 Remember, a Hallmark card when you carry enough to send the very best. Stories from the life of Dr. Rebecca Lee Dorsey, starring Ms. Helen Hayes, on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Our distinguished host, Mr. Lionel Barrymore. And welcome to the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Tonight, our true story is transcribed from the life of one of our early lady doctors, Rebecca Lee Dorsey. A courage and foresight in the field of medicine played a profound role in advancing science. And we're very proud to welcome back as our star, a great lady of the American theater, Ms. Helen Hayes. And now here is Frank Goss. One of the nicest things about Christmas is the opportunity it gives us to greet all our friends. And what nicer way than to choose Hallmark Christmas cards. For Hallmark Christmas cards are designed to carry the full goodwill in your heart. And to speak your wish for Christmas joy eloquently and sincerely. While the hallmark and crown in the back of the card adds, too, that you carry enough to send the very best. Lionel Barrymore appears by arrangement with Metro Golden Mayor, producers of the Technicolor picture the last time I saw Paris, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson, Walter Pigeon, and Donna Reed. And now with Ms. Helen Hayes as Dr. Rebecca Lee Dorsey, Mr. Barrymore brings you the Hallmark Hall of Fame. 1885, the place is Paris, France, and it's summer, a very hot summer. Standing before the doorway of a modest home is a small red-headed woman. She's obviously strange to this place, this city, and she carries in her left hand a black leather bag. With her right hand, she pulls the plunger with doorbell. And inside, there's a short bearded man who looks down his test tube and hurries to answer. Yes? Professor Pasteur? Yes? My name is Rebecca Lee Dorsey. Dorsey? Rebecca Dorsey? Rebecca Lee Dorsey. We've never met, but I believe you've received letters of recommendation from Dr. Bill Roth and Dr. Virkoff and Dr. Charcoal. Letters? Letters? Oh, yes, yes, of course. But you, mademoiselle? Me, Professor Pasteur? Yes. Well, come in, come in, come in. Dr. Dorsey. I hope you forgive me, doctor, for not recognizing the name at first. I'd expect it a much more... much more... I hope what little there is will be of service, professor. Ah, welcome, Dr. Dorsey. Welcome to Paris. Please, my dear, I'd like to hear the rest. Well, then when I knew I had TB, I decided to come to Europe. In medical school, we'd talked about Dr. Koch's new tuberculin serum, and I was determined to have him try it, on me. You made yourself a guinea pig? I had little choice, Professor Pasteur, either die of tuberculosis or of the serum. I preferred the serum. Well, obviously, it was a success. I was completely cured in eight weeks. Remarkable, remarkable. Unfortunately, the serum hasn't proved as successful with others. Experimenting with human lives, it's take. Fantastic. It has to begin somewhere, just as with your rabies serum. Soon, someone, some person, will have to be the first. Well, there's no shortage of patients, mademoiselle. I about to walk the streets of Paris to find them, but to treat one and fail would destroy all my work. First, I must be sure. I wonder, are we ever really sure of anything? Dr. Dorsey, turn up the Bunsen burner, please. Are there many? Oh, it is becoming worse. Professor, I saw a man not far from the bakery. I saw him after the dogs had gone. Yes, I know. Come, let me get you a glass of wine. I saw him lying there. I saw what the dogs had done, and I was helpless. A man dying on a street corner, and I could only turn and run away, like the others. A doctor running. Come, sit here. Running away. Doctors are human, Rebecca. But to run from a patient. Doctors are human. They know fear as well as courage. Weakness as well as strength. Could you have saved the man by batting four mad dogs? I... No, you could not. Could you have advanced medical science by becoming another victim yourself? No, you could not. Now, listen to me, mademoiselle de docteur. Sometimes it takes greater courage to turn and run. And sometimes I think I've been running too long. Here, drink this. Now, listen to me. You studied surgery with Dr. Bilroff, our most noted surgeon, yes? And then pathology with Dr. Virkoff and Berlin. And diphtheria with Dr. Klerb in Vienna. And psychiatry with Dr. Maynard and Dr. Freud. What does it you wish to be, Rebecca? A one-woman clinic? I wish to be a doctor. But what kind of doctor is this who always studies but never practices? I seem to show you in the laboratory. But it is alive and healthy. Yesterday he... Aren't you pleased, Rebecca? I was pleased last week, Professor, when you cured the mouse. And the week before the... Surely you don't believe the serum you're ready to use? Professor Pasteur, just now you accused me of being afraid to face the world as a doctor. I'd just seen a man die on the streets of Paris, of rabies. And here in your laboratory, in that test tube... The essential element in all research is patience. Remember that, Rebecca? A brilliant man once wrote, We'll work and success between them fill human experience. Yes, those are my words. I have not forgotten them, Rebecca. I promise you. My little boy, he is sick. Well, come in, madam, or your vote be drenched. Put him down there on the couch. Be doctor. I must see the doctor. I'm the doctor. You are Dr. Pasteur. I am Dr. Dorsey, if your little boy is ill, I can examine him. No, I must see Dr. Pasteur. Rebecca, are you all right? Professor, this lady... Madam, myster doctor, it is my little boy. He is sick, very sick. You see, he is unconscious. Madam, I am a chemist, not a doctor, and you are already in the hands of an excellent physician. I'm in my laboratory, if you need me, Rebecca. Wait, no. Everywhere they have told me, Pasteur is the only one who can help your child. He has a serum. He alone can save Joseph. Madam, I am a researcher, a student. I have no serum. But you must. It is my child's life. Don't you understand? He has been bitten by a mad dog. He will die unless you help him. And he may die if I do help him. Oh, I'm sorry, madam. Oh, dear God in heaven, save my child. Save my Joseph. You must help her, Professor. Don't you think I want to, Rebecca? I would give even my own life if I could save the boy. But if I failed, if I failed, then my years of work for some total of all my experiments would fail. Not because I was wrong, but because I was premature. Rebecca, can one child's life be worse? Yes, yes. Worth this and more. More than your life or mine. If you do not face this Joseph, tomorrow there will be another, and then another. All over the world there are Josephs waiting for you, waiting for word from this laboratory. And if I kill this Joseph, I kill them all, forever. There was a doctor in Berlin who felt as you do. He had a serum, and a woman came to him, a woman with death in her lungs. And she said to this doctor, save my life that I may save others. And he gave this woman his serum, not knowing whether she would live or die. She lived, Professor Pasteur. Perhaps she lived for this moment. Rebecca, bring me the serum. What time is it? It's almost nine o'clock, and haven't I warned you about sleeping on the couch in your good suit? It really looks dreadful. Rebecca, the boy, he's all right, isn't he? Yes, he's all right. Oh, I was afraid I dreamed it. He's sleeping. Come eat your breakfast. Yes. So, we have taken the rabies serum out of the laboratory and given it to the world because of a determined little red-headed female doctor who... Because of Louis Pasteur and let neither of us ever forget it. Yes, Rebecca. Now, this minute, I want to thank you. You have been my student, yet it was I who was taught. And me. Since last night, I've been thinking about taking Rebecca Lee Dorsey out of the laboratory and giving it to the world. And the world deserves her. Come along now, Professor, eat your breakfast. And then we'll decide what to do with the world. The moment will bring you the second act of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. During this Christmas season, that's around the corner, incidentally, there'll be some new cards in your mailbox that will catch your eye and stand out even before you take them out of their envelopes. In a handful of mail, I'll bet you'll open these cards first because you'll be attracted by their long, slim shape. They're the new Hallmark Slim Jim cards, elegantly long, stylishly slim, beautifully designed. Some give a bright new look to old Christmas favorites. Others carry an inspiring religious scene, while others are as modern in design as they are in shape. The Hallmark Slim Jims are just some of the beautiful and interesting new Christmas cards that you'll find in the new Hallmark Christmas card albums that are now on display at the fine stores that feature Hallmark cards. Why not look through these albums next week? You can sit comfortably, marvel at the wide varied selection, admire all the new designs created so tastefully by the skilled Hallmark artists, and then happily select just the card you want to order imprinted with your name. Your friends will find the Hallmark card you choose as a perfect reflection of your good taste. And they'll be complimented too by the Hallmark and Crown on the back that says, you'll carry enough to send the very best. And now with Miss Helen Hayes as our star, Lionel Barrymore brings you the second act of our true story from the life of Dr. Rebecca Lee Dorsey. Lee Dorsey finally left the laboratories and began the actual prying of medicine. She returned to America, and in the year 1894 decided to open her first office. It was in Los Angeles, California, and there was not exactly a welcoming committee to greet her. I checked the St. Elmo Hotel doctor, and there's just no two ways about it. They got offices to rent if they want to, but they don't want to. At least not to you. Are they afraid I might walk off with a cusp of doors? They said they just don't want a woman doctor, and that's that. I can't make them rent you an office, you know. Mr. Kerners, if I didn't know you to be the legitimate real estate agent that you are, I'd be inclined to think you agreed with the St. Elmo Hotel. Oh, I don't agree or disagree. However, a man's got a right to be sensitive about lady doctors if he wants. Like Lady Barbers or Lady Undertakers. Ma'am? Let's understand one another, Mr. Kerners. I mean to establish a practice of medicine in this city, and in order to do that, I need an office, and you are going to find me one. Ma'am, the proprietors just don't want a woman doctor right here in the city. It's just too public. You know how people are. They consider it, well, bold. Now, I'll tell you places I think would be nice for a woman doctor. You take the horse car out 6th Street to Pearl. Now, Mr. Kerners, for what I trust will be the last time I instruct you to find me an office in this city. In this city. And as I plan to make my livelihood here from the practice of medicine, I would prefer the busiest corner available. Good day. Ma'am? But the proprietor finally said to me, Dr. Dorsey, he said, let the doctor have the vacancy. She can't hurt the building. I'm in stitches. Here, Mr. Kerners, hold the other end of this while I nail it up. Now, that strikes me. It's a mighty big son, Rebecca Lee Dorsey, MD. Do you like it? Those letters are mighty large. Some folks might think it's indecent. That kind wouldn't come to me for treatment anyway. Well, I got to admire you, Dr. Dorsey. You got the gumption and the shrewdness. And the time. Now, Mr. Kerners, let us both pray I have the patience. But another case. That's not luck, my dear. It's a chronic condition. Has it been very difficult? At the end of the first month, I have a net take of $19. The house is just around the bend. See doctors like you at the hospital. Do you mind if I mention your name to the other nurses? You have my permission to shout it. This is my sister's house. What is that with you, Laura? It's the doctor. Uh, how do you do? This is my sister's husband, Jim Watkins. Jim, this is Dr. Dorsey. Are there any men doctors at your hospital? Jim. It's all right, Laura. I've heard worse. Are you going to let us in, Jim, or do we go back to town? Both of the boys are awful sick. Can you help them? I'll do the best I can, Mr. Watkins. All right, come ahead. They're in the bedroom. This way, Dr. Dorsey. They're both asleep. Was I right? I'm afraid so. It's diphtheria. Both of them. How old are they, Laura? Jimmy is eight. Billy is six. Dr. Dorsey, are they going to be all... Well, Doctor... In a moment. Laura, does he know? Yes. But he won't realize the seriousness of it. He keeps saying it's just a fever. That it will pass. You're a nurse, Laura, but I'm going to say these things anyway. Unless they receive a diphtheria and a toxin, and soon they may both die. A toxin? Yes. I heard you, too. I heard you in there. Talking about sticking my boys with a needle. The boys have diphtheria, Mr. Watkins. It's a serious illness with a high mortality rate. That means simply that they may die unless they're treated, and quickly. Isn't that the same thing the Miller girl had last month? It is. And didn't the doctor give the Miller girl a needle full of that anti-whatever it is? The antitoxin was administered. And the Miller girl died. Isn't that right, Doctor? They killed that little girl. No, Mr. Watkins, that is not right. They did not kill the child. She had diphtheria, and she died of it. The antitoxin failed to save her. It didn't kill her. You say. I say. You touch one of my boys, and I'll kill you. Here's the food, Jim. Are the buries of Lord St. Marie talk sense to it? They're not touching our boys. Not you, Laura. Not that lady doctor, you brown. Not either one of you. Marie, it is diphtheria. I couldn't find Doctor Andrews. This is Doctor Dorsey. Is it true? Diphtheria? Yes. I want to give them the antitoxin. It's the only way I can help them. Help, she says. They killed that Miller girl with the same stuff. You remember, Marine? It was in the paper. They killed the Miller girl. The whole town was head up about it. I remember. I remember, Jim. My baby. Now, if you touch either one of my boys with a needle, I'll kill you. There's a doctor in Europe named Bering. He discovered the antitoxin for diphtheria. I know, Mr. Watkins, because I was there during some of the original experiments. But that's not why I'm asking you to let me use this medicine. I've seen needles save lives. There was a boy in Paris named Joseph Meister. I saw a needle save his life. And before that, there was an American girl in Berlin with an incurable disease. A needle saved her life. In each case, there was fear and uncertainty, even ignorance. Jim, he's dead. Got it, Heather. Jim. Dr. Dorsey, please help my child. Your boy is going to be all right, Mr. Watkins. What? Yes, Jim. She's comforting him. How do I thank you, Dr. Dorsey? Thank Dr. Bering. Thank Pastor and Verkov and Klob and the others. Their healing power is greater by far than all of us who lean on them. Forgive the speech. Laura, we'll have some coffee and then I'll drive you home. They didn't spell your name right. I'm very grateful. Every mention counts. Trouble is they didn't include your address. Shall I cancel my subscription? Well, the address don't really matter anyway. Oh, why's that? You'll be able to afford a larger place. Get off this busy corner. Say, speaking of that, Dr. Dorsey, guess who come by to see me this morning? I'm afraid you'll have to tell me, Mr. Kerner. The proprietor of the St. Elmo Hotel. Said for me to tell you he has a vacancy now. A very nice suite. No, isn't that considerate? Said to tell you you'll get a higher class of trade down there. Mr. Kerner, will you tell the proprietor of the St. Elmo Hotel that I treat only one class of trade, the sick? Yes. And that since I plan to make my living at being a lady doctor, I'd better stay on the busiest corner in Los Angeles. Then maybe with God's help and a lot of traffic, I'll succeed. Dorsey was the first doctor in Los Angeles, man or woman to perform an appendectomy. She pioneered in the treatment of handicapped children. In the field of endocrinology, she was 25 years ahead of her time. During her life, she delivered 4,000 babies. And she was still practicing medicine last year when she died at the age of 96. A brilliant doctor? Yes, but still more. Rebecca Lee Dorsey, a truly remarkable woman. And here's Frank Ross. Mr. Barrymore and Ms. Hayes will return in just a moment. Tonight I'd like to tell you more about the new Hallmark Advent cards. These are the first four day cards that have never before been made in America. Each Hallmark Advent card is designed with 24 little door-like openings, cleverly disguised, to be lifted up one each day during the Advent season, from December 1st to Christmas Eve. Each little lift-up reveals a new picture or verse. Some of these Hallmark Advent cards tell of the first Christmas with beautiful biblical paintings and scriptures unfolding the story day by day. What an unforgettable way to teach children of Christ's birth. Another Hallmark Advent card shows in a map of 24 hidden pictures all the Christmas customs around the world. And one card is a stand-up house with windows you peer into each day to see and read of the night before Christmas. These large, intricately designed cards are a completely new delight for youngsters. And for adults, too. They bring more meaning and anticipation to the Christmas season. You can read the interesting story of these Hallmark Advent cards in your internet magazine. And you can see them now on display at the fine stores that feature Hallmark cards. Hallmark Advent card should be mailed in November, so make your choice soon. Now, here is Lionel Barrymore with Helen Hayes. And you know, Helen, I think our audience should be led in on a little secret. Last year, just before she died, a motion picture studio representative came to see Rebecca Lee Dorsey and told her they were thinking of making a movie about her life. And Dr. Dorsey replied, that would be very nice. And if you do, I hope you'll have my favorite actress play me. Helen Hayes. It was truly wonderful to portray Dr. Rebecca Lee Dorsey. She was such a vital and courageous person. I'm sure those who knew her will never forget her. And now, thanks to your Hallmark Hall of Fame program, many others will know her for the first time. Tell me, how do you find such interesting stories? We start with people, real people, Helen. We find a dramatic incident that shows the true character and each person is unique and different from all the others. Yes, and that must be the very same recipe you use in designing your cards I've noticed that whenever I start out with a particular person in mind, I can always find a Hallmark card that seems just right. That's it, Helen. And speaking of dramatic incidents, we have a really unusual subject for our story next week. Oh, and who's that, Mr. B? Leif Erikson. They called him Leif the Lucky. It's the story of the first known colony to settle in North America. That should be a wonderful story, Lionel. I'll surely be listening. Good night. Good night, Helen Hayes, and until next weekend, Mrs. Lionel Baron Moore saying, Good night. That are sold only in stores that have been carefully selected to give you expert and friendly service. Remember a Hallmark card when you carry enough to send the very best. The Hallmark Hall of Fame is produced and directed by William Prueg. Tonight's transfer is stripped written by Mr. Prueg. Kent Smith was featured as Louis Pasteur. Others in our cast were Viola Roach, Joseph Kearns, Virginia Lowell, Bill Conrad and Lorna Fair. Next week, the Hallmark Hall of Fame on television will portray the true story of a forgotten man who was once President of the United States for 24 hours, David Rice Atchison. This is Frank Goss saying, Good night to you until next week at the same time when you'll hear a true story from the life of Leif Erikson on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. This is the CBS Radio Network.