U.S. Steel Hour: "Six O'Clock Call" (2/1/1955)

[Narrator:] Recently over 500 of America's television editors named "The United States Steel Hour" television's best dramatic program. This makes the "Steel Hour", produced by The Theatre Guild, the winner for the second successive year of the Radio Daily - Television Daily Award. This is "The United States Steel Hour". ["U.S. Steel Hour" theme music] [Narrator:] Only steel can do so many jobs, so well. This trademark "USS" stands for quality steel, United States Steel. Second Prize - Husband and Wife Waltz Contest. Caribbean Cruise 1937. [waltz music plays] Hortense! You remember Aunt Hetty's Ouija board? Haha, and she really believed it! Yes, Rose. What's keeping Simon anyway at 4 o'clock? [Harry:] Stop worrying Hortense, he'll come! [Ellen:] Hush, darling! Junk, junk, junk. The way a married couple accumulates junk in their closets, you'd think that's why they got married. [Hortense:] After all my planning if he doesn't show up. [door bell rings] [Ellen off screen:] You see, that's him now. [Rose off screen:] Who's at the door? [Hortense:] I'll get it Rose. It must be Simon. Simon? I wasn't expecting Simon today. Maybe there's some trouble? [Hortense off screen:] Good afternoon, Simon. Surprise, Simon! [Simon:] It's all right, I hope? I'm not interrupting anything? On this nice Sunday, I suddenly had a desire for friendly human companionship. [Rose:] You could never be an interruption. I'll be with you as soon as I find what I'm looking for. Harry wants his Papa's opera hat. He's going to a fancy dress party. Ellen, baby, fix something for Simon. The apartment is overflowing with cookies! [Hortense:] Oh, I'll get them Rose. Sit down, rest yourself Simon. [Harry:] So how does it look? [Ellen:] Mr. Wechsler, you couldn't have picked a better moment for it. Her psychological acclimation couldn't be more favorable. [Simon:] You think she'll say yes to me? I mean, maybe I should wait a little longer. A few more years maybe. [Harry:] You listen to Ellen, Simon. Psychology was her subject at college. One dumbbell. I wonder where the other one got to. [Ellen:] You see, it's like this Mr. Wechsler. The great crisis in Rose's outlook came last week, the first anniversary of her husband's passing. Well, she got through the crisis successfully. She seems to be quite cheerful and fully reconciled to the inevitable, sublimating into the realities of life. [Simon:] This I know nothing about, this subletting, but if psychology says it... [Hortense:] Believe me Simon, every woman needs a man around the house, even an old maid like me. She does. She'd be out of her mind to refuse you. I'm her only sister. I'm not afraid to tell her so. [Simon:] It's too soon. Even so it's too soon. Oh, I know with some women it isn't too soon even while their husbands are still alive, but Rose Snider isn't one of those women. [Simon:] For 30 years I've known her and Leon too. The love she had for Leon she won't forget so quick. [Hortense:] Simon Wechsler. A man in your position with employees that you boss around all day. Are you afraid to look a helpless woman in the eye and ask her a simple question? [Simon:] The answer is yes. But will I do it? Yes. [Rose:] I didn't find the opera hat Harry, but look what I did find, the old picture album. I haven't seen it in years. Look, you and Papa in the Central Park Zoo. Look how he's pretending to be mad at the lion and he's shaking his fist. [Ellen:] Harry dear, we better be going. Important things to do before dinner. [Harry:] We're not running away from you Mom. [Ellen:] No, of course not. [Rose:] Of course though, it's nice that a young couple should want to be alone. It was the same with me and Leon too. [Harry:] Good bye Mother. [Rose:] Good bye darling. [Hortense:] Good bye Rose dear. [Rose:] Good bye Hortense. [Hortense:] And you, Simon. [Rose:] Good bye, call me. [Harry:] We'll call you, Mama. [Hortense:] Bye! So funny Hortense has been acting all day. Well Simon, so what can I fix you? A little tea? A little coffee? [Simon:] No, no, no, nothing but thanks. One thing I don't have today is an appetite. [Rose:] Your stomach. Been eating - you've been eating seafood again? No it isn't my stomach. It's a little higher up. [Rose:] Simon. Simon, you don't take care of yourself. How long have I been telling you that's no way for a man to live? Alone in a hotel room like that. Is that a way for a man to live? After all, Simon, I was reading an article only the other day. I was reading an article and on the average a married man lives ten years longer than a bachelor. I believe it. I believe it. As a matter of fact Rose... [Simon:] So how are things with you Rose? [Rose:] I can't complain. Maybe you'll have a little cookie or a banana maybe? [Simon:] Bananas I didn't come for either. Rose? Yes? [Simon:] Rose, I came here today to discuss an important matter with you. Now don't interrupt me because nothing is gonna stop me from discussing it. Now this matter has to do with the subject of marriage, Rose. Specifically, matrimony. [Rose:] Matrimony? That's a very interesting subject. [Simon:] Rose? [Rose:] Yes? [Simon:] All my life, I... [Rose:] yeah, [Simon:] I was a good friend to Leon. Wasn't I? [Rose:] Yes, you were like twin brothers, I know that. [Simon:] A finer more upstanding man didn't live. Tall and good-looking with a voice that you could hear for miles around when he wanted you to. [Rose:] Leon always did things in such a big way. I don't know, you know, I used to be afraid to ask him for things. If I asked him for linoleum for the bathroom, he'd give me carpeting wall-to-wall for the whole house. [Simon:] Ha ha, a big man, definitely! Ooh, and what a pinochle player! But Rose, it's over a year since Leon passed away. And Leon himself, wouldn't be offended. I'm positive, Rose, if I were to tell you how I always felt about you. Rose, I'm asking you to marry me. [Rose:] Simon, stop. Please stop. [Simon:] I'm stopped. [Rose:] Simon, there never was a finer or a sweeter man than you, and if I ever thought of getting married again I wouldn't consider any other offer. [Simon:] But Rose that's almost half saying yes, so maybe... [Rose:] How could I? Simon you have to understand that between Leon and me, it wasn't just the usual marriage. Why Leon and me, we never would even fight together. Except once in a while, but who doesn't? Leon was away on his business trips, he wouldn't let a day go by unless he called me up on the telephone. You remember that. I remember. Six o'clock every night, he called you. My six o'clock call, no matter where he was. I could depend on it at six o'clock. The telephone would ring and... and I would hear Leon's voice. "A day wouldn't be the same, Rose Baby, if we couldn't say a few words to each other." That's what he used to say. How could I get used to being married to somebody else? [Simon:] But Rose, plenty of widows get married again. I mean a woman has a right to be happy even if she's a widow. A smart common-sense man like Leon would understand this. [Rose:] It's not what Leon would understand, it's... my own feelings. Maybe it's... Maybe it's because, the way I lost him. So suddenly. I was sitting right here waiting for his six o'clock call. And instead this call came in from the hospital. Leon had a heart attack on the street. And you know Simon, that even today it just doesn't seem real to me. You see how it is? It isn't so much... how I feel about you. For me maybe, maybe it would be better. But... it isn't as simple as that. [Simon:] Time heals all wounds. So they tell me anyhow. Maybe. Maybe if I asked you again sometimes in the future, I- I can ask Rose? [Rose:] You're always welcome to ask. That's the least I can do for an old friend. [Simon:] Goodbye Rose. [Rose:] Goodbye Simon. [chuckles] I forgot my hat. So absent-minded, I'm getting in my old age. Goodbye. [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [telephone ring] [telephone ring] [telephone ring] [telephone ring] Hello? Hello, who is this? [Man's voice:] Rose Baby, are we connected? [Rose:] Who? Who-wh-who is this? [Man's voice:] Listen carefully. Don't you know me? [Rose:] Leon? [Leon's voice:] Oh, I should have known what a terrible shock this would be to you. I'm such a dope. I should be more careful. R-Rose darling. Sit down. Don't stand up. Sit down. Sit down. There, that's right, sit down. Now take a deep breath. You remember how I used to cure you when you'd get the hiccups? Hahaha, well, take a deep breath and count up to three. Now... one... two... three! Hahaha! Now can you believe your ears? [Rose:] Leon. Leon, it can't, I mean... then you're not really... [Leon's voice:] No darling, nothing like that, haha. Such mistakes they don't make here. They've got too many years of experience. [Rose:] Then why? How? [Leon's voice:] Well, "How?" I can't tell you. I, uh, made some very good contacts here. That's all you have to know. But "Why?" I can tell you. [Rose:] Why? [Leon's voice:] Haven't I been watching you, dear? How cheerful, and how happy you've been acting but underneath so sad. All I had to do was to look at you. So I went to those in charge here, and I told them about our six o'clock calls, and I got a special permission. [Rose:] Leon! [Leon's voice:] Well why, so why do you look so amazed? I was always a very good salesman wasn't I? [Rose:] Oh yes. I'm sorry. [Leon's voice:] So, I've taken care of everything. Rose, you won't be alone anymore. Every Sunday, I'll be calling you. [Rose:] Every Sunday, you'll be calling me? [Leon's voice:] Six o'clock, punctual, on the dot. Of course, it will only be for a few minutes at a time. Haha, it'll be just like old days where we'll be watching out for the long distance rates. [Rose:] I understand. The rates must be very high. [Leon's voice:] Haha, just like old times. But Rose. One condition. [Rose:] Condition, what condition? [Leon's voice:] These calls are for you alone. You mustn't let anybody else talk to me. If you forget, then it's all over. [Rose:] Don't worry. [Leon's voice:] You understand, Rose? [Rose:] Don't worry, nobody else will get on the telephone. Never. [Leon's voice:] Good. Now tell me what you've been doing. Did you enjoy your bridge game Tuesday? [Rose:] How did you know I played bridge Tuesday? [Leon's voice:] Hahaha. Go ahead, tell me. [Rose, breathless:] Well... Well actually, we didn't get much bridge played. We were all trying to sneak a look at Patty Shapiro's new kitchen. She had it all modernized and equipped with a, with electric eye. But if you walk very close to the icebox, then the door popped open! [laughter] [Ellen:] Well good afternoon Mr. Wechsler! [Harry:] No pinochle this Sunday, Simon? [Simon:] Can a man play pinochle forever? I telephoned your momma and invited her out to the movies for the afternoon. [Harry:] No wonder she's all dressed up and beaming like a kid all for lunch. It's you, Simon! [Simon:] Mmm, I wish I could agree with you. The way she's been acting lately, I wish I could think it was me. Excuse me. [Ellen:] I can't understand him. Some people are emotionally incapable of accepting happiness. Personally, I think that there is nothing more satisfying than marriage. [door bell] [door bell] [Rose:] I'm ready Simon! [Simon:] Rose, I gotta say it. I'm not a sentimental type man, but I gotta say it. In that hat, in this dress... you're beautiful! [Rose, laughing:] A Greta Garbo, I'm not! [Simon:] So who's Greta Garbo? You know I-I've been thinking, you're in such a happy mood lately, that I thought maybe now would be the time to ask you again, maybe that which I asked you two months ago? Well... my answer is the same as it was before, Simon. Especially now. [Simon:] Why now? And why especially? [Rose:] Well, so what picture are we going to see? There's a wonderful picture around the corner about a doctor. [Simon:] Rose. Why now especially? [Rose:] I don't follow. [Simon:] Oh you follow. You've been acting lately like you've got a secret or something. [Rose:] Secret. What kind of a secret? What am I living a double life? I'm Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde? [Simon:] Last Sunday, for example. We were having a very nice time, walking in the park, watching the pigeons. When all of a sudden you had to rush home. You wouldn't even let me take you out for a steak dinner. [Rose:] Well... well, I had an appointment. [Simon:] So uh, why couldn't you tell me who this appointment was with? [Rose:] Well, it wasn't important. [Simon:] It was so unimportant that you're blushing already, like it was with another man, maybe. All right, we won't talk about it anymore. I'll stop with the questions. New York is full of steaks. You can come and have that steak dinner with me tonight. I won't be able to do that either. You won't be able to do that either [Rose:] Well, I'm busy tonight too. [Simon:] Tonight, you're busy, too. With that same important appointment, may I ask? Well it's not exactly an appointment. If you must know, I have to be home because I'm expecting a telephone call. That's why I had to come home last Sunday. [Simon:] So why couldn't I go home with you and then wait with you while you get this telephone call? [Rose:] Because it's a private call. [Simon:] Oh, what am I a listener? [Rose:] Simon. Simon since when do you start to grill me about my life? My time is my own, am I wrong? [Simon:] I can take an interest, am I right? It's unnatural to take an interest, it's a crime? [Rose:] Is it a crime for a woman to want to be alone when she's talking to her own husband? [Simon:] Husband, what husband? [Rose:] Are we going to the movies? [Simon:] What husband Rose, you didn't... Rose, you... how could you do such a thing to me? What.... What husband, Rose?! And to do it behind my back without even telling me about it. To me. Am I stranger, maybe? Listen, listen. I'll say excuse me. I don't feel much like the movies no more. Simon. Simon, I don't want you to go yet. [Rose:] It isn't what you're thinking. It isn't true. [Simon:] Well what is it all about Rosa? [Rose:] Simon, I'll tell you the whole story. I wouldn't tell it to anybody else, but- but I'll tell it to you. I'll tell you the whole story. [Simon:] Ohhh, there's a story. [Rose:] Simon. Simon, the telephone call that I'm expecting? It's from Leon. [Rose:] It's my regular six o'clock call from Leon. From Leon? [Rose:] Absolutely. Every Sunday he calls me six o'clock sharp. [Simon:] Leon calls you? Can you imagine? For two months he's been doing it. [Simon:] Two months? You're... [Rose:] Yes, for two months. So you see there's nothing to be jealous about or hurt or aggravated. I wouldn't be spending my time with anybody else. There's no other man, but-but you, except Leon, so you can't be jealous of my own husband. [Simon:] Leon for two months... [Rose:] and one week. [Rose:] And what a difference it's made. I can only speak to him for a few minutes, but for the rest of the week... Well now you know it. Isn't it amazing? Well if anybody could do it, Leon could. [Rose:] He was always such a practical man. [Simon:] Absolutely, if anybody could. [Simon:] Listen Rose. You're-you're sure you're feeling all right these days? [Rose:] Wonderful! I'm so glad you know my secret. Because for a while I was- I was feeling a little guilty. So much happiness and nobody to share it with. [Simon:] Happiness. [Rose:] Well, let's hurry to the movies. We'll miss the cartoon if we don't. Positively. I'm looking forward to the cartoon. [clock ticking] So... so Leon, then the big scene came. And, and the doctor came into the room and took off the bandages from her eyes and she blinked and she said, "I can see, I can see." And she was so happy because she could see what the sunlight looked like and what the colors would look like and especially how handsome he was, her doctor, and then - and then he kissed her and the music started and that was the end of the picture. [Leon's voice:] Sounds like a very nice picture! I could tell by the preview. [Rose:] Leon, do you get to see all the new pictures? [Leon's voice:] Hahaha. Well, I guess our time is about up, Rosie. [Rose:] Oh, I have so much to tell you, that I will leave it for next Sunday. Goodbye now. [door bell] [Rose:] What a surprise! Come in. [Harry:] Hello, Mama. [Simon:] Rose... I told them about it. About Leon. [dramatic music] ["U.S. Steel Hour" theme music] [Narrator:] This is "The United States Steel Hour". In just a moment, Act Two of "Six O'Clock Call", but first here speaking for United States Steel is George Hicks. [George Hicks:] I'm speaking to you from U.S. Steel's Fairless works at Morrisville, Pennsylvania, where you're going to meet one of the company's thousands of steel workers. Directing the crew of this huge annealing unit is a young man named Al Thomas. Al's been with the company 18 years. He knows his job and he's proud of it, just as U.S. Steel is proud of him and his thousands of co-workers. But let's meet Al Thomas in person. [Hicks:] Al, you're the youngest looking 18- year man I've ever seen. [Al Thomas:] Well George, maybe that's because I like my job. [Hicks:] Could be, Al. [Thomas:] The years roll by pretty fast, you know? [Hicks:] Yes, they do. [Thomas:] You want to talk? Let's go into my office. [Hicks:] Alright Al. [Thomas:] Over this way. [telephone ring] [Thomas:] Excuse me, George. Thomas. Yeah, furnace 9 off at 12:30. Yep. [Hicks:] Now, Al, when did you get started in this business? [Thomas:] Well George, I was just a raw kid, right out of the Navy when I started. Learned my trade on-the-job, earned 25 bucks a week and loved it. [Hicks:] Things have changed a little since then haven't they Al? [Thomas:] Yes, they have. Now we make more than that in a day. Of course my responsibilities have changed a lot over the years. Yeah, I know you have a fine record with U.S. Steel, Al. Very fine. I also know your fellow workers respect you because they elected you President of Local 4889 United Steel Workers of America. [Thomas:] Past President, George. My term has expired. [Hicks:] That must have been... no thanks, Al... must have been quite a responsibility in itself, huh? [Thomas:] Yes it was. As I see it the big job is to bring about a better understanding between the workers and management. And to work toward solving our mutual problems, and we've come a long way too. [Hicks:] A lot has been accomplished. Al, I know something else that must make you feel kind of proud. According to this newspaper clipping, you're an original member of the Bucks County Board of Health. [Thomas:] That's right. That started just about a year after my family and I moved here from Pittsburgh. [Hicks:] How do they like Bucks County? [Thomas:] We love it. You know Al, so far your life has been crowded and successful, and you're still pretty young. You must have a lot of plans for the future. [Thomas:] Well like any family, George, my wife and I have given this a lot of thought. As far as we're concerned. This is a place for us Like my father before me, I'm a steel maker. He worked 25 years for U.S. Steel. [Thomas:] He's retired now on a pension. I also have three uncles with the company and a brother with 19 years service. We think our future will be right here. We like living in Bucks County. The main thing is though United States Steel is a good place to work. [music] [talking inaudible] [Simon:] I was worried about you Rose. I felt your family ought to know. [Rose:] Simon, you shouldn't have. That was a secret between us. [Harry:] Mama, you mean, it's true? This story about you're talking to Pop on the phone every Sunday is true? [Rose:] That's a secret between me and Simon. [Hortense:] She believes it, she really believes it! [Harry:] Mama! [Ellen:] Mother, dear, now please sit down. We want to talk to you. [Hortense:] We certainly do! [Hortense:] Now Rose, what's been going on with you? How long have you been like this? [Rose:] Quietly, quietly, please, before you express an opinion, Hortense. Harry. Ellen, dear. A baby in the woods, I'm not. I know that you're going to have a little trouble believing this, but a miracle has happened. Your father Harry, my Leon, all this year when we thought he was gone forever, he was looking down at my sadness and my loneliness and he heard the prayer inside of me and because he's Leon with a heart that never could see anybody suffer, and with a personality that got things done, well, finally there was a miracle. Now what do you say to that Ellen baby? [Ellen:] Mother. Well it isn't so easy to tell you. [Rose:] Say it, say it. Since when are you bashful with me? [Ellen:] Mother, the most important thing for you to understand is this: There is nothing bad or shameful about these phone calls of yours. They are perfectly natural and human and they happen with many people. These phone calls are merely hallucinations. A trick that your mind is playing on you. [Rose:] A trick? How'd you know my mind was so smart? [Harry:] Mama, there's not much about the human mind that Ellen doesn't know. [Hortense:] What's everybody being so calm about? Rose, you're doing something terrible to yourself, and it's our duty, our family duty to make you stop it. [Ellen:] Hortense, please! Nobody is going to make you do anything, Mother dear. But you are allowing yourself to live in a dream world. [Hortense:] Ellen, will you leave this to me. I've been to college too, you know. [Ellen:] but not Hi... [Hortense:] Oh, is that so? I suppose... [Rose:] Will you let me get a word in sideways? You still don't understand, will you listen to me? The telephone rings. I pick it up, and it's Leon's voice. Maybe you'll tell me the whole telephone company is only in my mind. Maybe you'll tell me Leon's voice is only in my mind. Harry. Harry, your father's voice that I lived with for 31 years. All our lifetime together. I suppose that's only in my mind? [Hortense:] All right. If you're so sure of yourself, suppose I drop by at 6 o'clock next Sunday night and I'll speak to Leon too. [Rose:] No you can't do that! Because Leon made a condition with me. The telephone calls are for me only and if anybody else gets on the telephone then that's the end. [Hortense:] How do you like that?! [Rose:] Harry... Harry, please believe me. I'm in good hands, and there's nothing to worry about. Oh, there's plenty for us to worry about. You've always led such a sheltered life. You've always had Leon around to watch out for you. Hortense I asked you kindly... Oh but believe me. I know how to behave with loneliness. I've had plenty of years to learn how, Heaven knows. And I'm gonna make you stop these phone calls for your own good. [Rose:] Enough is enough already! You're my own family, and I love you, but it's enough, there comes a limit! Do you follow me? That colleging you give me, a sheltered life you give me, hallucinations, you give me? But a little understanding, that you don't give me. A little feeling for this wonderful thing that's come into my life, that you don't give me. Now I don't want any more discussions. The discussions are over. [Hortense:] I'm not through yet, Rose. [Rose:] You're through! Now leave us, me and Leon. [Ellen, whispering:] Harry. [Hortense:] I'll go. But we're gonna discuss it some more! [door shuts] [Simon:] Rose... I know what it is you're feeling. But be careful. [Rose:] Simon. Simon, why won't you believe what I'm telling you? Every Sunday Leon calls me. Every Sunday. Simon, who knows everything? Who can be so sure? Is it so easy for you to be so sure? Simon. Simon, I only have you to depend on. [Simon:] Rose, be careful. You'll hurt yourself. You'll hurt your family and what you'll be doing to me... We live in the world with the living, Rose. It's not right to forget it! [Rose, quietly:] Don't forget your hat. Yes. Absolutely. [door shuts] Leon. Leon, it is you. It's not a hallucination, it's really you. [Harry:] Girls. Girls, go wait in the car. I want to talk to Simon. [Ellen:] Oh all right. I know how to handle this. Hortense, listen. What do you think of this idea? [Hortense:] I'll listen, but I've got an idea of my own. [Harry:] Simon, Simon. [Simon:] So? [Harry:] Listen Simon, don't - don't misunderstand me, but... Well. You think there could be anything to it? [Simon:] To what? [Harry:] I know this is the 20th century and but strange things happen, things that... things that modern psychology can't always explain. [Simon:] Harry. Your mama isn't getting any telephone calls. Leon Snider was a fine man. While he was living I was very happy to be his junior partner in the business and outside of the business too. But no more, do you understand? We went to his funeral a year ago, so he's got no right trying to run things now. [door bell] [door bell] [door bell] [Ellen:] Oh Mother dear, I'm so glad that we found you in. [Harry:] Hello Mama. [Ellen:] We brought someone to see you. [Harry:] We brought somebody Mama. [Rose:] So who is it? [Man:] You remember me, don't you Mrs. Snider? I guess I had a little more hair in the old days. [Rose:] Wait a minute... Wait... Davey? Little Davey? [man laughs] David, who was Harry's friend! Davey, where did you call from? How long is it now since I saw you? [David:] I was still in high school, then we moved to Baltimore. [Rose:] Come in, come in! Tell me, tell me about yourself! Are you living in New York City now, with Momma here with you? [David:] No, Mom's back in Baltimore. But I'm living here now with my family. Family! Little Davey has a family. Your wife must be pretty, I'm sure. [David:] Yes. [Rose:] How many children do you have? [David:] Two daughters. [Rose:] Two little girls. Oh my, so tell me, what do you do with yourself? I remember you always wanted to be a doctor. Did you get your wish? Yes. I'm practicing now. [David:] But let's talk about you, Mrs. Snider. I was sorry to hear about Mr. Snider. I remembered him so well. It's a terrible shock when we lose somebody that we love very much. I found that out as a kid when my father died. Well... there are consolations, sometimes. [David:] Yes, there are the right kind of consolations. And there are the wrong kind too. Wrong kind? What kind are the wrong kind, David? [David:] After Mr. Snider died, you were a little surprised at your own reactions, weren't you? I mean you just couldn't seem to break down and have a good cry, could you? That's right. How did you know that, Davey? [David:] The fact is, you were afraid that if you cried and made a fuss, you'd be admitting he was gone, and you just couldn't believe he was gone. Could you? [Rose:] Why did you come here this morning, Davey? [Ellen:] We ran into Dr. Gold on the street, Mother dear, and he had a little free time so Harry thought you would enjoy seeing him again. [Rose:] Just accidentally you ran into him? What kind of a doctor are you, David? [Ellen:] Oh Mother, what does it matter? [Rose:] What kind of a doctor? I asked a question, I'd like an answer. I'm a psychiatrist, Mrs. Snider. [Rose:] A head doctor. [Harry:] Mama we were worried about you, so Ellen thought maybe a little expert therapy. I don't need a doctor. Goodbye, Davey. And give my love to your mother. [Ellen:] After all, Mother dear, Dr. Gold is such an old friend. It isn't as if we were exposing you to a stranger. [Rose:] I don't have to be exposed. I don't need to... be exposed. Goodbye if you're going. Goodbye. [David:] I'll leave my card. It has been wonderful to see you again. You believe that, don't you? [Rose:] How could you? My own family, my own flesh and blood. [Ellen:] We were only trying to help you Mother. [Rose:] Don't call me Mother! Don't either of you call me Mother! That's how you treat a mother? You bring doctors to her? Psychoanalyzes her? Tell her she's out of her head? A temporary delusion! [Rose:] Temporary delusion and that fixes everything. You can do anything or say anything, if you explain it in fancy language. [Harry:] Mama, please! [Rose:] Mama, please? [Rose:] Animals don't treat a mother the way you treated me. A wolf gives a mother more consideration and more love. Go. Go, please go before I say something I don't want to say. Go. You won't have any fun here with a hysterical woman that gets hallucinations. [Harry:] Mama. Mama. What does his voice sound like? Do you hear it clearly? [Rose:] Now he thinks he has to humor me. [Rose:] My own son thinks he has to humor me! [Rose sobbing] [door closes] Papa? Is it really...? [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [Leon's voice:] Why Rose, what's the matter with you? [Rose:] Nothing, Simon. I couldn't be better. [Leon's voice:] So why are you tearing your handkerchief to pieces that way? The way you always do when something's worrying you. [Rose:] Well, I have a cold, and handkerchiefs are for a cold. [Leon's voice:] Rose. Are you beginning to have doubts? Are you beginning not to believe in me? [Rose:] Oh, I believe Leon. I believe. [Leon's voice:] All right, you believe. Let's get back to our conversation. We were talking about Simon. Rose, I hope you appreciate what a good friend Simon is. Leon. Leon, I'm tired. Do you mind? We'll talk about it next Sunday? [Leon's voice:] Why we still have a few moments left, Rose. [Rose:] Next Sunday, Leon! Next Sunday! [music] [dramatic music] Patient: male, age 17. Case history and personal observation indicate obvious psychotic tendency. Uh, correction: possible psychotic tendency. [knocking on door] [knocking on door] [David:] Oh, Mrs. Snider. How are you? [Rose:] Oh, I didn't come because of what you told me two weeks ago. I - I didn't come because I need a doctor. [David:] Come in, won't you? Come in. [Rose:] I came because I - I want you to tell my family that there's nothing to worry about. That... that in your expert opinion there's nothing wrong with me. [David:] Mmmhmm. Well, sit down. Sit down, won't you please? [David:] I'm glad you came Mrs. Snider. I'll have to start with the usual few questions. Now... how, when did these phenomena begin? [Rose:] Phenomena? [David:] The phone calls. [Rose:] Well, two-three months ago. Mmmm hmmm. You were raised in a fairly strict household, right? Your father was very particular with you about dates and so on? Is that... Is that so important? I mean a woman of my age with a married son. You ask me questions about my father? Well... he was strict. [David:] So the fact probably is, that you never really had any... experience with boys before you met your husband. [Rose:] Experience? [David:] I mean your husband was the first boy you ever... were in love with. [Rose:] The only boy. [David:] Since your husband's death has there been anyone else? [Rose:] Excuse me. I knew I shouldn't have come. [David:] Oh Mrs. Snider. Please. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I sit here all day and I see so many people Please stay a moment. Please? Here. Have a brownie. Irma made, um, that's my wife. She baked up a batch for me this morning. She's teaching yourself how to cook. Go on, try one. [Rose, quietly:] Thank you. [Rose:] A little more brown sugar, if your wife will take the suggestion. [David:] She'll be flattered. I'm sure. Mrs. Snider. I'd like to speak my piece to you. If I start sounding like young Sigmund Freud, you - you tell me so, huh? [Rose, quietly:] Speak your piece. [David:] I want to talk to you like an old friend. You're like so many women from your kind of family. When you were young your father was strict. Everything according to a set routine. Then before you hardly began to grow up, your husband took you out of all that. Brought you into a wonderful new world where you had him always. To love you and protect you. Is that wrong? One thing I learned from my father's house that... that a woman's greatest happiness is to love one man and take care of him all her life. Exactly. So is it any wonder that you can't let that man go now? Is it any wonder that you hear from him on the phone? [Rose:] I do get those phone calls. [David:] Mrs. Snider. I can help you understand what's happening to you, but I can't make it stop happening. Only one person can do that: you, yourself. [Rose:] Davey? Not what you think. I do get those phone calls. [dramatic music] Hello Harry? Dave. And listen, your mother was just in here to see me. [Harry:] What did she say Dave? What is she going to do? [David:] Well mostly she just let me talk to her. That's a good sign. Right now the important thing is not to let on that you know anything about this. She should have no strains, or shocks. Don't push her. [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [clock chime] [Rose, frantically:] Hah, ha-Simon. Leon! Leon, this is you! [Leon's voice:] What - what's so excited Rose, I'm calling on time? [Rose:] Leon. Leon, I have to ask you a question. You wouldn't lie to me, would you? You'll tell me the strict truth? [Leon's voice:] Have I ever lied to you? [Rose:] Leon. Leon, this is really you. You're talking to me now, isn't that so? [Leon's voice:] Of course I am. What do you ask such a thing? [Rose:] Nothing I'm... I'm just mixed up. But I've asked you, and you've told me and now I'm all right. [Leon's voice:] Who's mixing you, Rosie? [Rose:] Nobody... nobody. It was just, it was just for a little while. It's just that I was thinking such funny things lately. [Woman's voice:] Funny is right. [Rose:] What did you say Leon? Now you can't tell the difference between Leon and me. Every voice she hears is Leon. [dramatic music] Don't worry about me, Rose. You just go right ahead with your phone call. [dramatic music] ["U.S. Steel Hour" theme music] [Narrator:] This is "The United States Steel Hour." In just a moment, Act Three of "Six O'Clock Call", but now let's join Mary Kay and Johnny. [Johnny:] Bet you're wondering what all this is. Mary Kay and I saw it at U.S. Steel's National Tube Division in Pittsburgh last week, and we wanted to show it to you. It's an interesting exhibit on something really new: snow melting, the painless way to get rid of ice and snow. [Mary Kay:] Imagine being able to enjoy all of the beauty of snow and park on hills and fields, where you want it. Without all the work and danger of snow where you don't want it. [Johnny:] The best part about the new system is that snow never piles up in the first place, even in a blizzard. Well there's a real blizzard for you. Steel pipe coils like these are buried in the concrete right under the surface of streets, parking areas and sidewalks. At the first sign of snow, warm fluid circulates through these steel pipes and warms up the pavement just enough to melt every snowflake the instant it lands. [Mary Kay:] It's wonderful for stores, restaurants, service stations. Remember Johnny, just last Saturday, we saw how it works at this very place: the William Penn hotel in Pittsburgh. [Johnny:] That's right, and the approach to the New York City Bus Terminal. You remember, honey? You'll be seeing more and more snow melting systems in the next few years on hills and curves. [Mary Kay:] Or wherever snow and ice are really dangerous. [Johnny:] Bridge ramps and turnpikes and all sorts of busy and important places. [Mary Kay:] Which includes shopping centers and homes. Maybe our own home. Some day, Johnny, steel pipes buried in the pavement will be your snow shovel. [Johnny:] Well, it figures, Mary Kay. After all, only steel can do so many jobs so well. [dramatic music] You shouldn't be here, you have no right! This is the showdown. Now go on with your phone call. [Hortense:] You're keeping Leon waiting. [Rose:] While you're here, I won't speak to him. [Hortense:] Well then if you won't, I will! [Rose:] No! [Rose:] Simon? Simon, you're still there? Simon, we were talking. We were talking about something, Leon. Leon. Wh-wh-what was it? Yes, oh yes, oh yes, we were talking about your humidor. [Rose:] Well Leon, my cousin Sam was over and he'd like to take it off my hands. Uh, would it be all right if I, if I sell it to him? Leon? You won't raise any objections? Leon? [Hortense:] Your conversation isn't going so well, is it? It's going fine. [Hortense:] You're not so sure anymore. I can hear it in your voice. [Rose:] It's Leon, I'm talking to. [Hortense:] Then let me talk to him too. [Rose:] Leon? Leon, what shall I do? Leon, tell me what to do! Leon! Leon, talk to me. Say something and I'll know it's all right. Leon. [Hortense:] If I hear his voice too, then I'll know it's true. And then you'll know it's true. Your mind will be at peace. Imagine, what pleasure. What a relief. [Rose:] Leon. Leon? Hortense. You... You tell me if it's Leon. Tell me if it's Leon. Hello? Hello, who's there? [dial tone] [Hortense:] Here's your Leon. [dial tone] Rose! [door bell] [door bell] [Simon:] How is she feeling? Any better? [Ellen:] Well, Harry is in the bedroom with her now. She's resting. [Hortense:] Resting. She's sitting in a chair without a word. Without a look even. For almost 24 hours. [Harry:] Mama? Mama... I can't stand to see you this way. When Papa died, I said I'd take care of you. I promised myself, you'd never have to suffer again. Some fine job, I did. [Harry:] If only she'd start crying or something. [Ellen:] Well, she's having a rather extreme reaction, but basically her trauma is over now. She'll be able to face reality again. [Hortense:] Reality. What's so wonderful about reality? I ruined her. She was happy and I was jealous of her and I ruined her. I was jealous, that's all it was! [Ellen:] Oh, Mr. Wechsler, you talk to her. You've always been good with her. She always used to turn to you when she was in trouble. It's part of her psychological pattern. She'll turn to you now. [Simon:] She will? [Ellen:] Well at least I think she will. I don't know. I don't feel like such an expert anymore. [Hortense:] Ellen. Harry. Are you coming? What good can we do here? [Harry:] Ah, maybe I should stay. After all, I'm her son. Maybe not. [Simon:] Rose. What's the matter with you? Pretending to be a sick woman? I mean, this type of thing I can expect from my birdbrain cousin Sadie, not from you Rose. I was standing outside talking to the family. They want I should give you a pep talk. I should tell you to be happy that your phone calls are over now. How could I do such a thing? When I can see for myself, what it is you're feeling. Leon is the man you love. You wanted to live in a world with him. Alright, alright. It's your world, Rose. Happiness is rare enough in this life. Who should know this better than me? So a person has the right to find it, wherever we can. Even in the imagination. Maybe. Maybe they were right. This was a dream world. A hallucination. Whatever it was, it's over forever. [Simon:] Maybe it isn't over. Maybe if you concentrate hard enough you can make yourself believe it all over again. [Rose:] That's your advice? You'd like me to get the calls again? [Simon:] You can, if you try. I'm positive. Leon is an understanding type man. He'll give you a second chance. What about you? Calls didn't make you happy. [Simon:] About me, don't worry. I won't bother you no more. I'll get out from your life. Goodbye, Rose. God bless you Rose. I'm positive he will. Simon? Simon? Simon! Simon, I'm sorry for what I did to you! Simon! [sobbing] [sobbing] [clock chime] [clock chime] [telephone ring] [clock chime] [telephone ring] [clock chime] Leon! Leon, it's over! Leon, don't call me anymore! It's over. This must be over! Leon, I'm going to live in the world of the living, Leon. So, so who's Leon? This is Simon. Listen I - I'm calling you because I'm such an absent-minded professor. I - I forgot my hat in your apartment. Simon? Your hat? [laughing] Your hat. Your hat. Yo- your hat. Look Rose, Rose, I'm - I'm downstairs in your lobby. I... I know how foolish this sounds after my fancy goodbye, but can I come up and get my hat? Well, why... why should you come up? Give me a few minutes and I'll come down. And I'll bring your hat with me. You, you will? You, you'll come down? Simon. Simon, I haven't eaten all day. Simon, I... maybe you... maybe you take me out for that big steak dinner. That is, if the offer is still open... naturally. Is it open? Is it open, she said! And listen, Rose. For dessert, could I ask you a certain question? Simon. Simon, that's... that's the least I could do for - for an old friend. [music] [Narrator:] In a moment we'll tell you about next week's stars and story. But first here is a message from our alternate program "The Elgin Hour". [Elgin Announcer:] Some reckon time by stars and some by hours. Some measure days by dreams and some by flowers. My beating heart records thy days and hours. In a man's life, time is a milestone and a challenge and the watch that measures it a symbol of his substance. This Elgin 19 Holcomb is a man's watch with dignity, good looks and a name to be proud of. Elgin: a name that has meant the finest in the watch making art for nearly a century. A name that means beauty of styling as in this lovely Elgin Afton. Make this her gift and she'll know there's a very special thought behind it. For a birthday gift that you can give with pride, choose an Elgin, the beautiful way to tell time. [Narrator:] Next week "The Elgin Hour" will present "Days of Grace", written by George and Marjorie Faulkner and produced by Herbert Brodkin. Starring Franchot Tone and featuring Peggy Conklin, George Macready and Nancy Malone, "Days of Grace" is the poignant drama of a man who tries to face his problems alone and of his wife's attempt to help him. [music] ["U.S. Steel Hour" theme music] [Narrator:] Two weeks from tonight "The United States Steel Hour" will present Thomas Mitchell, James Daly and Henry Hull in "Freighter", produced by The Theatre Guild. Remember only steel can do so many jobs, so well. Your guide to quality steel is this trademark "USS". The best possible steel at the lowest possible price. The proud achievement of United States Steel. And now an important message from Mr. Benjamin F. Fairless, Chairman of the Board, United States Steel. [Fairless:] This is Junior Achievement Week. Through the work of this organization, youngsters learn self-reliance. They learn the fundamentals of business. Junior Achievement Week deserves the support of all. ["U.S. Steel Hour" theme music]