 Lux presents Hollywood. Lux Radio Theatre brings you Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire in The Enchanted Cottage. Ladies and gentlemen, your guest producer, Mr. Hunt Stromberg. Greetings from Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen. Upermost in our hearts and minds this holiday is a fall of peace and the knowledge that millions of our fighting men are coming home. Some will return, as they have already, with the scars and disillusionment of battle, faced with problems of adjustment that require not alone their fortitude, but ours as well. Our sympathy, our tact, and our understanding. This is a theme of tonight's Lux Radio Theatre play, RKO's courageous and inspiring drama The Enchanted Cottage, starring Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire in the roles they filled so ably on the screen. Written originally by Sir Arthur Wing Pinero, it tells how one returning soldier finds a strange and unexpected love to take the place of tragedy and heartbreak. Of course, all men come back to something different, but each looks forward to essentially the same reward, home and love, and a return to familiar things. And I think every fighting man feels grateful to the women of America who've kept the home fires burning and kept themselves as tender and as lovely as the day they said goodbye. If a product like Lux Toilet Soap has helped a little, helped those women guard their feminine loveliness, then that is another tribute to their good sense and discrimination. In fact, it's that very preference for Lux that enables us to raise this curtain every Monday night and bring you now The Enchanted Cottage, starring Robert Young as Oliver Bradford and Dorothy McGuire as Laura Pennington. Lonely, remote, the cottage stands today as it has for 150 years. Close by, the restless Atlantic beats upon the rocky New England shore, and all about is the forest, a place of awe and strange beauty. Forgotten lovers of forgotten generations knew the place well. For a long, long ago, brides and grooms would come to the cottage to spend their honeymoon. In more recent years, the cottage has been owned by a widow, a Mrs. Minut, who keeps her distance and sees to it that others keep theirs. But four years ago, on a December morning, Mrs. Minut was expecting a caller. The caller came from the village. Near the cottage, she encountered a boy. Hello, Daddy. What are you doing right out here? We're taking a walk, Mrs. Pennington. Uncle John and I. Mr. Hillgrove? Uh-huh. He's blind. Yes, I know. Where is he? Oh, back by the old wall. He says there's lots of music around here. He wanted to sit and think about it. Well, you'd better not wander off, Danny. I just thought maybe I could find out about the witch. She lives in the cottage. Oh, that's just Mrs. Minut, Danny, and I'm about to call on her. You don't think I go calling on a witch, do you? Exit. Here, Uncle John. He called me to Exit because I take him places. Stay there. I'll catch up with you. Okay. Lots of people say she's a witch. Oh, I'm afraid you're just a couple of hundred years too late for witches, Danny. Yeah, I guess I'm a couple of hundred years too late for anything. Well, I wouldn't worry about it. I think something will turn up. You really think so? Mm-hmm. Well, here's Uncle John. This is Mrs. Pennington, Uncle John. How do you do, Mr. Hillgrove? Good morning. Uncle John is a great piano player, Mrs. Pennington. He plays the piano. Yes, I've read about him. It'll be nice if all the critics had Danny's enthusiasm. Well, goodbye, Mrs. Pennington. Nice to have met you. Thank you. Goodbye. Your friend has a very pleasant voice, Danny. Yeah, but she sure is homely, Uncle John. Well, that's not nice, Danny. Don't you always say I should tell the truth? There's a time and a place even for the truth. You say so, Uncle John. But she really is homely. Where is she going? To see Mrs. Minnet. Oh. Well, let's get back to the village. Mrs. Minnet, I'm Laura Pennington. Come in. Thank you. Thank you. This room... It's just as I imagined it would be. Sit down, please. I understand you're looking for a job. Well, I suppose I'm really looking for a home. I need a young woman to help me, Mrs. Pennington. One without attachments. And I can't have anyone here who believes in that ridiculous notion that this cottage is... well, haunted. It's not haunted. You know that, don't you? Well, I'm sure that when people say haunted, they don't really mean that. You just came back to Eastwood, didn't you? Mm, three weeks ago. There are some that are meant to be wonders. And others? Well, it's no good for them to go looking for things. How long were you away? Nearly eight years. When my mother died, there wasn't anyone here that I belonged to. I thought when you went away that you'd be back. I've been hoping that here, where I grew up, I might find a place I belong to. A place that when I wake up in the morning, I'd be glad it was another day. When I went to sleep, I'd know that it had been something to have been awake. I've rented the cottage. Does that surprise you? Mr. Bradford, he's bringing someone here today to look at it. They want a housekeeper and maid. The work will be hard. You'll get room and board and the regular wages. That's quite satisfactory, if you think I'll do. Then let's get started. You can get your things from the village later. These people? Are they a honeymoon couple? I didn't ask. Oh, I was hoping you were going to renew the old tradition, Mrs. Ninette. What old tradition? Why, the one about this cottage? Half an earlier century, it was rented only to honeymooners. That tradition is broken. I broke it. Oh. This cottage was deeded to my husband as a wedding present. It was to have been our home. Only I've had to live on here alone. Do you know what loneliness is? Real loneliness? Yes. I thought you might. Come now, and I'll show you your room. Mrs. Ninette, I'll put the holly on the... Oh, I beg your pardon. That's all right. You must be Laura. Yes, sir. Mrs. Ninette mentioned you. I'm Mr. Bradford. Well, I've been gathering some holly for the mantle. Mrs. Ninette is showing my fiancee around. You're the maid. Yes, Mr. Bradford. I've been examining this goblet as an inscription on it, isn't there? But I can't make it out. Oh, it's very old. The man who built the cottage gave it to his son when he was married. He and his bride drank a toast from it on their wedding night. This thing must hold half a quart. You mean to say they killed it all by themselves? Well, so the story goes. Well, when you had a cocktail in those days, you weren't kidding. There's so many old things about this place. Do they all have a story? Most of them. You must have been here quite a while, Mrs. Ninette. Oh, no. I just came this morning. This morning? But you seem to know all about this place. Well, I was born in the village. When I was a little girl, I heard all the stories there were about the cottage. It was like... Oh, like living near a fairy tale. Next thing you'll be telling me it's haunted. Oh, no. It's not haunted. But it is enchanted. Well, it comes to the same thing, doesn't it? Oh, no. Haunted. That's to be restless, uneasy, afraid. It's ugly. But enchantment. That's to be happy and gay. It's beauty. You see, all the people who lived here loved one another. Look, here in the window. Yes, what is that? That handwriting on the glass? These are their names. Young men and women who in this very room swore to love each other always. Vangeline and Clement, 1814. Judith and Richard, 1798. They wrote that themselves? They're all a part of this place now. Forever. You really believe all this, don't you? Oliver? Oh, yes, dear. Well, what do you think? Well, I admit it all very charming. It's much more than that. It's enchanting. I've just received a guarantee that if we spend our honeymoon here, we'll live happily ever after. Oh, this is Laura, darling. How do you do? Is there anything else you care to see, Miss? I don't think so, Mrs. Minut. Mr. Bradford stumbles on your cottage. He's fascinated by it and persuaded you to rent it to him. What can I say? In other words, Miss Alexander is delighted by the prospect of spending her honeymoon here. There are a few questions, Mr. Bradford. Mrs. Minut, I've filled out so many forms. In the past few weeks, I can tell you anything you want to know. With photostatic copies. Mr. Bradford means he's applied for a commission in the Army Air Corps. Oh. Well, but don't worry. The Army won't be my sole means of support. I'm really a very good risk in spite of the uncertainty of my profession. Oh, really, Oliver? We plan to be here at least three months, Mrs. Minut. It'll take that long to get my commission. It may come sooner than you think. Oh, no, not a chance. Army red tape and everything. Well, we'll be back on Tuesday, Mrs. Minut, and... What's the matter? I just had an idea. Let me have your ring, darling. My ring? Yes, and come over here to this window. If we're going to stay here, we must observe all the old traditions. See those names etched on the window pane? Yes. Our name should be there, too. And if that's a real diamond, I bought you a... Here, look, I'll show you. Oliver, you're not going to cut the glass with my diamond. Don't worry. It won't hurt at all. Oh. Now look. Oh, I'm sorry, darling. Forgive me. What did you do? Let me see. Well, the stone fell out of the setting. I'll have it fixed first thing in the morning. I suppose if I was superstitious, I'd regard this as a warning that we shouldn't get married at all. You're not married yet. That's why it happened. Only honeymoon couples may write their names on that window. Oh. Well, we're going to be married on Tuesday, Missin' Minute. Maybe we'll have better luck when we return. Well, goodbye and thank you again. Goodbye. And you, Laura, be sure to dust off that goblet for us. Do you know the roads, Mr. Bradford? There's a storm coming up. Oh, well enough. Bye. Bye. Goodbye, Miss Alexander. Bye. Hurry, Oliver. Oh, they seem so happy, don't they, Mrs. Minute? Very happy. You know, I... Well, look at your calendar on the desk. Yes. Well, your calendar's way off, Mrs. Minute. Let me see. Today is December 7th, 1941, and on here it's April 6th, 1970. April 6th, 1970. Why, you're just 24 years, eight months, and one day off schedule. Let it alone. Let it alone. How much more time, Oliver? Only a moment. Darling, how can I thank you? Thank me for what? You're going to war. On the day we were going to be married, you're going to war. If I could have stopped you, I would have. Would you do believe we did the right thing? I mean in waiting until I get back. Yes, darling, I do. Oliver, why didn't you let your mother come to the station with us, and Freddie too? After all, your mother and father... Freddie, dear, is Freddie. All right, your stepfather. Oh, he's a good guy. He's well to my mother. But I'm very glad they let us get out alone. Your mother will never forgive you. Mother's upset about just one thing. According to her, they had no right to start a war, especially in December. It's going to mean cancelling all those parties. But you saw how she cried when you left. Oh, it isn't that we don't love each other. It's just that I can never talk to her about anything important. We've always seemed to go past each other from the very beginning. We just don't... You know, looking at you now here in the middle of a railroad station, it occurs to me that I love you very much. Do you? You mean this war isn't just a great big excuse you cooked up to get out of marrying me? Oh, I almost forgot here. I may not have checked that woman at the cottage. Mrs. Minut, drop her line, dear, and tell her why we never showed up. I'll tell her that we're modern, intelligent people, and no, I'll just let her guess. It was time, darling. You mind if I kiss you? Oh, I'll... Ask me to send you the day he reported for duty. We both regret any trouble we may have caused you. It's signed Beatrice Alexander. You can put the letter in the desk, Laura. If they're not coming, you won't be needing me, Mrs. Minut. You're welcome to stay. Oh, but I couldn't. Not unless I can be of some help. You can be of help. You're going to rent the cottage to someone else? Perhaps. When the time comes. No. No, I don't. It may be better if you gave up the canteen. Oh, I like it. Really, I do. It's a nice walk, and I like the work. Well, I'd better be on my way. I won't be late, Mrs. Minut. With modern dancing, do you? No, I don't. Oh, personally, if I did nothing but wash dishes, I'd doubt what their best fit is for them. Terrible thing to say. Oh, please, it was perfectly all right. It never did. So, you just gave in, and I insisted you go on out there. Oh, no, thank you, Mrs. Minut. I'll take over here for a change, and you're going to have a good time. I am sick. Oh, please, really, Mrs. White. I'm the hostess here, and you have your orders. There's a girl all alone at that table. Her name is Laura Pennington. Oh, please, lady, we just got a load of Miss Pennington. If you don't mind, we'll sit this one out. I want to get out of here. Come here. I think I'll go right to bed. You've been crying, haven't you? It's nothing. Please, not as I have. If only I were pretty. You don't have to tell me what happened. I think I know. Laura, it's not for some of us to try to live like other people. You think you can sometimes. There's always a world to remind you. All the things that other people take for granted. You've got to make up your mind and your heart. They're not for you. You've got to find something else to take their place. Somewhere where you're safe, where no one can hurt you. That's why I wanted you to be here. Because there's something here for you that there isn't anywhere else. You understand? Yes, I understand. Good night, Mrs. Minut. Laura, wait a minute. While you were in the village, a telegram came. It was from Oliver Bradford. Mr. Bradford? He wants to rent the cottage starting tomorrow. Oh, then they did get married after all. Imagine they're remembering the cottage and still wanting to come here. Mrs. Minut, there is something about this cottage. There is indeed. It needs a good cleaning. What a shame. It has to be raining like this. If you'll go to the door, I'll make some coffee for them. I see. I'll take you upstairs. Coffee, Mrs. Minut. And some sandwiches. Just give me the tray, Laura. Mr. Bradford came alone. He doesn't wish to see anyone. Alone? Something has happened to him. I don't know what it is. He hides his face. He hides his face. What can we do? Nothing. We can wait. That's all. Yes, perhaps that's better. To just wait. It's time now for a brief intermission in a chat with Libby Collins, our Hollywood reporter. Sometimes it happens, doesn't it, Libby? A young actress with real dramatic ability gets the break she deserves. I'm thinking of Barbara Hale, who plays the only leading feminine role in R.K.O.'s picture. First, yank into Tokyo. Now, there's a girl who's making a steady rise to start on Mr. Scondard. Yes, she was the unanimous choice of producer and director for the film. I think she's going to make it. The unanimous choice of producer and director for the part of the American nurse in their exciting story of a Jap prison camp. I watched her make some of the scenes for First Yank into Tokyo on R.K.O.'s lot. Setting was an authentic reproduction of a Jap concentration camp, and it was grim all right. But Barbara, as the courageous young American nurse, looked very beautiful. Don't you agree, Mr. Kennedy? I think she was a fortunate choice. She has plenty of acting ability and good looks. But then, Libby, you know how partial I am. Welcome, girl. Mr. Kennedy, a lovely luxe complexion has that effect on a great many people. Barbara's a hard-working young actress, and she's very wise, too. She knows how important soft, smooth skin is to success on the screen or off. She's chosen a beauty care that 9 out of 10 famous screen stars, lovely women everywhere, depend on. Barbara Hale says her luxe-soap active-ladder facials do wonders for her skin. Here's the simple daily care she never neglect. I cover my face generously with luxe-soap super creamy lather and work it in gently but thoroughly. I rinse first with warm water and splash on cold. Now I pat my face dry with a soft towel. Simple, isn't it? But it works. Recent tests have proved that. Actually, 3 out of 4 complexions improved in a short time with this daily luxe-soap care. This fine white soap is a true beauty soap. Screen stars say the gentle, creamy lather is like a caress on the skin. If you haven't used luxe-toilet soap, why not begin your active-ladder facials tomorrow? Take them regularly for a while. Then look in your mirror. We're pretty sure you'll say my skin feels so much softer, smoother, looks so fresh too. Now I know why luxe-toilet soap is Hollywood's own beauty soap. Here's our guest producer, Mr. Hunt-Stromberg. Act 2 of the Enchanted Cottage starring Robert Young as Oliver and Dorothy McGuire as Laura. 3 hours have passed. In an upstairs room with the cottage, Oliver Bradford, behind the closed door, the stairs blankly through the rain-streaked window. Below in the kitchen, Mrs. Minnet and Laura wait in silence. While in the front room are two more recent arrivals, Oliver's stepfather and his fiancé. Desperately, they try to figure out what has happened to him. We've been here exactly 1 hour and 40 minutes and what good has it done? Why the boy won't even talk to him? Maybe he'll talk to his mother. He's still up there, isn't he? Pounding on his door, begging him to say something. I thought that when the army dismissed him from the hospital, when he was discharged from the service, that he was well again. Now he doesn't even want us. Well, he was pretty badly bashed up, Beatrice. But there's no sense becoming a mental case over a little injury. Certainly his face is disfigured, but he's left him alone. If we let him think things out for himself. There's simply no reason for him to run away from home. Well, here's his mother. He just won't talk to me. Couldn't I pour you some tea, dear? That girl just brought some in. Oh, thank heaven, tea. He won't even open the door. I even cried a little. He told me to go away. Then why don't we go? In a few weeks, just for a second hole, he'll appreciate a little friendly society. I mean, after he left the hospital... I... I just don't know. Well, something did happen. Did you quarrel? No. We didn't quarrel. Well, I don't see why you won't go upstairs and talk to him if anyone can persuade him to leave this building. I couldn't. But you're our only hole. I wish you wouldn't ask me. But you and he were going to be married. Oh, please try, Beatrice. Very well. I'll try. Oh, bless you, darling. And remember, you must be brave. Oliver. Please, Oliver. Won't you speak to me? Won't you? I meant what I said when they sent you home. We can be married. We can be married right away. Oh, why did we have to have this terrible war? Oliver, that day you came home, no one had told me. And when you turned and looked at me and I saw your face, I... I just wasn't prepared. That's why you thought I... Oh, I can't help it if I'm weak. Aren't you listening, Oliver? All right. I'll go. I'll go. Are you all right, Mr. Bradford? What do you mean by breaking into my room? I'm the maid, Mr. Bradford. I was outside bringing in some logs. There was a flash of lightning and I saw you by the window. I saw a gun in your hand. Relax, Molly. I haven't done anything. Your mother left this note for you. I'm afraid she was very upset when she left this afternoon. Will you please mind your own business? I'm sorry. Don't you understand? Do you think I want people to see me? Light the lamp. I said, light the lamp. Yes. I hope the lamp and look. Look. You saw me before. Doesn't the chain shock you? No. Oh, how can you know? I can't realize what it is to face life disfigured and a... I'm going downstairs now, Mr. Bradford. I'll be back with your supper. Your name was Laura, wasn't it? Yes. Thank you, Laura. What's this out here, the garden? Mr. Bradford, good morning. What are you doing? This, it's wood engraving. Looks like you're pretty good at it. Well, I entered some in an exhibit once. Some seascapes. And a prize, not a first prize. But it was a prize. I used to win prizes too. Tennis, swimming. I once knew a fellow who used to make ship models and glass bottles. Always asking to tell me why. I never got a satisfactory answer. Well, I do block prints because... I like to do block prints, I guess. I never thought of that. That he never did either. And a hobby of your own, one of these days, I hope. Be careful. You don't want to talk like Freddie, do you? From the way you say it, I'm sure I don't. And I don't even know who Freddie is. That's the best thing that can happen to anybody, not to know who Freddie is. In case you think I'm not making much sense, that's what I think too. You know, you're a very kind person. You haven't asked me how I feel if I slept well. You don't seem at all worked up about that gun incident. That was three days ago, wasn't it? Why have I stayed in my room for three days? I don't know, really. I don't think it matters. Yes. You've got a lot of sense, too. You'd be amazed how few people have any. If you'll excuse me now, I think I'd better get started on the housework. Yes. Wouldn't do to neglect the housework, would it? I'll do Mr. Bradford's next, Mrs. Minnet. I don't think Mrs. Minnet hears you, Miss Pennington. Oh, why Mr. Hillgrove? He is, Miss Pennington. However did you remember my name? It wasn't so long ago we met. Just a year or so. I'm calling to see Mr. Bradford. Mrs. Minnet's just gone to tell him. But she warned me that he doesn't want to see anyone. I'm very glad you came. He needs friends. You know, this is real adventure for me. This is the first time I've been inside this cottage. I must have walked by it a hundred times. It has a strange fascination. Indeed it has. Somehow I feel that if I ever get to know this place, it'll be more than just a cottage. To me it has a life of its own. Everything connected with it seems so different. Mrs. Minnet, for example. I wonder about her. When she first came here, she came as a bride. But her husband was killed in the last war. On the desk is a calendar, April 6th, 1917. She's never changed the date. Time seems to have stopped for her the day her husband went away. She's withdrawn into the past. Yes. Well, perhaps that's one way to know the future. Mr. Bradford's in the garden. I'll be glad to take you to him. Thank you. Is your nephew here, Danny? He left me here. I said he'd be down on the shore with his dog. Well, I'll take you to the garden and then I think I'll find Danny. I'd like to see him. And as long as we're more or less neighbors, Mr. Bradford, I thought he might also be friends. I'm not very good at friendship these days. Sick men, are you? Don't I look like one? I wouldn't know. I'm blind. Oh. I'm sorry. The last war, I was a pilot. That's what I am. I was, and they dragged me out of the jungle. You're young. You're men. Oh, you can't see me. How do you know how I look? There's nothing left of me but nerves, nothing but... Go right ahead. Complain all you want if it makes you feel better. Apparently, you never complain. You haven't given me a chance. All right. How in the name of heaven have you stood it all these years? Being blind? Sometimes I feel that as a young man, I was blind. That it's only now that I can really see. I don't believe you. Anyway, it would never work for me. Why not? I'm not blind. Because I still want the same things I wanted when I had a face that people could look at without wincing. When this arm of mine did more than just hang here. When I was well and strong... I batted my head against many a wall, just the way you're doing. As a matter of fact, I was lost until I found music. And then a whole new life began for me. Music? I don't know one note from another. You'll find something. Yes, how? Where? In yourself. Because you're a human being, not a medical case, you're a man who's come across a place in the road where it... when it branches off. You don't want to go ahead. You want to go back. You don't trust yourself. How can I trust myself? You must. And you will. Well, I mustn't overstay my first visit. I'll call my young nephew. I believe he's waiting down at the shore. I'll walk down there with you. Oh, I can manage. No, I'd like to. It's the first time I've really felt like walking. Danny, he's bringing the stick back again. He sure is a silly old dog. No more than I call the stick out in the ocean when he brings it back to me. Maybe he thinks you're a silly old boy. No more than he brings the stick back, you throw it out again. You can throw it if you want to. Well, thank you, Danny. Thanks, Dave. Hey, Uncle John. Goodbye, Miss Pennington. Bye. Come on, old dog. Come on. To our ocean, Mr. Bradford. Danny was helping me gather some driftwood. Well, how would that be as a hobby for me? A driftwood gatherer. Oh, too practical. A hobby for hobby's sake, it's supposed to be. Well, maybe I could set a new style in hobbies. Well, why don't you try? Here, here's the basket. But you'll have to do your gathering without my help. I still haven't started that housework. This driftwood weighs a ton. I told you to leave some for tomorrow. Well, nevertheless, I've made it. Has it actually been three weeks since you introduced me to the wonders of your seashore? Three weeks. I think I didn't know the difference between a starfish and a star sapphire. Well, if you'd been in doubt, any fisherman could have told you. Or any Jew of it. Look, there's was a minute. Surprise, Mr. Minut. We brought you some more driftwood. Thanks. That makes just about enough for a dozen winters. You can always use it. Well, it's probably never been done before, but I could gather up all the driftwood I've gathered and take it back to the shore. That would be different. Yes, it's something to think about. But first, I think I'll dump this on the wood file. It's wonderful, isn't it, the way he's changed. If only they'll let him alone now. They? The letter just came for him. Sooner or later, they'd hear from him. He'd hear from them. Perhaps it's better now. The room is dark. He's just sitting there, the way he did that first night. You supper? He didn't touch it. I brought the tray down. Did he mention that letter? He said nothing, only that Mr. Hillgrove was coming tonight. He told me to tell him that he won't be able to see him. Well, maybe that's Mr. Hillgrove now. No, no, it's him. Look, through the window. He's walking toward the ocean. He shouldn't be alone like that. He shouldn't be. Mr. Bradford? Mr. Bradford? What do you want? Oh, did I fight? No, I didn't mean to. But it's so dark I couldn't see. They're little you miss, even in the dark. I thought you might not want to be alone. I'll be safe for me to be alone. I'll go back if you want. Is there anything you want me to tell Mr. Hillgrove? No, nothing. He's leaving tonight on a concert tour, you know. Yes, I know. Laura. Yes? Don't go back, please. These past few weeks I had the idea that walks we talk and talking to me. I hoped I was being of some help to you. And I thought if you needed help now I... That letter this afternoon, it's from my mother, Freddie. They've decided it isn't good for me to be alone, where I can brood too much. I can go home to their loving care or they're prepared to make the supreme sacrifice and come to live here with me. They want to know if they shouldn't bring a trained nurse with them. But they can't do that. My nothing could do you more harm. There's no way to make them understand. No way to escape them. Give me your hand. Promise me you won't give up. Promise. You understand. Because you're thoughtful and kind. Laura, don't be startled at what I'm going to say. Will you marry me? No, don't pull away. Look at me. I had no idea I was going to ask you that. But I'm glad I did. Would you believe me that the very asking makes me realize I've been thinking about it for some time? And I mean it, with all my heart. If you want to marry me to get rid of your family, there must be dozens of girls who'd suit your purpose better than I. You think I have such a great choice, a casualty for the rest of my life? I understand. I get the chance because I... Oh, I'm such a fool. I wouldn't have hurt you for anything in the world. It isn't as if I weren't aware of my ugliness. Women like me find a refuge in our dreams, daydreams as well as nightdreams, merciful dreams, which were lovely and desirable. It's cruel to destroy those dreams. I only felt that no woman would marry me except out of compassion. I know you have a lot left. You know how desperate I get at times, but I promise if I felt a black spell coming on, I'd hide away in my room till it passed. But with you, I wouldn't have them often because I like being with you. The sound of your voice, your laughter. I know I'm not offering you much, but... Well, we are sort of in the same boat, and we would be together. That's so much better than being alone. But I don't want to be your wife just because you need one. And I happen to be here. Don't you see? Yes, I see. You couldn't possibly carry them. But I do care. That's the reason. Oh, bless you, Laura. Bless you forever and ever. Never heard of such a thing. What does it say? Tell me. There will be no need of your coming here. Laura Pennington and I were married yesterday. I'll write more later, Love Oliver. Married? Thank you. You came here alone? I took a taxi cab this time, not Danny, a real cab. I'd been out of town, Mrs. Minnet, at a concert tour. When I arrived home tonight, I found a note from Oliver Bradford. Yes. Danny, ready to me. Oliver told me of his marriage. Then he asked me to come here as soon as I could. He said something extraordinary has happened to him and Laura. They're out now. They're walking. Everything's all right? Oh, yes. This room, what's happened? It feels different somehow. It's the flowers, maybe. No, no, it's more than that. Mrs. Minnet, tell me please, what's happened to them? I don't know. They see me no more of me than they can help. They're in hiding. Hiding? They keep to themselves all day. And when they go out at night, they wrap themselves up and cover their faces. They, oh, they're here now. Excuse me. Laura, Mr. Bradford. Mr. Hillcloth's here in the living room. Hello, hello. Oh, John, it's good to see you again. Hello, John. I think we should have died if we'd had to wait much longer. What's this about all this mystery? Well, it may be insane, but we sent for you because you're the only one we can trust. We don't really know how to explain it. It's fantastic. Oh, Oliver, let me. I thought I'm very articulate about it, but, well, it has to do with this cottage. I think, John, you know my feeling about it. It's the same as yours. There's something strange here. Something. But what has it to do with you and Oliver? Well, it's pretty incredible, John. We've changed. Changed? Completely. I can tell that from your voices. You feel different because you're happy. What's more than that? It's a physical change. We no longer look as we did. We're different. John, tell us that it's true that we have changed. I'm blind, I can't see. That's why we had to tell you first. John, look. Look at us and tell us what your blind eyes can see. We pause now for station identification. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System. In just a minute, we'll bring you the third act of The Enchanted College with Dorothy McWire and Robert Young. We have with us tonight one of RKO's prettiest young actresses, Miss Rita Carday. Perhaps some of you may have seen her on the screen. What were your latest pictures, Rita? I've appeared in several of the Falcon series, Mrs. Tromburg, and I've a part in George White's scandal soon to be released. Well, I understand you got into the movies by quite a long and roundabout route. Yes. By way of Indochina, Saipan, Australia and San Francisco. You see, my family were living in Shanghai when the jabs came in and we had to run for our lives. Well, as Hollywood's good luck, you arrive safely. Don't you agree, Mr. Kennedy, that Miss Carday is a candidate for success on the screen? I should say I do. If acting ability and fresh young beauty mean anything, I think I really ought to describe you for our listeners, Miss Carday. Let's see. Ash blonde hair, grey eyes and a gorgeous luxe complexion. There now, Rita. How do you like that word picture? Really, Mr. Kennedy, it's a very flattering one. You're quite accurate about my being a luxe girl, though. I've used luxe toilets so ever since I first learned it was the screen star's own complexion care. Active ladder facials really work, I found. Thank you, Miss Rita Carday. I'm sure pretty girls everywhere will agree with you. They know this gentle care, 9 out of 10 screen stars depend on is quick, effective and so easy to use. Why not prove it for yourself? Get a supply of this satin smooth beauty soap tomorrow. See if you're not delighted with the gentle, cherishing care it gives your skin. And here's another tip. You'll find luxe toilet soap makes a delightful daily beauty bath, too. The rich, creamy lather leaves skin so fresh and sweet. Makes a girl sure of daintiness. Screen stars say they love luxe toilet soap's flower-like perfume. Delicate fragrance that clings. Back to Mr. Stromberg and our stars. Act three of the Enchanted Cottage, starring Robert Young as Oliver and Dorothy McQuarr as Laura. Only a few moments have passed since Laura and Oliver have told John Hillgrove of the amazing change that has come over them in the Enchanted Cottage. The blind penis can discern nothing with his eyes. He sits motionless and fascinated as they continue the story. You could only see us, John. First as we were, then as we are now. Your eyes would know that we're telling you only the truth. Perhaps if you started at the beginning. We were married in the village, and when we came home Mrs. Minut had prepared dinner, our wedding dinner. When it was over, she left the room. This room. I could feel Oliver's eyes upon me. I wanted to look at him, but I was afraid of what I might read in his eyes. She knows that this marriage is nothing but my supreme selfishness. The last barrier I can build to keep out the world that I'm afraid to face. What would I have done to them? This girl who sits across the table from me and bows her head. What terribly shabby trick have I played upon her, trying to palm off the broken, bitter shell of a man on one so gentle, so honest. And what can I say to her? There's nothing I can say. Nothing. He is my husband. And yet he can never know how much he means to me. That I've loved him ever since the first day he stepped into this room. I'll never be able to tell him all that was in my heart. Because he can never love me as I love him. Only I could make him understand. Perhaps, through music, the first notes I struck were like the touch of a magic wand. I could feel the room changing. There was a new warmth, the radiance, a strange enchantment, embracing everything about me. I turned and looked at Oliver. His scars were gone. The lines of his anguished face had disappeared. And I saw him as he was the first day in December. Suddenly I thought, how could I fool myself? How could I be the bride of such a man as this? I started to cry. I rushed from the room. She was gone before I could stop her. I knew how cruelly I'd hurt her. I had no choice. I would release her. Release her from the torture that our marriage meant to her. I found her in the garden. I remembered all her kindness. The thousand and one little ways in which she had lightened my loneliness. Suddenly I knew how much she had come to mean to me. I took her in my arms to tell her. She was beautiful. More beautiful than anyone I had ever known. That was when we knew, John. That was when we knew. Now we've told you and I'm afraid. I can't help it, but I am afraid. Why, Laura, why? It's this cottage. Houses are living things alive with all the thoughts and all the memories of the people who've lived in them. But the lovers who came here before were not like us. Ours was a marriage of convenience. They may think that we've profaned their memory and this may be their revenge, letting us have happiness for a moment before taking it away. That's why I'm afraid. I couldn't stand being ugly again for Oliver. Darling, you can't talk like that. John, have you nothing to say? Mrs. Minut, does she know? She never looks at us, but she knows, I know she knows. Laura, Oliver, take this gift that's come to you and enjoy it without question, without fear. Accept it humbly as a heaven-sent miracle and be grateful for it. A miracle? Don't either of you believe in miracles? Modern miracles that may happen to you or to me? Today, tomorrow? You both may be touched by a power that is beyond this world. Accept your blessing. Don't speak to anyone about it. It belongs to you. John. Then you understand. You believe? I believe what you told me. Keep your happiness. Cherish it as you would your lives. I love you so, Oliver. And I have the strangest feeling. Almost as if these walls were breathing. All the memories and ghosts of love. Live, live, live. That's what they seem to say. This is our day and night. All our enchanted life to be lived now. I have a feeling too. Madness. It's contagious. That's what's nice about it. Listen. What? That song I hear. A melody that whispers all through these enchanted rooms. What does it say, this song you hear? I love you, Laura. That's what it says. The song I hear. Screw up your nose like that deer when you're making wood blocks. Of course, darling. It's just as essential as biting one's tongue when you're drawing. Oh, that's reasonable. You know, I could sit here forever and just look at you. Is that all? Well, occasionally I'd want very much to kiss you. You see, I've been standing here for five minutes. John! Waiting to make a less embarrassing entrance. That might take hours. Oh, I'm so glad to see you. You're alone? Yes, I came by courtesy of the milk truck. You know it's been almost a week since we've seen you? Well, I was in the village. Just now, a telegram came in for you, Oliver. I said I'd bring it out. Telegram? Oh, it's for my mother, Laura. She and Freddie. They're coming here today. Well, that's fine. It is fine. I'm glad they're coming. I'm only sorry I hadn't asked them two before now. I'm glad too, John. I want them to see how happy we are. But most of all, well, I'd like them to see that Oliver didn't do too badly marrying me. Darling! Well, anyway, I have the most exciting new dress. Yes, Mrs. Minnet. There's a car stopping in front of the house. It's your mother and stepfather. Mr. Bedford, you weren't expecting them. Oh, Mr. Hillcourt. Good afternoon. We are expecting them, Mrs. Minnet. It's so typical of mother not to give us more warning. But I can't meet them looking like they are. I've had you two. I'll entertain them till you're ready. Sure you don't mind? Actually, I'm glad of the opportunity. Well, come along then, darling. We'll have to hurry. Yes. Oh, Mrs. Minnet. Yes. Do you suppose we could have an especially fine tea this afternoon? What's the matter, Mrs. Minnet? Oh, please don't be upset. We're really very pleased to have them come. I'm all right. Run along. Bring them here, Mrs. Minnet. I think you understand. Yes. Yes, I understand. Now that we've met, won't you sit down? It's really a very pleasant garden. Oh, thank you. But where's my son, Mr. Hillgrove? Where is he? He and Laura are in the cottage. They'll be out in a moment. And it's goodwill alone because there's something I have to explain. He doesn't want to see us. That's it, isn't it? They do want to see you very much. But something extraordinary has happened to Oliver and Laura. They're different people. Different how? They're on the borderland of the greatest happiness they've ever experienced. But they've changed. They've changed greatly. And I know that this change, as they see it, is not as you will see it. What in the world are you trying to tell us? Suppose I put it this way. When you see them walk out of the cottage, whatever they do, whatever they say, please act along with them. Pretend that the change is as great as they imagine it to be. Change? For heaven's sakes, what change? Oliver isn't well. That's what you're trying to tell me. He isn't well. He's perfectly well. Oh, Freddie, we should have come here long ago. In time to come, when they're ready to face the world, they will have found out the truth for themselves. But now, believe me, it would actually be better if you went away without even seeing him. You can't mean that. How can a mother deserve her only son at a time like this? Now, where is he? Oliver! Oliver! We'll be right down, Mother. Remember that the next few minutes may be the most important in their lives. You hold their chance for happiness in your hands. Oliver! Mother, oh, it's good to see you. And Freddie. Hello, Oliver. Well, you both remember Laura, don't you? I'm so glad to meet you, Mrs. Price. Huh! How do you do? We got your telegram just a few minutes ago. It seemed to add just the note we wanted. You're coming here. Well, Mrs. Minnett's getting tea, or I'm just waiting till you've tasted her skull. This is going to be a real party, isn't it? A memorable occasion because you're the first mother, you and Freddie, besides John here. There's nobody else who knows. No, Swat. Look here, Oliver. Well, Freddie is a greater shock to you than anyone, isn't it? But you'll soon get used to the change. You won't even remember us as we used to look. Laura and I actually joke about it now. Mother. Mother, what is it? Oh, my poor boy. You poor poor darling. But if you're happy, well, I guess that's all that really matters. Laura, I'm glad you married you, my dear. Believe me, I am. Thank you. It's clear you're such a loyal girl. You've got so much more to give him. So much more than just a pretty girl. A pretty girl? It's fortunate that Oliver has an income and that Freddie and I can help. That way, you'll be able to stay right on here, the two of you. We'll visit his office, we can, but it won't be necessary for you to see people, even leave here. Yes, Mrs. Minnet. Would you like some tea? I couldn't swallow them all. I've got a dreadful headache coming on. I know you'll forgive us if we just run along. You poor poor darling. Goodbye, son. Don't worry about anything. Goodbye. I'll be in the cottage. Stay here, Mrs. Minnet. Laura, Oliver. I hope I could spare you this... I don't understand. You've known the truth about us, haven't you, John? You've known all along. Yes, I have. And you've known too, haven't you, Mrs. Minnet? Tell us the truth. Have you noticed any change in our appearance? Have you? Have you seen any change, whatever? No. Look at us, Mrs. Minnet. There is no change now. None. Why didn't you tell us? There's nothing I could have told you. I knew you had to find out the truth just now. I thought my heart would break. And yet, what is there really to be sad about? Shall I tell you the secret? Shall I? Please. You love each other. I've watched you from the beginning. And on the day of your wedding, I saw your love blaze up like a fierce flame. Keep your love burning. Keep it burning. I promise you, you'll never be anything to one another, but fair and young and handsome. That's the secret to the only enchantment the cottage holds. And it's of your own making. Just as I am. Broken and old. If my man could rise from his grave and walk in this minute and behold me, I should be pretty to him. Yes, pretty to him. John, don't feel badly. I wanted so to help. You did help. If we'd known sooner, it might have been... But now... Now it's all right. Isn't that Donny's door? Yes, I guess he and the boy have come to fetch me. Goodbye, John. Goodbye, Laura. There's something that may interest you. I've written some music about you, about this cottage. Tonight at my house, I'm playing it. There'll be people there, many people. I want you to come. People? Us? How can we? Think about it. Perhaps you'll change your mind. Let's go into the cottage, darling. We've been sitting here. Hours and hours, darling. In all that time, I've had but one thought. Laura, you'll always be beautiful to me. And nothing in this world could ever change the way I feel about you. You know that. Yes, dearest, I know. Oliver, we've never written our names on the window. Somehow I think they'd want us to now. You write mine, and I'll write yours. Then I think it would be nice if we paid John a visit. After all, we owe him quite a few visits. There'll be people there, darling. Yes, I know. It's a big world full of people and a place for you and me, Amon. You'll come, Laura. And so full of pride. So full of pride. In just a moment, our stars, Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young, will return for a curtain call. Meanwhile, remember, the war is over, but the battle of supply still goes on. Our Secretary of Agriculture tells us that America's supply of fats and oils is still alarmingly low, and it'll be many months before it returns to normal. Used fats are needed to help make nearly everything of which there has been a wartime shortage. Automobiles, tires, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, irons, nylon, paints, plastics, soaps. The list is endless, and the need is critical. So please, please, Mrs. America, keep that fat salvage tin handy on your stove. Put into it every drop of used fat, rendered meat scraps, skimmings from soups and stews, even burnt blackened grease from your roasting pan. Every bit you save is helping every one of us to have more quickly the peacetime necessities we've been waiting such a long time to have. And remember, for every pound you turn in, your meat dealer will give you two red ration points and four cents. We return you to Hunt-Stromberg and our stars. Once again, it's curtain call time, and with Bob Young representing the Lux Regulars, we're happy to welcome a newcomer to this stage in the pleasant farm of Dorothy McQuire. Thank you, Mr. Stromberg. It's a privilege to be here. I must say, Dorothy, that since your screen success is Claudia, you've had the good sense not to let yourself be tight. Well, I don't know about the good sense, Mr. Stromberg. In my next picture, some must watch they've cast me as a mute. I don't speak a single line. Well, that's going to present an interesting problem for Lux, Mr. Stromberg. Yes, a starring part in which the heroine doesn't say a word. It's certainly a new idea for radio. Well, you've got signs around this theater saying quiet, please. Dorothy, I think you need to get a little more familiar with the way we operate here. Well, the Lux radio theater may be new to me, but Lux toilet soap isn't. I've been using it for years for my complexion. And with very alluring results, Dorothy. Bob, with the last time that I worked with you was on the set of Northwest Passage. That's right. I understand that since then you've had quite a family man. Three daughters, Mr. Stromberg. Three? Hey, do you take them to see your pictures? None. I wouldn't run the risk. I did try to take them to anchors away, though, and I couldn't get a seat, so I had Metro Golden Mayor run the picture off at home. You're going to make a lot of parents jealous solving the problem that easily. Pictures in your own home. Well, Lux solves the problem, Mr. Stromberg. What are you bringing into people's homes next Monday night? Next Monday night, we're mixing terror with suspense, excitement with mystery, and love with action. In RKO's fascinating drama, Experiment Perilous, and our stars are George Brant playing his original screen role, Virginia Bruce, and Paul Henry. It's one of the year's outstanding mystery thrillers. The drama of a young wife torn between fear of her demented husband and love for the man who tries to save her. It ought to make a thrilling evening, Mr. Stromberg. Good night. Good night. Good night. You gave us an enchanting evening with Enchanted Cottage. Our sponsors, the makers of Lux's toilet soap, join me in inviting you to be with us again next Monday evening. When the Lux Radio Theatre presents George Brant, Virginia Bruce, and Paul Henry in Experiment Perilous, this is Hans Stromberg saying good night to you from Hollywood. Every day, more than a million and a half men and women in the service overseas relax before a radio or a motion picture screen. In far-off places, in jungles and isolated villages or on the high seas, they see the latest pictures or hear this very program you're listening to tonight. Through the efforts of the motion picture industry, the finest pictures are made available to them. And through the cooperation of the army, the Lux Radio Theatre and other famous programs are brought to them regularly. Another of the many efforts that are being made to keep our men and women overseas in touch with home. Hans Stromberg's next picture to be released is Young Widow. Our music was directed by Louis Silvers. This is your announcer, George Brant. John Milton Kennedy reminding you to tune in again next Monday night to hear Experiment Perilous with George Brant, Virginia Bruce and Paul Henry.