Good evening, Creeks. Welcome to the Mystery Playhouse. Creeks, tonight we have with us Miss Elizabeth Scott, lovely young Hollywood star of the motion picture of the strange love of Martha Ivers. Our play, Female of the Species, by Irene Winston, will star Miss Scott and the part of Eva Lester. And incidentally, a few creeps out there think that some of the gangsters we've had on our Mystery Playhouse stage were cold-blooded and, shall we say, cruel. Wait until you meet Eva Lester. For Eva Lester, as played by Elizabeth Scott, should pretty well prove that familiar quotation, the female of the species is more deadly than the male. In the offices of a Manhattan law firm, a beautiful and smartly dressed woman stands facing her attorney. I never thought I'd be coming to you for legal advice. Sit down. You're a good lawyer, and I may need a good lawyer. Well? First, I, I guess I better give you this gun. Did you? No, it hasn't been fired. I left the office with the idea of murder, but it wasn't necessary after all. And? I, I suppose I'd better start at the beginning, because it's important for you to understand everything that happened. You have a right to know how I feel. Go on. It, it all began about a year and a half ago, on a Thursday afternoon at three. I remember the time because, as he walked into my beauty salon with his wife, the clock chimes. Reception, Miss Sherwood speaking. Oh yes, Mrs. Carter. Yes, you want Pierre for your scalp treatment, Jerry for your bleach, and Margaret for a manicure. Yes, I have that. No, I'm afraid you can't squeeze in a facial. Everyone's busy. Well, I'll try. Goodbye. Oh, hello, Miss Lester. Hello. Any chance of boss getting a facial? I'm tired and mad enough to commit murder. What a day. Well, I'll see if anyone's free. Oh, there's not a chance for at least an hour unless we have a cancellation. Oh, excuse me. Yes, madam? I have an appointment. Mrs. Frederick Maxwell. Oh, oh yes, Mrs. Maxwell. You have a consultation appointment. Booth four through that door on your left. Thank you. Fred? Yes, dear. Want to come along with me? You'll enjoy it. Lots of people standing around all deciding what ought to be done with my hair. My skin is the right color for this season. No, no thanks, darling. I'll go along now. I'll pick you up any time you say. Oh, darling, I wish you'd stay. It would be such fun. No, really, Helen. I've got a lot of things to do. You can't wait to get away, can you? Oh, don't be angry, darling. Where'll I meet you and when? Home. About seven. Will it take that long? Will you come this way, Mrs. Maxwell, please? They're waiting for you. Thank you. Goodbye for a while, darling. Well, there goes your last chance for a facial, Miss Lester. We're booked up solid now. Oh, it doesn't matter. No one ever looks at me anyhow. But I was wrong. Fred Maxwell was looking at me. For a minute, I couldn't breathe. We looked at each other intently and finally, he said, lamely. My wife just went in there. I'll make her very beautiful for you. Oh, will you? I'm Frederick Maxwell. I'm Eva Lester. Oh, I thought that was just a trade name for a beauty parlor. Oh, no. You'll have a drink with me? Of course I will. And that's how it happened that fast. We had a few drinks together and before we finished the first one, I knew I was going to fall in love with him and I knew he'd love me. We're just making conversation now. I know. When do I see you again? Anytime you want to. Come here. It's like that, isn't it? Just like that. Always like that. And then like this. Before I left to meet his wife, I gave him the key to my apartment. I was in love with him. It wasn't a calm love. You won't find it defined in dictionaries. None of your laws can define it either. It was more like a thirst or a fight, but there it was. And it grew. And in time, we faced it. After all, darling, it's the only decent thing to do. Are you sure we'll be happy if we get married? Aren't you? I think so. How long have you been married? Ten years. Are you sure you can get a divorce? I'll ask for one tonight. I don't see why not. Does she know about me? Yes. She doesn't know who you are, but she knows there's someone else. Eva, I've been true to you. I? There's only you. Oh, darling, go ahead. Forget the divorce. I'll marry you. I kept thinking about Helen Maxwell and wondering how she'd take it. That's when I came across her chart. Beauty parlor charts are barometers of a woman's life. The more visits to a beauty parlor, the more domestic trouble. And in the last six months, Helen Maxwell had increased her visits until she finally, desperately, had a daily appointment. Poor Helen. But she got her money's worth. I didn't cheat her professionally. Hello? Hello, darling. Brace yourself, it's bad news. What? Helen refuses to give me a divorce. Oh, Fred. And that's that. All we can do now is wait until she gets tired of the situation. That can't be too long. Hello, hello. Hello. I'm still here. Well, don't worry about it, darling. We'll manage somehow. It will take time, though. I'll call you tomorrow, darling. But I didn't want to wait. I wanted to marry him right away. It had never occurred to me that she'd refused the divorce. Then I realized that he wouldn't need a divorce if she were dead. Of course, if Helen Maxwell died too quickly, there'd be an autopsy and my professional reputation would suffer. I had to find a way in which I could only be found guilty of negligence, but not of deliberate murder. The next day, I went downstairs to the salon and looked for Helen Maxwell. I pretended to have a message for Germaine, my best hairdresser, who, of course, introduced us. Germaine, tell me. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were busy. Not at all, Mrs. Lester. I'm almost finished with Madame Maxwell. How do you do, Mrs. Maxwell? How do you do? Germaine, why don't you try lifting the hairline a little? That bang is too low on Mrs. Maxwell's brow. Oh, yes. Like this? Oh, a little higher. There, that's it. How do you like that, Mrs. Maxwell? You're very kind. Really doesn't matter. Madame Maxwell is feeling very upset today. Well, perhaps I should go. No, don't go, Mrs. Lester, please. Maybe you can help me. Well, what can I do? Change me. Change you? Yes, change me. Do something to make me over... I'm going crazy. Make me over, do something spectacular. But you'd be doing me such a favor, Mrs. Lester. Why do you want such a complete change? Because I've got to do something to make him notice me again. Him? My husband. He doesn't even look at me anymore. Oh, try to control yourself, Mrs. Maxwell. Germaine, will you get her something to drink? Oh, Madame. Oh, now you mustn't carry on like this, Mrs. Maxwell. I'm sorry. I just can't help myself. I seem to cry all the time lately. A vegetable cocktail for Madame. Go on, go on, drink it. You'll feel better. I'm sorry. I don't want it, thank you. It is good for Madame. Beauty comes from within. Yes. Drink your way to beauty. I'll try anything. Will you help me, Miss Lester, please? But Miss Lester does not give treatment herself. I think this time I will, Germaine. Mrs. Maxwell seems to feel that I'm the only one who can help her. Oh, I know. Believe me, Miss Lester, I'll be so grateful. I'll do anything you say. I'll put myself completely in your hands. I won't need you now, Germaine. You may go. Merci. Au revoir, Madame Maxwell. Bon chance. Oh, where do we start? What are you going to do first? I think the first thing to do is to darken your hair. Darken it? Your skin would look much whiter if your hair were darker. And you'd look a lot younger, too. Bleaching does no good after a while, you know. I forgot, but the years go by. Too many women do. That's why I'm in the business. I'll take ten years off your age with the hair alone. All right. Go ahead. Do it now. Oh, not so fast. Finish your vegetable juice, and then we'll get started. It was Germaine who had given me the idea. Drink your way to beauty. We told all our clients that. It was a stock phrase, and it was true. But in Helen Maxwell's case, I planned to add a little white powder, tasteless and colorless when taken in liquid, administered slowly enough it produces natural symptoms, and only an autopsy reveals its presence. Helen Maxwell was under my care for almost eight months. I had a kind of sadistic thrill working on her every day, creating new beauty for her, and knowing that every night she'd take that new beauty home to an empty house. She talked to me a great deal about it. Mostly she began with this question. How could he do such a thing to me, Miss Lester? After all, I gave him. Oh, now finish your vegetable juice before that mouse cardens, Miss Maxwell. It's good for you. Thank you. I told him again last night he'd get no divorce from me. He'll marry that woman over my dead body. Oh. Who is the woman? Do I know her? I don't know who she is. Aren't you curious? Yes. No. If I knew her, I think I'd kill her. Thought of following him once. Did you? No. Why should I bring myself down to his level? I'd rather die. Something wrong, Mrs. Maxwell? I've been having the most violent headaches. My eyes have been hurting all day. I think I better go to a doctor. A doctor? Now you're not turning into a hypochondriac, are you? Well, no, but... Well, just wash your eyes with boric acid solution. That's all you have to do. Now, did you sit up reading again last night? Yes. Well, no wonder you have a headache. I guess so. Now, let's have a look at your hair again. Oh. Oh. Finish your vegetable cocktail. All right. Was it the poison working? Headaches and eye strain could mean almost anything. All during this time, Fred and I were closer. He knew his wife was a constant visitor in my beauty salon, but he didn't know that I was supervising her treatments. That was a secret between Helen Maxwell and myself. One night about a month ago, Fred said... Poor Helen. She has such an empty life. I wish she could find someone else. She's really a fine woman, Eva. It's not her fault that I'm a heel. Oh, you're not a heel? You should see her as I do. She's been spending all her time at that beauty salon of yours. She thinks in some cock-eyed female way that if she becomes a raving, tearing beauty, I'll come back to her. Most women think that, thank goodness. Thank goodness. Certainly. I make a lot of money out of broken hearts. Do you ever think of the irony involved, making my wife beautiful? Aren't you afraid? No. It makes me feel important. It's funny. You own that great big beauty bar, and you know what? You have a very funny face. But I can't stand this anymore, Eva. I'm going to have it out with her. I'm going to tell her that either she'll get a divorce or... Or? Or I'll get it myself. There are ways. Legal ways. The Then one day Helen Maxwell didn't show up for her appointment. Eva, this is Fred. I haven't much time. I'm at St. John's Hospital. St. John's Hospital? What's wrong? Well, it isn't me. It's Helen. Oh, Helen. What's the matter with her? Well, they're not sure. A temporary paralysis, a stroke. What? I called you right away, and listen, Eva. I won't be over tonight. Of course, darling. I understand. No, you don't. That's why I'm telephoning. I don't have the nerve to face you. Oh, now don't be silly. I do understand. You don't understand. I feel responsible for all this. But you're not responsible. Don't you see, if I hadn't threatened to get a divorce myself, she wouldn't have had this stroke. But darling, you... I was telling her I'd frame the evidence if necessary, and she just collapsed. Oh, Fred. Fred, listen. Don't you see, darling, I couldn't leave her now, not when she needs me so much. I won't see you tonight or any other night. He couldn't leave her now that she was helpless. I had never thought of that. But that couldn't be the end of us. I had gone this far. I might just as well go the whole way. I had never really hated Helen before, but now, as I took the gun the night watchman used, I hated her. I went to St. John's Hospital intending to shoot her. Yes, Mrs. Maxwell is permitted to have visitors, but I must warn you not to show any surprise at her appearance. At her... Her appearance. The whole right side of her face is paralyzed. Nurse, let's... She had to take all the mirrors out of her room so she couldn't see herself. Is... is it permanent? Well, you can't tell with psychic disturbances. Mrs. Maxwell has had a shock, and it's not always easy to chart a path to the root of the trouble. I see. That's why the doctor asked me to talk with you first, to prepare you. Knowing what you will find, do you still want to see her? Yes. Well, remember, she doesn't know about her face, only about the paralysis of her arm. I understand. Try and cheer her up, and don't stay too long. I won't. Even though the nurse had warned me, I... I wasn't prepared for the look on Helen Maxwell's face. It was ironic. The face I'd worked on for so long had been destroyed when Fred threatened to get the divorce himself. Of course, that, coupled with my little white powder, was a psychic disturbance. I controlled myself, however, as I walked to her bed. Is that you, Fred? No, it's... it's... it's Eva Lester, Mrs. Maxwell. How are you? Oh. Nice of you to call. Did they tell you about my arm being paralyzed? Yes, but... but it's only temporary. You mustn't feel too badly. Oh, I don't. I'm almost happy. In a way, it was worth it. Worth it? Fred promised me he'd never see that woman again. Oh. And as soon as I can leave the hospital, we're going away. We're going to buy a house in the country and start all over again. Start all over again? And you believe that? Of course I do. Why? Why? Why? Because he's my husband, and I... Oh, now really, Mrs. Maxwell. You're too old to believe in fairy tales. Fairy tales? Yes. It's bad enough to have the man you love pity you, but to have the whole world pity him... Pity him? Why do you think he wants to take you away from the city? Well, we... we always wanted to live in the country. Maybe you always wanted to before, but now you have to. Have to? Yes. He's taking you away so no one will have to look at your face. My face? Why do you think they took all the mirrors out of the room? What's the matter with my face? Do you really want to see? Yes. You're just trying to scare me. Let me see myself. I wouldn't if I were you. Give me your mirror. Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the fairest of them all? Here you are, Mrs. Maxwell. Now do you think he still loves you? No. No, you're right. He's sorry for me. I don't want his pity. I don't want anyone's pity. I thought you'd see it like that. Miss Lester. What? Miss Lester, will you do me a favor? Can I stay with you for a few days? Well, please. He'd never think of looking for me there. I've got to get out of the hospital before he gets back. But you just can't get up and leave. I've got to. Can't stay here and wait for Fred. I've got to think of some way to... Tell me, is there a fire escape outside that window? Look and see. Yes, yes there is. I didn't take my clothes, but they're in that closet. Will you bring them to me? Can you walk? It's 12 stories to the street. There's nothing wrong with my legs. But why don't... You promised to help me. You're not going to back out on me now. No, I don't... Then go outside. Talk to the nurse while I get dressed. If you're here when I escape, they'll blame you. But you ought to... There isn't much time. Go on, please. Just keep talking to the nurse until I can get away. Please. All right. Thank you. And... Miss Lester, wait. Please lend me your hat. What? Your hat. It has a veil on it. I've got to cover... My feet. So I have talked to the nurse. The other half of me was listening and waiting. And then... We rushed into Helen Maxwell's room and looked out of the window. Far down on the street below, the crowd was already gathering. That's why I thought of you. First, can they do anything to me? After all, her death was accidental, and even though she was wearing my hat, I wasn't in the room when she fell trying to go down the fire escape. And second, you're free now, Fred. We can get married. You killed her. I wasn't even in the room, I tell you. A technicality. Oh, the loss full of technicalities in the hands of a good lawyer. What... what are you looking at? The residue of a dream. Oh, this is no time to sentimentalize. Be practical, Fred. All right, I'll be practical. This is your gun? Yes. For all the joy we'll get out of life now, we might just as well all be dead. Oh, Fred. Fred. Justice has a sardonic sense of humor, Eva. You wanted us always to be together. Well, the police will see to it that I joined. But... but I... I... I did it all for you, darling. Everything I did... I... did... I did it all for you, darling. You... And that brings down the curtain on Female of the Species, tonight's performance in the Mystery Playhouse. Miss Lisbeth Scott was heard as Eva Lester in Female of the Species, an original radio play by Irene Winston. The music heard on tonight's program was composed and conducted by Alexander Semmler. Well, creeps, it's time to close the doors of our Mystery Playhouse, so... until next time... good night. Sleep tight. This is the Armed Forces Radio Service. © BF-WATCH TV 2021
