartest shades,
Adam hats are the last word in fashion.
Carefully designed,
down to the smallest detail,
and long-wearing as well.
And Adam is a wise investment
in your personal appearance.
So, if you want to look your best,
stop your clothes picture
with a new Adam hat.
Now,
Dr. Weird.
And now to continue my story,
The Dark Wings of Death.
After leaving the gas heater,
turned on full and unlighted,
in his uncle's tiny room,
Ned has just reached home.
Helen! Helen!
Ned, you did it, didn't you? I can tell by your face.
Yes, I had to. He absolutely
refused to lend me the money. I told you he would.
You got it anywhere, didn't you? Where is it? Let me see it.
Why, I haven't got it yet. You haven't? Why not?
Well, I couldn't get it until he was dead, of course.
Until the room was filled with gas
and he's breathed it for a while. Oh, yes, of course.
But I said it'd be easy.
And it was, wasn't it? Yes.
Except for the raven.
It attacked me. Look at my hand.
Just a scratch. Don't tell me you're
still worried about that bird. Well, suppose it attacks me
again when I go back for the money. Forget it.
The raven will be dead too. The gas will kill it.
Oh, yes, yes, of course. In any case,
I'm going back with you. We'll wait until
midnight. He's sure to be dead by then.
Oh, and another thing. The room
will be full of gas. We'll have to wear masks
of some kind. Masks? Why, I hadn't
thought of that. Well, I did.
As auditor, you have keys to the gas company office.
We'll go down now and get two of the
masks the workmen use when they're repairing leaks
in the mains. In the morning, you can
replace them and no one will ever know.
It was just after midnight
when Ned stood once more
in the cold, dark hall outside
his uncle's door. Helen
at his side. I don't hear
any sound inside. Of course not.
They're both dead. Come on. Put on your
mask and let's get it over with. All right.
Here, now this scrap goes over your head.
Now breathe through your mouth.
You can talk too. These masks
are the latest type. Talk?
Yes, I can, can't I? There.
Now we're all set. Have
your flashlight on. We mustn't turn on any
lights. The least spark would
explode the gas and blow us sky high.
I know. Come on.
He's dead.
Of course he is.
Where's the raven? Oh, what does it matter? Come on.
Help me move the bed. You take that in.
All right. Take it easy now.
He looks as if he were asleep. Oh, forget
him. Where did he keep the money?
There's a loose board. Listen,
the raven, it's still alive.
It can't be. I don't hear it.
It's first on that chair.
It's wings. Oh, get away from me.
Get away. Ned, get hold of yourself.
There's nothing there. Nothing, I tell you.
There is. It attacked me. Look out. Here
it comes again. Trying to get
my eyes. Keep it away. Keep it away.
Ned, tensed till you back this right up against the
window. I tell you, there's nothing there.
It's just your imagination. It's coming at my
eyes again. I'll stop it. I'll stop it.
Ned, that gun, where'd you get it?
I brought it with me in case of an emergency.
I'll stop that raven. Don't use that gun,
you fool. This room is full of gas.
The shot would make it explode and kill us both. Look out.
It's coming at me again. Don't.
A short time
later, Mrs. O'Rourke, wife of the
superintendent, was telling the police
a strange story.
Just at midnight it was, officer. And I'm
standing at the window when up above there's an
explosion there to wake the dead.
And outside my window I see a great flash of
light. And what else do you suppose?
You've already told us, Mrs. O'Rourke.
You saw a man and a woman
blown clear out through the window and into
the river down there. Blown off nothing.
They was flying through the air holding
onto each other. And that raven had his claws
in the man's hair and was flying away with
them. His eyes blazing fire
as he took them off to the devil, his master.
Now, Mrs. O'Rourke, you're
letting your imagination run away with you.
I know what I saw.
But you can't have seen that.
Because we found the raven dead on
the floor beside the old man's bed.
The gas had killed the two of them.
Both together.
Strange about Ned and Helen,
wasn't it? Their bodies
were never recovered from the river.
It was almost as if they really
had been carried off to some place
and not on this earth.
But since Lucifer the Raven
was found dead beside his master's
bed, what do you suppose
it was that flew with Ned
in the darkness?
Birds never have ghosts.
Or do they?
Oh, you have to
go. And perhaps you'll
drop in again soon.
Just look for
the house on the other side
of the cemetery.
The house of
Dr. Weird.
While Dr. Weird prepares
his statement of next week's thriller,
I'd like to read a brief statement
from the makers of Adam Hats, who bring
you this program. Quote,
Our purpose is to whopper hats
of the finest style, made of the finest
material, and executed with
the finest workmanship. We want
you to know that your Adam Hat
is a quality hat. At
the same time, we want your purse to know
that Adam offers a great
value. So we present our
smart line of Adam Hats
at prices which we honestly believe
give you the most for your money.
Millions of men agree with us,
and we're sure you will too.
Step into any of the thousands
of Adam Hat stores and authorized
retailers all over the nation,
and our hatters will be glad
to show you our latest line
of fine-looking Adam Hats,
priced from $3.45
to $10.00. Unquote.
Now,
Dr. Weird.
I hope you'll drop in again next week.
I want to tell you a story
I call The Secret Room.
It's a story
about two escaped Nazi
prisoners who were quite
sure they were smarter than the...
the rest of the
story will have to wait until
your next visit.
Good night.
Music
Join us again next
week at this same time
for another visit with The
Strange Dr. Weird.
Sound of thunder
The Strange Dr. Weird, directed by
Jacques McGregor, is presented by
the makers of Adam Hats, the hats
that are always top in
quality. Dick Willard speaking.
This is
The Strange Dr. Weird,