The first episode of The Campbell Playhouse, titled “Rebecca,” is a radio drama adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel. Directed by and starring Orson Welles, this series aired on CBS from 1938 to 1941. The episode brings the suspenseful and atmospheric story of “Rebecca” to life through innovative use of sound effects and Welles’ captivating voice.
The Campbell Playhouse was a radio drama series that aired on CBS from 1938 to 1941.
Here's a breakdown of what made it interesting:
Star Power: It was directed by and starred the legendary Orson Welles, known for his innovative use of sound effects and captivating voice.
Classic Adaptations: During its first two seasons (1938-1940), the show focused on hour-long adaptations of classic plays, novels, and even some popular movies. Think "The Count of Monte Cristo" or "Rebecca" brought to life through radio.
Shifting Format: After Welles left, the show continued for a season with a shorter format (30 minutes) and a focus on lighter fare, often featuring Hollywood actors.
Listen to our radio station Old Time Radio https://link.radioking.com/otradio
Listen to other Shows at My Classic Radio https://www.myclassicradio.net/
Entertainment Radio | Broadcasting Classic Radio Shows | Patreon
Remember that times have changed, and some shows might not reflect the standards of today’s politically correct society. The shows do not necessarily reflect the views, standards, or beliefs of Entertainment Radio
The Campbell Playhouse was a radio drama series that aired on CBS from 1938 to 1941.
Here's a breakdown of what made it interesting:
Star Power: It was directed by and starred the legendary Orson Welles, known for his innovative use of sound effects and captivating voice.
Classic Adaptations: During its first two seasons (1938-1940), the show focused on hour-long adaptations of classic plays, novels, and even some popular movies. Think "The Count of Monte Cristo" or "Rebecca" brought to life through radio.
Shifting Format: After Welles left, the show continued for a season with a shorter format (30 minutes) and a focus on lighter fare, often featuring Hollywood actors.
Listen to our radio station Old Time Radio https://link.radioking.com/otradio
Listen to other Shows at My Classic Radio https://www.myclassicradio.net/
Entertainment Radio | Broadcasting Classic Radio Shows | Patreon
Remember that times have changed, and some shows might not reflect the standards of today’s politically correct society. The shows do not necessarily reflect the views, standards, or beliefs of Entertainment Radio
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00The
00:15makers of Campbell's Soups present the Campbell Playhouse. Orson Welles, producer.
00:42Good evening, everyone. This is Edwin C. Hill, and I bring you exciting news. Tonight, Orson
00:48Welles takes over the direction of the Campbell Playhouse and offers you, as his first production,
00:54America's bestseller, Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, with a great star, Margaret Sullivan.
01:01Exciting news, indeed, for I am here to welcome the white hope of the American stage as the
01:04director and star of the Campbell Playhouse, who writes his own radio scripts and directs
01:09them and makes them live and breathe with the warmth of his genes. There is no time
01:14to adventure into the story of his life, and that's too bad, because it is a tale that
01:19combines the best features of Baron Munchausen and Alice in Wonderland. If ever a boy was
01:24born for an actor, he was. At 13, he was directing The Troopers in the Todd School for Boys at
01:30Woodstock, Illinois, where he produced 30 plays. At 16, he was playing leading parts
01:37in Dublin at the famous Gates and Peacock and Abbey Theatres. His American career is
01:42really too recent and too well-known to recount here. He's been the leading man with Catherine
01:47Cornell, with John Houseman. He founded the Mercury Theatre and has operated it with magical
01:52success. He had four hits last year on Broadway, which beats Noel Cowell's record, From Here
01:58to Kalamazoo. And he's generally recognized today as being the most gifted stage director
02:03and actor of our time. His radio productions have attracted universal attention. His broadcast
02:10of the War of the Worlds last month, which I dare say you remember, made radio history
02:15and a national sensation. Why did a fantastic story of an utterly imaginary invasion from
02:21Mars produce this totally unexpected result? The result Mr. Wells, of course, greatly regretted.
02:29It was because, as in all his radio productions, Orson Wells is a master of realism, over-the-air
02:36and radio, unique, exciting. He shocked you. He sent the cold shivers racing up your spine.
02:43But that is not the thing he does best or best likes to do. He loves to tell a story,
02:49a great human story, welling up from the heart, brimming with deep and sincere emotion and
02:55lively with comedy. And such are the stories, thrilling, delightful, amusing, he will bring
03:02to the Campbell Playhouse. And because of all his gifts, his genius at playwriting,
03:08his ambition, his dynamic direction, his amazing character acting, he has been selected by
03:14Camels as the ideal man to conduct the Campbell Playhouse. And so tonight, Orson Wells makes
03:20his bow as the Outstanding Program Director of the Year. And I have the very great pleasure
03:25of presenting him now, Mr. Orson Wells. Thank you, Mr. Hill. It's a great big chance for
03:29me and a great big challenge. I have faith in radio and the makers of Campbell Soups
03:34have enough confidence in me to give me the direction of the Campbell Playhouse. Let's
03:38hope nobody is mistaken. Mr. Wells, could you tell us something of your aims, perhaps
03:43something of the kind of thing you hope to do with the Campbell Playhouse? Well, everybody
03:46likes a good story, and I think radio is just about the best storyteller there is. The Campbell
03:51Playhouse is dedicated to the radio production of good stories, stories from everywhere,
03:56from the stage, from moving pictures, and from literature. Next week, for example, we're
04:00doing a comedy, Call It a Day, and then Campbell's annual Christmas present to America, Lionel
04:06Barrymore in Dickens' Immortal, A Christmas Carol. And after that, there'll be Counselor
04:11at Law, a very human portrait of present-day people, Aerosmith by Sinclair Lewis with Helen
04:16Hayes, William Archer's The Green Goddess, Hector MacArthur's Hilarious Twentieth Century.
04:22In other words, all kinds of stories, mostly modern, and all of them chosen for their suitability
04:27to this medium. That's about all, except I'm going to try to tell them just as well as
04:31I know how. Well, I know you'll ring the bell. You know, the makers of Campbell Soups don't
04:36believe in all this talk about the radio audience having the average mentality of an eight-year-old
04:40child. They think the radio listeners are the same people that go to the pictures in
04:45the theater and read books. They reason that even the most popular radio entertainment
04:49should be addressed to the adult citizenry of America. I can only hope that what I do
04:54with the Campbell Playhouse will prove how much they mean it, and how right they are.
04:59I know it will. And now, just before you ring up the curtain on the first act, will you
05:05give us a word or two about the play?
05:06Gladly, Mr. Hilbert. If you'll pardon me, it's not a play, it's a story. You see, I
05:10think that radio broadcasting is different from motion pictures and the theater, and
05:14I'd like to keep it that way. The Campbell Playhouse is situated in a regular studio,
05:18not a theater. We have no curtain, real or imaginary, and as you see, no audience. There's
05:23only one illusion I'd like to create. The illusion of the story.
05:27But the star, too, is important, Mr. Wells. Is that not so?
05:30Oh, yes, indeed. And I'd like to say how very fortunate I am in having with me tonight the
05:35loveliness and the magic gift of Miss Margaret Sullivan. For Miss Sullivan is my first choice
05:41for a great part, and a great part it is, too. The most coveted of the season. The Scarlet
05:46O'Hara of 1938. The heroine of Daphne du Maurier's best-selling novel, Rebecca.
05:54Rebecca is going to be made into a movie by David Selznick. It ought to be one of the
05:58ten best. It's this year's contender for the five-foot shelf. Your best bet for anything
06:03from a weekend to a desert island, and it's a book you should read. The ideal Christmas
06:09gift to yourself. Miss du Maurier has flattered me with her confidence in permitting the Campbell
06:13Playhouse the great privilege of making for radio the first dramatization of her book.
06:19I'm meeting her for the first time tonight before this broadcast is over by special shortwave
06:23communication. She'll speak to us from London. So, ladies and gentlemen, and Miss du Maurier,
06:32the Campbell Playhouse is obediently yours.
06:43The Campbell Playhouse presents Rebecca, starring Margaret Sullivan and Orson Welles.
06:50We can never go back to Mandalay again. The past is still too close to us. The things
07:07we have tried to forget and put behind us would stir once more. But sometimes in my
07:14dreams I go to Mandalay again. I see the house, the grey stone shining in the moonlight of
07:21my dream. The terrace slopes to the lawn, and the lawns stretch to the sea like a sheet
07:29of silver under the moon. Light comes from the windows. The curtains glow softly in the
07:37night air. And there in the library, the door stands half open as if we had left it, with
07:45my handkerchief on the table beside the bowl of autumn roses and the charred embers of
07:50our log fire still smouldering against the morning. I wonder what my life would be today
07:58if Mrs. Van Hopper hadn't been a snob. Mandalay? Mandalay, my dear? Why, even you must have
08:07heard of Mandalay. That's Max de Witter at the table next to us, the man who owns Mandalay.
08:12They say he can't get over his wife's death, an appalling tragedy. The papers were full
08:17of it, of course. They say he never talks about it, never mentions her name. She was
08:22drowned, you know, in a bay near Mandalay. Mrs. Van Hopper, I know he can hear me. Nonsense,
08:26my dear. Go up to my room quickly and find that letter for my nephew. You know, the
08:29one written on his honeymoon with the snapshot? Bring it down to me right away. Mrs. Van Hopper,
08:33I don't really think... Go on, my dear, do as you're told. Don't argue. Hurry. When I
08:42came down, she had him sitting beside her on the sofa. He looked like no other man I'd
08:47ever seen, a man out of a long, distant past. Oh, there you are, my dear. This is Mr. de
08:55Witter. Mr. de Witter's having coffee with us. How do you do? You know, I recognized
08:59you, Mr. de Witter, just as soon as you walked into the restaurant, and I thought, why, there's
09:03Mr. de Witter, Billy's friend. I simply must show him those snapshots of Billy and his
09:07bride taking on their honeymoon. Look, here are the snaps. Here they are sunbathing at
09:12Palm Beach. He met her at that party where I first met you at Claridge's in London. But
09:16I dare say you don't remember an old woman like me. On the contrary, I remember you very
09:20well. Excellent snapshot. The bride's very pretty. I don't think I should care for Palm
09:25Beach. Well, of course, if one had a home like Manderley. I'm told Manderley's like
09:31fairyland. There's no other word for it. I wonder you can ever bear to leave it. Mr.
09:35de Witter is so modest, he won't admit it, but he has one of the loveliest homes in England.
09:40They say that the Minstrel Gallery at Manderley is a gem, and the gardens are simply the most
09:44perfect. The next morning, Mrs. Van Hopper woke up with a sore throat and a temperature.
09:56At noon, I went down to the restaurant alone. I expected it to be empty. Nobody lunched
10:02generally before one o'clock. He was sitting at the table next to ours. I sat down looking
10:09straight before me. I unfolded my napkin and knocked over the vase of flowers on my
10:14table. You can't sit at a wet tablecloth. Come on, get up. Waiter, I said you'll have
10:18lunch with me. No, no, I couldn't possibly. Why not? Well, you're being polite, but really I...
10:23I'm not being polite. I'd like you to have lunch with me. You're very kind. You don't believe me?
10:27Well, never mind. Come on, sit down. We needn't talk to each other unless we feel like it.
10:32Tell me about your friend. She seems a good deal older than you. What is she? A relation? Have you
10:41known her long? No, she isn't really a friend. She's an employer. You see, I'm what's called a
10:46companion. She pays me 90 pounds a year. I didn't know one could buy companionship. What do you do
10:52it for? 90 pounds is a lot of money. How old are you? Nineteen. You're not afraid of the future?
10:59No. Have you any family? No, they're dead. Well, then we've got a bond in common, you and I. We're both
11:07alone in the world. I have no companion. I shall have to congratulate Mrs. Van Hopper. You're cheap
11:12at 90 pounds a year. You forget, you have a home and I have none. An empty house, my dear, can be
11:20as lonely as a full hotel. The trouble is that it's less impersonal.
11:29I remember the feel of the leather seats in his car as we drove in the afternoons along the
11:40Mediterranean. I remember still my ill-fitting flannel suit and how the skirt was lighter than
11:46the coat. I remember now, glancing at my watch, I would think to myself, this moment now, now at
11:5620 minutes past three, this must never be lost. Never. You're a very silent companion. What are
12:06you thinking? I wish, I wish I were a woman of about 36, dressed in black satin with a string
12:13of pearls. You wouldn't be in this car with me if you were. Mr. De Winter, you're going to think
12:19me impertinent and rude, I dare say, but I would like to know why you asked me to come out in the
12:24car day after day. You're being kind, that's obvious, but why do you choose me for your
12:28charity? Because you're not dressed in black satin with a string of pearls, nor are you 36. No, it's
12:34not fair. You know everything there is to know about me. That's not much, I admit, because I haven't
12:39been alive very long and nothing very much has happened to me, except people dying. But you, I
12:45know nothing more about you than I did when we met. What did you know then? Well, that you lived at
12:50Mandalay and that you had lost your wife. Yes, my memories are bitter. I prefer to ignore them.
13:01Something happened to me a year ago that altered my whole life and I want to forget my existence
13:05up to that time. Those days are finished. They're blotted out. I want to begin living all over
13:12again. I'm so sorry. You've been so kind to me. I didn't mean to remind you. Curse your puritanical,
13:19tight-lipped little speeches and your talk about kindness and charity. I asked you to come with me
13:25because I want you in your company, and if you don't believe me, you can leave the car now and
13:28find your own way home. Go on. Open the door and get out. Well, what are you going to do about it?
13:37Please, drive me home.
13:45Well, I suppose you're young enough to be my daughter. I don't know how to deal with you.
13:55If you forget all I said to you just now, that's all finished and done with.
14:00Don't let's ever think of it again.
14:01My family used to call me Maxim. I'd like you to do the same. You've been formal long enough.
14:22What do you want? Something the matter? I've come to say goodbye. We're going this morning.
14:28We're going this morning. Come in. Shut the door. What are you talking about? It's true. We're leaving
14:33today. I was afraid I wouldn't see you. I felt I must see you again to thank you. Why didn't you
14:39tell me this before? Well, Mrs. Van Hopper only decided today. Her daughter sails for New York
14:43on Saturday, and we're going with her. She's taking you with her to New York? Yes, and I don't want to
14:47go. I shall hate it. I shall be miserable. Why in heaven's name, go. Sit down with me while I eat my
14:52breakfast. Have you had yours? Yes, oh, I really haven't. I ought to be downstairs now getting the
14:57tickets. You can sit with me for five minutes. Oh, I shouldn't. So, Mrs. Van Hopper's had enough of
15:02Monte Carlo. Now she wants to go home. So do I. She to New York, I to Manderley. Which would you prefer?
15:10Take your choice. Please don't make a joke about it. It's unfair. If you think I'm one of those people
15:14who tries to be funny before breakfast, you're wrong. I repeat, the choice is open to you.
15:20Either you go to America with Mrs. Van Hopper, or you come home to Manderley with me.
15:26Do you mean you want a secretary or something? No. I'm asking you to marry me, you little fool.
15:34I don't understand. I'm not the sort of person men marry. What the devil do you mean?
15:42I'm not sure. I don't think I know how to explain. I don't belong to your sort of world.
15:48What is my world? Well, Manderley, you know what I mean. You think I'm asking you to marry me for the
15:55same reason you thought I took you out in the car. To be kind, don't you? Yes. One day you may realize
16:02that philanthropy is not one of my strongest qualities. Are you going to marry me?
16:11My suggestion doesn't seem to have gone too well. I'm sorry.
16:18I rather thought you loved me. I do love you. I love you dreadfully. I've been crying all morning
16:25because I thought I should never see you again. So that's settled then. Instead of being companion
16:29to Mrs. Van Hopper, you become mine. And your duties will be almost exactly the same. I also
16:35like new library books and flowers in the drawing room and someone to pour my tea.
16:40Oh, I'm being rather a brute to you, aren't I? This isn't your idea of a proposal.
16:46We ought to be in a conservatory with you in a white frock with a rose in your hand and a violin
16:51playing a waltz in the distance. Poor darling, what a shame. Never mind. I'll take you to Venice
17:00for our honeymoon and we'll hold hands in a gondola. But we won't stay too long because
17:05I want to show you Manderley. Manderley. Now then, am I going to break the news to Mrs. Van Hopper
17:12or are you? Oh no, you tell her. She'll be so angry. I'll tell her. I'm not afraid. You wait for me here.
17:26When he had gone, I looked around his room. There was a book on the table near his bed.
17:33I picked it up. On the title page was a dedication. Max. From Rebecca. May 17.
17:44Written in a curious slanting hand. The ink had run too thick so that the name Rebecca
17:52stood out black and strong. Rebecca. Rebecca.
18:02Rebecca.
18:14We pause now on our Campbell Playhouse presentation of Rebecca. In just a moment, we will resume the
18:20story. But first, here is my associate of long standing, Ernest Chapel, with an important
18:25message. Thank you, Mr. Hill. The time was, and it was not so long ago, when chicken was a rare
18:31and special treat. What magic the words chicken for dinner conjured up in our young minds and how
18:37we looked forward to these great events. With proud gusto, father would dexterously separate
18:43wings and legs and then carve tender white slices from the breast while each of us silently prayed
18:48to be granted his special favorite part. And then on the second day, there came another treat.
18:54The remaining meat in the carcass went into mother's soup kettle to be simmered slowly,
18:59seasoned gently, and served forth as a supper time delight. Today, if you have wistful memories
19:06of that glorious old home chicken soup, then Campbell's chicken soup is just made for you.
19:12Because Campbell's chefs follow faithfully the good home recipe, only changing it to make an
19:18even better soup. They use, for example, all the good meat of the chickens, fine plump chickens
19:23they are too, such as you'd choose proudly for your own table. Such chicken soup with snowy rice
19:29and tender chicken pieces is a special treat indeed, but one you may enjoy on any day. Your
19:36grocer has Campbell's chicken soup and it's yours for the asking. Remember, Campbell's chicken soup.
19:44Now we return to the Campbell Playhouse presentation of Rebecca
19:47with Margaret Sullivan and Orson Welles.
19:57We came to Manderley in early May. There it was, the Manderley I had expected,
20:03lovelier than I'd ever dreamed, built in its hollow of smooth grassland and mossy lawn,
20:10the terraces sloping to the gardens and the gardens to the sea.
20:15A servant was standing on the steps waiting, an old man with a kind face.
20:24Yes, thank you, sir. Glad to see you home, sir, and hope you've been keeping well.
20:29And madam, too. Yes, we're both well. Thank you for all the time from the drive winning our tea.
20:33Hello, Jasper, old man. Who are all these people? Oh, the servants. I didn't expect this.
20:39Mrs. Danvers' orders, sir. Danvers? I might have guessed it. Come on, darling. Mrs. Danvers was
20:43Rebecca's housekeeper. She simply adored her. They're all curious to see what you're like. You
20:46won't mind, will you? It'll soon be over. My dear, this is Mrs. Danvers.
20:56Mrs. Danvers took me to my room. She was a tall, gaunt woman dressed in black
21:03with prominent cheekbones and great hollow eyes that gave her a skull's face,
21:08parchment white, set on a skeleton's frame. Her eyes never left mine. Manderley is a big place,
21:16madam. Not so big as some, of course, but big enough, and a show place. Mr. De Winter lets
21:23the public in to see it once a month. You can't see the sea from here, can you? No, not from this
21:28room. You can't even hear it. You'd not know the sea was anywhere near, not from this room. I'm
21:35sorry about that. I like the sea. Mr. De Winter gave special orders in his letter that you would
21:40have this room, madam. Oh, then this was not his room originally. No, madam. He's never used the
21:46rooms in this wing before. Oh, he didn't tell me that. I... I suppose you've been at Manderley for
21:55many years, Mrs. Danvers. Longer than anyone else. I came here when the first Mrs. De Winter was a
22:02bride. Mrs. Danvers, well, you must have patience with me because this sort of life is new to me.
22:10You must just go on running things as they always have been run. I shan't want to make any changes.
22:16Here to carry out your orders, madam. I hope I shall do everything to your satisfaction.
22:22Can I do anything more for you now? Oh, no, thank you. No, I... I am sure I have everything. I
22:26should be very comfortable here. You've made the room so charming. I only followed out Mr. De
22:30Winter's instructions. Of course, the most beautiful rooms are in the west wing, overlooking the sea.
22:39Bedroom is twice as large as this. The windows look down across the lawns into the sea.
22:47I suppose Mrs. De Winter keeps the most beautiful rooms to show to the public. Those rooms are never
22:51shown to the public. They used to live in those rooms when Mrs. De Winter was alive. That big
22:57room I was telling you about that looks down to the sea, that was Mrs. De Winter's room.
23:10Next morning there was a heavy mist poured in through the open window.
23:15When I came down to breakfast, Maxim had already gone out. Mrs. De Winter? Yes, Frith? Mr. De Winter
23:22told me to tell you, madam, that he'd gone out with Mr. Crawley. Mr. Frank Crawley is Mr. De Winter's
23:27friend who manages the estate. Mr. De Winter said to tell you they'd be back for luncheon at one.
23:32Thank you. Oh, Frith? Yes, madam? It seems rather cold this morning. I wonder if you'd please like
23:37to fire in the library for me. The fire in the library is not usually lit until the afternoon,
23:42madam. Mrs. De Winter always used the morning room. She always did her telephoning and correspondence
23:48in there after breakfast. There's a good fire in there. If you should wish to have a fire in the
23:52library as well. Oh, no, I wouldn't dream of it. I'll go into the morning room. Thank you, Frith.
23:59If you will allow me, madam, I will show you the way.
24:10This was a woman's room, graceful, fragile. The room of someone who had chosen every particle
24:16of furniture with great care. That is strange and startling kind of perfection.
24:23I opened the drawer at Hazard and there was a letter addressed to Mrs. M. De Winter.
24:32Mrs. De Winter? Mrs. De Winter? Who is it? What do you want? Mrs. De Winter? I'm afraid
24:43you've made a mistake. Mrs. De Winter has been dead for over a year. It's Mrs. Danvers, madam.
24:50Mrs. Danvers. I'm speaking to you on the house telephone. It's about the menu.
24:56It's Mrs. Danvers speaking, madam.
25:07After lunch, it was still raining. Frank Crawley and Maxim were in the library working.
25:14I got a raincoat out of the flower room and started out across the garden down towards the sea.
25:20Soon I was in the woods. The dog ran on ahead.
25:25The woods came right down to the water. At the fringe was a long, low building,
25:31half cottage, half boathouse. There was a buoy anchor there in the cold, but no boat.
25:38There was Jasper wagging his tail at a solitary figure on the beach. As I drew near,
25:45I saw that the figure on the beach was a man with the small, slit eyes of an idiot
25:51and a red, wet mouth. Good day. Dirty, aren't it? I'm afraid it's not very nice weather. Jasper!
26:00Jasper, come here! Digging for shell. No shell here. I've been digging all day. I'm sorry you
26:07can't find any. That's right. No shell here. Come on, Jasper. Good dog. Come on. He won't go.
26:15Why not? He ain't your dog. No, he's Mr. De Winter's dog. I want to take him back to the
26:21house. Come on, Jasper. Come along. Good dog. She ain't been here lately. What do you mean?
26:27The other one. You're not like the other one. What do you mean? What other one?
26:33Tall and dark, she was. She'd give you the feeling of a snake. By night, she'd come down
26:38to the cove. I seen her. I looked in on her once here in the boathouse, and she turned on me,
26:43she did. If I catch you looking at me through the window, I'll have you put in asylum, she said.
26:49I won't say nothing, ma'am. I said to her, touch my cap like this here. She's gone now,
26:56ain't she? I don't know what you mean. She's gone in the sea, aren't she? She won't come back no
27:02more. No, she'll not come back. You won't put me in asylum, will you? I never said nothing,
27:10did I? I never said nothing, ma'am. I never said nothing. I never said nothing.
27:27Where did you get that piece of string? I got it for Jasper. He ran away. I found it in the
27:31cottage on the beach. Did the door open? I pushed it open. The string was in the other room where
27:35the sails were. Oh, I see. That cottage is supposed to be locked. The door has no business
27:39to be open. Did Ben tell you the door was open? Ben... Oh, never mind. Maxim. Yes, what is it?
27:46I'm sorry I went down to the cove if you didn't want me to go. What makes you think I didn't want
27:50you to go down there? Maxim, how should I know? I'm not a thought reader. I know you didn't want
27:54me to go, that's all. I could see it in your face. See what in my face? I've already told you I can
27:58see that you didn't want me to go. You're quite right. I did not want you to go down to the cove.
28:01Will that please you? I never go near the place. If you had my memories, you wouldn't want to go
28:06there either. I'll talk about it, read and think about it. There. I hope that satisfied you. Please,
28:12Maxim, please. What's the matter? I don't want you to look like that. Please, Maxim, let's forget
28:18all we said. I'm sorry, darling. Please let everything be all right. We ought to have stayed in Italy.
28:24We ought never to have come back to Mandalay. I was a fool to come back.
28:36The weather that May was wet and cold. From the terrace I could hear the murmur of the sea below me,
28:42low and sullen. And every morning a heavy fog would come rolling in from the sea.
28:48I could not forget that cottage on the beach and the white lost look in Maxim's eyes.
28:56Somewhere at the back of my mind, a frightened furtive seed of curiosity grew slowly and stealthily.
29:06Frank Crawley was in the library taking tea with me, waiting for Maxim to get home.
29:11There were things that I had to know. You, um, you'll be down at the cove, then? Yes, Frank.
29:20Frank, in that cottage down there, are those all Rebecca's things? Yes. I wondered.
29:29Why is the buoy there in the little harbour place? Uh, the boat used to be moored there. What boat?
29:35Her boat. Oh, what happened to it? Oh, was that the boat she was sailing when she was drowned?
29:46Yes. It capsized and sank. She was washed overboard. Couldn't someone have got out to her?
29:54Nobody saw the accident. Nobody knew she'd gone. She often sailed alone at night.
30:01How long afterwards was it they found her? Oh, about two months. Where did they find her? Near Edgecombe.
30:13About 40 miles up channel. How did they know it was she after two months? How could they tell?
30:19Maxim went up to Edgecombe to identify her. Oh. Frank, I know what you're thinking. You can't
30:27understand why I ask all these questions just now. You think I'm being morbid and curious, but it's
30:31not that, I promise you. Only when I go to call on all these people, his friends, I know they're looking
30:38me up and down and thinking, what on earth does Maxim see in her? Always I know that whenever
30:43I meet anyone new, they say how different she is from Rebecca. Frank. Yes? There's just one more
30:51thing, one question I must ask you. Will you promise to answer it quite truthfully? I'll do my
30:57best. Tell me, was Rebecca very beautiful? Yes. Yes, I suppose she was the most beautiful creature
31:11I ever saw in my life.
31:26Here it is, madam. This is it. One moment while I turn on the light.
31:32Come in, madam. Is this her room, Mrs. Danvers? Yes, ma'am. This is her room.
31:36Now you're here, let me show you everything. I know you want to see it all.
31:44You've wanted to for a long time. It's a lovely room, isn't it? The loveliest room you've ever seen.
31:53I haven't touched a thing. There are flowers on the dressing table and
31:58that's her bed. Beautiful bed, isn't it? Here's her nightdress. This was the nightdress she was
32:06wearing for the last time before she died. Would you like to touch it? Feel it. Hold it.
32:15I did everything for her, you know. You look after me better than anyone, Danny, she used to say.
32:22I wouldn't have anyone but you. See, here's her wardrobe. What's the matter, madam? Aren't you
32:31feeling well? I'm all right. I just, I didn't expect to see all the things this way. I believe Mr.
32:37De Winter liked her to wear silver mostly. Of course, she could wear anything. She looked beautiful
32:44in this velvet. Put it against your face. It's soft, isn't it? The scent is still as fresh as though she'd just
32:52taken it off. These are her slippers. Put your hands inside the slippers. They're quite small and
32:59narrow, aren't they? When they found her, the rocks had battered her to bits so no one could recognize
33:07her. You know now why Mr. De Winter doesn't use these rooms anymore. He hasn't used these rooms
33:13since the night she was drowned. I come up every day and dust them myself. If you want to come again,
33:21you have only to tell me. Sometimes when Mr. De Winter is away and you feel lonely, you might like
33:29to come up to these rooms and sit here. They're such beautiful rooms. You wouldn't think she'd
33:35been gone now for so long, would you? You'd think she'd just gone out for a little while and would be
33:41back in the evening. Do you think she can see us talking to one another now? Do you think the dead
33:49come back and watch the living? I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if she comes back to Manderley
33:57and watches you and Mr. De Winter, you sitting in her chair in the library before the fire,
34:05stroking her dog, talking to her husband. Stop it! It's no use, is it? You can't do it. You'll never get
34:13the better of her. She's still mistress here, even if she is dead. She's the real Mrs. De Winter,
34:21not you. It's you that's the shadow and the ghost. It's you that's forgotten and not wanted and pushed
34:27aside. Well, why don't you leave Manderley to her? Why don't you go? Why don't you go? None of us
34:35want you. He doesn't want you. He never did. He can't forget her. He wants to be alone in the house
34:41again with her. You ought to be dead, not Mrs. De Winter. Come here now to the window. Let me show you
34:48something. When the window's open, you can hear the sea down there. Look down there. Look. Let me go!
34:55Don't be afraid. I won't push you. There's not much for you to live for here at Manderley. Why don't you
35:01jump now and have done with it? Then you won't be unhappy anymore. Why don't you try? Go on.
35:07Go on. Don't be afraid. Go on. Go on. Go on. Go on. Go on.
35:18And so we end the second part of our presentation of Daphne du Maurier's best-selling book,
35:22Rebecca, with Margaret Sullivan and Orson Welles. In a few moments,
35:27we shall return you to the Campbell Playhouse. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.
35:37This is Edwin C. Hill again bidding you welcome to the Campbell Playhouse on behalf of the makers
35:56of those fine Campbell suits. In a moment or two, we shall resume our presentation of Rebecca,
36:02the best-selling novel by Daphne du Maurier, and starring, as I've said, Margaret Sullivan and
36:07Orson Welles. And also, we shall hear from Miss du Maurier herself, direct by shortwave from London.
36:15But first, I bring you a message. For many years, I've been interested in the human side of the
36:19news. As a newspaper reporter for all those years, I found that there's a very human side to business,
36:26and that is what I want to speak about for just a moment or so. All of us are familiar with
36:31businesses which provide us with something to eat, or drink, or wear, or we buy a radio,
36:36or a suit of clothes, or a can of soup. But the actual thing we buy is about the only contact we
36:42ever have with the people who make such goods. But the character of those people is of vital
36:47importance. If the manufacturer of a product is honorable in the conduct of his business,
36:52his product will be as trustworthy as his word. For in businesses in every walk of life,
36:57honesty pays real dividends. Honest enterprise is the only kind which has a chance to win
37:03and to hold the patronage of intelligent and discriminating buyers, whether it's a matter
37:08of a piano, or a spool of thread, or a trip to Europe, or a can of soup. And that, as I see it,
37:14is the human side of business, of the products that last over the years, that serve you well,
37:19and merit your confidence. I know the Campbell kitchens, the Campbell men,
37:24the Campbell soup. The fact that these soups are used more and more every year in most homes,
37:30and are sold in more than 460,000 grocery stores throughout the land, is no accident, believe me.
37:37It's due to the human side of this business, its aims, its policies, and its character.
37:43And now to the Campbell Playhouse, where we resume our story. Rebecca.
37:47Go on, go on, go on, why don't you jump now and have done with it? Why don't you try? Go on,
37:57go on, don't be afraid, jump. Go on, go on. Mrs. Danvers was close behind me now,
38:03her hand on my arm, and before me was the open window, and the white mist coming in from the
38:09sea. Go on. I shut my eyes. The mist lay upon my lips, rank and sour. My head began to swim,
38:20and suddenly the mist had parted. There was a flash in the sky.
38:40Later I went down to the beach. There was a large ship on the reef,
38:49half a mile offshore, with her bows pointed towards the cliff.
38:54There were a number of small boats around her, and the coast guard caught her lying along.
39:02They looked like a Dutchman, I'd say. German or Dutch, good thing there's no sea running.
39:07That shallow water she's in. Is she fast? I don't know yet.
39:10Has the diver come over from Carrick? She'd be going down to see if she'd broken her back.
39:14She's on a reef, she's a goner. Have you seen Mr. De Winter? Not today, ma'am.
39:18Good day, ma'am. Have you seen Mr. De Winter? Mr. De Winter? Yes, ma'am. He was one of the
39:21first down here after the rockets went. He was down by the cove, had the dog with him.
39:25Do you know where he is now? He went off to Carrick 20 minutes ago with one of the
39:29crew of the Beringers. Oh, thank you. Good day. Good day, ma'am. Good day, ma'am.
39:39I went back to Mandalay the long way through the woods. The fog had cleared. I looked down
39:46and saw the stranded ship offshore. The diver must have come up, for I saw a little group of
39:52people on the deck of the boat alongside, leaning over, staring into the water.
39:59There's a man waiting to see you, ma'am. He says it's important. He asked for Mr. De Winter first,
40:09and then for you. He's in the library. Who is it, Frith? He says his name's Captain Sir,
40:14ma'am, the harbourmaster from Carrick. Oh, yes, I'll go in and talk to him. Yes, ma'am.
40:22Mrs. De Winter? I'm sorry my husband isn't back yet. I know, I can't get hold of Mr. Crawley
40:26either. The fact is, I've got some news for Mr. De Winter, and I hardly know how to break it to
40:33him. What sort of news, Captain Sir? Well, Mrs. De Winter, it isn't very pleasant for me to tell
40:38you either. We're all very fond of Mr. De Winter around here. It's hard on him and hard on you
40:44that we can't let the first lie quiet. Yes, go on. Well, you know, we sent the diver down to inspect
40:49that ship there on the reef. Well, while he was down there, he came across something else. The
40:54hull of a little sailing boat lying on her side, not broken up at all. He recognized it at once.
41:02That boat belonged to the late Mrs. De Winter. Oh, I'm so sorry. Is it necessary to tell Mr. De
41:11Winter? Couldn't the boat be left there as it is? It's not doing anybody any harm, is it? The cabin
41:16door was tightly closed and the ports were closed too. The diver broke one of the windows with a
41:21stone from the seabed and looked into the cabin, and then he got the fright of his life.
41:27There was a body in there lying on the cabin floor.
41:31Now you understand why I have to see your husband, Mrs. De Winter.
41:52It's all over now. The thing has happened. What thing? The thing I've always foreseen.
41:59The thing I've dreamt about day after day, night after night.
42:04We're not meant for happiness, you and I. What are you trying to tell me? Rebecca has won.
42:11I remember her eyes as she looked at me before she died.
42:14I remember that slow, treacherous smile. She knew this would happen even then. She knew she'd win in
42:21the end. Maxon, what are you saying? What are you trying to tell me? Her boat. They found it. The
42:26diver found it this afternoon. I know. Captain Sewell was here and he told me. You're thinking
42:30about the body. The body the diver found in the cabin. Yes. It means she wasn't alone. It means
42:35there was someone out sailing with Rebecca at the time, and you have to find out who it was. There
42:41was no one with Rebecca. She was alone. It's Rebecca's body lying there on the cabin floor.
42:48The woman I identified wasn't Rebecca. There never was an accident. Rebecca was not drowned at all.
42:57I killed her. I shot Rebecca in the cottage down in the cove. I carried her body to the cabin
43:04and took the boat and sunk it there where they found it today. It's Rebecca who's lying dead there
43:11on the cabin floor. Will you look into my eyes and tell me that you love me now?
43:27Oh darling, we can't lose each other now. We've got to be together.
43:31We can't lose each other now. We've got to be together always. No secrets, no shadows.
43:37Please darling, please. There's no time. We may have a few hours, a few days. How can we be together
43:44now that this has happened? I've told you they found the boat. They found Rebecca. What will you
43:49do? I don't know. I don't know. Does anyone know? Anyone at all? No. No one but you and me? No one
43:54but you and me. Oh why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me? The time we wasted when we
44:01might have been together. All these weeks, all these days. You were so aloof. You never came to me like
44:07this. You were strange with me. Awkward, shy. How could I come to you when I knew you were thinking
44:12about Rebecca? How could I ask you to love me when I knew you loved Rebecca still? Whenever you spoke
44:19to me, you looked at me. I felt you were saying to yourself, this I did with Rebecca and this and this.
44:27What are you talking about? What do you mean? It was true, wasn't it? You thought I loved Rebecca?
44:34You thought I killed her? Loving her? I tell you I hated her. Our marriage was a farce from the very
44:42first. She was vicious, damnable, rotten through and through. We never loved each other. We never
44:50had one moment of happiness together. Rebecca was incapable of love, of tenderness, of decency.
44:58She knew how I loved Mandalay. She knew how to hurt me most. She stood there that night in the
45:05cottage, in the cove, smiling at me. I'm going to have a child, she said. It will grow up here at
45:13Mandalay, bearing your name. That's a joke, isn't it? And when you die, Mandalay will be his. You
45:20can't prevent it. Have you ever thought how hard it would be for you to make a case against me in a
45:25court of law? I mean, if you wanted to divorce me. We've acted the parts of a loving husband and wife
45:31rather too well, haven't we? They'll be happy, won't they? All those smug friends of yours, all your
45:37blasted tenants, thinking it's your child. It's what we've always hoped for, Mrs. De Winter, they'll say.
45:44I'll be the perfect mother, Max, just as I've never been the perfect wife.
45:50And none of them will ever guess. None of them will ever know.
45:54Oh, she turned and faced me, smiling. Then I killed her. She was smiling still. I fired at her heart.
46:09She didn't fall at once. She stood there, looking at me, that slow smile on her face,
46:20her eyes wide open.
46:35You have heard all the testimony in this case, gentlemen. You have heard how the body of the
46:42deceased was found in the cabin of her boat. You have heard the testimony of the boatman,
46:50you have heard Mr. De Winter's story. You have heard how on the night of the tragedy,
46:57Mrs. De Winter went down to the cottage, where she was in the habit.
47:03Gentlemen, how do you find it? The verdict is suicide. Suicide without sufficient evidence
47:14that shows the state of mind of the deceased. Court is adjourned.
47:35It was almost dark when we started for Mandalay. He held my hand in his.
47:41He didn't speak for a long time. I must have dozed, for I woke suddenly with a start
47:48and heard the first sound of thunder in the air. The air was hot against my face. No rain fell.
47:58What is it, darling? Maxim, Maxim, don't drive so fast. I want to get home. I'm worried.
48:06I'm worried. I have a premonition of disaster. When everything's over, I don't understand.
48:12I want to get home. I want to get back to Mandalay. What time is it? Almost nine.
48:21It's funny. It's almost as though the sun was still setting over there beyond those hills.
48:27Can't be, though. It's too late. The wrong direction. You're looking east.
48:33I am. It's funny, isn't it?
48:39It's in winter you see the northern lights, isn't it? Not in summer.
48:42That's not the northern lights you're looking at. That's Mandalay.
48:49Maxim, what is it? I don't know.
48:53Maxim, look. A fire. Maxim, it's Mandalay. It's burning. Mandalay is burning.
49:02We have both known fear and loneliness and very great distress, but we've come through our crisis.
49:25Of course, we have our moments of depression, but there are other moments too.
49:30When time, unmeasured by the clock, runs on into eternity, and catching Maxim's smile,
49:38I know we are together at last. No barrier between us.
49:52We can never go back to Mandalay again. The past is still too close to us.
50:02But sometimes in my dreams I go to Mandalay. I see the gray stone shining in the moonlight.
50:10Light comes from the windows. The curtains blow softly in the night air,
50:17and in the library the door stands half open as if we had left it.
50:21With my handkerchief on the table beside the bowl of autumn roses,
50:26and the charred embers of our log fire still smoldering against the morning.
50:36So ends our story, the Campbell Playhouse presentation of Daphne du Maurier's novel
50:53Rebecca. In a moment, I shall bring you Margaret Sullivan and Orson Welles in person
50:58and Daphne du Maurier on a long distance phone from London. In the meantime, here's a man with
51:03a message worth hearing. A man who keeps one eye on the dining table and the other on the pantry.
51:09Ladies and gentlemen, my friend, Ernest Chappell. Thank you, Mr. Hill. May I remind you once again
51:14of that grand dish, Campbell's chicken soup? Remember what I told you about it and make it
51:19a point to try it soon, because until you taste your first glorious spoonful, you're really missing
51:25something. Imagine a rich golden broth slowly simmered from plump and perfect chickens,
51:31simmered with all the patience and skill of the most particular home cook.
51:35And imagine an abundance of selective rice, white and fluffy, drifting all through the broth,
51:41every grain saturated with its delicious flavor. Then add tender pieces of chicken meat,
51:46each a delight to your taste, and you have a picture of Campbell's chicken soup.
51:52But only tasting can really tell you how good it is. Why not plan to have Campbell's chicken soup
51:57tomorrow? You'll please the family and, incidentally, make a busy day a little easier for yourself.
52:15And now, here's Orson Welles. Ladies and gentlemen, the star of Rebecca is standing
52:21beside me at the microphone. I'd like to tell her that one of my favorite characters in modern
52:25fiction was tonight forever endowed with the personality of Miss Margaret Sullivan.
52:31Thank you, Mr. Welles. I hope that the novelist approved of me, too. I want you to know how much
52:38I've appreciated playing once more with the Campbell Playhouse tonight, especially in this
52:41story, which is one of my favorites. Yes, it is a grand story, and I do believe the most important
52:45factor of radio entertainment is a good story. I quite agree, too. You know, two things I like
52:50very much are good stories and good soup. When I tell you my idea of a great soup is Campbell's
52:55chicken soup, that, Mr. Welles, is no story. I'm glad you feel that way. It's nice of you to say so.
53:01Oh, by the way, Mr. Welles, I'd like to ask you a question. That's very kind of you. Can you tell me
53:07the name of the character? Will you repeat that question? What is the name of the character I just
53:12played? Well, that's the major literary mystery of the year. Seriously, she hasn't any name,
53:18and our audience, Miss Sullivan, is probably just as curious as you are, and I haven't the answer.
53:25Well, Mr. Marriott must know it. She's phoning us from London in a few minutes, so we'll ask her.
53:30You know, Miss Sullivan, there's a question I'd like to ask you. Yes, Mr. Welles? Until rehearsal
53:35started for tonight's performance, I had never, to put it very bluntly, had the pleasure of your
53:40acquaintance. Yes. Well, now, in six and one-half minutes, Miss Sullivan, you'll have gone out of my
53:47life. The point is, the point is, I am the director of a theatre, the... The Mercury Theatre. The
53:54Mercury Theatre, thanks. What I started to say was that I'd like to know you better.
53:59What are you doing next year? Are you speaking as a director? Yes, Mrs. Haywood, as a theatre director,
54:06if you can be tempted. Have you a script for me? I'll bring it to you tomorrow. Excuse me,
54:11ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you'll forgive me for trying to date up one of the nation's...
54:16Thank you very much, Miss Sullivan, and thank you, Mr. Welles, for your production of Rebecca.
54:22It's been very nice speaking to you both. Well, Miss Sullivan, I'm afraid that doesn't
54:27answer your question. Uh, hello, Mr. Moyet. Mr. Moyet. Mr. Moyet. Is London off the Amherst
54:35Chapter? Yes, it is, Mr. Welles. Pardon me, Miss Sullivan, but all we can salvage from the
54:41silence overseas is this cryptogram just brought in to Mr. Chappell by Carriath Pigeon.
54:47Would you care to read it? Enter office memo from Daphne du Maurier to Margaret Sullivan.
54:53The name of the heroine of Rebecca is Mrs. Max de Winter. Thank you, Miss Sullivan.
55:00Thank you, Mr. Welles. Next week, Miss Beatrice Lilly interrupts her rehearsals of Noah Coward's
55:06new musical to be my wife and call it a day. This is a discreet account by Miss Doty Smith of some
55:12indiscretions committed one Barney Day in April by a nice family who might just as well be living
55:18next door to you and you and you. It is a composite case history in three stages and
55:26six symptoms of that perilous and delightful malady known so well to you and you and you and me
55:36as spring fever. Until then, my sponsor and I and all of us in the Campbell Playhouse remain
55:45most gifted and attractive young actresses I'm sure you sympathize and I
55:50hope Miss Sullivan understands. We are ready with London, Mr. Welles. Thanks.
55:54Are you ready, London? Good evening, Mr. Welles. Good evening, Miss du Maurier.
56:03It's nearly three o'clock here in London. It's not often that an author has the chance of hearing
56:09the voices of her own characters speaking to her from across the Atlantic Ocean.
56:14I've enjoyed it enormously. Thank you. And Miss du Maurier, may I present Miss Sullivan.
56:21How do you do, Miss Sullivan? I'd like to thank you and Mr. Welles for your splendid
56:27interpretation of Mr. and Mrs. de Winter. Thank you. It's been a great privilege. Mr.
56:32Maurier, there are two questions I'd like to ask you. Your descriptions of Mandalay are so vivid
56:38that America is curious to know if there is anywhere in England a house on a state like
56:42Mandalay. When you next come to London, Miss Sullivan, get into a train at Saddington Station
56:49and travel west. When you've been 250 miles, get out of that train and walk southeast for
56:56half an hour. You'll come to some iron gates, a lodge, and a narrow, twisting drive.
57:03If you ever find your way to the end of that drive, you may discover Mandalay.
57:10One thing more, Mr. Maurier. Can you tell us the name of the heroine of Rebecca?
57:15You haven't named her. Obediently yours.
57:18Tonight's broadcast was Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier, starring Margaret Sullivan and Orson
57:44Wells. Featured were Mildred Natwick as Mrs. Danvers, Ray Collins as Frank Crawley, and George
57:51Coloris as Captain Searle. Frank Reddick was heard as the Idiot, Alfred Shirley as Frith,
57:57Eustace Wyatt as the Coroner, and Agnes Moorhead as Mrs. Van Hopper.
58:03Music for the Campbell Playhouse is composed and conducted by Bernard Herman.
58:22The makers of Campbell Soups invite you to join us again next Friday evening,
58:26at this same time, when Orson Wells will present his production of Dodie Smith's delightful excursion
58:32into the private lives of a typical suburban family, Call It a Day, one of the most successful
58:38comedies of its type, which was originally presented on Broadway by the Theatre Guild.
58:44Our guest on this program will be the always charming and amusing Beatrice Lilly, with Jane
58:49Wyatt, a young lady who is marching quite swiftly along the road to motion picture fame out in
58:54Hollywood, and Jean Dante, who created the part of Anne in the original New York production of
59:00Call It a Day. This is Edwin C. Hill speaking for Campbell Soups. I thank you, and good night.
59:30Music
59:37This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.