Death Pitch

Originally Aired: March 29, 1951

Suspense #422, "Death Pitch," stars Jack Carson as Nick Arnold, a carnival worker who decides that words will be his weapon to eliminate anyone standing between him and what he desires. Nick works for a struggling circus co-owned by Duke and Lee, though Duke runs everything while Lee drowns himself in drink and memories of his glory days as a lion tamer. Nick has his eye on both the beautiful trapeze artist Annette and ownership of the show itself. He knows that with Lee out of the way, Duke would control everything—fattening him up like a turkey for the slaughter.

Nick begins his deadly scheme with Lee, exploiting the broken man's alcoholic nostalgia and wounded pride. As Lee looks through old photographs and boasts about his former prowess with lions and tigers, Nick plants a suggestion about Jezebel, the circus's killer cat that Duke plans to destroy. Through careful manipulation and well-chosen words, Nick goads the drunken has-been toward a fatal encounter, demonstrating that sometimes the deadliest weapon isn't a gun or knife, but simply knowing exactly what to say.