MUSIC:

THEME

ANNOUNCER:

Lady Esther presents THE SCREEN GUILD PLAYERS.

MUSIC:

THEME FILLS A PAUSE

ANNOUNCER:

The Lady Esther Screen Guild play tonight -- "Anna Karenina." The starring players--

BERGMAN:

This is Ingrid Bergman.

PECK:

And this is Gregory Peck.

SOUND:

APPLAUSE

MUSIC:

THEME ... TO A FINISH

ANNOUNCER:

Tonight, Lady Esther presents THE SCREEN GUILD PLAYERS in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's stirring, challenging story, "Anna Karenina" from the immortal novel by Count Leo Tolstoy. It stars Gregory Peck as Count Alexis Vronsky and Ingrid Bergman in the title role. The Lady Esther Screen Guild Players in "Anna Karenina."

MUSIC:

A VERY RUSSIAN INTRODUCTION ... THEN IN BG

ANNOUNCER:

Russia -- the old Russia -- brilliant and glittering! Russia in the days of the Czar!

MUSIC:

FOR PUNCTUATION ... THEN OUT BEHIND ANNOUNCER--

ANNOUNCER:

A lovely old country house near Saint Petersburg. And in the candlelit study, an elderly officer, in guardsman's uniform, speaks to a rather puzzled young man.

YASHVIN:

Sergei Karenin, you are wondering perhaps why I have asked you here.

SERGEI:

(A YOUNG MAN) Yes, Major Yashvin, I am.

YASHVIN:

In one way, it is very simple. Today, you come of age. And today this house is yours.

SERGEI:

Mine, sir? This house?

YASHVIN:

By order of Count Alexis Vronsky, for whom I act.

SERGEI:

But - but I don't understand.

YASHVIN:

(SIGHS) You will. I have here a letter. It was written by your mother, Anna Karenina.

SERGEI:

My mother?

YASHVIN:

I am instructed to read it to you. It is a beautiful letter. Many times through the years, I have read it to myself. And sometimes, in the words, I almost hear her voice. Such a soft voice. So gentle. Saying the things that were in her heart.

MUSIC:

A VERY RUSSIAN VIOLIN ... WISTFUL, IN BG

YASHVIN:

(READS) "Alexei, my darling--"

ANNA:

My darling--

YASHVIN:

(READS) "It is very late now and I am alone--"

ANNA:

I am alone.

YASHVIN:

(READS) "The fire is almost spent and shadows leap and dance across the room--"

ANNA:

Across the room--

YASHVIN:

(READS) "Somehow I think the shadows--" (FADES OUT)

ANNA:

(OVERLAPS WITH ABOVE, NARRATES) Somehow I think the shadows stand still only when they settle on my heart. Alexei, I must write this and you must read it and decide. You must decide what is to be for us. Darling, we have found so much together, you and I. And lost so much. Yes, even at the very moment we met. That first moment. Remember, Alexei? I remember. I remember it all.

MUSIC:

FADES OUT

SOUND:

RAILROAD STATION BACKGROUND (MURMUR OF CROWD, ET CETERA)

ANNA:

(OVERLAPS WITH ABOVE, NARRATES) The Moscow railroad station. The crowd. You, so tall and splendid in your guardsman's uniform. Your mother so proud as she introduced you.

COUNTESS:

Alexei, may I present Madam Karenina? We traveled from Saint Petersburg together.

VRONSKY:

I envy you such lovely company.

ANNA:

(CHUCKLES)

VRONSKY:

Madam, I trust my mother amused you.

ANNA:

Very much. She talked about you the entire way.

VRONSKY:

Oh ho, that must have been boring, I should think.

ANNA:

Not at all. I rather welcomed the opportunity.

VRONSKY:

Opportunity? For what?

ANNA:

You see, I have a little boy of my own. Your mother talked about her son; I talked about mine. (CHUCKLES)

VRONSKY:

(CHUCKLES WARMLY)

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN IN BG

ANNA:

(NARRATES) You laughed -- and I laughed, too. The first thing that we ever shared. And in that tiny moment, separated from all time, you found a new excitement for your life. I lost my heart. I tried to tell myself I had no right, but if my mind said no, my other self kept whispering your name. And you. You felt it, too. Wherever I went, I found you waiting. Your eyes seeking mine until I was quite terrified. And yet I had no will to act until the night of the Korsunskys' ball.

MUSIC:

CHANGES TO BALLROOM ORCHESTRA ... LILTING DANCE TUNE

VRONSKY:

I wish this dance could last through all eternity. Forever and ten years after that.

ANNA:

(LIGHTLY) Every girl in Moscow would hate me. And Saint Petersburg, too, from all I hear.

VRONSKY:

If you knew what this means to me -- to be with you, to hold you in my arms.

ANNA:

Count Vronsky, I'm a married woman. I have a husband and I have a son.

MUSIC:

BALLROOM ORCHESTRA FINISHES ITS NUMBER

SOUND:

POLITE APPLAUSE FROM GUESTS

VRONSKY:

When I leave you, I'm lost in a world of strangers. When I touch your hand, we're alone. If you'd let me tell you all the--

ANNA:

Please. Please, the dance is ended. You see? I return you to the world.

VRONSKY:

You'll save me the supper dance. You must. I've counted on it.

ANNA:

(TEMPTED) I - am afraid I can't.

VRONSKY:

Why not?

ANNA:

(UNCONVINCING) I don't believe I can stay for the supper dance.

VRONSKY:

But you promised.

ANNA:

Well, I - I'm sorry. I must leave at once. I am returning to Saint Petersburg -- tonight.

MUSIC:

SAD TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND ANNA--

ANNA:

(NARRATES) I left that night. I thought that in Saint Petersburg I would be safe -- safe from you, and safe from myself. But you, Alexei -- you would not let it be that way. You followed me to Saint Petersburg, and there -- in every group, at every turn -- I found you by my side, attentive, courteous. Your eyes saying things I did not dare to hear you speak -- until my pulse was saying I was faint with peril and with joy. (CHUCKLES) There were others, too, who noticed it. My husband's friends. What a lovely little morsel it was for them.

MAN:

(DISGUSTED) The way she's carrying on. Karenin must be blind.

WOMAN:

(AMUSED) The most brilliant man in the cabinet.

MAN:

And a perfect fool at home.

WOMAN:

Oh, I can't wait till this afternoon. Anna is going to be at Lidia's.

MAN:

And Vronsky--?

WOMAN:

Of course! It seems they both like to play --- croquet.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

ANNA:

(PLAYFUL) It's my shot, I believe, but what shall I do?

VRONSKY:

Well, why not hit my ball? That'll give you two extra shots. You can dispose of me; then go through the wicket.

ANNA:

Well, that's an excellent idea. (CONCENTRATES) Now then--

VRONSKY:

(LOW) I love your frown when you concentrate.

ANNA:

(LOW) How can I play when you talk to me?

VRONSKY:

(CHUCKLES) All right. (UP) Now get your line and--

ANNA:

(BEAT) And what?

VRONSKY:

(LOW) You get a sense we're being watched?

ANNA:

(LOW) Watched? We're being devoured.

VRONSKY:

(LOW) Shall we deprive these charming people of their - hors d'oeuvres?

ANNA:

(LOW) Oh, that would be cruel.

VRONSKY:

(LOW) Then let's be cruel. Watch!

SOUND:

WHACK! WHACK! AS ONE CROQUET BALL SMACKS THE OTHER

ANNA:

Oh, you've hit us both out.

VRONSKY:

Just as I intended.

ANNA:

Behind those trees?

VRONSKY:

Well, at least, we're together. (CROSSES TO TREES) Shall we play from there?

ANNA:

(TAGS ALONG RELUCTANTLY) Oh, you - you really shouldn't. They'll talk.

VRONSKY:

Let them talk.

ANNA:

They'll say all sorts of things.

VRONSKY:

They'll say them anyway. Here we are. Out of sight, but not out of mind. Not out of their minds.

ANNA:

(GLUM) Count Vronsky -- this can't go on.

VRONSKY:

What do you wish me to do?

ANNA:

Go back to Moscow. Pick some pretty young girl; get married.

VRONSKY:

Very well. I will.

ANNA:

(STARTLED) You will?

VRONSKY:

We'll never see each other again.

ANNA:

(UNCONVINCING) Yes. That is best.

VRONSKY:

Anna, you're all my life to me. You know that. You've known it from the beginning.

ANNA:

But--

VRONSKY:

And I know what I mean to you. I can see it in your eyes.

ANNA:

No. It must end--

VRONSKY:

I say I'll leave you and, while I say it, you know you can't deny it -- we're doomed.

ANNA:

No, no, no.

VRONSKY:

Doomed to unimaginable despair. (WHISPERS) Or to bliss. Unimaginable bliss.

ANNA:

Please. No, please--

KARENIN:

(CALLS, FROM OFF) Anna?! Anna, my dear?!

VRONSKY:

That's your husband, I believe. (TO KARENIN) We're here, sir!

KARENIN:

(CLOSER, POINTEDLY) Ahhh. Out of bounds, I see. Good afternoon, Count Vronsky.

VRONSKY:

Your Excellency.

KARENIN:

Anna, I stopped by on the way from the office. I thought you might want me to take you home.

ANNA:

(RELUCTANT TO GO) Well, Lidia has asked me to stay for dinner. I'm sure she'll want you, too.

KARENIN:

I'm sorry, I must finish some work this evening.

ANNA:

Then - you won't mind if I stay?

KARENIN:

As you like, my dear. (MOVING OFF, POINTEDLY) And if your son asks for you, I'll explain that you're busy.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

AN INDOOR CLOCK CHIMES A LATE HOUR

SERGEI:

(A YOUNG BOY) Mother? Is that you, mother?

ANNA:

Sergei? You're still awake?

SERGEI:

You didn't come in to kiss me good night.

ANNA:

I'm sorry, dearest.

SERGEI:

I can never sleep unless you kiss me good night.

ANNA:

And you shall have your kiss now.

SERGEI:

(BEAT, FOR KISS) Now I can sleep.

ANNA:

Darling, darling, will you always love me?

SERGEI:

Don't go away.

ANNA:

Ssshh, dearest. It's all right. Go to sleep.

SERGEI:

But, mother--

ANNA:

Sh! Good night, darling.

SOUND:

ANNA'S FOOTSTEPS AWAY ... DOOR CLOSES

KARENIN:

Anna?

ANNA:

(STARTLED INTAKE OF BREATH) Yes?

KARENIN:

Will you come here, please? I must speak to you.

SOUND:

ANNA'S FOOTSTEPS TO KARENIN

ANNA:

It must be very important to keep you up so late. (BEAT) Well?

KARENIN:

Anna, I feel it necessary to warn you.

ANNA:

Warn me? About what?

KARENIN:

You've become an object of disagreeable gossip. These attentions from Count Vronsky.

ANNA:

Do you mean to accuse me of anything wrong?

KARENIN:

I'm not inquiring into your feelings, Anna. I have no wish to pry into your soul. I am only concerned with appearances.

ANNA:

Of course. Appearances.

KARENIN:

You do not love me, I know. You've never loved me. But this much, at least, you will consider. The effect of a scandal upon your son. That's all. Good night.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND ANNA--

ANNA:

(NARRATES) I tried. I tried, Alexei, because I loved my son. Sergei and you -- you two were all I had in the world. But then - the next day you rode for your regiment in the race.

MUSIC:

FADES OUT BEHIND--

SOUND:

RACE CROWD (MURMURS AND CHEERS, ET CETERA)

ANNA:

(NARRATES, INCREASINGLY FAST AND AGITATED) Yes, I sat and watched with my husband -- for appearances. But all that was real in me was with you as you rode. I touched the spurs with you, I used the whip, I strained with you to clear the obstacles, I groped the reins with you, and as you reached the final barrier! (SHOUTS LOUD) Alexei!

MAN:

He's down! He missed the barrier! No, wait, he's up!

ANNA:

(GASPS IN HORROR)

WOMAN:

(SOOTHING) Oh, he's getting up, Anna. He's all right.

ANNA:

(DISTRESSED) Are you sure? (SWOONS)

KARENIN:

(SHARPLY) Anna! Anna, what is it?!

MAN:

(SURPRISED) Karenin, she's fainted.

KARENIN:

(BEAT, GRIM) Yes, the excitement. (COOLLY DIPLOMATIC) If you will excuse us now, I think I'd better take her home.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

KARENIN:

The very thing I warned you about, Anna -- making me ridiculous to my friends, my colleagues. Unless I'm mistaken about the meaning of your conduct--

ANNA:

(LISTLESS) You're not mistaken. I love him. You may do what you like with me.

KARENIN:

Anna, I believe in marriage as an institution. The family cannot be broken up by whim or caprice. I have stated these views in public; I will not violate them in private.

ANNA:

You mean you will not give me a divorce?

KARENIN:

Why should I? To justify your conduct? And his? No. You will remain here as my wife before the world. You will never see him again.

ANNA:

And the alternative?

KARENIN:

Resign all claim to your son.

ANNA:

(UPSET) To Sergei?! Oh, but I couldn't! I couldn't live without my child! Oh, you know I couldn't. Please, please, if you ever loved me-- If there remains in you one spark of generosity, of kindness--

KARENIN:

(COOL) I'm very sorry, my dear. I'm late for an appointment at the ministry.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

YASHVIN:

(A YOUNG MAN) You know, Alexis, as your closest friend, I can tell you the colonel is highly pleased with you -- until this last month when you curtailed your attentions to a certain charming lady.

VRONSKY:

The colonel has it all wrong. I didn't stop seeing the lady; she stopped seeing me.

YASHVIN:

(CHUCKLES) Of course. Exactly what I'd expect you to say. Part of the code.

VRONSKY:

(SCOFFS) The code. For gentlemen and officers, a fine code indeed. Pay a card sharper, but don't pay a tailor.

YASHVIN:

Quite right.

VRONSKY:

Never lie to a man, only to a woman.

YASHVIN:

Naturally.

VRONSKY:

Never cheat anyone, except a husband.

YASHVIN:

Inevitably.

VRONSKY:

Never pardon an insult, but give one freely.

YASHVIN:

Obviously.

VRONSKY:

It's stupid, unfair, nonsensical! It's-- It's--

SOUND:

KNOCK AT DOOR

VRONSKY:

Yes? Come in?

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS

BIT:

Excuse me, sir, but, er-- (WHISPERS) A lady's outside.

VRONSKY:

Here? Well, yes. Yes, just a moment.

BIT:

Thank you, sir.

VRONSKY:

Oh, er, Yashvin? If you'll excuse me; something unexpected.

YASHVIN:

Oh, certainly. I understand. I was going anyway.

VRONSKY:

Uh, the other door, please.

YASHVIN:

(CHUCKLES, MOVING OFF) Of course.

SOUND:

YASHVIN EXITS OUT THE OTHER DOOR ... ANNA ENTERS THROUGH FIRST DOOR

ANNA:

Alexei?

VRONSKY:

(WARMLY) Anna.

ANNA:

I had to come. I had to come, Alexei.

VRONSKY:

Anna, you're here. You're really here.

ANNA:

This awful - this awful separation. Sitting in that house, night after night, dying in silence. He sits across the table, watches -- cold, black, merciless. I can't tell you what it's been--

VRONSKY:

Oh, darling.

ANNA:

A prison with no hope of reprieve.

VRONSKY:

For me, too. My life has been dead, tasteless.

ANNA:

Each hour, I think, the days go by and life goes by without you-- I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to see you just once.

VRONSKY:

Anna -- you're not going back.

ANNA:

What shall I do?

VRONSKY:

Go away with me -- just you and I.

ANNA:

But you -- your career, the regiment.

VRONSKY:

The devil with the regiment! We'll go away tonight. Now! Anna, you will. You will -- I see it in your face! (LOVINGLY) Oh, Anna, Anna--

ANNA:

Love me, Alexei. Love me very much. Now I have no one in the world but you.

MUSIC:

CURTAIN

SOUND:

APPLAUSE

ANNOUNCER:

Lady Esther has presented Act One of "Anna Karenina" starring Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman. In just a moment, we will hear the Lady Esther Screen Guild Players in Act Two. But first a word from our hostess, Lady Esther.

LADY ESTHER:

Suppose I were to say to you, "No one is born with a dry, rough skin. No one is born with blackheads or big pores. And I can prove that no one needs to have skin troubles. I can prove it right now with my thirty-second Patch Test."

Then suppose you said, "What is the Patch Test and how will it prove that no one needs to have skin troubles?"

Well, here's how I would describe the Patch Test, and remember, it takes only thirty seconds -- half a minute. Just rub a little Lady Esther Four-Purpose Face Cream on one part of your face -- like your forehead, chin, or one cheek. Rub it on, wipe it off, and look in your mirror. See how much fresher and clearer that patch of skin looks than all the skin around it. Touch it with your fingers. Feel how the dry, rough flakes are gone. Feel how that patch of skin has taken on a delicate, babylike smoothness. Now, that will happen to your entire face when you apply Lady Esther Face Cream, for it does the four things your skin needs most for beauty. It gives your skin sparkling new beauty and freshness in a single application. And you can prove it. You can see it for yourself in thirty seconds with the simple little Patch Test.

MUSIC:

FOR A VERY RUSSIAN INTRODUCTION ... THEN BEHIND ANNOUNCER--

ANNOUNCER:

Again, a lovely old country house near Saint Petersburg. Again, the candlelit study and young Sergei Karenin lost in the spell of his mother's letter.

SERGEI:

Major Yashvin, did they go away, my mother and Count Vronsky?

YASHVIN:

(AS AN OLD MAN) Yes, they went away. A love like theirs could not be bound or shackled by the world.

SERGEI:

Where did they go?

YASHVIN:

To Italy, to Venice. All that, too, is in the letter.

MUSIC:

WISTFUL, IN BG

YASHVIN:

(READS) "And so we ran away, Alexei -- you and I -- to happiness greater than I'd ever dreamed. Italy was warm and bright. The sun shone every day-- (FADES OUT)

ANNA:

(OVERLAPS WITH ABOVE, NARRATES) The sun shone every day as if to smile on all the things we felt. Remember, darling? The golden days, the lazy days, so full of quiet joy.

MUSIC:

FADES OUT

VRONSKY:

(DREAMILY) Anna? What do you think? Shall we go out in a gondola on the Grand Canal?

ANNA:

Mmmm, yes.

VRONSKY:

Or explore all the little canals where the Doges used to throw their enemies?

ANNA:

Yes.

VRONSKY:

Or go to St. Mark's and feed the pigeons?

ANNA:

Yes.

VRONSKY:

Or to Florian's and feed ourselves?

ANNA:

(CHUCKLES) Oh, yes.

VRONSKY:

Or shall we be really energetic--?

ANNA:

Yes?!

VRONSKY:

And go out on the balcony and adore each other?

ANNA:

(LAUGHS WARMLY)

MUSIC:

ROMANTIC BRIDGE ... THEN IN BG

ANNA:

(NARRATES) "Unimaginable bliss." You had said it once, Alexei. And there, in Venice, we found it together. Until that night-- Do you remember, darling?

MUSIC:

CHANGES TO HARP ACCOMPANIMENT FOR A LONE WOMAN SINGING "SORRENTO" IN THE DISTANCE

SOUND:

GENTLE SLOSH OF WATER AGAINST GONDOLA

ANNA:

(NARRATES) The moon, the gondola, somewhere a song -- such beauty as I could not bear. And so I turned to you and said, "Alexei--?"

VRONSKY:

Yes?

ANNA:

Is there pain in the world? Are there tears?

VRONSKY:

For this one hour, they're extinct.

ANNA:

I feel pain. I feel tears.

VRONSKY:

Why?

ANNA:

Because I'm happy. This is happiness. Not to think -- only to feel, to live. Is that not so, darling? (NO ANSWER) Alexei?

VRONSKY:

And the breath of Russia is sweet, and sweet over all the land broods the soul of Russia. Do you remember Pushkin's poem?

ANNA:

(REALIZES) You miss Russia. You miss home!

VRONSKY:

(CHUCKLES) Oh, not really. Oh, sometimes the snow, perhaps. I think I must have been born with snow in my blood.

MUSIC:

SINGER FINISHES HER SONG

ANNA:

(BEAT) Alexei?

VRONSKY:

Yes, Anna?

ANNA:

This afternoon in the square, I saw a little boy.

VRONSKY:

Darling -- I know what you're thinking. You mustn't. You still have me, darling; I love you.

ANNA:

I know. I know. But there was something about the boy. Something in his face. (ABRUPTLY) Alexei? Let's go home!

MUSIC:

BRIDGE ... THEN IN BG

SERVANT:

Shall I take your cloak, madam? I can brush the snow off in the kitchen.

ANNA:

(ABSENTLY) Oh, yes, thank you. (APPREHENSIVE) Where is Count Vronsky?

SERVANT:

Why, he is out, madam.

ANNA:

Out?

SERVANT:

Yes, madam. Captain Yashvin came by.

ANNA:

And they went out together?

SERVANT:

Yes, I believe they were going to the club.

ANNA:

Oh.

MUSIC:

UP, FOR A BRIDGE

SOUND:

CLOCK STRIKES A LATE HOUR ... DOOR OPENS

ANNA:

(ANXIOUS) Alexei? Is that you, Alexei?

VRONSKY:

(SURPRISED) Anna! You're still awake?

ANNA:

I couldn't sleep. Did you have a good time with Yashvin?

VRONSKY:

Well, you know Yashvin; he's always jolly.

ANNA:

What did you do?

VRONSKY:

Oh, we talked regimental gossip and went around to the club.

ANNA:

Did you enjoy that?

VRONSKY:

Oh, it was nice seeing the old crowd again.

ANNA:

But you felt yourself an outsider.

VRONSKY:

(HE DID) Well, as a matter of fact--

ANNA:

And you thought-- Oh, never mind.

VRONSKY:

Anna, what's wrong with you?

ANNA:

You thought, "Why did I give this up? All this jolly life! Why?! For what?!"

VRONSKY:

Really, Anna, your imagination--

ANNA:

It's the truth! I can see it in your eyes! It's true!

VRONSKY:

Anna! You're conjuring up phantoms!

ANNA:

(LOW, SAD) Am I? I went to see Sergei this afternoon. The servants wouldn't let me in. Karenin has told my son that I am dead.

VRONSKY:

Why didn't you tell me? Darling, I'm so sorry.

ANNA:

(NEAR TEARS) Take me away. Take me out of this hateful city.

VRONSKY:

Of course I will; I will, Anna. First thing tomorrow. We'll go to my place in the country. Just the two of us.

ANNA:

Yes. Just the two of us. Just the two of us.

MUSIC:

MOURNFUL BRIDGE

SOUND:

RAIN FALLS

ANNA:

Alexei? You've been so quiet all afternoon. Is anything wrong?

VRONSKY:

(RESTLESS) Oh, this beastly rain. Can't hunt, can't ride. Can't even walk.

ANNA:

(HURT, EDGY) I'm sorry you're bored.

VRONSKY:

(CHUCKLES) I'm not, really. Anna, I've been meaning to tell you. I'm afraid I shall have to go to Moscow.

ANNA:

Again?

VRONSKY:

Well, there's business. I have to see my mother about the estate.

ANNA:

(A LITTLE RESENTFUL) Yes, I know. Perhaps your mother will give another party for you. The last one, you said, was very gay.

VRONSKY:

(AN OUTBURST) Well, what of it?! Sometimes, it's pleasant to be gay!

ANNA:

Oh, I understand you very well, Alexei.

VRONSKY:

What do you mean by that?

ANNA:

Nothing.

VRONSKY:

I'm sick of hints, insinuations! Why can't you be simple?

ANNA:

I am. That's the trouble.

VRONSKY:

That isn't the trouble at all! The trouble is we're too much alone! (BEAT) Really, Anna. We should have people here.

ANNA:

(SCOFFS) People! Who would come?

VRONSKY:

Oh, my old comrades from the regiment.

ANNA:

Perhaps. Perhaps men are more tolerant.

VRONSKY:

And Yashvin.

ANNA:

At least Yashvin likes me.

VRONSKY:

Oh, he adores you. We'll have a wonderful time. The rain can't last. I'll ask them the weekend after next.

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

SOUND:

PARTY BACKGROUND

YASHVIN:

(A YOUNG MAN) I tell you, if we had a spark of courage, we'd be in with the Serbs right now fighting the Turks!

SOUND:

PARTYGOERS MURMUR AGREEMENT

VRONSKY:

Yashvin, is there any chance of our getting in?

YASHVIN:

Oh, not much, Alexis. The government's lazy.

OFFICER:

Not all of us, though.

VRONSKY:

What do you mean?

OFFICER:

Tell him, Yashvin.

YASHVIN:

Well, confidentially, Alexis, most of us here are planning to resign from the regiment and join up with the Serbs.

SOUND:

PARTYGOERS MURMUR AGREEMENT

VRONSKY:

(EAGERLY) When are you going? Could I--?

ANNA:

(APPROACHES, MERRILY) Gentlemen--!

VRONSKY:

Anna?

ANNA:

I trust I'm not spoiling your argument.

YASHVIN:

Oh, it was no argument, madam. We were talking about war.

ANNA:

Even in peace, must you soldiers talk about war?

OFFICER:

(CHUCKLES) It's during war we talk about peace.

VRONSKY:

(ENTHUSIASTIC) Anna, they're going to fight the Turks.

ANNA:

But we're not at war with the Turks.

VRONSKY:

No, but we have sacred obligations to our fellow Slavs. For my part, I think--

OFFICER:

Vronsky? You're with us? Oh, that's wonderful!

ANNA:

(ALARMED) Alexei--!

YASHVIN:

Gentlemen, I propose you a toast. To our good friend and comrade, Count Alexis Vronsky. And may he be lucky in war as he has been in love!

SOUND:

PARTYGOERS CHEER AGREEMENT

MUSIC:

BRIDGE

ANNA:

Alexei, it's true then? You're really leaving?

VRONSKY:

I'm to join the others in Moscow.

ANNA:

Shall I go with you to Moscow? Oh, please, Alexei, let me!

VRONSKY:

Believe me, Anna -- it's better that you do not.

ANNA:

I see. So this is how you love me?

VRONSKY:

Oh, please, Anna. Let's don't quarrel now.

ANNA:

Not even these last few hours; you don't want to give me these last--

VRONSKY:

Anna, I beg of you. When you're calm--

ANNA:

I love you and you're tired of me! That's why you're enlisting in a foreign war!

VRONSKY:

I must fill my life with something!

ANNA:

Something! Anything! Anything but me!

VRONSKY:

Anna, listen to me! I love you, I love you; you know that. But love isn't everything!

ANNA:

(BEAT, LOW) One only says that when love is over.

VRONSKY:

I wish you'd stop chattering to me about love! After all, I'm a man! There are other things! I can't stand the sound of the word any more! I'm sick and tired of love!

ANNA:

(BEAT, WHISPERS) This - is the truth, then. At last.

VRONSKY:

(APOLOGETIC) Anna, Anna, listen--

ANNA:

There is nothing more that need be said. Good night.

MUSIC:

SORROWFUL BRIDGE ... THEN IN BG ... FADES OUT BY [X]

ANNA:

(NARRATES) And now you're gone, Alexei. And I'm alone. As I was doomed to be from the moment we met. But this I must write, and this I must tell you still once again. Whatever of my heart is left. Whatever of my life is yours--

YASHVIN:

(AN OLD MAN, OVERLAPS WITH ABOVE, READS) "Whatever of my life is yours, you must decide if you wish to keep it. I love you. I shall always love you. Anna." [X]

SERGEI:

That is the end, Major Yashvin?

YASHVIN:

Not quite, my boy. She brought the letter to Moscow so he might read it before he left. I remember we were already on the train. We had just started to move. She came running along the platform, calling to him. Perhaps he did not hear. He turned away.

SERGEI:

And she?

YASHVIN:

I saw her pause beside the moving train. I saw her fall; the running crowds.

SERGEI:

An accident?

YASHVIN:

Perhaps.

SERGEI:

And he -- Count Vronsky?

YASHVIN:

They sent her letter to him in the field. That night, he didn't say very much. Went to his tent and wrote. It was his will. The will that gave this house to you. The next morning, in battle, he was killed.

SERGEI:

He - he meant to die?

YASHVIN:

Perhaps. Yet sometimes through the years, I felt that neither one was gone. And sometimes in this house -- perhaps it was the wind -- I seem to hear a lover's sigh.

MUSIC:

ROMANTIC, IN BG

VRONSKY:

(LOVINGLY) Anna -- Anna -- you are my whole life.

ANNA:

I love you, Alexei. I shall always love you. Always, always, always.

MUSIC:

UP, FOR CURTAIN

SOUND:

APPLAUSE

ANNOUNCER:

Thank you. Thank you, Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck for a beautiful and tender performance, one that we will all remember for a long, long time.

BERGMAN:

We will remember, too, Mr. Bradley, and be very happy that we were invited to appear here with the Lady Esther Screen Guild Players. We all know the magnificent work being done by the Motion Picture Relief Fund and its country house and clinic. We know how that work is made possible by these radio programs and we are proud to share in them. And now here is a word from one of America's foremost beauty authorities, Lady Esther.

LADY ESTHER:

Thank you, Miss Bergman. Anyone can use the words I use, can say the things I say, even a parrot. But no one can give you the same face cream I do. And I'm willing to prove it, prove it in thirty seconds -- half a minute -- with the Patch Test. To make the Patch Test, just rub a little Lady Esther Face Cream on your forehead or one cheek. Rub it on, wipe it off, and I promise you an experience you won't soon forget. You'll see that patch of skin become fresher and clearer before your eyes. You'll see it take on a sudden new look of beauty and radiance. And when you touch it with your fingers, you'll discover that the dry, rough flakes are gone; that the little area of skin to which you applied Lady Esther Face Cream has a new silken feel to it, a baby-soft smoothness. Now, that will happen to all your face when you apply Lady Esther Face Cream, for it does the four things your skin needs most for beauty. Many women who thought they were
born with a bad skin write and tell me they see an exciting difference after the very first application of Lady Esther Face Cream. Prove it. See the exciting difference yourself by making the Lady Esther Patch Test. Remember, it takes only thirty seconds -- half a minute.

MUSIC:

THEME ... TILL END

ANNOUNCER:

Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman will soon be seen in the David O. Selznick production "Spellbound," and Gregory Peck is currently working in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production "Valley of Decision." Music on tonight's program was arranged and conducted by Wilbur Hatch.

You save enough on the largest-size jar of Lady Esther Face Cream to buy a box of Lady Esther Face Powder. So remember -- ask for the largest size.

Truman Bradley speaking for Lady Esther. Thank you and good night. This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

SOUND:

APPLAUSE