Get this and get it straight. Crime is a sucker's road, and those who travel it wind up in the gutter, the prison, or the grave. There's no other end, but they never learn. From the pen of Raymond Chandler, outstanding author of crime fiction, comes his most famous character in The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. Now, with Gerald Moore, starred as Philip Marlowe, we bring you tonight's exciting story, The Good Neighbor Policy. The day was hot and sticky. The city wore it like a wet shirt. To make things worse, there was a xylophone playing somewhere in the building And that started me thinking about my neighbors Mostly I was thinking two things about them One, I didn't know any of them And two, I'd like to shake the hand of the fellow that banged that xylophone day and night And break it Not a very neighborly thought, but then it had been one of those days You know the kind that prompts the neighbors to set the dogs on each other Ah, but now the sun had called it a day The wind had switched from the desert to the ocean And I was figuring I'd be a better friend to man and woman If I took a long, cool shower Well, there's got to be some legal way to kill xylophone players Oh, no, big finish yet Hey Yes? Your name, Marlowe, Phil Marlowe. Yeah, that's right. I live two apartments down the hall. You got a call on my phone. I got a call on your phone? Well, look, the call's there. I'm a busy guy. You wanted it, don't you? Well, sure. Sure I want it. Okay, come on. All right. I, uh, I didn't catch your name. No, you didn't. In here. Yeah. Phone's over there on the desk. Snap it up, will you? Yeah, sure. Regular charmer, this fella. Hello? Phil, it's Ann. Oh, hiya, honey. Something must be wrong with your phone. I keep dialing your number and getting a very unpleasant little man. Yeah, he's not so little. What's on your mind? Oh, it's out tonight, Phil. Oh, no. Beanie sprained her ankle a little while ago, and I'll have to fill in for her at the hospital tonight. That does it. What? Nothing. We'll do it again, huh? Soon, I hope, Phil. Call me tomorrow? Yeah, sure, sure. Goodbye, honey. Bye, Phil. The lady says she keeps dialing my number and getting you. Now report it. Yeah, why don't you? That's what I said. Oh, packing for a trip? In between phone calls for you, yeah. Look, it's only been one, and I said I'm sorry. What do you want, blood? Leave. Thanks. Neighbor. Like I said, it had been hot all day. I wasn't getting any cooler exchanging pleasantries with Laughing Boy. Back in my own apartment, I mixed myself a tall, cool drink and thought about Ann, who was neither. I'd just about decided on that shower again when I remembered about calling the phone company. I reached for the phone, and just as I did... Hello. Art, this is Rena. Listen, Ernie's crossed us. I can't talk now. I'll pick you up in ten minutes. We'll clear out a loan. Hey, look, I... Ten minutes, Art. Be ready. Sure. Yeah, I'll be ready, baby. No, my name isn't Art. And it isn't. Oh, well, one good turn and all that. Oh, no Hey, laughing boy Come on, open up, will you? I got a message for you Come on, answer the door Anybody home? My, we're being rather boisterous out here, aren't we? Oh, I'm sorry. I guess he's not home, huh? It would almost appear that way, wouldn't it? Yes. Yes, I guess it would, yeah. You're apartment six, aren't you? Philip Marlowe, is it? Yeah, yeah, I am. Mrs... Miss Garrity. Miss Adley Garrity. Rather a nice name, don't you think? Well, yeah, yeah, I do, Miss Garrity. I'm apartment two. Are you really? Well, apartment two. I've passed you ever so many times in the hall or coming in and out of the door, you know. Uh-huh. I just never felt that I'd known you somehow. No, I suppose not. But then, you see, I... I often say to Mrs. Evans, she's apartment one. Isn't it shameful, I say, that we don't know our own neighbors anymore? Here we are under the same roof as it were. And yet, what do we share with each other? Really? The utility. Oh, but that seems so little. Why, except for Mrs. Evans, the Randalls, the McCombs, the Nelson girls, and... Oh, let me see now. Oh, yes, that young girl who plays with that softball team. Oh, what's her name? Well, I really don't know. Oh, Hattie. Hattie, that's it. Hattie Netherton. Well, as I say, except for those two or three people, I don't know a soul in the building. Well, that's the way it goes, isn't it? Some days you don't know a soul. Tell me, Miss Garrity, among the people in the building you don't know, do you also not know the fellow who lives here? Apartment 3. Yeah, this door I've been beating on. Who's that? You don't know. And you're making all that fuss. Yeah, well, it does seem silly, doesn't it? Well, I should say so. But I'm afraid I won't be much help to you there, Mr. Marlowe. He's on Lewis Tenet, you know. Moved in less than a month ago. Oh, well, I just thought... No, no, I don't feel that I really know him at all. He's a rather tall young man, brown hair, quite nice eyes, I've always thought. Oh, that sounds like my son. I never see anyone who's in, though. Something of the lone wolf type, I guess. Yeah, well, look, thanks, Miss Garrity, but my phone is... Oh, and now that I think of it, I have seen someone come in with him. Can I catch up to you again, Miss Garrity? Whether it was man, woman, or child, I really couldn't honestly say. Mostly Mr. Minter. Mr. Minter, well, thank you, and good night, Miss Garrity. Well, kind of. Oh, great. Whoever it was that hung up well Adelaide Garrity was telling me all she didn know about the man named Minter On the call before someone named Rena had called him Art Could be my unfriendly neighbor in apartment three was Art Minter Yeah, well, that's pretty simple. Left me nowhere. Then there was Rena's message. Ernie's crossed us. I'll pick you up in ten minutes. We'll clear out a loan. Not exactly social conversation. I had a hunch about the phone call mix-up, but before I began to build a case about it, I called the chief operator at the phone company. Chief operator. Yeah, well, we've got a friendly little wager going here. Operator, will you settle an argument for us? I'll try, sir. Good. Is it possible for two telephone wires to get crossed in some way so that I could dial one number correctly and actually get the other number? Yes, sir. That is possible. Uh-huh. It could happen only in the case of a slight equipment disorder, and only if the two numbers in question were on the party line. Well, in other words, by dialing my number correctly, you'd get the person on my party line, and by dialing his number correctly, you'd get me. Is that it? That's right, sir. Would you like to report such a difficulty? No, no, thanks. Like I said, I just wanted you to set a little argument for us. Thanks very much. Not at all, sir. Well, now I knew that much. Neighbor Minter and I were on a party line, and a strange switch in calls was legitimate. Now, I'd gone this far with the thing, I decided to leave the wires crossed for a while just for laughs. And I looked at my watch. It was time to get a look at Rena. If she was coming for Minter in ten minutes, she was due. I left my apartment, started down the hall toward his, and sure enough... Art? Art, it's Rena! Oh, please, Art. Hurry. Hurry. Is anybody home, lady? Oh, I'm sure he must be. I just talked with him on the phone a few minutes ago. Oh, well, maybe he's in the shower. Yes, yes, maybe that's it. Yeah. Now, please, would you mind... That sounds like his phone. Yes, it does. I wonder... Yes, so do I. What's that? Nothing. I mean, if he answers it, he'll probably answer your knock, too. Yes, I suppose he will. Now, will you please leave me alone? No. Got to be there. Got to be there. The phone ringing in Art's apartment was far more frustrating to me than it was to Rena. I knew darn well the call was really for me. I opened the front door out of the welcome freshness of the evening breeze and the scent of night-blooming jasmine. By the time I'd inhaled a little of both and walked out to the end of the sidewalk, Rena suddenly barged out of the building, looked desperately up and down the street, and then headed toward a car parked across the way. And her car had an Arizona license. In a minute, she drove away. Back in my own apartment, I called the chief operator again. Only this time I leveled with her about the crossed wires on my party line. After that, I took a shower and decided to end a dull day by putting in some sack time. The last conscious thought I had was Rena's urgent voice on the phone. Ernie's cross-pits. I can't talk now. I'll pick you up in ten minutes. We'll clear our load. I still didn't get it. I didn't get it the next morning, either. But I got up dressed and was starting for the morning paper, which my newsboy with questionable accuracy always pegs in the general vicinity of my apartment door. Didn't quite get there, though, before... Hello? Mr. Philip Marlowe? Speaking. This is the telephone company calling, Mr. Marlowe. Oh? The difficulty with your phone that you reported last night has been remedied. Normal service may be resumed. Oh, fine, fine. Thanks for calling. We hope you haven't been unduly inconvenient. Oh, no, it's all. It's been grand. Thank you for your patience, sir. Yeah, yeah. Well, goodbye. Well, that's that. Okay, I'm coming. Hey. Oh. Hello again. Hey, I got another call for you on my phone. Same name as last night, I think. Yeah, but the phone company just told me... Look, you always argue there's a call for you on my phone that come on and answers. Well, how can I resist an invitation like that? It's funny, though. I wonder how that happened. Yeah, you said that before. Yeah, I know. I did. I did, didn't I? Did I say before that I don't much care for xylophones? Or you? I don't remember. I don't care. Yeah. In here. Yeah. And the phone's over there on the desk. Hey, Buster, that phone's hung up. There's no call for me. What is this? This? This is a gun, Marlowe. Yeah, I see it is. You know too much, Marlowe. I don't like it when you know so much. To finish. In just a moment, we will return to the second act of Philip Marlowe. But first, a blind auction racket in which employees in a customs house have a Confederate purchase a battered suitcase containing a fortune in jewels. That's what CBS radio's gangbusters have to contend with in The Case of the Nazi Diamond. tonight on most of these same CBS stations. Don't miss Gangbusters tonight for a suitcase full of jewels and thrills. Say, friends, the flood victims of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Illinois need your help. Many are injured and homeless, and you can help to give them food, clothing, shelter, medical care. You can do your part by giving through your local chapter of the American Red Cross. Now, with our star, Gerald Moore, the second act of Philip Marlowe, and tonight's story, The Good Neighbor Policy. The Good Neighbor Policy Met his quite nice eyes, as Adelaide Garrity had described them, were as cold and deadly as the automatic he rammed into my stomach. It was the first time I'd gotten a really close look at him. This one was too close for comfort. I had to keep looking at him, though. I knew that if I glanced away, blinked an eye, or made anything resembling a key move, he'd blast me to kingdom come. A little ahead of my time. He was dead wrong on one score though You got my call from Marina last night You know too much How can I know too much I don know anything Now look Minter please When I saw you last night you didn know my name You've been asking questions around, huh? Yeah. Well, so have I. Come on, gumshoe. We're gonna take a little walk. Now, look, kids, you're all wrong. After we take that little walk, we're gonna take a little ride. You can tell me all about how wrong I am as long as you can talk. Get going. Okay, okay. Remember, Marlowe, you're just going to walk down the hall and out of the building with me. No funny stuff. This gun's staying right in your back. I see what you mean. And the dawn comes up like that. Why, it's Mr. Marlowe. Oh, Miss Garrity. And Mr. Minter, I believe. Well, we're up early, aren't we? Yes, we are. A little too early, if you ask me. Oh, have you the hiccups, Mr. Marlowe? If you do, I know the best cure. Just put your hands up high over your head. No, I don't have hiccups, Miss Garrity. Oh, then perhaps it was Mr. Minter. No, lady, I don't have hiccups either. Well, someone hiccuped, and it wasn't me. Oh, but no matter. I just came out for my paper. I won't keep you gentlemen. I know you must be off somewhere. And it's such a lovely morning. I don't believe it's as warm today, do you? Seems warmer to me somehow. No, no, I don't believe it is. Do you, Mr. Minter? Look, lady, we're in a hurry. Well, I'm sure I'm not keeping you. I must say I was just trying to do the neighborly thing, that's all. I was saying to Mrs. Evans just the other day, what happened to the old-fashioned good neighbor policy? Look, lady. And this little incident this morning is certainly answering nothing. It's gone. That's what it is. Gone. Get moving, Marlowe. Miss Garrity, you're the one who plays that delightful xylophone, Marlowe. Why, yes, yes. Oh, you can see it from the doorway here. Yes. Oh, dear. Well, I'm so glad you enjoy it, Mr. Marlowe. Oh, I do, I do. I wanted to tell me, would you... Oh, I know it's a lot to ask. I'd like to play something for you. Yes. Mr. Marlowe, come in. Come in. You make one move for her daughter. I'm going to kill her, too, Minter. She's right in front of me. Well, come in, gentlemen. Or aren't you a music lover, Mr. Minter? Oh, yeah, sure I am. It's just that I'm a... Let me get your paper for you, Mr. Garretty. Get inside your apartment, Mr. Garretty, quick. Not this time you won't, Minter. Table along that wall, Mr. Garretty. Don't get near the door. But I don't possess you, Mr. Marlowe. Why, you struck him in the face with my paper. Yeah, I did. Wait a minute. Shh. Can you see the street from your windows, Miss Karen? Yes, but... Oh, here's your paper. Sorry it's wrinkled. Oh, thanks very much. Well, I'm afraid I still don't understand your behavior, Mr. Martin. Yeah, he beat it, all right. He'll get lost in that traffic in no time. What will Mr. Minter think? You're striking in that way. Oh, well, I've got a mean streak. Hey, wait a minute. Let me see that headline. Well, I'm sure I don't know what's in it. If you're in, but I haven't had any answer. Will you let me see it a minute, please? Please. Oh, yeah. A man murdered in an investment holdup. Ernest Toland, 38, employee at Hinshaw Investment Company, was found shot to death when the company opened its doors this morning. Upwards, $50,000 in cash and security were missing from the safe. Police believe Toland worked late last night and drove to the 1515 to lose the company's safe. They shall say, please, Ren. Police were attempting to locate Toland's widow, Mrs. Rena Toland, whom neighbors saw leaving the house with a suitcase. Wow. Ernie and Rena. Friends of yours, Mr. Marlowe. No. No, but Min is right. I do know too much. I'm sorry, Mr. Marlowe, but I don't feel up to playing for you right now. What? No, this morning has gotten off to such a peculiar start. I'm just not in the mood for the xylophone. Oh, I know how you feel. Don't give it another thought, Miss Garrity. Ever again. I called the landlady when I got back to my own apartment to see if she knew anything about Mitter, like where he worked. She was good enough to be out of town. I even went back to Miss Garrity's, but she'd already hit the trail to share the morning's excitement with any of a dozen people, including probably that girl who played with the softball team. But old Mr. McWilliams, the janitor, was bringing up the morning mail. Morning, Mr. Mack. How's the mail situation? 12B has two packages again. Again, huh? How about me? Well, sir, you don't even read an advertisement this morning. How did it? Sorry. Yeah, well, you can't win all the time, huh? No, no, can't. Tell me, how about Mr. Minter? How's that? Mr. Minter, you know, he's in apartment three. He asked me to pick up his mail if there is any. Sure. If you can carry it all. Here's this postcard. Oh, I can manage, yeah. Well, thank you. It's from his mother in Tucson. Really? They're all well. Oh, well, that's good, that's good. Nice to see you again, Mr. Mack. Same here. Same here. The old saying. Yeah? Is it hot enough for you? It was. And Mr. Mack was right. Mitter's family were all well, except for the return address in Tucson. There wasn't a lead on the whole postcard. But who puts leads on postcards? I took the card back to the apartment with me and called a questionable character I knew in Tucson and told him to find out all he could about Art Mitter quick. Then I remembered about Rena's car having an Arizona license and asked him to check her. Yeah, and Ernest Toland, too. called back in an hour. Well, he's got no record, Marlowe. The spinner guy asked me to check. Oh, only get this. What? About a year ago, he gets divorced by his wife. You hear? Yeah, yeah, go ahead. And right away, she hops over to Mexico with this Tolan fellow you ask about and marries him. Rena did? Wait a minute. I got it written down here soon. Yeah, Rena. Rena, that's her name. Now, Tolan was with an investment office here in Arizona. Yeah. Yeah, but he transferred to L.A. a month ago. Yeah, that checks. What about Minter? Find out where if he works here, will you? If he does, that is. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, Marlon, listen. This will rock you. What? He works at the Hollywood Library. Hollywood Library? Honest. His old lady told me. It rocked me, all right. The whole thing did. Ernest Toland, now dead, had been set up as a pigeon a year ago back in Arizona. Only at some point yesterday, he got wise and decided to do the investment job alone. Trouble was, Reena didn't get to Art with the news in time. She got to me. Now even the law couldn't locate Reena. And the last time I saw Minter he didn act like a fellow who was heading for the Hollywood Library Still you never know I started out into the hall observed gratefully that Miss Garrity xylophone was still before me for the moment But when I got about even with Minter's door, something happened very like a familiar song starting all over again. It was Minter's phone ringing. I listened to this door, but there was no move from inside to answer the ring. And something told me here was another lock that needed springing. Yeah? Art, it's Rena. Where have you been? They're out for a while. Are you all right? You don't sound it. Yeah. They just went in. Where are you? I'm in... You sound so funny. Is someone there? Yeah, that's right. Well, not the police, Art. No, neighbor. You talk, huh? Oh, because you can't. All right, I will. I'm at the Bellflower in Ventura. If you call here after Mrs. Guthrie, that's me. Got it. You got everything, didn't you? When you... Well, I mean, about early. You're still going to split with me, aren't you? Yeah, sure, sir. I was afraid after I ran out. But you understand, don't you? You weren't home. Skip it, huh? All right, all right. Art, you get off work at four, don't you? Nothing's happened about that. Oh, yeah. Well, come up here as soon as you can after that. I'm... Well, just hurry, Art, please. I will. Bye. Bye. Excuse me, but can you... Please, not so loud. You. Lost my head, I'm sorry. Can you tell me where I can find Mr. Minta, please? Mr. Arthur Minter? Yeah, yeah. Oh, he's in the stacks on the mezzanine. Let's stare ahead. Thank you very much. Not at all. And walk as quietly as you can, please. People are reading. Wouldn't it have stares into the world? Well, no one's supposed to come up here. These are files known to the lot here. I was looking for something in investments. I said no. Marlowe. Come on. Take it easy, Minter. I got a message from Reina. Yeah? She says you killed Ernie. Look. Yeah, and I got a message for Reina, too. Ventura cops probably have her by now. My call, Lieutenant. You did any good, and it always does. I'll kill you, Marlowe. You're in a rut. All right, Jiminder. Come on. Where's the dough? You took from Ernie and the security. Are they in these permanent files, too? Is that why you had the show for work today? Yeah, I've got a show. But you never get them on me. Throwing books is a good idea. Oh! Well, this boy's really out. Yeah? Not to be said for heavy reading. I kept my foot on his neck till Miss Hush downstairs called Matthews. I needn't have. He didn't come to. And I waved the squad car off to headquarters from the library curb. Yeah, well, that's that. On the way back to my apartment, I got to thinking about a house. With no neighbors, no xylophones, no crossed wires. No fun either. You know, all kinds of things go on in apartment houses. All kinds of people leading all kinds of lives. What's the line? Love thy neighbor as thyself? Yeah. But most people act like they hate themselves. Oh, well. There's got to be some legal way to kill xylophone players. THE ADVENTURES OF PHILIP MARLOW The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, bringing you Raymond Chandler's most famous character, star Gerald Moore, are produced and directed by Norman MacDonald and written for radio by Kathleen Height. Featured in the cast were High Aberbach as Art Minter and Jane Morgan as Miss Garrity, with Vivi Janis as Anne, Doris Singleton as Rena, Parley Bear as old Mr. Mac Williams, and Gene Bates as the chief telephone operator. Gerald Moore may currently be seen in the Santana production, Sirocco. The special music for Philip Marlowe is composed by Pierre Garagank and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. Be sure to listen again next week at the same time when Philip Marlowe says... This time I did a cook's tour of the San Fernando Valley. in search of a missing woman. The case had a lot of positive developments, but the clincher, the clincher was a negative development, and in a camera shop. There's fine musical listening on CBS Radio tomorrow. Don't miss Guy Lombardo Time Featuring Guy's distinctive music With vocals by visiting Janice Page The program comes from Norfolk Naval Base Where Guy Lombardo Time Entertains the Navy Also on tap tomorrow night Over most of these same CBS stations Is CBS Radio's Mario Lanza Show With Mario and Musical Company Offering a special program Of Jerome Kern favorites This is Roy Rowan speaking Just as systematic exercise builds a strong body, so does systematic saving build a strong future. Save systematically for your future and for your country's future with United States defense bonds. There's no safer investment in the world. Defense bonds are guaranteed by your government. So for the defense of your future, or the defense of your country's future by your full share, regularly, systematically, of United States defense bonds. This is the CBS Radio Network.
