The Merry Murder Case

Originally Aired: July 20, 1948Philo Vance #2, "The Merry Murder Case,"Renowned psychologist Joseph Merry finishes a lecture on the power of the subconscious mind when he receives a mysterious visitor in his office. Shortly afterward, Merry is found shot dead, and Detective Philo Vance finds himself in the middle of an impossible case. Alice Barkley arrives at his office claiming she killed Merry, holding a still-warm gun but unable to remember anything except standing over the body. Just as Vance brings this information to District Attorney Markham and Sergeant Heath, the situation grows more bizarre. Heath has already arrested Frances Adams for the murder, and moments later, a man named Anderson calls to confess that his wife Joan shot Merry with his gun.Three women, three confessions, and one dead psychologist. As Vance examines the evidence, he must unravel whether this is a case of multiple would-be murderers or something far more sinister connected to Merry's theories about the subconscious mind. The truth behind this perplexing case may lie in Merry's own lecture about the controlling bands that keep our hidden impulses in check.