 Ladies and gentlemen the railroad hour and here comes our star-studded show train Tonight the Association of American Railroads presents the delightful frimal operetta Katinka Starring Gordon MacRae and his charming guest Anna Mary Dickey Our choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff and our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen dragon Yes tonight another great musical success is brought to you by the American Railroads The same railroads that bring you most of the food you eat the clothes you wear the fuel you burn And all the other things you use in your daily life. And now here is our star Gordon MacRae Thank You Marvin Miller and good evening ladies and gentlemen Tonight we travel to the Near East to the land of mosques and minarets Where Anna Mary Dickey joins me to play the title role of Katinka I shall be Ivan who loved and lost the lady, but who couldn't forget her loveliness So here's Katinka act one Here on the shores of the ancient black sea the air is magic in the month of May Beyond that line of hills they say the world was born And on a spring night Allah himself walks the earth And to young lovers all things seem twice alive But not for me I had wandered for many months through many distant lands But when I returned home to my native city I found my beloved my Katinka on the very night of her wedding to another man Welcome to the marriage feast my friend Katinka see who is here Good evening Katinka my congratulations to you We did not expect the wanderer to return on our wedding night But you are twice welcome cousin I thank you Boris Trogov And I I wish you happiness No prayer of happiness for me Ivan Of course Katinka Silence all of you I lift my cup to the happiness of the most beautiful woman in Allah's domains To Katinka Smile But I trust your admiration stops with a song I have no choice cousin No my husband According to the ancient tradition of our country. I am yours to command Shall I dance for you my master? What is your desire? Ivan has sung for you Now I ask your music for me A song from your heart Yes my husband From my heart And begin our honeymoon Certainly my prime We must be on our way as quickly as possible You should not have come Why have you ignored me? I ignored you Months after months no answers to my letters No explanation of any kind Ivan you did right I fluttered the males with my love I begged you to explain your silence I never got your letters And I wrote every day sometimes twice a day and never a reply It was your mother She wanted you to marry Boris Yes a wealthy man a good match Your mother must have destroyed you let us before they were male And yours before I ever received them Tell me Do you love your new husband? No Ivan I've never forgotten you Remember the little white pigeon you gave me before you went away? You kept her? Always at my window sill Do you know she's found a mate? How I wish we could be as happy as the birds in my garden We have been cheated out of our love my sweet My sweet I won't let you go There must be some way A pedder I met in the streets of Istanbul He swears he has seen Olga Olga? Your husband's first wife Well she's dead There are those who think she is alive in Istanbul Oh if that's true then It's true then your marriage is illegal Oh we must find her Oh it might take weeks months We look for her it is said that once a year at the springtime In this very month of May Allah takes a holiday And his mission on earth is to help all true lovers find each other's hearts Come my love we shall go searching through the city called Istanbul If Katinka in just a moment How long has it been since you've enjoyed a real vacation in the fullest sense of the word A vacation that gives you complete change of scene And the all out relaxation you need and deserve after a hard year's work Every section of America is packed with endlessly fascinating things to see and do So this year really let yourself go Leave cares and worries behind and enjoy a downright wonderful vacation by train When you travel by train your vacation starts the minute the conductor calls all aboard From then on there is a small army of railroad men working for you To meet your every need and desire Conductors and trainmen engineers and firemen porters and waiters And besides all these men on the trains themselves The men who keep the track smooth and safe The men who keep the cars and engines in tip-top running order The people who clean the cars the signal men and the tower men And all the rest of the railroad folks working for you Yes from the time you start till your trip comes to an end All you do is lean back and enjoy yourself while others do the work And no matter what the weather is outside It is cool and comfortable inside your air conditioned train With meals as you like them and a chance to rest and sleep So that when the trip is over you arrive fresh and relaxed Ready to have the time of your life in the exciting vacation land of your choice This summer then let the swift safe sure comfort of America's up-to-the-minute trains Whisk you to the happiest vacation you've had in years You'll be glad you did Starring Gordon Macrae as Ivan and Anna Marie Dickey as the lovely Katinka Oh Katinka Yes my love through the Bosporus into the Sea of Marmara And look there sits the fabled city of Istanbul Once called Constantinople the city of conquerors and thieves The city where Allah comes for his holidays Listen you can hear the silver symbols Yes in ancient days the Greek voyagers thought this was the very top of the world A portion of the heavens higher even than Olympus Is it this city or the month of May? What is it that makes all the magic? As we find Olga Come we must search every street of Istanbul Lead us to the woman who can set us free You are searching for someone my son We are looking for the woman called Olga Stragoff Have you seen her The blind see many things that are invisible to those that have eyes For the sightless must see with a heart Allah has told me of your plight Follow me We seek the woman known as Olga Stragoff There's no one here by that name You're lying You are Olga Stragoff No Please tell us the truth We'll keep your secret Why do you hunt for me down the back streets of Istanbul? Allah has led us through you And I am the bride of Boris Stragoff You pitiful child My husband is a tyrant I could not live with him So I fled from his house and forged a death certificate Will you swear to that? If it will save you from the wretchedness of my life I will do it gladly Katinka, you are free We do not need to whisper our love now We can shout it to the world Still whisper it, Ivan But when you whisper, I must come close to you to listen Lovers everywhere, I give you a toast To Marvin Miller and to our entire company Katinka, with book and lyrics by Otto Harbach And music by Rudolf Rimmel Was dramatized for the railroad hour by Lawrence and Lee The railroad hour is brought to you each week at this time By the American Railroads Vacation is a magic word that brings pleasant anticipation The things that make a really good vacation Are the unburdening of cares Relaxation, change of pace Seeing new things, new parts of this wonderful country So this summer, as you look forward to that well-earned vacation Remember that the best way to do these things Is to travel to your vacation spot by train In this way, your vacation starts when you get on the train You travel safely, comfortably, dependably While the panorama of America unfolds before your eyes And you arrive fresh, rested, and ready to have the time of your life Now here again is our guest star, Anna-Marie Dickey Part of this program is that you always get the girl Married, single, fat, she ends up in Gordon Macrae's arms Well, I'll tell you how I did it I had it put in my contract, Anna-Marie He's the lucky girl who falls into your arms Next week, Gordon You, Anna-Marie Goodie We're so delighted to have you with us for this visit on the west coast That, well, we want you to be with us again And we'll have a chance to sing the wonderful music of Jerome Kern together For very warm for me I'm a glow already, Gordon See you then, Anna-Marie All aboard Well, it looks as though we're ready to pull out And so until next Monday night This is Gordon Macrae saying goodbye It was presented by arrangement with Century Library, Inc. of New York Gordon Macrae appeared through the courtesy of Warner Brothers Our choir is under the direction of Norman Luboff And our music is prepared and conducted by Carmen Dragon So until next week This is Marvin Miller saying good night for the American Railroads Now stay tuned for your Monday night of music on NBC The voice of Firestone on NBC