 The Cavalcade of America sponsored by DuPont, maker of better things for better living through chemistry, presents Shirley Booth in Check Your Heart at Home. One of DuPont's better things for better living is Zeeland Durable Water Repellent. Most of the cloth treated with Zeeland now goes to the armed forces. It goes into field jackets, parkas, and other garments designed to give weather protection and warmth without weight. On the home front, civilian clothing such as cotton snowshoots, jackets, raincoats, and children's play clothes are protected with Zeeland, a product of chemical research. We'd like to preface the announcement of tonight's Cavalcade by reading a telegram to Miss Shirley Booth from Rita Hayworth. Dear Shirley, last week when I listened to Cavalcade, I was pleased as anything when the announcer said, next week our star will be Rita Hayworth. But tonight he's going to say, starring Shirley Booth, thanks to a nasty little germ called influenza. Since it can't be me, I'm glad it's you. Thanks for stepping in, and loads of luck. Signed, Rita Hayworth. DuPont presents Shirley Booth, star of Broadway and Radio, in Check Your Heart at Home. The story of an American girl in uniform, a Red Cross worker overseas. Our play, suggested by Jane Goodell's dramatic new war book They Sent Me to Iceland, was especially written for Cavalcade by Milton Wayne, and stars Shirley Booth as Jennifer Prescott, American Red Cross worker, on the Cavalcade of America. Buffalo, New York. A dressing room in the Empire Theater shortly before midnight, May 1938. A year and a half before the Second World War. Oh, it's good to see you, Mark. So good. Well, Iron Man, break down and tell me, what are you doing in Buffalo? I came to see the show. On the last night of a road tour? Yeah, I'm a radical that way. Most people want to be first-nighters. Me? I always go on the last night. Very interesting, Mr. Grayson. And after the show? After the show? I call on the leading ladies, brilliant on the study, and take her home. To Browning Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. New York's my next stop. I thought the Broadway season was finished. The summer theater offered me a job, I'm taking it. So it's still a career you're after, huh? It hasn't been much of a one so far. The breaks don't happen like in a movie. You know, every day of these past six months, I kept making it up how it'd be for us from tonight on. When I left the house to come here, the kids in the corner were playing Oyster Greensale. Oyster Greensale. Our old battle cry. Yeah. I thought it was a good omen. I'm sorry, Mark. Jen, what's to stop us? We could be married this weekend. And I'll be stuck away in a Pennsylvania Bond theater in you and a Boston law office? That would be a crazy life. How long do you expect to wait for what you call the breaks? As long as I can. I've got to find out if I'm right about myself on the stage. I don't want hangovers of dreams tripping me up for the rest of my life. Jen, have you read beyond the theater pages lately? Still a serious political young man, eh? Yeah. Well, there's a kind of politics nowadays that may crimp our lives. Europe's festering with it. If that poison breaks out, Jen will drench the world. Now's the time for us to be together. We can still call our shots. All right. Then I've called my shot. And with my heart, I'm knocking on wood. New York City. Two weeks after Pearl Harbor. I got the job. Peg, I got the job. Well, Jen, the one with the guild. No, this is a different kind of show. I've signed up with the Red Cross. You? What are you going to do? Recreation work in the camps. You'll never see your name in lights that way. I've torn up that dream. I've got a job now. Period. I guess it's okay if that's what you want. But what if Mark should suddenly show up again? After all this time? No, Peg. There's nothing to tie me down. Any idea where you'll be stationed? Fort Belvoir, Virginia. I'm leaving tomorrow. Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Six weeks later. Jennifer Prescott speaking. Miss Prescott, this is Red Cross Headquarters, Washington. Will you go to Iceland? Iceland? Name the day in the boat. I'll be there. Ten five boats for Ganeshaw. Ten five boats for Ganeshaw. Oh, big pardon, Miss Prescott. Yes? Red Cross unit will go ashore in number three boat. We'll be ready, Stuart. Thank you, Miss. Those lads are sure aching to get sight of girls from home. You've been here before? This is my fourth convoy trip, Miss. What's this country like? Iceland's a rugged old boot. Always smelling of fish. Like the fellow says, it's okay for the visit. Does the sun ever shine here? Why, yes, Miss. Of course it goes up and down, sudden like. But sometimes you get as much as ten hours on it. A day? Now, Miss, a week. Oh, well, probably at least you won't have to worry about getting freckles. Iceland? Here we come. There's stirrups on these landing boats. The sun. Look, girls, the sun. Oh, go on, it's just a mirage. They say that's a very good sun, Carrie. Well, I'm getting scared. I'm scared, Alice. What of? That mob of soldiers there on the dock looks like a whole regiment. Just a schoolgirl's preview of heaven. It's funny, though. What? Well, they're just standing and watching us come in. They're not saying a word. Maybe they think we're a military secret. Well, we'll soon find out. Don't have to worry about submarines anymore. Yeah, it's land all right, but my legs don't know it yet. Alice, did you see my bag? They're bringing it up now, Paula. Just a minute, ladies. Would you mind stepping this way, please? We'd like to take a few pictures. Certainly. Come on, girls. No, soldier, I guess that's all. I count 11. What'd you make it? Ditto. Check. Mamma mia, they're real. They're real women. What do you say, Pete? You think they are, huh? Oh, you're nuts. You and your chorus, girls. That's what I heard. Sure, sure. You got a private wire. Here they come. Let's find out. Oh, thank you. Excuse me, miss. Sure, soldier. What's on your mind? Are you, uh... Are you chorus, girls? No. Oh. And I'm just as sorry as you are. Oh, I get it. You're Red Cross nurses. Yeah, sure, sure. Just like it says in all imposters, sisters are moissy, right? Well, we're sort of distant relatives. I get it. He ain't got your diplomas yet. No, soldier. We're Red Cross recreation workers. Recreation? Yeah, what'd she say? Oh, quiet, you guys. Pipe down, what is it? Well, you see, we're going to get up a program of entertainment and recreation. Canteens and club rooms for all you men. Well, what's the matter? Don't you like the idea? Sure, miss. Sounds swell. But what? I guess you're in the wrong compartment, is all. We're just GI soldiers. What do you mean by that? Well, he don't mean nothing personal, ma'am. It's just that what you're fixing don't sound real, is nothing like that's happened since we're here. Well, soldier, here's where a new day breaks for the GI Iceland. Well, girls, this is Home Sweet Home. By orders of the general, this brand new quonset hut is all yours. This joint makes me feel right homesick. Looks like a hunk of the New York subway with a tin roof and a pot-bellied stove. You're lucky at that. The old huts we nurses have are just upside-down foxholes. Well, I guess I'm much long. Thanks for everything, Lieutenant. You've been very kind. Oh, look here, Miss Prescott. You think there's something off the beam about us up here, don't you? Well, we're all pretty tired. I'm really sorry if I gave you that impression. Oh, it's not only you. I noticed all of you at mess tonight. The way you stared at us, the way you reacted to some of the things we said. I assure you, Lieutenant, we had no idea. You see, we heard you were the first Red Cross outfit overseas and we tried to give you a few tips on what you'll be up against here. I guess we just overdid it. Is Iceland so different from other war zones? For the men, it's one of the toughest spots there is. Nothing happens here. Their only job is to see that nothing does. And all they can do is wait. And that's why they were so excited when the Red Alert sounded. Sure. They hoped it was the real thing for a change. Not just a dry run. You know, Norway's only 500 miles off. I guess we'll get to be the same way, too. Oh, in a couple of months you'll clutch it anything that'll break the endless chain of boredom, lousy weather, bad roads, terrific winds, and a constant diet of dehydrated chow and rumors. Little by little you'll get hut-nutty, like the rest of us. At the end of 101 days, you'll be full-fledged members of the FBI. The FBI? Yeah. The forgotten babes of Iceland. Well, good night. Sorry I talk so much. Well, that dame's got more gloom than three guys called Tchaikovsky. Well, maybe she's got a right to feel that way. Who says no? But nobody promises to be a shindig at the rainbow room. It's getting cold in here. I move we close discussion for the night. I second the motion. This ex-tenographer's so bush you could sleep on a clothesline. Say, Carrie, that wouldn't be a bad act for one of our shows. Before you go into it. I'll torch you to see who turns out to lie. Did you say striker? Why bother us about it in the middle of the night? Go see your labor board. Fire duty. I've got to tend your fire. Oh, good heavens. It's only the stalker. Jen, let a man. Why didn't he say so right off? Just a minute. I guess you didn't know it. But I have to tend your fires all night long. Joe's the name. Say, ma'am, where is she? Who? Honest, I won't disturb her. Just one look, please. Okay, name her. Ginger. Ginger? Ginger Rogers. She came in on the convoy. Somebody gave you a bum stare, soldier. Oh, all the time the guys are saying Ginger's coming out here with a bunch of chorus girls to put on a show. Sorry, Joe. Well, four months now I've been sweating it out. Well, maybe it'll happen one of these days. Sure. The guys got to have something to look forward to. Oh, well. Guess I'll fix your stove. Is that your job? Yes, ma'am. I look at the stove for the officers and nurses. Oh, air conditioning engineer, eh? Oh, no, no, ma'am. I'm with the medical corps. All night long, one stove after another. It's a very solitary kind of business. Say, like, yeah, I'd like to think about the girl back in Peoria. But she never wrote me one letter even. I guess she ain't so crazy about me. Eh, now you'll be nice and warm till morning. Thanks, Joe. Oh, I was so excited. I forgot to tell you before. Welcome to Iceland, ma'am. Jan, you're still awake. Anything wrong, baby? Something's happened to me out here, Carrie. It happened so fast I'm a little dizzy. Take it easy. Just the excitement of a new place, a new job. Oh, I've been to a lot of places. I've had a few jobs outside the theatre, but this is something else. For the first time, I feel smaller than my job. It just doesn't make sense. What do you mean? Well, maybe I'm just about in skiing. You can tell me so. I'm listening. But you're young and pretty, Jan. Why are you here? There's work I can do. Work that means something. Plus a little personal job of escape? Trying to forget? No. No, that part's over now. Don't kid yourself. Never is. Gal lose boy? Gal threw away a bright chunk of her life. I know what you're thinking, Carrie, but whatever was with me, it'll have nothing to do with the job. Well, any other way, you'll get yourself awful messed up. You'll do all right. Just remember, it'll take times to get things going here. But the men expect so much of us. Oh, nonsense. All they expect is a handy combination of Florence Nightingale, Dorothy Dix, and Gypsy Rose Lee. In my book, that's just a minor league miracle. You're listening to a romantic comedy, Check Your Heart At Home, starring Shirley Booth as Jennifer Prescott, a Red Cross worker. Presented on the Cavalcade of America by DuPing's For Better Living Through Chemistry. As our play continues, the Red Cross workers in groups of twos and threes have been traveling across the winter desolation of Iceland, bringing entertainment and the touch of home to the enlisted men. In one of the small and distant camps, a dance has been arranged. When Red Cross headquarters is notified at the last moment, only Jennifer Prescott and Carrie Manning are available. And now they face that problem of sad mathematics, a dance to women and 70 men. Oh, gee. It's sure good to be dancing with an American girl again. Sure is. Sorry, bud. Oh, wait, wait. We haven't taken three steps. Give me a break. Oh, no. I've been waiting a long time. Where? Where do you come from, miss? Massachusetts. Yeah? I'm Pennsylvania. You know this crazy country? Here is Stuckey, the dive bomber, but a blonde you take into a dive. I'm learning fast and furious. Come on, give up. Next, next. This ain't no cutting, soldier. You got a monopoly. Oh, you ain't got off the dime yet. Let's go, miss. While they argue, we'll dance. Oh, no, that's not good. Say, I here tell there's a country called America, and they got trees there. I'll swear to that. Time's up, bud. Oh, look, fella, I ain't danced for five months. Tell it to your relief investigator. Say something to me, miss. Say something to that sweet female American toss. This is one of the best dances I've ever been to. It's a very polite sentiment, miss. No, I meant it. Well, what's the difference? Say more. You sound nice. Nice like an angel singing the blues. Air regional, local air regional. Docs are going too? Seems like they double in cannon. What now? Oh, sergeant. Yes, miss. What do the rest of you men do? We stay right here unless it's the business. Well, that may be the rest of the night. Well, let's keep this going. Who's the singer in this outfit? Blenny. Blenny? Hand me my guitar, bud. What's your mood, boys? Sleep after that jam session. Well, this office is the only place I can put you. I've sent for a couple of cots. That's very good of you, Lieutenant. Is there some way we can notify the girls in Reykjavik that we're staying? Well, I've already taken care of that, miss Prescott. I'll have a man drive you back first thing in the morning. Oh, you can me make it the eighth or the ninth thing. It'll be okay with me. Come in. Good work, sergeant. Sorry you had to miss the dance. What's wrong, sergeant? Oyster green sale. Mark. Mark Grayston. Jenny Prescott. The red-headed terror of Browning Street. Oyster green sale. Gosh. Three years, Jen. Oh, Lieutenant, there's some military strategy I'd like to discuss with you in progress. Oh, uh, yes, Miss Bandinger. Certainly. You look different, Jenny. Nothing that a good night's rest in a facial will help. It's deeper than that. You're Jenny again. Three years is a long time. It could have been a small lifetime for us. Why didn't we get married then? Why? Was there any reason that made sense? I wanted a career more than anything, I thought. That fever's burned out now. All I wanted was a place of my own and a girl with red hair. I still do. Mark, this shouldn't have happened now and here. I could have waited. I have a 99-year lease on you, remember? It's just another place and another time. I'd be off with you in a minute. Oh, Jenny, come on. Jenny, wake up. What do you want most? Be honest. Right now, I want to do the job I came here for. All right. I have my job, too. It's our life I'm talking about. Mark, please try to understand. While I'm here, I've got to belong 100% to all these men and not a bit to any one man. Otherwise, I can't do it. I guess I checked my heart at home. Mine's been in storage for a long time. I'm going back to Reykjavik in the morning. We're rehearsing our first big show to tour the camps. We'll be coming up this way. And I don't see you before then? Mark, let me do this, chow. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I just remembered. I won't be around to stop you. What do you mean? I've been recommended for office at school. I expect to sail for home almost any day. You couldn't have arranged it better yourself. What's the matter? Nothing. It works out fine. Just fine. But I don't have to like it, do I? What again? I have a hard ass with a mercy number. Give him a bank account, boogie woogie number. I didn't expect to see you so soon. Are you going to stay for the show? No, I'm on my way to the dock. We sail in 25 minutes. Will you be coming back here? I don't know. It might send me any place. England, Africa, India. Maybe another three years. We don't have a say anymore. We're not calling our own shots. Mark, let's not lose touch again. Oh, they're waiting for me. They're lucky. What horn do I blow when I need you? Goodbye, Jenny. Until our hearts come out of storage. So long, Mark. It's a green sail. Oh, it's a green sail. Cup, will you, Jen? Yes, I'll be with you in a minute. George, who worked the curtain tonight? Okay, Miss Prescott. There'll be someone here to tell us. Well, that's it, all right. Real thing this time. It's crowding up, our soldier. Sounds like they're after harbor. How do you know that? I just said it sounds like it. Who's in charge back here? Hi, I'm Captain. Start the show as soon as you can. Is it the harbor, Captain? Yes, Miss Prescott. Just a minute. The convoy. Did he get out? I think so, but we can't be sure. I'll send word as soon as we know. Jenny, I feel like I'm coming apart at the seams. Easy, baby. Oh, I'll be all right. Did you call Polly? Here I am. Stand by. Kill the house lights, Corporal. Check. Flash the orchestra. Check. Here's your hat, James. Thanks, old Seth. Right. Shirley Booth. To the gallant, self-sacrificing women at home and abroad, who bring cheer and comfort and smiles to the men in uniform, DuPont sends its good wishes and hearty thanks. Miss Booth will return in a few moments. Meanwhile, here is Clayton Collier to tell you how research continues to improve X-ray equipment, making it more useful to doctors at the front. Saving lives in the Army, in the Navy, is the wartime duty of X-rays. Light, portable X-ray machines that can be set up in less than five minutes in the field and taken right up to the battle front. Using these X-ray units, a surgeon rarely needs to probe blindly for the bullets or shrapnel that have wounded a man. Metal fragments are located in a few seconds, and even the depth at which they are embedded is accurately calculated. The X-rays that pass so easily through a man's body are not like the rays of ordinary light, but they must be turned into light rays before the human eye can see them. Fortunately, certain chemicals do just that. X-rays into light rays. This is the principle of the fluoroscopic screen with which the doctor looks at your chest or your back when you go to him for an examination. The invisible X-rays after passing through your body strike against the screen. The screen glows, revealing a brilliant green and yellow shadow picture of your heart or your lungs. Using such a screen, a bullet or shell fragment can frequently be located in a matter of seconds. But in many cases, as you know, X-ray photographs are necessary. For this purpose, another type of X-ray screen, the intensifying screen has been developed. Such screens turn X-rays into light rays of just the right color, blue, to register the sharpest, clearest picture on an X-ray film. Thus, intensifying screens make it possible to take X-ray snapshots and get the clear-cut X-ray photographs needed for a correct diagnosis. American scientists have played a leading part in the development of X-rays and X-ray screens. Thomas Edison, for instance, did much to improve them. And the forerunners of today's highly effective X-ray screens were developed by Carl V. S. Patterson, another American experimenting in his home laboratory. For years, the story of his organization, the Patterson Screen Company, has been an example of science and industry working together to bring better health to the American family. Today, as the Patterson Screen Division of the DuPont Photo Products Department, the Patterson Organization is combining its skill in research and development with that of DuPont, for the continued improvement of these better things for better living through chemistry. And here is Shirley Booth, star of this evening's cavalcade. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I know we all think that there's nothing within reason we wouldn't do for the men and women in service who are lonely, away from home this Christmas. But how many of us really mean it when it happens to interfere with our own little pleasures? For instance, are you willing to stay at home this Christmas so that a service man or woman can have a furlough with his family? Or will you travel as usual and condemn some service man to spend the holidays and camp? The transportation shortage is as critical as that. If you travel, some service man doesn't. There just aren't enough seats on trains and buses and Pullmans or diners this Christmas. There won't be until after the New Year. Won't you let the service people and transportation facilities there are? Thank you. For a Tültide broadcast next Monday evening, cavalcade will present that great star of the feather, Helen Hayes, with Philip Meraville, in a play which seems destined to become America's great Christmas classic, Stephen Vincent Bonet's A Child Is Born. This reverent and inspiring play, especially written for cavalcade, was so widely acclaimed last year as a moving drama of great power that DuPont again presents it on this America's third wartime Christmas. Because it uniquely relates the Christmas story to a war-torn world. It's the timeless story of the Christmas birth in Judea with a special meaning for today. For a Christmas message of hope and goodwill for all peoples whom tyrants would oppress, DuPont invites you to hear Helen Hayes with Philip Meraville in a special Christmas broadcast next Monday evening of Stephen Vincent Bonet's magnificent Christmas play, A Child Is Born. Presented with an augmented orchestra and chorus on the cavalcade of America. Cavalcade is pleased to remind its audience that Miss Shirley Booth, tonight's star, is currently appearing in the Broadway hit Tomorrow the World. The orchestra and musical score this evening were under the direction of Donald Voorhees. This is Karl Frank sending best wishes from cavalcade sponsor the DuPont Company of Wilmington, Delaware. This is the National Broadcasting Company.