 Wearing Merle Oberon in the Dark Angel on the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by Dupont, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Our play tonight is a love story. It is about three people, Kitty and Alan and Gerald. It is the story of a woman who chooses her love and once chosen, nothing can destroy it within her. It could have been in any year, in any country, in a world at peace or at war, where the snows come late or early. For whatever the time and place, there was always spring and love. Dupont, maker of better things for better living through chemistry, presents the Dark Angel based on Samuel Goldwyn's motion picture starring Merle Oberon on the Cavalcade of America. A small railroad station. It is a beautiful Saturday morning. It's the most important Saturday of the year for Kitty, who is waiting for the sound of the train. For it brings home on a short leave her two handsome childhood protectors, Alan Trent and Gerald Shannon. Mrs. Shannon, I can't wait. I can't just stand here and wait. The train will be here in a moment. It's nearly here. I do think they'll have changed my mind. Oh, I'm sure we'll be able to recognize it. We knew them both for a long time, you know. Watch them grow up, didn't we? They always liked the same things, the same games. And now they're both on the search. You forgot to mention too, Kitty, that they always liked the same girl. And this same girl has always liked Alan best. But he's never noticed it. He's a fool not to have married you by now. Did you know when I was 13 and very wise, I proposed to Alan? He promised to give me his answer within a week. He never did. But things aren't so simple now. I just can't go up to him and say, Alan, please marry me. That's the best known way to do it. It saves a lot of time. Oh, there's a train. How do I look? How's my hair? Which one should I kiss first? Tell me, please, tell me. I just stand still and see who kisses you. Oh, Alan will if he hasn't changed. You watch the end cards, Kitty. I'll watch the front. This way, Gerald. Gerald! Oh, my darling boy. Excuse me, Aunt Sheila, but Kitty's waiting to be kissed first. I can see it in her eyes. Right, did it? Don't move. There. Didn't hurt a bit. Oh, Alan, you haven't changed. Gerald, look at her. A natural blight. Except you're wearing glasses. Too much loose living, does it? Alan's good enough to perform an operation without eyes. Gerald. Almost forgot me, didn't you? May I greet you next? Well done, Gerald. Now shall we retire to someone's kitchen and eat for a few days? I have a wonderful kitchen. Gerald, which one of Kitty's arms do you prefer to take? No more than that, mind you. I'll take the left. Nearer the heart, you know. All right, boys. One on each side. Mrs. Shannon on the end. Ready? Walk. She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. It was luncheon. Now can we have dinner right away, Aunt Sheila? And supper right after. Are you two going to spend your whole ten days eating? I shan't put up with it. Gerald, you've had enough pie. We decided once ago, Alan and I, our schedule would be as follows. Eating, sleeping, bathing. Not all at once, mind you. Eating and bathing might go very well together. I'm sure you boys could think of some way of eating while you sleep. Well, let's go to work on that right away, shall we, Gerald? Would you hand me that plate of chocolate pie, please? Oh. Alan, what is it? I'm sorry. I... I guess it's my eyes. Things blacked out for a moment. I'll be all right. Little red, that's all. And some pie. Come on upstairs, Heaven. I want to have a look at you. Now don't be long. Kitty, you're not leaving. They want to see you alone. They want to see you alone. One of them, will I'm sure? Yes. Tell them both I'll be back. And I shall inspect them and see if their ears and necks are clean. Goodbye. I want to walk about a bit in the garden and think. Here I am right above you, leaning out of the window. Pretty, don't you think? Surrounded by ivy, sighing and waiting for the right girl to carry me out. You look funny, Alan. Are you all right? Your eyes, I mean. They must be. They tell me at this moment that you are very beautiful. Goodbye. Wait a minute. No, goodbye. See you later. Can't be bothered by it, little romance. Kitty, look, look. If you don't wait, I'll jump. Are you ready for me? No. Here I come. Alan, don't. Come and get up. You're not hurt. Are you saying something? Mrs. Sherman, Jill, help. Hello. What's the trouble? You. You clown. Oh, no, Kitty, wait. Don't run off that way. Look, I did. I scratched my hand. It's serious. It might lead to leprosy or something. Good. Kitty, you've changed. You're so bloodthirsty. You, you haven't changed. You're still a child. You don't feel... Oh, don't I? How do you know what I feel? I've been away for months. Do you know how frightened I was of coming home? And how frightened I am now of saying what I want to say? Try, Alan. I'm scared. Say it, Alan. I've waited. Oh, Kitty. I have so much love for you. I wanted to hear that, ever since I was a little girl remembering you. You were always there somehow. If you ever weren't there, I'd stop living. I'd stop wanting to breathe. Don't ever go away. We're going to be very happy, aren't we? Like kings and queens. Starting from when? Well, we get married tomorrow. Tonight. I'm going to kiss you for thinking of that. Please do. Am I right in supposing that congratulations are in order? Oh, Gerald. I wasn't eavesdropping, you know. You're such a darling. Come on, Alan. We're going right over to tell Father. I'll tell him. We'll be back. Gerald. I've been looking for you. This wire just came from the war office. Let me have it. We have to be back by midnight. Oh, leave it canceled. Oh. You'll have to tell them, Gerald. Yes. I'll have to tell them that anything you can do, all we want is to be married. I'm afraid that will not be possible until tomorrow. There must be some way, Rika. You've learned us since we were children. This means so much to us now. Tomorrow for us may be a year away. I'm sorry. There are things to arrange. You understand. If you had come here two hours earlier, perhaps. Yes. Thank you. You've been very patient with us. Yes, we didn't mean to rush in on you this way. Bless you both. And bring you back soon. Good night. Good night. Well, Kitty, seems we're a bit late for our own wedding. Two hours. Two hours that would have changed our lives. Kitty, I won't go back tonight. No, Alan, you must go. I want this to happen to us the way we planned. Nothing must stop it. Nothing shall. We don't need anyone to marry us. We marry ourselves. We'll imagine the organist playing and God above us smiling. Oh, you are the most wonderful girl ever to walk upon this earth. Take my hand. I marry you, Alan, in front of a church. And I marry you, Kitty. To have and to hold. Till death do us part. Oh, hang it, Alan. You've been stumbling against things all week. Whatever you step out of it. Nerves, Captain Shannon, nerves. Do you ever hear of them? Even a surgeon gets them. I understand that. Julio? How much do you understand, Gerald, really? I asked you two days ago for a leave. I ask you again now. I cannot sign your application for leave. I've got to get back for a few days. I've got to. I'm afraid it's quite impossible. But why? Why? You'll have to excuse me. Now, wait a moment. You say where you are. I've got to get home to Kitty. Do you understand? Stop smiling at me. I'm not smiling. Well, why won't you let me go? Answer me the truth. Yes, what is it, old list? You batch of wounded stuff. Describe the operating room. Yes. There's your answer, Alan. We need you here. You're lying. You don't want me to go back. You don't want me to marry you. You're hoping that I get killed. Is that it? You're wrong, Alan. Well, by heaven, I mean to say it, or you'll give me good reason to follow me, Alan. Are you mad? Well, perhaps I am. Stop smiling at me. Do you hear? Where are you going? I'm standing perfectly still. Better get a hold on yourself, Alan. There's work to be done. You must forget other things. Very well. Is it ready in the operating room, sir? Yes, coming. General, where are you for a moment? Right next to you. You're tired, Alan. I'm all right. Let's go. Patient ready, sir. The instrument's all laid out. Good. Good. Help me with these rubber gloves, please. Can you handle it, Alan? Half it. Very weak, sir. Glucose solution. 30cc syringe. Yes, sir. Sponge ready. Sponge. Clips. Right there, sir. Scalpel. Scalpel. Well, where is it? Handing it to you, sir. Scalpel. Good. Don't pick it up. Hand me another. Never mind. I'll take it myself. Alan, you've got the wrong instrument. Shut up. I know what a scalpel is. I know it. My eyes. Alan, what is it? I can't see. Your life must go on, General. It's been nearly two years since you've seen or heard from him. The living must go on. I suppose you're right. It sounds right when you say it. Kitty is on her way over. Oh. Perhaps you'd better speak with her. No. That's for you, my son. I wish I were another man now from this day on. Kitty was always fond of you. It was Alan she loved. And I killed it. Yes, I could have let him return. There she is now. Open the door. I'll leave you together. Be brave, General. Oh, Kitty. May I come in? I want you to come in. It's good to see you again, Kitty. How long have they kept you in the hospital? Two months. They patched you up rather well. How was your father? No better. And how was Peter the dog? He's gone. Oh, no. He was a very old dog. He just curled up in his basket as though he was sleeping. That must be a wonderful way to die. I wish all my... my friends could choose such a death. Kitty. Oh, I'm sorry, General. What a bad home coming for you. I wanted it to be different, happier for all of us. Gerald, how did it happen? Please tell me. I must know. His eyes, certainly. The hospital lost trace of him somehow. He was reported dead. His last letter said he expected to get leave. He wanted to come home to you desperately. And he couldn't get leave? I wouldn't give it to him. He would have been alive today. I killed him. Gerald, you mustn't think this. There was so much work, Kitty. I couldn't allow him to leave. I would have given my life. I know. No. Now there's nothing for either of us. We've been friends ever since we were born. We must continue to be friends. We remind each other of him. Perhaps. There's that way. I planned to leave at first. I would be the lonelier for it. Oh, Gerald, I feel as if all the lights in the world are just like I'm walking in the dark. There are but a few voices that are friendly and yours is one of them. Then I should be near you, Kitty, to help you forget. Thank you, Gerald. It may take a little time, but you'll help me. Listening to The Dark Angel starring Merle Oberon on The Cavalcade of America sponsored by DuPont, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. As our play continues, Alan, whose friends and family think he is dead, is slowly recuperating in a hospital for the blind, where he is known as Roger Crane. Oh, nurse, one moment. Yes, Mr. Tanner. Is Mr. Crane sitting on the porch? I was just about to read the paper to him. I should like to see him for a moment, alone. Very well. Hello, Mr. Tanner. Oh, how are you today? Oh, the model patient, admiring the landscape. And the rest is silence. I've good news for you. Your latest x-ray is short improvement. You'll be able to see again. No. You're joking. That's not possible. Not to me. About a year, I believe. Good. That'll be long enough for everyone to forget. I'm grateful it isn't any sooner. Look here, Mr. Crane. Several documents have recently come into opposition. Your name is now Roger Crane. It's Alan Trent. And there was a photograph among these documents. Yes. A photograph of a woman. Alan, I'm no friend. You can't hide this way. Go home. I have no home. I'm not fit. You will be in time. I'm not part of it any longer. They don't need me. Sun's out, isn't it? Listen to me. You can't go on this way. Right, Alan. Tell her. She can help you more than we can. Hello. Time for our reading, Mr. Crane. Oh, yes, Anne. It's all right now. You don't need his permission, Anne. I'm your patient. Shall I read the editorial page as usual, Mr. Crane? No, Anne. Turn to another page. Today let's relax and read of unimportant things. Forgetful things, shall we? Just open the paper anywhere and read. Yes, if you wish it. Let's see. Engagement announced. Miss Phyllis Coventry and Mr. David Simpson. Oh, never heard of them. What else? To marry next month, Miss Kitty Vane and Mr. Gerald Shannon. No. Mr. Crane, you mustn't get up. Go ahead. Keep on reading. Keep on, keep on. October 3rd has been fixed as the date of their wedding. It was announced to the whole... Kitty. Gerald, you... you frighten me. How do you like your engagement party? Very much. You've been standing out here on a terrace for a long time. I came out to look at the sky and the stars and dream a little. Was it a pleasant dream? Yes. A long ago dream of moon on the water like a coat of mail and wind and walking at night on the sand. Was it with him? Yes, it was. Shall we go in? They're dancing. I should try to make you happy, Kitty. I'm going to do nothing else but try. You want it on the phone, dear. It's very urgent. There's an extension over at the table. Oh, yes. Excuse me, please. Hello. This is Gerald Shannon. Yes. Mr. Crane, did you say? I'm sure I don't know the gentleman now. What's that? His real name is... Oh, but that's quite impossible. There must be a mistake. Oh, yes. Yes, I see. I'll be right over. Yes, thank you. Gerald, you're so pale. What is it? Helen. Helen is alive. I'm going to take you to him, Kitty. Sir, you did telephone to Mr. Turner. Did you tell him I was blind? No, just that you were here. I had to do it. I... Is he coming alone? I don't know. He didn't say. Of course, you'll come with him. Anne. Anne. Where are you? Here, Mr. Crane. Is the room as usual here? Yes. Now, I've got to be absolutely certain. Is everything in its place? Yes. My pipe? Oh, yes, here it is. It's all right. Matches and cigarettes on the table? Where they always are. What's in the big bowl today? Roses. Yellow tea roses. No, the armchair. Am I pointing at it correctly? Good heavens, Mr. Crane. Please, there's not much time. They shan't pity me. Do you hear? Anne. You please put another chair on my left. Good. They'll not see a blind man. They'll not know. Ever. There they come up the walk. Mr. Crane, you can't go through with it. Mr. Tenor, you will please show them in, and then you'll leave. Thank you, Anne, for helping me. Perhaps I ought to stay. No, I managed quite all right. Good luck, Anne. Thank you. Mr. Crane is expecting you when you come in. If you should need anything, Mr. Crane. Thank you, Anne. Goodbye. Alan. Alan, darling. Well, come now, Kitty. You'll get my jacket all wet. Alan, old man. Oh, nice to see you again, Gerald. I'm a bit of a ghost to both of you, I suspect. I always knew somewhere, sometime, that we would meet again. Well, sit down, both of you. Let's have a good look at you. Yeah, this is a comfortable chair, Kitty. Gerald, sit down. You'll have a drink, won't you? The cigarettes are close to you. They're right there. Alan, you have so much to tell us. Alan, is it true? I feel as if this were a dream. If it is, I shan't ever want to wake from it. Well, how's Aunt Sheila? How's everything? Give Kitty a cigarette, Gerald. The matches are there on the table. Thanks, I have some. Alan, why didn't you tell us? Does Kitty like much soda? There you are. Thank you. Shall we drink to you, darling, now that you've returned to us? Do you mind if I have a pipe? I'll show you around the garden later. Terribly proud of my roses. You'll notice something in the bowl. Alan, what's happened? Why are you holding us off? Why? I read about your engagement in the paper. Of course. I hope that you'll be very, very happy. Is that it? Is that why you sit there torturing us? All this time you've let us believe you were dead. In other words, come here, you talk of roses and nonsense. If I went for Kitty, I'd knock you down. God, darling, you've only to look at Kitty's face and know what you're doing to it and know that... No, don't Gerald. I want to speak to Alan alone. I'll wait outside. Alan, tell me. Look at me. You've suffered, darling. Something's hurt you. Tell me, why didn't you come home? I've changed, that's all. Time changes a man. I preferred to leave things unfinished. I just didn't come back. You stopped loving me? I should have written. I meant to. I understand. Forgive me, Alan. I should like to say before I leave this room that I love you now as much. I've never loved anyone else. I never will again. Goodbye. Oh, my darling. I'll come back someday when I'm braver. Oh, and? Is that you, and? Alan, I come in again to say goodbye. Be happy, both of you. She loves you, Gerald. She told me. I'm holding up my hand. Why don't you take it? Oh, I... Look at me, Alan. Don't turn your face away. She's waiting outside. I said, look at me. Hold still. But God save Gerald. Go. Take her with you. Yes. It is time for me to go now. Now, Gerald, you mustn't think. I ask you not to say anything. Gerald, I beg you. Kitty, you'd better see Alan once again. There's something you must know. What is it? Go into his room again. You'll see. Goodbye, Kitty. Have they gone? I'm tired. Desperately tired, Anne. I shall want you to pack my things tonight. I'm going away somewhere. Old has become a useless, bitter place. And I'm the greatest fool in it. Alan. Alan, my darling. Hold me. Hold me this way. Oh, Kitty. Oh, darling, you shouldn't have. Why did you... It means we're together again forever and ever. Darling, darling, think what it means. Would you listen to me? No, I won't. You told me once never to go away. I never shall. Oh. Wherever you are, I'll be there too. Oh, darling, I learned to help you. I'll be your eyes. They told me that I'd get my sight back. Now, I know I will. You will, darling. You will. And when you open your eyes again, I will be there. As I was the day you went away. That day in front of the church, when you said to me, I marry you, Kitty Vane, for always, until death do us part. Ladies and gentlemen, in a few moments, Miss Oberon will return to the microphone. Meanwhile, we have a story about farms for food and food for farms. Today, America is not only feeding herself, but helping to feed her allies. The American farmer must raise more vegetables, produce more eggs, deliver more milk if we ought to have enough. How? By planting more acres? No, it isn't as simple as that. More acres call for more labor, more seed, more machines. And more acres all too often mean the use of poor land. Then how will the farmer coax his land to yield 15, 20, 25% more? By calling on science in general and chemistry in particular for help. Chemistry nowadays works with the farmer from the time he plows his field until the time he markets his crop. Chemical fertilizers replenish the soil. Fertilizers are responsible for the production on the average of nearly 15% of our farm crops. Often they're responsible for more than that. For instance, something like 30% of the tomato crop is the direct result of fertilization. And without fertilizers the production of citrus fruit, oranges and lemons and so on, might fall off anywhere from 25 to 80%. Something else chemistry does for the farmer even before he sows his field is protect the seed. Rats and mice must be dealt with in granaries and corn cribs. Seeds must be protected from the attacks of bacterial and fungus growths which cause seed decay, seedling blights, smuts and many other seed-borne plant diseases. Then with farm labor hard to obtain, the problem of getting rid of weeds is more serious today. Chemical weed killers, a development of the laboratory, have proven of great value. And while the crop is growing, whether it's a field of cotton or an orchard heavy with apples, chemical spray is guarded against the greedy remorseless insect enemies that crawl and fly. DuPont Uraman fertilizer compound supplies nitrogen to the field. DuBais serosan and semisan seed disinfectants. And DuPont formaldehyde, safeguard the seed. Cyan eggs, sodium cyanide, kills rodents and insect pests. DuPont ammonium sulfamide controls weeds. Griselly and new Rexform lead arsenates kill chewing insects. DuPont sulfur on wettable sulfur and copper A compound control fungus diseases. Parm on growth substance enables the farmer to pick his apples and other fruit at the peak of their flavor. And DuPont phenothiazine as a veterinary medicine. DuPont IM930 insecticide base as an ingredient of cattle sprays help to safeguard poultry and livestock. All of these products are DuPont contributions to agriculture. In time of war, weapons for victory. In time of peace, better things for better living through chemistry. And now, ladies and gentlemen, tonight's star, Merle Oberon. Thank you, Mr. Collier, and ladies and gentlemen. It was a very real pleasure for me to return once again to my original screen role in The Dark Angel. I feel, and I hope you do, that our lives can always be chaired a little by the simplest of all stories, a love story. And in these times, we can all take an extra bit of cheer. I look forward to being with you again. Thank you. Thank you, Miss Oberon. And may we wish you every success in the many war activities that you are now carrying on, and for which we understand you have temporarily given up working in pictures. And now a word about next week's show. As a matter of fact, four words are all we need. Arrowsmith and Terrone Power. Cavalcade is proud to present its American classic by Sinclair Lewis. The story of a doctor, a story of courage and heroism and faith. Don't forget next Monday, Terrone Power in Arrowsmith. On tonight's program, the orchestra was under the direction of Don Vourie. Supporting Miss Oberon were Carl Swenson as Alan and William Johnstone as Gerald. This is Clayton Collier, sending best wishes from Dupont.