- 2 days ago
- #oldtimeradio
"The Vanishing Lady" is a classic 1948 Escape radio drama featuring Joan Banks, part of a popular anthology series. The story is a dramatic retelling of the urban legend "The Vanishing Hotel Room," where a daughter’s mother disappears from a Paris hotel room, and staff deny she ever existed.
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00:12You are alone in Paris, unable to speak the language, unable to cope with the gigantic
00:18conspiracy which seeks to convince you that you are mad.
00:22You are the victim of a plot from which there is no escape.
00:38Escape, produced, directed, and tonight written by William N. Robeson, and carefully contrived
00:43to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure.
00:53Tonight we escape to Paris at the time of the Great Exposition, and one of the recurring
00:59legends of our time, and Alexander Wilkert's version of the story of The Vanishing Lady.
01:18Another cup of tea, Bruce?
01:19No, thank you, my dear. I'll just light up my pipe now and have a look at the evening standard.
01:25I'd like another, please, Mother.
01:27All right, Alice.
01:30Only one sugar, dear. We must watch our figures, you know.
01:34Oh, what nonsense. A growing girl like Alice needs plenty of sugar.
01:38See, Mother, Daddy approves.
01:39Perhaps. But Mother is still boss.
01:43Yes, Mother.
01:44There's a dear.
01:46Mother.
01:48Yes, dear?
01:49I've been thinking.
01:51Yes, dear?
01:53I've been thinking about my grandparents.
01:56Oh.
01:57I know all about Daddy's parents.
01:59How Grandfather Stanley commanded a dreadnought at the Battle of Jutland.
02:02It was not a dreadnought, Alice. It was a heavy cruiser.
02:05Oh, yes. Heavy cruiser.
02:07And he got the VC, and how Grandmother Stanley was a volunteer nurse at Westerl Arch when the
02:12Zeppelins came over.
02:13I know about your father, too, and how he died in India from his wombs, and how gallant he
02:18was at the Khyber Pass. But, Mother...
02:21Yes, dear?
02:23You've never, never told me anything about Grandmother Winship.
02:27Haven't I?
02:28No, and I'd... I'd like to know something about...
02:31Bruce.
02:32The child's 16. I think it's time she knew.
02:36But, Bruce...
02:37And you'd probably feel better to get it off your chest.
02:40What, Mother? What is it?
02:44Well, my dear, I've never talked about your Grandmother, because I...
02:49I've always half believed that someday, somehow, she would come down our garden walk and...
02:57I know it sounds silly, and explain where she's been for the last 20 years.
03:03Why?
03:05What happened to her?
03:06I don't know.
03:08And I don't suppose I ever will.
03:09Cynthia, darling, if it's going to upset you...
03:11No, Bruce, you're quite right.
03:12It would be best to get it off my chest, as you put it.
03:18As you know, Alice, I was born and brought up in India.
03:22And I was about your age, when my father was killed in the Kiber campaign.
03:27Mother decided to leave India for good, and returned to her old home in Warwickshire.
03:33However, since it was necessary for her to go to Paris to attend to some details of my father's estate,
03:38she decided that we should leave the P&O boat in Marseille and proceed by train.
03:43You may imagine the timidity with which we two unescorted ladies travelled across France.
03:48Without the slightest knowledge of the language, and without, indeed, assurance that we could find a hotel room in Paris.
03:54Though we had telegraphed for reservations from Marseille.
03:58You see, the great Paris exposition had just opened,
04:02and the city was jammed with visitors from all over the world.
04:06You may imagine our relief when we arrived at the Grand Hotel Universal,
04:11and heard the clerk speak in quite understandable language.
04:15Welcome, welcome.
04:16You will be pleased to sign the register, air and air.
04:20You have our reservation?
04:22Oh, indeed, yes.
04:23Most fortunate, madame, that you telegraphed.
04:25For I have reserved for you the last room in the house.
04:28Oh, I'm so relieved.
04:31Yes, Cynthia.
04:32You may as well learn now to sign a register for yourself.
04:34Oh, yes, Mama.
04:35Where do I write?
04:37There, in that line.
04:38Oh, yes, I see.
04:40Voila.
04:41You are fatigué from your journey, non?
04:44I shall have the boy show you to your rooms at once.
04:47Chasseur, chasseur!
04:48Oui, monsieur.
04:49L'appartement 342 pour mademoiselle et madame Winship tout de suite.
04:52Bien, monsieur.
04:53This is your baggage, madame?
04:55Yes, these six.
04:57Le voilà bagage.
04:58Il y a six pièces.
04:59You'd best carry the little one with a medicine in it.
05:02Yes, Mama.
05:03Oui, madame, madame, madame.
05:05I'll take that one.
05:06The little red one.
05:07Très bien.
05:08This way, ladies.
05:10Keep your eye on that porter, Cynthia.
05:13I don't trust this Frenchman.
05:14Oh, Mama.
05:16I don't think he'll make off with our things.
05:19Here's the lift.
05:20Voici, maîtage.
05:21Voici.
05:23Oh, I do wish we could have gone straight on to Southampton.
05:26But you'd only have had to come back across the channel to see the solicitor, Mama.
05:30We really saved time this way.
05:31I suppose, I mean, I wish we hadn't come to Paris at all.
05:35Such a sinister place.
05:37Oh, Mama.
05:38Voilà.
05:39Le troisième.
05:40This way, ladies.
05:42To the right.
05:43Attendez.
05:44Eh bien.
05:46Un 338, 340, 342.
05:51Oh, voilà.
05:53Entrez, ladies.
05:55Oh, what a lovely big room.
05:58And look, Mama.
06:00French windows.
06:02And the park out there.
06:03And his disease.
06:04No, thank you.
06:04And the square with the statues on it.
06:06Yes, yes, yes.
06:06Oh, and look at the river over there.
06:08And those beautiful, beautiful bridges.
06:10Oh, Mother, it's something out of a book.
06:14Yes, my dear.
06:16That's the trouble with Paris.
06:18It's so attractive.
06:20But underneath, it's evil.
06:21And look at the furniture.
06:23The gilt clock.
06:24And this lovely marble table.
06:27Oh, Mama, everything is so, so French.
06:30I'll be very glad to be on my way to where everything's English by this time tomorrow.
06:34Now, come away from that window and help me get into something comfortable.
06:37Oh, there's it here.
06:39Yes, Mama, of course.
06:41I don't know when I've been so tired.
06:45I just can't seem to catch my...
06:48Mama.
06:50Mama, what's the matter?
06:52Mama!
06:53Mama!
06:54Mama, speak to me.
06:55Here.
06:56I'll get you up into the bed.
06:59There.
06:59Now, let me loosen your corset.
07:02Here.
07:03Here, Mama.
07:03Here are the smelling salts.
07:04Breathe deeply, darling.
07:08Mama.
07:11The telephone.
07:12I've got to get a doctor.
07:18Hello, operator.
07:20Will you please send a doctor up to room number...
07:22Let me see.
07:23Number 342.
07:25Will you please send a doctor to room number 342?
07:29A doctor!
07:31A doctor!
07:32Ah, oui, un docteur!
07:33Oui, mademoiselle, tout de suite.
07:36While I waited for the doctor, I did everything I could to think of to bring my mother back
07:40to consciousness.
07:41I massaged her fingers and toes.
07:43I put wet claws on her forehead.
07:44I waved the smelling salts under her nose.
07:47But she lay silent and white and unmoving like one dead.
07:52Only the quick, shallow movement of her breast assured me she was not.
07:55And all the time, another anxiety possessed me.
07:58What if this doctor could not speak English?
08:00How should I tell him the circumstances of mother's unexpected fainting?
08:03How should I understand his instructions for treatment?
08:06I'm sure it was not long, although it seemed like an eternity before he arrived, accompanied
08:11by the manager of the hotel.
08:12And to my great relief, they both spoke English.
08:16The doctor felt mother's pulse, took her temperature, and did the usual things that doctors do.
08:20Then he turned to the tail-coated hotel manager.
08:23Do you speak French?
08:24Not a word?
08:25You sure?
08:25Yes, of course.
08:26So, I can't speak to my ears.
08:28Monsieur, this is a very serious thing.
08:30Don't seem to be alarmed when I put you on the ground.
08:33This woman is at the end of the night.
08:35The end of the night.
08:35She has only an hour to live.
08:36I don't have to tell you what to say.
08:37While they talked in this language, I couldn't understand.
08:40I looked from one face to the other, trying to read from their expressions how serious
08:44my mother's illness was.
08:46But they were as casual as though they were ordering dinner.
08:49Funnily, I could stand it no longer.
08:50They must.
08:52You must tell me.
08:53What is the matter with her?
08:55Mademoiselle, your mother is ill, yes.
08:57Seriously ill.
08:58It is a collapse.
08:59Due perhaps to the strain of traveling.
09:02However, a week or two of absolute rest will...
09:05A week or two?
09:06We were to go on to England tomorrow.
09:08That would be out of the question.
09:10She cannot be moved for at least several days.
09:12Right now, she must have a complete rest.
09:15The next 24 hours will be critical.
09:18Oh, Mama.
09:20Poor Mama.
09:21Now, Mademoiselle, you must not break down, too.
09:23I need your help.
09:25Yes, Doctor.
09:26Immediately, I need some medicine.
09:28Will you fetch it for me?
09:29Why, yes, but...
09:31I must not leave your mother for a moment during these critical hours.
09:34Here, I will write down this address and a little message to my wife.
09:41Your wife?
09:42Yes, I have the medicine already prepared at my home.
09:44It will be faster to go there for it than to a pharmacie.
09:47There are a few chemists who have the ingredients.
09:50But couldn't you telephone?
09:52Alas, I have no telephone.
09:53Well, then a messenger, perhaps?
09:55Oh, Mademoiselle, you do not know Paris?
09:57So, in fact, with the exposition opening, nowhere can you find a real liable messenger.
10:03They are all selling a souvenir.
10:06No, Mademoiselle, you will accomplish the errand more rapidly herself.
10:10Ah, voici l'adresse.
10:11Here's the address, 24 bis, rue Valdegrasse.
10:14And here is the message to give to my wife.
10:17But I don't know Paris at all.
10:19I'm a total stranger here.
10:20I'm sure the manager here will give the necessary instructions to the cabbie.
10:26Indeed, I will.
10:28If Mademoiselle is ready.
10:30Before I quite knew what was happening,
10:32I was seated in a rickety taxi cab outside the hotel,
10:35with the doctor's message clutched in my hand,
10:37while the hotel manager gave a voluble direction to the cabbie.
10:44All right, let's go to the bar, take the bus, take the circuit,
10:47and, above all, don't be back in less than two hours.
10:50Entendu?
10:51Entendu.
10:52Bon.
10:52It is arranged, Mademoiselle.
10:54Jacques, here, is one of our most trusted cabbies.
10:57He will get you to the doctor's house and back in safety.
10:59Oh, thank you so much, sir.
11:01And you will look after Mother, won't you?
11:03Oh, indeed I will.
11:05Of that, you may be sure.
11:17When we left the hotel,
11:19we crossed a huge square with statues around it
11:22and turned into a wide avenue which led up a gentle incline,
11:25at the top of which was a huge arch.
11:27But before long, we turned off to the right into narrower streets.
11:31It must have been twenty minutes later
11:33when we turned into another wide boulevard
11:35and I saw another huge arch up ahead.
11:39Or, was it the same arch?
11:42Driver?
11:43Mademoiselle?
11:43Haven't we passed that arch before?
11:45Regardez, mademoiselle, voici l'Arc de Triomphe.
11:49Là-bas, la Sœur Alphée, les rondeaux...
11:50Driver, I don't want a sightseeing tour.
11:52I want to go to this address directly, don't you understand?
11:55Please, now take me there at once.
11:56En fait, son mieux, de la patience, mademoiselle.
12:00Paris, c'est une grand ville, voyez.
12:08At last, we turned into a narrow street
12:10and pulled up before a grim, grey house.
12:14The blue enamel sign on the wall read,
12:16Number 24 Peace.
12:18I jumped out of the cab almost before it stopped,
12:20rushed up the three stone steps
12:21and pulled up the brass bell knob.
12:23Oh, hurry.
12:25Hurry, hurry, please.
12:31We?
12:32The doctor sent me for some medicine.
12:34Here.
12:35Please read this.
12:37Retenez cette jeune femme aussi longtemps possible.
12:41C'est de la plus grande importance pour l'avenir de Paris
12:44et même de la France.
12:48Oh.
12:49Entrez, mademoiselle.
12:54The doctor's wife stood there,
12:56reading and rereading the note
12:57as though she didn't understand it.
12:58And until I thought I would scream.
13:00Oh, please, please hurry.
13:02Get the medicine.
13:03It's my mother.
13:04She may be dying.
13:04I must get back to her.
13:06Please hurry.
13:07She pointed to a chair
13:08and slowly walked down the hall
13:11and closed the door behind her.
13:12I waited
13:13and waited
13:15and I wondered.
13:18wondered about the time
13:19the taxi had taken to get here.
13:21About that arch
13:22that looked so familiar.
13:24And I was torn
13:25by the hundred
13:25nameless anxieties
13:26that torture you
13:27when your nearest and dearest is ill.
13:29And then I heard something
13:30that froze my blood.
13:32A telephone.
13:33A telephone
13:34clearly ringing
13:35somewhere in the house.
13:36But the doctor had said
13:37he had no telephone.
13:38That was the reason
13:39I must come all the way
13:40for the medicine.
13:41No, it couldn't be
13:42in this house.
13:43It must be next door
13:44or across the street.
13:46Of course.
13:46That's where the sound
13:47was coming from.
13:48Hello?
13:51But no.
13:55It was the voice
13:56of the doctor's wife
13:57answering the phone.
13:58Oh, no.
14:00No, what monstrous plot
14:01was this?
14:02I felt my scap
14:03crawl with terror.
14:04Rain pounded
14:05and my head felt
14:05as though it would burst.
14:06I wanted to scream
14:06to run out of this awful house.
14:08To run all the way
14:09across Paris
14:09to the bedside
14:10of my mother.
14:10Voila, mademoiselle.
14:12Oh, thank you.
14:15Au revoir, mademoiselle.
14:18Now, driver, please.
14:20Please, in the name
14:20of your own mother,
14:21hurry back to the hotel
14:22as fast as possible.
14:24Please.
14:24Ben oui.
14:26On fait de son mieux,
14:27mademoiselle.
14:28Un brûlant.
14:36But my pleading
14:37was of no use.
14:38Either it was
14:39misunderstood or ignored.
14:41We'd crawled
14:42across Paris
14:42just as slowly
14:43as we had come
14:44and I was certain
14:45I saw that same
14:46white arch three times.
14:48But at last,
14:49we'd crossed the great square
14:50with the statues in it
14:51and I knew
14:52we were close to the hotel.
14:53Please,
14:54please hurry.
14:57Just beyond the great square,
14:59we turned up
15:00a narrow street
15:01which shortly
15:02entered a wide circle
15:03in the middle of which
15:03was a tall,
15:04slender monument.
15:05The driver swung
15:06around the monument
15:07and pulled up
15:08before the entrance
15:08of the hotel,
15:09reached back
15:10and opened the door.
15:13I jumped out
15:14of the cab
15:15and then I saw
15:16the sign
15:17over the entrance.
15:18It said
15:19Hotel Ritz.
15:20Driver,
15:21you've taken me
15:22to the wrong hotel.
15:24I'm staying
15:24at the Grand Hotel Universal.
15:28I don't understand
15:32what you're saying
15:33but will you please
15:34take me to the Grand Hotel Universal?
15:38Oh, you stupid,
15:40stupid man.
15:41Can't you understand?
15:42My mother is ill.
15:44You've taken more
15:44than two hours
15:45to get me
15:45to that doctor's house
15:46and back.
15:46Can't you understand
15:47my mother is sick
15:48perhaps dying?
15:51I look to her.
15:53I look to her.
15:55A small group
15:56of passers-by
15:56had stopped
15:57and were listening
15:57curiously to the argument.
15:59Then they joined in
16:00and started taking sides.
16:03Everywhere I looked
16:04were foreign faces,
16:05strangers, enemies.
16:06And then,
16:07shouldering his way
16:08through the crowd,
16:09I saw a bare-headed
16:10young man in trees
16:11with a pipe clamped
16:12in his teeth.
16:13And before he had
16:14a chance to speak,
16:14I knew help had come.
16:16I say,
16:17having some trouble?
16:17Oh, thank heavens
16:18you're English.
16:19Oh, right, you are.
16:20What seems to be the matter?
16:21I told him rapidly
16:22as I could
16:22and he paid
16:24the mule-ish cabbie.
16:25Merci, monsieur.
16:26Popped me into another cab
16:28and five minutes later
16:29we walked into the lobby
16:30of the Grand Hotel Universal.
16:32The manager
16:33was behind the desk.
16:34My mother,
16:35is she all right?
16:36I beg your pardon?
16:37My mother,
16:38Mrs. Winship in 342,
16:39is she all right?
16:40Uh,
16:40represent must be mistaken.
16:42There is no
16:43Winship in 342.
16:45What?
16:46342 is occupied
16:48by Monsieur Auguste.
16:49No, I, uh,
16:50a permanent guest.
16:51But don't you remember me?
16:53I'm Cynthia Winship.
16:55Two hours ago
16:55you put me into a taxi
16:56to go to the doctor's house
16:57for some medicine
16:57for my mother.
16:58I am afraid
16:59that mademoiselle
16:59is mistaken.
17:00I have never seen her
17:02before in my life.
17:03Well, look here,
17:04what is this?
17:04No, listen,
17:05I swear it to you.
17:06It's just as I say.
17:07We signed the register
17:08less than three hours ago.
17:10We got in on the train
17:11from Marseille.
17:12Well, let's have a look
17:12at the register.
17:13Yes.
17:14I'll show you
17:15I'm in 342.
17:16Where is the register?
17:16It is there, mademoiselle.
17:18You may see it
17:19for yourself.
17:20See,
17:20today's date,
17:2214 guests registered,
17:23but I don't see
17:25any mademoiselle
17:26or madame Winship.
17:28Do you?
17:31No.
17:33What have you done
17:34with my mother?
17:35What have you done
17:36with my mother?
17:37Please, mademoiselle.
17:37You have done something
17:38without a man to know.
17:39What have you done
17:39with my mother?
17:40We'll get to the bottom
17:41of this.
17:42But perhaps
17:42mademoiselle is mistaken.
17:43Perhaps she is registered
17:44at some other hotel.
17:45No.
17:46This is the hotel.
17:47The Grand Universal.
17:49You,
17:50you were standing there
17:52when we arrived.
17:53You handed my mother
17:54the pen with which
17:54she registered.
17:55You came to the room
17:56with the doctor.
17:57You put me in the taxi.
17:58But I assure you,
17:59mademoiselle,
18:00these are fantasies
18:01of your imagination.
18:02What is it?
18:03That bellboy there.
18:03He carried our baggage.
18:04He'll remember.
18:05Garçon.
18:06Oui, monsieur.
18:07Vous vous souvenez
18:07à la porte de la bagage
18:09de madame en numéro 3,
18:104, 2,
18:11cet appris de modèle.
18:12Non, monsieur.
18:13There were six pieces,
18:14don't you remember?
18:15You wanted to take them all
18:16and I insisted on
18:17carrying the jewel case.
18:18It was a little red one?
18:20Oh, non, mademoiselle.
18:21C'est la première fois
18:23de ma vie
18:23que je vois, mademoiselle.
18:25This is another
18:25sorionist life before.
18:27But this is monster.
18:30It's impossible.
18:32My mother is somewhere
18:33in this hotel.
18:35What have you done with her?
18:37What have you done with her?
18:48Now then,
18:49how do you feel,
18:50Miss Winchell?
18:50Better, thank you.
18:52This soup was very nourishing.
18:54Now, won't you have
18:54something else?
18:55Salad?
18:55A bit of roast?
18:56Thank you, no.
18:57A cup of tea, perhaps?
18:58Certainly.
18:58Garçon?
18:59Monsieur?
18:59Un tas de terre,
19:00poor mademoiselle.
19:01Tout de suite, monsieur.
19:02I don't know how to thank you,
19:03mister.
19:05Do you realize
19:05I don't even know
19:06your name?
19:07It's Bruce.
19:08Bruce Stanley.
19:09I'm glad to meet you,
19:10Mr. Stanley.
19:11It's a pleasure,
19:11Miss Winchell.
19:12Mr. Stanley,
19:14you believe me,
19:15don't you?
19:16Of course I do,
19:16Miss Winchell.
19:16We did register
19:17at that hotel.
19:18We were in room 342.
19:19I can even describe
19:20the furnishings.
19:21There was a big window
19:22that went from the ceiling
19:23to the floor.
19:23Well, every hotel room
19:24in Paris has windows
19:25like that,
19:26Miss Winchell.
19:27Oh, they do?
19:28Yes.
19:29Well, in this room
19:30the draperies
19:31were plum-colored.
19:32There was a marble table,
19:33a black marble it was,
19:35and a gilt clock.
19:36It had run down.
19:37The hands had stopped,
19:37I remember,
19:38at 20 minutes past three.
19:40The walls were covered
19:41in rose brocade
19:42and the bedspread
19:43was a washed-out yellow.
19:44Oh, if I could only
19:45get into that room,
19:46you'd see I'm not
19:46making this up.
19:47I'm not.
19:48I'm sure you aren't.
19:49Perhaps I can find a way
19:50to make them let you
19:50in the room.
19:51Oh, can you?
19:52Well, yes, I...
19:53I'm with the embassy,
19:54you know,
19:55under-secretary sort of thing.
19:56I, uh,
19:57I believe the British Empire
19:58has enough influence
19:59to change the mind
20:00of an obstinate Paris innkeeper.
20:02Then let's do it.
20:03Right away.
20:03Well, I...
20:04I'm afraid the might of Britain
20:06can't move that fast.
20:07It's past dinner time.
20:08But tomorrow we'll see.
20:10Tomorrow?
20:11But I must get
20:12into that room tonight.
20:13I have no money.
20:15Nowhere to sleep.
20:16Well, we can do nothing
20:17with the people at the hotel.
20:18You saw that.
20:19We'll just have to be patient
20:20until tomorrow.
20:21I'm...
20:21I'm sure I can find
20:22a room for you tonight
20:23in a pension
20:23near the embassy.
20:25You're so very kind.
20:27How can I ever
20:28thank you, Mr. Stanley?
20:30Well, you...
20:31You might begin
20:32by calling me Bruce.
20:34Thank you, Bruce.
20:36Thank you, Cynthia.
20:39Oh.
20:40Oh!
20:41What is it?
20:42I just thought of something.
20:43The doctor.
20:43The doctor?
20:43Yes, the one
20:44the hotel manager
20:45brought in
20:45to look after Mother.
20:46I still have his address
20:47somewhere here in my purse.
20:48Yes, here it is.
20:49Oh, we must go there immediately.
20:51He can tell us about Mother.
20:52Let me see.
20:5324 B's Rue Valdegrasse.
20:55Well, that's not far.
20:55It's just off the boulevard
20:56to us by
20:56near the Luxembourg.
20:57How long would it take
20:58to get there by taxi?
20:59Oh, about ten minutes.
21:01But it...
21:03It took over an hour
21:05this afternoon.
21:15Voilà, monsieur.
21:1624 B's Rue Valdegrasse.
21:19Well, here we are.
21:19Yes, this is the place.
21:21Attendez, mon vieux.
21:22Ah, très bien, monsieur.
21:24The house is dark.
21:25It's quite late.
21:26Well, I don't care.
21:27We've got to find out tonight.
21:34Qui est-ce là?
21:35Qui son?
21:36Where is he?
21:36There at the upstairs window.
21:38Monsieur le docteur,
21:39cette mademoiselle Stanley.
21:40Elle veut vous questionner
21:41à propos de sa mère.
21:42Stanley, je ne connais pas
21:43mademoiselle Stanley.
21:45He says he doesn't know you.
21:46But he must, he must.
21:48Doctor, don't you remember
21:49this afternoon?
21:50You sent me to your house
21:51for medicine for my mother.
21:52Je ne comprends pas l'anglais.
21:54He says he doesn't
21:54understand English.
21:56Oh, the liar.
21:57The dreadful liar.
21:58He does, he speaks
21:59perfect English.
22:00Et vous, jeune homme,
22:00je vous conseille
22:01de ne pas déranger
22:01le repos des gens
22:02comme il faut
22:03et de vous en aller
22:04avant que je n'appelle
22:04la police.
22:07My, I'm sorry, Cynthia.
22:08Oh, Bruce.
22:10What am I going to do?
22:12What am I going to do?
22:21If it hadn't been for Bruce,
22:23I'm certain I should have
22:24gone out of my mind.
22:26He found a room for me
22:28at a pension near the embassy
22:29where I spent a sleepless night
22:31of anxiety,
22:32almost beyond endurance.
22:37Bruce called for me
22:38at half past ten
22:39the next morning
22:40and took me back
22:40to the hotel.
22:42To my surprise,
22:43the attitude of the manager
22:45had changed completely.
22:47But of course,
22:48mademoiselle may inspect
22:49room 342.
22:51We are only too glad
22:52to convince mademoiselle
22:54that her mother
22:54is not and never was
22:57in the grand hotel
22:58universelle.
22:59Why, I...
23:00I personally will escort
23:02you to the room.
23:03This way, please,
23:04to the ascense.
23:05Oh, Bruce,
23:06that terrible man.
23:08That horrible, horrible...
23:09Cynthia, Cynthia.
23:09Don't let him upset you.
23:10Monsieur.
23:11Troisième étage.
23:12Troisième, monsieur.
23:15Now, remember what
23:16I told you last night, Bruce.
23:17You'll see.
23:18Plum-coloured draperies,
23:19black marble top table,
23:20rose walls,
23:21and a gilt clock
23:22with a hand stopped
23:23at twenty minutes past three.
23:24You'll see.
23:25Yes, Cynthia.
23:26Voilà.
23:27Le troisième.
23:27This way, gentlemen.
23:29It was room 342.
23:32You wish to see, mademoiselle?
23:33Yes, that's right.
23:34Third door to the right.
23:36So?
23:36You see, Bruce,
23:37I know where it is.
23:38Yes, mademoiselle.
23:40Here we are.
23:41Voilà.
23:43Enter, please.
23:44Now, Bruce,
23:45you shall see
23:46the yellow bed spread.
23:49Oh.
23:49Not quite the room
23:51you just described
23:52in the elevator, mademoiselle.
23:53The drapes are royal blue.
23:56No.
23:57A little dusty affair.
23:58I must have this room
23:59renovated.
24:01You see,
24:02there is no marble top table.
24:04No.
24:04The clock, as you notice,
24:05is running.
24:06No.
24:07And right on time,
24:08it seems,
24:09the walls are not
24:10rose bouquets,
24:11but yellow-flowered wallpaper.
24:13Now, my dear mademoiselle,
24:15you see how thoroughly
24:16mistaken you are.
24:17Oh, no, no!
24:26They tried to make me think
24:28I was mad.
24:30They succeeded.
24:32I remembered nothing
24:33until I awoke
24:34in my aunt's house
24:35in England
24:35two weeks later,
24:37thanks to Bruce,
24:38who never left my side
24:39during those terrible days
24:41when my sanity
24:41hung in the balance.
24:45Well,
24:47that's the story, Alice.
24:50That's why I've never
24:51been able to
24:52talk about
24:53your grandmother Winship.
24:55Oh, Mother,
24:56how horrible.
24:57Because
24:57all these years
24:59I've clung to the foolish hope
25:01that somehow
25:02she'd come back
25:03and tell us herself
25:04what happened.
25:05Oh, you poor dear.
25:08You may as well
25:09dispel that hope
25:09forever, Cynthia.
25:11What?
25:13Since you've at last
25:13brought yourself
25:14to discuss
25:14your mother's disappearance,
25:17I think it's time
25:17you knew the true facts.
25:19Bruce.
25:20Your mother died
25:21twenty minutes
25:23after you left
25:23the hotel
25:23on that fool's errand
25:25for the doctor.
25:25Oh, no.
25:26She died
25:27of the bubonic plague.
25:29She'd caught it
25:29in India
25:30before she sailed.
25:31The doctor
25:32recognized the symptoms
25:33the moment he examined her.
25:34He told the hotel manager
25:36in French
25:36in your presence.
25:38They agreed
25:38that the matter
25:39must be kept
25:39completely secret.
25:41If the news leaked out
25:42that there was
25:42a case of plague
25:43in Paris,
25:44the city would have
25:45been emptied
25:45of visitors
25:46and the exposition
25:47would have been
25:48a failure.
25:49Oh, Bruce.
25:51The conspiracy
25:52of silence
25:52began in the hotel.
25:54The bellboy
25:55was paid to claim
25:55he never saw you.
25:57The taxi driver
25:58was paid well
25:58to take you
25:59to the doctor's house
26:00by the most roundabout route.
26:02The note
26:02to the doctor's wife
26:03advised her
26:04to detain you
26:04as long as she could.
26:06And the taxi driver
26:07added his own
26:08imaginative touch
26:09by returning you
26:10to the Ritz
26:10instead of the Universelle.
26:13I shudder to think
26:14what might have happened
26:15if I hadn't come through
26:15the Place Vendome
26:16just then.
26:17But you didn't know.
26:19Not then.
26:21When did you find out?
26:23Next morning.
26:24By then,
26:25the conspiracy
26:25had grown
26:26to international proportions.
26:27The embassy
26:28had been advised.
26:29If the exposition
26:30was a failure,
26:31the franc would fall,
26:31the Pound Sterling
26:32would be affected,
26:33that sort of thing.
26:34I knew
26:34when we went back
26:35to the hotel
26:35you would not find
26:36your plum drapes
26:37and rose-colored walls
26:38and black marble
26:38top table.
26:41And you let me
26:42go through with it?
26:43What could I do?
26:45I was acting
26:46under orders.
26:47I knew that the hotel
26:48had completely fumigated
26:49and redecorated
26:50the room overnight
26:51and everything
26:51was in readiness
26:52to repudiate your story.
26:54I had to let
26:55the last act
26:55of the dreadful farce
26:57play to its dreadful end.
27:00Mother,
27:02what did they do
27:03with Mother?
27:05Her body
27:05was removed
27:06from Rome
27:07less than 30 minutes
27:07after you left it
27:09and immediately burned.
27:12Why?
27:13Why didn't you
27:14tell me this
27:15years ago?
27:16Why did you
27:16let me go on
27:17all this time?
27:18This is the first time
27:19you have ever
27:20mentioned your mother
27:20since then,
27:21my dear.
27:24Alice.
27:25Yes, Mother?
27:27There's a new issue
27:28of the tattler
27:29in the library, dear.
27:31Wouldn't you like
27:31to look at it?
27:33But, Mother,
27:33I want to...
27:34Now, dear.
27:35I want to have a talk
27:36with your father.
27:50Escape,
27:51produced and directed
27:52by William N. Robeson,
27:53has brought you
27:54The Vanishing Lady
27:55by Alexander Wolcott,
27:57adapted for radio
27:58by Mr. Robeson.
27:59Cynthia was played
28:00by Joan Banks.
28:02Bruce was played
28:02by Haver...
28:03I have her back.
28:04The hotel manager
28:05and cab driver
28:05were played
28:06by Ramsey Hill.
28:07The musical score
28:08was conceived
28:09and conducted
28:09by Cy Feuer.
28:12Next week...
28:15You are deathly
28:16afraid of snakes.
28:18And between you
28:19and a fortune,
28:20between you
28:21and escape,
28:22you're on the white jaws
28:24of a deadly cotton mouth.
28:37Next week,
28:38we escape with
28:39Irvin S. Cobb's
28:39famous story,
28:40Snake Doctor.
28:42Good night, then,
28:43until this same time
28:43next week,
28:44when again we offer you
28:46Escape.
28:55This is CBS,
28:57the Columbia
28:57Broadcasting System.
29:11The Columbia
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