The Gioconda Smile

And now the Mole Mystery Theater, presented by M-O-L-L-E. Mole, the brushless shaving cream that guards your tender skin with its special protective fill. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

This is Geoffrey Barnes welcoming you to the program that presents the best in mystery and detective fiction. Our story tonight is entitled, The Joconda Smile, and was written by one of the outstanding literary figures of our time, Aldous Huxley.

It is the story of a man named Henry Hutton, whose life is intimately involved with three women, three different types of women, yet having one thing in common, all three are in love with Henry Hutton.

It is a story full of hate, love, jealousy and passion, and it leads inevitably to the murder of one of the women. Henry Hutton was a successful man. He had a prosperous business in town, a beautiful home in the country, a car and a chauffeur.

On the other side of the picture was Hutton's wife, Emily, a self-pitying individual who made herself a martyr to the various ailments of which she continually complained. It was to be expected then that Henry Hutton should seek his happiness in other places.

We find him now in his chauffeur driven car and with him is the lovely young girl. Fifteen years, is you? At a wonderful time I do love driving in the country. It's been wonderful being with you, darling.

I'm so glad you think so. But sometimes I'm afraid. Free to pour. Is it wrong or going out together? Well, it depends on how you look at it. Is it wrong to expect a little happiness out of life?

Maybe it is when it makes somebody else unhappy. And if you were thinking about my wife, family, you'd need too much too busy feeling sorry for herself to be concerned about this. No, no, but sometimes...