In this intriguing episode of Mystery Theater, hosted by EG Marshall, we delve into the eerie tale of Jasper Sheridan, a dying wealthy man who offers his great-grandnephew, Barry Holden, a mysterious bottle containing a black imp. This imp promises unlimited wealth but comes with a sinister catch: the owner must sell it for less than they paid before they die, or their soul will be damned for eternity. As Barry inherits the bottle, he is thrust into a world of supernatural dealings and moral dilemmas, testing his courage and integrity.
Barry's journey takes a turn when he meets Alicia, a woman who becomes entangled in the dark secret of the imp. As they navigate their relationship, the couple faces the consequences of greed and the supernatural. The story unfolds with suspense and drama, exploring themes of wealth, power, and the eternal struggle between good and evil. Will Barry find a way to rid himself of the imp's curse, or will he succumb to its dark allure? Tune in to find out in this captivating episode of Mystery Theater.
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[00:00:17]
Unknown:
Come in.
[00:00:20] Unknown:
Welcome.
[00:00:21] Unknown:
I'm EG Marshall. Jasper Sheridan is dying. Even the most ignorant of laymen could determine that fact, the wax like face, the emaciated body, the rasping breath that precedes the last death rattle. In the huge baronial bedroom, he faces his only living relative, Barry Holden, a great grandnephew. A fortunate young man who is the only heir to one of the richest, if not the richest men in the world. Fortunate? Listen. Barry,
[00:00:59] Unknown:
are we alone? Yes, uncle. Open the drawer in my bed table. You see the small
[00:01:08] Unknown:
bottle in it? Yes, sir. You mean the one with the ugly little black bug in it? If you will buy that from
[00:01:14] Unknown:
me for less than $10, you can be the richest man
[00:01:19] Unknown:
in the world. Oh, uncle, you know me. I'm always broke. I can raise, let me see,
[00:01:26] Unknown:
$7.43. Will that be enough? More than $10.43.
[00:01:30] Unknown:
Will that be enough? More than enough. Will you buy it from me? If you want me to. Of course.
[00:01:54] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, the imp in the bottle, was written especially for the mystery theater by Ian Martin and stars William Redfield. It is sponsored in part by Anheuser Busch Incorporated, Brewers of Budweiser, and Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with act one.
[00:02:17] Unknown:
There's nothing wrong with drinking Budweiser sip by sip, is there? Well, the brewers of Budweiser think there's a better way. Sipping's fine. If you're of Budweiser think there's a better way. Sipping's fine if you're drinking wine, but Bud is the king of beers, a hearty drink. Look. Rinse a 10 or 12 ounce glass with cold water, then open a can or a bottle of Bud and pour it right down the middle so it kicks up a good head of foam. Now take a big drink and then swallow big. No sips. That's how it should be done. More taste, more beer drinking enjoyment. Thanks to exclusive Beachwood aging, Budweiser has a smoothness that lets it go down especially easy.
Sure. It's an expensive way to brew beer, but brewing beer right does make a difference. That's why when you say Budweiser, you've said it all. Anheuser Busch, Saint Louis.
[00:03:17] Unknown:
Oh, I
[00:03:34] Unknown:
Do you know a happier summertime sound than Oscar Mayer wieners are sizzling on the grill? Good nourishing meat protein, and the delicious flavor of good meat too. Oscar Mayer wieners are featured in your newspapers, food pages this week. Look for them and have plenty on hand for the weekend. America's number one. Everyone loves them.
[00:03:57] Unknown:
Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wieners. That is what I truly like to be. Because if I were an Oscar Mayer winner, everyone would be in love with me.
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When a man is over 90 and you are 24, with your life just beginning, why not humor a dying man's request? But you didn't expect a minor gesture could cause that piercing, shattering, evil scream that trued your tolerance to a shivering
[00:04:53] Unknown:
him,
[00:04:59] Unknown:
little black imp, immured in the prison. He thought he might escape at last.
[00:05:05] Unknown:
From this thing in the bottle? That's crazy. It's no bigger than a large flask. As long as he stays in the bottle.
[00:05:13] Unknown:
Oh, Murray. I have no right. If I were not so afraid Wait. Let me go and get doctor Amy. No. No. This is just between us and a a very little time. So let me speak. Uncle Abdul, please. Let's not interrupt. You had every expectation to be my only heir, and you are so indicated in my will. But do you know what my escape will be if I should pass on still owning that black minion of the antichrist? Nil, nothing. Zero. Look, uncle, I don't think this is the right time to worry about a state. This is exactly the right time.
First, if I die still in possession of that imp of darkness, everything I have, and I'm a house, a corporation, wealth, even. I myself become his possession. Poor Barry, you think you're listening to an old man's
[00:06:14] Unknown:
rabies. Okay. So we're back to that dirty black spider or whatever it is in the bottle. I'll buy them. That's simple. Now does that solve it? Not by a long shot. First,
[00:06:23] Unknown:
you have to know the terms. Okay, briefing. Everything. When I was your your age, I was in Venice, and I bought that bottle with the black thing in it for not much more than $10. I was always a sucker for legends of any kind. The lure of the what looking was it legend? If you could find the right person, whoever you were, you would command anything in the world you desired, gold or money, at the snap of your fingers. That's what that dirty little thing there is? Oh, I laughed at the notion of its power, except that it does possess possess it.
And once you know that, the whole contract gains its own belief. And what is the whole contract? That while a person owns this dark imp in the model, any request that concerns money, gold, or wealth, no matter how unreasonable, will be satisfied. And that to dispose of this creature and its spell, you must shell it for less than your original price. Oh.
[00:07:42] Unknown:
Here, $7 and 40. 5. 5 dollars is enough. Okay. Cheap at nearly half the price. I'll think first very thing.
[00:07:51] Unknown:
Remember, it will keep you rich as long as you live. But remember too, if you do not sell it for less than you paid for it before you die, your soul will surely rot in hell for eternity. Cheer up, uncle. You've made your sail. Your imp in the bottle is my problem from now on.
[00:08:17] Unknown:
I no sooner made that statement than I felt a burning sensation in my pocket. It was sheer reflex action to reach in and pull out the bottle containing the evil black bug. I glanced at my uncle. He had sunk back against the silk pillow cover, his face the corpse white of the dead, but its expression one of peace and relief. You'd better go in, doctor Haney. I'm afraid he's gone. Yeah. Very well, Barry. It was inevitable, you know. Oh, I know. I know. But I I'm gonna miss him a lot. That makes two of us.
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I'll let you know in just a minute. Thank
[00:09:00] Unknown:
you. I hope I'm not premature, but I'm sorry. Thanks, Mr. Barnes. You're going to miss the old man in
[00:09:09] Unknown:
a lot more ways than one son.
[00:09:11] Unknown:
What does that mean? You know, I haven't been able to talk any real business with him almost the whole past week and Well, what's the scoop, mister lawyer? Disaster. The whole empire is going to topple.
[00:09:24] Unknown:
Sheridan Enterprises? Jasper is mortgaged up to the IT, overextended.
[00:09:30] Unknown:
He's so deep in debt that if things went under, he couldn't even pay his credit as a penny on the dollar. You're trying to tell me that Jasper is broke? Unless he's got piles of money stashed away in Switzerland, Lebanon, The Bahamas, or some secret corner of the world. The only thing he'll leave you is debts. The pity of it is if he were alive, he'd find a way out of all this mess. He's done it time and again. The man was a financial genius.
[00:09:55] Unknown:
He's gone alright. Poor old Jasper. But he looks at peace. He certainly looked like he left you well provided for, Barry, if that's any consolation.
[00:10:09] Unknown:
Well provided for, perhaps. A consolation? That remains to be seen. Lawyer Barnes insisted that I dine with him that night to discuss business, he said, and for a rather special reason might lighten the dismal occasion. I accepted for reasons of my own, which were blown right out of my head the moment I met his special reason.
[00:10:39] Unknown:
Oh, there you are, Barry. Just in time for a mint julep in honor of my guest. Oh. I'd like you to meet the daughter of an old, old friend of mine in the Deep South, miss Felicia Alice Breidenhall. Oh,
[00:10:50] Unknown:
my pleasure, miss Breidenhall. Let me begin with my whole usual little thing. Oh, is it a stem winder or just short and sweet? Oh,
[00:11:00] Unknown:
now you're putting me on. All I wanted to say was that no one might I should be settled with a name as long as Felicia Alice Breednall.
[00:11:08] Unknown:
And since the diminutive for both my first names happens to Felicia, can we settle for that? By all means, my name happens to be, for example, Barry Norton Stewart Farrington Creekcraft Ames with a hyphen between the last two. You may call me just plain Barry, Alicia.
[00:11:26] Unknown:
I'm really sorry.
[00:11:28] Unknown:
We shouldn't be joking under the circumstances. Oh, it's alright. It's alright. Jasper would have gotten a kick out of you. He lived his life and didn't miss a thing. How many years, mister Barnes? Pretty close to ninety seven. Yeah. And he'd had it too. He wanted to go. Now don't worry, Lisha.
[00:11:44] Unknown:
He picked the right moment. Here's your julep. Good stuff. Yeah. I imagine you can use it, Mary, after a little stop before noon.
[00:11:53] Unknown:
You and I are going to have to get together tonight, you know?
[00:11:56] Unknown:
You know it. That's just what the man ordered. I didn't think you'd be so eager for our talk. Oh, I wasn't even thinking about our talk. I was talking about the drink and the lady who comes along with it. Alicia, even after just one long cool swallow, I apologize about the name nonsense. My name is plain old Barry Norton, NMI as we used to say in the armed services. NMI? No middle initial. Barry is good enough for me anyway. You're gonna be staying up north long?
[00:12:26] Unknown:
Oh, that depends.
[00:12:29] Unknown:
Oh, that's the dinner bell. We keep missus Graham's waiting one moment, I might lose her. I have no intention of doing so.
[00:12:43] Unknown:
Barry? Yeah? You seem so preoccupied
[00:12:47] Unknown:
ever since we left after dinner. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Leash, I am. Got a lot on my mind. How long is your stay up here going to be?
[00:12:56] Unknown:
A long, long time, I hope. Now that's just the same thought I had in mind for you. But it may not be too long if I don't get a job before my money runs out.
[00:13:07] Unknown:
You mean that's the only problem? Oh, you can joke. You don't know what it is to be poor. Uh-huh. You wanna bet? You know what my entire capital is as of this moment? $2.43.
[00:13:20] Unknown:
Plus 2,043,000,000,000
[00:13:22] Unknown:
little old greenbacks your great uncle last year. Supposing I was to tell you Jasper left nothing. Not a cent. Just a collection of monumental debts. I wouldn't believe you for a moment. Well, let let me put this whole proposition on another basis. Supposing I didn't have a dime, would you marry me tomorrow this minute if I really didn't have a dime and no particular prospects and I asked you? You haven't even found out if I like you. Uh-uh. No. This is no holds barred time, Alicia. I think you do at least like me. Enough to think about marrying me?
[00:13:57] Unknown:
They warned me life went a little faster up north. Okay. I'll fade you, mister gambling man. I do do like you. But I've had too many years growing up just one nitty jump above poor white. So the answer to your question is if you didn't have a dime and no particular prospect. I'd pick up my bell bottoms and run like hell in case you lassoed me with black magic charm.
[00:14:21] Unknown:
Uh-huh. Alright. Give me twenty four hours to find out where I stand. Then I'll know just where we stand. Hello? Mister Barnes, I won't be back tonight. But you promised I have to go over this whole business situation with you and just because of Lisha, you I I know. I know. I won't say this has nothing to do with Lisha, but by later tonight, I may be able to give you some better news and relieve your mind about financial affairs. I'm holding what gamblers call an ace in the hole. Now keep your lawyer's fingers crossed that it pays off. What I was holding in my hand was the imp in the bottle. And with my own fingers crossed, I took it back to uncle Jasper's house.
With shaking fingers, I twisted the cap of the little bottle, and suddenly it came off with an explosive whoosh that rocked me on my heels and turned my blood to rainwater. Out of the narrow opening, a great foaming black cloud burst like an atomic bomb. The room reeked of fire and brimstone, and the whole house rocked and shook and seemed to disintegrate.
[00:15:44] Unknown:
There There are things seemingly beyond our kin that brush against us every day. Eventually, there is an explanation, simple or complicated, an explanation that suits the limit of our world. But is there another explanation that suits another world? Something so dark and mysterious and mind boggling that we refuse to accept it?
[00:16:12] Unknown:
I'll be back shortly with act two. Excuse me, sir. But do you know what happens this time of year? Right on, pal. I happen to know that right about now, a freak blizzard falls on Dumont, New Jersey, and they're snowed in for the rest of the summer. Happens every year. No. No. No. No. You see, what happens this time of year is that you can get a particularly good deal on what is perhaps the most luxurious midsize car on the market, the midsize Buick Century Regal. Now what good's a car when you're hopelessly snowed in? Well, that's a point.
[00:16:46] Unknown:
Oh, boy. Do I have a headache?
[00:16:54] Unknown:
Why do they have to make these tops so hard to open? For a very good reason. Children open things that they shouldn't. That's why we have safety packaging. For the life of your child, you can live with a little inconvenience. For further information, write the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington DC two zero two zero seven.
[00:17:16] Unknown:
Hey. What you got there? It looks like tomato juice. It's v eight. What you got there? It's v eight.
[00:17:45] Unknown:
The new fall season on KRLD begins Monday, September 9. Nighttime will be prime time for the new Lou Staples talk show. Lou Staples is well known as a gutsy, informative, and entertaining talk show host. Hear the new Lou Staples talk show nightly, seven to 09:30. And starting Monday the ninth, KRLD is expanding its already extensive news coverage to keep more of you more informed. Don't miss the new fall season beginning Monday, September
[00:18:25] Unknown:
Here is a young man in this day and age who instead of inheriting a fabulous fortune, finds himself humoring his dying relative by buying from him a small medical file containing an unidentified black form supposedly capable of producing unlimited wealth. Is something like this possible in the twentieth century? We're about to find out.
[00:18:55] Unknown:
Choking from the black fumes as a swirling wind began to dissipate them. The room seemed to have disappeared entirely. I was mainly conscious of the colossal legs, the muscles braced under the thick bristling hair. And as my eye traveled upwards, the monstrous heresuit body, leathern skinned and humpbacked. The head was small and ridiculous for the gargantuan body, and the voice matched it.
[00:19:23] Unknown:
Yes, master. What is your desire? Are you
[00:19:27] Unknown:
are you the black thing that was imprisoned in that bottle there? I am the bottle in loomed by Lucifer, the weak and bind
[00:19:35] Unknown:
until I bring him a soul. What? You mean I can actually request anything of you and you will satisfy it? As long as it is gold or what money will buy, all you have to do is ask and it is yours. You see, my only way to freedom is to trap your soul or some other. I have no choice. You are the only one who has any free choice.
[00:20:05] Unknown:
What choice? Sell me for less than you paid for me, and you go free. And whatever money you've given me or helped me to gain? You cannot have it both ways, master. That disappears with me. And must I free you from the bottle every time I have a request?
[00:20:25] Unknown:
No. I have no right to freedom of any kind. And until I deliver a soul Well then,
[00:20:34] Unknown:
get back in the bottle. The great black presence was sucked inexorably like a pile of dust back into the bottle. And in the blink of an eye, I was back in my own room. And trapped in in the bottle was the dark shapeless mass of the devil's apprentice. The die was cast as far as I was concerned. Of course, I knew I should see my local psychiatrist, but just in case black magic hasn't gone clear out of style. Abracadabra, right on the bed, $250,000 in hundreds and fifties like pow. A quarter of a million as though I'd asked for another hot dog. Oh, man. I don't know what I'm getting into, but it sure solves a lot of problems.
[00:21:42] Unknown:
Strange. I thought he had everything filed with me. When I saw how serious the situation was, I tried to talk the situation over with Jasper, but he refused to discuss the whole subject.
[00:21:54] Unknown:
I can't understand Well, perhaps he was waiting for a messenger. What messenger? The one that gave me the envelope. Can't understand why this didn't come to me. After all, I am his lawyer. And I'm his heir. That's true. Of course. And I was in the house. What's the difference anyway? This solves all our problems, doesn't it? Financially, I mean. Oh, absolutely.
[00:22:16] Unknown:
Huge deposits in top banks all over the world. More than enough capital to put the conglomerate in the best shape of the type. My congratulations. Oh, thank you. Thank you, mister Barnes. But it's it's still only money. Which you are very careless about if you will forgive an old man for putting in his own. Oh, Barnes. I'm not only happy to have you put in your oar, but you're gonna be running the whole ship from now on. Why aren't you going to be taking over the business? Or no? Not me. Then what are you going to do? I'm gonna get married
[00:22:44] Unknown:
if the lady will have me. But then you'll have to have a job. No. No. No. No. No. I have no head for figures except the right time. Which reminds me. May I call the woman?
[00:22:54] Unknown:
If you think she won't object to
[00:22:56] Unknown:
I haven't dishonored one. Well, she may start off mad, but I have a feeling she'll end up forgiving. Do I know the same lady? I'm going to introduce me to her tonight.
[00:23:06] Unknown:
Alicia? Mary, how can you talk about marrying a girl you don't even know?
[00:23:12] Unknown:
Hello. Alicia?
[00:23:14] Unknown:
Who is this? You know, I was sound asleep.
[00:23:18] Unknown:
It's Barry. Barry?
[00:23:22] Unknown:
What are you doing calling me?
[00:23:25] Unknown:
Do you know it's nearly 01:00 in the morning? Well, I just wanted to tell you that I'm all through with dull old business and the whole world is now our oyster. And even if you won't marry me tonight, how about that date we almost missed? At ten minutes to one a half? Well, that's when the big city really comes alive. Look. I'll pick you up in forty five minutes. It'll be a night to remember. At the moment, it's a night I wanna forget. Well, you'll never really be able to tell that, will you? Unless you give it a try. Alicia?
[00:23:55] Unknown:
You nut, Barry. You absolute nut. Make it fifty minutes. It'll give me time to put some perfume behind my ears. Bye.
[00:24:05] Unknown:
When I invited you to dinner earlier this evening, Barry, it had nothing to do with Lisha. She turned up unexpectedly. As a matter of fact, had I been playing, marriage broker,
[00:24:17] Unknown:
you would have been the last person in some ways to Oh, Barnes. Relax. The greatest thing you ever did for me in your life was to introduce me to Alicia. Take you back home?
[00:24:34] Unknown:
That's good solid New Orleans news, ma'am. Mhmm. And the martini? Knock me out. But I don't know about another round.
[00:24:43] Unknown:
Uh-huh. What's your stand on walking? Great.
[00:24:46] Unknown:
As long as I can stand. And I can stay.
[00:24:50] Unknown:
Don't worry. Good. Up Fifth Avenue to the Plaza Hotel. Got a penny?
[00:25:01] Unknown:
No, sir. My mad money comes in slightly higher denomination.
[00:25:05] Unknown:
Oh, you didn't think I'd run out on you? It hadn't happened yet. I just protect myself at all times. Okay. Here's a penny, and I have one one too. So we turn our backs on the fountain, throw them in, and wish the best wish we know.
[00:25:20] Unknown:
Oh, that's the Trevi Fountain in Rome. You do that. Alright. Alright. So we're starting a new trend.
[00:25:25] Unknown:
Arrivederci Roma.
[00:25:30] Unknown:
What was your wish? If I tell you, it won't come true. When it? The night of still young? The small hours club?
[00:25:38] Unknown:
What's this particular case? Oh, just the best food in town. Nice, slow, quiet dancing and a wide open casino from craps to chimney.
[00:25:47] Unknown:
Oh, oh, just stop at the dice. They're mama's children. You stake me a hundred, I'll run it right through their limits. Oh, baby. I seem to have just pushed the important button that turns you on.
[00:25:59] Unknown:
Come on. Let's see you roll them.
[00:26:05] Unknown:
The point is eight. Eight is the point. The lady is riding $1,515,000, 15 thousand to cover. Three from you, sir. Two from the gentleman next to her. Are there no more takers? Oh, yes, sir. Fading 5,000. Thank you, sir. That leaves 5,000 open. And if there is no one else to cover, ah, yes. I have a taker. You cover the open fire. You are prepared, madam. Your dice to point his age. Oh, come on, baby.
[00:26:31] Unknown:
We can't run-in any more bathtub. This is our time.
[00:26:48] Unknown:
My own fault from the beginning. See, my whole trouble is that I really don't give a damn about money. I mean, if I've got it, great. But if I don't, I'll get by. So the trouble is I never recognized the fever in others. I certainly didn't unleash anyway. The 15,000 was play money to me the way I was fixed with my own personal little devil in the bottle, but I should have spotted Lisha as a lady who was hooked on gambling and the money that went with it. Here we were just beginning, and I didn't know it, but we were already on the way to the end.
[00:27:32] Unknown:
You are crazy. You know?
[00:27:34] Unknown:
Mhmm. But you? Yes.
[00:27:36] Unknown:
I'm not talking about that. You let me gamble away $15,000 and then take me on a 5¢ ferry ride. Ferry ride. I'm the last of the big spenders they call me.
[00:27:47] Unknown:
Oh, baby. Just look at that sun coming up over the skyline. Isn't that worth 15 lousy grand? I'm gonna take off my tie and open up my shirt and enjoy the sun on my manly chest. You could have gotten in the sun just for a nickel. Ah, but I might not have been able to persuade you to make the trip.
[00:28:05] Unknown:
I swear to Joan and you are something else. What what's that chain you have around your neck? Oh, it's,
[00:28:14] Unknown:
it's kind of a lucky charm. May I see? Sure.
[00:28:18] Unknown:
Here.
[00:28:20] Unknown:
What? Just a little old bottle I could get a prescription in? Mhmm. What's that black thing? Oh. Oh. Barry, I am sorry. I thought it was a spot and and I'm just scared to death out of them. And before I knew it, I You you chucked it overboard. It was an accident. I didn't Never mind. It's
[00:28:40] Unknown:
it's gone forever now.
[00:28:43] Unknown:
Does it mean all that to you, Barrett?
[00:28:46] Unknown:
We're getting near the landing. Let me ask you a question right out here in the morning sunshine in front of God and everyone. Are you gonna marry me?
[00:28:59] Unknown:
It's like everything else tonight. Crazy. But, Barry, I just guess I'm I'm gonna have to. I mean
[00:29:10] Unknown:
Barry. What is it? The butt.
[00:29:13] Unknown:
The chain and that thing is my back around your neck again. How did you do that?
[00:29:21] Unknown:
I didn't. I guess there is only one way to get rid of this.
[00:29:27] Unknown:
There's something funny going on. That is kinda scary. No. I I don't know Wait. Wait. Wait a minute. Soon as we land, come back up to the house with me. Oh, no. I've already spent the night with you. That's as far as we go. This time. Alicia, it's not your lily white body I'm after. Not tonight anyway.
[00:29:47] Unknown:
It's just a secret I wanna share with you. A secret I guess I've got to share with you before we do get married.
[00:30:01] Unknown:
Will you stop pulling my leg and take me home before I fall asleep? No. I want to prove this to you, Alicia.
[00:30:07] Unknown:
Alright. Right. Alright, you little bottle imp. In thousand dollar bills, give back miss Breeden Hall the money she lost tonight. Look in your bag, Alicia.
[00:30:25] Unknown:
One, two, three, four, five, five, five, four tickets, 15. Are these genuine? They are?
[00:30:35] Unknown:
It's a trick. Not mine. His. As much as I want anytime, anywhere. Just as I told you. No. I I just can't believe it. Oh, well, I know a way to really prove it to you, miss Diesharper. Here's a paradise. Okay? Roll them as long as you want till you're sure there's nothing kinky about them. Then tell me what number you wanna throw and how many times, and the bottle imp will see that it happens.
[00:31:00] Unknown:
Okay. You can't fool me on this. I know dyes and I know odds. Once I'm satisfied these dyes are clean, I'm picking snake eyes. You bring me those up 10 times in succession and I'll believe anything you tell me. Why be pikers?
[00:31:17] Unknown:
Let's make it 20.
[00:31:26] Unknown:
Double eight? 20 times. Mhmm. And it's all true. That's
[00:31:34] Unknown:
right. Now do you marry me? I
[00:31:39] Unknown:
I wouldn't want you to think I was marrying you for your money.
[00:31:45] Unknown:
Let me take the chance on that.
[00:31:53] Unknown:
Beware, Barry. Games of chance are not your forte, and you don't know the odds. You're a good hearted, happy go lucky guy who's gotten himself mixed up in something evil, a lot more than he can handle. And perhaps not all the evil is shut up inside the bottle. I'll return shortly with act three. What about the new navy? You'll get your chance of success, learn an exciting job, and see the world. Call toll free 808418000
[00:33:10] Unknown:
or see your navy recruiter. Be someone special in the new navy. Young woman, you're much more active
[00:33:22] Unknown:
now that the weather's nice. After a hot and busy day,
[00:33:27] Unknown:
listen to this
[00:33:38] Unknown:
Step out of those sticky summer clothes and into an Irish spring shower. It refreshes you fast, protects you long, take the heat off with Irish Spring.
[00:33:50] Unknown:
This is Frank Lieber, KRLD Sports.
[00:33:54] Unknown:
Hi, everybody, and welcome to Texas Stadium. This is Berlin Quist. Hello again, everyone. This is Alex Gosell speaking of sports. Hello. It's Tex Shratt. Yes, Tex. I'd like to know, you answered one of my questions earlier.
[00:34:06] Unknown:
This is Al West, KRLD Sports. Good evening. This is Pat Summerall with Worldwide Sports. KRLD Sports, that says it all.
[00:34:27] Unknown:
Jasper Sheridan's funeral was sumptuous and dignified. In its brief, a period has seemed decent. Lisha and Barry were married and started on a worldwide honeymoon that lasted well over two years.
[00:34:42] Unknown:
If Barry regretted the fact that all of the places had gambled,
[00:34:48] Unknown:
too much in love with his stunning bride to object. Then at last, they were on their way back to America by boat on Lisha's insistence.
[00:35:04] Unknown:
Well, I see you broke the bank again for the second night out.
[00:35:08] Unknown:
I am not always so lucky, mister Star Atlas.
[00:35:11] Unknown:
Oh, you know my name. I was going to introduce myself and plot it, missus Norton.
[00:35:17] Unknown:
Of course, you're not. No more than I am, but you know mine. We are birds of a feather, you and I. We have more money than we know what to do with. We gamble. We are both members of the international set. The only difference is you own shit and I own every other. There is another difference.
[00:35:36] Unknown:
At least one. You are a woman. I am a man.
[00:35:43] Unknown:
I am surprised your husband doesn't make sure that he is close to him.
[00:35:48] Unknown:
Part of history on shipboard of moonlight night. Oh,
[00:35:54] Unknown:
buried of it farewell. He is a six With my husband. Or without.
[00:36:24] Unknown:
But that can all be arranged later. Here. Here is my unused number if you should ever need me. At the front, I am of your service for the rest of the voyage.
[00:36:46] Unknown:
You must be crazy, dad. I remember when we used to say that a little more fondly.
[00:36:52] Unknown:
You're being crazy made some sense of things. Oh. And now it makes none? To go have it take some nine to five job in a sturdy little store at the numbish whatever it is. Unismatic.
[00:37:04] Unknown:
A collector or seller of old and rare coin. Funny, isn't it? The only money. Well, you won't make much of it there. Oh, I don't know. With the deal Charlie's offered me, I could do quite well. From 20 to 30,000 a year, it's quite a hot business these days. You would be mad.
[00:37:23] Unknown:
Go work at the conglomerate if you have to work. You can pay yourself half a million a year. Anyway, what's the money to us? That's our problem, Alicia. Everything at the moment.
[00:37:34] Unknown:
I'm just waking up to how gambling has you hooked and how you have me hooked into being a sort of gigolo. And the source of the hook is this damn thing. So the way to get off the hook is simple. I'm gonna sell it.
[00:37:47] Unknown:
Sell the bottle ink? Put that that means that everything everything would be gone.
[00:37:55] Unknown:
Except what I make. We just have to learn to get along on it. But why? Why? Because, honey, it's all wrong. And more and more I'm becoming aware of my immortal soul and how much it means to me. Sell me the bottle.
[00:38:09] Unknown:
Aren't you concerned with your immortal soul? Oh, Barry, you know I don't believe in that rubbish about after death. Anyway, I could always sell it to someone else. Oh, you wouldn't have the nerve. Oh, no.
[00:38:20] Unknown:
Oh, no, Alicia. You are the last person I'd ever sell the imp in the bottle to.
[00:38:34] Unknown:
Yes?
[00:38:35] Unknown:
Val, it's Alicia.
[00:38:38] Unknown:
What a wonderful surprise.
[00:38:40] Unknown:
It may surprise you even more. Would you like to invite
[00:38:48] Unknown:
me. That's a consider me surprised even more. Just name the night and where you would like to go. Where?
[00:38:57] Unknown:
Your house. Where's the soonest possible?
[00:39:06] Unknown:
More brandy?
[00:39:07] Unknown:
No. Okay.
[00:39:09] Unknown:
I think in view of all you have just told me, Alicia, I will. I want you no matter what you'll do, and I can let you happy physically. I have more money than I need, but I'll never more than I want. I will be happy to make a pre marriage settlement with you. The one thing is the fly and the ointment here, it can't it's impossible.
[00:39:39] Unknown:
Because that's explaining for enough time whether you believe in it or not. And and you can get it for, like, fifty
[00:39:49] Unknown:
Why should you send it to me? Explain it.
[00:39:52] Unknown:
Why not to you? Because we believe the almighty that fell to the soul to the death.
[00:39:59] Unknown:
I don't wanna talk about that nonsense anymore, but I will discuss is our marriage settlement, your divorce, and your promise to me of faithfulness and a child. If that is agreed, then I promise you I will buy your whatever it is in the bottle tomorrow or the first feasible day. Agreed?
[00:40:22] Unknown:
Agreed.
[00:40:28] Unknown:
I knew nothing of this conversation naturally since Lisha shared little with me these days. Besides, in the first months working with Charlie, I was so fascinated, captivated, drenched in the business of old coins, but I had little else on my mind. It never even occurred to me that Lisha's request for a quick divorce and my granting it, even though I still loved her, had anything to do with a man I vaguely remembered from our Transatlantic crossing and newspaper headlines in general.
[00:40:59] Unknown:
And I really must apologize for my long cross examination, but my hobby, I must admit, is ceremonial magic, the Kabbalah, the grimoire of a room.
[00:41:11] Unknown:
I suppose you might say all forms of
[00:41:14] Unknown:
black magic. I see. I envy you your amulet. I don't suppose you would consider selling it. Oh, a minute.
[00:41:23] Unknown:
If I thought you knew and understood its history. But believe me, I do. Uh-huh. And perhaps you're the one.
[00:41:33] Unknown:
Name your price. What do you tip the beach boy here?
[00:41:37] Unknown:
$50.75
[00:41:38] Unknown:
cents. You have it in your swim shorts? Yes. Then as long as you know what you're getting into, you have a deal. I'll take 50¢, and the bottle imp is yours. So I thought foolishly that was the end of it, of the thing in the bottle at least, well placed with a man whose beliefs or leanings served him right for whatever happened to him afterwards. Even after our divorce, Alicia remarried Valentine Stavrasis, I was able to put it out of my mind. He owned the devil's curse, not she. And with all his great self earned wealth, she should be happy. And then seven years later, fate took us all in hand again.
It was hard not to know of Valentine's massive and probably fatal attack. It was headlines in all the papers.
[00:42:39] Unknown:
What? Hear me? What? What? It's Nisha. Nisha.
[00:42:45] Unknown:
Nisha. Thank god. Nisha, find someone. Find someone. Find someone for what? I can feel it. I'm going to die, but not not with the black imp waiting for me in the bottle. I'm afraid. Got to sell. Got to save me.
[00:43:17] Unknown:
It's alright, pal. I'll buy it. Yeah. And promise you to get rid of it. I don't need it anymore. How many what did you pay for it? Uh-huh. Well,
[00:43:31] Unknown:
this this this
[00:43:33] Unknown:
Just let me look in my bag. I'll I'll give you less. What whatever change I have.
[00:43:41] Unknown:
Hurry.
[00:43:42] Unknown:
Hurry this one. It's too late. Oh, god. I haven't any changes. No change. I gave it to the taxi man. Please. Please, Sherry. Help me. I can feel the hot stinking breath. His wings floating about me. Don't let me die. Die forever in torment. I think die. A little miracle. You have now stuck in the corner of my purse a penny of scent. All I have.
[00:44:10] Unknown:
Oh, no. Now you can wear him about your neck.
[00:44:18] Unknown:
I'm safe. I'm safe. I can die in
[00:44:28] Unknown:
peace. As Val died, his lungs unable to sustain their pressure even underneath the oxygen tent, Lisha, without thought, lit a cigarette. It was a week before I could see her in the hospital. And even under sedation and in wet bandages, she was in the agonies of hell. She blurted out the story of the bottle imp and thought she was already in hell and dead. Thank god there was something I could do for her. Alicia. Alicia, it's Barry.
[00:45:10] Unknown:
No. I'm dead in hell. The queer became
[00:45:18] Unknown:
true. No. Not yet, honey. Not yet. You're still alive. You can still sell him.
[00:45:23] Unknown:
As soon as I bought him at the bottom 1¢, I'm
[00:45:33] Unknown:
Fuck. No. Don't you believe it? Lucky you happen to know an old loving numismatist. Alright. Alright. You don't like the word coin collector. Lots of coins in the world worth less than a cent. A lira, the Cambodian sen, the Japanese yen. Oh, I could go on forever. Look at
[00:45:54] Unknown:
okay. Not after all this agony. I couldn't wish it on anyone but and sound like him. You can and you will.
[00:46:10] Unknown:
To me. For a
[00:46:12] Unknown:
happen to have with me. No. I made you suffer enough.
[00:46:17] Unknown:
It's all over. Don't worry. In my business, I can find a coin cheap enough to pass the imp in the bottle onto someone who really deserves it. And I'll fix it so he can't get rid of it. Barry.
[00:46:30] Unknown:
Barry, what, I couldn't I love you enough?
[00:46:37] Unknown:
Sell me that end first There Hang on to the coin It's your passport to whatever there is after for you Alicia Maybe someday I'll I'll meet you
[00:46:53] Unknown:
Alicia
[00:46:58] Unknown:
She's gone Oh, darling
[00:47:03] Unknown:
I hope you found peace at last
[00:47:10] Unknown:
Barry's business as a coin collector grew, and paramount among his collection of coins were all the ones of lowest value in the world, sufficient of them to make change for any larger denomination. Sooner or later, he knew he would meet someone who really deserved
[00:47:31] Unknown:
the imp in the bottle and sooner or later he did
[00:47:36] Unknown:
I'll be back shortly Pardon me miss uh-huh can you tell me what happens this time of year rhubarb reaches its peak nope muskmelon reaches its peak no No. Does it in any way involve something reaching its peak? No. Not really. Oh. What happens this time of year is that you can get a really outstanding deal on Buick's small but surprisingly elegant Apollo.
[00:47:55] Unknown:
And with what's happening to prices, you may never have a better chance to buy a Buick. Hey. I know what happened. Yeah? The buzzards come back to Hinkley Ridge, Ohio. Oh. Uh-huh. I hadn't thought of that.
[00:48:23] Unknown:
Constant overexposure to the sun could be harmful. Your American Cancer Society advises moderation for protected clothing or sunscreening lotions.
[00:48:33] Unknown:
Remember Cover up or come on in.
[00:48:49] Unknown:
I understand that a power hungry dictator bought the imp in the bottle for one of Barry's near worthless coins. Fortunately, he never was able to use the money he amassed to buy the weaponry with which he planned to conquer a continent.
[00:49:07] Unknown:
He died rather suddenly
[00:49:09] Unknown:
of an obscure disease undiagnosed. But it may have occurred to you that the lower the price of the imp, the sooner the owner owner seemed to depart this life. Our cast included William Redfield, Joan Loring, Ian Martin, Santos Ortega, and Leon Janney. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
[00:49:35] Unknown:
Now approve you of our next tale. Jekyll, are you in trouble? What do you mean trouble? What do with this Hyde? Does he does he have something on you? Is he is he blackmailing you? That's a ridiculous thought. Then what is it? How can you, doctor Henry Jekyll, one of the most honorable and respected physicians in London, have any association whatever with a with a terrible person like this, Hyde? Why have you made over your estate to him, especially when you are to marry Beatrice Lanyon? And why? Why? Why that stipulation disappearance? Jacob, I beg you. Tell me what it means.
I cannot.
[00:50:24] Unknown:
I cannot. But as your friend, I You are the friend you say you are. Do me the favor of never mentioning Edward Hyde again. Radio Mystery Theater was sponsored in part by Buick Motor Division and Anheuser Busch Incorporated, brewers of Budweiser. This is EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time. Pleasant
[00:50:53] Unknown:
dreams.
[00:51:30] Unknown:
This week TV Guide Magazine looks at what's in store for television 74. TV Guide's fall preview issue gives you the most complete rundown of television's new season available television's television's new season with the authority of TV Guide Magazine on sale now. KRLD Dallas.
Come in.
[00:00:20] Unknown:
Welcome.
[00:00:21] Unknown:
I'm EG Marshall. Jasper Sheridan is dying. Even the most ignorant of laymen could determine that fact, the wax like face, the emaciated body, the rasping breath that precedes the last death rattle. In the huge baronial bedroom, he faces his only living relative, Barry Holden, a great grandnephew. A fortunate young man who is the only heir to one of the richest, if not the richest men in the world. Fortunate? Listen. Barry,
[00:00:59] Unknown:
are we alone? Yes, uncle. Open the drawer in my bed table. You see the small
[00:01:08] Unknown:
bottle in it? Yes, sir. You mean the one with the ugly little black bug in it? If you will buy that from
[00:01:14] Unknown:
me for less than $10, you can be the richest man
[00:01:19] Unknown:
in the world. Oh, uncle, you know me. I'm always broke. I can raise, let me see,
[00:01:26] Unknown:
$7.43. Will that be enough? More than $10.43.
[00:01:30] Unknown:
Will that be enough? More than enough. Will you buy it from me? If you want me to. Of course.
[00:01:54] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, the imp in the bottle, was written especially for the mystery theater by Ian Martin and stars William Redfield. It is sponsored in part by Anheuser Busch Incorporated, Brewers of Budweiser, and Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with act one.
[00:02:17] Unknown:
There's nothing wrong with drinking Budweiser sip by sip, is there? Well, the brewers of Budweiser think there's a better way. Sipping's fine. If you're of Budweiser think there's a better way. Sipping's fine if you're drinking wine, but Bud is the king of beers, a hearty drink. Look. Rinse a 10 or 12 ounce glass with cold water, then open a can or a bottle of Bud and pour it right down the middle so it kicks up a good head of foam. Now take a big drink and then swallow big. No sips. That's how it should be done. More taste, more beer drinking enjoyment. Thanks to exclusive Beachwood aging, Budweiser has a smoothness that lets it go down especially easy.
Sure. It's an expensive way to brew beer, but brewing beer right does make a difference. That's why when you say Budweiser, you've said it all. Anheuser Busch, Saint Louis.
[00:03:17] Unknown:
Oh, I
[00:03:34] Unknown:
Do you know a happier summertime sound than Oscar Mayer wieners are sizzling on the grill? Good nourishing meat protein, and the delicious flavor of good meat too. Oscar Mayer wieners are featured in your newspapers, food pages this week. Look for them and have plenty on hand for the weekend. America's number one. Everyone loves them.
[00:03:57] Unknown:
Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wieners. That is what I truly like to be. Because if I were an Oscar Mayer winner, everyone would be in love with me.
[00:04:26] Unknown:
When a man is over 90 and you are 24, with your life just beginning, why not humor a dying man's request? But you didn't expect a minor gesture could cause that piercing, shattering, evil scream that trued your tolerance to a shivering
[00:04:53] Unknown:
him,
[00:04:59] Unknown:
little black imp, immured in the prison. He thought he might escape at last.
[00:05:05] Unknown:
From this thing in the bottle? That's crazy. It's no bigger than a large flask. As long as he stays in the bottle.
[00:05:13] Unknown:
Oh, Murray. I have no right. If I were not so afraid Wait. Let me go and get doctor Amy. No. No. This is just between us and a a very little time. So let me speak. Uncle Abdul, please. Let's not interrupt. You had every expectation to be my only heir, and you are so indicated in my will. But do you know what my escape will be if I should pass on still owning that black minion of the antichrist? Nil, nothing. Zero. Look, uncle, I don't think this is the right time to worry about a state. This is exactly the right time.
First, if I die still in possession of that imp of darkness, everything I have, and I'm a house, a corporation, wealth, even. I myself become his possession. Poor Barry, you think you're listening to an old man's
[00:06:14] Unknown:
rabies. Okay. So we're back to that dirty black spider or whatever it is in the bottle. I'll buy them. That's simple. Now does that solve it? Not by a long shot. First,
[00:06:23] Unknown:
you have to know the terms. Okay, briefing. Everything. When I was your your age, I was in Venice, and I bought that bottle with the black thing in it for not much more than $10. I was always a sucker for legends of any kind. The lure of the what looking was it legend? If you could find the right person, whoever you were, you would command anything in the world you desired, gold or money, at the snap of your fingers. That's what that dirty little thing there is? Oh, I laughed at the notion of its power, except that it does possess possess it.
And once you know that, the whole contract gains its own belief. And what is the whole contract? That while a person owns this dark imp in the model, any request that concerns money, gold, or wealth, no matter how unreasonable, will be satisfied. And that to dispose of this creature and its spell, you must shell it for less than your original price. Oh.
[00:07:42] Unknown:
Here, $7 and 40. 5. 5 dollars is enough. Okay. Cheap at nearly half the price. I'll think first very thing.
[00:07:51] Unknown:
Remember, it will keep you rich as long as you live. But remember too, if you do not sell it for less than you paid for it before you die, your soul will surely rot in hell for eternity. Cheer up, uncle. You've made your sail. Your imp in the bottle is my problem from now on.
[00:08:17] Unknown:
I no sooner made that statement than I felt a burning sensation in my pocket. It was sheer reflex action to reach in and pull out the bottle containing the evil black bug. I glanced at my uncle. He had sunk back against the silk pillow cover, his face the corpse white of the dead, but its expression one of peace and relief. You'd better go in, doctor Haney. I'm afraid he's gone. Yeah. Very well, Barry. It was inevitable, you know. Oh, I know. I know. But I I'm gonna miss him a lot. That makes two of us.
[00:08:56] Unknown:
I'll let you know in just a minute. Thank
[00:09:00] Unknown:
you. I hope I'm not premature, but I'm sorry. Thanks, Mr. Barnes. You're going to miss the old man in
[00:09:09] Unknown:
a lot more ways than one son.
[00:09:11] Unknown:
What does that mean? You know, I haven't been able to talk any real business with him almost the whole past week and Well, what's the scoop, mister lawyer? Disaster. The whole empire is going to topple.
[00:09:24] Unknown:
Sheridan Enterprises? Jasper is mortgaged up to the IT, overextended.
[00:09:30] Unknown:
He's so deep in debt that if things went under, he couldn't even pay his credit as a penny on the dollar. You're trying to tell me that Jasper is broke? Unless he's got piles of money stashed away in Switzerland, Lebanon, The Bahamas, or some secret corner of the world. The only thing he'll leave you is debts. The pity of it is if he were alive, he'd find a way out of all this mess. He's done it time and again. The man was a financial genius.
[00:09:55] Unknown:
He's gone alright. Poor old Jasper. But he looks at peace. He certainly looked like he left you well provided for, Barry, if that's any consolation.
[00:10:09] Unknown:
Well provided for, perhaps. A consolation? That remains to be seen. Lawyer Barnes insisted that I dine with him that night to discuss business, he said, and for a rather special reason might lighten the dismal occasion. I accepted for reasons of my own, which were blown right out of my head the moment I met his special reason.
[00:10:39] Unknown:
Oh, there you are, Barry. Just in time for a mint julep in honor of my guest. Oh. I'd like you to meet the daughter of an old, old friend of mine in the Deep South, miss Felicia Alice Breidenhall. Oh,
[00:10:50] Unknown:
my pleasure, miss Breidenhall. Let me begin with my whole usual little thing. Oh, is it a stem winder or just short and sweet? Oh,
[00:11:00] Unknown:
now you're putting me on. All I wanted to say was that no one might I should be settled with a name as long as Felicia Alice Breednall.
[00:11:08] Unknown:
And since the diminutive for both my first names happens to Felicia, can we settle for that? By all means, my name happens to be, for example, Barry Norton Stewart Farrington Creekcraft Ames with a hyphen between the last two. You may call me just plain Barry, Alicia.
[00:11:26] Unknown:
I'm really sorry.
[00:11:28] Unknown:
We shouldn't be joking under the circumstances. Oh, it's alright. It's alright. Jasper would have gotten a kick out of you. He lived his life and didn't miss a thing. How many years, mister Barnes? Pretty close to ninety seven. Yeah. And he'd had it too. He wanted to go. Now don't worry, Lisha.
[00:11:44] Unknown:
He picked the right moment. Here's your julep. Good stuff. Yeah. I imagine you can use it, Mary, after a little stop before noon.
[00:11:53] Unknown:
You and I are going to have to get together tonight, you know?
[00:11:56] Unknown:
You know it. That's just what the man ordered. I didn't think you'd be so eager for our talk. Oh, I wasn't even thinking about our talk. I was talking about the drink and the lady who comes along with it. Alicia, even after just one long cool swallow, I apologize about the name nonsense. My name is plain old Barry Norton, NMI as we used to say in the armed services. NMI? No middle initial. Barry is good enough for me anyway. You're gonna be staying up north long?
[00:12:26] Unknown:
Oh, that depends.
[00:12:29] Unknown:
Oh, that's the dinner bell. We keep missus Graham's waiting one moment, I might lose her. I have no intention of doing so.
[00:12:43] Unknown:
Barry? Yeah? You seem so preoccupied
[00:12:47] Unknown:
ever since we left after dinner. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Leash, I am. Got a lot on my mind. How long is your stay up here going to be?
[00:12:56] Unknown:
A long, long time, I hope. Now that's just the same thought I had in mind for you. But it may not be too long if I don't get a job before my money runs out.
[00:13:07] Unknown:
You mean that's the only problem? Oh, you can joke. You don't know what it is to be poor. Uh-huh. You wanna bet? You know what my entire capital is as of this moment? $2.43.
[00:13:20] Unknown:
Plus 2,043,000,000,000
[00:13:22] Unknown:
little old greenbacks your great uncle last year. Supposing I was to tell you Jasper left nothing. Not a cent. Just a collection of monumental debts. I wouldn't believe you for a moment. Well, let let me put this whole proposition on another basis. Supposing I didn't have a dime, would you marry me tomorrow this minute if I really didn't have a dime and no particular prospects and I asked you? You haven't even found out if I like you. Uh-uh. No. This is no holds barred time, Alicia. I think you do at least like me. Enough to think about marrying me?
[00:13:57] Unknown:
They warned me life went a little faster up north. Okay. I'll fade you, mister gambling man. I do do like you. But I've had too many years growing up just one nitty jump above poor white. So the answer to your question is if you didn't have a dime and no particular prospect. I'd pick up my bell bottoms and run like hell in case you lassoed me with black magic charm.
[00:14:21] Unknown:
Uh-huh. Alright. Give me twenty four hours to find out where I stand. Then I'll know just where we stand. Hello? Mister Barnes, I won't be back tonight. But you promised I have to go over this whole business situation with you and just because of Lisha, you I I know. I know. I won't say this has nothing to do with Lisha, but by later tonight, I may be able to give you some better news and relieve your mind about financial affairs. I'm holding what gamblers call an ace in the hole. Now keep your lawyer's fingers crossed that it pays off. What I was holding in my hand was the imp in the bottle. And with my own fingers crossed, I took it back to uncle Jasper's house.
With shaking fingers, I twisted the cap of the little bottle, and suddenly it came off with an explosive whoosh that rocked me on my heels and turned my blood to rainwater. Out of the narrow opening, a great foaming black cloud burst like an atomic bomb. The room reeked of fire and brimstone, and the whole house rocked and shook and seemed to disintegrate.
[00:15:44] Unknown:
There There are things seemingly beyond our kin that brush against us every day. Eventually, there is an explanation, simple or complicated, an explanation that suits the limit of our world. But is there another explanation that suits another world? Something so dark and mysterious and mind boggling that we refuse to accept it?
[00:16:12] Unknown:
I'll be back shortly with act two. Excuse me, sir. But do you know what happens this time of year? Right on, pal. I happen to know that right about now, a freak blizzard falls on Dumont, New Jersey, and they're snowed in for the rest of the summer. Happens every year. No. No. No. No. You see, what happens this time of year is that you can get a particularly good deal on what is perhaps the most luxurious midsize car on the market, the midsize Buick Century Regal. Now what good's a car when you're hopelessly snowed in? Well, that's a point.
[00:16:46] Unknown:
Oh, boy. Do I have a headache?
[00:16:54] Unknown:
Why do they have to make these tops so hard to open? For a very good reason. Children open things that they shouldn't. That's why we have safety packaging. For the life of your child, you can live with a little inconvenience. For further information, write the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington DC two zero two zero seven.
[00:17:16] Unknown:
Hey. What you got there? It looks like tomato juice. It's v eight. What you got there? It's v eight.
[00:17:45] Unknown:
The new fall season on KRLD begins Monday, September 9. Nighttime will be prime time for the new Lou Staples talk show. Lou Staples is well known as a gutsy, informative, and entertaining talk show host. Hear the new Lou Staples talk show nightly, seven to 09:30. And starting Monday the ninth, KRLD is expanding its already extensive news coverage to keep more of you more informed. Don't miss the new fall season beginning Monday, September
[00:18:25] Unknown:
Here is a young man in this day and age who instead of inheriting a fabulous fortune, finds himself humoring his dying relative by buying from him a small medical file containing an unidentified black form supposedly capable of producing unlimited wealth. Is something like this possible in the twentieth century? We're about to find out.
[00:18:55] Unknown:
Choking from the black fumes as a swirling wind began to dissipate them. The room seemed to have disappeared entirely. I was mainly conscious of the colossal legs, the muscles braced under the thick bristling hair. And as my eye traveled upwards, the monstrous heresuit body, leathern skinned and humpbacked. The head was small and ridiculous for the gargantuan body, and the voice matched it.
[00:19:23] Unknown:
Yes, master. What is your desire? Are you
[00:19:27] Unknown:
are you the black thing that was imprisoned in that bottle there? I am the bottle in loomed by Lucifer, the weak and bind
[00:19:35] Unknown:
until I bring him a soul. What? You mean I can actually request anything of you and you will satisfy it? As long as it is gold or what money will buy, all you have to do is ask and it is yours. You see, my only way to freedom is to trap your soul or some other. I have no choice. You are the only one who has any free choice.
[00:20:05] Unknown:
What choice? Sell me for less than you paid for me, and you go free. And whatever money you've given me or helped me to gain? You cannot have it both ways, master. That disappears with me. And must I free you from the bottle every time I have a request?
[00:20:25] Unknown:
No. I have no right to freedom of any kind. And until I deliver a soul Well then,
[00:20:34] Unknown:
get back in the bottle. The great black presence was sucked inexorably like a pile of dust back into the bottle. And in the blink of an eye, I was back in my own room. And trapped in in the bottle was the dark shapeless mass of the devil's apprentice. The die was cast as far as I was concerned. Of course, I knew I should see my local psychiatrist, but just in case black magic hasn't gone clear out of style. Abracadabra, right on the bed, $250,000 in hundreds and fifties like pow. A quarter of a million as though I'd asked for another hot dog. Oh, man. I don't know what I'm getting into, but it sure solves a lot of problems.
[00:21:42] Unknown:
Strange. I thought he had everything filed with me. When I saw how serious the situation was, I tried to talk the situation over with Jasper, but he refused to discuss the whole subject.
[00:21:54] Unknown:
I can't understand Well, perhaps he was waiting for a messenger. What messenger? The one that gave me the envelope. Can't understand why this didn't come to me. After all, I am his lawyer. And I'm his heir. That's true. Of course. And I was in the house. What's the difference anyway? This solves all our problems, doesn't it? Financially, I mean. Oh, absolutely.
[00:22:16] Unknown:
Huge deposits in top banks all over the world. More than enough capital to put the conglomerate in the best shape of the type. My congratulations. Oh, thank you. Thank you, mister Barnes. But it's it's still only money. Which you are very careless about if you will forgive an old man for putting in his own. Oh, Barnes. I'm not only happy to have you put in your oar, but you're gonna be running the whole ship from now on. Why aren't you going to be taking over the business? Or no? Not me. Then what are you going to do? I'm gonna get married
[00:22:44] Unknown:
if the lady will have me. But then you'll have to have a job. No. No. No. No. No. I have no head for figures except the right time. Which reminds me. May I call the woman?
[00:22:54] Unknown:
If you think she won't object to
[00:22:56] Unknown:
I haven't dishonored one. Well, she may start off mad, but I have a feeling she'll end up forgiving. Do I know the same lady? I'm going to introduce me to her tonight.
[00:23:06] Unknown:
Alicia? Mary, how can you talk about marrying a girl you don't even know?
[00:23:12] Unknown:
Hello. Alicia?
[00:23:14] Unknown:
Who is this? You know, I was sound asleep.
[00:23:18] Unknown:
It's Barry. Barry?
[00:23:22] Unknown:
What are you doing calling me?
[00:23:25] Unknown:
Do you know it's nearly 01:00 in the morning? Well, I just wanted to tell you that I'm all through with dull old business and the whole world is now our oyster. And even if you won't marry me tonight, how about that date we almost missed? At ten minutes to one a half? Well, that's when the big city really comes alive. Look. I'll pick you up in forty five minutes. It'll be a night to remember. At the moment, it's a night I wanna forget. Well, you'll never really be able to tell that, will you? Unless you give it a try. Alicia?
[00:23:55] Unknown:
You nut, Barry. You absolute nut. Make it fifty minutes. It'll give me time to put some perfume behind my ears. Bye.
[00:24:05] Unknown:
When I invited you to dinner earlier this evening, Barry, it had nothing to do with Lisha. She turned up unexpectedly. As a matter of fact, had I been playing, marriage broker,
[00:24:17] Unknown:
you would have been the last person in some ways to Oh, Barnes. Relax. The greatest thing you ever did for me in your life was to introduce me to Alicia. Take you back home?
[00:24:34] Unknown:
That's good solid New Orleans news, ma'am. Mhmm. And the martini? Knock me out. But I don't know about another round.
[00:24:43] Unknown:
Uh-huh. What's your stand on walking? Great.
[00:24:46] Unknown:
As long as I can stand. And I can stay.
[00:24:50] Unknown:
Don't worry. Good. Up Fifth Avenue to the Plaza Hotel. Got a penny?
[00:25:01] Unknown:
No, sir. My mad money comes in slightly higher denomination.
[00:25:05] Unknown:
Oh, you didn't think I'd run out on you? It hadn't happened yet. I just protect myself at all times. Okay. Here's a penny, and I have one one too. So we turn our backs on the fountain, throw them in, and wish the best wish we know.
[00:25:20] Unknown:
Oh, that's the Trevi Fountain in Rome. You do that. Alright. Alright. So we're starting a new trend.
[00:25:25] Unknown:
Arrivederci Roma.
[00:25:30] Unknown:
What was your wish? If I tell you, it won't come true. When it? The night of still young? The small hours club?
[00:25:38] Unknown:
What's this particular case? Oh, just the best food in town. Nice, slow, quiet dancing and a wide open casino from craps to chimney.
[00:25:47] Unknown:
Oh, oh, just stop at the dice. They're mama's children. You stake me a hundred, I'll run it right through their limits. Oh, baby. I seem to have just pushed the important button that turns you on.
[00:25:59] Unknown:
Come on. Let's see you roll them.
[00:26:05] Unknown:
The point is eight. Eight is the point. The lady is riding $1,515,000, 15 thousand to cover. Three from you, sir. Two from the gentleman next to her. Are there no more takers? Oh, yes, sir. Fading 5,000. Thank you, sir. That leaves 5,000 open. And if there is no one else to cover, ah, yes. I have a taker. You cover the open fire. You are prepared, madam. Your dice to point his age. Oh, come on, baby.
[00:26:31] Unknown:
We can't run-in any more bathtub. This is our time.
[00:26:48] Unknown:
My own fault from the beginning. See, my whole trouble is that I really don't give a damn about money. I mean, if I've got it, great. But if I don't, I'll get by. So the trouble is I never recognized the fever in others. I certainly didn't unleash anyway. The 15,000 was play money to me the way I was fixed with my own personal little devil in the bottle, but I should have spotted Lisha as a lady who was hooked on gambling and the money that went with it. Here we were just beginning, and I didn't know it, but we were already on the way to the end.
[00:27:32] Unknown:
You are crazy. You know?
[00:27:34] Unknown:
Mhmm. But you? Yes.
[00:27:36] Unknown:
I'm not talking about that. You let me gamble away $15,000 and then take me on a 5¢ ferry ride. Ferry ride. I'm the last of the big spenders they call me.
[00:27:47] Unknown:
Oh, baby. Just look at that sun coming up over the skyline. Isn't that worth 15 lousy grand? I'm gonna take off my tie and open up my shirt and enjoy the sun on my manly chest. You could have gotten in the sun just for a nickel. Ah, but I might not have been able to persuade you to make the trip.
[00:28:05] Unknown:
I swear to Joan and you are something else. What what's that chain you have around your neck? Oh, it's,
[00:28:14] Unknown:
it's kind of a lucky charm. May I see? Sure.
[00:28:18] Unknown:
Here.
[00:28:20] Unknown:
What? Just a little old bottle I could get a prescription in? Mhmm. What's that black thing? Oh. Oh. Barry, I am sorry. I thought it was a spot and and I'm just scared to death out of them. And before I knew it, I You you chucked it overboard. It was an accident. I didn't Never mind. It's
[00:28:40] Unknown:
it's gone forever now.
[00:28:43] Unknown:
Does it mean all that to you, Barrett?
[00:28:46] Unknown:
We're getting near the landing. Let me ask you a question right out here in the morning sunshine in front of God and everyone. Are you gonna marry me?
[00:28:59] Unknown:
It's like everything else tonight. Crazy. But, Barry, I just guess I'm I'm gonna have to. I mean
[00:29:10] Unknown:
Barry. What is it? The butt.
[00:29:13] Unknown:
The chain and that thing is my back around your neck again. How did you do that?
[00:29:21] Unknown:
I didn't. I guess there is only one way to get rid of this.
[00:29:27] Unknown:
There's something funny going on. That is kinda scary. No. I I don't know Wait. Wait. Wait a minute. Soon as we land, come back up to the house with me. Oh, no. I've already spent the night with you. That's as far as we go. This time. Alicia, it's not your lily white body I'm after. Not tonight anyway.
[00:29:47] Unknown:
It's just a secret I wanna share with you. A secret I guess I've got to share with you before we do get married.
[00:30:01] Unknown:
Will you stop pulling my leg and take me home before I fall asleep? No. I want to prove this to you, Alicia.
[00:30:07] Unknown:
Alright. Right. Alright, you little bottle imp. In thousand dollar bills, give back miss Breeden Hall the money she lost tonight. Look in your bag, Alicia.
[00:30:25] Unknown:
One, two, three, four, five, five, five, four tickets, 15. Are these genuine? They are?
[00:30:35] Unknown:
It's a trick. Not mine. His. As much as I want anytime, anywhere. Just as I told you. No. I I just can't believe it. Oh, well, I know a way to really prove it to you, miss Diesharper. Here's a paradise. Okay? Roll them as long as you want till you're sure there's nothing kinky about them. Then tell me what number you wanna throw and how many times, and the bottle imp will see that it happens.
[00:31:00] Unknown:
Okay. You can't fool me on this. I know dyes and I know odds. Once I'm satisfied these dyes are clean, I'm picking snake eyes. You bring me those up 10 times in succession and I'll believe anything you tell me. Why be pikers?
[00:31:17] Unknown:
Let's make it 20.
[00:31:26] Unknown:
Double eight? 20 times. Mhmm. And it's all true. That's
[00:31:34] Unknown:
right. Now do you marry me? I
[00:31:39] Unknown:
I wouldn't want you to think I was marrying you for your money.
[00:31:45] Unknown:
Let me take the chance on that.
[00:31:53] Unknown:
Beware, Barry. Games of chance are not your forte, and you don't know the odds. You're a good hearted, happy go lucky guy who's gotten himself mixed up in something evil, a lot more than he can handle. And perhaps not all the evil is shut up inside the bottle. I'll return shortly with act three. What about the new navy? You'll get your chance of success, learn an exciting job, and see the world. Call toll free 808418000
[00:33:10] Unknown:
or see your navy recruiter. Be someone special in the new navy. Young woman, you're much more active
[00:33:22] Unknown:
now that the weather's nice. After a hot and busy day,
[00:33:27] Unknown:
listen to this
[00:33:38] Unknown:
Step out of those sticky summer clothes and into an Irish spring shower. It refreshes you fast, protects you long, take the heat off with Irish Spring.
[00:33:50] Unknown:
This is Frank Lieber, KRLD Sports.
[00:33:54] Unknown:
Hi, everybody, and welcome to Texas Stadium. This is Berlin Quist. Hello again, everyone. This is Alex Gosell speaking of sports. Hello. It's Tex Shratt. Yes, Tex. I'd like to know, you answered one of my questions earlier.
[00:34:06] Unknown:
This is Al West, KRLD Sports. Good evening. This is Pat Summerall with Worldwide Sports. KRLD Sports, that says it all.
[00:34:27] Unknown:
Jasper Sheridan's funeral was sumptuous and dignified. In its brief, a period has seemed decent. Lisha and Barry were married and started on a worldwide honeymoon that lasted well over two years.
[00:34:42] Unknown:
If Barry regretted the fact that all of the places had gambled,
[00:34:48] Unknown:
too much in love with his stunning bride to object. Then at last, they were on their way back to America by boat on Lisha's insistence.
[00:35:04] Unknown:
Well, I see you broke the bank again for the second night out.
[00:35:08] Unknown:
I am not always so lucky, mister Star Atlas.
[00:35:11] Unknown:
Oh, you know my name. I was going to introduce myself and plot it, missus Norton.
[00:35:17] Unknown:
Of course, you're not. No more than I am, but you know mine. We are birds of a feather, you and I. We have more money than we know what to do with. We gamble. We are both members of the international set. The only difference is you own shit and I own every other. There is another difference.
[00:35:36] Unknown:
At least one. You are a woman. I am a man.
[00:35:43] Unknown:
I am surprised your husband doesn't make sure that he is close to him.
[00:35:48] Unknown:
Part of history on shipboard of moonlight night. Oh,
[00:35:54] Unknown:
buried of it farewell. He is a six With my husband. Or without.
[00:36:24] Unknown:
But that can all be arranged later. Here. Here is my unused number if you should ever need me. At the front, I am of your service for the rest of the voyage.
[00:36:46] Unknown:
You must be crazy, dad. I remember when we used to say that a little more fondly.
[00:36:52] Unknown:
You're being crazy made some sense of things. Oh. And now it makes none? To go have it take some nine to five job in a sturdy little store at the numbish whatever it is. Unismatic.
[00:37:04] Unknown:
A collector or seller of old and rare coin. Funny, isn't it? The only money. Well, you won't make much of it there. Oh, I don't know. With the deal Charlie's offered me, I could do quite well. From 20 to 30,000 a year, it's quite a hot business these days. You would be mad.
[00:37:23] Unknown:
Go work at the conglomerate if you have to work. You can pay yourself half a million a year. Anyway, what's the money to us? That's our problem, Alicia. Everything at the moment.
[00:37:34] Unknown:
I'm just waking up to how gambling has you hooked and how you have me hooked into being a sort of gigolo. And the source of the hook is this damn thing. So the way to get off the hook is simple. I'm gonna sell it.
[00:37:47] Unknown:
Sell the bottle ink? Put that that means that everything everything would be gone.
[00:37:55] Unknown:
Except what I make. We just have to learn to get along on it. But why? Why? Because, honey, it's all wrong. And more and more I'm becoming aware of my immortal soul and how much it means to me. Sell me the bottle.
[00:38:09] Unknown:
Aren't you concerned with your immortal soul? Oh, Barry, you know I don't believe in that rubbish about after death. Anyway, I could always sell it to someone else. Oh, you wouldn't have the nerve. Oh, no.
[00:38:20] Unknown:
Oh, no, Alicia. You are the last person I'd ever sell the imp in the bottle to.
[00:38:34] Unknown:
Yes?
[00:38:35] Unknown:
Val, it's Alicia.
[00:38:38] Unknown:
What a wonderful surprise.
[00:38:40] Unknown:
It may surprise you even more. Would you like to invite
[00:38:48] Unknown:
me. That's a consider me surprised even more. Just name the night and where you would like to go. Where?
[00:38:57] Unknown:
Your house. Where's the soonest possible?
[00:39:06] Unknown:
More brandy?
[00:39:07] Unknown:
No. Okay.
[00:39:09] Unknown:
I think in view of all you have just told me, Alicia, I will. I want you no matter what you'll do, and I can let you happy physically. I have more money than I need, but I'll never more than I want. I will be happy to make a pre marriage settlement with you. The one thing is the fly and the ointment here, it can't it's impossible.
[00:39:39] Unknown:
Because that's explaining for enough time whether you believe in it or not. And and you can get it for, like, fifty
[00:39:49] Unknown:
Why should you send it to me? Explain it.
[00:39:52] Unknown:
Why not to you? Because we believe the almighty that fell to the soul to the death.
[00:39:59] Unknown:
I don't wanna talk about that nonsense anymore, but I will discuss is our marriage settlement, your divorce, and your promise to me of faithfulness and a child. If that is agreed, then I promise you I will buy your whatever it is in the bottle tomorrow or the first feasible day. Agreed?
[00:40:22] Unknown:
Agreed.
[00:40:28] Unknown:
I knew nothing of this conversation naturally since Lisha shared little with me these days. Besides, in the first months working with Charlie, I was so fascinated, captivated, drenched in the business of old coins, but I had little else on my mind. It never even occurred to me that Lisha's request for a quick divorce and my granting it, even though I still loved her, had anything to do with a man I vaguely remembered from our Transatlantic crossing and newspaper headlines in general.
[00:40:59] Unknown:
And I really must apologize for my long cross examination, but my hobby, I must admit, is ceremonial magic, the Kabbalah, the grimoire of a room.
[00:41:11] Unknown:
I suppose you might say all forms of
[00:41:14] Unknown:
black magic. I see. I envy you your amulet. I don't suppose you would consider selling it. Oh, a minute.
[00:41:23] Unknown:
If I thought you knew and understood its history. But believe me, I do. Uh-huh. And perhaps you're the one.
[00:41:33] Unknown:
Name your price. What do you tip the beach boy here?
[00:41:37] Unknown:
$50.75
[00:41:38] Unknown:
cents. You have it in your swim shorts? Yes. Then as long as you know what you're getting into, you have a deal. I'll take 50¢, and the bottle imp is yours. So I thought foolishly that was the end of it, of the thing in the bottle at least, well placed with a man whose beliefs or leanings served him right for whatever happened to him afterwards. Even after our divorce, Alicia remarried Valentine Stavrasis, I was able to put it out of my mind. He owned the devil's curse, not she. And with all his great self earned wealth, she should be happy. And then seven years later, fate took us all in hand again.
It was hard not to know of Valentine's massive and probably fatal attack. It was headlines in all the papers.
[00:42:39] Unknown:
What? Hear me? What? What? It's Nisha. Nisha.
[00:42:45] Unknown:
Nisha. Thank god. Nisha, find someone. Find someone. Find someone for what? I can feel it. I'm going to die, but not not with the black imp waiting for me in the bottle. I'm afraid. Got to sell. Got to save me.
[00:43:17] Unknown:
It's alright, pal. I'll buy it. Yeah. And promise you to get rid of it. I don't need it anymore. How many what did you pay for it? Uh-huh. Well,
[00:43:31] Unknown:
this this this
[00:43:33] Unknown:
Just let me look in my bag. I'll I'll give you less. What whatever change I have.
[00:43:41] Unknown:
Hurry.
[00:43:42] Unknown:
Hurry this one. It's too late. Oh, god. I haven't any changes. No change. I gave it to the taxi man. Please. Please, Sherry. Help me. I can feel the hot stinking breath. His wings floating about me. Don't let me die. Die forever in torment. I think die. A little miracle. You have now stuck in the corner of my purse a penny of scent. All I have.
[00:44:10] Unknown:
Oh, no. Now you can wear him about your neck.
[00:44:18] Unknown:
I'm safe. I'm safe. I can die in
[00:44:28] Unknown:
peace. As Val died, his lungs unable to sustain their pressure even underneath the oxygen tent, Lisha, without thought, lit a cigarette. It was a week before I could see her in the hospital. And even under sedation and in wet bandages, she was in the agonies of hell. She blurted out the story of the bottle imp and thought she was already in hell and dead. Thank god there was something I could do for her. Alicia. Alicia, it's Barry.
[00:45:10] Unknown:
No. I'm dead in hell. The queer became
[00:45:18] Unknown:
true. No. Not yet, honey. Not yet. You're still alive. You can still sell him.
[00:45:23] Unknown:
As soon as I bought him at the bottom 1¢, I'm
[00:45:33] Unknown:
Fuck. No. Don't you believe it? Lucky you happen to know an old loving numismatist. Alright. Alright. You don't like the word coin collector. Lots of coins in the world worth less than a cent. A lira, the Cambodian sen, the Japanese yen. Oh, I could go on forever. Look at
[00:45:54] Unknown:
okay. Not after all this agony. I couldn't wish it on anyone but and sound like him. You can and you will.
[00:46:10] Unknown:
To me. For a
[00:46:12] Unknown:
happen to have with me. No. I made you suffer enough.
[00:46:17] Unknown:
It's all over. Don't worry. In my business, I can find a coin cheap enough to pass the imp in the bottle onto someone who really deserves it. And I'll fix it so he can't get rid of it. Barry.
[00:46:30] Unknown:
Barry, what, I couldn't I love you enough?
[00:46:37] Unknown:
Sell me that end first There Hang on to the coin It's your passport to whatever there is after for you Alicia Maybe someday I'll I'll meet you
[00:46:53] Unknown:
Alicia
[00:46:58] Unknown:
She's gone Oh, darling
[00:47:03] Unknown:
I hope you found peace at last
[00:47:10] Unknown:
Barry's business as a coin collector grew, and paramount among his collection of coins were all the ones of lowest value in the world, sufficient of them to make change for any larger denomination. Sooner or later, he knew he would meet someone who really deserved
[00:47:31] Unknown:
the imp in the bottle and sooner or later he did
[00:47:36] Unknown:
I'll be back shortly Pardon me miss uh-huh can you tell me what happens this time of year rhubarb reaches its peak nope muskmelon reaches its peak no No. Does it in any way involve something reaching its peak? No. Not really. Oh. What happens this time of year is that you can get a really outstanding deal on Buick's small but surprisingly elegant Apollo.
[00:47:55] Unknown:
And with what's happening to prices, you may never have a better chance to buy a Buick. Hey. I know what happened. Yeah? The buzzards come back to Hinkley Ridge, Ohio. Oh. Uh-huh. I hadn't thought of that.
[00:48:23] Unknown:
Constant overexposure to the sun could be harmful. Your American Cancer Society advises moderation for protected clothing or sunscreening lotions.
[00:48:33] Unknown:
Remember Cover up or come on in.
[00:48:49] Unknown:
I understand that a power hungry dictator bought the imp in the bottle for one of Barry's near worthless coins. Fortunately, he never was able to use the money he amassed to buy the weaponry with which he planned to conquer a continent.
[00:49:07] Unknown:
He died rather suddenly
[00:49:09] Unknown:
of an obscure disease undiagnosed. But it may have occurred to you that the lower the price of the imp, the sooner the owner owner seemed to depart this life. Our cast included William Redfield, Joan Loring, Ian Martin, Santos Ortega, and Leon Janney. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
[00:49:35] Unknown:
Now approve you of our next tale. Jekyll, are you in trouble? What do you mean trouble? What do with this Hyde? Does he does he have something on you? Is he is he blackmailing you? That's a ridiculous thought. Then what is it? How can you, doctor Henry Jekyll, one of the most honorable and respected physicians in London, have any association whatever with a with a terrible person like this, Hyde? Why have you made over your estate to him, especially when you are to marry Beatrice Lanyon? And why? Why? Why that stipulation disappearance? Jacob, I beg you. Tell me what it means.
I cannot.
[00:50:24] Unknown:
I cannot. But as your friend, I You are the friend you say you are. Do me the favor of never mentioning Edward Hyde again. Radio Mystery Theater was sponsored in part by Buick Motor Division and Anheuser Busch Incorporated, brewers of Budweiser. This is EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time. Pleasant
[00:50:53] Unknown:
dreams.
[00:51:30] Unknown:
This week TV Guide Magazine looks at what's in store for television 74. TV Guide's fall preview issue gives you the most complete rundown of television's new season available television's television's new season with the authority of TV Guide Magazine on sale now. KRLD Dallas.
