| Title | Death Robbery |
| Message Text | Transcript of "Death Robbery" -- originally broadcast 16 July 1947 on "Lights Out" -- Wyllis Cooper is credited as one of the writers but I wonder if this isn't one of his 1930s scripts, revised for the occasion. (MUSIC ... OPENING IN BG) NARRATOR: Lights out! WOMAN: It clicks! 1st MAN: (WITH ECHO) It clicks! 2nd MAN: What clicks? ANNOUNCER: The Eversharp Schick Injector Razor! Made by Eversharp, manufacturers of Eversharp Schick Injector Razors and Blades -- and famous Eversharp Precision Writing Instruments! NARRATOR: Hideous things come out of the darkness to prowl the tortured earth. Evil hands stretch forth to seize. Evil eyes are watching. Unholy voices whisper and quarrel in the fearful silence. Death stalks -- loathsome, horrible death. Dare you put out your lights and listen to Boris Karloff in a story of horror in the deepening darkness? Dare you listen to -- "Lights Out"?! (MUSIC ... BRIDGE) DAVID: I'm glad you brought up the question of ethics, Ed. (WITH A CHUCKLE) Sometimes I think science is TOO ethical. Stands in the way of research. ED: Mm, I don't know, David. Take your work, for example. It's wonderful. But you have to be very cautious. I think working with monkeys is about as far as you should go right now. RUTH: Oh, but, Ed! David is past that stage. Why not show Ed the one you worked on today, darling? DAVID: If you'd like to see it, Ed. It's right in the lab. ED: Yes, I would. I saw it last night after you injected the formula. RUTH: I'll get it, David. DAVID: Thank you, dear. It's in the second cage. SOUND: (RUTH'S FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR - DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS) ED: Mm, Ruth's a wonderful girl, David. Must be a big help to you in your work. DAVID: Don't know what I'd do without her. But if she ever gets too interested in pure science -- (LAUGHS) -- I'm gonna - I'm - I'm gon-- I'm gonna lock her out of the lab and just make her go back to being a wife! ED: (CHUCKLES) How do you find time for a wife? DAVID: Now, look here. All you practicing surgeons think the research man is a machine. Not me, Ed. Ruth means more to me than all the discoveries I might make. Her happiness is all I live and work for. ED: Well, I can't say that I blame you. She's a very charming person. SOUND: (RUTH'S FOOTSTEPS RETURN) RUTH: (WITH A HAPPY SIGH) Here he is. SOUND: (MONKEY CHATTERS) DAVID: Same one you saw last night, Ed. Stone dead. And there he is just as healthy and alive as any other monkey. ED: Why, it's amazing, David. Naturally, I've followed all the experiments along this line but - you seem to have progressed much farther. RUTH: David can't go any farther with animals. He's ready for the next step. And he can do it. ED: Well, I'm all for research, David. But you have a moral obligation in this sort of thing. How do you know it'll work with human beings? DAVID: Oh ho, you're a surgeon yourself, Ed. You know that human beings are animals just like all the subjects I've used. I know it will work. ED: Well, knowing it won't get you far with society. You'll have to submit proof. DAVID: I know that. And I've tried every way I can think of to get a human being to demonstrate on. RUTH: He's tried insane asylums, penitentiaries, everywhere. DAVID: No one will listen to me. ED: Well, in a way, you can't blame them. Even to me, with my training, the idea seems, well, blasphemous. DAVID: My dear Ed, you can't stop scientific progress because of a so-called moral concept. RUTH: Besides, what could be less blasphemous than to triumph over death? ED: (CHUCKLES) I'm sorry but - I can't see it that way. And I wouldn't want it tried on me. When I'm dead, I want to stay dead. RUTH: Oh, that's foolish, Ed. Why, if I die first, I want David to use ME for a subject. ED: Ruth! DAVID: Don't look so startled, Ed. She's always been my strongest supporter. But I'm not going to use her as a subject -- I like her too well as a wife. RUTH: (LAUGHS) ED: Still, it gives me the shivers to hear you talk that way, Ruth. RUTH: But why? I've seen David's work grow to where the technique is perfect. Before long, his experiments will be recognized by the whole medical world. And if I can help him achieve that goal, I'm willing to do anything -- living or dead. I mean it. (MUSIC ... BRIDGE) SOUND: (AUTOMOBILE ENGINE, WHEELS SQUEALING, CAR CRASHES) (MUSIC ... AN ACCENT ... A BRIEF MOURNFUL BRIDGE) DAVID: She said she wanted to do it, Ed. Living or dead. ED: David, you're surely not going to hold her to that. Not now. DAVID: Of course I am. She meant it. ED: But-- DAVID: I called you over here tonight, Ed, because I need help. ED: Don't tell me that--? DAVID: That I want you to help me bring Ruth's--? To bring her here? That's exactly what I mean. ED: (SIGHS) David-- DAVID: Will you help me? Or must I bribe some stranger? ED: David, why don't you give this thing up? It's - it's inhuman. DAVID: Ed, if I succeed, I'll have Ruth back. Don't you see how much it means? ED: Well -- yes, if you're successful. DAVID: Oh, I've no doubt about that. Look, I've got my laboratory records. Seven hundred and fourteen times I've performed the experiment on guinea pigs, rabbits, monkeys. Seven hundred and fourteen times it's been successful. Don't you see?! ED: But, David, this is no laboratory experiment. Ruth was your wife. DAVID: She IS my wife. The only woman I ever loved. That's why I want to bring her back here and start her breathing and living again. ED: (SIGHS) There's an ugly name for what you're asking me to do, David. DAVID: I know. "Grave robbery." But there's a better name for it, Ed -- "Death robbery"! We'll rob Old Man Death! (MUSIC ... TO ROB A GRAVE BY) SOUND: (WINDS HOWL ... HEAVY FOOTSTEPS) (MUSIC ... OUT) DAVID: Kick the door shut. SOUND: (DOOR KICKED SHUT - WIND STOPS HOWLING - FOOTSTEPS CONTINUE UNDER) DAVID: There. On the operating table. ED: I must say, you're completely equipped. DAVID: It's surgery just as well as a lab. Everything we need is here. SOUND: (BODY PLACED ON TABLE) ED: There. (SLIGHT PAUSE) Well, it's done. DAVID: Not yet. ED: You mean, you want me to stay? DAVID: Ed, listen. Ever since Ruth-- Well, I guess I've leaned on you for everything. I won't ask you to stay but I do need you -- just a little longer. ED: (RELUCTANT SIGH) All right, David. I'll stay. DAVID: Ruth will be the first to thank you when we succeed. ED: David, I'll always doubt this until I see Ruth living, breathing, smiling again. DAVID: It won't be long. Just a matter of fifteen or twenty minutes. ED: If nothing happens. What will you do if your - operation - doesn't work? DAVID: (GRIMLY) Then, you'll have just one more job to do as my friend. ED: And that--? DAVID: Would be to bury both of us. ED: Oh, now, look, David-- DAVID: If Ruth isn't alive again within a few minutes, I'll have lost her forever. And I'll have proved that my whole life's work is useless. I'll have reason enough to use any of a dozen tricks that any good surgeon knows - to end the whole business. (MORE UPBEAT) Oh, but don't look so horrified, Ed. We won't fail. Let's begin. ED: I should remind you once more, David, that you're usurping powers that belong to - God Almighty. DAVID: I like to think that Providence has wisely held back the knowledge of things like this until we knew how to use them. And I know how! ... Hand me that large beaker. ED: All right. I'm not going to back out on you, David. What shall I do? DAVID: Do? You'll work as you haven't worked in surgery before. Thank heavens I've got your skill on my side. Now, then, first strap this sphygmomanometer on her arm. ED: I just happened to think of something-- DAVID: Keep moving! This is all a matter of timing. ED: But, David-- DAVID: Here are your instruments. I want the incision right here where I'm shaving the hair. Make a small incision, just at the fontanelle, while I prepare the solution. ED: David, have you considered--? DAVID: Please, work fast! ED: But, Dave-- DAVID: What? ED: She was embalmed, you know. DAVID: Of course I know that. I've something to replace the blood and counteract the fluid. ED: It's ghastly. DAVID: Finish the cut! I know what I'm doing. ED: Well, that's all for the incision but, after all-- DAVID: Good work, nice. Now, cut away the dura mater -- entirely. ED: Leave the brain exposed? DAVID: Yes, yes, I'll fix that -- I've done it seven hundred-odd times. ED: This is no guinea pig or monkey. DAVID: Well, I hardly need reminding. ED: Sorry. SOUND: (BEAKERS AND TEST TUBES CLINK) ED: What's that? DAVID: A compound I've synthesized myself. ED: What is it? DAVID: I call it Di Gamma Para Diamene -- Oh, I know that isn't chemically correct. But it's as close as I can get to it. I knew that something like it MUST exist. Took three years to track it down. Took me that long to make the first drop of it. ED: Mm, you know what you're doing, all right. DAVID: Yes, I do. Now, then, if you're finished, take the leads from that storage battery there and attach the positive to the silver plate on the shelf. Put that at her feet. ED: Mm. Feel as if I were doing something unholy. DAVID: Place the tip of the negative in the incision you made in the skull. Be sure the tip of the wire actually - actually penetrates the pia mater. ED: David, what if you bring her back--? DAVID: I WILL bring her back. ED: But, what if you bring her back and find she comes back without her - soul? DAVID: What? Her soul? ED: Yes. DAVID: You're a surgeon -- and you believe in a soul? ED: Well, I hesitate to say there is no such thing. DAVID: (CHUCKLES) You've seen a good many deaths, haven't you? Have you ever seen any evidence that the soul escapes at death? ED: Perhaps I - couldn't recognize the evidence. DAVID: Put it this way, then. If there is any soul, it either leaves the body or stays with it at death. Now, no reputable surgeon or physician has ever been able to report the slightest evidence of the soul's having left the body. So, the soul -- if there is a soul -- has stayed with the body, a part of it. ... I'm ready now, if you've finished. ED: Everything's set. DAVID: Good. Close that switch, then, at the battery. SOUND: (SWITCH CLOSES) DAVID: Watch the meter and keep the current between plus and minus five over hundred fifty. There's a rheostat on the edge of the table. All right? ED: All right. DAVID: Now, I'm going to inject ten CCs of adrenaline in the brachial artery. ED: Adrenaline? DAVID: Adrenaline and -- something else. (PAUSE) There. God, she's beautiful, Ed. ED: Yes. She was. DAVID: She IS. You'll see her in a few minutes just as she was. ED: I wonder what she'll have to tell us. DAVID: Nothing. Death is only a transcendental sleep. ED: Do you really believe that, David? DAVID: (SCOFFS) Oh, well, what's the difference? How's the current? ED: Let's see. Why--! It's jumped to a hundred and eighty! DAVID: Good. Bring it back to one-fifty. That's the result of the injection. ED: On a dead body? DAVID: Oh, let's say "suspended animation." There are still a few things in surgery you don't know, Doctor. ED: I never dreamed of a reaction like that. DAVID: I'll show you more. Help me swing this lamp over here. ED: But-- DAVID: Let the ammeter go. It'll hold steady for a minute. ED: But it might jump again-- DAVID: No, it won't. I've been all through this before. The reactions are exactly the same as the others. ED: And this lamp? X-rays? DAVID: No, it's a modification of the cathode ray. Just another of my developments. I call these "atheta rays." ED: Why do you call them that? DAVID: Oh, most rays are named for the first few letters in the Greek alphabet -- alpha, beta, gamma, and so on. ED: Well, that explains "theta." Didn't you say "atheta"? DAVID: Yes. But "theta" was called "the letter of death" by the ancient Greeks. ED: Well, that's right. It was the first letter in their word "thanatos" -- death. Oh, I see. "Atheta," without death. DAVID: (CHUCKLES) Maybe I was too sentimental. ED: Maybe. At least, human for once. DAVID: Let's not argue. Here goes the ray. SOUND: (A CLICK) DAVID: Now, quickly, the solution. ED: Inject it? DAVID: No, pump it. I built this pump especially for it. SOUND: (BUBBLING LIQUID) DAVID: There's the pump switch, Ed. ED: Here? DAVID: Yeah. Turn it on. And watch the ammeter. SOUND: (A CLICK) ED: Okay. SOUND: (PUMPING LIQUID) ED: It's jumping! DAVID: How far? ED: One fifty-five. DAVID: Let it go. SOUND: (MORE PUMPING LIQUID, FASTER) ED: Hundred and sixty. Hundred and seventy. DAVID: Hold it there. ... It'll stay there now. Listen carefully. ED: Yes? DAVID: Soon as I turn off the pump, I want sphygmo readings. ED: But there won't be any blood pressure. DAVID: Wait and see. Give me a reading each time I ask for it and take them carefully. Ready? ED: (SIGHS) This is fantastic. I'm ready. DAVID: Okay. SOUND: (LIQUID PUMP STOPS) DAVID: Reading? SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP UP) ED: Systolic, zero. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) ED: Diastolic, zero. DAVID: That's all right. It will take a few seconds. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) DAVID: Now! SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP UP) ED: Forty. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) ED: My God! DAVID: Diastolic? Hurry! ED: Zero. DAVID: Aortic valve is still open. I'll turn off the ray. SOUND: (RAY TURNED OFF) DAVID: Reading? SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP UP) ED: Forty-eight. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) ED: Over forty-two! David! DAVID: Not yet! Now, the stopwatch. Seven seconds after I say "go," I want the systolic. Now, you have it? ED: Right. DAVID: Ready? Now. Go. SOUND: (WATCH TICKING... THEN, BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP UP) ED: Sixty. DAVID: Good. That's what it should be. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) DAVID: Lord! Look at my hands. ED: I don't want to. DAVID: Ruth, darling, just a few more minutes. All right, Ed. Now, the ray again. We'll know the answer - very soon. SOUND: (CLICK ... CRACKLING ELECTRICITY) (MUSIC ... BRIDGE ... THEN OUT) ANNOUNCER: The second act of "Lights Out" starring Boris Karloff will follow in just a moment. But, now, listen to the sweetest shaving song ever written! Push, pull, click, click! (MUSIC ... MIMICS "PUSH PULL CLICK CLICK") ANNOUNCER: Changes blades that quick! Push, pull, click, click! (MUSIC ... MIMICS "PUSH PULL CLICK CLICK") ANNOUNCER: With the Eversharp Schick Injector Razor! Yes, it clicks for men everywhere! Because the Eversharp Schick Injector Razor is the world's one and only razor with the automatic blade changer. No blades to unwrap! Fingers never touch the blade! Just push, pull, click, click! (MUSIC ... MIMICS "PUSH PULL CLICK CLICK") ANNOUNCER: And a keen new blade is automatically locked in correct shaving position instantly. It clicks because the Eversharp Schick Injector Razor makes shaving fifty percent faster, one hundred percent safer, two hundred percent smoother! Just try the Eversharp Schick Injector Razor for one week! See for yourself the difference! It's a one dollar, seventy-five cent value! Special now -- only one dollar, twenty-five cents -- complete with twenty blades! For the shave of your life, the rest of your life, switch to an Eversharp Schick Injector Razor! Get yours tomorrow! Push, pull, click, click! (MUSIC ... MIMICS "PUSH PULL CLICK CLICK") ANNOUNCER: Buy an Eversharp Schick! (MUSIC ... BRIDGE ... THEN OUT) ED: How long do you use the ray this time, David? DAVID: Not long. Give me a reading. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP UP) ED: Sixty-eight. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) ED: Over sixty-seven. DAVID: Now? SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP UP) ED: Seventy. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) DAVID: Diastolic? ED: Sixty-eight. DAVID: Now? SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP UP) ED: David! A hundred and eighteen! SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) ED: Seventy-six. DAVID: Close! Now? SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP UP) ED: A hundred and twenty. SOUND: (BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP DOWN) ED: That's it! Eighty! DAVID: The stethoscope, quick! (PAUSE) Here. Listen. SOUND: (RUTH'S HEART BEATS EVENLY) RUTH: (SCREAMS HORRIBLY) (MUSIC ... AN ACCENT ... A BRIEF BRIDGE ... THEN OUT) SOUND: (DOOR OPENS ... FOOTSTEPS) ED: Still asleep? DAVID: Yes. Almost a coma. ED: She's all right otherwise? DAVID: As far as I can tell. Her respiration's normal, pulse just a tiny bit fast, and the reflexes slow -- but, apparently, all right. ED: David, I - I feel I must apologize to you. DAVID: Apologize? Why? ED: Well, for doubting you, I suppose. DAVID: (CHUCKLES) You'll learn to believe me. ED: You're very calm in the face of all this. Do you realize that you've performed a miracle? DAVID: Miracle? I've brought my wife back to me -- as I promised her. ED: It's - it's an unholy thing but-- DAVID: But we've conquered death. Is that unholy? ED: (AGREES) We have conquered death. May God forgive us. DAVID: If she'll only wake now. ED: How long has she been asleep? DAVID: Let me see. Eleven hours. ED: Hasn't spoken at all? DAVID: Not since that first scream. When she fell asleep. ED: Have you given her anything? DAVID: Just a few drops of brandy. ED: Have you tried to wake her? DAVID: No, but-- I think I'll try now. ED: Look, wait a minute, before you do-- DAVID: Why? ED: Well, I hate to keep harping on this business about a soul, David. I realize this is no place for a philosophic discussion. But I can't help wondering why Ruth screamed when she first came back to life. DAVID: I think there's a logical explanation. After all, it must have been - a physical shock. ED: Mm, that's true. It must also be true that there was a great mental shock involved. I think that's why she screamed and - I'm wondering whether there's been a permanent effect on her mind. Or, as I prefer to think of it, her soul. DAVID: Oh, you're simply borrowing trouble, Ed. I've never seen any sign of permanent damage in my other experiments. ED: Don't forget that Ruth was a human being. DAVID: Well-- Only way to find out. I'm going to wake her. ED: You - you're not afraid? DAVID: Afraid? Of what? (GENTLY) Ruth? Ruth? Wake up, darling. RUTH: (STIRS, MOANS INCOMPREHENSIBLY) DAVID: Ruth, dear. It's David speaking. Wake up, dearest. Ruth? Ruth? RUTH: (WAKES AND SCREAMS HORRIBLY) ED: Look out. DAVID: There, darling! No wonder. It's scared, the poor girl. Ruth, it's - it's David, dear. I kept my promise and you're alive again. RUTH: (GIBBERS UNINTELLIGIBLY LIKE A BABY) DAVID: Oh, you're all right, honey. It's David. You're - you're - Ruth? RUTH: (GIBBERS AND LAUGHS LIKE A MADWOMAN) DAVID: Ruth! ED: David! David! What's the matter? DAVID: (HORRIFIED) Ruth's [?] -- her mind. ED: No, David. Her soul. (MUSIC ... HUGE ACCENT ... BRIDGE ... THEN OUT) ED: David, you'd better go out for a little exercise now. DAVID: I'll stay here with her. ED: I'll stay while you go out and walk around a bit. You've been there with her since eight o'clock last night without any let-up. Go on, I'll stay. DAVID: Ed-- ED: I know, old boy. I'd give anything myself if we could undo what we've done but-- DAVID: Ed, what can I do? ED: Well, there may be something. Let's try an experiment when she wakes up again. DAVID: What kind of an experiment? ED: Well, let's see if we can talk to her -- get her to say anything. If we can get a flicker of intelligence, maybe we can teach her. Build up from a small fragment. DAVID: Maybe. It might work. I'm going to wake her up and try it. ED: Well, not now. Why don't you take a walk? Relax a little. And get something to eat while you're out. DAVID: Eat? I can't eat. I'm going to wake her. Ruth? Ruth? ED: David, why not let her sleep? RUTH: (STIRS, GIBBERS LIKE A BABY) DAVID: She's waking up now. (FRIENDLY) Ruth? Hello, Ruth. Are you waking up? RUTH: (GIBBERS, HICCUPS) DAVID: (SYMPATHETIC) Poor child. RUTH: (REPEATS, LIKE A BABY MIMICKING A VOICE) Poor child. DAVID: There. She repeats after me. A little. Maybe it WILL work, Ed! "Ruth"? RUTH: (SQUAWKS) Ruth! DAVID: "David." RUTH: (SQUAWKS) David! DAVID: It works! ED: Seems to. Ruth, say, "I want a glass of water." RUTH: Seems to. (LAUGHS) ED: (SLOWLY) "I want a glass of water." RUTH: Water. DAVID: It's too long for her. Ruth? Say, "Ruth..." RUTH: (SQUEAKS) Ruth! DAVID: "... loves ..." RUTH: (SQUAWKS) Loves! DAVID: "... Da-vid." RUTH: (SQUAWKS) Da-vid! (GIGGLES INSANELY) DAVID: (GENTLY, SLOWLY) "Ruth loves Da-vid." RUTH: (SLOW AND CREEPY) Ruuuuth - looooves - Da-vid. DAVID: (QUICKER) "Ruth loves David." RUTH: (QUICKER) Ruth loves David! (LAUGHS HORRIBLY) Ruth loves David! (LAUGHS) DAVID: It's working, Ed! ED: Maybe. But what is she thinking? DAVID: I don't know. RUTH: (SQUAWKS) Don't know! (LAUGHS MADLY) DAVID: (SNAPS AT HER) Ruth! Stop it! RUTH: (SQUAWKS) Stop it! ED: Wait a minute, old man. RUTH: (RAMBLES, UNDER THE FOLLOWING) Ruth loves David! Ruth loves David! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Ruth loves Da-vid. (GIGGLES) Ruth loves Da-vid. Ruth ... ED: This is too much for ya, tired as you are. Go on out and take a little walk and I'll work with her for a while. Your nerves won't take much of this. DAVID: Ah, I guess you're right, Ed. I can't think any more. I'll be right back. ED: Fine, fine. I'll take good care of her and see what I can find out. DAVID: Be patient with her. ED: Don't worry. I will. And you get something to eat while you're out. DAVID: All right, I'll try. SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS AWAY - DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS) ED: Poor guy. Must be really rough on him. RUTH: Rough on him! (LAUGHS) ED: Ruth? Ruth?! RUTH: Ruth! ED: We're kidding ourselves. There's nothing there. She's a - parrot. RUTH: Parrot! (LAUGHS) ED: Look, never mind, Ruth. (SUDDENLY SCARED) Ruth! Put down that scalpel! RUTH: Scal-pel! Ha ha! SOUND: (SCUFFLING FOOTSTEPS UNDER THE FOLLOWING) ED: You'll hurt yourself. Ruth! Stay away! The scalpel -- put it down! Think of David! RUTH: (SCREAMING) Daaaa-vid! SOUND: (CRASH OF BODY AND EQUIPMENT AND GLASS) ED: Ruth! Aaauugh! (MUSIC ... AN ACCENT ... MELANCHOLY BRIDGE) SOUND: (DOOR OPENS - FOOTSTEPS) DAVID: Ed? Ed? ED: (WEAKLY, HE'S DYING) Here, David. DAVID: Ed! For God's sake, what happened? ED: Ruth ... Scalpel. DAVID: I'll get something and fix you right up. ED: Wait. ... No use. DAVID: Now, look-- ED: Doctor ... Artery ... No hope ... DAVID: Ed! (PAUSE) All right, Doctor. Your diagnosis is correct. ED: Minute or two left. ... Ruth's hiding. ... Watch out. No - no soul. ... She'll - kill you, too. DAVID: What have I done, Ed? Everything I've done is wrong. ED: No. Wonderful technique, Doctor. Congratulations. What about - soul? DAVID: Ed? Ed? SOUND: (DISTANT SOUND OF DOOR OPENING) DAVID: (TO HIMSELF) Ruth. She's somewhere in the house. What if she gets out -- with a scalpel in her hands? SOUND: (RISES, FOOTSTEPS, DOOR OPENS, SHUTS) DAVID: (GRIMLY, TO HIMSELF) There's been enough damage. (CALLS OUT) Ruth! SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS) DAVID: (ECHOING) Ruth?! RUTH: (DISTANT MAD CACKLING LAUGHTER ECHOING THROUGH THE HOUSE) DAVID: (TO HIMSELF) Basement. I'd better take a gun. SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS, CABINET OPENS, GUN REMOVED, FOOTSTEPS, DOOR SHUTS) DAVID: Ruth! SOUND: (CAUTIOUS FOOTSTEPS) DAVID: Ruth! RUTH: (MORE MAD CACKLING LAUGHTER) DAVID: Wish I had more light. SOUND: (FOOTSTEPS DOWN STAIRS) DAVID: Ruth! ... Ruth! RUTH: (SUDDENLY CLOSE - MAD CACKLING LAUGHTER) DAVID: (STARTLED) Oh! Good gracious. RUTH: (VERY CLOSE - LAUGHS DARKLY) DAVID: Ruth. Now, give me that scalpel. You'll hurt yourself. Ruth. RUTH: (OMINOUSLY) Ruuuuth loooooves Dav-id! DAVID: Ruth, come back! RUTH: (FADING) Ruuuuth loooooves Dav-id! DAVID: Come back! SOUND: (GUNSHOT) RUTH: (SCREAMS) SOUND: (BODY FALLS - SILENCE - PHONE RINGS - FOOTSTEPS THROUGH HOUSE - DOOR OPENS - PHONE RINGS LOUDER - FOOTSTEPS - DAVID PICKS UP PHONE) DAVID: (WEARILY) Hello? Yes? ... Oh. Hello, Doctor. ... Well, I've been busy in the lab. ... No. No, there's nothing new. Just an experiment. ... No. Like so many experiments, it - it just didn't work out. MUSIC: (AN ACCENT ... BRIDGE AND OUT) ANNOUNCER: Eversharp Schick has just presented Boris Karloff in the first of the new series of mystery and terror stories, "Lights Out!" In just a moment, we'll tell you about next week's story. But, first, no matter what kind of razor you use now, here's a challenge. There's a better, easier, faster way to shave. Eversharp Schick Injector Razor has banished forever ninety percent of the nuisance that makes shaving such a chore! Ends Nuisance Number One: No time wasted! Eversharp Schick Injector Razor has been proved at least fifty percent faster! Ends Nuisance Number Two: It's safer! Patented Guard Bar prevents skin irritation! Even under nose! Eversharp Schick shaves clean and smooth without skin irritation! Ends Nuisance Number Three: Nothing to take apart or put together! World's easiest razor to clean! Just rinse, shake, put away! Ends Nuisance Number Four: No blades to unwrap! Fingers never touch the blade! Just push, pull, click, click! Because Eversharp Schick's the world's one and only razor with the automatic blade changer that locks a keen new blade -- the world's sharpest blade -- in correct shaving position instantly! Yes, it's fifty percent faster, one hundred percent safer, two hundred percent smoother! So, for the world's quickest, easiest, cleanest shave, change to Eversharp Schick Injector Razor! It's a dollar, seventy-five cent value -- but special, now, for only one dollar, twenty-five cents, complete with twenty blades! Buy yours tomorrow! (MUSIC ... INCONGRUOUSLY CHEERY UPBEAT UPTEMPO BRIDGE, THEN IN BG) ANNOUNCER: Next week, "Lights Out!" will bring you a story about the undead -- the vampires who are doomed to wander alone through all eternity, seeking the blood of innocent ones. Be sure to listen next Wednesday night at this same time! (MUSIC ... INCONGRUOUSLY CHEERY ... FILLS A PAUSE, THEN IN BG) ANNOUNCER: "Lights Out!" is produced and directed by Bill Lawrence. The script is by Paul Pierce and Wyllis Cooper. This is Ken Niles, speaking for Eversharp, manufacturers of Eversharp Schick Injector Razors and Blades and famous Eversharp Precision Writing Instruments. For birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and business gifts, remember the best gift of all is an Eversharp CA pen! Buy yours tomorrow during the sensational Eversharp CA Pen Sale! Buy now and save as much as sixty percent. This is ABC, the American Broadcasting Company. (MUSIC ... OUT) |
| Rating |
|
| Ownership | MS |
| Views | 873 views. Averaging 0 views per day. |
| Submission Date | May 07, 2004 |