 The ventriloquist Noel Abbott is performing at a children s hospital when his dummy, Archie, begins saying unpleasant things. Noel knows it s time to get help, but he doesn t seek a psychiatrist. His next stop is the home of the woodcarver Victor March, who is crestfallen to see his one-time protégé gone mad. He learns too late the young man is also homicidal. When the police show up, they have no reason to suspect this personable entertainer is the one who murdered the kindly Mr. March. But Kate Columbo, an intrepid reporter for a neighborhood newspaper, notices a few things the police don t.