In this intriguing episode of the Mystery Theater, we delve into the enigmatic world of "The Eighth Day," a day that exists outside the conventional week, unnoticed by billions. The story unfolds with Roger, a man driven by ambition and greed, who finds himself at odds with his father-in-law, Lou Paradell, over the future of the Paradell Paint Company. As Lou lies on his deathbed, he warns Roger against squandering his daughter's fortune and ruining the business. Despite Lou's warnings, Roger is determined to seize control and reshape the company, even if it means compromising its integrity.
As Roger's ambition spirals out of control, he faces mounting challenges, including complaints about the quality of the paint and financial troubles. Desperate to maintain his newfound power, Roger contemplates a drastic and dangerous plan to blow up the factory for insurance money. However, the ghostly presence of Lou seems to linger, determined to stop Roger from destroying his daughter's legacy. As the tension builds, Roger must confront the consequences of his actions and the haunting realization that power and greed may ultimately lead to his downfall.
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[00:00:08]
Unknown:
Come in.
[00:00:10] Unknown:
Welcome. I'm DG Marshall. Boomsday is the eighth day of the week. It's a day out of time and out of place, and it dawns quietly and runs its course just like in another day. And Iranians, even billions of people, may be unaware of it. After all, it may not be Bloomsday for everybody. I'll stop you, Roger. Really? From what? From destroying my daughter, ruining her life, squandering her fortune. Lou, what makes you think I'd do a thing like that? I won't allow it to happen. I'll stop you. How? You'll be dead. I know. And buried.
I know that too. But still, I'll stop you, Roger. Our mystery drama, The Eighth Day, was written especially for the mystery theater by Sam Dan and stars Maribel Kramer. I'll do that shortly. That one. The winds are ugly, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. Even if I like the poet, we all have promises to keep and miles to go, but, of course, the matter is out of our hands. Budget and whatever their journey may be, all of us, even or where sleep will overtake us, finally.
[00:02:07] Unknown:
Roger?
[00:02:08] Unknown:
Mister.
[00:02:09] Unknown:
Father wants to see you. Of course. I'm frightened. No, Julia. Everything's going to be our worst. Doctor Duran's told A lot of families go home forever.
[00:02:20] Unknown:
He looks so Well, then it's tough to die. Just relax. Have a have a cup of tea and be calm and beautiful. I'll go and have a nice little chat with daddy. Hello, little? Hello, Roger? Roger, here's the day I've been waiting for. That's right. I've been waiting. Eight years, eleven months, three weeks, four months. And what time is it more? Sextile card. You always get ahead for figures. An appetite for them too. I I don't suppose to listen to a word I say. Absolutely not. Don't plunder the business, Roger. Oh, there's a good classical outfall. Killer.
There's no way I can keep it from falling into your hands. I know that. I left a lot of jewelry, but that's just a legality. She'll do whatever you tell her. Don't you worry, Lou. I'll run things for her. Run. Yes. Add the letter I to run, and you've got ruin. Roger, life is more than just spending money. Is it really? It's spending money wisely. Oh, pity you never became a minister, Lou. You're going to die preaching a sermon. Well, when you reach this point, you see things so clearly. You're breaking my heart. It's so important to help people. I do help people. Yes.
Hustlers, gamblers, riffraps. Lou, I don't go downgrading your friends. You're going to have a lot of money. Yes. Thanks to you. Invest in people like I did. Help someone who who could make an impact on the world. Make it a better and brighter place to live in. You old reprobate. I changed structure. I saw the Oh, good Lord. Oh, this must sound the error of my ways. We should have violins in the background. As a man of wealth, you have obligations. The thundering cords of a mighty organ. I subsidized this young man, this artist, Peter Spiszek? Not the one who did the portrait of you that hangs in the office. The boy's a genius.
One day the world will know it. The day I take over, that nightmare goes off the wall and into the dump where it belongs. Rouch. I'm saying these things for your own good. I should have known. You're hopeless. You'll make Julia miserable. No. That's where you're wrong. I make Julia very happy. Happy? Yes. May not be your kind of happy, but it's her kind of happy. You'll you'll run through her money and throw her out into the street. Oh. I don't think I'll ever throw her out into the street with you. I like her. You don't know the meaning of the word love. Well, that's why I never use it. I said like. She's nice. She's sweet. She's dumb.
A guy like me needs a girl like that to come home to. If only I if only you could outlive me, but you can't, Lou. Doctor Evans says you're checking out by midnight at the latest. For nine long years, you slapped away my fingers every time I reached for the money. Now it's going to be mine. All mine. Roger, if there's even a single spark of decency, the tiniest shred of humanity. Come on, Lou. Don't go soft, you what kind of talk is this? It's phony. It's completely out of character just because you're on your deathbed. I will not allow you to destroy my daughter. Your day is done, Lou. I'm warning you, Roger.
I'll stop you. You'll be dead. Or don't you know it? Yes, Roger. I know it. And you'll be in your grave. I know that too. But still, I'll stop you. Do you know what you're saying? I know what I'm saying. I'll stop you somehow. Oh, Lou Lou, I'm really going to miss you. We lingered on a little past midnight, But finally Louis Tremont Paredell went to his reward. And his lawyers, and his bankers, and his friends urged his daughter to hire a competent man to run the Paredell paint company. But I had my eye on that job for ten years. After all, that's where the money was. And in Julia's adoring eyes, who could be more competent than her beloved?
[00:07:32] Unknown:
Roger, darling. Go ahead. Open the door. Walk in. It's your office now. Until now, only I knew how brilliant you are, how talented.
[00:07:48] Unknown:
Now you can show the world. Yes, darling. And I have ideas. Oh, I know you do. Your father, with all due respect,
[00:07:55] Unknown:
was somewhat old fashioned. You could say he was conservative.
[00:08:00] Unknown:
Now, this office. I want to get rid of all this furniture. But father's desk is a genuine Louis Catorre. Antique furniture can sub consciously create an antique style of thinking. A viewpoint that looks backward rather than forward. Oh. To succeed, business must turn toward tomorrow, not yearn for yesterday. Oh, Roger.
[00:08:20] Unknown:
That is brilliantly conceived
[00:08:22] Unknown:
and so right. My office shall be spare, bare, simple, a lean but elegant understatement. And that oil painting of your father Roger, what No. No. No. You must hear me out. After all, what do I treasure most about our relationship? The fact that we're totally honest and completely open with each other. Of course. Well, I have a falsehood on my conscience. Roger. For a long time, I have pretended. But the truth is I simply detest that painting. It doesn't even look like your father. Well, it does.
[00:08:57] Unknown:
It completely captures his mood, his soul. It's just a massive blob. It's in law. At first, but then when you bring your own sensitivity to it, all the elements resolve themselves into a radiant likeness of Louis, Tremont, Paredal, a man who both of us knew and adored. Perhaps, darling. Perhaps. It's a completely new form of art. Peter Stridec will have done for line and mass, what Rembrandt did for light and shadow, Titian for colorness. Says so. Well, at this point, only Peter Stridec says so, but here we discovered one day he has to be.
[00:09:36] Unknown:
I didn't care for the way he looked at you when he would come to see your father. Oh, Peter? He doesn't see me as a woman. Well, more than he's a bigger fool than I thought.
[00:09:45] Unknown:
Darling, I know you have great sweeping changes in mind. But could I ask you to do one small thing for me? Of course. Please leave father's painting. This factory was his creation. He built it from nothing. If his picture remains in this office, it'll signify that his presence is still felt.
[00:10:10] Unknown:
Darling, how can I deny you anything? Why shouldn't the old scoundrel be around to see my changes? So he remained on the wall. As time went on, I know he didn't like what he saw. At times, I could almost see him wince. Crosby and Dowell are complaining about the price again. Are they, mister Stebbins? They're hinting they can do better elsewhere. Then, we'll have to cut the prices. Yes, sir. Mister Stevens, you don't approve. No. It's not for me to approve or disapprove. We have a reputation as a high quality house, and our customers pay the price for it. Well, then you tell that to Crosby and Darwin. Mister Perrottel was the one who would tell that to all of our customers.
He would tell them and make them like it. You know, I believe you're right. That is the boss's job. Ask miss Cooper to come in here. Miss Cooper? Yes, sir. May something wrong? Well, miss Cooper does leave a great deal to be desired when it comes to stenography and typing. Oh, that may be so. But she does have other attributes. Yes, sir. Which is why I hired her. That will be all, mister Stebbins. Yes, sir. Miss Cooper. Please come in and close the door.
[00:11:37] Unknown:
Hi, Bella.
[00:11:39] Unknown:
How about a little kiss? How did you like that, Lou?
[00:11:48] Unknown:
Who are you talking to?
[00:11:50] Unknown:
It's a private little thing.
[00:11:53] Unknown:
Roger. Do you mind if I say something? You have to. What are you doing this for? Doing what? This whole managerial bit. Why don't you just relax and enjoy life? I've never enjoyed life as much as I am right now. But you could hire someone to run the place.
[00:12:11] Unknown:
You could just concentrate on having a ball. I had that kind of ball for nine years. Now I have to go to work. Still can't imagine why. You know, everyone says that I married Julia for her money. Didn't you? Sure. So? What's the complaint? Well, when I met Julia, I was a kid.
[00:12:28] Unknown:
Hardly. You were 30 years old. You've been overseas with the army. You've even done little time. Who told you all this? You did.
[00:12:38] Unknown:
Sometimes I talk too much.
[00:12:39] Unknown:
What's this about being a kid?
[00:12:42] Unknown:
I didn't know what money was for. It's to enjoy life.
[00:12:47] Unknown:
Roger, what do you really want? Power. What kind of power?
[00:12:54] Unknown:
Look at him up there, the man in that picture. That's a picture of a man? Yes. It is. Could you could've fooled me. Me too until just a little while ago, but now I understand him. You know, I used to think it was nose to the grindstone day and night. Maybe it was, but he got more out of living than I ever did. I would disagree, Roger. You're just about the best liver I ever knew. He was respected, feared. He ran things. He ran people. Oh. And me? What have I always been? I've been a bum. I mean, I mean, I know how to wear clothes, I have good manners, I play a gentleman's game of bridge and golf and a little tennis, but I'm still a bum. Maybe, Roger. Maybe. There's no doubt about it. You're very good, Annie. You're even great. That's something to be proud of. Lou Paradell used this place as a base of operations. Where? He had his fingers in everything.
He was in the group. What group? The group that runs things in this city. It's made up of men who have money and power. He was also a member of another group, the one that runs things in the state. He shall go around. But that's as far as he did get. Now, there's even another group. Ah. It runs things in this country. And then, there is the most exclusive group of all,
[00:14:11] Unknown:
The one that runs the world. And now that we're going out into space, you think there's a group that runs the universe.
[00:14:18] Unknown:
There has to be. Joan, I'm serious. Look. I have to be able to talk to somebody. I'm serious too.
[00:14:23] Unknown:
I still say hire some guy to run this place and you just take life easy. But my father was nobody and I'm nobody. At least you're a rich nobody. That's the worst kind.
[00:14:34] Unknown:
That's what Lou Paradis had against me. Not that I didn't have money, but that I was nobody.
[00:14:39] Unknown:
And I'm going to show him. What are you going to show him? He is dead.
[00:14:44] Unknown:
In a way, he is still here.
[00:14:47] Unknown:
Roger, the trick isn't whether you're nobody or somebody, but how you live with it. You can't help being what you are. He lived for power.
[00:14:55] Unknown:
Before I'm finished, I'll be more powerful than he ever dreamed of. A butterfly flies.
[00:15:01] Unknown:
But just because he's way up there looking way down here is no reason for him to think he's an eagle. Roger, honey, you're just a butterfly. Maybe.
[00:15:11] Unknown:
But a butterfly can become an eagle. Sure.
[00:15:14] Unknown:
Sure thing, Roger, honey. Why not?
[00:15:17] Unknown:
After all, he began life as a worm, didn't he? So that's what's bothering our friend Roger, the itch for power. It's the type of affliction a man never really gets rid of. Scratching brings no lasting relief, and there is no ointment or medicine that can affect a permanent cure. The itch becomes more intense in act two very shortly.
[00:15:57] Unknown:
See the new
[00:16:11] Unknown:
Is this what it's all about? Do certain men raise themselves to heights of power to compensate for being nobodies and neglected while they were children? Why not? It's as good a theory as any other.
[00:16:26] Unknown:
Darling. Mhmm. You busy this evening? I'm gonna be late at the plant, Julia. Well, I was going to ask you to come to a showing with me. Peter Strzok is having a small exhibit. Oh? I feel that I'm carrying on father's work by trying to launch Peter's career. Mhmm. It's difficult to get critics and dealers interested. Oh, I'm sure. Darling, uncle Will called me last night. Dear uncle Will. He hears that things are not going too well at the plant.
[00:16:53] Unknown:
He hears that, does he? Mhmm. And, You know, there were times when things did not go too well even when your father was alive. Oh, yes. That's true. These things run-in cycles, Julia. I mean, you've heard of business cycles. Oh, I think so. Well, there is a small recession and it's cutting down on orders. Then there is this inflation which keeps raising our expenses. I understand. These things are to be expected. There are times when I think you're working too hard. Well, hard work never killed anyone. It killed father? Well, I'm going to be working even harder. Darling. I volunteered to join the mayor's committee. I feel someone has to take your father's place. Oh, Roger.
[00:17:30] Unknown:
If father could only see you now, he'd be so proud of you.
[00:17:38] Unknown:
I joined the committee, but I was, I suppose, tolerated more than anything else. I guess the problem was money. The high powered successful men who formed the committee sensed that so far, I wasn't in their league. Maybe I was wearing my father in law's shoes, but I wasn't going anywhere in them. Yes, mister Criswell? Mister Stebbins, our volume is way off. Oh, it's to be expected, sir. Expected? Housing starts are down, therefore, all building materials. According to these figures, we're just about breaking even. Well, that isn't bad for the present situation. Well, that doesn't impress me, mister Stebbins. We don't make money because we're stodgy and unimaginative. That may be We'll start by cutting prices. Well, we can't do that and turn out our traditional quality product. What's quality? It's a state of mind is what it is.
Honey, what do people know anyhow? You tell them that something is good. You tell them loud enough and long enough and strong enough, and they'll believe you. But you're talking about cheapening our product. I'm talking about making Paradell paint available to a far greater group of people. Now you too can enjoy the perfection of a Paradel paint job. What you mean, sir, is a snow job. Ah, there is hope for you, Stebbins. You do have a sense of humor buried deep down there somewhere. I also have what I like to think of as a sense of honor. I must ask you to accept my resignation.
He quit and so did a lot of the others, a chief chemist, a production foreman, But these were nearsighted old timers. They didn't know the name of today's game. It's promotion.
[00:19:16] Unknown:
Maybe you know the name of the game, but are you sure you know how to play it? Joan, the place is ready to bust loose. Oh, listen, love. You should see the bundle that I put out for advertising. Sure. You know, that's your problem. You don't have any real confidence in me. Roger, what do you need it for? Hey. Are you jealous? Of whom? The Paradel paint girl. Oh, come on.
[00:19:39] Unknown:
But she was. Some genius at the advertising agency had come up with the concept of the Paradel paint girl, and we planned a, what they call it, a saturation campaign on TV. Maybe you saw it. And here she is, ladies and gentlemen, your lovely and paradile could create the gold of that hair, the red of those luscious lips, the creamy milky whiteness of that sensational skin. Remember folks, whatever the hue, there's a paradel color for you. She was not only a sight for the eyes, she was a delight to have around in a nice cozy little retreat when I simply had to get away from it all. Unlike Julia who gushed and Joan who jabbered, this one was a lady of remarkably few words, and she sold the paint.
Orders poured in from all over the country. The factory went to three shifts. Paredel Paint was moving into places and in quantities that Lou Paredel had never dreamed of. I looked up at his painting at least once a day and reminded him of it. Lou, you ain't seen nothing yet. Well, Joan, you're gonna have to get yourself a secretary. I'm up to my ears around here. Now, listen loud. The mayor wants to talk with me on, how did he put it? Matters of mutual interest. Julia's uncle Will, you know, the banker who never approved of me, he wants to know when I'm free for lunch. Do you know what our volume has been just last month alone? And I'm putting all of it and more back into advertising. If I were you, I would take the money and run.
[00:21:24] Unknown:
Why do you say a thing like that? We're starting to get letters. Sure. Orders.
[00:21:28] Unknown:
Complaints. What do you mean? Complaints.
[00:21:31] Unknown:
Wholesalers are complaining. Retailers are complaining. Customers are complaining. Missus Jane Consumer, who spends $10.95 of her hard earned money to buy a gallon to brighten her living room, is yelling the loudest of all. What's the matter with the paint? It's supposed to be a washable paint. It is. Only it turns out to be a disappearing paint. It washes right off the wall. That is simply not so. Well, you did take a lot out of the product. I guess what you took out is what kept it on mostly. Lou. What did you say? Didn't you hear him laugh just now? I didn't hear anything.
Are you alright?
[00:22:13] Unknown:
I looked at the portrait. I was sure he winked. It was such a crazy painting you could believe anything. But one thing I knew, I could tell there was trouble ahead. Even Julia was starting to ask questions.
[00:22:28] Unknown:
Darling, everything's alright, isn't it? Why, of course. It's just that I ran into an old friend of fathers yesterday. A friend and customer. Oh, who? Frank Watkins. He owns a big chain of paint stores. Yes. He was complaining about the paint quality. He was? Yes. He said he was thinking of canceling his orders.
[00:22:50] Unknown:
Is that what he said?
[00:22:52] Unknown:
Mister Watkins, I said. There must be some mistake. You've bought Paradel paint for almost forty years. I think I talked him out of it. Roger.
[00:23:03] Unknown:
Yes, sir.
[00:23:04] Unknown:
Is there a problem with the quality?
[00:23:07] Unknown:
Trudy, I wanted to shield you from all this. The problem is with the Frank Watkins's of this world. I'm afraid your father didn't handle him properly. Roger. Watkins thinks he's entitled to special treatment, special credit terms, special discount arrangements. Well, it's bad for our business. I'm afraid your father let him get away with it. Oh, what? Your father was so tough on the outside, but really so soft hearted when it came to old friends. You remember that, don't you? Oh, yes. Well, things are going along just fine at the factory, dearest. Oh, I I shall need your signature for something. Of course. For what? I have to go to the bank. Why?
Why would anyone go to the bank to borrow money, silly? But why do you have to borrow money? Well, everybody in business borrows money. I don't think father did. Well, instead of diverting your own cash flow and spending your own money, you let that work for you and then you borrow for short term business expenses.
[00:24:02] Unknown:
Oh, it's it's also dreadfully complicated. I'll never understand any of it. Oh, Roger. I'm so glad I have you to take care of these things.
[00:24:14] Unknown:
The trouble with these things is they didn't get better. They didn't even hold still. They kept getting worse and worse. Shipments were returned. Orders were canceled. Customers were lost. And no matter how my Paradell pink girl smiled on TV, business kept dwindling. And I owed money to everyone for everything. I could only go to one place for it. Julia had things in her own name that Lou had left her. But you'd be surprised how quickly I went through all that too.
[00:24:47] Unknown:
Darling,
[00:24:48] Unknown:
all the money Haven't I told you it's all being plowed into the business. We're expanding every day. Oh. I mean, within the year, Parallel Paints will be triple the size. Oh, Lou wouldn't know the place. Oh, that'll be wonderful. Now, Julia, I have to meet a note before the fifteenth.
[00:25:04] Unknown:
Well, I I'm afraid I I don't have any more money.
[00:25:09] Unknown:
You don't?
[00:25:11] Unknown:
The insurance, bonds, the stocks, I mean, they're all gone. No. Oh, they're not gone in in that sense. I mean, they're in the business. They're part of the brick and and the mortar and and the machinery. And the plans and production at Paradel Paints, isn't that so? Well, Roger, it is so, isn't it? Oh, yes. Yeah. Of course, darling.
[00:25:34] Unknown:
Absolutely.
[00:25:41] Unknown:
Lover, everybody is asking for their money. How are sales? Why don't we forget about that aspect of the business? How did I ever get into this? Lust.
[00:25:51] Unknown:
Lust for power. I went through the assets of this company in less than a year. I also drained all my wife's money. It wasn't easy. It takes a certain amount of talent,
[00:26:00] Unknown:
That special talent you're filled with. I sure know how to spend it. Oh, Roger. Why didn't you listen to me? You could have been the happiest bum in the world. We could have lived off the fat of the land. We still will. No. No, Roger. Give it up. You want to be powerful. Be one of those movers and shakers. Forget it. I'll bet Lou Paradigm's laughing at you. He is. He is. Didn't you just hear him? No. Then why did you say that? Because he should be laughing at you. How would you like to have the last laugh?
[00:26:39] Unknown:
No. How?
[00:26:40] Unknown:
You simply can't pay your bills. You destroy the credibility of the company so nobody's willing to let you keep on doing business. In less than a month your creditors will foreclose. Don't say that. Oh, I wish I could say something happier. In less than a month you'll be out on your ear. Unless Unless what? Unless you decide to save yourself. How? Well, that's very simple. Just blow the place up.
[00:27:20] Unknown:
I'm not sure that's really very simple. I mean, the act, the explosion itself, that's a fairly simple chemical event. But to do it, to decide to do it, to accept the rationale for doing it, that could be a most complex procedure. It'll either happen or it won't in act three. Fire and ice within me fight beneath the suffocating night. Fire and ice. Passion and reason. The essential conflict of man's basic nature. The surprising thing about it all is that we may not even be aware of the turbulence that is taking place inside us until it's burned out or frozen over.
[00:28:27] Unknown:
I said you'll have to blow up the factory. Are you crazy? No. I'm sane. I'm talking sane. Blow up the factory? What other choice have you? You're gonna lose it. You'll have nothing. But I may You win, Julia. You'll be lucky to have the clothes on your back. And that's another thing. Julia, how would you like to be poor and married to Julia? I don't wanna talk about it. That's why I have to talk about it for you. It's wrong. Roger, you've never made an honest dollar in your life. It's wrong for me.
[00:28:56] Unknown:
I never did anything that was tied up with violence. With me, it well, it was a kind of a con game where you never got your hands bloody or even dirty. You have no other choice.
[00:29:04] Unknown:
The insurance money will let you live in style for the rest of your life. Insurance companies always suspect arson in these kind of things. But they won't be able to prove it. Blow up the furt. Why don't you think about it for a while? I'm sure you'll convince yourself to do the right thing, the only thing. Incidentally, I have already got the fellow lined up. Which fellow? The fellow who is going to put you back in the money. The one who is going to do the job.
[00:29:34] Unknown:
I sat there for a long time after she left the office, even after everyone had left the plant. I kept thinking, how could I do a thing like that? I looked at the painting of Lou. It must have been my imagination, but I could have sworn Lou was talking to me. Don't do it, Roger. What?
[00:29:57] Unknown:
I asked you once not to plunder the business. You didn't listen. This time I asked you, don't destroy it. Don't destroy the business.
[00:30:08] Unknown:
I've already done it. No. Listen to me.
[00:30:12] Unknown:
Go to my brother, Will.
[00:30:14] Unknown:
He'll refinance the company. He wouldn't give me 15¢.
[00:30:18] Unknown:
What banker would? You'll be out of it. The parallel name is strong enough to come back. We'll know who to hire. In a couple of years, the company will be stronger than ever. What am I supposed to be doing? What were you doing while I was alive? You can go back to being a bum. You'll be a rich one with Julius' share of the profits. But I'll still be a bum. As your girlfriend, Joan, says you're very good at it. You think you know everything.
[00:30:47] Unknown:
Look, I may have made some mistakes, but I can come back. And on my own terms, the insurance money will put me back in a ballgame. Roger. Roger.
[00:30:57] Unknown:
You'll never learn.
[00:31:05] Unknown:
Sit down, Roger. I want you to meet professor x. How do you do? The professor chooses to remain anonymous.
[00:31:12] Unknown:
I understand, mister Quiz, well, that you, have a problem. He does. I have discussed the fee with your friend. The professor gets a percentage of the insurance. A most reasonable arrangement. It's very fair, Roger. I understand it's a paint factory. One of the biggest in the country. Well, that means we'll have the biggest bang in history. Well,
[00:31:33] Unknown:
Roger?
[00:31:35] Unknown:
Oh, it's not necessary for him to speak. What? Many people are not used to this. They have to accept the idea slowly, gradually. Professor X has great credentials. I have a PhD in chemistry. You see? I tell you that not to blow my own horn, but to add to your sense of security.
[00:31:54] Unknown:
Actually, what the professor is doing is moonlighting. But with inflation and all,
[00:31:59] Unknown:
lots of people have to hold down two jobs. Joel has been kind enough to furnish me with a schematic of the plant. No trouble at all in arranging a most superlative accident. He already described his plan to me. It seems You have on the premises a quantity of 55 gallon drums. Yes. I suppose so. They contain butyl alcohols, I lor, certainly. I might be kidding. But do I have to know the details? You should make you feel better. Now these drums are, some of them, half empty, quarter empty, and so on. Right? I guess so. Do you know what happens inside those drums?
Gases are building up, explosive gases. And do you know what they're waiting for? For spontaneous combustion to create the biggest explosion you ever heard. Spontaneous combustion? It happens. Why not? Then we control the forces of nature? But there's a problem. I thought there wouldn't be any problem. Oh, well, it's not really a problem. We cannot wait around for spontaneous combustion to happen. We make it happen. We could light a long fuse. A fuse? Oh my goodness. And do you ever seen those movies where they have a length of fuse leading to the dynamite and it sputters along? One night, we light one of those little fuses and let it burn near the drums. That's all.
Oh, no. You won't remember. Joan, you make a note of this. Yes, professor. A note to your production man. Fill a pigment mixer with chrome green and let it sweat overnight. That could really account for the spontaneous combustion. So you see,
[00:33:44] Unknown:
no problems at all. When do you want to do this, professor?
[00:33:47] Unknown:
One day this week. So soon. Well, I quote mister Shakespeare. If it were done, it would be well if it were done quickly. Oh, words to that effect. I majored in the sciences. You know, I'm rather weak in the classics. Sometime this week then? What do you say, lover? All of it went past me over my head and beyond me. All that gibberish about the chemicals and the combustion and the chrome green in the mixer, I only knew that I had embarked on a course of action that would give me another spin of the wheel. I could refinance and try again.
And this time, I'd succeed in becoming somebody of importance and power. That was Monday. Tuesday, I waited, and it didn't happen. Then Wednesday, I I came home early. I wondered, would he do it tonight? Probably not. It might be better over the weekend. Still, I waited. Then the door opened and Julia came in. She was breathless. I never saw her face so flushed with excitement. Oh, not your girl in your home. Yes. Yes. I'm home. You don't know what happened. Tell me. What happened? They came. Who? All the critics, the dealers, the experts, the authorities. I guess you could say the establishment. What establishment is that? The art establishment.
[00:35:03] Unknown:
Ever wonder why one artist is in, another is out? Why one painting is sold for a million dollars and another isn't worth 50¢? Not exactly. No. Finally, they came to see Peter's work. You remember I'd set up a showing for him? Oh, yes. Yes. Of course. They were absolutely rocked back on their heels. No one expected an artist of this caliber. And the prices that were being thrown around, unbelievable.
[00:35:27] Unknown:
What do you mean unbelievable? $50.60,
[00:35:30] Unknown:
70,000. What? For for small works. You know that painting, the one of fathers that's in the office? Do you know what that will be worth one day? And not too far in the future? An amount in six
[00:35:43] Unknown:
figures. That painting of your father? Well, it should have been at the exhibit, but I insisted it belongs in the office. Oh, no. No. No. It shouldn't stay there. Well, it's only sitting in process for father to be in the place he left there. But that's a terrible place for a painting. And then that whole building is filled with chemical odors. I mean, after all, it's a paint factory. You know, strong, corrosive things, the paintings will be painting would be ruined there. But but do you you think so? Absolutely. Already, there's a film of fine dust all over it. Some of those dust particles can eat away at the canvas. Oh, I I didn't think of that. We can't treat it. I mean, mistreat it like that. Oh, certainly not. Now you just sit here. I'll be right back. Oh, where are you going? I'm going to the factory. I won't allow that glorious painting to hang there a minute more than necessary.
I approached the building. When I reached the gate, I stopped. What was I doing? Suppose the professor had picked tonight. Still, I had to get to that painting. But wouldn't it be better to call Joan first? What if what if there were a smaller and few others? No. Listen. Is, did the professor, you know What about Did he say it would be tonight? Why? I have to know. Wrong.
[00:36:54] Unknown:
So do you, wanna come up to the apartment? After. After what?
[00:36:59] Unknown:
After. I had to take a chance. It was still very early. Even if this were the night, it couldn't happen till well into the small hours. I went into the factory, and I entered my office. There was the painting on the wall. The painting that was worth a fortune. Hello, Roger. Hello, Lou.
[00:37:22] Unknown:
See what I told you, Roger. Cast your break upon the waters. Thank you. It's all coming back to me. You think so?
[00:37:31] Unknown:
I'll have the insurance money. I'll also have salvaged this portrait. Will that ever be worth a fortune?
[00:37:39] Unknown:
You'll never spend a nickel of it. Your trouble is you'll never listen to me. Remember I said wouldn't destroy my daughter. Remember? I said I'd stop you. How can you stop me? You're a dead man, Roger, or you will be in less than a minute. The whole place is going to blow. Not tonight, Lou. The professor isn't going to do it tonight. The place will go up anyhow. You ready to go back in, Roger? Everything's become sloppy You don't have more than 15. You couldn't even get out the window. What explosion? I said I'd stop you. Now at least the insurance money will go to Julia, and she won't be dead in a second. What explosion? In five seconds, the first run will go.
That will set off a second and a third and a fourth. And by the time you all go, there won't be a single prince standing in the entire place. She said the professor wouldn't do it tonight. That's not what she said.
[00:39:01] Unknown:
She doesn't know. I better get out of here. It's too late.
[00:39:05] Unknown:
Just before the buildup of gases reaches the explosion point, there's the bravest moment of that pale Hello, Roger.
[00:40:00] Unknown:
Had the professor come by earlier and set up the explosion, or did the natural forces of spontaneous combustion pick that exact moment to assert themselves? It makes sense either way to everyone but poor Roger who never knew what hit him. I shall return shortly. We're told to cast our bread upon the waters, And, of course, it makes sense. Sometimes we wait and wonder, will it ever return? But this is a kind of bread that never becomes soggy or stale. It returns, when it does, even fresher, tastier, and more nutritious than ever. Our cast included Mandel Kramer, E. V. Juster, Court Benson, and William Griffiths.
The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. And now, a preview of our next tale. Some while back, I had decided to refuse their blandishments, to let hunger shrivel my stomach and thirst blacken my tongue, to cheat my jailers by dying in their death proof cell. But the snakes had floated and coiled and mocked at my noble intentions, knowing that sooner or later, I would crotch them fiercely in a loving embrace. I would eat and drink until I was sated and sick with self disgust and fall back panting against my prison wall, and sleep like the miserable, unloved infant I had become.
No. I couldn't die. They wouldn't let me. It was against the code of my jailers. A law more inflexible than any written for humanity since the days of Moses. But, of course, my jailers weren't human. Missus EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre.
Come in.
[00:00:10] Unknown:
Welcome. I'm DG Marshall. Boomsday is the eighth day of the week. It's a day out of time and out of place, and it dawns quietly and runs its course just like in another day. And Iranians, even billions of people, may be unaware of it. After all, it may not be Bloomsday for everybody. I'll stop you, Roger. Really? From what? From destroying my daughter, ruining her life, squandering her fortune. Lou, what makes you think I'd do a thing like that? I won't allow it to happen. I'll stop you. How? You'll be dead. I know. And buried.
I know that too. But still, I'll stop you, Roger. Our mystery drama, The Eighth Day, was written especially for the mystery theater by Sam Dan and stars Maribel Kramer. I'll do that shortly. That one. The winds are ugly, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. Even if I like the poet, we all have promises to keep and miles to go, but, of course, the matter is out of our hands. Budget and whatever their journey may be, all of us, even or where sleep will overtake us, finally.
[00:02:07] Unknown:
Roger?
[00:02:08] Unknown:
Mister.
[00:02:09] Unknown:
Father wants to see you. Of course. I'm frightened. No, Julia. Everything's going to be our worst. Doctor Duran's told A lot of families go home forever.
[00:02:20] Unknown:
He looks so Well, then it's tough to die. Just relax. Have a have a cup of tea and be calm and beautiful. I'll go and have a nice little chat with daddy. Hello, little? Hello, Roger? Roger, here's the day I've been waiting for. That's right. I've been waiting. Eight years, eleven months, three weeks, four months. And what time is it more? Sextile card. You always get ahead for figures. An appetite for them too. I I don't suppose to listen to a word I say. Absolutely not. Don't plunder the business, Roger. Oh, there's a good classical outfall. Killer.
There's no way I can keep it from falling into your hands. I know that. I left a lot of jewelry, but that's just a legality. She'll do whatever you tell her. Don't you worry, Lou. I'll run things for her. Run. Yes. Add the letter I to run, and you've got ruin. Roger, life is more than just spending money. Is it really? It's spending money wisely. Oh, pity you never became a minister, Lou. You're going to die preaching a sermon. Well, when you reach this point, you see things so clearly. You're breaking my heart. It's so important to help people. I do help people. Yes.
Hustlers, gamblers, riffraps. Lou, I don't go downgrading your friends. You're going to have a lot of money. Yes. Thanks to you. Invest in people like I did. Help someone who who could make an impact on the world. Make it a better and brighter place to live in. You old reprobate. I changed structure. I saw the Oh, good Lord. Oh, this must sound the error of my ways. We should have violins in the background. As a man of wealth, you have obligations. The thundering cords of a mighty organ. I subsidized this young man, this artist, Peter Spiszek? Not the one who did the portrait of you that hangs in the office. The boy's a genius.
One day the world will know it. The day I take over, that nightmare goes off the wall and into the dump where it belongs. Rouch. I'm saying these things for your own good. I should have known. You're hopeless. You'll make Julia miserable. No. That's where you're wrong. I make Julia very happy. Happy? Yes. May not be your kind of happy, but it's her kind of happy. You'll you'll run through her money and throw her out into the street. Oh. I don't think I'll ever throw her out into the street with you. I like her. You don't know the meaning of the word love. Well, that's why I never use it. I said like. She's nice. She's sweet. She's dumb.
A guy like me needs a girl like that to come home to. If only I if only you could outlive me, but you can't, Lou. Doctor Evans says you're checking out by midnight at the latest. For nine long years, you slapped away my fingers every time I reached for the money. Now it's going to be mine. All mine. Roger, if there's even a single spark of decency, the tiniest shred of humanity. Come on, Lou. Don't go soft, you what kind of talk is this? It's phony. It's completely out of character just because you're on your deathbed. I will not allow you to destroy my daughter. Your day is done, Lou. I'm warning you, Roger.
I'll stop you. You'll be dead. Or don't you know it? Yes, Roger. I know it. And you'll be in your grave. I know that too. But still, I'll stop you. Do you know what you're saying? I know what I'm saying. I'll stop you somehow. Oh, Lou Lou, I'm really going to miss you. We lingered on a little past midnight, But finally Louis Tremont Paredell went to his reward. And his lawyers, and his bankers, and his friends urged his daughter to hire a competent man to run the Paredell paint company. But I had my eye on that job for ten years. After all, that's where the money was. And in Julia's adoring eyes, who could be more competent than her beloved?
[00:07:32] Unknown:
Roger, darling. Go ahead. Open the door. Walk in. It's your office now. Until now, only I knew how brilliant you are, how talented.
[00:07:48] Unknown:
Now you can show the world. Yes, darling. And I have ideas. Oh, I know you do. Your father, with all due respect,
[00:07:55] Unknown:
was somewhat old fashioned. You could say he was conservative.
[00:08:00] Unknown:
Now, this office. I want to get rid of all this furniture. But father's desk is a genuine Louis Catorre. Antique furniture can sub consciously create an antique style of thinking. A viewpoint that looks backward rather than forward. Oh. To succeed, business must turn toward tomorrow, not yearn for yesterday. Oh, Roger.
[00:08:20] Unknown:
That is brilliantly conceived
[00:08:22] Unknown:
and so right. My office shall be spare, bare, simple, a lean but elegant understatement. And that oil painting of your father Roger, what No. No. No. You must hear me out. After all, what do I treasure most about our relationship? The fact that we're totally honest and completely open with each other. Of course. Well, I have a falsehood on my conscience. Roger. For a long time, I have pretended. But the truth is I simply detest that painting. It doesn't even look like your father. Well, it does.
[00:08:57] Unknown:
It completely captures his mood, his soul. It's just a massive blob. It's in law. At first, but then when you bring your own sensitivity to it, all the elements resolve themselves into a radiant likeness of Louis, Tremont, Paredal, a man who both of us knew and adored. Perhaps, darling. Perhaps. It's a completely new form of art. Peter Stridec will have done for line and mass, what Rembrandt did for light and shadow, Titian for colorness. Says so. Well, at this point, only Peter Stridec says so, but here we discovered one day he has to be.
[00:09:36] Unknown:
I didn't care for the way he looked at you when he would come to see your father. Oh, Peter? He doesn't see me as a woman. Well, more than he's a bigger fool than I thought.
[00:09:45] Unknown:
Darling, I know you have great sweeping changes in mind. But could I ask you to do one small thing for me? Of course. Please leave father's painting. This factory was his creation. He built it from nothing. If his picture remains in this office, it'll signify that his presence is still felt.
[00:10:10] Unknown:
Darling, how can I deny you anything? Why shouldn't the old scoundrel be around to see my changes? So he remained on the wall. As time went on, I know he didn't like what he saw. At times, I could almost see him wince. Crosby and Dowell are complaining about the price again. Are they, mister Stebbins? They're hinting they can do better elsewhere. Then, we'll have to cut the prices. Yes, sir. Mister Stevens, you don't approve. No. It's not for me to approve or disapprove. We have a reputation as a high quality house, and our customers pay the price for it. Well, then you tell that to Crosby and Darwin. Mister Perrottel was the one who would tell that to all of our customers.
He would tell them and make them like it. You know, I believe you're right. That is the boss's job. Ask miss Cooper to come in here. Miss Cooper? Yes, sir. May something wrong? Well, miss Cooper does leave a great deal to be desired when it comes to stenography and typing. Oh, that may be so. But she does have other attributes. Yes, sir. Which is why I hired her. That will be all, mister Stebbins. Yes, sir. Miss Cooper. Please come in and close the door.
[00:11:37] Unknown:
Hi, Bella.
[00:11:39] Unknown:
How about a little kiss? How did you like that, Lou?
[00:11:48] Unknown:
Who are you talking to?
[00:11:50] Unknown:
It's a private little thing.
[00:11:53] Unknown:
Roger. Do you mind if I say something? You have to. What are you doing this for? Doing what? This whole managerial bit. Why don't you just relax and enjoy life? I've never enjoyed life as much as I am right now. But you could hire someone to run the place.
[00:12:11] Unknown:
You could just concentrate on having a ball. I had that kind of ball for nine years. Now I have to go to work. Still can't imagine why. You know, everyone says that I married Julia for her money. Didn't you? Sure. So? What's the complaint? Well, when I met Julia, I was a kid.
[00:12:28] Unknown:
Hardly. You were 30 years old. You've been overseas with the army. You've even done little time. Who told you all this? You did.
[00:12:38] Unknown:
Sometimes I talk too much.
[00:12:39] Unknown:
What's this about being a kid?
[00:12:42] Unknown:
I didn't know what money was for. It's to enjoy life.
[00:12:47] Unknown:
Roger, what do you really want? Power. What kind of power?
[00:12:54] Unknown:
Look at him up there, the man in that picture. That's a picture of a man? Yes. It is. Could you could've fooled me. Me too until just a little while ago, but now I understand him. You know, I used to think it was nose to the grindstone day and night. Maybe it was, but he got more out of living than I ever did. I would disagree, Roger. You're just about the best liver I ever knew. He was respected, feared. He ran things. He ran people. Oh. And me? What have I always been? I've been a bum. I mean, I mean, I know how to wear clothes, I have good manners, I play a gentleman's game of bridge and golf and a little tennis, but I'm still a bum. Maybe, Roger. Maybe. There's no doubt about it. You're very good, Annie. You're even great. That's something to be proud of. Lou Paradell used this place as a base of operations. Where? He had his fingers in everything.
He was in the group. What group? The group that runs things in this city. It's made up of men who have money and power. He was also a member of another group, the one that runs things in the state. He shall go around. But that's as far as he did get. Now, there's even another group. Ah. It runs things in this country. And then, there is the most exclusive group of all,
[00:14:11] Unknown:
The one that runs the world. And now that we're going out into space, you think there's a group that runs the universe.
[00:14:18] Unknown:
There has to be. Joan, I'm serious. Look. I have to be able to talk to somebody. I'm serious too.
[00:14:23] Unknown:
I still say hire some guy to run this place and you just take life easy. But my father was nobody and I'm nobody. At least you're a rich nobody. That's the worst kind.
[00:14:34] Unknown:
That's what Lou Paradis had against me. Not that I didn't have money, but that I was nobody.
[00:14:39] Unknown:
And I'm going to show him. What are you going to show him? He is dead.
[00:14:44] Unknown:
In a way, he is still here.
[00:14:47] Unknown:
Roger, the trick isn't whether you're nobody or somebody, but how you live with it. You can't help being what you are. He lived for power.
[00:14:55] Unknown:
Before I'm finished, I'll be more powerful than he ever dreamed of. A butterfly flies.
[00:15:01] Unknown:
But just because he's way up there looking way down here is no reason for him to think he's an eagle. Roger, honey, you're just a butterfly. Maybe.
[00:15:11] Unknown:
But a butterfly can become an eagle. Sure.
[00:15:14] Unknown:
Sure thing, Roger, honey. Why not?
[00:15:17] Unknown:
After all, he began life as a worm, didn't he? So that's what's bothering our friend Roger, the itch for power. It's the type of affliction a man never really gets rid of. Scratching brings no lasting relief, and there is no ointment or medicine that can affect a permanent cure. The itch becomes more intense in act two very shortly.
[00:15:57] Unknown:
See the new
[00:16:11] Unknown:
Is this what it's all about? Do certain men raise themselves to heights of power to compensate for being nobodies and neglected while they were children? Why not? It's as good a theory as any other.
[00:16:26] Unknown:
Darling. Mhmm. You busy this evening? I'm gonna be late at the plant, Julia. Well, I was going to ask you to come to a showing with me. Peter Strzok is having a small exhibit. Oh? I feel that I'm carrying on father's work by trying to launch Peter's career. Mhmm. It's difficult to get critics and dealers interested. Oh, I'm sure. Darling, uncle Will called me last night. Dear uncle Will. He hears that things are not going too well at the plant.
[00:16:53] Unknown:
He hears that, does he? Mhmm. And, You know, there were times when things did not go too well even when your father was alive. Oh, yes. That's true. These things run-in cycles, Julia. I mean, you've heard of business cycles. Oh, I think so. Well, there is a small recession and it's cutting down on orders. Then there is this inflation which keeps raising our expenses. I understand. These things are to be expected. There are times when I think you're working too hard. Well, hard work never killed anyone. It killed father? Well, I'm going to be working even harder. Darling. I volunteered to join the mayor's committee. I feel someone has to take your father's place. Oh, Roger.
[00:17:30] Unknown:
If father could only see you now, he'd be so proud of you.
[00:17:38] Unknown:
I joined the committee, but I was, I suppose, tolerated more than anything else. I guess the problem was money. The high powered successful men who formed the committee sensed that so far, I wasn't in their league. Maybe I was wearing my father in law's shoes, but I wasn't going anywhere in them. Yes, mister Criswell? Mister Stebbins, our volume is way off. Oh, it's to be expected, sir. Expected? Housing starts are down, therefore, all building materials. According to these figures, we're just about breaking even. Well, that isn't bad for the present situation. Well, that doesn't impress me, mister Stebbins. We don't make money because we're stodgy and unimaginative. That may be We'll start by cutting prices. Well, we can't do that and turn out our traditional quality product. What's quality? It's a state of mind is what it is.
Honey, what do people know anyhow? You tell them that something is good. You tell them loud enough and long enough and strong enough, and they'll believe you. But you're talking about cheapening our product. I'm talking about making Paradell paint available to a far greater group of people. Now you too can enjoy the perfection of a Paradel paint job. What you mean, sir, is a snow job. Ah, there is hope for you, Stebbins. You do have a sense of humor buried deep down there somewhere. I also have what I like to think of as a sense of honor. I must ask you to accept my resignation.
He quit and so did a lot of the others, a chief chemist, a production foreman, But these were nearsighted old timers. They didn't know the name of today's game. It's promotion.
[00:19:16] Unknown:
Maybe you know the name of the game, but are you sure you know how to play it? Joan, the place is ready to bust loose. Oh, listen, love. You should see the bundle that I put out for advertising. Sure. You know, that's your problem. You don't have any real confidence in me. Roger, what do you need it for? Hey. Are you jealous? Of whom? The Paradel paint girl. Oh, come on.
[00:19:39] Unknown:
But she was. Some genius at the advertising agency had come up with the concept of the Paradel paint girl, and we planned a, what they call it, a saturation campaign on TV. Maybe you saw it. And here she is, ladies and gentlemen, your lovely and paradile could create the gold of that hair, the red of those luscious lips, the creamy milky whiteness of that sensational skin. Remember folks, whatever the hue, there's a paradel color for you. She was not only a sight for the eyes, she was a delight to have around in a nice cozy little retreat when I simply had to get away from it all. Unlike Julia who gushed and Joan who jabbered, this one was a lady of remarkably few words, and she sold the paint.
Orders poured in from all over the country. The factory went to three shifts. Paredel Paint was moving into places and in quantities that Lou Paredel had never dreamed of. I looked up at his painting at least once a day and reminded him of it. Lou, you ain't seen nothing yet. Well, Joan, you're gonna have to get yourself a secretary. I'm up to my ears around here. Now, listen loud. The mayor wants to talk with me on, how did he put it? Matters of mutual interest. Julia's uncle Will, you know, the banker who never approved of me, he wants to know when I'm free for lunch. Do you know what our volume has been just last month alone? And I'm putting all of it and more back into advertising. If I were you, I would take the money and run.
[00:21:24] Unknown:
Why do you say a thing like that? We're starting to get letters. Sure. Orders.
[00:21:28] Unknown:
Complaints. What do you mean? Complaints.
[00:21:31] Unknown:
Wholesalers are complaining. Retailers are complaining. Customers are complaining. Missus Jane Consumer, who spends $10.95 of her hard earned money to buy a gallon to brighten her living room, is yelling the loudest of all. What's the matter with the paint? It's supposed to be a washable paint. It is. Only it turns out to be a disappearing paint. It washes right off the wall. That is simply not so. Well, you did take a lot out of the product. I guess what you took out is what kept it on mostly. Lou. What did you say? Didn't you hear him laugh just now? I didn't hear anything.
Are you alright?
[00:22:13] Unknown:
I looked at the portrait. I was sure he winked. It was such a crazy painting you could believe anything. But one thing I knew, I could tell there was trouble ahead. Even Julia was starting to ask questions.
[00:22:28] Unknown:
Darling, everything's alright, isn't it? Why, of course. It's just that I ran into an old friend of fathers yesterday. A friend and customer. Oh, who? Frank Watkins. He owns a big chain of paint stores. Yes. He was complaining about the paint quality. He was? Yes. He said he was thinking of canceling his orders.
[00:22:50] Unknown:
Is that what he said?
[00:22:52] Unknown:
Mister Watkins, I said. There must be some mistake. You've bought Paradel paint for almost forty years. I think I talked him out of it. Roger.
[00:23:03] Unknown:
Yes, sir.
[00:23:04] Unknown:
Is there a problem with the quality?
[00:23:07] Unknown:
Trudy, I wanted to shield you from all this. The problem is with the Frank Watkins's of this world. I'm afraid your father didn't handle him properly. Roger. Watkins thinks he's entitled to special treatment, special credit terms, special discount arrangements. Well, it's bad for our business. I'm afraid your father let him get away with it. Oh, what? Your father was so tough on the outside, but really so soft hearted when it came to old friends. You remember that, don't you? Oh, yes. Well, things are going along just fine at the factory, dearest. Oh, I I shall need your signature for something. Of course. For what? I have to go to the bank. Why?
Why would anyone go to the bank to borrow money, silly? But why do you have to borrow money? Well, everybody in business borrows money. I don't think father did. Well, instead of diverting your own cash flow and spending your own money, you let that work for you and then you borrow for short term business expenses.
[00:24:02] Unknown:
Oh, it's it's also dreadfully complicated. I'll never understand any of it. Oh, Roger. I'm so glad I have you to take care of these things.
[00:24:14] Unknown:
The trouble with these things is they didn't get better. They didn't even hold still. They kept getting worse and worse. Shipments were returned. Orders were canceled. Customers were lost. And no matter how my Paradell pink girl smiled on TV, business kept dwindling. And I owed money to everyone for everything. I could only go to one place for it. Julia had things in her own name that Lou had left her. But you'd be surprised how quickly I went through all that too.
[00:24:47] Unknown:
Darling,
[00:24:48] Unknown:
all the money Haven't I told you it's all being plowed into the business. We're expanding every day. Oh. I mean, within the year, Parallel Paints will be triple the size. Oh, Lou wouldn't know the place. Oh, that'll be wonderful. Now, Julia, I have to meet a note before the fifteenth.
[00:25:04] Unknown:
Well, I I'm afraid I I don't have any more money.
[00:25:09] Unknown:
You don't?
[00:25:11] Unknown:
The insurance, bonds, the stocks, I mean, they're all gone. No. Oh, they're not gone in in that sense. I mean, they're in the business. They're part of the brick and and the mortar and and the machinery. And the plans and production at Paradel Paints, isn't that so? Well, Roger, it is so, isn't it? Oh, yes. Yeah. Of course, darling.
[00:25:34] Unknown:
Absolutely.
[00:25:41] Unknown:
Lover, everybody is asking for their money. How are sales? Why don't we forget about that aspect of the business? How did I ever get into this? Lust.
[00:25:51] Unknown:
Lust for power. I went through the assets of this company in less than a year. I also drained all my wife's money. It wasn't easy. It takes a certain amount of talent,
[00:26:00] Unknown:
That special talent you're filled with. I sure know how to spend it. Oh, Roger. Why didn't you listen to me? You could have been the happiest bum in the world. We could have lived off the fat of the land. We still will. No. No, Roger. Give it up. You want to be powerful. Be one of those movers and shakers. Forget it. I'll bet Lou Paradigm's laughing at you. He is. He is. Didn't you just hear him? No. Then why did you say that? Because he should be laughing at you. How would you like to have the last laugh?
[00:26:39] Unknown:
No. How?
[00:26:40] Unknown:
You simply can't pay your bills. You destroy the credibility of the company so nobody's willing to let you keep on doing business. In less than a month your creditors will foreclose. Don't say that. Oh, I wish I could say something happier. In less than a month you'll be out on your ear. Unless Unless what? Unless you decide to save yourself. How? Well, that's very simple. Just blow the place up.
[00:27:20] Unknown:
I'm not sure that's really very simple. I mean, the act, the explosion itself, that's a fairly simple chemical event. But to do it, to decide to do it, to accept the rationale for doing it, that could be a most complex procedure. It'll either happen or it won't in act three. Fire and ice within me fight beneath the suffocating night. Fire and ice. Passion and reason. The essential conflict of man's basic nature. The surprising thing about it all is that we may not even be aware of the turbulence that is taking place inside us until it's burned out or frozen over.
[00:28:27] Unknown:
I said you'll have to blow up the factory. Are you crazy? No. I'm sane. I'm talking sane. Blow up the factory? What other choice have you? You're gonna lose it. You'll have nothing. But I may You win, Julia. You'll be lucky to have the clothes on your back. And that's another thing. Julia, how would you like to be poor and married to Julia? I don't wanna talk about it. That's why I have to talk about it for you. It's wrong. Roger, you've never made an honest dollar in your life. It's wrong for me.
[00:28:56] Unknown:
I never did anything that was tied up with violence. With me, it well, it was a kind of a con game where you never got your hands bloody or even dirty. You have no other choice.
[00:29:04] Unknown:
The insurance money will let you live in style for the rest of your life. Insurance companies always suspect arson in these kind of things. But they won't be able to prove it. Blow up the furt. Why don't you think about it for a while? I'm sure you'll convince yourself to do the right thing, the only thing. Incidentally, I have already got the fellow lined up. Which fellow? The fellow who is going to put you back in the money. The one who is going to do the job.
[00:29:34] Unknown:
I sat there for a long time after she left the office, even after everyone had left the plant. I kept thinking, how could I do a thing like that? I looked at the painting of Lou. It must have been my imagination, but I could have sworn Lou was talking to me. Don't do it, Roger. What?
[00:29:57] Unknown:
I asked you once not to plunder the business. You didn't listen. This time I asked you, don't destroy it. Don't destroy the business.
[00:30:08] Unknown:
I've already done it. No. Listen to me.
[00:30:12] Unknown:
Go to my brother, Will.
[00:30:14] Unknown:
He'll refinance the company. He wouldn't give me 15¢.
[00:30:18] Unknown:
What banker would? You'll be out of it. The parallel name is strong enough to come back. We'll know who to hire. In a couple of years, the company will be stronger than ever. What am I supposed to be doing? What were you doing while I was alive? You can go back to being a bum. You'll be a rich one with Julius' share of the profits. But I'll still be a bum. As your girlfriend, Joan, says you're very good at it. You think you know everything.
[00:30:47] Unknown:
Look, I may have made some mistakes, but I can come back. And on my own terms, the insurance money will put me back in a ballgame. Roger. Roger.
[00:30:57] Unknown:
You'll never learn.
[00:31:05] Unknown:
Sit down, Roger. I want you to meet professor x. How do you do? The professor chooses to remain anonymous.
[00:31:12] Unknown:
I understand, mister Quiz, well, that you, have a problem. He does. I have discussed the fee with your friend. The professor gets a percentage of the insurance. A most reasonable arrangement. It's very fair, Roger. I understand it's a paint factory. One of the biggest in the country. Well, that means we'll have the biggest bang in history. Well,
[00:31:33] Unknown:
Roger?
[00:31:35] Unknown:
Oh, it's not necessary for him to speak. What? Many people are not used to this. They have to accept the idea slowly, gradually. Professor X has great credentials. I have a PhD in chemistry. You see? I tell you that not to blow my own horn, but to add to your sense of security.
[00:31:54] Unknown:
Actually, what the professor is doing is moonlighting. But with inflation and all,
[00:31:59] Unknown:
lots of people have to hold down two jobs. Joel has been kind enough to furnish me with a schematic of the plant. No trouble at all in arranging a most superlative accident. He already described his plan to me. It seems You have on the premises a quantity of 55 gallon drums. Yes. I suppose so. They contain butyl alcohols, I lor, certainly. I might be kidding. But do I have to know the details? You should make you feel better. Now these drums are, some of them, half empty, quarter empty, and so on. Right? I guess so. Do you know what happens inside those drums?
Gases are building up, explosive gases. And do you know what they're waiting for? For spontaneous combustion to create the biggest explosion you ever heard. Spontaneous combustion? It happens. Why not? Then we control the forces of nature? But there's a problem. I thought there wouldn't be any problem. Oh, well, it's not really a problem. We cannot wait around for spontaneous combustion to happen. We make it happen. We could light a long fuse. A fuse? Oh my goodness. And do you ever seen those movies where they have a length of fuse leading to the dynamite and it sputters along? One night, we light one of those little fuses and let it burn near the drums. That's all.
Oh, no. You won't remember. Joan, you make a note of this. Yes, professor. A note to your production man. Fill a pigment mixer with chrome green and let it sweat overnight. That could really account for the spontaneous combustion. So you see,
[00:33:44] Unknown:
no problems at all. When do you want to do this, professor?
[00:33:47] Unknown:
One day this week. So soon. Well, I quote mister Shakespeare. If it were done, it would be well if it were done quickly. Oh, words to that effect. I majored in the sciences. You know, I'm rather weak in the classics. Sometime this week then? What do you say, lover? All of it went past me over my head and beyond me. All that gibberish about the chemicals and the combustion and the chrome green in the mixer, I only knew that I had embarked on a course of action that would give me another spin of the wheel. I could refinance and try again.
And this time, I'd succeed in becoming somebody of importance and power. That was Monday. Tuesday, I waited, and it didn't happen. Then Wednesday, I I came home early. I wondered, would he do it tonight? Probably not. It might be better over the weekend. Still, I waited. Then the door opened and Julia came in. She was breathless. I never saw her face so flushed with excitement. Oh, not your girl in your home. Yes. Yes. I'm home. You don't know what happened. Tell me. What happened? They came. Who? All the critics, the dealers, the experts, the authorities. I guess you could say the establishment. What establishment is that? The art establishment.
[00:35:03] Unknown:
Ever wonder why one artist is in, another is out? Why one painting is sold for a million dollars and another isn't worth 50¢? Not exactly. No. Finally, they came to see Peter's work. You remember I'd set up a showing for him? Oh, yes. Yes. Of course. They were absolutely rocked back on their heels. No one expected an artist of this caliber. And the prices that were being thrown around, unbelievable.
[00:35:27] Unknown:
What do you mean unbelievable? $50.60,
[00:35:30] Unknown:
70,000. What? For for small works. You know that painting, the one of fathers that's in the office? Do you know what that will be worth one day? And not too far in the future? An amount in six
[00:35:43] Unknown:
figures. That painting of your father? Well, it should have been at the exhibit, but I insisted it belongs in the office. Oh, no. No. No. It shouldn't stay there. Well, it's only sitting in process for father to be in the place he left there. But that's a terrible place for a painting. And then that whole building is filled with chemical odors. I mean, after all, it's a paint factory. You know, strong, corrosive things, the paintings will be painting would be ruined there. But but do you you think so? Absolutely. Already, there's a film of fine dust all over it. Some of those dust particles can eat away at the canvas. Oh, I I didn't think of that. We can't treat it. I mean, mistreat it like that. Oh, certainly not. Now you just sit here. I'll be right back. Oh, where are you going? I'm going to the factory. I won't allow that glorious painting to hang there a minute more than necessary.
I approached the building. When I reached the gate, I stopped. What was I doing? Suppose the professor had picked tonight. Still, I had to get to that painting. But wouldn't it be better to call Joan first? What if what if there were a smaller and few others? No. Listen. Is, did the professor, you know What about Did he say it would be tonight? Why? I have to know. Wrong.
[00:36:54] Unknown:
So do you, wanna come up to the apartment? After. After what?
[00:36:59] Unknown:
After. I had to take a chance. It was still very early. Even if this were the night, it couldn't happen till well into the small hours. I went into the factory, and I entered my office. There was the painting on the wall. The painting that was worth a fortune. Hello, Roger. Hello, Lou.
[00:37:22] Unknown:
See what I told you, Roger. Cast your break upon the waters. Thank you. It's all coming back to me. You think so?
[00:37:31] Unknown:
I'll have the insurance money. I'll also have salvaged this portrait. Will that ever be worth a fortune?
[00:37:39] Unknown:
You'll never spend a nickel of it. Your trouble is you'll never listen to me. Remember I said wouldn't destroy my daughter. Remember? I said I'd stop you. How can you stop me? You're a dead man, Roger, or you will be in less than a minute. The whole place is going to blow. Not tonight, Lou. The professor isn't going to do it tonight. The place will go up anyhow. You ready to go back in, Roger? Everything's become sloppy You don't have more than 15. You couldn't even get out the window. What explosion? I said I'd stop you. Now at least the insurance money will go to Julia, and she won't be dead in a second. What explosion? In five seconds, the first run will go.
That will set off a second and a third and a fourth. And by the time you all go, there won't be a single prince standing in the entire place. She said the professor wouldn't do it tonight. That's not what she said.
[00:39:01] Unknown:
She doesn't know. I better get out of here. It's too late.
[00:39:05] Unknown:
Just before the buildup of gases reaches the explosion point, there's the bravest moment of that pale Hello, Roger.
[00:40:00] Unknown:
Had the professor come by earlier and set up the explosion, or did the natural forces of spontaneous combustion pick that exact moment to assert themselves? It makes sense either way to everyone but poor Roger who never knew what hit him. I shall return shortly. We're told to cast our bread upon the waters, And, of course, it makes sense. Sometimes we wait and wonder, will it ever return? But this is a kind of bread that never becomes soggy or stale. It returns, when it does, even fresher, tastier, and more nutritious than ever. Our cast included Mandel Kramer, E. V. Juster, Court Benson, and William Griffiths.
The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown. And now, a preview of our next tale. Some while back, I had decided to refuse their blandishments, to let hunger shrivel my stomach and thirst blacken my tongue, to cheat my jailers by dying in their death proof cell. But the snakes had floated and coiled and mocked at my noble intentions, knowing that sooner or later, I would crotch them fiercely in a loving embrace. I would eat and drink until I was sated and sick with self disgust and fall back panting against my prison wall, and sleep like the miserable, unloved infant I had become.
No. I couldn't die. They wouldn't let me. It was against the code of my jailers. A law more inflexible than any written for humanity since the days of Moses. But, of course, my jailers weren't human. Missus EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre.
