Come in. Welcome. I'm E .G. Marshall. Welcome
to our world of mystery and the macabre. The
Romans called her Venus. The Greeks knew her
as Aphrodite. To other ancient peoples she was
Ishtar, Isis, and Astarte. But whatever the name,
she was always the same, the mysterious, passionate,
voluptuous goddess of love, and sometimes of
death. You belong to her now. You made a vow
to the statue. I was only joking. We were all
only joking. Perhaps. But she took it seriously.
But it's only a statue. It's the statue that
stood in the shrine of the Temple of Venus. It
is the Venus herself. But what does she want?
She wants you. I didn't mean it. You saw it was
all in fun. She wants you, Claude. She wants
to love you and then as she's done so many times
in the past She'll kill you Our mystery drama
the Venus to you was especially adapted from
the prosper mirror made classic for the mystery
theater by Sam Dan and stars Norman Rose I'll
be back shortly with Act I. Who was it that said,
some men are born wise, others are more fortunate,
they're born handsome? We commend to your attention
the young Vicomte Claude Louis de Charbert. At
38, Who can count the hearts he has already broken?
And who can even guess at the vast amount of
golden francs he has already lost at such aristocratic
pastimes as Baccarat, Vingt -et -un, Chemin -de
-Faire? But this is of small importance to our
handsome hero. He has long ago learned that his
true fortune is in his face. And so, On this
evening, this intoxicatingly beautiful evening,
in the spring of the year 1908, we find our Claude
Louis in a luxurious casino on the coast of southern
France. Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you. And now, mesdames et messieurs, we
play. And it is 13 roues. There you see it's
always rouge when I bet no But how can you change
horses in midstream? No, I have faith 50 ,000
francs on the black I'm sorry, mr. Vico about
what there can be no more credit. No credit call
the manager It was the manager himself who gave
the order. Oh, I see I'm sorry, mr. Save my place
at the table Oh Claude, have a chair, my boy.
Monsieur Mond, is this how you treat an old friend?
We'll have a glass of champagne. Fabulous flavor.
What is the meaning of this? Have a cigar, just
arrived from Havana. Have a chair, have a glass
of champagne, have a cigar. I'm waiting to hear
you offer me what I came in for. And what's that?
Credit. Credit. Let me talk to you like a father.
I can see where this is leading. No credit. Had
you not come to see me, I would have gone to
see you. Why? You owe this establishment one
million francs. And? And there are those who
will demand payment. Those who will take drastic
steps if payment is not forthcoming within the
next few days. What are you talking about? My
boy. We are now... How can I say this? Well,
we are now organized. Organized? We are owned
by a syndicate and all debts must be collected.
They will be collected by people who are known
as enforcers, I think. Will you extend me credit
or not? Claude, please listen. The syndicate
has been through my books. You are in danger.
You expect me to be frightened by these hoodlums?
Claude, give me some assurances that you can
pay or else please disappear for a while. I have
a document that will not only encourage you to
extend credit but will also satisfy the vultures
who seem to be running your establishment. A
document? I have here a letter from Mademoiselle
Eloise Calvert. The heiress? Yes, the heiress.
The wealthiest young lady in France, in which
she says, among other things, my darling Claude,
if you refuse to marry me, I don't think I care
to live any longer. Who she says that? Now, I
would assume that this should serve as a gilt
-edged letter of credit. A document even stronger
than the Bank of France. May I see the letter?
If you insist. Mmm. Fine. On the basis of this,
your credit is unlimited. But, make sure the
engagement is announced within three or four
days. Of course. And perhaps, sooner. Good morning,
darling. Good morning, Eloise. Oh. It's only
you, aren't we? I'm sorry you're disappointed.
Well, you're not bad. And if there were no Claude
-Louis, you might even do. Henry, have you seen
him? He's probably still fast asleep. No, he
promised to play tennis with me this morning.
Oh, then he'll be along. Where did you get this
amazing statue? Oh, I don't know. Mr. Delon,
who bought all that art for my father, my dear,
departed father, advised me to pick it up. It's
fantastic. A bronze, eight -foot Venus. She should
be worth more than the one at the Louvre. At
least this, this one has arms. Why do you place
her here, at the entrance to your tennis court?
Why not? We always have a crowd here. Why should
she be lonesome? Do you know that in Greek and
Roman times, our very town of Il had a temple
sacred to Venus? Yes, right here. Well now, how
and why should I know a thing like that? And
this was the great statue of Venus that stood
in the shrine of the temple. Really? The same
one? Look at the air of mystery that surrounds
the face. This is a woman of many moods. and
passions. Here comes Claude Louis. Good morning,
Eloise. Hello, darling. And cousin Arie. Have
you examined this statue, Claude? Great big girl,
isn't she? She's, uh, magnificent too. The goddess
of love. The fickle, jealous, unpredictable goddess
of love. Well, I came down to play tennis. And
I am ready for you. You're not really very good
this morning. Wait till I warm up. Just... I'm
just toying with you. You can hardly hit the
ball. What will you do in the game? I'll tell
you what it is, darling. An excuse coming up.
Make it good. It's this ring. This ring I'm wearing.
That big ostentatious vulgar ring. No, no. It
belonged to my father. I never liked it. Stop.
Stop for a minute. I want to take it off. I can't
grip the racket properly. Now, where can I put
it? I don't have a pocket in these trousers.
Why don't you just throw the ugly thing away?
I'll buy you a new one. Now, darling, it has
a very sentimental value. Oh, I know a good place
for it. Excuse me a minute. Where are you going?
I'll just put it on Miss Venus' finger. and I
thought you came here to put a ring on my finger.
No, no, Claude, no. No what? Don't do that. It's...
It's what? I was about to say blasphemy, but
that's not really the word. Harry, what are you
talking about? It just doesn't seem right. After
all, she is the goddess of love, and you can't...
Yes? You're offering her your ring. Which means
you're asking her to marry you. Do you have any
idea what you're saying? I'll read that is Symbolically,
of course Eloise is your cousin always like this.
Well, he's a very deep person Claude I Wouldn't
do that if I were you Don't put that ring on
her finger. Why not? There we are It fits her
perfectly looks good on her, too Now let's see
if that ring really was what cramped your style,
Claude. Let's see you get that one. Oh, dear.
Nice. But you'll have to do it again. Watch out.
You were better than last time, but still not
good enough. Well, if all I did was play tennis
all day... Why don't you? Uh -oh. It's great
to come down any minute. Let's run for the house.
We shouldn't be out here in the lightning. Hey,
Arlie, get my ring, will you? And meet us in
the house, Arlie. Come on, Claude. Wait a minute.
He's just standing there. Darling, it's going
to pour any second. What's the matter with him?
Arlie! Eloise, is he all right? Well, let's go
see. Arlie. Arlie? Arlie, what are you staring
at? Your ring, Claude. What about my ring? It
won't come off her finger. What? Try it. Try
it yourself. Just try to take it off. All right,
I will. Please hurry. We'll be drenched. See
what I mean, Claude? What does he mean, Claude?
This ring. My ring, for some reason. I can't
seem to get it off her finger. What on earth
are you talking about? Just take it off. It seems
to be stuck. Why? I don't know. Wait. Why are
we just standing around in the rain? Why won't
this ring come off? I can't even move it. Well,
you worry about it. I'm going into the house
before I get soaked. Ari. Ari, why can't I get
this ring off? Why? Dinner will be ready in a
few minutes. The chef went out of his way for
Claude. Oh, aren't we? Why doesn't he ask me
to marry him? Who? The chef? No, idiot, Claude.
He will. After all, he's penniless. Oh, now that's
not worthy of you. I'm... I'm sorry. Where is
Claude? He's out on the tennis court. Now? It
seems he still can't get his ring off that goddess's
finger. I don't believe it. Do you want to go
see? In this rain? No, thank you. Ah, Claude.
Oh, darling, look at you. You're dripping wet.
I'm sorry. I'll go right upstairs and change.
What were you doing outside? Well, I know it
sounds silly, but... I was trying to get my ring
off her finger. And did you? No, no. There could
be a kind of secret spring and it snapped and
it sort of curved her finger around it. I don't
know what to do about it. Is it all right if
I just leave it there? Oh, I never liked that
ring. If the statue wants it that badly, let
her have it. Did you enjoy dinner, darling? Oh,
it was delicious. Pierre outdid himself. How
would you know? You scarcely touched your food.
Heloise, if you must know, it's that silly statue.
Can't we forget her, finally, I hope? Ari, how
do you account for it? You wouldn't believe a
word I say. Well, say it. In the old days, she
was the center of an adoring, worshipping populace,
right here. Every day she was presented with
gifts. And then, suddenly, it stopped. The old
religion had died. And for nearly two thousand
years, she's been neglected. Suddenly, once again,
she is given a gift. You can imagine that this
one is more precious to her than anything in
her history. And so, she refuses to give it up.
Claude, darling. Of course, Henry is crazy, but
he's only my cousin by marriage, so it doesn't
run in the family. Well, it's rather late. I
think I'll turn in. Good night, all. Good night.
Yes, good night. Of course, you received my letter.
That's why I came. I love you, Claude. I love
you, too. But I want you to ask me. Oh, yes.
Yes, I will. Well, I'm waiting. Eloise, I...
Claude, why are you so pale? I don't know. Are
you ill? I feel very strange. How? As if... As
if I hear music. Music? But there's no music.
It's an unusual kind of music. I've never heard
anything like it before. Claude, Claude, you
belong to me. You have given me your ring. You
belong to me. You belong to me. What did Claude
do? Did he really awaken this sleeping goddess
after so many centuries? Is there a goddess?
Well, you can look at it any way you like, but
the basic essential fact remains. The ring won't
come off her finger. And I can tell you right
now, it doesn't come off in act two either, which
you will hear when I return shortly. Well, to
begin with, there is a huge bronze statue of
Venus. And because a rather large ring was interfering
with the way Claude -Louis de Charbert gripped
his tennis racket, he took off the ring. And
because the statue offered a convenient resting
place, he set the ring on its finger. And now
it develops the ring can't come off. And the
statue seems to have ideas of her own. You belong
to me, Claude Louis. You are mine. No other woman
can ever have you. Claude? Claude? Yes? Darling,
something's wrong. I have a feeling... I'm going
to call the doctor. Oh, no. But you're ill. No,
I'm not ill. Darling, please, get some rest.
I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning. Yes,
yes, I'm sure of it. I'll just sit here for a
few minutes and smoke a pipe. All right. Good
night, Claude. Good night. My beloved Claude
Louis. Who is that? Who's there? Claude, you
will come with me. You will live with the gods.
You will live like a god. Leave this house. Leave
this foolish mortal woman. No! Claude! I am the
goddess of love. I am also the goddess of death.
No! No, no! Let me alone! Well, good morning,
darling. Good morning. I had to appear to prepare
an especially delicious breakfast, so I do hope
you're hungry. Ah, Mlle. Louise, M. Claude. What
is it, Renée? M. Claude, you asked me to see
about the ring. What ring? Oh, that ring. Were
you able to? The ring just won't come off. It's
like, um, fused to the metal. Could that be possible
somehow? No, sir. It is not possible unless you
welded it on there, which you didn't. Well, then
what's to be done? Nothing. Unless you want to
cut the finger off. Oh, no, no. I am so tired
of all this chatter about that silly ring. Oh,
thank you, Renée. I appreciate what you've done.
Yes, Monsieur Claude. Good day. I tried my best.
I'm sorry I bought that ridiculous statue. She's
hardly ridiculous. Now you're starting to talk
like Henri. I'm sorry. I keep asking myself,
why did I have to fall in love with you? Because
I'm charming and handsome. No, the sensible thing
would have been to fall in love with Henri. Darling,
I'll go up and change and meet you at the tennis
court. Listen, whoever you are, whatever you
are, Listen I Put that ring on your finger the
way Well the way you place a hat on a rack or
a coat on a hook. I wasn't thinking of well I
certainly didn't mean anything by it So if this
is all a practical joke fine jokes on me But
but if you really are a goddess and you're taking
this seriously What would you want with me anyhow?
You You are my beloved. I'm trying to explain.
I must marry Eloise Calvert. I have no choice.
I am your bride. I will share you with no mortal
woman. I will see you dead first. I didn't know
you were in the habit of talking to yourself.
Henri, what are you doing here? Louise sent me
her lawyer has just arrived from Paris. He has
papers for her to sign. Oh in anticipation of
your coming marriage She's having considerable
property signed over to you. Oh Something wrong
with you this morning Well, yes, if it was that
damn statue Claude, I shouldn't say this shouldn't
say what I have good advice for you Even if it
goes against my own interest. Please forget about
that statue. Forget? This whole affair about
the ring and the mysterious fact that it won't
come off is starting to frighten Eloise. Frighten?
She doesn't like to be frightened. Who does?
She's been fantastically rich all her life. She's
always had everything she wanted by snapping
her fingers. except you she's got me now not
quite yet instinctively you know how to treat
her you don't fall at her feet the way the rest
of us do you maintain a kind of reserve that's
because you know all about women you flatter
me even now you're playing her to perfection
true it's a formality but she wants that ritual
declaration of love that beautifully stated proposal
of marriage, and you delay it exquisitely. But
I came here to propose. You've already proposed
to one goddess. Stop that, will you? The goddess
of love. And now you intend to propose to another.
Eloise? A goddess? Of course. The goddess of
wealth and power. How fortunate. Each of these
goddesses wants you as her consort. Oh, Ahri,
sometimes I wonder about your sanity. That's
just another way of saying that you wonder about
your own. Why won't the ring come off? Well,
there must be an explanation. Yes, there is.
You're the fiancé of Venus. She won't give you
up. I mean a rational explanation. It makes sense
to me. And it also makes sense to you. You don't
have to admit it. Well, I came here to propose
to Eloise. Then why don't you do it? I will.
I'll take her out to dinner tonight, and I'll
ask her to marry me. Oh, what a lovely place.
A bit off the beaten track, darling. And the
food. I wanted a perfect setting. For what? For
the most important statement of my life. Flatterer.
Of course I'm a flatterer. And you love flattery.
Doesn't every woman? Oh, I can see we're going
to be a very straightforward couple. Yes. Eloise,
I... Yes? I want to ask you to... I'm waiting.
I... I... You're mine, Claude. You gave me your
ring. But... But I told you... Claude, you may
play with other women. You may deceive other
women. But no man in the history of the world
has ever deceived me and lived. I am Venus. I
am Aphrodite. I am Astarte. I am Isis. I am Ishtar.
But I only... Hundreds, thousands, numberless
races of men on this planet have worshipped me
under numberless names. And now, I choose you.
I choose you, Claude Louis. You belong to me.
You are mine. You must leave this woman. Claude.
I must be... Darling, something is wrong. No,
I just feel very... Very what? See, you can't
say. You don't know. But I know. Do you? I spoke
to Dr. LeGrand. He told me all about men like
you. Men like me? Yes. It has to do with the
fear of becoming a husband. But I have no fear
of... Yes, yes, you do. Oh, you do. Way down,
deep down in the subconscious where you're unaware
of it. You're giving up the old wild freedom
and you are just not sure you want to know but
I am well I intend to To be patient I Love you
ah Good evening clothes. Oh good evening. Mr.
Armand. I was dining here with some associates
and I Thought I would come over to pay my respect.
Oh, yes, darling. May I present mr. Armand? I
am honoured, mademoiselle. Enchanté. Well, Claude,
I had expected... Yes? Apropos of our last discussion,
I had expected a settlement or a statement. Yes,
yes, I know. As a matter of fact, my associates
were saying just now, why do you suppose we have
not heard... Reassure your associates for me,
monsieur, that everything is in order. En course.
So happy to have made your acquaintance, Mademoiselle.
Darling, what was he talking about? Oh, business
proposition. Claude, Monsieur Amour, he's sitting
at that table. Look, over to the right, you see?
Well, what about it? Well, look at those two
men at the table with him. He called them his
business associates. I suppose they are. Well,
then I... I cannot imagine what sort of business
he could be engaged in. Those two men are the
worst -looking thugs I've ever seen in my life.
Enough, darling. You shouldn't judge by appearance.
They could be tender -hearted, church -going,
devoted family men. Oh, no. Hired killers would
be more likely. Darling, take me home. I'm frightened.
And she has every right to be frightened. We
know why the ruthless and determined men want
one million francs from our friend Claude Louis.
If he marries Alois, well, no problem. However,
Claude Louis is becoming more and more convinced
that he is already betrothed to the jealous goddess
Venus herself, in which case it would be fatal
to jilt her. Decisions, decisions. The choice,
however, must be made. and it will be, when I
return shortly with Act III. How would you like
to be in a position to choose between a goddess
of earthly power and the goddess of heavenly
love? You say you'd adore such a dilemma? Think
again. Or better still, listen closely to the
fate of the Vicon Claude -Louis de Chaubert.
He happens to be in that precise predicament.
Ah, good morning Claude. Morning Henri. You seem
to have quite an appetite this morning. What
do they say? The condemned man ate a hearty meal.
What does that mean? I'm not sure. Have you seen
Eloise? Oh, she's still asleep. That's not like
her. She's worried about you Well, everything's
all right. We can be married tomorrow if she
wants. Oh you've decided of course and What about
the other one? What other one as if you don't
know I'm not sure I understand the Venus your
own Venus deed Oh that let me tell you I didn't
sleep last night. Oh, I'm sorry. No, no, it was
good for me Ari I did some thinking And? And
I called myself every stupid name I could remember.
Why? If I keep this up, this groundless, mindless
idiotic fear or apprehension, if I keep imagining
she talks to me, well, I can very well lose Eloise.
Eloise is very much in love with you. Love. Love
is an illusion. You fall in, you fall out. I
can read women. This ring business is beginning
to irritate her. Worse, it's starting to bore
her. Ah, I've been warning you. What really happened?
I needed a resting place for a ring, so I absently
placed it on the finger of a statue. A lifeless
metal statue. You follow me? You're telling the
story. Due to some phenomenon that probably has
a rational explanation, if we ever find it, the
ring seems to adhere to the finger of the statue.
Is that true? Obviously, the ring's still there.
But that's all that happened. Who said anything
else? You did. Me? You. You're the one who invested
the statue with all kinds of magic and mysterious
qualities. Well, I was merely stating some facts.
Oh, yes. Yes, of course. But you have an ulterior
motive. If you could get me upset, fire my imagination,
perhaps. Something might happen, and you could
have Eloise for yourself. I'm not aware that
I've tried to upset you. No, not consciously
perhaps. Well, in any event, it's all over. And
I certainly will not jeopardize my chance of
becoming a billionaire because of an overactive
imagination. Do you understand me? Yes. But I
wish you'd be honest with yourself. You said
you absently placed the ring on her finger. Is
that really true? Or did you do it as a joke?
Or did you, as millions of men before you, actually
fall in love with her? Oh, no, Harry. We're not
having any more of that. Well, old girl, I must
say it was exciting. It was even fun for a while.
Venus deal. Ah, you must have been something
in your day. All woman. Oh, no. No, madame. I'm
wise to these little tricks of the mind. Not
this time. Not again. Claude. Of course, Claude.
But you're in my head. You're part of my imagination.
Claude. You belong to me. I belong to no one.
I belong to myself. Foolish Claude. Do you think
you can fight me? You're just an image in my
own brain. Claude. You don't love Eloise. You're
in love with love. Claude. I don't believe. Yes,
Claude. You believe. You believe. The love I
offer you is beyond dreams, beyond imagination.
No. No, I'm not listening. A glorious love. No,
please. Don't be frightened. Come with me. Live
with me. Live like a god, a god! Live on love!
No! You asked me Claude! You gave me your ring!
You wanted me! You always wanted me! Say it!
No! Say it Claude! Say the truth! Yes! Yes! Yes!
Then, come. Come with me. Now? Now! That's it!
That's how it happened! That's how it happened!
I know! I know how it happened! Claude! What
are you doing standing out here and yelling like
a maniac? It's another electrical storm. We'd
better get inside. Oh, yes. Come, Claude. Now.
Now, I know. What do you know? I know. I know
why the ring is stuck on her finger. Huh? Do
you? Is it so important after all? Oh, yes, it's
important. Do you remember what René said? He
said it looked as if the ring is fused to the
metal. Well, look closely. Doesn't it appear
that way? Well, what's the difference? He also
said it was impossible unless you welded it on.
And of course you didn't. No, I didn't. But someone
else did. Who? Perhaps not a who, but a what.
What did happen? We were playing tennis. I took
the ring off, placed it on her finger. Oh, we
already know all that. Tell us the rest of it.
You know the rest of it, too. Claude. Of course
you do. We kept playing tennis, and then suddenly
there was a peel of thunder, a flash of lightning.
Well, don't you see? No. The lightning. It must
have... It must have struck the statue in such
a way as to have fused the ring to her finger.
Well, that's impossible. No, no, it's not impossible.
It could have happened. Well, then it answers
the question and finally settles the problem.
It's the only way we can account for it. Unless...
No, no, Henri, no more of these unlesses. So
now, can we forget about it? Oh, absolutely,
my darling. Eloise, marry me. What I said marry
me But I was expecting you were expecting a romantic
speech Poetry sweet music sparkling wine. Yes.
Shall I try again? Oh, no No, I accept I accept
May I be the first to offer congratulations?
Of course, of course Ari you fought a good fight.
Ah But the better man won Eloise my darling May
I... may I ask for a wedding present now? Oh,
anything. Good. Would you... could you get rid
of this statue? My rival? Well? Of course. We'll
donate her to a museum. No, no. No, I mean get
rid of her. How? Have her destroyed. Melted down.
Oh? But Claude, she's priceless. Well, I... I'll
have it taken care of tomorrow. Can it be done
today? Yes. Renée will be back in the morning,
and... Well, I suppose it'll be all right. He'll
take care of her. First thing. Ah, ladies and
gentlemen, your attention, please. A toast to
the happy couple. Thank you, thank you all. Claude
and I are so happy. Please, everybody, eat, drink,
dance. Help us enjoy this, this glorious occasion.
You look beautiful, my dear. I always dreamed
of a night like this. Are you happy? Oh, yes.
Completely? Yes. It's hard, you... You look so
thoughtful. Do I? Very. I'm only thinking of
us. Only of us? My darling, in this whole wide
world, there are only the two of us. But Claude,
is something the matter? You're frowning. I wasn't
aware. You're not ill? No, no, of course not.
You don't look very comfortable. I will. Perhaps
it's a bit close in here. I may just need a breath
of fresh air. I'll go with you. No, no dear.
We both can't leave our guests. I'll just step
outside for a moment. It'll do me good. Claude.
Claude Louis. No, no. You fool. I won't believe
it. What won't you believe? I won't believe you
are there. You have dared to trifle with the
heart of a goddess. I don't know what you're
saying. I offered you my love. I would have given
myself to you. I've got to fight this. I am not
mad. I've got to fight. Of all the uncounted
millions since the very beginning of the human
race, I offered myself to you. I accept this
as an hallucination. Fool! Look at me. You're
flesh and blood. You're a woman. Yes. A woman.
A woman spurned. A woman scorned. I didn't know.
How was I to know? I told you. I told you. Forgive
me. Please forgive me. Forgive you? Come to my
arms. Embrace me. No. You have lost forever.
I love you. I love you. Fool! Fool! Please. Please.
You're, you're crushing me. You love me. But
now you can only die for the love of me. No.
Please. Let me, let me love you. Let me go! No!
No! Help! Help! Claude! Claude, where are you?
Eloise is worried about... Claude! Oh, no! Don't
come close, Eloise! Don't look, Eloise, don't!
The statue, it fell on him. His? Yes. He's dead
the statue just crushed him Look what is it Look
at the ring that ring. I don't see the ring.
Look where on Claude's finger. Oh The ring is
back on You have a choice. You can believe that
the goddess Venus fell in love with Claude, became
angry when he jilted her, and killed him. Or
you can believe that he went out for a walk,
and the rain had softened the statue's foundation,
and it just fell on him. There were also the
enforcers. All the ingredients are there for
a provocative stew. Use which you like. and stir
to your taste. I'll be back shortly. The tale
you just heard was concerned primarily with love.
And why not? Love, like murder, is filled with
suspense, chills, thrills, fears, uncertainty.
And even better, there is a body of evidence
to prove that love is far more healthy and satisfying
than murder. And so, if ever you feel driven,
why, just fall in love instead. Our cast included
Norman Rose, Joan Lovejoy, Evie Jester, Dan Ako,
and Robert Dryden. The entire production was
under the direction of Hyman Brown. This is E
.G. Marshall inviting you to return to our Mystery
Theatre for another adventure in the macabre.
Until next time, pleasant dreams.