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Show m9 ror your Dank," she said, it waa ail in a daa work!" 1 The taunts of his companions ''-didn't' matter. Only Peggy's words seemed to have a meaning. 'You isee now, Willie," she said, "what even an angel will do for love!' "But it isn't true, Peggy," he ' ''cried. "It's a lie she couldn't do a . thing like this! Then he struggled : to his feet and started after the . '. rapidly disappearing figures of the Beauty and the Beast. "Tell me the truth, Brigitta!" he cried ". . . tell me the truth!" A long, sleek, luxurious motor . car slid away from the curb as Count Willie, fighting despair, burst ' j through the cafe doors into the - night. : With strangely superhuman ' speed. Count Willie raced after the car in which his fallen angel and the Baron were slipping away. The slender arm that was waving him goodbye eluded his frantic clutches. . ' Then the rear curtain slid up and ; the angel's face, once radiant with purity, leered out at the foolish rage r our (Hiyy"iii' ' lr"","''"'""' "tm W"-W--pr--r-- p,,"f" 'fW" .-w-wp '.--M --- -' w fm r :-. - f -x .... - i ' f r- i ' X .. s, i . A 1 f-i ' 4 d ' :, v .. 4 i . i , . :u 'f ' , ' lit that had chosen to moult on the most inauspicious occasion had ail been forgotten. "What kind of a party is this Where's the host?" exclaimed Peggy and she was in the forefront when Whiskers and Peter, with, something more important on their minds, rapped loudly on Willie's bedroom door. "Willie! Willie! Are you there?" they cried. Peggy slid past them as the Count, sleepy-eyed, dishevelled, and strangely wild, opened the door. "Why, Willie what Is it?" she cried. "I ... I don't know . . . I've been, asleep!" was an explanation that didn't explain. "Look, son you'll have to pull yourself together," Whiskers broke I in. I "We've just heard Szigethy has ! called an emergency meeting of the bank's stockholders!" added Peter excitedly. j "What are they complaining I about now?" asked Willie wearily. I "This party, sweetheart," contributed con-tributed Peggy, ". . . they've just got a flash at the caterer's bill!" "Y.ou'd better get out of that costume, my boy, and we'll get right down there," said Whiskers, grimly serious. "All right ... all right," answered an-swered Willie dully, "I'll just go down and say goodbye to the gang." 3 Hi 111 Si ' Goodbye, WUlicI Don't bother to thank me or your bank!" SYNOPSIS Count Willie Palaffi (Nelson Eddy), pUtyboy of Budapest, is wrecking his banh despite the efforts of "Whiskers," Herman llothbart (.Reginald. Owen), his friend and associate. Quiet, mouse-like Anna Zador (Jean-nette (Jean-nette McDonald), bank employee, who nurses a secret love for Willie makes him conscious of "angels" when she is tricked into in-to attending his birthday party in a liome-made angel costume and is made ridiculous by Mar-ika Mar-ika (Mona Maris), one of Willie's Wil-lie's play-friends also employed at the bank. Willie dreams that he's married an angel. Her heavenly ethics cause many amusing incidents on their some lessons." "Could you?" Brigitta asked eagerly. Count Palaffi's tangled affairs af-fairs were on everybody's lips as he entered his favorite night-spot as gay and lively as ever, his "old friends" there to comfort him. Peggy, because she had heard his amazing declaration the night he left the angel, was a leader in the "game of lies" he always insisted in-sisted on playing. Cafe proprietors everywhere were accustomed to bow and scrape whenever the Baron Szigethy honored their establishments estab-lishments with his presence. Tonight his entrance created a furore. No woman half so beautiful had ever cluns- in hia Adapted from the Metro Goldicyn-Mayer Picture by RANDALL M. WHITE CAST OF CHARACTERS B?iitta " Jvanetlc MacDonald Count Palatfl - - - - - Nolson Eddy Petar - - - - Edward Eventt Norton PaRiy ------ Blnaie Barnes "Whiikari" - - - - - Reginald Owen Baron Szigtthy - - Douglass Dumbrlllo. Marlka ------- Mona Maria Sufi Jam's Carter Iran Inez Cooper Zlnskl Leonid Kinskey Polly Anno Jeffrey Dolly - - - - - Marlon Rosamond When Willie returned to the room below he seemed to be looking look-ing for someone he hoped des-parately des-parately to find. Finally his gaze rested on little Anna Zador, in her home-made habilments of heaven. Shy one wing, and with the other sadly drooping, this "angel" still sat on the secluded bench. A piece of cake she held daintly on her fork was half uneaten. Willie paused before her. She looked up into his face and said sweetly: "Do your feet feel better, Count Palaffi?" He had left her five short minutes before and aching feet had been his trumped-up' trumped-up' excuse. "My feet?" he answered and even Anna caught the dazed, unreal un-real look in his eyes. "Why . . . why what is it. Count Palaffi?" she Ao?ifc'!moon trip, in pans, reier (Edward Everett Horton) tells Willie his bank is crashing because be-cause of his elopement and ha hurries back to a big reception to introduce his "angel" to those who have lost confidence in him. The angel's "truth ethics" insults everyone. Wiite assaults Baron Bzigethy (Douglass Dumbrille), who can break his bank, for the Baron's attentions to his angel wife. Chapter Three The intra-family aftermath of the reception of which so much had been expected was like a wake with all the mourners singing in high C. As he paced the bedroom floor, Count Willie knew the cheers he had hoped for, for marrying "an angel" had changed to hisses at that very moment sounding all over Budapest. Peggy, sophisticated but sensible and sympathetic, was one of the house guests too real to be excluded from the conference. The angel was still completely bewildered. "But everything I said was true," she kept protesting. "I know it's true, so will you please shut up!" stormed the Count. "Oh, Willie! It's all so confusing!" confus-ing!" Brigitta sobbed. "If you'd only explain, maybe I could understand!" under-stand!" "I don't care whether you understand under-stand or not," the unhappy bridegroom bride-groom retorted sharply, . . because be-cause I'm through! I'm sick of the truth! From now on, as long as I live ... I want to hear nothing but lies!" With these strange words ringing In her ears, the angel saw the mortal who had taught her the ecstacies of earthly love walk out ,of her life. "Willie! Willie, come back!" she cried after him bu arm. In bewitching, stunning thrilling, slinky black, she seemed indeed, a creature from another world a world where sirens entice and lure men to their doom. The fascinating creature paused on her imperious way to the choicest choic-est table in the room. "Hello, there, Willie remember me?" she called out gaily. "It's Willie's wife!" It's that creature Count Palaffi married!" burst forth in startled comment all over the room. "Why . . . it's Brigitta!" Willie managed to gasp as he rose to follow her. "Sit down, Willie," Szigethy said without a trace of resentment for the assault the Count had committed com-mitted upon him as the highlight of the ill-fated reception. And there seemed no change in the angel's manner toward him. "Do wipe that gloomy look off your face, Willie," she said provocatively. "That's right! You haven't a thing to worry about!" the Baron contributed. "Thanks to this little woman I'm going to leave that bank of yours intact!" "Why has he done this, Brigitta?" Bri-gitta?" Willie asked in amazement. "Because I asked him to," was her simple answer. "I've made her my "business advisor,' ad-visor,' Willie," the Baron explained with a possessive smile. "I'm a working girl now like your Marika, Willie," the angel supplemented with a very worldly twinkle in her eye. Maybe she timed action to the words for Peggy's instructions had been thorough. At any event, the angel, once in the filmy white of womanly grace and purity, daintily placed a long holder between her lips and leaned alluringly close to the Baron as she lighted a fragrant cigarette. It was surely sheer accident that just then the waiter said: "Your absinthe. Countess." From his trav. mortal who had scoffed at its virtue. Now it was painted and hard now it was cruel and contemptuous! con-temptuous! The pace was too fast, and Willie stopped suddenly, spent and despairing. de-spairing. Just as suddenly a taxi jammed on screaming brakes to avoid running him down. "Hey, mister, what-cha doin1?" shouted the driver. "Follow that car," was Willie's answer as he climbed into the cab. "Faster! Faster!" he urged as they sped through the night but the chase was fruitless. "Sorry, mister," the driver said. "Where to now?" "I don't know," Willie mumbled. With the fate of the bank in the balance, as he thought, Whiskers was pacing the floor at Willie's home. It was Peter who heard the Count's key in the lock. Willie greeted them in hollow tones. Both were startled at his ashen face. "What is it, Willie?" Whiskers asked. "Has the Baron gone back on his " "No, the bank's all right," Willie answered with but little interest as he passed them on the way to his room. It was Peter who sensed the situation.. "The Count, sir," he whispered whis-pered to Whiskers, ". . . he hasn't' lost his taste for the Countess!" "So that's it!" answered Whiskers Whis-kers in awe, and followed the Count upstairs. Willie's room was empty with that emptiness that chills. "Brigitta!" "Bri-gitta!" he called out in anguish and the wind through the . casement where she had entered seemed to voice a mournful reply. He was drawn to the balcony outside where the housetops of the city dotted the landscape. The wind still seemed seem-ed to speak. This time it was the exclaimed. "That 'angel' cake!" he muttered. "But this isn't angel cake it's your birthday cake," Anna replied. . "But you brought me angel cake," Willie continued dreamily. "Oh, no," his quiet, hitherto unnoticed un-noticed secretary laughed. "I didn't bring you any cake it was you who brought this cake to me." Willie's play-girl friends had crowded around. "You need a drink," Marika cried and tried to pull him away. "Just a minute," Willie called out calmly and sank down on the bench beside the home-made angel! "Miss ... Miss . . . uh," he stuttered. "Zador," Anna helped. "Miss Zador, will you marry me?" the playboy of Budapest asked simply. "I'm sorry to propose to you here . . . like this . . . but I mustn't lose you again." "Lose her!" ejaculated Peter from the increasing crowd. "What does he mean again f" "But . . . but you don't know me," said the astonished object of his affections. "Oh, yes I do!" replied Willie," . . . you're crazy about harp concerts!" con-certs!" The on-lookers gasped. Peter's eyes bulged from their sockets. "Harp concerts!" he shrieked. Whiskers had been standing by speechless. Things had now gotten out of hand, he thought. "You mustn't, Willie," he broke in, "Anna's not used to this sort of humor. She's sweet and ." "You're telling me she's sweet," cried Willie as, unabashed, he gathered Anna into his arms and kissed her reverently. Marika, whose cruel trick had back-fired so disastrously for her, was frightened stiff. "For the love of heaven, Willie, what is this?" she cried. he couicin t near: "I'm afraid you've been stood up, Angel Face," broke in Peggy quietly. quiet-ly. "You'd better let him go." "But I've ruined him, Peggy," sobbed the angel, "I've wrecked his bank . I've ruined his life!" "But I've ruined him, Peggy," slowly, speaking from her wealth of worldly experience," you could line Willie's life with velvet ... if you'd use a little larceny a few lies, a stray wink or two!" "... but I wouldn't know how to begin," the 'angel' faltered in chUdish wonder. 'Professor Peggy could give you Brigitta took a tall vicious-looking drink and held it to the light. "It's as beautiful as the Milky Way," she said and drained it to the dregs. "Stop, Brigitta!" cried Willie, "I can't bear you this way, my angel!" "Your angel?" Brigitta seemed coldly amused and surprised. "But I'm not your angel, Willie you failed to take up my option! This place begins to bore me, Harry darling shall we go?" Briggitta called back to the crumpled figure at the table she was leaving. "Don't bother to thank ueuiuiiiita-i lauguLci ilia iwgu one. The peaceful landscape had changed to a bottomless pit. Houses of the honest burghers had become be-come sinks of iniquity in every corner of the world and, as- the leading figure in each of them, Willie saw his angel fallen to depths beyond his wildest imagining! imagin-ing! Count Willie Palaffi's birthday party, big event of the Budapest social season, . rolled merrily on. It hadn't been "jinxed" by Anna Zador. The home-made "angel," the halo that jittered, and the wing "Haven't you heard?" the Count said proudly, ". . . I'm going to , marry ... an angel. I'm sure the change . . . will be very good for me!" j There's some sense to this, old Whiskers thought. After all, Anna : Zador is a local angel. There'll certainly be three cheers for her ' and it will certainly save the bank! THE END Printed In U. S. A. Copyright 1943 by Loew's Ino. |