Original subtitles

In summing up, murder is always a motivated crime.

Criminology, my friends, is not an exact science.

And the detective cannot go to the laboratory for his final answer.

How about the Snelling case?

Ask him.

Byron Crawford.

Now, you said find the motive. But in the Snelling case, the murderer was a

professional. The hired killer is in a separate category.

I'll deal with that next week. Until then, I will say that a professional

for money, and that's one of the oldest of motives.

Peggy Fortune, now in the houseboat murders, the killer there must have had

rarest of motives.

It escaped me.

Then you've never been in love long enough to kill, young lady.

I'm pleased for myself and your boyfriend.

Yes.

I was thinking... Good, Roger. Keep it up.

Gentlemen. I wanted to ask a question now. So did I.

Jonathan Dix.

Speaking as an expert, sir. You or I?

I'm still wet behind the ears.

I greatly admired your work in the Munson case, sir. How did you manage to

it? Well, Munson had money, position, a loving wife, and the respect of the

community. But an infamous past.

When a former companion threatened everything Munson had so painfully

can you think of a better motive?

Bravo.

Now then, if you finish thinking, sir.

Roger Simmons.

What about the perfect crime?

There are no perfect crimes.

Only imperfect detectives.

But it is possible.

Perfect crime.

Young people are always fascinated by the thought of it. Other people's errors

look so obvious, so easy to correct.

If X had not pawned the jewels, if Y had used another car, but X and Y were

human. Being human, they have flaws.

Sooner or later, they make their mistake.

And having made their mistake, they are caught.

Any others?

In that case, here's a rather special question. Excuse me. I

found this on my desk.

Some sign.

Dear Chief Ironside, you are wrong. The perfect crime is possible.

I will prove it.

The author of this challenge has chosen to remain anonymous.

That's too bad.

I hope he's bright enough to know he's wrong.

Let me put it bluntly.

There never has been a perfect crime, and there never will be. So don't try

because you'll be caught.

No matter how brilliant you are, you won't make it.

I promise you.

Right, the Snelling case was a pertinent remark.

I got a little tongue -tied in class and Byron brought it up. So what?

Oh, Larry, you worry so much about saying something wrong that you never

anything. Shame in a way.

Peggy. Uh -huh? Peace, my children. Make love, not war.

Sorry, it's just these finals got me so uptight I can't breathe.

I'll see you later. I have to go study.

Question.

Why are A students like kleptomaniacs?

Answer, because the more they get, the more they want.

Graduating summa cum laude is very important to Larry.

Yeah, it was just a joke, Angel.

You know I'm calling for him to make the top. Oh, uh, may I interest you in four

or five hours of silence at the library?

Sorry, I gotta wash my hair. Larry's taking me out tonight.

Plato had a perfect society and people committed crimes.

Plato's concepts may have established a perfect society.

Perfect for whom?

Certainly not the poor or the enslaved.

He's been shot.

Anything new on the college shooting, Chief? No comment. Do you think it's one

of the students?

No comment.

Do you think the sniper intended shooting you and kicked the kid by

Interesting, but highly improbable. Well, how about the kid who got hit? Why

would someone shoot him? No comment. Thanks for watching. Glad to help.

He'll be out of the hospital before the end of the week. Get the information on

him? Byron Shelley Crawford, age 23, senior, four -point average, majoring in

mathematics. Only extracurricular activity, the rifle team.

No known dates, friends, or enemies, for that matter. No quarrels, no hatreds.

Nothing in his campus history to suggest that anyone would have any interest in

doing away with him.

Eve? I checked the newspapers, as you suggested.

They knew about the shooting almost before it happened.

City desk received identical letters, typewritten.

Unsigned. There's more.

The letters were mailed yesterday, before the shooting.

Whoever asked you about the perfect crime intended to commit one, for your

particular benefit.

Byron was standing next to me, near the wagon, when he was wounded.

The shooting occurred at 20 past 4.

Now, the ballistics report tells us the following.

Bullet was shot from a .22 caliber rifle with a silencer.

Sniper was posted at an angle of about 45 degrees above the victim.

You're all familiar with the geography of the campus. Can we fix the position

the sniper?

Roof of the administration building.

Very good, Mark.

Remind me to give you a raise one of these days.

Now... Chief? Yes, Mark.

How about a raise?

Now, what else do we know about the sniper?

Nothing.

Time of the shooting, late afternoon.

Sniper had the sun in his eyes.

The distance was almost the maximum precision range for a .22 caliber rifle.

A marksman. Only a marksman could do that. Right you are, Miss Whitfield. A

superb marksman.

And what does this college have in particular?

It has one of the best college rifle and skeet teams in the country.

Sixteen students?

Eve, I want you to check all the members of the rifle and skeet team.

Have they attended my lectures, et cetera, et cetera?

Right, Chief.

Mark, I'd like you to go and see the dean. We need his help.

How can the dean help?

I want him to arrange target practice for this afternoon.

I'll get right on it.

Ed, you are going back to college. I'd like you to find out if any member of

rifle team was seen in the area before or after the time of the shooting. I'm

my way. You forgot something.

We are looking for somebody who had a rifle.

Now, hiding a rifle requires invention.

The suspect might have used a golf bag or a poster container or a gym bag or an

overcoat.

I'm looking for a suspect carrying something about this big.

Hey.

Yeah, just a minute.

Peg? Yeah, yeah.

Come in.

Are you ready?

Oh, yeah, just about.

Kind of spooky about them calling practice today, isn't it?

Because of Byron Shelley being shot.

Yeah.

Well, these dogs are paper targets.

Peg? Hmm?

Let's skip rifle practice today.

But you know our Roger. If we didn't show up, he'd probably drop us from the

team.

So what?

Well, you can't be serious.

I've never been more serious in my whole life.

The Olympics, Larry.

Byron is still lying in his hospital bed, bleeding, and all you can think

is more shooting?

Yes. Well, I'm sorry, Larry. It's important to me.

Why?

Because you might win a gold medal at 20 and your mother only made it when she

was 22?

I'm sorry, Peg.

I didn't mean it.

I don't know what's the matter with me lately.

It's the pressure of the finals and Byron getting shot.

Terrible thing to say, Larry.

I love my mother.

I said I was sorry.

What do you want me to do, get down on my knees?

What's in the box?

Oh, a present for my mother for my birthday.

Let me guess. A brand new automatic rifle with a telescopic sight.

Recoilless precision mount.

Every girl's birthday dream.

Oh, pig.

Hello, young lovers.

I'll get it.

Richard Roger awaits.

I'll race you to the rifle range.

We'll be right down.

Hold reliable.

Some roommates you've got.

What is that supposed to mean?

Nothing, Mary.

No.

Tell me what's on your mind.

I don't like him.

He's a user, Larry.

He's using you to make himself seem witty and smart and make you look small.

You're not small, Larry.

He's my friend.

When I first came here, it was rough, and he helped me.

I don't think I would have made it without him.

So he makes fun of me once in a while. So what?

We all have our hang -ups, Peg.

Remember how bad off I was?

Hey, Larry.

Now, come on.

I promise. No more talk about that, huh?

Come on.

Oh, just a minute.

Team Captain, I think I ought to say something about today's practice.

Starting with why.

Okay.

It was Dean Gabriel's idea, but I think a good one.

Those Olympic trials are coming up very soon.

It's going to blip through if you ask me.

Sorry, my dear genius, holder of every academic award at dear old Bay College.

How can you be baffled by such elementary criminology?

Chief Ironside is playing detective via Dean Gabriel.

Question.

Who shot Byron Shelley?

Answer. A marksman shot Byron Shelley.

Ergo, assemble the marksmen, let them ready aim fire, gather their targets,

expose them to merciless scrutiny.

You know, I think he's right.

Oh, of course I'm right.

The question is, is the assassin among us?

And what's the answer?

You know better than to point a rifle at anyone, loaded or not. Forget it!

No, I'm not forgetting it, Jonathan.

We came to practice, remember?

Harry, let's go.

Your boy seems to be a very reluctant dragon, Miss Peggy.

Always ready with a knock, aren't you, Jonathan?

There's the thought. Larry's like my own brother.

So, Cain or Abel?

Well, I hope this helps, Chief. Though I don't see how.

Our Mr. Perfect Crime has put in a lot of time planning this thing.

So far, it's been a textbook case for him.

Let's see how he does under pressure.

And pressure starts at the firing line.

Don't you ever shoot badly.

I keep hoping you'll come around for lessons.

Jonathan, your turn.

Thank you, Roger.

This little piggy went to market.

This little piggy stayed home.

This little piggy had roast beef.

Didn't he, Roger?

Stop wasting time.

Stop wasting time, you said.

These are the targets for the current academic year.

Well, I should tell you that, uh... Membership on the rifle and ski team is

considered a high honor here. There are only 16 members of the team, and the

windbreakers they wear are highly prized.

Here are today's results.

Roger Simmons, well, best as usual.

Jonathan Dix.

Apparently, he's permanent anchorman.

Isn't he the class humorist?

Roger thinks that Jonathan would make a first -class shot if he'd ever take

himself a little more seriously.

I might say the same thing for him as a student.

Joan Fields.

Peggy Fortune and Larry Wilson.

They've alternated between second and third all year.

They did the same today.

The rest you can see for yourself.

About the same as always.

Our adversary is very clever.

Everybody on the team shot his usual gun.

Only one member knew exactly why.

He knows you're looking for a marksman.

I was hoping he'd shoot poorly, but he's too smart for that.

Too bad.

Hi. Hello.

Chief, do you know how many steps there are between the first floor of the

administration building and the roof?

Especially when you climb it a dozen times.

Would you be interested in the distance between the rifle range and the various

fraternities and sororities?

Ask my feet.

They know.

From aging salesmen, I expect complaints. From young policemen, I

enthusiasm and results.

We obviously have to skip the enthusiasm.

Now, how about the results?

Zero on all counts here.

The few witnesses were all too busy cramming for their exams to pay any

attention to the surroundings.

I heard a lot about Pot and our involvement in Vietnam and police

nothing that could possibly be of any concern to our case.

Eve? Of the 16 members of the rifle and skeet team, none has a record with the

juvenile courts or the police.

By the way, they all think you're a very cool cat.

And one of the sororities has voted you the detective they'd most like to be

captured by.

The following did at one time or another attend your lectures.

Byron Shelley Crawford, Jonathan Dix, Larry Wilson, Peggy Fortune, Roger

Simmons, Joan Fields, Phil Ramsey, Anthony Zimmer, Carl Lubeck, Norman

Ten out of sixteen.

It's not bad for an extracurricular seminar.

Which ones were present at the last lecture?

Five.

Byron, Jonathan Dix, Larry Wilson, Peggy Fortune, and Roger Simmons.

All right, Eve, start with Peggy. I want to know everything about her. How she

got on the team.

How she got to this college.

How she got to be however old she is.

Ed, you start with Roger and Larry.

Then the two of you can continue with Jonathan and Byron.

Byron, the victim?

He might be a victim with an accomplice.

What about the other members of the team, Chief?

Forget about anyone who was not at my last lecture.

What makes you so sure the sniper was at that lecture?

He'd be smarter if he missed that class.

Not the author of that letter.

Now think about it.

A mind capable of committing murder just to satisfy its ego. A brilliant, cold,

calculating, not quite normal mind.

Yet a mind that could not resist writing to the newspapers, advertising its

intent. Do you think a mind like that would deprive itself of the satisfaction

of watching me react to its challenge?

Not in a lifetime.

You can be sure of one thing.

The sniper attended the lecture that day.

And one of these is the sniper's signature.

How is Eve?

Resting comfortably.

From the way that office was riddled, she's lucky to be alive, and that goes

all of you.

Bob, the situation's getting out of hand.

I'm afraid we'll have to close down the campus.

That college is Adam's life's work.

Everything he's got, or ever will have, is in Bay College.

Well, no one begged me to be an educator.

That sniper has turned your school into a disaster area.

I've already notified the Board of Regents the college is to be closed

immediately.

It was, um...

reluctant request but well i had no choice well he did the right thing

down the college will end the threat from the sniper on the contrary it'll

our job more difficult sniper will be trading the campus for the entire city

san francisco because somebody in that college is determined to make me an

audience for the perfect crime you mean a series of crimes don't you i mean a

series of incidents leading to a crime this type of bullet

Came from the arm of Byron Crawford, caliber .22.

A rifle identical to the one used in target practice.

This came from Eve's arm, caliber .30 -06.

Different caliber, different weapon.

They're two snipers.

Oh, I think not. But these did come from two different rifles.

Yeah, with one ammo.

And with one continuing factor.

My presence.

Now, the sniper did not use a college rifle on Eve. He had a rifle of his own.

The sniper means to commit a perfect crime.

Future tense.

He may have other reasons for what he's doing, but one I'm sure of.

And that's beating me.

Roger Simmons is captain of the Bay College Skeeton shooting team.

He's majoring in military tactics and minoring in nuclear physics. His heroes

are Napoleon, Clausewitz, and Genghis Khan.

Except for Alexander and Charlemagne.

These are the high school records for Jonathan, Roger, and Byron. Perfectly

normal. I talked to their doctors. No record of nervous breakdowns or

depressions. Nothing to suggest mentally unbalanced individuals.

What about Larry? Nothing special in his high school record. I'm still waiting

for his medical history.

So far, this sniper has kept his insanity very well disguised. Whoever

sniper was insane?

Chief, he's got to be insane. The whole thing doesn't make sense.

Correction. The whole thing doesn't make sense yet.

All right, Chief. It's a normal sniper who wants us to think he's mad.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

What possible motive could anyone have in shooting Eve?

All right.

Suppose he wants us to believe that all this is the work of an insane mind.

But, Chief, we've all heard you describe his mind. You were drawing a portrait

of madness.

No, I spoke of an ego.

A brilliant, cold, calculating, not quite normal mind.

Okay, Chief, we give up. What are you driving at? I don't know.

But he's building up to something.

You know, we're not dealing with a madman.

but with an extremely brilliant and Machiavellian mind.

One thing is sure.

He has a motive.

We've got to find it.

Sergeant Brown.

Thanks, Fred.

Five months ago, Larry Wilson received a rifle with a telescopic sight, caliber

.30 -06.

What are we waiting for?

Is there any idea of studying?

Well, the subject is criminology.

I'm getting into the mind of a sniper.

So you sight the target, and you squeeze.

Will you shut up?

Man, you are a case.

Just because you might graduate with one incy -teensy bee blotting your academic

escutcheon. I want to be first. Is that a crime?

Let us examine the evidence, as the eminent Chief Ironside would say.

You get a B.

You do not graduate summa cum laude, a severe blow, leaving you with only cum

laude. A Phi Beta Kappa key, a healthy mind and a healthy body, a

rich and doting father whose considerable financial interests await

presence, and a beautiful young woman with a healthy mind.

In a very healthy body.

Who treats me like I'm still in a high chair.

What goods are silver lining without a cloud?

Good evening.

Oh, there is a price of admission, gentlemen.

One warrant, duly signed.

Delighted to have you aboard, sir.

Information. You have a rifle.

Yes. I'd like to see it.

Mr. Wilson, I thought I made myself clear. I want to see your rifle.

Why? Officer Whitfield was hit with a .30 -06.

Your rifle fires the .30 -06.

Now, may we see it?

I don't have it anymore.

Where is it?

Here. Silent slide.

Remember your constitutional rights.

I've got nothing to hide.

I got rid of it.

What's my next question, Mr. Dix?

How, when, and where?

Right.

A couple of months ago, I was broke. I needed some money, so I pawned the

May I see the pawn shop ticket?

It isn't here anymore.

I lost it.

How can you tell? You haven't even looked for it.

I did.

A couple of weeks ago, I wanted to get the rifle back.

And that's when I found out that I'd lost the ticket.

I see.

Do you by any chance remember the name of the pawn shop?

It was something like Sam's.

Downtown or Oakland?

Oakland.

I think you're lying, young man.

It'll only take a few hours to prove that.

That should leave you plenty of time to look up the penalties for withholding

evidence.

This is beautiful.

Larry Wilson, a suspect.

Him, the masked marvel.

Here's another rib tickler, Mr. Dix.

You're also a leading suspect.

And right near the top of the list.

Officer Whitfield's not even a member of the campus.

She was obviously a victim picked at random.

No, by design. No motive.

I go to school, too.

You are all obsessed with an already existing motive.

Our killer's motive is in the future.

Sorry, Chief, you lost me.

Same here.

All right, what do our suspects have in common?

They're all great marksmen. Except Jonathan Dix.

They're all dying to go to the Olympics.

Except... Jonathan Dix.

All right, Mark, let's put Jonathan aside temporarily.

Now the sniper wounds Byron and Eve to convince the police and the public that

there is a madman loose on the campus.

Now why?

So that everyone will think that the real victim is just another of the

targets. First two hits were cover -ups. What we need to learn is the real

motive. He could be eliminating competition, guaranteeing himself a

Olympics. Could be that and more.

Our sniper is looking to cash in on all the tickets he can.

Let's take our suspects one by one.

Larry Wilson.

If Roger or Peggy were eliminated, he'd be a cinch for the team.

There's also the business about his rifle. We're checking all pawnbrokers in

area. So far, nothing.

He's lying.

But why?

What can you tell us about Larry?

He's an exceptional student.

Very intense.

He has a powerful need to excel in everything he does.

All right. What have we learned about Jonathan Dix?

He transferred here as a sophomore from Western College in Connecticut.

He's an orphan, has a small inheritance.

But it isn't enough to see him through school.

Is there anything which might have given him reason to have wanted harm to come

to you?

No.

Our relationship has always been very good. Roger Simmons.

Captain of the team and the best shot.

How's your relationship with him?

Well, they're, uh...

Was one unpleasant incident last year.

Roger's younger brother was caught cheating at finals.

I had to expel him from the campus.

Was Roger fond of his brother?

Extremely. His scheme could be to close your college, bankrupt you.

Oh, that's hard to believe.

Roger's one of the most honest young men I've ever met.

I don't think he's capable of all these devious machinations.

Good IQ, upper 10 % of the class.

That's true.

Hi, everyone.

How's it going?

You are supposed to be in the hospital.

I'm fine. They told me I could go. Did they?

Let me see your discharge from the hospital.

I didn't wait for it.

Just how did you get out?

Eve? I showed them my badge.

For what may well be the last time.

I'm fine, and I just couldn't sit around, not when there's so much work to

done.

Thank you for the flowers. They were lovely.

Those were Mark's flowers, and you are going back.

Thank you, Mark, for the roses.

And I'm not. I haven't finished checking up on Peggy Fortune.

Eve, you will please immediately... And Chief, I had a fascinating conversation

with Peggy's high school teacher.

It seems that Peggy's mother got a gold medal for rifle shooting in the 1948

Olympics.

And Peggy has always been obsessed with one idea, to be better than her mother.

Well, that is interesting.

We're getting close.

Our sniper's flaw is his vanity.

He considers himself a genius, and perhaps he is in a way.

What we have to look for is that fatal dose of super brilliance that will give

him away.

Hey, where do you think you're going?

There's work to be done. And every suspect has to be gone over again with a

-tooth comb.

You are to stay in bed.

I was shot at.

And I seem to remember a similar case.

A chief of detectives who, despite his superior's orders and his doctor's

advice, went after a sniper who put him in a hospital bed.

And got him?

You certainly told her, Chief.

Well, I didn't see any point in arguing with the wonderful specimen of civil

servant she has chosen to imitate.

Ha!

Seventeen.

Poor Peggy, only 19 out of 20.

The last one.

It hurts, I know.

How do you know?

You've never been hurt.

You just missed again.

All right, Jonathan.

Move it.

Oh, yes, Rigid Roger, of course.

Peggy, why don't you turn my phone call? I have to talk to you. Larry, can't it

wait? I've got another round to go.

No, it can't wait.

Larry, what's the matter with you?

You've got to listen to me. It's important.

You remember my .30R6 rifle that I gave to you about three months ago?

What did you do with it?

I don't have it.

Well,

where is it?

Larry, I don't know. I stopped using it a couple of months ago. I looked for it

one day and it was gone.

Peggy. Peg.

You've got to tell me the truth. Now, where is it?

Paul!

Larry, you're hurting my arm.

Now, I have told you the truth. I don't have your rifle.

Somebody must have stolen it.

Peg, please trust me.

Paul! Larry, I have got to go. It's my turn again.

Your turn. It's always your turn!

What's that about his being insane?

His medical history just came in.

Larry Wilson was in therapy for three years when he was eight years old.

He killed another kid while they were playing with his father's gun.

It was an accident. It never reached the courts. That's why his record's clean.

You're starting to add up, Chief. We checked his pawnbroker story.

It's a phony.

Yes, Ed? The man we assigned to tail Larry Wilson just called. He lost him.

That's not possible.

Ironside.

What is it?

It is Jonathan Dix.

He's just been shot.

It's just a flesh wound. The bullet passed through the fatty part of the

It's painful, but not debilitating.

Can I go to class in the morning?

Yes, that'll be all right.

Goodbye. Goodbye, Doctor.

Thank you, Doctor.

Well, what happened?

Well, I was sitting at the desk over there, studying.

Next thing I knew, I heard the window break, felt a sharp pain in my leg, so I

fell to the floor.

Nothing happened.

Crawled over to the phone, called the police.

Bullet hit here and ricocheted.

The angle of the shot indicates that a sniper was somewhere on a roof across

campus. Bill prefers the high ground.

Where's Larry? No, I don't know.

Last time I saw him was at ski practice.

He and Peggy had an argument. He drove off.

Ed, put out an APB on Larry Wilson. Now, wait a minute.

This can't be. Larry's no killer.

So far, no one is.

And I intend to keep it that way.

Three victims so far.

Because Larry Wilson is mad.

He's shooting anyone who comes within range.

No trace of Larry. He's vanished.

What about the APB? No results yet. I found this in the wastebasket in Larry

Wilson's room.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

It's Larry's handwriting.

Looks like a mad sniper after all.

No, someone intends to execute a perfect crime.

Someone intends to execute murder.

I understand your disappointment, Bob.

You had a theory, a very good one, but it turned out to be wrong.

Happens to all of us. I was not wrong, and I'm still not wrong.

But look at the evidence, Chief.

Three years of therapy because of a fatal accident involving a gun, a

mind, and a rifle of the same caliber as the sniper used.

Then there's that stupid story about pawning his rifle. He's got a checking

account in four figures. Two days ago, he cashed a check for $1 ,000.

Precisely. Would a mind who created such an elaborate scheme ruin everything by

such a stupid lie?

They have flaws, make mistakes, and accord.

We need deduction, not repetition.

I hate to admit it, Chief, but I have flunked this course.

I join you at the bottom of the class.

Of course.

Brilliant. Super brilliant.

He's got to shoot me first before he can make it work.

Ed, I'm going to the dean's office to have a loud, long talk.

Oh, your car is a giveaway.

The sniper will know you're on campus.

End of night.

I am not sending a sacrificial lamb out to that campus.

I've never been a lamb, Dennis, and I don't intend to sacrifice myself or

else.

Ed, call Sister Agatha at St. Mary's Hospital. Have her get in touch with me

the dean's office. I'll explain the rest as we go.

Thank you for the records, Adams. They're gonna help a lot.

Wish I could do more.

Good night.

Good night. Good night.

Let's go. We don't have much time.

rich boy.

You tricked me.

You missed me, Jonathan.

No, I didn't.

Yes, Jonathan.

You've lost.

We both lost, Chief.

So you see, there was a motive after all.

But it wasn't the Olympics.

It was Peggy.

Me?

Jonathan was in love with you, secretly.

Until he decided to move in literally for the kill.

My lectures gave him his chance.

The perfect crime challenge.

But how did you first become suspicious of Jonathan?

He seemed the least likely possibility of them all.

I knew the targets had to be a clue, but I couldn't figure out what it was until

Eve's chance remark about being at the bottom of the class.

You mean I triggered it, Chief?

Jonathan was the best shot on the team. He wanted the prestige of belonging to

the rifle club, but he didn't want anyone to know how good he really was.

Winning the Olympics meant nothing to him.

Killing Larry meant everything.

Jonathan must have found out that Larry gave you his rifle and then stole it for

later use.

He knew Larry well enough to know that he would rather lie than accuse you.

He also must have found out about my past therapy and my accident.

He had every element for a perfect frame -up. What a scheme to rig up a self

-timing device and shoot himself.

He was brilliant, all right.

But his genius was the flaw.

He broke the sniper pattern.

He wounded himself in the leg so as not to interfere with his shooting.

Plan to kill me and have Larry blamed for the murder. By making it look like

Larry committed suicide.

Bob, I can't thank you enough.

Oh, Chief, more coffee.

You may return the wheelchair to Sister Agatha and the dummy to the police

range. With my thanks to the artist for the makeup job.

Chief? Yes, Mark?

I have an idea how to avoid cases like this in the future.

And what is that?

Stop giving lectures.