Adventures of Superman (1952–1958): Season 1, Episode 3 - The Case of the Talkative Dummy - full transcript

Clark, Lois, and Jimmy attend a ventriloquist act that goes wrong when the dummy appears to talk by itself. Upon further investigation, they link what the dummy appears to have said to a series of armored car hijackings.

[♪♪♪]

NARRATOR: Faster
than a speeding bullet.

More powerful than a locomotive.

Able to leap tall buildings
at a single bound.

MAN: Look! Up in the
sky! MAN 2: It's a bird!

WOMAN: It's a plane!
MAN 3: It's Superman!

Yes, it's Superman, strange
visitor from another planet

who came to Earth
with powers and abilities

far beyond those of mortal men.

Superman, who can change
the course of mighty rivers,

bend steel in his bare hands,



and who, disguised
as Clark Kent,

mild-mannered reporter for a
great metropolitan newspaper,

fights a never-ending battle

for truth, justice and
the American way!

And now, another
exciting episode

in the Adventures of Superman!

[♪♪♪]

Thank you.

Happy birthday, Mr. Olsen.

Huh? Oh, thanks.

How did he know
it was my birthday?

And how did he know my name?

I guess you're getting
to be quite a celebrity.

No. This is something
you two cooked up.



Still makes a guy feel good.

A guy's birthday only
comes once a year.

Now there's a sharp observation.

"Marco and
Freddie, novelty act."

Well, I wonder which one is the
trained seal, Marco or Freddie.

I bet it's not a
trained seal act.

I say they're acrobats.
What do you say, Mr. Kent?

No, you're both wrong.
It's a ventriloquist act.

And pretty good, I understand.

[♪♪♪]

Well, here we go.

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you. And good
evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Freddie, say good evening.

What's good about it?

Well, say good evening
to the nice people.

Oh, what's nice about them?

[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]

MARCO: Freddie,
you're being difficult.

Did you get up on the wrong
side of the bed this morning?

Well, I'll tell you, Marco,

that bed, trouble
is it's sort of snew.

What's snew?

Nothing. What's new with you?

[AUDIENCE LAUGHS]

MARCO: I understand that
you missed school today.

Why was that?

FREDDIE: I, er...
I had a toothache.

Well, did you go to the dentist?

No. Why should I?

The one that ached was
only jerked out yesterday.

MAN: Under the apple tree.

What's that?

MAN: I said, under
the old apple tree.

Freddie, this is the third time
this week you've missed school.

What's the matter?
Don't you like school?

Oh, I can take it or leave it.

FREDDIE: I think I'll leave it.

MAN: Down by
the old mill stream.

Down by the old mill stream.

Down by...? Down
by the old mill stream.

Missing school so often,

no wonder you're
still in the third grade.

Why, a boy of 14...
MAN: Eleven and a half.

MARCO: A boy of 14...
MAN: Eleven and a half.

All right, all right.
Eleven and a half.

A boy 11 and a half shouldn't...

[AUDIENCE MURMURS]

Ladies and gentlemen, excuse me.

What happened?

Is that all there is to the act?

No. Something went wrong.

Clark, I had a funny
feeling before he rushed off

that he and the dummy
were talking at the same time.

I know that's impossible but...
Impossible or not, they were.

Come on, let's go
back and see Marco.

I give you all the best
lines, all the best gags.

But that isn't good enough, you
have to add words of your own.

What are you trying to
do, take over the act?

Mr. Marco, can I
see you a minute?

Oh, yes. Come in.

LOIS: We're from
the Daily Planet.

You were out front?
Then you heard?

Yes, that's why
we'd like to ask you...

Look at him sitting
there so innocently.

"In the shade of
the old apple tree.

"Down by the old mill stream.

Eleven and a half."

He knows he's 14. He's
been 14 for the last 10 years.

It wasn't Freddie's
fault, Mr. Marco.

Someone else put
those words in his mouth.

Someone else? But who?

Obviously someone
out there in the theater.

But why would anyone...?

Oh, of course, to ruin my act.

Some unscrupulous rival
who's jealous of my success.

Can you think of anyone?

Well, there's... No real
performer would stoop that low.

Has anything like this
ever happened before?

MARCO: Yes, about a month
ago. We were playing Portersville.

I thought Freddie was
trying to take over the act.

I had a talk with him
afterwards and he promised...

Oh, but of course it
wasn't Freddie at all.

What were the
words he added then?

Well, he kept saying
he was only 10 years old.

And I don't remember the rest.

And there's no explanation
you can think of?

None at all. It's all
very, very strange.

Well, thank you, Mr. Marco.

If anything like
this happens again,

you'll let us know, won't you?

We may not be able to do
much but we can help a little.

I'll let you know. Lois.

LOIS: You sent for us, chief?

Yes, come on in.

Lois, Kent, do you remember
that business a while back

with an armored car, the one
from Green's Incorporated?

Remember it? Are
you kidding, chief?

An armored car with
half a million in cold cash

just doesn't
disappear every day.

Got any new leads, chief?

No, I haven't.

All the police know is
what they started out with.

The car was last seen

heading onto the
turnpike for Watsonville.

And never showed up at the
other end, vanished into thin air.

That's about the size of it.

Now, here's what I want.

Hop out to Green's and
see what's happened there

since the disappearance.

Maybe there's been a
shake-up, extra precautions,

security measures,
things like that.

Talk to Harry Green, the
president. Get pictures.

I want a background yarn
for the Sunday supplement,

something I can
use in two parts.

Right.

Oh, and don't forget,
give me plenty of pictures.

Okay.

LOIS: Head just a
little higher, Mr. Green.

That's it. Now hold it.

Thank you.

Now for one of you and
your secretary, Mister, uh...

Davis. No, no, I...

Come on, Davis. It doesn't hurt.

If you'll just stand there
at the corner of the desk

and hand Mr. Green a paper.

That's it. Hold it.

Thank you.

Now, Mr. Green,
those extra precautions

you were telling us about.

Well, since that
amazing robbery,

we've worked out a system
which is absolutely foolproof.

Neither the guard
nor the driver of the car

knows until the very last minute

what time to take off
or what route to follow.

They operate
under sealed orders.

Sealed orders? That
sounds interesting.

There's a car due
to take off right now.

I'll show you how it works.

Have the guard on car
11 report to me here.

Davis, get me the
envelope for car 11.

Davis and I work out the
routes the night before.

We only make one copy,
seal it in an envelope

and lock the envelope
in my private files.

No one has keys
but Davis and myself.

Thank you.

RECEPTIONIST [OVER INTERCOM]:
The guard's here, Mr. Green.

Send him in.

Good morning, Chuck.
Good morning, sir.

Here are your instructions.

Start at once for the
State Commercial Bank,

finish loading at 11:30,
then open the envelope.

Is that clear? Yes, sir.

Very well. Take off now.

That does sound like
a foolproof scheme.

It is, Mr. Kent.
Absolutely foolproof.

Well, thank you very
much for your kindness.

Thank you. Goodbye.

Come on, Lois.

State Commercial Bank.

Okay, Bob, this is it.

We're to go out Apple Tree Road

and turn onto
the Old Mill cutoff.

[♪♪♪]

What is it, Bob? Breakdown, huh?

Looks phony to me.

[♪♪♪]

Hi, Jim. Morning.

Oh, hey, Mr. Kent, I've
been reading your story

about the armored car robbery.

Clark, where have you been?
I've been looking all over.

It's about that story,
Lois. It certainly is.

The route of the armored car,

it went out Apple Tree
Road to the Old Mill cutoff.

And that's what the
dummy said the other night,

"Under the apple tree,
down by the old mill stream."

Not only that, he said he
was 11 and a half years old.

That's 11:30, the time

the armored car
took off from the bank.

Well, looks like you've
both figured it out.

Whoever put those words
in the dummy's mouth

was tipping off the
crooks that pulled the job,

letting them know
when and where to do it.

Clark, we've got to go
to Henderson with this.

Sure. Let's go.

Not you, Jim. You've
got some work to do.

[WHINES]

Jim.

Jeepers.

CLARK: If you ask me, inspector,

there's someone
behind this ventriloquist,

feeding him the information.

How's that again, Kent?

Well, now, look,

first there are the men
that actually pull the job.

They get their instructions
through the ventriloquist,

and that's all they know.

Then there's the
ventriloquist himself,

the one that puts the
words in the dummy's mouth.

Now, he gets his instructions,
let's say, over the phone.

And as for the payoff,

the ventriloquist must
get his through the mail.

The crooks take theirs
when the job's through.

And as for the rest of
it, well, that's delivered

in some roundabout way
to whoever's behind all this.

In other words, a chain.

None of the parties
know each other,

so no one can squeal
if anything goes wrong.

That's it.

Well, I'll buy that, Kent.

But what makes you think
there is a second ventriloquist?

Why couldn't
Marco be the one...?

Marco? Don't be ridiculous.

He and the dummy were
talking at the same time.

We'll check on him anyway.

In the meantime, I'd
better call Harry Green,

tell him we've got
some new leads.

Get me Harry Green.

Leads? I don't care about
leads. What I want is action.

Look, inspector,

it's over a month

since that first disappearance

and what have you accomplished?

Absolutely nothing.

And now this second robbery,
what are you doing about that?

Insurance? Of
course we are insured.

That's not the point.

How long do you think my
clients are going to stand for this?

Look, inspector, I told
you before, I want action

and if I don't get action soon,

I'll personally call
in the commissioner.

What is it, Davis?

This young man's from the
Planet about those pictures.

Oh, yes.

Here are three I've
selected I think will do.

They're for the
second installment

of that feature story
your paper's running.

Tell Mr. White if
those aren't enough,

I'll have our public relations
department send over some more.

Thank you, sir.

Um, Mr. Green. Yes?

About those robberies,

I wouldn't worry too
much if I were you.

You see, me and my associates

have just given the
police an important clue.

Is that right? Yes, sir.

What's more, we're
working on the case too.

So you see, everything
will turn out all right.

Well, that's very nice to know.

Thank you very
much, Mister, er...

Olsen. James Bartholomew Olsen.

Well, thank you, Mr. Olsen.

USHER: Davis? DAVIS:
Yeah. Who are you?

Don't give me that. You
know who I am and I know you.

You take a good picture, Davis.

What does that mean?

I saw that article in
the Sunday Planet.

I recognized you right away.

They used to talk a lot
about you in the big house,

only your name
wasn't Davis then.

It was Al Roselli.

USHER: You pulled that
big jewelry job back in '41.

What do you want?

Guess.

Go on, I'm listening.

I want more money.

I take a big risk each
time for a measly $1000

while you get 100
times that much.

All you do is sit here,
make one phone call,

start the whole thing rolling.

What risk do you take? Get out.

You ain't scaring
me none, Davis.

I got enough on
you to... Get out!

Now, wait a minute.

[♪♪♪]

Hello. Get me the chief.

Yeah, yeah, quick.

Hello, chief. This is Jim.

I'm down at Green's office. I
just stumbled on something.

Sure I got the pictures.

But listen to me,
chief, this is important.

It might crack the whole case.

What case? Why, the
robberies, the armored cars.

Look I was just coming out
of Mr. Green's office when I...

Hello, Jim? Jim,
are you there? Jim?

What happened?

I don't know.

But I wouldn't
be a bit surprised

if that boy's got
himself in a jam again.

Lois, get Kent and
hop right out there.

I'll get in touch with Green.

[♪♪♪]

Clark, come on. Jim's
in trouble at Green's.

Would you sign here, please?

What is it?

Oh, I see. The men from
the safe rental company.

Yeah. We came to pick
up that safe you're not using.

How will you get
it to the street?

The freight
elevator isn't working

and there are 15
flights of stairs.

Don't worry, mister.

We've got a block and
tackle rigged up on the roof.

All we do is lower
her out the window.

Come on, Fred.

Oh, Davis, just a minute.

That young man
Olsen, from the Planet.

Have you seen him around?

No, I haven't.

[♪♪♪]

Boy, she's heavy.

Take her away.

Holy Toledo! I said
it was too heavy.

That other rope will never hold.

[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS]

This always happens.
Jim's in trouble.

Well, it's only
two blocks, Clark,

and I can't go
through a red light.

Lois, look!

It's Jim. He's in that safe.

He's in that safe?

But, Clark, how did...?

[♪♪♪]

Jimmy, are you all
right? Yeah, I guess so.

My legs are a little
weak, that's all.

That was a close one.

And if it hadn't been
for Superman, why...

How is it you always manage
to show up at the right time?

That's my job, Miss Lane.

Where was I? Up there?

Gosh.

Jim, a word of advice.

After this, keep out
of other people's safes.

JIM: You bet.

[SUPERMAN TAKES OFF]

Well, inspector, that's Jim's
story just the way it happened.

So that's why you
brought me here tonight.

Now, why couldn't you have...?

I'll be right back.

[♪♪♪]

USHER: What?
Another job? Tonight.

Davis, you've got your nerve

after what happened
this afternoon.

What do you mean,
"What happened?"

Look, Davis, I'll do it but
from now on, my price is 5000.

That's right, you
heard me, five grand.

Well, okay.

All you gotta do is
tell me what to say.

Miss Lane, why couldn't you
have let me know all this before?

I could've had the whole
case wrapped up by now.

With Davis and the
usher in the pokey,

maybe Green would stop
breathing down my neck.

He's a friend of the
commissioner, you know.

The usher is going to pass on
some more information tonight.

Oh, is he now? Yes.

Tomorrow, there'll be another
robbery, another armored car.

There'll be no robbery. I'm
pulling that guy in right away.

I wouldn't do that if I
were you, inspector.

Let him go ahead. Let him put
his words in the dummy's mouth.

True, he'll be
telling the crooks

the time and the
place of the robbery.

At the same time,
he'll be telling us.

You and your men can set a trap.

No go. I'm nabbing
that guy right away.

This is your chance to
see how the robbery's done

and find out what they
do with these armored cars

and the missing
guards and drivers

and maybe even the stolen money.

[AUDIENCE APPLAUDS]

Thank you. And good
evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Freddie, say good evening.

What's good about it?

All right, Kent.
I'll string along.

Freddie, this is the third time

you've missed school and
played hooky this week.

What's the matter?
Don't you like school?

Oh, I can take it or
leave it. I think I'll leave it.

USHER: With Uncle
Irving and Aunt Magnolia.

I said, with Uncle Irving

and Aunt Magnolia.

MARCO: Missing school so often,

no wonder you're
still in third grade.

Why, a boy of 14 shouldn't...
USHER: Thirteen and a half.

A boy of 14...

Thirteen and a half.

[AUDIENCE MURMURING]

Ladies and gentlemen,
I'm sorry. Excuse me.

Did you get it, Lois?

Irving Boulevard
and Magnolia Street.

Thirteen and a
half, that'll be 1:30.

Good, Irving and Magnolia
at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon.

We'll be there with bells on.
And now our friend the usher.

You'll need more than the usher.

I'll get Davis later.

Davis isn't the only
one. You want Green too.

What are you
talking about, Clark?

What's Green got to do with it?
Think he'd rob his own company?

It was Green's voice
I heard on the phone.

Oh, you're crazy.

Okay, I'll prove it to
you. See you later.

Well, there he goes again.

Inspector, where does he
disappear to all the time?

I don't know.

Maybe he runs into an
alley, takes off his glasses

and turns into Superman.

Let's go.

[♪♪♪]

[DOOR CLOSES]

Davis. What?

Is something wrong?

Okay, Green. Your plan worked.

Now we can quit
playing cat and mouse.

Cat and mouse? I don't know
what on earth you're talking about.

You set me up as the fall guy.

You knew that if anything
went wrong with your plans,

the first one the
police would come for

is me, a three-time loser.

Your record? Of course
I knew about that but...

They came to my
apartment, the police.

But I got away. They're
not getting me yet, Green.

I've got a score
to settle first.

Davis, put that gun away.
Have you lost your senses?

I'll take that gun, Davis.

Whoever you are, stay
away from me or I'll shoot.

Don't be a fool, Davis.

You're in the clear now,
better keep it that way.

In the clear? But I thought...

I know what you thought, Green,

but you're all through,
you've given yourself away.

Shoot him, Davis, shoot!

[GUNSHOTS]

That won't do you any
good, Green. Nothing will.

SUPERMAN: You have a date with

Inspector Henderson
at police headquarters.

He'll be interested to know
what half a million dollars

in stolen currency
is doing in your safe,

still in the original
bank wrappers.

Well, Kent, the trap worked.

We tailed the crooks
to their hideout,

recovered the armored cars,
the missing men and the money.

All of it, inspector?

No, not all. About 200,000.

But that plus the half million

that Superman brought in last
night when he delivered Green.

Er, Kent, I guess I
owe you an apology.

You were right after all
but how you knew that...

Yes, how did you
know it was Green

on the other end of that phone?

Well, Lois, like I was
telling you last night...

[PHONE RINGS]

Yes. Henderson speaking.

Oh, you'll have to
speak a little louder.

All right, Clark,
if you're so smart,

who's on the other
end of the phone now?

The chief, and if we're
not back at the Planet

in 15 seconds flat, we're
both gonna get fired.

Now, come on.

Oh, for you, Kent. Your boss...

Hey!

[♪♪♪]