 Family Theater presents Walter Brennan, Betty Lynn, and the Honorable Frank C. Walker. The Mutual Network in Cooperation with Family Theater presents Walter Brennan and Betty Lynn in A Star for Helen. To introduce the drama, your host, the Honorable Frank C. Walker. Thank you, Tony LaFranco. 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 are 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. Tonight, Family Theater takes great pleasure in presenting a star for Helen, starring Walter Brennan as Brannigan and Betty Lynn as Helen. It seems Ed Brannigan, and I was thinking, maybe I ought to tell you about Helen, Helen Jackson. She's a nice kid, one of our tenants. Being as that I'm the janitor of this house, I get to know the tenants. I've been here for over 20 years, and I know Helen. When Helen was a kid, six years old, she used to come down into the basement and talk to me. You see, I always made it a point to keep a bag of jelly beans handy. This is like it was. Hello, Mr. Brannigan. Hello, Helen. School out already? Uh-huh. Been a good girl in school today? Uh-huh. I got another gold star in my book. Another one? It's for my ABCs. See? I'm proud of you, Helen. Let me see. Oh, you got a gold star Monday, a gold star Tuesday, a gold star Wednesday, and today, Thursday, another one? That's because I'm smart. And how's your behavior? I'm good in school. Are you always good? I'm always good. Now look here, Helen. You wouldn't tell me a lie, would you? No, Mr. Brannigan. It's a sin to tell a lie. My mother told me. That's right. It is a sin to tell a lie. Now, Helen, tell me something. What would you think of a little girl who cheated with gold stars? Cheated? With gold stars? Yeah, I mean, suppose a girl in one bean were that every time she got a gold star, she'd get jelly beans. Just like I give you jelly beans every time you get a gold star. Suppose this little girl should go to the Five and Tinsons store and buy a box of her own gold star. See? And suppose she pasted her own gold stars in her book just to, well, just to fool people and get jelly beans. I didn't paste my own gold stars. Honest, Mr. Brannigan? No, Helen. Honest, I didn't, Mr. Brannigan. Here, don't go away now, Helen. Come here. Your mother wouldn't like you if she knew you'd told lies, would she? If you tell lies, you disobey God, and if you disobey your own mother. And a good girl don't disobey your own mother. Does she? Does she, Helen? No. Okay. What does a good girl do? I don't know. Well, a good girl honors her father and mother, just like it says in the commandments. Honor thy father and thy mother. I haven't got any father. Okay. But it's a commandment anyway. Now say it after me. Thou shalt honor. Thou shalt honor. Thy father and thy mother. Thy father and thy mother. You promise me you're going to do that forever and ever? Yes. Okay. Here's your jelly beans, Helen. Yeah, she was a skinny little brown-eyed thing. Black hair, smart as a fox. She sure had me fooled for a while with that box of gold stars she bought at Woolworth's. Yeah, the kid was always hungry. Hungry for something. Jelly beans, donuts, but mostly for love. Kids love to be loved. And with Helen, well, her old man was dead and her mother, and maybe ought to tell you sought a confidential about her mother. When Helen grew up to be 12, well, this is like it was. Hello, Helen. Hello, Mr. Branigan. You've been sitting out here all afternoon on this stoop. It's nice and sunny here on the steps. How's high school coming? Are you getting the algebra any better? You know how much does X equal and all that stuff? It's still sort of tough. Pretty hard to get gold stars in that stuff, Helen. Remember the day long ago when you had your own box of gold stars? Seems so long ago. And remember down in the basement? Uh-huh. That was the day you told me about the Fourth Commandment. That's right. Honor thy father and thy mother. You never forgot that, did you, Helen? No, Mr. Branigan. I've always remembered it. What's the matter, kid? It's nothing. Yeah, it's nothing. I've been watching you, Helen. I've seen you sitting out here on this stoop plenty of afternoons all by yourself. It's really none of my business, Helen. I mean about your mother. She keeps... keeps drinking, Mr. Branigan. I know, kid. For almost two weeks. Every day. She stays in the room. Why do people have to keep drinking? Oh, different reasons, maybe. Some people got a lot of worries, so they drink. They want to get troubles off their minds. They want to be happy. My mother isn't happy, Mr. Branigan. Look, Helen, I don't know why your mother drinks. I'm sorry for your kid, honest I am. But, well, your mother's a good woman, Helen. You know that. She'd be all right if only she didn't... And remember, she worked hard all her life. Worked to put bread in your mouth and clothes in your back. Oh, I don't know, someday she's going to snap out of it. You wait and see. I've said a million prayers already. Okay. Keep saying your prayers. And now, why don't you go upstairs? Maybe your mother needs you. Sometimes I wish I could run away and never go upstairs into the rooms again. Yeah, I know what you mean. But remember what I said to you down at the basement. All right, Mr. Branigan. I remember. Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother. That's the idea. No matter what happens, kid, that's the angle. And when you do that, Helen, you'll get a real gold star in the books. Of course, I'm only a janitor, and I don't know much about psychology and things like that. And as for Mrs. Jackson, Helen's mother, well, I ain't making any conclusions. All I know is... she's a good woman at heart, but she hits the bottle. My heart bleeds for the kid, Helen. Like the day Helen was going to be graduated, for example. That's swell, Helen. You're the what? The valedictorian. That means I give the closing speech to the graduation exercises. Swell, swell, swell. I knew you had it in you. But what I came to see about is my mother. Yeah? I'd like her to be at the graduation. She'd be sure, naturally. I bought her a new dress. That job after school, huh? Faced dividends. It's a beautiful dress, and she looked lovely in it, but I'm afraid she may go off again. I mean, you know what I mean. Ah, stop worrying. It's going to be on a Friday night, so... Yeah, sure. So could you... it's a scheme just between us. Go ahead, I'm listening. Just a bit of psychology. Psychology? I want you to give her a big boost. Tell her how nice she'll look in the dress. Tell her about the graduation, and how proud she ought to be, you know, with me, your own daughter, the valedictorian. Hey, you'll leave it to me. She'll be wearing gardenias, and she'll look like Queen Victoria, and she'll be as... I was going to say she'll be as sober as a judge. I was going to say that to Helen. Helen who was looking at me with her sweet, brown, hungry eyes. Jesus. Well, kid, Helen is. What comes to graduation night? I'm walking upstairs to Jackson Flat. I'm knocking at the door. Hello, Helen, I'm here. I'm going to take your mother to the graduation first class. Got a cab downstairs. It's all right, Mr. Branigan. You needn't bother. Wait, what's the matter, Helen? Mother doesn't... she doesn't want to go. Thanks, anyway. What do you mean? Again? You mean? Hello, Mr. Branigan. I was expecting you. Are we ready for the graduation? Go inside, Mom. Back in the room. Don't push me. Go back in the room. What's your children for you, Mr. Branigan? Present generation. No respect. Go back in the room. What are you yelling about? It's all right, Helen. It's not all right. It's not all right. It's awful. You make me tired. No sense. No sense in your head. I'm sorry, Helen. I thought she'd be okay. I mean, I tried hard. Thanks, anyway. Thanks for everything, Mr. Branigan. Come here. Out in the hall. Close the door there. Now look at me straight, kid. You're 17 years old. Almost a woman. I want you to go down there and give your valedictorian speech. See? Forget about... up here. Leave it to me. You go down there to that graduation and be a credit not only to yourself, but also... A credit to my mother, too. Is that it? Don't say it like that, Helen. Be a credit to your mother. As we, your children, go forth into life, Alma Mater. We promise to honor your traditions. You have opened our eyes to the beauties of the arts and sciences. You have guided us, your children, at your knee. You have nourished us and pointed the way like a true mother to a better and richer life. We shall always cherish your name. We shall honor you. We shall love you always. Alma Mater. Alma Mater. Our mother. So the kid gets graduated like millions of other kids and she goes to work also like millions of other kids. Like yours and mine, for instance. For three years she worked down in the department store. She sells colognes and fancy bath salt and things like that. To see Helen standing there behind the counter with her nice brown eyes looking at you over the little bottles of perfume, you'd never think she had a worry in the world. For three years she worked like that. Then one afternoon, clink, the fireworks start up at Helen's house. But Helen, maybe you're making a mistake. I've got my mind made up, Mr. Branigan. Just help me with these bags, please. Where are you going? I'll find rooms. I want to see how normal people live. You're walking out on me, Helen? Walking out on you! Why, why, you drunkard! Easy, Helen. All your life you've been walking out on me for 15 years I put up with your drunk and promises or I was willing to do it. I was ready to spend the rest of my life supporting you if you would only try to live like a decent human being. Well, I'm sick and tired of this rotten routine. I'm tired making excuses to people. I'm tired of being shamed, disgraced. Well, I didn't know what I was doing, Helen. I didn't mean to go down to the store today. What happened, Helen? Ask the girls at the department store. Ask the boss, ask the customers, ask everybody. Oh, they've got me labelled now. Like one of the bottles on the shelf. Helen Jackson, poor girl, alcohol base. So Helen moves away, takes up a room somewhere downtown. Same old story. And let me tell you, it ain't the first time I've seen homes broken by what is commonly referred to as a demon rum. A drink? I like a drink myself once in a while. Well, as my good friend up at St. Matthew says, it ain't the use but the abuse. Of course you know that, as well as I do. And there wouldn't be any use in me telling you this story of Helen Jackson if it wasn't for something that happened about six weeks later. It seems she was standing behind the counter and a fella walks up to her. Would you help me, Miss? Surely. I'd like to get a bottle of good perfume. We have several of the standard brands, any particular. Oh, no, this has to be special. I see, for the one and only? That's right, the one and only. Oh, your mother? Well, what's the matter? Your mother's rate perfume? Oh, yes, of course. You see, it happens to be her birthday and, well, she's getting on in years. It's nice to keep reminding him that they're not getting old. I figured a bottle of good perfume... Say, what's the trouble, Miss? Nothing. You're not sick, are you? What kind of perfume do you want? Oh, uh, well, uh, that kind. Twelve dollars, please. Okay, thank you. That was like on a Tuesday. On Wednesday night, what do you think happens? This is a nice place, Joe. I thought you'd like it. These boots make it kind of cozy. But get back to my favorite subject. I had a hard time forgetting the way you looked at me over the counter yesterday. Is that why you made the dinner date? Maybe. I like lonesome people. What makes you think I'm lonesome? Your eyes, the way you look at me, the way you speak. Am I that tragic? I didn't say you were tragic. I said you looked lonesome. And I like lonesome people. You've known each other for only three months, Joe. I know it, Helen, but it makes no difference. If I lived to be a million, I'd feel the same. I love you, Helen. Say it again, Joe. I love you, Helen. Oh, Joe, I'm not lonesome anymore. If you'll only say the word, I'll... I'll take you right home to the family, introduce you. You'll find them a bit stuffy, perhaps, but you don't have to be scared. No split-infinitive, you mean? What do you say, Helen? Joe, I'd love to marry you. That's all I want to hear. Well, come on, kiddo. Let's spread the good news. We're wonderful tonight in there. I told you the family would like you. You better take me home now, Joe. Well, what's the rush? Let's stay here in the garden for a while. Really? I'm tired tonight. Yeah, sure you are. But I'm going to fix that up forever. Helen, Helen, I never knew until tonight that you were practically an orphan. Well, your folks wanted to know, Joe. They were curious about background. That's why I told them about my father. Died when I was too young to remember. And your mother died when you were 12? Yes. My mother died when I was 12. If she was anything like you, Helen, she must have been a beautiful woman. My mother was... She was a lady, Joe. Well, that's how things were developing. So a couple of nights later, I'm sitting in my room and I hear a knock on the door. Come in. Helen, what are you doing back here? Hello, Mr. Branigan. I came back to pick up some papers. Papers? Personal stuff, birth certificate, letters. Is my mother upstairs? No, I saw her go out about 10 minutes ago, Helen. But it will be easier with her out of the way. You seem to be in a big hurry, young lady. I am. Joe and I are getting married this month. No, that's nice, Helen. May as a swell wants to get married in. We're going to Massachusetts. I see. We're settling down there. Oh, you mean for good? Yes. Well, I guess we won't be seeing much of you from now on, huh? That's right. I want to get away forever from everything that could remind me. I'm Helen Jackson. We went upstairs together. Helen and me. The flat was, well, still sort of dingy looking. I could almost see Helen's shiver when she went in. She walked straight to her room and got the papers. Then, all of a sudden, Helen was looking at something. It was lying on the chair. It was a book. A nickel composition book. That's an old bookie yours, Helen. The one you used in the first grade, remember? Where did she get it? I don't know. She must have saved it all these years. Your mother was always proud of the gold stars you got, Helen. You... You mean she's been saving this book? Yeah. She takes it out lots of times, Helen, and looks at it. She... Well, she always says to me, Helen got more gold stars than any kid in the world. Yeah. Gold stars. You know how parents are, Helen. They're proud of the things you get in school, even as far back as 1A and 1B. Gold stars. Maybe you better believe in now, Helen. She might be back any minute. All right. And you might as well take this book with you. After all, they're your own gold stars. The kid went out of the house that night. She was lonesome. All of her life she was hungry for something, mostly for love, like everybody else. And in a way, she had a perfect set-up. Yeah. A perfect set-up. Later, she told me about the set-up. That's right. It was a perfect set-up, Mr. Branigan. Oh, it was wonderful being near Joe. I guess I love him about as much as it's possible for a girl to love a fellow. Sure, I might have been happy with him and his people. But I was playing a game, Mr. Branigan. It was a funny game. I knew it. I knew I was walking away from something, turning my back on something. You know, skeletons in the closet. You know, Mr. Branigan. Sure, Helen. I know what you mean. I was thinking of my mother. I lied about my mother. They had never understand. Even Joe might not understand. You see, I wanted Joe. I wanted to keep him forever. I wanted to pull the curtains on everything I was supposed to remember. I wanted to forget I was Helen Jackson. I wanted to forget that I ever had a mother, but not after that night in my mother's room when we found that crazy book. I kept remembering that day down in the basement long ago. I was five or six years old, and you said... Oh, shout honor. ...by father and by mother. You said I'd get a gold star for that, Mr. Branigan. Well, I had a million gold stars, with Joe, with the House in Massachusetts, with all the simple things that any girl wants in this day and age. Security, affection, love, all these things I had. Until I picked up that funny little book off my mother's chair, then something kicked the bottom out of my million stars. Maybe it's my conscience. Maybe it's being old-fashioned. Maybe it's being sentimental. I know what you mean. You still love your mother. I love my mother, Mr. Branigan. I love her despite her weakness. That's the truth. I couldn't walk out on her. Not even if it meant a billion stars. So... So I had to tell Joe. So I'm waiting on the stoop that night, if the moon is big and yellow, coming up behind the tribera bridge. Then I hear footsteps along the street. I'm waiting for those footsteps. Helen's. She's carrying her suitcases. Hello, Mr. Branigan. I've been expecting you tonight, Helen. Why? Oh, I understand you called something off today. A marriage or something, I think. Who told you? A guy who's waiting for you in the hall. Hello, Helen. Joe. How did you know where I lived? Don't ask so many questions, Helen. Now, why don't you two people sit out here in the stoop? Maybe you got something to talk over. I got a little work to do in the basement. Yeah. When you're a janitor, your work is never done. Well, what are you going to say, Joe? You were willing to come back to this? That's right. To my mother. It's not your style, is it, Joe? No gardens to walk in. Helen, all of a sudden the picture is getting clearer. You know, I never really knew you till now. I think you're the nicest and bravest thing I've ever met. You were willing to go all out for someone who was down. You were going to stick when the going was tough. Okay, Helen. That's the way I want it. Why, you're the kind of girl I need. I mean that. You're only a girl, but you've got strong arms. Beautiful arms, Helen. You need a strong back, too, Joe. Yes. They call them crosses. The crosses you've got to bear. May I help you carry some of the load? You mean it? Oh, Joe. Hold me. Never let me go. And of course I don't want to get too nosy, so I let them sit there in the stoop by themselves. But I did take a peek a little later. And I saw him with his arms around her, which is a nice thing for Helen. And also I noticed, over the tributary bridge right behind them, the moon, big and golden. It was coming up. And I can't help thinking as I watch it, how much it looks like a big gold star. Another star for Helen. This is Frank Walker again. As I look back over the years, the thought often strikes me that so few of us really plan our way of life, having a real goal in mind. We live our lives quite casually, meeting grave situations head on, not contemplating a better and finer way to solve our problems. Surely there is a need in this tragic world today to give some thought to our way of life. With all our amazing advancement in education, in culture, in science, we had all planned and hoped for a happier, more pleasant, more peaceful life in a more peaceful world. Yet we find ourselves more confused in a more confused world. We find a confusion unparalleled in all history. We have missed in planning our way of life, and why? I have long since reached the definite conclusion that advancement in education, culture and science, not based upon the dignity of man and the existence of a God in heaven, will but leave us all hopeless and helpless individuals in a confused world. The holy humble man who is the directing head of Family Theater is a superb force for good in bringing those who come within his horizon back to the fundamental doctrine. This great crusader, in his own simple fashion, is telling us in America, and I quote, there can be no peace without recognition of a God we can love and be loved by, the God with whom we can commune spiritually and to whom we can and must pray. With all my heart, I publicly commend him and his crusade for family prayer. With humility, I accept his philosophy that the family that prays together stays together. It is of vital importance to society that families stay together, that we recognize a personal God to whom we pray is not only important, it is absolutely essential if peace is to come and to endure in this sorry world. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. Family Theater has brought you Walter Brennan and Betty Lynn in A Star for Helen. The Honorable Frank C. Walker was your host. In the past were Irene Tedrow and Whitfield and Whitfield Conner. The script was written by Timothy Mulvey 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 join us next week at the same time when Family Theater will present Joan Leslie and Mel Blanc in The Adventures of Pinocchio. Join us, won't you? Family Theater is broadcast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network, the Mutual Broadcasting System.