The CBS Radio Mystery Theater presents... Come
in. Welcome. I'm E .G. Marshall. Welcome to another
hour with the Great Forces. of the unknown those
majestic forces that move around above and beneath
us pushing and pulling at our lives our bodies
our brains forces no less powerful because we
know them not and here's a thought how much of
their power actually derives from their mystery
were we to fathom them explode their secrets.
Would they then become as comprehensible as,
say, the centrifugal force in the spin dryer
at the laundromat? Well, the day is far off when
we can be that knowledgeable. So, in the meantime,
listen. How will you do it? A gun. Do you have
a gun? No. Well, then that's no good. A knife.
Could you get near him, near enough to use a
knife? Do you have the strength? No. Well, so
that's no good. But he has to die so that I can
live. He will die. He will die tomorrow morning.
How do you know? He will die of the mass of...
Our mystery drama, The Secret Doctrine, was written
especially for the Mystery Theater by Elspeth
Erich and stars Mercedes McCambridge. It is sponsored
in part by The Kellogg Company, makers of Kellogg's
Special K Cereal, and New Sugar -Free Diet 7
Up. I'll be back shortly with act one. Be careful,
they say, what you ask for, lest it be given
to you. Who of us knows what to ask for? Who
can see far enough into the future to know what
gift will delight and which destroy? Better simply
to accept whatever comes, with gratitude, whenever
possible. Listen with me now to the somber story
called The Secret Doctrine. You can begin now,
Louise. Now, Father Giles. The others have gone.
You said your confession would take some time,
so let's begin. Bless me, Father, for I have
sinned. Go on, Louise. And, uh, speak up. Don't
mumble. In thoughtward indeed. Oh, Father, I
can't find the words to tell you. Remember, I
sit in the confessional box not only as your
priest, but as God's own surrogate. Father, you
know Peter Sorrell. Sorrell? Yes. The American
movie star. Oh, I, uh... I don't know any American
movie stars. Oh, you mean the actor who came
here to make a film about the St. Vincent de
Paul? Yes, yes, yes. It caused quite a stir in
the village. And then something happened. What
was it? Father, Pierre Sorrel died. Oh, did he
die? I hadn't heard. This morning. Oh, God, take
his soul. What was his illness? He was not ill,
Father. He simply died. He slipped away. But
he was not an old man. What did the doctor say?
Just what I told you. That he was not ill. That
he simply grew weaker and weaker until death
took him. I know what he died of, Father Jarrett.
You know? He died of the Mass of San Césaire.
Do you know what you're saying? The Mass of San
Césaire has not been said in Gascony for hundreds
of years. Most priests have never heard it. No,
no, no, good priest would even say it. I think...
You'd best tell me all about it, Louise. Yes,
Father. I was in love with Peter Sorrell. In
love? You never knew him. He only came here a
month ago. I've seen all his films, each one
many times. When one of them came to Dax, I'd
walk the 20 miles to see it. And if it was there
for two days, I'd roam the streets all night
to see it again and again. As many times as it
was shown. You call this being in love? How old
are you, Lewis? I'm 38, Father. Have you ever
loved a boy, a man? No, Father. I've been in
love with Peter Sorrell since I was 18. I've
written to him in Hollywood every week for 20
years. And once he answered me, and he sent me
his picture. And when I heard that he was coming
here, I saw the hand of God. Take care. You don't
blaspheme, Louise. That is how it seemed to me,
Father Charles. Go on. The company he worked
for had rented the big house on the hill for
him. And the first day he was here, I took him
some of my onion soup. Well, well, well. What
have we here? I brought you some onion soup,
Mr. Sorrel. If you'd care to accept it. I'd care
like crazy. I've seen all your films, Mr. Sorrel.
I love them all. You've got a big heart. And
the next day I took him a bottle of wine. It's
called sand wine, Mr. Sorrel. A local product.
Like you. You're a local product. It's very good.
Really, it is. So are you. What's your name?
And the next day, I took him a bottle of brandy.
It's Armagnac, Mr. Sorrel. It's the best brandy
in France. I'll just bet it is. There's a dish
I know how to make with this brandy. Roast capone.
Then you're going to make it for me, aren't you,
Louise? That is your name, isn't it? Louise?
The next day I went to his house. But this time
he wasn't alone. There was a man with him. A
young American gentleman. I shouldn't have let
you talk me into this picture, Gabe. Me talking
you into it? Who cares about saints anymore?
Well, there's gotta be a reaction from all that
demon stuff eventually. Pardon me, Mr. Sorrell.
The capon is... Louise! Louise, meet my agent,
Gabe Houser. How are you, Louise? Mr. Houser,
I'll keep the capon warm until you're ready.
Please. When you're ready, call me. Who is that?
A fan. One of my millions of fans. What's for
dinner tonight, Louise? Gascony, pork and cabbage.
in a special sauce. Why can't we eat like that
on the set, huh, Peter? Because Louise isn't
on the set. Well, informally, I could be. Hey,
hey, we could fix her up with a walk -on or something,
couldn't we? You could. Hey, she could be one
of the Sisters of Charity. Why not? Louise the
Star has spoken. So then, Father, I could be
with him during the day and not just in the evenings.
I was in heaven. You have strange concepts of
theological matters, Louise. But go on. The atmosphere
of that place, all the fuss and the laughter
and the excitement, it all went to my head. And
I forgot that I only wanted to serve him. I wanted
to love him, to belong to him. and to have him
belong to me. You poor woman. I watched him every
moment. My eyes were fastened on his face. My
ears strained to catch every word that fell from
his lips. There is nothing so grand as a good
priest. It hurts me to see God's work in unloving
hands. Cut. That's a print. Okay, let's pray.
I didn't think anyone noticed how I stared at
him, followed him about. I waited for him after
the day's work. But one day as I watched him...
And the city hospital. Two to a bed. Some lying
on the floor. You're crying, Louise. He's doing
the scene with the cardinal. Oh, it's not a sad
scene. It's not even a good scene. Oh, it's a
very good scene. It's a wonderful scene. Everything
he does is wonderful. It was Noemi, Father. You
know her? The woman who came here from the Basque
Country last year. She got herself a job, an
extra like me. And so I saw a lot of her after
that. My father! I degraded my father! I scorched
my father! Why, you want him for your very own?
Not the way you mean, Noemi. Oh, yes. Precisely
the way I mean. What other way is there? Oh,
my savior, I need to confess! Cut! Print it!
Right for lunch! Noemi was always there, Father.
I couldn't send her away. She belonged there
as much as I did, after all. Why in the world
should I lie down when those poor people are
calling for me? Why, you want him, Louise? It
shows on your face. It's hopeless. Tell me, can
you get your hands on some rocks of his hair,
cuttings from his fingernails, his toenails?
Why? Why should I? Why? They will give you power
over him. Oh, I can't believe it. Oh, believe.
Believe it's true. His hair, his fingernails,
his toenails. If you want him, get them and bring
them to me. Need me? Cut. Break that. Incisions
on the set, please. I didn't believe her father,
not really. But my desire had become so great,
I thought I should go mad. I had no trouble finding
bits of his hair. I picked up all I needed from
the floor of the makeup room. But the cuttings
of his fingernails and his toenails, that was
more difficult than one evening at his house.
DePaul was the first social worker in history.
You know that, Gabe? I mean, he organized social
services. Would you like some more amaniac, Mr.
Sorrell? Oh, you're still here, Louise? You can
go home whenever you feel like it. You don't
have to stick around. I've been listening and
watching. A great dinner, Louise. I noticed you
bite your nails, Mr. Sorrell, when you talk.
Yeah, a childhood habit. You shouldn't do that.
Yeah, that's what my mother always said. If you'd
let me cut your nails properly. My mother always
said that, too. I have a scissors right here
with me. My mother also always had the scissors
right there with her. So while they talked, I
cut his fingernails and I saved them all, even
the little bits of cuticle in my kerchief. And
when I had finished... Louise? You're a saint.
Oh, if I'm a saint, Mr. Sorrell, I should wash
your feet. Wash my feet? Say, now... They get
awfully dirty walking around the set in those
old sandals. And all the saints, even the pope,
he washes the feet of a sinner once a year to
show humility. I'm your sinner, is that it? Let
her, Peter, if she wants to. You really want
to? And to cut your toenails. Well, what can
I say? It's the best offer I've had since I came
to France. And so I did, Father. And when I left
that night, I had all the cuttings in my kerchief,
and I took them to Noemi, who waited for me in
the woods. Take this, Louise. What is that? It's
a little bag made from the skin of a toad, which
my own daughter impaled at midnight in the graveyard
of the old abbey. Oh, we put all your precious
cuttings into it. Now, Pull the drawstrings tight.
That's it. And hang it around your neck, under
your dress. Yes, yes, yes. Just like that. How
do you know that it will work? I know. It seems
so wrong. It's going against God, isn't it? Have
you ever heard of Eliphaz Levi and the secret
doctrine? No. Well, Eliphaz Levi was his pen
name. He wrote many books on the subject of magic.
Magic exists. Always has existed all over the
world. But I'm afraid of it, Noemi. Oh, give
in to your fear and you'll lose the thing you
most desire. Conquer your fear and the secret
doctrine will bring you Peter Sorrell. How do
I know? Magic is everywhere. unseen, unheard,
but it is working all the time. You need only
the spiritual energy to make it work for you.
But do I have energy like that? I don't think
I do. Oh, never mind. I do. Now, kneel down.
No, no, no, do not bow your head. Raise your
face to the sky. Send up a prayer from your loins
to Aether. God of chaos and the dark! Well, the
secret doctrine has been kept from me, I must
say. All my life I have struggled from problem
to problem, quandary to quandary, with only my
limited intelligence to assist me. And all the
time, was there a secret doctrine that might
have solved things magically? If so, I'm a little
late finding it out. We'll be back shortly for
Act Two. The Canton Civil Defense in Illinois
reports they are watching a tornado to the southwest
of the city of Canton. They say it's headed southward
in the general direction of Lewistown in Fulton
County, Illinois. The only magic I have ever
known was long long ago when I expelled a loud
and angry scream and food instantly appeared
Talk about rubbing a lamp Talk about wearing
a bag of discarded nails and hair about your
neck Well, we shall see if they can match my
infant cry Some sort of magic was working father
Charles Because when I got to my feet after that
strange prayer to the God of Chaos, there in
the woods with the toadskin bag still hanging
around my neck, I felt that I was a beautiful
woman. Can you imagine that, Father? Yes. The
next day was my last, so far as the film was
concerned. I hated to step out of the Sister
of Charity habit and get back into my own clothes.
But my spirits rose to the sky when Peter stopped
me and said... This was your last day, wasn't
it, Louise? Yes, my last day. Well, it won't
be the same around here without you. We'll miss
you. Will you? I mean, will you miss me? I'll
miss you the most. But I'll see you at the house,
won't I? You're not going to desert me now, are
you? Never, never. I'd never do that. Well, you'd
better not, Louise. I met Noemi late that night
in the woods, and I told her what Peter had said,
and what I had said. You see? The magic is beginning
to take hold! I couldn't go to the set the next
day. What reason would I have? So I spent the
day in his house, cooking a shoulder of lamb
for him, in the Gascon style. You know how long
that takes, Father. Please! In the kitchen! That
smells so good. It's something special I'm cooking
for you. Louise, Louise, what have I done to
deserve you? You're the greatest thing that's
happened to me since... Well, you're the greatest
thing that's ever happened to me. Let's put it
that way. I told Noemi that night that time was
growing short, that in two days Peter surely
would be leaving France. And I told her I must
go with him. No. Listen, Louise, this is what
you must do. When he comes home, you must be
waiting for him on his bed, all naked and perfumed,
and he will love you. I had loved him, Father,
for so many years. And now every dream, every
desire would come true. I was lying on his bed,
as Noemi had told me I should be, with my hair
all freshly washed and perfumed as my body was.
And I heard the front door close. And I heard
his feet on the stairs. Louise? I couldn't answer
it. I waited for the bedroom door to open. And
it did. Who's... What a... Louise. Is that you?
What in the name of... I've... I've... been waiting
for you. Are you crazy? Peter, listen to me.
I want you to love me. You do love me. I've seen
the love growing in your eyes. I've heard it
in your voice. Take me now. and tell me that
you love me and that we will go to America together
to your home where I will love you and look after
you. Louise, now listen to me. See, look over
there. I brought all my clothes. I feel that
I'm reaching the end of a long, long journey.
I've loved you so long. Louise, let me talk to
you. Oh, yes. Louise if I I've made you think
that that I'm anything more than Just very fond
of you. I'm sorry Louise. I'm very very sorry
if I've Made you think I love you. Well, I'm
sorry. What more can I say? But you do love me
You've loved me for three whole days Three days
and I've loved you for years and years But you've
only loved me for three days, so of course it
seems new to you. I understand that. Now, Louise,
what three days are you talking about? The last
three days, of course. Ever since I started wearing
this. What's that? It's a bag made from the skin
of a toad. A toad impaled at midnight in the
graveyard of the abbey. What's in that bag, Louise?
Quite part of you. Bits of your hair, bits of
your fingernails, your toenails, little particles
of you. What kind of a game are you running on
me, Louise? It's toe game. It's real. Real hell!
All the time you were hanging around here. You
were cooking and cleaning and washing and all
that. You were hanging around the set, waiting
on me, telling me I'm such a great actor, begging
to cut my fingernails. My toenails! You were
conning me! You were running some kind of a tricky,
sneaky game on me. It was no game. Now look,
lady, you got your clothes on fast, you hear
me? You get out of here. You want some money?
No. No. I'll give you money. I'll give you money.
You've earned it. But if you ever try to play
any of these crazy tricks on me again, I'm going
to track you down. I'm going to have you put
away. Now you get out of here. I did get out,
Father Giles, but I can't remember how. The next
thing I remember is running through the woods
calling for Noemi. And then I remember falling
down on the ground and the blackness coming down
over me. My poor Louise. Noemi found me a little
later. I don't know how much later. What happened,
Louise? Nothing happened, Noemi. He doesn't love
me. He never did. I think you'd better take back
the little toadskin bag knowingly. It didn't
work. But did you do everything I told you? Yes,
I did. I washed my hair and perfumed my body,
and I lay on his bed. But when he came home,
he didn't want me. I tried to tell him about
the secret doctrine, but he didn't want to listen.
You told him? I tried to. After all, I don't
know much about it, only what you've told me,
and I didn't understand all of that. But he didn't
want to hear about it. Oh, the man is a monster!
Yes, he is a monster. You poor woman. No, don't
you feel sorry for me either, Father Giles. I
don't want anybody to feel sorry for me. But
don't you see... You let your desires take hold
of you, Louise. You let them dictate your actions.
You lost control. Oh, yes, I did that. You became
blind to the realities of the matter. Yes, I
did that, too. I fell in love with a man when
he was only a walking shadow on a screen. I hurt
no one. I would never have hurt him if he hadn't
come to France to make another of his foolish
motion pictures. Louise. Would it make you feel
better my child if I were to tell you that you
are not the first to give your heart to an unknown
man Who's only making his living by performing
in public? I suppose that is true father. Does
it make you feel a little better? But I don't
feel badly father You don't not about him Not
about trying to give myself to him and he's telling
me he didn't want me. I felt badly about it at
the time Very badly, I suppose. Of course you
did. But by the time Noemi found me in the woods,
I felt quite differently. Just how did you feel?
Very calm, very clear, very right. Right? About
what? Clear about what? About what I must do.
And what was that? I killed him, of course. But
you have said that it was all your own doing.
That no one else should be blamed. Quite so.
But I had to kill him in me. Don't you see what
I mean? I'm not sure that I do. Father, he was
part of me. He'd been part of me for many, many
years. There was more of him in me than there
was of myself. Oh, you must understand. I...
I'm trying to wish... I knew how wrong I'd been
to love him. Yes, to lust after him. To have
obscene thoughts about him there in the dark
of the theater. I knew these were sins. They
were bad sins. And now I was willing to take
upon myself the last sin of all. To kill him.
Don't you understand? I... I... Don't believe
I do. How strange. Noemi understood. You say
Noemi understood? What you have just told me?
Yes, Father. There, that night in the forest,
I told her how I must commit this most grievous
sin. How will you do it? A gun? Do you have a
gun? No. Well then that's no good. A knife. Could
you get near enough to him to use a knife? Are
you strong enough? No. Well then that's no good.
But he must die so that I may live. He will die.
He will die tomorrow morning. How do you know?
He will die of the mass of... Hell hath no fury
like a woman scorned. And all the scorned women
from the beginning of time must have at least
looked around to see if there was a gun or a
knife nearby. Sometimes there was and the story
had an unhappy ending and a messy one. But what
if those poor scorned women had known of The
Mass of St. Césaire, a black and malevolent ritual
of which you will learn more shortly when I bring
you Act 3. This is WBBM Chicago. We promised
you further details of the Mass of St. Césaire,
that horrid leftover from the Dark Ages. And
so we shall. We always keep our word. Let us
pick up our story while we left off. With Louise
and Noémie talking in hushed tones beneath the
moon in the dark woods of Gascony. He has to
die so that I can live. He will die tomorrow
morning. He will die of the mass of sassy sails.
How can anyone die of a mass? Oh, the mass of
Salcisaia is the mass of revenge. The peasants
of Gascony have known this for centuries. I must
ask Father Giles. Oh, no. You will not breathe
a word of this to Father Giles. But if he would
perform the mass... He wouldn't dream of it.
He probably doesn't even know it. Ah, but I know
a priest who knows it and who will perform it.
My daughter lives with him. Come, look. We went
to the deserted abbey where the priest lived.
No one told me his name. I never asked. You are
the one who orders this mass? Yes. For whom shall
I say the mass? For Peter Sorel. Who will be
my clerk? My daughter will be your clerk, father.
Who will bring the water for the mass? I shall
bring it, Father. Do you know a place where the
mass can be held? By the ruins of the church,
where the gypsies live, Father. I listened as
though nothing they said had anything to do with
me, Father Giles. I scarcely knew when they finished
speaking. I only knew that after a while... Nourimi
took me by the hand and led me away. Come, Louise,
come. We must get the water for the Mass. Shouldn't
there be wine, Nourimi? For the Mass of St. Césaire,
there is no wine. There is only water. And the
priest does not consecrate it. He drinks it.
And it must be water from a well into which the
body of an unbaptized infant has been thrown.
Come now, Louise, come. Before 11 o 'clock we
were at the ruined church, a dreadful place,
Father, where bats lived and toads and owls.
And through the darkness came the priest, the
weenie's daughter by his side, and he stood by
the ruins of the old altar. Ever and ever for
reign and live you. Noemi, what does he say?
Shh! It is the mass of Sansa's hail. But I don't
understand it. It is the mass for the dead. He
is reciting it backwards. I watched in horrid
fascination, Father. I confess that I was fascinated
by it. I was like a bird watching a snake. What
is he doing now, Noemi? He is making the sign
of the cross. No, he's not. He's not making...
He is making the sign of the cross with his left
foot. His foot? In the dirt. This is the mass
of San Césaire. I couldn't bear to look, Father
Giles. I couldn't. And yet I couldn't bear not
to look. The walking mass had started at 11,
and now it was drawing to a close as the hour
of midnight struck. And then the mass was suddenly
over, and the priest and his clerk, Noemi's daughter,
stole away into the darkness without a word to
us. It is over, Louise, and Peter Sorel has begun
to die. I'm not sure I believed her, Father Joust.
I wasn't capable of belief, or disbelief, or
of any thought at all, or of any feeling whatsoever.
I only felt tired. So tired, I doubted I could
move. But I pulled myself to my feet. And I said,
I must go to him, Noemi. I must go to Peter Sorrell.
And I went, Father. I went into Tom, to the house
on the hill. And I waited there till the sun
had been up for an hour. And when I went to the
door, I knocked. Oh, Louise. I suppose you want
to see Peter. Is he here? Yes, he's here. But
he's very ill. The doctor's with him. And no
one knows what's the matter with him. But I knew,
Father Giles, he was dying of the massive sensation.
Oh, Louise, Louise. I went to the door every
hour, Father. Once, I was told that they'd sent
for his doctor from the States. But if that doctor
arrived, he came too late. For at 10 o 'clock,
when I knocked at the door. Louise. He's dead,
Louise. He died a few minutes ago. No one knows
why or how or what it was he died of. I see.
I know you were very fond of him. I was. Very
fond. Very fond. I went home. I took off my clothes.
And I lay down on my bed. A little toadskin bag
was still around my neck. I took it off. I kissed
it. I put it under the pillow. And then I put
my head on the pillow. And when fast asleep,
I slept soundly, with no dreams at all of any
kind. And when I awoke, it was noon. Such a beautiful
day. And I started to come here to make my confession.
On the way, I met Peter Sorrell's friend once
more. He died, Louise, of nothing at all. Nothing
at all? He was perfectly well. Talking of going
home in the morning. Then, about midnight, he
said he was tired. He thought he'd go to bed.
But he could hardly climb the stairs to his room.
I had to help him. He lay on the bed and closed
his eyes. He said he felt as though he was slipping
away. Wasn't that a strange thing for him to
say? That he was slipping away? I remembered
something. That it was strange indeed. Though
of course I knew it wasn't. He died of the mass
of Sansa Serefather. And now I've told you everything.
And what do you expect me to do, Louise? Would
it give me my penance, Father? I know it will
be severe, I expect that. I want it to be severe.
I know what a grave sin I have committed. Do
you, Louise? To wish for a man's death, Father,
to bring it about. What greater sin could there
be? To wish for a man's death. It is a sin in
thought, but it can be forgiven. And you are
not the first to have committed it. Your wish
did not kill him. Men do not die so easily. It
was the mass of Saint Césaire that killed him.
God knows, and he alone. But you conspired in
the performance of a gruesome mass, a relic from
the Dark Ages. You took part in it. And what
is most awful, you ordered it. And for this desecration
of a holy ritual, There is no penance that would
suffice. But without a penance, how can I obtain
absolution? How can I obtain pardon? I cannot
pardon you, Louise. I do not know a curate who
can, nor a bishop, nor an archbishop. Father,
what am I to do? My child, it is possible. I
promise you nothing you understand. But it is
possible were you to go to Rome if the Pope would
deceive it to Rome To the Holy Father only he
has the right to grant pardon for the mass of
San Césaire Sir Can you tell me, sir? May I ask
you? Yes, senora. Can I help you? Please. Is
this the Vatican? This is Vatican City, yes.
Is this the square of St. Peter? Yes. Straight
ahead is St. Peter's Gate. I am here. You've
never been here before? I have come to see the
Pope. His Holiness is quite busy, Senora. I come
here to make my confession. Let me take you to
a priest. No. It must be His Holiness, no one
else. Are your sins so great? My... Sin is so
great. Yes. Well, I'm only a student here, Signora,
but I'll be glad to take you to a priest. No
priest can help me. No bishop. No archbishop.
But a priest might be able to arrange things
so that you could see His Holiness and not right
away, of course, it would take time. I have time.
It has already taken me a long time just to come
this far. How long has it taken you? A thousand
days. A thousand? Where did you come from? France.
A little town in Gascony. But that could take
you almost three years? Oh, you must have stocked
off at different places each night to sleep and
pray. You mean you walked all the way? An old
woman like you? Do I look like an old woman?
I have just turned 40. Forgive me, but you look
much older than that. It doesn't really matter
now. Come, come. Let me help you to your feet.
No. I shall stay on my knees until I see the
Pope. I shall end my journey as I began it. Are
you telling me that you have come a thousand
miles on your knees? But why? It is my penance
for the mass of Saint Césaire. A thousand miles,
a thousand days on her knees. What awful retribution
we expect of ourselves. What? Endurance we can
find within us to carry out our goal. And what
is the priceless goal we seek? The goal that
so obstinately eludes us after thousands upon
thousands of miles and as many days. Why, I think
it is nothing more and nothing less than peace
of mind. I'll be back shortly. I told you it
would be a somber story, did I not? And so it
was. Well, exploring the unknown is not all fun
and frolic, but the unknown must be explored
in the wild hope that one day it will become
known. I wonder though, when it is as familiar
to us as say the combustion engine, will it stop
being fascinating and become boring? What then
will we do for fun? What will happen to this
program? Merciful heavens, what will I do for
a job? Our cast included Mercedes McCambridge,
Mildred Clinton, Bill Johnston, Robert Dryden,
and Nick Pryor. The entire production was under
the direction of Hyman Brown. Radio Mystery Theatre
was sponsored in part by Sinov, the Sinus Medicines,
Buick Motor Division, and Anheuser -Busch Incorporated,
Brewers of Budweiser. This is E .G. Marshall
inviting you to return to our Mystery Theater
for another adventure in the macabre. Until next
time, pleasant dreams. Bye!