 Remember a Hallmark card when you carry it up to send the very best. And Robert Schumann, chosen by one of the world's best-known authors, the distinguished novelist, Mr. James Hilton. Gentlemen, this is James Hilton. This evening of Valentine's Day, we dramatize on our Hallmark Playhouse a story of true love that is also a true story. We tell of the lifelong romance of Robert and Clara Schumann, the partnership of a great composer and a great concert pianist who became his wife. Clara, indeed, was one of the most famous women in all musical history, and with her husband's music in our ears, we shall hark back to that enchanted world in which the Schumanns were two stars in a constellation, for it was also the world of Liszt, Wagner, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Brahms. Clara Schumann, who was known and admired by them all, lived long and busily, a wonderful woman to the last, and died within the memory of many of us. To play her part tonight, we are proud to welcome back to our Playhouse that charming and popular actress and Academy Award winner, Joan Fontaine. And now here is Frank Goss from the makers of Hallmark cards. When you're looking for a way to say something to someone you care for, look for a Hallmark card, and you'll find the right words. Because Hallmark cards are designed to say what you want to say, the way you want to say it, and in the good taste you demand of anything that bears your personal signature. That's why Hallmark on the back of a greeting card has come to mean you cared enough to send the very best. And now Hallmark Playhouse presenting the story of Clara and Robert Schumann, starring Joan Fontaine. There's a crowded crowd control in London just less than a century ago. The program has included a symphony by Robert Schumann, and then a concerto by Robert Schumann. And now from the grand piano comes a cascade of silver notes, the final encore. The brilliance of the playing and the beauty of the music combine to electrify the listeners. But there's another reason. The pianist is a woman, the wife of the composer, and when the melody soars to its lovely climax, the audience is straining to applaud. One of the greatest pianists of her day and certainly the most beloved makes her bow to the audience and to the conductor and then leaves the stage. A moment later she's in her dressing room where she can retreat, relax and remember and speak in her mind the words of her heart. Did you hear it, Robert? Their applause was for you. You always wanted to come to England, and now you have, through your music. It sings in the hearts of men everywhere as it is sung in mind through all these years. So many years, my dear. But why try to count them? Happiness is not measured by the calendar. It lives in its own moments and in memories. Yes, in my happiness began the day we first met. You had come to my father's house in Leipzig, and I was peeking at you from behind the piano, and then Papa discovered me. Ah, klar! Would you like to meet my new pupil? This is Herr Schumann. Well, well, what do you say to the gentlemen? You must forgive her, my boy. She is most shy. I like children to be shy, Herve. How old are you, Clara? She is just nine, and yet she has already played her first public recital. Yes, she is my prized pupil. Herr Schumann? You study hard, and Papa will make you a great artist too. Don't let my mother or my guardian hear that. They won't have me a piano player, so I'm studying something else. Something you wouldn't understand. I would so. I can understand anything. You were studying for the law, and you had time for only a few piano lessons. And then you went away to Heidelberg. It was three years before you came back. I have made my choice, Herve. The law is not for me. My future is music, and now I place my future in your hand. It was like an elder brother, a favorite brother who had come home. We studied together. We played duets together, and hoped together for the day of the great concert artists. And then it happened. You injured your right hand. It's hopeless, Clara. A pianist with a crippled hand might career is over before it's even started. Oh, no, you mustn't say that, Robert. You can still compose. Yes, and I'll play your music for you. I will be your hands. Oh, Robert, don't laugh at me. I'm not. You strange, remarkable child. It was true I was a child. And yet at 13, I played the first public performance of your first symphony. The years passed, and you were lost in your work writing music and articles about music. You were a magazine editor now, and I thought you had forgotten about Clara. And then one day you came to see me. You had a new composition for me to play. It's because the girl who inspired it is so much more love. Express in music what Byron said in poetry. She walks in beauty like the night of cloudless climbs and starry skies and all that's best of dark and bright. Have I offended you? No. But these tears, I have shocked you. You still think of me as an older brother. I have no right to speak to you of love. No right? Someone else? Oh, my darling, you have every right. I prayed that I might grow up in time for you. Clara? My Clara. So confident, Robert, that everything would be all right. We would wait until I was 18, and then you would go to my father and tell him of our love. And when you did go to him, on that night, two years later, I waited outside the parlor door, trembling with excitement and hope. Yes, Papa? Would you come in here, please? Papa, where is Robert? He's gone. I told him he need not stay. I would explain my position to you. You quarrel. Clara, I am your father and I am your teacher. Therefore I have a double duty. I must see that my daughter marries a man worthy of her. And I must be sure that my pupil does not throw away the great talent which I have helped to develop. But, Father, you've always liked Robert. You've told me how fond you were of him. He's one of my pupils as a composer. But as my son-in-law, Robert Schumann, is impossible. You hear impossible. The possible thought for me was that our love should be denied. You must have guessed what was in my mind, Robert. When I stole out of the house to meet you, we walked hand in hand across the Augustus Plats and through the park. We pretended to listen to the band concert. But we heard only the crying in our hearts. Recognize the music, Clara? They are playing my drama, right? Robert, I've made up my mind. No, my dear, don't say it. I'm going to run away, Robert. We'll be married. We can't, Clara. The law will not permit it. Your father must give his consent to the marriage. Someday he shall. But how can we be sure? He thinks no man is good enough for me. If I were your father, perhaps I should think the same. Clara, there's only one way. I must prove myself to your father. It'll take time, a year, perhaps two years. Oh, Robert. I'll do it, Clara. But I'll have to leave Leipzig and go where there's opportunity for me. To Vienna? Vienna, yes. For nine years you've been coming into my life and then going away. Never again, my darling. With love there is no distance that can separate. No time that can wither. There is only love. Always we shall be together, Clara. So much from Vienna, my dear. But Vienna was not ready for you. Events were working against us even more than you realized. Your letters told me of defeats and my answers told you of successes which were even more dangerous. All Leipzig was talking of my concerts. My father counted every triumph of his daughter as another proof that we should not marry. And when you finally came back to Leipzig and saw my father again, I knew his answer even before you told me. He was furious with me, Clara. There's nothing I can say to him. It's hopeless. No, I won't believe it. He can't keep it apart. But he has, my dear. For the past four years, the law says he can. Well, the law, the law, if the law gives a father control over his daughter, it ought to give a daughter control over her heart. It can, Clara. It can do that. Well, it can. Well, then why shouldn't it? Clara, I studied to be an attorney at Heidelberg. I know how unpleasant trials can be. Trial? I would have to sue your father. I would have to take him into court and make him state his objections to our marriage. All the judge would soon see how unreasonable and foolish your father has been. But... You don't want to bring my name into court. That's it, isn't it? Darling, your name is known all over Germany. Leipzig is proud of you. But pride can turn to anger and accusation. Yes. People would say I'm an ungrateful daughter. But it's not true. I love my father and I love you. He's given me a career, but there's more to that than life. My life is you. Oh, dearest. Robert, I want you to go to court. Thank you, Clara. To risk so much, your father may never forgive you. Even if he never speaks to me again, I have no choice. Whatever I lose, my home, my father, my music, I still gain everything, darling, because I'll have you. Well, did you receive an unexpected valentine? I hope you did, because there's nothing like the knowledge that someone thought of you to cast a sunny glow over a day in February. Over any day in any month, for that matter. And when it's so easy to show our thoughtfulness, isn't it a shame we don't do so more often? For instance, there are hallmark cards to send when you haven't had time to write a letter, when you want to tell someone you miss them, or when you simply want to say, hello, how are you? In fact, a hallmark card turns any day into something special for the person receiving it. In only a few minutes, you can find the hallmark card that best expresses your thoughts. That's because hallmark cards are designed to say what you want to say, just the way you want to say it. And also because hallmark cards are sold in stores that have been carefully selected, where you will find stocks well arranged and easy to find displays, and where you are assured of quick and friendly service. So remember, there's a good reason why people everywhere look for that familiar hallmark on the back of any card they send or receive. It means you cared enough to send the very best. Now back to James Hilton and the second act of the story of Clara and Robert Schumann, starring Joan Fontaine. And so it is now with Clara Schumann. While the concert hall still echoes with applause, she relaxes quietly in her dressing room backstage. She has much to remember, and the memories come one after the other without effort, like notes of an old melody. I know how it grieved you, Robert, to be in conflict with my father. It was painful for you to see your old teacher stand there in court, to his hear is angry, and yet his aesthetic argument against our marriage. But the sorrow which you and I felt for that scene was erased by the judge's verdict. After five long years of waiting and longing, we were free to marry. It was on the very eve of my 21st birthday that we knelt at the altar of the church at Schoenfeld and joined our two lives forever. How you wrote music as you had never before, and I played it for you and for the people of Leipzig. Our first child was born, and then I returned again to the concert hall to play a joint recital with Franz Liszt. I still remember that long, hard rehearsal, and when it was over, Liszt walked across the stage to my piano. He stared down at me with those intense, dark eyes. But, Amsterdam, you and I have discovered a great secret. Oh, have we? I am the greatest janitor to us all over Europe. The critics say this, the public says this, and I agree naturally. But now, we have this secret. But what secret, here, Liszt? But the critics and the public go wrong. You and I are both the greatest. Oh, you are very kind, here, Liszt. Not kind, my girl. Only amaze. Tell your Robert that he must compose great works for your great... And the last year he's written over a hundred songs, and now he's working on a piano concerto and a symphony. A hundred songs, a concerto, a symphony? Where does he find such inspiration in? But I'm a fool to ask that. When here, she sits before me. Songs, symphonies, quartets, creos, the nutters, they flowed from your pen without stopping. You took success lightly for yourself and valued it only when it could help others. Clara, my dear, this evening I'm going to bring home a young friend of mine. He needs encouragement. I'm writing a magazine article about him. Oh, I'd love to meet him, dear. What's his name? You mark my words, Clara. One day his music will conquer all Europe. Darling, his name? Oh, Johannes Brahms. Tell the children they can stay up to meet him. The children. How much they meant to you. The serious, quiet Robert Schumann who threw away his dignity to play horse and rider with them or to leave them around the house in solemn parade. And in the evenings you would sit with one of the children in your lap while I played a lullaby. Mama. Yes, Julie? Did papa write that music just for us? For Marie and Elise and Enid? No, dear. You wrote it long before any of you were born. It's for all children everywhere. Clara, do you remember? I was thinking of it now. That night we listened to the band play in the park. I told you I was going to Vienna. And you were so frightened. Do you remember what I told you? With love there is no distance that can separate. There is no time that can weather. Oh, Robert. She's fallen asleep. How swiftly the years slip past when two people are happy. It seemed as if no cloud could darken the sky. But even happiness can be blind. But I thought you were asleep. Almost done. And I can't stop it. I can't. Darling, what's wrong? I keep hearing it day and night, day and night. I had shrieks with the sound of it. Always the same note. Dream fatigue. What else did he say? Until you're completely recovered, then it's been no more music. I'm not even to play the piano when you're hearing. No more music. It was like forbidding a bird to sing or an eagle to fly. Yet with rest, recovery did come. But only for a time. He's going to take you to the sanatorium. I'm ready. I want a rest. I'm coming with you, darling. I've canceled my recital. No, no. You must not. You must go on playing. You must keep my music alive until... until we can be together again. Promise me you will, Clara. Promise me. I promise, Robert. Until we can be together again. Shuman, if it is at all possible for you to leave London, I suggest that you come immediately to the sanatorium while there is still time. Is it night or is it only my eyes, the sky? Clear. Without a single cloud. The stars. You rest your head on my shoulder and you can watch them through the window. We've watched them so often together, haven't we? They never change, still so lovely. She walks in beauty like the night of cloudless climbs. Hey, sky. Shuman, and now what can I do for you? Yeah, Gerhard. I would like you to arrange another concert tour for me. Another? Forgive me, but so soon... Robert would have wished it. He didn't live to see his music, understood and loved as it should be. I want to take his work to every capital in Europe to play it in cities and villages. So long as his music sings in the hearts of men, Robert Shuman will never die. Then the tour will be arranged. I am honoured to serve such a magnificent artist and a magnificent woman. Art is long, Robert, and life is short. And now my work is almost done. Your music does sing in the hearts of men everywhere, as it has sung in mine through all these years. Madame Shuman. Yes, Gerhard. The audience will not let you go. Would you perhaps one more encore? Very well. May I make a suggestion, Madame Shuman? They have been calling for trauma. The audience is never tired of hearing you play it. Perhaps because it means so much to me, Gerhard. So very much. A few moments ago I made the statement that it's really very easy for all of us to show our thoughtfulness and appreciation of others, that the speed and convenience with which you can buy hallmark cards make it easy. You'll find another help to thoughtfulness if you get in the habit of carrying your hallmark date book with you and using it all during the year. If you haven't already received your date book present from the store where you buy hallmark cards, drop in tomorrow and ask for one. Your store will be grabbed to give you one whether you make a purchase or not. And as there is room for the names and addresses of all your friends in this handy little book, you'll find yourself referring to it all during the year, whenever you want to show your thoughtfulness to your friends. Another way to show your thoughtfulness is make sure the cards you send have that familiar hallmark on the back, for then your friends will know who cared enough to send the very best. Here again is James Hilton. It was certainly good to have you with us this evening, Joan, and thank you for a beautiful portrayal of Clara Schumann. Oh, I'm glad you liked it, Jimmy. I always enjoy the roles you ask me to play on a hallmark playhouse. How do you manage to get such interesting stories week after week? Oh, the world's full of interesting and courageous people, Joan, and to tell stories about them makes us especially happy because sometimes they can give us new heart of our own problems. New heart? Oh, I like that. No wonder I enjoy hallmark playhouse. It's like receiving an unexpected hallmark card from a friend. Always makes you feel gay and gives you new heart. Tell me, Jimmy, what are you having on hallmark playhouse next week? Next week on the eve of George Washington's birthday, we shall dramatize an exciting novel of the revolutionary days, Powder Mission, by Herbert E. Stover, and as our star, we shall be happy to have Barry Sullivan. Our hallmark playhouse is every Thursday. Our producer-director is Bill Gay. Our music is composed and conducted by David Rose, and our story tonight was written by Leonard St. Clair. Until next Thursday then, this is James Hilton saying, good night. And stores that have been carefully selected to give you expert and friendly service. Remember a hallmark card when you will carry enough to send the very best. Joan Fontaine will soon be seen in the Paramount picture of something to live for. The role of Robert Schumann was played tonight by Whitfield Conner, Ted DeCorsi was Professor Vick, Joseph Kearns was Gearhart, Ted Osburn Franslis, and a little girl was played by Kulet MacMahon. Every Sunday afternoon on television, hallmark cards present Sarah Churchill, who brings you the story of interesting people on the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Consult your local newspaper for time and station. This is Frank Goss saying, good night to you all until next week at the same time. When hallmark playhouse returns to Barry Sullivan in Herbert Eastover's powder mission, and the week following Harriet Fitz Ryan's Mother of the Groom starring Rue Posse, and the week after that Rupert Hughes' Man Without a Home on the Hallmark Playhouse. This is KMBC, Kansas City, Missouri.