The F.W. Fitch Company, makers of those fine Fitch products, presents Dick Powell as Private Detective Richard Rogue in Rogue's Gallery. Rogue speaking, well, I was suffering one of my regular attacks of rigor indolence last year when I decided to commune with nature in a gentle sort of a way. So I made a reservation at the L7 Dude Ranch out in the desert. The afternoon I arrived at the ranch, I was lolling around the swimming pool, exposing my epidermis to the sun and admiring the scenery. When part of the scenery walked up and took a poke at another part of the scenery over some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen in or out of a white satin bathing suit. The poker was a ponchie 45, the poke a very slick 30. And the cause of it all was a lovely, lovely 25, blonde and definitely feminine. I stayed out of it. I've told you for the last time, Harding, I want you to stay away from my wife. Brian, please, you've been drinking. This is no place to settle your quarrel with Tom. I'm just as sick of you as you are of me, Mills and Sozan. You're no good to anybody. Tom, don't, not here. Tom. If you don't stay away from my wife, I'll kill you, Harding. Oh, please. Come on, Brian, let's get out of here, please. Tom, I'll see you later. This is the last time I'm going to warn you, Harding. If you don't stay away from me now... Oh, shut up, you're drunk again. Talking that sort, you're not going to kill anybody. I'll see you later, Ann. Come on, Brian, let's go now. Would you mind talking to me? I'm a little embarrassed. Oh, hello. Why don't you just look the other way? That's what I'm doing. Maybe it's because I want to see Tom Harding get what's coming to him. You don't like Mr. Harding? Well, no, he considers himself the world's most attractive man. Well, that's silly. I'm the world's most attractive man. How nice. I'm the world's most attractive woman. Well, what a couple we'd make. You liked it on my name? I know you. You're Richard Rogue. I've been reading my mail. No, but you're a very famous person. I've seen your picture in the paper lots of times. Society page, of course. Was it? I don't remember. Well, that's thoughtful of you. What's your name? Lucia Logan. Should I know it? Not unless you're looking for a secretary. That's what I am. Like the ride? Love it. Some of my best friends are horses. You're lucky some of my best friends are skunks. Want to go for an early morning ride with me tomorrow? Tomorrow, we greet the dawn on horseback and... Yeah? I'll wear a coat to keep me warm, Richard. You know, Lucia, darling, this scene brings out the gene artery in me. Yes, sir. If I had my guitar, I'd sing for you. So help me. Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie. This is for me, baby. Some day I'm going to save enough money to buy me a ranch out here and then I'm through with the crowded city. Yep. Me for the wide open spaces with my dogs and my horses and... And a pretty little partner to cook and sew. And milk the cows and throw down the hay into the horses' stalls. I'm not listening anymore. Oh? What's ever happened to the pioneer woman? Richard, look. Where? Over there, where I'm pointing. There's a man lying there. Yeah. Come on. He's hurt. Must have been thrown from his horse or something. Yeah. I can't hang on, Richard. Well, take it easy then. Oh, boy. Whoa, whoa. Settle down. Whoa, whoa. Oh. Oh, no. This couldn't happen to me. Who is it, Richard? It's Tom Harding, baby. Stay on your horse. Is he unconscious? No. He's been shot. He's dead. He's been shot. He's been shot. He's been shot. He's been shot. He's dead. I'll be back in a moment to tell you the rest of the story of Blood on the Sand, but first here's Jim Doyle, the man from the Fitch Company, who's going to give you men a shaving tip you can't afford to skip. That's right, Dick. I want to tip you men off to the grandest, smoothest shave you've had in a long time. It's the kind of shave you can have all the time when you use Fitch's No Brush shaving cream. You see, Fitch's No Brush contains not one, but three important shaving ingredients. These three ingredients are blended together in a smooth, rich cream that lubricates your face instantly and prepares it for the shave. Your razor will fairly sail along over those whiskers, cutting them close and clean without nicking or scraping. It's easier on your face, easier on your razor blades, too. When you've finished, your face will have a cool, refreshed feeling that lingers for hours. No fooling, fellas, for a really solid comfort shave. Switch to Fitch. Men who say there's nothing like lather to give a smooth, swell shave will find Fitch's brush cream as tops. It gives a rich lather that stays moist longer, rinses off easier. Next time, make it Fitch's shave cream, either brush or no brush type. Two handy, economical sizes, 25 and 50 cents. And now here's Dick Powell again as Private Detective Richard Rogue. As I was saying before Jim Doyle put in that pitch for Fitch, when the great outdoors called me down to the L7 dude ranch in the desert for a two-week vacation, I didn't expect to meet a dream girl like Lucia Logan. And I didn't expect to hear a writer, Brian Mills, threaten to kill his friend, Tom Harding, if he didn't stay away from his wife Anne. And I didn't expect to make a discovery, which Lucia and I made on a sunrise horseback ride the next morning. We were just riding along, enjoying the dawn, when we saw the body of a man lying on the floor of the desert. I reached the body first. Who is it, Richard? It's Tom Harding, baby. Stay on your horse. Is he unconscious? No. He's been shot. He's dead. Oh, Richard. He was murdered and there's no gun here. Oh, why do things like this always happen to me? Oh, Richard. Let's get back to the ranch. I'm scared. There's nothing to be scared of. The guy's dead. But whoever shot him might still be around here, Richard. Whoever shot him never was around here, baby. There's not a footprint in sight. And he was shot from long range, if I'm any good at my business. But it's just getting light. You remember last night, baby? Remember the moonlight? It didn't even take good shooting to kill this guy. Come in. Hello. Rogue? Oh, hi. You're Sheriff Kane. I take it from the bat. That's right. I just got back from looking at that body you found for me this morning. He was shot with a.32-20 rifle. A deer gun. No kidding. Have you figured out where the killer was when he did the shooting? My boys are checking. You going to help me out on this case, Rogue? I'm on a vacation. Well, I can use any help you want to give me. I'll swear you in as a deputy. No, no, no. No, thanks, Kane. Believe me, I bought no part of it. I'm up here for a rest, and I'm going to have it. Well, let me know if you change your mind. I sure will. Oh, by the way, any ideas on who would want to kill Hardy? I just got here yesterday afternoon. I don't know anything about the guy. But you heard his life threatened yesterday at the swimming pool, didn't you? Oh, you know about that, huh? Mm-hmm. I just wanted to know how much you weren't going to cooperate, Rogue. Well, I knew somebody would tell you. Just leave me out of it, Kane. I pass. Well, sorry. I'll see you later, Rogue. You mind if I sit here with you for dinner, Richard? Oh, hello. I've been looking for you, Elisha Slusher. Have a chair. You've been avoiding me. I've been avoiding everybody. I'm on a vacation. I don't want to get mixed up with that murder. You know, everybody thinks Mr. Mills did it. What do you mean, everybody thinks so? Well, I think so. He threatened to kill Tom. You heard him. Well, how about Mrs. Mills? She was having trouble with Harding too, wasn't she? Yes, but I still think it was that drunken husband of hers. Oh, you do, huh? Now, you want a tip from me, baby? What? Don't be going around having hunches about murders. And if you have them, shut up about them. Stay out of it. Well, the sheriff won't let anybody leave the ranch. You came here for a week, didn't you? How about a ride in the morning? We didn't get very far with that one this morning, did we? Mr. Rogue. Yeah? Oh, hello, Mills. Could I see you for a moment, Mr. Rogue? Well, I'd like to eat my dinner if they ever serve it. Oh, perhaps later, huh? What do you want to see me about, Mills? In your professional capacity, Mr. Rogue. I'm not in my professional capacity. Could I drop by your cabin later this evening? Sure, if you can walk that far, I'll be there. Thank you. My goodness, you're popular. Just like being with a movie star. Yeah, yeah. Say, how about that horseback ride in the morning? Want to try it again? I'd love to. Such exciting things happen when I go for rides with you. Come in. Oh, hello, Mills. Come in. My wife is with me, Rogue. Huh? Well, how do you do, Mrs. Mills? Oh, wait a minute. I got these bottles off the chair and we can all sit down. These cabins weren't built for entertaining large parties, were they? No, no, they weren't. Well, now that we're all comfortable Mills, what do you want to see me about? And the answer is no. Please, Mr. Rogue, you don't even know what Brian was going to say. You want me to get mixed up with the murder of Tom Harding, right? Yes, I do, Rogue. And I'm willing to pay you well for your time. I'm not interested. You see, this is the first vacation I've taken for about five years. Rogue, I'm being persecuted. That hick sheriff, he's been hounding me. Sheriff Kane seems to be a pretty astute officer. Did you kill Harding Mills? No, he didn't. He was with me all that evening, all that night. I told the sheriff that. Brian was never out of my sight. My wife can give me a perfect alibi, Rogue. I'm not the sort of man who kills people and I'm not going to be hounded by a country sheriff. Look, Mills, I'm sorry if you're being hounded. But I'm on a vacation, so I don't... You must protect my husband, Mr. Rogue. He's not a murderer. The sheriff suspects him because he and Harding had words yesterday. I heard the words. One of them was kill. You threatened to kill Harding, didn't you, Mills? He was annoying my wife. And nobody would have ever heard of him if it hadn't been for me. A writer. Couldn't even write home for money. Harding was a horrible past, Mr. Rogue. He wouldn't let me alone. Yeah, so I've heard. Oh, just what was the relationship between the two of you and Tom Harding? Oh, he and I have been collaborating on plays for years. He, uh, he was engaged to Anne when I married her a year ago. Since then, he's been giving us nothing but trouble. I never loved him, but I couldn't convince him of that. And I know one thing. My husband didn't kill him. I'll give you $500 to work on this case for me, Rogue. What do you expect me to do? Find the real murderer. Protect me. You miss that stupid sheriff I couldn't have killed Harding? All right, give me the $500. Got it with you? Yeah, yeah, got it with me. Okay, now here's what I'll do. I'll try to locate the real murderer, whether it's you or whoever it is. And when I find him, I'll turn him over to the sheriff. Understand? Yes. But Rogue, I didn't kill Tom Harding. I don't know what it is about money that phrased my moral fiber, but when the man handed me those nice, crisp, hundred-dollar bills, all my bad intentions about enjoying my vacation disappeared like friends when I'm broke. After Brian Mills and his glamorous wife left, I smoked a cigarette and turned in. I was going riding at dawn. And when I got to the stables next morning, Lucia wasn't there yet, but Mrs. Mills was. She was wearing a riding habit to which no horse nor man would ever say nay. And of all things, a pair of pigskin play shoes. Very fetching and very peculiar. Oh, hello, Mr. Rogue. You off for a morning ride? Yes, I mentioned it last night, remember? Did you? I guess you did. I was so upset about Brian's trouble with the sheriff. You are going to help him, aren't you, Mr. Rogue? He's such a sweetheart and scandal would ruin him. Sure. Well, I took his money. I'm going to do what I can for him. I hope it's taught him a lesson. He has a terrible temper when he's drinking. He should never have caused that scene at the pool. You were the cause of that scene. What did Tom Harding have on you? Nothing. We used to be good friends, that's all. Oh, I see. You're not telling all you know, are you, Mrs. Mills? Mr. Rogue, I want you to promise me something. I'll listen. You said last night that if you found incriminating evidence on my husband, you'd... turn it over to the authorities. Yeah, sure I will. Please, Mr. Rogue, I have some money of my own. I want you to promise me that you'll... you'll tell me first if you find anything which makes you suspicious of Brian. Hey, I don't get it. I thought he had an ironclad alibi. He has. And besides, Brian couldn't kill anybody. I want to do everything I can to protect him from worry and persecution. Look, I know how you feel, Mrs. Mills. If your husband isn't guilty, don't worry. We'll keep him out of it. Hi, Richard. Oh, how are you? Oh, how are they, beautiful? You know Mrs. Mills? We've met. Oh. Our horses are all ready. I've been out helping to saddle them. OK, let's go. I don't like this, Richard. Climbing mountains on horseback. What do you think of Mrs. Mills? I don't. There's a method, my madness baby. I'm a working man today. You are? Who are you working for? Secret. You've decided to get mixed up in that murder, haven't you? Yep, something nice happened to me. That's what we're doing here at the spot where we located that body. I was siding in on this pile of rocks. Are you being mysterious? No, not especially. Today I'm being a detective. You see, Angel Harding was shot with a deer gun. Everybody knows that. I'm no detective and I know that. OK, but do you know enough to figure out where the shot came from? By the way the body fell? I don't even care. I came out for a horseback ride and I want to enjoy it. This is no fun, walking a horse up the side of a mountain. We haven't far to go. Just stay with me a little longer. And to think I turned on a date with that nice looking blonde boy from San Francisco this morning. Oh look, are you going to stop beefing? Oh boy. Why are you stopping, Richard? Oh, I just want to look around here a little bit. Oh boy. What are you looking for? I'm prospecting for lead, maybe with a copper jacket. Come on, we're walking from here. Oh no. Come on, I want to take a look behind that big rock up there. I'm going to be so stiff. I won't be able to dance tonight. Good. We'll set them all out someplace near the punch bowl. Oh no. I'm going to be with that blonde boy from San Francisco. And if you so much as ask me for a dance, I'll... What's the matter? Look. Look there on the ground behind that bowler. Where? Oh, those little copper things. They're shells, aren't they? They certainly are. Three empty shells. Hmm. 3220s. Look out, don't touch them. I want them for fingerprints. Do you think they're the shells that killed Tom Harding? I'm willing to bet they are, baby. I think we just put the finger on a murderer. Richard. Yeah? Look down there. Where? Way over there on that next peak. The sun's flashing on something. Hmm? Oh. Oh yeah, I see it. Hmm. Somebody is looking us over with a pair of field glasses, I think. Probably the murderer. He wouldn't like to see us looking around up here. What are you putting in your pocket? This little souvenir, see? Oh. Get down, baby. Get down. That was a rifle bullet. Get down here behind this rock. Our story will continue in just a moment, but first I'd like to remind you that the holiday season coming up will be the gayest in years, with peace on earth at last a reality. You ladies will undoubtedly want to keep in the spirit of things by accentuating your costumes and hairstyles with gay sparkling jewelry so popular now. But remember, dull drab-looking hair is not the kind of background you want for your jeweled hair accessories. Try using Fitch's saponified coconut oil shampoo to give your hair luster and a jewel-like sparkle. Fitch's saponified shampoo is made from mild coconut and pure vegetable oils so it won't dry your hair. Even immediately after washing, your hair will be soft and shining, easy to set into your favorite holiday hairstyle. Using Fitch's saponified shampoo will take only a few minutes from your busy day, too. Just a little shampoo makes mountains of fluffy, fragrant lather. And since Fitch's saponified shampoo contains its own patented rinsing agent, you won't have to bother with a special after rinse. To keep your hair looking radiantly lovely at its holiday best, use Fitch's saponified coconut oil shampoo. And now we return to Rogue's Gallery with Dick Powell as Private Detective Richard Rogue. My thoughts were as bitter as a quinine sandwich as I ducked down behind that boulder and listened to the bullets sing. With the whole world to get killed in, why did Tom Harding have to pick out a dude ranch where I was sweating on a vacation? I reached into my pocket where I'd put the empty rifle bullets. The killer had fired at Harding and they were there. I felt in my back pocket and the other clue I'd found was safe. I tried to pull Lucia down beside me just as I heard another bullet sing. Lucia screamed and my heart did a hand spring in my throat. Oh, I'm shocked. Richard, why did I ever come with you? Where did you get it? Where did you get it? Let me see. Right here in the shoulder. Well, get your hand away from there. Oh, you're not shot, youngster. You're not even bleeding. I'm not? Well, no. You must have just been hit with a chip of a rock or something. That's all. Now, come on. Let's get out of here. Stay low now. I'll go first. I can't ever get back to that ranch alive, Richard Rogue. And if you ever speak to me again... Oh, take it easy, baby. This will be something to tell our grandchildren about. Our grandchildren? Richard Rogue, I never want to see you again. We got back to our horses and got back to the ranch house all right. I made Lucia promise not to say a word to anybody until I had a chance to think this thing out. And she promised. She would have promised anything to get rid of me. I went to my cabin to look over the stuff I'd found up there behind that boulder, and as I opened the door to my cabin... Oh, oh, oh, I got it. Right behind the ear, as usual. I watched the stars go by for a while, and finally I grabbed on the tail of a comet and didn't let go until I was within dumping distance of cloud number eight. And there he was. My alter enemy, U'Gore. You're a little late tonight, Rogie. Yeah, oh, what happened? Somebody wanted to know what you found up there on that mountain. You should have stuck to your bait, Rogie. I'm not going to let you get away with this. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you. Oh, excuse me. We've got a vacation for you. Oh, well, whoever it was, I'm going to have them over a barrel in a few minutes. Oh, I've got to get back there. Help me. Oh, you'd better rest a while. I can't. So long, Midgett. See you next week. So long, Rogie. Oh, well, I came to and felt my head. It was... Oh, it was really caved in. Whoever hit me used a piece of firewood. I looked in my pants pocket. The handkerchief I'd wrapped the empty cartridges in was gone. I grabbed it in my back pocket and it was there. That other little clue I'd picked up there behind that boulder. I staggered to my feet and I headed for the main ranch house. I saw the sheriff's car outside. I wanted to talk with him. Rogue! Hey, what's the matter? What's happened to you, man? Oh, nothing, nothing much. Somebody just battered my brains out, that's all. Yeah, I want to talk with you, though. Come on. Sure. Well, I've been working on that murder for you. Oh, swell. Yeah, I was hired by one of the suspects. Not Mills? Yeah, yeah, that's the guy. Oh, he's guilty as the devil, Rogue. How do you figure? Motive. He had a double-barreled one. First, Harding had been making up to his wife. Second, Harding and Mills had drawn up partnership papers, providing that if either one of them died, the other would be sole owner of anything they were working on. Sure, I've been checking on them through the L.A. police. They've got a play that every picture company is bidding for and every Broadway producer is interested in. A gold mine. Well, now that Harding's dead, the play is the sole property of Mills. Those two motives good enough for you? Well, how about his alibi? His wife said he was never out of her sight. If that's true, he couldn't possibly have killed Harding. Well, I got a call from his wife telling me to meet her at their cabin at noon. That's going to be the end of that alibi, I think. She sounded nervous and scared. I'm going over there now. Going with me? Sure, yeah, I'll go. Oh, I found the place where the killer waited for Harding to keep his date to be killed. Oh, you did, huh? Yeah, and I also found the casings from the bullets that killed him. Where are they? Any fingerprints? Somebody just knocked my brains out and took them from me. Oh, how long ago? Must have been a half an hour. That's what you get for not cooperating with me, rogue. You cost me... Oh! Hey, that came from the Mills cabin. Come on. Right through the... Drop that gun, Mrs. Mills. I killed him. I killed my husband. Yeah. Yeah, you sure have. Hey, what happened? He had that rifle. He was going to kill me. Why was he going to kill you? Lock the door, Kane, huh? Oh, here. Now, look, Mrs. Mills. You're going to have to get a hold of yourself. Why was your husband going to kill you? Because I knew I was going to tell the sheriff he wasn't with me last night. He was drinking. He took that rifle and left before Tom Harding was killed. I told him I couldn't go on lying. Oh, that's why you sent for me. You were going to break his alibi. Yes. He killed Tom. He was boasting about it to me. Oh, poor Brian. I loved him, but I couldn't... Is that rifle there, 3220, Sheriff? Mm-hmm. It's the murder gun, all right. Well, looks like this case is all wrapped up, Rogue. I'm sorry, Mrs. Mills. Look, Sheriff, this case is all wrapped up, all right, but not the way you think. Mills never killed anybody. Why? What do you mean? I mean, Mrs. Mills missed something when she beat my brains out and shook me down for those cartridges a while ago. Me? I don't know what you're talking about. You'd better have something to back that up, Rogue. If I haven't, I'll take the rap. Look, Kane, you see those fancy ladies' cowboy boots over there in the corner? Yeah. Get away from them! Now, hold on. I got her. Bring those boots over here, Kane. Let go of me! Okay, Rogue. How about letting me in on it? Well, half the heels gone off the left boot, isn't it? Uh, yeah. Let go of me! If you don't stand still, Mrs. Mills, they're gonna slug you. I've got that broken boot heel right here in my pocket, Kane, and I had a witness when I found it this afternoon. Up there behind that boulder where Mrs. Mills here waited for Tom Harding to keep his date with her and a couple of slugs from a 30 to 20. Well, that's the end of the story. Mrs. Mills didn't want her husband, and she didn't want her old boyfriend. She just wanted to own that play everybody was fighting for. So when her husband threatened her boyfriend, she went into action. She invited Tom Harding to a rendezvous in the desert and shot him to death. And then when her husband was suspected of the crime, she gave him an alibi so she could kill him later and swear it was self-defense. She would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't have been for that half of boot heel. The minute I saw it lying there behind that boulder, I thought of her Western riding habit that morning and the pigskin play shoes. That started my massive intellect to work, and... Of course, when that happened, that was all. I also remembered the faint odor of her expensive perfume just before that log knocked my brains out. And, uh, well, after the excitement was over and I had combed the lump out of my hair, I went over to see Luscious Lucia. Oh, you. Hello, dear. I just thought I'd drop over... I told you I never wanted to see you again. Oh, well, she was a little on the chubby side anyway. You know what I mean? This is Dick Polligan, ladies and gentlemen. Believe me, Richard Rogue is the only man who ever made money on a dude ranch vacation. We hope you enjoyed our story. Ray Buffham wrote it, Leith Stevens composed and conducted the music, and Dee Engelbach produced and directed. Don't forget now, we all have got a date next Thursday night. We're gonna do a little story about murder, arson, and a lovely lady. We call it fortune and furs. So make a date with us, will you? Thanks for listening and good night all. Now here's Jim Doyle. Don't forget to tune in again next Thursday, same time. Oh, and by the way, be sure to see Dick Powell in his newest RKO picture, cornered at your local theater soon. And as I was saying, don't forget to tune in again next Thursday, same time, same station, when you will again hear Dick Powell as Richard Rogue in Rogue's Gallery. ["Rogue's Gallery Theme"] Remember, if dandruff is your problem, ask for Fitch's Dandruff Remover Shampoo. It removes dandruff the first time it is used. Fitch's Dandruff Remover Shampoo is the only shampoo whose guarantee to remove dandruff is backed by one of the world's largest insurance companies. This statement can be made by no other shampoo. Ask for Fitch's Dandruff Remover Shampoo at your drug or toilet goods counter, Barber or beauty shop. Fitch is spelled F-I-T-U-C-H.
