 Family Theater's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention a practice that must become an important part of our lives, if we're 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. And not to our drama, May your Lord and Mrs. starring Walter Brennan as Henry. Here, bring the coffee cups in here, Jeff. Yes, dear. Jeff, set them on the sideboard there. That brother of yours is teens a lot. I bet all this chair ain't gonna get much attention. You and Henry can drink as much cold beer as you want. The coffee's for me and Wilma. Marie? Yes, Wilma? Are you sure they're in the pantry? Up on the second shelf under the oil paper. Oh yes, I see them. Wilma sure looks pretty tonight. Doesn't she, though? Oh, uh, will you hand me that potato salad, Jeff? Well, here. Yeah, I must say you two girls got the trap pretty well baited. Well, I don't know what you're talking about. You know good and well what I'm talking about. Henry, your poor unsuspecting brother who thinks he's coming back to Coltonville to live out his days in peace and quiet. Now, Henry is a very unhappy man. He's been living alone now for better than five years. Yeah, and if there's anything that brings blood to the eye of an unattached female, it's a contented widow. Oh, lower your voice. Do you want Wilma to hear you? She won't hear nothing she don't already know. Well, you seem to forget, Jefferson Gale, that Henry was caught in Wilma before you and I were married better than 20 years ago. Well, if she's not her chance to get him there, I say he ought to be declared off limits. And I'm saying if I know Henry, he doesn't want to be left alone. He's lonesome. Why do you think he sold his plumbing business in Hartford and decided to come back here? Well, probably to try to get rid of some Eastern female who had designs on him. Oh, little does he know. Wilma is not a designing female. If you must know, she doesn't like the idea of seeing Henry his first night home one single bit. Mm-hmm. I guess that's why she spent the whole afternoon down to the beauty poly having herself messed up real bad. So Henry won't like the looks of her. Oh, the beauty parlor was my idea. And if I say so myself, it did her proud. Well, I better get down to the station. Where's my hat? On the whole tree. Oh, say, Henry and I may be a little late. No stop-offs, Jeff, you promise. Yeah, but I feel a little flat tire coming on us. Jeff, you promise. You know, by golly, it does feel good to be home, Jeff. Enjoy it while you can, Henry. Enjoy it while you can. Enjoy it while I can. What do you mean? Oh, nothing. Not a thing in the world. Is anything wrong at the house? Marie's sick or something? No, no, Marie's fit as a fiddle. In fact, sometimes I think she's got too much energy. Well, then what's the matter? We're friendly brothers-in-law, you can tell me. Well, maybe it ain't my business, Henry, but, well, did you have any special reason for coming back here to Coltonville to live? Yes, Jeff, I don't mind admitting it. I want to get married again. You what? Jeff, look out, look out, look out. Henry, don't play jokes on me like that while I'm riding. Well, I'd like to stop my heart beating. I'm not joking. Jeff, what's the matter with you? I just can't seem to believe it. You can't believe I want to get married again. What's so strange about it? But, Henry, you've been married once. Don't you remember what it's like? I certainly do. 15 of the happiest years of my life. I didn't even appreciate how happy I was at the time. I've gone five years without that kind of companionship, and I'm not going any longer. Suit yourself, Henry. Got anyone in mind? I have. You remember a girl I used to go around with by the name of Wilma Phillips? Oh, no, this is too much. What's the matter now? Wilma Phillips is sitting in our parlor. There's very minute just waiting for you to poke your unsuspecting nose through the door. Are you serious? Yes, I tell you, Marie's fixin' to marry you. Marry you off to Wilma. She figures you got away from her once 20 years ago, but this time... I didn't get away. It was Wilma that kept holding back all the time, and if Wilma's finally agreeable, after all these years, then so am I. That's them. All right, Wilma. I just saw the car swing into the driveway. Oh, Marie, now that Henry's here, I'm glad you stopped fussin' Wilma. I want to go home. Oh, Marie, I'm scared. Oh. What if he doesn't like me? Here they are. Now you look pretty, and stop blinkin' at everything, Wilma. You aren't somethin' to see. How are you, sis? Oh, I'm fine. Just fine. Henry, you're not near as bald as you look in your picture. Well, this is my second childhood, you know. Maybe it's startin' to grow back in again. Henry, you remember Wilma. You bet I do. How are you, Wilma? Well, I'm just fine, Henry. And you? Oh, I'm fine. Just fine. That's what I call gettin' off to good start. Now, who's ready for a cold bottle of beer? Oh, can't you ever get your mind out of the refrigerator? Well, it's a long, hot drive out here from downtown. Something cool would taste good, Jeff. How about you, Wilma? Oh, not as yet, Henry. Thank you. Well, that's too anyhow, wife. No. Come on out in the kitchen with me. I just remembered a good story. Oh, I've heard your story. Well, you ain't heard this one. Come on. Oh, if you weren't the most unsubtle, heavy-handed man I ever saw, Jeff. Simmer down, simmer down. I'll make you a nice peanut butter sandwich. You know, I guess Jeff must think that, well, that I wanted to talk to you alone. Yes. Well, he's right, Wilma. I do. Oh. Yes, and I might as well get right to it. I've been living alone the better part of five years now. I know, Henry. We were terribly sorry when we heard about your wife. You never did meet Evelyn, did you? No. Well, we drove here, through here, better part of August. She was about 12 years ago, one summer on the trip out. Yes, I remember how Marie told me I was working over in Cedar Falls then. Marie was just crazy about her Evelyn. Yeah. She was a lot like you, Wilma. A lot like you. I think she'd approved. Approved? Yeah, of you and me getting married. Married? Oh, my gracious. Henry, you have been here five minutes. Well, what's five minutes got to do with it? I started asking you to marry me better than 20 years ago. But I'd like to think about it. Think about it? Wilma, I'm getting older every minute. What's there to think about? Well, we haven't known each other for years. Well, that's no fault of mine. If you'd married me the first time I asked you, well, we'd be pretty well acquainted by now. Well, that's a very unfair thing to say, Henry. You think you're being fair, putting me off to a better part of two years? Apparently you recovered quickly enough. You hadn't been East for six months before you found someone else. Yes, and I wouldn't have been married in half that time if it hadn't been that Evelyn was such a staller. She was a lot like you. Oh, Henry. Jeff just told me. I knew you had a reason for coming back here. I just knew it. Wilma, what did I tell you? Marie. Welcome back into the club, brother. I guess a man just can't be smart and happy all at the same time. Yeah, well, maybe you'd better stash away those congratulations for a while, Jeff. Oh, what's the matter? Well, it turns out I've been just a little too impulsive. Wilma, what's he talking about? He's talking about me. I just don't like being stampeded into things. Stampeded, she says. Twenty years. Twenty years. It's five minutes. You haven't been in this house long enough to smoke a cigar, and you want us to pick up where we left off just as if nothing had happened. I'm not asking you to pick up anything. I made you a bona fide proposal of marriage. Yeah, very romantic, too. This may be your idea of a proposal, Henry, but it's not mine. Well, how do you like that? I said it wrong. That's right. Said it. You didn't ask me. You just said it. You said you thought your first wife would approve of our getting married. No, let's leave Evelyn out of this. Well, I didn't bring her into it. You did, too. Bring her into it. Just started by saying you was sorry to hear she passed on. Well, I was, and I am. And what's more, I'm getting sorry every minute. Now look here, folks. This won't help. That's all I wanted to hear. The offer's withdrawn. Now look. Wilma, don't run off like that. Let it go. Let it go if she don't want to get married. There's plenty who do. Yes, and I know that you'll find someone who's just your type. You bet I will. And if you don't think so, just watch me. Your breakfast, Jeff, it's getting late. I was just noticing. There's nothing in the world stairs back at you like two fried eggs and a blue willow plate. Oh, you better cut them up before you're hypnotized. I'll do it. By the way, ain't Henry down yet? Yes, down and out. He wanted to get over to the post office early. Say, what is that brother of yours up to? He got more mail in the last week than Santa Claus could handle. He hasn't told me and I haven't asked him. Wilma's cold any better? She hasn't got a cold. She's broken hard. And all I got to say is that... Henry's back. Good morning, Jeff. Marie. Morning. Beautiful morning. Good morning, Henry. How about some eggs? Yeah, thanks, Jeff. I will. Good grief, Henry. Does he get all those letters down at the post office just now? Yeah. You please pass the pepper, Jeff. Oh, yes. Here, there you are. Were they all for you? Mm-hmm. Those letters all for you. Yeah. Most of it forwarded from Hartford, Henry? Nope. Oh. All right. You're burning with curiosity, so I'll tell you. These letters are all responses to an advertisement I ran in the Chicago paper lot Sunday. An advertisement? For what? For a wife. A wife? You advertise in the newspapers for a wife? Well, I'll be dug. I'll be dug. Why, it's nothing to laugh about. What's wrong with advertising for a wife in the papers? People do it for everything else, to sell houses, buy used cars, get in touch with lost relatives. But you don't buy and sell wives. No, but you've got to get in touch with them. And then add in the newspaper shows you mean business. Look at some of these letters here, Marie. Don't tell me advertising doesn't get results. Oh, it's the most scandalous thing I ever heard. Here, listen to this one. Dear Mr. X, I didn't give my name. I am 5 feet 5 and weigh 132 pounds. My age is 41 and my friends say I am an excellent cook. My lamps, too, and hot biscuits are the talk of the town. Enclosed is a recent snapshot of me. Say, take a look at that. Here, let me look. She looks like a pretty well-kept 41 to me. Let me see that. Fifty if she's a day. Oh, that's not the best one. Not by a long shot. Look at this picture I got yesterday. All the way from Boston. Jumping. Gee, that's a blonde. And just 35. Prima life. Prima life. Why, you two old goats. That girl's much too young. She ought to be ashamed of herself. Marie, I better tell you right now that I've telegraphed her an invitation to come out here and visit me. That blonde? Miss Adele Fitzgibbons. I won't have her in this house. I didn't expect you to. I reserved her a room for tomorrow night down at Morris and if Miss Fitzgibbons and I find ourselves mutually agreeable, well, we'll take the plunge. Otherwise, I'll keep right on looking. Marie, I can't believe it. Yes, yes, I can. It's just like Henry, conducting a courtship through the classified ad section. I came over as fast as I could, Wilma. Now the question is, what are you going to do about this? Do I marry this blonde woman from Boston? I can't marry her before she gets here and she ain't doing till tomorrow night. Now that gives us 24 hours. It's hopeless. Oh, nothing's hopeless if you keep your wits working. It's too late, too late. I've lost him. Now you listen to me, Wilma Phillips. Do you or do you not want to marry my brother Henry? I'd love to. Well, are you willing to fight for him? Fight? Yes. That's all I want to know. Now you reach into that desk drawer and get out of him and some paper. Well, what do you want me to write? A letter in response to this newspaper advertisement of Henry's. It's getting on to 8.30. If we're going to be on time for that train, we'll have to take a leg. Be right down. Just put them on my necktie. What are you looking so chipper about, dear? Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking, Henry's going to have his hands full at that train station if they both show up at once. Both? Oh, you mean that mystery woman he got the letter from this morning? She won't be on that train. You wait and see. Boy, he wired her in Chicago to come down, didn't he? Yeah, but from the way her letters read, I don't think she'll stack up as good against Adele. Oh, now it's Adele. She's going to be one of the family, isn't she? Now, don't be too sure. Don't be too sure. Well, unless the Chicago entry is a real dish, I don't give her much chance. You don't, hey? You may be in for a surprise. Surprise. Listen, Terry, if I'd known 20 years ago, you could get results like this through the mail order. How do I look? I can hardly hear what you're saying over the sound of that necktie. Oh, you think it's too loud? Oh, it ain't anything of the kind, Henry. Them hand-painted ones are supposed to be lively. Well, I wired that Chicago woman. I'd be wearing this kind of a tie at the station. Oh. So she'll recognize me in case she's on the train tonight. What's she going to be wearing, a Japanese lantern? No, I told her a carnation. You know, it didn't occur to me until after I sent the telegram that she and Adele might be on the same train. Yeah, there's only one that comes through here to Coltonville on Saturdays, you know. If you wasn't in such a big rush to marry yourself off, you wouldn't be in this fix. Well, it's too late to do anything about it now, but cross my fingers. Go on. She'll look at the time. Say that train's due in five minutes. Come on, folks. Let's go. Looks like everybody still turns out to see the 840. Come in, don't it? Yeah, it's a high point on Saturday evening. Post got to doing it for entertainment during the Depression. Just never broke the heart. Here comes the train. Well, Henry, won't be long now. Henry, have you got any idea who this woman who wrote you from Chicago might be? Well, she didn't say too much in the letter, Marie, except that she's originally came from downstate here and a lack of chance to move back. Oh, and you're keeping an open mind about her, aren't you? Well, I'm trying to, but I must admit a certain partiality to mis-forgiveness. Now, you remember, Henry, beauty is only skin deep. Maybe she comes, Henry. No, we've got to get down to the other end of the planet, have folks. Hey, wait for me! Wait for me! You see any sign of Adele, Jennifer? No, no, no. There's a whole zoo of people getting off the other end of the car, but... Henry, look! Isn't that woman coming down the stairs here, wearing a carnation? Well, I'll be docked. Well, sure enough, looks that way. Say, she looks familiar. She ought to. Why, why, it's Wilma. Wilma! I saw your ad in the paper, Henry. Oh, my gosh. I tried to find a white carnation, but all the ones they had were yellow. I shut. She didn't have to have to go to all that trouble. If you still want me to marry you, Henry, I'd be proud and honored to... Wilma, there's nothing in the world I want more. Oh, what did I tell you, girl? What did I tell you? Oh, Henry, I've been so foolish and proud. Henry, look. There she is. Oh, my gosh, Adele. Jeff, you get that woman right back on the train. Go ahead, Jeff. I'll climb aboard and explain things to her in a minute. All right. I'll try to stall her. Well, who's Adele? Oh, she's just some woman who wrote me a letter. She doesn't mean a thing to me. But, Henry... I tell you, she doesn't mean that to me. Oh, the poor dear. She's one of the women who answered your ad, isn't she? Well, yeah, I invited her to come down here and... Of course I understand. Go to her, Henry. I can imagine how she must feel. Okay, I'll be back in a couple of minutes. And get that husband of mine off the train before it starts up again. I will. Hurry, Jeff. Excuse me, please. I just want to climb aboard for a minute, too. Jeff. Oh, Jeff. Calm down. Calm down, Henry. Did you explain to her what happened? Sure, sure. How'd she take it? Just dandy. She said $200 is more than she can make in a whole week acting in television. As far as that goes, I guess she's just as glad she didn't have to get off the train and go through all that make-believe we had rigged up, huh? I gotta hand it to you, Henry. I never thought Marie would go for that hocus-pocus about the classified ad in a million years. Well, I knew I had to do something to build a fire on the woman. So, you know, she's the witness woman I ever did see. Say, we gotta get off this thing. You remember now, Jeff. Keep a straight face. No laughing. Oh, don't fret yourself, son. I enjoy a good laugh as much as the next fellow, but I'm not going to let any part of this joke get back to Marie. Jefferson Gale? Yes, dear. Yes, dear. Oh, Henry. Is it all right? Did she understand? Yes, she understood perfectly, woman, and she wished us all the luck in the world. Oh, I'm so happy to hear that. Yeah, this is a nice, clean job all around. Oh, now all you've got to do is name the day, Wilma. Yes. Well, I was thinking... Say, Wilma, how about driving over to Murphy's first thing tomorrow morning? We can pick up the license at the city hall. First thing tomorrow? Why, sure. Marie can be the maid of honor. Henry, we just got engaged. Oh, now don't tell me that you... Wilma, you're not going to start stalling again. Well, I'm not stalling at all. We just got engaged. I don't have a ring. We haven't even announced it in the papers. The papers? Yes, the papers. Don't you think I want my friends to know I'm getting married? I tell you, a man can't win. A man simply cannot win. But, Wilma, it's perfectly right, Henry. You'll have to pick out a nice place in town here to live. I know some of the girls will want to give me a shower. Yes, and then there's all the invitations to send out. All right, all right. I give up. Now, you boys go bring the car around. We'll go back to our place and have some refreshments while we're making all the plans. Come on, Wilma. Come on, Henry. You know something, Jim? Yep. Those two women weren't fooled for a minute. Well, maybe for a minute, but not much longer. You know there's something downright spooky about the way they always managed to get the upper hand. Welcome back to the club, brother. Yeah. You know, it's funny. Well, all of a sudden, I feel like I've never even been away. This is Elizabeth Scott again. You know, there's an old saying we've all heard. John Donn said it a long time ago. No man is an island unto himself. Or to put it another way, no one can live in a vacuum. We depend on one another much as we strive for independence and even pride ourselves in it. It only takes a little sorrow, a little pain, a little poverty, a little fear to make us realize how much we need the help of others. And if we depend on our neighbor for support, how much more should we look to our maker on whom all of us depend? We need God's help every minute of the day. And if we're wise, we'll acknowledge that need by praying to him daily with our families. We won't wait for sickness or sorrow, but we'll make family prayer a normal natural part of our daily lives because we know and believe that the family that prays together stays together. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Family Theater has brought you Mail Order Misses starring Walter Brennan. Elizabeth Scott was your hostess. Others in our cast were Irene Tedro, Gail Bonney and Leo Cleary. The script was written by John T. Kelly 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 be with us next week when Family Theater will present The Heart Also Sees starring Gene Crane and Maureen O'Sullivan. Join us, won't you? Cast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network. This is the mutual broadcasting system.