 Screen Directors Playhouse, Stars, Paul Douglas, Edmund O'Brien, Production, The Big Lift, Director, George Seaton. This is the Screen Directors Playhouse, the Thursday night feature on NBC's All-Star Festival of Comedy, Music, Mystery and Drama. Brought to you by RCA Victor, world leader in radio, first in recorded music, first in television, the makers of Anderson for fast relief from the pain of headache, neuritis and neuralgia, and by your local Buick dealer, who introduces the new 1951 Buick this coming Saturday, January 20th. Don't miss seeing the new 51 Buick. Tonight the Screen Directors Playhouse is pleased to present Edmund O'Brien and Paul Douglas starring in the first radio performance of the celebrated motion picture story, The Big Lift. But before we begin our adaptation, here's a word from RCA Victor. Inch for inch, your best buy in television is RCA Victor 19 inch. 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True Carrier Squadron is bound for a new job in Berlin. Have you read the papers? You know what it's all about. Blockade. Now here's Berlin inside the Russian zone of Germany. The Russians have closed off the roads, the rails, the canals. Why that's happened doesn't concern us. The results do. Just imagine a city the size of Philadelphia cut off from fuel, food and everything it takes to make a city run. That's Berlin. That's where the Air Force comes in. We're going to feed Berlin by air. Pursuant to orders, the 19th Troops Carrier Squadron will proceed to Chickabee Falls, Massachusetts. And from there... The date? You know it. April 1948. And the planes came. Nice, fat C-54s. They're empty bellies ready to be filled with coal and flour and milk and oil. They came from everywhere. Aircraft 2585, Ryan Main Tower. Request landing instructions over. Ryan Main Tower to Aircraft 2589. Who are you? Where are you from? Over. Where are we from? We're from the 19th and Pickup, Hawaii. Well, hush my ukulele. Maintain your altitude and you'll move in after the 54th from Alaska in the 20th in Puerto Rico. Anybody from Tibet or Afghanistan follows you. Aircraft 2589, U.S. wide of Frankfurt, our way is on 1-3-7-8-8, Magasacos-Blanin instructions. Over. Roger and out. Any? Huh? You call me Captain Grayley? Come on, come on. Kiss the Sandman. Bye-bye. What a dream. As one thing the Air Force can't take away from an engineer is dreams. Oh, you're breaking my heart, McCulloch. Go on back and wake them up. We'll make Ryan Main in a few minutes. Yeah. Pretty classy German, huh? Right out of Schopenhauer. All right, rise and shine. Take a look at Germany, home of Ryan Wines, pine beer, and a soda strudel. You awake, Hank? I'm awake. Boy, look at that rubble. This place sure caught it. Not enough. This is where they should have used the A-bomb. Still at the big chip, huh? I didn't ask for Germany. You got it. We all got it. Get used to it. Why me? Let the crowds get used to starving for a while. Staff Sergeant Hank Kowalski is still fighting the war. I still got a war to fight. You can't get that prison camp out of your system, can you? Leave me alone, Danny. I only... Leave me alone. They want to feed the crowds? Okay. They send me over here? Okay, but I don't have to like it. Hey, some crummy barracks this is. And believe me, Danny boy, this is the best part of Germany. Well, at least we'll get some sleep. I bought these orders. You'll be taking a load to Berlin inside of an hour. Start moving. Welcome to Germany, Danny, and wake me up when you get back here. Staff Sergeant Henry Kowalski here. You're going too, Sergeant. I'm no flight engineer, sir. I'm GCA. Yeah, you're down for Berlin. Berlin? Wait till you see Templehof Field on a foggy day. You'll know why we need GCA operators just to bring them in. Just catch a ride on any plane, Sergeant. The cesspool ain't bad enough. I gotta fall right into the middle of it. Berlin yet! You just stand right there, Hank. Watch me push the buttons. You'll be fascinated. I'm thrilled all to pieces. Say, Captain Grammy, how's it feel to be flying co-pilot? Yeah, if Major Bedford wasn't along, I'd probably be in Sweden by now. I guess it's a milk run after you get used to it, huh, Major? Oh, sure, sure. What you do is stay in a 20-mile corridor, fly at exactly 170 miles an hour, hold exactly 6,000 feet, fly instruments continuously, and give radio checks on the second. Nothing to it. Uh, what kind of a field is this Templehof? Well, see for yourself. There it is. What? Oh, no. You must be kidding. Hey, what are they trying to do? Hide it behind those apartment houses? With your gear down, you can almost roll your wheels on those roofs. Ah, don't kid yourself. When you land at Templehof, those roofs are five stories above you. And below, just for convenience, there's a graveyard. When the fog hits, letting down between those apartments is like threading a needle when your mouth is too dry to spit. Well, what's the matter, boys? You're not talking. Who can talk? Landing checklist, Captain. Heater switches off. Heater switches off. Booster pumps high. Booster pumps high. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. Berlin. I gotta draw Berlin. And this is it, Templehof. Guess you guys can use GCA all right with 200 feet ceiling in a quarter of a mile to make a landing. GCA, Sergeant, and a lot of things that haven't been invented yet. Now let's get out of here. Hey, what about unloading all this stuff? Trucks get it as soon as we land. Mostly Germans do the work. I'll go check the weather. And give these crowds a chance and steal your blind. Well, they're doing a good job. Hey, look, Hank, they're just people. Don't kid yourself. They're a special brand. The people are the super boys. So what are you trying to do? Start another war? I ain't finished with the last one yet. Major, thanks for the lift, sir. Where's operations? Over there, Kowalski. Last building on the right. I guess I'll check in. I'll look for your next trip, Hank. If I'm sleeping, just leave your card. So long. Oh, Major, all right if I leave the field for a while. I'd like to take a look at Berlin. I'm sorry, Sergeant. It's not allowed. You mean we just stand around while we're here? Well, the turn around is just 20 minutes, McCullough. 20 minutes? Some command, this is. I wouldn't worry, Sergeant. You wait till three or four months, Govime, and you'll really learn to hate it. Three or four months? There's no time for coffee this trip, Danny. We're trying to lock three minutes off the turn around. I have a heart. I've been up and down so many times this week, I feel like a yo-yo. Temple half, Danny. Temple half, Ryan Main. Temple half, Ryan Main. I'm living in a rut at 6,000 feet. Captain Grammy, I'd better have a look at number four when we get home again. Four months and already he calls it home. Hey, get a load of this. Yeah, looks like the Yannick got out there. Wonder who they're putting on the show for. Who knows? Where's the truck? Oh, probably holding it up until after the shindig. Hey, look, Captain, they're coming this way. Yeah, there must be some big grass around. I don't see any. Oh, Danny. I think, I think it's for us. Well, what are you looking at me for? I didn't do nothing. Watch the pitch. Big show. You're the 100,000 airlift flight into Berlin. Oh, come on, Captain. They want you. They need you. You too, Sergeant. Me? Well, since when did they bother with engineers? Since now. Oh, brother. Oh, Sergeant, look who you drew. Genuine 21-jewel movement. Heaven protects the poor enlisted men. We are Berlin from the wives and mothers and those who are alone. We have watched your planes bring us food and cold and medicines and serums. And now there have been 100,000 such flights. This briefcase, Sergeant, is filled with the gratitude and admiration of hundreds of thousands of women. Please take it. Hey, how about a kiss for a picture? Uh, mark me the cushion, huh? Of course. Hey, you guys want another picture? No, that's fine. All right, man. Back to work. Goodbye, Sergeant. Your name is Frau Bergmann? Yeah. Your, uh, your husband? My husband was killed during the war. Oh, I'm sorry. It seems long ago. Well, perhaps we meet again. Ah, no. Not a chance. They won't let me into Berlin. Oh, that is too bad. But just in case, in America, we have a phrase for situations like this. Phrase? What is it? What's your phone number, honey? There is a phone for the apartment where I live. Wait a minute. I'll write it down. Seven-five, four-five, three-two. Come on, Sergeant. Let's go. Come on, Captain. Maybe I'll get to look you up, huh? Goodbye, Sergeant. Goodbye. Oh, Sergeant McCullough. Before you get away, I'm Dick O'Malley, United Press. Just heard you're from St. Paul. Oh, yeah, yeah. Anything I can do for you? Yeah. You say we serve as the St. Paul Dispatch, and they've been after me for one of those hometown boyflies' lift stories. How about it? Oh, no. Not me. What you want is a glamorous pilot. Who can be choosy? Besides, I want a different angle on this story. No, no. No, thanks. I appreciate it, Mr. O'Malley, but I... Oh, come on. It'll only take a few hours of your time. I want to follow you from Rhinemaine with a load of flour. You know, pictures showing how the flour becomes bread in the Berlin Bakery, that sort of stuff. Me? Thank you. In Berlin? Berlin. Get me a 24-hour pass? Sure. You know, Mr. O'Malley, I feel it's my duty to let the folks back home know what's going on here. That's great. Then I can come in. You and Frau Burkhart both. Well, Pete's safe, Sergeant. Will you get a move on? My Captain Cole, see ya, Mr. O'Malley. See ya. Hey, ain't doing. You're a hero. I ain't cause the GCA business. Just man, do you keep this up, you might even get the Kraut-Iron Cross. Tell me about it when I get back to Berlin with a pass yet. A pass? Ha-ha. It's your leaven, boy. I'm going to show you how to live with these people. Sergeant McCullough! So long, Kowalski. You don't take any wooden blitz on your radar screen. Keep your shirt on, sir. Our story will continue in just a moment. But now, if you suffer from pains of headaches, neuritis, or neuralgia, you should discover what many thousands have known for years, that anisone brings incredibly fast, effective relief. Anisone is like a doctor's prescription. That is, anisone contains not just one, but a combination of medically proven active ingredients in easy to take tablet form. Probably at some time you have received an envelope containing anisone tablets from your physician or dentist. Thousands of people have been introduced to anisone this way. Try anisone yourself the next time you suffer from the pains of a headache, neuritis, or neuralgia. You'll be delighted at how quickly relief can come. Anisone is spelled A-N-A-C-I-N. Your druggist has anisone in handy boxes of 12 and 30 tablets, and economical family size bottles of 50 and 100 for your medicine cabinet. Ask for anisone today. Now for the second act of the Screen Director's Playhouse Presentation of The Big Lift, starring Edmund O'Brien as Danny and Paul Douglas as Hank. You see, Mr. O'Malley, it's all a matter of pulling the right switch at the right time. How about this one, Sergeant? Here, you pull that and the wings fall off. Never mind him. He's just a pilot. The captain's jealous because he ain't getting his name in a paper. I'm jealous of that 24-hour pass you've got. Tell me, doesn't his fog bother you guys? Nope. As long as you can see the wing tips, it's a clear day. Glad to hear it. Where are we? Coming into Temple Huff. Well, how do you know? Radio, GCA will be picking us up any minute now. GCA? Ground-controlled approach, radar and stuff. Maybe we don't know where we are, but they know on the ground. They just talk us down. GCA, coming in now, Sergeant. Sounds like your friend, Hank Kowalski. Here, Mr. O'Malley, take a listen on the headphones. This guy's the best in the business. You know, looks correction. Now start breaking your glide. Hank, we're right in the clear. You said it. Look, I gotta do a story on this thing. I'll fix it. Now, with your friend, mine? Sure. Like a father, mine's talking about twins. It's a pleasure to help the press. You know what radar is, Mr. Malley? Yeah, roughly. Very roughly. Okay, you keep your eyes and ears open too. Then you might learn something. Now, this here GCA shack is just a radar center. We send out a radio signal that bounces off the plane. When the signal comes back, we turn it into a spot of light or a blip. See, it shows up here on the screen. Looks like a television set, Sergeant. The same principle. Now, depending on where the blip is, we know just where the plane is. Maybe the pilot don't even know, but we know, so we just talk them down. Let's see. And the pilots, they have confidence in you? In this weather, Mr., they gotta have it. I hate to break up the lecture, but I've only got a 24-hour pass. Oh, yeah, yeah, I know. Well, thanks very much for the talk. We have to start following that flower around. You want to come with us, Hank? I ain't interested in seeing a bunch of crowds being fed. You know, that Jerry's wanted to sign his separate armistice with my pal here, but he's holding out for a castle on the Rhine. That guy like you, you don't own nothing. I know a Shotzi in Berlin, that's something. A Shotzi? Hey, well, look, Junior, you're liable to get in trouble running around by yourself. I'll go along for the ride. Hadn't his arms yet, standing in front of a bakery. Danny McCullough, the spirit of Berlin. Nuts. That's got it. Thanks a million, Sergeant. A pleasure, believe me. I want to get the story, I'll send it to you. Well, enjoy your pass. See you. Boy, they'll love me in St. Paul. Come on, I want a quick phone booth and a frown named Frederica. There's a phone booth at the corner. Hey, there's some place I can take you to dinner, Hank. There's nothing around here. There's a spot in the British Zone, ain't bad. The Savoron. Savoron, got it. Look, maybe we can make an evening of it. I'll pick up my Shotzi, too. Oh, Hank, you've got a Shotzi? After four months, what do you expect? Well, you're a trader. Don't give me that trader business. With Gertie, it's just like I want it. If I want to see her, I see her. If I want to talk to her, she talks. And if I don't want those, she keeps her mouth shut. She must be nuts about you. I'll get you a taxi. I'll get you a taxi. Okay, only takes a second. Taxi! Hey, Fritz! Well, bring it here, Buster. Bring it here. That's it. I want a 10-feet away. I'd ask for a 10-feet away. That's more like it. Yeah, sure, bitter. What's the matter, Vienna Schnitzel? You think I'm going to take a punch at you? Please, no English. I'll answer it. Well, that's on the way back to the field. I'll drop you. Come on, get in. Hank, this can't be the place. There's nothing but rubble. This is the place. That's a work gang clearing the mess away. But they're women. Women working like this. So if we lost the war, you assisted me doing it. Take your choice. I don't like... hey. Hey, there she is. They're numerous in their overalls. Well, uh, happy fraternization. Do you remember me? Satch and McCulloch. Well, how do you know? So, you did get to Berlin. For about 24 hours, you... you look fine. No. No, I look like a woman who works with bricks. Well, in Berlin, if you are between 18 and 55, you must work. You speak English very well. You could be a translator or something. No jobs, but thank you. You could do it with you, maybe, huh? Yeah, but definitely, uh... Most times I practice only in letters to America. Oh, relatives, friends? A friend in St. Louis. Well, I'm a friend from St. Paul. Frau Burkhart, will you have dinner with me tonight? Dinner? Yeah, thank you. I'll be through in 20 minutes. Then we go and I change my clothes. You will wait, Sergeant? The sergeant will wait. I'll just sit down here in his packing case. Berlin, is it really his? Berlin. Of all the... Just help me out of this wet cement, will you? Yeah. Hey, that's a fine place to put a wheelbarrow. I should not have let you sit down in that old packing case. That's my own stupid paw. Look at my uniform. You look so nice and fresh. You know, if this stuff hardens, you're gonna have one more statue in Berlin. Yeah, in memory of the air lift. Don't worry, Sergeant. There's the tailor shop downstairs from where I live. Well, this is a fine way to start a leave. Look at that. I personally will make it up to you. Yeah? Well, all right. I'll have to thank him for it. He has room next door. He will be glad to talk to you. Doc? If you lived any closer to Temple Hive, they'd be landing planes on your kitchen table. Here is where the air lift planes make their... What is the expression, landing approach? Walking to your place, looking at the shops, they're almost empty. You wouldn't know there was any air lift at all. Ask the people of Berlin. We know. They are grateful. Ah, people of people. The war's over. The war is over. Well, I go down and get your uniform now. If you want company, her steeper's room is through that door. I'll be right back, Sergeant. Lorraine? Oh, the American Sergeant. I'm Steve. Danny McCullough. I want to thank you for the use of your rope. Oh, it's a pleasure. You pardon me for not leaving the window, but, uh, yeah, that's another one. I have to mark it down. Pardon me, but what are you doing? That's very simple. I'm a Russian spy. What? Surprise. Don't worry. The Americans know that I do this. But why? Well, you see, I count the air lift planes. I mark it down. Every three hours, I phone the Russians. Oh, Steve, that's crazy. They can read the official air lift figures in the papers. Oh, but those Russians don't believe official papers. So, you see, I make a check. Well, what happens when your count agrees with the official figures? Well, that would make the Russians very unhappy. So, every day, I knock off a few planes here and a few planes there. And the Americans know about this? Oh, sure. Once they face the phone for me. Oh, some system. They, uh, do the Russians have many spies? Hmm, 15,000 maybe. Oh, that's great. Why don't the American authorities do something about it? Oh, they do, Sergeant. You see, they have spies, too. Not so many. Just about 10,000. 10,000? You mean to say there's 25,000 spies spying on each other? Well, you see, it would be quite a mess if it weren't for one thing. What's that? There are maybe 500 spies who work for both sides. That way everybody knows what everybody else is doing. Sergeant, I forgot the electricity. Hey, hey, wait a minute. Now calm down. Catch your breath. But you're uniform. What about my uniform? I forgot all about the electricity. Today there is no current in this part of the American zone. Most of the generators are in the Russian zone. So just tell me one thing. Where is my uniform? The tailor. He took it to a friend in the British zone to use his equipment. Oh, fine, fine. We're supposed to meet a buddy of mine for dinner. Well, you still go. Like this? In a bathrobe? Oh, Sergeant, not so nice, maybe, but you're welcome. Oh, no, no, sir. If I'm caught out of uniform, I've had it. You would look very German. Nobody would know. And this was going to be such a nice 24 hours. Well, there goes another one, Herr Steber. Oh, forget it. That one was American propaganda. What a city. Well, I said I wanted to see Berlin, so I might as well see it as a civilian. Herr Steber, let's have those clothes. And now before the curtain rises on the next act, don't forget that the new 1951 Buick will be shown for the first time anywhere this Saturday, January 20th. Don't miss this gala opening day at your nearest Buick dealers. That's the day the entire All-Star lineup of 1951 Buicks will be introduced. And you are personally invited to be among the first to see them. See the car of your dreams and everyone's dreams with its new features, new smartness, new and distinctive Buick lines. And what else has a new 51 Buick got that sets the pace again? Plenty. Check this new honey for its power, its looks, its price. And you'll see why the 51 Buick is the smart car, the smart performer, the smart buy for 51. Remember the date this Saturday, January 20th. And the place, your nearest Buick dealers. Don't miss seeing the new 1951 Buick. You are listening to the Screen Director's Playhouse, the Thursday night feature on NBC's All-Star Festival. Brought to you by RCA Victor, world leader in radio, first in recorded music, first in television, the makers of Anison for fast relief in the pain of headache, neuritis and neuralgia, and by your local Buick dealer who introduces the new 1951 Buick this coming Saturday, January 20th. Don't miss seeing the new 51 Buick. The Screen Director's Playhouse presentation of the Big Lift, starring Edmund O'Brien and Paul Douglas, will continue after a short pause for station identification. This is the Screen Director's Playhouse. We continue with the third act of the Big Lift, starring Paul Douglas as Hank and Edmund O'Brien as Danny. He's probably sitting up with a sick radar screen. And, uh, my name isn't Sergeant, it's Danny. I can't very well call you that. In Germany, these things take time. You saw me in a bathrobe, and you can call me Danny. Of course, it does make a difference. All right, Danny. And you're Fred Riecker. Fred Riecker? No. Better make it Freddie. This is a girl's name in America. Oh, sure, half the girls in America named Freddie. The rest are named George. Hey. Here comes my buddy. Wait till he sees me and his civilian get up. Guten Tag, Herr Kowalski. What? Well, if it ain't Fritz. In the flesh. I'm not native in a hurry. It's a big deal. A tailor ran away with my uniform. Frau Burkhart, Sergeant Kowalski. How do you do, Sergeant? Yeah. Where's your girl? Gertie, here she comes now. Some cabbage head. I'll say this for her. She earns a good shirt. Hey, stupid! Here. This is Danny and Frau Burkhart. Meet Gertie. My name is Gerda. Gertie's good enough. Sit down. If you are Gerda, then I am Fred Riecker. When we are with the Americans, what happens to our men? She does as I say. That's all the manners she needs. Please. Take it easy, boy. Hey, you, Fred Riecker. Danny tells me your husband was killed in a war. Yeah. What was he? SS? Hank, cut it out. Just a question. No. My husband was drafted. Oh, sure. Not a volunteer in the whole German army. If you'd like to know about my father and my mother, I'll tell you that. Never mind him, Freddie. He's a bug on the subject. No, I don't mind at all, then. My mother was killed in an air raid. My father went much earlier. He was a professor at the University of Berlin. When they burned the books, he spoke against the government. I don't see him since. Fred Riecker, your father must have been a very brave man to do what he did. Not brave. You just believe strongly. My father believed, too, in the wrong things. Your father was a louse. Papa can be the biggest jerk in the world, but in Germany, what he says goes. He tells you when to talk, think, die. Then along comes another jerk like Hitler, and he becomes the poppy even for the poppers. You're a great guy to be sounding off. What's the matter with you? You big ape. You're treating Goethe the same way. You tell her what to do, what to say, what to think. Hey, wait a minute. Hey, you know something? You're right. Yeah. Well, when I'm wrong, I admit it. Well, admit it to Goethe. Bravo, Danny. Well, Goethe, uh... From now on, you can disagree with me. Out loud? Well, it better not be too loud. And I can ask questions? Sure. Goethe, I'm so mixed up. You are American, Danny is American. Today, there is much America in Germany. So I want to know about America. Okay. Shoot. What is democracy? What is it? Well... I can answer it, Hank. Well, democracy is democracy. What kind of a stupid question is that? Look, you two talk politics. Freddie and I are gonna dance. I hope. Well, look, let's start with the voting, huh? Yeah. I don't think I like him, your friend. Hank, he's all right. In a way, you can't blame him much for his hate campaign. He was in a prisoner of war camp in Germany. He must have given him a rough time. All that. Sure. I don't want to be personal, but you mentioned a friend, don't you know it? Oh, yeah. A man? Oh. Is there anything... No, Danny. He's a family friend. There is not. Then there's a clear track, huh? Clear track? An American expression meaning it looks like a long, beautiful night. Oh, yeah, Danny. I'm sure it will be clear. So, America, Hank, it is run by the people. Right. A people's government. Right. Like in Russia. Wrong. Okay, okay, what I said. Now, look, call it a people's government in Russia. But the point is who is boss, the people or the government? Now, if you... I think I just saw an old friend. Who? That guy. Just leaving. You know him? That German? I know him all right. Gertie, just sit here. I'll be back in a few minutes. I slowly walk, huh? I do not understand. Yeah, me too. Just to walk. Please, I must go. I... Yeah, no, no. You know, it's funny meeting us like this. You know, you're the spitting image that was a guard in a prison camp. Oh, God, never you make mistakes. What's the matter? Relax, take it easy. I'm just holding on to you because I like you. I want to talk to you. I want to tell you about this guy. Oh, he was quite a German. He hated Americans and he hated Poles and I was both, so he took it out on me. You know what he used to do? He'd take me aside in the woods and give me German lessons. Nothing easy like Guten tag or Wiederssein, but nice little tongue twisters that were supposed to cast them. Well, I made mistakes, lots of mistakes. And whenever I did this fella, he'd correct me with a rifle button that kidneys took me about seven months, but I learned German. Of course, I've forgotten some of it, but if the weather changes suddenly or I bend too quick, you'd be surprised how it all comes back to me. Come here, you got a little English lesson coming to you. Now, Germans have trouble with the W's, don't they? I'll give you an easy one. Just say it after me. Which way went the winged whipper well? I don't want to hear any V's instead of W's in there. I'll have to correct you. Now, try it. Which way went the winged whipper well? Now, say it. Which way? Which way, I said. Now, try it again. Which way? Again! Again! Again! Again! I'm a dead duck if I'm picked up in these clothes. We'll have to run. But Hank... Get out of here. Take care of him, hurry. You're one of us, Danny. You know what it means. To run, be a German, swollen. Freddie's out for a while. This is her, Steve, and my friends, Hank and Girda. How are you? How do you do? Good enough. Well, I leave you alone. Hank, what was the fight all about? What happened? I knew that guy once. In a prison camp. For seven years, Danny. For seven years, I've been waiting for peace, and so now I've done it. Why do I feel like this? So lousy. So dirty and rotten. Hank, it is better than feeling good. Hank, get... You're all right, Freddie. What about the uniform? Oh, tonight there was no electricity in the British zone. What? Early tomorrow you get it, for certain. What am I going to do tonight? I'll sleep with a woman down the hall. You can have my room. Well, I... Good night, Danny. Good night. Okay, okay, good night. That's enough already. See you at the base in the morning, Danny. Yeah, see you. So, Danny, it has not been what you expected. Your leave. No, not what I expected at all. I am sorry. Don't be. I... We've gotten to know each other pretty well, Freddie. That's... That's very important. You said Danny? Yeah. Yeah, it certainly is. The way you look at me, I think, Danny, you love me just a little. More than a little, Freddie. More. Hey, can't you wait a minute? Next trip, Hank, I got to see Freddie. Well, come here, that's what I want to talk to you about. Well, for a week now I've been delivering stockings and blouses and cigarettes for you. Yeah, so... So I called you a sucker and I was right. I had a friend in the document center. Look her up. Wow, Fredricka Berkhardt. Yeah, look at that. What'd I tell you? That husband of Freddie's was in the SS. It's real pretty, isn't it? Yeah, it gets prettier. A wonderful father never saw a university. Had a little dough and he wanted to keep it so he played ball with the boys. He walked out on a mother in 1939 and he was a very stylish, nice guy. I guess it's true. Must be true. There are many other things I lied about. But Freddie, why? Because I have to... survive. Look around you, Danny. Bricks, wreckage, our lives. It's all this reason enough for life to escape from it for even a moment now and then. I think, Freddie, I think if I were you, I'd lie and cheat and steal anything to... Oh, you poor kid. Pity, Danny. I love you. But more important, I... I understand you. Freddie, Freddie, for days, I've had something buzzing around in my head and now I know it's right. It has to be. Danny, what is this? Will you marry me? That's all. Will you marry me, Freddie? Why, you big, lug-headed sack. Look, I don't have to ask your permission to get married. Just take this envelope to Freddie and have her sign the papers. You can't get married now. Why not? Airlift personnel who's been here six months are going stateside. I'll see the CO. There must be some way to hurry things up. She must have really fed you a line. Now, look, there was no line. Nothing cheap or nasty. Why, she's got... she's got dignity and fineness and brother, she's really had it. There are other people in this town. I never realized how tough... Yeah, yeah, yeah, I feel so sorry for them. Every Sunday at four o'clock, I stand right here and bleed. Okay, Danny, I'll see she gets your letter. Gertie and me will take a walk by Freddie's place. Okay, I gotta get back to the plane. Well, run real fast. Maybe you'll break your leg. Can you imagine, Gertie? Just like that, he's gonna get married. It is very nice. She will go to America You're still harping on that. I don't see how it can work. Here, just in Western Europe, there's so many peoples, languages, customs. It would be impossible. Impossible, she says. Look, tell me, Dopey, you ever hear of Manhattan? Yes, it is in Brooklyn. It ain't in Brooklyn. It's an island, 12 miles long and 3 miles wide. In Manhattan, we got more Irish than there are in Dublin. More Jews than in Israel, more Germans than in Düsseldorf, more Italians than in Naples, and a half a million Poles besides French and Greek and all the others. And you know something, Gertie? They all get along all right. Maybe they don't all love each other, but at least they've learned to live together. Hey, ain't this where Frederica lives? This is it. Well, let him give her the letter. I don't even wanna talk to her. Hello, you got Danny's friend, yeah? Hey, would you give this letter to Frau Burkhart? It's from Danny. Oh, of course. I give it to her with this other letter. I bring her from the post office. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just see that she gets it. Come on, Gertie. Now, look, you know what Manhattan is. What's your mail for Burkhart? This is from America, St. Louis, and this is from Danny. Oh, thank you. Wait a minute. That's the wrong letter for Burkhart. The other one, that's from... Please, housekeeper. You don't read Danny's first? You know that Danny's a remarkable young fellow? He has a certain feeling. Really, he doesn't even know me. And yet you know what he did? He gave me these shoes from the P.X. Look at these wonderful shoes. What? Oh, I was reading. Excuse me. Here, Steve, are you going out again? Soon. I wonder you would mail this letter for me. I wanted to leave quickly and I'm very busy. To St. Louis, of course. You're so busy for Burkhart. Is this something special? Yeah, I'm going to marry Danny. Oh, so you're going to marry Danny? Yes, Steve, I'm very anxious for my letter to be posted. Oh, of course, of course. I'll go right now. Hmm, to St. Louis. Captain Gramey, don't you understand? Yes, sure, sure. Look, I'm going home. I'm posted stateside for Saturday. I can't get out of it. Yeah, you ought to be celebrating, Sergeant. Celebrating? If I'm going to be married at all, I've got to be married today, tomorrow, or the next day at the latest. Go argue with the weather. It's fogged in at Rhine Main. Maybe for a week. Sergeant, right now, you haven't got a prayer. Oh, yes, I have. Yes, I have. And I'm going to keep saying it over and over and over. You check today's weather? Tight. Not a break. Try tomorrow again, Sergeant. Captain Gramey, today's my last chance. I'm drafted out tonight. Well, the Met section says the fog might rise a little. And maybe? Maybe? Yeah, maybe. Sergeant, I don't know whether I'm making this flight for you or the Air Force. We'll name our first son after you. Gramey McCulloch. The poor kid. Don't count on too much, Danny. Flying in this soup is one thing. Landing is another. Yeah, well, we'll soon find out. Yep, right now. This is Big Easy 3-7 calling Temple Half Tower. Big Easy 3-7 to Temple Half Tower. Over. Danny, grab those earphones. Temple Half Tower to Big Easy 3-7. Go ahead. Over. How's it for a landing? Over. My head is thick. Let GCA bring it down. Have a look for yourself. Over. GCA, Roger, and out. This is Gowalski's shift, Captain. You just like him to crash us to keep me from getting married. Big Easy 3-7, this is Jigsaw. How do you read? Over. Jigsaw from Big Easy 3-7. Reading you five by five. Over. Roger, 3-7, understand the knowledge further instructions on this transmission. Maintain to 7-0. Start your descent. Eight hundred feet, Danny. Maybe it'll thin out. Not much. Six hundred feet. See anything happen? Yeah, my wife and two kids. Four hundred feet. We're down a minimum. Dead white. Sorry, Danny, I'm no hero. We're going home. Tower from Big Easy 3-7. Failed to break through on approach. Lear us for return to Rhine, Maine. Over. Roger. Thanks, Captain. You did your best. Don't worry. You'll work it out some way. Sure. With me posted stateside and Freddie and Jerry. Fire signal. Number four engine. Look at that smoke. Feather four. Feather four. Pull the bottle. Got it. Zero two isn't working. Still burning. How old are miserable luck? Captain, we'll have to go in now, won't we? Now you don't have to be so happy about it. Temple half tower from Big Easy 3-7. Number four engine on fire. Pull fire bottle. Still burning. Request emergency clearance. Over. Big Easy 3-7. Temple half tower. Jigsaw will contact you for emergency landing. Hold on. Big Easy 3-7. This is Jigsaw. Your present heading is 262. Correct at 270. Very good. Your course is good. Your altitude is 1200. Your position three miles from touchdown begin descent. You're drifting slightly left. Nothing to worry about. Steer right to 273. You're now approaching on course perfectly. 271. I can't see a lousy foot in front of my face. I got my eyes shut. One and one half miles from touchdown. On course. Blow on glide path. Please correct 50 feet. I said, come on. Now I just talked to Danny. We've got to go be witnesses of the fuel. And he's going down to the consulate. We're all meeting at Freddy's. They're going to get married now. Are you drunk or something? No. Democracy is. It is not you. Correct like that. Now I'll knock you from here to Potsdam. Stop them trooper. I go to the American military government. Democracy. Democracy is independence and decency. Now you know what democracy is. I mean, Gerda, come on, baby. Get your coat. Well, you were going to be late, baby. Oh, come on upstairs. It's going to be a wedding. I guess you know, huh? Yes, Danny, Danny. Before you go up this letter. Yes, it's from Frau Burkart. She gave it to me to mail. Well, for certain reasons, I opened it. You'd better read it. Well, I don't know if it's Freddy's letter. Look, Danny, read it. In this way, I say thank you for the shoes, the airlift, for everything. And I'm very sorry, very sorry. To dress the St. Louis, Carl Mirbacket. And so, my darling, it is sure now that I will be with you again someday. You must write and tell me how long I must stay with him until I can get a divorce. Ben, I was worried. Yeah, some groom. You took your sweet time getting here. Oh, leave him alone, Hank. Is it arranged, Danny, when I will come to you? In a month? No. I think it might be longer than that. Oh, no, Danny. And even longer still until you get to St. Louis. St. Louis? Here's your letter, Frederica, to your boyfriend. How did he get to the States, Maria Wack? Hey, what's going on here? What is this? Yeah, read it yourself. Well, Danny, what do you want me to say? Nothing. Don't say anything. In a little while, I'm going home. I'll be glad. I'll be glad I'm back in the States and you're in Berlin. This is where you belong. In the rubble with the rest of the rats. Danny! Oh, please! Leave me alone. No, no. Don't judge people by a person, Danny. For what she did, there is no excuse. But to know how she could do it, you must look back. The lies, the cruelty. What do you want me to do? Justify it? No, Danny, no. But at least, you must know we all are not Fredericas. You must not think that. No, Goethe. You aren't. I know that. But just let me go. I'll see you sometime in the States, maybe. No. No, I stay here in Germany. I want something different, Danny. Better. But I, I try to find it here. It is my country. Sure. Make it good. Maybe you can. I hope so. So long, Goethe. There's your plane, Danny. They'll never get off in this fog. You got in, don't you? They're up there all right. Some switch, eh? You and me. You hated them and I loved them. Okay, so maybe we're both wrong. Gertie's okay. So is Stieber. Must be plenty of others. I suppose if you're ever going to sell these stoops a new way of living, you've got to be a good salesman. You know, maybe if we don't shove them too hard. Sure, sure. You don't want to talk about it. Have a good trip, Danny. Yeah. Hey, what about you? When are you going home? Oh, I forgot to tell you, I switched to permanent duty. You what? Well, you know how it is. You know, they're getting in some new GCA equipment and they want me to stick around and help kick the bugs out of it. So you're going to grow old and gray on the airlift? Well, the Russians won't keep up the blockade forever. They can try. Let them. Take a look. What good's a blockade if planes are up there when even the birds won't fly? Well, that's my trick in the GCA shack. Can you find your plane okay? I think so. So long, Hank. Go on, Danny. Don't get lost in the fog. I won't get lost. See ya, Hank. Next Thursday, the screen director's playhouse promises a few more magnificent performances. They present our adaptation of Outfit Hitchcock's Really Lotion Picture Experience Spellbound. In the starring roles, you'll hear Joseph Cotton and Academy Award winner, Mercedes McCambridge. Now here are tonight's stars, Paul Douglas and Edmund O'Brien. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Thank you very much for your applause. But if you enjoyed the big lift, well... Well, the one to thank is the fellow who created the picture. And we mean created. Yes, sir, because as writer-director, he conceived the idea, wrote the original story and the screenplay, and then flew a crew over to Germany to put it all on film. So for Paul and me, it's quite a pleasure now to introduce to you the wonderful guy who made the big lift. And if I can name a couple of other standouts, Eddie, there's Miracle on 34th Street and apartment for Peggy. Ladies and gentlemen, the director, Mr. George Seaton. Thank you, Paul, Eddie. As long as we're throwing credit around, let's not forget those guys who did the flying in Germany. Yeah, and a lot of the acting in the picture, too, George. Now, what about that, George? How do you take a bunch of ordinary airmen, put them in front of the cameras, and make actors out of them? The answer to that one is easy. You can't do it. Flyers aren't actors, and they can't play characters. They can play themselves. Performances that are real and honest. And that's what we wanted in the picture. Well, you had an honest story to begin with, George. If we did, it's because it was written from observation on a scene. You saw it for yourself, Paul. The story of Hank and Danny and their adjustment is the story of an awful lot of people. Thanks, fellas, for telling it so well this evening. Good night. Good night, everyone. Good night. Good night. The big lift was presented to the courtesy of 20th Century Fox. With studio tonight, we salute for the great Hollywood premiere of Mudlark on January 30th. It's being done special charity at the St. John's Hospital. Edmund O'Brien can currently be seen in the Paramount production The Red Head and the Cowboy. Paul Douglas can soon be seen in the 20th Century Fox production 14 Hours. George Seaton with William Pearl Berg is currently producing The Paramount Picture Rubar. The nice cast included Betty Lugerson as Federica, Green Tuttle as Gerda, and Henry Roland Eddie Marr, Tony Barrett, Paul Duboff, Byron Kane and Ralph Moody. The big lift was adapted for radio by Richard Allen Simmons. The screen director's playhouse is produced by Howard Wiley and by Bill Karn. This is Jimmy Wallington speaking and inviting you to listen next Thursday when we present Joseph Cotton and Mercedez the Cambridge in Spellbound with screen director Alfred Hitchcock. Sunday, Mr. and Mrs. Kerry Grant start a new series as The Blandings on NBC.