 Remember a hallmark card when you carry enough to send the very best Chosen by one of the world's best known authors the distinguished novelist mr. James Tonight on our hallmark playhouse we present Dan Wiccundon's compelling novel The Wayfarers a story of American life Which won a deserved popularity among the reading public in the front of his book? Mr. Wiccundon has a quotation from Walt Whitman and as it happens to be one of my favorite Whitman quotations I think I'll read it here it is a Man's success or failure in business and profession is not interesting compared to his success or failure as a human being We doubt the value of success achieved at the expense of love or friendship. I Think you'll admit that an awful is couldn't have a better inspiration for the theme of his story We're happy tonight to have in the starting role that fine actor mr. Lloyd Nolan and now a word about Hallmark cards from Frank Before we begin the first act of Dan Wiccundon's The Wayfarers Hallmark is the name to remember when you want to remember your friends for birthdays weddings anniversaries holidays There is a quality about Hallmark cards that whispers good taste and you'll send them with pride for that identifying Hallmark on the back adds meaning it says you cared enough to send the very best Now Hallmark Playhouse presenting The Wayfarers starring Lloyd Nolan Assistant editor of the Broadfield Chronicle His efficiency at work was something in which he could take pleasure But each day he walked away from his desk into a dream a dream. He had determined to forget a dream of Desolation and loneliness Ain't ours. You know Annie McBaines in town, don't you he said to lecture the women's aid now they don't deserve it Funny how two guys can start out at the same point with just about the same mental equipment you'd say and One of them winds up famous and the other winds up a crummy assistant editor of a crummy paper and a crummy city like myself Your room with him in college didn't you know a matter of fact you once got him his job here on the paper You started him. That's where I made my first mistake. Come on. Let's forget Andy. Oh Nora bosses orders You're interviewing the hot shot far and corresponded this afternoon at his hotel. I am Well, look Annie's always been a headache to you. I tell you what I'll go instead of you. No No, thanks. I can anyway I've been fencing with Annie McBaines shot up for too long. It's time. I stopped running away. You can tell maybe Maybe this kind is some kind of a judgment day You always had his way, yeah Like the time I had a date with Laura backstage of the old B's you did it. He was with Betty Lynn 22 years ago Nice suppose. She's getting dressed now look Andy Laura's it sort of temperamental You know you got to remember that she's an actress and be careful how you taught you will you not the least bit interested in your date Why should I be I got Betty here. She's the home type Kind of man respects Kind men marry now if you're trying to have fun that Betty's expensive Oh nothing of this sort I'm just trying to prove that you wouldn't know a woman was in love with you unless she told you now wait a minute I'll do you feel about Nora's Betty on a cut it out any Betty and I have been friends since we were kids And that's all yeah Who are you kidding? Why don't you talk up Betty? Why don't you? Hey, who is that girl coming for this is that it's Laura. No, please Andy handle What a knockout I bet she's seen anything in a shabby clout hopper like you get out of my way No, I remember Andy Laura's my date the wrong tense wrong that was your date I didn't mind Laura this is Andrew McBain dramatic editor of the broadfield chronic. Oh, how do you do? And this is you'll come with me Laura. I'd like to interview you Oh, but you mustn't miss me being the leading lady would scratch my eyes out. She hasn't been interviewed I need my eyes badly my living depends upon they are beautiful This way please. I'm afraid you don't understand. I have a date with me We'll begin the interview right now, huh? Tell me when did you decide to take up acting as a career? Hold on Andy long time for you now, oh boy your home's fun. You and Betty belong together along. I don't really want to go But what can I do? Seemed to me that she was really enjoying herself After that from time to time I managed to run into Laura. I made it my business to I guess she thrilled me every time I looked at it. I felt that she knew too Well at any rate I finally managed to make a date with her to go on a picnic I remember I was wearing my best suit that didn't fit very well in a high-starch collar No, I don't know but you don't look especially good with your hair plastered down with stick them. Well, you don't like it No, I'm afraid you'll never acquire what the French call that walk there You're more the Abraham Lincoln type rugged and rough. I wish I could be as eloquent as he was There's so much I could say I'll bet you could if you loosened your tie and sort of opened that stiff collar and exhale It banks. I never did understand how Andy could wear those collars. Those collars were invented for his count Don't you like this kind? Oh, I like Andy's fine. He's very dashing and gallant Wouldn't be too difficult for a girl to become infatuated. Are you? Would you care? Yes, he's in love with you. Are you proposing for it? I hadn't any such intention Don't look so noble Wasn't thinking noble thoughts What were you thinking? How much I wanted to kiss you Don't you ever put your thoughts into action? I love you, Lauren. I guess I feel the same way about you Why did you let Andy put me away that night? Why didn't you run after us and push him aside? I never prayed so hard for him bad to be hit I guess I'll never understand women as long as I live You don't have to Perhaps that's the wonderful part about you. You're like an open book You mean what you say. You're never on stage You're completely natural You're not hemmed in by headiness and sham You're the kind What more can I say? But Lauren, you wouldn't marry me. Why should you? I have nothing to offer. You're a great actor Oh, darling I'm not. I can sing a little. I can remember lines I can register the proper emotion from the appropriate spots That's all. You haven't even asked me to marry you Will you, Lauren? Once later we were married The years passed and Charlie and Patricia, our two children, were born It was going to give Lauren nothing less than the world And instead, while my career stood still and my castles crumbled Andy was riding high, not caring who or what he heard Andy received a syndicated column of a big New York paper A lovely Lauren, but I hadn't discouraged Doubts crowded in on me. I began to feel more and more That she was measuring my failure against Andy's success Then one night at the country club at a welcome home party for Andy Take that grouch off your face, Noor, and dance with me No, I'm not in the mood for that Why let him anchor? You've got to stop rooting and hating yourself inside It's just no good. Come on up to the brand No, please What if you're against fresh air? Laura's out there with Andy So? Well, they've been out there for quite a while Now you're imagining things that aren't happening Do you think Andy could fool her with his glib talk? You seem to forget she made her choice years ago Well, he wasn't important then Laura's not that kind Oh, Noor, there's no reason for you to always sell yourself short She's in love with him Hey, Noor, I've been looking all over for you Hey, look, Noor, I'm going to do something for you Mind you, not because of you, but because... For Laura, I suppose That's right Somebody's got to go to bat for you It's time you stopped pounding the pavement When are you leaving for New York, Andy? Hey, I'm a midnight special, why? I'm a midnight special, why? That's only two hours away I don't know if I can stand you that long Why are we pulling in opposite directions? If you'll tell me what you want me to do I... There are things about me that you don't like Oh, honey, come on, let's get together Look, I'll promise you I'll go to the barbershop more often And throw away all my old neckties In a pinch, I'll even buy a new hat You just name anything you want me to do There's something I want to tell you, Noor I just don't know how Is it about Andy and you? No It's about you and me Noor, maybe I've done something to you Maybe without realizing that I've tried to Make over the qualities I loved in you Maybe, basically, I'm the wrong woman for you Don't say that Noor, I don't want you hurt Oh, maybe I'm tired and mixed up I think I've gone a little blind Perhaps if I went away for a little while Away from this town It's not the town, Noor, it's me You were wrong about me right at the start No, I wasn't You were twice the man Andy was then You still could be Yet instead You let your envy of him constantly drag you down Can't you understand, darling? Oh, how much respect do you think I can have for myself When I can't even begin to give you the things A guy like Andy could You still don't understand, women I love you so much, Noor I want you to have everything Maybe I'm a complete fool All I know is I have to leave here I've got to look at all this from a distance And don't lie, Noor We'll work it out, you'll see I won't be gone for long An adventure into the unknown For the pleasure traveler A new account for a businessman Less miles between loved ones Trained, meant a rendezvous with death What I did was to love him Love shouldn't result in death Love was the giver of life Appealed against destruction But my love was not enough Starring Lloyd Nolan Scholar and statesman Poet and protege of the king This was Joseph Edison And way back in the 18th century It was Edison, one of the greatest of English essayists Who said, words when well chosen Have so great a force Today too, as Edison found true so long ago A word well chosen can be a great force In cementing friendships Softening grief, strengthening love And no one appreciates the power of well chosen words More than the makers of hallmark cards They are aware there is no magic Like the magic of words to reach the hearts of others To heighten their happiness, to comfort their sorrow Whatever the occasion, there's a hallmark card That says just what you want to say The way you want to say it And what is true of the right words in a hallmark card Is equally true of everything else about it It's artful design, it's superb craftsmanship So make it a habit to look for that hallmark On the back of every card you choose For that hallmark says you cared enough To send the very best And now before we return to the second act of our play I would like to tell you about a special broadcast On June 1st, for the first time on the air The dynamic story of Kansas City will be broadcast Direct from Kansas City on the hallmark playhouse One full hour of exciting drama And our stars will be Jane Wyman and Robert Young And now here is the second act of the Wayfarer Starling Lloyd Nolan This moved in All these past ten years seemed Nothing seemed to matter My children, Charlie and Patricia My friends Betty and the world about me Nothing seemed to touch me I've wrapped myself in a blanket of misery Into the pain of living has become numb Laura's gone And it was my fault And now just as soon as I walk The length of this hotel corridor I shall see Andy McBain And have him resurrect my failure to Laura And to my children How about going fishing with me? I'll get Pat to pack us a lunch Well, Charlie, I, uh... Look, why don't you go with one of your friends, huh? What? Oh, it's for you I'm getting tired of asking you to do things together with me To behave like a father I'll show you how I sell a song That's singing You're interested in my career, aren't you? Don't bother Kids are grown up and you don't even know And they don't care to know Just because you're not interested in surviving Is there any reason why you're indifferent To rub off on your children? You better face it You know what, as well as I do Charlie is running around with the wrong kind of people He's bound to get into trouble And Pat is wasting his young life Kinging in a disreputable captivity If you won't fight for yourself Fight for your children Pretty special occasion Now, it's great to see you, boy, great Hey, tell me, what does a guy do here on a Sunday afternoon? I'm supposed to interview you No, forget it You can make up anything you like No Well, then I'll be leaving No, no, no, stick around I'm glad you're here Nor, I feel like a human being again I'm not the only friend you have around here No, but you're the only guy in broad feel I give it down about How's it going, Nor? Life treated you better than it has me I don't know what you have to complain about You don't, huh? How's the family? Oh, nothing much to tell That was bad about Laura I wrote you a letter, didn't I? Yeah Yeah, she wrote a letter I always envied you Because she was your wife and not mine You know, I honestly thought you didn't know her Not the way I did, I mean That's what the letter was about What girl I had But I was a lot younger than I am now Andy, I never did read that letter I know I tore it up, threw it away, I never opened it It was just as well, probably It was a bad letter I was a little crazy, I think You know, I tried to get Laura away Maybe a guest, maybe she told you I'll never forget the way she looked at me Not angry, a little puzzled at first And sorry for me I couldn't get along without her, Nor How do you do it? I've asked myself that same question for years Maybe, Andy, it's better to be like you Nothing to worry about except your own skin Yes, so wrong You have heard of a member and the children? I'd trade places with you anytime Or as I'm concerned, when the lecture tour is over And the book's dead, what then? Well, more or 40 No, no, no, I'm too old There's a whole new generation coming along I can't compete with them Yeah, I'm going the way all newspaper hacks Think they want to go, turning my hand to fiction Maybe I'll make a living at it, maybe I won't You know, if nobody buys my stuff You'll have to find a place for me here on the Chronicle You're, you're kidding I wish I was I'm pretty scared of the years ahead A frightened character, Nor A lonely one Nuts That's odd All along I thought that you could never lose That you were the big winner Well, so long, Andy Good luck to you Thanks, thanks a lot Thanks for what? For giving me, for giving me back my self-respect Anybody knows you left me the talk How am I doing, Charlie? Great, great You've never heard me on a microphone No, no, no Charlie, yeah, Pop Charlie, you belong to some kind of a club, don't you? Why? What's the name of it? It's a social club You should pull, go bowling sometimes And hate, most of the time What do you mean? You can't get in if you aren't a hundred percent American What's wrong with that? Solidarities, Irene Solidarities, solidarity against minorities It's like hitting little kids, Charlie Get out of it, get out of it before it's too late Why I'm down off the soapbox, Pop I don't like to be preached at Oh, please, don't shut your mind Why the sudden interest in me? Dad, why don't you leave him alone? Stop weeping on his shoulder Weeping on his shoulder? That wasn't what I was doing Look, Pat, all I want to do is help him And I don't like the idea of your singing in a cheap dive Leave us alone, that's what you've been doing for years Pat, listen to me Now, for ten years I've been letting you both go to the devil in your own way I know that was wrong, but is it so wrong to try to help before it's too late? Why do you have to go messing around with our lives? Why don't you just... You're my children, you're both part of me I'm part of you How can we leave each other alone? Oh, you're the last person I ever expected to hear that Look, the wisest of us make mistakes All I want to do is help you Don't you ever want to help somebody else? Doesn't work out Never works out You have to let people go their own way We learned that from you Pat, Charlie Maybe I haven't got the right to ask you to forgive me But I'm asking just the same You know, you're both very young I confess it's taken me a lot of years to learn that we are our brothers keeping We make a bad job of it or try to pretend it isn't so But we have to keep on trying It's one of the things that life is about We're alone, we'll always be alone in most ways, all of us But there are bridges There are a few little bridges that we can build It isn't normal to want to stay alone Talking nonsense, but I have to try I have to try to do what I can for my children I can't cut myself off from you Please What is there about me? You're different somehow Well, it could be I'm wearing my face in a new way, Betty You know, maybe that's not as crazy as it sounds You look... You look happy It's funny, while I was walking over here I thought I'd never seen the sun so bright It seemed to have an almost... A benevolent kind of warmth Made everything look so clear and sort of wonderful Almost like I was seeing the countryside for the first time in ten years This is a beautiful little town, Betty Whatever the reason, Nor, it's good that you can see it again Yes Yeah, what is he all saying? And none so blind as those who will not see Oh, Nor I don't know why you've put up with me for all these years Giving me so much friendship without any Thoughtfulness in return, I haven't deserved it But I am grateful for it Listen, Nor Sometimes the right impulse is needed this past And sometimes the mistaken ones To an unexpected triumph Who was the judge? Betty, I feel as old as Methune I could get along with her, I guess But I can't see life that way anymore I'm asking you to marry me Oh I've just reached the point where I can think about Laura As a chapter in my life that was wonderful And the love I had for her has become part of me But I suppose a man can have More than one kind of love in his lifetime I'm saying it badly, I have so little to offer You don't know You just don't know what you have to offer If you did, maybe I wouldn't love you, Nor And our love seems like forever Oh, Nor What about the kids? What to become? We just can't No, they've got good stuff in them It'll come out, it's up to me And now, up to you too, darling To help show them the way, wait a minute We're going to give them a happy environment And prove to them that we can work out our problems Together, I know it isn't going to be easy But we're going to fight Betty, it's taken me a long time And a lot of misery to find out That everything that's alive Stays alive by strife That's what we're going to do, dear That's what we're going to do Today, I'm reminded of how much The sending of a greeting card can mean Just today, a friend of mine Had special interest in greeting cards Showed me a Hallmark birthday card That it was plain to see It meant a great deal to him I brought it along and would like to read it to you Count not your age by years you live But by the happiness you give The friends you make, the good you do The confidence that's placed in you The little things that day by day Bring cheer to others on life's way And count this birthday one more mile Upon the road of things worthwhile No, I'd like to receive a card like that myself It's typical of Hallmark cards They have a way of always saying things That seem to be better than you could say it yourself That's why, when you ask any group of friends What name they think of in greeting cards When they want to send the very best They quickly answer Hallmark cards So it's easy to remember It would be difficult to forget To look on the back of every card you choose For that identifying Hallmark It says you cared enough to send the very best Here again is James Hogan Thank you, Lloyd Nolan, for your fine performance tonight Well, it's a privilege to appear in the Hallmark play house Mr. Hogan, to be in such a fine play You always seem to select such excellent stories And Frank Goss' mention of the special broadcast It sure seems particularly exciting Well, it is exciting, Lloyd Both to us and to all of our listeners Because on June 1st, we're going to take the entire cast Of Hallmark play house to Kansas City For an hour-long broadcast of the dynamic story Of Kansas City itself We'll be broadcast direct from the Kansas City music hall And who will star in it, Mr. Hogan? We're very proud to announce that Jane Wyman And Robert Young will co-star on June 1st In the Kansas City story I just promise it to be one of the great shows And what have you selected for next week's show? Next Thursday evening, Hallmark play house Will present an entertaining story founded on fact Entitled Knee Pants Written by Emil C. Schoemacher Starring in one of the leading roles Will be young Bobby Driscoll Who last year won two Academy Awards For his fine performances in motion pictures So please be listening Our Hallmark play house is every Thursday Our director-producer is Bill Gay Our music was conducted by Lynn Moray And our script tonight was adapted by Jack Rubin And on Thursday then, this is James Hilton saying Good night Look for Hallmark cards that are sold only in stores That have been carefully selected To give you expert and friendly service Remember Hallmark cards when you carry enough To send the very best This is Frank Goss saying good night to you all Until next week at this same time When James Hilton returns to present Emil Schoemacher's Knee Pants Starring Bobby Driscoll And be sure to listen in on June 1st When Hallmark play house presents Kansas City Broadcast directly from Kansas City A full hour of thrilling drama Starring Jane Wyman and Robert Young On the Hallmark Playhouse This is CBS, the Plumby Broadcasting System