 Family Theater presents transcribed Star of Wonder with Pat O'Brien as host. Mission with Family Theater presents Star of Wonder. To introduce the drama, here is your host, Pat O'Brien. Thank you, Tony LaFranco. Family Theater's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention the practice that must become an important part of our lives. If we are to win peace for ourselves, peace for our families and peace for the world, Family Theater urges you to pray. Pray together as a family. Tonight, Family Theater takes great pleasure in presenting Star of Wonder, featuring Francis X Bushman, Norman Field, Herbert Rawlinson, and Cliff Clark, with Jill Oppenheim as Evie. Once upon a time in a great observatory on a pine-covered mountain in the western state, there lived three wise old men. There was even Joe, who had spent his entire life in the study of the Saturnian rings. The thickness of these rings is very small, perhaps even less than 10 miles, nowhere else in the universe. And there was Otto Schwartz, a recognized authority on lunar craters. The moon's surface offers us astounding evidence of the effect of widespread volcanic fests. And finally, there was Walter Lethem, whose monograph on the atmosphere of Venus was an astronomical landmark. Further confirmation of the supposition that the physical surface of Venus is the top of a cloud bank is evidenced by the color of the... There they were, the three of them, isolated in the lonely mountain top observatory, each tolerating the other two, no more. They knew about Saturn and the moon and Venus, these three wise men, but they had forgotten about people, about love, about Christmas, and then it happened. Even had gone for the mail that morning, and when he returned from the half-mile hike to the box... Oh, I ask you, Walter, how was I to know that it was your notes, a note scrap of paper? A scrap of paper. Six months' work and you use it to light your cigar. Why do you have to smoke the smelly things in the tower room anyway? This pleasure. You are not denying me, Walter Lethem, that I burn the notes. I am sorry. I will help you gather the data again. You will. And what makes you feel that you are qualified to help me assemble material on the atmospheric changes of Venus? Walter, stop! You're like two children. Why must there be this constant bickering? Oh, even. You're back. Any mail? Yes. The Journal of Astronomy for you, Walter, and the Christmas Circular for you, Otto. Christmas Circular. Where do the days go? To the end of another year we are coming. I've been waiting for the Journal. This is the issue in which God had promised to make a fool of himself. The air must be chilly this morning, even. You look flushed in the face. We have snow before the week is out. Otto, Walter, there was one other thing in the mail this morning. Another thing? What? Not a letter from the trustees, I hope? The letter was for me, but it affects us all, so I thought I should read it to you. It's from a woman named Farrell. She lived next to my sister in Orange, New Jersey. She writes that my sister has died. Oh, I'm so sorry, even. I did not know you had the sister. I thought you were alone, like me. She was a younger sister. I haven't seen her for years. Twenty years or more it must be. It's hard to grasp a death when it happens far from us. She was married, this sister? She was a widow. Her husband died several years ago. If there's any work of yours that I can do today, even, wait. There's more. More? She left a child. A child? A daughter named Eve. How old is the girl, even? Ten. I've never seen her. We didn't correspond, my sister and I. I suppose I should have kept in touch, but... It's easy to forget up here. I hope the child is well provided for. She isn't. The girl has nothing. No one. Even. A little money I have saved, if it will help you... You can count on me, too. Very generous of you both, but it isn't money that's the worry. The child has no home. Home? Surely, even. You didn't think. I know how you feel, but it was my sister's last request, according to this feral woman, that Eve be sent to me. Bring a child here to the observatory. I know how it sounds. A ten-year-old girl here. Even this you cannot seriously consider. Why, it's preposterous. The notion of keeping this girl in the observatory is unthinkable. I agree with you, Walter. We can't keep her here permanently, but until I can make other arrangements. Children have no respect for routine. Life here will be intolerant. Walter, for a little while, until Eve makes his arrangements. Oh, so you're both against me. Not against you, Walter. It won't be an ideal situation, I admit it. But until I can properly place the child. Very well. As long as we understand that this is a temporary arrangement. Well, it may take me a little time to find a school that will accept her. Why should that be if we're prepared to pay the price? One thing I forgot to mention. Eve is blind. Even? By the mailbox on the road. Oh, we're still half-mile from the observatory. Are you sure you feel like walking it? I'll be fine if we go slow and you hold my hand. All right. The trail's rather steep. There are tall pine trees here, aren't there, Uncle Even? Yes, they're pines. They surround the observatory. I can hear the wind walking through them. Is the observatory tower very high, Uncle Even? High? Well, yes, I suppose it is. This is a very high mountain, and the tower is almost 100 feet above the summit. So close to the stars. Am I going too fast for you? Oh, no, no. I'm all right. Mom used to tell me about you, Uncle Even, and I used to think of you high, high in the sky. Your head covered with stars. Well, that's not quite the way of it. Eve, you know, there are two other men at the observatory with me. The three wise men. You know, we haven't had much experience with younger people, so if you'll try to remember that, I'm sure we'll all get along very well together. I'll remember. Uncle Even, you haven't seen the wise men's star this year. Yes, have you? No, no, nothing. Careful there now. Don't slip. It's quite a drop off the trail here. I'm all right as long as I have your hand, Uncle Even. Up here, I feel so much closer to the stars. So much closer. Such a strange one she is. Not an ordinary little girl at all, Walter. What do you know about ordinary little girls? She says so little, and yet there is a feeling when she's in a room as if she were talking, seeing things that cannot be put in words. Oh, I do not make good sense. That can't be blamed on the child. I wonder if Even is doing anything about a school for her. He has, I think, written some letters. Otto, I don't mean to let him forget that this is a temporary arrangement. I don't think he will. Walter, has she asked you about the star? The star? What star? There are millions of stars, and why should she ask me about one of them? I don't know. Several times she mentions it to me since she comes, as if I should know of it. Oh, it's some childish game. Where is she now? With Even, I think. I've not seen her since supper. She knows her place. I'll give her that. Doesn't intrude. All the same. This won't be a fit place to work until she goes. Which of you had my slide rule? I use my own instruments. No one else's. Maybe I use it, Even. But I put it back in the case, I'm sure. Anyway, it is a week or more. Well, where is Evee? Evee? With you, we thought she was. And I thought she came in here after supper. Where do you suppose she is? Her room? The tower? Check in her room, Otto. I'll look up in the tower. Doing up here. That circular staircase. You might have fallen. I wasn't afraid. Not busy. I wanted to be close. What star? You should be up here alone with all this equipment. These telescopes are set. You might have pumped into one of them and spoiled everything. Uncle Even, it's only a week now till Christmas. The star should be in the sky. Christmas? What star should be in the sky? The star that the wise men followed. The wise men. When Mom used to tell me the Christmas story, I think how lucky you were to be able to see the star so plain. Our Christmas story, Evee. You don't still believe in that, do you? Believe it? They couldn't see the star at home because it was always so much smoke. Up here? Well, I can feel that I'm close to it. If I could see, oh, I bet I could show you just where to find it. That's a story for babies. You've grown up, Evee. You'll find no such star in the sky. And you must promise me not to come up here ever again. But Mom said that the star... I've lived all my life with the stars, my dear. Don't you think I'd know if there were such a star? I don't want to hear any more about it. If you'd only look... I'd help you down to beddy. If you're going to stay here with us, you'd have to learn to live our way. Take our word for the things we know. Now, you understand? Yes, Uncle Eben. I'm sorry that I spoke to you so... so roughly, but it's for your own good. For my own good to forget about the star in the east to me? Of course. There's no time for such stories here. All right, Uncle Eben. The sooner you forget them, the happier you'll be. The happier we'll all be. When he had privilege called the wise man, inquired of him diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again. That I may come and worship him also. It's getting late, Evee. Don't you think you're very good... Yes, Uncle Eben. There's just a little more about the star. Let her finish, Evee, but she reads it good. When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. You were hardly touching the braille, Evee. I've read that part so many times I know it by heart. Oh, I'd give anything if I could see that star that the wise man saw. Evee. Oh, I'm sorry, Uncle Eben. I know you don't like to talk about it, but there must have been like you three. Who was like us? The three wise men. They probably lived in a place like this and watched the stars. Same as you. Just think how excited they must have been to see that new star in the sky. It's almost 10 o'clock, Evee. No scientific record of their discovery. Yeah, take my hand, Evee. Oh, I do wonderfully well by myself now, Uncle Eben. I can go almost any place in the observatory and never stumble once. Good night, little one. Good night, Uncle Otto. Uncle Walter. Good night. Tonight I'm going to dream about Christmas. Put out the lights down here when you're through. I'm going up the tower. It's good to turn your eyes to the stars. They don't change all in their places, just as they've been for millions of years. Star in the Easter child's story. There's no such star there and never was. Child is to be so upset. It's the girl. She must go. As soon as the holiday's over, I must find another place for her. And as soon as the holiday... What was that? In the tower of something forest. Yeah, Evee must be up there. I thought you told that child. I did. She's disobeyed me. But don't stand there. Let's see what she's smashed. Big glass thin compass from Switzerland. Oh, and a valuable instrument. Now look at it. Junk. Nothing but junk. You promised me that you'd never come up those stairs again. What did she mean the compass had never been there before? How many times do you come to this tower, Evee? Every night. What in the world would you want to come up here for? The stars. Get up here. Well, I just felt sort of... Well, sort of lonely since I came to live here. And the star was a thing I could hold on to. I told you once before, Evee, there was no such star. Oh, get set. I can see, Evee. I've looked through the telescope night after night all my life. And there is no such star. Oh, I can't believe it. I can't. I'll leave it to Walter Tuato. Is there a star in the east, a new star, that comes only at special times of the year? Of course not. Even this is ridiculous. Tuato! No. No, there is no such star, little one. Now, how do you believe me? Oh, what? Go to your room. Should one of us follow her, Evee? No. No. Let her alone. The weather's closing in. It'll be snow before morning. Visibility is limited. Yes. Visibility is very limited. I sleep. I can't. I sleep. I've got to make sure she's all right. Is that you, even? Oh, Otto. Yes, I couldn't sleep. I thought I'd look in on Evee just to make sure she's all right. It's snowing very hard. Otto, the door to her room. It's standing open. She's gone, even. Look at the bed. It hasn't been slept in at all. She can't be gone. There's no place for her to go. She's run away outside in this storm. Oh, no. Even what have we done to her? We've got to find her, Otto. We've got to find her. By that tree. He against it. Evee. Evee. It's her. Right now, Evee. All right. Otto. Walter. I found her. I found her. Is she all right? I wish I could tell her that she was. She's fighting pneumonia, exposure, shock. But she, she will be all right. She's a very sick youngster. I wish I could take her to the hospital. I'm afraid to move her. We'll take care of her. Just tell us what we must do. Well, I've given her a shot of penicillin. I'll leave some medicine here and I want you to force liquids on her. I'll be back in the morning. Surely there, there isn't any cause for alarm, is there? Just follow my instructions. I'll see you in the morning. It's all right. She's not rallying. If anything, she slipped since yesterday. We followed your instructions, doctor. She took the medicine, we forced the liquids, and one of us was with her all the time. Usually kids her age kick right back. React in less than 24 hours. But she's not fighting it at all. Anything that we can do to help her, just tell us, doctor. No, we haven't quit yet. That's not going to be a very merry Christmas for the poor little kid. This is Christmas Eve, isn't it? I'll be here in the morning. If she should get worse, you'll just have to try to get through to me. If she gets worse, she doesn't want to get well. She's not fighting at all. And it's our fault. The only thing she found here to love, we tried to take from her. She believed in the star. She really believed. Do you know until she came, I had forgotten that story? We had nothing to believe in, so her faith angered us. The star, did you see the star? Evened, do you think if we took her up there? To the tower room? The doctor said it was dangerous to move her. But if she could believe again, well, get that extra blanket. Otto, help me. We're going up to the telescope. Evee, we're in the tower room with the big telescope. Evee, it's Christmas Eve. We thought you might like to be near the star. You don't believe it, sir. You don't believe in the star. Tell us where to look, Evee. We want to believe. Help us. Where will it be, Evee? You want to believe? Yes, yes, Evee, we do. Help us, Evee. Tell us where to look. It was in the east, and it was very bright. If you believe, I believe, you must be able to see it tonight of all nights. Let me see. You're looking in the telescope? Yes, I am. I don't see anything yet, Evee. Keep looking, Uncle Evee, keep looking. I see it. Otto, won't I? Look, it is there, a great shining star where there's never been a star before. Let me see. It can't be there. It can't. And still it is. A beautiful star, Evee. A magnificent star. Star of wonder, star of life. You believe me now? Of course we do, Evee, and you've got to get well. We need you. The three of us need you, Evee. You need me? Yes. Yes, we do, Evee. She's going to get well, aren't you, Evee? Yes. Yes, I'm going to get well. Uncle Eben, oh, I'm so sleepy. Our forehead is cool. I think the worst is over. Merry Christmas, Uncle Eben. Uncle Walter and Uncle Otto. Merry Christmas, Evee. Yes, Merry Christmas, Evee. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, little one. Best you should take her back to bed, Evee. Yes, I will. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy, with exceeding great joy. This is Pat O'Brien again. During the season of the year, there's a lot of praying going on, and that's a very good thing. And since some of these prayers are set to music to form carols during the Christmas season, it gives us an opportunity for a musical illustration of what we mean when we speak of the beauty of family prayer. With Mr. Zimmerman's help, we'll use the family of stringed instruments in our illustration. We'll start with the father and then the mother. Then let's say there's one son, one daughter. Pretty little thing, isn't she? Now, each of the members of this musical family is capable of carrying the melody of this beautiful Christmas hymn without any help from the others. But listen to them play the same melody, not as individual instruments, but as a family of instruments. See? You see how the harmony adds beauty? How the melody gains new importance? Family prayer is much the same. But prayer is music to God. And since we were created by Him, and since it is through Him that all good comes to us, then shouldn't we strive to make our prayers as worthy as possible, as beautiful as possible? There's really no doubt that the members of the family praying as individuals do make music in heaven. And they pray together. Well, then they make a concert. Is one other argument in favor of family prayer? It's a promise that family theater uses for a slogan. The family that prays together stays together. More things are brought by prayer than this world dreams of. The script was written by John McGreevy with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman and was directed for Family Theater by Joseph F. Mansfield. This is Tony LaFranco expressing the wish of Family Theater that the blessing of God may be upon you and your home and inviting you to join us next week for Family Theater. Join us, won't you? Family Theater transcribed as broadcast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.