The wave that gives that natural look is T-O-N-I, Tony. Tony! Tony Home Permanent, the wave that gives that natural look, brings you Crime Photographer. Good evening everyone. This is Bill Cullen greeting you for Tony Home Permanent and inviting you to listen to another adventure of Casey, Crime Photographer, ace cameraman who covers the crime news of a great city. Written by Alonzo Dean Cole, our adventure for tonight, The Wolverine. The Blue Node Cafe, shortly before one o'clock in the afternoon. Well, I was wondering when you two would show up. Hi, Ethelbert Hykes. Hello, Ethelbert. Just coming in from an assignment? Yeah, not a pretty one either. Hmm, say what kind of assignment were you on? Read about it in the noon edition, pal. I was just looking over the noon edition. Casey, were you covering the murder of them three gangsters, Bobo Gusick and his two pounds? Yeah, it's been our job. The paper said the cops learned their bodies could be found in that beach house through an anonymous phone call. That's right. You read my story all right. What wasn't in your story, Miss Williams? The real lowdown, huh? Strictly off the record, Ethelbert. Joe Schuster's being very severely questioned about the triple murder. I've heard a rumor that Schuster was gunning for Bobo Gusick. How about clues at the scene of the crime? All leads were found except, well, there's a funny little thing. Most peculiar. What? A crude drawing was found clutched in Bobo Gusick's hand, an amateurish pen and ink sketch of, well, it looked like a cross between a weasel and a bear. There ain't no such animal. I never heard of such a combination. If the sketch is a lead, it's a very obscure one. Yeah. Hello, Casey. Luno Cafe, Ethelbert speaking. Let's go to a table and get some food under our belts, Annie, shall we? Oh, come on. Just a minute. Don't go away, Casey. It's for you. Ah, who is it? Your city desk, Mr. Burke. Oh, wouldn't you? Oh, nuts. Let's see what he wants. Hello, Burke. Well, listen, we were just going to have something to eat, can't we even? Huh? Huh. Yeah. Well, OK, we'll be right over. What is it, Casey? I just received a screwball letter to the editor that might turn into hot copy. The guy who wrote it says that he killed Bobo and his two pals, and he promises to knock off another couple of gangsters today. Have you looked into your mirror lately and wondered what to do about your hair? Well, let me suggest an answer. A lovely Tony home permanent. Your hair will be soft and natural looking from the very first day. You'll have just the right amount of curl and your wave will last for months. You know, a Tony wave is guaranteed to last just as long as the most expensive beauty shop wave and guaranteed to look more natural or your money back. No wonder each month another two million women have beautiful Tony waves. A Tony costs just one dollar with plastic curlers, two dollars. Get a Tony kit tomorrow and give yourself the loveliest, longest lasting wave you've ever had. A Tony home permanent. The wave that gives that natural look. T-O-N-I, Tony. Listen to this letter, Casey. You too, Williams. Yeah, we're listening. Go ahead, read it. City editor, Morning Express. Blah, blah, blah, blah. Dear sir, several hours before you receive this, the police will have discovered the dead bodies of a racketeer known as Bobo Gusick and two of his lieutenants. I killed them for a multiple reason. One, a civilized society will be better off without them. Two, men of their type habitually carry large sums of money. And three, I find it amusing to pit my wits against both the underworld and the police. In this last, I resemble the sagacious animal whom I have selected as my identifying trademark, the wolverine. Another sketch of it will be found today. Well, that means that- Yeah, the guy promises us another murder. Now, here's the finish. You gentlemen of the press are invited to join with the police and their criminal quarries in what will prove to be a hopeless battle with the wolverine. The wolverine? That's the signature. Hmm. I think he's the killer, but he's a nut too. The evidence of this letter, he's an educated guy. What kind of an animal is a wolverine? Well, I've read they're the toughest, meanest, most intelligent animals in existence. I'll have research dig up complete dope on them so we can give this letter a good dressing up when we run it on page one. Got to show it to the cops before you run it. Why should I, the writer of this letter, may be pulling a fast one, just a gag? Wait a second. City desk, Burke speaking. Yes? Who is this speaking? Casey. The wolverine. Where's that? Island Road? Half a mile north of the old brick church in a clump of maple trees. What? Look, who is this? Huh? He's hung up. You got that address, Casey? Yeah. This nut, the wolverine, says he's kept his promise. This may still be a gag, Burke, but Anne and I are starting for Highland Road in that clump of maple trees right now. Find anything yet, Annie? Not a thing. The shade of those big maples is so dense, Casey. It's almost like night in here. Holy shit. You found something? Plenty. Come here. I can't be stumbled over this guy's body. Body? Look at the holes in his chest. Apparently the wolverine isn't just a gag. Casey, look. What? Over there. I see it. It's another dead guy. Yeah. He was mostly hidden behind that tree trunk. Uh-huh. Annie. Hmm? We knew this guy. I can't look at his face. It's Ed Mason. The numbers operator? Yeah. A racketeer like Bobo. The other stiff used to be his chief muscle man, Herb Frankel. Well, come on, Annie. I'll get my camera from the car and shoot pictures of this, or you'll find a phone called Burke and the Cops. Casey. What? Something's moving over there, coming this way. Yes, I hear it. I can see now. It's a man. Yeah. Maybe... maybe he's the wolverine. He's not coming for newspaper stiffs. Who's that there? Hello, Casey. I thought I recognized you. I thought you were the wolverine. I thought you were the wolverine. I thought you were the wolverine. I thought you were the wolverine. I thought you were the wolverine. I thought I recognized your car parked out there. Foster. Afternoon, Miss Williams. Oh, it's only you, Foster. And who did you think I was? The wolverine. What do you know about the wolverine? I work for a newspaper, too, you know. Not a high circulation bourgeois paper like your morning express, but our exclusive little daily standard bearer gets letters to the editor, and since we meet in this place, I assume we were brought here by the same reason. You got a letter? Followed by a phone call from the ambitious gentleman who calls himself the wolverine. Burke isn't gonna run this story as an exclusive, Annie. You two find anything among these trees? Well, if we told you no, you'd look around for yourself, so look there. Thanks, old chap. Mm-hmm. These gentlemen seem to be deceased. That's putting it mildly. This wolverine is assuming the proportions of an interesting character. Oh, by the way, do you know what a wolverine really is? Yes. Really? You surprise me. Why? Journalists employed by the standard bearer are required to have a general knowledge of almost everything. They're all college graduates, you know. But your morning express... Yeah, all we've got to know is news values. You recognize either of these dead guys, Foster? No, can't say I do. Really? You surprise me. Do you know who they are? Mm-hmm. Then you can read all about them in the morning express. Okay, Annie, start looking for a phone. Give Burke our story. Oh, by the way, Foster, why didn't your classy standard bearer send a photographer with you? Because we of the standard bearer have multiple talents, Casey. I have a camera in my car, and after taking suitable photographs, I shall make some effective and exclusive pencil sketches of this gruesome sea. These bodies are exactly as Anne and I found them, Logan. I didn't let Foster disturb any... I made no attempt to disturb evidence, Captain. I didn't say you made an attempt. Your implication was clear enough. David! There's a piece of paper clutched in the hand of this dead guy. Look, it's the same bum sketch of a cockeyed-looking animal we found on Bobo Gussock. I wouldn't say it's a bum sketch, Captain. It's the most effective impressionistic drawing of a wolverine. Impressionistic, huh? Oh, yes, Foster knows. Among his other talents, he can draw pictures. Do you recognize these dead men, Captain? Yeah, this one's Ed Mason, and the stiff over there was his bodyguard, Herb Prico. Oh, nuts. What's the matter, Casey? Nothing, nothing at all. Nothing at all. Now I shall return to my paper with a full story. Good day, Miss Williams, and gentlemen. Good day. So long, Foster. Yeah, so long. Funny guy, that fellow. He painted the neck and sewed his lousy paper. Hey, this wolverine gave his sheet the same break yours got. Yes, it did. Well, anyway, the wolverine makes good on his promises. Just like Bobo Gusick and Ed Mason, the red hearts who have been killed with him are cagey guys, Logan. In order to get two of them in these woods and three in that beach house, this wolverine must be somebody they knew and trusted. Logan, have you turned Joe Shuster loose yet? No, but I'll have to now. Anyway, I was pretty well convinced he was clean on the Gusick killing before the wolverine claimed the credit. Well, have him freed right away, will you? So I can pay him a friendly visit at his tavern hangout tonight. So you can... Yes, Joe Shuster was a pal of Ed Mason's. Now, he should know about guys who could have trapped Mason. And Shuster may talk to me as he wouldn't talk to any cop. Yeah, Joe Shuster's back in his private office, Casey. And he ain't in very good humor on the kind of the cops trying to hand him a bum rap for that Gusick bump off. I don't know whether he'll see or not. Well, tell him I'm not here on newspaper business, Leo. Say I want to give him a straight talk on the Gusick bump off, Ed Mason's bump off, and the wolverine. Hey, you got any insight dope on that mug who calls himself the wolverine? My paper carried a story about him. Yeah, yeah, just your paper and a stand up bearer. The guy Foster from the stand up bearer was here a while ago to see Joe. What? Yes? Yeah, Joe talked to him because Foster had been a pal of Ed Mason's before he got bumped off. Foster was a pal of Mason's? Well, not a pal exactly, but he and Mason knew each other pretty well. But did Foster know Herb Frankel too? Hey, hey, hey, Manny. Yeah? Come here and keep Casey company while I go in and see the boss. Yeah, okay. I'll give Joe your message, Casey. Yeah, thanks, Leo. Yeah, I'm drinking a Tom Collins, Casey. Will I have the barkeep fix you one? Oh, no, thanks, Manny. No, no. Leo says Joe Shuster isn't in very good humor today. Well, can you blame him? You know, them cops wasn't very nice to Joe. Yeah, just had a tough break. Yeah, but he'll stop burning after he gets a few laughs from Doc Ava. Doc Ava? Who's he? Yeah, the little Doc's with him now. He's one of them comical guys who don't mean to be funny. You ever meet him? No, I never met him. Well, you got to. He's a college professor. He's a college professor? Yeah, he teaches that psychological stuff. He's making a study of us guys in the rackets. We're making a study of him. Manny, I understand Foster. The standard bearer knew Ed Mason and Herb Frankel pretty well. Yeah, yeah, Foster's another one of them snooty, educated guys who's good for laughs. Hey, Leo's coming back. Nice to see you in a minute, Casey. Yes, well, Leo, thanks. Yeah, he's just about to... Hey, Casey. Yes, Shuster. Hey, he's come on himself to tell you to hold on. Stick around. I got to make a phone call. It'll only take a minute. Okay, I'll wait. You go out and talk to the guy's doc. I'll see you later. Well, I'd like to ask you one more question, Mr. Shuster. If you step back in here... Okay, but make it snappy. Oh, I shall. Yeah, the boss is a sap for that Doc Ava. Yeah, why not, Leo? You know, that little Doc is good for a million laughs. Not to me. I don't go for them. They're high brows. Very much, Mr. Shuster. Your answer's been most helpful now. I can't trouble you anymore. So the boss gave me the right answer, huh, Doc? Yes, Manny. He helps me immensely in my studies. Yeah, shake hands with Casey here. Casey, this is our pal, Doc Ava. Howdy, Doc. Pleasure, Mr. Casey. You are an associate of these gentlemen? Well, in a way, I'm a press photographer. Dear, dear, how interesting. Hey, this guy has screamed Casey. I beg your pardon. No offense, Doc. How about joining me in a nice, cold Tom Collins? Manny, I have told you many times that my stomach cannot tolerate the lemon juice that is a composite part of your favorite drink. And I've warned you that citric acid may be bad for your constitution. Well, it ain't never hurt me yet. What I will have and always have, once daily, is a small glass of dry sherry. I'll go get it for you. Hey, get this guy talking. Casey, he'll kill you. I'll be back in a minute. And what paper are you with, Mr. Casey? Morning Express, Doc. Oh, it carried the story about that, that Wolverine today. Yeah, in the final edition. Distressing affair. I was acquainted with the men he killed. You were? Yeah, Doc's got himself in solid with all the guys, Casey. It's kind of you to say that, Leo. I am conducting certain psychological studies among people in, well, various walks of life, Mr. Casey. Yeah, so I've been told. The boss should have finished that phone call by now. I'll go see what's keeping him. Yeah, I wish you would, Leo. Well, have you succeeded in finding out what makes these gang guys tick, Doc? Well, I've arrived at some interesting conclusions, Mr. Casey. Huh, what? Come quick! Leo, what is it? Look, look, in Joe's office. The boss! I've got a knife in his throat. He was lying like that when I opened up the store. Mr. Casey, there's paper on the floor beside Mr. Schuster's body. Let me see that paper, Doc. Here, it's a pen and ink sketch of a wolverine. Oh, Mr. Cullen, I thought you was Casey. I got a swell riddle poem especially for him. Can't you tell me? Oh, sure. Listen. All right. You have to guess what animal I'm writing about. Okay, let's hear it. I ain't a weasel and I ain't a bear, but I mean murder, so beware. That's good. And if you read the morning express, what I am, you should guess. Oh, that's a wolverine. Picture one was found in a dead man's hand. I read all about it in the noon edition. Gee, you got it fast. You sure are smart, Mr. Cullen. Oh, you're the one who's smart, Ethelbert. How about doing a riddle poem especially for me, all right? Oh, let me think. All right. I got it. Go ahead. Everyone thinks she has a natural curl, but the actual fact is she's a... A Tony girl? Yes, people simply can't tell which is the girl with the natural curl and which is the girl with the Tony. That's because gentle Tony waves actually look and feel like naturally curly hair. Over and over again, Tony users write of the same experience. People ask if their hair is naturally curly. Even on the very first day, there's no frizziness, no harsh effect. Tony waves look natural from the first moment, and they're so shiny, soft and silky, they're so easy to set and style. You'll enjoy doing your hair when you see how beautifully it behaves with a Tony, and you'll be pleased with yourself when you look in your mirror, for you get such lovely results, sure results. Remember, Tony is the only permanent that gives you this twin guarantee. Your Tony wave is guaranteed to last just as long as the most expensive wave you've ever had, and your Tony is guaranteed to look more natural or your money back. No wonder more than two million women each month choose Tony home permanent. More than two million? That's a lot of women. Yes, each month another two million women have lovely, long-lasting Tony waves. How about you? Now, Casey, you've heard Dr. Avon, Manny, Leo, the bartender, and all the customers that were in this joint here give me their versions of the discovery of the killing. How do their stories stack up with what you saw? 100%, pal. I know that Joe Schuster was alive only a few minutes before we found him dead because I saw him and I talked to him. And not more than 30 or 40 seconds later, I heard Doc Avon talking to him as he left Schuster's office. When Leo went to the door to call Schuster, he was never out of my sight for a minute. Are you sure of that? I'm positive. I saw Leo open the door. He didn't go inside. He just stood there and yelled at us to come and look, so the Wolverine had to come in the back door. So the Wolverine remains a big unknown. Yeah. What did the medical examiner have to say? Well, the knife went through Schuster's neck in such a way he couldn't make a sound. The Wolverine either made a lucky thrust or he knew anatomy. Logan, I watched Foster drawing pictures today. He's a pretty good artist. An artist with no anatomy. Foster? Yeah, the standard-bearer. Another thing, tonight I've learned that Foster was well acquainted with Ed Mason and Herb Frankel. And yet this afternoon when he saw their dead bodies, he denied that he knew either one of them. Lastly, Foster was in this office with Joe Schuster just a little while before I got here, so he knew about the back door. I think you'd better talk to Mr. Foster. My dear Casey, I pretended that I didn't recognize the bodies of Mason and Frankel this afternoon simply to, well, pull your leg. It amused me to play on your conceited belief that you possessed knowledge I didn't have. Oh, yeah? You know, Foster, the Wolverine's letter reads a great deal like you talk. Which only means that he, like myself, is a man of culture. You admit it. Are you so naive to believe I am the Wolverine, Captain Logan? I may answer that after you account for your movements after you left Schuster tonight. I'll not only do that, I'll prove an alibi for the time of the Bobo Gossick murders and of the Mason killings. My dear Captain. Well, Casey, I'm told your suspicions of our little pal Foster blew up with a loud bang this morning. Don't believe everything you hear, Annie. They only seem to blow up. Oh, he established alibis for all of those three killings. And Logan turned him loose. Logan turned him loose with the notion that given a good long rope, Foster may hang himself. Those alibis of his aren't all together tight by any means. Oh? And I'm going to try to loosen them still more. How? Well, first, we're paying a visit to Doc Avon. Doc Avon? Oh, because he was the last man to see Schuster alive? No, because he's a psychologist. I want to get his professional opinion of Foster and of the Wolverine. I'm really not sufficiently acquainted with Mr. Foster to venture an opinion of his character. I've talked to the gentleman only a few times, Mr. Casey. Yeah, but you're a trained observer, Doc. I mean, even in those few times, he must have left an impression on you. Well, yes. I'd say the young man is egocentric, perhaps with more than a touch of megalomania. You mean, uh... Dr. Avon means that Foster likes himself, Casey, that he's obsessed with his own importance. Oh, thanks, Annie. Oh, well, that's the way we've had him pegged. From what we know of the Wolverine, wouldn't you say that he was the same kind of a guy, Doc? Oh, dear, no. I think his letter is quite expressive of his personality. He wants money, he has a contempt for common criminals, and he's a man of brains who, probably bored by a drab life, has decided to play a dangerous and exciting game. I wrote that brief analysis in my diary last night. I habitually make notes of my thoughts. And, of course, the Wolverine was very much on my mind. Oh, naturally, since you've just come from a police inquiry over his latest victim. Well, I, uh... I'm going to deliver a lecture this morning, so you won't think me rude if I beg to be... Oh, no, of course not. We'll be on our way. Oh, no, you don't have to rush. I always have a glass of milk before I go to the classroom. Won't you join me? No, thanks. A glass of milk sounds kind of good to me. Fine. I'll get it from the refrigerator. As you see, when I move this screen, I have a little kitchenette in this one-room apartment. Yeah. Doc, I heard you say last night... Uh, yes? Uh, you knew Gussigan Mason as well as you knew Schuster, hm? I've become acquainted with many of the criminal fraternity in the course of my studies. I find the most curious people... Ah, here's your milk, Mr Casey. Uh, thanks. Much obliged. Sure you won't join us, Miss Williams? Ah, no, thanks. The, uh... Wolverine must have, uh... lifted quite a roll from Schuster's pocket last night, huh? The police informed me that a search had revealed that his wallet was missing. Yeah. Well, thanks. We'll be running along now. Thanks for the milk and everything. You're quite welcome. Uh, what time will you be back here after your lecture, just in case we want to get in touch with you? In about two hours. Well, we may see you then. So long. Oh, uh, goodbye, Dr Avon. Goodbye. Annie, hurry. Down these stairs. I want to buy an electric iron. An electric iron? The nearest hardware store. And when the professor's gone, we're bringing it back here. What? I got a hunch Doc Avon is the Wolverine. Well, Casey, by your own testimony, Schuster was alive when Dr Avon left his office. I'm revising my testimony, Annie. I merely heard Avon talking and concluded he was speaking to a live guy. It takes only a few seconds to drive a knife into a guy's throat and grab his wallet. But because it was done so quickly and so cleverly, even I was giving Avon an alibi until I saw those lemons in his kitchenette. Lemons? Yes, last night. He said he was allergic to lemons. Now, Casey, have you gone crazy? Lemons, electric irons. Avon habitually makes notes of all his thoughts, Annie. I think you'll see the connection when we get back to his room. I found Avon's diary, Annie. Oh, let me see it. Here's the page he wrote last night after Schuster was killed. That merely tells of the murder. His bewildered reaction to it. And his analysis of the Wolverine, which he told us he put down. All perfectly innocent on the surface. Now, let's run this hard iron over the page. Maybe we'll read between the lines. More writing appears. Casey, he used invisible ink. He used plain lemon juice, Anne, which is completely absorbed by paper until heat is applied. It makes it take on color. I learned the lemon juice trick as a kid. And Avon's only reason for having lemons in his place had to be for secret writing. And the secret writing says my plan to destroy Schuster was as perfect in execution as it was in conception. I thrust the knife exactly right, and he slid to the floor without a sound. My alibi was firmly established, and nobody remotely suspected that I am... The Wolverine. Avon. Be quiet, both of you, if you want. We see the 45 in your hand, Doc. We came home sooner than we expected. Mr. Casey, the Wolverine is acutely sensitive to danger, so I returned without making my lecture. Now, the would-be trappers are trapped. You can't afford to spring any traps in your own home, Doc. On the contrary. You entered my home without my permission. You have no more right to be here than have common thieves. I have a legal right to destroy those who threaten my property. Oh, Casey. Like the Wolverine, Miss Williams, when I trap the trappers, they are really trapped. What was that? Something struck him, Casey, and he knocked him down. Well, there was a camera that hit him. A good pitch, wouldn't you say? Foster! I've been watching this interesting scene from the fire escape outside that open window. When things seemed to be getting hot, I thought I'd better do something, and my camera was all I had to do it with. Oh, boy, when I get your new camera, that's a grand job you did, and that camera knocked the Doc cold. Well, how did you happen to be on the phone? I had my own little suspicions of Dr. Avon and decided to keep an eye on him. I was doing just that. Oh, thank heaven. Yes, and thank you, Foster. Don't mention it, my dear Casey. I guess a guy can be wrong about a guy once in a while. For soft water shampooing, use Tony Cream Shampoo. Even in the hardest water, Tony Cream Shampoo. Yes, even in the hardest water, Tony Cream Shampoo gives soft water shampooing that rinses away dandruff instantly, leaves hair so soft, so smooth, so shining clean. Today, bring out the sparkling beauty of your hair with Tony Cream Shampoo. Get the handy tube or jar. Tony Cream Shampoo. It's for you. That Doc Avon had written all about his killings in that diary, huh, Casey? Yes, effort, in lemon juice. And now his habit of writing down his thoughts will put an end to his thoughts. In the chair. Just the same, you didn't do so good on this one, Casey. Until almost the very last, your big suspect was a guy who finally saved your lives. Yeah, I was sure all wrong about Foster, wasn't I? You know, that fella has the makings of a first-class newspaper man. Like you? Well, Casey won't go that far. Oh, only because great newspaper men are never snooty, my dear Miss William. Huh? Come on, Annie, should we be off? Well, see you in the comics, Casey. Oh, hey, that reminds me. I want to tell our friends that the first issue of the Crime Photographer comic book is now on all the newsstands. Crime Photographer, starring Stats Cotsworth as Casey, is produced and directed by John Deeds, written by Alonso Dean Cole, and is based on the fictional character of Flash Gun Casey, created by George Harmon Cox. Original music by Archie Blyer, and the program features Miss Jan Miner as Anne, and John Gibson as Ethelbert. Herman Chittison as the Blue Note Pianist. This is Bill Cullen asking you to listen again next week at this same time to another exciting adventure of Crime Photographer. Also inviting you to listen to This Is Nora Drake. Radio's thrilling serial romance, heard every afternoon, Monday through Friday, over most of these stations. Consult your local paper for the exact time. Both of these programs brought to you each week by Tony Home Permanent, The Wave that gives that natural look, and the new Tony Cream Shampoo, for soft water shampooing, even in the hardest water. Next Saturday, be sure to tune in the Gillette broadcast of the annual running of the Kentucky Derby from 6.15 to 6.45 Eastern Daylight Time over most of these stations. Music Hallmark Playhouse starring Linda Darnell in Mother follows immediately. Music This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Music
