Appointment with Disaster (1956)

[Music] [Applause] [Music] this is a junction on Missouri Highway 66 a place where a narrow road leaves the four-lane highway within 10 minutes an accident will take place here three men who have never met before will keep an appointment with disaster one will die one will spend 6 months in a hospital the third will escape physical injury this is one of the three Fred Taylor the man on the left he's a Salesman who knows the importance of time right now it's late on a Monday morning and he has yet to make his first sale Fred doesn't like Monday mornings nobody seems to be in a buying mood on this first business day of the week well maybe his next appointment will bring results here is the second of our three men a Missouri farmer whom we shall call Clyde ordinarily except during the rush of harvest and the minor emergencies which are a part of Mr Smith's life time is of no great importance but today he's in a hurry he has to get into town and back before lunch today is his wife's birthday and he forgot all about it until a few minutes ago Time Slips up on a man if he's not careful [Music] [Applause] [Music] you'll have to hurry to make it but that's no problem it's just a few minutes to Highway 66 and he can make good time on that road 10 minutes Mr Smith that should put you at the intersection ordinarily you'd get to town in 15 minutes but this is not an ordinary day now meet the third man Pete Oliver the young lady is his wife of seven days this is the last breakfast of their honeymoon in an hour he's supposed to be interviewed for an important job if everything goes well he'll bring home good news but in 7 minutes his plans will have to be changed three time pieces each holds the key to the fate of one of these [Music] men Highway 66 Built For Speed and safety Here Comes salesman Fred Taylor's car now with every passing minute his impatience is mounting the first rule in his salesman's book is simple time is money he spent too much time in his last ointment and he's already late for his next one the remedy is simple go a little faster press down on the accelerator and go a little [Music] faster Missouri's roads are engineered for Speed and safety but there's one factor no engineer can ever solve that is human carelessness and in a short while human carelessness will will bring [Music] disaster a couple of miles ahead on 66 farmer Smith gets ready to pull out onto the highway there's a car coming he's undecided and he waits almost too long but farmer Smith doesn't have time to be nurs he usually drives 45 M an hour on the highway but today he's in a hurry so his foot presses down the [Music] accelerator sometimes little things spell the difference between life and death little things like running out of [Music] cigarettes usually Pete Oliver doesn't like to stop when he has to be somewhere in a hurry but he needed a cigarette now time is important he can't afford to be late not today of all [Music] [Applause] days it's easy to make up lost time just push a little harder go a little faster Pete Oliver is a lucky fellow he has a nice wife and a chance at a big job the whole future looks bright but in a short time he is going to keep an appointment with disaster in less than 2 minutes all three vehicles will be at the same place at the same time this woman is a housewife who lives near the intersection from her house she has a clear view of the junction and the cars that flash by on [Music] 66 in 5 minutes she hopes to have her housework finished so she can relax for a while she'll not be able to keep her schedule a man walking to his car is Sergeant Joe brummel of the Missouri State Highway Patrol he just gave out a ticket and is preparing to follow another call in a minute this radio will change his plans and send him to a major wreck on Highway [Music] 66 the man here is an ambulance driver in a small town off 66 he hasn't made a run all morning since 10:00 he's been puttering with a fan belt to remove a Troublesome wine in the motor in a few minutes he'll have a chance to test it he'll not enjoy the [Music] trip less than 30 seconds to go [Music] now the moment is rapidly [Music] approaching One By One The Three Men come closer to the junction [Music] it's almost time for their appointment with [Music] [Applause] disaster farmer Smith is close to the intersection where he wants to turn left his mind has been a long way from driving thinking about a 100 inconsequential things following too close behind the farmer is the salesman not really watching his mind is on the next sale and Pete Oliver isn't thinking about the highway either he's thinking about his future and he's in a hurry he is driving too fast he just wants to make up lost time he decides to pass and he doesn't know that farmer Smith is going to turn left in front of him Pete Oliver is passing at high speed the farmer is going to turn without signaling and the salesman is following too close the result is disaster within a split second the world turns into a nightmare Smith's truck Cuts left young Pete Oliver twists his wheel to the right into Fred Taylor's car so time moves on and holds unpleasantness for this highway patrolman he faces the duty of telling the salesman's wife that her husband spent his last moment gripped with Terror and died not knowing exactly how it came [Music] about time brings unpleasantness to this nurse who rummages through the pockets of a young man who will spend the next few months racked with pain she is looking for the name of someone to [Music] call and this is where farmer Smith went to the chambers of a County Judge Smith made his left turn in time he was not touched young Pete Oliver swung right to a avoid hitting him and smashed into Fred Taylor's car the judge has heard the same story many times he knows that each man was partially to blame that each man through careless driving brought about disaster but farmer Smith cannot face him the knowledge that he brought death to another human being torments him and so three men through carelessness have kept their appointment with disaster will you be the [Music] fourth