good evening fellow yacht owners this is
not champagne you can see my tastes are much
too simple for that this is not
intended for a christening
it is my ship-to-shore
communication
i realize that my yacht may seem rather
old-fashioned to luxury-minded people
but i find the relationship between a man
and a gasoline engine too coldly impersonal
my engine is far more economical and very quiet
too except for an occasional scream and a cranking
of chains it is also quite speedy this is the
accelerator so much for the simple pleasures
we are presenting a story tonight called day
of reckoning it follows in precisely one minute
sorry partner i lost this one course don't
feel badly my brother and his wife would
develop mental telepathy into a high art harold
she's accusing us of cheating sibling rivalry
you witnessed the crime judge are we
guilty or innocent not enough evidence
would you like to sit in paul i'm sure your
sister be better off without me no thanks
listen who is the man
what's his name i have a right to know
please paul let's not go over it all again
i told you i can't go on i simply want a
divorce you've always said before there
wasn't anybody there never was but this
time there is isn't there you can't deny it
i'm not denying it i want his name you'll know
eventually i'm not to have it now why because
you know you wouldn't get your divorce if i knew
his name is that it i didn't say you don't have to
paul when there was nobody you always thought
there was you always behaved as if there was
you made it impossible long ago for me to go on
loving you difference now does it make if there
is someone i can find the divorce that won't get
me back felicity die please please now i can't
i won't you're not going to
him you can't stop me paul
felicity
i when you felicity like to sit and i'm being
taken to the cleaner no i uh ask her doesn't
she want one of you men to take over the steering
no she doesn't well i wish you'd come and watch
the game i'm playing brilliantly felicity never
thought i was much of a bridge player you never
were darling let that be a listen to you trent
don't get married flattery stops at the altar
she must have brought us around the
passengers will quietly move to the
light boats women and children last well
mr d what's up you better take a look
felicity okay i hear that's impossible
don't worry
anything up there judge no nothing alice made
some coffee no thanks any sign are we going to do
i think we should head back to the house i
know you want us to keep searching paul but
we'll need more help we'll have to call the police
my men are searching the lake now we
should have some results by morning
that is very encouraging we're doing our best mr
sampson now if you folks don't mind i'd like to
ask a few questions can't they wait sheriff this
is hardly the time he's only doing his job carolyn
this is what happened sheriff after dinner
this evening felicity suggested that we take
out the cruiser judge wilcox here happened
to stop by and we invited him to come along
well anyway we were playing bridge and felicity
was at the controls and that's the last we saw
of her she must have fallen overboard that seems
kind of strange doesn't it is samson just losing
her balance like that was she drinking by
any chance she'd had a few martinis how many
would you say i don't really know she wasn't
drunk if that's what you're implying sheriff
i don't believe i know you sir but this is trev
parker he's been our house guest here for the
past few weeks trent parker well i know the name
i'm a golfer and i played here in the tournament
last spring that's where i met the samsons
yes of course pleasure to meet you mr parker
sheriff my brother's very tired why
don't you come back in the morning
well i was gonna ask mr sampson to go out in the
cruiser with me there are a few things i'd like
to clarify for my report at this hour now really
sheriff it's all right carolyn may as well get it
over with dave would you mind coming along with
us no of course not harold and i will be at home
why is this where you ran aground approximately
have you found anything no luck at all sir
i'd like to try to reconstruct the accident
if you don't mind how can you share it well
i can try the coroner is bound to ask a lot of
questions i'd like to have some of the answers
now let me see if i've got it straight all the
people in the cabin except mrs sampson she was
at the controls no no she we were on autopilot she
was sitting right here on the rim now you came out
any particular reason to see if she might like
another drink did she no so i went back inside
and after that she fell overboard it's funny
nobody heard her cry out remember sheriff
the engine was running and the radio was playing
that's true well let's try the experiment
frasier yes i want you to sit on the railing mr
samson will come out of the cabin talk to you
go back in after a while fall overboard give
a sh*t and swim to shore am i closer well you
can get down to your shorts can you swim hey yes
sir all right headed out and put it on autopilot
now mr sampson if you'd be good enough to
duplicate your actions look is this really
necessary i'm afraid so judge it's a few hours ago
the others are playing cards where were you judged
about here mr sampson you think your
wife might like a refill so you go out
fine
and uh the radio was playing
you can come in now mr sampson
mr sampson
i came back in here and watched the bridge
hey
never mind that i'll have one of my men cleaning
up before we dock excuse me crazy okay yes sir
that's strange isn't it we heard the cry even
though the radio was playing that's because we
were waiting for it last night everyone
was concentrating on the bridge again
yeah even so you'd think someone
would have heard her cry out
unless unless what unless mr samson didn't
cry out at all why didn't she there's always
the possibility she took her own life he'll
be upset felicity had everything to live for
besides if she wanted to commit su1c1de why do
it this way i'm sure there are easier methods
yeah i suppose so well we better head back and
i'm sorry i've had to put you
through this again mr sampson
paw they find anything nothing yet
perhaps we're here in the morning
i drove into town to get my things
i i didn't want you to be alone
house seems so empty i keep expecting
to hear a voice carolyn yes dear
carolyn i've got to tell you something
i'ma share it with someone what is it felicity was
leaving me leaving you she told me last night well
why did you quarrel or something no no no nothing
like that she was leaving me for another man
i don't believe it neither did i first who
was it she didn't tell me but i think i know
paul
hey would you excuse me i was just going
to get a nightcap can i get you something
nice
ken he's mistaken for weeks hasn't he you've
been giving her golf lessons every day how long
it's incredible i'm not sure
not yet but i'm gonna find out
what difference can it make now look
try to get some sleep we'll talk
about it in the morning all right
maybe there's still a chance felicity isn't dead
i know it seems almost too much to hope for
but after all they haven't found their body yet
maybe she did manage to reach
the shore maybe she's still alive
i may as well be frank with you people
there's still one thing i don't understand
how mrs sampson fell overboard how does anyone
fall overboard she slipped she lost her balance
in that case she would have fallen into
the boat not out of maybe she fainted
that's a possibility i called the doctor
to check on it but he's out of town
was she subject to fainting spells
by the way not that i know of
another thing when we examine the deceased's body
we noticed a bruise on her forehead what are you
suggesting that she was struck before she fell
no not at all i just wondered where it came from
i can explain that sheriff the
city and i took a walk yesterday
there was a low branch and it it struck her
nothing serious but enough to raise the bruise
i see did any of you notice that bruise last
night i don't like the tone of that question
you're likely that we might have something to hide
not at all mr samson i'm just trying to put the
pieces together you can't play checkers without a
board i wasn't aware we were playing game sheriff
apparently you won't accept the fact that this
is a simple accident but the only thing left is
m*rder and since i was with felicity before she
d*ed it seems i'm the obvious candidate please
mr sampson there's no reason to talk like that
i haven't accused anybody not directly not even
indirectly and i apologize for misunderstanding
your sheriff my wife had an accident and was
drowned but she won't take that at face value you
keep on asking questions what sort of accident
how did she fall why did she fall i think those
are reasonable questions under the circumstances
and as far as accusing you of anything the
thought never entered my head are you sure
of course i'm sure well think about it now sheriff
i could have k*lled her it is possible isn't it
well anything's possible this is more than
possible it's probable i was alone with her
no one else was out there i could have pushed
her over the side couldn't i goodnight sure
this is ridiculous paul didn't go in the era
why do you say that jack because i could see
them clearly from where i was standing they
were in my line of vision the whole time
and nothing happened nothing he didn't touch her
i wish you'd said something about this before i
didn't think it was important after all no one
had made any accusations until a minute ago
i haven't accused anybody even
though mr sampson seems to think so
i've got to be going the end quest will be
tomorrow morning o'clock i'll see you out chad
we should be going today thanks dave for what
for telling that lie you couldn't see us at all
but he seemed to be looking for
some explanation for the accident
he was being a nuisance so i thought i'd hit him
off i appreciate it but you were taking a chance
not really i wasn't under oath
besides what difference does it make
you certainly didn't k*ll felicity did you no
so no harm done i don't see you at the inquest
she was quite excited the
day i bought those for her
she always used to look
forward to a lesson with you
so did i we had some good times
together i'm sure you didn't
look am i in the way yeah i mean do you want to
work i don't find it exactly easy to work right
now well they say it's good therapy keeps the mind
occupied is that what you'd like me to do design a
new office building it's just a suggestion
what are you so anxious for me to forget
i beg your pardon let's stop pretending i know
what are you talking about about you and felicity
what about us you knew she
was leaving me didn't you
now paul you've gone through a terrible experience
she was going away with you now wait a minute
that's ridiculous where did you get such an
idea no it's not ridiculous she told myself
i admired your wife i liked her very much
as a friend but that's as far as it ever
went oh i'm sure it was easy enough for
you it's always easy for the other man
he can present himself in the best possible
light make promises he never intends to keep
you have no responsibilities no roots i suppose
she'd like that too cheap bromance paul did
felicity say she was leaving you for me i know she
never mentioned your name of course she wanted to
keep you out of this but who else could it
have been you were in love with her weren't
you you were waiting for the chance to take
her away from me weren't you only it didn't
work and now felicity's dead but she didn't say
i was the man did she you just guessed i was i
knew you were the only thing i have to figure out
now is the best way to k*ll you oh wait paul i'll
take your word that she was going to leave you it
seems incredible but it must be the truth and uh
i can see why in a way you thought i was the one
but uh you're wrong paul you're really wrong am i
i've never wanted to take her from you even
if i had one or two i'd know i never could
besides i it happens i'm engaged to be married
you lie now it's the truth girl
in boston i met her last year
she's from back bay her parents don't exactly
approve of her marrying a golf pro as it is but
i wouldn't risk having an affair
with your wife you're crazy
how do i know you're telling the truth
you can call i i'll give you her number
friend i'm sorry
it's all right i should have known it wasn't
you i just couldn't think of anyone else
are you sure it is true you've had a terrible
time i'm not imagining it if that's what you mean
i uh i suppose you'd want to talk about
it i'd like to talk about it to you
as a matter of fact it'd be a relief in a
way you know felicity never really loved me
she as much as admitted it i think she just
wanted to be in love for once in her life
she felt she was missing something
that's the good i can't explain it
either you understand or you don't
i do i do all the same i think i better pack
up and leave it'll be easier all around trent
you won't mention this to anyone would you
by publicity leaving i mean of course
not it's none of my business thanks
where's an odyssey performed chef yes sir
and the result is that samson met death by
drowning following a fall from the cabin
cruiser yes sir it appears so appears sure
i just don't understand how she fell that's all
you've given us the impression that she lost
her balance yes i think so i just don't know how
sheriff i'm not quite sure what you're implying
are you suggesting that there was something
irregular in mrs sampson's death honor i'd
like to dismiss shark jordan for the moment and uh
call a new witness very well you might step down
would you state your name and occupation please
felix writer md dr ryder bailer tells me that you
have some pertinent information concerning this
inquest yeah how did you come by this information
professionally i was felicity samson's physician
why didn't you contact us earlier i couldn't i was
away on a fishing trip just got back this morning
would you tell us the nature of your information
be glad phil when i came home today my wife said
that felicity mrs sampson had had an accident said
a lot of people all over town were buzzing
about it seems that sheriff jordan couldn't
figure out how she fell off the boat well i knew
i could clear that up so i came right down here
mrs sampson came to me about two weeks ago for a
checkup she complained of pains in the chest so
i gave her a complete examination ran a series of
tests what did you discover she was suffering from
a serious type of progressive microsis is that a
dangerous kind of disease doctor in this case yes
i didn't have her entire history but from what
i could gather she had a primary infection of
the child this type of disease has a way
of recurring would it be fatal in time yes
she had possibly two or three years in
view of the fact that she fell overboard
would you say that dizziness might be one of
the symptoms of the disease yes arising from the
respiratory difficulties of course i'll be glad
to let the court see my records thank you doctor
now did you tell mrs samson about your
findings yes i did she asked me not to
mention it to her husband or family i've
held that confidence until now your reason
for breaking it well just what i said before
to clear up any rumors about her accident
mrs sampson probably had a dizzy spell lost
her balance and fell over the side thank you
doctor been extremely helpful i have nothing
more well in that case i think we can adjourn
that clear no question of the
verdict now accidental death
this concludes the first half
of the alfred hitchcock hour
now for our main attraction the following montage
of images and cacophony of sounds is called a
station break and i'm sure you will find it
an exciting and colorful experience observe
welcome back before we continue with the alfred
hitchcock hour the beloved sponsors minute
don't forget paul if there's
anything we can do just call us
why don't you take a trip somewhere the change
might do you good yes we'll give it some thought
i don't suppose you'll feel much like eating
tonight let me know if you want anything special
i made you a double
it would be nice having someone
to look after for a change
what do you think of harold's suggestion
a suggestion taking a trip you can close the house
and go to europe the far east or south america
do you good i can make all the arrangements try
to remember didn't felicity say anything at all
about what dr ryder told her didn't she give you
some small hint you've asked me that three times
already poor she didn't say anything at all
no hints nothing you must believe me but why
dr ryder he could have been the man do you think
he was lying trying to cover up paul please
she said there was another man she wanted
a divorce so there must have been another
man why couldn't it have been dr ryder
paul he gave the coroner his records
my dear you can't go on mourning
for the rest of your life
try not to think about it so much believe
me you'll get over it eventually one day you
you'll be happy again carolyn is no use course
it is i know don't you understand i k*lled her
don't say things like that it's
natural you should feel guilty
you feel you should have stayed with her on
the boat but paul there's no way you could have
known she was ill didn't you hear what i said
i m*rder*d felicity i pushed her over the side
that's not true it can't be it is true
it wasn't planned i didn't mean to do it i
don't think i even wanted to but i did carolyn
it was sudden like slashing the head of a flower
a second later you wonder why on earth you
ever did such a thing has all been too much
for you paul i told you that before you've been
under such a strain i'm tired of being paid
everybody's pitying me the grieving husband
i can't take it anymore you are breathing you
don't believe me do you think it's all in my mind
i didn't say that but you're taking it well what
do you expect you're my brother i know you better
than i know myself you're not a m*rder*r you know
why you don't believe me because you don't want
to because it might interfere with your plans
i haven't any plans oh yes you have the plans
you've been making ever since felicity d*ed
coming here to live taking care of me you've
got a happy picture of us growing old together
i'm sorry
i'm sorry but it's the truth
can't we talk about this tomorrow
tomorrow will make any difference this isn't
going to go away it's something i've got to face
promise me you won't mention what you told
me to anyone else i can't make any promises
at least for now all right
good morning i understand i'm being
put under the microscope hi paul
let's stop the pretense carolyn told you didn't
she well yes she did mention something about your
problem problem is that what she called it
i should think you'd have more imagination
carolyn or is m*rder just a household crisis
these days like the maid or the silverware oh
please dear yes stop it paul this is serious
oh i'm sorry i didn't realize that i'm sure you
know alice what do you think i think you should
have kept this whole thing to yourself what why
tell anybody what good does it do even if you're
telling the truth well maybe he is how do we know
i just don't know what he expects us to do about
it i don't expect you to do anything about it you
go around talking this way who are you going to
tell next i better tell somebody who believed me
yes by all means go around telling everyone the
postman the gardener what should i do forget
about it yes for our sake your sake whatever
you've done you've no right to drag us into it
don't you realize that we have a reputation in
this community what about my children and harold's
business alice i'm sorry i don't want to involve
any of you but you would there would be a scandal
what would it accomplish i m*rder*d felicity
i took a life and none of you believed me
none of you wants to believe me of course
we believe you if you say you did it that's
good enough for us stop trying to humor me i'm
perfectly sane then think of the consequences
we don't want a scandal it's funny if felicity
were here she'd find all of this highly amusing
each of you have your own reason for keeping
me quiet so i'm afraid i'll have to forget
about you and do what i think is best what
does that mean i don't know yet where are
you going paul i'm gonna get dressed and go to
town any objections i'll give you a lift harold
the watchdog oh no i'm going that way all right i
guess i might as well get used to wearing a leash
say paul uh why don't we stop by dr riders
what for well with everything that's happened
i imagine you could do with a checkup
there's a little mental physical of course
i feel fine
say uh harold i eat some cigarettes i wonder
if you could stop at that drugstore please
so
oh hello mr samson chef excuse my sunday suit
i'm giving my safety lecture to the school kids
and i'm uh i'm supposed to be there in about
minutes but this won't take long well have a seat
now what's on your mind i uh i came by to
tell you that you were right oh about what
about my wife's death it
wasn't an accident i k*lled her
would you repeat that i m*rder*d my wife
you said something about my being right well
well suspicious of me weren't you it's
fairly obvious suspicious of you know
thought never entered my head there's no reason
to be polite i'm not being polite i'm just telling
you a fact i didn't at any time connect you with
your wife's death and i don't now sure when you
listen to me i pushed my wife over the side i
lost my head she was leaving me for another man
oh well i i don't know i see no no you
don't see at all what's wrong with you
a few days ago you thought there was
something suspicious about it yes i did
frankly i thought you'd all been drinking
and nobody knew what had happened that or
a possible su1c1de doctor rider proved me wrong
i'm sorry your wife's dead you have my sympathy
but if you think i'm going to make an official
report of this conversation you're mistaken
are you afraid of sheriff my family's influence
that's got nothing to do with it maybe there's
another reason you look like a fool if i confess
people might think you didn't conduct a thorough
investigation mr sampson i resent that i think
you'd better go home your family's probably
worried about you you don't believe a word i've
said no i don't and even if i did it wouldn't make
any difference the law cannot punish a man for a
crime unless there is proof that he committed it
and a man cannot convict himself unless there is
reasonable proof but i've admitted it it doesn't
make any difference you don't have any proof
you said your wife was leaving you for another man
but you can't produce him you said you pushed her
over the side but judge wilcox says that you
didn't go nearer he was lying to protect me
come on mr sampson you keep talking like that
they can lock you up in another kind of way
ask them yourself look this is a waste of
time and i'm supposed to be giving a lecture
sheriff would you sooner i
went to the district attorney
let's go by the judge's house
hello paul sheriff judge do you
mind if we come in for a minute
not at all if you promise to overlook
the dust my housekeeper is on vacation
oh you're wearing your official look
sheriff force of habit i'm afraid
judge do you mind if i ask you a question
certainly dave i want you to try please
i'll handle this judge when i was investigating
mrs sampson's death you volunteered a statement
you said that all the time mr samson was out
of the cabin you could see him that's right
well i'd like to know if that statement is
true tell him dave of course it was true no
no tell him the truth mr sampson please i asked
you to stay out of this if that's anything but
the truth judge you can do your friend a great
deal of harm dave don't try to protect me i'm not
trying to protect you i happen to be watching
you and felicity and you didn't go near her
well that's good enough for me you
mean you're gonna forget all about
this yes sir and i would suggest that you
do the same thank you for your time judge
mr sampson i have to be going
can i drop you sometimes
no
here you look like you could use this
carolyn called you didn't she
yeah how much did you tell you
just about everything paul did you k*ll felicity
yes why she was leaving me for another man
i know how's the man what
that surprises you doesn't it
i don't believe it my sister puts you
up to this is some kind of a trick
no paul but you hardly knew each other we
met in town by accident a few months ago
i had to go to lunch and then to dinner
when you were away on a business trip
got to be a habit you i still don't believe
it could you think i'd be too old for her
but the city didn't think so at first she wasn't
going to ask you for a divorce and after she been
to see dr ryder she decided that we were entitled
to the time that was left which is what she wanted
with any consolation to you i loved her very much
you think i care about that oh you never care
about anything except yourself how do you think
i felt the nicer for the city was drowned i loved
her but i couldn't show my feelings i was supposed
to have lost only a friend or the wife of a friend
i wanted to jump in that lake after her but
i didn't i stayed in the launch and operated
that light she was down there somewhere under
the water the person i loved most in the world
there's one thing you haven't taken into account i
love felicity too i loved her for years and i was
losing her so you destroyed what you couldn't
have after the accident i feel sorry for you
i feel sorry for both of us and
caroline told me what you were saying
i knew it was the truth why didn't you tell
the sheriff well that would have been too easy
you want to be caught it's the only way you can
relieve your guilt but no one believes you except
me you're not on the bench now you've got my
right to pass judgment you destroyed for the city
i'm going to see to it that you destroy yourself
too but you'll do a far better job than anyone
else could you've got the rest of your life
with a memory of what you did there's nothing
you can do about it nothing if you say you
k*ll felicity people will think you're insane
they'll never believe you never
somebody will i'll find somebody go home
paul would you come here a minute dear
we'd like to talk to you
what is it we've heard from the sheriff and
judge wilcox you've heard from a fool and a
liar paul dear we just can't have you
walking around spreading these stories
you need rest help mr samson this is dr campbell
he's a psychiatrist at the fairfield institute
get him out of here paul dr campbell
would like you to go with him
the institute is only miles away you can stay
there until you feel better i'm not going anywhere
apparently i don't need a psychiatrist do you
want to stay now get out of here all of you
mr sensen i'm afraid you have no
choice i don't we'll see about that
your sister and i have signed the committal
papers don't worry dear it's just a formality
and if you cooperate with us mr
sampson things will be so much easier
going to be all right paul you'll see
and we'll visit you we'll all visit you
i have a joyous footnote to the grim scene which
you have just observed eventually our story had a
happy ending judge wilcox later admitted he had
been fibbing and the world knew that paul had
been guilty of m*rder so he was finally granted
his wish to his great relief he was taken out
of fairfield and suitably disposed of i have the
feeling that i've done quite enough for one day
however i commend you to the following
commercial and the sampling of next week's play
uh
08x10 - Day of Reckoning
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American anthology series featuring dramas, thrillers and mysteries.
American anthology series featuring dramas, thrillers and mysteries.