 Lux presents Hollywood. Leverbrothers Company, the makers of Lux Flakes, bring you the Lux Radio Theatre, starring James Stewart and Jane Wyman in Magic Town. Tonight, the Lux Radio Theatre comes to you from Hollywood as usual, but your producer speaks to you from Washington, D.C. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. William Keely. Greetings from Washington, ladies and gentlemen. This morning, I started shooting my forthcoming picture at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. And that is why I come to you tonight from Washington, D.C. And rest assured that nothing less imperative could keep me from being on your stage in person, especially at tonight's performance. For Magic Town, I think, is one of the season's most refreshing screen hits, and should be doubly rewarding with the two stars of this RKO release, James Stewart and Jane Wyman. I won't give away the plot except to say that it's based on a unique and typically American phenomenon, the public opinion poll, which sooner or later ferrets out our taste in everything from radio to a robot. Of course, one national poll that goes on every day is your selection of the things you buy, from a seat at the theater to a box of soap flakes at the store. And when it comes to the latter, your preference for Lux reflects not only on the product, but on you yourselves. For every time you ask for Lux, you're casting your vote for a better, more discriminating way to care for nice things. It's curtain time and we present act one of Robert Riskin's production, Magic Town, starring James Stewart as Rip Smith and Jane Wyman as Mary Piederman. Rip Smith got out of the army. He resumed his practice of taking the pulse of the American public. No, Rip Smith is not a doctor. He's head of the Institute of Public Opinion, which is one way of saying that he, well, suppose we explain it by hearing from one or two of his former clients. I manufacture automobiles. Before we put our post-war model on the market, we hired the Institute of Public Opinion. They canvassed the entire country, found out exactly what the public wanted in a new car. I'm editor of a woman's magazine. Last year we doubled our circulation. How? By putting the Institute of Public Opinion on the job. They discovered just what our magazine needed to get more leaders. Yes, that's Mr. Smith's business, finding out what the American public thinks. But in recent months, clients have been very scared and overhead has gone up and up. Until on this particular morning, Rip Smith is no longer in business. Well, Rip, you can say I didn't warn you. I'll pull up a chair and gloat, Charlie. I don't mind. Well, I was right, wasn't I? What a boss. Not my method of pulling public opinion. Too expensive, you said. You were going to find some miraculous shortcut. Well, somewhere there is a shortcut, Charlie. A mathematical miracle, some way to question, say, 50 or 100 people. All in one little small town, perhaps, and find out exactly what the entire country is thinking. Rip, that's just nonsense. It costs money to get public opinion. It takes time. A lot of both. Not now, Rip. I want you to come in with me. Oh, thanks, Charlie. I'll think about it. Now, you're in no position to be fussy. Yeah, look at this report. It's your report. Rip to the McKenzie Company. No wonder they canceled your contract. Well, what's the matter with that report? Look at my figures, and you'll see. Here. These are the figures we got on exactly the same subject. You weren't even close. I'll see. In favor, 68.1. Against, 24.5. Undecided, 7.4. Quite a discrepancy, I'd say. Wait a minute. Now, wait a minute. Charlie Stringer, I love you. Huh? With all my heart, I love you. Then you accept my offer? No, Charlie. I don't accept your offer, but thanks. Thanks very much. Mr. Twiddle, hey, I come in here. I get wonderful. I told you with a quart. Get in here, will ya? What's the matter with you? Where's Charlie Stringer? He's gone, but locked the door. He may change his mind and come back. Boys, boys, I think I've found it. The shortcut I've been looking for. Remember that letter I got from Hoop and Decker? Oh, yes. Your schoolteacher friend. Ex-Sergeant Hoop and Decker. What a man. Listen to this. Listen to what he wrote me. When I got your letter, Rip, I tested public opinion here in Grandview on the subject you suggested. And here's the result. In favor, 68.1, against, 24.5, undecided, 7.4. What's Hoop and Decker got to do with... Now look at this. Stringer's poll from McKinsey and Company. Stringer canvassed thousands of people all over the country from coast to coast, cost of fortune. Hoop and Decker canvassed a handful of people in one little small town. All right, Ike. All right. Read Stringer's figures. In favor, 68.1, against, 24.5, undecided, 7. Just the same. Identical. One small town that thinks exactly the way the whole country thinks. You're talking about Utopia. Well, maybe it is Utopia. Ike, Mr. Twiddle, all right, get me Hoop and Decker on the phone. No, no, I'll call him off myself. Call up the Census Bureau. Get me the Almanac too. Get me the Atlas. Grandview, huh? This could be it. This could be it. It's four o'clock, Rip. We haven't had lunch. All right, I'm finished, Ike. Boy, oh boy, I knew that somewhere there was a town like this. Look at these figures. Even the population breaks down exactly the way the whole country does. Males, females, the whole country in a test tube. What Grandview thinks what Grandview does, the entire nation thinks and does. Exactly. Mr. Twiddle, you know, we're going to Grandview. We are? Pick up the phone, Rip, it's Mackenzie. Oh, oh. Hello, Mr. Mackenzie. You got my message, huh? Now listen, I know you gave Stringer a contract for a poll on progressive education, right? He's been working on it for months, hasn't he? All right, now suppose I start right now and I finish in three weeks. What would you say to that? I tell you it is possible. And I'll guarantee to come within one percent of Stringer's figures, huh? All right, now let me get this straight. You put me on trial and if this thing goes over, you renew my contract, right? That's all I want to know. Thanks, Mackenzie. Grandview, you good old mathematical miracle, here we come. Well, did you see your old pal, Hoop and Decker? Did I see Hoop and Decker? Certainly I saw Hoop and Decker. Can you imagine that I can, in the armor we used to call him dirty face, not either over there on the high school, teaching romance languages. He knows what we're up to, huh? Yeah, and he's going to help us, too. Hoop knows everybody in town. I'm meeting him later this afternoon. You know where? The Old Town Meeting Hall. Best place in the world to get acquainted with the leading citizen. Well, let's pray that these good people here stay average, that they don't change. What do you mean, Hoop, says they haven't changed in 50 years. Oh, I promised him I'd help him with the basketball team. He's coaching the basketball team or something. Where'd Mr. Twiddle go, anyway? Back to the hotel, if you'll pardon the expression. It's a matter. It's a wonderful hotel. Please, mansion out. I tell you, I did. Everything about this town is just perfect. Look, Rip, supposing this bird is America, we can't go around getting opinions from the same people over and over again. They're going to get self-conscious, and once they do, you can toss their opinions right out the window. That's why they're never going to know what we're here for. You and Mr. Twiddle and me are now insurance salesmen. Come to Grand View to go on a business. Oh, no, Rip, no, no. As insurance agents, we can contact everybody in town, get answers on anything we want to know. It won't work. It will work. It will work. I've got enough money to keep us going until we get started. Where are you going now? Over to the municipal building. Get acquainted with the city fathers. Well, anything you want me to tell Mr. Twiddle? Yeah, yeah, tell Mr. Twiddle to sharpen his pants on, rough on a chart. We're in business again, brother. Dear young man, there's a council meeting going on in there. Well, do you suppose I could go and listen? Go on in if you want to. Well, thank you. Thank you very much. The park and the playgrounds would go right here, gentlemen, as you can see they're clearly indicated on this map I made. Oh, oh, and here's where the hospital would go. Does that answer your question, Mayor Barnes? I still insist that plan of yours is preposterous. Now, what do you think, Councilman Diggit? Oh, Mary Peterman's been coming here for a year. There ought to be a what's it? A law against having to listen any longer. This is a free country, gentlemen. The girl has a right to be heard. Oh, thank you, Mr. Nicolby. And I shall continue to exercise that right until I've drilled it into your thick skulls that Grandview needs this new civic center. Well, what about the hoses, huh? The upkeep. That'd mean more. What should we call it, wouldn't it? Taxes! Mr. Diggit, did it ever occur to you that social improvements would attract new industry so that we could afford it? Oh, we're wanting changes. Chases, changes. Of course I want changes. It's about time we grew up and made Grandview a better place to live in. Oh, no, Mary, you talk like this place was the back bumper of the universe. Why, this is a very fine community. Of course it is. Oh, I'm, uh, I beg your pardon. I didn't mean to butt in like this. Well, that's all right, young fellow. Speak up. Well, I don't know whether I have the right to speak up or not. I just arrived in Grandview today. Well, what do you think of it? What do you think of it? What do I think of it? I've been searching for a community like this for years. Oh, you like Grandview, do you? I've just walked through your town, folks, with its stately elm trees and its lovely old homes. I said to myself, here is a sturdy challenge to the evils of this modern era. Oh, you did, didn't you? I watched your people on the street. I felt their vitality, their sense of security. All in about an hour, huh? There's real beauty here. It's almost indescribable. But you take it for granted. To me, a stranger is a hope and a dream of a lifetime. I, too, want to become a part of it. Now, folks, please don't change Grandview. Please don't ever change it. Why, hearing him talk like that makes me feel what you're gonna call it. Proud. That's the kind of new blood this town needs. I move weird journey and forget all this nonsense about a civic center. Well, thank you, thank you very much. However, I'll be here again at the next meeting. Young man, come into my chambers. I'd like to talk to you. Doctor, you know where I've been saying the town was Mayor Barnes? And what a wonderful town. Oh, we like it, anyway. Well, here's our old town meeting hall. Hey, this is great. Just an old-fashioned community hall where folks drop in and say hello to each other. Well, if you're ready to meet some of our citizens, how... Oh, wait a minute, what's that newspaper? This is Grandview Dispatch. Let me look at it, Lee. I may be wanting to take an ad out in a couple of days. Lawrence Smith and associate's general insurance. Well, why not? Your name's already in the paper. It is. Oh, I wouldn't know about that. Let's see. Hell yeah. Mr. Lawrence Smith on his first day in town managed to poke... managed to poke his unwelcome proboscis into the council meeting. Well, that's pretty cute, isn't it? That's not all, pal. If you're really here to sell insurance, Mr. Smith, you would do well to start building goodwill and confidence before you tell us how to run our local affairs. Where's the slaughterhouse that publishes this thing? Just down the street, why? Well, because I'm going to see the editor. That's why right now. Where's the editor? I want to see the editor of this imitation newspaper. Where is she, anyway? Uh, stranger in town, huh? The editor died ten years ago. Come on, come on, will you tell us? Uh, the gentleman here, kind of purple. Well, young man, I gather you've a complaint. Well, it's this story about me in the town tidbits, right? Have you seen it? Oh, yes. I proofread every word we print. Now, what's your complaint? Well, it's snide. That's what it is. Taking advantage of an innocent stranger, these nasty, weasly little digs. You're not no decent newspaper. If you want to attack the policy of this newspaper, young man, write us a letter. We'll be glad to print it. Meantime, you can do your complaining to the acting editor who wrote the story. All right, I'll talk to the acting editor. Oh, Mary, this young man wants to speak to you. Oh, did you wish to see me? Oh, yes, yes. You were the young lady at the conference meeting this morning, weren't you? Well? Well, well, you, uh... I just wanted to thank you for that very nice little story you wrote about me. No, I thought you came in to complain. Complain? Me? Oh, no, no. Not at all. I... I've always believed in what the fellow said. They're just one thing worse than being talked about, and that's not being talked about at all. Hmm? Well, in that case, you won't mind a second story I'm going to write about you. No, not at all. Not at all. If you'd excuse me, I'll get to work. Go right ahead. Go right ahead. Hey. Hey, look here. Now, look at this story you wrote about me. Here, you say right here, quote, if you're really here to sell insurance, Mr. Smith, you'll do well and so on and so on and so on. What's that? What's what that creates suspicion? All grand views are already overcrowded with insurance agents. A clever man like you ought to stay away. A clever man like me doesn't mind competition. Now, wouldn't you like to sort of just write a little retraction, something about being a little hasty maybe, but on further observation, as fellow Smith seemed like a very charming fellow, wouldn't you like to do that? No, I certainly wouldn't. No, you certainly wouldn't. Oh, Mr. Hodges. Yes, ma'am. That's getting a little sticky in here. I think I'll go across the street and have a soda. Hi, sis! Hey, I've got a great scoop for you. Who do you think's in town? Who? Rip Smith. Mr. Hoopendick, I told you... Now, now, calm down, Bobby. Calm down. Hi. Hi. Hi, who are you? Well, I gather his nickname is Rip. Are you kidding? Mr. Smith? Gosh, we were just going over to the hotel to see you. Oh, that's all. Who's we? Some of the fellows on the basketball team. Mr. Hoopendick, I said it was all right. He said you were the greatest guy in the world. That's right. Well, I think he might have exaggerated a little. And he said you agreed to help coach the basketball team. Gosh, I can hardly believe it. Well, I think I'll leave you two to discuss your business. It's true, isn't it, Mr. Smith? Well, yes, sure. Yeah, that is if you think I can be of any help. Oh, boy. Let's, uh, talk about things over at Soda or something. You see, there are a few things I'd like to straighten out with your sister. Well, I'll be with you in a minute, Mr. Smith. Well, it'd be a mystery. Well, I'll have the same as that young lady ordered over there. I ordered a headache, county. That's just what I need. To buy, Mr. Smith. Oh, now, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't go. Now, I'm going to be around here for quite a while. You have to get used to me. Maybe you're right. I've gotten used to some pretty weird goblins in this town. Goblins, huh? How'd that thing go about goblins? What was that goblins? Goblins, you'd better mind your parents and your teachers' home and their cherry stem that loves you dry the orphan's tear and help the poor and needy ones that's clustered all about or the goblins will get you if you don't watch out. And that's from a poem called The Goblins Will Get You If You Don't Watch Out. That's from a poem called Little Orphananny. Little Orphananny. Oh, by George, that's right. Here you are, Mary. And one just like for you, Mr. Oh, a headache pot. Thank you. Chocolate flavor, huh? Say, tell me, tell me about this civic center of yours. After the way you shot your great big mouth off this morning? Wasn't that stupid and not knowing anything about it or anything? Oh, yeah. Hope it didn't do any harm. No, only set progress back a few years, that's all. Why did you butt into the meeting? Because I was just busting with good spirits. That's all. The town looks so perfect to me. I couldn't imagine anybody wanting to change it. Sure there wasn't some other reason. Well, let's do it. Well, let's miss. Some of the fellas had to go home and we thought maybe you would go for a starter. You could explain the backpast dilemma to us. It says in the basketball guide that Rip Smith used it to perfection. It does, huh? How are you, fellas? I'm a rock dilemma. A rock dilemma? Quiet, please. I brought along a basketball, just in case you'd like to show us some play. Well, no, I don't think so. Well, why not? Come on out. Come on. Let's go outside and I'll show you what I mean. Okay, fellas. Glad you brought fun. Bye. Bye. Well, that's the backpast dilemma, huh? Well, I was building goodwill and confidence. Well, I'm sure you made an excellent impression, Mr. Smith, with the boys. No, well, don't rush off. Now, you were going to tell me about the new Civic Center. Was I? Oh, uh, by the way, I paid for my own soda, Mr. Smith. Goodbye. Ouch. You too, Mr. Twiddle. Now we can start peddling insurance. We've got our own office and everything set. Now here's what we do. We start gabbing with the folks about insurance and then very gradually, very cleverly, we sort of sneak up on the subject. Yeah, yeah. Talk to a man about his life expectancy but find out what he thinks of progressive education. Right. Okay, here I go. Not all today's Sunday. Start tomorrow. Eat your meals at different restaurants. Talk to the waiters, cashiers. Go to the barbershop. Get your hair cut. I just had it cut. Have it cut again. Find out what the man at yours thinks to pull out the newsstand. What do I do? You get out your little old tabulating sheet, Mr. Twiddle, and start arriving at conclusion. Yes, indeed. Then there's nothing to do today, huh? Well, I'm going back to bed and sleep. Wait a minute. No, you're not. Come on. We're all going to church. Well, this is it, Mary. This is what I was telling you about in church. It's quite a walk up here. Gosh, isn't that beautiful? Look over there. You can see the whole town from there. Well, if I ever get to New York, I'll show you the site. You know, I brought the boys up here yesterday. Good for their legs and basketball team. Frankly, I never expected to make the basketball team. Oh, now come on. Sit down. Sit down. Relax. All right. I'm relaxed. Good. Good. Now, start telling me about it. That civic center. Whose idea was it? Yours? Well, actually, it was a legacy from my father. He never could put it over, though. But you will. You bet I will. Of course, you set me back a little, but I'll put it over. The only thing my father left me when he died a worthwhile job to do. I thought he left you the newspaper. No, no, we just worked there, mother and I. You call yourself acting editor. Who's the editor? Papa. There could only be one editor for that paper. He still runs it sort of, you know. Oh, I like that. You know, you sound like him. Sometimes you even look like him, but you're not like him at all. Papa wasn't so desperate. What are you desperate for? Money? Power? Are you rearing the bumps in my head? The air always gets all charged with electricity around desperate men. I feel it now, strong. You having fun? Do you mind? No, no. What causes it, Mr. Smith? Does it all go back to when you were a boy? Or was your childhood so terribly ugly? You see, it doesn't all add up. The electric currents and selling insurance. Or maybe you need a new crystal ball. No, no. No, nothing wrong with the old one. Want to know what I see in it? Before you're through, you'll be running for mayor of this town. Well, what's so awful about that? Well, the awful part of it is I'll probably vote for you. Well, shall we get back to town? In just a moment, our stars will return with magic town. Hmm, uh, new hat, Libby? I thought I just had to have one after William Powell showed me all of his. He has a terrific wardrobe of hats for the new Natalie Johnson production the senator was in discreet in which he starred. Do senators need such a lot of hats? Well, Universal International thought this one did. For campaigning. A miner's cap, Indian feathers, a railroad man's cap, 10-gallon satsum, mortarboard, and plantation owner's straw. I understand Ella Raines as a part of a career woman in the senator was industry. Yes. And she gives a good account of herself. She has a terrific fight with Peter Lindhay. Oh, who won? Well, Ella, of course. She kicked, slapped, and bit, and put Peter with black and blue shins and teeth marks on his hands. Ella came through with only a broken fingernail. Not even a stocking run. Well, naturally, Ella is a luxe girl. And barring outright accidents, stockings washed with luxe flakes last considerably longer. Strain tests by a scientific laboratory proved that. Ella says she learned about luxe for stockings years ago. Her maid never uses anything else. Just why so many smart girls have such good luck with stockings. Those strain tests showed that stockings actually last twice as long when they're washed with luxe flakes. Identical stockings washed with a strong soap or rubbed with cake soap went into runs quickly. But the luxe ones lasted twice as long. So that makes luxe practically a Santa Claus. Because with luxe, it's just like getting an extra pair of stockings every time you buy a pair. Act 2 of Magic Town starring James Stewart as Rip Smith and Jane Wyman as Mary Peterman. Convinced that Grandview is the perfect barometer of American thinking and hence a potential gold mine, Rip Smith and his two assistants under the guise of insurance agents are secretly gathering all the information they need for their trial poll of public opinion. But Rip has developed other interests in Grandview. The high school basketball team is named Mary Peterman. It's about 10 o'clock at night now and in the classroom in the high school. How did the basketball practice go? Good, good, good, good. Did my brother tell you I was here? No, he said something about a meeting going on. Oh, yes, a final committee meeting for the basketball dance tomorrow night. The, um, the others just left. Oh, uh, excuse me. Hello, Mr. Quincy. Uh, I'd sure like to sweep up in here. Yeah, if you don't mind. Well, beyond a minute, Mr. Quincy, just looking around. Well, you know, there's something about the smell of an old classroom. Oh, it gets me. Was this, was this one of your classrooms? Mm-hmm. Amazing. Say, look, those pictures on the wall there. Graduation pictures, don't they? Yeah. Are you, are you here? Yeah. Uh, uh... Well, no, no, don't show them. Don't show them. Wait a minute. I can pick you up. There you are. I knew you right off. Oh, go on. I showed you. No, you didn't show me at all. I just sent you. I picked you up myself. But just like that, you got the same, you got the same, uh, same, uh, firecracker eyes. You got beautiful eyes. You were, you were pretty then, weren't you? You think so? Very pretty. Well, that happens to be Helen Klein's speaker. This is me over here in the fourth row. You know, they're all in the fourth row. So that grew up to be you. You had an age we live in. Say, where did you sit in this class? Did you sit around here? Right there. You got wonderful. Yeah, the seat used to have a squeak in it. It drove everybody crazy. Wait a second. That's very shh. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Same as always. Oh, look. Look at the books in the desk. Ah, things that... What's that one? What's that one? The poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Oh, look. Hi, Wadsworth. Oh, hi. By the shores of Gitchy Gumi. You know, me, I was always a charge of the Light Brigade fellow. Oh, I loved Iowale. I loved it. How did that used to go? Charge of the Light Brigade, half a leg, half a leg, half a leg. By the shores of Gitchy Gumi, by the shining Gitchy Water, Gitchy Gumi, forward the Light Brigade. Daughter of the Moon Accommodation. Charge for the guns, he said. Into the Valley of Death, forward the Light Brigade. Wasn't there a man dismayed? Not though the soldiers knew. Someone had blundered. There's not to make reply. There's but to reason why. There's but to do or die. Into the Valley of Death, forward the Light Brigade. Cannon of the right arm, cannon of the left arm, cannon in front of them, volleyed and thundered, stormed at with shot and shell, boldly they rode, but well, into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell. Hush. The naked bear will hear thee. Oh, a charge with guns, they said charge. Who is this? Would you mind charging out of here, Mr. Smith? I still got a sweet burp. Okay, okay. Hiya, boys, how's it going? I'm a little late, sorry. I just took Miss Peterman home. Well, Mr. Twiddle, how do we stand on progressive education? Here it is, Miss. Finished and tabulated. Now just start praying that our figures will be close to stringers. Give me that sheet. Look at it, boys. Just wait till Mackenzie sees this. All right, I take that report and catch the midnight plane. Me? But I thought Mackenzie asked you how we did it, just turn your baby blues on him. I'd like to see his... Then why don't you go to New York? Don't be silly. We play Waverly Academy tomorrow. Look awful funny if I suddenly disappeared all of a sudden. Aw, Rip, look, look. How would you like to call this whole deal off, huh? Kick it over. Kick it over? Yeah, you don't have to keep it up on our account, Rip. What's the matter with you? I've worked all my life for this and there it is all wrapped up in a nice, neat package. What kind of a lame brain do you think I am? Do you think I've been pushing up that hill all these years? Okay, okay, okay. I guess I was way off the beam. I guess you certainly were. Now get going, Ike. Here's a plane ticket. Tell Mackenzie we can handle two or three or four jobs at once. Maybe more than that. Sure, sure. Call me tomorrow night, will ya? But tomorrow night's the game with Waverly. Call me at 11 o'clock. I'll be right here. Ike. Miss? Afternoon, Miss Peterman. Hi, Mr. Quincy. We've been using the gym for a dance floor, Mr. Quincy. Did you ever do the samba? No, sir. Can't say I ever did. Don't. I just had a demonstration. Do you know what a back-pass dilemma is, Mr. Quincy? Don't know that one either. Well, I'm gonna get a demonstration of that right now. My, my. I'm sure ignorant. Okay, okay, Mary. Now, here's a passball, see? I'll pass the ball to you like that. There. Hey, hey, what are you trying to do? Knock the wind out of me? Well, throw the ball. Go on, throw it. Well, there. Oh, no, that's, look, that's no way to throw a ball. Like this. Okay? Now, here, try it again. Oh, okay. There. No, Mary. Mary, look, that's no way to throw a ball. Look, it's sort of a forward snap. You sort of push it. Look, suppose a wolf's on the make for you. What do you do? Well, what do you do? Oh, oh, you, uh, you mean, you mean like this? Yeah, that's right. Will you help me up? Well, I'm sorry. No, let's try something else. We'll try the layup shop. No rough stuff, huh? No, no rough stuff. All right. Now, the principle of this shot is to sort of stretch yourself as far as you can, and just lay the ball up on the basket, see, like this. Oh, I can't reach like that. Well, you can fly, can't you? Come on. Now, just stretch. There you are. Now, over here, I'll help. Come on. There you are. There you are. Hey, you got stuck up there. Hey, Mary. I, I said I got... Still am I, huh? That ain't what we used to call it. Some basketball game tonight. Well, what, Hoopendagger? Thinking of Mary, huh? Must be having an awful tussle with that conscience of yours. Don't worry about my conscience. What's going on over there? Oh, it looks like the mayor's going to make an announcement. Peterman here says she's got something to tell her. All right, Mrs. Peterman. Hey, what is this, Hoopendagger? The dispatch wants to erase any doubt it created about Mrs. Smith's integrity. He's been here over a short while. Get all ready. He seems an old friend. He'll apologize for the dispatch. And tell him how we all feel. Happy and grateful to call you one of us. Don't worry about me. I doubt very much whether I can live up to them. I'd prefer that you reserve judgment and tell you, well, that you get to know me better. Much better. Thank you. People going around making speeches. Just give me one year. Just one year. Rip, you've made a lot of friends here. That's worth something, isn't it? I'm going up to my office, Hoop. There's a long-distance phone call coming in for me any minute now, and it's going to tell me that I've got the world by the tail. It may be a rat race, but I'm out in front, and I'm going to grab mine. I'll be seeing you. Where were we? How did we match up against Stringer Survey? I don't know. Crab anything. Cut it, will ya? We came here to do a job, but nothing's going to end her. Call me back, will ya? Develop an instinct for snooping. All right, well, why'd you come here? I'm looking for you. I heard you on the phone. I found this piece of paper on that desk in there. The miracle of grand view. We do what we think. We rest about Ma's speech tonight. Very funny. Well, we had to work secretly. Nobody's been hurt by it, have they? That's right. Nobody. Well, what are you going to do? You couldn't stand any changes, could you? By all means, hold back progress. It has to make an extra dollar for himself. I certainly take that stooping very low. Mary, Mary, will you listen to me, please? Stop at the office in the morning, Ripley. I have something very interesting to show you. You're too early, Rip. I'm not quite finished with my story. Mary, I want to make a deal with you. You're graduating to our front page, Rip. Here's the headline. Lawrence Smith, found to be pole expert. Grand view revealed as miracle town. If you'll kill that story, I'll never show my face around here again. It isn't for myself, Mary, it's for the people here. I wouldn't like to see them get confused. What I was doing couldn't harm any of them. But when they read what you were writing, well, I don't know, they're human. You can't go around telling people they're special, not even these people, they're deadly. Now, if you love them, Mary, don't do it. I'll have this for you in a minute, Mr. Hodges. Hold on page one, Mary. If you just stop pounding that machine and listen to me, I suppose you think I've got some sort of an angle or something, Mary. You just have to take my word. Here it is, Mr. Hodges. Here it is. It's saved the first copy for Mr. Smith. As for you never showing your face around here again, it wouldn't make the least difference to me one way or the other. Any other deals in mind, Rick? No, no. No more deals. When do you plan to return to New York? Well, I'm staying in Grand View. There's a circus coming to this town, like the greatest, gaudiest, three-ring circus in the history of Pony Baloney. I don't want to see it, Mary, but I guess I'd better hang around. We pause now for station identification. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System. Our stars will return in Act 3 of Magic Town in a moment. It's a pleasure tonight to welcome back to the Lux Radio Theatre guest box Miss Martha Hire, who has achieved stardom since she made her bow here last year. What's the secret, Martha? Hard work? That's right, Mr. Kennedy. Also, the wonderful training I received at RKO and the privilege of studying great actresses like Roslyn Russell at work. She was thrilling in Morning Becomes Electra. Eugene O'Neill's celebrated drama was certainly an expert hands. Britain's Michael Redgrave and Leo Genn also contribute to one of the great pictures of our time. Another exciting experience for me was watching John Wayne in The Rain Day in the love scenes for RKO's new picture, Ty Coon. You didn't go on location with the company, did you? No, but Lorraine told me about her experiences when she came back. They had a regular city of 85 tents set up in the high sierras for the outdoor technicolor shop. With her own water tower, electric plant, mess hall and laundry. So I guess life wasn't too rugged. No, Lorraine said even the laundry had all the comforts of home, including Lux Flakes. Hollywood studios are so conditioned to using Lux Flakes for nice things that they just naturally have a supply wherever there are washables to be cared for. I know myself how wonderful Lux is, especially for colors. You're quite right, Martha. Tests prove that. A famous laboratory washed slips in 90s the wrong way, with strong soap, hot water and rough handling. Then identical garments to Lux's way. Those that had Lux's care stayed color-fresh three times as long. That's handy to know when you're trying to stretch a dollar. Actually, Lux's care makes it possible for a girl to have three times as many under things without spending any more. How do you figure that, Mr. Kennedy? Well, instead of spending money just to replace worn-fated looking undies, a girl can buy extra new ones. Because Lux's care keeps those she has lovely looking three times as long. Thank you for coming, Martha Hire, and best wishes for your continued success. Act 3 of Magic Town, starring James Stewart as Rip Smith and Jane Wyman as Mary Peterman. The news that Grandview is the perfect barometer of all American opinion has struck the front pages of every newspaper in the country. Overnight hordes of reporters, promoters and experts of a dozen different varieties have poured into what was once a little community that minded its own business. At the municipal building, Mary is attending a special meeting of the town council. Come in, Mary. Sit down. Sit down. I was just telling the councilman why we're being talked about from coast to coast. People coming in on every train. By car, too, and by bus. Even on what to call it, thought. Why not? Who would want to live in a perfect town? I don't know why you sense me, but don't you think you ought to do some planning? Things are moving so fast. That's just why we sent for you to handle our publicity. Another long distance call, Mayor. Who is it this time? Manufacturer wants to build a plant here so he can advertise made in a typical American town. Get his name. I'll call him later. Collect. Yes, sir. Just watch real estate value. Hey, look out the window. The Texas Gap Company is starting a touring service. Wonderful. Look at what that sign says. Typical tour of the typical town. One dollar. See the public opinion capital of the USA. Where they live, where they work, what they eat. I still say we'd better do some careful thinking. That's just what we've been doing. And here's our first project, Mary. We're going to build booths all over town. Official polling booths where folks can cast their opinion on the question of the week. Oh, now, now. Wait a minute. We find out what our services are thinking and we sell the results. Take a fortune for the town. Who's the idiot that dreamed that one up? Oh, yeah. I mean, what's the matter with it? Well, that's our chief export, isn't it? Our whatchamacallit, our opinion. Well, we're through giving them away. Well, I guess I've seen everything now. Excuse me, Mayor. It's the broadcasting company. They want approval to conduct sidewalk interviews. A daily broadcast from coast to coast. Certainly we approve. Suddenly we approve. And now that Mary about to... Hey, where'd she go? Mary! Well, Rip, I just spoke to Charlie Stringer in New York. He says we can go to work for him whenever you say. Oh, sit down. I, sit down. I told you this was a wonderful hotel. Great big veranda to watch the three-ring circus from. Ring side seat. Hey, bring on your bamboo! Oh, Rip, look. What are we hanging around here for? Not a hang around here, but I helped put on this show, you know. Come on. Come on. Let's take a bow. Cut it out, Rip. Cut it out and pipe down. All right. All right. Cut it out. Pipe down. Now, come on. Let's get ahold of that phone and give Stringer your answer, huh? All right. Let's give Stringer the answer. Good idea. Now, wait a minute. There's Mary. Hey, Mary. Afternoon, Miss Peterman. Afternoon, Miss Peterman. What can I do for you? Oh, nothing I can do to see Mr. Moody. Excuse me, please. How do you like your town now, huh? How do you like your fancy, beautiful circus of a town now? Hey, I... Get ahold of some train tickets. Come on. We're getting out of here today. We've called this open meeting of the Town Council to discuss plans for our new Civic Center. Oh, but her plan is no longer big enough, Mr. Weaver. We've added a million dollars for the project. Yeah, but what about pay for all this? I mean, suppose something should go wrong. Listen, my friend, in 1890, our grandparents built our municipal building with their own hands. If it comes to it, we can do the same thing. Thanks for talking out in your life. Grandview Township Public Opinion Survey. And, uh, think, uh, think I was worried about those experts. Hey, get a rip in here. No, brother. I, uh, I'd rather not disturb a Mr. Stringer. Rips, uh, rips stinking. You mean sleeping? How long's this gonna continue? He slept through most of the conference this morning. Suddenly he woke up and said, I hope they remember the back-pass dilemma. Put some out of it, that guy. Makes a lot of noise, doesn't he? Well, rip, here it is. The first Grandview poll. Yeah, let me see it. Gallup also released figures today on the very same subject. How do you feel about a woman for president? Well? Ah, exactly opposite results, rip. That town's gone nuts. Grandview will be laughed out of existence. It's already started. The newspapers and radio have been at it all day. What are they saying? Well, listen, listen to this guy on the radio. I guess he's still at it. Let's see. He's been right. It's turned out to be ridiculously wrong. Completely out of tune with the country. Well, there should be a moral to all this. No one has the right to assume they know it all. Now, what this little town of Grandview lost was humility. And when you've lost that, my friends, you've lost everything. Grandview-Piosca results in wholesale departures. Hundreds of families leaving town daily. Dozens of business frames closing. Is Grandview troubled persons? First in the dark. Hello, Mr. Quincy. You thought you was in New York? No, I just got off the train. I guess you heard about us, huh? Yeah. You suppose anybody's in there tonight? There, in Old Meaden Hall? Yeah. Not very likely, Mr. Smith. He seems like everybody's sort of hiding these days. I guess it's all right if I go in. Oh, sure, sure. Go on in. Good to see you again. Well, I didn't know anyone was... Oh, Mary. They, uh, they don't come here anymore. They don't even talk to each other. Well, that's no good, is it? People ought to talk to each other. How's...how's Ma? Oh, Ma's the same. Rip, why did you come back? I had to come back, Mary. I don't know. I had to. I couldn't work. I couldn't even thank God. Mary, I... I love you. Oh, the night I lay awake hearing you say that. I love you, Mary. There was...there was a news story came over the wire the other day. A married woman who fell in love with another man. Her husband stood in their way, and they finally killed him. They thought they were free, but their crime created a terrible wall between them until they destroyed each other. We murdered a town rent. You and I, we killed an idea my father devoted a lifetime to, and nobody cared. Nobody cared. But there must be some way to... there must be something we can do. Just what is it you're trying to tell me? That something's got to be done to save this town, Mr. Nicolby. They've always followed you. Get them to do something startling, something that'll give them that old bounce again. Why don't you get them to start that dueling, that civic center again? With what? The town's broke. With taxes. Tax yourself at such a fantastic rate it'll be the talk of the country. You're crazy. Okay, I'm crazy, but it'll take something crazy to wake them up. Look, when I was here before, I used to hear a lot of talk about Senator Wilton. This was his hometown before he went to Washington. What Senator Wilton got to do with this? Well, he was on the same train I was. He's here now on a visit. He told me he's willing to do anything he... anything he can to help. Now, suppose we got a group together to do the initial financing. Would you take charge? Try anything like that and I'll stop it. This town's through. Finished. Come in, come in. Thank you, Senator Welles. Mira's mother's already here. I got hold of her right after you phoned me this morning. Rip. Rip is at you. Hello, Ma. Oh, it's good to see you, Rip. Thanks, thanks. Well, what's happened? Can you look? I saw Nic will be last night and the others this morning. They all tell me I'm crazy. When I think of all those big statements they were making a couple of months ago, what was that the mayor said? We'll build this civic center with our own hands if necessary. Mary wouldn't let us print it, though. What was that? Ma, that... that story, that statement from the mayor made. Is there a copy of that around anywhere? Oh, yes, I think so. Senator, may I use your phone? Help yourself. We're going to print that story in today's paper. And the mayor wasn't the only one that made fancy statements. But that was weeks ago. We mislaid the story. Just found it. Let them sue us. Well, what all that accomplished, Rip? Well, for one thing, it'll wake these people up, maybe get them back in that town meeting hall again, talking to each other, taking sides. Hello. Hello. Let me speak to Mary Peterman, please. Story, Rip. Right across our front page. Good. Wonderful. Mary, I gave the story out to all the wire services. We're going to print it all across the country. We're going to get these people so much flattering publicity they'll have to do something. They'll string us up to the nearest creed. Well, at least they'll be doing something together. Now, get your mark. Come on over to the town meeting hall. There's going to be a battle. You know, that's where they'll stay. Come on, I'll see you over there later. There they are, ma'am. This is Peterman and Mary. Hello. Good afternoon, gentlemen. Hello, ma'am. What do you mean by printing that we're going through with the civic center? Haven't we been lasted enough? It's outrageous! I'm going to sue for what then? Libel or something? Can any of you claim that our paper failed to quote you correctly? But that was long ago. One the difference. Look, I'm sensitive. Where's Nicol B? He'll know how to handle this. I wish you, gentlemen, would quiet down as a broadcast we want to hear. Quiet down while I'm... Hey, he's Nicol B now. I always thought you were a sensible girl, Mary. Is this story your idea of a practical joke? If you're interested in practical jokes, Mr. Nicol B, read some of your own statements. Very fun. Do you realize we have a case against you? And against that fellow Smith, too. He's back of all of this. Turn up the radio, Mary. Wait a minute, please. Listen to the radio. Just a minute. Please. We see it ridicule. These wonderful people of Grandview are now plunging into a project of such vision as to arouse the envy of every community in America. Shut that thing off. We didn't... They're going ahead to the plan to build a theater. We're talking about us. Even though it may mean sacrifice on the part of every man, woman, and child in Grandview. More power to your Grandview. Godspeed and good luck. That's all we wanted to hear, Mr. Nicol B. Some of you may be crazy, but no one's going to treat talk me into going broke. Now, what I learned half the town's coming here. Look, there's Rip Smith now with those high school kids. The basketball team. Hey, there's my what's this? My son. You're too, Nicol B. Come on in. Come on in. All right, Junior. What's all this about? Well, Pop, you promised us all a new... Whatchamacallit. High school. And... Well, we want it. Hank, you go on home this minute. Yes, sir. Except... Well, except we've talked this over, Dad. And we've decided if men like you could the team we're going to quit, too. We don't want to live in a town we have to be ashamed of. Are we going to stand here and let a bunch of kids tell us how to run our affairs? We're not trying to run your affairs, Dad. Pip says you're all wonderful people. But you've just lost your nerve. Well, listen to me. Why not? Why can't we do it? Our fathers didn't quit when they were in a jam. That's when they started to fight. Now, just what is it that's so wrong with us? For heaven's sake, Mary. It takes money to build. Where's it coming from? Well, let me read a statement of yours, Mr. Mayor. If necessary, we'll build it with our own hands. Well, I've had a long time before. Mary, are you suggesting that we do that? Actually build it with our own hands? Well, certainly. I suppose if everybody picks in and helps... This is idiotic. The property's been sold. The council approved it. All right, Joe. Go on. Speak now. Okay, Rip. Hey, Dad. Hey, Pop. Now, what do you want, Joe? Well, you're a council. Rick says you had no right to approve it. Rick says a thing like that's got to be put up to the voter. Well, of course it's got to be put up to the voter. Well, what about it, Mr. Nickelveed? We were going to do that, of course. I mean, why do we just assume you people wouldn't care? Wouldn't care? This business life, we just plain lost on it. Wouldn't care if we didn't get a chance to vote? No, sir. Maybe whether a town lizard dies isn't important to some people, but it is to me. I feel like more and families breaking up, and I don't like it. And if starting part of the Civic Center, like, say, a new high school can save it, then I'm for it at any price. I'll organize all the workmen in town. Supervised the whole project. Oh, see, that's what you're going to call it, Pop. Well... Well, I'll finish the coverage. I'll put in the fixtures. Well, I have a couple of them. Anyway, we'll do them all right. Oh, Rick, it's so wonderful. Everybody's going to help. Oh, and I'll wait a minute. Oh, no, no, no. That's something we'll be able to take care of ourselves. Our stars will return to their curtain calls in a moment. How come, Libby, you're reading Mother Goose Run? Why, I've discovered how Mother Goose solved the dishwashing problem, John. How was that? Well, she ate with a spoon. And when she was finished, the dish ran away with a spoon. Oh, Libby! Well, I know lots of women who wish dishes would run away after a meal. Since they don't, let's make a suggestion. Use Lux Flakes for dishes. You're right. With Lux, you avoid one of the worst things about dishwashing. Horrid dishpan hands. Yes, ladies, you can prove for yourselves how soft and smooth Lux leaves your hands. Even if they are rough and red now from strong suds, you'll see definite improvement in just a few days. Yes, changing from strong soap to Lux Flakes actually takes away dishpan redness. Many tests have proved it. And, John, you know how we women watch pennies like a hawk these days. You ought to say that Lux is really thrifty for dishes. It goes further. Because Lux suds are so rich, they wash up to twice as many dishes as the same weight of ten other leading soaps tested. Yes, indeed. Lux is thrifty. Now, here's Mr. Keely with our stars. Mr. Keely in Washington, D.C. and the stars on the stage of the Lux Radio Theatre in Hollywood. If Rip Smith could poll our listeners on their reaction to the nice Lux Radio Theatre play, I'm sure he'd get enthusiastic answers. Thanks to the good work of our stars, Jimmy Stewart and Jane Wyman. I only wish I could have been there to have watched you two in person. Well, we certainly missed you, Bill. It seems strange to see that producer's chair unoccupied. Well, thanks, Jimmy. But I don't know any way in which I could have added to your fine performance. You say that you just started your new picture, Bill. The street with no name. Yes, we spent the day at the FBI Academy in Quantico, getting some authentic scenes and their drive against crime. Well, it sounds like a very interesting, much-needed picture, Bill. And you have two fine young stars in Mark Stevens and Richard Whitmark. Yes, I certainly have. And I'm extremely grateful, too, for the cooperation that we're having in Washington. When do you get back, Bill? Well, not for another 10 days, I'm afraid. But incidentally, Jimmy, before I left, I caught a preview of your latest picture of Northside 777. I enjoyed it immensely. Bill, right after Christmas, I go to work again on another one with Alfred Hitchcock. Oh, and speaking of Christmas, I understand, Bill, that you have something very special coming up on Luxe next week. Yes, next Monday night, in Keeping with the Holiday Spirit, we're presenting one of the greatest Christmas stories ever filmed, with all of its original fine stars. Marino Hatter, John Payne, Edwin Gwen, and Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street. Well, you couldn't have a better play for Christmas, Bill. Yes, a prize Santa Claus package, because it concerns none less than Chris Kingel himself, bringing that gentleman to life in a warm and human Christmas story that he should appeal especially to the children in your family. We hope they'll join us. Well, it sounds like a treat for a young and older like, Bill. We'll be listening. Good night. Good night. And a very merry Christmas to you. Christmas is a time for sharing and giving. And this year, we Americans have an opportunity to give the greatest gift of all, that of life itself to millions of starving Europeans. We can do it by pledging ourselves to observe to the letter the Food Conservation Program, by eating no meat on Tuesdays and no eggs on Thursdays, and by saving at least a slice of bread a day, a small sacrifice for us, but one that can help those nations that believe in freedom and democracy, make peace on Earth a permanent reality. Lever Brothers Company, the makers of Lux Flakes, join me in inviting you to be with us again next Monday evening, when the Lux Radio Theatre presents Morino Harrah, John Payne, Edmund Gwynne, and Natalie Wood in Miracle on 34th Street. This is William Keely saying good night to you from Washington. Jane Wyman appeared by arrangement with Warner Brothers, producers of The Voice of the Turtle. Our music was directed by Louis Silvers. This program is rebroadcast to our men and women overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. And this is your announcer, John Milton Kennedy, reminding you to have all your children join you next Monday night to hear Miracle on 34th Street with Morino Harrah, John Payne, Edmund Gwynne, and Natalie Wood. Pepsidon's One by Three to One. Yes, in a recent survey, families throughout America compared new pepsidon toothpaste with a brand they'd been using at home. By an overwhelming average of three to one, they preferred new pepsidon witherium over any other brand they tried. They said, new pepsidon toothpaste tastes better, makes breath cleaner, makes teeth brighter. Yes, with families who made comparison tests. Pepsidon's One by Three to One. Be sure to listen next Monday night to the Lux Radio Theatre presentation of Miracle on 34th Street with Morino Harrah, John Payne, Edmund Gwynne, and Natalie Wood. Stay tuned for my friend Irma, which follows immediately over most of these stations.