Pillow of Death (1945) Movie Script
1
Amelia.
Amelia!
What do you want now?
I want my dinner.
- You're not eating till Belle gets here.
- That's what you said half an hour ago.
Well, I'm hungry
and I'm going to eat now.
Well, don't stand there staring
at me, bring on the food.
- Not a bite till Belle comes.
- Now look here, you...
All right, go ahead
and say it.
I'm just a poor relative
from England,
doing you and Belle a favour by
working in this creepy old house,
with its voices laughing
and crying in the night,
and footsteps, poundings,
creaking doors.
I sometimes wish
I'd never come to America,
but I know on which side
my bread is buttered.
That's why we'll wait
till Belle gets here.
(BELL RINGING)
So you finally came home,
did you?
Do you realise it's 7:30,
and I hadn't had my dinner?
What I was doing is far
more important than eating.
At my age, nothing's more
important than eating.
- Just what were you doing?
- I was calling on Wayne Fletcher's wife.
To talk about Donna and Wayne,
I suppose.
- Donna's my niece.
- Well, she's my niece, too, isn't she?
But I don't go around trying
to run her life for her.
You mark my words, Belle Kincaid,
she'll leave us flat some day.
She's of age and her own boss.
And she's got a spirit, too.
Spirit or no spirit, I won't stand for
her running around with Wayne Fletcher.
She's not running around
with Wayne Fletcher.
- She's working for him in his law office.
- She doesn't have to work.
None of the Kincaid women
ever worked,
and I don't think she'll be
working long after tonight.
- Dinner's on the table.
- Good.
- Where's Donna?
- She's gone.
She waited here
till after 7:00,
and when this sass box here
wouldn't serve her, she left.
She had work in the office
to do for Wayne.
Night work!
Well, don't stand there
grinning like an ape.
Food's the most important thing in your
life, let's go into the dining room.
Certainly, my dear sister.
May I?
Thanks for helping me out
this evening.
I wouldn't have asked you
except that I have to file that
brief in court in the morning.
- It was a big favour.
- A favour to me.
It got me away from here
for a couple of hours.
It's the only way I get out
after dark.
- I thank you, boss.
- Donna.
What?
I'm going to have a talk
with Vivian tonight.
We've got to have a showdown.
Things can't go on as they are.
It isn't fair.
- Wayne?
- Yes?
Please don't do anything
either one of us will regret.
People have been talking
about us.
Uncle Sam and Aunt Belle
have been good to me.
I don't want to hurt them.
And I don't want to be
the cause of your hurting her.
Vivian doesn't care enough about
me to be hurt by anything I do.
Well, I'm going to be in court
all day tomorrow,
so I'll call you in the
morning to check with you.
Okay.
Sure you haven't
forgotten anything, Julian?
I've told you everything
I know, Captain McCracken.
(DOOR OPENING)
- Good evening, Mr. Fletcher.
- Good evening, Captain.
What are you doing here?
Is something wrong?
Plenty. We just found
your wife upstairs, dead.
Vivian, dead?
How did it happen?
As nearly as we can figure it,
suffocation.
But how?
That's something
we'll have to find out.
There are no signs
of violence, no marks.
Where were you between 7:00 and
10:00 this evening, Fletcher?
- My office, working.
- I suppose you can prove that?
- Yes, someone was with me.
- Who was it?
My secretary.
But if there's any way of
keeping her name out of this...
Oh, so it's a romance.
Any chance you might have wanted
your wife out of the way?
You're forgetting, McCracken,
that I'm an attorney.
- I don't have to answer...
- Sure, sure, I know, you don't have to talk.
I just thought
you might want to be helpful.
Julian, here,
has been very helpful.
He says you have been trying
to get rid of your wife.
He thinks you'd like to marry
that young Kincaid girl.
Is that what this faker
came here to tell you?
Not exactly. He says he
came here to find out
why your wife didn't keep
an appointment at his studio.
Says he phoned several times
and nobody answered.
Then he claims
he had a psychic presentiment
that something was wrong.
So he came here.
Couldn't get anybody to answer the
doorbell and he called headquarters.
We found the body.
- Anything wrong with his story?
- Plenty.
He calls himself
a psychic investigator.
I don't know
what his real name is.
My wife met him about a year ago,
at one of those silly sances
that women so often attend.
Silly to you perhaps,
Mr. Fletcher,
but not to those who believe.
Was Mrs. Fletcher a believer?
She was more than that.
She was that rare individual,
a natural medium for communication
with the spirit world.
Did you know that your wife
was a perfect medium?
I only know that she was a changed
woman from the day she met that man.
She lost interest in me,
neglected our home
and talked of nothing but
death and life after death.
She became strangely
interested in suicide.
In fact, she was reading up
on the subject.
Do you think your wife
committed suicide?
I don't really know
what to think.
Your wife was murdered,
Mr. Fletcher.
I had instructed her to rest
before coming to my studio
for tonight's experiment.
And then,
I seemed to receive a message from her.
I knew she had come to harm.
I'm sure she was trying
to contact me
from the other side.
Did you have dinner
at home tonight?
- Well, yes.
- What time did you leave for the office?
- A few minutes before 7:00, I believe.
- But you're not sure?
Yes, I am sure. It must
have been about that time,
because I met my secretary
at the office at 7:00.
Oh.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Hello? Yes, he's here.
For you, Captain.
McCracken speaking.
How long ago?
Okay, thanks.
Fletcher, I'm holding you
on suspicion of murder.
- Aren't you making a big mistake?
- Maybe. I've made them before.
You won't be in long,
if I'm mistaken.
Maybe till tomorrow, huh?
- You've heard of habeas corpus?
- Sure, sure.
Take him in, Harry.
You better come along, Julian.
I may need you.
Certainly.
By the way, just for the record,
what is your real moniker?
Julian.
- Julian what?
- Julian Julian.
You're in a rut.
Have you no pride?
Doesn't the name of Kincaid
mean anything to you?
I've done nothing
to disgrace the name.
I suppose getting yourself
talked about
with Wayne Fletcher
isn't disgraceful?
I can't help it
if people make something nasty
- out of a perfectly decent relationship.
- "Perfectly decent relationship!"
In my day, no girl who ever thought
anything of her reputation would think
of going to a man's office
to work at night.
But we aren't living
in your day, Aunt Belle.
We're living in a new world. For
which I say, "Three cheers!"
(DOORBELL RINGING)
Who can that be
at this hour of the night?
- Answer it, Amelia.
- Too bad you were born so long ago, Belle.
As I remember you,
when you were Donna's age,
you weren't bad-looking.
And you even could've trapped a man,
if the folks hadn't taught you to run
- at the sight of one.
- Be quiet. And put down that sandwich.
What's the matter with it?
If you eat that poisonous-looking
thing, you won't sleep a wink.
Is that all, sister dear?
Well, don't worry about that.
Sleep is something
you get around here
only when the shades of the
departed have taken a night off.
- Why, Mr. Julian.
- Good evening, Amelia.
- I'm sorry to be making such a late call...
- Save it, Julian.
If the folks have gone to bed,
get them up.
I want to talk to everybody
in the house.
- And who are you?
- Captain McCracken, Detective Bureau.
- Detective? What has she done?
- Who?
Donna.
I knew something terrible
would happen sooner or later,
with her running around nights
with Wayne Fletcher.
We'll talk about that later.
It's Julian.
He's got a detective with him.
- A detective? What does he want?
- I want to ask a few questions.
- About a murder.
- Who's been murdered?
Mrs. Wayne Fletcher.
(EXCLAIMS)
You seem very startled, miss.
Mind telling me why?
No, you see,
I work for Mr. Fletcher,
and naturally, the news
that his wife is dead...
- Worked for him tonight, too, didn't you?
- Yes, I did.
If you're insinuating that she had
anything to do with the murder...
- Who are you?
- Who am I? Well, I like that.
- I'm Belle Kincaid.
- Oh, yes.
I'll want to ask you
a few questions, too,
as soon as I've finished
with the young lady.
Meantime, you'd better
sit down.
(LAUGHING)
- I take it you are Mr. Samuel Kincaid?
- Yes, that's me.
And that's Amelia. She comes from
the English branch of the family
- that frittered away its money.
- MCCRACKEN: Oh, I see.
And don't be asking me any
questions about the murder.
I haven't been outside
the house all day.
Good, that establishes the first
alibi in the case. Have a seat.
- You might as well relax, too, Julian.
- Thank you.
Is that spirit rapper
in on this, too?
- And so you know Julian?
- Know him?
He practically lived here
since Belle and Amelia here
have decided
they wanted to talk
to all of the Kincaid ghosts.
This place had plenty of
noises in it before he came,
but you ought to hear it now.
Drop in some night, sit up with
me, I'll show you what I mean.
Maybe I'll do that.
Fletcher says you were with him in his
office from 7:00 to 10:00 tonight.
- Is that right, Miss Kincaid?
- Yes.
Do you suspect Wayne?
- I have him in jail.
- But he couldn't have done it.
When he brought me home he said he was
going back to talk to Vivian about...
About what?
- About a personal matter.
- You're not being very helpful, are you?
What do you mean?
I know that you're in love with Fletcher
and that he's in love with you.
I suppose Julian
told you that.
Didn't have to. Fletcher tried his
best to keep your name out of this,
tried to protect you.
That sounds like Wayne,
a fine upstanding fellow.
Fine fellow indeed,
murdering his wife and dragging
Donna's name into the case.
- Wayne is not a murderer.
- If you told me about this...
personal matter,
it might help him.
What was he going to talk
to his wife about?
He was going to demand a showdown,
insist that she release him.
You see, he is a murderer.
Looks that way,
but doesn't it strike you
as strange
that a man should go home to demand
a showdown from a dead woman?
By the way, what were you
doing out this evening?
Who said I was out?
Headquarters had an
anonymous phone call.
Seems you very seldom
go out after dark.
One of your neighbours
probably noticed you.
- Nosy things.
- Where were you?
I was visiting
Vivian Fletcher.
- Miss Belle, you shouldn't...
- McCRACKEN: You keep out of this, Julian.
Now go ahead, Miss Kincaid.
Why did you visit
Mrs. Fletcher this evening?
To ask her
to have him discharge Donna.
- Did she agree?
- Yes.
- Was Mrs. Fletcher alive when you left?
- Of course she was alive.
She was about to
take up dinner.
- What time was that?
- About 6:40.
Was Mr. Fletcher home when you left? His
car was just pulling into the driveway
when I said good night
to Vivian.
It was all very logical to me. She
demanded that he discharge Donna,
then he flew into a rage
and killed her.
Well, why don't you go ahead
and hang the man,
or whatever it is they do
to murderers,
instead of asking
all these silly questions?
Sometimes logic
leads to the wrong person.
Bosh! Why do you
have to drag out the case
and implicate us all in a lot
of unpleasant publicity?
You have the murderer in jail,
and you know it.
Maybe I have at that.
- Mr. Kincaid, were you out this evening?
- Nope, I've been hunting ghosts.
- Find any?
- No.
Sat up in the attic
with a double-barrelled shotgun
till hunger overcame me,
but no luck.
We've been hearing chains
rattling up there
- and somebody laughing every night.
- Very interesting.
Mr. Kincaid, do you mind stepping out
in the hall with me for a minute?
- I'd like to talk to you privately.
- Sure thing.
Stay right here,
I want to duck out a minute.
Little late for sightseeing,
isn't it?
- See anybody in there you know?
- Why, yes, I live next door.
Let's go in and see if your
neighbours recognise you.
- Hello, Bruce.
- Hello, Mr. Kincaid.
Where'd you find him?
Caught him doing
a peeping tom act outside.
- Says he lives next door.
- That's right.
Step into the parlour, sir.
- Hello, Donna.
- Bruce, what are you doing here?
Go ahead and tell her.
I'll listen, too.
I heard about Mrs. Fletcher
on the radio.
I knew you'd be upset, so I started
out to see if I could help.
I saw the police car outside,
so I looked in the window
to see what was going on.
He found me there.
It's horrible, knowing you rode
home with a murderer tonight.
MCCRACKEN: How do you know
she rode home with someone?
I was out for a walk
and happened to be passing...
Out for a walk! You were
spying on me as usual.
It's not spying to want to
protect someone you care for.
Protect?
Sure, everybody's trying
to protect me,
- treating me as if I'm a child.
- Donna!
Well, I'm not a child,
and nothing any of you
could ever say to me
will make me believe that Wayne
Fletcher is guilty of a murder.
Shhh!
Listen!
(CLOCK CHIMING)
(CHAINS RATTLING)
You mean the clock?
No, the ghost in the attic.
(MAN LAUGHING)
It's laughing again.
(CHAINS RATTLING)
There, you hear it?
- You say it's in the attic?
- Yes.
It's the spirit of Uncle Joe.
Strange manifestation,
I've heard it many times.
We've been trying to
establish contact,
- without success.
- SAM: Poppycock.
If that's the ghost of Joe Kincaid,
his voice has certainly changed.
He used to sing bass
in the choir.
But what about the chains? You
know you've heard the chains.
Well, you got me there.
It seems that Uncle Joe
was kind of wild in his youth
and got caught down south
one time without any money.
And they put him
on the chain gang for 30 days.
He never did quite live down
the disgrace.
And that thing up there
rattles chains.
- Let's have a look at the attic.
- Not me.
- Nor me.
- I'll show you.
You're the expert on spirits,
Julian, you better come along.
- Certainly.
- I'm going, too.
- I'd like to go, too, if you don't mind.
- Sure, why not?
Do you think I ought to tell
Mr. McCracken about Donna?
What about Donna?
She couldn't possibly have been in
Wayne Fletcher's office at 7:00.
- She didn't leave here till that time.
- Are you sure?
Positive.
Listen, Amelia, you mustn't say
a word about this to anybody.
- Understand?
- Mmm-hmm.
I don't hear anything now.
Maybe Uncle Joe
heard us coming.
(CREAKING)
That's my room.
Uncle Joe's wife
died in there.
Maybe that's her spirit on the way to
the attic to play with Uncle Joe's.
- There's nobody here.
- Never is.
I've been trying to catch
that door opener for years.
You might at least try
a little oil on the hinges.
- Yeah.
- Show me the attic.
(CHAINS RATTLING)
(MAN LAUGHING)
I guess Uncle Joe
is still up there. Come on.
Mighty dark up there.
Maybe your ghost left
by that window.
(RATTLING)
- Well, folks, there's your ghost.
- A raccoon.
Extraordinary!
It must be the pet the Morrisons
kept on a chain in their backyard.
I don't know. It looks a little
bit like Uncle Joe at that.
(SIGHS)
The ears are different.
(KEYS JINGLING)
Wayne.
- Hello, Donna.
- You can talk here for five minutes.
- I'll be watching you from the hall.
- Thanks.
Oh, Wayne,
I've been so worried.
There's nothing
to worry about.
- You don't think that I killed Vivian, do you?
- No, of course not.
But that detective, McCracken,
came to the house last night.
I was afraid he'd pin me down.
- About what?
- You weren't at the office at 7:00.
I didn't get there until 7:15, and
you came in a few minutes later.
Well, if that's all that's
worrying you, forget about it.
Naturally, it took me a few minutes
to go from the house to the office.
But you told McCracken
you met me there at 7:00.
Well, I know I did, but that was only because
I didn't know exactly what time it was.
I have nothing to hide, Donna.
If it'll make you feel any better,
I'll tell McCracken all about it.
Oh, no, please don't.
He'd only suspect you more.
It takes more than suspicion
to convict a man of murder.
When McCracken adds up his facts this
morning, I'm sure that he'll release me.
Captain McCracken wants to talk to
both of you in his office. Follow him.
This way.
You seem greatly interested in
convicting Wayne Fletcher, Miss Kincaid.
Why shouldn't I be?
Donna was a normal, happy girl
until she started working for him.
Now look at her,
willful, stubborn,
and instead of having her eyes
opened by the tragedy,
she imagines she's in love
with this murderer.
(DOOR OPENING)
Aunt Belle,
what are you doing here?
- Telling the truth in the interest of justice.
- Sit down, Miss Kincaid.
Why'd you lie to me
last night, Fletcher?
I suppose you're referring
to the time element.
Donna just reminded me that
I didn't arrive at the office
until a couple of minutes
past 7:15.
- I guess that clinches the case, doesn't it?
- It might.
Let's stop kidding, McCracken.
You know you haven't
enough evidence to hold me.
Now, shall I send my secretary
back to the office
to draw up a writ of habeas corpus,
or you going to release me now?
- I'm going to let you go, Fletcher.
- What?
- You can't possibly mean that.
- I do.
You see, all the evidence I have
against him is purely circumstantial.
- Like the evidence I have against you.
- Me? You must be crazy.
Not at all. You admit that you called
on Mrs. Fletcher last evening,
and I have only your word for
it that Fletcher arrived home
just as you were leaving.
By the way, Fletcher, did you see
Miss Kincaid leaving your house
when you came home to dinner?
- No, I didn't.
- You see?
Do you mean to say you're going to turn
a murderer loose on the community?
- Think I should hold both of you?
- You know very well I don't.
And I don't intend
to stay here another minute
listening to your
silly insinuations.
- Come with me, Donna.
- No, Aunt Belle.
I have some things
to talk over with Wayne.
Oh, Miss Kincaid, don't leave town.
I may want to question you again.
What are you doing?
Why, I was just measuring
the drapes.
They're getting pretty shabby. We
need some new ones, don't you think?
They've been perfectly
satisfactory for 30 years.
And I don't wish them changed.
But perhaps you and Wayne have been
making plans to redecorate the house.
Well, I'm not gone yet.
(DOORBELL RINGING)
- Good evening, Julian.
- Good evening.
- Let me take your hat.
- Thank you, Amelia.
- Did you prepare everything?
- Yes.
Do you think you ought
to go through with this?
- I most assuredly do.
- I'm scared.
There's no reason for you
to be frightened.
Just leave everything to me.
I'll want to spend a few
minutes in the dining room
alone, to attune myself
to the surroundings.
Of course.
I was just coming to call you.
Mr. Julian's here.
- Good. Where is he?
- In the dining room,
- attuning himself.
- Attuning himself!
I hope you locked up
the silver.
You needn't worry about that. The
Kincaid silver is exquisite,
but I can assure you
I have no designs upon it.
- Don't take my brother seriously, Julian.
- Of course not.
Nobody else does
around this place.
Do you feel that we will
accomplish our purpose tonight?
I am very confident. Shall
we go into the dining room?
As you know,
Vivian Fletcher was my medium.
A perfect medium.
We had a pact.
We agreed that the one who first
crossed over to the other side
would communicate with the one
who stayed behind.
- Silliest unmitigated tommyrot I ever heard.
- Shhh!
Will you sit at that end
of the table, Mr. Kincaid?
Well, I will,
but I don't want to.
Will you sit here beside me,
Miss Belle?
And you here, Amelia.
- Where's Donna?
- Here I am.
Oh.
Are you sure you told Mr.
Fletcher we were meeting at 9:007?
- I did.
- Please sit down.
- It's nearly 9:15.
- Don't worry, he'll be here.
(DOORBELL RINGING)
This is my idea
of nothing to do.
Sitting around like a bunch of nincompoops
waiting to hear from a ghost.
- Hello, Wayne.
- Hello.
- Did you search the room?
- Yes, didn't find a thing.
Good, then that leaves
Julian on his own.
(WHISPERING)
Now keep your eyes open.
Good evening, everyone.
- I'm sorry I was late.
- Don't apologise, Wayne.
Whatever it was is more important
than this dismal little gathering.
If you'll be seated,
Mr. Fletcher, we'll begin.
Will you extinguish the candle at
your end of the table, Mr. Kincaid?
Now will you all clasp your hands
before you on the table, like this?
I want to impress upon you
that absolute silence
and intense concentration
are necessary.
You all knew Vivian Fletcher.
I want you to think of her.
Concentrate.
Drive all other thoughts
from your mind.
Think only of Vivian Fletcher,
who is in another realm.
Think of her as you knew her
in this life.
If you concentrate
deeply enough, she will speak
through me,
while I'm in a trance.
From this moment on,
only silence
and concentration.
I'm waiting, Vivian.
I'm waiting.
I am Vivian Fletcher.
Can you hear me, Julian?
I hear you, Vivian.
You have a message?
I hear you, Vivian.
What is it?
I want to accuse
my husband, Wayne,
- of murdering me.
- That's a lie.
Wayne.
- Be quiet, you fool. You'll spoil everything.
- You're right about that.
Snap out of it, Julian.
Come on, snap out of it!
I want to talk to you.
- What is it? What happened?
- You know what happened.
That was a clever little trick,
imitating Vivian's voice.
- She spoke? You heard her speak?
- Yes, and she named him as her murderer.
Then it's true.
You did kill her.
He did, he did.
She said so.
- Julian, it must have been a trick.
- There was no trick.
No?
There's your stooge, Julian.
Now suppose you two explain to the folks
just why you cooked up this phony sance.
Why, I can assure you I had no
idea Bruce was in the house.
That's just the answer
that I expected.
I suppose you're going to deny
that Julian had anything to do
with your being here.
- He had nothing at all to do with it.
- Then why are you here?
Because you're not safe
with him.
- Listen, Bruce...
- Don't, Wayne, please.
Violence won't help, Fletcher.
Get this straight, Julian.
- I'm not accused of anything.
- But you are.
You're accused of murder
by the woman you killed.
- That's right.
- We all heard her accuse him.
Why doesn't somebody
send for the police?
Why don't you
shut your big mouth?
This eyewash wouldn't hold
in court, would it, Wayne?
Certainly not.
Well, then why don't you walk
out on these table rappers?
- I would if I didn't live here.
- You'd better leave, Wayne.
- I'm sorry I let you in for this, Wayne.
- Forget it.
Julian's little show
may lead somewhere.
As a lawyer, I've found that
when a fellow tries too hard
to prove that someone else
committed a crime,
he generally has
a very good reason for it.
You mean that Julian
murdered Vivian?
Either that
or he's shielding someone.
Maybe McCracken
can figure that out.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Bruce, you've been popping in and out
of here ever since you was a toddler,
but do you mind telling me
how you got in tonight?
Through the kitchen door.
It was unlocked.
Then you can leave
the same way.
But, Donna,
I want to talk to you.
I know you must be
terribly upset.
- If there's anything I can do...
- There is. You can get out.
Okay.
That goes for you, too,
Julian.
I realise the proof of Fletcher's guilt
is disconcerting, my dear, but...
Proof? Do you think
for a moment
I'd believe any part of your
spiritualistic bunk? Now get out.
Julian is not leaving, Donna.
I have invited him to remain
with us as a house guest.
Thank you, Miss Belle.
Now those poor Kincaid ghosts
never will get any rest.
VIVIAN: Wayne.
Wayne.
Why are you drinking, Wayne?
Do you think it will help you
forget that you murdered me?
Vivian.
Come with me, Wayne,
I want to show you something.
Here I am, Wayne.
This way.
Come in, Wayne.
Don't be frightened.
This way, Wayne.
Why do you stop?
Come inside with me.
Vivian!
WAYNE: Vivian!
Vivian!
Vivian, where are you?
Vivian!
Vivian!
Vivian!
Vivian!
What are you doing here?
What's the idea of your
running around this cemetery
in the middle of the night,
yelling your head off?
You gonna answer me,
or am I gonna call the police?
- Oh, no, don't call the police.
- Hey!
(CREAKING)
Sam. Wake up.
It's after 9:00.
(SCREAMS)
You say you saw a man hanging
around the grounds last night?
- Yes, I did.
- What time was that?
Just after midnight.
I was preparing to go to bed.
I went over to the window to
draw the curtains and I saw him.
Have you any idea
who it was?
I can't be sure,
but it looked to me
like Mr. Fletcher.
How about that, Fletcher? Were you
on the estate grounds last night?
- Well, to be honest with you, I don't know.
- What do you mean, you don't know?
I realise it'll sound
very strange to you,
but last night I had rather
a terrifying experience.
I saw my wife, talked to her.
- Do you expect me to believe that?
- No, but it's true.
She came to me
when I was alone, at home.
Said that she wanted
to show me something.
I followed her
to the cemetery,
right up to the door of our family
crypt where she was buried.
Then she disappeared.
You've got to believe this,
McCracken.
When she disappeared, I searched
the cemetery, calling to her.
- Then the sexton found me.
- Then what happened?
I don't remember.
The next thing I knew, 1
awakened this morning at home,
- feeling like I had had a terrible nightmare.
- You sure it wasn't just a nightmare?
I'm positive.
I tell you I saw her,
spoke to her.
We'd better have a look at that crypt.
I ordered it left unsealed.
I'll be in touch with the rest
of you later. Come on, Fletcher.
Go ahead and open it.
- It's empty.
- Empty?
Yeah. No corpus delicti.
Now you see? That proves
that Vivian's still alive.
Maybe.
I've cracked a number of
reasonably tough cases,
but this one has me stumped.
Suppose we admit
that your wife is still alive,
that Julian worked with her to frame
you for what appeared to be a murder.
Why should anyone want to kill a nice,
harmless old man like Sam Kincaid?
- Has me stumped, too.
- Maybe this will help.
It seems my uncle was
investigating Julian's past.
- This might mean something at that.
- Well, what is it?
It's from the Consolidated
Vaudeville Artists' Association.
It says Julian used to be
a ventriloquist and imitator.
Then that gives him a motive,
the fear that Sam Kincaid
would expose him.
And being a ventriloquist, he could've
tricked me by imitating Vivian's voice.
Yes, he could.
(POUNDING)
Who are you?
I am Deborah Kincaid.
I have a message for Belle.
- What is the message?
- Tell her...
Tell her never to stop believing
in the spirit world.
- Never.
- I shall tell her.
- Did you hear?
- Yes.
And I will never
stop believing.
I shall make ample provision for you to
carry on with psychic research, Amelia,
in case anything
happens to me.
JULIAN: You're a very wise
woman, Miss Belle.
So that's how you make your sudden
and mysterious appearances.
- Gosh, you scared me, Donna.
- I'm glad I did.
You haven't any business
popping in and out of walls.
Where does that
sliding panel lead?
Remember the secret passage we discovered
in the cellar when we were kids?
Yes, but that ended up at a
wall made of huge stones.
I know. But one of the stones moves
aside if you know where to touch it.
Then there's another passage, with
a musty old room at the end of it
- and some steps leading up here.
- Thanks for the information.
I'll have it boarded up.
Please don't do that, Donna.
I want to feel that I can always
come here, in case you're in danger.
And I'd like to feel
as if I have a little privacy.
Now, would you care
to leave the way you came in,
or would you like to use the door,
just for the sake of novelty?
You're going to see Wayne
tonight, aren't you?
- Well, what if I am?
- He's dangerous, Donna.
Oh, I know you think
I'm horning in all the time,
but I wouldn't be doing it
if I weren't crazy about you.
You used to like me.
Donna, what's happened to us?
Do you expect me
to like someone
who's constantly
sneaking around,
interfering in my affairs,
eavesdropping?
Donna,
what's all the argument about?
Bruce has just been trying
to tell me how to run my life.
As if I don't get enough
of that around here.
- Donna, where are you going?
- Out!
(AMELIA SCREAMING)
Amelia, what happened?
It's Belle. She's dead,
just like the others.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Yeah?
What?
Okay, I'll handle it.
- O'Leary speaking.
- O'Leary, this is McCracken.
There's been another
Kincaid murder.
- No fooling.
- No fooling.
Same way, same house. Hop out there
and pick up that guy Julian.
Bring him in and book him.
That won't be necessary,
Captain McCracken.
Hold it, O'Leary.
I knew you'd suspect me
and want me arrested,
so I thought
I'd save you the trip.
Go back to your gin game, O'Leary.
The guy just walked into my office.
- Good evening, Amelia.
- Hello.
- Are you bringing him into this house?
- I certainly am.
Mr. Fletcher is spending
the night here at my request.
(EXCLAIMING)
And please don't be
unpleasant about it.
Don't worry, I'll be in my
room with the door locked.
And if anyone thinks
of murdering me,
I'm warning them, I sleep
with a gun under my pillow.
Pleasant, isn't she?
Now that Uncle Sam
and Aunt Belle are gone,
I'm afraid Amelia's going to
be quite a problem.
Yes, I can understand that.
(CHIMING)
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
Wayne.
- Wayne, wake up.
- What?
Listen.
(SCREAMING CONTINUES)
- There it is again.
- Yeah, upstairs.
Amelia! Amelia!
- Oh, are you all right?
- Perfectly all right.
And I'll stay that way
as long as I have this gun.
- Oh, but didn't you hear a woman scream?
- I did not.
Now go away and don't
go pounding on my door
just because your conscience
bothers you.
- (DOOR CREAKING)
- Look.
Whose room was that?
Nobody's. It's just a linen
closet and a trunk room.
The light's burned out.
That's funny,
there's no one here.
I wonder what made
that door open.
- Amelia! Amelia!
- AMELIA: What is it?
- Open the door, Amelia. We're locked in.
- Sure you are, I locked you in.
- You what?
- I locked you in.
Poor Mr. Julian's
locked up for murder.
He's innocent and nobody believes him,
and they'll put him in the gas chamber.
Now I've got you locked in
and you'll die.
There never would have been
a murder but for you.
You're evil,
both of you, evil.
Oh, don't be such a fool,
Amelia. Open the door.
Oh, no.
Wayne Fletcher killed his wife
and Sam and Belle.
And they'll kill poor
Mr. Julian with gas. Gas.
Gas. I know what I'll do.
I'll fetch a gas tube from downstairs,
and I'll attach it here in the hall
and run it under the door, and then you'll
die just as Mr. Julian is going to die.
(AMELIA LAUGHING)
She sounds like she's crazy.
Amelia, you're out
of your mind. Open the door.
You know, she could do that, too.
There aren't any windows in here.
Julian.
- Hello, Amelia.
- You... You got away.
You escaped.
(BANGING ON DOOR)
What's that?
What's that noise?
I've locked them up
in the storage room.
- Who?
- Donna and Wayne Fletcher.
We can kill them with gas.
Give me that.
- Hello, Fletcher.
- Julian.
Good thing McCracken timed my
release so I could get here.
- He released you?
- Yes.
He decided there wasn't
enough evidence to hold me.
Fortunate, wasn't it?
Amelia tells me she was
going to kill both of you.
- Misguided loyalty is dangerous sometimes.
- They're evil, that's what they are.
You'd better go to bed,
Amelia.
Hurry before they lose patience
and have you thrown in jail.
- Evil. The whole house is evil.
- I know.
- Good night, Amelia.
- Good night, Julian.
I suppose I ought to thank you
for saving us, Julian.
Don't bother.
May I congratulate you upon becoming
the heiress to the Kincaid fortune.
Naturally, I'm no longer
welcome here.
I'll move my belongings
tonight if you insist.
Or if you think I might have
a calming influence on Amelia,
I'll wait until morning.
- Stay until morning, by all means.
- Thank you.
- Good night.
- Good night, Julian.
Good night.
I still can't understand
why McCracken released him.
I'm positive he's guilty.
- He also released me.
- But that was different.
The rules of evidence
apply to everyone.
A man is presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
Detectives have been known to
release the people they suspect
with the hopes that they would
trap themselves, haven't they?
Well, yes.
I'm sure that's what McCracken's
done in Julian's case.
(MAN MOANING)
- Did you hear that?
- Yes.
- It sounded like it came from down there.
- It's Bruce. He's hanging around again.
- What do you mean?
- Well, see that open panel?
Yes.
Well, that leads to a secret
passage through the cellar.
He uses it to come into the
house whenever he pleases.
- Why didn't you tell me about it?
- Oh, it didn't seem important.
- Bruce is such a harmless boy.
- Harmless.
Well, if he's so harmless, why
is he always sneaking about?
(EXCLAIMS)
This must be the secret room
Bruce was talking about.
Wayne, look.
It's Vivian.
(GASPS)
- Is she alive?
- No.
Come on, we'd better
get out of here.
(SCREAMS)
Who are you?
Are you ready to confess
you murdered your wife
- and the others, Wayne Fletcher?
- It's Bruce.
Confess, Fletcher.
You know you killed them.
Now tell me what you know about
Vivian's body being here.
Come on, tell me.
I did it. I brought the
body here from the crypt.
But why?
I hate you, Wayne Fletcher,
for taking Donna away from me.
I'd do anything
to make you confess.
I thought you'd break down when
you found the empty coffin.
I deliberately
coaxed you down here,
hoping that seeing her body
would force you to confess.
You did all those things?
He's guilty. And sooner
or later he'll admit it.
- You miserable, cowardly...
- That won't do any good, Donna.
Come on, upstairs.
Here. Get out,
and do it quickly.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Now, Donna, I think you'd
better go up to your room.
What about you?
I'll stay down here and
think this whole thing out.
Can't I stay with you?
No, we'd just talk in circles
and arrive nowhere.
Now, please, do it my way.
You'll stay here, though.
You won't go away?
Of course not. Now run along.
- Good night.
- Good night.
(CHIMING)
VIVIAN: Wayne.
Wayne, I'm waiting.
What do you want?
I want to make everything
clear to you, Wayne.
Come with me.
This way, Wayne.
Upstairs.
I'm here, Wayne,
in old Mr. Kincaid's room.
Come in, Wayne.
This is the room.
Now, show me how you did it.
- How I did what?
- How you killed him.
You followed me
to the cemetery.
Then you broke away from the
sexton and came here. Remember?
Yes, I remember.
Fine. Now, show me
how you did it.
I came through
that open window.
He always left it open.
Then I crossed over
to the bed.
He didn't hear me.
He was asleep.
- Then I picked up the pillow.
- So that's how you did it?
Yes.
Just like I killed
you and Belle.
Wayne!
What are you saying?
I was just telling Vivian
how I killed them.
- But Vivian isn't here.
- Oh, yes, she is.
Wayne.
- There she is now. Can't you hear her?
- No.
I don't hear anything.
Donna can't hear me
but she knows.
At last she realises
that you are a
psychopathic killer.
Isn't it too bad
that you can't have her
and all that Kincaid money,
now that we are
out of the way?
But you can't, Wayne.
She'll tell the police.
You'll have to kill Donna.
Yes, I will.
I will.
She'll tell the police.
Don't let her escape, Wayne.
- No. Wayne, don't.
- Don't try to get away, Donna.
(SCREAMING)
Don't scream, darling.
Don't. Don't.
Hold the pillow
very tight, Wayne.
- Donna, are you all right?
- I'll be all right when I get my breath.
Stop right there, Fletcher.
Don't try it, Wayne.
He'll kill you.
What'll I do, Vivian?
What'll I do?
I'll take you away with me.
Here I am, at the window.
Hurry, Wayne,
there's no time to lose.
(SCREAMS)
Well, I guess
that's everything.
Donna, Bruce.
I had a psychic presentiment that
things would turn out like this.
I hope you're very happy
with the Kincaid ghosts.
- Goodbye, Captain McCracken.
- Goodbye, Julian.
I owe you a vote of thanks for
helping us expose Fletcher.
That psychic abracadabra
of yours is quite a thing.
My dear fellow,
the word "abracadabra" is anathema
to the true believer in the occult.
Amelia.
Amelia!
What do you want now?
I want my dinner.
- You're not eating till Belle gets here.
- That's what you said half an hour ago.
Well, I'm hungry
and I'm going to eat now.
Well, don't stand there staring
at me, bring on the food.
- Not a bite till Belle comes.
- Now look here, you...
All right, go ahead
and say it.
I'm just a poor relative
from England,
doing you and Belle a favour by
working in this creepy old house,
with its voices laughing
and crying in the night,
and footsteps, poundings,
creaking doors.
I sometimes wish
I'd never come to America,
but I know on which side
my bread is buttered.
That's why we'll wait
till Belle gets here.
(BELL RINGING)
So you finally came home,
did you?
Do you realise it's 7:30,
and I hadn't had my dinner?
What I was doing is far
more important than eating.
At my age, nothing's more
important than eating.
- Just what were you doing?
- I was calling on Wayne Fletcher's wife.
To talk about Donna and Wayne,
I suppose.
- Donna's my niece.
- Well, she's my niece, too, isn't she?
But I don't go around trying
to run her life for her.
You mark my words, Belle Kincaid,
she'll leave us flat some day.
She's of age and her own boss.
And she's got a spirit, too.
Spirit or no spirit, I won't stand for
her running around with Wayne Fletcher.
She's not running around
with Wayne Fletcher.
- She's working for him in his law office.
- She doesn't have to work.
None of the Kincaid women
ever worked,
and I don't think she'll be
working long after tonight.
- Dinner's on the table.
- Good.
- Where's Donna?
- She's gone.
She waited here
till after 7:00,
and when this sass box here
wouldn't serve her, she left.
She had work in the office
to do for Wayne.
Night work!
Well, don't stand there
grinning like an ape.
Food's the most important thing in your
life, let's go into the dining room.
Certainly, my dear sister.
May I?
Thanks for helping me out
this evening.
I wouldn't have asked you
except that I have to file that
brief in court in the morning.
- It was a big favour.
- A favour to me.
It got me away from here
for a couple of hours.
It's the only way I get out
after dark.
- I thank you, boss.
- Donna.
What?
I'm going to have a talk
with Vivian tonight.
We've got to have a showdown.
Things can't go on as they are.
It isn't fair.
- Wayne?
- Yes?
Please don't do anything
either one of us will regret.
People have been talking
about us.
Uncle Sam and Aunt Belle
have been good to me.
I don't want to hurt them.
And I don't want to be
the cause of your hurting her.
Vivian doesn't care enough about
me to be hurt by anything I do.
Well, I'm going to be in court
all day tomorrow,
so I'll call you in the
morning to check with you.
Okay.
Sure you haven't
forgotten anything, Julian?
I've told you everything
I know, Captain McCracken.
(DOOR OPENING)
- Good evening, Mr. Fletcher.
- Good evening, Captain.
What are you doing here?
Is something wrong?
Plenty. We just found
your wife upstairs, dead.
Vivian, dead?
How did it happen?
As nearly as we can figure it,
suffocation.
But how?
That's something
we'll have to find out.
There are no signs
of violence, no marks.
Where were you between 7:00 and
10:00 this evening, Fletcher?
- My office, working.
- I suppose you can prove that?
- Yes, someone was with me.
- Who was it?
My secretary.
But if there's any way of
keeping her name out of this...
Oh, so it's a romance.
Any chance you might have wanted
your wife out of the way?
You're forgetting, McCracken,
that I'm an attorney.
- I don't have to answer...
- Sure, sure, I know, you don't have to talk.
I just thought
you might want to be helpful.
Julian, here,
has been very helpful.
He says you have been trying
to get rid of your wife.
He thinks you'd like to marry
that young Kincaid girl.
Is that what this faker
came here to tell you?
Not exactly. He says he
came here to find out
why your wife didn't keep
an appointment at his studio.
Says he phoned several times
and nobody answered.
Then he claims
he had a psychic presentiment
that something was wrong.
So he came here.
Couldn't get anybody to answer the
doorbell and he called headquarters.
We found the body.
- Anything wrong with his story?
- Plenty.
He calls himself
a psychic investigator.
I don't know
what his real name is.
My wife met him about a year ago,
at one of those silly sances
that women so often attend.
Silly to you perhaps,
Mr. Fletcher,
but not to those who believe.
Was Mrs. Fletcher a believer?
She was more than that.
She was that rare individual,
a natural medium for communication
with the spirit world.
Did you know that your wife
was a perfect medium?
I only know that she was a changed
woman from the day she met that man.
She lost interest in me,
neglected our home
and talked of nothing but
death and life after death.
She became strangely
interested in suicide.
In fact, she was reading up
on the subject.
Do you think your wife
committed suicide?
I don't really know
what to think.
Your wife was murdered,
Mr. Fletcher.
I had instructed her to rest
before coming to my studio
for tonight's experiment.
And then,
I seemed to receive a message from her.
I knew she had come to harm.
I'm sure she was trying
to contact me
from the other side.
Did you have dinner
at home tonight?
- Well, yes.
- What time did you leave for the office?
- A few minutes before 7:00, I believe.
- But you're not sure?
Yes, I am sure. It must
have been about that time,
because I met my secretary
at the office at 7:00.
Oh.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Hello? Yes, he's here.
For you, Captain.
McCracken speaking.
How long ago?
Okay, thanks.
Fletcher, I'm holding you
on suspicion of murder.
- Aren't you making a big mistake?
- Maybe. I've made them before.
You won't be in long,
if I'm mistaken.
Maybe till tomorrow, huh?
- You've heard of habeas corpus?
- Sure, sure.
Take him in, Harry.
You better come along, Julian.
I may need you.
Certainly.
By the way, just for the record,
what is your real moniker?
Julian.
- Julian what?
- Julian Julian.
You're in a rut.
Have you no pride?
Doesn't the name of Kincaid
mean anything to you?
I've done nothing
to disgrace the name.
I suppose getting yourself
talked about
with Wayne Fletcher
isn't disgraceful?
I can't help it
if people make something nasty
- out of a perfectly decent relationship.
- "Perfectly decent relationship!"
In my day, no girl who ever thought
anything of her reputation would think
of going to a man's office
to work at night.
But we aren't living
in your day, Aunt Belle.
We're living in a new world. For
which I say, "Three cheers!"
(DOORBELL RINGING)
Who can that be
at this hour of the night?
- Answer it, Amelia.
- Too bad you were born so long ago, Belle.
As I remember you,
when you were Donna's age,
you weren't bad-looking.
And you even could've trapped a man,
if the folks hadn't taught you to run
- at the sight of one.
- Be quiet. And put down that sandwich.
What's the matter with it?
If you eat that poisonous-looking
thing, you won't sleep a wink.
Is that all, sister dear?
Well, don't worry about that.
Sleep is something
you get around here
only when the shades of the
departed have taken a night off.
- Why, Mr. Julian.
- Good evening, Amelia.
- I'm sorry to be making such a late call...
- Save it, Julian.
If the folks have gone to bed,
get them up.
I want to talk to everybody
in the house.
- And who are you?
- Captain McCracken, Detective Bureau.
- Detective? What has she done?
- Who?
Donna.
I knew something terrible
would happen sooner or later,
with her running around nights
with Wayne Fletcher.
We'll talk about that later.
It's Julian.
He's got a detective with him.
- A detective? What does he want?
- I want to ask a few questions.
- About a murder.
- Who's been murdered?
Mrs. Wayne Fletcher.
(EXCLAIMS)
You seem very startled, miss.
Mind telling me why?
No, you see,
I work for Mr. Fletcher,
and naturally, the news
that his wife is dead...
- Worked for him tonight, too, didn't you?
- Yes, I did.
If you're insinuating that she had
anything to do with the murder...
- Who are you?
- Who am I? Well, I like that.
- I'm Belle Kincaid.
- Oh, yes.
I'll want to ask you
a few questions, too,
as soon as I've finished
with the young lady.
Meantime, you'd better
sit down.
(LAUGHING)
- I take it you are Mr. Samuel Kincaid?
- Yes, that's me.
And that's Amelia. She comes from
the English branch of the family
- that frittered away its money.
- MCCRACKEN: Oh, I see.
And don't be asking me any
questions about the murder.
I haven't been outside
the house all day.
Good, that establishes the first
alibi in the case. Have a seat.
- You might as well relax, too, Julian.
- Thank you.
Is that spirit rapper
in on this, too?
- And so you know Julian?
- Know him?
He practically lived here
since Belle and Amelia here
have decided
they wanted to talk
to all of the Kincaid ghosts.
This place had plenty of
noises in it before he came,
but you ought to hear it now.
Drop in some night, sit up with
me, I'll show you what I mean.
Maybe I'll do that.
Fletcher says you were with him in his
office from 7:00 to 10:00 tonight.
- Is that right, Miss Kincaid?
- Yes.
Do you suspect Wayne?
- I have him in jail.
- But he couldn't have done it.
When he brought me home he said he was
going back to talk to Vivian about...
About what?
- About a personal matter.
- You're not being very helpful, are you?
What do you mean?
I know that you're in love with Fletcher
and that he's in love with you.
I suppose Julian
told you that.
Didn't have to. Fletcher tried his
best to keep your name out of this,
tried to protect you.
That sounds like Wayne,
a fine upstanding fellow.
Fine fellow indeed,
murdering his wife and dragging
Donna's name into the case.
- Wayne is not a murderer.
- If you told me about this...
personal matter,
it might help him.
What was he going to talk
to his wife about?
He was going to demand a showdown,
insist that she release him.
You see, he is a murderer.
Looks that way,
but doesn't it strike you
as strange
that a man should go home to demand
a showdown from a dead woman?
By the way, what were you
doing out this evening?
Who said I was out?
Headquarters had an
anonymous phone call.
Seems you very seldom
go out after dark.
One of your neighbours
probably noticed you.
- Nosy things.
- Where were you?
I was visiting
Vivian Fletcher.
- Miss Belle, you shouldn't...
- McCRACKEN: You keep out of this, Julian.
Now go ahead, Miss Kincaid.
Why did you visit
Mrs. Fletcher this evening?
To ask her
to have him discharge Donna.
- Did she agree?
- Yes.
- Was Mrs. Fletcher alive when you left?
- Of course she was alive.
She was about to
take up dinner.
- What time was that?
- About 6:40.
Was Mr. Fletcher home when you left? His
car was just pulling into the driveway
when I said good night
to Vivian.
It was all very logical to me. She
demanded that he discharge Donna,
then he flew into a rage
and killed her.
Well, why don't you go ahead
and hang the man,
or whatever it is they do
to murderers,
instead of asking
all these silly questions?
Sometimes logic
leads to the wrong person.
Bosh! Why do you
have to drag out the case
and implicate us all in a lot
of unpleasant publicity?
You have the murderer in jail,
and you know it.
Maybe I have at that.
- Mr. Kincaid, were you out this evening?
- Nope, I've been hunting ghosts.
- Find any?
- No.
Sat up in the attic
with a double-barrelled shotgun
till hunger overcame me,
but no luck.
We've been hearing chains
rattling up there
- and somebody laughing every night.
- Very interesting.
Mr. Kincaid, do you mind stepping out
in the hall with me for a minute?
- I'd like to talk to you privately.
- Sure thing.
Stay right here,
I want to duck out a minute.
Little late for sightseeing,
isn't it?
- See anybody in there you know?
- Why, yes, I live next door.
Let's go in and see if your
neighbours recognise you.
- Hello, Bruce.
- Hello, Mr. Kincaid.
Where'd you find him?
Caught him doing
a peeping tom act outside.
- Says he lives next door.
- That's right.
Step into the parlour, sir.
- Hello, Donna.
- Bruce, what are you doing here?
Go ahead and tell her.
I'll listen, too.
I heard about Mrs. Fletcher
on the radio.
I knew you'd be upset, so I started
out to see if I could help.
I saw the police car outside,
so I looked in the window
to see what was going on.
He found me there.
It's horrible, knowing you rode
home with a murderer tonight.
MCCRACKEN: How do you know
she rode home with someone?
I was out for a walk
and happened to be passing...
Out for a walk! You were
spying on me as usual.
It's not spying to want to
protect someone you care for.
Protect?
Sure, everybody's trying
to protect me,
- treating me as if I'm a child.
- Donna!
Well, I'm not a child,
and nothing any of you
could ever say to me
will make me believe that Wayne
Fletcher is guilty of a murder.
Shhh!
Listen!
(CLOCK CHIMING)
(CHAINS RATTLING)
You mean the clock?
No, the ghost in the attic.
(MAN LAUGHING)
It's laughing again.
(CHAINS RATTLING)
There, you hear it?
- You say it's in the attic?
- Yes.
It's the spirit of Uncle Joe.
Strange manifestation,
I've heard it many times.
We've been trying to
establish contact,
- without success.
- SAM: Poppycock.
If that's the ghost of Joe Kincaid,
his voice has certainly changed.
He used to sing bass
in the choir.
But what about the chains? You
know you've heard the chains.
Well, you got me there.
It seems that Uncle Joe
was kind of wild in his youth
and got caught down south
one time without any money.
And they put him
on the chain gang for 30 days.
He never did quite live down
the disgrace.
And that thing up there
rattles chains.
- Let's have a look at the attic.
- Not me.
- Nor me.
- I'll show you.
You're the expert on spirits,
Julian, you better come along.
- Certainly.
- I'm going, too.
- I'd like to go, too, if you don't mind.
- Sure, why not?
Do you think I ought to tell
Mr. McCracken about Donna?
What about Donna?
She couldn't possibly have been in
Wayne Fletcher's office at 7:00.
- She didn't leave here till that time.
- Are you sure?
Positive.
Listen, Amelia, you mustn't say
a word about this to anybody.
- Understand?
- Mmm-hmm.
I don't hear anything now.
Maybe Uncle Joe
heard us coming.
(CREAKING)
That's my room.
Uncle Joe's wife
died in there.
Maybe that's her spirit on the way to
the attic to play with Uncle Joe's.
- There's nobody here.
- Never is.
I've been trying to catch
that door opener for years.
You might at least try
a little oil on the hinges.
- Yeah.
- Show me the attic.
(CHAINS RATTLING)
(MAN LAUGHING)
I guess Uncle Joe
is still up there. Come on.
Mighty dark up there.
Maybe your ghost left
by that window.
(RATTLING)
- Well, folks, there's your ghost.
- A raccoon.
Extraordinary!
It must be the pet the Morrisons
kept on a chain in their backyard.
I don't know. It looks a little
bit like Uncle Joe at that.
(SIGHS)
The ears are different.
(KEYS JINGLING)
Wayne.
- Hello, Donna.
- You can talk here for five minutes.
- I'll be watching you from the hall.
- Thanks.
Oh, Wayne,
I've been so worried.
There's nothing
to worry about.
- You don't think that I killed Vivian, do you?
- No, of course not.
But that detective, McCracken,
came to the house last night.
I was afraid he'd pin me down.
- About what?
- You weren't at the office at 7:00.
I didn't get there until 7:15, and
you came in a few minutes later.
Well, if that's all that's
worrying you, forget about it.
Naturally, it took me a few minutes
to go from the house to the office.
But you told McCracken
you met me there at 7:00.
Well, I know I did, but that was only because
I didn't know exactly what time it was.
I have nothing to hide, Donna.
If it'll make you feel any better,
I'll tell McCracken all about it.
Oh, no, please don't.
He'd only suspect you more.
It takes more than suspicion
to convict a man of murder.
When McCracken adds up his facts this
morning, I'm sure that he'll release me.
Captain McCracken wants to talk to
both of you in his office. Follow him.
This way.
You seem greatly interested in
convicting Wayne Fletcher, Miss Kincaid.
Why shouldn't I be?
Donna was a normal, happy girl
until she started working for him.
Now look at her,
willful, stubborn,
and instead of having her eyes
opened by the tragedy,
she imagines she's in love
with this murderer.
(DOOR OPENING)
Aunt Belle,
what are you doing here?
- Telling the truth in the interest of justice.
- Sit down, Miss Kincaid.
Why'd you lie to me
last night, Fletcher?
I suppose you're referring
to the time element.
Donna just reminded me that
I didn't arrive at the office
until a couple of minutes
past 7:15.
- I guess that clinches the case, doesn't it?
- It might.
Let's stop kidding, McCracken.
You know you haven't
enough evidence to hold me.
Now, shall I send my secretary
back to the office
to draw up a writ of habeas corpus,
or you going to release me now?
- I'm going to let you go, Fletcher.
- What?
- You can't possibly mean that.
- I do.
You see, all the evidence I have
against him is purely circumstantial.
- Like the evidence I have against you.
- Me? You must be crazy.
Not at all. You admit that you called
on Mrs. Fletcher last evening,
and I have only your word for
it that Fletcher arrived home
just as you were leaving.
By the way, Fletcher, did you see
Miss Kincaid leaving your house
when you came home to dinner?
- No, I didn't.
- You see?
Do you mean to say you're going to turn
a murderer loose on the community?
- Think I should hold both of you?
- You know very well I don't.
And I don't intend
to stay here another minute
listening to your
silly insinuations.
- Come with me, Donna.
- No, Aunt Belle.
I have some things
to talk over with Wayne.
Oh, Miss Kincaid, don't leave town.
I may want to question you again.
What are you doing?
Why, I was just measuring
the drapes.
They're getting pretty shabby. We
need some new ones, don't you think?
They've been perfectly
satisfactory for 30 years.
And I don't wish them changed.
But perhaps you and Wayne have been
making plans to redecorate the house.
Well, I'm not gone yet.
(DOORBELL RINGING)
- Good evening, Julian.
- Good evening.
- Let me take your hat.
- Thank you, Amelia.
- Did you prepare everything?
- Yes.
Do you think you ought
to go through with this?
- I most assuredly do.
- I'm scared.
There's no reason for you
to be frightened.
Just leave everything to me.
I'll want to spend a few
minutes in the dining room
alone, to attune myself
to the surroundings.
Of course.
I was just coming to call you.
Mr. Julian's here.
- Good. Where is he?
- In the dining room,
- attuning himself.
- Attuning himself!
I hope you locked up
the silver.
You needn't worry about that. The
Kincaid silver is exquisite,
but I can assure you
I have no designs upon it.
- Don't take my brother seriously, Julian.
- Of course not.
Nobody else does
around this place.
Do you feel that we will
accomplish our purpose tonight?
I am very confident. Shall
we go into the dining room?
As you know,
Vivian Fletcher was my medium.
A perfect medium.
We had a pact.
We agreed that the one who first
crossed over to the other side
would communicate with the one
who stayed behind.
- Silliest unmitigated tommyrot I ever heard.
- Shhh!
Will you sit at that end
of the table, Mr. Kincaid?
Well, I will,
but I don't want to.
Will you sit here beside me,
Miss Belle?
And you here, Amelia.
- Where's Donna?
- Here I am.
Oh.
Are you sure you told Mr.
Fletcher we were meeting at 9:007?
- I did.
- Please sit down.
- It's nearly 9:15.
- Don't worry, he'll be here.
(DOORBELL RINGING)
This is my idea
of nothing to do.
Sitting around like a bunch of nincompoops
waiting to hear from a ghost.
- Hello, Wayne.
- Hello.
- Did you search the room?
- Yes, didn't find a thing.
Good, then that leaves
Julian on his own.
(WHISPERING)
Now keep your eyes open.
Good evening, everyone.
- I'm sorry I was late.
- Don't apologise, Wayne.
Whatever it was is more important
than this dismal little gathering.
If you'll be seated,
Mr. Fletcher, we'll begin.
Will you extinguish the candle at
your end of the table, Mr. Kincaid?
Now will you all clasp your hands
before you on the table, like this?
I want to impress upon you
that absolute silence
and intense concentration
are necessary.
You all knew Vivian Fletcher.
I want you to think of her.
Concentrate.
Drive all other thoughts
from your mind.
Think only of Vivian Fletcher,
who is in another realm.
Think of her as you knew her
in this life.
If you concentrate
deeply enough, she will speak
through me,
while I'm in a trance.
From this moment on,
only silence
and concentration.
I'm waiting, Vivian.
I'm waiting.
I am Vivian Fletcher.
Can you hear me, Julian?
I hear you, Vivian.
You have a message?
I hear you, Vivian.
What is it?
I want to accuse
my husband, Wayne,
- of murdering me.
- That's a lie.
Wayne.
- Be quiet, you fool. You'll spoil everything.
- You're right about that.
Snap out of it, Julian.
Come on, snap out of it!
I want to talk to you.
- What is it? What happened?
- You know what happened.
That was a clever little trick,
imitating Vivian's voice.
- She spoke? You heard her speak?
- Yes, and she named him as her murderer.
Then it's true.
You did kill her.
He did, he did.
She said so.
- Julian, it must have been a trick.
- There was no trick.
No?
There's your stooge, Julian.
Now suppose you two explain to the folks
just why you cooked up this phony sance.
Why, I can assure you I had no
idea Bruce was in the house.
That's just the answer
that I expected.
I suppose you're going to deny
that Julian had anything to do
with your being here.
- He had nothing at all to do with it.
- Then why are you here?
Because you're not safe
with him.
- Listen, Bruce...
- Don't, Wayne, please.
Violence won't help, Fletcher.
Get this straight, Julian.
- I'm not accused of anything.
- But you are.
You're accused of murder
by the woman you killed.
- That's right.
- We all heard her accuse him.
Why doesn't somebody
send for the police?
Why don't you
shut your big mouth?
This eyewash wouldn't hold
in court, would it, Wayne?
Certainly not.
Well, then why don't you walk
out on these table rappers?
- I would if I didn't live here.
- You'd better leave, Wayne.
- I'm sorry I let you in for this, Wayne.
- Forget it.
Julian's little show
may lead somewhere.
As a lawyer, I've found that
when a fellow tries too hard
to prove that someone else
committed a crime,
he generally has
a very good reason for it.
You mean that Julian
murdered Vivian?
Either that
or he's shielding someone.
Maybe McCracken
can figure that out.
- Good night.
- Good night.
Bruce, you've been popping in and out
of here ever since you was a toddler,
but do you mind telling me
how you got in tonight?
Through the kitchen door.
It was unlocked.
Then you can leave
the same way.
But, Donna,
I want to talk to you.
I know you must be
terribly upset.
- If there's anything I can do...
- There is. You can get out.
Okay.
That goes for you, too,
Julian.
I realise the proof of Fletcher's guilt
is disconcerting, my dear, but...
Proof? Do you think
for a moment
I'd believe any part of your
spiritualistic bunk? Now get out.
Julian is not leaving, Donna.
I have invited him to remain
with us as a house guest.
Thank you, Miss Belle.
Now those poor Kincaid ghosts
never will get any rest.
VIVIAN: Wayne.
Wayne.
Why are you drinking, Wayne?
Do you think it will help you
forget that you murdered me?
Vivian.
Come with me, Wayne,
I want to show you something.
Here I am, Wayne.
This way.
Come in, Wayne.
Don't be frightened.
This way, Wayne.
Why do you stop?
Come inside with me.
Vivian!
WAYNE: Vivian!
Vivian!
Vivian, where are you?
Vivian!
Vivian!
Vivian!
Vivian!
What are you doing here?
What's the idea of your
running around this cemetery
in the middle of the night,
yelling your head off?
You gonna answer me,
or am I gonna call the police?
- Oh, no, don't call the police.
- Hey!
(CREAKING)
Sam. Wake up.
It's after 9:00.
(SCREAMS)
You say you saw a man hanging
around the grounds last night?
- Yes, I did.
- What time was that?
Just after midnight.
I was preparing to go to bed.
I went over to the window to
draw the curtains and I saw him.
Have you any idea
who it was?
I can't be sure,
but it looked to me
like Mr. Fletcher.
How about that, Fletcher? Were you
on the estate grounds last night?
- Well, to be honest with you, I don't know.
- What do you mean, you don't know?
I realise it'll sound
very strange to you,
but last night I had rather
a terrifying experience.
I saw my wife, talked to her.
- Do you expect me to believe that?
- No, but it's true.
She came to me
when I was alone, at home.
Said that she wanted
to show me something.
I followed her
to the cemetery,
right up to the door of our family
crypt where she was buried.
Then she disappeared.
You've got to believe this,
McCracken.
When she disappeared, I searched
the cemetery, calling to her.
- Then the sexton found me.
- Then what happened?
I don't remember.
The next thing I knew, 1
awakened this morning at home,
- feeling like I had had a terrible nightmare.
- You sure it wasn't just a nightmare?
I'm positive.
I tell you I saw her,
spoke to her.
We'd better have a look at that crypt.
I ordered it left unsealed.
I'll be in touch with the rest
of you later. Come on, Fletcher.
Go ahead and open it.
- It's empty.
- Empty?
Yeah. No corpus delicti.
Now you see? That proves
that Vivian's still alive.
Maybe.
I've cracked a number of
reasonably tough cases,
but this one has me stumped.
Suppose we admit
that your wife is still alive,
that Julian worked with her to frame
you for what appeared to be a murder.
Why should anyone want to kill a nice,
harmless old man like Sam Kincaid?
- Has me stumped, too.
- Maybe this will help.
It seems my uncle was
investigating Julian's past.
- This might mean something at that.
- Well, what is it?
It's from the Consolidated
Vaudeville Artists' Association.
It says Julian used to be
a ventriloquist and imitator.
Then that gives him a motive,
the fear that Sam Kincaid
would expose him.
And being a ventriloquist, he could've
tricked me by imitating Vivian's voice.
Yes, he could.
(POUNDING)
Who are you?
I am Deborah Kincaid.
I have a message for Belle.
- What is the message?
- Tell her...
Tell her never to stop believing
in the spirit world.
- Never.
- I shall tell her.
- Did you hear?
- Yes.
And I will never
stop believing.
I shall make ample provision for you to
carry on with psychic research, Amelia,
in case anything
happens to me.
JULIAN: You're a very wise
woman, Miss Belle.
So that's how you make your sudden
and mysterious appearances.
- Gosh, you scared me, Donna.
- I'm glad I did.
You haven't any business
popping in and out of walls.
Where does that
sliding panel lead?
Remember the secret passage we discovered
in the cellar when we were kids?
Yes, but that ended up at a
wall made of huge stones.
I know. But one of the stones moves
aside if you know where to touch it.
Then there's another passage, with
a musty old room at the end of it
- and some steps leading up here.
- Thanks for the information.
I'll have it boarded up.
Please don't do that, Donna.
I want to feel that I can always
come here, in case you're in danger.
And I'd like to feel
as if I have a little privacy.
Now, would you care
to leave the way you came in,
or would you like to use the door,
just for the sake of novelty?
You're going to see Wayne
tonight, aren't you?
- Well, what if I am?
- He's dangerous, Donna.
Oh, I know you think
I'm horning in all the time,
but I wouldn't be doing it
if I weren't crazy about you.
You used to like me.
Donna, what's happened to us?
Do you expect me
to like someone
who's constantly
sneaking around,
interfering in my affairs,
eavesdropping?
Donna,
what's all the argument about?
Bruce has just been trying
to tell me how to run my life.
As if I don't get enough
of that around here.
- Donna, where are you going?
- Out!
(AMELIA SCREAMING)
Amelia, what happened?
It's Belle. She's dead,
just like the others.
(TELEPHONE RINGING)
Yeah?
What?
Okay, I'll handle it.
- O'Leary speaking.
- O'Leary, this is McCracken.
There's been another
Kincaid murder.
- No fooling.
- No fooling.
Same way, same house. Hop out there
and pick up that guy Julian.
Bring him in and book him.
That won't be necessary,
Captain McCracken.
Hold it, O'Leary.
I knew you'd suspect me
and want me arrested,
so I thought
I'd save you the trip.
Go back to your gin game, O'Leary.
The guy just walked into my office.
- Good evening, Amelia.
- Hello.
- Are you bringing him into this house?
- I certainly am.
Mr. Fletcher is spending
the night here at my request.
(EXCLAIMING)
And please don't be
unpleasant about it.
Don't worry, I'll be in my
room with the door locked.
And if anyone thinks
of murdering me,
I'm warning them, I sleep
with a gun under my pillow.
Pleasant, isn't she?
Now that Uncle Sam
and Aunt Belle are gone,
I'm afraid Amelia's going to
be quite a problem.
Yes, I can understand that.
(CHIMING)
(WOMAN SCREAMING)
Wayne.
- Wayne, wake up.
- What?
Listen.
(SCREAMING CONTINUES)
- There it is again.
- Yeah, upstairs.
Amelia! Amelia!
- Oh, are you all right?
- Perfectly all right.
And I'll stay that way
as long as I have this gun.
- Oh, but didn't you hear a woman scream?
- I did not.
Now go away and don't
go pounding on my door
just because your conscience
bothers you.
- (DOOR CREAKING)
- Look.
Whose room was that?
Nobody's. It's just a linen
closet and a trunk room.
The light's burned out.
That's funny,
there's no one here.
I wonder what made
that door open.
- Amelia! Amelia!
- AMELIA: What is it?
- Open the door, Amelia. We're locked in.
- Sure you are, I locked you in.
- You what?
- I locked you in.
Poor Mr. Julian's
locked up for murder.
He's innocent and nobody believes him,
and they'll put him in the gas chamber.
Now I've got you locked in
and you'll die.
There never would have been
a murder but for you.
You're evil,
both of you, evil.
Oh, don't be such a fool,
Amelia. Open the door.
Oh, no.
Wayne Fletcher killed his wife
and Sam and Belle.
And they'll kill poor
Mr. Julian with gas. Gas.
Gas. I know what I'll do.
I'll fetch a gas tube from downstairs,
and I'll attach it here in the hall
and run it under the door, and then you'll
die just as Mr. Julian is going to die.
(AMELIA LAUGHING)
She sounds like she's crazy.
Amelia, you're out
of your mind. Open the door.
You know, she could do that, too.
There aren't any windows in here.
Julian.
- Hello, Amelia.
- You... You got away.
You escaped.
(BANGING ON DOOR)
What's that?
What's that noise?
I've locked them up
in the storage room.
- Who?
- Donna and Wayne Fletcher.
We can kill them with gas.
Give me that.
- Hello, Fletcher.
- Julian.
Good thing McCracken timed my
release so I could get here.
- He released you?
- Yes.
He decided there wasn't
enough evidence to hold me.
Fortunate, wasn't it?
Amelia tells me she was
going to kill both of you.
- Misguided loyalty is dangerous sometimes.
- They're evil, that's what they are.
You'd better go to bed,
Amelia.
Hurry before they lose patience
and have you thrown in jail.
- Evil. The whole house is evil.
- I know.
- Good night, Amelia.
- Good night, Julian.
I suppose I ought to thank you
for saving us, Julian.
Don't bother.
May I congratulate you upon becoming
the heiress to the Kincaid fortune.
Naturally, I'm no longer
welcome here.
I'll move my belongings
tonight if you insist.
Or if you think I might have
a calming influence on Amelia,
I'll wait until morning.
- Stay until morning, by all means.
- Thank you.
- Good night.
- Good night, Julian.
Good night.
I still can't understand
why McCracken released him.
I'm positive he's guilty.
- He also released me.
- But that was different.
The rules of evidence
apply to everyone.
A man is presumed innocent
until proven guilty.
Detectives have been known to
release the people they suspect
with the hopes that they would
trap themselves, haven't they?
Well, yes.
I'm sure that's what McCracken's
done in Julian's case.
(MAN MOANING)
- Did you hear that?
- Yes.
- It sounded like it came from down there.
- It's Bruce. He's hanging around again.
- What do you mean?
- Well, see that open panel?
Yes.
Well, that leads to a secret
passage through the cellar.
He uses it to come into the
house whenever he pleases.
- Why didn't you tell me about it?
- Oh, it didn't seem important.
- Bruce is such a harmless boy.
- Harmless.
Well, if he's so harmless, why
is he always sneaking about?
(EXCLAIMS)
This must be the secret room
Bruce was talking about.
Wayne, look.
It's Vivian.
(GASPS)
- Is she alive?
- No.
Come on, we'd better
get out of here.
(SCREAMS)
Who are you?
Are you ready to confess
you murdered your wife
- and the others, Wayne Fletcher?
- It's Bruce.
Confess, Fletcher.
You know you killed them.
Now tell me what you know about
Vivian's body being here.
Come on, tell me.
I did it. I brought the
body here from the crypt.
But why?
I hate you, Wayne Fletcher,
for taking Donna away from me.
I'd do anything
to make you confess.
I thought you'd break down when
you found the empty coffin.
I deliberately
coaxed you down here,
hoping that seeing her body
would force you to confess.
You did all those things?
He's guilty. And sooner
or later he'll admit it.
- You miserable, cowardly...
- That won't do any good, Donna.
Come on, upstairs.
Here. Get out,
and do it quickly.
(DOOR CLOSES)
Now, Donna, I think you'd
better go up to your room.
What about you?
I'll stay down here and
think this whole thing out.
Can't I stay with you?
No, we'd just talk in circles
and arrive nowhere.
Now, please, do it my way.
You'll stay here, though.
You won't go away?
Of course not. Now run along.
- Good night.
- Good night.
(CHIMING)
VIVIAN: Wayne.
Wayne, I'm waiting.
What do you want?
I want to make everything
clear to you, Wayne.
Come with me.
This way, Wayne.
Upstairs.
I'm here, Wayne,
in old Mr. Kincaid's room.
Come in, Wayne.
This is the room.
Now, show me how you did it.
- How I did what?
- How you killed him.
You followed me
to the cemetery.
Then you broke away from the
sexton and came here. Remember?
Yes, I remember.
Fine. Now, show me
how you did it.
I came through
that open window.
He always left it open.
Then I crossed over
to the bed.
He didn't hear me.
He was asleep.
- Then I picked up the pillow.
- So that's how you did it?
Yes.
Just like I killed
you and Belle.
Wayne!
What are you saying?
I was just telling Vivian
how I killed them.
- But Vivian isn't here.
- Oh, yes, she is.
Wayne.
- There she is now. Can't you hear her?
- No.
I don't hear anything.
Donna can't hear me
but she knows.
At last she realises
that you are a
psychopathic killer.
Isn't it too bad
that you can't have her
and all that Kincaid money,
now that we are
out of the way?
But you can't, Wayne.
She'll tell the police.
You'll have to kill Donna.
Yes, I will.
I will.
She'll tell the police.
Don't let her escape, Wayne.
- No. Wayne, don't.
- Don't try to get away, Donna.
(SCREAMING)
Don't scream, darling.
Don't. Don't.
Hold the pillow
very tight, Wayne.
- Donna, are you all right?
- I'll be all right when I get my breath.
Stop right there, Fletcher.
Don't try it, Wayne.
He'll kill you.
What'll I do, Vivian?
What'll I do?
I'll take you away with me.
Here I am, at the window.
Hurry, Wayne,
there's no time to lose.
(SCREAMS)
Well, I guess
that's everything.
Donna, Bruce.
I had a psychic presentiment that
things would turn out like this.
I hope you're very happy
with the Kincaid ghosts.
- Goodbye, Captain McCracken.
- Goodbye, Julian.
I owe you a vote of thanks for
helping us expose Fletcher.
That psychic abracadabra
of yours is quite a thing.
My dear fellow,
the word "abracadabra" is anathema
to the true believer in the occult.