John Bromfield

A tributary of the upper Amazon. A small boat moves up river, it is late in the afternoon and the boat anchors as Captain Lucas (Nestor Paiva) announces they will push through to the Black Lagoon in the morning. Two passengers, George Johnson (Robert Williams) and Joe Hayes (John Bromfield) debate the value of the expedition. Joe is determined to capture the creature and take it back to the Aquarium to exhibit it for the world to see. Lucas warns that if it is dead they have wasted their money and if still alive, they probably will wish it was dead After dinner the discussion continues. Lucas cant understand the point of what they are doing. The creature should be left alone, not captured for the whim of science. Lucas explains he came to the lagoon the previous year with an expedition, and 5 people eventually were killed during that trip They go on to discuss the origins of the creature. Johnson explains that under the right conditions a creature might avoid being affected by evolution, leap forging many important steps. Lucas argues the creature is too strong for evolution and if the two passengers think they can just capture the thing, they will be sadly mistaken Next morning the boat enters the lagoon without incident. Unseen, the creature surfaces and studies their activities then swims off. Joe dons a diving suit and goes into the water to secure a net they have hung across the entrance of the lagoon The creature sees Joe and stalks him, waiting for a chance to attack. Preoccupied with the net Joe doesnt see the creature till it is too late. The men on the boat hear Joes frantic cries for help and begin pulling him in with the life line. The creature tries to break the line before being driven off by gunfire from the boat The next day Johnson sets a series of explosives around the lagoon, detonating them should stun the creature and force it to the surface. The plan works and the creature floats unconscious near the boat. The men secure the creature and begin the task of transporting it back to Florida after notifying the press At the institute in Florida Doctor Ferguson (John Agar) is studying predatory behavior in mammals when news comes through of the capture of the creature. He is encouraged to go to Ocean Harbor to study the creature At Ocean Harbor the creature is unloaded from the boat and transferred to a holding tank so studies can begin. Concerns are raised over the fact the creature has remained in a coma since being stunned by the explosions. The publicity generated by the creature is enormous; hotels are book for 50 miles around by tourists wanting to see the creature Overseeing the transfer is Helen Dobson (Lori Nelson) shes decided to use the creature as the basis of a thesis. She explains to reporters why Joe is walking the creature around the holding tank. The technique is the same used on sharks to push water through the creatures gills and revive it. Two hours later the creature stirs. Tension mounts as Joe barely makes it out the tank before being attacked. The creature goes on a rampage and tries to jump out of the tank. Joe stops the creature but falls back into the tank. Two workers attempt to rescue him but are badly hurt before a net is thrown over the creature and it is bought back under control Sometime later the creature is introduced to the main viewing tank so the public can see it. One leg is secured with a chain to stop the animals further attempts to escape A few days later the aquarium has settle into a routine, visiting crowds are huge and the process of studying the creature begins. Ferguson and Helen meet and discuss their mutual fields of research and how it will affect the research being done. At the same time there is a clear emotional connection beginning to form between the couple. As their conversation becomes more relaxed Ferguson asks Helen out to dinner. The discussion is interrupted by Joe Hays, also interested in Helen. She rebukes Joes advances and ultimately makes plans with Ferguson. Time progresses and Ferguson and Dobson continue their experiments. They try training the creature using vocal commands similar to methods used on dolphins. Entering the tank, they are armed with a special shock probe; by zapping the creature at the right time during feeding they believe they can teach the animal to be less aggressive. They then lower another portion of food that has been injected with drugs to make the creature go to sleep. Satisfied its pacified Ferguson attaches a device for measuring the creatures brain activity as well as drawing blood samples The blood tests throw up some odd results, Ferguson begins to worry about exactly what they are dealing with. On every level tested the creature appears on an evolutionary scale closer to man than animals. Helen also expresses concern for the creature. She perceives it is lonely and worries what long term effects all the testing might have on it The conditioning training continues and Ferguson is stunned by the creatures progress. What a chimp learns in three weeks the creature learns in a matter of hours. During one experiment the creature reacts by attacking and injuring Ferguson. Dobson pleads with the creature to stop, which it eventually does However it has its blood lust up, and begins furiously attacking the chain holding it till a link breaks. Joe spots what the creature is up too and attempts to intervene. He is dragged into the tank and killed Leaving the tank the creature sends park visitors scattering. Its behavior is unusual, although having the opportunity to kill a number of visitors it ignores them, preferring to concentrate on getting back to the nearby ocean A week later reports are come from as far as Mexico and New York about possible sightings, however the authorities are convinced it is probably moving back to the habitat it knows best, the Amazon river. That same night, Dobson readies for a shower in her hotel room. Unknown to her the creature has come ashore and is prowling around the building. Her dog attacks the creature as it enters her room. The noise disturbs Ferguson in the next room. He investigates only to Helen in the shower and her dog missing. Going out and checking the grounds he finds nothing. He assumes the dog has gone after a rabbit and should be back safe and well in the morning. Unseen in the bushes are the remains of Dobsons dog, recently killed by the creature. The next morning Dobson and Ferguson take a boat trip up river. There plan is to have lunch in Jacksonville as a farewell date. The creature knows she is onboard and begins following the craft till it breaks down. As the crew try to fix the fault Helen and Ferguson go for a swim The creature follows Helen as she swims, but seems tentative about attacking other than briefly touching her leg. Before the aggression can become more marked, it is announced the boat is fixed and will soon be on its way. The date then continues as planned. Taking a break from dancing, they go for a walk along the pier. Talk turns to the struggles the upcoming three month of separation will have on their relationship. As true scientist the subject turns to what love really is as they wander back to the dance arm in arm. The creature climbs the pier and follows them back to the dance. Bursting into the room, it roars scattering the crowd then snatches Helen. Ferguson follows the creature to the waters edge then dives in frantically searching for her A couple fishing in a boat nearby hear screaming coming from a channel marker in the river. Helen has broken free of the creature and is trying to escape by climbing onto the structure. As they watch she is dragged back under and despite the arrival of a police launch, is not seen again. The police have issued an alert and begin clearing the public off the streets. Two young men driving find a body on a nearby beach. The stop to investigate and realizes it is Helen and she is still alive. The creature sneaks up on the two preoccupied men and kills them before once again heading into the water with Helen in tow. The search intensifies around Point Diego after police find the dead mens bodies. Hundreds of armed police begin scouring the area. Ferguson briefs the police on what to expect. He stresses the sheer strength of the creature and its apparent high level of intelligence The creature has come back ashore, however having spent extended periods out of the water it begins to weaken. Once again abandoning Helen on a deserted beach it returns to the water to regain its strength. Searchers arrive and see Helen as the creature re-emerge from the water, hearing the reported sighting police converging on the scene. The creature retrieves Helen and heads for the water as Ferguson arrives, using the conditioning training taught at the aquarium he makes the creature drop Helen. The police seize the opportunity and open fire with a volley of gun fire Helen and Ferguson embrace as we see a final shot of the creature drifting lifeless towards the ocean floor Chapman_glen@yahoo.com

During the American Civil War, Confederate spies aim to steal Union gold intended for the peace treaty with the Sioux and thus pit the Indians against the Union Forces. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln sends an emissary with a peace treaty to the Sioux Indians. He also sends a gift of $130,000 in gold. This attracts the attention of Brock Marsh, the secret leader of a Confederate spy ring, who wants to keep the treaty from being signed and to also get his hands on the gold. Ruth Lawrence and Mike Daugherty work together against the machinations of Marsh. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

At a state mental institution, Korean War veteran and patient Dublin O'Malley treasures a photograph of Valerie St. Denis, a trapeze artist in the Clyde Beatty Circus, with whom he had a relationship years before when he was a circus ringmaster. His refusal to discuss his obsession with Valerie leads the parole board to consider Dublin uncooperative, and after consideration, they proclaim him "schizophrenic and possibly homicidal." Realizing that his release will not be granted, Dublin escapes and kills a man to fake his own death. Then, in the town where the Beatty Circus is performing, Dublin secretly contacts the alcoholic clown, Twitchy, who recalls a drinking spree in which Dublin was saved from the lions by the circus owner and animal trainer, Clyde Beatty. Although Twitchy is unaware of it, Dublin has been haunted for years by the laughter of the circus people at his predicament and seeks revenge on Clyde for making him look foolish. Using knowledge of Twitchy's involvement in a woman's accidental death years before, Dublin blackmails him into causing a series of accidents to disrupt the circus. Later, the circus manager, Frank Wallace, suspects sabotage, noting that the results of the accidents--financial loss and the employees' fear of a jinx--are destroying the company. After Clyde is almost killed when a restraining rope in the lion cage breaks, Frank asks for help from Mickey Spillane, the writer of the "Mike Hammer" detective books. Soon after, Dublin gets himself rehired as ringmaster, although Frank fears trouble between Dublin and Valerie's possessive husband Armand. When Valerie sees Dublin for the first time after many years and introduces her five-year-old daughter Nellie, she asks him not to mention their past to Armand, whom she met and married after Dublin left the circus. However, while pretending to be friendly, Dublin makes double-edged comments and, after shooting and developing photographs of the St. Denis family, remarks how Nellie's nose is different than either of her parents. Although Valerie becomes uneasy, Armand is oblivious to Dublin's remarks, so Dublin takes out his frustration by tormenting a caged tiger. Frank and Clyde allow Paul Martin, who claims to be a magazine journalist, to travel with the company to do a series of articles on the circus. Later, Paul, who is really a police detective investigating the accidents at Spillane's request, finds proof from a lab test that the accidents were rigged, as the rope in the lion cage was burned apart with film developer. However, after several days, the culprit still eludes Paul, so Spillane, inspired by his own detective books, suggests that they consider the person who seems least guilty. They begin to watch Dublin, although he appeared on the scene after problems began. When Armand's rigging fails during a performance and the artist almost falls to his death, Clyde is surprised that Twitchy was the last person to check the rigging, as the clown, who is a former aerialist, should have easily spotted any problems. Meanwhile, a remorseful Twitchy wants to confess to Frank, but Dublin drowns him in a horse trough, making his death appear to be the result of inebriation. However, Frank, Spillane and Paul question whether someone else was behind his death and the other accidents, despite Dublin's efforts to frame the dead Twitchy. Later, Paul receives a telegram from authorities describing Dublin as an escaped homicidal maniac and Spillane searches the killer's trailer. Caught in the act by Dublin, Spillane is blinded by the killer's flashgun and restrained with a curtain cord. Paul arrives in time to prevent Dublin from pouring acid in Spillane's eyes, but Dublin escapes to the St. Denises' trailer. There he proclaims his unique and abiding affection to Valerie, but as soon as Armand shows up, Dublin flees to the animal tent and frees the tiger from its cage. After running to a train that has stopped nearby, he hops aboard a freight car, laughing maniacally at his easy escape. While others search for Dublin, Clyde tries unsuccessfully to maneuver the tiger back into its cage, but when it instead heads for the train and jumps into the freight car, he shuts it inside for safekeeping. Before Clyde and the others can stop it, the train departs, but they can hear Dublin's anguished cries as the tiger kills him.

Wealthy invalid Leona Stevenson finds herself completely alone in her New York City townhouse. Thinking that her husband Henry would be home, she gave her nurse and the servants the night off. But Henry never came home from work and Leona is frantically trying to locate him. His office number is busy. In desperation, Leona telephones her husband's secretary, Miss Jennings, at home. She learns that Henry left the office with a Mrs. Lord and did not return. In flashbacks, it is revealed that Leona is the spoiled only child of J.B. Cotterell, the owner of a pharmaceutical company based in Chicago. Her mother died in childbirth and Leona grew up believing that she had a heart ailment. In college she met Henry Stevenson, who came from a dirt-poor background. Although he is dating her best friend Sally, Leona makes a play for him and succeeds in taking him away from Sally. Against the wishes of her father, Leona marries Henry and he goes to work for her father. But he is unsuccessful in persuading Leona that they need a home of their own instead of living with Mr. Cotterell. Leona has a fainting spell and requires a nurse to take care of her. This has happened many times over the years and Mr. Cotterell blames Henry for this latest episode. Henry tries to find other employment but Mr. Cotterell has put the word out not to hire him. Returning to the present time, Leona takes a call from a Mr. Waldo Evans. He has called several times wanting to speak to Henry but won't say what he wants. In telephoning Henry's office again, Leona is accidentally connected to a conversation in which two men are talking. They cannot hear her but she hears them plotting a murder. A woman is to be killed in her home at 11:15 that night. An overheard train will cross the tracks and the cop on patrol always takes a break at that time. No one else will be in the house and their client has arranged to leave a downstairs window unlocked. Their client wants them to make it look like a robbery and he doesn't want the woman to suffer. Leona is horrified and calls the operator, demanding that the call be traced. But the operator doesn't understand what she means about being cut in on a conversation and refers her to the police. The officer who takes Leona's call doesn't believe her. In frustration, Leona hangs up but continues to worry about the unfortunate woman who is set to die. In looking through the telephone messages that came in earlier that day, Leona finds one from the mysterious Mrs. Lord. She telephones the woman and demands to know what is going on with her and Henry. To her surprise, Mrs. Lord turns out to be her old friend Sally. By now Leona is thoroughly bewildered. Sally explains in a low voice that her husband works for the District Attorney and that Henry is in trouble. She came to his office to warn him. Then she hangs up abruptly after telling Leona that she will call back when she can speak privately, as her husband is home. Leona cannot imagine what sort of trouble Henry could be in. She telephones her father in Chicago but he is having a party and doesn't give her a chance to explain why she is calling. He is surprised and angry that she is in the house alone and promises to have a talk with Henry. The phone rings again and it is Western Union with a telegram from Henry. He is en route to a pharmaceutical convention and will telephone her later. Then Sally calls from a pay phone, having told her husband that she was going out for beer. She doesn't know exactly what trouble Henry is in, only that it is very serious. Earlier that week she followed her husband and one of his colleagues to a deserted house on Staten Island. It appeared to be a drop-off point and Sally heard Henry's name mentioned. Sally is forced to hang up because the drugstore is closing, leaving Leona frustrated and upset. Mr. Evans calls again and this time Leona demands to know why he keeps bothering her. She is a bedridden invalid and cannot take this kind of stress. Mr. Evans reveals that he knows all about her, having been a Cotterell employee for many years. He is in charge of a laboratory; first in Chicago and now in New Jersey. One night when he was working late, Henry stopped by. He looked around the laboratory and asked where the narcotics were kept. Mr. Evans showed him but felt uneasy about it, even though Henry was the boss's son-in-law. Later Henry offered Mr. Evans a ride home as it was raining and his bus was late. During the ride, Mr. Evans shared his desire to retire and return to England. He would like to purchase a horse farm but doubts he will be able to afford it. Henry agrees and offers to cut Mr. Evans in on a deal. If he will hold back some of the narcotics, Henry has a purchaser. They will each receive a large cut, which will go a long way toward purchasing the horse farm. Mr. Evans is horrified and refuses, but greed overtakes him and eventually he agrees. All goes well until Mr. Evans receives a sudden transfer to the New Jersey plant. Henry assures him that it is routine, as he would have been arrested if they were found out. Mr. Evans declares that he wants out but Henry won't allow it. He has already decided to act on his own instead of going through their purchaser, a Mr. Morano. Their share of the money will be a lot more. Henry and Leona move to New York, where Mr. Evans purchased the deserted house on Staten Island. He takes the drugs there and someone in a boat picks them up. Unfortuately, Mr. Morano traces them there and is waiting in the house when Mr. Evans arrives. He wants $200,000 as compensation for the business they took away from him. If they don't pay, they will be killed. When Henry protests that he doesn't have that kind of money, Mr. Morano reminds him that he has a rich wife. An accident can be arranged and he would inherit her money. Henry is sickened but realizes he has no choice. Mr. Evans closes the conversation by giving Leona a message for Henry. The game is up as the police have arrested Mr. Morano. Mr. Evans has burned down the Staten Island house. After midnight he can be reached at a certain number, which Leona writes down. It turns out to be the number of the city morgue. Mr. Evans obviously intends to commit suicide rather than be arrested. Leona telephones her father again but there is no answer. She begins to realize that the phone conversation she overheard was about her. She is the woman who is to be killed that night. Believing that her heart is about to give out, she telephones her doctor and begs him to come over. He can't, although he tells her that the results of a recent examination were very good. She does not have heart trouble at all. The doctor sent her a letter with this information but Leona never got it. She calls a nurse's registry but they don't have anyone they can send over at a moment's notice. Hysterically, Leona tries to get out of bed but she can't make her legs move. Then Henry telephones from the train station in Connecticut and Leona tells him she knows everything. She asks why he didn't come to her for the money, that she would gladly have given it to him because she loves him so much. Then she hears a noise downstairs and screams at Henry that someone is in the house. He orders her to get out of bed and yell out the window for help. But Leona is paralyzed by terror. He admits to having arranged her murder and tells her unless she does as he says, he will burn. The two plainclothes detectives who have been following Henry close in on the phone booth. Then Henry hears Leona's dying scream as she is stabbed. Henry calls back, the killer picks up the phone, says "Sorry wrong number" and hangs up.