WELLES:

Good evening. This is Orson Welles. (MUSIC) Tonight we bring you another radio program for Lady Esther. Among those present are Lucille Ball, Marsha Hunt, Joe Cotten and Agnes Moorehead. We've got two items for you. I'll tell you about the second when we get to it; the first is one of the warmest and nicest love stories I ever found for radio. Ever since I read it four years ago, I've been wanting to do it for you. It's called "If In Years To Come". I hope you like it as much as I do. But first -- here's a word from Lady Esther.

LADY ESTHER:

There's an old saying you've heard many times: "Distant pastures look greener."

Yes, and face powder often looks better from a distance, too! Face Powder can be a sly cheat that loses all its flattery...as soon as eyes are close...

Here is an interesting experiment that will show you exactly what I mean: Just powder your face as usual...and then stand opposite your mirror, way on the other side of the room. From that distance your skin will look soft and smooth...your powder will probably look quite flattering.

But now walk slowly toward your mirror. Come closer...and closer...until your eyes are just a few inches away from your image. Now what do you see? Does your skin still look soft and smooth...or can you suddenly see big pores, tired lines, little blemishes?

Now -- if you want your skin to look just as smooth and young
in a close-up as it does from across the room -- use Lady Esther Face Powder. Women who have used it for years say it makes them feel so sure of themselves...even when a man's critical eyes are close.

Yes, you can count on Lady Esther Face Powder to make your skin look its youngest and loveliest at any distance! It won't turn traitor -- won't cake or streak the way ordinary face powders often do.

You see, Lady Esther Face Powder is an entirely different kind of powder -- because it's made differently. It's made by my exclusive Twin Hurricane method; and it's much softer, much finer, than powder usually is. It goes on a smoother way that brings a new kind of flattery to your skin.

So is it any wonder more lovely women now use Lady Esther Face Powder than any other kind!

(MUSIC)

 

WELLES:

And now, our first story, "If In Years To Come."

MUSIC:

OF THEME...DOWN AND FADE TO FINISH

JIMMY:

Do you remember, dear, those old days back in 1909 when we were eighteen? Do you remember the blonde-haired boy who saw you first on Radcliff Avenue? You were coming to High School with Margaret Blue. I was football captain and President of the Senior Class. I was with Buck Cooper and another fellow and when I saw you I stopped in my tracks and just stared.

BUCK:

Say, what's the matter with you, Jimmy?

JIMMY:

Who is she, Buck?

BUCK:

Her name's Ruth Randolph, a new girl in town. Her family just moved here from Philadelphia. They've got a lot of money and their ancestors came over in Noah's ark. What's eating you anyway?

JIMMY:

Nothing, Buck.

BUCK:

By the look on your face I'd say there was plenty eating you.

JIMMY:

You came, walking into the sunshine with Margaret Blue. And there was an aura around your head. There were specks of gold in your eyes as you glanced at me. That was all...one glance...but that was enough for me. I knew then that I loved you, would always love you. There would never be anyone else, and when you walked away from me, I wanted to reach out my arms to you and call you back.

(MUSIC)

 

Until I met you I hadn't thought much about being poor. But after that I thought about it a lot. Your father was quite a man of affairs, and my father was dead, and my mother did fancy sewing for the rich people in town. She did it proudly, with her head held high. But you didn't know that. All you knew was that I was a dressmaker's son. But just the same you took me into your crowd.

And then came the High School Dance at Browder's Hall. Leon Marvin had asked you to go with him, but you told him that you'd already promised to go with me, though I hadn't asked you yet. You knew that Leon sought only the privilege of loving and being kind to you. But he was just an awkward boy with a poet's heart, and I was Jimmy Fiske, football captain and a "big man" in school. I told my mother that night as we sat across the table in the shabby kitchen.

MOTHER:

You're very fond of Ruth Randolph, aren't you, Jimmy?

JIMMY:

She...she's my girl, Mother.

MOTHER:

The Randolphs are very rich, Jimmy.

JIMMY:

That doesn't make any difference to her. She's not like that.

MOTHER:

Of course not. I wasn't thinking of her...(PAUSE) I'm sorry you haven't a good blue suit to wear.

JIMMY:

The gray one I bought from Abe Grossman in the Main Street Emporium will be all right.

MOTHER:

I hope so, Jimmy.

JIMMY:

But it wasn't all right. I knew that as as soon as I got to the Randolph's house. You were still upstairs. When your little sister saw me take off my coat and stand resplendent in Abe Grossman's conception of a "tricky" suit, she whistled through the openings where two front teeth should have been.

ELIZABETH:

Whew! Don't we look sporty, though!

JIMMY:

And then you came down the stairs. You wore a new blue dress which was all frilly net around your shoulders. And your face was like a dark flower...and pink roses were in your cheeks. You held out your hand.

RUTH:

Hello, Jimmy.

JIMMY:

Hello, Ruth.

ELIZABETH:

Why don't you kiss her and get it over with?

JIMMY:

That would have been a sacrilege, though I'd kissed other girls in my time. But I was a man now, I was eighteen and I had discovered something rare and precious, to be cherished always. Your mother came down the stairs and I was painfully conscious, not so much of disapproval, as of tolerance.

MRS. RANDOLPH:

Good evening, James.

JIMMY:

(EMBARRASSED) Good evening, ma'am...

ELIZABETH:

(GIGGLES)

JIMMY:

The rest of the crowd came up the porch then and your mother greeted them. There was a difference in the way she said "Good evening" to them. They were of her own kind. I was an outsider. But at the dance I forgot all that. We were together...you and I.

MUSIC:

A PIANO AND A VIOLIN OFF MIKE

JIMMY:

We had dance cards in those days. There were twelve dances in all. I kept most of yours for myself and when I showed you the card, you flashed a look at me which made my heart skip a beat. I knew that everything was all right then.

Lydia Collins, an old maid, and Jake Moss, the town drunkard, played the music. And I never heard such sweet music as they played. It was beautiful. And do you remember the terrible thing I did to poor Miss Collins? We waltzed too near the piano and as I swung you around, my thumb -- which was held out stiffly as was the fashion in those days -- caught in Miss Collins' pompadour...and her rat fell to the floor.

MUSIC:

STOPS SUDDENLY

VOICES:

(OF SURPRISE AND SHARP SCREAM OF INDIGNATION AND EMBARRASSMENT)

JIMMY:

...And there was the thin gray hair which was her own streaming down all around her...

VOICES:

(BURSTS OF LAUGHTER)

LYDIA:

Young man...young man! You ought to look where you're dancing...

RUTH:

We're terribly sorry, Miss Collins...may I come in the dressing room with you...I'll help you rearrange it...

JIMMY:

You picked up her rat and followed her. And when you came back...she had unbent a little because she'd learned who you were and that, although you were only eighteen, you were old enough to be kind to a faded woman to whom youth was just a vague memory.

LYDIA:

You are very good, Miss Randolph...and as for you, young man, try not to be awkward next time.

JIMMY:

Yes, ma'am.

JIMMY:

That was one of the reasons I loved you so. You could be kind to people like Lydia Collins.

MUSIC:

STARTS TO PLAY "SOMEWHERE". A VOICE SINGING IT BEHIND NARRATION

JIMMY:

And then they played our waltz again...[and someone sang it]...and I held you in my arms...and your lips were very near and the High School pennants on the wall became flaming banners of glory...and the chattering voices were the echoes of trumpets from a far distance and your hair was a garden of roses --

MUSIC:

TO A FINISH

JIMMY:

We didn't know exactly when the music stopped. The rest of the dancers had returned to their seats but we were still hearing the music of the stars and I said to you..."That will always be our song."

RUTH:

That will always be our song, Jimmy.

MUSIC:

SNEAKS IN

JIMMY:

And we went over to Red Hotchkiss who did not know the world had just stood still.

MUSIC:

UP AND DOWN AND OUT

SOUND:

CLANGING OF OLD-FASHIONED TROLLEY BELL...RUMBLE OF TROLLEY...[MEN'S VOICES SINGING VERY BADLY "IN THE SHADE OF THE OLD APPLE TREE"]

JIMMY:

And then do you remember, dear? The night we went to Pointer's Beach? (BELL) We sat together in the bumping trolley, holding hands. (SONG STARTS) Out on the platform some of the fellows sang the old songs. It was the first time you'd ever been to Pointer's Beach. It was a sort of slumming party. Nobody in your crowd ever went there ordinarily. [It was a poor man's beach; tired women with drawn faces, lots of children with expectant eyes and eager young girls and jaunty men]...and while I held your hand your friends talked of their plans for the summer. You were going up to Maine with your family and they were going to visit you. I hadn't been invited but we never mentioned that...you only held my hand a little tighter when the others talked about the fun you were all going to have together.

SOUND:

TROLLEY STOPS...VOICES OF SINGERS STOP...ON BELL CUE CONDUCTOR

CONDUCTOR:

(OFF MIKE) All out...Pointer's Beach...

SOUND:

GENERAL CONFUSION

MUSIC:

OF HURDY GURDY OFF MIKE

FIRST BARKER:

Fifteen shots for a quarter. Try your skill -- Rifles for the ladies.

SECOND BARKER:

(OFF MIKE) Only ten cents, fellows...take your girl up on the Ferris Wheel...only ten cents...(CALLIOPE) a few seats left for this ride...Step right up, gentlemen...

JIMMY:

It was your last night. We didn't want to share it with the others. When they went into the pavilion to dance...

MUSIC:

DANCE MUSIC OFF MIKE. HOLD UNDER

JIMMY:

...We walked on down the pier...and looked out over the water.

SOUND:

WATER LAPPING AGAINST BEACH

JIMMY:

This time tomorrow night you'll be on your way to Maine.

RUTH:

You know I don't want to go, Jimmie. I'd rather stay here with you.

JIMMY:

I've got a job. I start next week. It isn't much...there's a chance to work. And I'll make good, Ruth. I've got to make good. You know why!

RUTH:

You'll make good. I know that, Jimmy.

JIMMY:

I want you to meet my mother some time.

RUTH:

I...I want to, Jimmy. Jimmy...you'll write me?

JIMMY:

You know I will.

RUTH:

Every day?

JIMMY:

Every day...and all the rest of the day I'll be thinking of you...and the night time I'll be dreaming of you...

RUTH:

I...I wish I could ask you to Maine...but of course, now with your job and all...

JIMMY:

I understand, Ruth. I don't blame your mother...

RUTH:

Jimmy...I want you to come with me to the Sophomore Hop next year. This is an invitation. Will you come?

JIMMY:

Yes...

MUSIC:

SEGUES TO "SOMEWHERE"...SOMEONE SINGING...THIS IS OPTIONAL

RUTH:

Listen, Jimmy...they're playing our song...

JIMMY:

Yes...our song...Ruth...!

RUTH:

I...I'll miss you so, Jimmy dear. (LONG PAUSE) I'll always remember tonight. -- Always.

MUSIC:

OF "SOMEWHERE" UP AND OUT

JIMMY:

Many things have happened since that star-lit night. The town has changed...queer trolleys no longer run at half-hour intervals to Pointer's Beach, the green lawns on Franklin Avenue are marred now with gravel driveways and ugly garages. Horns honk in the darkness and racing engines shatter the quiet of the night. They wouldn't understand, these modern young men, that when you said "my dear" on the pier at Pointer's Beach, you had given me all that was needed to make bearable the ache of your absence.

(MUSIC FINISHES)

 

JIMMY:

The summer went by somehow. We wrote to each other every day, and then you wrote that your mother said we shouldn't write so often.

After that, I wrote every day just as before, but I only mailed two letters a week. And then you wrote you weren't coming back to town, but going directly to college from Maine. So, I had only the Sophomore Hop to look forward to. And the day finally came, and I talked the problem over with Mother.

MOTHER:

You'll need dress clothes, son.

JIMMY:

A tuxedo will do. And I can rent that from Abe Grossman.

MOTHER:

But the shirts...and tie?

JIMMY:

Mr. Grossman has promised me I can pay for the shirt in installments, and he'll lend me a tie. It'll only be two dollars and fifty cents altogether, plus train fare and money for a room up there. Maybe I can get a place for fifty cents...

MOTHER:

I...I wish I could manage better for you, Jimmy.

JIMMY:

You've done everything you could, Mother. More than you should. I'll make out all right.

SOUND:

TRAIN...AND WHISTLE...HOLD UNDER

JIMMY:

I didn't make out all right. I didn't make out at all. Everything was wrong from the very beginning. In the first place, I had to take a coach on the train. I couldn't afford a Pullman. And when I got to the station...all the other fellows were getting out of the Pullmans at the other end, and I was way down the track by the coaches...finally I saw you. You'd about given me up. Of course, if I'd been smart...not just a small-town boy, I'd have gone back through the train and gotten off one of the Pullmans with the other fellows...but I didn't know that, so I just blundered up...everybody looking on...and wondering...

RUTH:

Jimmy..! Oh, I thought perhaps you had missed the train.

JIMMY:

I...I'm sorry, Ruth.

RUTH:

This is my roommate, Mildred Dean..and Mr. Fisher..Mr. Fiske.

MILDRED:

How...how do you do?

FISHER:

What's your college, Fiske?

JIMMY:

I....I'm working now.

FISHER:

Oh...Well, shall we get a cab?

RUTH:

You and Mildred go on. Jimmy and I will come on later.

SOUND:

HORSES' HOOFS AND CAB WHEELS DRIVING OFF....HOLD UNDER

JIMMY:

You and I took another cab. It smelled of old leather and stale tobacco.

RUTH:

It's good to see you, Jimmy.

JIMMY:

I'm sorry about that day coach.

RUTH:

As if that mattered....

JIMMY:

I..I'd like very much to kiss you.

RUTH:

Just this once.

SOUND:

HORSES' HOOFS UP SLIGHTLY. DOWN AND OUT

JIMMY:

At the hotel I asked the clerk how much the cheapest room was and when he told me three dollars I told him I'd be back. And I walked around till I saw a sign "Rooms for Rent"...and I went in.

LANDLADY:

Yes? What do you want?

JIMMY:

I'd like a room to dress in. I won't need it after eight o'clock. How much will that be?

LANDLADY:

Fifty cents. And you can have use of the bathroom if you don't take too long.

JIMMY:

I took it. And dressed. I couldn't tie my tie and I went downstairs and the landlady tied it. I had my other things in my grip and I checked them at the station and walked toward the campus where your sorority house was...

VOICES:

(OF CROWD)

RUTH:

This is Mr. Fiske...

VOICES:

(MURMURING) "How do you do" ..."Nice to meet you"...et cetera...

FISHER:

Hello, Fiske. Didn't see you at the hotel. What room have you?

JIMMY:

306...

FISHER:

Yes? That's odd. Fred and I are sharing 307. Funny we didn't run into you.

JIMMY:

I don't remember exactly what my number is. Maybe I'm wrong.

RUTH:

(COMING IN) Jimmy...the others are taking cabs, but I'd rather walk if you don't mind. It isn't far.

JIMMY:

I....I'd like that.

RUTH:

Goodbye everybody...see you at the dance...

VOICES:

CHORUSING GOODBYE

(PAUSE)

 

SOUND:

FOOTSTEPS ON PAVEMENT

RUTH:

Jimmy...I want you to have a good time..You are having a good time...aren't you, Jimmy?

JIMMY:

Yes...only...

RUTH:

Only what, Jimmy?

JIMMY:

Only...I see that all the other girls are wearing flowers. I...I never thought about bringing you any. I....I'm sorry.

RUTH:

The flowers don't matter. Nothing matters now..only that you're here.

(MUSIC)

 

JIMMY:

Oh, darling...(PAUSE)

MUSIC:

OF DANCE ORCHESTRA UP

SOUND:

CONFUSION AND VOICES OF BIG PARTY.....IN BACKGROUND

JIMMY:

I like to think, dear, that I carried on through the evening. I tried as best I could to talk to your friends in their language. And if I failed it was not for lack of trying. Most of the girls and the fellows, too, asked me what my college was and what fraternity I belonged to. I didn't know how to answer..just tried to kid them. "Eta Bita Pie" I said my fraternity was. "We eat pie every night before we go to bed," I said. It didn't go over very well. And the tuxedo I'd rented got baggy at the knees and the left shoulder developed a marvelous sag and my dress shirt bulged. I wanted to tell you goodbye at the dance, but you said no, you were going to the station with me and asked Bill Fisher to come down and get you at two-thirty after the train left.

MUSIC:

OUT

SOUND:

HORSES' HOOFS....UP AND HOLD

RUTH:

We'd better stop at the hotel first and pick up your bag, Jimmy.

JIMMY:

(BLURTING OUT THE WHOLE TRUTH) It's no use, Ruth. I can't lie to you. I didn't stay at the hotel. I rented a room somewhere for fifty cents. And the suit I'm wearing is rented and..it's the first I've ever worn and the landlady had to tie my tie for me...my suitcase is checked at the station and I .... well, it was just a mistake my coming here at all. I....I just don't belong. That's all there is to it.

RUTH:

Oh, Jimmy, I did so want you to have a good time. And you didn't have a good time, did you?

JIMMY:

No.

SOUND:

TRAIN WHISTLE OFF MIKE. CAB COMES TO STOP...CONFUSION OF STATION

JIMMY:

There was a mist of tears in your eyes. You were seeing me for the first time for what I was, I thought. The glamour of Jimmy Fiske was gone. And all you saw now was a small-town boy in an ill-fitting suit who had ridden to the Sophomore Hop in a day coach and who had forgotten to send you flowers.

SOUND:

TRAIN CHUGGING INTO STATION

RUTH:

Here's the train now. It's time to say goodbye.

JIMMY:

Goodbye, Ruth....darling, if in years to come you should think of me once in awhile, remember that I love you very much....

RUTH:

(SOBBING) Oh, Jim...don't...don't...say that!

JIMMY:

I thought you meant that I should not say I loved you, but I opened my arms, for this was our last minute together...and you came into them, your silver embroidered coat against my worn brown one. (BOARD!) I kissed you and you smiled up at me through your tears....

RUTH:

Goodbye, dear. Goodbye....

SOUND:

TRAIN WHISTLE

JIMMY:

Goodbye...

MUSIC:

UP AND DOWN AND OUT

JIMMY:

I wrote you a letter...my pride was hurt and because I was young, there was only an aching void where my heart had been, and I wrote things I should never have written. You didn't answer; I know now that you could never have answered that letter. In February my firm sent me to Chicago. We were expanding and all the talk about sending music through the air was becoming a reality. Our firm had a great future because we were in on the ground floor. And finally my mother laid away her thimble for the last time and we shook the dust of the town from our feet. Do you remember, dear? But most of all do you remember the day...a few years later when we met by accident on Barret Street in front of a delicatessen store...there were still the same pink roses in your cheeks and the gold specks in your eyes....

SOUND:

STREET NOISES

RUTH:

Jimmy!

JIMMY:

Ruth...Ruth...Oh..."If in years to come...?" Do you remember?

RUTH:

I do -- I do remember, dear...I love you, dear. I love you very, very much indeed.

JIMMY:

That was twenty-six years ago...the anniversary of our marriage...and you are worried now, dear, as your mother was once worried over you...about Betty-Lou. She is eighteen, and she thinks she's in love with Bill McKim. But she is your daughter, our daughter, and there are specks of gold in her eyes, too. I'm asking you to let Bill have his chance. Decide about him after you read this clumsy attempt to recreate our own romance. It is my anniversary present to you. Perhaps we can ask Bill McKim to our dinner at the Country Club. Bill will probably be ill at ease. He will probably wear rented evening clothes and a bulging shirt. He won't know the right things to say. But a long time ago you invited a poor boy to a Sophomore Hop. Do you remember?

(MUSIC)

 

WELLES:

That was a story by Earle Reed Silvers called "If In Years To Come". Marsha Hunt played Ruth, Agnes Moorehead was Jimmy's mother, and Jimmy himself was your obedient servant. In just a minute, we bring you Lucille Ball, but right now, here's a word from Lady Esther.

LADY ESTHER:

Do you like riddles? Well, here's one that's simple to figure out! When is your powder puff an enemy instead of a friend? And here's the answer: When you use it to re-powder your face! When you use it to put powder on top of powder!

Because, you see, putting powder on powder makes your skin look dry, caked and streaky. And that's why it's so important to use a face powder that really clings.

Now, women who use Lady Esther Face Powder say it clings so long and so well, they don't need to re-powder even once during a whole evening. So they don't need to worry about caked powder or streaky skin.

I know you, too, will be thrilled when you see how Lady Esther Face Powder stays with you hour after hour -- and how that smooth, lovely, "freshly-powdered" look stays with you as well!

(MUSIC)

 

WELLES:

October thirteenth, 1941. Tomorrow is the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. On that day, William the Conqueror successfully carried off his invasion of England, a feat that hasn't been repeated since. He was the last man to come ashore, and as he stepped out of his boat he fell flat on his face. Everybody thought this was a bad omen, but I guess it wasn't.

Noah Webster, who wrote Webster's dictionary, was born a hundred and eighty-three years ago this week. They tell a story about Webster, Webster's secretary, Webster's wife...and Webster's own great feeling for words. We like the story so much, we are going to give it a little production. The Scene -- Noah Webster's library. Noah, played by lucky Joe Cotten, is seated on his favorite chair and his secretary, played by Lucille Ball, is seated on Noah. There is a knock at the door.

SOUND:

KNOCK

WELLES:

The door opens.

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS

WELLES:

And there stands Mrs. Webster, played by Marsha Hunt.

MRS. WEBSTER:

Well, Noah! I'm surprised!

WEBSTER:

My dear, your use of the English language is miserably inaccurate. You are shocked. I am surprised.

(MUSIC)

 

WELLES:

Thank you, Miss Hunt. Thank you, Miss Ball. Thank you, Mr. Cotten.

(MUSIC)

 

WELLES:

Thank you, Mr. Herrmann -- Bernard Herrmann, who composes and conducts the music for this program.

Now we come to our second item. Two ladies are responsible for this; the Misses Parker and Ball. Parker -- Dorothy Parker has yet to be universally bracketed as a major poetess. I don't know why -- I don't know precisely what makes major poetry -- big themes, I guess. Of this, I am perfectly certain, however -- Nobody's themes were ever more interesting than Dorothy Parker's and surely no singer of songs has presented us with sweeter sour grapes. Also, I do think we're most fortunate tonight in our choice of artiste for the declamation of same. -- We proudly present Lucille Ball in a tiny garland of poetry by Dorothy Parker.

(MUSIC)

 

BALL:
(INVENTORY)
Four be the things I am wiser to know:
Idleness, sorrow, a friend and a foe.
Four be the things I'd been better without:
Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt.
Three be the things I shall never attain:
Envy, content, and sufficient champagne.
Three be the things I shall have till I die:
Laughter and hope and a sock in the eye.

(MUSIC)

 

(RESUMÉ)
Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

(MUSIC)

 

(THE CHOICE)
He'd have given me rolling lands,
Houses of marble, and billowing farms,
Pearls, to trickle between my hands,
Smoldering rubies to circle my arms.
You -- you'd only a lilting song,
Only a melody, happy and high,
You were sudden and swift and strong, --
Never a thought for another had I.
He'd have given me laces rare,
Dresses that glimmered with frosty sheen,
Shining ribbons to wrap in my hair,
Horses to draw me, as fine as a queen.
You -- you'd only to whistle low,
Gaily I followed wherever you led.
I took you, and I let him go, --
Somebody ought to examine my head!

(MUSIC)

 

(PICTURES IN THE SMOKE)
Oh, gallant was the first love, and glittering and fine;
The second love was water, in a clear white cup;
The third love was his, and the fourth was mine;
And after that, I always get them all mixed up.

(MUSIC)

 

WELLES:

Thanks, Lucille. Well, it looks like our time's just about up. Next week we bring you Anne Baxter, Tim Holt, Ray Collins, Robert Warwick and the Mercury's prodigal son, Everett Sloane. We've got a couple of stories we think you'll like. -- And by the way, please write us what stories you do like -- I mean, the stories you would like us to do. This is your show and we want you to enjoy it. -- Please remember that Lady Esther and all of us in the Mercury Theatre remain - always - obediently yours...

(MUSIC)

 

ANNOUNCER:

This is the COLUMBIA...BROADCASTING SYSTEM.