 Family Theater presents Debra Padgett, Robert Stack, and Lisa Gay. From Hollywood, the Mutual Network and Cooperation with Family Theater presents the Indispensable Man starring Robert Stack and Debra Padgett. To introduce the drama, here is your hostess, Lisa Gay. Thank you, Tony LaFranco. Family Theater'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 Theater urges you to pray, pray together as a family. And now to our drama, The Indispensable Man, starring Debra Padgett as Lynn and Robert Stack as Roger. Washington, DC, next stop, ma'am, 15 minutes. Thank you, conductor. We'll be ready. Your coffee's getting cold, Mr. Delaney. Oh, oh yes, yes, thank you, Miss Dips. You haven't finished your orange juice either. I, uh, not thirsty, I guess. Mr. Delaney, is anything wrong? Oh, no, no. You, you haven't forgotten it, have you? Oh, no, Miss Dips, I haven't forgotten it. I've never forgotten anything in my whole life. I, when I was a kid in Kansas... Kansas? Oh, I forgot, Miss Dips. You aren't very familiar with the United States, are you? Kansas, that's a state, you know. Isn't there a Kansas city? So there is, yes, two of them, in fact. One in the state of Kansas, population 121,458, and one in Missouri, population 634,093,1940 census. I, uh, haven't seen the figures since then. Mr. Delaney, it's really astonishing. I can see why you were picked for this job. Yes, my incredible memory. Except that there's nothing incredible about it, I just can't forget anything. Well, you may underrate your gifts all you like, Mr. Delaney, but I consider myself a very fortunate young woman to be serving as your private secretary for this trip. Yes, well, what will you do after we've delivered the formula? Miss Dips, are back to London? I expect so. London was very nice. I enjoyed living there, but it's good to be home again. How long has it been, Mr. Delaney? 17 years, four months, three days. What time is it? 8.45 a.m. And six hours, Eastern Standard Time. Amazing, positively amazing. But you were just a child then. A chess prodigy. At the age of seven, I won the championship of Boston, and my mother decided to take me on a competitive tour of Europe. Boston? That's in the East, though. Yes, Massachusetts. And Cepetit Placidomibartate Quietum. That's the state motto. By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty. Now I ask you, what do I need with that? Wait, it's simply shattering. And to think that on top of everything, you're one of the foremost young nuclear scientists in the world. There isn't anything to do with talent, Miss Dips. It's pure memory. My brother everything has been written on the subject. I can't forget it so automatically, I'm an expert. You're too modest, Mr. Delaney. And take this assignment I'm doing now. What am I really? A repository. I'm given some top secret material to memorize and transmit orally to a designated member of the Atomic Energy Commission. I sit down, read it over twice, and I have it word for word. Well, you can't tell me that's an accomplishment to be proud of. Especially when I don't even know how I do it. You mean you didn't have to try to memorize all that technical data? It involved practically no mental effort at all. Mr. Delaney, you make yourself sound very insignificant, but I happen to know that your cut room and think very highly of the work you've been doing in England during the last four years. That's very kind of you, Miss Dips. If you don't mind my saying so, Mr. Delaney, what you probably need to increase your self-confidence is the company of a young lady. Oh, I'll never marry Miss Dips, but thank you for your interest. You sound exactly like Terry. Terry? The boy I'm engaged to, he's a scientist too. Are you scientists? You're too preoccupied, too self-absorbed. Perhaps. Then again, maybe we ought anything of the kind. Maybe we're the most extravagant dreamers, the most romantic fools. You, Mr. Delaney? A romantic fool? Is it so impossible? Oh, why, no, no, I didn't mean that. Oh, Mr. Delaney, I hope you were thinking... Oh, no, no, no, of course not, no. We're coming into the station. What's the name of that army man who's supposed to meet us? Colonel Guthrie. You mean Colonel Arthur Errol Guthrie? ASN 0618652. I might have known you were just testing me. That really, Miss Dips? Well, have they got everything? I think so. Oh, here, I'll take that briefcase. Platform seems to be crowded. Yes, I heard there are some cinema people on the train. Movie stars? I think so. Don't tell me you go to the movies, Mr. Delaney? Yes, yes, I do. I look there are some of them now, down at the end of this car. In fact, I go regularly and I've often dreamed that... Oh. Mr. Delaney, what's the matter? Great Scott, it is. It is. It is what? Down at the end of the car. What you're putting, Mr. Delaney, watch out. They weren't just stopping, I'll... Mr. Delaney, look out. He's unconscious. Just set him down on that catch, man. He'll be around in a moment. Colonel, he's... He doesn't seem to be coming out of it. Another moment or two, young lady. He just got a bump on the head. He looks so peaceful. Ah, there now. His eyelids are beginning to flutter. Oh, Mr. Delaney, are you all right? Oh, right. You gave us a bit of a scare, young man. Wouldn't want anything to happen to you. All right. Mr. Delaney, are... Is anything wrong? Your head? My head hurts. Oh, that's understandable, young fellow. Quite a bump you got there. I'm Colonel Guthrie, temporarily attached to AEC. AEC, yes. Atomic Energy Commission. Atomic Energy. Sounds very familiar to me. Mr. Delaney, don't... Doesn't atomic energy... Doesn't that mean something to you? Oh, yes. Oh, yes, it means about the atoms and whatnot. Isn't that right? Oh, Mr. Delaney. The atoms and whatnot? Delaney, are you... Are you serious? Mr. Delaney, don't... Don't you remember? Don't I remember what? The formula. All that data you memorized. It was that blow on the head. I seem to remember you, Miss... Stips, Laurie Stips. Oh, yes, yes. And I lost my balance. Oh, yes, I remember. But Delaney, what about the formula? You remember the formula? I... I don't think so. Oh, this is terrible. This is inexcusable. Look, something has to be done. Delaney... I'm trying to think. I... I know who I am. This is Washington, isn't it? Washington? Of course it's Washington. Anybody knows that. I'm here to tell someone something. That's right, Mr. Delaney. Now you're getting it. Yes, yes. To tell them... I can't quite remember. It's important, though, isn't it? Important? It's critical. Yes. I was thinking maybe if you could give me a hint. A hint, Delaney. I'm no scientist. I need help to plug in an electric fan. Mr. Delaney, you've got to try. Surely you can remember the formula if you try. How can I try to remember something when I don't even know what it is? But you knew it 15 minutes ago, didn't you, before you banged yourself on the head? I must have. Of course you did, Mr. Delaney. Of course. Then you still know it. It's somewhere in your head, and we're going to get it out. Miss Stips, get Walter Reed, the general hospital on the phone. Tell them I'm bringing over a patient. Look here, Colonel. I'm feeling perfectly all right. My head wasn't even scratched. Maybe not, but it'll be scratched plenty before you are through and by the best psychiatrist in the country. Psychiatrist? That's what I said. Here, put on your hat. But, young lady, you don't mean you are Dr. Stanislaus Revnick. No, Colonel. I'm Dr. Cartwright, his assistant. But Dr. Revnick said... Well, he asked me to explain. He simply couldn't come down to Washington this week. But I told him how serious it was. I assure you he understands that. However, there are routine therapies which either I or my colleague, Dr. Landis, can administer. And from the history you gave of the case, Dr. Revnick feels that one or another of them may very likely restore the patient's memory. Have you seen the patient yet? No, and I don't intend to. Rather, I should say, I don't intend to have him see me, at least not consciously. I don't think I understand, Miss. I mean, Dr.... It's a therapeutic technique that Dr. Revnick has developed in connection with his work in narcosynthesis. Yes. He's found marked traces of subliminal animus toward the interrogator when patient has super sapient aperception of same. Is that right? Well, I guess it takes all kinds. You... There's something familiar about you. You ever work here in Washington? Never. I swear I've seen you around here not long ago, either. Do you always wear horn-rimmed glasses and your hair up like that? I do. Do you mind, Colonel? No, no, no. Just asking. Well, to resume, having cleared away the major obstacle or at least having identified it, we can then proceed... Say, I'd probably get the idea that's a lot better by actually watching you work. Is there any reason we can't begin immediately? No, none at all. In fact, I'm anxious to. Good. I'll have Delaney brought right over. Now, Mr. Delaney, do you see this object I have in my hand? Yes. Right, flickers. It's just a little medallion. I want you to concentrate on it. Just relax completely and don't take your eyes off it. All right. Now, relax. Relax. You're getting limp. Your arms are getting heavy. Very heavy. Very, very heavy. You can't keep your eyes open. You're going to sleep. To sleep. Sleep. Is he asleep, Doc? Mm-hmm. Sleep. Is it? That's all they know. Hey, it's me, Raj. You're a little subconscious. It's kind of spooky, huh? Well, I'm taken over now. This I'm going to love. Wait till you hear the silly questions. I think he's pretty far under, Colonel. Would you ask Dr. Cartwright to come in now? Sure, Doc. All set, ma'am. How did he respond to the hypnosis? Fine. No resistance, whatever. That's unusual in a case like his. Well, let's begin. Now, I'll have to ask for absolute quiet. Mr. Delaney. Mr. Delaney, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. I'm here to help you. I'll help you all I can, but you'll have to cooperate. Do you understand? She gets into that sales talk pretty fast, huh? Co-operate, is it? She doesn't mean you, Pally. She means me. Well, it's not going to be that easy. I think I'll just let her dredge around for a while. But you'll be polite about it, Pally, see? Remember, she's a lady. Do you understand that, Mr. Delaney? You'll have to cooperate. Yes, I understand. Co-operate. Now, we're going to make you remember something. Something you've forgotten, something very important. Important, yes. It is important. Very important. Remember that. Now, first we must find out why you forgot that very important something, mustn't we? Yes. The reason why he forgot is because he got that bang on the head. Colonel, I'll have to insist that you be quiet. Yeah, yeah, Colonel. Clam up. You're upsetting me, and I'm the big subconscious. Hey, Die Raj, buddy. Hey, hey, you know Rajee? I could blow this thing wide open if I felt like it. Hey, hey, hey, he wouldn't though square the hypotenuse characters you hang around with be scandalized by me, huh? I'm everything you rate, huh, Raj buddy? You and me, though, kid, right to the end, huh? Now, according to your history, Mr. Delaney, you had a phenomenal memory, even as a child. Isn't that right? Tell, tell her you don't remember if you had a good memory or not. Ooh, that'll get her. Didn't you have a good memory? I don't remember. Will you dig that expression? This chick is knotted up like wet laundry. Oh, it won't be long now, Raj buddy. But we must have some starting point, Mr. Delaney. If you don't remember, then permit me to assure you you had an excellent memory. In fact, you were noted for it. Is that clear? Yes, yes. Now, now tell me, what is troubling you? Do you hear any noises inside your head or do you imagine things? No. Not so fast there, Raj boy. Hey, hey, you hear these bells, don't you? Well then, come on, Pally. Don't you sit there looking like a blank check? Hey, tell the lady. I hear bells. Bells? What kind of bells? I'm coming for you. What kind of bells? Well, take your pick, Pally. We got all kinds. And what's more, Raj buddy, in case she's interested, we got bird calls. A medley of various musical effects. Tell her, Rajee. Tell her what you hear. I hear bells, birds and bop. Say, I'm getting a little tired of this. Colonel, you've got to be quiet. Young lady, we're trying to get some vital information out of this man and it's vital that we get it. What's the harm in just asking? Just asking, see, if maybe he remembers the formula. At this stage it wouldn't do a bit of good. It wouldn't hurt to ask him. Well, no, I suppose not. Then please give it a try just for fun. Very well. Mr. Delaney, Mr. Delaney, tell us this. What is the formula? What is the formula? No, you don't. No, you don't tell, baby. No, no, no. I'm not racing downstairs to lock up all that stuff for inspection. Hey, hey, hey, Rajpal, this ran. Don't you see it yet, buddy? It doesn't connect with you. The train station. Right before you took that whack-a-roo on the noggin. No, no, I don't remember. Try, try hard. I remember seeing someone, but I don't remember who. You remember seeing someone where? A train platform. I go to the movies a lot. I like the movies. And I saw this crowd of people waiting to get off the train. Movie people. Now what is he rumbling about? He's trying to tell us something. It may be the key to everything. Well, if it's not the formula, I don't want it. I was stunned. You never think you'll see them, but you just dream about them. I couldn't believe it. You couldn't believe what? I couldn't believe I'd ever see her. Her? What her? Who? This is not the formula. This is not even near the formula. Why did you be quiet, Colonel? Ms. Stipps, she was right. But I need, as a nice young lady, to restore my self-confidence. Yes, and at last you saw her, but who was she? Was she one of those movie people? Hey, Rajpal, you're getting an awful deep, buddy. Hey, hey, hey, I don't know if I can fix this. I gotta have a mind to put you on your own. What I'm trying to say is you're in for a terrible shock. You've got to think, Mr. Delaney. Was she someone in the movies? Oh, I can't fight this, Raji. You're gonna have to go to the lawn, pal. Wake up. Wake up and face it, kid. I feel like I've been asleep. He broke through the hypnosis. He's awake. Mr. Delaney. Oh, my gosh. It's you. What's me? I'm Dr. Cartwright. You're Deborah Padgett. That's who you are. I'd know you anywhere. Deborah Padgett? No, my name is Cartwright. Dr. Lynn Cartwright. I'm a psychiatrist. You're Deborah Padgett, the movie actress. Well, my gosh, that's where I've seen you, young lady. You are Deborah Padgett. I tell you, my name is Cartwright. Lynn Cartwright. I've seen every one of your movies. I saw you on bells and their toes. Les Miserables, Stars and Stripes Forever. I am not Deborah Padgett. I'm Dr. Lynn Cartwright. Dr. Land, as you tell them. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, gentlemen, but Dr. Cartwright is exactly who she says she is. Deborah Padgett, that isn't the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of. You could do worse, Doc. I'd swear it was you I saw on the train station. I've seen every one of your, I mean, her movies. Well, I'm terribly sorry to disappoint you, but I've never even been to Hollywood. You don't have to get huffy about it. Most girls are considered a compliment. There's nothing complimentary about being told you look like the favorite movie star of a man who's completely out of his head. Who's out of my head? You are. You don't even know your own name. My name is Roger Delaney, and I'm here in Washington for the sole purpose of only communicating to Colonel Arthur L. Guthrie, ASN 0618652. Top secret information that you... Delaney, you remember. You got it back. The formula, you know it. Yes, yes, Colonel, I do. If you'll get a stenographer in here... Right away, right away. I'll be right back. Well, that seems to clear everything up, Mr. Delaney. Yes. Yes, I guess it does, Miss Padgett. Not Padgett, Cartwright. Lin, Cartwright, over all the rat... No, no, don't go. Listen, Miss Padwright. Oh, I mean Cartridge. Cartridge? Oh, that does it. Good boy. No, no! Delaney? Yes, yes, Miss Stips. You have a good time in New York now. You deserve a vacation. Yes, yes, I will, Miss Stips. You'd better get aboard the train. There won't be any seats left. Oh, I can stand if it's too crowded. The train's starting. You'd better run. I will. And drop me a postcard. Yes, yes, I'll do that. For heaven's sakes, what were you going for? Will you please move up the steps to the landing? Well, hi, Dr. Cartwright. Mr. Delaney, are you taking this train? Yes, if you'll let me get on. Of course, here. Thanks. Well, let me help you up to the platform. Thank you. These trains, they drove when they first started. Well, I've got your bag. Watch those steps now. I almost didn't get it. Leave it to die. Well, it looks as if we just made it. Yes, yes, it does, doesn't it? No, movie stars aboard this time. You're Ms. Deborah Padge. It's very likely back in Hollywood. Whoa, whoa. I told you these trains, children. I've got you, I've got you. Look, have hold of something. You're losing your over. I can't. I'm slipping. But so am I, look out. I'm falling, Ms. Padge. Don't come in. Rudge, buddy, it's me again. Oh, I'm going to fix it for you, Pally, and I'm the only one who can do it. Me, your little old subconscious. I'm going to take a very troublesome file card out of that overstuffed memory of yours and rip it up. Just like that. Now, Rudge Boy, I think you're going to be just standing here. Mr. Delaney, Mr. Delaney, speak to me. Are you all right? My head, oh, where am I? Don't, don't you know who I am? Why, yes, yes, you're, you're... Don't say it. You're Dr. Lynn Cartwright. What? We just got on this train together. Hey, I guess I took quite a spill. Oh, here, I'll get up. No, no, no, don't, don't move just yet. Don't, don't I remind you of anyone, anyone else? Well, not exactly, but... Yes. You do remind me of something that happened on my last train trip. I knew it. How could you? Ms. Stips and I were alone when she said it. Your secretary. Of course. She said, Mr. Delaney, what you need to increase your self-confidence is the company of a young lady. And that's what happened on your last trip? That's all. Absolutely. But that isn't going to be the case this time. No. Oh, no, no, this trip Ms. Cartwright, is going to start enjoying the company of a young lady. And you're elected. This is Lisa Gay again. Sometimes you meet people who seem to go along without ever having any worries or troubles. They avoid responsibilities, and everything seems to come easy for them. All they do is rush around trying to have a good time. Maybe you sometimes envy them. But here's something. Ever get close to someone like that, try to find out what makes them tick, what he's thinking? Well, you learn something. You learn there isn't any real happiness in life if you're living by yourself, for yourself. And that's one of the things in family life. If you're going to have a happy family, you can't live for yourself. Family life means responsibilities. It calls for sacrifice. And we need strength to help us meet these difficulties. We can have that help for the asking. Pray. Pray together with your family. For family prayer means the most wonderful help in the world. God's help. The family that prays together stays together. More things are brought by prayers than this world dreams of. The script was written by John T. Kelly with music composed and conducted by Harry Zimmerman and was directed for Family Theater by Joseph F. Mansfield. This series of Family Theater broadcasts is made possible by the thousands of you who feel the need for this type of program, by the mutual network which is responded to this need and by the hundreds of stars of stage screen and radio who give so unselfishly of their time and talent to appear on our Family Theater stage. To them and to you, our humble thanks. This is Tony Lafranco expressing the wish of Family Theater that the blessing of God may be upon you and your home and inviting you to be with us next week when Family Theater will present its special anniversary program, Heritage of Homes starring Loretta Young. Join us, won't you? Out the world and originates in the Hollywood studios of the world's largest network. This is the Mutual Broadcasting System.