 From Hollywood, the Hollywood Radio Theatre. Ladies and gentlemen, your producer, Mr. Irving Cummings. Greetings from Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen. There's an old saying, God made the country, man made the town. And in tonight's play, Wait Till the Sunshine's Nelly, we will tell you the story of a man who fell in love with a small town and planned his whole life around it. But forgot that other people make plans too. As our stars of this very moving comedy drama from 20th Century Fox, we have the original stars, David Wayne and Jean Peter. Now, Wait Till the Sunshine's Nelly, starring David Wayne as Ben, and Jean Peter as Nelly. The year was 1896. We'd been married almost five hours, Nelly and I. We were on a train now, going to Chicago. It was night, raining. Dan, do you hear what the train wheels are saying? They're saying, Chicago, Chicago. Oh, Dan, I never dreamed I could be so happy. From the way you keep looking out that window, you can't see anything, honey, just blackness and rain. I don't care. For once, I'm traveling. And even if I can't see, I can look. Oh, Dan, I love you. Put your hat on, honey. My hat? Yeah, you heard the conductor next stop, Seville, Illinois. We're getting off, Nelly. But we're going to Chicago. But right now, we're getting off at Seville, Illinois. But what for? Well, it's a surprise. Come on, honey. We'll see about our baggage. Yes, I had a surprise for Nelly. It included a ten-minute walk through the rain over to Main Street. Ben, why'd you say this whistle stop was called? Seville, Illinois. It's just a little town, honey, but it's... When's the next train out of here? About midnight, not much further, Nelly. Just down the block. I'll count slowly to ten and we'll be there. One, two, three. I can't see a thing with this umbrella in front of my face. Yeah, but this rain's good for the crop. Well, I'm glad it's good for something. We're here, Nelly. Now, hang onto my arm and close your eyes. Why? What's there to see? You just stand here while I light the lamp. All right. Open your eyes and take a look. It's a barber shop. Not just a shop, Nelly. You see that sign on the window? Professor... Ben, how could you tell I'm sorry, old parlor? Oh, no. You didn't, Ben. You didn't. It's all new, Nelly. Everything's new. Now, look over here. You see this door? Now, look where it leads to. This is where we're gonna live, Nelly, and it's all ready for us. It's our home. Our home and our life. The cargo isn't in it. That's right. New York. That isn't in it either. No, no, but this is the way ahead, Nelly. You wait and see. But I guess I've got to. My honeymoon. I never thought I'd spend my honeymoon in a barber shop. What's better than this? A business of our own, a fine town to grow up with? I'll tell you what's better, what you promised me. You said you'd take me to Chicago. You traveled, you've seen things, but I did no place I've seen nothing. Nelly. Hold me, then. Hold me. Then, uh, tell me the truth. You didn't buy this place. You only rented it, didn't you? Uh, rented? Sure, sure, Nelly. That's all just just rented. I know when you kiss me. I guess it doesn't make much difference where I am. But keep kissing me. I aim to practice this constantly. Who are you? I guess you didn't hear me come in. Welcome to our city, Professor. I'm Ed Jordan, Hardware and Farm Employment. I'd like you to meet Mrs. Halper. Magnificent. Beautiful, and just what we need. Get your shop, that is. Ben, I... I'll go on in. Good night, Mrs. Jordan. It's the name. Well, Professor, how about a nice, easy shave? I wasn't aiming to open until morning. I have to heat up the water. Take your time. I got nothing else to do, but go home to the wife. Nelly? Fine, Ben. And where are you from, Professor? Well, now you name it, and that's where I've been. I've been on a tramp barber up till now. You all right there? Fine, Nelly, fine. There was a matter with you, too. Nothing why. You seem kind of nervous, don't you? Well, sir, we got married this evening. This evening? Well, why didn't you tell me? I'll let you shave me in the morning. I wish you every... can you be a bliss, Professor? Well, thank you. Oh, and put out the light. The sum and sum might not be as sensitive as I am. You know, I think you're right. Good night, Ed. Nelly, it's all right, honey. He's gone now. Hey, where are you? Nelly, you're not still mad at me, are you? Maybe. Well, you're just tired, honey. I'm not tired. I'm... I know I promised to take you to Chicago and all those other places, and I'm still promising, but honey, you've got to go to those places at the right time. Well, what's wrong with now? Well, when I take you to Chicago and New York City and Paris, France, I want to take you in style. Show you everything the best way. Well, just don't go with me. That's all that counts. And if you don't like the Illinois, okay. Tomorrow morning, we'll go to Chicago. Not the way I want to go, but we'll go. I guess it... it does take time, and planning, and... I'll wait a little while. I'm sorry I got married. Oh, man, I love you so much. The next day, the barbershop was crowded from morning till night. I met some fine men, and I cut their hair and I shaved their whiskers, and while they waited their turn, they played poker and cracked jokes and enjoyed themselves like a man should in a barbershop. What are you losing, boys? Just tell me how much we're playing for. It's a five-cent limit, Doc Thomas. Nobody gets hurt in my place. What about the customers you shaved? Don't you worry, Mr. Mayor. I've never too much as... I... I apologize, gentlemen, but my wife, Nellie, is new to the Barber Games. She doesn't know women aren't allowed in the shop. Oh, that's all right, Professor. Nellie, huh? That's a mighty pretty name. And a mighty pretty wife, Professor, real pretty. Thank you, Mr. Olyphant. Professor, we're a mighty glad to have you here. That was a championship day for my shop, over $20. But more than anything else, I knew I was in the right town. The first year wasn't easy, but Nellie seemed content enough. I joined the volunteer fire department and I played the trombone in the town band. On the night of our first sweating anniversary... Oh, Ben, you're just crazy. That's all rushing me out of the house and this upper dish is still on the table. Well, we couldn't keep the horse waiting, honey. Ben, what are we stopping here for? Oh, nothing much. New family I want you to meet. They just moved in. Ben, my hair, I look a mess. We'll only stop by for a minute. Who do you know way out here? Hey, house is kind of dark, isn't it? Doesn't look like anybody's home. Good. Come on, Dan, let's go. Oh, as long as we're here, I might as well knock this... Welcome, my friends. I bid you welcome. What? Come on, Mr. Jordan, what are you doing out here? Surprise! Surprise! She doesn't know what to say. Well, you like it, Nellie? Isn't it wonderful? What? I just don't understand. It's our new home, Nellie. Yours and mine. Come on, I like somebody. Give us some light. Pretty cute of them, huh, Mrs. Halper taking you for a drive and we move everything in here, lock, sock, and barrel. Give her a glass of cider before she paints some sheer happiness. It's time for the music. Come on, we want to dance. Well, Nellie, still in a state of shock? I guess I am, Mr. Jordan. You dance like a feather. Do I? I was expecting a different kind of surprise, like... Well, like going to Chicago, maybe. All of that husband of yours is full enough not to take you. Just give me the word. No. Why, Mr. Jordan... It was a wonderful party. Folks talked about it for weeks. Nellie and I settled down in our new home. Two months later, I took on a helper, a porter and shoe-shine man. He'd been in the U.S. cavalry and his name was Trooper. The Trooper wasn't our only newcomer. Our baby boy arrived. Then Alper Jr., the 14th child born in Seville, Illinois. Everything was going fine. But then, they sank the battleship Maine down there in Cuba. Evening, Mr. Ben. I ain't late, am I? Oh, no, you're right on time, Trooper. Here he is. Here's a big boy. Oh, for my, my, my. Look at that little man. I'll watch after him fine, Mr. Ben. Mrs. Alper and I will be at the burges. Going to be a mighty fine party out here. Uh, you tell her yet, Mr. Ben? About Liston? Well, no, no, I, uh, I want to surprise her. Nellie, I don't know how it's possible that every day you get prettier. You like my new dress? Well, I'm not looking at anything but you. You've never been so beautiful. Well, thank you. Now, wait a minute. What's that stuff on your mouth? Lip rouge. I've seen it on lips before. Take it off, Nellie. No. This is the first time we've ever been invited to the burges and I want to look like the other women. Not the kind that put paint on their lips. Well, what's funny? Just now, when you kissed me. What? Look in the mirror. You look just like a clown. Uh, it comes off, huh? Well, that's one way to keep tabs on a fella. Use a handkerchief. And hurry up, dear. We don't want to be late. Now, take good care of the baby troopers. Oh, yes, ma'am. Oh, me and him are old friends with Nellie. Good night, darling. See you, good boy. Ben, get my coat. Will you, dear? I'll get it. Your daddy and his surprises. He's the one who learns slow, ain't he, boy? I had a special reason for wanting to be at that party. I had something important to talk over with Mr. Burge. And you're leaving tomorrow. Oh, Ben? That's right, Mr. Burge. Training camp. And just in case anything should happen to me, well, I'm hoping you'd look after things. Exactly, dear. If you're a stay. Is that it, Ben? I don't have much, Mr. Burge, but I want to leave everything to Nellie, except in the corner lot. I want to leave that for the boy. About that lot. I'll give you $500. You want to sell? Wow. Hey, this town sure is coming along. Real estate's the backbone of the country. Well, I just can't sell it, Mr. Burge. It's sort of something inside me. I love this town. The land grows, deepens and worth. It's kind of exciting. Well, I can't sell. Sure, Ben. Sure. One thing more. I don't want Nellie to know that I own the shop. Not unless something happens here. I don't know. No, not about the lot either. About the house. She's, uh... Well, she thinks we're herantons. But Ben! Well, I have my reasons, Mr. Burge. Oh, sure, Ben. Now let's get Lloyd Slocum in here and we'll joy up a wheel. Not all alone. Now, don't tell me Ben has deserted you. No, Ed. No, Ben's in the study with Mr. Burge. Good. Here, I brought you some champagne. That's what I've been waiting for. Wonderful stuff. Where's Betsy at? Oh, she's somewhere around. Fine woman, Betsy. The champagne. It tickles. Now, why don't they embed champagne at... Well? Ed Jordan, if you ever do that again... I don't know what you're so excited about. All I did was kiss you. And what could a man think of a married woman that allows him to? If it's you and me, Nellie, then I think it's great. For wipe your lips. I'm wearing rouge. Oh, dear. Especially since... I'm more worried about Ben. How's this? Just go away. You find Betsy and let me alone. What's the long, honey? Been having a good time? Oh, wonderful time. You want to dance this one with me? Oh, yes. Ben, wait. While we're alone. Yeah? Is something wrong, Ben? You got something on your mind? No, no, nothing, dear. Not a thing. Say, I'm sorry about what I said about your lip rouge. Oh? You've taken it all. Yes. Yes, I have. Well, you didn't have to. Well, I don't want to wear it anymore, Ben. Not till you come back from the war. Back from the... Nellie, how'd you know? That was my big surprise. Nobody can keep a secret in this town. Nellie, I just had the... I know. And I'm so proud. And I'm trying to be brave. Don't you worry about me now. Well, it's not just you, Ben. I've got a surprise, too. We're going to have another baby. Nellie, you should have told me. Like you always tell me things. Ben, when the lease is up on the barbershop, let's talk about it before you renew it. Promise? Sure, sure. As soon as I get back from the war. I'm sorry, Nellie, but it's all on account of how I love you so much. I love you, too, Ben. Don't ever forget that, no matter what happens. Come on. I still want to dance. The army sent me to Georgia. And the nearest I got to be in a hero was clipping other heroes' heads. I was the camp barber. I was still a camp barber when our baby girl arrived six months later. And my chances of getting home grew slimmer and slimmer. Any word from Ben lately? Oh, yes. Nothing new, though. I... I didn't see Bessie in church tonight. And now Bessie's home, bad attack of the grip. Oh, there seems to be a lot of it around. Uh-huh. Uh, you alone, Nellie? Yes. Well, I'll walk home with you. Oh, no, it's just a short way ahead. Don't trouble me. No trouble at all. When's Ben getting back? Well, according to his letters, not for some time. You, uh... You want to go straight home? Yes, of course. Troopers with the children, I promise. I'm going to Chicago next Wednesday. Are you? On business. My pleasure. Oh. Too pretty woman like you, sir, Illinois, must become pretty dull. How'd you like to go along? With you? We take different trains. No. Oh, you'd love it, Nellie. After all, you owe yourself something, don't you? You'd go shopping all day, and at night, you'd go to the music halls, and... Hello, Mrs. Halper. Mr. Beach? Mr. Church, I want to see you. Oh? Good evening, Ed. Good evening, Mr. Burge. Well, Mrs. Halper, I can sell the barbershop and a quick deal for $3,000. Cash on the line. Sell the barbershop? That's a mighty good price. Ben owns the barbershop? I wish you'd send him a telegram and tell him I've got to have a yes or no before the end of the week. Well, good night, Mrs. Halper. Ed. Good night, Mr. Burge. You didn't know he owned the shop? No. Sure like Ben, to keep things to himself. Exactly like Ben. Ed, I've changed my mind. Walk home with me. I want you to. Thank you, Nellie. You see what I've done, Ed? Ben's strongbox. I've opened it. I've smashed it open. Nellie, not now. Wait a minute. What about Trooper? Where is he? Trooper's gone. I sent him home. Look at it, Ben. All Ben's papers. All his private papers. So private his own wife couldn't see. Nellie, all that stuff belongs to Ben. It belongs to me, too. I don't think Ben's going to like what you're doing. Well, I like what I'm doing. When the lease is up, we'll talk about it, won't we, Ben? We'll decide what we're going to do, won't we, Ben? What's got into you, Nellie? And this house. Look, we own this house, too. Well, what's wrong with owning your own home? Nothing. Nothing you'll ever understand. And this paper. Plot 42. Paid in full. We even own a corner lot in the cemetery. I'm going to live and rot and die in this two-bit town. He doesn't care about me at all. He's lied to me all the time. Ben's just planning for the future, Nellie. Well, I'm going to have some future, too. If you go get Trooper, tell him to come back here. Tell him he's going to live here while I go to Chicago. Aunt Nellie, you better listen to me. Do as I say, will you? Sure, Nellie. Sure. Three days later, my commanding officer sent for me. It was late at night. I couldn't imagine what he wanted before. I, uh, have bad news for you, son. Your, uh, your wife was killed today in a railroad accident in Chicago. Boy, that's impossible, sir. There must be some mistake. We live in Chicago. I'm terribly sorry, helper. You can leave for home at once. I have recommended a discharge. Trooper was waiting for me at the station. Just Trooper. Mr. Oliphant, he told me to take his talk in and fetch you home, Mr. Ben. Thanks, Trooper. The baby? No, they're fine, sir. Mrs. Locombs got him to her house. If you're ready to take him. Well, we'll get him now. We'll take him home now. Yes, sir. They kind of don't know yet what's happened. Well, Mr. Ben, I just don't know how to tell you this. Tell me what? But you're going to hear it sooner or later, so I don't know. Mr. Ed Jordan, sir, he was killed in the same train wreck. Ms. Nellie and Mr. Jordan, they went away together. I'll kill you. You say that again and I'll kill you. Don't do you no good to hit me, Mr. Ben. I'll poach you the truth. Just get my children. Just give me my children. Yes, sir. In just a moment, we will continue with Act II of the Hollywood Radio Theater. You'll probably remember when the waves of the North Sea burst through Holland's dykes and turned the little country into a land of terror. It was Western Europe's worst flood disaster. More than 1,400 people were killed and over 60,000 were made homeless. The property loss was greater than that suffered during World War II. But America answered the call from the Dutch people. Within just a few hours, United States Army helicopters were evacuating hundreds from the danger areas. Mercy planes filled with blankets, coats, shoes, and food brought quick relief in the emergency. Among the many who contributed was the 82nd Airborne Division. They remembered the courage and the help displayed by the Dutch people who were parachuted into Holland in 1944. This one unit collected nearly 20,000 pounds of clothing and over $12,000 in cash for relief in the flooded country. Now there was no official drive behind this operation. It emerged right from the heart a spontaneous, genuine reaction to a country struck by disaster. It proved once more that in the hour of need, people will reach across borders and oceans to help their fellow men. Such acts by you and your friends today are shaping our world of tomorrow. Now our producer, Mr. Cummings. Act two of Wait till the Sunshine's Nellies starring David Wayne as Ben and Gene Peters as Nellie. Very little of what happened after the funeral. They tell me I was drunk for two weeks. But the barbershop stayed open and men came in to talk, to play poker and to wonder about it. Said the kids are fine. Don't know what they do without Trooper. Ben won't let anyone even see him. My wife and I went up to the house twice. Wouldn't let us pass the door. Trooper says he's burned up everything in Nellie's clothes. Pictures, everything. Just burned him up. If I'd been in his place, I wouldn't have come back at all. I called on Ed's wife yesterday. She said she thought some about moving away but she's changed her mind. She's staying. She and the little girl. How old is a little girl, Doc? Eighty. About the same as Ben's boy, I think. Yeah, just about the same. Well, are we gonna play poker or just... Look, it's Ben. He's coming in. Oh, hello, Ben. We were just talking about you. Yeah. Yeah, sure. Come on, sit down and join us. Just a little friendly poker, Ben. I want to be accommodated. I want a six-foot hog going one hundred and seventy pounds to get on his feet and bring us this with him. Oh, man. Any of that. Come on. Anybody that's manning up to raise a beard, I'll take it off without a razor. Oh, I'd rather play cards, Ben. I'm not fighting any battles for Ed Jordan. Bunch of yellow bellies, doll of it. Bunch of yellow bellies, doll of it. Let me handle the rest of you going to one of the back door. Now, what'd you do that for? Yes, Ed Jordan. Saving money. My first customer, a good old man, they call it. I'll smash him off. But they go, oh, please, apart. Professor, you're sensational. Ill-advised, but sensational. But I'd like to remind you that you too are a public servant. See, I'm the mayor. You're the barber. And the mayor needs a shave. Now, come on, Ben. Preserve us our dandruff dens. Spare your salon until you've shaved me. For the last time, Ben, will you quit breaking up your hair store? Okay. You want a shave? Yes. I'll shave you. I'm drunk, but I'll shave you. Thank you. You think I don't know what I'm doing, don't you? You just keep that ladder out of my ears. Well, big mops, look him. I thank you. You're getting the last shave in Professor Ben Halper's tonsorial pile. A great honor. Let's hope I don't slip. Oh, just one thing, Ben, before you start this operation. Now, look, you're a barber, not a man. Why, you couldn't cut Ed Jordan's throat if you sat right here in this chair. I guess you're right. Drunk or sober, you'll give me a good shave. I'm funny. I'm something to laugh at. That's why the quicker I leave, the better. No, Ben, no, no, don't you believe it. We love you. I love you. You just stand by your chair where you belong. You look them straight in the eye. If you stay, they'll respect you. Now get to work. Fraser, all right? Fraser's fine, Ben. You still got it. You still got that velvet touch. Lloyd was right. I stayed, and they respected me. And the years went by. Hey, Mr. Bend, hear that? That was 12 o'clock midnight. Happy New Year, Mr. Bend. Happy New Year, Tupor. The children, you going to wake them? No, why should I? Well, it's sort of a privilege to live in two centuries, Mr. Bend. Is it? Uh, Mr. Bend, I found this in the Bible I was reading. Here. It's a picture of Miss Nellie. Bible? I thought you couldn't read. Well, I can. But there are a few words I can pick out, like God, heaven, and Jesus, and forgive. Makes me feel good just finding a few I know. She had this picture taken on her birthday. I saw the day she left, Mr. Bend. She wasn't going to stay away. It was mostly on account of you didn't take her into your confidence. You didn't let her know what you were doing, Mr. Bend. What I was doing is none of your business either. I'd better see if the children are covered. Yes, sir. Good night, Mr. Bend. Bend and Adeline, Nellie's children, my children. I wish you a happy new year, children, and a decent life. I wish that you'll never be hurt, and that you'll never hurt anybody else. You're going into a wonderful time, the 20th century. It's all yours. I wish you peace and prosperity and happiness and usefulness. Nellie. Nellie. Those aren't kids you got, Bend. Those two are just wild Indians. Send them to a reservation. It's not funny. They're driving me straight to the insane asylum. I scream tootsie rolls in and out of here 20 times a day. You know, Bend, what you need is a woman in ours. Yeah. Yeah, I've thought about it. Maybe I ought to get married again. I've thought about it a million times. That innocent and casual remark did it. Every crony I knew owned a female relative who wanted to get off his hands and on to mine. They finally decided on Mabel Weiner. My resistance is very low, but just as I was proposing, I was saved. Saved by the bell, the fire bell. As the second assistant chief, my duty was clear. I fled from Mabel's arms forever. Turn to the ground, Lloyd. It's all gone. We've got to have a bigger fire department. Steam engines, Bend. That's what we need. Steam engines. This just about ruins me. What do you mean ruins you? You got your health. You got two fine children. You still own that corner lot. I just don't have any money to rebuild, Mr. Bird. I'm president of the bank, Bend, and I say it's about time we had a new and modern shop. Now, first off, we need to hire a good architect. In time, I thought the new shop was too big, too expensive, but as the years went by, Seville, Illinois grew so rapidly that I needed two more barbers to help me, and the shop seemed smaller than ever. I just don't understand it, Bend. What's Kaiser Bill want anyway, starting a war in Europe? That's too much for me, Doc, but as long as we keep out of it, isn't that young Benny there across the street? Yes, yes, I'm afraid it is. That's Edie Jordan he's with. Yeah, with all the girls in town, my boy has to take up with Ed Jordan's daughter. I don't blame the girls for something your father did. He's had seven jobs since high school. All he's interested in is dancing. He's right. Good at it, Bend. I saw him over at the Elk Smoker. Hey, Pop. Well, here's the other one. I'm busy, Adeline. Hello, Dr. Thomas. Hi, Annie. Pop, this is Homer Price. How do you do, Mr. Halper? Homer was in a raffle. What raffle? Well, don't snap your necktie, Pop. He'll take me to the high school dance. So put him in a chair and slick him up so he doesn't look like such a wet smack. Now, what's a wet smack? So put him in a chair and slick him up so he doesn't look like such a wet smack. Now, what's a wet smack? Me, Mr. Halper. Oh. Well, I guess he can be improved, Adeline. Oh, thanks, Pop. You get the fur-lined bathtub. I'll see you soon, Homer. I don't know what this young generation's coming to, Doc. Wet smack fur-lined bathtub. You'll grow up one of these days. I wonder. Hello, Pop. I'd like a word with you. Excuse me, Homer. Sure, Mr. Halper. Well, Benny, how much? Oh, no. I've decided I want to go to Chicago. Well, let's talk about that in the back room. Why Chicago? Well, I finally got my vulnerable act in shape, and I thought if I wanted to... Yeah, whose idea is this? Edith Jordan's? Well, she's going to be my partner, Pop, and no, no, this is all my idea. In college, you're going to be a doctor. Well, just one thing, Pop. I don't want to be a doctor. In a couple of years, you'll see I'm right. Now, let's have no further discussion about it. Okay, Pop. No further discussion. Benny went away. For more than a year, I didn't see Hyden and Herobin. Then a telegram came. I took the next train out to Chicago. Benny was on the stage, Benny and Edith had liners. Then later in his dressing room... Good to see you, Pop. Why couldn't I see you before the show? Well, I wanted you to see me in action first. Well? I've seen words. I don't know why parents have children anyway. They ought to poison them at birth. You try to raise them as decent people, all they do is break your heart. You miss me, Pop. Why didn't you tell me where you were? Well, you said no more discussion, remember? Yeah, but we finally made it. It's a big time, Chicago. Don't you think Edith was good? What am I supposed to think of a girl who doesn't have the decency to come home to her own mild funeral? Well, she didn't know about it until it was too late. She tried to... Oh, come on, Edith. Pop, I'm in love with this woman. You must be traipsing all over the country together. Mr. Helper, Benny and I have been married over a year. Is that why you sent for me? Tell me a bit. Well, not exactly. You see, Pop, I have to report to Uncle Sam tomorrow. I've been drafted. I'll see you. Edith is going to live in Civil Illinois until I get back in it. I hope she'll take it with you. I'll see that you get there. All right. And when you get back, I'll try and help you get started again. Maybe if you can't be the best doctor in the world, you can be the best dancer. You too old to kiss me goodbye? Pop, I'll never be too old for that. Benny. Benny. So we took the train back to Civil Illinois, didn't I? I remembered another train ride. And the night like this, the rain on the window and the darkness outside. What are the train wheels saying now, Nellie? If you could have been in Chicago tonight, you'd have been proud. Might be proud. Looks like I'm home again, Mr. Helper. Home. Yeah, place. It's all rundown. Nobody's led to it since Mama died. Anything else I can do? No. No, I don't think so. You've never liked me, Mr. Helper, but I didn't make Benny become a dancer. I only told him to do what he wanted to do. And it's not his fault he fell in love with him. I've got to get used to thinking about you as a daughter. You'll have to get used to something else, too. It's going to be a grandfather. Does Benny know? No. I didn't want him to worry. But you don't mind if I worry. Good night, Edie. Edie? I can't let you stay here all by yourself. You come on home and stay with me in that line. You've got six girls. Stop crying. You, Jordan, you'll be the death of me yet. We'll continue with Act Three of Wait till the Sun shines, Nellie, in a few moments. You know, sometimes a soldier finds his greatest opportunities for service in something outside the line of duty. Such a man as Sergeant Werner Krenzer. He's been in the Army for eight years. He's known frontline warfare in the Pacific and occupation duty in Japan. As a veteran soldier, he's used to destruction. But he saw destruction through the eyes of a child when he was assigned to the United Nations Civil Assistance Command. This is a unit which provides aid for homeless Korean civilians. Sergeant Krenzer's heart went out to the hungry, sick, frightened children that he found everywhere. And then he got an idea. More than food and shelter, he realized these children needed love. And there were thousands of homeless women refugees wandering around looking for their children, their families. Krenzer wasn't able to find each mother's own child, but he could ask her to care for a deserted wife. And so these childless mothers took the motherless children and cared for them. And the women were given hope that their own children might find the same kind of refuge. Even though they still live within the sound of guns and planes, there's new faith and hope in their eyes. Such acts by you and your friends today are shaping our world of tomorrow. Station Identification The curtain rises on Act 3 of Wait till the Sun shines Nellie, starring David Wayne as Ben and Jean Peters as Nellie. In 1917, so much happened that year. Ben off to war, he'd his baby being born. We named him Nellie. An ad line getting engaged to the Burgess Boy. Ben was wounded in the Battle of the Argonne and they sent him home. He'd never dance again. They saved his leg, but from now on he'd walk with a limp. What are you looking so glum for, Pop? I'm home in one piece. I've got Edie and the baby. I'm one of the lucky ones. Say, you think you've got room for me in the barbershop? Benny, you mean that? You think your customers could put up with me? You just don't know how I've hoped for this. Well, get the sign, Peter Pop. We'll have to change that lettering on the window. From now on it's Ben Halper and son. Close to 78A. Ben, say when he'd be home. He said he'd be home for dinner. Always going into Chicago. What's it all about? Oh, I don't know, Pop. He's got a lot of friends there. Boys that were with him in the army. We've had another gang war in Chicago. You read the papers tonight? Oh, it's just awful. Five men killed. Machine guns. Yeah, let the scum kill the scum. That's one way of getting rid of them. Pop, who's this Mike cover the police are looking for? Yeah, just a gangster, honey. One of the leaders. I'm home, baby. Hey, where are you? We're in the kitchen and not so loud. You'll wake the baby. Oh, I'm sorry I'm late. I couldn't form because Matt wanted me to drive out to the country. Where's Edwin? Dinner at the Burgess. Hungry? Yeah, start. Good. We'll eat in five minutes. Well, that's what I wanted to tell you. Both of you. I got a little surprise. Well, after two years I've decided I'm not any good. As a barber, Benny. Well, Matt's going to give me a job. Oh, doing what? The Merchants National Protective Association. It's an insurance company. Edie, you're not sore? If it's what you want, Benny, it's all right with me. Pop. Well, it was nice while it lasted. You just take care of yourself. Oh, sure, Pop. Sure. A few days later, Ben's friend, that Macaulay fellow, came into the shop. I know you're busy, Mr. Halper, but I'd like you to do me a little favor. Glad to. Benny with you? No, no, he's still in Chicago. His friend of mine, Mr. Halper, he'd like you to come up to the hotel and shave him. I told him you had the velvet touch. Sure, sure. As soon as I finish here. You'll make it quick, huh? We can't keep the boss waiting. Boss? Who's boss? Mike Carver. I thought you knew. We can't keep him waiting. Mike Carver? Well, if Mr. Carver wants to shave, he can have it. In this chair. I don't think he's going to like that, Mr. Halper. This chair will be empty only until the next customer comes in. Okay. Okay, I'll tell him. Now, here he is, boss. Meet Benny Halper's old man. How are you? Sit down, Mr. Carver. That son of yours is a smart boy. He works for me. Yes? What kind of work? Insurance, Pop. Protection insurance. The way the country's gone, every business got out of protection. There's only one thing I'd like to know, Mr. Carver. About your boy, huh? No. No about those men out there on the sidewalk. Before you walked in here, they came in. They looked all around the shop. What were they looking for? Maybe they just want to see your license, Mr. Halper. Maybe they just want to be sure you run a nice, clean establishment. Thanks. That's what I thought. I'll tell you, Pop, that little, nearly the smartest kid I ever saw in my life. Naturally? And she's going to have everything she wants to pop you awake and see. Pop, did you tell him? Tell me what? Well, the times come for me to repay you for all the things you've done for me. For all of us. Not that I'll ever really be able to, but... Well, I've taken a house in Chicago. That's fine, Benny. And Ben Halper, Sr., is coming with us. He's going to be a gentleman of leisure and enjoy life from now on. Every month a big fat check from Junior. Thanks, Benny, but I'll stay on in Seville, Illinois. Alone? Oh, Pop, be sensible. I'm trying to be. Adeline's away at college. She graduates in June and then gets married and they're going to live in New York. I won't be alone, Benny. I have friends. Oh, well, you at least make it over? Benny, is it true what it says in the paper? Lots of things in the paper, Pop. About the company you work for. Hiring gangsters to smash and wreck the property of businessmen that won't buy your protection. You believe everything you read? What's a man like Mike Carver doing in this town? Resting, taking a vacation. He wanted a quiet place, so I recommended Seville, Illinois. He's hiding from what happened in Chicago. Pop, I wish I could stay now and talk to you, but... But don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I hope so, Benny. Look, I fought for this country. It owes me something. A good job, a home, a car. This country owes you nothing, not even the price of a haircut. Good night, Pop. I'll be late getting back. Don't let E wait up. You've been standing there long, E.D.? You'll manage. Oh, Pop, I'm scared. I just don't understand him anymore. Only I knew what to do about it. Only I knew it. Macaulay, get in here. Yeah, Mr. Carver. That phone call from Chicago, they back down. The heat's off. We're going back tomorrow. Yeah, you sure called it, boss. Oh, Benny's old man is outside. He wants to talk to you. Well, send them in. Okay, Mr. Halper. You got your reason, Mr. Halper. I could use the shave. No, Mr. Carver. I'm here about Benny. Smart boy. He stays with me. Wines up a big man. If he lives. Lives? Now, what kind of a way is that to talk? Turn him loose, Mr. Carver. Don't let him work for you anymore. You, uh... You talk to yourself with Benny? No. I want you to do that. Well, I'm going back tomorrow. Suppose I don't take Benny with me. I'd be thankful to you for the rest of my life. Okay, Mr. Halper, but before I go, I'll stop by the shop. Say, 10 o'clock, I want a nice shave. Macaulay, I'll be waiting for you. You see, I trust you. I figure a good barber can't cut a customer more than a good knife thrower can hit his woman. Kenny? I wouldn't know. I never threw a knife at a woman. A real comic, Mr. Carver. Just like I said, Mr. Halper, 10 o'clock on the nose. Ah, that towel feels good. I'm going to miss your velvet touch, Pop. Thank you. I, uh, I had a talk with Benny. He ought to eat things your way. I see. He's got a wife and a baby. So cute as it states. So he's decided to string along with me. It's for you, Mr. Ben. Telephone. Excuse me, Mr. Carver. Hello? This is Benny, Pop. His mic cover's still there. Yes? Listen carefully. Tell him not to go out to his car and to keep away from the window. Some men are after him. They just left the hotel for your shop. Where are you? Drugstore. Now, you've got to hurry. Put Carver in the back room. I'll bring my car up the alley and take him out the back door. The back room? Yes. Right away. I'm sorry, Mr. Carver. Sorry, take your time. Uh, Trooper, will you come in here, please? I want to move something. Yes, Mr. Ben? Uh, back here, the storeroom. Well, Mr. Ben, what is it? Close the door. Don't ask any questions. There's no time. Get everyone in here. Just talk to him quietly and get him in here. Then lie down on the floor, all of you. Yes, sir. I'll get him in. That's not what I ordered, Trooper. Send the whole shipment back. Harry, you and Fred get in there and help Trooper. Sorry, Mr. Carver. That's okay. I just came in at a towel, yeah? Yeah, there's nothing like a hot towel, is there? How's this? Oh, good. Good. That's fine. I hear a car. Yes, yes, I guess you did. The way folks drive these days. Yeah, I'd better home this place. But, Trooper, what happened? They ran in, doctor, into the barbershop. They killed Mr. Carver right there in the chair. But, Benny, where was Benny? Well, I'm not sure. I heard him coming back door. They had a machine gun and some of the bullets. How's he, doctor? Young Mr. Ben, how's he? Benny's dead, Trooper. They rattled him. We buried Benny next to his mother. A few months later, at line, married Austin Burridge. Nobody thought it unusual that the banker's son was marrying the barbers' daughter. Seems like half the town's there to see him off at the railroad station. Goodbye, Austin. Goodbye, Alex. Goodbye. Well, Ben, looks like we did it. They're finally married. I guess it doesn't set any new precedents, Mr. Burridge. According to the increase in population statistics, men will always be turning women into wives. Can we give you a lift home? Edie's going with us. No, no, thanks. I think I'll mosey on by myself. I'd kind of enjoy the walk. Sometimes it seemed so long ago, so very long ago. Benny's dead, Adeline's married. But Edie stayed on in Seville, Illinois. Edie and little Nellie. The dearest, the most precious thing in my life. This is going to be a big day in Seville, Illinois. Today, the town's 50 years old. There's going to be a big parade, and they want us to lead it. Me and Lord Slocum, East Senator Slocum now, and Old Doc Thomas and Trooper and George Oliphant. I've been sitting out here on the porch. They think I've been sleeping, but I haven't been sleeping. Just thinking. Well, I don't know because you've been around. We came up. We'll be late for the parade if you don't know. Not me, sir. You wake him up. I'll wake him up. Grandpa? Grandpa, wake up. Hello, Nellie. Grandpa, you can't keep the parade waiting. They want us in the barbershop, Ben. Those newspaper photographers from Chicago. They want me to sit in a chair, and you standing next to me with a razor. It's been a long time since it's shaved you, Lloyd. And they want you to make a statement, Grandpa. After all, you've been around here almost longer than anybody. What do you tell them? Well, there's nothing to say, honey. Not really. It's a fine town. All in all, I've been happy here. But there's no time for looking back. Come on, Nellie. Let you and me get this parade started. In a moment, our stars will return. But now here's Ken Carpenter. Ken? When a sailor by the name of Patty Mosier was in Busan, Korea, he saw a little boy collapse on a road because of malnutrition. He found many youngsters and old people dying for lack of nourishment. Having been brought up on a Virginia farm, Patty observed that the Korean soil looked good. Why, no vegetables. The answer, he found, was lack of seeds. So he did something about it. He drew all his cash from the bank, $1,500, bought seeds, and distributed them with the aid of religious missions in the area. Soon, his crusade began to spread, and he was helped by contributions from people in the United States who heard about his project. There's no doubt that hundreds of hungry people owe their very lives to this sailor with a heart. Such acts by you and your friends today are shaping our world of tomorrow. Now, Mr. Cummings with our stars. And here they are coming forward for a well-deserved curtain call. David Wayne and Gene Peter. Well, Dave, for a man who made his mark in musical comedy, you've done very little singing in pictures. Well, I suggest you see my latest in technicolor for 20th Century Fox. Tonight, we sing. And what songs do you sing? Well, I don't sing any, but everybody else does. It's the Opinza, Roberta Peter, Jan Pierce. And that's pretty wonderful singing. Gene, we were awfully sorry to kill you off so early in the play tonight. Oh, that's all right. I just stopped there wondering about the Hollywood stars lineup for tomorrow night. Well, I certainly hope they're lined up at the box office for tonight we sing. Oh, not those stars, David. I mean our baseball team, the Hollywood stars. We're looking forward to your latest picture for 20th Century Fox. Pick up on South Street, co-starring Richard Widmark. I hear it's something special. Thanks, Irving. And I hear you have something special for next week's show. Yes, next week we're going to repeat a very popular screenplay because we've had so many requests for it and the stars. It's Samuel Goleman's distinguished comedy drama, The Bishop's Wife. And starring in the title role, we'll have that distinctive actress, Phyllis Thakster, and recreating his original role, one of our finest stars, Cary Graf. That will be special, Irving. Good night. Good night. Good night and all our thanks. Your theater is produced by Mr. Irving Cummings. Our orchestra is under the direction of Rudy Schrager. This is Ken Carpenter inviting you to join us next week at the same time for another presentation of the Hollywood Radio Theater. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.