 Vicks presents the matinee theater production of Rebecca the makers of Vicks vapor up Vicks Vaternall Vicks cough drops and Vicks inhaler brings you the matinee theater today while Victor Jory is vacationing for one week. We bring you the great play that so many of you have been asking for Daphne de Morier's Rebecca featuring Gertrude Warner as the second Mrs. de Winter Blanche Yerke as Mrs. Danvers and Martin Gable as Maxine. Now here's a good thing to remember when you catch a cold. The best known home remedy for relieving miseries of colds is Vicks vapor up. And now Rebecca. When Maxine asked me to marry him I could not believe that anything so incredibly beautiful was happening to me. He had been staying at a hotel on the Riviera where I'd been acting as companion to an American woman. We'd spent a lot of time together but actually I knew very little about Maxine beyond the fact that he'd been married to one of the most fabulous beauties of England. Rebecca de Winter who had died about a year before. He never said I love you. He only said will you marry me but I married him gladly and happily and he brought me home to his greatest state, Manderley, a shy awkward girl in a stockinette dress. I was considered an intruder at Manderley. Mrs. Danvers the housekeeper made that very apparent from the moment I arrived. Mrs. Danvers, I hope we can be friends. Friends, madam. I came here when the first Mrs. de Winter was a bride. I'm afraid I find it a little hard to visualize someone else here and her place. I'm afraid everyone who comes to Manderley will find that a little hard. You see, she planned everything in this house and outside it, the gardens, lawns, furnishings. Everywhere you look there's something to say, Rebecca. I started my married life with those words ringing in my ears, nervous, frightened, wanting desperately to become a part of Manderley and Maxine's life but never knowing quite how. In the weeks that fun had a shadow cast across them, the shadow of Rebecca, came back on the knoll. They seemed a hideous nightmare that I lived in the daytime and dreamt about at night. Oh, Maxine darling, look at those azaleas, they're beautiful. I'd never believe they'd grow this close to the beach. No one believed they would. Rebecca had them planted. You're going for a walk, madam. Yeah, throw these coat around your shoulders. It's too long for me. Yes, it was Rebecca's. She was very tall, you know, tall and stately. She walked like a queen. Mr. DeWinter never used to be able to take his eyes off her. Maxine, I passed a cottage away on the beach today. The door was unlocked, so I went in. You went in? You went in? It wasn't locked. I don't want you ever to go near that cottage again. That was Rebecca's cottage. You've no business there. Beautiful here in the morning room, isn't it? Mrs. DeWinter picked out every ornament for herself. I remember she brought back that cupid on the mantle from Paris as a present for Mr. DeWinter. I remember the card. It just said, to Maxine, for now and for ever, from Rebecca. You're tossing terribly in your sleep. You kept crying, no, no. Were you having a bad dream? Yes, I was having a terrible dream. Well, Maxine, put your arms around me. Hold me close. All right, darling. Oh, Maxine, you know what I wish. What? I wish I was 35 years old and that I had a black satin dress with ropes of pearls to wear with it that went clear down to my waist. Why on earth should you wish that? Because then I should be very wise and very sophisticated, and I would know all the right things to say and do. Darling, you know why I married you. Why, Maxine? Because you're not 35 dressed in pearls and black satin. Because you're not sophisticated or too wise. Because you're young and sweet, with a very lost look to you, and because you're completely honest. Maxine, you do love me, don't you? No. You, you aren't so... So you married me. Darling, what's got into you anyhow? Have I said anything or done anything to make you think I was sorry? Well... No, it's, it's just that I know what a wonderful mistress of memory the First Mrs. de Winter was, and I know that I could never measure up to her. In the name of heaven, why do you keep eternally clapping on Rebecca? Don't you understand? I can't bear to think about her or talk about her. Yes, Maxine. Of course I understand. I'm very sorry. Long after Maxine had gone to sleep, I lay there thinking the sick dread growing inside me that Maxine still loved Rebecca and that I would never be able to take her place. About a week later I was in the morning room talking to Maxine's overseer and old friend, Frank Crawley. I had picked up the small cupid Rebecca had given Maxine and was fingering it nervously. Frank, what actually happened to the First Mrs. de Winter? Rebecca? Well, she went sailing one night when the day was a little rough, her boat capsized and sank. She was washed overboard. Couldn't anyone get to her? Nobody knew that she'd gone. She often went out alone like that. How long afterwards did they find her? About two months near Edgecone, 40 miles up Channel. Maxine went up to identify her. Frank, would you tell me just one thing? Very honestly? I'll try. Was Rebecca very beautiful? Yes. She was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life. Frank! Frank! I've broken the cupid. Here. Help me pick up the pieces. Quick before Mrs. Danvers comes in. What a shame. Watch out. You don't cut yourself. Here. Here. We'll put them in an envelope. Maybe no one will miss the cupid. Oh, I don't think it matters very much. It does. It does. It was Rebecca's. Here. Have we got all the pieces? I'll put the envelope in back of these books. I hope no one misses it. Mrs. de Winter, this is your house. It doesn't matter if you break something. Oh, no, Frank. This is Rebecca's house. It matters very much. You'll see. It matters very much. Why do you do such strange things? Why the devil did you hide the pieces of that ornament in an envelope for Mrs. Danvers to find like an in-between maid? Because I'm like an in-between maid, I guess. I'm all wrong here, somehow. Perhaps you are. Perhaps I did a very selfish thing in marrying you. I'm not much of a companion to you, am I? Maxine, please don't say those things. I'm very happy. No, you're not. You're thinner. You've lost weight. No, you're not. You're thinner. You've lost your color. I haven't had much chance to amuse you. You should have someone closer to your own age. Our marriage isn't much of a success, is it? Do you want me to go away, Maxine? I don't know what I want. Maxine, I'm sorry about the cubit. I know Rebecca gave it to you. I thought you would be able to adjust yourself to Mandalay. But it just hasn't happened, has it? I walked from the room, fighting back the tears. I was sure then there was no hope that it had always been Rebecca for Maxine, and that it always would be. That afternoon I went up to the west wing to her room. It was quite dark because a low fog had rolled in from the sea. I stood close to the door, glancing all about that shadowy room, my heart pounding. It looked as though she had left it for an instant before. There were flowers on the dressing table and by the bed. A dressing-gum lay on a chair and a pair of bedroom slippers beneath it. I began to feel a little faint, and then... I saw you come up. I've been ready to show this room to you every day, you had only to ask. It's a lovely room, isn't it? Yes. Lovely. I keep the golden coverlet on the bed always. It was her favorite. I did everything for her, you know. No one can take care of me but you, Danny, she used to say. You'd never think that she had been gone now for so long, would you? You can feel her in every room in the house, can't you? Yes. Sometimes when I walk along the corridor, I fancy I hear her just behind me. That quick, light footsteps sometimes I think I hear the sweep of her dress coming down to dinner. Why do you hate me so? What have I ever done that you should hate me so? You tried to take her place. You. You thought you could make him happy. He is happy. Oh, he is happy. You know he isn't. I wanted to look at his eyes. He's looked like that ever since she died. She's the real Mrs. DeWinter, not you. She's still Mistress here. It's you that the shadow and the ghost. It's you that's forgotten and not wanted and pushed aside. Why don't you leave Mandalay to her? Why don't you go? He doesn't want you. He wants to be alone in a house with her. It's you that ought to be dead, not Rebecca. Let me show you how easy it would be. Come over to the window. Look, look down there. Why don't you jump? It wouldn't hurt. It's a quick, kind way. You're not happy. Mr. DeWinter doesn't love you. There's not much for you to live for, is there? Why don't you jump now and have done with it? Then you won't be unhappy anymore. It is true. He doesn't want me. It's always been Rebecca. Rebecca! Rebecca! Go on. Don't be afraid. I wouldn't be unhappy anymore. I could forget Rebecca. I wouldn't have to think about Rebecca anymore. Rebecca! Rebecca! Rebecca! Rebecca! explosion! What happened, Mrs. Denvers? They're shooting up rockets. There must be a ship gone ashore in the bay. Mrs. Denvers, Mrs. Denvers, the ship's gone ashore. They've been eating you downstairs. Would you like to stay here for a time, madam? No, Mrs. Denvers. I'm going downstairs. I've seen all I intend to see of Rebecca's womb. In just a moment, we'll bring you the second act of Rebecca. Of all the winter day worries that a mother bears, one of the peskiest is the problem of children's coals. But fortunately, most mothers agree on one thing. 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Remember, only vapor rub gives you this special penetrating, stimulating action. The best-known home remedy for relieving miseries of coals, vicks, vapor rub. And now, the second act of Rebecca. When the divers went down to help get the distress ship off the rocks, they found a small boat at the brim of the coal, and they saw what appeared to be a body through one of the portholes. They started work immediately to bring the boat to the surface. Our story of Rebecca continues. I stood by the window, waiting for Maxim to come up from the beach. And somehow, I had changed in the last hours. I was a child any longer, and I wasn't afraid of Rebecca. It was as though she and I had at last met face-to-face in that bedroom. She had done her best to destroy me and failed. At long last, Maxim came virally into the library. Hello, darling. Did you hear? They think they found Rebecca's boat. I know. Darling, don't feel that you have to go through this alone. Let me share it with you. Oh, my dear. I must send you away from Mandalay. There was only a slim chance for happiness for us in the beginning, but I took the chance and gambled on it. Well, we lost the gamble, my sweet. I'd try harder. I think I could be a better wife now. I think I could run Mandalay. Don't you understand, they found Rebecca's boat. Maxim, she's dead. She's loving you so desperately. Loving her? What did you say? Oh, my dear, I know you still love her, Walter. Are you mad? I hated Rebecca. She was vicious and rotten to the core. We never had one day of happiness together. Maxim. So that's what's been between us. I thought you'd regret in marrying me because I was so much older than you. Oh, I wish we'd been able to talk to one another before. What does it matter? Let us be grateful that we do know now. Don't you realize what I'm saying to you? I killed Rebecca. You know, when I married her, people told me I was the luckiest man in the world. Lucky. I found out all about her five days after we were married. She told me about herself. She stood there laughing and told me things I would never repeat to a living soul. She knew I'd never divorce her a week after our marriage. She knew I was too proud for that. Of course. I'm not going to tell you about those years. The lies, the deceit. Some weekends, she spent in London to summon the little beach cottage. She had a cousin named Jack Favel. A rudder, if there ever was one. He began to come here. One night, I suddenly couldn't stand it any longer. I took my revolver and I went down to the cottage. I thought Favel would be with her there, but she was alone. She looked strange. I told her the bargain was finished. We had to get a divorce. She said that was impossible. She said, I'm going to have a baby, Max. And neither you nor anyone else in the world will ever be able to prove he isn't yours. He'll grow up here at Manderley, bearing your name. And I'll be the perfect mother. As I've been the perfect wife. Then she started to laugh. When I shot her, she was laughing still. Oh, Max, Max. I carried her out to the boat. It was very dark. There was no moon. I laid her body in the cabin. I got the boat underway. Then I took a spike and drove three holes into the planks and the bottom boards. I climbed into the dinghy and pulled away. Suddenly, the boat keeled over and went down. That was all. I've never been able to forget her smile of the way she looked at me before she died. She knew she would win in the end. Sometimes I even think she wanted me to kill her. Oh, my darling. What a terrible thing for you. What a heartbreaking thing. You see, that's why it's too late for you and me. No, it's not too late. Rebecca is dead. She can't speak. She can't harm you anymore. Her body just integrates in water. They won't find the bullet. They won't know she was shot. Nobody knows, but you and I would happen that night. Rebecca will win. You'll see. Even now, Rebecca will win. The inquest was held a few days later. I thought I'd stay in the car and wait for Maxim. But after an hour or so waiting, I had to go in. I sat down just by the door in the back of the room. James Tebb, the boat builder from the village, was standing up now, and the coroner was questioning him. She was a rich fishing boat originally. Had the boat ever been known to capsize before? No, she was a stout sea-worthy boat and could stand a lot of wind. And she didn't capsize this time. Why do you say that? When that boat was pulled up, I examined every corner of her. She had sunk on sandy bottom. There wasn't the mark of a rock on her. But there were three holes in her planking. Well... That boat never capsized at all. She was scuttled. The heat came up from the floor in slow, flickering ways. I felt deathly ill. And then Frank Crawley helped me outside. He brought me home and went back to the inquest. I fell into an uneasy sleep in the morning room. When I woke, I heard voices from the library. Maxim's and his strangers. I went slowly in. No, you're not welcome in this house for very long. I came to congratulate you on the result of the inquest. Will you leave this place or shall I throw you out? Oh, hello, dear. Maxim, the inquest. What happened? Well, I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting the second Mrs. de Winter. This is Mr. Favela, Rebecca's cousin. How do you do? The verdict was suicide. Suicide? Rebecca no more committed suicide than I did. Let me read you both a note I received from Rebecca the day she died. Dear Jack, I tried to ring you at the London flat but could get no answer. I'm going to Mandalay right away. I've something to tell you and I want to see you as soon as possible. I'll wait for you at the cottage on the beach, Rebecca. Does that sound to you like the note of someone who was contemplating suicide that night? Why didn't you give that note to the jury this afternoon? Why, Max, I bear no malice, don't you? In fact, I have a proposition for you. If I had a settlement of, say, two or three thousand pounds a year for life, I could jog along quite comfortably and I'd never trouble you again. I swear I wouldn't. Darling, please phone Colonel Julian. Ask him to come here at once. All right, Max. You wouldn't dare call in the police. I've got enough evidence in this note to hang. Call Colonel Julian, darling, and ask him to come at once. I tell you, Colonel Julian, Rebecca never killed herself. Rebecca was murdered. And there's the murderer standing there with that rotten, superior smile on his face. Mr. Maxim de Winter Mandalay. And Mr. Favel, there's not the slightest you shouting at me. If you expect to make any sort of point at all, you'll have to control yourself. Now, you say you were going to marry your cousin Rebecca had she lived and that you often had secret meetings with her at the cottage on the beach. Can you prove that? Yes, I can prove it. Max, will you ask Mrs. Danvers to come here? Of course. Mrs. Danvers, Colonel Julian would like to ask you some questions. Yes, sir. And Mrs. Danvers, were you aware of the relationship between Mr. Favel and the late Mrs. de Winter? I don't think I understand. Oh, you can speak freely, Danny. Rebecca was in love with me, wasn't she? She was not. What? She wasn't in love with you or any other man. I've known her to come back here and rock with laughter at a lot of you. Mrs. Danvers, we're trying to find the motive for Mrs. de Winter's suicide. Can you think of any reason why she should have taken her life? No, sir. I cannot. Of course you can't. Rebecca was murdered. Mrs. Danvers, have you any idea how she spent that last day in London? Yes, sir. I have her appointment book here. Here it is, sir. June 4th. Good. June 4th. Hair, 10.30. 12 o'clock lunch at the club. 12.45. Dr. Baker. Who is Dr. Baker? A woman specialist in London. Well, phone him at once. Mrs. de Winter, would you mind? No, of course not. I'll put through the call at once. I went slowly across the library. My heart pounding. My hands like ice. Everything seemed to be coming to an end. Dr. Baker would tell them Rebecca was going to have a baby and there would be no question of suicide. Yes, Rebecca would win, after all. There's your call, Colonel Julian. Thank you. Hello? Hello, Dr. Baker. Please forgive this very unorthodox call at such an hour. I'm Colonel Julian. Chief Constable for the Countess's Court. Goodbye, sir. All right. Here is what Dr. Baker had to say. Mrs. de Winter consulted him first in May. He took some X-ray photographs. When she went again on June 4th, he told her that she was suffering from a malignant disease which was quite incurable. That's what she was going to tell you that night at the cottage for Vell. There's the motive for her suicide. Mr. de Winter, madam, I wish to give notice. I would like to leave Mandalay tonight. Just as you wish, Mrs. Danvers. There's nothing to keep me here any longer. There's nothing left of Rebecca. I used to think she still moved about these rooms. But now she seems completely gone. You are a mistress here now, Mrs. de Winter. Yes, Mrs. Danvers. I am a mistress here now. That funny little lost look I love so much is gone. Of course. I'm not a child any longer. This is my home and you are my husband. It's time I grew up and took care of you both. It's time there were children at Mandalay and laughter and contentment and peace. These things will happen now? Yes, these things will happen. We're home now with the rest of our lives before us. I love you, Mrs. de Winter. Mr. de Winter, I love you forever. In just a moment, an important message from Mr. Gable. You know, my friends, the war has caused many shortages. In many cases it has made the use of substitutes necessary. But this is not true of that famous family stand-by, Vicks Vapo Rub. There are no wartime substitutes in the Vapo Rub you buy. Although some of the countries that supplied us with aromatics and medications were taken by the enemy, we found new sources. As a result, there are no wartime substitutes in Vapo Rub. It is the same fine, effective Vapo Rub. The same high quality you enjoyed before the war. The best-known home remedy for relieving miseries of colds. Time-tested, home-proved Vicks Vapo Rub. Next week after a well-end vacation, Victor Joy will be back in one of the finest plays that Gene Halloway has ever written. A love story of the South and of music that has become part of the heartbeat of America. Beautiful dreamer, the romance of Stephen Collins Foster. Our production today was based on the famous Daphne de Morier's story of Rebecca and was adapted by Gene Halloway and directed by Richard Sanville. Daphne de Morier's play, Rebecca, presented by Victor Paine Jennings is one of the newest hits on Broadway featuring Bramble Fletcher, Florence Reed and Diana Barrymore. Music for this series is under the direction of Mark Warnold. Be sure to be with us next week when Vicks, the makers of Vicks Vapo Rub, Vicks Vatronol, Vicks Coffdrops and Vicks Inhaler brings you the matinee theater production of Beautiful Dreamer, starring Victor Joy. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.