 dedicated to the strength of the nation now heard on more than 1300 radio stations proudly we hail yes proudly we hail starring Francis Gifford in the Valentine girl United States Army United States Air Force presentation now here is our producer the well-known Hollywood showman CP McGregor thank you thank you and greetings from Hollywood ladies and gentlemen our star is Francis Gifford who appears in a bright comedy the Valentine girl she portrays a department store clerk who wins an all-expense trip to Bermuda learns about Jen Rummy in card sharks and finds romance that commences with a broken heart the curtain for act one in a moment here now is Wendell Niles a strong America is a peaceful America your regular Army and US Air Force men are strong right arm of peace and they are ambitious intelligent men who have chosen for themselves a career with a future while keeping America at peace they are following a career in which they can better themselves and advance through their own efforts they are making better men of themselves and a safer world in which to live now once again our producer it's curtain time and here's act one of the Valentine girl starring Francis Gifford as Lucy Ballard now there isn't anything particularly unusual about Lucy Ballard just another clerk in Valentine's department store you might say Lucy's 23 of average intelligence and unmarried she launches at child's restaurant every working day takes in a movie on Saturday nights and subscribes through passionate love stories like every shop girl Lucy has romantic dreams and the reason we're bringing her attention to you now well one of those dreams is about to be realized you're Lucy Ballard oh yes come in come in thank you now let's see oh yes thank you your department is I'm in men's underwear yeah yes of course and you're doing a fine job in men's underwear keep it up thank you Mr. Valentine as a matter of fact that's the reason I called you in the results of our campaign to select the Valentine's most pretty sales lady has been tabulated customers have selected you Lucy oh gee I'm in golly you don't thank me Lucy perseverance is its own reward how do you think I got where I am today perseverance precisely pulled by the horns best forward that's been my motto you know where I started no sir in ladies beach where but was I content to stay in ladies beach where were you no indeed I was not perseverance bird me onward into men's pajamas out of men's pajamas into children's play dogs and finally yes I was awarded the time honored medal of confidence you mean I became a floor walk oh gee I mean golly then I had danced to sales manager manager and at last the store of my own a small haberdashery and from a humble beginning as a haberdasher yes I came present oh gee president and owner of Valentine's incorporated one of the largest department stores of its size in America oh golly mr. Valentine ponder well that name of Valentine an honored name a name which has more than one struck terror into the hearts of you should part may see and give oh not them yes them it's all right if I mentioned then Angel say oh but enough of me we're here to talk about you we are indeed diligence and application to duty do not go unrewarded at Valentine's as our most courteous sales lady it is my pleasure to inform you that you are to be our Valentine girl I am you will receive a complete wardrobe from our park at new section you ought to wear our most expensive jewels in furs aboard ship and while in Bermuda Bermuda Bermuda Lucy you're going on a two-week cruise all expenses paid how does that sound oh it sounds it sounds I thought it would however there's one thing to remember whenever anyone compliments you on your ensemble or jewelry or to say I bought it at Valentine's the finest department store in America now let's try it where did you get that dress you're wearing oh this oh well it's an old one I got it before I came to work here it was marked down for 995 it says no no no no miss Ballard you bought it at Valentine's the finest department store in America now repeat after me I bought it at Valentine's I bought it at Valentine's the finest department store in America the finest department store in America I bought it at Valentine's the finest department store in America no no no you're not in tempo now repeat it once more I bought it at Valentine's the finest department store in America. Good. Good. That's excellent. Now remember that. Yes, sir. Forgive me, but that hat. Perfectly charming. Where did you get it? It goes with the ensemble. Gee, the water's blue, isn't it? Ah, yes, I suppose so. I've never been on a boat before. Have you? Too often, I'm afraid. Are you going to Bermuda? Yes, it seems that way. So am I. Well, we'll probably see quite a lot of one another. Permit me to introduce myself. I'm Dorothy Walkett. I'm very happy to know you. I'm Lucy Ballard. I'm so delighted to meet you, Miss Ballard. By the way, do you have any plans for lunch? No. Please, John, I'm traveling with my husband and the business associate of his. There they are now. What's the show for board? Well, the good-looking one is, unfortunately, not my husband. He is good-looking, isn't he? Oh, come along. I'll introduce you. Here they come, the Stephen Maboy. Looks like Dorothy's got her hook. Colonel, sir, I got a good look at her diamond bracelet when she came aboard. It's the McCoy. That's very cheering, Maboy. Very cheering indeed. She's probably one of those mainline debutants with more money than cents. Let us trust that such is the key, Stephen Maboy. Hello, Stephen. Hello, Dorothy. I'd like to introduce Miss Ballard. This is my husband, Colonel Walker. Oh, the Lexican Walcott. Your servant, ma'am. How do you do? And Mr. Stephen Gordon. It's my pleasure. My pleasure, Miss Ballard. Miss Ballard is dining with us. Oh, fine. The steward just sounded second call. Shall we go in? All right. Your first voyage, Miss Ballard? You're traveling alone, of course. Yes. Well, then we'll take it as our duty to see that you don't get lonesome man. Oh, thank you. Perhaps we can play a bit of cards after lunch. A little gin rummy? Oh, well, I'm afraid I'm not very good at cards. Excellent. What? That is, we'll do our utmost to teach you. Oh, thank you. It will be a pleasure, ma'am. Yes, indeed. A great pleasure. Do you, ma'am? I think I can use that. Yes, I can. I've got, what do you call it? Gin, ma'am. That's it. Gin. Well, so you have. Gives you a total of 52 points. Well, let's see that. There's another triple blitz. Oh, it appears, my dear, that I owe you $1,400. $1,400? But I thought we were playing for a penny of points. So we were. Penny of point, $10 a frame, and $100 a game. Here, here you are, my dear. Perhaps I'll have better luck next time. Oh, I couldn't take your money. Nonsense, my dear. Of course you can. And may I add, I've never bowed to a more charming opponent. Oh, but I... Now, if you'll forgive me, we'd best tidy up a supper. You'll join us, of course. Say, eight o'clock in the lounge. Eight o'clock. Until then. See you at eight. How did you do? My dear children, offhand, I should say that the fish appears to have been gassed. She won $1,400. Oh, well, I think you should have let her win a little more money. I tried to, my dear, but she continually made the most outlandish mistakes. Frankly, I've never had a more difficult time getting rid of money. Well, let her win a few thousand after dinner. And tomorrow night, we can start to apply the hooks. Yes, and you better start turning on the tape. We don't want her to lose interest. She won't. I'll give her the full treatment in the moonlight after the game tonight. You know, you might try the, uh, if winner comes routine. She looks like the type. It's beautiful tonight, isn't it? Yes. Look at the waves. Turbulent, restless. The stars peering down. So calm, so serene. You know, I often think that waves are like people, threshing for freedom, oh, nature. Die away, it will rip off. Oh, wind, if winter comes, can spring be far behind. Oh, that's pretty. Shelly. Do you read Shelly? Oh, no, I don't have much chance to read. I'm usually pretty busy. Yes, I can imagine. Parties, dinner affairs, the hairdresser. Keeping a breast of society can be a full-time job. Well, I don't know about that. Where are you from, Lucy? May I call you Lucy? If you want. New York. Quite a town. Dorothy now lives in New York. She's nice, says the Colonel. But I'm getting embarrassed winning all of his money. Do you know that tonight I won over $3,000? Don't worry about it. I'm sure the Colonel's luck will change. Now, here, we don't want to talk about money. We don't. Lucy, I like you. You do? I like the way you smile. The way you dress. You're gone. I bought it at Valentine's. The finest department store in America. And that funny little hat. I bought it at Valentine's. The finest department store in America. You're sweet, refreshing. Tell me my eyes are like star sapphires. What? I read it in passionate love stories. I always wanted someone to say that to me. Well, your eyes are like star sapphires. Thank you. You're welcome. Lucy, I'd like to kiss you. Do you mind? Not at all. You're very pretty. So are you. I mean, you look like Cary Grant. He's my favorite movie actor. Oh. Well, I suppose we better be getting in. Turning chilly. Oh, I'm not cold. It's getting rather late, too. Oh, I'm not sleepy. We'd better say good night. Oh. All right. Good night. Um... Yes? You wouldn't like to take another walk around the deck. Well, not tonight. Thank you. Oh. Well, good night. Good night. Um... Yes? If you're thirsty, maybe we could have a coke in the bar. No, thanks. Steve. Yes? You don't mind me calling you Steve, do you? No. Steve. You can kiss me good night if you like. Thank you, Missy. You're welcome. Good night. Good night, Missy. Good night. To pause briefly from our story, the Valentine's girl starring Frances Gifford to bring you an important message from your government. Man, it's not too soon to start thinking about aviation cadet pilot training. Those Air Force quotas are starting to fill up. If you want to be a pilot in Uncle Sam's Air Force, this is your big chance. Listen to the requirements. Two years of college are the equivalent, single, 20 to 26 and 1 half years old, and physically sound. If you fill these qualifications, get your application for aviation cadet pilot training right away. You'll study airplane motors and air navigation. You'll learn to fly the latest planes. And upon successful completion of your training, you'll be commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. You can qualify for a regular commission. And get this, men. Your pay will range up to $336 a month. Get your application right away at your nearest Air Force base of Recruiting Station. It rises on Act 2 of the Valentine's Girl starring Frances Gifford as Lucy Bowling. An ocean voyage, a beautiful debutante, and a handsome escort are sure-fire ingredients for a shipboard romance. However, in this story of ours, there's a few drawbacks. Our debutante in reality is a shop girl for Valentine's Department Store. And the handsome hero is actually a very smooth card shark. After allowing Lucy to win a few thousand dollars, Steve's Confederate, Colonel Walcott, had decided to go to work in Ernest. A rummy game is in progress in the Colonel's state room. Eight of diamonds to me? Well, I'm afraid that's the name of the game idea, Jim. But I've got old picture cards. My, my, you do have a mess of points there. 70, 82 plus 25 is 107. Well, that puts me out across the board. Shall we play another? No, ma'am, Colonel. I have the total right here. Let's see, that's 7,300 and... 7,000. Check the figures, you're... Much money. Well, there's no need to fret, my dear. I'll take my 4,500 back and you can write me a check for the balance. But that's just it. I don't have a checking account. Your money's tied up in savings, eh? Well, that's very smart. I'll tell you what we can do, my dear. You leave your bracelet to security and we can settle up when we get back to New York. Oh, but I can't do that. Well, I'm afraid we'll have to make some kind of an arrangement. But you don't understand my bracelet. We'll be in the best of hands. Come, come, we'll play another. Perhaps you'll really be completely unnecessary. No, I don't want to play anymore. Oh, give it another try, my dear. You look can't stay bad forever. Well, all right. Just one more game. What are you talking about? Not yours. No, Mr. Valentine. He'll probably send me to jail for a long time. I'll be very old when I get out. So who's Mr. Valentine? He's the man I work for. I'm the Valentine girl. I don't feel very much like her anymore. Well, now, wait. Let me get this straight. Just what do you mean by the Valentine girl? This door gave me all of these clothes and a free trip to Bermuda's is a kind of a bonus. Then you're not a debutant? No, I'm in men's underwear. A shop girl? H. Sebastian. I always said I could spot class a mile away. You thought I was a debutant? I'm afraid so. Oh, thank you. You're welcome. Listen, Lucy, maybe I can help you. You can. Yeah, I said maybe. You trust me, don't you? Oh, yes, of course. When I said I wished I hadn't met you people, I didn't mean you. I still think you look like Carrie Grant. Don't say anything to anybody about your losses. Promise me that? I promise. And trust me. I will. Oh, that's the way it is, Colonel. Shades of old Jeff Davis. If that doesn't take the cornfold, a shop girl. I gave her a pretty good pitch. I think it'll keep her quiet. What you better do now is give me the jewels. I'll fly back to New York and sell them. Or she gets a chance to talk to Valentine. And we can meet you in New York in a couple of days? Yes. Oh, yes. Here, take the bobbles, my boy. And don't forget to hold out for a stiff price. You can trust me, Colonel. Oh, hello, Captain. Have you seen Mr. Gordon anywhere? Oh, yes. He's going down to the gang flank now. Oh, thank you. Steve, I was looking for you. Hello, Lucy. I thought maybe you'd like to... You brought all of your luck at your shore. Yes. Well, you didn't have to do that. The captain said this team should come or anything that... Well, I prefer to handle my own luggage. You're mad? No, I'm not. Yes, you are. Anyway, if you're not, you might as well be because you sound that way. I just finished telling you I'm not mad. There, you see? I guess I said something. No, you didn't say anything. Lucy, can't we just forget it? There's only a week left now. A week of what? My vacation can come, but I'm still glad I met you. And I'm glad I met you. Are you really? Didn't I offer to help you recover your jewelry? Uh-huh. All right then. Come to think of it, you don't seem very much concerned about the jewels. Are you telling me to trust you? I do. Yes, well... Lucy... Lucy, listen to me. You're a nice girl. Thank you. You're welcome. Other people, unfortunately, are sometimes not so nice. I think you're nice. Thank you. You're welcome. That's the point, Lucy. Maybe I'm not, well, exactly what you think I am. And maybe the same goes for the Colonel and Dorothy. Oh, I think they're nice, too. Oh, Lucy, you're so darn naive. It's like taking candy from a baby. What is? Never mind. And look, I've got to go to the... to the hotel. And Lucy... Yes? I want you to remember one thing. I've never had a conscience. I've never been sorry about anything in my life. I'm truly sorry about this. But it's business. I don't understand. You will soon enough. Goodbye, Lucy. Goodbye. Take care of yourself. So our Valentine girl is back. Yes, Mr. Valentine. And I suppose you had a wonderful time. No, Mr. Valentine. What? Something terrible has happened, Mr. Valentine. Terrible? It's about the jewelry you gave me to wear. Oh, it's just one moment. Yes? No, I can't see anyone now. Now, what were you saying? It's about the jewelry. What about the jewelry? I haven't got it. You haven't got it? Yes? What is it? I told you I can't see it. I... it's about the... about the what? Well, don't keep him out there. See what you mean? You see, Mr. Valentine, I... The purser must have gotten our baggage mixed. I came across these. The jewel? That's the jewel. Well, Valentine's is deeply grateful to you, Mr.... Gordon. Mr. Gordon. But how did you know these belonged to my department store? Oh, a bit of deduction, a little perseverance. Perseverance? Did you say perseverance? Mr. Gordon, we have to have a chat. We should have a long chat. Lucy, I believe you can return to your counter. Yes, Mr. Valentine. 219, 345 dollars. Here's your receipt and thank you, madam. You're welcome. Miss Ballard. Steve. Miss Ballard, hadn't you better straighten up your display? Oh, Steve, I don't know how to thank you, but... The display, please, Miss Ballard. Steve, you... you... Yes, Miss Ballard. You've got a carnation. A time-honored medal of competence. To quote Mr. Valentine. You're a floor walker. Yes, but will I always be a floor walker? Will you? Indeed, not perseverance will spur me onward. How did Mr. Valentine get where he is today? Perseverance. And where did he start? In ladies' beachwear. Precisely, but was he content to stay in ladies' beachwear? He was not. He became president. Who knows? Maybe I'll be president, too. Then you won't be taking any more trips with the Colonel and Dorothy. No, and I don't believe they'll be traveling by TV. Some ship detectives informed them that their patronage would no longer be welcome. Where are they? Well, the Colonel is right over there, isn't he? It's our pleasure, Madame. If ever you are dissatisfied with the Valentine purchase, it is your privilege, nay, your duty to return safe. We'd like to believe that our complaint department is rather a department of satisfaction. Dorothy, what about her? Uh, over by the elevator. Come down, please. Watch your steps. Going up, up. Watch the doors, please. Looks like we're going to have one big happy family. Well, not yet. We'll have to get married first. Oh. Well, thank you. You're welcome. I hope we'll have boys. Why? So they'll all look like Carrie Graham. Well, if we have girls, it won't be so bad. You know, Lucy, I've never told you before, but you look an awful lot like that movie actress. What's her name? Frances Giverd. Well, that's what my mother always said. Calls in the final act to the Valentine's Day. Our star, Frances Giverd, will return for a curtain call after this timely message from Wendell Niles. Education is the keynote in the regular army today. Your soldiers are learning through valuable vocational training. They're learning through travel and meeting the people of foreign countries. And they are studying various subjects to such facilities as the United States Armed Forces Institute. The Armed Forces Institute, or USOPI, makes available study to the army man in a wide range of subjects. Such things as accounting, journalism, languages, up through college level. Yes, education is the keynote in the regular army today. And the young man who wants to combine a career with a future education will find the army is just what he's looking for. So young man, why don't you find out just how an army career will fit you? Get all of the facts about the many educational opportunities. Stop in at your local recruiting station this week. Now once again, our star, Francis Gifford, and our producer. Ladies and gentlemen, meet our star, Francis Gifford. Francis, come out and take a bow. Oh gee, I mean golly. You still sound like Lucy. You know, I enjoy doing Lucy CP. Lucy was not long on brains. You could highly color erudite like yourself, but a nice and I might add beautiful girl. And I'll bet she likes Crosby, Como, Tony Martin, and Gordon McRae. I do. Why, I thought you collected only classical records, Francis. Oh no, I like almost everything. Now that I have a new radio-phono-console and get much better reception, I'm collecting a lot of different things in music. Such as? We tourby, castellanets, school and rose, bronze, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, Spike Jones. Spike will appreciate being listed among the masters. They ride it. He sets them back. Or spinning in their graves. Seriously, Francis, I know of no better hobby, for one so talented musically as you. Well, I like so much that I hear, especially now that I wish I had the time and space to really collect the things that I want in records. Here are a couple of collector's items that you can't buy that I dug up of Chopin's Polyneses. I hope you can use them. Oh, thanks, CP. I'll play it for you someday. Now maybe I can do you a favor. Maybe I could get you a real price on a console like mine. Fine, where? At Valentine, the finest department store in America. I might have known. Well, anyway, you can tune us in next week. Oh, I will, CP. I'll be on hand. Who's playing? Next week, Francis, and ladies and gentlemen, Marie McDonald stars in a drama titled The Most Enchanted. She portrays a top-flight Broadway actress who has given one year to live. It is the story of courage and romance of self-sacrifice and fleeting numbered days. I'll be listening. That's a promise. Goodbye, CP. Goodbye, Francis. We should have joined us next week, ladies and gentlemen, when we present Marie McDonald in The Most Enchanted. Until next week, this is CP McGregor saying thanks for listening and cheerio from Hollywood. Francis Gifford appears with the courtesy of the Hollywood Coordinating Committee, which arranges for the appearance of all stars on this program. Remember, proudly, we hail next time to present Marie McDonald, Wendell Niles, CP.