Don't touch that!
"William S. Grant, Special Investigator."
"Department of Defense, Washington."
- Well, I guess that makes it pretty official. - Yes, I guess it does.
His body is rigid with burns.
The boat's charred, too. Yet there's no sign of fire.
- We'd better get him out of the water. - I'll take care of him myself.
Just thought I'd give you some help.
Well, now that you've got all my vital statistics,
let's have yours.
Name, address, occupation, things like that.
The name's Baxter, Ted Baxter.
The address, local hotel. Occupation, beachcomber and tourist.
Length of stay, indefinite.
Will that do?
Tell me, how did you happen to pick this particular place?
- Know anybody in town? - No.
I have a letter of introduction to the head of the College of Oceanography here.
Professor King?
Which explains why I'm here at this particular minute.
I was on my way to see him at his home when I stumbled in onto this.
Come out of there!
I met you at the College of Oceanography yesterday, didn't I?
That's right. I'm George Thomas, Professor King's assistant.
You seemed a little anxious not to be seen.
Well, I saw two strangers standing over a corpse.
Not being the hero type, I decided this was no place for me.
You planning to do a little diving, Mr. Thomas, this late at night?
I'm an oceanographer. The ocean's my business, day or night.
Anything particularly interesting around here?
You keep out of this.
You'd better not do any diving around here for a while.
I want you to forget that you were even here tonight, understand?
Dad?
You're soaking wet.
So I am.
I saw a wonderful marine specimen, I went in after it.
With the college on vacation,
you're spending more time there than ever.
I hardly see you anymore.
I've never seen you this detached from me, from reality.
I'm working on breathtaking things, Lois. Great things.
- And you still won't tell me What it is? - Not yet.
You've got your own staff consumed with curiosity.
Even your secretary has asked me if I know what it is you're doing
behind that tightly locked lab of yours.
She's a sneaking, prying female. I should fire her.
And I suppose George is quizzing you, too.
A little.
I think he feels a deep resentment
because you've cut him off from your work so.
He's an opportunist, not a scientist.
I don't trust him, nor Ethel. They're both spying on me.
I'm not here. I'm in bed.
I've been in bed an hour. An hour, do you understand?
Oh, won't you come in?
Thank you.
Is Professor King here?
I'm sorry, he's asleep. He went to bed an hour ago.
Oh, I see.
Are you sure the Professor's asleep?
Tell him that Ted Baxter's here. It's urgent.
- Well, what do you want him for? - Please tell him.
Dad.
Dad?
My friend, the beachcomber.
Supposing you tell me what your great interest in this thing is,
Dr. Stevens.
You work fast, don't you?
Oh, I've learned quite a lot about you, Doctor.
You'd be surprised how well Washington knows you.
Care to hear how famous you are?
"Dr. Stevens, oceanographer. One of the leaders in his field."
"Author of two highly controversial books,"
"Biological Effects of Radiation on Marine Life,"
"and Nature's Own Death Ray."
You have been busy, Mr. Grant.
There's more.
"Dr. Stevens, in a laboratory experiment,"
"successfully activated the hydrogen isotopes in heavy water"
"to form an atomic chain reaction."
"He called this development the first workable death ray."
Suppose you tell me what you're doing with that Geiger counter.
Well, I told you I thought the boat showed radiation burns.
I wanted to verify it. I did.
Scientific curiosity, you might say.
And using a phony name, what's that for?
That's for reasons of my own.
I watched you yesterday, the way you looked out there,
as if you expected something like this was going to happen.
Am I to consider myself a suspect?
What happened out there seems to tie in pretty closely with your own experiments.
The evidence, if you can call it that, was highly circumstantial.
Washington tell you anything else about me?
Enough to make me keep my eyes on you.
You know, if you leave me alone, I might be able to help you with this.
And then again, maybe not.
- Morning, Miss Ethel. - Morning, Andy.
They found Willy Harrison's boat this morning.
Burned, like the others.
They ain't found his body. That makes three the Phantom's got.
You know what they're saying in town?
That nothing like this ever happened until they opened this school here.
I can't say that I blame them.
The way the Professor's been acting, locking himself up in his room...
He won't even let me in there to clean it.
And all those noises coming from that room.
I've got work to do, Andy.
- And that young one, George. - What about George?
He's following the professor around.
Follows him everywhere. I seen him.
Hiding behind trees, watches him all the time.
It ain't normal, this carrying on.
What's not normal, Andy?
I'm not to be disturbed, you understand?
Yes, sir.
- What have you got there, Ethel? - Nothing, just a piece of scrap.
"H.E.F. increase, point 56, dash 24."
"Point 64, dash 32."
"Point 70, dash 18."
Keeping right up with the professor, aren't you, George?
I'm one step ahead of him.
I've got to get into his lab, Ethel. You've got to help me get in there.
It's worth a lot of money to me,
to you, too.
I could tell him what you're up to.
You could.
But you won't.
Hi.
Hi there.
Tell me, how did you leave your house?
Through the door,
or through the open window, like your father did last night?
Through the door. I leave the window exits to Dad.
- Join me in a swim? - No, I'm a little winded.
How about you joining me in a rest?
Maybe I can pick up some of that color you have.
- Care for a cigarette? - Oh, no, thanks.
- Is something the matter? - No. No.
You seem a little nervous, Mr. Baxter.
Why don't you call me Ted?
Mr. Baxter sounds so formal, especially here at the beach.
All right, Ted.
Oh, it's too nice just to sit around.
If you're not coming in for a swim, then I think I'll go in alone.
Now, look, you can't go swimming.
I don't like being told what to do.
Well, its not a case of my telling you what to do,
it's just that it isn't safe out there.
I think you're being a little ridiculous.
Look, I've spent all my life near the water.
- I can handle myself under any situation. - But I'm afraid you can't in this one.
I'm going to insist that you stay out of the water, at least for a while.
- Insist? - Yes. You must trust me.
- You really mean that, don't you? - I really do.
Let's just say that I'd feel better knowing that you were safe here on the beach,
for personal reasons.
You ought to do that more often.
- Do what? - Smile. I like it.
Well, all I need is enough encouragement,
and you've given that to me.
Ethel.
Will you go down to the supply room and get some ocean current charts?
Yes, sir.
Professor King?
I wonder if I might have a few words with you alone.
Ethel, I believe you were on your way down to the supply room.
I called on you at your home last night,
but you'd gone out for a walk, through an open window.
Yes, my daughter Lois told me that a Mr. Baxter had called.
I got a terrible scolding on your account.
I'm afraid you ruined my favorite device for getting out of the house
when I can't sleep.
Professor, I saw a fisherman's body washed up on the shore last night.
These men get very careless.
They think they rule the sea, but it's just the opposite.
The sea rules us, Mr. Baxter.
But this man wasn't killed by a natural force.
His body was rigid with radiation burns.
I think whatever killed him was man-made.
Indeed? Very interesting.
Although not within my scope as an oceanographer.
Just what is it you want of me, Mr. Baxter?
Well, I'd like a detailed study of the ocean in this vicinity,
the depth and the composition of the floor,
anything that you might have.
- It'll take a little time to gather them. - I'd like them as soon as possible.
Well, I told my daughter I wouldn't work this afternoon.
Why don't you come to the house about 3:00?
Say, if you get there before I do and Lois is out, just go on right in.
The house is generally unlocked.
That'll be fine.
And by the way, I take it you are working with Mr. Grant, the federal investigator?
You might say so.
You can come in now, miss.
I hope you found the conversation interesting.
You're an inquisitive woman, aren't you, Ethel?
Well, at least you might have knocked.
Well, I did.
And your father told me to open the door and come in.
He would.
Would you mind handing me those things there?
Surely.
Thanks.
- Is Father expecting you? - Yes.
Would you mind helping me with this zipper?
Why, of course.
You're an awful long time with that.
Mission completed, sorry to say.
Hello, I'm sorry I'm late.
Well, now that Dad's here, will you excuse me?
Oh, surely.
I hope these are what you wanted, Dr. Stevens.
I've read your books very thoroughly, Doctor,
on which, incidentally, your photograph appears.
Well, maybe it's just as well you know who I am.
Have you chartered the area around Baker's Cove?
The area where the accidents occurred?
No, I don't think we got around to that.
We've only been here two years, you know.
Well, you've mapped other areas in this vicinity.
A few years ago, a submerged deposit of uranium ore was found along this coast.
Is there any evidence of a similar deposit along here?
No, not to my knowledge. Why?
Why, this morning, I made a test dive over the area
where the accidents have taken place.
They weren't accidents.
There's a shaft of light coming up out of the ocean.
I have reason to believe that it's nuclear in character.
Now, any object coming in contact with this light
would be subject to extreme radiation.
I believe this light killed three men.
Incredible.
You say you made a close examination of this light?
Not as close as I would have liked to.
It was being guarded by a sea serpent,
a hideous beast that defies description.
Oh, Doctor, if I didn't know that you were a scientist of high standards,
I'd say that you were the victim of the ridiculous Phantom stories
that are running wild around the village.
Professor, you say you've read my stories?
Indeed, I have.
Much of my work is based on your findings.
Well, then you must remember my experiments
on activating the hydrogen isotopes in heavy water.
Oh, but that was on a miniature scale in a laboratory with a lot of equipment.
But on the ocean floor...
I proved it could be done.
I used artificial means to start the reaction.
Then you think that with a submerged deposit of uranium ore,
you can get the same reaction on a much larger scale?
A weapon like this could destroy anything coming in contact with it.
Oh, fantastic.
Once the chain reaction had started, it could continue indefinitely,
as a matter of fact, keep growing larger.
And what about the beast down there? Was he man-made, too?
I believe so.
Since marine life lives in a constant flow of heavy water,
the effect of radiation on it would be completely different than it is on humans.
Well, that's your theory on mutations, isn't it, Doctor?
Yes.
And if what I believe is true,
this monster that I saw in the ocean was a mutation of some sea creature.
You see, it draws its energy from the nuclear light itself,
just as plant life needs the sun to grow on.
Well, have you any evidence to support this fantastic theory?
I created such a mutant in my own laboratory.
Oh, come now, Doctor.
I destroyed it, just as this creature must be destroyed,
and the knowledge that went into creating it.
And you think that that knowledge might have come out of my college?
Since I am head of that college, obviously...
Professor, in science we look for one thing and find another.
We split an atom and the hydrogen bomb is evolved.
We set up a simple experiment or study on underwater life,
something new and horrible is created.
I feel as if I and my experiments are suspect.
Well, I haven't overlooked that possibility.
If it were a matter of pure science alone,
I'd be inclined to examine you most closely.
- However, there's another element. - Another element?
The person responsible for this terrible weapon
has offered it for sale to the highest bidder.
For sale? I don't believe it.
Hello?
Yes, Mr. Grant.
We'll have them ready for you in the morning.
That's right. Goodbye.
Grant's going to make a dive in the morning.
He's borrowing some equipment from us.
- We can't let him go down there. - Why not?
Well, in view of what you told me, I thought...
Well, it's not safe for him to go down there.
Why are you staring at me, Doctor?
You seemed so skeptical when I told you the results of my test dive,
yet you show a genuine concern for Mr. Grant's safety.
Good day, Professor.
Ethel.
Did I startle you? I'm sorry.
I didn't hear you come out.
I forgot to tell you,
a Mr. Grant wants to pick up a full set of diving equipment tomorrow.
- Have it ready for him. - Yes, sir.
And tell George and the night watchman, in case you're not here.
Yes, sir.
Ethel, I consider you an intelligent woman,
a bit bitter perhaps, no great lover of mankind,
but still intelligent.
I'd like your opinion.
What would you consider a just punishment for a man or a woman
who would betray his fellow man for money?
One who would take a scientific discovery of monumental scope
and use it to line his or her pockets?
I don't know.
Would you consider death just?
Well?
No matter.
You can tell me some other time.
Hello. Get me Mr. Grant, please.
You shouldn't have come here. I may have been followed.
There was a time when you would have welcomed me under any circumstances.
They've got federal men investigating. They must know something.
They're planning on making a dive tomorrow.
A dive? They've got to be stopped.
- How? - That's your problem.
You shouldn't have come here.
I had to. I got a cable from Antwerp. I'm to fly there in two days.
They're expecting me to bring some vital information from you.
I'm not ready.
You were ready enough
to accept a considerable sum of money in advance, weren't you?
I won't know anything until I can get into King's lab.
Then get in. Butt your way in.
I tried that with his secretary. It didn't work.
You're facing some serious problems, George.
You have two days in which to find the answers.
I'll be leaving for Europe the day after tomorrow.
Where will I find you?
I'll be spending most of my time soaking up a little sun
at Colby's Point.
That's where we used to meet, remember?
I remember.
For quite a while, we were just a man and a woman, weren't we?
I didn't know then they could put beauty and poison
so cleverly together in one package.
Colby's Point, remember.
- Is it all right to talk here? - Go ahead.
- I can tell you what you want to know. - All right.
- My, you look lovely. - Thank you.
I hope my caller feels the same way about it.
I'm sure he will. Dr. Stevens is very observing.
He's a bright young man.
- Sometimes I think he's too bright. - Too bright?
- I don't understand what you mean. - Oh, just an old coot thinking out loud.
You know, science is a devouring mistress.
She devours all who seek to fathom her mysteries.
And for every secret she reveals, she demands a price,
a price that a scientist must be prepared to pay,
even at the cost of his life,
or the life of others who stand in the way of his search.
You...
You say that almost as though you were threatening me.
You? What nonsense.
- Good evening. - Good evening.
Evening. I daresay you two won't mind being left alone.
- You're beautiful. - Which is a good opening line for any date.
Oh, I've got more, but they require an entirely different setting.
How about a nice walk along the ocean?
He may fool the rest of you with his soft voice, but not me.
He's a killer.
You can't accuse King of treason just because you hate him.
I'll accuse him of anything.
He sent my only son out in a squall to get his filthy ocean specimens.
Proof, Ethel. I need proof.
He works behind those locked doors of his.
If I could just get in there, I could give you all the proof you want.
We may be able to figure out something along those lines.
If I could show you how to make a wax impression of those locks,
- could you do it sometime tomorrow? - I'm sure I could.
Come on.
I'd better be getting home. It's late.
It's been a lovely evening.
Yes, it was pleasant, and it did go fast.
Mostly in talk about my father and the college, now that I think of it.
You've learned a great deal about him.
It was natural curiosity about a fellow scientist.
There were some very pleasant moments of silence, too.
We really should go.
All right.
Now, look, you go home and call Bill Grant.
You'll find him at the hotel.
Tell him I'll wait here for his instructions.
Hurry, please.
They're burned worse than the fisherman was.
I think it's about time we did something about this.
We? Am I off your list of suspects?
Earlier today, I had along talk with Washington.
You were the topic of conversation.
- Am I to be shot at sunrise? - They told me to cooperate with you.
You could have floored me.
They put you on this case, too, and didn't even tell me about it.
I thought they would eventually.
Apparently, they wanted two completely indifferent investigations of this,
one from a scientific point of view, and one from a...
A gumshoe, government style.
"Pacific College of Oceanography."
You know, this spear may be our first real break.
Kind of narrows the field down, doesn't it?
Yes, it seems so.
I think I'll take it down to the crime lab and have them dust it for prints.
How about you going down to the college and picking up some diving equipment?
I checked with Professor King,
and he said that the night watchman would give it to us.
Okay.
What do you say we make our dive about 6:00 a.m.?
Yeah.
Bill, I made a test dive yesterday.
It's pretty grim.
There's a shaft of radioactive light down there.
Touch it, and you're dead.
And if that isn't enough, there's some kind of an animal standing guard over it.
Then there really is a basis for these Phantom stories?
I'm afraid there is.
This will take care of it, and I won't miss.
Now, my principal interest is the light ray.
Now, you will have to draw whatever it is down there away,
so I can get a good look at that light.
And, Bill, now, it isn't going to be easy, or pleasant.
Neither is this.
Hey, Bill, what happened?
- Still wanna go in? - Yes.
Feel all right?
Okay.
- I'm picking up King and his assistant. - What for?
The poison in that mask came from the college,
and so did the spear that was fired at you.
So, we can prove a charge of attempted murder.
That's not what we're after.
We want to know who created that thing, and how to destroy it.
Don't you understand, Bill?
It's the knowledge, the know-how, that went into making that ray.
- That's the real danger. - Now it all ties together.
We were getting too nosy, so King tried to get rid of both of us.
Maybe it was George. Maybe both of them.
The secretary could be tied into it for all we know.
No, rule her out. We were, well, talking.
She tells me she can prove that King's behind this whole thing.
Prove it? How?
I rigged up a set of keys for her to get into his laboratory.
She tells me all the proof I need is right in that room.
- I hope she's right. - We'll know tonight.
- One of the spear guns is missing. - I saw King take one out yesterday.
That's odd, I thought I saw you carrying one when you left last night.
You see too much, Ethel. You should wear blinkers.
- Is he in yet? - No.
- I've got to get in there today. - Break the door down.
He mustn't know, Ethel.
This is important to me, as important as staying alive.
I can't help you.
This is serious. I'm in trouble.
You like that, don't you?
I've too much trouble of my own to worry about yours.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
Dad told me that you and Mr. Grant made a dive.
Yes.
I'm glad I learned about it after it was allover.
I phoned the college, they told me your father was at home.
He was terribly upset when he heard the news.
The boy, the one in the boat, he was one of his students.
Oh, that's a shame.
I'd like to talk to your father.
You wished to speak to me?
Why, yes, I thought you might be interested
in the results of the dive we made this morning.
The very fact that you're here now tells me that
your Phantom, as well as your light ray, is a myth, a hoax.
They both exist.
The light ray, as you call it, is very definitely atomic, and deadly.
The only reason I'm alive ls because I made sure
I didn't come in contact with it myself.
It's all too preposterous for serious thought.
Phantom marine mutations, death rays, utter nonsense.
I'm afraid, Doctor, that you are the victim of an overwhelming imagination.
Good day, Dr. Stevens.
You don't look well, George.
Or is it just that I don't find you attractive anymore?
Nothing's going right, Wanda.
- I don't know if I can get what they want. - They won't like it.
And when they don't like something,
they're liable to be a little extreme in showing it.
They might even come to the same conclusion that I came to last night,
that you're of no use to us.
Last night?
Ethel, King's secretary, was crying her little heart out to Mr. Grant.
- I saw them. - The government man?
I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I'm pretty sure I caught your name.
She knows enough about me to...
Evidently she hasn't told him what she knows yet.
What do I do, Wanda?
I know what I'd do.
I'll be here tomorrow, too.
But don't come unless you have something for me.
You're working very late tonight, aren't you, Ethel?
I had some work to clean up. Good night.
Ethel.
I believe you were looking for these.
Dad, what's wrong?
I feel so old, so tired and defeated.
Dr. Stevens, I want to apologize to you for my rudeness this afternoon.
- I've had a few very trying days. - Of course, I understand.
Maybe I'd better leave.
Come in.
- Professor King? - That's right.
- Were you at the college tonight? - Yes, for a while.
- Mind telling me when you left? - About an hour ago, I think.
What's this all about?
Your secretary, Miss Hall, was found murdered a short while ago.
Ethel.
She left the college, a few minutes later you followed.
That it?
I don't grasp the significance of that fact.
Do you think that I would take a human life willfully, deliberately?
She just as well as told me you were gonna kill her.
She was killed with one of the college's spear guns.
Am I being formally charged with this horrible thing?
Not yet.
But it's just a matter of time.
Come on.
Dad!
We just gonna sit here all day?
There isn't much else we can do till the sheriff gets here with his report.
Oh, it's just like I killed Ethel myself.
I rigged the keys for her to get into King's laboratory.
That's it. That's what we ought to do.
Get into that room of his.
Well, assuming that it was King, which is something I'm not ready to do,
he could have destroyed everything in his laboratory if he found Ethel in there,
his equipment, his notes.
Don't you see, Bill?
It's what's in his mind, or George's, that's important.
Notes? Wait a minute.
Ethel gave me this at the restaurant. She copied it from King.
Mean anything to you?
Well, we solved your murder for you, Mr. Grant.
Same spear gun fired both shafts,
the one that tried to kill Doc here, and the one that got Miss Hall.
Same fingerprints over both of them.
They were George Thomas', King's assistant.
The dumbest killer I ever saw.
Left the spear gun in his car, same prints all over it.
And to clinch it, he didn't come home last night.
I guess I'd better put in for retirement.
I sure had this one figured wrong.
I called the college to tell the old man he was in the clear, but no one answered.
He's probably at home. I think I'd better go tell him.
Tell the old man I'm sorry.
I kind of have an idea where we can get George.
Wanna come along? Might be able to use some help.
Come on.
I'd forgotten how pleasant it could be, just walking.
You see, it's not so hard to take a day off. We'll do it again.
- I doubt whether the trap would permit it. - The trap?
Knowledge sometimes has steel jaws, like a trap,
and it can either destroy the hunter or the hunted.
- You frighten me when you talk like that. - Then I promise not to.
Oh, here comes your Dr. Stevens.
I have some news that I think will interest you.
About Ethel's murder?
- The sheriff has proof it was George. - I knew it wasn't you!
- Why would he want her dead? - It's possible that Ethel found out that...
Well, he had to silence her.
Why the gloom?
Dad's just been acquitted of murder.
Lois, I'd like to talk to your father alone.
Why?
It will only take a few minutes, dear.
You'd better run on home. I'll follow you there.
- You'd better go. - Please.
Ethel gave this to Mr. Grant. She said she copied it from your notes.
Intensity increase readings of the light shaft. You call it H.E.F.
Hydro Energy Force. You're quite right.
There is a uranium deposit on the ocean floor.
How did you activate it?
That, Dr. Stevens, is my knowledge, and mine alone.
But it must be destroyed.
It started with a simple animal experiment, one of yours, Doctor.
I thought so.
And I advanced it way beyond the scope of your imagination, didn't I?
Don't tell me how you create it, tell me how to destroy it.
I don't know that I want to.
But, Doctor, you're not free to do as you wish.
Five people have died as a result of that thing.
You're quite right.
But just give me one hour to think about it.
It's a decision that's not easy to make.
I have no other choice.
Thank you.
I'll meet you here.
And, Doctor, stay with Lois.
She'll need you.
I know Dad's in some kind of trouble and needs me, I know it.
- But your father asked you to wait here. - I can't. We've got to find him.
Do you know where he might be?
Well, he possibly could have gone to the lab.
- Well, then I'm going there. - No, no, now, wait a minute.
Do I have to go alone, or are you coming with me?
Perhaps you're right.
We can't do any good here, just waiting. Let's go.
Ted, what happened? That ship, it just exploded.
Lois, I've got to find your father.
You can't mean that Dad had anything to do with this.
- I haven't got time to talk. - Ted!
Professor King.
- You may come in and clean up now, Andy. - It's about time.
What in the world is that?
Do you mean to say that's one of God's creatures, Professor?
No, Andy, that's one of man's follies,
and I pray God there will never be another one.
Goodbye, Andy.
On your feet.
Figured you'd show up here sooner or later.
- What do you want of me? - Just a confession to Ethel Hall's murder.
We found a spear gun in your car.
Ballistic tests and fingerprints pretty well tie you into it, mister.
- You weren't very clever about it. - Neither was your girlfriend Wanda.
No, I guess I wasn't.
I should have learned more from my teacher.
- He killed in wholesale lots. - What are you talking about?
Professor King, he planted that thing out in the ocean.
What does he mean, Bill?
I think I know. Can you handle him yourself, Sheriff?
- What happened? Where's Dad? - He left a few minutes ago, Miss King.
Did he say where he was going?
No, he just busted up the place and left in a hurry.
But why destroy all this, his experiments, his life's work?
I'm afraid only your father can explain that.
But I still don't understand. Do you know why he did this?
I think I do.
- What a mess. King? - Yeah. Left a few minutes ago.
Probably headed for the beach. We're on our way there now.
Let's take my car. Come on, we'd better hurry.
If I'd only known in time, perhaps I could have stopped him.
I know he meant this power to be used to help humanity, not destroy it.
I'm sure he did.
And he paid for his mistake.
Nature has many secrets that man mustn't disturb,
and this was one of them.
I know.
If only he, too, could have understood...
I'm sure he does, Lois.
That's why he took his secret with him.