What happens
Mary Marshall, just released from a women's prison for the holiday, and Zachary Morgan, a soldier on furlough recovering from war trauma, meet on a westbound train and travel to Pine Hill together. Mary stays with her aunt and uncle, the Marshalls, and Zack arrives for dinner, where his quiet dignity and his war stories make an impression on the family. Later, after a difficult evening at the movies and a coffee shop, Zack and Mary walk and talk, and Mary begins to open up about her past. The story is from Lux Radio Theatre, broadcast on December 24, 1945, and stars Joseph Cotton and Dorothy McGuire. This portion of the drama ends on Christmas morning at a lake outside town.
Pine Hill, a small town, around Christmas 1944, following a train journey and the holiday season
Characters: Mary Marshall, Zachary Morgan, Sarah Marshall, Henry Marshall, Barbara Marshall, Bob Marshall
Listen for: The conversation at the lake on Christmas morning, when Zack and Mary talk about their pasts
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.