The Last Letter of Dr Bronson

Originally Aired: November 4, 1954 Suspense #570, "The Last Letter of Dr Bronson," Dr. Bronson writes an urgent letter to his colleague Dr. Mosher as midnight approaches, explaining a dangerous year-long experiment that has led to his current predicament. Bronson has been testing his theory that five basic checks restrain men from committing murder: fear of the law, religious principles, and three others yet to be revealed. To prove his hypothesis, he systematically finds five different men, gives each a compelling motive to kill him, then relies on one of his theorized checks to prevent the murder. Dr. Mosher himself becomes the first test subject, illustrating how fear of legal consequences prevents murder. A devout church clerk named Tutton demonstrates the power of religious conviction when he refuses Bronson's offer of five thousand dollars to administer poison. The small-time criminal Matt Doyle, whom Bronson once saved from death, represents the third test. As the clock ticks toward midnight and Bronson hurries to complete his letter, something has clearly gone terribly wrong with his carefully calculated experiment.