 Let's present Hollywood radio theater brings you Edward G. Robinson, Dennis O'Keefe and Marguerite Kathman in Destroyer Tonight the Lux Radio Theater comes to you from Hollywood as usual, but your producer speaks to you from Washington, DC Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Cecil B. DeMille Greetings from Washington ladies and gentlemen Greetings in fact from the general headquarters of the world I came here last week for the official Washington preview of the story of dr. Wassel, a picture which has kept me busy for two years But all the effort of those two years was amply rewarded by the audience at Constitution Hall on Saturday night Their applause was a tribute To the courage of an unestuming country doctor who was there himself And a tribute to Gary Cooper who plays dr. Wassel on the screen The Navy from enlisted men to admirals was there to do honor to its own hero And tonight in the Lux Radio Theater We honor the Navy again Because our play is the columbia action hit destroyer You'll hear the same star who gave a thrilling performance on the screen Edward G. Robinson And with him we have Dennis O'Keefe and Marguerite Kathman They say in the Navy that once the sailor gets on a destroyer He never wants any other kind of beauty. He calls the ship a tin can But he loves her like a sweetheart You'll see why after you hear tonight's play Which combines the fast-moving drama of battle at sea With a little fast-moving romance on land Now I don't know whether any romance is involved in the way the following incident came to us But a girl in Los Angeles had sent us a portion of a letter She received from a corporal in Italy It belongs in the war diary of Lux Carlos though A while back the corporal writes I got into a town And of course went to the service club where every soldier on pass heads for first Everything is done to make a soldier feel at home And one of the things I obtained that day was a hot shower Three of us stayed under the water for a good 40 minutes and just about finished up a take of Lux Carlos though A hot bath or shower is almost unobtainable overseas And when the chance comes we really snap it up I've been bathing out of my helmet for so long But I just about forgotten that showers and lucks existed Something to think of the next time you turn on the hot water And here's the curtain for the first act of destroyer Darring Edward G. Robinson as Steve Bolasovsky With Dennis O'Keith as Mickey and Marguerite Chapman as Mary In a shipyard somewhere along the California coast A new destroyer is being rushed to completion For most of the workers who swarm over her She's just a job to be done according to navy specifications in the shortest possible time But the one man a boss welder named Steve Bolasovsky She means much more Steve is after perfection Sovereignly fighting for it from every man on his ship Now Marty watch out. Well, yeah, a rivet won't snuggle when it's cold Yeah, who told you that Steve? Well, all right. Well, you can flush a cold rivet, but not on this ship, Marty She's got to be tight, kid. She's got to be sweet Ah, go on. Go weld yourself a seat Well, that's no way to talk, Marty. Guys are going to be fighting from these days But maybe it's our thing we know how to build a tight ship Well, sure, but this one is that John Paul Jones You can't see it a cold rivet That one looks bad, Marty. No, to come out How do you like that guy? Oh, what to use? We'll chop her out and put in a nice hot one for Steve Well, that's it, Marty. Thanks I make sense to talk about it these days It is. Now look, Kansas, never call her an it When you've been working on them a little longer, you'll know the tips are like women And you call them keys Yeah, but why? Well, it's because they're curved in the right places where it's called a paint And squawk loud in an argument How can a guy run a temperature like that over a hunk of tin? Well, she's a hunk of tin now, maybe Steve, rivet, paint She's ugly and cold and lifeless as a slab of marble But one of these days, you'll wake up to find that when you put all these lifeless things together They suddenly start to have a meaning and movement And even beauty Yeah, beauty The guy's well-worked. He stops singing, Steve, and finishes the job Yeah, once she hits the water, it'll be just like a heart that starts beating You get a name and a crew will come swarming over a gangway like blood in the veins He'll rob, she'll breathe, she'll be alive Yeah, stubborn, fricking, temperamental at times Like I said, a woman Yeah, yeah, sure, and then No, no, Dukin, you can't do that, you can You mean I have been derelict in my duty, sir? Oh, cut the kidding, Dukin Well, you lay off with that hammer Why don't you go take a run and jump for yourself? Well, I would if I couldn't do a job better than that Now, you know that, Flake, my friend Come on, Steve, you'll get everybody's hair again I think this ship was gonna be different from the rest Well, she is Steal it, steal it, ship to ship Yeah, but this one Well, I want her sweet, I want her to sing If you ain't careful, you'll be singing yourself to sleep in a hospital The good thing I'm here, they dropped a plate on your head long ago I don't care, she'll be going in the water soon, and I want her to be alive I'll do it, Steve, just leave us alone Water like a lady, Steve Now, look, look, she floats Now, there's a real ship, can't there? Class, personality Hey, I'd better go find that daughter of yours Oh, no, no, no, let Mary alone She's right in the middle of more gold-brain than she's ever seen She's having a wonderful time She sure did a good job with that Butler Champ thing You know how come the Navy picked her to Christian the Jones? Because her old man served on the old Jones from the last war Yeah, me Mary did a good job because for two weeks I've been teaching her how I might have known Hmm? Oh, no, I was just thinking of a What? Commander Steve, thank you, you look wonderful You do look pretty good yourself Oh, um, uh, Kansas Jackson, uh, Commander Claude Glad to know you Mr. Jackson? Well, Steve, the old John Paul didn't look much like this one Oh Steve and I used to be shipmates, Mr. Jackson Hmm, I served under him, he was my team's closest mate Well, that's a long time ago You ran me ragged Well, I said I'd make an officer out of you He was a combination of Simon McGree and old Mother Hand Beat my brains out one minute and coddle me the next Yeah, that was my system and apparently it worked Look at you, two and a half striper Yep, here I am How long you going to be here, Commander? I'm down here to get my ship Well, I hope she's a good one You should know, you build her But, John? Sure Well, what do you know? Kansas, he's going to be the old man on my ship Well, I'd be sure you'll get a good crew for her, Commander Well, you know how it is, 80% of the men will be green Well, look me up, Steve I sure wish you were coming with us Fine, Mr. Jackson Yeah, glad to met you I'll see you tomorrow, Commander Steve, that ain't such a bad idea, that joining up business Yeah, should hear what he said, green man I'm the Jones I don't like that, Kansas No, I don't like that at all I wonder if my uniform still fits me Well, Mary, how do I look, huh? You better take it off, Dad I'm afraid it needs a little laying out in the bag Oh, go on, it fits me fine I expect you'd never think that your old man would be back in my navy hand-diggers Back to board, but, John Dad, I haven't seen you so happy in years Now, listen to this Lay out all hands on the fan-tail Fall in the Liberty Party So, he's a pretzel That's right, what do you have, honey? I want to look for my voting site Oh, it's up in the chest, up in the attic Uh, holler, if that's for me, man Well, if I don't get my order soon, the Jones will fail without me Pleasant living, Miss Sign here, please Oh, Dad, Dad is here from the Navy Department Thanks Yes, ma'am Dad! Yes, ma'am, I'm coming Where is it, sir, Mary? Oh, it's the delivery, huh? Well, about time Well, it was it, Mary, my orders No No, I won't accept them Naval training states, they can't do this to me Dad, do what? Beach me, that's what they want to do Put me on the beach, training a lot of boots But they're taking you back That's if you want me Well, I'd like for you to aboard the Jones Here, here, read it Not considered fit for sea beauty Oh, we'll see about that Dad, where are you going? To San Diego at Commander Clark's at the John Paul Jones All right, gentlemen, who's waiting? Johnahue, sir, and Boris Lapsky Ask Boris Lapsky to wait 10 in Johnson Aye, aye, sir Commander Clark will see you, sir Oh, sorry, well, thanks, sir Oh, not you, sir, Boris and Johnahue Thanks, son He'll see you in a little while, sir Bosson's made first class Johnahue, sir Reporting for duty Commander Logan spoke to me about you, Johnahue He gave you a good mark I served under him on the ticket, sir For the present, you'll serve as Chief Bosson Now, thank you, sir Oh, sir, any chance of having a job for Keith? I'll pass all my terminations I want a happy ship, Johnahue Do yourself and you'll get it Aye, aye, sir Get a gun crew and damage control party in the training Start today That's all, Johnahue Aye, aye, sir Thank you, sir See, hello, Commander Come on in Sit down, sit down What are you doing here? And in uniform Reporting for duty All right, fine, Steve, what's your? The John Paul Jones, sir The ship? The Jones? Well, you said you was like me on board, sir Oh, Steve, I just signed on my Chief Bosson Thanks, Steve, get him a transfer, is that sir? Aye, sir Couldn't let the Jones get away without me I'm afraid she'll have to Well, that sounds like you don't want me You know it isn't that Just, well, this is a different Navy, Steve than it was in 1917 You can't take the risk Well, what risk, sir? What do you think I've been doing all these years? I've been building ships, sir I built this ship, the Jones I know every seam and rivet and boat in us I know how you feel, but... What kind of a crew are you going to have, sir? Green men You'll have a good crew Well, a good crew isn't enough, sir She wants a great crew Remember the gang on the old Jones, sir? Top, cocky They were from a great ship They were proud Well, that part of an Navy hasn't changed, hasn't sir? No Well, then, how about letting me go to see on her for a little while? Just to get the lady started in Steve, you really think you've got what it takes? I'm sure, sir All right, let me have your order Well, I'm sorry, sir, but I haven't got any orders What? Yes, but now that you want me, you've put a ring for that very easily, couldn't you, sir? You... get out of here, Steve, as fast as you can In five seconds, I'm going to change my mind Aye, aye, sir Thank you, sir And remember this, you're a gun crew now I know we're on land, but this gun here is exactly like your station aboard ship But you're not going to touch the guns on the Jones till you know how to handle them All right, Stacey Range 4000 Range 4000 Gale 500 Hold it, hold it Hey, go away Will you? This is gunnery drill Yeah? Well, you're in battle A gun captain is killed What do you do? Nothing What do you mean, nothing? I'm dead I'm the gun captain Now, will you beat it, please? Hey, who are you? Gunnery, you were acting cheap, folks You were acting cheap, Ozen Come on, you, when you hand over the muscle book and support to the old man I'm Bully's Lopsie, new leading chief Yeah, well, when did all this happen? I said hand over the muscle book You better know your stuff, you know better know yours Or I'll show you how fast that croak can fly off your arm I just want your own, you're going to destroy it now Well, listen, you, I've run more salt water out of my socks than you've ever failed on Are any more cracks? You know, you don't look like a destroyer, man, to me You're a metal man Silver in your hair, golden in your teeth, and lead in your feet Looks like I'll have to get rid of you, son If I don't, you're going to be screaming up things to hand Oh, no, not me, brother Just give you enough rope and you'll do a better job of it yourself First, I want you to meet Lieutenant Morton, please He's our executive officer Lieutenant Morton At ease, sir Thank you, sir See, if I have to talk to you about the men, they can't push these kids around They're smart and they're hard workers Well, they're not now, sir, but they will be What's this I hear about your canceling liberty? I thought it best, sir, until we have ready to shove off I want you to rescind that order It's a dance tonight, it's a canteen I'm going and I want to see McCrew there, too Yes, sir Now, about Donahue Yes, sir He just asked for a transfer Well, I recommend it, sir, but it's a bit of a chip And I told him to save foot He's a good man Now, come on, see him break down Sometimes he can get a lot farther with a pat on the back That's right, sir, if it's low enough Okay, that's all Yes, sir, thank you Well, Morton, that's the new chief For my money, I'll take Donahue I want them both Well, then, sir, you'd better start thinking of some way to make them get along Not a bad idea I think I know just what to do Well, that's our problem, Mary We stand for you to do us all a big favor I see Now, that's Donahue there, over in the corner You can meet the rest of me, Commander Here comes your father I'm going, I don't want to be suspected Hi, Dad Looking hard, honey? You should hear the line these sailors have been handing me Look, baby, tomorrow we may die We sailors live from day to day Yeah, when I go away, I make them back one I make them back twice That's a third time Now, you better be careful of that line, Mary You know your mom felt for the one Oh, Daddy, excuse me I promised this debt for one of the boys I'm sure it was getting late Better be thinking about getting home Now, you know, when I saw you before talking to the old man I said to myself, Mr. Donahue, that is for you Just like that Well, sure, I'm a destroyer, man Say, how about me taking home, huh? I think you'd better read this Huh? Is absolutely forbidden for canteen horses to leave the premises with one of the guests Oh, well, let's just dance then, huh? Let's I'll follow you home So I see You know it's against the rules for you to be here, huh? So what? I'm dangerous, isn't it? Is this your car? Oh, what's danger to me when tomorrow like that? Oh, I may come back once, maybe twice, but the third time All right, come on in I'll fix you a cup of coffee Say, it's awful bright in here, isn't it? I don't want you to follow the clinic up Like your coffee black? Well, I'd like the room black and the coffee light Uh, tell you the truth, I think I could skip the java Hmm? How about some bacon, maybe? No, no, maybe later, I can't kick on a full stomach You know, you're just about the smoothest piece of satin I've ever seen You're more than just good-looking, you're... Can't you talk without using your hands? Uh, while I do them Put them in your pocket In the Navy, we don't have such Oh You know, I know you're running to a lot of guys And you hear some pretty smooth lines, too Oh, stop playing house The answer is no Well, you think I was trying to kiss you or something? Well, aren't you? Yep Mickey, I've got something to tell you Well, they always got something to tell you He's full of slavsky as my father Oh, well, I bet it a band and chip Well, he isn't bad as all that With a wool full of smiths, Callagans and Ginsburgs I had to pick a bowl of slavsky Life is just a bowl of... I want to talk to you about it Oh, so that's why I got the big come on tonight, huh? Commander Clark's afraid he might have to transfer, Dad I want you to help me Oh If John sails without my father, it'll just about break his heart Oh, now, look, I'm not saying he isn't a right guy He's just a little too much on the corny side Look, Mary, I was leading Chief for almost 30 minutes Then your old man comes along and I'm out He knew he's business, why, that'd be okay, sure But the minute he opened his big gap, I knew he didn't know from nothing That's why I want you to help The rest of the men mustn't find out If you really got to know him, Mickey, you'd be crazy about him No, okay, okay And you might tell him I'm not such a bad guy either You bet I will Well, good night, Mickey, I'm saying What for? To phone you, huh? I ought to be disappointed What? Well, no coffee, no bacon, no eggs, no nothing Well, next time, don't expect so much Yeah Good night Uh, wait a minute, sir Must be a better way than this to say good night Good night Good to... uh-oh What? Look who's drawing up Hiya, Steve What goes on here? Say, you got a nice girl there, Steve No, it's against the rules to pick out girls from the canteen I get out of here Oh, Dad, please Keep quiet and get in the house You know, the guy who's going to let me have enough rope to hang myself Ah, look, Steve, all I remember is that I worked hard And I waited a long time to be rated Chief It's no crime to say good night to your daughter I told you it's against regulations for you to be here Well, after dark, I kind of make up my own regulations Put yourself on report Well, you can't send me to the mass for this I can't, huh? You're going to the mass Okay, Steve If I gotta go, it might as well be for something worthwhile I'm sorry, Mary I'm awful sorry After a brief intermission, you'll hear Edward G. Robinson, Dennis O'Keefe, and Marguerite Chapman in the second act of destroy You know, nowadays, most women are so busy with extra wartime work That there are scarcely any more of those leisurely days That seem to go by like this What? No, now it's more like this Well, if you do register at 537 Busy, everyone's busy And that's why women find they have to be more careful than ever To use the right complexion care A care they can depend on They can't afford to let these busy days Steal away, good luck What's wrong with my skin? It's so dull, nothing, no glow anymore No, women can't take risks with beauty So every day Let's call it so beauty-faceless It's such an easy call Take only a few moments You just cover your face generously with a ripped, creamy lather Rinse with warm water Splash cold if you like Then pat gently with a soft towel to dry No need now to worry about your skin It's fresher, smoother, and it looks good In recent tests of luxe-toilet soap facials Actually three out of four complexions improved in a short time Skin grew softer, smoother, lovely Yes, Hollywood beauty soap The mild white soap 9 out of 10 screen stars used To care for their million-dollar complexions Hollywood beauty soap is a care you can depend on As the busy days go by To help you keep your complex and what you really want it to be Smooth, exquisite, lovely to look at, soft to touch Ask for luxe-toilet soap tomorrow If your dealer is temporarily out of stock Be sure to have more soon Remember, luxe-toilet soap is worth waiting for Now, act two of destroyers The biography of a fighting ship Starring Edward G. Robinson as Steve Dennis O'Keefe as Mickey And Marguerite Chapman as Mary Mary succeeded admirably in bringing together Mickey Donahue and her father But Mickey's uppercut to Steve's chin Was hardly the message she would have chosen Mary, however, has persuaded Steve To drop his charges against Mickey And Steve has almost forgotten his Britain In the excitement of the day that followed For at last, the John Paul Jones Is ready to put the sea on her first trial run All right, all right, man I know it's been a tough week You've been kicked around Well, you don't know whether you've been coming or going But out there is your ship The new home She's gonna be an awful lot to you So respect her, be proud of her When you walk up that gangway, keep your heads high She's the John Paul Jones And she's gonna be the best tin can in the Navy Good luck, see you up and quarter The message, Steve, Commander Clark What is it? She'd like to see you aboard What do you think? See you this morning Yes, sir, I said you wanted to see it All right, well, as long as I have to get rid of him It's better to do it now before we shove off Come in Good morning, sir Sit down, Steve I'll be on the bridge, sir Well, you've got a fine ship, Commander Clark Now, it seems only yesterday I put you on the train for the map list I knew you'd make an offer, sir I'm proud of you Thanks, Steve There's something I have to talk to you about Yes, sir, I know You know I picked it up coming to your office Here it is, sir A permission benefit Oh The captain always raised the first venom When he put the ship into submission Here, sir Yes Well, thank you, Steve We'll show these kids how it's done, Commander Yes, we'll show them Anything else I can do, sir? No, nothing Get out on deck General quarters in 20 minutes Morning, sir Who's what's ready for radio, sir? But I've linked the report for one day at sea No use in trying to hide it more than I'm sick over it Well, I guess that's what K. John Fruz is up for Yeah, let's see it 0815 Steering gear failed due to overheating of electric motor 0936 starboard fourth raft floor And number one fire room failed due to burnout bearing 102 old port main condensers soldered up to 10 grain Plot the gyro compass, sir It's still acting up Put it on the report Yes, sir I've been seeing a lot of older slops these days, sir I know I tried to kick him off yesterday I couldn't do it I'll try to keep him out of trouble Yes, sir Well, we're ready, sir, to start gunnery practice All right, Morton Sound general alarm Condition walk Aye, aye, sir All right, now keep your course wires on Take it easy and don't press Okay Check the automatic loader and be sure to fire it Now, wait a minute, wait a minute, sir What about the fuse? Well, what about it? Well, we already used to set the fuse before we loaded Well, this ain't the last war We set the fuse in a hoist, see Now, don't try to be telling me, junior This gun better be right Hey, sir Yes, sir You taking the necessary deck precautions? What precautions, sir? First aid gets bucket sand Where are they? Well, I'm sorry, sir Stand by after gun Stand by Report to me later, Boris Yes, sir Load after gun Load Commence firing Fire Stand by on the aircraft battery Stand by on the aircraft battery Commence firing Commence firing Now leave that target Stay ahead of it Now, no, get your cross wires on that target Arley off, Steve, you hear? Yes, if I say get your cross wires on that target Bring it up, will you? Aye, you don't know what time it is You can't talk like that to me I'm the leading chief And I'm captain of the battery Secure on the aircraft battery Secure on the aircraft battery Now, Steve, you did a swell job One hundred percent All misses Well, these men don't know their job Now you're really being stupid Say, how much do you figure this tin can weighs? Eighteen hundred ton? Why? Well, I was just thinking You'd make a great contribution to the scrap drive You know what would have happened on the old Jones If you made a crack like that? No, tell us, C.B. White And on top of everything else, you've slugged Donahue Why can't you handle your men? Oh, I can take care of my men all right, sir They just don't know how to handle my ship My ship My ship The crew's sick and tired of hearing you say that You don't know what it's all about anymore, Steve And you haven't spent five minutes trying to learn The men don't respect you and they don't respect the ship I want you to put in for a transfer Because I hit Donahue, sir? I don't want to discuss it I'm asking you to transfer I can't do that, sir There's nothing else I can do, Steve If that's more than put you on report It means a court-martial as soon as we reach court The finding of the general court-martial In the case of Steve Boleslaw's team, Steve Bosen's mate, United States Navy Guilty of incompetency and leadership The sentence of this court is That the prisoner shall be reduced to the next inferior ratings Donahue Aye, aye, sir Take over the duties of the leading Steve Bosen's mate Aye, aye, sir Return to your stations, gentlemen Recorder dismissed Thank you Steve, I'd rather have taken a beating and see this happen That's all right, you did what you had to do Thanks Well, goodbye Goodbye I don't have to leave the Jones, do I? You don't want to serve under Donahue Oh, I'll serve under anyone Well, I'd say that's entirely up to Donahue May I speak with him, sir? If you'd like Donahue? Yes, sir? Come here, please I hope it works out the way you want it to Thank you, sir Yeah? Uh, I don't, uh, I don't want to transfer Captain says tough to you, how about it? Are you making a kind of tough for me, Steve? Well, how come? Well, if I say no, I'm a heel If I say yes, I'm a heel I need help, Donahue, you can use me Well, I'll think it over Okay, come aboard in the morning, I'll give you my hand Miss? Yes? That's Steve Donahue now Come on down the dock Thank you Hey, hey, is that you, Mary? Hello, Mickey You and John hit the dock, it's just after 11 But I wanted to see you, Mickey Your old man know you're here? No, I left him home I told him I was going to canteen Can I talk to you about it? Sure, why not? But someday you're going to surprise me, you know, and talk about us Thank you He's bad on the ground Would it make you happy if I said yes? Very happy Okay, then be very happy I'll tell Steve in a moment Oh, thanks, Mickey And say, you said you were supposed to be at the canteen Uh-huh That doesn't sound good, well That gives us about 40 minutes Like the dance, lady? I'd love to Okay, baby, that's good Commander Walter S. Clark, U.S.S. John Paul Jones Put to sea immediately following repairs Impaired if you give us speed ratings without delay Sign, come event 11, I'm able to- Casey? Yeah? How's it going down in the engine room? Thanks, that's how it's going It's your first cruise, uh, Casey, huh? What about it? I'm doing my job, and here you are But it's not like a job on the beach You don't know it, Casey, but you're on, uh- Well, this is like a honeymoon If this is the honeymoon, I hope we sight Reno soon Well, uh, a ship is a woman She's born, she grows up, she goes to school She gets fancy clothes and starts looking the field over The crew comes aboard Well, that's like a courtship, they get acquainted And, uh, when she's commissioned, that's the marriage ceremony I'm a shakedown cruise Well, like I said, that's the honeymoon And from now on, it's got to be 50-50 Now you got to watch over a case, and she'll watch over you If you ask me, they brought the mother-in-law on this honeymoon, you I don't know whether you get paid to haunt this ship Or if they just drew you in in the blueprint Listen to this tub, boy But what's wrong? You got ears, haven't you? Just listen, she's tearing herself apart The old man keeps asking for more turns, more turns Well, he's got them Ah, feel us shaking, he wants more turns To blow a popper on him Moving right along, Captain Yeah, 30 minutes more and we'll really know what the Joan can do Seems pretty noisy, sir My orders are to open her up wide and give her the work Wish we had more time So do I, but I do what I'm told Yes? Main steam line gasket just blew, sir Oil line broke, she's on fire Get your men out, do what you can, but take no chances And Casey, sit Hello? Hello? Sounded alarm, Morton Damage control and fire rescue party Aye, aye, sir All right, close that hatch and dog it down Well, Casey is still down there, I'm going after Don't be crazy, I'll have this as fast as suit I'm three minutes flat A few way to get into that, Casey will score I'm going now, follow up as fast as you can Steve Well, how do you feel, Steve? Oh, I guess I'll live there Casey? You pulled through too You saved his life, Steve And the ship? How's the Joan, Steve? A little on the well done side, but we got the fire out We're returning to base for repairs Yeah, I know what you're thinking All we do is go out to sea and then have to put about some mechanical failures But he's a good ship, sir, I know it Yeah, I'm afraid the Navy doesn't agree, Steve I just got orders, our takedowns ready to failure We're to serve in the Northwest Pacific as a mail and dispatch vessel Mail? Well, one of the boys have applied for transfer, I can't blame him Maybe now you want that transfer, too May I say the ship is just no good, Steve? Well, if it's okay with you, sir, I'm staying with it, Joe Well, come on in Where's your old man? Oh, the coast is clear, he's at the hospital Hospital? Oh, he's fine, the Navy doctor just wanted to give him a final check up You know, we shove off again a couple of days, that's kind of why I wanted to see you Oh? Yeah, I was wondering what your attitude is regarding letter carriers Letter carriers? Yeah, that's what our job is now, you know, mail boats Oh, yes, Dad told me Oh, the letter carriers, I think they're wonderful Oh, you do, huh? And what's your attitude regarding marriage? I consider it a very sense of practice for two people in love So then you accept my proposal? I didn't know your proposal, Mickey Well, what did you think I was doing, practicing? My name is Bill Bowles-Lossy Yeah, and it's just about time you changed it Well, what's the funny? I was just thinking about Dad when we tell him You mean you'll have me? Oh, Mary, stay, gee, I... Oh, hey, wait a minute, did your old man have to know? Mickey Yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess he does But why? Mickey, I love you, but I've lived with one stubborn you all my life Yeah, yeah, but wait, promise me one thing What? Get married first and tell him after I got a better idea Oh, what's that? Let's fight it out on the way to treat you Come on And look, honey, when the time comes, you tell him Huh? After all, you know him better than I do And besides, the old guy still packs a terrific wallet You're trying to tell me, Doctor, I feel fine The birds are practically here What's that thing? An x-ray picture, Steve, at your lung See, there's a shadow on it Shadow? There's a lesion on your lung, Steve From breathing in all that smoke and gas It's healing, but sea duty is out Out for good Well, you can't put me on the beach for a little thing like this I'm sorry, Steve, here's my report Take it to Captain Clark now Collect your gear from the Jones And report back here for further treatment Yes, sir, thank you, sir Hey, uh, hey, what's going on here? What are you guys packing up for? You shove off soon Well, we thought that Jones was in the Navy Now we find out we're playing post office So we're going to get ourselves another ship Now, wait a minute, wait a minute If you're doing this because of me Pipe down We're leaving this broken down Jalopy Because we joined the Navy to fight Not till I'm married Well, what difference does that make? You've got a job to do And it ain't delivering postcards If you had any sense, you'd transfer, too This is supposed to be a shooting war We want to get on a fighting ship, all right? Suppose you make the Jonesy one Oh, it's Jonesy, Jonesy That's where I came in You boys ever take a good look at this? A good look at what? This This picture here on the bulkhead Well, that's the man they named the ship after John Paul Jones See what it says to Ricky Go ahead, read it, wise guy Sure, sure, I'll read it It says I have not yet begun to fight Yeah Jones started something when he said that That was during the battle Between the old Bon Amie Richard and the therapy In case you don't know who the guy is They named the ship after He was the skipper of the old Bon Amie Richard And of all the broken down, stinking old tubs That ever carried a gun, she was the worst They called her a portigan frigate Well, Jones had another name for her But he kept it to himself He asked for a ship and this is what he drew So he gets himself a crew together And they start off on a shakedown crew Boy, what a nice man He creeps and he leaks She refused to answer the helm And they'd top it off, her guns wouldn't fire When they put back in the port, the crew told Jones To take the ship and toss it back To the old ladies of France who gave it to him I don't know how he got them to stick together But he did, and off they go looking for trouble They ran smack into the 44 gun therapy There she is, the pride of the Royal Navy And with her is the lion Another 20 guns, the back of those guns were fighters I don't let anybody tell you they're from those liners who fight And as soon as they sight the old Bon Amie Richard And they open up with everything they've got Up from then on, Jones did nothing but take it An officer goes to the quarter deck Where Jones is fighting his ship and he says We're through, sir, our ship can't last 20 minutes In that case, said Jones, put her alongside the therapy And when we go down, we'll take the therapy with us Well, by now, the Bon Amie Richard is ablaze From the stem of the stern and the captain of the therapy Can't see our flag on account of the smoke Abort the Bon Amie Richard, he calls Destruct your flag Be a surrender What do you think Jones answers? Go ahead, read it, sir, I can read what he says I have not yet become a fighter Yeah, he wasn't lying He grapples and Jones led his men in one of the wildest knockdown And drag-out fights in history It was the first American naval victory And there on the deck of the captured therapy Jones and his men look back to see their old Bon Amie Richard Go down on planes Some of them cheered at it Some of them sang Yankee Doodle Now they just turned away But every one of them had tears in his eyes You see, they didn't know that they loved him till after they fought for it Now that's the way it was in their Navy It was fast along over the years And that's the way it wasn't mine You felt all the ship like you do toward a woman And when you married her, you took her away You didn't leave her when the guy got tough Never mind, what's the difference? Go ahead and find yourself a better ship We can't get out until we get our transfer Maybe it was just thinking Yeah, there ain't no rush Let's hang around a while longer What do you say, guys? Now, wait a minute The face of Jake who leaves, I will personally beat his ears off The trouble with you guys is you ain't got no moral Hey, Steve, where are you going? Oh, just a minute Hey, you left an envelope on your bunk Oh, it's up from the Navy hospital, huh? Here, thanks It's just my orders to report back to duty aboard the John Paul Jones We pause now for station identification This is CBF, the Columbia Broadcasting System In a few moments, Edward G. Robinson, Dennis O'Keefe, and Margaret Chapman will return in Act 3 of Destroyer In a few moments, Edward G. Robinson, Dennis O'Keefe, and Margaret Chapman will return in Act 3 of Destroyer In a few moments, Edward G. Robinson, Dennis O'Keefe, and Margaret Chapman will return in Act 3 of Destroyer And now, we take you into the kitchen of an American housewife Where, innocently enough, a crime is being committed Where, innocently enough, a crime is being committed Oh, lady, lady, please don't do that Why, what's the matter? You just drew away enough valuable antiseptics to treat two wounded soldiers Antiseptics? What on earth do you mean? This messy old black grease I've been scraping out of my roasting pan and any kind of fat is needed to help make the medicines our fighting men must pass I didn't realize, of course I've only been saving clear grease to turn into the butcher That's fine as far as it goes But your government needs every single drop of used fat you can save What you skim off the top of pure soup is scraping from the frying or roasting pan You'll render down table scraps or meat thinning What do you mean by render down? Save the waste-solid fat from plates, then melt it down in the oven whenever you're roasting or baking 20 tablespoons saved that way help make enough healing sulfur ointment to treat a severe burn or skin infection Any kind of used fatter oil is equally valuable then That's it, and well worth the trouble of saving when you realize the need for life-saving medicines on our fighting funds everywhere I find it easier to save if I keep a tin pan right on the back of my soul Then it's always handy to pour in the melted fat And it's most important to take the cans of your butcher often Remember, your government thanks you with two red ration points a pound And your butcher pays you four cents for every pound you bring in I'm delighted to get those extra ration points But you can bet I'll save even more carefully from now on if the need is so vital Thank you, Mrs. America, you've been doing a wonderful job I know you'll do even a better one when you realize how precious every single drop of used kitchen fat really is After the play, you'll hear a curtain chat between Mr. DeMille in Washington and our stars here in Hollywood But now, the third act of destroyer starring Edward G. Robinson Dennis O'Keefe and Marguerite Chapman It's two weeks later with all her available space packed with sacks of mail the John Paul Jones pushes through the frigid waters of the Northwest Pacific her destination, Dutch Harbor Now, just before dusk the retiring watch is in the mess room drinking coffee, listening to the radio According to a latest fact from General MacArthur in the Northern Pacific a communique just received from the Navy Department announces that the Japanese are making desperate efforts to strengthen their position on that too The enemy force is moving in great numbers to attempt other landings for an eventual attack on the mainland Yeah, turn that thing on And now for the world of... Holy smokes, did you hear what he said? That's right, we're heading, ain't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah How far are we? About 200 miles from Dutch Harbor Come on Steve, we better get below Damage control inspection What am I anyway? I might as well be a passenger To all hands Hey, hold it you guys The old man To all hands I know you'll be glad to hear we've just been instructed to proceed to a rendezvous with fighting units to the fleet to engage the Japanese passport Now in case you're worried about the mail we'll deliver it all right but there might be a slight delay I want every man on this ship to... One moment A supplementary commander came through and the change in the preceding orders or instructions are to put in at SITKA That's all SITKA? Why don't they tell us in plain language that we're not good enough to fight? We'll probably be up in SITKA till the war is over Probably Hey Steve, you know I got something on my mind Steve, I'm a sucker for asking you this but I was wondering Do you mind if I marry you a daughter? What? That's a simple question Steve What's the answer? You know what the answer is No, yeah, I figured that All right, come on, let's get below Communications reporting sir Captain Clark, communications reporting sir Come in communications Enemy aircraft sir 3-4-2 distance about 75 miles approaching rapidly Stay on it, I want constant report Aye aye Sound general quarters Aye aye sir Dive farmers Stand by Here they come Come in firing Keep on the cover, they're going to spray They're killed around here Keep on those guns That's it, we don't want them Take a look Steve Aye aye sir All right, pour it on them boys They're turning now Here we go again Now we got four of them Put it down here That's where the bomb exploded The flood is bad We lost the top burners in the engine room We're making sure to lose the top burners Not to maintain speed Yeah, how you doing? We're going too fast sir to control flooding Got a reason for speed The plane must have signaled our position Sub, but we'll carry the pieces under this much Sub will soon be within a tanking range If we slow down we're gone If we keep going we may be able to lose it This is a ship sir You can't ask her for miracles Take a look at the bulkhead team Report to the bridge What are almost at the burners? How much do we lift? 18 degrees All the after bulkheads are split seam Main pumps are out We've lost practically all steam I told you to save a lot of bulkheads The men are working on them but it's no use There's only one way to stop flooding Captain Clark will agree Go ahead, communications You bearing on enemies up 225, range 5500 Very well There's one way to patch those bulkheads That's with welding I'd like your permission We've got all the equipment You're a porter destroyer He ain't going to the bottom 22 to 3 lists sir Increasing rapidly Aye sir Commander Clark, to all hands Set depth charges on safety Take all wounded men on deck and prepare to abandon ship Stand by Engine to stop sir We're drifting, you're not going to leave us sir I can make a water tide Use your head, I have the capsized any minute There are 250 men aboard, they've got to be saved to fight on another ship I can save this ship for them to fight on sir Now that you stop we won't have to worry about water pressure I can patch up that But there's a sub out there within torpedo range We're sure but there's a good chance sir They won't waste the torpedo on us in the dark They'll play it safe and wait until daylight And how do you expect to weld our plates in that time? Give me a chance sir, I'll bet my life on it Let me pick just a few men Send the rest of the crew over the side All right Steve, pick them and on the double They've got your first man right here Me? Okay Daniel, come on Get below and I'll round up the others Kansas! Yeah? Getting anywhere? I'll be all chored up in ten minutes Without that pressure it's a big... Good Center in the life force, please Pulling away, the communication is staying with us There's a sub that's about 4,000 yards off Certainly, that's a cure for time They're waiting until daylight Uh, Kansas, how about that diesel generator? All right John, you got your life ain't you? The juice to weld gets going All right, just keep our turning over How long before you're ready Steve? Ready right now sir How many hours should it take? About three sir Three hours and no good Steve, we're too far north I've just checked, the day breaks at 136 Excuse me sir, but we've got to have time to get up and see that Steve's finished, pick up the crew They haven't visited too far How much time can I have? About two hours and fifteen minutes Steve Up to you Two hours and fifteen What am I waiting for? Okay Donnie, we'll start the oxygen and keep those electrodes coming How's it look on deck Kansas? Still black and it's Jojo's heart sir What time you got Donnie? Eight minutes after midnight Still back to me, back to me to take the space for 3,000 yards While we're waiting sir, we can reset the depth charges Two hundred and fifty of our men somewhere nearby We can't take a chance Just this waiting around sir Ain't there something we can do? Sure, start praying Steve's coming up sir Hit me Hit me another electrode How is it Steve? Save your breath, whatever you may need it You're on your last thirty minutes Steve Well I'm doing the best I can Do you want a drink? Shut up will you Let me get back to work How's it look? I think it's be holding out sir Still working I'm afraid to look at my watch Six more minutes it goes Man, come here Be ready to go above We may have to call it quits We can do it Captain, Captain look What is it? The water line is dropping Maybe just the water running forward He's coming up Get that electrode running Steve, Steve Yeah It's too late Steve We're going over the side What time is it? Almost one thirty Too late, huh? Now we've got six minutes to spare You can get your steam up sir The job's finished Visibility good sir No sign of our life folks Good Reset all depth charges Engine room to bread sir Engine room to bread Go ahead Johnny Hill Run is all clear sir Steam up, everything wide open Heave it coming Steve Yes sir Stay on the helm, we're wide open Steady on the cord Steady on the cord, aye aye sir Periscope roll on, stop the car sir Steve, right full rudder Sub's picked up our engines You won't serve us now If you're brought Steady to wait sir, one point on stop the car Bridge engine room All engines ahead, one half All engines ahead, one half sir He'll miss by fifty yards sir Meet that sub Steve Follow down that torpedo wait Aye aye sir Kansas Stand by depth charges Stand by depth charges Right full rudder Steve, hard right Right full rudder sir Start dropping them Kansas Release depth charges Engine room All engines ahead full All engines ahead full All engines ahead full Think you'll hold together for a few more minutes Steve Steady on the cord sir That's a great shift Depth charges don't get this up She may have to serve us Yes but we don't have a crew to man our gun sir That's why we're going to ram her Ram her Holy smokes Look count down Get ahead sir Steady swing her over We'll run right into her The rick is got a lot to learn yet There she is Steve Ain't just half the counting tower Ready now she's going to fire I've been looking all over for you I'm sorry sir but Now that we're tying up in the home port I figured it's time to say goodbye to the girls I just been giving her a last look over But you're coming back So we're joining a task force Captain I should have given you this envelope A few weeks ago Guess I just forgot From the Navy hospital I'm unfit for service sir What? Well you just take it easy for a while You'll be back on the drone Oh no Now it's like I said All I ever wanted was to get the ladies started right He's going out in fast company now sir Don't even expect she I see Well the crew's on deck Steve Don't you want to say goodbye? Oh of course they'll do Pickle the death sir Throw me out of there At least you can do it Say goodbye Okay here goes Here goes Keep company And cut At ease man Steve these boys wanted to do something for you All 250 of them They agree that this is the only fitting remembrance we can give you Your stripes as Chief Bolton's mate And this With the mission panel? Yes And with it goes our thanks for giving us the John Paul Jones What do you say man? Thanks I'm leaving the Jones Only one thing I'd like you to do for me When you walk down the street Steve's proud Swagger because you're from the best tin can in the police And uh You just can't say anymore Captain Clark Requests permission to leave ships Permission granted Good luck Oh hey Steve wait a minute I'll uh I'll walk down with you Oh sure Somebody waiting for us on the dock see Mary Dad Hi honey Mickey darling Hey what goes on here? Oh uh Dad Meet my husband Now look here Donnie I told you no Yeah but that was when you were saying no to everything And Mary I thought you had better sense Marrying a navy man Oh not just a minute Now what have you got to look forward to We're in and out of port Lifetime we're hallows and goodbyes And you sit home and wait Besides you married a bigamist You know that don't you A what? Sure Every married sailor has two wives Yeah one is a ship and the other is a girl Now you take good care of her for me son Look young Yeah You take good care of her for me Pop The Mary bowl is love see Donahue What a name Now look Mary why couldn't you have married A nice sensible fellow like uh Well like uh Like mom did Hmm Come on Pop Swagger I've really been a member of the audience myself tonight And so from the nation's capital I'll speak for the audience And congratulate Edward G. Robinson Dennis O'Keefe and Marguerite Chapman On an exciting performance Well thank you CB And the words of the well-known postcard We're having a fine time We wish you were here You were a sailor in the last war Eddie So it must have seemed quite natural Being back in the Navy tonight Well all I missed was the tight pants What kind of a ship did you serve on In the last war Eddie Well uh this is a little embarrassing Marguerite the only ship I got on Was a rowboat in Tellam Bay As a matter of fact I learned more About the Navy making pictures Well I landed the same way Eddie And that reminds me That I have some good news for Dennis O'Keefe Well I'm glad to hear that CB This is the first time Marguerite And I've ever been on the Lux Radio Theatre And now you run out on it Dennis I thought you'd probably seen enough Of me while we were filming The story of Dr. Waskell But the good news is that I've had many very fine comments Here in Washington On your performance in the picture Along with Gary Cooper and the others You've all really made a hit Oh that's swell CB and thank you But you still haven't squared yourself With Marguerite Chapman I think he may have even Something to tell you privately Oh you flatter me Dennis Can that be true Marguerite? Well yes mrs. Mill I did want to tell you That I said I've known you a long time Oh you do? Yes you You see I used Lux to help a long time I've always found it a marvelous help In keeping my skin soft and smooth And believe me that's something every girl Is looking for As long as it's about Lux Marguerite I'm happy you told the world Instead of just me When do you get back to Hollywood CB? In time for next week's rehearsal ready And next Monday our play will be The 20th Century Fox success Happy Land And our stars will be Don Amici, Francis D And Walter Brennan Happy Land is one of the finest stories To come out of the war It has a dramatic message of hope For some among us who may have Given up hope Happy Land is about a man whose son Where that's the front Well save a seat in the audience for me CB Good night Good night You brought the strier Into court handsomely Our sponsors the makers of Lux Join me in inviting you to be with us again Next Monday night When the Lux Radio Theatre presents Don Amici, Francis D And Walter Brennan in Happy Land This is Mr. B. DeMille saying good night To you from Washington Edward G. Robinson Is from the original cast of Destroyer And will soon be seen in the 20th Century Fox picture at Tampico Dennis O'Keefe will soon be seen In up in Maple's room An Edward Small production Marguerite Chapman appeared through the courtesy Of Columbia Pictures Corporation Producers of CoverGirl And played her original role tonight in Destroyer Heard in tonight's play were John McIntyre Ed Emerson, Leo Cleary Eddie Mar, Charles Field Norman Field, Bob Young Tom Holland, K. Dib Tyler McVeigh and Fred Barton This program is broadcast Overseas to our fighting forces Through cooperation with the Armed Forces Radio Service Our music was directed by Lois Silver And this is your announcer Don M. Kennedy Reminding you to tune in again next Monday night To hear Don Amici, Francis D And Walter Brennan in Happy Land She tried new easy mix fry and he said What a cake You're best ever She tried new easy mix fry and he said What a story You try new easy mix fry and you'll say It's amazing Fry gives me lighter cakes That stay fresh longer Buy fry at your grocery In the same handy jar This is CBS The Columbia Broadcasting System