- 17 hours ago
A woman whose only friends are plants needs them to help protect her from her heartless and cruel husband.
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00:00Come in.
00:19Welcome.
00:21I'm E.G. Marshall, and I want very much to tell you the story of a young lady named Barbara.
00:26Everyone is more or less mad on one point, said Rudyard Kipling, the famous English writer.
00:33And I'm inclined to agree with him, since I myself am more or less mad on the point of mystery.
00:39But our sweet heroine's madness took a strange turn, as we shall soon discover in the unfolding of the tale entitled All Living Things Must Die.
00:49Our mystery drama, All Living Things Must Die, was written especially for the Mystery Theater by Elspeth Erick and stars Mercedes McCambridge.
01:00It is sponsored in part by the Kellogg Company, makers of Kellogg Special K cereal, and by Anheuser-Busch Incorporated, brewers of Budweiser.
01:09I'll be back shortly with Act One.
01:11Now begins our story of the lightly demented Barbara, a lovely lady of 31 or 2 or even 4 or 5.
01:25But as we now discover her in the living room of her suburban home, she could be younger than springtime.
01:32She could be spring itself.
01:34I love you.
01:37I love you all.
01:39You are my darlings.
01:41My pets.
01:43My very own treasures.
01:45Oh, how beautiful you are.
01:47And how much I love you.
01:50What?
01:51Oh, that can't be Frank.
01:53He never forgets his key.
01:56Oh.
01:57Oh, it's...
01:58Johnson, ma'am.
01:59Detective Sergeant Johnson from the other day.
02:02Oh, yes.
02:03Come in.
02:05I didn't realize you'd be back.
02:07Well, I was just checking up.
02:09Have any more of those obscene phone calls?
02:11No, not one.
02:12And it's such a relief.
02:13You can't imagine.
02:14Oh, you had your number change.
02:15Yes, yes.
02:16And that seems to have done the trick all right.
02:18Oh, good, good.
02:20Now, a lady like you shouldn't be bothered by things like that.
02:22Well, there's one other thing I hate to mention.
02:26No, no.
02:26Go ahead.
02:26Mention anything you want to.
02:27We're here to serve.
02:29Well, it could be my imagination, but...
02:32Every once in a while, I see a man sort of hanging around across the street.
02:37Not doing anything in particular, but just hanging around.
02:42Any special time of day?
02:44Yes, usually about this time.
02:46I see him through this window when I'm putting my plants to bed.
02:51Oh, you tuck them in, do you?
02:53Well, sort of.
02:54I talk to them, and sometimes I sing them a lullaby.
02:58I know that sounds silly, but, well, that's what I do.
03:03And then sometimes through the window, I think I see this man.
03:07Well, it's kind of hard to see out this window, ma'am.
03:09The plants ought to get in the way.
03:11Yes, I know they do, but they like it here.
03:14I tried other places, but they weren't happy, so...
03:17They are happy here, huh?
03:18Well, they haven't complained, although I'm not sure about Annabelle.
03:22This one is Annabelle.
03:25That's Arthur.
03:27And that's Kenneth.
03:28And this is Marianne.
03:30And that spider plant over there is Michael.
03:34Oh, Michael's in great shape, isn't he?
03:36Oh, yes, he is.
03:38He's...
03:39Are you laughing at me?
03:42Please don't.
03:44Do I look like I'm laughing?
03:45My husband laughs at me sometimes.
03:48I wouldn't know why.
03:50Oh, because...
03:53Now, you see this one, Marianne?
03:56Well, you take a close look, because you won't see a Marianne every day in the week.
04:00Well, Marianne is, uh...
04:02She looks like Ivy to me.
04:04Yes, but her leaves...
04:06Her leaves are heart-shaped, can't you see?
04:08Each one is shaped like a perfect little heart.
04:12You know, you're right.
04:13Yes.
04:13There are more than 200 varieties of Ivy.
04:18Did you know that?
04:18No, no, I never did.
04:20Hey, what's going on here?
04:22Oh, Frank.
04:23This is my husband.
04:25Frank.
04:26This is Detective Sergeant Johnson.
04:28Ed Johnson.
04:29How are you?
04:29Pleased to meet you, Mr. Murray.
04:30He came to check up on those phone calls.
04:33Oh, yeah, from the, uh, degenerate.
04:36I told Barbara she should answer him back in his own language.
04:38Oh, Frank, please.
04:39Let him have it.
04:39Give it to him right between the eyes.
04:41The ears.
04:42I should say, in this instance.
04:44Well, I'll, uh, I'll be getting along.
04:46Well, I'll show you to the door.
04:48Say, listen, why can't you catch those freaks?
04:52Thank you for coming around, Mr. Johnson.
04:55Yeah, sure.
04:55I'll, uh, stop by again if it's all right with you.
04:58Oh, any time, practically.
04:59I'm almost always here.
05:00And, uh, take good care of Annabelle.
05:03Oh, I will.
05:04And don't let Michael grow too fast.
05:07I'll do my best.
05:08Good night, Mrs. Murray.
05:09Good night, Sergeant Johnson.
05:10And thank you.
05:11Now, don't you mention it.
05:14What was all that about?
05:15Oh, I told you.
05:17The phone call.
05:18I mean, all that whispering.
05:19All that bzz, bzz, bzz, at the door just now.
05:20Oh, we weren't whispering.
05:22Well, what were you talking about?
05:23That I wasn't supposed to hear.
05:24Nothing.
05:25He just said, I don't know, something about the plants.
05:29That's all.
05:30What does he know about plants?
05:32Well, nothing much.
05:34When he was here the first time, and just now before you came in, I told him about them.
05:38He knows that I talk to them and that they have names.
05:42He was just being friendly, Frank.
05:44That's being friendly?
05:46Dropping in all the time when I'm not here?
05:47Only twice.
05:48This was only the second time.
05:51He's a kook like you.
05:53Freaked out over a bunch of plants.
05:55He was only expressing an interest.
05:56What's interesting about a bunch of plants with no flowers?
06:00Look at them.
06:00They take up the whole window.
06:02You got them strung all over the place.
06:03Up to the ceiling, hanging down.
06:05They're vines, Frank.
06:07There's silver lace and philodendron and ivy.
06:10Whatever they are, they're dumb.
06:11Plain dumb.
06:13I wouldn't object to a nice pot of tulips, something like that, sitting on a table.
06:17Like a nice pot of color or a hyacinth.
06:20They smell good.
06:21But these things...
06:23Don't, don't.
06:24Don't hurt them.
06:25Don't.
06:25I got no use for them at all.
06:26Get rid of them.
06:27Oh, no, no, never.
06:28You can't make me.
06:30Oh, boy, you sure cry easy.
06:33What did I say was so terrible?
06:34You said get rid of them.
06:36Well, all right, all right.
06:37Forget I mentioned this.
06:39What's for dinner?
06:40It's with steak.
06:42Again?
06:44Well, it's been a whole week.
06:45Well, get it on the table, because I've got to get out of here early.
06:48You mean you're going out?
06:49I've got a date to go bowling.
06:50Tonight?
06:50Well, certainly tonight.
06:52What do you think?
06:52Next year?
06:53But you were out last night and the night before.
06:55I may go out tomorrow night and the night after that.
06:57So what?
06:57Frank, Frank, I get so lonely.
06:59Well, read a book, watch TV, listen to the radio.
07:02But almost every night and all day.
07:04Well, all right.
07:05Talk to your plants.
07:06That's what you got them for, is it?
07:08Have a nice little conversation with Michael and Mary Louise and Archibald, whatever you call them.
07:16Never mind.
07:16Just, never mind.
07:19Well, look, I'm going to take a quick shower and then we'll eat.
07:22Ten minutes on the outside, okay?
07:25Okay.
07:28Oh, Arthur.
07:30Annabelle.
07:33Tell me that you love me.
07:36Marianne, do you love me?
07:39Michael.
07:41Dennis.
07:43Oh, somebody love me.
07:46Please.
07:46Somebody love me or I'll die.
07:58There.
07:59That Swiss steak wasn't bad at all.
08:03Got any dessert?
08:04Just fruit.
08:06I'll take an apple with me.
08:07Frank, don't go for a minute.
08:10I told you I got a date.
08:11No, I want to talk to you about something.
08:13I'll go ahead, but keep it short, will you?
08:16Well, Frank.
08:18Remember when we got married?
08:19Well, how could I forget with you to remind me?
08:22Well, you said then that you didn't want to have any children right away.
08:26I don't believe in rushing into things like that.
08:28Frank, that was ten years ago.
08:30Yeah, I know.
08:31But isn't it different now?
08:33Well, not necessarily.
08:34Really?
08:35I mean, I think I'm too old for kids.
08:38Oh, you're only 45.
08:39And by the time my kid grew up, I'd be an old man.
08:41No, not really old.
08:43Well, aren't you kind of old to be having a kid for the first time?
08:46Frank, lots of women have children at my age.
08:48Lots of them.
08:49I don't know if it's safe.
08:50Yes, it is.
08:50It happens all the time.
08:51And I'm very healthy.
08:52I'm very strong.
08:53You don't look too strong.
08:54Well, I am because the doctor said so.
08:57When did you go to see a doctor?
08:58Last week.
09:01I don't like you doing that without asking me first.
09:04Well, I wanted to be sure before I talked to you.
09:06And the doctor said it would be perfectly all right for me to have a baby.
09:09As a matter of fact, he said it would be the best thing in the world for me.
09:11Well, I can't say it.
09:12On account of the loneliness, Frank, I don't think you'll realize how lonely I get.
09:17That's why I talk to the plants and sing to them.
09:21Because I haven't got anybody else.
09:23Well, make some friends, why don't you?
09:25That's not easy for me.
09:26Why not?
09:27I do it all the time.
09:29Anyway, it's not the same as having somebody right here in the house with me all the time.
09:34It's not the same intimate kind of thing.
09:39If I had a baby, oh, Frank, I wouldn't ask for anything else ever.
09:45And I'd give that baby so much love and attention.
09:48It would grow up to be the most marvelous person because it would know from the very beginning that it was loved and wanted.
09:53Oh, so much wanted.
09:55Well, I don't want it.
09:57You got that?
09:59A kid is the last thing in the world I want.
10:01Please.
10:01No, no, no.
10:03I live in this house too, you know.
10:05I don't want a kid running around, messing up everything, making a lot of noise, getting in the way all the time.
10:09No, it wouldn't be like that.
10:11Oh, yes, it would.
10:13No.
10:14No, I won't have a kid messing up my life and that's final, so forget it, huh?
10:17Huh?
10:18You hear me?
10:18Forget it.
10:19Put it out of your mind.
10:20All right.
10:22Okay?
10:23Huh?
10:23Well, I got to get going.
10:27The guys are waiting for me to bowl again.
10:28Frank.
10:29All right, now what?
10:30No, no, I won't keep you a minute.
10:32I haven't got a minute.
10:33At least less than a minute.
10:35Well, okay, spill it.
10:37When I was at the supermarket this morning, there was this dog.
10:40A dog.
10:41Oh, boy.
10:41Really, a very pretty dog and so sweet.
10:44And he was just wandering around.
10:46Nobody knew who he belonged to or if he belonged to anybody.
10:48He's just a stray as far as anybody knows.
10:51No dog.
10:52He has this cute little tail that curls up right over his back and the great ears that
10:56stand up straight and then flop over.
10:59And he's mostly black with a kind of white face.
11:01Barbara, we've been through all this.
11:05I will not have a dog in my house.
11:08Now, that is how it is and I don't want to talk about it now or never.
11:12You understand that?
11:14Yes.
11:16I got to go.
11:18Frank.
11:18I said I got to go.
11:20Just one more thing.
11:22There's this man hanging around outside.
11:26What man?
11:28Hanging around where?
11:29I was telling Detective Johnson about it.
11:30This man sort of hangs around across the street.
11:33And I thought if he's a prowler or a dangerous kind of person, well, a dog would be protection
11:43for me, see, when I'm alone.
11:45What makes you think this guy is dangerous?
11:46I don't know that he is, but every night now when I'm watering the plants just before you
11:50come home, I can see him through the window just sort of standing there and looking around.
11:57This window?
11:57Yes.
11:59He looks kind of shifty, Frank.
12:01And if I had a dog, I'd feel safe.
12:03I can't see it.
12:04He's right across the street.
12:06I can't see on account of these dumb plants.
12:08Don't, don't hurt them.
12:09Why do they have to grow them so damn long?
12:11Just part them very carefully.
12:15Here, let me...
12:15Oh, no, I can do it.
12:16I can do it.
12:18There.
12:19Can you see that man?
12:22I see him.
12:25Barbara, you're a nut, you know this?
12:27Why am I?
12:29That's the guard they hired at the high-rise.
12:31They pay him to watch the building.
12:33Of course he's here every night.
12:34That's what he's paid for.
12:36I didn't know that.
12:37Are you trying to con me into letting you have a dog for protection?
12:42Well, it won't work, Barbara.
12:43The answer's still the same.
12:44No dog, no baby.
12:46Just be happy with these dumb plants.
12:49They're bad enough.
12:50They can have the whole bloody window spilling all over the place.
12:53I hate you.
12:54You're lucky I'll let you keep them.
12:55I hate you.
12:56I wish you were dead.
12:59What did you say?
13:00I said I hate you.
13:03I wish you were dead.
13:05Did you really say...
13:07Hey.
13:08Hey, what?
13:09Hey, what?
13:10What's this?
13:11The bloody plants are on my neck.
13:12Hey, Barbara, they're all around me.
13:16They're choking me.
13:17I can't get them off.
13:18Hey, Barbara.
13:19Barbara, they're too strong.
13:21Fuck.
13:22Barbara, don't stand.
13:24Get them off.
13:26This is...
13:27Barbara, this is...
13:29I hate you.
13:31I hate you.
13:32Barbara.
13:33I want you dead.
13:37We'll return shortly for the second act of All Living Things Must Die.
13:50Now for the second act of All Living Things Must Die.
13:54It is a year later, and our heroine no longer lives in the little suburban house, nor is her name Barbara Murray.
14:02She lives in a cheery little two-room apartment, and she is married to Detective Sergeant Ed Johnson.
14:08But Kenneth and Arthur and Mary Ann and Michael and Annabelle, all the plants are grouped together in the largest window, and all appear to be in the best of health.
14:19Baby boats, a silver moon, sailing on the sea, big...
14:27Oh, he's home.
14:30Ed?
14:30Hello, sweetheart.
14:31Hello, darling.
14:31Hey, hey, hey, hey, watch out.
14:33What, what, what have you got there?
14:34Oh, just a little addition to the family.
14:36What?
14:37What is it?
14:37Well, let me get the paper off, will you?
14:39Okay.
14:39How's that, huh?
14:43Ed.
14:45Oh, it's beautiful.
14:47You know what it's called?
14:48Yes, do you?
14:49Sure, a purple passion plant.
14:51Oh, that's right.
14:51Yeah.
14:52I thought it was very appropriate for two people who've been married a month.
14:56Oh, it is, it is, Ed.
14:58It's beautiful.
14:59And you were so sweet to think of it.
15:01Well, there's something else I've been thinking of.
15:05What's that?
15:06Honey, is it too soon for us to be thinking about having a baby?
15:09A baby?
15:11Well, you do want us to have a baby, don't you, Barbara?
15:14Well, I guess so.
15:17I brought the subject up too soon.
15:18I can see that dumb me.
15:19I'm sorry.
15:20No, that's right.
15:20No, no, no.
15:21I was stupid.
15:22Forget I mentioned it, huh?
15:24Only, it doesn't do any harm to think about it a little, does it?
15:28No.
15:30I guess it doesn't do any harm to think about it.
15:37Oh, Cleopatra.
15:40You're growing very nicely, dear.
15:44It would take a little while before you'll be as long as Annabelle.
15:48And you'll probably never be as long as Michael.
15:51But then very few plants are.
15:54But you're so healthy and strong.
15:57And I love your purple leaves.
16:00You're very beautiful, my darling.
16:02Yes.
16:02Oh, he's home.
16:05Darling?
16:06Darling, you're home.
16:07Yep, I'm home.
16:08Hey, look what I brought with you.
16:09Why, why?
16:11Oh, no, it's a dog.
16:13Uh-huh.
16:14Oh, isn't he, darling?
16:16Yeah, yeah.
16:16He wandered him to the station house about a week ago.
16:18We've been feeding him, and he's been sitting there.
16:20Look, look, look.
16:21His tail curls up over his back.
16:23Yeah.
16:23He's got a great disposition.
16:25Oh, my.
16:27Doesn't he belong to anybody?
16:28Well, we advertised in the paper three days running.
16:30Nobody answered there yet.
16:31You mean he's got no home?
16:33Nobody wants him?
16:35Well, not unless you do.
16:37You mean I can have him?
16:39He can live here with us.
16:40Well, would you like that?
16:40Oh, yes, yes.
16:42Dog, I guess you've got a home.
16:44Oh, I love him.
16:45Dog, you've got yourself a mother.
16:47Look, look, look at him.
16:48Look how he's looking at you.
16:50Yeah, yeah.
16:50Come here.
16:50Come here, dog.
16:51Come here.
16:52Oh, he loves you.
16:53You can see it in his eyes.
16:55He just loves you.
16:55Well, I'm his father, aren't I?
16:57Hey, dog, do you love your father?
17:00Of course he loves you.
17:01How could he help but love you?
17:03How could anybody help but love you?
17:05Well, there's only one person that has to love me.
17:09That's you.
17:09Uh-huh.
17:10But you have to, baby.
17:12It's absolutely necessary.
17:13It's essential that you love me,
17:14because if you don't, it's the end of me.
17:16Oh, Ed, I love you so much.
17:17I can't even talk about it.
17:19Just believe me.
17:21I love you, and I love you, and I love you.
17:24When you're here, and when you're not here,
17:25and when you're asleep, and when you're awake,
17:27and when you talk, and when you don't talk,
17:29and when you look at me, and when you don't,
17:31I love you all the time.
17:33Hey, that's a lot of love.
17:34I've got more.
17:36More?
17:36Anytime you need it.
17:37Barbara.
17:39Honey.
17:40Hmm?
17:41Look, we've been married better than half a year now.
17:44When are we going to start having a baby?
17:46Oh, I don't know.
17:49Pretty soon?
17:51I guess.
17:51You want one, don't you, honey?
17:53Yes.
17:54Well, when do we?
17:55Well, sometimes.
17:57Well, sweetheart, we're not kids anymore.
17:59I know that I...
17:59You think I'm putting the pressure on you?
18:02I shouldn't do that.
18:03I didn't mean to.
18:04No, that's all right.
18:05No, I won't do that anymore.
18:07You just got to tell me when you think there's the right time.
18:09I won't bother about it anymore.
18:11Now, what are we going to name the dog?
18:15I don't know.
18:15How about Cuthbert or Lance?
18:18Oh, no, I don't think so.
18:20Herman?
18:20Dwight?
18:21No, no, no.
18:21I don't want to give him any name like that.
18:22I want to call him what you called him.
18:25Me?
18:25I never called him anything.
18:25Yes, you did.
18:26You called him Dog.
18:28That's what I want to call him.
18:29D-A-W-G?
18:30Dog?
18:31Yes, come here, Dog.
18:32What a name.
18:33Oh, what a lovely dog you are.
18:35Dog.
18:44Hi, darling.
18:45Hello, love.
18:46How do you feel?
18:47I feel marvelous.
18:48Well, you look marvelous.
18:49How's the family?
18:49Well, I've been giving Annabelle a little too much water, but everybody else is fine.
18:53Oh, I brought you a present.
18:55A first anniversary present.
18:56Well, I have one for you, too.
18:57Here.
18:59That's an engagement ring.
19:00You never had one.
19:02Oh, Ed, this is lovely.
19:03Do you like it?
19:04Oh, yes.
19:05I love it.
19:06Almost as much as I love you, and Dog, and Annabelle, and Kenneth.
19:12Hey, hey, hey, watch it.
19:13And I got you a ring, too.
19:14What?
19:15Yes, a wedding ring, because you never have one.
19:16Oh, hey, hey.
19:18That's nice.
19:19That's real nice.
19:20Is it okay for a man to wear this?
19:22Well, it just shows everybody that you're married.
19:23Well, everybody knows I'm married.
19:25Does everybody really know you're married?
19:26Well, I talk about it all the time.
19:28Do you really?
19:28Do you talk about it?
19:29Well, I'm married to you, so naturally, it's you I talk about.
19:32I bet you bored everybody to tears.
19:34I bet I do.
19:35Of course, there always comes a time when they break in and say,
19:39any kids?
19:39You got any kids?
19:41Yes, I suppose they do say that.
19:42And, of course, I say no, and they say, well, why not?
19:45And I don't know what to say.
19:49Ed, I'm so sorry.
19:50I mean, why not?
19:50You have to tell me.
19:51Well, it's a feeling that I have.
19:55Well, don't you want to, baby?
19:56I always thought you were the kind of woman who'd want a family.
19:59It's hard to explain.
20:00Well, you've got to try.
20:01Okay.
20:03Okay, I'll try.
20:05Only, Ed, I don't think you're going to like what I'm going to tell you.
20:08Anything.
20:08I want to hear anything you have to tell me.
20:11Well, I have to go back to the night that Frank died.
20:15Frank?
20:16Yeah.
20:17What's Frank got to do with it?
20:18I'm going to tell you if you listen.
20:19Yeah, I'm listening.
20:19Go ahead.
20:20Well, you remember when I called you that night and I told you that Frank was dead?
20:25You remember that?
20:26Yeah, sure.
20:26Of course, Eddie.
20:27And you came over with the others and you asked me how it happened.
20:31Yeah.
20:31And I said I didn't know.
20:33I said that Frank was going to go out bowling and he must have been in a hurry and the room
20:38was dark and he must have stumbled into the plants and got tangled up in them and he
20:44couldn't get out.
20:44Yeah, but he was strangled by the plants, baby.
20:47It was a freak accident.
20:48No, that isn't what happened at all.
20:50Honey, are you trying to tell me?
20:52I don't know.
20:53Are you trying to tell me that you pushed him or something?
20:54That you wrapped the plants around his neck?
20:56I didn't.
20:57All right.
20:58Now, wait a minute.
20:58Maybe you better tell it to me from the beginning.
21:00Well, you remember Frank came home that day while you were still here.
21:05Uh-huh.
21:05And then you left and he told me to hurry up with dinner because he was going out and I
21:12got upset.
21:12I told him I get so lonely here.
21:15Lonely every night.
21:17Almost every day.
21:18Read a book.
21:19Watch TV.
21:20Listen to the radio.
21:21Talk to your plants.
21:23That's what you got them for, isn't it?
21:24So after dinner, I said I wanted to talk to him about having a baby.
21:30A kid is the last thing in the world I want.
21:33And I think maybe it was then that I got the idea.
21:36What idea?
21:37It just seemed awfully important to me to get Frank over by the window where the plants were
21:43hanging.
21:44So I told him that there had been a man hanging around outside across the street.
21:50What man?
21:51Hanging around where?
21:52And he started walking toward the window.
21:54And I started feeling this, this awful, wild excitement.
22:01The nearer he got to the window, the nearer he got to the plants.
22:06And then I said it.
22:07You said what, honey?
22:08I hate you.
22:10I said I hate you.
22:11At first, Frank didn't hear me.
22:14Or maybe he didn't believe his ears.
22:16But I said it again.
22:16I hate you.
22:19And then I said, I wish you were dead.
22:23He heard me say that.
22:25Then what happened?
22:25He started to look angry.
22:28And he made a little move toward me.
22:29And it was then when he started to move that the plants moved.
22:36They moved faster than anyone would think plants could move.
22:40And they wound themselves around his neck.
22:42Around and around.
22:44And tighter and tighter.
22:46And Frank began to choke.
22:47Barbara!
22:48They're all around my neck.
22:50They're choking me!
22:52Oh, no.
22:52I can't get them off.
22:54Don't stay there.
22:55Get them off.
22:56Get the scissors.
22:57No.
22:58Barbara!
22:58The scissors!
23:00Because there were scissors there, you know.
23:02On the windowsill.
23:03And Frank couldn't reach them.
23:04Because the plants were holding them so tight.
23:07And tighter all the time.
23:08And I knew the scissors were there.
23:10I kept them there all the time.
23:11Just the way I do now.
23:13To cut off the dead leaves and things.
23:15But I didn't move.
23:17I just stood there.
23:19Repeating those awful words.
23:21I hate you.
23:22I hate you.
23:23I wish you were dead.
23:25Barbara!
23:27No.
23:27Barbara!
23:28No.
23:29No.
23:29I watched his face turn purple.
23:32And then blue.
23:34And then he dropped to the floor.
23:36And I watched him drop.
23:38And I looked at him.
23:40But all I said was...
23:42Dead.
23:43Oh, darling.
23:44I listened to the plants for a while.
23:47They seemed to be telling me,
23:48See how we love you.
23:51See, we'll do anything you ask.
23:52We are your true loves.
23:54We've killed for you.
23:56Now you know how much we love you.
24:00And then I went to the phone and called you.
24:02Darling, you had a bad dream, that's all.
24:04No.
24:06No, it wasn't a dream.
24:08I made the plants do what they did, don't you see?
24:12I said I wanted Frank dead.
24:14And they heard me.
24:15Or they felt what I was feeling.
24:17Or they sensed it or something.
24:18And because they love me and because they know that I'd never kill anybody...
24:21Oh, of course not.
24:22They went ahead and did it for me.
24:23Sweetheart, even if what you say is true, if it could be true...
24:26It is true.
24:26You never laid a finger on...
24:28But I'm an accessory.
24:29Don't you see?
24:30I wanted someone to kill Frank.
24:32Not me, but someone.
24:34And the plants knew it.
24:35And they killed him for me.
24:38Do you think anybody's going to believe you, sweetheart?
24:40Yes.
24:42Do you believe me?
24:44Honey, is this why you don't want to have a baby?
24:46I want to, but...
24:47But what?
24:49That's how it all started.
24:51Me asking Frank if I could have a baby.
24:53Why don't you try asking me?
24:55You know what kind of an answer you'll get, don't you?
24:57Go ahead.
24:58Ask me.
25:00Ed?
25:02Is it all right?
25:06Is it?
25:06Hello.
25:20Uh, this is Mrs. Ed Johnson.
25:23Yes.
25:24Well, uh...
25:25I saw the doctor a couple of days ago, and, uh...
25:28He was going to have a test made to see if I...
25:30Oh, you can't tell me.
25:34It is?
25:35Really?
25:36Really?
25:38Yes, I believe you.
25:40Thank you very much.
25:42It's true.
25:45It's really true, God.
25:49Michael.
25:50Marianne.
25:51I'm going to have a baby.
25:52Annabelle.
25:53It's true.
25:54Kenneth.
25:55Cleopatra.
25:56Arthur.
25:57Finally.
25:58I'm going to have a baby.
26:01What do you think about that?
26:03Are you pleased?
26:04Are you happy?
26:05Tell me what you think, because you're very important to me.
26:08Yes, you're my best friend.
26:10I'm not young anymore, and there are people who think I'm...
26:14Well, strange.
26:16I'm too emotional.
26:17That's what they think.
26:19And they may be right.
26:20How do I know?
26:21So please, tell me, because I trust you.
26:24Is it all right for me to have a baby?
26:28You really think so?
26:33Ed!
26:34Ed, it's true!
26:36I just called the doctor's office, and they told me it's true.
26:39I'm going to have a baby, Ed.
26:41Tell me.
26:42Tell me.
26:43Is it really all right?
26:50We'll be back shortly with Act Three.
26:56We're still in a little two-room apartment, and the plants still hang in the window.
27:02But everything else is different, for it is precisely eight months since we last heard her voice.
27:09There!
27:10They're gone!
27:12Ed, they're gone!
27:13What's that, honey?
27:13The movers are gone.
27:14They took the last chair out just now.
27:16Oh, I hope they don't break anything.
27:18Oh, sweetie, they won't.
27:18Don't worry about it.
27:19Oh, I don't worry about anything anymore.
27:22Do you mean that?
27:23Sometimes I try to worry, because after all, I used to worry all the time.
27:26I mean, I worried all my life, but now I can't worry.
27:29I've forgotten how.
27:31It's being pregnant.
27:32Well, maybe I ought to try it.
27:34Oh, I'm so sorry for you, you know that?
27:36How come?
27:37Being a man, you can't ever be happy the way I'm happy.
27:41I've got my own way.
27:42I feel so complete, so...
27:45So fulfilled.
27:45I guess so.
27:47As though there'd been something missing from the day I was born, and now I've got it.
27:52I was so, so unfinished before, but now I'm, well, I'm complete.
28:00Just wait till we get settled in the new apartment, baby.
28:03Wait till we get the little baby's room decorated and the crib moved in and all that other stuff.
28:08Shouldn't we go over there now?
28:09Well, I suppose we ought to give the movers time to get there.
28:11No, I want to go now.
28:12I can't wait.
28:13Yeah, neither can I.
28:15Oh, honey.
28:16Isn't it wonderful how we always seem to feel the same way?
28:19Oh, honey, you never have that other feeling anymore, do you?
28:22What feeling?
28:23You know about how Frank died, the plant.
28:26Oh, that.
28:27You don't ever feel that maybe you shouldn't have a baby.
28:30Oh, no.
28:31Well, you know, when you first found out, you weren't too sure.
28:33Oh, but that was eight months ago.
28:35That was before I started feeling the baby grow.
28:39Before I knew that it was going to be my baby, my child.
28:44And then I knew that if there ever was anything that was right, having this baby was that thing.
28:51And Frank, you ever think about him about that night?
28:56I'm not sure it ever happened.
28:59I mean, I'm not sure it happened the way I said.
29:02I think probably you were right.
29:03I dreamed the whole thing.
29:05It was an accident, Barbara.
29:07Frank and the plants.
29:08It was a freak accident.
29:10I guess so.
29:11Now, come on.
29:12Let's go over to the new apartment.
29:14Movers ought to be almost there.
29:15Yeah, okay.
29:16I'll take the plants, Doc.
29:17Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
29:18I wanted to think.
29:18No, honey, no, no, no.
29:19I don't want you doing things like that.
29:21Not now.
29:21Eight months.
29:22Holy cow.
29:22Oh, don't be silly.
29:23I know just how they're tied up because I did it myself in the first place.
29:26Come on, hand me the scissors.
29:27They're right there.
29:28Baby, I think I ordered them.
29:30No, no, really.
29:30They wouldn't like anybody else touching them.
29:33I know what you can do.
29:34You can get those cartons we saved to pack them in and all that tissue paper.
29:37Go on, you do that.
29:37That'd be a big help.
29:38Okay, if you say so.
29:39Oh, here's the scissors.
29:41Let me take a minute.
29:42Yeah, I'll be right back.
29:44Now then, here we go.
29:47Now, Cleopatra, let's get you down first.
29:50No, Michael, you'll have to wait until last because you're so long and strong.
29:55It'd be hard to separate you from the others.
29:58Oh!
29:59Gee, it's hard to reach.
30:01I don't know if I can...
30:03Oh!
30:04Maybe I should have let Ed take you down.
30:06My arms hurt.
30:08Isn't that funny?
30:08I never had any trouble before.
30:10Well, of course.
30:12But it's being pregnant.
30:14It's this baby I'm carrying around with me.
30:18Are you a boy?
30:20Or are you a girl?
30:22Or are you twins?
30:24I think you're twins.
30:25Wouldn't that be heavenly?
30:26An old lady like me having twins?
30:28A boy and a girl?
30:29Oh, I don't care.
30:33I don't care about anything anymore.
30:35Except my husband and my child.
30:39I don't even care about the plants.
30:43Isn't that strange?
30:44For so long, so many years, they were my dearest friends.
30:47They were my only friends.
30:49And now they just don't matter anymore.
30:52Well, I know what I'm going to do.
30:55I'm going to leave them.
30:57Right here.
30:58We don't need them.
30:59We've got a new place to live.
31:00We're going to have a baby.
31:02We have each other.
31:04We don't need these old plants anymore.
31:07They can just stay right here.
31:09Ed!
31:10Ed!
31:11I just decided that we don't...
31:14No, don't.
31:16Get away.
31:17Get away from me.
31:20Ed!
31:21Ed, it's the plants.
31:23They're choking me.
31:25Ed!
31:25The plants.
31:26I got the cart.
31:27Barbara.
31:28Oh, my God.
31:29They're choking me.
31:30The scissors.
31:32Quick.
31:32I can't breathe.
31:33All right, I've got them.
31:34It's all right.
31:35It's going to be all right.
31:36Barbara.
31:37It's all right.
31:38Barbara, it's going to be all right.
31:41It's going to be all right.
31:49Barbara, are you all right?
31:50What did the doctor say?
31:51He says I'm all right.
31:52I can go home.
31:53Did you tell him?
31:53How could I tell him?
31:54I made up something.
31:56I said I got tangled up in the clothesline.
31:58That was the first thing that came into my head.
32:00Anyhow, he didn't ask me many questions
32:01because he could see that I wasn't really hurt.
32:03I was just scared.
32:05Oh, you sure had me scared.
32:06Well, they didn't hurt me much, really.
32:08The plants.
32:08Well, why should they hurt you at all?
32:10You loved those plants.
32:11Ed, Ed.
32:13While I was taking them down,
32:15it was harder than I thought it would be
32:16and my arms got tired.
32:17Well, I told you to let me do it.
32:18And then I stopped for a minute
32:20and then I thought,
32:20why am I bothering with these plants?
32:24Taking them down and carting them to the new place
32:26and then putting them up all over again.
32:27So I thought,
32:28I'm not going to do that.
32:30I'm just going to leave them.
32:32I'm happy.
32:33I've got everything I want.
32:34I don't need them.
32:35I even think I said that out loud
32:38and they heard me.
32:39Now, Bob.
32:39But it wouldn't have made any difference.
32:40They didn't have to hear me say it out loud
32:42because they knew what I was thinking.
32:44Honey.
32:44No, you see,
32:45you can't live that close to somebody
32:46for so long
32:47and so close
32:48without knowing what she's thinking.
32:49And they knew
32:52that I was going to go off and leave them.
32:55After all our years together,
32:57I was going to abandon them.
32:59I didn't care anymore what happened to them.
33:02And they knew that.
33:04Oh, no.
33:04It's just hard to conceive of plants.
33:06They wouldn't have killed me, Ed.
33:09They didn't even really mean to hurt me.
33:11They were just saying,
33:12don't go.
33:14Or if you must go,
33:15take us with you.
33:17You can see that, can't you?
33:19All I know is I came into the room
33:21and I saw you with the vines around your throat
33:23and you were saying,
33:24choking me, get the scissors.
33:26Well, I got those scissors so fast.
33:27They were right there on the windowsill
33:29and I cut those vines so fast.
33:31Boy, you had me worried, baby.
33:33I must have fainted by then.
33:34Yeah.
33:35And I picked you up and put you in the car
33:36and you came too before we got to the hospital.
33:38And here I am.
33:39And I'm all right.
33:40Yeah, yeah.
33:42Barbara, you don't suppose I hurt the plants, do you?
33:45I just slashed away.
33:46Well, I don't suppose you cut them down very carefully.
33:48Oh, heck no.
33:49Oh, they'll be all right.
33:50I'll trim them properly when we get back.
33:53You're not going to leave them there?
33:55You're going to take them to the new apartment?
33:57Yes.
33:59Yes, I am.
34:00I don't know what I was thinking of.
34:02How could I just go off and leave the things
34:04that I've loved and that have loved me?
34:07I can't walk out on them.
34:09I forgot that.
34:12And they were trying to remind me.
34:14Yeah.
34:14Yeah, I guess you're right.
34:16But then you always are.
34:18Well, I'm right about this.
34:19Yeah.
34:21Well, let's go, huh?
34:22Yeah.
34:22Oh, poor Cleopatra.
34:25Why poor Cleopatra?
34:27Well, I knocked her on the floor.
34:29You what?
34:29Yeah, when I was trying to cut you loose,
34:31I knocked Cleopatra on the floor,
34:32broke the pot and everything.
34:33You mean she's lying there,
34:35the pot is broken,
34:35and she's lying there on the floor with no dirt?
34:37Yeah, I guess so.
34:38Oh, Ed, come on.
34:40No, poor Cleopatra.
34:40No, hurry up.
34:42We've got to get there before she dies.
34:49Look, honey, please.
34:50Let me do it.
34:51There she is.
34:51There's Cleopatra.
34:52Let me do it, honey.
34:53You just stay there.
34:54Let me cut her up.
34:54Look out, Ed.
34:55They're angry.
34:56Ed, they're coming for you.
34:57No, it's all right.
34:57Ed, please get out of the way.
34:59Stand back.
35:00Let me do it.
35:00They're going to let you do it.
35:01Of course they are.
35:02Of course they are.
35:02Aren't you, my darling?
35:04Aren't you?
35:06Ed, hand me that even pot,
35:07the one right there.
35:08No, no, no, no, no.
35:11Your roots haven't been out of the earth
35:12for very long, my love.
35:14Now gently, gently.
35:17No, no, I'm not hurting her.
35:20See, Michael?
35:21I'm being very gentle.
35:23I'm putting the good earth in the pot.
35:26See, Michael?
35:28Ed, get me some water, just a little.
35:30Honey, I don't like leaving you here.
35:31Don't be silly.
35:31I'll be perfectly all right.
35:32Okay, I'll be right back.
35:34Now, you see, Michael?
35:36I'm scooping up every last bit
35:38of the nice brown earth
35:40and I'm sifting it through my fingers.
35:44See?
35:45See, Annabelle?
35:47See?
35:47All of you are very carefully
35:50with the beautiful, loose, brown earth.
35:53Here you are.
35:55Now, we put a little water in.
35:58Not very much,
35:59because the earth wasn't very dry.
36:01Ed, there's some plant food on the windowsill.
36:03Yes, I got it.
36:04Here you are.
36:05Now, we mix just a little of it into the soil.
36:09There we are, like that.
36:11And now, Cleopatra, my love,
36:15let me pick you up.
36:17I'll hold you for a second.
36:20And don't be writing, my dear.
36:22Now, now, now, now.
36:24And put your little roots into the dirt
36:26very gently, very carefully.
36:30And press the dirt down around, Ducky.
36:33And then we add the rest of the dirt
36:35almost to the top.
36:38And we press it down.
36:40Not too hard, just enough to make you feel safe.
36:46There we are.
36:47You see, Michael?
36:49Here he is.
36:50Annabelle, see?
36:52She's going to be all right.
36:54You think she really will, girl?
36:55Oh, yes, yes.
36:57Yes.
36:57And when I set her here on the windowsill,
37:00I let the sun pour all over her.
37:02Well, shouldn't you start taking down the other plants?
37:04No, no, not yet.
37:05They've had an awful shock.
37:07Yeah, but, honey, the furniture movers
37:08at the other apartment,
37:09they must be going crazy wondering where we are.
37:12Well, you go.
37:14You take the car and go over there.
37:17What about you?
37:19Come back for me later.
37:20Okay.
37:22Like, uh, in an hour?
37:23Well, make it a couple of hours.
37:26Okay, baby.
37:27Oh, my God.
37:32Oh, my God.
37:34Baby boats of silver moon
37:37Sailing on the sea
37:40Yes, my dear ones, rest
37:45Rest, my darling
37:48Oh, my God.
37:50Sail, baby, sail
37:53Out across the sea
37:56Only don't forget to sail
37:59Home again to me
38:02Only don't forget to sail
38:05Home again to me
38:08The next time you pass by a plant
38:11Stop and look
38:13Make a little bow
38:15Or tip your hat
38:16And if its leaves
38:18And if its leaves flutter
38:18And make a sound
38:20Listen
38:21It may be trying to tell you something
38:24I'll be back shortly
38:26Our cast included
38:28Mercedes McCambridge
38:29Larry Haynes
38:30And Ralph Bell
38:31The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown
38:35Radio Mystery Theater was sponsored in part by new sugar-free Diet 7-Up
38:39This is E.G. Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater
38:43For another adventure in the macabre
38:46Until next time
38:49Pleasant dreams
38:51A
38:56I
38:59I
39:01I
39:01I
39:01I
39:02I
39:02I
39:04I
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