Mr. Carter, the waiter.
Mr. Carter?
Billionaire sportsman Grayson Carter
is the fifth victim in a chain of murders
more fantastic than any to be found in police annals,
a chain of murders perpetrated
by the mysterious self-appointed angel of vengeance
known only as Dr. rx,
who has usurped the prerogative
of making up for the courtroom impotency
of the district attorney.
Two months ago, Carter was himself tried for murder
and acquitted because of the jury-mesmerizing genius
of a brilliant defense attorney,
tried and acquitted as four others had been before him.
This morning in his exclusive club bedroom,
he was found strangled to death
as his four predecessors had been.
Pinned to his pajamas was the doctor's calling card,
the familiar slip of white paper
with which the other victims were tagged.
And scrawled in the upper left-hand corner
was the customary rx,
and in the center, a similarly scrawled numeral five
to indicate Grayson Carter's place in this
strange sequence of retribution.
Horatio Fitz Washington.
Is that a name or a place?
It's a name, what you think it is?
Sign here.
Talking about is that a name or place.
Ain't you never heard of Washington?
Ain't you studied your history?
You don't know nothing.
That's the greatest name in here.
Don't you know what he done?
Why, he went across the Mississippi river
in the dead wintertime.
And all that ice.
Now you're talking about you don't know who Washington is.
So long, Fitz.
Never heard such contempt.
Gonna tell me about he know who Washington is, Fritz!
Ain't that something?
Telegram, good news or bad news?
I don't like a telegram no how.
Horatio, that's me.
Meet me, Newark airport, 8:10 tomorrow morning.
Tell no one of my arrival.
Church.
Airport, airplanes, clouds, bird's nest, eggs.
Breakfast.
Whoa, I didn't do it, I didn't do it.
Now, wait a minute, mister, wait.
You remember me, Horatio?
Oh, you wouldn't by any chance
be Mr. church, is you?
Well, I'm not not your grandmother.
Why weren't you at the airport to meet me?
I'm on my way right now, yes sir.
It wasn't because I forgot.
I don't forget anymore.
I got a system.
I've taken my mind what I want to remember
and that reminds me of something else.
And that reminds me of what I forgot.
Did you tell anybody I was getting in?
No sir, nobody.
No, moan, phone.
- No. - Yes, sir.
Well, answer it, Horatio b Fitz Washington.
If you please.
= Mr. church's residence.
Hello.
Who do you want to speak to, Mr. church?
I'll see.
Who's calling?
No sir, he ain't in, captain hurd.
He went to south America.
No sir, he ain't back.
And he ain't coming back.
See,
how did you know I got back?
It's in in all the morning papers.
Don't you read your press notices?
Not unless they're wished on me.
Well, get this.
Famous sleuth returns from south America.
Jerry church, famous detective,
who's unraveled many tangled murder styles,
is returning this morning after a years absence.
All right, all right.
Well, you got back just in time
for a swell murder trial, Jerry.
Yeah, Tony zarini, bumped off a pal.
Crispin"s defending him.
You may see Dr. rx at work.
I'm not interested in Dr. rx, abc,
or any other medical.
I'm through playing cops and robbers
and I'm going back to Boston
to the family bond business.
Did you say blonde business?
Yeah, and I'm through with that too.
Look, you can't quit now, Jerry.
They say you were getting up while the getting's good.
Afraid to match wits with Dr. rx.
Maybe I am, maybe I'm smart.
Look me up when you get to Boston.
Oh, listen to reason, will you, Jerry?
All right, all right, quit.
I hope dry rot sets in.
So long.
1 said...
Who, crispin?
What do you want to send him up for?
Yeah, I know I know his brother Dudley.
Oh, skip it.
What is this, get up.
Yes sir, getting up now, boss, getting up right up.
Nevermind, I'll get it.
Get out of that clown suit.
= clown suit?
Boss.
Mr. church? = yes.
I'm John crispin.
Yes, I know, won't you come in?
Go right in. = thanks.
I rather imagine you expected
to see my brother, Dudley.
Yes, I did.
Would you sit down?
= thanks.
Yes well, Dudley would've come
but he's in the middle of the zarini trial.
He needs your help very badly, Mr. church.
If it concerns a psychopathic position
who's been streamlining justice while I've been away,
I'm afraid I can't help him.
I'm leaving New York permanently.
Cigarette?
= no thanks.
But Dudley's practice is being ruined.
His life may be in danger, or his wife's.
There have been threats.
He's confident that you can run down
this murderer, Mr. church.
I hope we can persuade you to change your plans.
I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid you can't.
= oh.
Well then, there's nothing more to be said.
= care for a drink?
No thanks, it's a little early for me.
I wonder if you'd Grant us one favor.
If I can, I'll be glad to.
Will you talk to Dudley, Mr. church?
You could give him valuable counsel.
If he can make it tonight.
= of course.
Shall Dudley come here or will you
come to long island?
I'll come to long island.
Good, thanks very much.
- Morning. - Morning.
I beg your pardon, Mr. church.
This morning, I was slightly negligee.
But it'll never happen again.
= huh?
Slightly negligee, a little more than that, aren't you?
Why don't you just give up and go back to bed?
Ooh, good gracious.
Good evening, Mr. church.
Mr. crispin is expecting you.
This way, sir, please.
Mr. crispin asks that you make yourself at home, sir.
He'll be here in a moment.
Thank you.
Good evening.
I'm Mrs. crispin.
You, of course, are Mr. church.
That's right.
I'm so glad you've come, Mr. church.
I do hope you can help us.
Oh, hello there, church.
- Good evening. - Glad to see you.
You've met Mrs. crispin, I see.
Yes.
Well, your trip seems to have agreed with you.
You should take this Dr. rx with a knockout.
= I'm afraid it's no match.
As I told your brother, I'm leaving New York.
= oh.
We've got to persuade Mr. church
to change his plans, Eileen.
Well, I'll leave that to you, dear.
Goodnight, Mr. church.
Goodnight, Mrs. crispin.
Sit down, Mr. church.
= Eileen.
John, I thought you'd gone.
Come in, I want to talk to you.
You talked with John, didn't you?
Yes.
Did he tell you that three of those victims
were my clients?
= no.
Well, they were.
It's enough to ruin me.
Nobody but a fool would attain me now.
Then you consider zarini a fool.
Well, he was fool enough to believe
that his bodyguards could protect him.
Seem to have a great deal of respect
for this phantom practitioner.
= confidence would be a better word.
Church, I'll give you $10,000 if you'll take this case.
And $10,000 more if you break it.
You're a hard man to turn down, Mr. crispin.
But I'm afraid I'll have to leave it to the police.
The police?
Wait a minute, don't go out there.
The push button let him out.
Listen.
Whoever it was beat him to the gate.
Major, come here.
Here, major. - Dudley.
What was it, Dudley?
Nothing, major was barking so I let him out
on the chance that there was a prowler.
Probably somebody outside the grounds.
Come here, major.
No no, he's all right, he's all right.
It's all right.
Then there was someone. = yes.
I didn't want to alarm you.
May I see that?
Certainly.
This whole thing wasn't staged for my benefit, was it?
You don't think that Mrs. Crispin's pretending, do you?
I'll accept your offer.
Oh, good.
= that is a relief.
I was sure you would.
I have the cheque all ready for you.
I'd like to ask one thing.
That you keep this as quiet as possible.
Oh, certainly.
Goodnight.
Goodnight, Mrs. crispin. Goodnight, goodnight.
= thanks.
Oh, by the way, will you see that that
small gate out there gets a little oil?
Hello?
Hello, Mr. crispin.
I thought you didn't want anyone
to know you were on the case.
Well, I didn't.
Who put it in the papers?
Couldn't be that Butler of yours, eh?
All right, I'll call you later.
Horatio, where's the morning paper?
Did you call me, Mr. church?
Yes, where's the paper?
Yes, sir.
I forgot to remember to get it.
Nevermind, I got one.
Maybe you can tell me what this means.
Oh relax, come and have a cup of coffee.
Don't think you've got me with that Boston stuff either.
You're getting too smart for the police force.
Maybe I am already, hey.
I know, no sugar, no cream.
What's the matter with you?
I've temporarily just remembered
what this string is on my finger for.
That is to remind you you're a Billy goat.
Now go and make some fresh coffee.
Yes sir, I got it, it's already made.
Coming right up.
Look, Jerry.
Let's bury the hatchet, huh?
Working together, we land this Dr. rx.
It's big.
There's plenty in it for both of us.
What do you say?
We're big enough to forget the past, aren't we?
All right, I guess so.
You got any hunches?
Not yet, but I might run onto something hot
at the zarini trial.
Good, now we work together.
We pool everything.
No holding out, huh?
Shake.
Thanks, partner.
Have you reached a verdict?
We have, your honor.
The defendant will rise and face the jury.
What is your verdict?
We, the jury, find the defendant not guilty.
= order.
Order in this courtroom.
I can recall no more flagrant miscarriage of justice
in the courts of this state.
You are discharged.
This court is adjourned.
Get away from me, get away from me.
Get away from me, get those things away from me.
No stick, no shiver.
Got any statement, da?
You heard what the judge said.
Stand back, stand back,
alright now, get out of it.
Water, please.
Tony, Tony!
Somebody get a doctor.
Is there a doctor here?
= I'm a doctor.
See what you can do for him.
There's nothing I can do for him.
The man's dead.
Dead?
= this was in his hand.
= Dr. rx and the number six.
What are you grinning about?
I suppose you've got it all wrapped up.
Well, I can give you a real good suspect.
Yeah, who?
= Ernie Paul.
Oh, quit your kidding, would you, Jerry?
I'm not kidding.
He benefits by zarini's death, doesn't he?
Yeah, he gets the nightclub and zarini's girl.
So you don't doubt his capacity
to commit murder, do you?
= no but...
Well, reason to commit a crime
plus capacity to commit it equals suspect.
But he had no reason to kill the other five guys.
Well, I'm not saying that he's Dr. rx.
Just that he's smart enough to know
that the doc would be blamed for zarini's murder.
May have something there.
Where are you going?
To get Ernie Paul.
Where's Ernie Paul?
= he's out of town.
Who tipped him off I was coming?
= he said a dame called.
Dame, my eye.
Wait a minute, who asked you to have a drink?
Where were you on the night of January?
What month?
= nevermind.
Hello, windbag.
What do you want?
You're crazy, I didn't tip anyone off.
A woman's voice?
Did you go straight up there when you left here?
Did you speak to anyone?
Well, you better put out a drag net.
You've got one, haven't you?
I gotit, I got it, Mr. church.
I knows what comes after goat.
It's goatskin and then parchment
and then lamps and lamp shades and microphones.
Why don't you get yourself
a job shoveling coal?
I will, but I ain't got no shovel.
Goes down to the apartment down below.
Horatio, get me the evening papers
and bring me a drink, will you?
Yes, sir.
Hey, where you going?
I'm going to get the papers and the drink.
But you said...
= in there.
Now? = now.
Suppose somebody's in there.
I hope there is.
You hope?
Suppose I meet somebody in there.
Well, tell them you're sorry,
but you got in the wrong apartment by mistake.
Hmm, it will be a mistake.
You know there's a lid in here.
What's the matter with you?
Pry it open, use your head.
Okey-dokey, yes, I'll do it.
Ouch!
What's the matter?
What you told me, you told me to use my head.
Mr. church, don't block this tunnel
because I might be coming back.
Go around and open the front door for me.
That's providing if I don't get delayed.
Hey, where do you think you're going?
Home.
= what's the matter?
He pulled a knife on me.
Who?
Whole lot of them, one of them in there.
They're right in there.
Mr. church, don't go in there.
Don't go in there, Mr. church.
I'm telling you, don't go in there now.
Come outta there.
What's the matter, I ain't gonna hurt nothing.
You're not gonna get a chance.
Now take off your hat and sit down.
Okay, okay.
You know what I think? - Yeah.
It adds up to a grand total of nothing.
Is this what drew a knife on you?
Can I help it if my imagination was too strong?
It's hurd and sweeney.
And besides, I got a lump on my head too.
I think church got scared about
tipping Ernie Paul and took a powder.
Oh, church doesn't scare.
Anyhow, it was a dirty trick.
It's okay, I'm still one up on them.
You mean the zarini autopsy?
Shut up, you talk too much.
What's the matter, there ain't nobody here.
Get upstairs and keep hurd there.
Yes, sir.
Okay, me and captain hurd
are at church's apartment if you want
to get in touch with us. = huh?
What do you think we're doing, stupid?
That lug had the nerve to...
What about Ernie Paul?
There ain't nothing yet, it's too soon.
= kit.
- Jerry. - Now, wait a minute.
Oh, so it was you.
Still meddling in my affairs.
Pretty rotten method to get ideas
for your bum mystery stories.
Or was this just another of your cute practical jokes.
Why, I ought to break your neck.
Why?
Oh, there are 1,000 reasons.
Just give me one.
Well, that silly guy from Bermuda
who fed pretzels to the fish in the aquarium.
- I was only studying him. - Yeah, in night school.
Well, you were taking a correspondence course
from that redhead.
Well, that was business.
That was a legitimate suspect.
Suspect, she was guilty.
The weird lipstick she spread around proved that.
Well, I explained about that.
If you hadn't been so jealous...
= jealous?
I wasn't jealous, my intelligence was insulted.
That explanation needed crutches.
All right, all right, here we go again.
This is where we left off a year ago.
I was hoping your thick head
absorbed some sense in south America.
I had plenty of sense before I left for south America.
At least I got you out of my hair
and I'll thank you to stay out.
It would be a pleasure.
All right, shake on it.
= t'll kiss on it.
Oh, kit, for heaven's sake.
Oh, all right.
An hour ago, you said he'd be back here in a minute.
If he said he was coming back,
captain hurd, he'll be back.
What do you want to talk to him about?
That zarini murder or something?
I'll talk to him when he gets back here.
If he only knew what we know about them powders...
Shut up.
What's the matter with you, Horatio?
Have you been drinking?
No, sir.
Drinking.
That reminds me.
What are you looking for?
= just a little drink.
No you ain't, this is the boss'.
This cost six dollars a pint and four dollars a quart.
I ain't gonna give you this.
I'm a man of pay. =I can't have that.
Here it is right here.
How much you got?
One, two, three, four.
Uh-uh, you want six dollars for this.
Well, I'll have to dig up some more.
That's right, dig it up if you want this.
Uh-oh, there it is.
Solid gold watch. Four and a half.
- But that's gold. - No, make up some more.
I can't have it if you want this.
I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll toss you for it.
No, I don't gamble.
Well, won't know what to do then.
Well, on second thought, maybe I might.
I'm gonna shoot these, huh?
- Wait a minute. - What's the matter?
= t saw that.
= seven.
I beat you that time.
Where did you get all this...
I got some more.
You got more?
- I got some goodies here. - Bring it on up.
It's all right with me.
There it is right there.
= what's this?
= can't live without it.
There's a fork, a spoon, and there's a razor.
Oh, I don't want that.
That's all you got?
I'll take this... Wait 2A minute.
Got something real good here.
There it is. Hmm, what is that?
That's aluminum. =- what's that?
That's better than money.
= sure now.
Why, if you can get it out of the ground
before the ants get it, the government's got it.
No kidding.
That's the finest thing there is.
- What, this here? - Well, certainly.
Well... = no.
= what's that?
= t shoots for aluminum.
Oh, you shoots for aluminum.
- Watch it carefully. - Oh yeah.
There it is.
Snake eyes, you lost.
- I gotcha. - What's the matter?
Gambling, huh, and with an officer of the law.
- But wait a minute... - And bootlegging aluminum.
- Now wait a minute... - The government wants,
don't tell me about that. What is the matter,
I didn't do it. I've got the evidence right here.
= hello?
Hello, captain hurd?
If you go to 262 Pearl street,
you'll find Ernie Paul.
What do you think you're doing?
= hello?
Hello?
Sweeney!
Hey, sweeney!
- Coming, coming. - Hurry up, come on.
= don't leave town.
Good gracious me.
Now ain't that something.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself,
playing jokes like that on captain hurd.
I?
Who tipped Ernie Paul off?
Only did it to save the guy going over.
He's no more quilty than I am.
He's not half as guilty.
I don't mind you telling the newspaper boys
I was getting him,
but it was carrying a joke a little too far
to let them know I'd taken the case for crispin.
I didn't do that, Jerry.
No, and I suppose you didn't leave
that note in my car either.
What note, when?
The night crispin"s dog plucked
one of your tail feathers.
= t could feel its hot breath.
But I didn't leave any note in your car.
What'd it say?
Nothing, just a warning to lay off the case.
Oh, where is it?
At home in my other suit.
Uh-oh, 10 o'clock.
Time marches right on by here.
You get later and lately here later.
I say, if you don't watch yourself,
you gonna lose your job.
Horatio, you gotta be careful.
That's what you better be.
Mr. church, here's your orange juice.
Mr. church.
Good morning, Horatio.
Good morning.
Don't look so shocked, Horatio.
It's done every day.
Yes but...
We would've told you last night
but you were asleep.
= you would've told me?
Well, of course.
We're not keeping our marriage a secret.
- Mr. church, is he married? - Hooked.
Oh, he won't need this, he's out.
= out?
= out on business.
He'll eat breakfast someplace else.
But you can prepare for two anyway.
Is he coming back?
No, but I'm expecting another gentleman.
= yes ma'am.
Captain hurd.
Oh, captain hurd.
Yes ma'am.
He's buzzing now.
Right inside, captain hurd.
Hello, bill.
Ah, so you finally went and did it, huh?
That's right.
I didn't think you two would stop
battling long enough.
Bickering, not battling.
Well, all the happiness in the world, kit.
And everything that goes with it.
Have your coffee.
Were you surprised?
Surprised?
Oh, was I surprised.
- But pleased. - Oh yeah, yeah.
Very pleased.
I won't have to listen to you two squawk anymore.
That's right.
How long has this thing been going on anyway?
Now, don't check up on me.
Cream?
Cream and sugar for me?
You know better than that.
Tell me, you going on with your
mystery story writing, Mrs. church?
Oh yes.
I'll have time to help Jerry
with his little mysteries.
He kept a lot of information.
Great deal of it's worthless, but I'll save it.
You get any information out of that clam,
ou're a genius. Y g
= I've discovered his weakness.
He talks in his sleep.
= no.
If I'd known that, I'd have married the guy myself.
- Jerry. - So, this is what
goes on behind my back, eh?
Darling.
- How are you, ma? - Fine, pa.
- Bill. - Well, congratulations.
I still don't see what she sees in you though.
= you wouldn't.
Come on, I got something to show you.
What is it?
Some photographs. =- of whom?
Probably the girl he left behind.
You're a great help.
Now, quit the kidding and look at these.
Do you recognize any of those figures?
Sure, they're the figures that
Dr. rx left in all his victims.
Both rows?
Yeah, that's a duplication.
Do you agree with that, kit?
Captain hurd says so, I agree.
Oh, you're gonna get into trouble like that, you know.
Hey, wait a minute. What kind of a gag is this?
It's no gag, here.
All right, so what?
Well, it's a blowup of the scorecard
of district attorney Mason at avondale this morning.
I can see that.
Yes Jerry, come to the point.
You check those looped figures
with those on the first sheet.
Jerry, that means one of these four men is...
Is the guy who,
who kept the score?
- Mason. - Mason, the da?
That doesn't make sense.
Makes too much sense, you mean.
But you're right behind the eight ball.
What do you mean, me?
It'll mean your job if you bring charges
against Mason and then are wrong.
Bring charges, are you crazy?
With flimsy evidence like that?
The newspapers won't think it's so flimsy.
Especially if they find out
the police tried to suppress it.
Who's suppressing anything?
What about the zarini autopsy?
Well, what about it?
When you and sweeney were waiting for me here last night,
you were sitting by a concealed microphone in that lamp.
T was on the other end.
Well, of the all the dirty, lowdown,
they didn't find anything in zarini's stomach
that could kill a fly.
But he took poison right in front of everybody.
But there was no poison found
in any of the sedative powders.
There was an rx on the paper.
Sure, there was an rx on all the papers.
And a six, too.
Well, then it wouldn't make any difference
which one he took.
What else?
Zarini had all the symptoms of strangulation.
= just like the other five victims.
Ah, but the other five victims
had ropes around their necks.
Well, that's merely a way of proving
to the police that they had been strangled.
He thinks of everything.
But if he wasn't poisoned and wasn't strangled,
well, how, what?
You sweet little thing, you'll figure it out.
If this gets out, I'm cooked.
Oh don't worry, it won't.
All right, but remember, I'm in on the kill.
You will be, if there is one.
Okay, I found this and I went and got it.
What do you make of it?
It's a sponge.
That's what I thought.
But what baffled me was there was no water in it.
Me the old-timer.
That is a sponge isn't it?
Jerry, Jerry, I'm frightened.
I've never been before, not really,
and I don't like it.
Well, what are you afraid of?
Not of, for, for you.
If Mason is Dr. rx...
Did you fall for that?
What's so funny?
Well, I faked that scorecard
to find out what hurd was holding out on me.
So you thought it wise to fake it for me too.
Oh now, kit, wait.
Kit.
Kit, oh, don't be like that.
Come on and have a cup of coffee with me
and I'll tell you all about it.
Mr. church, the cleaners are here.
Tell the lady of the house.
= yes sir.
Mrs. church?
Anything for the cleaners?
You may come in, Horatio.
= yes ma'am.
But not you.
Guy can get a divorce for that.
= the blue suit and I reckon I better
take the gray one too.
You better go through the pockets.
We always go through them.
Do these attires go too, ma'am?
Yes, Horatio.
How do you do?
Does Mr. Barney Scott live here?
Yes, come in, won't you?
Thank you.
=tl'm Mr. Scott's mother.
What did you want to see him about?
A matter of utmost importance.
I came up from New York on the chance that he was here.
Please sit down, miss...
- Logan. - Logan.
Well, can you tell me about this matter
of utmost importance?
I wanted to ask your son about a case he worked on.
Are you a reporter, miss Logan?
Oh no, perhaps the quickest way
to explain why I'm here is,
is let you read this.
It was found in my husband's car.
Husband?
I was just married and I'm not used
to giving my married name.
It's church.
= church.
Jerry church?
Yes.
Oh, my dear.
You had good reason to come and see Barney, Mrs. church.
This is a picture of my son taken two years ago.
He was a fine looking man, wasn't he?
The picture of health.
Barney had never had a sick day in his life.
You speak as though he were dead.
= he worked on that Dr. rx case and
he'd received several threatening letters
warning him to drop it but
he only laughed.
Called them crazy letters.
Come with me, Mrs. church.
There's the man you want to see.
= oh dear.
He was picked up on the waterfront one night.
After he'd received one of the letters.
His hair turned white and
his reason gone.
The doctors say it was fright.
What horrible experience he went through,
we will never know.
- Oh, my dear. - Poor Barney.
Don't feel sorry for me, Mrs. church.
Feel sorry for yourself.
Unless you can persuade your husband
to give up this foolish enterprise.
= it will.
Thank you, Mrs. Scott.
Thank you.
Goodbye, dear.
Jerry!
- Where have you been? - I've got to talk to you.
Well, it'll keep.
Help me with this, will you?
But Jerry, this is important.
Well, so is dinner with the crispins.
You better hurry and get dressed.
Crispins?
Well that's fine, I'll be with you in a minute.
But...
Go on, get in, you haven't an audience.
Coffee is served, madam.
Thank you, Thomas.
I had that letter warning me to call you off.
Oh, probably some crank.
I'll get it for you.
- Hello, Thomas. - Good evening, sir.
Just in time for coffee.
Good, make mine Brandy.
Hello, Mr. church, Eileen.
Oh John, you're back sooner than you expected.
Yes, I was fortunate.
It's no use, John, she's married.
This is Dudley's brother, Mrs. church.
Church, any relation?
Only by marriage.
Oh, wasn't that rather sudden?
Everything that's happened to me
since I met Jerry has been rather sudden
and usually violent.
Oh, so you're a violent man, Mr. church?
Just to a qualified witness.
Hello, John. = hello there.
= here's that letter.
- Mr. crispin. - What is it now?
Something's happened to major, sir.
I saw him through the window.
No, don't go.
I have something to say
and I'm going to say it now.
He's dead.
This was under his collar.
Dr. rx.
You can think me any kind of a coward you like.
I've called myself all of them.
But I'd rather be a coward and have peace
and happiness with a bond salesman,
with a ribbon clerk,
than to be brave and nurse a broken down detective
the rest of his life.
What are you talking about, kit?
= just this.
Either you drop this case or you drop me.
Was there anything inarticulate about that?
I don't understand, Mrs. church.
Go to Syracuse and see what I saw this afternoon
and you will understand.
Go and take a look at Barney Scott.
He was a police officer too,
trying to solve these murders.
And he didn't pay any attention to the warnings either.
They picked him up one morning.
He'd been frightened out of his mind.
His hair had turned white.
Jerry may want to live that way the rest of his life,
but I'm not going to.
= poor fellow.
Well, it's rather unpleasant out here.
What do you say we go inside?
Oh, yes.
I think you're absolutely justified, Mrs. church.
Don't you agree, John?
Well, I don't like to butt into
another man's business.
But to answer your question, yes,
a married man's responsibilities
are considerably different from a single man's.
Of course, the interests and welfare
of the community are of the utmost importance.
It is of vital interests
that this murderer or ring of murderers
should be wiped out.
You're the only man who can accomplish that.
But I realize that a man's
first responsibility is to his wife.
So I think you'd better drop this case.
And just keep that retainer as a wedding present.
I can't think of anything else
to keep us in New York.
Feel better now?
Extra, extra, extra, thank you.
Read all about it.
Dr. rx... What's that you're yelling?
Church quits found case.
Thank you, read all about it.
Extra, extra, Dr. rx scared detective.
Read all about it.
Church quits his case.
Extra, extra, church quits case.
Extra, extra, Dr. rx scares detective.
Extra, buy the paper, read all about it.
Dr. rx scares church. So, church is a quitter, eh?
Afraid of Dr. rx.
I knew that would happen.
I want to get you away from.
Now go on and have your lunch.
Lunch, I haven't even had my breakfast yet.
Well, you would've gotten the same thing for breakfast.
What?
Beans.
Well you do like beans, don't you?
= t love them.
Nothing like beans to prepare you for Boston.
You don't need your coat.
Just looking for a smoke.
When I'm ready to run out on you, I'll let you know.
= t'll answer it.
Nobody's at home.
Hey, what's this about you quitting the case?
You can't do that.
He has done it, it's all over with.
Goodbye and come and see us in Boston.
Boston, my eye.
You can't throw me down.
We can throw you down or throw you out.
Now be reasonable, bill.
There are more important things
than playing cops and robbers.
Now what have you got to say about it?
He's under control, come along.
Goodbye.
Come along.
You haven't any regrets, have you?
Yes, I have.
What?
That you didn't ask hurd for a cigarette.
= is that all?
Well that's enough, isn't it?
Darling.
If you think more of your reputation
as a detective than you do of me,
t could move out.
There you go, talking like a typical wife.
You sure you're not sorry?
I'm positive.
Not sorry about anything?
Not a thing.
Not a thing, Horatio.
- Oh, Horatio's out... - I know, don't tell me.
He's having a fling at Harlem.
Darling, I can't drink my coffee without a cigarette.
There must be a snipe in the house somewhere.
Horatio, I'll wring his neck.
I'll have to run out and buy some.
Ti won't be a minute.
You sure you're not going after captain hurd.
You don't trust me very much, do you?
Here, hold this and I'll be right back.
Take it easy, church.
Just keep walking.
Just relax, church, we're going for a long ride.
= thanks.
Sure took those curves in a hurry, didn't you?
Well.
Will I get shot if I sit down?
= no.
Help yourself.
My name's church, Jerry church.
I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage.
That's the way to have any man.
You kidnap too?
What do you think?
Well, I don't know.
A girl like you around here with all these gorillas.
Maybe I like them.
Yeah, maybe she likes them.
Why, Mr. Paul.
Mr. Ernie Paul.
Now I get it, why, you're zarini's former...
That's enough, church.
We didn't bring you up here for a social visit.
Well, what did you bring me up here for?
If it's gonna take very long, you know,
I'd like to call my wife and have some
train tickets canceled.
You're not going on any train yet.
I heard you were married.
You haven't grown tired of your wife yet, have you?
Come on, get to the point.
I hope you and the missus are married
for a long time and have a lot of kids.
Thanks very much, Ernie.
That's very nice of you.
Heard on the radio you were dropping the case.
That's right.
No, it isn't right.
Not if you care anything about
the little girl you married.
Do you?
Ouch, you dirty rotten!
Well, I'm sorry, I'm afraid that was my fault.
That's enough, Louie.
Sorry, just force of habit.
Now you listen to me, church.
You're not dropping this case, you're staying on it.
Yeah, you're staying on it,
otherwise, there won't be any kids.
You put the cops on my trail and you're getting them off.
What makes you think that
if I take the cops off your trail,
you'll be left in the clear?
= you think I did it?
= t don't know.
Would you write rx on there for me?
Why should I?
All right.
I'd like the rest of you too.
Come on, let's give him what he wants.
Oh, you write. = and read.
You too.
Hmm, print.
Quite a collection.
I'll stay on the case.
You think you've got something there?
Maybe, thanks very much.
= you're welcome.
Can I go now?
Yeah, you can go.
But remember the kids.
Oh yes, ves, I will.
I don't have to wear that bandage thing again, do I?
Would you tell the driver to go down the main road?
I don't like those back roads, they're so rough.
I know where we are, you know.
You're a smart guy, church.
Yeah, but don't let it worry you.
I won't tell anybody where we are.
Goodnight and better luck next time.
= t can't understand it.
Something must've happened to him or he would've called.
Can't you do something?
Me?
Don't bother me.
You dissolved the partnership, didn't you?
Don't come crying to me for help.
I'll see you in Boston sometime.
= hello.
Still holding the hat, remember?
Where have you been for the past 10 hours?
- Well I... - Yeah, where have you been?
10 hours is a long time for a pack of cigarettes.
Goodbye now, bill.
Thanks for staying up with kit.
A little careless, old boy.
Blonde or redhead?
Pack of cigarettes, doesn't add up.
On your way, chum.
Kit, if you have any more trouble with this character,
give me a call.
All right, leave it to me.
Oh chief, I got it all figured out.
Church goes down to the corner store
for a pack of cigarettes, walks out.
Having no matches, sees a stranger on the street
and says, pardon me, have you got a,
well, if it isn't Tommy.
If it isn't church.
He says, let's go over to Pete's place.
Over they go, the music is playing,
couples are dancing up and down.
He says, let's cut in.
He says, okay, so we walk over to the guy,
he looked like a big guy, and he says,
pardon me, could I...
Cut it out.
I thought you said he was missing.
I thought, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going.
Mr. church, I'm surely glad to see you.
Slip down to the florist
and get me a bunch of flowers.
I gotta make a peace offering.
Yes, sir.
All right, Jerry, start lying.
Kit, you've got to believe
I'm doing the right thing.
I don't have to believe anything from you.
What is it?
Well first, I've gotta stay on the case.
- Stay on the case? - Yeah.
I suppose the perfume and powder
didn't have anything to do with it.
Well that settles that, I'm through.
Oh well now, listen, kit.
Oh, here we go again.
Well, I suppose all married people
start out like this, kit.
Oh come on out and I'll explain the whole thing to you.
I was kidnapped.
Yeah, Ernie Paul's in on this deal.
Oh come on, kit, be reasonable.
All right, stay in there.
Good evening.
Whoa, well that was Mrs. church.
Mr. church, Mr. church, I've got something to tell you.
= well don't bother me now.
I've got something much more important.
It's very important.
Flowers, farm, barnyard, henhouse, chicken, flew the Coop.
What flew the Coop?
Mrs. church, I just seen her going
down the elevator.
Well, you just go after her and bring her back.
Tell her all's forgiven,
and if you get poked in the nose, don't blame me.
Yes, sir.
Kit, the florist's here.
Whoever heard of a detective without a passkey.
Sorry to intrude, darling.
Kit.
Great Scott.
= hello.
Mr. church?
This is Horatio.
Ti found Mrs. church.
You have, where?
I have your car.
I'll be waiting for you at the intersection
of port Washington and park road.
Good work, Horatio, I'll be right over.
Very good, Horatio.
Don't, don't hurt me no more, please, sir.
Come on, come on.
We're out of town now, let's get going.
What are we following him for?
Ask the lady.
Oh you know, Jerry's back on the case.
He's in on it too.
I think maybe he's got a clue.
I'm not following him for any clue.
You got me out here as a nursemaid to that guy.
Swell night for a murder.
There he goes, turn left.
I always got the brass ring.
There it is, pull up.
Well, where is she?
I don't know, sir.
Don't move, church, I've got you covered.
All right, Horatio.
That's his car, follow it.
How'd it get out here?
If I hadn't lost my badge, I'd turn it in.
We're being followed.
Faster, Horatio, faster.
Faster, Horatio.
Go faster, we'll lose him.
= me with no driver's license.
We ever catch up to that guy,
I'll take good care of him for you.
I'll put him in a padded cell.
We're gaining on him.
= and how.
Turn to the left here, Horatio.
He's making a turn.
So what, we'll make one.
Going my way?
What's the matter with you?
Why don't you look where you're going?
= cut it out.
What happened?
Nevermind the jokes, give me a hand with kit.
We'd better get her to a hospital.
All right, nbongo, don't get impatient.
It is customary, I believe,
for the surgeon and patient
to have a little talk before an operation.
Perhaps there is some questions
you would like to ask.
Perhaps you would like to know
why zarini and the others were destroyed.
I'd be glad to tell you.
For every crime, there is a punishment.
Men who sin must pay a just penalty.
Yes, I agree with you.
You think that if you agree with me,
if you reason calmly, treat me as a child,
you can divert me from my purpose.
Well, you are treating with no child, believe me.
I warned you to discontinue your efforts against me.
You chose not to heed those warnings.
And I cannot run the risk
of your hindering the work
that it is my duty to do.
This is a compliment, Mr. church.
I will give you a hint.
You see bongo?
He's very stupid, but he will be very smart.
And you will be, well,
not so smart.
In other words, I'm going to transfer your brain.
Would you like to get better acquainted
with your successor?
Turn your head so you can have a better view.
Don't do that to my boss.
We interrupt the program
to give you a flash bulletin.
The detective, Jerry church,
recently working on the Dr. rx case,
was found wandering aimlessly around the waterfront,
accompanied by his colored valet.
Reports indicate his condition aas extremely serious.
He is suffering from severe shock
and complete loss of memory.
Mrs. church, what are you doing?
- I'm getting out of here. - But you can't.
You're not well enough.
How is he, chief?
Not so good.
Would it be possible for me to see him?
You'll have to wait for the doctor's permission.
He's been back to normal twice.
Have you learned anything?
Nothing definite, there's a possibility.
I begged him to give up this case.
If he'd listened to me, this wouldn't have happened.
Relax, now, don't race your motors.
Nobody gets by me.
You ought to know that.
Just a minute, lady, you can't go in there.
Oh, but I'm Mrs. church.
- But I know, just relax... - I've got to get in there.
Please. - You can't do it.
What's happened?
Where is he, where's Jerry?
Now take it easy, kit.
Take it easy. = no!
- My dear, I wouldn't go in. - Why?
I want to see Jerry. = kit!
Jerry!
Jerry?
Darling!
= put her on the couch here.
I'll get some water.
Put her head down, keep her feet up this way.
Will you come in here?
She'll be all right in a minute.
Can't I go in and see him, doctor?
You see, in a way, I'm responsible for this.
I think it'll be all right,
but just for a minute.
There's your detective, crispin.
= it's horrible.
Oh, if he'd only taken my advice and dropped the case.
It's a good thing he didn't
or we wouldn't have caught Dr. rx.
- What's that? - You've got him?
It looks that way.
After what church has been through, it's a miracle.
But he's been able to give us a clue
to the identity of our fiend.
Well, thank heavens for that.
= you know this Dr. rx then?
We think so, except for a slight detail.
Is it all right to bring him in now, doctor?
= t think so.
Right, captain.
We thought you might like to see Mr. church, Dr. fish.
I understand that you specialize in mental cases.
Yes, yes, of course.
Hmm, very interesting case.
Ti should like to make a few notes
to help my diagnosis,
if I could borrow a pencil.
- I'm sorry. - Would a pen do?
Oh, oh, here's one.
May I?
Certainly.
Stop him!
The very thing I didn't want to happen.
Now wait just a minute, don't crowd.
Well, there's the little weapon that did the trick.
Remember?
Yes.
Kit.
Come on, come on, Jerry.
Tell us the rest of it, will you?
Well, I told you, the pen.
The pen he killed himself with and his victims
have a strong steel spring in it
that could project a poison needle about 20 feet.
And it only left a small red Mark
that'd go unnoticed in an autopsy.
That is, unless the doctor knew
what he was looking for.
All right, but you still haven't
explained the symptom of strangulation.
I figured that out coming in the...
Quiet, quiet.
Well, it's a poison from South Africa
and that's the way it works.
Well, how did you know it was crispin's pen?
Well, I saw it among the instruments
when he had me on the operating table
and I thought it was rather funny.
But you still haven't told me
how you knew it belonged to him.
It was an odd looking pen, wasn't it, hurd?
You never saw another one like it, did you?
And Jerry remembered having seen it in crispin's pocket.
You get it?
Where did you catch this fish anyway?
= doc and I have unscrambled
a lot of eggs together, haven't we, doc?
Yeah, we'll we've unscrambled
a lot of eggs together too.
But I'm your pal, you can double cross me.
You can bring in an outsider.
But answer this.
Why did he have those guys acquitted and then kill them?
Tell him, doc.
The man had two phobias.
Number one, he was an ego maniac
with a desire to mesmerize the jury
and get his client acquitted.
Number two, he wanted to punish the criminal himself.
It was a psychopathic case.
Psychopath, my eye.
He was cuckoo.
Kit.
Wait a minute, the gorilla.
How'd you get away from it?
I'm a little hazy on that point myself, sweeney.
Everything was going along nicely.
The gorilla dragged me up to the bars of the cage,
and suddenly, the lights went out.
Next thing I knew, I was wandering along the waterfront.
The lights went out, huh?
You mean you passed out.
All right, so I passed out.
As a matter of fact,
crispin didn't intend the gorilla to get me
anymore than he intended to operate.
He just wanted to scare the wits out of me
like he did Barney Scott.
And I might add, he would've succeeded
if I hadn't passed out.
Oh, excuse me.
Wait a minute, tell me this.
Oh doc, explain this to him, will you?
Come on Jerry.
Now, this is a cheque.
A cheque with the signature Dudley crispin.
There you are, crispin, see?
Now, put a ring around the r.
Certainly.
Which is the r?
Cut it out.
Why, it's a capital r.
= the r of the rx.
That's it, Horatio.
Split a Mickey between us, will you?
Oh, kit.
Stop acting like a typical wife.
Then you start acting like a typical husband.
All right.
= t didn't mean that.
Yes, I did.
No more secrets, understand?
All right.
What do you want, Horatio?
Just checking, boss, to see if you was all right.