 Who is the Tenth Man? The Tenth Man is the one man and ten in your community who needs or will need some form of psychiatric treatment during his lifetime. Yes, one out of every ten of us will suffer from some form of emotional disorder. Can this suffering be prevented? Ladies and gentlemen, this is Ralph Bellamy. Our story is called Which World for Susan? It concerns a girl who daydreams. Now, many of you have been following these programs on mental health, may wonder what a simple little thing like daydreaming can have to do with mental illness. We don't want you to think that you need a psychiatrist just because you daydream once in a while, but sometimes these things get out of hand in boys and girls as well as in grown-ups. My mom and pop aren't always the first to notice it. Who was that on the telephone, Annie? Don't worry about it, George. I'm not worrying about it. I just want to know who it was. It was just somebody for Susan. I don't hear her talking. I didn't want to disturb her. She's upstairs studying. Was it a boy, Annie? Yes, I guess it was. Oh, really? George, all this fuss. Did he want to take her out alone with him or was it a group party? I believe he said there was some sort of party over at the Fletcher's. I don't remember the details. Will you tell Susan about it? Well, I don't know that I will, George. After all, what she doesn't know won't hurt her. I hope you know what you're doing, Annie. Of course I do. You know as well as I do that Susan is far too young to go out with boys. She's 15, just the age when she ought to be getting interested in them. She's far too young. Just the same. We oughtn't keep her too sheltered. That's no good either, you know. There's no such thing as sheltering a girl too much these days. Why, only last week. You remember that case in the paper. It certainly shows that merely coming from a good family doesn't protect a girl from getting into bad company. Oh, come now. That's not likely in Susan's case, is it? Well, nevertheless, it's our duty as parents to guide her. Besides, I want Susan to amount to something. She's a brilliant student. She's also a brilliant pain in the neck. What? George Clayton, what did you say? Annie, sometimes that girl acts as if I'm not around. I spoke to her three times this morning at breakfast and she paid no attention to me. Well, she was probably thinking. Well, it's not normal for a 15-year-old girl to think so much. Susan undoubtedly gets her brains from my side of the family. Well, maybe she does get her brains from you, but she certainly doesn't get that iceberg personality from me. Everybody, be prepared for another quiz on Friday. Oh, Susan Clayton, would you step up to the desk for a moment, please? Yes, Mrs. Bennet. Susan, I wanted to tell you that you did very well on last week's quiz. Yes, Mrs. Bennet. I was rather surprised that you did so well since you obviously paid so little attention in class. Why, Mrs. Bennet, do you think I cheated? No, I didn't say that, did I? From the way the test was set up, I know you couldn't have cheated. But you certainly are very familiar with Shakespeare. Well, I read a lot. I don't see how you find the time. A girl as pretty as you must have lots of boyfriends. Well, I don't care much about boys. They bore me. Oh? Susan, you don't belong to any clubs here at school, do you? No, I don't. My mother doesn't like me too. I mean, those clubs are so silly. All they do is talk, talk, talk. You know, the dramatic club is holding a contest for the leading role in Alice in Wonderland. Have you thought of trying out for it? You'd be perfect for the part with your long blonde hair. No, I don't think so. Anyway, I don't care about infantile things like that. I see. I have to go to trigonometry now, Mrs. Bennett. Was there anything else you wanted to see me about? No, that's all, Susan. One lump or two, Mrs. Bennett. Oh, one, please. A milk or lemon? Milk, please. Thank you, Mrs. Clayton. Tea is just what I need after a day like this. Teaching must be a trying profession sometimes, especially with adolescents. That's a very difficult age. Yes, it's a very difficult age. Mr. Clayton and I are so lucky with Susan. She never gives us any trouble at all. Yes, she's a very bright girl. Of course, sometimes I wish that she had a little more personality. You know, Susan's always so reserved. But I suppose she'll grow out of that. Yes, I suppose so. But Mrs. Clayton, don't you think that now is as good a time as any to develop Susan's personality? Well, yes. But what do you mean? Well, I was referring specifically to her relations with her classmates. I don't know whether you know it or not, but Susan seems to have no interest at all in girls and boys of her own age. Well, that's not so difficult to understand, is it? She's so far above them mentally. But so far behind them socially. Well... I mean, Susan is intelligent and studies hard, but, well, she doesn't pay much attention in class. She seems to be daydreaming. Yes, almost as if she were in another world. Does she do it at home? Have you ever noticed it? Why, yeah... No. She's thinking when she's like that. Oh, maybe. Anyway, she reminded me of another girl. Someone I knew a long time ago. She was very much like Susan. Not as pretty, but everyone thought her pretty smart. She was unpopular, though. Well, Susan is popular, all right. Well, only last week she was invited to a party. Of course, I didn't let her go because there was that test coming up. Well, this girl was unpopular. You see, her parents wanted her to get a scholarship for college and they wouldn't let her fritter away her time at parties. Probably just as well. Kept her from bad companions. Oh, it kept her from all companions, good or bad. So she withdrew more and more into herself and built a world of her own of daydreams. One day her parents discovered that it had gotten so that she couldn't tell the difference between the world of reality and her world of fantasy. You mean she was... Yes, she was sick. Her mind was sick. But that's fantastic. It must have been in the family. A bad blood or something. No, no, it wasn't. They had quite good blood, Mrs. Clayton, even by your high standards. But her family had a lot to do with her illness. Well, what happened to her, that girl? They took her to a mental hospital. She got a little better, then had a relapse. They gave her insulin shock treatments. All in all, she spent about three years in the hospital. Three years? And now? Now she's married and doing well and never even thinks about those bad days behind her. Very sad case. But what is it to do with Susan? Surely you don't think that Susan... and this other girl are very much alike. That's why I came to see you. Well, that's absurd. And what's more, I don't think you have any right to interfere. Well, perhaps you're right, but... well, she is one of my pupils. And I thought that if you and I could bring her out of her shell, she might be so unhappy. Now there must be something that we can do. Get her to join clubs. I think not, Mrs. Bennet. There's nothing whatever the matter with Susan. I wish I could make you understand. I mean, my interest in Susan... You see... We're very grateful for your interest in our daughter, Mrs. Bennet. Oh, then why won't you listen to me? Really, Mrs. Bennet? Do you think I take this much of an interest in any other pupils? Perhaps I should, but I'm afraid I haven't time. I have a husband, Mrs. Clayton, and a little boy. And both of them need a lot of attention. I'm afraid I don't understand. Well, the point I'm making is this. I wouldn't have... I wouldn't have this interest in Susan in her. Something that I'm very familiar with. Well, what do you mean? Mrs. Clayton, I was that girl that I told you about. The girl who took refuge in a dream world because she'd been denied a real world. Now, don't let Susan become like her. Please, I beg you. I assure you that nothing like that could possibly happen to my daughter. She's far too level-headed. Then you won't... Very well. I'd better be going now, Mrs. Clayton. Was very good of you to drop in. I... I'm sorry. There's no need to apologize. I understand. I wasn't going to apologize. I was going to say that I'm sorry you won't take my advice. Goodbye, Mrs. Bennett. Goodbye. Susan? I know you're up there. Why didn't you answer me? Oh, hello, mother. I guess I didn't hear you. I was studying. You would study. And you weren't looking at anything. You were staring into space. You were daydreaming. I guess I was daydreaming. Why not? Is there anything wrong with daydreaming? Oh, my dear. I want you to have more than dreams. When Mrs. Clayton found Susan daydreaming, she suddenly remembered all the other occasions when she'd seen Susan like that, often another world, because she wasn't allowed to have a place in this one. So Mrs. Clayton changed her attitude about parties and encouraged Susan to go to them. At first, Susan didn't want to go, but Mrs. Clayton and Mrs. Bennett put their heads together and tactfully enlisted the aid of some of Susan's classmates who included her in some of the school's social activities. In time, Susan began to respond. And several months later, she was a very different girl. Hello. Oh, hello, Dick. Yes, she is. Just a minute. Susan. Yes, Mother? Telephone for you, dear. I never thought I'd live to see the day, Annie. You've certainly done a great job. On Susan? Do you mean George? No. On yourself, Annie. Now, come into the living room and don't eavesdrop. It's Dick Fletcher, Susan, and for heaven's sake, don't talk on that phone all evening. Oh, hi, Dick. What's up? Huh? Gosh, it sounds swell, but I don't think I can. No, I've got to memorize my lines for the class play. Have you forgotten? I'm going to play Alice. What? You want to come over and help me learn my lines? Yes, I guess you can if you want to. Will you hear the poem I have to learn? It was brilliant. And the slithy toves did gear and gimbal in the waves. All men's-y were the burrow groves. And the mom-rafts out-grade. What do you mean, corny? You have just heard Which World for Susan. Produced by the National Mental Health Foundation and presented through the cooperation of other organizations interested in the preservation of mental health. Ralph Bellamy was heard as narrator.