The Dead Talk Back

One evening, scientist and metaphysician Henry Krasker dines with landlady Alice Corman and her daughter, Sara Stroll, at the Los Angeles rooming house in which he lives. Also present at the meal are Henry's fellow boarders: model Renee Caldwell; her friend, Hope Byington; lecherous Fritz Kreuger; quiet clerk Harold Yonger; religious fanatic Christy Mattling; and would-be radio announcer Raymond Milburn. Krasker, who is attempting to invent a "radio" with which to contact the dead, tires of Mattling's incessant accusations that his work is blasphemous and leaves the dinner table. He is followed by Renee, who attempts to console him, and in return, Krasker offers her protection if Kreuger, who is constantly watching her, ever confronts her. After Krasker leaves for his nearby laboratory, Renee is visited in her room by Hope, who wonders why she has been so morose over the past few months. Renee apologizes for her moodiness and explains that she will feel better when she leaves on a week-long modeling assignment in the morning. As the evening progresses, Renee grows bored and decides to go out. On the porch, an unseen assailant calls out to Renee, and as she walks into the shadows, she is shot and killed with a crossbow. Sara discovers the body almost immediately after and sees a man hiding his face running down the porch steps. Lt. Lewis and his assistant, policeman Harry, arrive to investigate and determine that all of the boarders, other than Krasker, have no alibi and could be guilty. A heel torn from one of the shoes worn by the fleeing man is found wedged in the porch steps, but with that as their only clue, the police are stumped and begin intensively questioning the boarders. Yonger, who occasionally loaned money to Renee, and Kreuger, who has an arrest record for "bothering" a young woman, both maintain their innocence, and so Lewis and Harry next focus on Milburn. Milburn admits that he is estranged from his wealthy family and asks the policeman not to notify them that he briefly dated the murdered woman, as any taint of scandal will jeopardize his inheritance. Milburn states that his relationship with Renee was "just a few laughs," but cannot offer a verifiable alibi for the time of her death. Also suspicious is Mattling, who rails at the police about Renee's "evil" character. Lewis and Harry are approached by Don Harris, Hope's fiancé and Renee's childhood friend, but he can offer little concrete help. Eventually, photos of Renee found in her room lead the police to photographer Tony Bettini, and Lewis is immediately suspicious of the nervous man because he is wearing new shoes. Bettini at first offers to cooperate and accompany them for questioning, but upon exiting his shop with the officers, he runs away. He is tackled by Harry, however, and taken to the police station, but because the police do not have enough evidence to hold Bettini, they are forced to release him. Having no other leads, Lewis turns to Krasker, who helped him solve eight cases in the past. Assembling all the boarders in the rooming house living room, Krasker explains to them that metaphysicians speculate that if they can obtain the correct radio frequency, they can communicate with the dead, and attempts to contact Renee with an improvised radio, similar to an old crystal set. Harris, who had been assigned by Lewis to watch Bettini, discovers him lurking outside and drags him into the meeting. Unable to bear the pressure, Bettini confesses that he came to the house the night of Renee's death to deliver her photographs, and after finding her dead body, fled the house, leaving behind the heel of his shoe. Bettini steadfastly maintains his innocence, however, and his willingness to attend another of Krasker's "demonstrations" convinces Lewis that the photographer is not guilty. The next night at Krasker's laboratory, Bettini joins the residents of the boardinghouse and the police, who watch with astonishment as various objects float around the room. Krasker explains the phenomenon by claiming that the air is charged with psychic energy, then points out that Renee's body is in a nearby glass coffin. The assembly waits nervously as Krasker attempts to contact Renee using his radio, when suddenly, the body in the coffin sounds an alarm that Krasker invented to prevent a person from being buried alive, then rises from the coffin. Everyone starts in terror, and Milburn confesses his guilt. "Renee" is actually Hope in a wig, and Lewis reveals that the meeting was staged to entrap Milburn. Milburn grudgingly admits that he and Renee were married in Mexico a few months ago, and that she had been blackmailing him to keep the marriage secret from his family. When Renee claimed that she was pregnant, Milburn snapped and murdered her. With the case solved and Milburn led away, Krasker calls out to his assistant to release the objects that were being made to "fly." Krasker then muses that someday, however, communication with the dead will be possible.