{638}{708}Tonight we are going to tell|the story of a woman...

{709}{764}who disappears into thin air.

{781}{871}By the way, have you noticed that|thin air seems to be the type of air...
{873}{931}most conducive|to disappearances?
{945}{1007}There, certainly, is a fact|well worth knowing.
{1009}{1105}Now, in case you seem to|recognize parts of the story...
{1107}{1142}don't be alarmed.
{1144}{1234}It is familiar because|it is a classic of its kind.
{1236}{1304}Many, many people|have borrowed this legend...
{1305}{1351}quite profitably, too.
{1353}{1400}Two novels have been written|about it...
{1401}{1492}and it has been made into a motion|picture called The Lady Vanishes.
{1502}{1602}Once by no less a personage|than Alfred Hitchcock.
{1611}{1697}It was also related by Alexander|Woollcott in his book...
{1699}{1745}While Rome Burns.
{1747}{1852}Here, following our sponsor's|all too brief message...
{1854}{1932}is our version|of that famous old tale.
{1941}{2019}Now I had better get out of the|way to enable you to see better.
{2021}{2075}May I have a bit|of thin air, please.
{3119}{3218}How much?|That is combien?
{3282}{3309}Here.
{3339}{3392}Merci, mademoiselle.
{3403}{3475}Bonjour, madame.|Bonjour, mademoiselle.
{3589}{3704}I can't understand why I feel so|tired. I was perfectly well on the
boat.
{3713}{3782}Five minutes more, Mother,|and you can rest.
{4027}{4094}I'm afraid|we don't speak French.
{4103}{4193}Do you... Does anyone here|speak English?
{4195}{4235}Forgive me, mademoiselle.
{4237}{4284}I was asking whether|you had reserved rooms.
{4286}{4339}We're extremely busy|at this particular time.
{4342}{4416}Yes, we reserved by cable.|Six weeks ago from India.
{4418}{4454}Winthrop.|Winthrop.
{4597}{4620}Forgive me.
{4622}{4692}I am afraid we can only give you|one room, instead of the two...
{4693}{4740}that you have requested|in your cable.
{4741}{4800}Paris is so crowded with the|visitors who have come to see...
{4801}{4847}our great World Exposition.
{4849}{4924}However, we can|- Yes, thank you. That'll do nicely.
{4959}{4993}Please.
{5363}{5404}It's a lovely room.
{5405}{5499}And look, Mother, an ormolu clock|almost exactly like ours at home.
{5510}{5560}And those wonderful|velvet curtains.
{5562}{5605}And that|old-fashioned four-poster.
{5607}{5655}Yes, dear,|it's a lovely room.
{5675}{5726}You are tired|aren't you, dear?
{5728}{5807}Just rest over here in this|chair while I turn the bed down.
{5817}{5866}Allow me, mademoiselle. Thank you.
{5868}{5923}Now darling, we'll have|you in bed in a moment.
{5925}{5996}Later, dear.|I'll undress later.
{6205}{6248}Thank you for coming|so quickly.
{6249}{6332}I am right here in the hotel,|for the convenience of the guests.
{6334}{6359}But tell me...
{6361}{6440}when did your mother first|complain of feeling tired?
{6442}{6537}It was on the boat train to Paris.|We thought perhaps it was the heat.
{6540}{6608}And you say you have come|from India?
{6610}{6686}Yes, we stopped to see the|Exposition on our way home.
{6688}{6737}And now, with Mother|feeling so ill...
{6739}{6807}I almost wish we had gone|straight to England instead.
{6844}{6867}Pardon me.
{7217}{7252}Just a little fever.
{7413}{7437}Doctor?
{7577}{7600}Doctor?
{7713}{7756}We have|a small problem.
{7757}{7819}The medicine which I|require must be prepared...
{7821}{7927}and I'm afraid you will not find the|chemist shop open so late at
night.
{7929}{8030}Therefore, it is necessary to procure|the necessities somewhere else.
{8038}{8091}Now, my wife,|she is...
{8093}{8164}She is licensed by law|to dispense the medicine.
{8165}{8233}So you will take a message|to her, mademoiselle...
{8235}{8303}and bring the medicine|back here to me.
{8305}{8387}I'm sorry, but I cannot|leave the hotel right now.
{8405}{8474}So you will take a fiacre.|No.
{8479}{8568}Madame is right. Not a|fiacre for so young a girl.
{8571}{8663}But I have it. I shall|send you in my own carriage.
{8665}{8780}The driver knows the way, he will|bring you there and back safely.
{8781}{8857}Couldn't you send a|messenger? Oh, no, Madame.
{8859}{8956}A messenger cannot be trusted|with all the city en fete.
{8981}{9077}I'm sorry that we do not have|telephone facilities in our home...
{9079}{9175}otherwise, my wife would be enchanted|to bring you the medicine back
here.
{9202}{9263}I'll be back soon, Mother,|you mustn't worry.
{9265}{9363}I will make certain that Madame is|well taken care of while you are
gone.
{9365}{9389}Au revoir.
{9584}{9676}You mind waiting here, mademoiselle,|while I get all the medicine?
{9677}{9778}It will take a little time.|So, please have patience.
{9780}{9811}Thank you.
{10175}{10230}I regret, mademoiselle,|the long delay.
{10232}{10296}But you see the medicine must|be prepared with great care.
{10297}{10373}Yes, thank you.|Merci. Goodbye.
{10375}{10415}I must hurry back|to my mother.
{10466}{10540}It's taken so long.|It's nearly midnight.
{10693}{10732}Bonsoir, mademoiselle.
{11017}{11082}May I have my key, please?|Number 342.
{11144}{11212}I'm afraid you've forgotten.|I don't speak French.
{11261}{11317}Whom does mademoiselle|wish to see?
{11333}{11397}I want the key.|The key to my room.
{11399}{11443}But, the name, please.
{11452}{11532}Winthrop. Miss Winthrop.|I'm here with my mother.
{11533}{11560}Winthrop.
{11588}{11651}Winthrop. I am sorry,|mademoiselle...
{11653}{11713}a thousand pardons,|but I do not...
{11769}{11846}Perhaps mademoiselle has|mistakenly come to the wrong hotel.
{11848}{11880}Oh, good heavens.
{12042}{12087}This is the right hotel.
{12101}{12131}I remember it.
{12140}{12168}I know you.
{12174}{12264}Don't you remember, we asked for|two rooms and you had only one?
{12265}{12324}Why, I signed that register,|right there.
{12355}{12427}I am sorry, mademoiselle,|but see for yourself.
{12433}{12548}Number 342, Monsieur Duchesne.|He has been with us for some days.
{12702}{12780}The city is crowded with|visitors. There is much confusion.
{12793}{12862}You have merely mistaken|the identity of your hotel.
{12864}{12927}It happens frequently,|mademoiselle.
{12929}{13043}I have not mistaken the hotel. I|remember you, I know my room number.
{13073}{13172}My mother is up there now. She's|very ill and I must go to her.
{13174}{13207}Mademoiselle...
{13227}{13260}I cannot permit you.
{13262}{13337}Monsieur Duchesne retired|early, he must not be disturbed.
{13349}{13454}I don't believe you. I know|she's there. Please, Mademoiselle.
{13566}{13651}Why, that porter over there.|He carried up our bags.
{13733}{13796}This young lady wishes to|know if you remember her.
{13876}{13938}No, I have never|seen her before.
{13948}{14039}But you have. You carried up|our bags, just this evening.
{14045}{14080}No, mademoiselle.
{14176}{14210}The doctor.
{14212}{14324}He sent me for this medicine. He'll tell|you. He's probably with my
mother this minute.
{14325}{14384}I am sorry, mademoiselle,|but the doctor is not here.
{14385}{14440}He will not be back|until morning.
{14454}{14544}I can't believe he'd send me|for medicine and then...
{14546}{14600}go away|before I came back with it.
{14602}{14664}Mademoiselle, I beg of you.|Think.
{14677}{14753}It is impossible that you|are in the right hotel.
{14755}{14812}The maid. Where's the maid?
{14813}{14883}She'll tell you.|She'll remember, I know.
{15045}{15076}Mademoiselle...
{15077}{15148}we will be glad to provide you|with a room for the night.
{15150}{15199}You should wait|till morning, and then...
{15200}{15264}perhaps try to remember from|which hotel you have wandered?
{15266}{15332}The lateness of the hour-|I certainly do not...
{15334}{15420}I must find my mother.|She's ill.
{15422}{15489}It's not a thing to be|put off until morning.
{15511}{15546}Good evening.
{15548}{15602}Do you remember,|in Room 342...
{15604}{15675}when you took my mother's hat, and|asked if there was anything else-
{15677}{15709}342?
{15724}{15816}There is a gentlemen in|342. A Monsieur Duchesne.
{15824}{15862}Don't you remember me?
{15868}{15952}My mother was ill.|I am sorry, mademoiselle.
{16000}{16082}Mademoiselle,|may I conduct you to a room.
{16084}{16119}There you may|compose yourself...
{16121}{16192}and perhaps in the morning|you may recollect.
{16243}{16288}What am I going to do?
{16347}{16428}Where is my mother? She will|no doubt find you, mademoiselle.
{16429}{16512}Meanwhile, number 254|is a very nice room.
{16531}{16629}You think I can go to bed, not|knowing what's become of my mother?
{16631}{16708}Mademoiselle must realize|that her memory is at fault.
{16709}{16782}However, if you wish to go|and inquire at other hotels...
{16784}{16840}But this is the hotel.
{16976}{17013}Perhaps you're right.
{17029}{17065}I'm very tired.
{17104}{17158}I should go to bed and think.
{17180}{17246}There must be|some explanation.
{17248}{17353}Certainly, mademoiselle.|Of course, there is.
{17355}{17461}When you are rested, you will consider|and reveal the truth to
yourself.
{17497}{17544}After you, mademoiselle.
{17639}{17717}Now, mademoiselle, you should|go to bed immediately.
{17757}{17835}You will feel much more|restored in the morning.
{17851}{17879}Perhaps.
{18113}{18152}Bonsoir, mademoiselle.
{18175}{18225}You'd better|get some rest now.
{18258}{18313}Yes, thank you. Goodnight.
{18347}{18376}Goodnight.
{18523}{18609}What's happened?|What can have happened?
{18632}{18672}Where's my mother?
{18691}{18787}I know it's the right hotel.|I remember all of those people.
{18805}{18904}All, but that doctor.|I did sign the register.
{18918}{18976}There has to be|an explanation.
{18982}{19088}I'm not going out of my mind.|No, certainly not, Miss Winthrop.
{19115}{19161}As you say, there must|be an explanation.
{19163}{19211}Perhaps|- I clearly remember all those people...
{19212}{19282}who now choose to deny|they ever saw me before.
{19289}{19351}I'm afraid.|I must have help.
{19353}{19403}The Embassy will help you,|of course.
{19405}{19503}I think the best thing to do is to get|in touch with your relatives
in England...
{19504}{19565}and arrange|- I wont leave Paris without my mother.
{19567}{19618}My dear Miss Winthrop,|what possible reason...
{19620}{19690}could the people at the Madeleine|Hotel have for such a conspiracy?
{19692}{19766}I should very much like to|know that, too, Sir Everett.
{19773}{19816}Yes, I see.
{19849}{19910}Of course you were quite right|to call me in, Farnham, but...
{19912}{19939}I think...
{19941}{20009}I think you can handle|the situation yourself.
{20011}{20076}Yes, you're in good hands,|Miss Winthrop.
{20088}{20189}Mr. Farnham will assist you|in every way possible, and...
{20200}{20223}good day.
{20284}{20328}He thinks I'm insane.
{20352}{20428}Mr. Farnham, do you believe|a single thing I've told you?
{20429}{20491}I'm going to believe|everything I possibly can.
{20492}{20543}Now let's begin|at the beginning.
{20569}{20628}Meadows, please put through|a trunk call to Marseilles...
{20629}{20677}and inquire whether|a Mrs. Herbert Winthrop...
{20679}{20732}and Miss Diana Winthrop|arrived on the Lafayette...
{20734}{20788}on August 18th and took|the boat train to Paris.
{20789}{20813}Yes, sir.
{20868}{20928}You don't even believe|she was with me.
{20930}{21019}Certainly I believe she was with|you, but we're going to prove it.
{21020}{21059}Don't you think|it'd be wise...
{21060}{21128}to have one of your relatives in|England come over here to help you.
{21130}{21218}There isn't anyone but Aunt|Minerva. She is 75 and deaf.
{21220}{21296}By all means, send for her.|I see.
{21297}{21339}You are alone, aren't you?
{21356}{21397}My mother is alone, too.
{21416}{21508}She's ill, maybe very ill.|She's disappeared.
{21533}{21604}She hasn't even got the|medicine he sent me for.
{21605}{21682}Where did he send you for it? Would|you know how to get there again?
{21684}{21712}No, I'm afraid not.
{21713}{21784}A closed carriage took me|there and brought me back.
{21785}{21847}Is this the medicine?|Let's unwrap it.
{21848}{21916}Perhaps the label will say|where it came from.
{21981}{22046}Miss Winthrop,|this isn't medicine.
{22064}{22137}This is a small bottle of|Vittel Water. You could've...
{22150}{22185}It could have been|bought anywhere.
{22187}{22266}But, that's what she gave me.|The doctor's wife.
{22292}{22356}And she made me wait|nearly two hours for it.
{22376}{22399}Why?
{22436}{22543}Sir, the steamship company says that|Mrs. Winthrop and Miss Diana
Winthrop...
{22544}{22582}arrived in Marseilles|on the 18th...
{22584}{22652}and were booked through|to Paris on the boat train.
{22661}{22712}Thank you, Meadows.|Yes.
{22744}{22811}Now, won't you come to the|hotel and talk to these people?
{22812}{22857}Of course, right away.
{22933}{23012}What else can we say, monsieur. We|do not recognize this young lady.
{23013}{23081}Nobody here. Not the porter,|not the maid.
{23085}{23160}It is evident that mademoiselle|is suffering from delusions.
{23162}{23219}You do know|where she is, you do.
{23268}{23370}Monsieur, may I suggest that you seek|competent medical aid for Miss
Winthrop.
{23397}{23462}Mr. Farnham,|you don't think that I...
{23482}{23536}Everybody seems|to think I...
{23656}{23696}Good day, gentlemen,|and thank you.
{23698}{23776}I suspect you haven't had|any breakfast. Come along.
{23957}{23994}She kept me waiting...
{23996}{24048}until I remembered|the clock striking 12:00.
{24050}{24088}I'd been there for...
{24115}{24148}The telephone.
{24149}{24173}The doctor.
{24175}{24235}The first doctor told me|he had no telephone.
{24236}{24272}That was why|I had to take a note...
{24274}{24323}because he couldn't|communicate with his wife.
{24324}{24373}And then when I was leaving|the telephone rang.
{24375}{24440}The doctor's wife was at the|door with me, and it rang...
{24441}{24524}she shut the door as quickly as|she could but I could still hear it.
{24525}{24627}That's all very interesting. But, you|see, you were the only one who
heard it.
{24629}{24683}I don't see how we can use it.
{24684}{24708}Oh.
{24760}{24783}I know.
{24802}{24854}Why didn't I|think of it before.
{24856}{24957}I know exactly how that room,|number 342, looks.
{24959}{25003}I've never been|to Paris before.
{25004}{25064}I couldn't possibly know|what it looks like, could I?
{25066}{25152}If I'd never seen it? If Monsieur|Duchesne had been in it for several
days.
{25154}{25239}That's quite true. Tell me|exactly how the room was.
{25272}{25347}It had green damask drapes...
{25363}{25413}rose-patterned wallpaper...
{25437}{25479}an ormolu clock.
{25480}{25592}A sofa in gray, a gray rug, a|little oval satinwood table...
{25594}{25648}and a big four-poster bed.
{25650}{25730}I think that's all I can|remember. Oh, yes, a lamp.
{25745}{25806}Come along, let's have a look|at that room.
{25808}{25891}They won't let us see it. They|wouldn't let me in last night.
{25892}{25925}They will today.
{26016}{26059}Voici, mademoiselle.
{26159}{26225}Clock and everything's|all different.
{26483}{26557}The best thing for you to do is to|get to London where you can
rest...
{26559}{26631}and leave us to make inquiries into|the disappearance of your mother.
{26633}{26682}It's no good staying here|and torturing yourself.
{26684}{26716}Very well.
{26721}{26769}The Embassy will make|all the arrangements...
{26771}{26819}and I'll get you tickets|for tomorrow's boat.
{26820}{26872}We'll take you a room in some|quiet hotel for tonight...
{26874}{26912}I'm sure you don't want|to stay here.
{26914}{26965}I never want to see|the place again.
{26967}{27018}Just a minute,|I'll ask the clerk.
{27136}{27196}The clerk says the Marie|Antoinette is a nice quiet hotel.
{27198}{27253}I've taken a room|for you there.
{27432}{27467}Painting the hotel.
{27468}{27541}Yes, sprucing it up for|the Exposition very likely.
{27588}{27639}Changed my mind,|I want to stay here.
{27641}{27682}Oh, no, surely not.|You'd much better-
{27684}{27752}I'm sorry, but I do.|Now, wait.
{27753}{27809}I've changed my mind.|I'd like to stay here tonight.
{27811}{27859}Here, mademoiselle?|Yes, here.
{27861}{27885}But I...
{27908}{27981}If you think-|Miss Winthrop, please.
{27983}{28041}Is there any reason|why I can't stay here?
{28043}{28097}No, none at all.
{28099}{28144}I want Room 342.
{28157}{28222}No, it's reserved.
{28239}{28266}It's taken.
{28286}{28364}However I have one equally|pleasant for mademoiselle.
{28366}{28451}Is it as large?|Yes, larger, perhaps.
{28453}{28551}In that case, you can give it|to whoever has reserved Room 342.
{28555}{28608}Oh, no. Impossible.
{28622}{28693}I'm sure they didn't write|and ask to reserve Room 342.
{28695}{28738}They merely asked|for a large room.
{28740}{28810}In that case, I can't see|why I can't have Room 342.
{28812}{28859}Is there any reason|why she shouldn't have it?
{28861}{28927}Why it's irregular,|most irregular.
{28928}{28963}The rooms|have been assigned-
{28964}{29017}I won't keep thinking it's|the same room if I'm in it...
{29019}{29044}and can see that it isn't.
{29046}{29125}We don't insist, of course, but Miss|Winthrop has had a frightful
experience.
{29127}{29175}If it would comfort her|to stay in the same room...
{29176}{29220}I cannot see|why you should object.
{29222}{29298}It is a matter of indifference|to me, I assure you.
{29321}{29371}However, it is|quite expensive.
{29373}{29456}Oh, is it very expensive?|Perhaps I'd better not.
{29457}{29564}Could I just look at it? Maybe I'm|being foolish, but I must be sure.
{29612}{29641}Very well.
{30280}{30309}Mademoiselle?
{30351}{30426}I just can't decide. Mr.|Farnham, what do you think?
{30428}{30506}Do you think that having more room|would be worth the extra expense?
{30508}{30585}On the other hand, I don't|know how long I shall be here.
{30627}{30660}Look!|Mademoiselle.
{30661}{30735}There's the old paper. That's|the pattern I described to you.
{30737}{30792}They've changed this room,|re-papered it.
{30794}{30865}Mademoiselle, that is ridiculous.|Pay no attention, monsieur.
{30867}{30924}Oh, I knew it.|It even smells new.
{30926}{30993}Can't you smell the|wallpaper paste, Mr. Farnham?
{31006}{31096}Feel the wall. It's cool,|it's not even dry yet.
{31222}{31256}Where is she?
{31268}{31319}What have you done|with my mother?
{31400}{31446}What's taking so long?
{31476}{31535}How could she have died|so quickly?
{31573}{31628}Why won't they|tell me anything?
{31630}{31715}Try to hold on, Diana. I don't|know what it's all about either.
{31717}{31763}They won't talk|to anybody but Sir Everett.
{31764}{31807}He'll be here in a moment,|just a moment.
{31884}{31939}Sorry to have kept you|waiting, Miss Winthrop, but...
{31940}{31971}Sit down.
{31977}{32057}But this is|a very singular...
{32091}{32129}very difficult...
{32174}{32256}What is it, Sir Everett?|Tell me, please.
{32258}{32350}Miss Winthrop, let me say|first that we, the Embassy...
{32355}{32431}would never for a moment have|countenanced this, never, but...
{32432}{32503}we've been presented|with a fait accompli.
{32504}{32591}There's nothing we can|do about it. About what?
{32592}{32623}About what?
{32639}{32711}The doctor saw at once that|your mother was very ill...
{32728}{32773}very ill indeed.
{32784}{32833}He sent you|on this wild goose chase...
{32835}{32887}to give himself time|to make arrangements for her
{32888}{32949}to be transferred|elsewhere secretly.
{32952}{32991}Arrangements?
{33008}{33054}Why did they have|to be secret?
{33056}{33135}I know it's hard for you,|my dear. Very hard.
{33156}{33215}I'm trying to explain|the best way I can.
{33240}{33267}You see...
{33279}{33332}before you got back|to your hotel...
{33346}{33392}your mother had already died.
{33411}{33460}But how could she?
{33472}{33560}She was perfectly well in|the afternoon. I know, I know.
{33565}{33659}You must understand we don't condone|their actions, not for a moment.
{33660}{33732}But one can see|why they did what they did.
{33744}{33803}They spent millions|on their Exposition...
{33805}{33893}the city is full of visitors,|the hotels are full of guests.
{33895}{33972}Why did they all lie?|The maid, the porter.
{33974}{34056}Why did they want to pretend she had|never come to Paris? To
obliterate her?
{34057}{34104}They were only|obeying their orders.
{34105}{34188}As soon as the doctor reported your|mother's case to the
authorities...
{34189}{34291}the French government stepped in quickly,|and gave everyone explicit
orders.
{34312}{34339}Government?
{34354}{34419}Why? My mother hadn't done|anything wrong.
{34464}{34493}Where is she?
{34513}{34570}I want to take her home|to England.
{34584}{34612}No, my dear.
{34645}{34669}No, I...
{34688}{34736}I'm afraid|that isn't possible.
{34796}{34822}You see...
{34844}{34920}your mother|died of plague.
{34936}{34972}The bubonic plague.
{35256}{35336}I'm glad to see so many of you|are still with us.
{35346}{35434}There was a disturbing suggestion|at the very close of our story...
{35436}{35486}which I wish|to clear up at once.
{35497}{35607}You will be relieved to hear that|Diana and Basil's story ended
happily.
{35620}{35664}They did not get married.
{35682}{35779}And now for that part of the program|you have all been waiting for...
{35785}{35828}After which, I'll be back.
{35877}{35942}And that completes|our offering for tonight.
{35944}{35994}However, I am not giving up.
{36003}{36071}Next week I plan|to stage a comeback.
{36072}{36164}I shall present another in our|series of situation tragedies.
{36165}{36192}Good night.
{36268}{36321}Oh, incidentally...
{36323}{36404}I thought the little leading|lady was rather good, didn't you?