 Family Theatre presents James Cagney, Gene Cagney, and today's special guest, Mr. Thomas F. O'Neill. From Hollywood, the Mutual Network and Cooperation with Family Theatre presents To the Victor, starring James Cagney and Gene Cagney. Family Theatre's only purpose is to bring to everyone's attention a practice that must become an important part of our lives if we're to win peace for ourselves, peace for our families and peace for the world. Family Theatre urges you to pray, pray together as a family. And now to our transcribed drama, To the Victor, starring James Cagney as Sam and Gene Cagney as Ellen. Well, that was quite a welcome, Charlie. Any injuries on the trip, Sam? No, nothing serious besides when boys play hard enough to win, they figure to get roughed up a little. You remember that, Charlie? How did Jim do? That son of yours has plenty of natural talent, but he's like you. Too easy going on the floor. Just won't fight. I guess we feel you've got enough fight for all of us, Sam. Well, maybe I have it that, Professor. Say, how about you and Jim dropping up to the house? Sis is fixing up some cold cuts. I'm having Gene Reynolds and some other folks over. Uh, I don't know. Jimmy tells me you're pretty tough on a man who breaks training. There'll be no training broken tonight. He'll be home in bed by 10. I'm putting Sally in charge of seeing to that. Don't tell me my sophomore son is taking orders from your freshman daughter. Taking a man loving him. Well, come to think of it, Sally's probably boning up on her French for that award exam tomorrow. She's pretty set on winning it, and it's her last night to study. So Sally's finally caught the victory bug, too. But she comes by naturally, and it's a good way to be. People don't hand you prizes this world. You've got to win them. Well, see you over at the house, Charlie. Gene Reynolds, more punch? No, thank you, Miss Walters. This is fine, and a lovely party, too. Thanks. Glad you could come. Sam? Oh, just a little thanks, sis. Well, go on talking. I didn't mean to interrupt. Well, Sam was just explaining why he had the team continue to play so hard against Stonehill, even after having built up such a commanding lead in the first half. It's a case of not allowing them to let down Dean. That's the pitfall. If they stop pushing, stop driving, they may go into a slump and stay that way. But Sam, isn't a pace like that, well, isn't that rather hard on the players? In a way, yes, sis, but so's anything that's competitive. So's life, for that matter. Isn't the man who sets the pace, gets out in front and stays there? Isn't he the one you look up to? I suppose so. I've said it to every kid I've ever coached. Don't come out to play. Come out to win. Well, Sam, if this season's record has any indication, I'd say you've taught that maxim very well. Yes, we've been... Oh, look. Look, Charlie and Jim Burton just came in. Over here, Charlie. Hi, Ellen. Hi. Good evening, Dean. I think you've met my son, Jim, Dean Reynolds. Glad to see you again, young man. How do you do, sir? How are you, Jimmy? Just fine, Miss Ellen. Evening, Coach. Remember now, Jimmy, this is a very special occasion. Don't run it into the ground. I won't, Coach. I promise. Is Sally around? She's in her room studying, Jim. I promise to send you right up. Thanks, Miss Ellen. Don't stay too long, Jim. Sally's trying to win a prize or something. I won't, Daddy. Hi, honey. Jimmy. Oh, gosh, I'm glad to see you. Did you miss me? I'll say. Hey, what's wrong? You've been crying? Oh, no, it's nothing. You have, too, been crying. Now, what's wrong? Oh, it's that dumb old French prize. Dad's made up his mind. I can win it. And I can't. I'm just not good enough. Okay, so you can't. What's the difference? Well, it's going to make a big difference to him. A big one. A French prize? What's he care about French? It isn't that. It's winning. You're on his team. You know how he is. Yeah, but I thought he just felt that way about basketball. So did I until I started college this year. I don't know what's come over him. He's just trying to give you some of the old fighting spirit. Now, you know that. No, it's more than that. Even Ellen's noticed it. Ever since mom died and she came to stay with us, Dad's been getting more and more like this about everything. Has Ellen tried talking to him? Mm-hmm. But he still thinks she's just his kid's sister. Yes. Miss Sally. Oh, Dad, come on in. Say, Jim, there's a car stall in the driveway. Would you mind giving him a push? Oh, sure, could. I was going to leave pretty soon. Anyhow, it's almost 9.30. I'll see you tomorrow, Sal. Good luck on the exam. Thanks, Jimmy. Good night. Good night, Jim. Tell your dad I'll be right down. You bet. Night's in. Well, honey, how's the French coming? Going to sweep the field tomorrow? Well, it... Oh, gosh, Dad, I'm not very confident. Oh, don't you worry. You'll cop that prize. Just go in there to win it, and you will. Dad, it's not that easy. I'm just not the best student. Why, some of them have even lived in France. What's the matter with you, honey? You can win this thing. You can run away with it. I don't think I can. You can if you want. You're giving me the same kind of excuses I hear from lazy players. The other team was too big or too fast or too something. Well, excuses like that don't mean anything. They aren't excuses. Now, listen to me. 23 years ago, right here in this college, Charlie Burton, Professor Burton, and I played on the same basketball team. But, Dad, this isn't basketball. Oh, I don't want to beat anybody. It's not a case of what you want, honey. It's a case of how things are. I'm trying to make you see something. Charlie and I were teammates. He had a lot more natural ability than I did, but I played harder. I had a reason. They were going to pick an assistant coach from the team right after graduation, and I wanted that job. So I fought for it, and I won it. Now, what I can do, you can do. But, Dad, I don't want to win the French prize. You're lying to yourself about not wanting to win. Dad, you don't understand. I understand better than you think. You're not a child anymore. You're a young lady. Start acting like one. I've made a pretty good reputation myself in this college, and I expect you'd do the same. Well, I keep my marks up. You can do better than keep them up. You can be on top. This French exam is a good place to start. Well, I'm going to do the best I can. Do better than that. Win it. Oh, but, Dad... Win it! You can if you want. And I'm expecting you to. Anything wrong, sis? Sam, did you and Sally have any kind of an argument last night? Nothing serious. Why? Well, she seemed upset when she left for class this morning. I don't think she had much sleep. Probably a late studying for that French exam. More salad? No, thanks. You know, Sally can't possibly win that prize. You wait and see. To begin with, she hasn't had the background in languages. Oh, what's background got to do with it? She's taking the same course as all the others are. Oh, Sam, it's not that simple. It's not just a basketball game that she can slam through. There's more to basketball than slamming through. Then you ought to realize that effort alone won't make a good player. That's not the point. It's exactly the point. Oh, Sam, what's come over you? Sally tells me you never picked at her about her schoolwork before, but ever since she ended college last fall... It's different, Ellen. It's different. It's the most important stage in her life so far. Sam, be honest with yourself. Would Sally's showing matter as much to you if she were attending another college? Some place where you didn't coach the basketball team? I don't see what that has to do with it. I think it has a lot to do with it. Yes. I'm getting a little tired of this. You and Charlie Burton and... Well, just about everyone. Always reading me lectures on how victory conscious I am. Well... Well, you are, Sam. You have been all your life. Yes. I am. And so's the alumni and the student body and the board of trustees. This victory bug I'm accused of having has earned Sally and me a nice, tidy income over the past few years. Of course it has, Sam. And no one's proud of you than Sally is. But... Winning isn't all there is to living. If you don't win, you lose. I know that. And I know that losers don't pick up many chips after the game is over. Oh, but Sally's life isn't a game. And I don't think you should have made her feel that that French exam was, either. What's wrong with it? Does a kid good to know someone's pulling for them? Well, I... I hope so. You're going right over to the field house after lunch? Yeah. I want to run the film of the Stonehill game again. Oh, I'll get it. Hello? Oh, yes, Charlie. He's here. Hold on. It's Charlie Burton. I don't know what he won't. All right, I got it, sis. Hello, Professor? Yeah? She... She what? Did you talk to her about it? Okay. Okay. I'll be right over. Thanks, Charlie. Sam, what's the matter? It's Sally. She was caught cheating in that French exam this morning. Cheating? That's what Charlie says. Oh. Her teacher came and told me. He hasn't reported it yet. Oh, Sam. Oh, I... I can't believe it. Sam, she'll be expelled. It must be a mistake. It's no mistake. She admitted it to Charlie. But what can you do? I don't know. I'm going over to Charlie's office right now. Maybe there's some way I can squelch this. Charlie, I... I just can't believe it. Are you sure? Sally admitted it, Sam. She was caught with a trot. She had a list of French irregular verbs rolled up in her hand. Who's her teacher? Mr. Dubois. Professor? No instructor. Hmm. Has he been here with Stantle long? Not too long. A little over a year. Sally, do you know? I sent her over to my place. Jim took her. Your place? Why didn't she go home? Ellen's worried to death. I called Ellen back and told her not to worry after I spoke to you. Sally should have gone home. I... I don't like to tell you this, Sam. But she was afraid to. Crazy kid. You know why she cheated in that examination. All right, all right. I wanted her to win it. But not by cheating. She knew that. Charlie. Yes? How, uh... How long with this Dubois? Last in the language department if you didn't warn him. No, Sam. I won't do that. I won't even go near it. You won't, huh? You won't. Well, I'll go near it. Everybody got a special set of high-flown ideals around here. But I don't get much ideals talk when they want a sectional championship to write up in the yearbook. Sam, take it easy. It's a different story then. I can cut all the corners I want to bring home a winner and nobody bats an eye. But let Sally get caught trying to do the same thing in a French class and it's a scandal. You never cheated to win a game in your life in your north. Suppose I had. You think that would be the issue? It would not. Is did you win or lose, Sam? That's the only question they ask around here. I put this jerkwater college on the map and I didn't do it to get shoved around by some dollar-in-hour bookworm like Dubois. Sam, nobody's trying to shove you around. Then why don't you kill this thing? Because I can't kill it. It's got to go to the dean. Why? I'll tell you why in language that you can understand. Because I haven't spent 20 years working my way up to a professorship in this jerkwater college, as you call it, just to get it knocked from under me by a grown man who's oversold his daughter and the principal of victory at any price. Then you won't help me. I'll help you all I can, Sam, but I cannot change the rules. If this were the other way around and you asked me to help you... Suppose it were. And I ask you right now to make my son Jim a first-string forward. It's not the same thing. To see to it that he won his letter this year no matter what it did to the team. It's not the same thing. Would you do it? Is that your answer? You're still trying to win, aren't you, Sam? I am still trying to win, and I'm good at it. I'll beat you on this, Charlie. I did it 20 years ago for this coaching job. Sam, use your head. Don't you worry, I'm using it. You won't have to report this to Dean Reynolds. I'll report it. And we'll just see who stacks up biggest in this fakers. You and your Mr. Dubois or me. I wish you hadn't come here, sis. You know I've got a rule against visitors in the fieldhouse doing practice. I'm sorry, Sam. Sally and I had to see you. Sam, I'm trying to go about this the way I think Marie would have done it. All right. Well, young lady, you stood up a nice mess. Oh, Dad. Oh, come on now. That won't help. You must be so ashamed of me. No, honey, no. I understand. You wanted to win. You just tried a little too hard. That's all. I wanted you to be proud of me. I know, but look here. Would you be proud of me if I had to cheat to win games? No. Daddy, what do you think they'll do? I don't know. I'll talk to the dean. Maybe we can quiet this Dubois character down. But Sam, this isn't Mr. Dubois's fault. Who said it was? You've been talking to Charlie Burton? Yes, I called him this afternoon after Sally got home. Sam, that kind of pressure doesn't seem fair. Dubois was just doing his job. Yes, and as far as I'm concerned, if he's willing to forget about this, he can stay here and keep right on doing it. Sam, I think you're making a big mistake. Why don't you ask the dean to help instead of threatening him? I'm not threatening anybody, but I don't have to come crawling for favors either. I've done plenty for this college. Don't you think the dean knows that? He will when I get through reminding him. But don't you realize that forcing him to silence Mr. Dubois is, well, that's cheating too. Don't talk silly. What else would you call it? I call it playing tough. That's what it is. You're wrong, Sam. Don't you understand that if Dubois goes ahead and exposes this, he might wreck us? But that's not why he's doing it. Well, why do I care why he's doing it? He's doing it. That's all that counts to me. Sam! And I can stop him for the simple reason that I swing more weight around here than he does. There's no cheating involved. It's just another case of the old story, the best man wins. Oh, all right, Sam. You go ahead and win. Oh, I'm sorry, sis. It's the only way I know how to handle it. I've got an appointment over at the dean's office 6.30. You don't have to hold dinner for me. Sit down. Well, how does the team look to you today after a good night's sleep, huh? They're a good bunch of boys. Now, Dean, what I came to see you about... Before we go into that, Sam, there's something rather important I'd like your advice on. It's strictly confidential, but do you mind? Why, no. Well, a young instructor came to me this afternoon and reported that one of the students in his class, a very good student, too, had been cheating in an examination. Dean. Sam, Sam, sorry, I told you this was confidential. Now, the difficulty, according to the instructor, is that this student cheated on only one part of the examination and that even without cheating would have received an excellent mark. Not the highest in the class, mind you, but very high indeed. Well, if that's so, how come the student bothered to cheat at all? That's what bothered the instructor. He didn't know what to do about it. Sam, it's my feeling the youngster simply hasn't an overdeveloped sense of competition. I imagine you run across that sort of thing occasionally in one of your players. Yeah, once in a while. Well, I've got a hunch that youngsters like that have been taught no doubt by well-meaning parents. Nobody will ever give them anything so they'd better take what they want. It's possible. It seems rather unfair to blame a child for that, much less punish them publicly. Well, my car's in the parking lot. Can I give you a lift? No, no, thanks, Dean. Well, oh, I almost forgot, Sam. I dropped by your house this afternoon, but no one was in. I ran across something in my files. I thought that you'd be interested in. It's in your mailbox. Good night, Sam. Sam, what happened? It's going to be all right, sis. Reynolds knew all about it, but he pretended he didn't know it was about Sally. But it's all right. Yes. He got kind of cute about it, but she can stay in school. Probably get a rotten mark on French. Oh, Sam. Oh, Sam, I'm so glad you didn't have to fight about it. Yeah, that was kind of funny. I hardly had a chance to open my mouth. He just gave it to me. First time in my life that's ever happened. I guess he figured after all these years I had it coming. Now, Sam. Oh, I'm grateful, sis. I'm grateful. But, well, it's one thing for Reynolds to talk, but it's another thing to realize that I wouldn't be where I am if I weren't the kind of guy I am. All the talk in the world won't change that. How about some dinner? We waited for you. Yeah, fine. And you better go tell Sally she's out of the woods. She's in her room. You go on into the kitchen. I'll be right along. Oh, say, what's his envelope? Oh, I don't know. It was in the mailbox when we got home. Oh, yeah, yeah. The dean said something about it. I'll be right down. Mm-hmm. Well, my old letter. And what's this? Good. Oh, no. All these years and I... Sis. What's the matter? Come down here. What is it, Sam? Look at this. It's a carbon copy of a letter I got almost 24 years ago. Saying I'd been chosen assistant basketball coach. Now, I'll take a look at the other letter. Stable to the back of it. Hmm? It's dated August 4th, 24 years ago. That's two weeks earlier than this other letter I received. It starts out... Dear Mr. Reynolds, thank you for offering me the position of assistant coach on the Stanton basketball team. It's a great honor and I appreciate it. However, I'm afraid I must decline. I do not feel that I could do justice to my postgraduate work and still fulfill my duties as a coach. I very strongly recommend that you offer this post to my teammate, Samuel Walters. He is one of the finest, most conscientious players Stanton has ever produced. And most of all, he has a great fighting heart. He plays to win. Hoping you will seriously consider this recommendation, I am sincerely yours, Charles A. Burton. Charlie? I'll imagine. Hmm. And I thought my college education ended 24 years ago. Sally? Sally, I want you to do something. Yes, Dad? I want you to get on the phone and tell that easygoing boyfriend of yours that the Waters are taking the Britons out for dinner tonight. Oh, Dad. Oh, Sam. And, Sally? Yes? Tell Jim I've discovered a very old bone that I want to pick with his father. I will. Sam, you're not a winner anymore. No, I guess I'm not, sis. But you're something a lot better. Yeah? What's better than a winner? A good sport. And now, once again, the star of today's story, Jimmy Cagney. Thank you, Tony. As we all know, the purpose of family theater is to further the necessary and beneficial practice of prayer, family prayer. Just before the show, I was looking over a list of the hundreds of stars of stage and screen and radio who have contributed their time and talent to appear on family theater and in their way to urge you and your family to pray together. But the results of all their efforts would never get into your home were not for the medium of presentation which brings these plays to you each week. I'm speaking, of course, of the largest radio network in the world, the Mutual Network. And we've asked Mr. Thomas F. O'Neill, Chairman of the Board of the Mutual Broadcasting System, to be our guest this evening. I know I voiced the sentiments of all the players who have appeared on family theater over the last six years when I say thanks. Thanks to you, Mr. O'Neill, and to all your associates on the Mutual Network for making family theater possible. Thank you, Jimmy. In a way, we at Mutual feel a kinship to family theater which goes a lot deeper than a mere working arrangement. We like to think of ourselves as members of this family too. After all, Mutual and family theater are both striving to bring our listeners the same things. Wholesome entertainment plus sound guidance and information in the public interest. And in presenting family theater each week, we feel that this three-fold objective is fully attained. Anyone who has been a study listener to family theater can vouch for the consistently high and wholesome quality of its entertainment. As for the information and guidance it disseminates in the public interest, what could be of greater personal value to any American than a formula for strengthening the unity of his country at its foundation, the family? The slogan of family theater sums up this formula for unity very simply. The family that prays together stays together. More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. From Hollywood, family theater has brought you to the victor starring James Cagney and Gene Cagney. Mr. Thomas F. O'Neill, chairman of the board of the Mutual Broadcasting System, was our special guest. Others in our cast were Colette McMayen, Pat McGeehan, Eddie Firestone and Herb Rollinson. The script was written by John T. Kelly with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman. Anne was directed and transcribed for family theater by Joseph F. Mansfield. This is Tony LaFranco expressing the wish of Family Theater that the blessings of God may be upon you and your home and inviting you to be with us next week when Family Theater will present Highway East starring Susan Hayward, Barry Sullivan and Phyllis Thakster. Join us, won't you? Family Theater is broadcast throughout the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.