MFX:

FANFARE

ANNOUNCER:

From Hollywood, California, the Lux Radio Theatre presents Janet Gaynor and George Brent in "Mrs. Moonlight"!

MFX:

THEME ... CONTINUES IN BG

ANNOUNCER:

Lux presents Hollywood. The Lux Radio Theatre comes to you with the good wishes of the makers of Lux Flakes. It's made possible because you buy Lux Flakes so regularly. This year, more than ever, you need Lux because it's a Lux-able year. Stores are full of the new cottons, smart and crisp as iceberg lettuce -- Rayons and silks in many new textures. They'll all stay new-looking longer with Lux. Give them the safe care you give your underthings and stockings. Just one "washing failure" may wreck a clothes budget, you know. Let me put it this way. It pays, in dollars, and it costs only a few cents to use Lux for everything safe in water. Remember, a little goes so far. Lux is thrifty.

It's a different type of play we bring you tonight -- a most unusual romance of a girl who wished she might never grow old, and whose wish came true. Janet Gaynor and George Brent are the stars of "Mrs. Moonlight," Louis Silvers directs our orchestra, and Dr. Walter B. Pitkin, author of the famous bestseller "Life Begins at Forty," is our special guest. And now the producer of the Lux Radio Theatre. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Cecil B. DeMille.

MFX:

THEME ... UP AND OUT

SFX:

APPLAUSE

DEMILLE:

Greetings from Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen. I want to join with Melville Ruick in thanking you for your loyal support. You who listen to this program are partners in the Lux Radio Theatre. It's for your pleasure that we produce these plays. It's your preference that helps select them, and your purchases of Lux that make this theatre possible. Traveling across the country in connection with the opening of "Union Pacific," I met a woman who asked me what she could do to express her thanks for the pleasant evenings that this theatre had brought her. I told her the best way to show her appreciation was to buy the products behind the Lux Radio Theatre -- Lux Toilet Soap and Lux Flakes. Those women in our audience who are not already using these splendid products -- and I - I assume there are only a few -- will thank me for suggesting their use. And we thank each and every one of you for your loyalty, which makes this theatre possible.

Some four hundred years ago, in a newfound land called Florida, a Spanish explorer, Ponce de Leon, gave up his life on the altar of an age-old quest, the secret of eternal youth. And I doubt if there's anyone in our audience tonight who at some time or other hasn't wondered if there really was some fountain of everlasting youth. This idea has captured man's hope and imagination again and again. Tonight's play, "Mrs. Moonlight," is the drama of a woman who finds that secret -- a woman who never grows old. But what results from this, the events of our play will tell you -- a play starring Janet Gaynor and George Brent who, in real life, found the end of their quests here in Hollywood.

Miss Gaynor is one of that select company of stars who were once Hollywood extras, an achievement not often duplicated, for the odds against the extra are ten thousand to one, unless that extra has the talent and determination of a Janet Gaynor. When an Irishman arrives in Hollywood, he can't come with a better background than the University of Dublin and that city's famous Abbey Theatre. George Brent, like the romantic ideal of his countrymen, has followed a quest of adventure as a sailor, diamond miner, stoker, blacksmith, sheep herder and vagabond -- a trail that led eventually to Hollywood. He appears through the courtesy of Warner Brothers Studio and is currently starring in "The Rains Came" for Twentieth Century-Fox. Tonight, he plays Tom Moonlight and Janet Gaynor is Sarah, as the Lux Radio Theatre presents our adaptation of a great Broadway success, "Mrs. Moonlight."

MFX:

FOR AN INTRO ... THEN IN BG

DEMILLE:

Midsummer night in England. The year is 1881, almost sixty years ago. In a tiny garden facing on the moors, a lovely young girl stands in a dress of shimmering white. Her face is lifted toward the full, round moon, and her eyes are bright and shining, for tomorrow's her wedding day. But a dark cloud steals across the moon's face and from the west comes the deep rumble of thunder.

SFX:

THUNDER

DEMILLE:

The girl turns, hearing a step in the shadows behind her.

SARAH:

Edith? Edith, is that you?

EDITH:

Yes. Whatever are you doing out here at this time of night, Sarah?

SARAH:

Looking at the moon -- and thinking how happy I am.

SFX:

THUNDER

MFX:

OUT

EDITH:

Ooh, it's going to rain.

SARAH:

Only a summer shower.

EDITH:

I don't like it. There's a queer feeling in the air tonight.

SARAH:

Have you felt it, too?

EDITH:

It'll be too bad if it rains tomorrow.

SARAH:

Oh, it won't. It couldn't.

EDITH:

You mustn't tempt Providence, Sarah.

SARAH:

(LAUGHS GENTLY) I'm not afraid of Providence. I'm not afraid of anything tonight. I'm going to marry Tom Moonlight. And, tomorrow, I'll be Sarah Moonlight. Isn't it the most beautiful name?

EDITH:

(UNCONVINCING) Hm. Very beautiful.

SARAH:

Edith? You like Tom, don't you?

EDITH:

Whatever made you think I didn't?

SARAH:

Oh, nothing. Only, sometimes when I speak of him, you seem--

EDITH:

Oh, nonsense. It's your imagination.

SFX:

THUNDER

EDITH:

You'd better come in now.

SARAH:

In a little while. Tom's stopping by to say "good night." But don't you wait up. My maid of honor must look her best tomorrow, too.

EDITH:

My best is only a candle beside you. No one will even notice me.

SARAH:

(MODEST) Edith!

EDITH:

"There's Edith Jones, the bride's cousin! What a pity she didn't inherit the family looks."

SARAH:

Edith? What is it? Aren't you happy for me?

EDITH:

Oh, you know I am, but-- Perhaps I'm a little sad, too.

SFX:

THUNDER

EDITH:

Well, I'm going in. I don't like storms. (MOVING OFF) Good night, Sarah.

SARAH:

Good night.

SFX:

THUNDER

MINNIE:

Sarah? Sarah?

SARAH:

Yes, Minnie? What is it?

MINNIE:

I have a little something for ye, Miss Sarah. Your wedding present.

SARAH:

Oh, Minnie, how sweet! (WARM CHUCKLE) You do love me, don't you?

MINNIE:

I've waited on ye since you were three. People grow close with time, I suppose.

SARAH:

(LAUGHS)

MINNIE:

Well, aren't ye going to open it?

SARAH:

My present? But I thought tomorrow--?

MINNIE:

Open it now. It's more fitting somehow.

SARAH:

Why?

MINNIE:

Well -- it's a strange gift, child. It's called "The Dreird."

SARAH:

The Dreird? Why, I'm sure it must be something very wonderful -- and very Scotch.

MINNIE:

It's been in my family for hundreds of years. Nobody knows where it came from first. But it's for you.

SARAH:

(INHALES SHARPLY) A necklace! Oh, Minnie, how lovely. But why is it called "The Dreird"?

MINNIE:

I don't rightly know. But there's said to be magic in it.

SARAH:

Magic?

MINNIE:

Aye. There's a legend. It said that there's one wish granted to every owner. One wish that will come true.

SARAH:

One wish.

MINNIE:

Sometime, ye may want something badly, Miss Sarah. With all yer heart. It may be that you'll use it then.

EDITH:

(OFF) Sarah?

SARAH:

Yes, Edith?

EDITH:

(OFF) Your Tom Moonlight is here.

SARAH:

(PLEASED) Tom!

TOM:

(FADES IN) I got away as soon as I could, darling.

SARAH:

Oh, I knew you would. Look! I've had a present already. From Minnie.

TOM:

A necklace? Why, that's beautiful, Minnie.

SARAH:

And there's a legend, Tom--

MINNIE:

(QUICKLY) It's not to be talked about.

SARAH:

Oh.

MINNIE:

You must git to bed now, Sarah. It's growing late.

TOM:

I won't keep her five minutes.

MINNIE:

Five minutes, then. (MOVING OFF) Or I'll come git her myself.

MFX:

ROMANTIC, IN BG

SARAH:

(LOVINGLY) Oh, Tom. (SAVORS THE SOUND OF HIS NAME) "Tom Moonlight" -- you know I'm very happy?

TOM:

(JUST AS LOVINGLY) My darling.

SARAH:

So happy it frightens me.

TOM:

(LAUGHS)

SARAH:

Fasten my necklace. I want to wear it.

TOM:

So you'll be even more beautiful? There.

SFX:

THUNDER, LOUDER THAN BEFORE

TOM:

Well, that was close, wasn't it?

SARAH:

How still it is after. How unearthly it feels.

TOM:

Perhaps the gods are standing gaping, surprised that any mortal could be so lovely.

SARAH:

Tom, we must always be as happy as we are now. Nothing must ever change.

TOM:

It never will.

SARAH:

Oh, if I could only be sure.

TOM:

You can. Our love will never change.

SARAH:

But we'll change. We'll grow old, Tom. You won't like me to look old.

TOM:

I'll always see you just as you are now, Sarah. Just as I married you.

SARAH:

As I am now. There, you see?

TOM:

What?

SARAH:

Oh, Tom. If you ever stopped loving me, I should die.

TOM:

Stop loving you? When I die, Sarah -- and not even then. Our love is forever.

SARAH:

Oh, it must be, it must be. It's late. Kiss me good night.

TOM:

The last time I shall ever have to leave you.

SARAH:

The last time. Good night, my darling.

TOM:

(WHISPERS) Good night.

SFX:

TOM'S FOOTSTEPS AWAY ... THUNDER

MFX:

CHANGES FROM ROMANTIC TO INTENSE

SARAH:

(SLOW, A FERVENT PRAYER) One wish. One wish to every owner. Oh, Dreird, this is my prayer -- that I shall never change, that I shall never grow older. Oh, let me look -- always -- just as I do tonight. It's my youth he loves. Don't let me lose it. Let me keep it always -- for him.

MFX:

OUT WITH--

SFX:

HUGE OMINOUS THUNDERCLAP ... FOR PUNCTUATION

MFX:

BRIEF BRIDGE ... THEN OUT

SFX:

DUSTING FURNITURE

MINNIE:

(HUMS)

TOM:

(NINE YEARS OLDER) Minnie, do you have to do that dusting right under my nose?

MINNIE:

If Mrs. Moonlight's cousin's coming, I can't have her see dirt.

TOM:

Then why didn't you do it this morning?

MINNIE:

I was busy elsewhere this morning.

TOM:

Well, if you've finished, then run along. (NO ANSWER) Well, don't stand there watching me. After nine years, surely I'm nothing to stare at.

MINNIE:

I was just thinking that a Scotsman wouldn't fergit his wedding anniversary.

TOM:

I did not forget it. Mrs. Moonlight's gift is being delivered any minute. And why aren't you looking after my daughter, as you're supposed to do?

MINNIE:

D'ye mean Jane?

TOM:

(ANNOYED) Well, who in the world do you suppose I mean?

MINNIE:

She's with her lovely parent, she is.

TOM:

Do you mean Mrs. Moonlight?

MINNIE:

(MIMICS HIM, SHARPLY) Who do you suppose I mean?

TOM:

Ahhh, Minnie, you're a disagreeable old woman. I've been thinking seriously of giving you notice.

MINNIE:

Ah, away with ya! Consider yourself lucky to be living in the same house with us.

TOM:

With us?

MINNIE:

With Sarah Moonlight and me and wee Jane.

SFX:

DOORBELL RINGS

TOM:

Oh! Creature, answer the bell.

MINNIE:

Ha! It's your poor wee giftie, I expect.

TOM:

And it isn't "poor" and it isn't "wee."

SFX:

DOOR OPENS, OFF

EDITH:

(OFF) Good afternoon, Minnie.

MINNIE:

(TO TOM) It's Mrs. Moonlight's cousin.

SFX:

DOOR SHUTS, OFF

EDITH:

Good afternoon, Thomas.

TOM:

How are you, Edith?

EDITH:

Nicely, thank you. Where's Sarah?

TOM:

She's with Jane. Oh, Minnie, will you please inform Mrs. Moonlight that her cousin is here to go to the band concert with us?

SARAH:

(FADES IN) She doesn't have to. How are you, Edith dear?

EDITH:

Many happy returns of the day, Sarah. Here's my present.

SARAH:

Oh, how nice. What is it?

EDITH:

Mm, I'm afraid you won't like it.

SARAH:

I'm sure I will.

SFX:

GIFT UNWRAPPED

SARAH:

(DISAPPOINTED) Oh, a shawl. (RECOVERS, UNCONVINCINGLY) I mean, but - but what a lovely one.

EDITH:

Yes. I knew you wouldn't like it.

SARAH:

Oh, but I do, Edith.

EDITH:

No, you don't like it. Because you think shawls are only for old people.

SARAH:

Oh, how absurd.

EDITH:

You think too much of your age. Both of you.

SARAH:

Do you think I do, Edith?

EDITH:

Well, since you ask me -- yes. You dress too young. Several people have mentioned it.

TOM:

Well, they're just envious. Sarah doesn't dress young, she looks young.

EDITH:

Well, put it any way you like. But tell me this. Does Sarah look a day older today than she did at twenty-one or twenty? Or even nineteen?

TOM:

Well -- no. But is that a crime?

EDITH:

Well, I didn't say so.

SARAH:

Do you think so?

EDITH:

Well, I don't think it's a crime, but-- But it is odd.

SARAH:

What do you mean by "odd"?

EDITH:

Just -- odd.

SARAH:

I see.

TOM:

Oh, please, please, Edith, let's - let's forget it.

EDITH:

Oh, of course. It was Sarah who asked me.

SARAH:

(CHANGING THE SUBJECT) Oh, look, Edith. I got a letter last night, from Maud.

EDITH:

From your sister Maud? What does she want?

SARAH:

She wants to tell me she's just had a baby.

EDITH:

Now, why does she think you'd care? She gave up her family when she ran off with that good-for-nothing foreigner.

SFX:

DOORBELL RINGS, OFF

TOM:

(CALLS) Answer that, Minnie! (TO SARAH) Is it a boy or a girl, Sarah?

SARAH:

A girl. They've named her Joy.

EDITH:

Ironically, I presume. Do they still live in Florence?

SARAH:

Of course. His work is there. He's an artist.

EDITH:

Hmmph!

MINNIE:

Here it is.

SARAH:

Here what is? Where did you get that box, Minnie?

TOM:

It's a little present from me, my dear.

SARAH:

(DELIGHTED) Oh, Tom! What is it?

TOM:

Well, open it up and see.

SFX:

BOX UNWRAPPED

SARAH:

A dress! Oh, and it's beautiful! It's the most beautiful dress in the world!

TOM:

(PLEASED, LAUGHS)

SARAH:

Edith, isn't it lovely?

EDITH:

It's a very pretty frock.

SARAH:

Oh, I'll be a queen in it!

MINNIE:

What trinkets will ye wear?

SARAH:

Yes, what jewelry? My crystals, Tom?

EDITH:

It wants something with a touch of blue.

SARAH:

I don't think I have anything blue.

TOM:

Yes, you have, dear. You know, the whatchamacallit. The - the Dreird.

SARAH:

(INTENSELY) No!

TOM:

(TAKEN ABACK) Why, Sarah--

EDITH:

What is the Dreird?

TOM:

Oh, it's a necklace made of turquoise. Minnie gave it to her for a wedding present.

EDITH:

Then why not wear it, Sarah?

SARAH:

No.

TOM:

But you used to like it, when we were first married.

MINNIE:

(DEFENDING SARAH) She doesn't like it now. Can't ye let the bairn alone?

SARAH:

(CHANGING THE SUBJECT) We - we'd better be leaving. (MOVES OFF) I'll get my things.

EDITH:

What's the matter with her today? I don't understand her.

TOM:

She was perfectly all right until--

EDITH:

Until what?

TOM:

Oh, nothing. Only I wish you wouldn't talk about her looks, Edith. It always disturbs her.

EDITH:

And, well it might. She ought to do something about it.

TOM:

Do? What can she do? She looks young, that's all.

EDITH:

Well, all I can say is, it's very strange.

MFX:

BRIEF UNEASY BRIDGE

TOM:

(FADES IN) ... seemed very disappointed this afternoon but, the shawl-- Well, even Edith might have known better.

SARAH:

Tom?

TOM:

What is it, dear?

SARAH:

I've been meaning to tell you. You must be very, very nice to Edith.

TOM:

Well, I am. Why?

SARAH:

You see, she's-- Edith's in love with you.

TOM:

Ahhhh, don't be silly.

SARAH:

It's true. She always has been. That's why she seems - bitter at times.

TOM:

Well, I don't believe it. She probably respects me but I don't think any more than most other women.

SARAH:

Hm, yes, I suppose they're all in love with you. Except me.

TOM:

You? Why, you adore me, Mrs. Moonlight.

SARAH:

I don't.

TOM:

I love you.

SARAH:

Dear, dear Mr. Moonlight.

TOM:

As much as ever.

SARAH:

And after nine long years?

TOM:

As much as the first time.

SARAH:

Do you remember the first time?

TOM:

Remember? Hm. You were playing the piano.

SARAH:

I was playing this.

MFX:

SARAH PLAYS PIANO ... FOR A MOMENT, THEN IN BG

TOM:

May I sit beside you, Mrs. Moonlight?

MFX:

PIANO ... FOR A MOMENT, THEN ABRUPTLY OUT

SARAH:

No. (GIGGLES) Tom, don't.

TOM:

But I must kiss you. I can't help myself.

SARAH:

Mr. Moonlight! What a way for old married people to behave.

TOM:

Old married people! Why, go over and look at that old married lady in the mirror.

SARAH:

(DEFENSIVE) I look my years, Tom.

TOM:

You don't, of course.

SARAH:

Oh, Tom!

TOM:

And it's my belief that you never will.

SARAH:

(UNNERVED) Oh, please don't say that!

TOM:

Oh, Sarah, you've got to get over that silly fancy.

SARAH:

Oh, I can't. I'm frightened.

TOM:

Frightened?

SARAH:

Supposing-- Tom. Supposing someone should be born who never really did grow any older. What would happen?

TOM:

(AMUSED) Well, she'd probably make a fortune in a freak show.

SARAH:

Oh, please be serious.

TOM:

Oh, how can I be serious about such nonsense?

SARAH:

But -- just supposing -- what do you think would happen?

TOM:

Well, in olden times, she'd probably have been burned as a witch.

SARAH:

And nowadays?

TOM:

Nowadays, we have other ways of dealing with witches. Less crude perhaps, but just as nasty. (PAUSE, SURPRISED) Why, Sarah, you're trembling.

SARAH:

Tom. Once, I prayed, above all things, that I should never grow older, look older. I thought you'd stop loving me if I did. Now I think you'll stop if I don't!

TOM:

(REASSURING) But you will, darling. Of course you'll look older in time.

SARAH:

You'd rather I did?

TOM:

Well, yes, I think I would. But there's quite enough that's miraculous about my wife without that.

SARAH:

Oh, it sounds foolish when I talk about it to you. But not when I'm alone. Sometimes I feel I'm going mad and can't stand it any longer. You see, it's growing stronger, not weaker, every year for years -- ever since we've been married!

TOM:

Sarah!

MFX:

SAD ... SNEAKS IN GENTLY, CONTINUES IN BG

SARAH:

Darling, oh, do you think I'm just fanciful?

TOM:

That's all.

SARAH:

And you'll always believe -- whatever happens -- that I love you, won't you?

TOM:

Yes, dear. But nothing can happen. (LIGHTLY) In fact, I promise you that in the morning you'll look a hundred and two. Now, come, darling, I think it's time you went to bed.

SARAH:

In a little while. I'm not at all sleepy.

TOM:

You'll come up soon?

SARAH:

Yes, soon.

TOM:

Then kiss me good night.

SARAH:

Good night -- my darling. And remember -- I love you, Mr. Moonlight, very, very much.

MFX:

OUT GENTLY WITH A FLOURISH

SFX:

TRANSITIONAL PAUSE ... CLOCK TOLLS THE HOUR ... DOOR OPENS QUIETLY ... SLOW FOOTSTEPS ON WOODEN FLOOR

MFX:

POIGNANT ... SNEAKS IN GENTLY, CONTINUES IN BG

MINNIE:

(OFF) Who's there? Who is it?

SARAH:

It's I, Minnie.

MINNIE:

(CLOSER) What are you doing with those bags? Where are ye going at this time of night?

SARAH:

Minnie. Minnie, I'm never going to look any older.

MINNIE:

What fools' talk is this?

SARAH:

Your necklace. The Dreird. And the legend.

MINNIE:

I know of no legend.

SARAH:

I wished, Minnie. It was the night before I was married. I wished that I might never look any older. That legend, Minnie -- it was true.

MINNIE:

No.

SARAH:

Can you look at me now and say that?

MINNIE:

(SYMPATHETIC) Oh, Miss Sarah.

SARAH:

I suppose it was wicked of me to wish. Vain and unnatural. Now, I'm a kind of - freak. A witch. "We have new methods of burning witches." We burn their dear ones, too, Minnie.

MINNIE:

What is it? What are ye going to do?

SARAH:

I'm going away. Out of their lives, Tom's and Jane's.

MINNIE:

What foolishness is this?

SARAH:

Tom, growing old beside me, and Jane, a young lady with a mother who didn't change. Oh, I couldn't stand it. Nor could they.

MINNIE:

Ye'll break their hearts.

SARAH:

I'd break them if I'd stay.

MINNIE:

Where will you go?

SARAH:

To Maud, in Florence.

MINNIE:

Tom Moonlight will find ye.

SARAH:

He mustn't know. And you must never tell. He must think me dead. Promise?

MINNIE:

Poor Tom Moonlight.

SARAH:

Promise?

MINNIE:

I promise -- if that's the way it must be.

SARAH:

Thank you. Goodbye, Minnie.

SFX:

DOOR OPENS

MINNIE:

Goodbye, Sarah Moonlight.

SARAH:

You'll take care of them, won't you?

MINNIE:

Aye.

SARAH:

(VOICE BREAKING) Tom and little Jane. Take - good care of them - for me.

SFX:

DOOR CLOSES

MFX:

BUILDS TO A FINISH

SFX:

APPLAUSE

ANNOUNCER:

The curtain falls on Act One of "Mrs. Moonlight," starring Janet Gaynor and George Brent. During this short intermission, we meet the Brownings, getting ready to go to their summer cottage on the lake.

MOTHER:

Come on, girls. Help me finish this list.

DOT:

What list, Mother?

MOTHER:

Things we've got to get on our way through the village before we reach camp.

DOT:

Okay, let's see what you've written down. Oh, I see something you've missed -- matches.

MIDGE:

Oh, please, Mother, put some marshmallows on the list, too!

MOTHER:

Well, Midge, we can't toast marshmallows right away. We'll have a lot of cleaning up to do -- dishes to wash, everything will be dusty.

MIDGE:

Oh, dear! A big dishwashing job.

DOT:

Mmmmm, that means Lux. Is it on the list?

MOTHER:

Yes, it won't take long with Lux.

DOT:

Gosh, wouldn't it be awful to be stuck at camp with no Lux?

MIDGE:

And have to fool around - forever - with poky cake soap!

DOT:

Or ruin our hands with washday soaps.

MIDGE:

Then you wouldn't have those rose petal hands Archie Smith raves about, would you, Dot?!

DOT:

I don't mean that at all! Anyhow, you know perfectly well that Lux is the nicest way to do dishes. Isn't it, Mother?

MOTHER:

Of course it is, dear. I want you girls to have nice hands. So don't worry. There'll always be plenty of Lux in the house.

ANNOUNCER:

Wise Mother Browning. People notice red, rough hands right away. They certainly rob a woman of charm. That's why it's so important to wash dishes with Lux. There's an amazing difference between Lux and harsh washday soaps. Your hands feel it when you touch those soft Lux suds. And your hands show it, too. They soon look so much softer and prettier. Did you ever realize this? Lux Flakes are as gentle as the finest toilet soap. They haven't any of those alkaline suds-builders that sting and irritate your skin. And yet Lux for dishes costs almost nothing. Why, a lot of women find that just one big box will do their dishes for about sixty meals. So be sure to get the thrifty big box of Lux Flakes right away and use it for dishes every day. ... And now, here's Mr. DeMille.

DEMILLE:

Act Two of "Mrs. Moonlight," starring Janet Gaynor in the title role and George Brent as Tom.

MFX:

BRIEF INTRO, THEN IN BG ... OUT AT [X]

DEMILLE:

Seventeen years have passed since the night Sarah Moonlight fled from her family because she knew she could never grow old. Unable to find a trace of her, Tom Moonlight has picked up the broken threads of his life. He's been married for many years to Sarah's cousin, Edith, and is enjoying a middle-aged happiness. Jane, the young daughter Sarah left behind her, is now a woman, old enough for marriage. One of her suitors, Percy Middling, has come to call. In the living room of the Moonlight home, he leans toward her, a desperate look in his eyes. [X]

PERCY:

You're not listening, Jane.

JANE:

Of course I'm listening, but-- Can't you tell me some other time, Percy?

PERCY:

I'd rather tell you now, Jane.

JANE:

But we're expecting a guest. Minnie's gone to the station to meet her.

PERCY:

Yes, I know, but--

JANE:

It's a brand new cousin.

PERCY:

You mean a baby?

JANE:

No, silly. She's only a year or two younger than I. They've lived in Italy for years. We've never even seen her.

PERCY:

Jane, I'm sorry to interrupt but if you have a guest coming, I must say what I have to say quickly. Now, as to my present occupation-- Engineering is a quite respectable occupation and the firm is well-established and an old one. Furthermore, my father would be regarded by many people as being, so to speak, in a very comfortable position.

JANE:

Percy! Are you proposing to me?

PERCY:

Well, yes. I was coming to that in a moment.

JANE:

(EXASPERATED) May I advise you, Percy, the next time you want a girl to marry you, just say, "Jane, I love you"? Unless, of course, her name is Mary.

PERCY:

You mean it's - no good, then?

JANE:

I'm afraid not, Percy. You see, I don't love you.

PERCY:

Oh.

JANE:

I'm very sorry, Percy.

PERCY:

Jane, there isn't any other--? I mean, you're - you're not in love with someone else, are you?

JANE:

I don't know.

PERCY:

But you must have some idea. I mean, well--

JANE:

Willie Ragg is coming over a little later.

PERCY:

Willie Ragg? (PAUSE) Oh, I see.

MFX:

BRIDGE

SFX:

TRAIN WHISTLE ... TRAIN ENGINE PULLING TO A STOP IN THE STATION

STATIONMASTER:

Guess that's your guest, Minnie. The only one getting off. Nice looking young woman, too.

MINNIE:

(SLOW, RECOGNITION, TO HERSELF) Yes. That's her. (PLEASED) Sarah. Miss Sarah.

SARAH:

How are you, Minnie?

MINNIE:

Sarah Moonlight. Let me look at ya. Come into the light.

SARAH:

(SELF-CONSCIOUS) No. I haven't changed, if that's what you mean.

MINNIE:

Still young. Still a girl.

SARAH:

Only in looks, Minnie. Not in my heart.

MINNIE:

Oh, my poor darling.

SARAH:

Was I right to come? I had to see them again, Tom and Jane. But they won't know me. You promised.

MINNIE:

They'll think that you're Maud's daughter Joy -- who resembles her aunt, Sarah Moonlight. To them, Sarah Moonlight has been dead for seventeen years.

SARAH:

And ghosts don't often come back, do they?

MINNIE:

No. (MOVING OFF) The carriage is over here. (FADES OUT)

SFX:

TRANSITIONAL PAUSE ... FADE IN HOOFBEATS OF CARRIAGE HORSES, CONTINUES IN BG

SARAH:

How is he, Minnie?

MINNIE:

Tom Moonlight? Oh, he's well. Happy enough, I dare say.

SARAH:

Edith makes him a good wife, doesn't she?

MINNIE:

Mm, yes.

SARAH:

Yes, she was always in love with him.

MINNIE:

Tell me about yourself. Where do you live?

SARAH:

In Vienna now. I was seven years in Florence, then eight in Paris. People begin to wonder after a few years so I have to keep moving on.

MINNIE:

You, er, you have money enough?

SARAH:

Money enough for me. My music helps. Pupils and concerts. And it's good for me. There's no time to feel sorry. Or to think of - him. And Jane, Minnie -- what is she like, my Jane?

MINNIE:

Like you, mostly.

SARAH:

I suppose she'll be marrying soon.

MINNIE:

Very likely. There are two young men.

SARAH:

Very nice young men, I hope.

MINNIE:

Percy Middling is. (UNENTHUSIASTIC) And Willie Ragg, well-- Heh! Him ye can judge for yourself. He'll be at the house, most likely. (FADES OUT)

SFX:

HOOFBEATS FADE ... TRANSITIONAL PAUSE

JANE:

(FADES IN) You're late, Willie -- the third time this week.

WILLIE:

(PLAYFUL, CHARMING) Late again. (MAKES A RHYME) Willie left his little Jane / but Willie soon came back again. (SILLY LAUGH) I made that up on my way. (MORE SERIOUS) Jane, you haven't kissed me yet.

JANE:

(CAN'T RESIST HIS CHARM) You haven't asked me.

WILLIE:

Please, Miss Moonlight, may I kiss you?

JANE:

Yes, you may. Twice!

SFX:

LOUD SMOOCH

WILLIE:

(SOLEMN) Once.

SFX:

LOUD SMOOCH

WILLIE:

(SOLEMN) Twice. ...

JANE:

(GIGGLES) Where have you been?

WILLIE:

I've been to New Market.

JANE:

Oh, have you got the job?

WILLIE:

No, but I probably shall, or something else.

JANE:

(UNHAPPY) Oh, Willie.

WILLIE:

Now, there's nothing to worry about.

JANE:

Oh, but there is. You know how father feels. He says you're irresponsible.

WILLIE:

(MOCK OUTRAGE) Irresponsible? I? It's blasphemous! (THEN) Oh, I say, he can't hear me, can he?

JANE:

(LAUGHS) No.

WILLIE:

Good. And if he won't give his consent, I'll marry you without it.

JANE:

(AMUSED) Oh, Willie, please be serious.

WILLIE:

But I am!

SFX:

DOOR OPENS

TOM:

(DISAPPOINTED TO SEE WILLIE) Ohhh. We thought you were alone, Jane.

JANE:

Come in, Father. Come in, Mother.

EDITH:

How are you, Mr. Ragg?

WILLIE:

(OBSEQUIOUS) Very well, ma'am. Good evening, sir.

TOM:

Good evening. Has Minnie returned yet, Jane?

JANE:

No, Father.

TOM:

Well, I think I'll meet her on the road.

WILLIE:

Oh, please, sir, if I might have a word with you, sir?

TOM:

A word with me?

WILLIE:

I think you know what it's about.

TOM:

I have an inkling.

WILLIE:

(BLUNT) I'm going to marry your daughter, sir.

TOM:

(RAISED EYEBROW) Oh? Yes?

JANE:

Oh oh, Father. Willie doesn't mean it quite like that. He--

TOM:

Mr. Ragg is a bit blunt.

WILLIE:

I believe in speaking out, sir.

TOM:

A fine quality and I believe in it, too. I also believe, young man, that at the present time, you have no position or any prospects of one. Under those conditions, I don't quite see how you can speak of marriage.

WILLIE:

I regret your disapproval, sir, but I must tell you that I won't let it stand in my way.

TOM:

Really?

JANE:

(NERVOUS) Willie, don't say any more. Father, you don't understand.

TOM:

Mmm, evidently not.

EDITH:

Tom, wait. Minnie is here.

TOM:

(STERN) I'll speak to you later, Mr. Ragg. (PAUSE) Well, why doesn't she come in? (CALLS) Minnie?!

MINNIE:

Your visitor is here, Mr. Moonlight. Come in, Miss Joy.

SARAH:

(AFTER A PAUSE, QUIET, UNCERTAIN) Good evening.

EDITH:

(GASPS)

TOM:

(STUNNED) Why-- Why, she's-- She's the image of--

EDITH:

Tom, don't. (QUICKLY, PLEASANT) How are you, my dear?

SARAH:

(SLOWLY) I'm very well, thank you.

EDITH:

I am your Aunt Edith. And this is--

SARAH:

(LOVINGLY) This is - Mr. Moonlight.

TOM:

Yes. We're - we're very happy to see you, Joy.

SARAH:

Thank you.

EDITH:

This is my stepdaughter, Jane.

JANE:

I've been looking forward to your coming.

SARAH:

(OVERCOME) Jane--

EDITH:

Why, what's the matter, dear?

JANE:

Well, Mother, she's so pale.

TOM:

Well, she's tired out. She's had a long journey.

SARAH:

(QUIETLY) Yes. Yes, a - a very long journey.

MFX:

BRIDGE ... CHANGES TO SARAH'S PIANO, CONTINUES IN BG

MINNIE:

Sarah?

SARAH:

Yes?

MINNIE:

It's almost time for your train, Sarah.

SARAH:

I know, Minnie.

MINNIE:

The days have passed quickly, Sarah.

SARAH:

Too quickly. Oh, there was so much I wanted to do. Now, it's all slipped away from me.

MFX:

PIANO STOPS

SARAH:

Oh, Minnie. She must be happy. My Jane must be happy. If I knew she was going to be, I could leave in peace.

MINNIE:

You're talking of Willie Ragg now?

SARAH:

Yes. Why can't she see, Minnie? Why doesn't she know? And why am I so powerless to help her? I'm her mother, Minnie, and I can't lift my hand.

SFX:

CLOCK CHIMES ONCE

MINNIE:

A half an hour past nine. Ye'd best be making ready. The night train is always on time.

SARAH:

The night train. I left once before at night. Long ago.

MINNIE:

Hush, my darling. You'll come again.

SARAH:

After another twenty years? Oh, what's the use, Minnie?

MINNIE:

If only to see us all.

SARAH:

To see you all growing old without me. To feel left behind.

MINNIE:

(SYMPATHETIC) Sarah, my darling.

SFX:

DOOR OPENS

JANE:

Joy? May I see you?

SARAH:

Jane? Of course. Come in.

JANE:

It's rather private. Minnie, will you leave us alone?

MINNIE:

Very well.

SFX:

DOOR CLOSES

SARAH:

What is it, Jane?

JANE:

Well, it's about Willie. I want you to talk to Father, tell him what you think of him.

SARAH:

But - what I think of Willie is really very much what your father thinks of him.

JANE:

Joy! But can't you see what Willie is?

SARAH:

Yes! I've been worried that you can't.

JANE:

Oh, really, Joy, I thought you at least would be on my side.

SARAH:

My dear, I am on your side.

JANE:

Well, that's what Mother says. But middle-aged people have forgotten what love is.

SARAH:

Not always, Jane. (PAUSE) Are you very disappointed in me?

JANE:

No. But I thought you'd understand, that's all.

SARAH:

Jane, will I see you before I go?

JANE:

Of course. Why do you ask?

SARAH:

Well, it's a late train. I thought you might be tired.

JANE:

No. I'll wait up to see you go.

SARAH:

Thank you, Jane.

MFX:

BRIDGE

SFX:

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

WILLIE:

(OFF) Hello, Jane! Is that you?

SARAH:

No.

WILLIE:

(OFF) Oh, Miss Joy!

SARAH:

Do you want her, Mr. Ragg? I'll call her down.

WILLIE:

(OFF) No, no, no, no. Not yet. Come down yourself. (CLOSER) Oh, this is a bit of luck. Finding you alone, I mean.

SARAH:

I'm afraid I'm rather busy.

WILLIE:

Oh, I say, I've been waiting three weeks for a chance to talk to you. You mustn't dodge me now. (SLYLY) Not on your last night. Do you know, Joy -- Do you know that you're a very beautiful creature?

SARAH:

You really think so?

WILLIE:

Oh, now, don't be modest. If I didn't have Jane, I might go clear over my head.

SARAH:

Oh. Thank you.

WILLIE:

May I - sit beside you?

SARAH:

Certainly. Why?

WILLIE:

Well, why does a fellow ever want to sit beside a pretty woman? Usually because he wants to kiss her. That's why. (KISSES HER)

SARAH:

Why did you do that?

WILLIE:

I don't know. I've been wanting to ever since I first saw you. Are you angry?

SARAH:

I'm not sure yet. Have you forgotten Jane?

WILLIE:

Of course not. I adore Jane. But--

SARAH:

But what?

WILLIE:

Well, hang it all, I'm not married yet, you know. And if you are angry about my kissing you, I can only say, "I'm sorry."

SARAH:

I didn't say I was angry. I may not be angry at all.

WILLIE:

You know, Joy -- you're a strange girl.

SARAH:

Yes, I am.

WILLIE:

You're not like any of the girls I've known. You're different. You-- I want to see you again, Joy. You must let me.

SARAH:

I'm going to Paris.

WILLIE:

I'll follow you. Where will you be? What address? Please tell me.

SARAH:

Numero quatre-vingt-deux.

WILLIE:

And the rest?

SARAH:

Rue d'Algers.

WILLIE:

Rue d'Algers.

SARAH:

Hadn't you better write it down?

WILLIE:

Do you think I could forget it? Joy, listen, I can't leave tonight but I'll follow you. Look for me--

JANE:

(FADES IN, SHE'S HEARD EVERYTHING) Would it be rude if I asked to come in?

WILLIE:

(NERVOUS CHUCKLE) Jane! I - didn't hear you.

JANE:

Perhaps I walk too softly. Believe me, I didn't mean it.

WILLIE:

(NERVOUS LAUGH) I was just telling Joy goodbye.

JANE:

Was that it?

WILLIE:

Of course. (PAUSE, CLEARS THROAT, VERY AWKWARD, MOVING OFF) Well, I really must run. Goodbye, Joy. And goodbye, Jane. Darling. ... See you tomorrow. 'Night.

SFX:

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

SARAH:

Jane? Jane, dear?

JANE:

Don't come near me. Don't touch me. You're vile.

SARAH:

Jane, don't say that.

JANE:

You are. You're vile, you're unclean. I heard you. I heard everything you said! Now, go on! Go to Paris! Wait for him there! He'll make you very happy, I'm sure.

SARAH:

But at least he hasn't a chance to make you unhappy. You see now?

JANE:

Don't speak to me! I hate you! I hate you!

SFX:

DOOR OPENS

TOM:

Jane?

JANE:

Father, make her go! Make her leave! Get her away from here!

TOM:

Jane, what is it?

JANE:

I can't bear the sight of her, I tell you.

TOM:

Are you mad?

JANE:

She wanted Willie. Well, she may have him! And you needn't worry any longer about me, Father. I'll marry Percy, just as you wanted! I'll marry Percy Middling and be miserable all my life! Now are you satisfied?!

SFX:

DOOR CLOSES

TOM:

Joy, I'm sorry for this. I'm sure she's just upset, that's all.

SARAH:

Oh, please don't be polite. Well, I'd better leave. I'll miss my train. (PAUSE) Are you disappointed in me?

TOM:

I don't even know the facts.

SARAH:

Jane told you. I've stolen her young man. But I didn't want him. I'd rather have Jane's love than anything in the world.

TOM:

Then why did you do it?

SARAH:

You were against the marriage.

TOM:

Certainly I was. I knew they'd never be happy.

SARAH:

So did I.

TOM:

Did you? And this talk about Paris?

SARAH:

He wanted to follow me. I gave him the wrong address; a made-up one. I only wanted Jane to see what he was really like.

TOM:

(IMPRESSED) Why, you - you funny child.

SARAH:

When Jane is over this, will you tell her what I told you?

TOM:

Of course I will.

SARAH:

Promise?

TOM:

I promise.

MFX:

ROMANTIC ... SNEAKS IN GENTLY

SARAH:

Mr. Moonlight -- are you happy?

TOM:

Yes, of course. Why?

SARAH:

I knew you were, really. I just wanted to hear you say it.

TOM:

What a strange, strange girl you are, Joy.

SARAH:

You're the second person who said that tonight.

SFX:

CARRIAGE WHISTLE

SARAH:

Oh, there's my carriage. I don't want to go back. I don't want to go yet.

TOM:

You may stay if you want to.

SARAH:

No. I can't. Goodbye, Mr. Moonlight.

TOM:

Goodbye. I shall miss you very much, Joy. You're very much like - like someone I once knew. Someone I loved.

SARAH:

Dear Mr. Moonlight. Will you kiss me goodbye?

TOM:

Goodbye, dear. Come soon again, won't you?

SARAH:

Soon? Perhaps. Perhaps.

MFX:

SWELLS TO A FINISH

SFX:

APPLAUSE

ANNOUNCER:

We pause for station identification. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.

MFX:

FOR A STATION BREAK ... THEN OUT

ANNOUNCER:

You have just heard Act Two of "Mrs. Moonlight," starring Janet Gaynor and George Brent. During the intermission, we present a very famous guest. But, first, a piece of news about a penny. Do you know what a penny a day can do for your hands? Here's what I mean -- and see if you don't think it's a beauty bargain. About a penny's worth of Lux will do a whole day's dishes. Yes, for about the price of a penny postage stamp, you can use gentle Lux, as beauty experts advise, to help your hands stay soft and white. If the water is hard, just a little extra Lux will soften it and give you an abundance of suds. How foolish to use harsh soaps since it costs almost nothing to use Lux for dishes. So keep that thrifty big box handy. Use it for dishes every day. Remember, you're often judged by your hands. Make them speak well of you. (PAUSE) Mr. DeMille escorts our guest to the microphone.

DEMILLE:

Columbia University has on its faculty a memorable personality in Professor Walter B. Pitkin. Academic duties occupy only a part of his prodigious energy. He's also famous as an author. Professor Pitkin has passed the age of forty far enough to know what he's talking about. And he decided that middle age and old age were nothing to dread. So he wrote a book about his discovery with the challenging title "Life Begins at Forty," which held a place among best sellers. The author of this book should have some interesting comments on the problem of Sarah Moonlight. So, from New York City, we hear Professor Walter B. Pitkin.

PITKIN:

Mrs. Moonlight, in our play tonight, is indeed a very unusual character. Yet her wish is the secret wish of every man and woman since the beginning of time. The desire for perpetual youth lies deep in the hearts of every one of us. We think it's the road to perpetual happiness and yet how wrong we are in our wishful thinking and how pitiful the consequences. Think of the matron of forty who tries to be twenty. Think of the dowager of sixty who tries to be kittenish. If they only realized each age has its own special loveliness. How delightful is the charm of a five year old. But would you want to be five forever? And how rich and beautiful the charm of a seventy-year-old grandmother.

I agree with Samuel Butler that youth is a greatly overrated season, like Spring -- occasionally sunny but usually full of raw gusts. Youth is lovable but immature. But middle age and old age are as deep as character. And character can be as deep as the universe. Nature is always moving forward. If you attempt to stop the march, you die -- mentally and spiritually. Life insists that we grow, that we live each new day as it comes, reaching out to accept new responsibilities and new experiences. And it is those enriching experiences that give us beauty and charm, and keep us young and alive. People who keep up with the times, people who never try to stop the clock, people who refuse to be perpetually twenty -- they are the ones who know that life is just beginning at forty. We cannot condemn youth and its lack of wisdom but we do condemn age which refuses to accept its own rich rewards.

And now, let us return to Mrs. Moonlight. I don't know how this play turns out but I do know that Mrs. Moonlight is basically a splendid woman and I have faith that somehow she will be able to discover a solution to her problem and that she will find happiness.

DEMILLE:

Mm, you show us that Autumn has beautiful colors, Professor. In Hollywood again, we continue our play, "Mrs. Moonlight," starring Janet Gaynor and George Brent.

MFX:

FOR AN INTRO ... THEN IN BG ... OUT AT [X]

DEMILLE:

Years have passed. Long years which have gradually dimmed the remembrance of Sarah Moonlight and Joy. It's the present day and many changes have come to the Moonlights. Edith is dead. And Jane and Percy Middling, married for twenty years, live on with old Tom Moonlight. Meanwhile, in the cities of Europe, a strange figure moves silently -- always alone, always young, never changing in a changing world. In a music school in Bucharest, this strange girl, known only as Miss Sarah, faces the Master in his room. [X]

HEINRICH:

Miss Sarah, how long have you been with us now?

SARAH:

Twelve years.

HEINRICH:

Twelve years. Ja, I had not realized it was that long. Miss Sarah, what I have to say is not easy. But some of the other teachers, they - they feel--

SARAH:

They feel there's something strange about me.

HEINRICH:

Ja. Of course, I know that it is ridiculous but, er--

SARAH:

Oh, don't say any more. I'll leave in the morning.

HEINRICH:

Oh, oh, no, no, Miss Sarah, you--

SARAH:

It's happened before. It'll happen again.

HEINRICH:

What is it about you? What is it? (NO ANSWER) Ahhh. Where will you go, Miss Sarah?

SARAH:

Oh, I don't know. To Paris. Berlin. Naples.

HEINRICH:

'Tis not easy to find work in strange cities.

SARAH:

They're not strange to me.

MFX:

BRIDGE ... CONTINUES IN BG

BONELLI:

(FRIENDLY) And you want to work here, Miss Sarah? (SUDDENLY UNEASY) Er, Miss Sarah, haven't I seen you somewhere?

SARAH:

I - I don't remember.

BONELLI:

Ah, it's a long time ago.

SARAH:

(INSISTS) I don't remember.

BONELLI:

I'm sorry. But I have nothing for you. Good day, Senora.

MFX:

UP ... CLASSICAL PIANO MIXED IN ... CONTINUES IN BG

FRENCHY:

The concert season in Paris is well-booked, Mademoiselle. If you'll leave your name--

SARAH:

I am called "Miss Sarah."

FRENCHY:

Miss--? Of course, I remember you. You played here in Nineteen Hundred and Four. You-- But that is impossible!

SARAH:

Yes. Yes, you've mistaken me for someone else, Monsieur.

FRENCHY:

But you say you are--?

SARAH:

No! Good day, Monsieur.

MFX:

UP ... CLASSICAL PIANO ... THEN IN BG

FRAU MULLER:

And you want to teach my daughter?

SARAH:

Yes. I can give your daughter lessons every day.

FRAU MULLER:

Just as you gave them to me?

SARAH:

What?!

FRAU MULLER:

You gave me lessons, too.

SARAH:

No!

FRAU MULLER:

You did! When I was a girl.

SARAH:

Oh, no. You--

FRAU MULLER:

I remember. I remember. Miss Sarah!

SARAH:

No. No! NO!

MFX:

AN ACCENT ... BRIEF, WEARY BRIDGE ... THEN IN BG

TICKET AGENT:

And the ticket was to Vienna, Fraulein?

SARAH:

Yes, to Vienna. I-- No. No, I want to go to England. To London.

TICKET AGENT:

Ja, Fraulein. First class?

SARAH:

No. Third, please.

TICKET AGENT:

Third class to London.

MUSIC:

FADES OUT

SFX:

FADE IN ... MODERN TRAFFIC NOISE ... CAR PULLS TO CURB

GREG:

See you tomorrow, Peter?

PETER:

Right you are. Thanks for the lift.

GREG:

It was a pleasure. I say, Peter, is that somebody waiting for you?

PETER:

Where?

GREG:

That woman -- by your steps -- looking up at the house.

PETER:

I don't know who she is. I've noticed her hanging around the house several times the last few days.

GREG:

Well, why don't you ask her what she wants?

PETER:

I believe I will. Goodbye, Greg.

GREG:

Goodbye.

SFX:

CAR DRIVES OFF

PETER:

I beg your pardon but are you looking for someone?

SARAH:

No. Not exactly.

PETER:

You look ill. Would you like to come in for a moment? This is my house.

SARAH:

Your house? What is your Christian name?

PETER:

Why-- Why, Peter.

SARAH:

Peter. Peter Middling. Your father is Percy Middling. And your mother is Jane.

PETER:

How did you know that?

SARAH:

And your grandfather. Is he - dead?

PETER:

No. He's not dead.

SARAH:

Oh.

PETER:

Oh, here. Here, wait a moment. Don't go away. Why, you're cold and ill. Come inside and get warm.

SARAH:

Oh, no. No, no, I mustn't.

PETER:

Nonsense. A hot drink will do you good. Come along now.

SFX:

FRONT DOOR OPENS

PETER:

Will you wait here a moment, please?

SFX:

FRONT DOOR SHUTS

SARAH:

Thank you.

SFX:

INSIDE DOOR OPENS

PETER:

Mother?

JANE:

Peter? Come in.

PETER:

I - I say, Mother, I've, er, I - I've brought a woman into the house.

JANE:

Peter!

PETER:

Oh, no, no, listen. I think she's ill. She looks it.

PERCY:

Who is the woman?

PETER:

I haven't the faintest idea, Father. But she knew my name and seemed to know all about me.

MINNIE:

(VERY OLD) She knew your name?

PETER:

Oh, hello, Minnie. Why, yes.

JANE:

Who do you suppose it is, Minnie?

MINNIE:

I - I don't know. How could I? I'll go and have a look at her.

PERCY:

I suppose she's very beautiful, Peter?

PETER:

No. She's rather ragged and - and young, like a girl. But her eyes are too big and-- Well, there's something strange about her.

MINNIE:

(LEADING SARAH IN) Come in, please.

SARAH:

Thank you. Good evening.

JANE:

How do you do? Come and sit down by the fire.

SARAH:

Are you my--? Are you Peter's mother?

JANE:

Yes, I am.

SARAH:

Yes. I thought you were. You're very lovely.

PERCY:

Would you like something hot to drink?

SARAH:

And that is Percy Middling.

JANE:

How do you know that?

SARAH:

You mustn't ask me questions.

PETER:

Please sit down.

SARAH:

Thank you. Oh, I'm all right, really. It's just that lately I've had a kind of pain here in my heart. Peter, come and sit near me. You've got to tell me all about yourself. Are you at Oxford or Cambridge?

PETER:

Oxford.

SARAH:

Like your grandfather.

JANE:

How did you know that? Who are you?

SARAH:

Poor puzzled Jane. I'm just an old lady, my dear, who's rather come down in the world.

PERCY:

Old? Why, you're a girl.

SARAH:

That - that picture on the table. It's Tom Moonlight. Isn't it?

JANE:

Yes, it is.

SARAH:

Was it just taken, this picture?

PERCY:

That? Oh, that was taken a good ten years ago.

SARAH:

May I see him?

JANE:

Oh, I'm afraid not. He's very feeble.

PERCY:

His memory's gone and he really doesn't recognize people.

JANE:

He hasn't recognized any of us for months.

SARAH:

Poor Mr. Moonlight.

PETER:

He hasn't really been the same since my grandmother died.

SARAH:

Your - your grandmother? You mean Edith.

PETER:

Yes. Oh, I say, if you're an old friend of grandfather's, perhaps you could come tomorrow and see him.

MINNIE:

(LEADS TOM IN) She can see him now.

PERCY:

Minnie! You brought him down?

JANE:

Father?

SARAH:

(PLEASED) Tom. Tom Moonlight.

TOM:

Who - who is that - over there?

JANE:

Father? (NO ANSWER)

PETER:

He doesn't know you, Mother. He's staring at her.

TOM:

Ah, my dear, I've been asleep.

SARAH:

Yes, Tom.

TOM:

Has Edith gone?

SARAH:

Edith? Yes, dear, she's gone.

TOM:

Well, that's good. I'm worried about Edith. Worried about what you told me this evening. I've been thinking it over and I believe you're right. Edith is in love with me.

SARAH:

Of course she is, darling. We all are.

TOM:

Ah, including you, eh? A little while ago, it was all except you.

SARAH:

Was it, Mr. Moonlight? Perhaps I've grown older since then.

TOM:

Have you, indeed? Well, I'll tell you a secret. I never believed you. You love me very much indeed.

SARAH:

Clever, Mr. Moonlight.

PETER:

Grandfather? Who is she?

TOM:

Who is she? Why, that's my wife, young man. Who are you?

PETER:

I? I'm Peter.

TOM:

Well, I don't know you, sir, and I don't much want to.

PETER:

Grandfather, what is your wife called?

TOM:

She's called Sarah, of course. Sarah Moonlight.

JANE:

(QUIETLY) Percy -- he thinks it's his first wife.

TOM:

What are they saying? Don't they like my Sarah?

PETER:

Of course they do. Especially me. I think she's lovely.

TOM:

And she is, too. And what's more, she doesn't change. Did you know that? She doesn't change. (BECOMES CONFUSED) Now, what's that about changing? She's worried about that. I don't like that. I've forgotten it.

SARAH:

Tom? Shall I play for you again?

MFX:

PIANO ... CONTINUES IN BG

TOM:

Huh? Yes, yes.

SARAH:

You always liked this.

TOM:

May I sit beside you, Mrs. Moonlight? I'm a very lucky man, Mrs. Moonlight. And a very, very happy man.

SARAH:

Yes, dear.

TOM:

And you're a very happy woman, Mrs. Moonlight.

SARAH:

Very happy. I think I've never been so happy in my life as I am now.

TOM:

And I'm certain of this, Mrs. Moonlight. I could never, never be happy with any woman but you.

SARAH:

(ALMOST MERRILY) That's what you think, Mr. Moonlight.

TOM:

It's what I know. (SIGHS) Ah, Sarah, I think I'll go to bed now. I'm feeling tired, sleepy.

SARAH:

Yes, dear.

MINNIE:

I'll take him upstairs.

TOM:

(WEAKLY) So tired, Sarah. So very, very tired.

SFX:

TOM SLUMPS OVER

MFX:

PIANO STOPS

JANE:

Father!

PERCY:

Peter, get some brandy.

SARAH:

Oh, my darling. My darling.

JANE:

Percy, you and Percy get him upstairs.

MINNIE:

(FIRM) No! Stay here, all of you. He'll want her. I know. Come along, please.

SARAH:

Thank you. Thank you, Minnie.

MFX:

BRIDGE

JANE:

She's been up there with him a long time.

PERCY:

Over half an hour.

JANE:

Percy, I'm nervous.

PERCY:

Oh, it's all right, my dear.

PETER:

There's nothing to be nervous about, Mother.

JANE:

Why does Father think he knows her?

PERCY:

After all, my dear, your father hasn't known anyone for months. And it's just as reasonable that he might think he knows this girl.

JANE:

No, there's something else. But I won't say it. I - I'm afraid.

PERCY:

Wait. Here's Minnie.

JANE:

Minnie? How is Father?

MINNIE:

Your father - your father is dead.

JANE:

(STARTS TO WEEP) Minnie, oh, Minnie.

MINNIE:

She was with him. He was in her arms.

PERCY:

Minnie, who is that girl?

MINNIE:

(SLOWLY) She's someone Mr. Moonlight knew a long time ago.

SARAH:

(OFF) Minnie?

MINNIE:

Come in, dear.

SFX:

SNEAKS IN GENTLY ... CONTINUES IN BG

JANE:

Peter, get her a chair.

SARAH:

I'm quite all right - all right, thank you. I'm not unhappy. It was really very, very beautiful. It would be wicked to be unhappy. I'm only - only very tired. I wonder why I'm so tired.

PETER:

Please sit down. You'll feel better in a minute.

SARAH:

Thank you, Peter. He just said to me, "I love you, Mrs. Moonlight, very, very dearly." He just said that. He looked happy, too. Jane?

JANE:

Yes?

SARAH:

Give me your hand. I'm so pleased with you, Jane. I've always liked your nice Percy Middling, and you've done well together, haven't you? A nice boy and a nice home. (INHALES) Oh, I'm so tired. - "I love you, Mrs. Moonlight, very, very dearly." - Jane, do I look happy?

JANE:

Very happy. Are you?

SARAH:

Oh -- oh, so happy. It's funny to be so tired - here in my heart. Perhaps-- Perhaps-- Oh. Oh, how lovely. Now, Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant - depart in peace - for mine eyes have seen - mine eyes have--

PETER:

Mother. Look at her. She - she's--

MINNIE:

She's at peace. With Tom Moonlight.

PETER:

Mother?

JANE:

It's all right, Peter. I'm sure she's happy. See how she's smiling?

MFX:

SWELLS TO A FINISH

SFX:

APPLAUSE ... THEN OUT

ANNOUNCER:

The curtain falls on Act Three of "Mrs. Moonlight," starring Janet Gaynor and George Brent. In a moment, our stars return for their curtain calls. But first, a timely word. Here we are at the beginning of summer and that means vacation time, doesn't it? Vacation time for you but not for your hands. Did you ever think of that?

MRS. A:

You're right, Mr. Ruick. My hands work harder in the summer than the winter. But with gardening, swimming, tennis and--

ANNOUNCER:

And housekeeping?

MRS. A:

Oh, yes. Housekeeping, of course. My hands show it, too.

ANNOUNCER:

Well, you're just the person I want to talk to. Now's the time your hands are busier than ever. They need special care. They can't spend hours in the dishpan with harsh, biting suds drying them up, and then do a right about-face and look nice when company comes. You need Lux for every single soap and water job you do, and especially for your dishes. Do you know why? Because Lux has none of the alkaline suds-builders found in many laundry soaps. Lux contains nothing to dry and roughen your skin. That's why beauty experts recommend it for dishes. And remember, a little goes so far. Lux is thrifty. Buy the generous large-size box and start now to save your hands. (PAUSE) Mr. DeMille?

DEMILLE:

The moonlight of our play has faded so suppose we get back to the world of reality? Miss Gaynor, I've heard some whispers about you that I'd like to pin down right now.

JANET GAYNOR:

Well, what are these whispers, Mr. DeMille?

DEMILLE:

Well, they're about painting and--

JANET GAYNOR:

Oh, I'm sure it was an exaggeration. If you're looking for a hobby, there's George Brent. A gentle pastime called "polo."

GEORGE BRENT:

The question was about paint, not ponies.

JANET GAYNOR:

There's really nothing to it. Something around the house always needs paint. Kitchen table, the lawn chairs, the cupboard.

GEORGE BRENT:

A landscape or a still life?

JANET GAYNOR:

I'm afraid my watercolors are pretty amateurish. But the furniture painting! Well, now, that's quite professional.

DEMILLE:

Could George and I persuade you to do a sketch of us, say, with me sitting in a chair and George standing behind with his hand on my shoulder?

JANET GAYNOR:

(LAUGHS) I'd be delighted to. But I'm afraid portraits are beyond me. If you draw a picture of an orange and it doesn't look like an orange, you can always say it's impressionistic. That doesn't go with portraits, at least not when the living originals do the judging.

DEMILLE:

Why hasn't somebody seen one of these pictures?

JANET GAYNOR:

Mm, I keep them locked up. But you can look at the lawn chairs I painted any time. I used a special weatherproof paint.

GEORGE BRENT:

We could have used some of that in "The Rains Came." I doubt if there's ever been so much rain in California before.

JANET GAYNOR:

(LAUGHS)

DEMILLE:

(LAUGHS) And photographing rain is a difficult operation, too. It has to be done on a clear day to get enough light.

GEORGE BRENT:

Yes, yes. Well, if it was a cloudy day and looked like rain, we made sunshine scenes indoors on a soundstage. Now, that's not so crazy as it seems if you think it over. Or is it?

JANET GAYNOR:

Mmm. Well, I'll figure it out on the way home. And I think it's time to leave now.

GEORGE BRENT:

Well, I recognize a gentle hint. Good night, C. B.

SFX:

APPLAUSE

DEMILLE:

(COVERED BY APPLAUSE)

SFX:

APPLAUSE OUT

ANNOUNCER:

All of you, I'm sure, will want to join us again a week from tonight when you hear the announcement of our stars and play which Mr. DeMille brings you in a moment.

Assisting in our cast tonight were Janet Young as Minnie, Jane Gilbert as Jane, Ted Osborne as Willie Ragg, Claire Verdera as Edith, James Eagles as Peter, Eric Snowden as Percy Middling, Lou Merrill as Heinrich, Frank Nelson as Bonelli, Jane Morgan as Frau Muller, and Eddie Kane as Ticket Agent. The play "Mrs. Moonlight" was written by Benn W. Levy. Louis Silvers appeared through courtesy of Twentieth Century-Fox Studio where he directed music for "Second Fiddle." Don't miss the Lux daytime radio program, "The Life and Love of Dr. Susan." This human and gripping story of a young, attractive woman doctor is brought to you every afternoon, Monday through Friday. For the time and station, see your newspaper. "The Life and Love of Dr. Susan" comes to you in addition to the Lux Radio Theatre. (PAUSE) Your host, Mr. DeMille.

DEMILLE:

Scattered along the boundary between the United States and Mexico are colorful, exciting, jumping-off places called "border towns." To such a place we take you, next Monday night, in a melodrama of a disillusioned man who crushes his ideals in a scramble for money and power. Into his life come two girls and the mark they leave upon it is told in our adaptation of the hit picture "Border Town." And bringing "Border Town" to our microphone are three stars outstanding in popularity and talent -- Don Ameche, Joan Bennett and Claire Trevor.

MFX:

THEME ... CONTINUES IN BG

DEMILLE:

Our sponsors, the makers of Lux Flakes, join me in inviting you to be with us again next Monday night, when the Lux Radio Theatre presents Don Ameche, Joan Bennett and Claire Trevor in "Border Town." This is Cecil B. DeMille saying good night to you from Hollywood.

SFX:

APPLAUSE

ANNOUNCER:

Your announcer has been Melville Ruick. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.

SFX:

APPLAUSE CONTINUES ... THEN FADES OUT

MFX:

LUX THEME CONTINUES TO END