HyperNatural - Show Sponsor
The Best Men’s Polo Shirts-Men’s Journal
HYPER NATURAL “The Best Men’s Polo Shirts of 2024” – Men’s Journal. HyperNatural offers polos, tees, and button-ups that deliver unmatched comfort and style, featuring Hyper-Cool Jade® technology for natural cooling. Enjoy an exclusive discount with my promo code! 20% Off HYPER NATURAL
In this gripping episode of the Mystery Theater, we delve into the story of George Hartford, a man whose selfishness and obsession with classic cars lead him down a path of eerie encounters and supernatural consequences. George, a man who prides himself on living life on his own terms, finds himself entangled with Laura Prentiss, a mysterious woman with a haunting connection to a classic Mercedes 56. As their affair unfolds, George is warned by his brother Matt, a psychiatrist, about the dangers of his reckless lifestyle. However, George's fascination with Laura and her car blinds him to the ominous warnings.
As the story progresses, George is haunted by visions of Laura and the Mercedes, even after her tragic death. Despite his attempts to escape, he is drawn back into a world where the lines between reality and the supernatural blur. The episode explores themes of guilt, obsession, and the inescapable consequences of one's actions. With a chilling twist, George's fate is sealed as he confronts the spectral presence of Laura and the Mercedes, leading to a dramatic and haunting conclusion.
(01:15) Introduction to Selfishness
(02:41) The Plastic Man: George Hartford
(09:09) A New Encounter: Laura Prentiss
(17:04) The Allure of the Mercedes
(25:00) A Haunting Consequence
(31:35) The Ghostly Pursuit
(39:03) A Desperate Resolution
Listen to our radio station Old Time Radio https://link.radioking.com/otradio
Listen to other Shows at My Classic Radio https://www.myclassicradio.net/
Entertainment Radio | Broadcasting Classic Radio Shows | Patreon
Remember that times have changed, and some shows might not reflect the standards of today’s politically correct society. The shows do not necessarily reflect the views, standards, or beliefs of Entertainment Radio
[00:00:00]
Unknown:
With the American Express Platinum Card, you can unlock over $1,500 in value annually with statement credits on select purchases and other benefits. That means getting access to even more of your favorite things. More jet setting, more trend setting, and more resetting. And downward dog. The stage is set for you to do even more with the American Express Platinum car. Learn more at americanexpress.com/us/explore-platinum. Terms apply.
[00:00:30] Unknown:
It takes a lot of ingredients to fix or build a car, like cooking, but without the frozen dinner easy way out. EBay Motors has a 122,000,000 parts. It's always the right fitment, so you can follow any recipe to a tee. Whether it's a vintage Italian coupe that's classic like grandma's meatballs or a German luxury car that's as complicated as almost rouladen. To cook up something great in the garage, use the eBay Motors app or visit ebaymotors.com. Let's ride.
[00:01:11] Unknown:
Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. All of us are selfish to some degree. We protect our own desires and dreams, but within reason. For we inhabit a world where we must make certain compromises and respect other people's feelings. We had better, for the quickest way to lose everything is to try to have everything the way we want it. For then, the fates that dog all our heels have a way of catching up.
[00:01:51] Unknown:
There's no going There's no going back. No going forward. Where do I go from here?
[00:02:01] Unknown:
You've lost me, Laura, and you can't have
[00:02:13] Unknown:
But the car. Not the car.
[00:02:41] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, the plastic man, was written especially for the mystery theater by Ian Martin and stars Don Scardino. It is sponsored in part by Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with act one. As I said in the beginning, this is a story of an extraordinarily selfish man, a sort of product of our times. George Hartford, who could well be named the plastic man. Note his action and reaction to the oldest and most productive relationship in the history of man.
[00:03:31] Unknown:
Come on, Jane. Knock it off. It isn't the end of the world.
[00:03:35] Unknown:
Not yours, George.
[00:03:37] Unknown:
You've made that quite clear.
[00:03:39] Unknown:
I wanted to lay it on the table. No messing around. A clean break. The least sweat. The least sweat? Well, it's one description for the end of a of a love affair, I suppose. Now, don't get me wrong, babe. I really don't anymore.
[00:03:57] Unknown:
You shook me up, but you woke me up. Now you're with it, kid. Look, if we don't swing anymore, there's no Oh, I love your succinct statement in mod lingo. We don't swing anymore.
[00:04:08] Unknown:
Don't swing anymore. May I remind you that we were going to be married? I wasn't swinging with you. I thought I was building something for the future. Okay, Jane. So it just didn't work out like that. Someone else? Oh. You're cutting out because this was getting just a little too serious for you. It might be the end of fun and games. You were on the point of being asked to contribute something in return.
[00:04:36] Unknown:
Jane, does it have to be all this much of a drag?
[00:04:39] Unknown:
Oh, perish the thought. I wouldn't want to ruffle your peacock feathers for the moment. But just one comment. You are heading for a rude awakening. Someday, one of your women won't be as accommodating as I am. Stop the car. What are you talking about? You're only halfway home. I just discovered I'm not even that far. All I want is to get off.
[00:05:12] Unknown:
George? Hey, big brother. How's it going, Matt? Hey. Fine. Just fine. Hey. What do you do at home so early? I thought you had a big heavy date with Jane. We split. Split? Just like that? Just like that. What was the quarrel?
[00:05:27] Unknown:
It was getting kinda heavy, so I wanted out. Mhmm. How did she take it? Oh, you know, dames. Big fuss over nothing. Got anything to eat in a joint?
[00:05:36] Unknown:
Nothing but, humble pie, little bread. A cupboard is bare, and you wouldn't eat any of it even if it was there.
[00:05:45] Unknown:
So I'll settle for a beer. Then maybe I'll do a little prowling. Pick up a pizza and, who knows, maybe even something more nourishing. You
[00:05:56] Unknown:
know, you ought to do something about that sex drive. Now one of these days, you're gonna get your head caught in a ringer.
[00:06:02] Unknown:
Okay. Why don't you give me a reading shrink?
[00:06:05] Unknown:
I'm all stretched out on the couch. How'd you like to probe my inner psyche? You haven't got a psyche. All you got is one large itch and no conscience.
[00:06:14] Unknown:
Oh, so much for brotherly love. I can't even get a free treatment from the family psychiatrist. So you don't wanna talk to me? I'll have to Hold it, George. Matter of fact, I do wanna talk to you. I'm moving out.
[00:06:30] Unknown:
Hey. Wait a minute. I'm that bad?
[00:06:34] Unknown:
You really saw me? No. No. That's beside the point at the moment. You you know, I'm a full resident now. And Fran just got a raise. So we've been looking at apartments. We figure we can go ahead now and get married. It's a ball and chain,
[00:06:46] Unknown:
it's a big step, Matt. Why rush it? Well,
[00:06:51] Unknown:
I wouldn't expect you to understand, George. I wanna live with Fran.
[00:06:56] Unknown:
Okay. Fine. But marriage? I mean, who needs it these days? Look, why tie yourself down? I wouldn't expect you to understand that either George.
[00:07:04] Unknown:
Oh, come on. Old sober sides. You just don't see where it's at. I mean, like, today is all wide open. It doesn't work that way for everybody, George. Okay. Okay. What's your bag is yours and what's mine is mine. Mhmm. The trouble is, gorgeous, gee, you keep trapping the other sex in it like you were a bounty hunter. It worries me. Why? Well, first of all, because some pretty nice girls get damn roughed up by you. Jane, for one. Oh, come on. Look. Don't make me sound like a child molester. Any day my play around with is old enough to know the score. It's more than just a game. It's an obsession, my friend. And as a psychiatrist, I don't particularly like its implications.
[00:07:52] Unknown:
Brother. Here we go with the Don Juan Casanova bit again. It's, basically an inferiority complex, and I'm driven to prove myself. Or else it's, an edifice complex. Down deep in my id or whatever, I hated pop and I Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It may be funny to you.
[00:08:09] Unknown:
But you might be surprised if you could understand how much basic truth there is in it. But that isn't the main thing. So what is? It's just your arrogant, selfish insensitivity. You know what you are? You're a plastic man. You haven't got one real human emotion in you. And I'm sorry for all the nice girls you've twisted up inside. Give the next one a break. Let her know about you from the start so at least she goes into it with her eyes open. You got the wrong idea about women, Mass. They're a hell of a lot tougher than we are. I am not gonna get trapped in an argument. I just I I just hope you don't get trapped one of these days with one of them who won't be as obliging as they all have been up to now.
Your luck can't last forever. Sooner or later, you are gonna get caught in a buzz saw. Don't say I didn't warn you.
[00:09:09] Unknown:
My brother, Matt, was a good guy, but just a little square. And the chicks, well, you know how it is. You take them as they come. Like I say, it's a big world. And if you wanna hang yourself up with one old lady permanently, that's your own business. Me, I like to hang loose. I never figured old George here would get hung up on one and surely not the way it happened. Hi. You,
[00:09:38] Unknown:
you dropped your sun oil in the sand. Oh,
[00:09:41] Unknown:
did I? You're very kind. Are you one of the staff
[00:09:47] Unknown:
here? No. I'm a guest. Why? Oh, just your
[00:09:53] Unknown:
I mean, you look like one of them.
[00:09:56] Unknown:
Well, thanks for the good word. These jocks that work the staff here are really built. No. I'm just taking a week off from the daily grind. And a friend said these Club Pacificos really sway. I don't know. Maybe I missed the season until now.
[00:10:13] Unknown:
What do you need?
[00:10:15] Unknown:
Well, I haven't run into you up till now. Did you just get here? Oh, I know.
[00:10:21] Unknown:
We've been here a couple of days, but we drove down. We've been touring the countryside some.
[00:10:27] Unknown:
Hot work this weather. Me? I'll take the water. Or a nice long drink by the pool. Hey, it's about that time. Can I buy you one? Well, I
[00:10:40] Unknown:
why not? If you wait long enough for me to take one quick dip in the seat, wash the sand off.
[00:10:48] Unknown:
She came up from that beach lounger in one long fluid move like a cat. My breed. I watched her run down into the water. A one piece suit didn't hide any of that figure. Long waist, long legs. The club was beginning to live up to its reputation. For no long. Right? Right. How many beads do you want? Hey. I said the drinks were on me.
[00:11:18] Unknown:
I'll pay my own freight the way we travel.
[00:11:21] Unknown:
Ah, there's that we again. Roommate?
[00:11:25] Unknown:
Husband.
[00:11:26] Unknown:
Oh, and he lets you out without a leash?
[00:11:29] Unknown:
It's a free country. He's confined to our cabin. He picked up amoebic dysentery some years ago in India. It's hell to get rid of. India? You travel a lot? He does. He's a parapsychologist.
[00:11:43] Unknown:
I, heard the word. Could clue me in a little deeper?
[00:11:47] Unknown:
It's the branch of psychology that deals with unexplained phenomena. Clairvoyance, ESP, mental telepathy. You had enough?
[00:11:55] Unknown:
Ask a silly question, you get a A complex answer. So no more questions except my well, my name's George. George Hartford.
[00:12:05] Unknown:
What's yours? You're not an insurance salesman.
[00:12:09] Unknown:
No. Carlos. Business is a little slow right now. That's why I thought I'd catch a week off. Or was till I met, did I catch your name?
[00:12:20] Unknown:
Laura. Laura Prentiss. Here's looking at you.
[00:12:25] Unknown:
That's fair enough. It's all I've done since I set eyes on you.
[00:12:30] Unknown:
I noticed.
[00:12:33] Unknown:
Listen, it's, it's kinda hot out here in the sun. My cabin is air conditioned.
[00:12:39] Unknown:
So is ours.
[00:12:41] Unknown:
I just meant why disturb your husband.
[00:12:45] Unknown:
Now that is definitely not a silly question. Here. What's this? My beads. Buy us both another drink, George, and let's see how cool your pad really is. What? Oh, why did I do this?
[00:13:13] Unknown:
Come on, Laura. There's no crime. I know it isn't to you.
[00:13:18] Unknown:
Some of us are fashioned a little differently. Hey. That's only an illusion, baby. It's natural. And whatever is natural is right. You wouldn't understand. It isn't morals I'm concerned with.
[00:13:28] Unknown:
Well, then what? Oh,
[00:13:33] Unknown:
I could never make you understand in a million years, George. So that's the kiss off. It ought to be. But it's too good for me to have the strength of will to let it go that easily. Now you're talking. No. Not here. Tomorrow away from the club. I have my car. We'll drive somewhere for the day. I'll say I'm going shopping in Puerto Valleso or Guadalajara. You're the lucky sinner. You don't need any excuse. I'll meet you at the parking lot after breakfast.
[00:14:11] Unknown:
Oh, well, how do I find you? It isn't hard.
[00:14:15] Unknown:
It's the only green Mercedes. And the license plate is 6999. I wanted 7,000 for luck, but I never could swing it. Till tomorrow, if you want to risk it.
[00:14:37] Unknown:
She was kind of offbeat, this chick and married and all. So I might have passed her up if it hadn't been for the car. I flipped when I saw it. A Mercedes 56, go win coupe in British racing green, like she said. A dream classic. Zero to 60 in nine seconds flat. Quick ratio steering, independent suspension, and handles like it's part of the road. Plus the price tag, 12 to 15 thaw in mint condition. And this baby was. While I was drooling over it, my other babe, also mint condition, arrived. This yours?
[00:15:21] Unknown:
A gift from my husband. You know what you've got here? I ought to. It's what I asked for.
[00:15:30] Unknown:
I never saw a 56 in green before. It took a little digging to find it.
[00:15:36] Unknown:
I wanted it to match my eyes. Cat's eyes. The better to see you with. You want to drive it? Oh, do I? Climb in big mama. You can light my car, but only if it's second. After me.
[00:15:58] Unknown:
It's a tough choice, but I like your moving parts better.
[00:16:04] Unknown:
Okay. Where to? Straight to hell, lover. Or heaven.
[00:16:12] Unknown:
I started up that dream boat, and she was heaven under my hands, just as Laura would be later. What I didn't know was that her husband was watching
[00:16:35] Unknown:
It's hard to have much sympathy, if any, for our plastic man, George. He's an expert in taking without giving. But you may have a little sympathy soon as we watch a punishment which is infinitely more infernal than a crime. I'll be back shortly with that too. To watch George Hartford drive that Mercedes that hugged the road, floating as though on rails and cornering to perfection, to watch his face and the fanaticism of the faddists suffusing it, was to know our plastic man had an Achilles' heel. One spot where he was vulnerable. His passion for classic cars.
And in Laura, he had found an unlikely
[00:17:30] Unknown:
companion. It looks as if I lost you just when I found you.
[00:17:35] Unknown:
Oh, I'm sorry, babe. But a car like this, I mean, like, man, this is far out. I know.
[00:17:42] Unknown:
Why do you think I wanted it? It took four years of begging and and other things to get it.
[00:17:50] Unknown:
Greatest feeling in the world. Right? It was. Or at least a substitute till. Till there was us,
[00:18:01] Unknown:
If I'm really Come again? Forget it. It's our karma. Too late to offer you a way out.
[00:18:12] Unknown:
Wait a minute. You you lost me somewhere. I should probably never have found you.
[00:18:18] Unknown:
George, there could be danger. You want to turn back.
[00:18:22] Unknown:
I I don't make all this. You mean your husband? Yes. Oh, what is he? You mean King Kong or the godfather? Oh, no. Horace is
[00:18:31] Unknown:
quite small and very mild and very rich. I'm quite willing to admit the last is what attracted me to him. I didn't know then about about the other. The other what? How deep his interest in psychical research was or how powerful some of the forces involved are. Hey. You know something, babe? You're talking kinda weird. Six years with horrors would make any woman a little offbeat. I've been walking in a bad dream. You woke me up, love. Oh, look. There's a motel, George, or whatever you call them in Old Mexico. It's too much talking that gets everybody into trouble.
[00:19:15] Unknown:
Now you're talking, Laura. But making sense. It was still early in the afternoon, but something waken me suddenly. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. Then as my eyes focused on the bright yellow ceilings of the Casa Romantica, I realized that the limpers were coming from the girl by my side.
[00:19:40] Unknown:
Hey. Laura? Laura? Hey. Hey, baby. What what
[00:19:45] Unknown:
oh. Hey. Oh, George.
[00:19:50] Unknown:
Don't say anything. Just hold me. Hold me a moment.
[00:19:57] Unknown:
Oh, okay. Hey. Hey. Stay loose. We didn't blow up the capital or anything. I mean, we're not on the wanted list. He knows. Who? Horace. Knows what? About us. Hon, if you got a guilty conscience No. No. This isn't conscience. It's beyond it. Let me go, George. Let me go. Where are you going?
[00:20:21] Unknown:
I just have to get up to the window and get some air.
[00:20:27] Unknown:
Here. Why don't you wrap something around you?
[00:20:31] Unknown:
Will that make me decent?
[00:20:37] Unknown:
Alright. George? What?
[00:20:41] Unknown:
You're a very selfish man. I know this is just a casual affair for you that you drifted into. I suppose I shouldn't worry about you. But you asked for it. Let me say it once. I'm sorry. But it's way too late for either of us to back out. Now, let's get dressed and back to the club. I'll say one thing for you, Laura.
[00:21:11] Unknown:
You do come up with the surprises. But I must say this is one bummer of a so long death. Oh, you and I haven't finished George.
[00:21:21] Unknown:
We've only begun. That's part of the karma too.
[00:21:28] Unknown:
I didn't like this whole gig. I was into something I couldn't grab. Kind of a nowhere for me because I'm the one who usually decides where it's at. Driving to the bus stop too, I I had this crazy notion that maybe it was the Mercedes 56 I'd miss more than her. It was all mixed up. And coming home to my cabin late in the evening, just at dark, I got shook up some more.
[00:21:57] Unknown:
Have a nice bus ride, mister Hartford. What?
[00:22:00] Unknown:
Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my cabin? I'm sorry.
[00:22:05] Unknown:
I I thought for me, in a sense, it was kind of a home away from home. How'd you get in here? I I locked the door. How could you lock it against Laura's husband? Laura?
[00:22:17] Unknown:
Oh oh, yeah. I, I met her on the beach. Hi, mister Prentice. Interesting to meet you, mister Hartford. I guess Laura, missus Prentice mentioned my name. Mhmm.
[00:22:32] Unknown:
Can I get you a drink? No. Thanks. Can I get you a cover up for your embarrassment? What? I think we can dispense with unnecessary questions. I want you to leave my wife alone. Now just a minute. I know what's happened between you and Laura who happens to be my wife. You didn't know what you were getting into. I considered having you roughed up, but I'll let that go. Excuse me. I must leave now. I'll say goodbye for all of us. If you have a brain in your head, mister Hartford, you'll echo that sentiment.
[00:23:17] Unknown:
Just for curiosity's sake, with a slight flapping under my heart, I checked the following morning. The m 56 was gone, and the desk clerk informed me so were the apprentices. I breathed easier, lived out my week without a pigeon worth making a pass at, and went back to my office in Los Angeles. It was nice to get back to plain living.
[00:23:42] Unknown:
Hey. You look great, George. You picked up a lot of sun.
[00:23:45] Unknown:
That's about all that was going there, man. How about you? You set the wedding date? Yep. Three weeks from the day. Can you make it? Hey. Can you see me not? No.
[00:23:56] Unknown:
How could you turn down another opportunity to be best man?
[00:24:00] Unknown:
Okay. Work me over. I deserve it, I guess. George,
[00:24:06] Unknown:
what's the matter? Don't tell me the leopard is changing his spots. You meet someone on your little cruise casing Mexican talent?
[00:24:14] Unknown:
I met someone. Not Mexican. Just real offbeat. What do you think of parapsychology, man? Oh, brother.
[00:24:25] Unknown:
I mean, in more ways than one. I have enough trouble handling my own specialty in the vagaries of the human brain, psyche, condition, however you define it. Parapsychology. That's another breed of cat. Cat.
[00:24:42] Unknown:
Nothing. But you didn't answer. Well,
[00:24:46] Unknown:
I don't know how to answer. It's it's a gray area. The research is too new to limited to prove anything or mean much. Why? Just an idle question. Don't try to kid me, George. Nothing you ask is idle.
[00:25:01] Unknown:
Okay. I met a demon who was hung up on this scene, and I just wondered how much there might be to it. Well, you want my opinion. It's
[00:25:09] Unknown:
not too much. Not that's in general. But specifically, for you, if you're asking my advice, give her a wide birth. Your life is mixed up enough as it is without voluntarily trying to complicate it any further. Okay? Right on. Because no matter how much I object to your personal life, you're my brother. It means a hell of a lot to me to know you'll be standing next to me when I get married.
[00:25:39] Unknown:
I'd have to be dead or nowhere before I miss that. A day after I had lunch with my brother, Matt, she rolled into my dealer's lot. I should say they. The Mercedes 56, English green with that unforgettable license plate, and the equally unforgettable Laura behind the wheel. I had no escape. Our office building is all glass. As the lesser of two evils, I went out to meet her myself. Yes, madam? What can I do for you?
[00:26:16] Unknown:
Of all people. How could you ask? Are you crazy blowing in here? Doesn't your husband know? Boris is on the other side of the world in India. He's gone on retreat for a month. Whatever that means. It means he's in transcendental meditation. You'd call it out of this world. It also means I am free.
[00:26:36] Unknown:
Look, Laura. I like to swing as much as the next man, but, baby, I think we ought to drop it. That little guy scared me. And you? Yes. And me? You really got through. You got to me. I can't comb you out.
[00:26:57] Unknown:
So climb in. This time, I'll be driving, and I'll show you I can handle this baby just as well as you can.
[00:27:06] Unknown:
I I can't just walk out of my business like that. I'll tell you what. I'll meet you in half an hour. It's a, Wilshire And Beverly, Northwest Corner. That's a date. Don't you miss it. It was a date. Alright. A date with destiny. Though how could I have known it then? I cleaned up my desk, turned the agency over to my head salesman, and drove out of the lot. I parked my heap short of Beverly and walked the rest of the way. She was waiting for me. I climbed in and we drove off to her house in Bel Air.
[00:27:47] Unknown:
I warned you, Hartford, to stay away. Now you will both have to suffer the consequences.
[00:27:57] Unknown:
What? You heard him too. What are you talking about? Horace, my husband.
[00:28:02] Unknown:
He knows about us.
[00:28:04] Unknown:
You gotta be kidding. I mean, if he really is in India Oh, he's there. It doesn't make any difference. Look. I don't dig any of this. It's it's too wide out. All I know is I'm getting out right now. I never should have climbed back in. We're committed now. No way, baby. It's out of our hands.
[00:28:23] Unknown:
Horace doesn't want me back. How do you know? He's telling me right now. From India? I warned you. You were getting into something beyond your understanding.
[00:28:33] Unknown:
Okay. So great. Now I'm on my way out. You can't.
[00:28:37] Unknown:
This just isn't a silly girl who's trying to hang on. I told you the moment I laid eyes on you. I knew you were my karma. Hey. What's this karma, Jive? My fate. And yours. You can try, but you'll never escape me.
[00:28:55] Unknown:
Don't kid yourself. I know when I've had enough. I'm blowing this scene, and this is goodbye. I lit out of there like my tail was on fire. Matt had warned me I'd get caught in a nutcracker one of these days. And this looked like one of them. And man, it was weird. When I read about the crash the next day, I felt like a real heel. But I heaved a sigh of relief just the same. I didn't have any feeling of guilt, or did I? Why should I? If only I had known what she was thinking on that last ride, maybe but how could I
[00:29:42] Unknown:
know? There's no going back. There's no going forward. Where do I go from here? You've lost me, Laura.
[00:29:55] Unknown:
And you can't have him. Only one thing to do. You're right over the canyon.
[00:30:06] Unknown:
But
[00:30:34] Unknown:
I read it in the morning papers. Woman plunges to fiery death off Coldwater Canyon. Both car and driver completely destroyed by fire. Police determined by one remaining license plate that the victim must have been missus Laura Prentiss. I felt kind of sick, but relieved. That was the end of that.
[00:31:05] Unknown:
Only as we shall discover, that was not the end of either car or driver. The world is full of George Hartfords who get away with murder in a general sense, but odds have a way of evening up. And this time, George isn't going to get away with anything. I'll return shortly with act three. This story is a snowball. Starting from microscopic beginnings, gathering momentum and mass as it rushes down the hill. The tension and terror building from nothing to a massive and inevitable crash, and like the snowball, being fractionalized into nothing again.
[00:31:59] Unknown:
It was less than a week since Laura and the Mercedes 56 had been burned to cinders. I was crossing the canyon from my pad in Van Nuys, taking Matt over to meet his bride.
[00:32:10] Unknown:
What's the matter with you lately, George?
[00:32:12] Unknown:
Don't worry about me. Let's concentrate on the big date, How many days to the wedding, man?
[00:32:18] Unknown:
A little over a week. Can't wait. That makes me kinda sad, little brother. I wish you could meet a girl you could settle down with. I'm off dames for the moment.
[00:32:29] Unknown:
This girl I hey. What kind of crazy? It's the Mercedes and and Laura at the wheel. Look out.
[00:32:39] Unknown:
What what is the matter Look out. What what is the matter with you? Your your mind? I I had to go off the road.
[00:32:45] Unknown:
Mac, that crazy broad would have rammed into us head on. What are you talking about? The green Mercedes that came around the bend.
[00:32:52] Unknown:
Didn't you see it? Or her? Round what bend? I've Coming the other way headed towards us. George, we haven't passed any cars coming or going in the last few minutes.
[00:33:04] Unknown:
We just about rammed one going the opposite way less than a minute ago. A green Mercedes? Yeah. A '50 six. A classic.
[00:33:11] Unknown:
Didn't you see it? No. I didn't because it wasn't there.
[00:33:20] Unknown:
I tell you, plain as day, it was broad daylight. I saw it and her.
[00:33:26] Unknown:
I tell you. A green Mercedes with a girl named Laura at the wheel. Yes. Yeah. The same girl and the same car you say you read about in the paper a few days ago who went up in flames.
[00:33:37] Unknown:
That must have been some coincidence, some mistake. I don't know. We're gonna check it out, George.
[00:33:43] Unknown:
You said the police found a license plate. Yes. But they didn't give the numbers in the paper. But if it should be 6999, you'd have to agree with me there wasn't any car today that you had to avoid. Right? But I saw it. What you saw could have been a hallucination. Now we we better pin it down right now.
[00:34:08] Unknown:
I could have told Matt what he'd find out. I knew it even before he checked with the police. I knew the plate number would be 6999. And I knew something else. It didn't matter what he found out. I hadn't seen the last of the green Mercedes 56 or the girl who drove it, dead or alive. I took a fast powder and went out to get loaded.
[00:34:38] Unknown:
Her name's Ginny. Ginny Blake.
[00:34:41] Unknown:
Oh, George here. George Hartford.
[00:34:44] Unknown:
So, now we're bosom buddies, buy me a drink?
[00:34:49] Unknown:
Sure. What's your poison?
[00:34:51] Unknown:
You laugh.
[00:34:52] Unknown:
I could use one. A horse's neck.
[00:34:56] Unknown:
Plain soda, anything soft? Funny,
[00:35:00] Unknown:
No. Except, why would you what are you wasting your time on a guy like me for?
[00:35:06] Unknown:
I don't know. I come here sometimes and either I'm too shy to say hello to anyone, or I don't like the guys who try to turn me on. I'm lonely. That's why I come.
[00:35:21] Unknown:
You really want that drink? No.
[00:35:23] Unknown:
I'm up to here already.
[00:35:25] Unknown:
So am I. How'd you like to drive me home Ginny? And then I'll give you car fare back to your pet. When do I leave for my place? Right after you drop me at my door. I'm not looking to make out tonight. That's a new line.
[00:35:42] Unknown:
Could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
[00:35:45] Unknown:
Come on. I'll take a chance. You don't seem all that loaded to me.
[00:35:57] Unknown:
I'm not. I've got other problems.
[00:36:00] Unknown:
You got a habit?
[00:36:02] Unknown:
No. Nothing like that.
[00:36:04] Unknown:
I got a bigger monkey on my back. You're kinda screwed up, George, and I'm sorry for you. I I'd honestly like to help if I could.
[00:36:14] Unknown:
Well, I don't think anyone can. I guess I went out and bought my own private set. Look out. What is this? In case you see it, the Mercedes hit it straight for us. They they got out of the way though. No. You've got to get out of the way. Didn't you see the car? It it it went right through us
[00:36:34] Unknown:
as if we weren't there. What car? There wasn't any car. Boy, are you on some trip. Boy, George, I had it with you. There's a bus stop here. I can find my own way home. You don't need company. What you need is a head doctor.
[00:36:55] Unknown:
I don't know how long I lay parked there. I'd closed my eyes, maybe I went to sleep. But all of a sudden I realized that the Mercedes had driven up alongside of me. And Laura was leaning towards me to talk.
[00:37:11] Unknown:
Come on, George. I've been looking for you. Let's go.
[00:37:18] Unknown:
No. I can't. I'm not ready. Sooner or later.
[00:37:25] Unknown:
Why not now? I'm waiting for you. How long do I have to wait?
[00:37:34] Unknown:
My car was still running. I threw it into first and cut out sharp in the traffic. The hood of my car, bumper, all the way to the windshield cut through the Mercedes like it was drawn in midair or just wasn't there at all. I don't remember how I got home or to bed. I only know that with the help of five or six black coffees, I found myself able to face my brother, Matt, the next morning.
[00:37:59] Unknown:
So you proved it to yourself. The car, the the woman was a hallucination. No. She was there. I heard her speak twice now. George, I checked out the license plate with a friend at police headquarters. There's no doubt that she crashed in that car. Then why do I keep seeing her and hearing her? It's a fixation, guilt reflex. So get rid of it for me. Well, that's your job, isn't it? No, sir. That's your job if you can. I can't. Well, possibly. Certainly not alone. You gotta have help, George. That's what I'm asking you for. Oh, no. Not me. My own brother?
Am I that much of a heel to you? That is not the point. I just started my residency in psychiatry. You're way beyond me, George. Well, then give me a man to go to.
[00:38:46] Unknown:
Some doctor who can handle me. She was always there, trailing me in the m 56, not 15 feet behind me. But that wasn't the worst part. Through the car, I could see the line of traffic stretching behind her with sometimes a car coming up behind and cutting right through the spectral green vehicle that wasn't there for anyone but me. I made up my mind to have it out and headed for the house in Bel Air.
[00:39:29] Unknown:
Come in, mister Hartford. I've been expecting you. Thank you. There's no need to thank me.
[00:39:37] Unknown:
Oh, well, anyway, thank heaven you're here. I thought you might still be in India. Oh, no.
[00:39:45] Unknown:
I came back for my wife's death. What? For? I landed from the plane the moment she went over the cliff. You see, I knew she was going. But but but how could you I sent her to her death.
[00:40:05] Unknown:
You know, she she's following me. I can't get rid of her or the car. I know.
[00:40:14] Unknown:
And you came to ask me for help. Oh, yes. I please. Please help me. You must help yourself, George. You didn't hesitate to in the beginning when it was something that didn't belong to you.
[00:40:30] Unknown:
Why hold back now? What
[00:40:33] Unknown:
do you mean? You'll never be rid of her as long as you live. Why don't you join her, George? Missy?
[00:40:43] Unknown:
There she is.
[00:40:46] Unknown:
She's waiting for you. Join her.
[00:40:51] Unknown:
I was outside the house. The door shut in my face. And parked in the driveway facing me was the green Mercedes. I went a little berserk, hurling myself into my own car, ramming her into first and driving in a scattering of gravel and dust straight through that infernal vision. I smashed into sunset turning left in a screech of tires, heading for Cold Water Canyon and back to the valley. But all the time, my nemesis
[00:41:32] Unknown:
Why don't you join me, lover? I'm
[00:41:37] Unknown:
away.
[00:41:46] Unknown:
Alright. Damn it. Have it your way. Here I come. I'm so sorry,
[00:42:04] Unknown:
Matt. Your poor brother.
[00:42:08] Unknown:
I'm so sorry for so many things, Fran. For what he was. For what he made of himself. For the help I couldn't give him. But most of all for calling him a plastic man.
[00:42:22] Unknown:
What do you mean, darling?
[00:42:24] Unknown:
Turns out he wasn't. There was a chink in his armor. Whether he knew it or not. His conscience.
[00:42:32] Unknown:
You mean for that woman's suicide? The one with the Mercedes?
[00:42:39] Unknown:
Yes.
[00:42:41] Unknown:
They hadn't even had time to repair the guardrail. He went right through the same gap she did.
[00:42:49] Unknown:
Well
[00:42:52] Unknown:
no sense agonizing about it. What's done is done. At least, she won't be haunting him anymore.
[00:43:08] Unknown:
I wonder. There's quite a legend grown up about that stretch of road. On misty nights or dark ones with the moon seen fitfully through clouds, a lot of people swear they pass a Mercedes colored English green. Some say the woman was driving. Some say the man. But then, that would be easy to confuse. Since by now, the paint is peeling, the clothing is half rotted away, and the figures themselves are little more than skin and bone. The hands that grasp the wheel, those of a skeleton. I'll be back shortly. One further note. Shortly after Fran and Matt were married, a large sum of money was given to them by an anonymous source.
And at the same time, Horace stripped himself of all his possessions and gave the bulk of his fortune to the school for psychic research where he had taught so long. He left for India and was never heard of again. One story has it that he sits in meditation somewhere high in the Himalayas, treated by the nearby villagers as a holy man. Perhaps so. But is it meditation or expiation? We'll never know. Our cast included Don Scardino, Joan Loring, Russell Horton, and Katherine Byers. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
[00:44:50] Unknown:
And now a preview of our next tale. Lieutenant Kaufman, I was sent in here to see you. How can I help? A man named Tom Beckwith was murdered last night. That's right.
[00:45:04] Unknown:
Do you have any information that would Yes. I
[00:45:08] Unknown:
I'm responsible for his death. What are you saying, mister, I Wilson. Roger Wilson. I caused his death. Are you confessing to the crime? I suppose that's the only way to put it. I I wished him dead. You wished him dead? Yes, lieutenant. I wished him dead. I wished it with all my strength. He was killed by two shots from a 38 caliber pistol. Now, did you fire them? That's immaterial. Mister Wilson, you don't look well at all. Now I'll have an officer see you to your home. This is EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater
[00:45:53] Unknown:
for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time, pleasant dreams.
[00:46:07] Unknown:
It used to be hard to find the exact auto parts you needed, and that meant spending a lot of time at swap meets. It's a different game now when you can order exactly what you need from eBay Motors. They have a 122,000,000 parts, so you can always find the right fitment. Spend less time searching and more time building with the eBay Motors app or visit ebaymotors.com. Let's ride.
[00:46:28] Unknown:
At ADP, we understand the importance of building the right team and offer the data insights to help. Just as importantly, our AI technology helps you pay the team accurately. Grow stronger with ADP, HR talent, time, and payroll.
[00:46:45] Unknown:
What you're hearing is Hardie fiber cement siding living up to its reputation as the siding that handles hail impact with ease. James Hardie knows how important a reputation is, especially when you're a contractor. That's why Hardie's siding withstands severe weather better than vinyl siding, with styles to match its strength. So you can be sure you're providing your clients with the best. Protect your reputation with exterior products by James Hardie.
With the American Express Platinum Card, you can unlock over $1,500 in value annually with statement credits on select purchases and other benefits. That means getting access to even more of your favorite things. More jet setting, more trend setting, and more resetting. And downward dog. The stage is set for you to do even more with the American Express Platinum car. Learn more at americanexpress.com/us/explore-platinum. Terms apply.
[00:00:30] Unknown:
It takes a lot of ingredients to fix or build a car, like cooking, but without the frozen dinner easy way out. EBay Motors has a 122,000,000 parts. It's always the right fitment, so you can follow any recipe to a tee. Whether it's a vintage Italian coupe that's classic like grandma's meatballs or a German luxury car that's as complicated as almost rouladen. To cook up something great in the garage, use the eBay Motors app or visit ebaymotors.com. Let's ride.
[00:01:11] Unknown:
Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. All of us are selfish to some degree. We protect our own desires and dreams, but within reason. For we inhabit a world where we must make certain compromises and respect other people's feelings. We had better, for the quickest way to lose everything is to try to have everything the way we want it. For then, the fates that dog all our heels have a way of catching up.
[00:01:51] Unknown:
There's no going There's no going back. No going forward. Where do I go from here?
[00:02:01] Unknown:
You've lost me, Laura, and you can't have
[00:02:13] Unknown:
But the car. Not the car.
[00:02:41] Unknown:
Our mystery drama, the plastic man, was written especially for the mystery theater by Ian Martin and stars Don Scardino. It is sponsored in part by Buick Motor Division. I'll be back shortly with act one. As I said in the beginning, this is a story of an extraordinarily selfish man, a sort of product of our times. George Hartford, who could well be named the plastic man. Note his action and reaction to the oldest and most productive relationship in the history of man.
[00:03:31] Unknown:
Come on, Jane. Knock it off. It isn't the end of the world.
[00:03:35] Unknown:
Not yours, George.
[00:03:37] Unknown:
You've made that quite clear.
[00:03:39] Unknown:
I wanted to lay it on the table. No messing around. A clean break. The least sweat. The least sweat? Well, it's one description for the end of a of a love affair, I suppose. Now, don't get me wrong, babe. I really don't anymore.
[00:03:57] Unknown:
You shook me up, but you woke me up. Now you're with it, kid. Look, if we don't swing anymore, there's no Oh, I love your succinct statement in mod lingo. We don't swing anymore.
[00:04:08] Unknown:
Don't swing anymore. May I remind you that we were going to be married? I wasn't swinging with you. I thought I was building something for the future. Okay, Jane. So it just didn't work out like that. Someone else? Oh. You're cutting out because this was getting just a little too serious for you. It might be the end of fun and games. You were on the point of being asked to contribute something in return.
[00:04:36] Unknown:
Jane, does it have to be all this much of a drag?
[00:04:39] Unknown:
Oh, perish the thought. I wouldn't want to ruffle your peacock feathers for the moment. But just one comment. You are heading for a rude awakening. Someday, one of your women won't be as accommodating as I am. Stop the car. What are you talking about? You're only halfway home. I just discovered I'm not even that far. All I want is to get off.
[00:05:12] Unknown:
George? Hey, big brother. How's it going, Matt? Hey. Fine. Just fine. Hey. What do you do at home so early? I thought you had a big heavy date with Jane. We split. Split? Just like that? Just like that. What was the quarrel?
[00:05:27] Unknown:
It was getting kinda heavy, so I wanted out. Mhmm. How did she take it? Oh, you know, dames. Big fuss over nothing. Got anything to eat in a joint?
[00:05:36] Unknown:
Nothing but, humble pie, little bread. A cupboard is bare, and you wouldn't eat any of it even if it was there.
[00:05:45] Unknown:
So I'll settle for a beer. Then maybe I'll do a little prowling. Pick up a pizza and, who knows, maybe even something more nourishing. You
[00:05:56] Unknown:
know, you ought to do something about that sex drive. Now one of these days, you're gonna get your head caught in a ringer.
[00:06:02] Unknown:
Okay. Why don't you give me a reading shrink?
[00:06:05] Unknown:
I'm all stretched out on the couch. How'd you like to probe my inner psyche? You haven't got a psyche. All you got is one large itch and no conscience.
[00:06:14] Unknown:
Oh, so much for brotherly love. I can't even get a free treatment from the family psychiatrist. So you don't wanna talk to me? I'll have to Hold it, George. Matter of fact, I do wanna talk to you. I'm moving out.
[00:06:30] Unknown:
Hey. Wait a minute. I'm that bad?
[00:06:34] Unknown:
You really saw me? No. No. That's beside the point at the moment. You you know, I'm a full resident now. And Fran just got a raise. So we've been looking at apartments. We figure we can go ahead now and get married. It's a ball and chain,
[00:06:46] Unknown:
it's a big step, Matt. Why rush it? Well,
[00:06:51] Unknown:
I wouldn't expect you to understand, George. I wanna live with Fran.
[00:06:56] Unknown:
Okay. Fine. But marriage? I mean, who needs it these days? Look, why tie yourself down? I wouldn't expect you to understand that either George.
[00:07:04] Unknown:
Oh, come on. Old sober sides. You just don't see where it's at. I mean, like, today is all wide open. It doesn't work that way for everybody, George. Okay. Okay. What's your bag is yours and what's mine is mine. Mhmm. The trouble is, gorgeous, gee, you keep trapping the other sex in it like you were a bounty hunter. It worries me. Why? Well, first of all, because some pretty nice girls get damn roughed up by you. Jane, for one. Oh, come on. Look. Don't make me sound like a child molester. Any day my play around with is old enough to know the score. It's more than just a game. It's an obsession, my friend. And as a psychiatrist, I don't particularly like its implications.
[00:07:52] Unknown:
Brother. Here we go with the Don Juan Casanova bit again. It's, basically an inferiority complex, and I'm driven to prove myself. Or else it's, an edifice complex. Down deep in my id or whatever, I hated pop and I Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It may be funny to you.
[00:08:09] Unknown:
But you might be surprised if you could understand how much basic truth there is in it. But that isn't the main thing. So what is? It's just your arrogant, selfish insensitivity. You know what you are? You're a plastic man. You haven't got one real human emotion in you. And I'm sorry for all the nice girls you've twisted up inside. Give the next one a break. Let her know about you from the start so at least she goes into it with her eyes open. You got the wrong idea about women, Mass. They're a hell of a lot tougher than we are. I am not gonna get trapped in an argument. I just I I just hope you don't get trapped one of these days with one of them who won't be as obliging as they all have been up to now.
Your luck can't last forever. Sooner or later, you are gonna get caught in a buzz saw. Don't say I didn't warn you.
[00:09:09] Unknown:
My brother, Matt, was a good guy, but just a little square. And the chicks, well, you know how it is. You take them as they come. Like I say, it's a big world. And if you wanna hang yourself up with one old lady permanently, that's your own business. Me, I like to hang loose. I never figured old George here would get hung up on one and surely not the way it happened. Hi. You,
[00:09:38] Unknown:
you dropped your sun oil in the sand. Oh,
[00:09:41] Unknown:
did I? You're very kind. Are you one of the staff
[00:09:47] Unknown:
here? No. I'm a guest. Why? Oh, just your
[00:09:53] Unknown:
I mean, you look like one of them.
[00:09:56] Unknown:
Well, thanks for the good word. These jocks that work the staff here are really built. No. I'm just taking a week off from the daily grind. And a friend said these Club Pacificos really sway. I don't know. Maybe I missed the season until now.
[00:10:13] Unknown:
What do you need?
[00:10:15] Unknown:
Well, I haven't run into you up till now. Did you just get here? Oh, I know.
[00:10:21] Unknown:
We've been here a couple of days, but we drove down. We've been touring the countryside some.
[00:10:27] Unknown:
Hot work this weather. Me? I'll take the water. Or a nice long drink by the pool. Hey, it's about that time. Can I buy you one? Well, I
[00:10:40] Unknown:
why not? If you wait long enough for me to take one quick dip in the seat, wash the sand off.
[00:10:48] Unknown:
She came up from that beach lounger in one long fluid move like a cat. My breed. I watched her run down into the water. A one piece suit didn't hide any of that figure. Long waist, long legs. The club was beginning to live up to its reputation. For no long. Right? Right. How many beads do you want? Hey. I said the drinks were on me.
[00:11:18] Unknown:
I'll pay my own freight the way we travel.
[00:11:21] Unknown:
Ah, there's that we again. Roommate?
[00:11:25] Unknown:
Husband.
[00:11:26] Unknown:
Oh, and he lets you out without a leash?
[00:11:29] Unknown:
It's a free country. He's confined to our cabin. He picked up amoebic dysentery some years ago in India. It's hell to get rid of. India? You travel a lot? He does. He's a parapsychologist.
[00:11:43] Unknown:
I, heard the word. Could clue me in a little deeper?
[00:11:47] Unknown:
It's the branch of psychology that deals with unexplained phenomena. Clairvoyance, ESP, mental telepathy. You had enough?
[00:11:55] Unknown:
Ask a silly question, you get a A complex answer. So no more questions except my well, my name's George. George Hartford.
[00:12:05] Unknown:
What's yours? You're not an insurance salesman.
[00:12:09] Unknown:
No. Carlos. Business is a little slow right now. That's why I thought I'd catch a week off. Or was till I met, did I catch your name?
[00:12:20] Unknown:
Laura. Laura Prentiss. Here's looking at you.
[00:12:25] Unknown:
That's fair enough. It's all I've done since I set eyes on you.
[00:12:30] Unknown:
I noticed.
[00:12:33] Unknown:
Listen, it's, it's kinda hot out here in the sun. My cabin is air conditioned.
[00:12:39] Unknown:
So is ours.
[00:12:41] Unknown:
I just meant why disturb your husband.
[00:12:45] Unknown:
Now that is definitely not a silly question. Here. What's this? My beads. Buy us both another drink, George, and let's see how cool your pad really is. What? Oh, why did I do this?
[00:13:13] Unknown:
Come on, Laura. There's no crime. I know it isn't to you.
[00:13:18] Unknown:
Some of us are fashioned a little differently. Hey. That's only an illusion, baby. It's natural. And whatever is natural is right. You wouldn't understand. It isn't morals I'm concerned with.
[00:13:28] Unknown:
Well, then what? Oh,
[00:13:33] Unknown:
I could never make you understand in a million years, George. So that's the kiss off. It ought to be. But it's too good for me to have the strength of will to let it go that easily. Now you're talking. No. Not here. Tomorrow away from the club. I have my car. We'll drive somewhere for the day. I'll say I'm going shopping in Puerto Valleso or Guadalajara. You're the lucky sinner. You don't need any excuse. I'll meet you at the parking lot after breakfast.
[00:14:11] Unknown:
Oh, well, how do I find you? It isn't hard.
[00:14:15] Unknown:
It's the only green Mercedes. And the license plate is 6999. I wanted 7,000 for luck, but I never could swing it. Till tomorrow, if you want to risk it.
[00:14:37] Unknown:
She was kind of offbeat, this chick and married and all. So I might have passed her up if it hadn't been for the car. I flipped when I saw it. A Mercedes 56, go win coupe in British racing green, like she said. A dream classic. Zero to 60 in nine seconds flat. Quick ratio steering, independent suspension, and handles like it's part of the road. Plus the price tag, 12 to 15 thaw in mint condition. And this baby was. While I was drooling over it, my other babe, also mint condition, arrived. This yours?
[00:15:21] Unknown:
A gift from my husband. You know what you've got here? I ought to. It's what I asked for.
[00:15:30] Unknown:
I never saw a 56 in green before. It took a little digging to find it.
[00:15:36] Unknown:
I wanted it to match my eyes. Cat's eyes. The better to see you with. You want to drive it? Oh, do I? Climb in big mama. You can light my car, but only if it's second. After me.
[00:15:58] Unknown:
It's a tough choice, but I like your moving parts better.
[00:16:04] Unknown:
Okay. Where to? Straight to hell, lover. Or heaven.
[00:16:12] Unknown:
I started up that dream boat, and she was heaven under my hands, just as Laura would be later. What I didn't know was that her husband was watching
[00:16:35] Unknown:
It's hard to have much sympathy, if any, for our plastic man, George. He's an expert in taking without giving. But you may have a little sympathy soon as we watch a punishment which is infinitely more infernal than a crime. I'll be back shortly with that too. To watch George Hartford drive that Mercedes that hugged the road, floating as though on rails and cornering to perfection, to watch his face and the fanaticism of the faddists suffusing it, was to know our plastic man had an Achilles' heel. One spot where he was vulnerable. His passion for classic cars.
And in Laura, he had found an unlikely
[00:17:30] Unknown:
companion. It looks as if I lost you just when I found you.
[00:17:35] Unknown:
Oh, I'm sorry, babe. But a car like this, I mean, like, man, this is far out. I know.
[00:17:42] Unknown:
Why do you think I wanted it? It took four years of begging and and other things to get it.
[00:17:50] Unknown:
Greatest feeling in the world. Right? It was. Or at least a substitute till. Till there was us,
[00:18:01] Unknown:
If I'm really Come again? Forget it. It's our karma. Too late to offer you a way out.
[00:18:12] Unknown:
Wait a minute. You you lost me somewhere. I should probably never have found you.
[00:18:18] Unknown:
George, there could be danger. You want to turn back.
[00:18:22] Unknown:
I I don't make all this. You mean your husband? Yes. Oh, what is he? You mean King Kong or the godfather? Oh, no. Horace is
[00:18:31] Unknown:
quite small and very mild and very rich. I'm quite willing to admit the last is what attracted me to him. I didn't know then about about the other. The other what? How deep his interest in psychical research was or how powerful some of the forces involved are. Hey. You know something, babe? You're talking kinda weird. Six years with horrors would make any woman a little offbeat. I've been walking in a bad dream. You woke me up, love. Oh, look. There's a motel, George, or whatever you call them in Old Mexico. It's too much talking that gets everybody into trouble.
[00:19:15] Unknown:
Now you're talking, Laura. But making sense. It was still early in the afternoon, but something waken me suddenly. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. Then as my eyes focused on the bright yellow ceilings of the Casa Romantica, I realized that the limpers were coming from the girl by my side.
[00:19:40] Unknown:
Hey. Laura? Laura? Hey. Hey, baby. What what
[00:19:45] Unknown:
oh. Hey. Oh, George.
[00:19:50] Unknown:
Don't say anything. Just hold me. Hold me a moment.
[00:19:57] Unknown:
Oh, okay. Hey. Hey. Stay loose. We didn't blow up the capital or anything. I mean, we're not on the wanted list. He knows. Who? Horace. Knows what? About us. Hon, if you got a guilty conscience No. No. This isn't conscience. It's beyond it. Let me go, George. Let me go. Where are you going?
[00:20:21] Unknown:
I just have to get up to the window and get some air.
[00:20:27] Unknown:
Here. Why don't you wrap something around you?
[00:20:31] Unknown:
Will that make me decent?
[00:20:37] Unknown:
Alright. George? What?
[00:20:41] Unknown:
You're a very selfish man. I know this is just a casual affair for you that you drifted into. I suppose I shouldn't worry about you. But you asked for it. Let me say it once. I'm sorry. But it's way too late for either of us to back out. Now, let's get dressed and back to the club. I'll say one thing for you, Laura.
[00:21:11] Unknown:
You do come up with the surprises. But I must say this is one bummer of a so long death. Oh, you and I haven't finished George.
[00:21:21] Unknown:
We've only begun. That's part of the karma too.
[00:21:28] Unknown:
I didn't like this whole gig. I was into something I couldn't grab. Kind of a nowhere for me because I'm the one who usually decides where it's at. Driving to the bus stop too, I I had this crazy notion that maybe it was the Mercedes 56 I'd miss more than her. It was all mixed up. And coming home to my cabin late in the evening, just at dark, I got shook up some more.
[00:21:57] Unknown:
Have a nice bus ride, mister Hartford. What?
[00:22:00] Unknown:
Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my cabin? I'm sorry.
[00:22:05] Unknown:
I I thought for me, in a sense, it was kind of a home away from home. How'd you get in here? I I locked the door. How could you lock it against Laura's husband? Laura?
[00:22:17] Unknown:
Oh oh, yeah. I, I met her on the beach. Hi, mister Prentice. Interesting to meet you, mister Hartford. I guess Laura, missus Prentice mentioned my name. Mhmm.
[00:22:32] Unknown:
Can I get you a drink? No. Thanks. Can I get you a cover up for your embarrassment? What? I think we can dispense with unnecessary questions. I want you to leave my wife alone. Now just a minute. I know what's happened between you and Laura who happens to be my wife. You didn't know what you were getting into. I considered having you roughed up, but I'll let that go. Excuse me. I must leave now. I'll say goodbye for all of us. If you have a brain in your head, mister Hartford, you'll echo that sentiment.
[00:23:17] Unknown:
Just for curiosity's sake, with a slight flapping under my heart, I checked the following morning. The m 56 was gone, and the desk clerk informed me so were the apprentices. I breathed easier, lived out my week without a pigeon worth making a pass at, and went back to my office in Los Angeles. It was nice to get back to plain living.
[00:23:42] Unknown:
Hey. You look great, George. You picked up a lot of sun.
[00:23:45] Unknown:
That's about all that was going there, man. How about you? You set the wedding date? Yep. Three weeks from the day. Can you make it? Hey. Can you see me not? No.
[00:23:56] Unknown:
How could you turn down another opportunity to be best man?
[00:24:00] Unknown:
Okay. Work me over. I deserve it, I guess. George,
[00:24:06] Unknown:
what's the matter? Don't tell me the leopard is changing his spots. You meet someone on your little cruise casing Mexican talent?
[00:24:14] Unknown:
I met someone. Not Mexican. Just real offbeat. What do you think of parapsychology, man? Oh, brother.
[00:24:25] Unknown:
I mean, in more ways than one. I have enough trouble handling my own specialty in the vagaries of the human brain, psyche, condition, however you define it. Parapsychology. That's another breed of cat. Cat.
[00:24:42] Unknown:
Nothing. But you didn't answer. Well,
[00:24:46] Unknown:
I don't know how to answer. It's it's a gray area. The research is too new to limited to prove anything or mean much. Why? Just an idle question. Don't try to kid me, George. Nothing you ask is idle.
[00:25:01] Unknown:
Okay. I met a demon who was hung up on this scene, and I just wondered how much there might be to it. Well, you want my opinion. It's
[00:25:09] Unknown:
not too much. Not that's in general. But specifically, for you, if you're asking my advice, give her a wide birth. Your life is mixed up enough as it is without voluntarily trying to complicate it any further. Okay? Right on. Because no matter how much I object to your personal life, you're my brother. It means a hell of a lot to me to know you'll be standing next to me when I get married.
[00:25:39] Unknown:
I'd have to be dead or nowhere before I miss that. A day after I had lunch with my brother, Matt, she rolled into my dealer's lot. I should say they. The Mercedes 56, English green with that unforgettable license plate, and the equally unforgettable Laura behind the wheel. I had no escape. Our office building is all glass. As the lesser of two evils, I went out to meet her myself. Yes, madam? What can I do for you?
[00:26:16] Unknown:
Of all people. How could you ask? Are you crazy blowing in here? Doesn't your husband know? Boris is on the other side of the world in India. He's gone on retreat for a month. Whatever that means. It means he's in transcendental meditation. You'd call it out of this world. It also means I am free.
[00:26:36] Unknown:
Look, Laura. I like to swing as much as the next man, but, baby, I think we ought to drop it. That little guy scared me. And you? Yes. And me? You really got through. You got to me. I can't comb you out.
[00:26:57] Unknown:
So climb in. This time, I'll be driving, and I'll show you I can handle this baby just as well as you can.
[00:27:06] Unknown:
I I can't just walk out of my business like that. I'll tell you what. I'll meet you in half an hour. It's a, Wilshire And Beverly, Northwest Corner. That's a date. Don't you miss it. It was a date. Alright. A date with destiny. Though how could I have known it then? I cleaned up my desk, turned the agency over to my head salesman, and drove out of the lot. I parked my heap short of Beverly and walked the rest of the way. She was waiting for me. I climbed in and we drove off to her house in Bel Air.
[00:27:47] Unknown:
I warned you, Hartford, to stay away. Now you will both have to suffer the consequences.
[00:27:57] Unknown:
What? You heard him too. What are you talking about? Horace, my husband.
[00:28:02] Unknown:
He knows about us.
[00:28:04] Unknown:
You gotta be kidding. I mean, if he really is in India Oh, he's there. It doesn't make any difference. Look. I don't dig any of this. It's it's too wide out. All I know is I'm getting out right now. I never should have climbed back in. We're committed now. No way, baby. It's out of our hands.
[00:28:23] Unknown:
Horace doesn't want me back. How do you know? He's telling me right now. From India? I warned you. You were getting into something beyond your understanding.
[00:28:33] Unknown:
Okay. So great. Now I'm on my way out. You can't.
[00:28:37] Unknown:
This just isn't a silly girl who's trying to hang on. I told you the moment I laid eyes on you. I knew you were my karma. Hey. What's this karma, Jive? My fate. And yours. You can try, but you'll never escape me.
[00:28:55] Unknown:
Don't kid yourself. I know when I've had enough. I'm blowing this scene, and this is goodbye. I lit out of there like my tail was on fire. Matt had warned me I'd get caught in a nutcracker one of these days. And this looked like one of them. And man, it was weird. When I read about the crash the next day, I felt like a real heel. But I heaved a sigh of relief just the same. I didn't have any feeling of guilt, or did I? Why should I? If only I had known what she was thinking on that last ride, maybe but how could I
[00:29:42] Unknown:
know? There's no going back. There's no going forward. Where do I go from here? You've lost me, Laura.
[00:29:55] Unknown:
And you can't have him. Only one thing to do. You're right over the canyon.
[00:30:06] Unknown:
But
[00:30:34] Unknown:
I read it in the morning papers. Woman plunges to fiery death off Coldwater Canyon. Both car and driver completely destroyed by fire. Police determined by one remaining license plate that the victim must have been missus Laura Prentiss. I felt kind of sick, but relieved. That was the end of that.
[00:31:05] Unknown:
Only as we shall discover, that was not the end of either car or driver. The world is full of George Hartfords who get away with murder in a general sense, but odds have a way of evening up. And this time, George isn't going to get away with anything. I'll return shortly with act three. This story is a snowball. Starting from microscopic beginnings, gathering momentum and mass as it rushes down the hill. The tension and terror building from nothing to a massive and inevitable crash, and like the snowball, being fractionalized into nothing again.
[00:31:59] Unknown:
It was less than a week since Laura and the Mercedes 56 had been burned to cinders. I was crossing the canyon from my pad in Van Nuys, taking Matt over to meet his bride.
[00:32:10] Unknown:
What's the matter with you lately, George?
[00:32:12] Unknown:
Don't worry about me. Let's concentrate on the big date, How many days to the wedding, man?
[00:32:18] Unknown:
A little over a week. Can't wait. That makes me kinda sad, little brother. I wish you could meet a girl you could settle down with. I'm off dames for the moment.
[00:32:29] Unknown:
This girl I hey. What kind of crazy? It's the Mercedes and and Laura at the wheel. Look out.
[00:32:39] Unknown:
What what is the matter Look out. What what is the matter with you? Your your mind? I I had to go off the road.
[00:32:45] Unknown:
Mac, that crazy broad would have rammed into us head on. What are you talking about? The green Mercedes that came around the bend.
[00:32:52] Unknown:
Didn't you see it? Or her? Round what bend? I've Coming the other way headed towards us. George, we haven't passed any cars coming or going in the last few minutes.
[00:33:04] Unknown:
We just about rammed one going the opposite way less than a minute ago. A green Mercedes? Yeah. A '50 six. A classic.
[00:33:11] Unknown:
Didn't you see it? No. I didn't because it wasn't there.
[00:33:20] Unknown:
I tell you, plain as day, it was broad daylight. I saw it and her.
[00:33:26] Unknown:
I tell you. A green Mercedes with a girl named Laura at the wheel. Yes. Yeah. The same girl and the same car you say you read about in the paper a few days ago who went up in flames.
[00:33:37] Unknown:
That must have been some coincidence, some mistake. I don't know. We're gonna check it out, George.
[00:33:43] Unknown:
You said the police found a license plate. Yes. But they didn't give the numbers in the paper. But if it should be 6999, you'd have to agree with me there wasn't any car today that you had to avoid. Right? But I saw it. What you saw could have been a hallucination. Now we we better pin it down right now.
[00:34:08] Unknown:
I could have told Matt what he'd find out. I knew it even before he checked with the police. I knew the plate number would be 6999. And I knew something else. It didn't matter what he found out. I hadn't seen the last of the green Mercedes 56 or the girl who drove it, dead or alive. I took a fast powder and went out to get loaded.
[00:34:38] Unknown:
Her name's Ginny. Ginny Blake.
[00:34:41] Unknown:
Oh, George here. George Hartford.
[00:34:44] Unknown:
So, now we're bosom buddies, buy me a drink?
[00:34:49] Unknown:
Sure. What's your poison?
[00:34:51] Unknown:
You laugh.
[00:34:52] Unknown:
I could use one. A horse's neck.
[00:34:56] Unknown:
Plain soda, anything soft? Funny,
[00:35:00] Unknown:
No. Except, why would you what are you wasting your time on a guy like me for?
[00:35:06] Unknown:
I don't know. I come here sometimes and either I'm too shy to say hello to anyone, or I don't like the guys who try to turn me on. I'm lonely. That's why I come.
[00:35:21] Unknown:
You really want that drink? No.
[00:35:23] Unknown:
I'm up to here already.
[00:35:25] Unknown:
So am I. How'd you like to drive me home Ginny? And then I'll give you car fare back to your pet. When do I leave for my place? Right after you drop me at my door. I'm not looking to make out tonight. That's a new line.
[00:35:42] Unknown:
Could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
[00:35:45] Unknown:
Come on. I'll take a chance. You don't seem all that loaded to me.
[00:35:57] Unknown:
I'm not. I've got other problems.
[00:36:00] Unknown:
You got a habit?
[00:36:02] Unknown:
No. Nothing like that.
[00:36:04] Unknown:
I got a bigger monkey on my back. You're kinda screwed up, George, and I'm sorry for you. I I'd honestly like to help if I could.
[00:36:14] Unknown:
Well, I don't think anyone can. I guess I went out and bought my own private set. Look out. What is this? In case you see it, the Mercedes hit it straight for us. They they got out of the way though. No. You've got to get out of the way. Didn't you see the car? It it it went right through us
[00:36:34] Unknown:
as if we weren't there. What car? There wasn't any car. Boy, are you on some trip. Boy, George, I had it with you. There's a bus stop here. I can find my own way home. You don't need company. What you need is a head doctor.
[00:36:55] Unknown:
I don't know how long I lay parked there. I'd closed my eyes, maybe I went to sleep. But all of a sudden I realized that the Mercedes had driven up alongside of me. And Laura was leaning towards me to talk.
[00:37:11] Unknown:
Come on, George. I've been looking for you. Let's go.
[00:37:18] Unknown:
No. I can't. I'm not ready. Sooner or later.
[00:37:25] Unknown:
Why not now? I'm waiting for you. How long do I have to wait?
[00:37:34] Unknown:
My car was still running. I threw it into first and cut out sharp in the traffic. The hood of my car, bumper, all the way to the windshield cut through the Mercedes like it was drawn in midair or just wasn't there at all. I don't remember how I got home or to bed. I only know that with the help of five or six black coffees, I found myself able to face my brother, Matt, the next morning.
[00:37:59] Unknown:
So you proved it to yourself. The car, the the woman was a hallucination. No. She was there. I heard her speak twice now. George, I checked out the license plate with a friend at police headquarters. There's no doubt that she crashed in that car. Then why do I keep seeing her and hearing her? It's a fixation, guilt reflex. So get rid of it for me. Well, that's your job, isn't it? No, sir. That's your job if you can. I can't. Well, possibly. Certainly not alone. You gotta have help, George. That's what I'm asking you for. Oh, no. Not me. My own brother?
Am I that much of a heel to you? That is not the point. I just started my residency in psychiatry. You're way beyond me, George. Well, then give me a man to go to.
[00:38:46] Unknown:
Some doctor who can handle me. She was always there, trailing me in the m 56, not 15 feet behind me. But that wasn't the worst part. Through the car, I could see the line of traffic stretching behind her with sometimes a car coming up behind and cutting right through the spectral green vehicle that wasn't there for anyone but me. I made up my mind to have it out and headed for the house in Bel Air.
[00:39:29] Unknown:
Come in, mister Hartford. I've been expecting you. Thank you. There's no need to thank me.
[00:39:37] Unknown:
Oh, well, anyway, thank heaven you're here. I thought you might still be in India. Oh, no.
[00:39:45] Unknown:
I came back for my wife's death. What? For? I landed from the plane the moment she went over the cliff. You see, I knew she was going. But but but how could you I sent her to her death.
[00:40:05] Unknown:
You know, she she's following me. I can't get rid of her or the car. I know.
[00:40:14] Unknown:
And you came to ask me for help. Oh, yes. I please. Please help me. You must help yourself, George. You didn't hesitate to in the beginning when it was something that didn't belong to you.
[00:40:30] Unknown:
Why hold back now? What
[00:40:33] Unknown:
do you mean? You'll never be rid of her as long as you live. Why don't you join her, George? Missy?
[00:40:43] Unknown:
There she is.
[00:40:46] Unknown:
She's waiting for you. Join her.
[00:40:51] Unknown:
I was outside the house. The door shut in my face. And parked in the driveway facing me was the green Mercedes. I went a little berserk, hurling myself into my own car, ramming her into first and driving in a scattering of gravel and dust straight through that infernal vision. I smashed into sunset turning left in a screech of tires, heading for Cold Water Canyon and back to the valley. But all the time, my nemesis
[00:41:32] Unknown:
Why don't you join me, lover? I'm
[00:41:37] Unknown:
away.
[00:41:46] Unknown:
Alright. Damn it. Have it your way. Here I come. I'm so sorry,
[00:42:04] Unknown:
Matt. Your poor brother.
[00:42:08] Unknown:
I'm so sorry for so many things, Fran. For what he was. For what he made of himself. For the help I couldn't give him. But most of all for calling him a plastic man.
[00:42:22] Unknown:
What do you mean, darling?
[00:42:24] Unknown:
Turns out he wasn't. There was a chink in his armor. Whether he knew it or not. His conscience.
[00:42:32] Unknown:
You mean for that woman's suicide? The one with the Mercedes?
[00:42:39] Unknown:
Yes.
[00:42:41] Unknown:
They hadn't even had time to repair the guardrail. He went right through the same gap she did.
[00:42:49] Unknown:
Well
[00:42:52] Unknown:
no sense agonizing about it. What's done is done. At least, she won't be haunting him anymore.
[00:43:08] Unknown:
I wonder. There's quite a legend grown up about that stretch of road. On misty nights or dark ones with the moon seen fitfully through clouds, a lot of people swear they pass a Mercedes colored English green. Some say the woman was driving. Some say the man. But then, that would be easy to confuse. Since by now, the paint is peeling, the clothing is half rotted away, and the figures themselves are little more than skin and bone. The hands that grasp the wheel, those of a skeleton. I'll be back shortly. One further note. Shortly after Fran and Matt were married, a large sum of money was given to them by an anonymous source.
And at the same time, Horace stripped himself of all his possessions and gave the bulk of his fortune to the school for psychic research where he had taught so long. He left for India and was never heard of again. One story has it that he sits in meditation somewhere high in the Himalayas, treated by the nearby villagers as a holy man. Perhaps so. But is it meditation or expiation? We'll never know. Our cast included Don Scardino, Joan Loring, Russell Horton, and Katherine Byers. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
[00:44:50] Unknown:
And now a preview of our next tale. Lieutenant Kaufman, I was sent in here to see you. How can I help? A man named Tom Beckwith was murdered last night. That's right.
[00:45:04] Unknown:
Do you have any information that would Yes. I
[00:45:08] Unknown:
I'm responsible for his death. What are you saying, mister, I Wilson. Roger Wilson. I caused his death. Are you confessing to the crime? I suppose that's the only way to put it. I I wished him dead. You wished him dead? Yes, lieutenant. I wished him dead. I wished it with all my strength. He was killed by two shots from a 38 caliber pistol. Now, did you fire them? That's immaterial. Mister Wilson, you don't look well at all. Now I'll have an officer see you to your home. This is EG Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater
[00:45:53] Unknown:
for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time, pleasant dreams.
[00:46:07] Unknown:
It used to be hard to find the exact auto parts you needed, and that meant spending a lot of time at swap meets. It's a different game now when you can order exactly what you need from eBay Motors. They have a 122,000,000 parts, so you can always find the right fitment. Spend less time searching and more time building with the eBay Motors app or visit ebaymotors.com. Let's ride.
[00:46:28] Unknown:
At ADP, we understand the importance of building the right team and offer the data insights to help. Just as importantly, our AI technology helps you pay the team accurately. Grow stronger with ADP, HR talent, time, and payroll.
[00:46:45] Unknown:
What you're hearing is Hardie fiber cement siding living up to its reputation as the siding that handles hail impact with ease. James Hardie knows how important a reputation is, especially when you're a contractor. That's why Hardie's siding withstands severe weather better than vinyl siding, with styles to match its strength. So you can be sure you're providing your clients with the best. Protect your reputation with exterior products by James Hardie.
