Tales of Tomorrow

"Tales of Tomorrow."

How did the moon threaten the world

by twisting children's minds?

Tonight, "Tales of Tomorrow" presents

"Many Happy Returns," Starring Gene Raymond.

Sure that thing goes right there?

Yeah sure, Dad. That's where it goes.

Mm-hmm

What happens after the switch?

Nothing, Dad. That's it.

Hmm, haven't you forgotten the wires

that feed the electricity to the switch?

No.

- Well, look, Son, a switch is used for making

and breaking the connections in an electrical circuit.

What's the point of having a switch

if you have no power to feed through it, hmm?

This is right, Dad.

- How's the machine going to work

unless you've got power, hmm?

No source of power, let me show you,

this switch here-

Don't touch it!

I wasn't going to touch it.

I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to yell.

It ain't gonna work, Son.

Oh, it'll work, Dad.

Mr. White's got it all figured out.

Mr. White again, huh?

15 minutes till dinner, Son.

Jack! Andy!

Yes!

Oh!

Happy anniversary, darling.

Ah, not till midnight. Jack coming up?

- Nah, I'm afraid we're going to have to give

the mad scientist another 15 minutes or so.

- Oh no, we don't, he gets lost down there.

Jack! Come on up and wash now!

Just a minute, Mom, please.

- Honestly, what he does to keep himself busy

in that cellar hour after hour is beyond me.

- Beyond me, too, electrically speaking, that is.

Jane, you know of a handyman around here

by the name of White?

White? No, I don't think so.

Dr. Barnes has a handyman.

He cuts the lawn, does odd jobs,

Julius Something-or-other.

I don't know what his last name is.

Well, might be him.

Speaking of the devil, hiya, Doc! Come on in.

Hello, Jane!

- Good evening, Dr. Barnes. - Andy, Andy come over here.

- What? - Look.

Full moon coming up, light clouds at 18,000 feet,

and by 8:30, we'll have unlimited visibility.

Oh, it looks pretty good, huh?

- We're concentrating on the upper right quadrant

of the moon tonight.

- You know it's beyond me why two grown men,

grown men, would wanna spend their evenings

peeking through a telescope

at the moon. - Why Jane,

Jane I'm surprised at you.

Astronomy is the oldest science known to man.

- Oh, pooh! - By the way, Doc,

um, do you know the last name of your handyman?

- Uh, Julius uh, well, I don't know. I just call him Julius.

Well, could it be White?

Uh, I don't think so.

- Well, do you know of a handyman or electrician

or maybe an engineer in the neighborhood

by the name of White?

White, White, White, mm-mm.

Hmm, well, it's not important.

- Well then, observation period begins promptly at 8:30.

- Oh now, don't worry, Doc, I'll be there on time.

- Oh by the way, bring your lenses with you.

Yeah, I won't forget.

So long, Doc. See you later.

Oh now, this has to stop.

Jack?

Yes, Mom?

Come up this minute, right now.

Uh, Jack, you don't want me to come down

and get you, do you?

Okay, Dad. I'll be right up.

It's about time.

Are you washed?

It's a good thing for you that you are.

You're as bad as he is.

Down in the cellar the minute you get home,

outdoors only when it's dark.

You're both beginning to look like a couple of mushrooms.

Hey, that's pretty gruesome.

It's about time.

Did you get it all finished?

Uh-huh.

Does it work?

Uh-huh.

Are you sure?

Of course, Dad!

I fixed it just the way Mr. White told me to.

It works fine, just fine.

Andy, 20 minutes past 8.

Yeah, I know, I know, I'm late again.

Well, I've forgotten something. I can't remember what it is.

I know. Your whatchamacallems, uh.

My lenses! Sure, let me see.

Where'd I put them?

Oh, no.

The cellar!

Oh, just like a steel trap.

Just like a steel trap.

Andy, are you all right?

Andy? Oh!

Oh what is it, darling? What is it?

What? Tell me?

Oh, darling, darling, what is it?

What happened, Andy? What is it?

Get Jack.

I'm okay. - Jack! Jack!

Come down to the cellar!

Jack? Jack!

You're gonna be all right.

Dad? Are you all right?

That, that thing.

Go get your father a glass of water.

Oh Andy, I'll, I'll call the doctor.

I, I- - No, no, no, no,

no, I'll be alright.

Just let me sit here a minute.

- You're going to be all right, aren't you?

There was enough power in that thing to electrocute me.

Gee, I'm real sorry.

- You mean the, the thing Jack was building did this to you?

How did you know how to build it?

Mr. White! I told you!

Who is this Mr. White?

I don't know.

What do you mean you don't know?

You've spoken to him.

He, he told you how to build it, didn't he?

- Yes, he did, but I didn't exactly talk to him.

You didn't talk to him?

No, I didn't have to.

You see, whenever I wanna know something,

I mean, about building the machine, he tells me.

He tells you? How, where?

He just tells me, that's all.

Ah, Jack, where do you meet him?

I've never met him.

Not the way you mean. - Then how,

how does he tell you things?

- He talks to me. I can hear him inside my head.

- Now, Jack, I'm not going to be angry

with you if you tell me the truth,

but I want you to tell me, where do you meet Mr. White?

I told you, I've never met him.

Just one night, I was lying in bed

and I looked out the window and I heard him.

He was there.

There? Where?

In the moon.

Jack, this is serious.

Your father told you not to be afraid to tell him anything.

In the moon?

You mean you saw him?

- No, I didn't see him, I heard him. He talked to me.

He said he wanted me to make something for him.

Wanted you to make that thing?

That's right.

- Well, go on. And how did his voice sound?

- Soft. As if he were very close to me, right in the room.

- He tells you what to get and how to put it together?

Does he ever talk to you about anything else

except what you're making?

- Sometimes he says that someday, he'll see me.

He'll come here from the moon.

He's all alone there.

Jane.

Jack. What's the machine for?

It's a way for him to send me things.

And when you get it finished,

he'll, he'll send you something.

He's already sent me something.

I told you it worked.

I was just making some changes so that he could,

well, there were improvements.

- You mean he's already sent you something.

Would you mind telling us what it is?

It's a picture of himself.

I wanted to know what he looked like and I thought

it might be nice if I had a picture of him.

- You mean, you can ask him for things?