Campbell Playhouse - 19 - Peter Ibbetson
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00:00Gentlemen, your attendance, your generous encouragement, makes possible another season of these broadcasts.
00:07The actors and musicians, the engineers and sound technicians,
00:11all the craftsmen and artists who contribute their efforts to this program,
00:15want me to tell you how grateful we all are to all of you.
00:20In behalf of these ladies and gentlemen, and of our sponsors, the makers of Campbell Soups,
00:25I promise you the best year of radio plays we know you how to produce.
00:30Ladies and gentlemen, we present tonight the beautiful, the well-beloved,
00:35Peter Ibbotson, with Helen Hayes as Mimsy.
00:39But first, before we begin, welcome back to the Campbell Playhouse.
01:00My name is Peter Ibbotson.
01:04Ladies and gentlemen, you're about to hear the story of a man who was my friend.
01:10I have been for many years an object of pity and contempt to all who ever gave me a thought,
01:17to all but one, to all but one.
01:20He died early this year in a cell at Wormwood Jail, in which he'd been an inmate for over 28 years.
01:27He had been originally sentenced to death over the murder of a near relative.
01:32Later, this was commuted to imprisonment for life.
01:35Of all that ever lived on this earth, I have been, I think, the happiest and most privileged.
01:42As you will see, as you hear my story to the end.
01:46For a great many of the facts you're about to hear, I can personally vouch.
01:50Of the supernatural parts, there is not much I can say.
01:55You must remember that the man who wrote this was for a time incurably insane,
02:00and there seems to be some doubt among authorities of the prison as to whether he had ever completely recovered.
02:06At the risk of being thought to share his madness, if he was mad,
02:11I want you to know that I, for one, believe him to have been sane and to have told the truth all through.
02:20As you will see, as you hear my story to the end.
02:40Come in, sir.
02:42You no doubt have been in Paris before?
02:44Yes, I've been in Paris before.
02:45Oh, it is much changed, is it not?
02:47It is now grown larger, more of a town, more beautiful.
02:50The emperor has done great things.
02:52Yes, you must be very pleased with Paris.
02:54Pleased? Why should I be pleased?
02:56When I lived here, there were gardens with green trees and hedges and grass and flowers.
03:00Now what do you see?
03:01Little mean yards and villas like a London suburb.
03:04Oh, but it is so much more modern.
03:06Yes, of course.
03:08Tell me, how long is it since the houses in the street of the pump were pulled down and rebuilt?
03:13Oh, it is done since a long time.
03:14I myself have the hotel here for four years.
03:16And when I came here already, the old houses, the old, what you say, rubbish were already gone.
03:21Rubbish, you call it?
03:22I see.
03:23Now, if you will say what you desire for dinner, we have tonight a very special blanket of veal.
03:28Thank you, I don't feel like dinner.
03:30But, but, sir, you...
03:31Just leave me alone.
03:32I'm very tired.
03:34If I want anything, I'll call you.
03:36Of course.
03:37Thank you, sir.
03:44And he left me there by the open window.
03:47It was that day that we had our first dream.
03:59I'd lain there for a while thinking of all the things that I'd seen that day.
04:03And remembering my life as it had been in London and here in Paris when we were children.
04:09I'd lain there by the open window, I can't tell you how long.
04:14Remembering the years gone by, that beautiful French garden under the warm June sun where I began my conscious existence.
04:21That afternoon in Paris, in Madame Sorosquier's drawing room, when I first saw Colonel Ibbotson.
04:29Here he is, Colonel.
04:31This is your uncle.
04:32Step over here, boy.
04:33Come on.
04:34Now then, Gogo, don't be shy, dear.
04:36This gentleman's come all the way from London to see you.
04:40This is the boy whose father blew his brains out trying to get rich quick, eh?
04:44Hardly looks like a French frog at all, do you, boy?
04:48Speak up, Peter.
04:50You can speak English, can't you?
04:52Come, let's hear you say, how do you do, sir?
04:54How do you do, sir?
04:55That's better, you young scamp.
04:57Now then, straighten up, meet your Uncle Ibbotson.
04:59Colonel Ibbotson, that's my name.
05:01To be yours from now on.
05:03You mean you're going to take him away, Colonel?
05:05I am indeed, ma'am.
05:06Leaving for London tonight.
05:07I'll make a gentleman of him, an English gentleman.
05:09Not like that French frog father of his.
05:12A man who couldn't even provide for his wife.
05:14Colonel Ibbotson.
05:15I think of what I offered that woman.
05:17Do you mean to tell me, ma'am, she never told you about me?
05:19Her cousin never told you, poor thing, that she and I...
05:22Please, Colonel.
05:24The boy.
05:25Oh, yes, the boy, yes.
05:26Well, ma'am, can you have him ready to leave tonight?
05:29Yes, if you wish it.
05:31He can be ready.
05:33If you'll excuse me, Colonel Ibbotson,
05:35I'll start getting his things ready.
05:37Of course, dear lady, of course.
05:40Gad, what a woman.
05:42Well, boy, say something.
05:44What's the matter?
05:45Are you dumb?
05:46I don't know what to say, sir.
05:48Aren't you glad to be going to England?
05:50I don't know, sir.
05:51Don't know?
05:52Well, I'll be dashed.
05:53Oh, not that I blame you, you little rascal,
05:55with a lovely lady like that next door to make over you.
05:57The way she had her arms around you, boy.
06:00By, George.
06:01I'd have given something to have been in your place myself.
06:04Quite the young lasagna, aren't you, boy?
06:07Aren't you?
06:08Huh?
06:15And so, on a beautiful June afternoon,
06:18sweet with roses and lilac,
06:20and gay with dragonflies and butterflies and bumblebees,
06:24my happy childhood ended as it had begun.
06:28Bogo, when you go away and you can't see me for a long time,
06:33for years and years, will you forget me, do you think?
06:36Of course not, Mimsy.
06:37Why do you think that?
06:38Well, I don't know.
06:40Boys are so different from girls.
06:42I expect you'll remember me all wrong
06:44if you don't forget me altogether.
06:46Oh, what rubbish you do talk.
06:47Bogo, you must come now, dear.
06:49I don't want him to go.
06:50Come, dear.
06:51Mother, I don't want him to go away.
06:53Bogo.
06:55Bogo.
06:56Bogo.
07:02And as our carriage started,
07:03I remember I looked back and saw for the last time
07:06the house where I was born.
07:09And standing at the iron gate, I remember Mimsy
07:13with her thin, pale face and close, cropped hair
07:17sucking her thumb, trying not to cry.
07:22A moment later, our carriage had turned the corner
07:25and they had vanished forever.
07:28And so it was that I left my childhood
07:30and went to England with my uncle.
07:33There I'd lived for 12 long years
07:34until that day in June, the day of our first dream.
07:38I came back to Paris and fell asleep
07:39by the open window in that little parlor
07:41of the Tete Noire hotel.
07:43I remember it was evening, Sunday evening in Paris.
07:46I'd seen it over and over again
07:48just like this in the old days.
07:50From where I lay, I could see the cafes
07:52in the little square between the bridge and the park.
07:55The air was full of the scent of trodden grass
07:57and macaroons and sweet French tobacco blown from the park,
08:01of gay French laughter and the faint sound of music.
08:0512 years I'd been in England
08:06while my uncle tried to make a gentleman of me,
08:09an English gentleman like himself.
08:11On my 21st birthday,
08:13he'd sent me to his tailor for a dress suit.
08:16After that, he took me out with him into society.
08:20That was where I met her.
08:22I was at Mrs. Dean's.
08:24Mrs. Dean was a lady to whom my uncle
08:27was at the time especially attentive.
08:29Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Drake.
08:35The Duchess of Towers.
08:38Why, Mr. Everson, what's the matter?
08:40What are you staring at?
08:41That lady.
08:43That lady who's just come in.
08:45Oh, so you too, Mr. Everson.
08:47You've fallen a victim to the epidemic of admiration.
08:49Who is she?
08:50Don't you know?
08:50That's the Duchess of Towers.
08:52Have you never heard of her?
08:54She's one of the kindest
08:55and most beloved women in London.
08:57Dear Mary does so much good.
08:59Yet her own life has been very sad.
09:01I don't understand.
09:02She married the Duke of Towers,
09:04somewhere abroad, I believe.
09:06He was charming enough for a while.
09:08Now there's no one in London who'll speak to him.
09:10Yet she remains so loyal to him.
09:13Come, let me introduce you to her.
09:15I want you to know each other.
09:16She's really one of the most charming
09:17and delightful women.
09:18The Honourable Joan of Arc.
09:20The Honourable Joan of Arc.
09:22The Honourable Joan of Arc.
09:24The Honourable Joan of Arc.
09:26The Honourable Joan of Arc.
09:28Such a great party in London, that's why.
09:30It's a wonderful thing you're doing,
09:32that you've hospitalised.
09:33Oh, thank you.
09:34You're so kind.
09:34If you only knew what happiness it gives me.
09:37I'm so glad you were able to come.
09:38I wanted to see you, my dear.
09:40Mary, I want you to meet a young friend of mine.
09:42Mr. Peter Everson, the Duchess of Towers.
09:45How do you do, Mr. Everson?
09:48Please, I'm so sorry to see you.
09:50Why, Peter, what's the matter?
09:52You seem sometimes...
09:53Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Dean, I...
09:55Oh, you did want to meet her, didn't you?
09:57What a strange boy you are.
10:00You mustn't be afraid to meet people.
10:02Oh, Mrs. Dean, it's not that, it's...
10:04I mean, seeing her like that, I just couldn't.
10:07She's too beautiful.
10:09I'm really, Peter.
10:10Oh, Mrs. Dean, I can see you're trying to entertain
10:13that nephew of mine, the Mooncalf.
10:15Come on, wake up, boy.
10:16Stop gooping through the door.
10:17Let's tear one of the room beyond.
10:19Ha, ha, poor fool.
10:20The desire of the moth for the star,
10:22the night for the morrow.
10:24I'm afraid you've not inherited your father's prowess
10:26as a Don Juan.
10:28Don Juan?
10:29He always speaks of his father as the most devoted husband.
10:31Ah, yes, of course, yes.
10:32He speaks of that Frenchman, Patskier.
10:34Yes, of course, of course.
10:35But I can see that you, Mrs. Dean,
10:37being a woman of the world,
10:38have already guessed a certain...
10:40Deliberately.
10:41Oh, dear lady, be discreet.
10:43Not a word, I beg you.
10:44I wouldn't have it known for the world.
10:46But you seem to have caught the light of day.
10:48We were young, his mother and I,
10:50and spring, you know, spring in Paris.
10:53I don't believe that.
10:55Oh, of course, of course.
10:56Well, that's what you have to say, Mrs. Dean.
10:58But tonight, before I sleep,
10:59I'll write you explaining everything.
11:01Peter himself will bring you the letter.
11:03Won't you, Peter?
11:04Why, yes, sir.
11:05That's right, my boy.
11:06Here's a chance for you to make up for your clumsiness.
11:08Remind me, I want you to take a letter
11:10to Mrs. Dean tomorrow.
11:11A very private letter, you understand?
11:14Yes, sir.
11:15And I want you to deliver it yourself, Peter.
11:18Very well, sir.
11:19And now, dear lady,
11:20if I may have the pleasure of your arm.
11:22Que voulez-vous?
11:23It's the call of youth,
11:24and what is youth, sweet lady, without love?
11:27L'amour, l'amour.
11:29C'est tout, c'est bon, c'est ravissant.
11:32L'amour.
11:33L'amour.
11:44I'd left my uncle's house after that,
11:46left it determined never to return.
11:48And I was back in Paris.
11:51So it was that I did that evening,
11:53tired and saddened.
11:55I'd come to the hotel.
11:58I lay there by the open window
11:59with the evening coming on,
12:00thinking sadly of things
12:01I'd seen that day.
12:03A crumbling wall,
12:04a stump of a tree,
12:05a rusty iron gate.
12:07All that was left
12:08of my dear, familiar world.
12:11From below, I could hear
12:12the noise of laughter
12:13and the faint sound of music.
12:15And down the street,
12:16an open carriage was driving towards me,
12:17coming closer and closer
12:18under my window.
12:19There was a lady in the carriage,
12:20by herself,
12:21and as she glanced up
12:22at my window for a moment,
12:24as in a flash of summer lightning,
12:26her face seemed to light up
12:27with friendly recognition,
12:28with a sweet glance
12:29of kindness and pleasure
12:30and surprise,
12:31a glance that pierced me
12:32like a sudden shaft from heaven.
12:34It was the Duchess of Towers.
12:37And a moment later,
12:38the carriage was out of sight.
12:42I lay there a long time
12:43by the open window.
12:45In the square below,
12:46the voices were still.
12:48And it was getting dark.
12:51And then it was
12:52that I fell asleep.
12:53Perhaps it was my weariness.
12:56Or the heat of the thunder
12:57in the air.
12:59Or the strange sound
13:00of the distant familiar music.
13:06Mr. Ibbotson.
13:07The Duchess of Towers.
13:09Come in, Mr. Ibbotson.
13:11I can't.
13:12The gate.
13:13The gate is closed.
13:14The gate isn't closed,
13:15Mr. Ibbotson.
13:16You only think it's closed
13:17because you're not in.
13:18I'm in.
13:19I'm in.
13:20Mr. Ibbotson.
13:21You only think it's closed
13:22because you're not dreaming true.
13:24Don't be afraid.
13:26Give me your hand
13:27and come in with me.
13:28You see, it's so easy.
13:30It's an old iron gate
13:31to a garden.
13:32That's all.
13:33Am I awake or am I...
13:34Oh, it's so strange.
13:35I know I'm asleep.
13:37Lying by the window
13:38in the parlor of the inn.
13:39Yes, and just now
13:40from your window
13:41you saw me driving by.
13:42So don't be afraid.
13:43And of course
13:44you're asleep, Mr. Ibbotson.
13:45And dreaming.
13:46Otherwise I'd not be
13:47talking to you like this,
13:48you may be sure.
13:50Hold my hand, Mr. Ibbotson,
13:51and come with me.
13:53Now.
13:56What do you see?
13:57I see a garden.
13:58I hear someone playing.
13:59You know that tune?
14:00I seem to have heard it before.
14:02Long ago.
14:03You see, now you're
14:04dreaming true
14:05because I had you by the hand.
14:06Dreaming true?
14:07Yes, and now
14:08you must try again.
14:09I'll hold your hand
14:10and help you.
14:11Give me both your hands.
14:16Where are you now?
14:17I'm in a garden
14:18looking over a wall.
14:19Somehow I expected
14:20the wall to be very high
14:21but it isn't.
14:22I find I can look over
14:23it easily.
14:24You can see everything
14:25quite distinctly, can't you?
14:26I can even smell
14:27the scent of the flowers.
14:28You can see
14:29and hear and smell
14:30but you mustn't touch
14:31ever flowers or people
14:33or anything.
14:34Now try again.
14:35What do you see?
14:36I see a tree,
14:37an old apple tree
14:38and I see two women
14:39sitting under the tree.
14:40One of them is knitting
14:41at a table
14:42and oh, I know that table.
14:43There's a small boy
14:44there in an old-fashioned
14:45suit of clothes.
14:46He has a book
14:47in front of him
14:48with close-cropped
14:49black hair
14:50and a thin, pale face
14:53peering over his shoulder.
14:55May I?
14:56Could I speak to them?
14:58Just for a moment.
15:00Mother?
15:01Mimsy?
15:02Madam Sarovskaya?
15:04It's no use.
15:05They can't hear you.
15:07You must remember
15:08that all the things
15:09and all the people
15:10in this garden
15:11are dead and gone by.
15:12If you try to touch them
15:13or speak to them
15:14it blurs the dream
15:16like breathing
15:17on a window pane.
15:18I don't know why it does
15:19but it does.
15:20With you and me
15:21it's different.
15:22We're alive and real.
15:23That is, I am
15:24and you seem to be real too,
15:26Mr. Ibbotson,
15:27by the grasp of your hands.
15:29Though while you're here
15:30and what business you have
15:31in this my private dream,
15:33I still don't understand.
15:35No living person
15:36has ever been in it before.
15:38I can't make it out.
15:40Still, you're very welcome
15:41here, Mr. Ibbotson,
15:42if it amuses you to come,
15:43especially as for
15:44only a false dream of mine.
15:47For what else can you be?
15:49And now I must leave you.
15:51But if you want to stay on here
15:53in this garden
15:54after I've gone,
15:55you're very welcome
15:56to that too,
15:57if you can.
16:01Come on, children.
16:02It's time to go, isn't it?
16:03Not yet, not yet,
16:04Madame Sharovsky.
16:05Yes, Gogo,
16:06it's getting late.
16:07Your mother will be
16:08wondering where you are
16:09and the dew is beginning to fall.
16:10Oh, Mother,
16:11just one more story.
16:12You promise.
16:13Oh, please,
16:14Madame Sharovsky,
16:15one more, one more story.
16:16Oh, very well,
16:17one last story.
16:18What shall it be this time?
16:20Tell us about the white cat.
16:21No, the sleeping beauty.
16:22How about Prince Charming
16:24and the fairy princess?
16:25Oh, yes.
16:26Yes, Prince Charming,
16:27the fairy princess.
16:28Well, once upon a time,
16:30many, many years ago,
16:32when the world was a younger
16:33and better place
16:34than it is now,
16:35there lived a king and queen
16:38who had one son,
16:39and his name,
16:41his name was Charming.
16:43And when he grew up,
16:44the king, his father,
16:46and the queen, his mother.
16:51I had awakened.
16:56There were voices in the passage.
16:58It will be quite comfortable
16:59in the parlor
17:00until the storm passes.
17:02And will you see
17:03that my coachmen and footmen
17:04are dry and comfortable?
17:05Yes, Madame,
17:06I will see myself to your orders.
17:07I'll carry on.
17:08Thank you, Madame.
17:09You are too kind.
17:10The Duchess of Towers.
17:11Oh, I'm so sorry.
17:12I didn't know
17:13Why?
17:14Yes, Your Grace.
17:15You are Mr. Ibbotson,
17:16are you not?
17:17It's very kind of you
17:18to remember me, Your Grace.
17:19Oh, please don't let me disturb
17:20your early evening nap.
17:22You were sound asleep,
17:23weren't you?
17:24Confess.
17:25I'm sorry,
17:26I must have dozed off.
17:27Oh, don't apologize.
17:28I fell asleep in my carriage
17:29myself just now
17:30until the storm awoke me.
17:31And then I had the coachman
17:32pull up at this inn
17:33because he was getting wet
17:34and the horses were frightened
17:35by the lightning, poor thing.
17:37I think I saw you drive by
17:38just now from my window.
17:40Do you often come to Paris,
17:41Your Grace?
17:42Whenever I can steal away
17:43from London
17:44and the season
17:45and the rush,
17:46even for a day,
17:47I come across the water
17:48here to Paris.
17:49I love Paris, too.
17:51Strange that we should meet
17:52here in this little inn.
17:54I didn't know that
17:55anybody knew of it,
17:56at least not English people,
17:57I mean.
17:59Mr. Ibbotson,
18:00this winter when I saw you
18:01at Mrs. Dean's...
18:02Oh, I'm afraid
18:03I stared very rudely at you.
18:05I was hoping you'd forgotten.
18:06I remember it very well,
18:07Mr. Ibbotson.
18:09You know,
18:10that evening
18:11in a strange way
18:13you reminded me
18:14of a little French boy
18:15I once knew
18:16who was very kind to me
18:17when I was a little girl
18:19and whose father you
18:20happened to be like.
18:21But then I met you
18:22and heard your name
18:23and afterwards
18:24they told me
18:25you were a young
18:26English architect
18:27and from that
18:28and from what I hear
18:29a very promising one.
18:30Well,
18:31I was once
18:32a little French boy.
18:33You?
18:35Mr. Ibbotson?
18:37Yes.
18:38Later I had to change my name
18:39to please a relative
18:40of a young English.
18:41As a child
18:42this is where we lived
18:43here in Paris.
18:44What an extraordinary thing.
18:46What was your name then
18:48when you were a child?
18:50My father's name was Pasquier.
18:51Pasquier.
18:52Go, go, Pasquier.
18:53How did you...
18:55Don't you know who I am?
18:56Go, go.
18:57You're...
18:58Mimsy.
19:00Mimsy Swarovski.
19:01Oh, my dear.
19:02My dear.
19:03So it was our garden
19:04you were looking for
19:05and our house.
19:06It's all gone, Mimsy.
19:07All pulled down
19:08and built over
19:09and changed.
19:10I know.
19:11It drove me nearly mad
19:12and then just now
19:13I saw them all again
19:14and...
19:15Oh, no, that's foolish.
19:16That was a dream.
19:17A dream?
19:18I'm trying to remember
19:19what happened.
19:20I came up here
19:21I was tired and disappointed.
19:22I sat by the window there
19:23and then you drove by
19:24in the street below.
19:25Yes.
19:26It got dark
19:27and there was thunder
19:28in the air
19:29and I must have
19:30fallen asleep
19:31and I suppose
19:32it was seeing you
19:33just before that
19:34but I dreamed
19:35I was in our old street
19:36and I just got
19:37to the avenue gate
19:39I was there?
19:40Yes, in my dream
19:41and then you came
19:42towards me.
19:43I came towards you
19:44and held out my hand
19:45and told you
19:46that you were not
19:47dreaming true.
19:48I couldn't quite make out
19:49what I was doing
19:50in your dream
19:51and you gave me
19:52good advice.
19:53About not touching
19:54anything or picking
19:55the flowers
19:56or the dream would blur.
19:57Mr. Ibbotson
19:58it's not possible.
19:59Two people
20:00can't have the same dream.
20:01You let me inside
20:02and you told me
20:03how to dream true
20:04and you showed me
20:05the garden.
20:06And my mother was there
20:07and your mother
20:08and you and I
20:09as children
20:10under the tree.
20:12Mr. Ibbotson
20:13Oh please Nancy
20:14don't go.
20:15Mr. Ibbotson
20:16I can't tell you
20:17what it has been
20:18to me to see you
20:19once more.
20:20I thought you had
20:21died long ago.
20:22I feel as if
20:23I were dreaming now
20:24except that
20:25all this seems
20:26so impossible
20:27and unreal
20:28and dreams
20:29are never unreal.
20:30I don't know
20:31if I shall ever
20:32meet you again.
20:33You will be
20:34often in my thoughts
20:35but never
20:36in my dreams again
20:37that at least
20:38I can command.
20:39But Nancy
20:40No, no
20:41believe me
20:42it mustn't be
20:43Mr. Ibbotson
20:44I am not free
20:45and this must be
20:46our final farewell.
20:48I can't tell you
20:49how I feel about you
20:50and always have felt.
20:52You shall
20:53we shall often
20:54think of each other
20:55but we can never
20:56be together
20:57in our dreams.
20:59I wish you
21:00all the good
21:01one human being
21:02can wish another.
21:03Goodbye Mr. Ibbotson.
21:07I love you.
21:25You are listening
21:26to the Campbell Playhouse
21:27presentation of
21:28Peter Ibbotson
21:29starring Helen Hayes
21:30and Orson Welles.
21:31This is the
21:32Columbia Broadcasting System.
21:37Now we resume
21:38our Campbell Playhouse
21:39presentation of
21:40Peter Ibbotson
21:41starring Helen Hayes
21:42and Orson Welles.
22:02Here you are.
22:03Here,
22:04go on.
22:05Here,
22:06go on, take it.
22:08What's the matter?
22:09There's nothing
22:10the matter, sir.
22:11Don't you want your supper?
22:12No, sir.
22:13You're a queer
22:14one, you are.
22:15You don't eat
22:16hardly nothing.
22:17At night
22:18you sleep like a baby
22:19and all day
22:20you sit here
22:21at this table
22:22scrawling away
22:23for dear life.
22:24There's no harm
22:25in it, is there, sir?
22:26No, there ain't
22:27no harm in it
22:28if it makes you happy
22:29but if I was you
22:30Mr. Ibbotson
22:31I'd try to eat a bite
22:32that's what I'd do.
22:33Well,
22:34anyhow
22:35I'll leave that dish here
22:36maybe you'll change
22:37your mind.
22:38I'll get it
22:39for you later.
22:45So
22:48now I'm alone again
22:50and go on with my story.
22:52You know about
22:53my enchanted youth
22:54and of the garden
22:55in Paris where
22:56Mimsy Swarovski
22:57and I played as children.
22:58I've told you
22:59of my coming to live
23:00in England with my uncle
23:01Colonel Ibbotson
23:02of my return
23:03to Paris
23:04and of my strange
23:05meeting with the
23:06Duchess of Towers.
23:08Now
23:09with an unwilling heart
23:10I must come to
23:11the great calamity
23:12of my life.
23:13Soon after
23:14my return to London
23:16I called one evening
23:17upon my friend
23:18Mrs. Dean.
23:19My Peter
23:20you're back
23:21where have you been?
23:22In Paris
23:23I returned this afternoon.
23:24You left so suddenly
23:25is it true
23:26you and your uncle quarreled?
23:27I'm afraid so.
23:28I'm so sorry.
23:29To tell you the truth
23:30I've been feeling
23:31rather sorry
23:32about it myself.
23:33Mrs. Dean
23:34there's one thing
23:35I want you to tell me
23:36something I've never
23:37quite understood.
23:38That evening at your house
23:39my uncle made
23:40certain remarks
23:41certain allusions
23:42to my father.
23:43Peter I assure you
23:44he was just talking
23:45he didn't mean anything.
23:46Mrs. Dean
23:47that wasn't the first
23:48or the last time
23:49my uncle has spoken
23:50in that way
23:51about my parents.
23:52Peter
23:53may I ask you a question?
23:54Yes of course.
23:55Your father and mother
23:56were a very devoted
23:57couple were they not?
23:58They loved each other
23:59at first sight
24:00they loved each other
24:01until the day they died.
24:02And your uncle
24:03Peter
24:04did they ever talk
24:05about him?
24:06Were they friends
24:07he and your parents?
24:08Did your parents
24:09did your mother
24:10like him?
24:12Well
24:13Not much Mrs. Dean.
24:14Was there any
24:15particular reason
24:16for your mother's
24:17aversion to the colonel
24:18as far as you know?
24:19I really don't know.
24:20Peter
24:21I have a reason
24:22for asking you this.
24:23Well as a matter of fact
24:24Mrs. Dean
24:25there was a reason
24:26Colonel Ibbotson
24:27he's not really my uncle
24:28you know
24:30he once
24:31been infatuated
24:32with my mother
24:33rather desperately so
24:34and she had to
24:35refuse him three times
24:36before he gave up
24:37and went abroad to India.
24:38Later she met my father
24:39and they fell in love.
24:40Peter
24:41do you know
24:42the exact date
24:43when your uncle
24:44went to India?
24:45Oh yes certainly
24:46it sailed with his regiment
24:47the 43rd
24:48fifteen months
24:49before I was born.
24:50That's what I thought
24:51then he isn't your father.
24:52What did you say?
24:53Your uncle
24:54is a villain Peter
24:55and a liar
24:56he's done you
24:57and your parents
24:58a fearful wrong.
24:59Peter you know
25:00your uncle's handwriting
25:01and his crest
25:02Yes
25:03but do you remember
25:04bringing me a letter
25:05from your uncle
25:06the morning after
25:07you were at my house?
25:08Yes I remember
25:10Well this is the letter
25:12now that I know
25:13what a foul lie it is
25:14I thought for your own sake
25:15and the sake of your
25:16parents memory
25:17you ought to know
25:18what it says.
25:19Mrs. Dean
25:20Listen
25:21here's what he writes
25:22poor fellow
25:23all praise you
25:24charming but foolish
25:26we were cousins
25:27much thrown together
25:28both so young
25:30and one so beautiful
25:32happily an unsuspecting
25:33Frenchman of good family
25:34was there
25:35who had loved her long
25:36and she married him
25:37just in time
25:52What is it?
25:54What is it?
25:55Crockett
25:56Oh
25:57It's you Mr. Peter
25:58why we haven't seen you
25:59in a dog's
26:00Where's my uncle?
26:01Well the colonel said
26:02he's upstairs
26:03he's in his room
26:04but it's late
26:05I've got to see him
26:06Well there you are
26:07in a hurry Mr. Peter
26:08I never saw you
26:09in such a hurry
26:10before in my life
26:11Uncle
26:13Oh
26:14well
26:15the traveller returns
26:16my beloved nephew
26:18why this honour
26:20you come like a
26:21dutiful nephew
26:22to humble yourself
26:23to beg forgiveness
26:24Uncle I've come
26:25to have a talk with you
26:26What are you doing?
26:27Unlock that door
26:28Not until I'm finished Uncle
26:29What the devil
26:30Sit down Uncle
26:32You wrote Mrs. Dean
26:33I was
26:34your son
26:35It's a lie
26:37It's a lie
26:38Who told you so?
26:39She did just now
26:40It's a lie
26:41A spiteful invention
26:42of a cast off love
26:44I suppose she told you that too
26:45that I'm finished with her
26:47Now unlock that door
26:48and get out of here
26:49you pitiful green jackass
26:50or I'll have Crockett
26:51You ring that bell Uncle
26:52it won't help you
26:53Get out of here
26:54Look at this letter
26:56Do you know
26:57your own handwriting?
26:59A forgery
27:00Get down on your knees
27:01What are you doing boy?
27:02Take your hands
27:03off my throat
27:04Crockett
27:05Get down on your knees
27:06Let me go
27:07Go on down on your knees
27:08and confess the truth
27:09Confess
27:10Come on
27:11Confess
27:12You're a coward
27:13Confess
27:14You're a liar
27:15Confess
27:16what you wrote
27:17in that letter
27:18about my mother
27:19was a lie
27:20that I'm not your son
27:21I
27:22I confess
27:23I confess
27:24Alright now
27:25Get up
27:27Go over there to that table
27:29Try and undo
27:30some of the harm you've done
27:31Right
27:32Right
27:33But
27:34neither my mother
27:35nor Mrs. Dean
27:36were anything human
27:37Uncle
27:38Now then
27:39Put down that knife
27:40I'll tell you you fool
27:41Of course they were
27:42They both were
27:43Mrs. Dean and your mother
27:44Put down that knife
27:45Of course I wrote that letter
27:46Every word of it was true
27:47Put down that knife
27:48I'll show you who's master here
27:49You parasite
27:50You murderer
27:51No
27:52Uncle
27:53No
27:55You are to accept the verdict
27:56of this jury
27:57Before sentence is passed on you
27:58have you anything to say
27:59in your own defence
28:00No
28:01The sentence of this court is
28:02that you'll be hanged
28:03by your neck
28:04until you die
28:05Yes sir
28:06Yes sir
28:07Yes sir
28:08Yes sir
28:09Yes sir
28:10Yes sir
28:11Yes sir
28:12Yes sir
28:13Yes sir
28:14Yes sir
28:15Yes sir
28:16Yes sir
28:17Yes sir
28:18Yes sir
28:19Yes sir
28:20Yes sir
28:21Yes sir
28:22Yes sir
28:23Yes sir
28:24Is that you, chaplain?
28:26I'm glad you've come
28:27Mr. Riverson
28:28Last night
28:29you spoke of some message
28:30to a friend
28:32Do you care to give it to me now?
28:33Here it is
28:34What is it, Mr. Riverson?
28:35There are certain
28:36prison regulations
28:38I don't think this will
28:39interfere with regulations
28:40It's a miniature
28:41of my father and mother
28:42Who is it for?
28:43For Mary, Duchess of Tars
28:45And you won't send it, will you?
28:46You'll take it to her yourself
28:48I will, Mr. Riverson
28:49I promise
28:51No message goes with this
28:52Just do it through me
28:53She'll understand
28:54Very well
28:56Mr. Riverson
28:57We have much time
28:59Will you kneel down
29:00with me and pray?
29:02Pray
29:04Yes, chaplain
29:05I'll pray to whatever's
29:06left in me
29:07of inherited strength
29:09and courage
29:23This is the way, ma'am
29:25Down this way
29:27Is this his home?
29:28Is he in here?
29:29What's that?
29:31Oh, don't let them come in
29:33Let me alone, I beg you
29:34Let me alone
29:35Who is it?
29:36Chaplain
29:37Mr. Governor
29:38Come in, sir
29:39A new man
29:40Come in
29:41Peter
29:42Peter, we have good news
29:43Tell him, sir
29:44Mr. Riverson
29:45The Home Secretary
29:46has just commuted
29:47your sentence
29:48to life in prison
29:49No
29:51I
29:52I tried to be brave
29:55I tried to keep my courage
29:56up by thinking
29:57of the time I was going to die
29:58Oh, Peter
29:59You mustn't take it this way
30:00You think you're being kind
30:01but you're not
30:02You're not
30:03May I be alone with him
30:04to think for a few minutes?
30:05Well
30:06Chaplain and I will wait
30:07Okay
30:08Thank you very much
30:13Peter
30:15Peter, won't you
30:16keep on being brave?
30:18I'm young and strong
30:19I'll probably live 50 years
30:2250 years of misery
30:24and torture
30:26alone
30:28Why couldn't they let me die?
30:30Peter
30:31I have a message for you
30:32from someone you love
30:34Yes
30:35Yes, from her
30:36It's she who gave you
30:37back your life
30:38Mary
30:39Yes
30:40Her husband died last week
30:41and she was away
30:42When she heard the news
30:43of your trial
30:44she came back to London
30:45She was the Home Secretary
30:46for over three hours tonight
30:47Pleading
30:48Arguing
30:49Fighting
30:50as she never fought before
30:52And in the end
30:53you see, she won
30:54Yes
30:55And the message, please
30:57Tell him
30:58his life has just begun
31:00She said that?
31:01Yes
31:02What answer
31:03shall I take back with me?
31:05Tell her to try
31:07if she can
31:08not to think of me
31:09as I am here
31:11a murderer
31:12but as the little boy
31:13she used to play with
31:14so long ago
31:16Is that all, Peter?
31:17Yes, that's all
31:19Now I must leave you
31:20Let you have some sleep
31:22Lie down here
31:24You look so tired
31:25I couldn't
31:26But she wants you to
31:28Oh, I forgot
31:30That was the rest
31:31of the message
31:32Tell him to sleep
31:34and dream true
31:35Dream true
31:37She said you know
31:38what she meant
31:39Lindsay
31:40What's that?
31:41Nothing
31:42Nothing
31:43I'll try, Mrs. Dean
31:44I'll try to sleep
31:45There now
31:46Let me put this rug
31:47over you
31:49There
31:50We can't have you
31:51Thank you
31:52God bless you
31:53dear boy
31:55Sleep and rest
31:57Thank you
31:58I'll come again
32:00Often
32:03Mr. Edison
32:04So at last
32:05you've come
32:06Mary
32:08I've been looking for you
32:09and waiting for you here
32:10Why haven't you
32:11come sooner?
32:12Oh, I suppose
32:13you couldn't sleep
32:14or you couldn't dream
32:15I've tried
32:16I've tried so hard
32:17Ever since that terrible night
32:18I've not been able
32:19to dream true
32:20Oh, Peter
32:21Mary
32:23I swear to you
32:24by all that I hold
32:25most sacred
32:27by my mother's memory
32:28and yours
32:30I never meant
32:31to take my uncle's life
32:32As if you need
32:33to tell me that
32:34Look, I'm holding your hand
32:35and I can see
32:36into the very depths
32:37of your heart
32:38Mary, he came
32:39towards me
32:40with that long knife
32:41and he went down
32:42and I struck him
32:43again and again
32:44Hush, hush
32:45Each time
32:46I pass my hand
32:47across your brow
32:48I wipe away
32:49Your memory, you see
32:52Listen
32:55No, the sleeping beauty
32:57How about Prince Charming
32:58and the Fairy Princess?
32:59Oh, yes, yes
33:00Prince Charming
33:01The Fairy Princess
33:02Well, once upon a time
33:03many, many years ago
33:05when the world was
33:06a younger
33:07and a better place
33:08than it is now
33:09there lived a king
33:10and queen
33:11who had one son
33:13His name
33:14His name was Charming
33:16Do you hear?
33:17His name was Charming
33:18And when he grew up
33:19I'm a failure
33:21My life is finished
33:22Hush, hush
33:23Give me your hand
33:24No, it's true
33:25It's true
33:26All those high hopes
33:27we had
33:28when we were children
33:29all crumbled to dust
33:31I wanted to fly up
33:34up in the sun
33:35because you asked me to
33:37I wanted to succeed
33:38beyond all men
33:39because you wished it
33:40Peter
33:42There never has been
33:43anyone in the world
33:44but you
33:45Never a ghost
33:46of a woman
33:47Never even a friend
33:48until that night
33:49when I first saw you in London
33:50Till then
33:51I scarcely lived at all
33:53I fed on scraps
33:54of remembrance
33:56I was waiting for Mimsy
33:58Mimsy to come back again
34:00And when she did come
34:01at last
34:02Oh, for a time
34:03I was too blind
34:04to recognize her
34:05And now I don't know
34:06which of the two
34:07has been the sweetest
34:08You
34:09or she
34:11Both have been my life
34:13And shall be, Peter
34:15And shall be
34:17Charlotte and the beautiful
34:18fairy princess
34:19were married
34:20and lived happily
34:21ever afterwards
34:23And that, my dear
34:24is the end of the story
34:26Now, come on, children
34:27It's time we really
34:28are going home
34:29Gogo, you take the basket
34:31Mother, are you sure
34:32they lived happily
34:33ever afterwards?
34:34Yes
34:35Forever and ever?
34:36Yes
34:37Forever and ever and ever?
34:38Yes
34:39Oh, Gogo
34:40I'm so glad
34:41Aren't you?
34:42I'm so glad
34:43they're happy together
34:45You see, Peter
34:46From this moment
34:47we belong to each other
34:49Nothing can ever
34:50come between us again
34:52During those hours
34:53which people call night
34:54when our bodies lie
34:55in the half-death
34:56known as sleep
34:57In spite of your prison
34:59we, too, shall be together
35:01I am free now
35:03Each moment I can steal
35:04from my waking existence
35:05will be devoted to you
35:06as long as we both shall live
35:08I shall make you happy, dear
35:09I shall make you forget
35:11We shall go back together
35:12and see everything
35:13that either of us
35:14has ever loved
35:15or taken presence in
35:17Peter, isn't such a life
35:18our life
35:20sweeter than death?
35:30There
35:32really ends my story
35:35Little has happened to me
35:36in the 25 years
35:37that have passed
35:38since that fateful morning
35:40Little that men can see
35:43In the outside world
35:45those years have seen
35:46many changes, I am told
35:47A new generation
35:48and wars
35:49and inventions
35:50that have done much
35:51to alter the face of the earth
35:53But to me
35:54they are merely
35:5525 years
35:56of the most
35:57impossible happiness
36:0025 years
36:03Seems like a single night
36:06and like a thousand years
36:09So little has our world changed
36:11and so much
36:12have we seen
36:13and felt
36:14and done
36:15Mary and I together
36:17in that busy
36:18enchanted
36:19quarter of a century
36:22Mary beside me
36:24Never a day older
36:26In the enchanted
36:27home of our childhood
36:30And if ever
36:31this should change
36:33If ever the day
36:34should come
36:35Mary!
36:37Mary!
36:39Where are you?
36:42Where are you gone?
36:44Mary!
36:46Where are you?
36:47Mary!
36:49Where are you?
36:50Why don't you come to me?
36:52Why don't you come to me?
36:53Can't you hear me?
36:54Can't you hear me?
36:56Mary!
36:57Mary!
36:58Ah, there he is
36:59off again
37:01How is he tonight, Warden?
37:02Not so well, ma'am
37:04Talking very strange he is
37:06Seems to think
37:07he's lost someone
37:08He's getting weaker too, ma'am
37:10Doctor says
37:11he can't last more
37:12than a day or two
37:14Peter
37:16Peter, don't you know me?
37:18Warden
37:20Would you mind
37:21leaving us alone
37:22for just a little while?
37:23Shakingly, ma'am
37:24I'll be just that
37:25sorry to curse your name
37:26Thank you
37:27Mary
37:28Mary
37:30Where is she?
37:32Where is she?
37:33Peter
37:35Peter, I want you
37:36to be brave
37:37and bear what
37:38I'm about to tell you
37:39She's dead
37:40isn't she?
37:42Isn't she?
37:43I knew it
37:45She didn't come
37:46to me last night
37:47in our dreams
37:48And we've met
37:49every night
37:50for so many, many years
37:52She sent you this
37:53It was the last thing
37:54she did
37:55I'm too weak
37:57Read it to me
37:59Soon again
38:02The Fairy Princess
38:04Is that
38:05what she said?
38:08Thank you
38:10Soon again
38:13Soon
38:16Oh, I'm so tired
38:17So tired
38:19I could only
38:20see them once more
38:22The garden
38:24and the flowers
38:25and Madame Seraskia
38:26playing
38:28So tired
38:31So tired
38:33Peter
38:34Didn't you know
38:35I was near you?
38:37Mary
38:39You've come back to me
38:41Oh, my darling
38:43I couldn't have
38:44waited any longer
38:45Hush
38:47I know all you've been
38:48through, Peter
38:49by the touch of your hand
38:51Does the touch of my hand
38:52tell you nothing?
38:53Only of your great love
38:54for me
38:56And that's enough
38:57You've no idea
38:58how difficult it has been
38:59for me to come back
39:00to you, Peter
39:01even for a few moments
39:02And even now
39:03I can't stay very long
39:05It's like
39:06holding on to the wind
39:07to fill with one's wrist
39:10But since you
39:11you died, Mary
39:13I haven't had
39:14one single
39:15Every thought you had
39:16my love since I died
39:17I know already
39:19You will know it
39:20You will feel it
39:21All in a moment
39:22just as I did
39:23And the world
39:24the foolish world
39:25will call you dead
39:26And you will only
39:27have begun to live
39:28I can't understand
39:29And I can't find
39:30words to tell you
39:31Language is such
39:32a poor thing
39:33But where I am
39:34it is all eye
39:35and ear
39:36and the rest in one
39:37And oh, so much more
39:38besides
39:39Where I am
39:40I hear the sun
39:41shining on the earth
39:42And the birds
39:43singing
39:44the flowers grow
39:45And the birds
39:46sing
39:47And the bells
39:48pealing for life
39:49and death
39:50Happy, happy death
39:51If you only knew it, Peter
39:52The sun is shining
39:53on moons and planets
39:54And the very stars
39:55are singing
39:56What does it all mean?
39:57It means, Peter
39:58that nothing is lost
39:59Nothing
40:01We on earth
40:02are only poor
40:03little grubs
40:05Our body
40:06is the cocoon
40:07we spin ourselves
40:08from our early life
40:09That's what we are, Peter
40:10Memories
40:11that never die
40:12And shall we be happy?
40:14As happy as we have been
40:15We shall never
40:16be parted
40:17for a single moment
40:18That's all I want
40:19Oh, think of it
40:20Here there are
40:21battles to be fought
40:22and races to be won
40:23But no longer
40:24against each other
40:25And the good
40:26and the bad
40:27and the worst
40:28and the best
40:29are all mixed up
40:30Only the good
40:31comes to the top
40:32and the bad
40:33goes to the bottom
40:34Out of sight
40:35and out of mind
40:36Forgotten
40:37And everywhere
40:38about me
40:39where perfection is
40:42In a moment
40:43you will wake
40:44and I must leave
40:45Oh, don't leave me, dearest
40:46Too very soon
40:47Goodbye
40:48Oh, no
40:49No
40:50But not for long
40:52There's no sadness
40:53in bidding you farewell
40:54because I know
40:55that you will come to me
40:57Time is nothing
40:58A few hours
40:59till the dawn breaks
41:01and the shadows fly away
41:03Don't go, Mary
41:05Mary
41:07Help me
41:08I can't see
41:11It's dark
41:12all around me
41:15Mary
41:19I know now
41:20what she meant
41:22About the darkness
41:25The shadows
41:27and the dawn
41:30The light
41:32The light
41:36My friend
41:37Peter Ibbotson
41:39died in Wormwood Jail
41:41at the age of 67
41:44After his death
41:46I had the melancholy satisfaction
41:48of seeing him in his coffin
41:51The splendor of his dead face
41:53as he lay there
41:55will haunt my memory
41:56until I die
42:04That was Peter Ibbotson
42:05A fascinating
42:07short story
42:09When we prepared
42:10for the CBS broadcast
42:11we always rehearsed
42:12over two days
42:13The first day
42:14was so we could
42:15run through the script
42:16and familiarize ourselves
42:17with the characters
42:18When doing shows
42:19like Peter Ibbotson
42:20it also gave us time
42:21to shed our tears
42:22before going on the air
42:23the next day
42:25Actors also need
42:26to fully respond
42:27to the characters
42:28just as the audience does
42:30And by the second day
42:31we were able to
42:32control our feelings
42:33and solely submerge
42:34ourselves into our parts
42:35At that time
42:36we were scheduled
42:37for two broadcast productions
42:38one at 8pm
42:39and the other
42:40at 11pm
42:41for the West Coast
42:43Given all the fun
42:44we had back then
42:45and with the technical
42:46capabilities available
42:47to broadcasters today
42:49that's a scenario
42:50that will never happen again