Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–1962): Season 6, Episode 30 - You Can't Trust a Man - full transcript

Oh good evening,

I just had a terrible nightmare,

it lasted only a minute but it
was a shattering experience,

let me tell you about it
before we see tonight's play,

it was like a motion
picture and as I watched,

a voice kept shouting at me...

YOU CAN'T TRUST A MAN

I asked for drums in the last
number not a native uprising.

Musicians.

Must have merged with
the steel workers union.

Oh I thought you
sounded lovely miss Coe.



-'Lovely miss Coe', you always think
I sound lovely don't you Pauline?

But you do.

Of course I do and you like
to collect your salary.

Oh, miss Coe...

Um I?m just tired Pauline
you must be tired too.

Why don't you go on
home I can manage.

-Oh that's what you want.
-That's what I want.

-Good night.
-Good night Pauline.

-I knew you'd come Tony.
-I couldn't refuse it,

a personal invitation from
the great Crystal Coe, right?

Delivered after I received
your threatening note.

Threatening?

You must be imagining things,

that was just a fan letter.



You always did have
a big imagination,

remember the story you
told me back in Cleveland?

"I can't take the rap Tony, I
don't want our baby born in prison".

I never did get a
birth announcement.

A girl can make a mistake.

She sure can.

No birth announcements, no letters,

seven years is a long
time to sit and stir,

without letters.

I didn't know you could sing baby.

-All right Tony what do you want?
-Seven years,

seven empty years,

at first I nearly went crazy
wondering why you didn't write.

I even thought that stupid
Jim Miller operator,

might have realized it was your,

fingers in his till instead of mine.

Then one day, the days,
weren't empty anymore,

because I saw your
picture in a newspaper,

I didn't recognize you right
off, now with the dark hair,

the fancy clothes, and
that name, Crystal Coe.

The paper said you just changed
your name by marrying a band leader,

what happened to him baby? was
he the one who shot himself or,

Was he the one who
turned alcoholic?

No, no,

I remember now that was your uh,

second husband.

I read all about it in one
of those fan magazines,

"the tragic loves of Crystal Coe",

but the story went on to say
that you had found happiness,

at last, with an older man old,

enough to own a few oil fields.

All right so we've had
the story of my life.

Not quite,

I could do a sequel,

Crystal Coe's secret love, how
do you like that for a title?

-It'll never sell.
-Why not? Because I can't swim in oil?

-Because you can't prove anything.
-You know better than that baby,

no matter how many pieces
of paper you destroy,

there's always a
piece left somewhere.

Nice,

this must have cost mr
oil wells and needs some,

oh everything is so
expensive these days.

How expensive Tony?

Very nice.

Sometimes when I was sweating
out that stretch for you,

I?d wake up in the night,
if I get where I was,

I?d reach out in the darkness
and grab an arm full of air,

we did have some good times
together baby, didn't we?

You must remember that.

I stopped remembering
a long time ago.

But I couldn't forget,
that's the crazy thing,

whatever you did I made excuses,

even when you stole the
money, I blamed myself,

because I couldn't give you
all the things you wanted.

Remember how I used to tinker
around in the basement,

trying to invent something
it would make us rich?

Yes no invention can
improve on nature.

A girl has to live, she can't wait
around forever she has to live.

Are you sure of that Crystal?

I could have saved the suckers
you married a lot of cash,

if I had sounded off. Me the jailbird
Crystal Coe couldn't acknowledge,

even to a judge,

but that would have
spoiled everything.

For both of us Tony.

Yeah, and now you're
getting the idea,

that's what I had in
mind all these years,

so Tony kept his mouth
shut went on tinkering,

and remembering,

I have places for that
even in prison you know,

How much do you want Tony?

You're not the only one
that likes expensive things,

seven years of hunger can
give a man a real appetite,

for expensive things.

I ask you how much.

For what I want,

you won't need your checkbook.

After all, you never divorced me,

I?m still your husband.

-I like the old days.
-You don't have to remind me.

I bet I don't.

Real class, I suppose when the, ashtrays
are filled you trade for a new model.

Not immediately, I had the chauffeur
empty them the first six months.

Hey that's an oldie,
remember that one?

The old tunes are the best,

the old tunes, the old loves.

Where we going?

You called it Tony.

What about mr oil?

Mr Wyncliff is in san
Francisco on business.

And the chauffeur?

There's no one at the beach
house this time of year,

no one at all.

That should be cozy.

It's a long drive I?d
better get some gas.

?Where you are going?

Now it's my business.

-This is where we fight.
-I don't understand.

I bet you don't. Nobody ever
walked out on you did they baby.

Nobody ever turned down
such an invitation,

that's what I had in mind when I gave
you that spiel about those 700 years,

I wanted you to learn what
it feels like to have the,

only thing you can offer
thrown back at your face,

Don't you get it?

I?m the stupid fool that sweated out
seven years in a cell because I loved you.

You were in my blood,

even when I knew about
all the other men,

I ripped your pictures
apart a thousand times I?ve,

smashed your face until it
wouldn't look good any man,

for seven years, I dreamed of what I?d
do when I got out and found you again.

-Tony...
-And last night I did find you,

I went to that club, saw the woman
not going through so much for,

-a fancy saloon tramp.
-Is that why you wrote the letter to me?

-Just to tell me that.
-I didn't intend to tell you anything.

I wrote the letter so
you'd know I was out,

so you could do a little
sweating for a change,

I never intended to see you again,

I?ve had it baby , I?m
cured I don't want you,

anymore in the beach
house or anywhere else.

Wait, don't get out of here.

Oh I get it,

-you're known here.
-Yes I'am.

And you wouldn't want a shabby bum
like me getting out of your car,

under all these lights. Anymore
you wanted me to be seen at the club,

the dressing room,
after the last show,

those were the directions.

You're very understanding.

Nice try baby, but you're
not getting through.

Thank you.

Go on Tony take it.

My gun,

you've kept it.

No thanks baby I don't
want this gift either.

Would you please sign this now?

It's a terrible pen you've got
there can you read the signature?

I sure can madame.

Is the boulevard open
all the way out to the beach?

They were
working on it yesterday.

Boulevard? Um yes it's okay now.

Fine I?ll stay on the boulevard.

It's good to be able to find a
service station open at this hour.

I usually have a chauffeur fill the tank
every morning but this morning I forgot.

It's easy to get careless isn't to?

How did you set up this cozy rendezvous?
You said I was going to kill you?

As you said Tony there's
always a record left somewhere.

-A record?
-Proof of our marriage.

Fortunately you're the only person on this
earth who'd ever think to look for it.

Look, I told you I didn't
want any part of you,

and I wouldn't dream sporting
your setup with Wyncliff,

any man that marries you
deserves all the grief he gets,

even if it isn't illegal.

Let me out at that bus stop.

-You can't get a bus this time of night.
-Then I?ll walk.

You don't have to walk Tony I?ll
take you where you're going.

What is this?

Is your pride wounded or something?

Do you still think you can stir
up the embers at that beach house?

-Maybe that's it.
-And maybe it is.

What's that?

The police.

You should kill me back at the
station Tony but I knew you wouldn't,

you never have that kind of nerve.

-I don't want your money.
-You get what you want, and keep it.

I don't want your money.

Tony the first lesson I ever learned
was that you can't trust a man.

What happened here lady?

He tried to kill me.

This man kill me,

call police.

Did you write this statement to
the station lieutenant miss Coe?

-Yes.
-May I?

I, it was the only thing I could
think to do I was so frightened.

-Well did you know this man?
-No I?d I?d never seen him before.

-He was waiting in the car when I I left the
club after the last show. -Mmm.

With this gun?

Yes.

I thought he wanted money I,

I offered him my purse
but he wouldn't get up.

I saw the service station up ahead,

and I knew there was a
police car behind me,

and then he heard the siren and,

and he made me drive faster,

and I stopped the car suddenly
and then he dropped the gun,

we struck for it...

Lieutenant you heard
my wife's story,

and you have the
statement of the station,

attendant also the
officer in the police car,

now it's been a very rough night and I?d like
to take my wife home as soon as possible,

Well I don't see any
reason why you shouldn't,

bump crawl in the car in the parking lot
got himself shot struggling for the gun,

that's about the size of it. Well thank
you very much for your help mmiss Coe,

I won't need to detain
you any further.

of course you'll have to
appear before the judge,

it's just a formality and
then you'll be free to go.

It was a joke getting off the plane
and news like that last night.

-Was a joke to me too.
-I can see that.

I blame myself, I could have cut the
conference short taken an earlier plane.

-It wouldn't have made any difference.
-But it would.

Have I?d have been at the
club to pick you up as usual,

well you shouldn't be driving
alone at that late hour,

Crystal, this nonsense has to stop,

when you finish at the club next
week I?m going to take you away,

I?ll take you anywhere
you want to go,

-the Bahamas, Mexico, south America.
-Oh George that would be wonderful.

Then it's all settled.

Oh when I think of last night
what could have happened to you.

Now who could that be?

Well if it's those reporters
again I?ll get rid of them.

-I?m sorry...
-Lieutenant?

-Oh come in.
-Thank you.

I uh brought your wife's car back
I thought you might be needing it.

Oh well we were just having
some coffee, won't you join us?

-No thank you.
-Oh good morning miss Coe,

-I?ve been drinking coffee all night.
-The lieutenant brought your car back darling.

-Your keys miss Coe.
-Thank you lieutenant.

Or rather I should
say uh mrs Wyncliff?

I thought you might
be interested to hear,

what we learned about
our friend of last night.

-Hello, sit down lieutenant.
-Thank you.

You're a lucky woman mrs Wincliff,
that was a dangerous man,

an ex-convict, there's no
doubt my mind but the current,

jury will find this to be a
clear case of self-defense,

this mess is going to
cause somebody a headache,

and I?m glad it's
not my department.

-Headache?
-A big headache, you see mrs Wincliff,

downtown headquarters had
a full report on this man,

he was paroled in another state
with permission to come out here to,

close a business deal, he had invented
something while he was in prison,

some kind of electronic
equipment and,

few hours before his death
he had signed a contract that,

well, should let him
quite a sum in royalties,

it's going to entail a lot of
work to dig up this man's past,

and to find his beneficiary.

I just learned that nightmare
I had was a commercial,

I suppose one can't expect to
get pleasant dreams for nothing,

but I never realized before
that they were sponsored,

now that you know there
is no escaping sleep,

perhaps you'll watch the
following electronic nightmare,

please do not be frightened I
should be right here all the time.

All for tonight now
you're on your own,

so until next week at the
same time, pleasant dreams.