Suspense. And the producer of radio's outstanding theater of thrills, the master of mystery
and adventure, William N. Robson.
We beg the indulgence of the aficionados of bloodshed. We pray patience of the connoisseurs
of carnage, the hoarders of horror, and those who treasure terror. Tonight we murder no
one. Tonight our heroine enjoys every moment of the predicament in which we place her.
Tonight we let the light of laughter into the dark corridors of suspense with one of
the zaniest comedians of our time, Marie Wilson. Listen, listen then to Miss Wilson in Star
Over Hong Kong, which begins in just a moment.
Here's actress Joan Bennett.
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And now, Star Over Hong Kong, starring Miss Marie Wilson. A tale well calculated to keep
you in suspense.
One has to be on one's toes in Hong Kong. Touchy duty. One crisis after another. Had
one recently nearly undid this. Movie star from America. Very beautiful girl. Too beautiful.
Yes. But permit me. Randolph Harbison Smythe here. Press attache to the governor of Hong
Kong. You probably never heard of the incident. Managed to hush it up at the time, but now
it can safely be told and should, I believe, as a warning to the free world. It began at
the Hong Kong airport. I was there to welcome a rather important member of Her Majesty's
loyal opposition who was on a fact-finding junkie to the more distant outposts of our
one-time empire. However, the first passenger off the plane was not the member from upper
Cotswold, but a little man in one of those dreadful Hawaiian shirts. As soon as he saw
the group of native reporters who had accompanied me, he started giving orders.
Just a minute. First shot at the top of that ramp, then a couple coming down, then she'll
be glad to pose for any individual shots. Now, which one of you guys is Harbison Smythe?
And I am he.
Glad to meet you, Smitty. I'm Joey Finn, mid-century mammoth studio.
Now, I gotta hand it to you, Smitty. Our own people do.
I must confess that I had the foggiest notion what he was talking about, and I couldn't
appear less.
Okay, honey. Action. Camera.
And then she appeared at the door of the plane, her arm raised in greeting, her hair framing
her face in gold, a smile flashing, her tight dress enhancing that with which nature had
already been over-generated.
I was there to welcome a rather important member of the opposition who was on a fact-finding
junkie to the more distant outposts of our one-time empire. As soon as she saw the group
of native reporters who had accompanied me, she'll be glad to pose for any individual
of the sexiest governmental operation in America.
a cable I have received two days ago alerting me to the arrival of Celestine Mayhew of the
American cinema. I had disregarded it since it is not usually my policy to greet theatrical
people but I must say my first glimpse of Miss Mayhew convinced me that the policy would
have to be revised.
All right boys, got everything you need? Fine. Well Smitty, what is the program?
You got the program?
What you got laid on? Press conference, reception by the governor? We're in your hands.
Well, suppose we begin with first things first.
Yeah, like what?
Meeting Miss Mayhew.
Oh sure. Hey sweetie, come over here. I want you to shake hands with Smitty here. Mr.
Hyverson Smith, press attache to the governor. That's press agent, sweetie.
Oh how heavenly Mr. Smith.
Oh I'm charmed Miss Mayhew. And it's Smythe, not Smith.
Cute. I just adore Englishmen, Mr. Smythe. They're so heavenly. And it's not true at
all that they're cold, is it?
Oh dear no. No, no, not at all. I just say you'd like to meet the press.
Oh yes, I just love reporters.
Gentlemen, I give you Miss Celestine Mayhew of the American Cinema.
That's mid-Century Memorial boys.
Oh boys, I think it's so heavenly of you to meet me. I just love Hong Kong. It's just
heavenly. I do believe it's my favorite city in the whole wide world.
I can't wait to try some real chop suey the way you prepare it in Hong Kong.
I'm sorry, would you repeat that question please?
It's a no question. Chop suey no belong Hong Kong. Chop suey belong in Chicago. No Chinese
make it into chop suey. Chop suey for American.
Of course it is and we love it. We are so grateful to China for it. It's so heavenly.
Okay honey, leave them while they're laughing.
Okay Joey. And now are there any further questions?
Hong Kong, we press call give humble thanks to Lady Poindexter.
How heavenly. Is it just heavenly, Joe?
Yeah, yeah. Well, many of these airport arrival shots will do for a starter, but they're pretty
much Squaresville. Squaresville? Yeah, we want to get some leg art with local color like
Celestine sitting in the lap of one of them Buddhas.
Oh, what a heavenly idea, Joey. Sheer genius.
I'm afraid the Chinese might take rather a dim view.
Oh, and another thing. Do you know whether the Sultan of Tek Gong Jima is in town?
What? Celestine's very big in Tek Gong Jima. The Sultan's her number one fan.
Oh, yes. I'm very large with the Sultan. He's got a friend of every one of my movies and he runs him over and over.
Isn't that heavenly? He writes to me all the time and I send him all of my pinup pictures.
I see. Did he ever send you his picture?
No. No wonder. He's as wide as he is high. More than 300 pounds and only five feet tall.
Oh, cute.
With his dimensions and Celestine's, what coverage. Why, a shot of him shaking hands would push everything off the front page.
When can you set it up, Smitty?
Mr. Finn, Tek Gong Jima is an island nearly a thousand miles south of here and the Sultan is its absolute mark.
With all due respect to Miss Mayhew, I doubt if he would come running up here for a publicity picture.
Well, it didn't hurt to print some Monaco, any. And whatever Grace Kelly's got, Celestine's got more of it.
Oh, Joey, you say the nicest thing.
Wait a minute. I got a better idea. Look, that limey battleship out in the harbor.
We'll shoot a layout of Celestine with all them sailors.
Oh, I just adore sailors. They're so yarr, yummy and clean cut.
You know, hands across the sea stuff. English speaking cousins get together jazz, you know.
No, no, I don't, Bill. I don't think the Royal Navy...
Sell it, chum, sell it. All you got to do is point out the publicity value.
With Celestine Mayhew in the picture, I can get the British Navy on the cover of light.
What I love about you, Joey, is you think big.
Got to, honey, or you'll wind up in nowhere, Bill.
Mr. Finn, it is my duty to warn you that such a course of action might have most embarrassing consequences.
You mean no can do?
Yes, I suppose that's what I mean.
America's traffic accident rate is tragically high and unnecessarily so.
What makes the problem so difficult to deal with are emotions,
which so many people bring into play when they sit behind the wheel.
Scientific studies show that most of our accidents are caused when drivers give way to childish impulses.
The driver who insists on going when the traffic light says stop is behaving like a spoiled child.
So is the fellow who thinks he's too important to obey the legal speed limit.
So is the woman who forgets to signal other drivers when she's making a turn.
To be inconsiderate of others on the highway, however, is more than mere bad manners. It's tempting fate.
When you get behind the wheel of your car, remember that you're an adult.
Drive with patience. Drive with courtesy. Drive with care.
Safety-conscious drivers get where they're going just as fast as reckless drivers do.
And more important, they arrive alive.
If you plan to live to a ripe old age, act your age wherever you drive.
And now, starring Miss Marie Wilson, act two of Star Over Hong Kong.
The rest of the afternoon was taken up with the dreary task of welcoming the MP from Upper Cotswold,
but I must say my heart was not in it.
And as soon as I could, I broke away from the Governor's reception and hurried to Miss Mayhew's hotel
to see if I could be of any further service to her.
I was surprised and deeply concerned to find the poor girl in tears.
Oh, Mr. Smythe, what am I going to do?
By whatever is the matter, Miss Mayhew?
It's Joy. He's in jail.
In jail? What for?
I don't know.
Well, I mean, one isn't incarcerated for nothing. What did he do?
Nothing. We just went for a boat ride.
A boat ride?
Yes. Joy hired one of these cute little Chinese boats,
and he told the man to take us out to that big battleship in the harbor.
Oh.
Only they wouldn't let us on the boat.
Naturally.
And while Joy was arguing with the sailor at the gangplank,
a lot of other sailors started crowding along the deck rail.
Naturally.
They waved at me and whistled. Oh, they were so cute. So I waved back.
Naturally.
And Joy took some pictures of me waving at them and them waving at me,
and that's when they arrested him.
Oh, Mr. Smythe, what am I going to do?
Here I am, all alone in Hong Kong.
You're not alone, my dear Miss May, you know. I'm here.
I don't know what I'd do if you weren't, Mr. Smythe.
Why don't you call me Randolph?
Cute Randolph.
Thank you, Celestine.
My close friends call me Silly.
Silly?
It is, isn't it? But it's short for Celestine.
Oh, Silly.
That's right, Randolph.
Yes. Well, we must try to get Mr. Finn out of jail.
Oh, yes, poor Joey. He's simply got to be back here by seven o'clock.
Well, I am not sure that I can have him released that soon.
But who's going to take me to the party?
What party?
The man who owns all the big movie theaters here in Hong Kong.
He's giving a dinner in my honor. I just can't go alone.
Of course you can't. I have it.
What?
An idea. Now, if I'm unable to procure Mr. Finn's release by seven o'clock,
would you permit me to escort you?
Oh, Randolph, I was hoping you'd say that. It'll be just heavenly.
My heart wasn't really in getting Mr. Finn released,
but I went through the motions, confident that the port security officer
would be reluctant to let him go.
He was.
My rights, Mr. Smythe. I should hold you responsible for this mess.
Me, Captain? Why?
Oh, you're the press attache. These types are your responsibility.
However, he's ours now.
What are you holding him for?
Violation, Official Secrets Act.
Oh, now, come on, Captain. Whatever else he may be.
This Finn chap isn't a spy.
The law is very expressive. The foredeck of HMS Lionheart is classified.
Guided missile installation, all that sort of thing.
And he was caught in the act of photographing it.
No, no, he was photographing Sally.
I mean, Miss Mayhew with the sailors in the background.
And the guided missiles, if you're coincidence.
Quite.
Well, I'd like to make arrangements for his release.
Negative. This is a matter for the Admiralty.
It may take months, but, um...
What about Miss Mayhew?
I am afraid, Mr. Smythe, that Miss Mayhew is your problem.
Bitter?
Yes, isn't it?
Oh, well, I'd done what I could.
Perhaps I could do more tomorrow.
But right now, I was late for my engagement with the Celestial Celestine.
And I hurried home to change.
I was just putting the last stud in my dress shirt when the phone rang.
Uh, Harbison Smythe here.
Hello!
Oh, hello, Sally.
I'm just leaving.
Well, don't pick me up at the hotel, because I'm not there.
Oh?
No, you see, this charming Chinese gentleman called for me,
and he just wouldn't take no for an answer.
He said they were all waiting for me and everything.
And since you are just a wee bit late,
I knew you wouldn't mind my running on ahead.
Perhaps you just assumed I didn't come at all.
Of course not, silly boy.
It's just a heavenly party.
Oh, man, isn't that heavenly?
And they're all smoking divine little pipes.
What?
Well, good heavens, Celestine.
Don't you smoke any of that.
Oh, don't worry, Randy.
I wouldn't think of smoking a pipe.
It's so un-ladylike.
Celestine, this is a man who called for you.
What was his name?
It was a cute name.
Funny but cute, something like Wong Fat.
Celestine?
Celestine!
That's rather a poor show.
I rushed to the home of the theater owner.
There was a party there, all right.
The guests were chatting and sipping cocktails,
and the air was filled with the fragrance of women's perfume
without a trace of the smell of opium.
There was only one thing wrong.
The guest of honor, Celestine May, who had not yet arrived,
and I had a terrible suspicion that she never would.
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And now, starring Miss Marie Wilson,
act three of Star Over Hong Kong.
I drove at once to the port security office,
but the captain wasn't there,
nor was he at home or at his club.
Well, at last I located him by phone
at the home of the theater owner,
where he had gone, presumably,
to investigate Celestine Mayhew at close hand.
Won't your business wait until morning, Mr. Smire?
No, I don't think so.
Captain, you've got a kidnapping on your hands.
It's a common crime in the Orient.
Not when the victim is Celestine Mayhew.
Oh, nonsense. She's due here any minute.
But she'll never arrive.
She was lured from her hotel by a man
named Wong Phat something or other.
Now, does the name mean anything to you?
I'd have to consult my files.
Well, it's just off the top of your head.
Do you know any Wong Phats?
I seem to remember a Wong Phat Lee.
We executed him for murder a few months past.
That's the wrong Wong.
Then there's Wong Phat.
You must know him. He's a charming chap.
He's pastor of the Victoria Presbyterian.
Sounds like an unlikely suspect.
Oh, she said it was a cute name just before the line was cut.
Cute name?
Would Miss Mayhew consider Wong Phat Toy a cute name?
She might.
What about him?
Slippery customer.
We've been watching for him for some time.
We've never been able to take him into custody.
Then why is he under surveillance?
Oh, he's in the export business,
but we have reason to believe that his real occupation's smuggling.
He does a lot of trading with the islands down toward Ormornia.
Wait a minute. Including the island of Tek Kong Jima?
Yes, yes.
I believe he claims to be a sort of personal representative
of the Sultan of Tek Kong Jima.
That's our man.
Where can we find him?
Where he lives.
Will he go down on the dock near Queens Pier?
Well, let's get cracking and I'll meet you there.
All right, old boy.
I got to the dock first.
The
place was deserted, but at the end of the pier was a big junk,
and on its foredeck was a pile of luggage that I had to carry.
I was told that the
sand line had already been slipped and the coolie was casting off the bar line.
I leapt onto the after deck, and an instant later,
a huge Chinese leapt onto me.
The rest was silence for a while.
When I came to, the first thing I saw was the port captain slapping handcuffs on the last of the sailors,
and the next thing I saw was Celestine Mayhew, and she appeared to be quite upset.
I really think you owe me an explanation, Randolph.
Mr. Wong has just been heavenly to me all evening,
and he was just about to take me for a moonlight boat ride
when you had to go and spoil everything.
That would have been quite a boat ride, Celestine.
What do you mean?
Well, no doubt you've been too busy to notice the cargo on the foredeck.
What are you talking about?
Your luggage.
My guess is that your moonlight boat ride was a trip to Takgonjima.
Oh, my, something is.
Well, why did you go and stop it?
It sounds like a heavenly trip.
One way.
Did the sultan ever mention his wife when he wrote to you?
Wives?
Yes, wives, 34 of them.
Last time they were counted, and our wager,
quite a few of them were provided this way by Mr. Wong.
Well, Wong, do you wish to make a statement now,
or must be force-worn from your rater?
It is as the Brash one says.
Sultan Takgonjima, a good friend a long time.
He now liked 34 wives.
He only wanted this lady.
Soon, sultan, have a birthday.
I bring him lady for birthday present.
Isn't that a charming thought?
A birthday present for a sultan.
Well, really, it's just, it's just...
Heavenly?
Well, we managed to get Celestine checked back into her hotel
in as good condition as she left it,
and I bade her good night,
promising to meet her for lunch the next day.
But when I arrived, she had checked out again.
And no one could or would tell me where she'd gone,
so once more I went to the port, Captain.
Now there's nothing to get excited about, Mr. Smythe.
Miss Mayhew's quite all right.
I saw her off at dawn myself.
Where, where, where to? Singapore?
Heavens, no.
We should not want to embarrass another
over majesty's possessions.
Oh, no.
I went to the trouble of laying on a Royal Air Force bomber
with them nonstop to Guam.
I felt it better for all concerned
that they should return to and remain on American soil.
They? Is Mr. Finn with her?
Indeed he is.
What about the spy charge you were holding him on?
Oh, there are sometimes higher considerations, Mr. Smythe,
such as world peace.
I don't understand.
Now, supposing Wong Fat Toys successfully spirited Miss Mayhew
to the Sultanate Conjima,
do you think for a moment the American government
would submit to such an indignity?
Oh, no.
The American seven-speed would have become involved
in inevitably certain units of the British Navy.
And what with the state of the world today,
who knows where the affair would have ended.
Yes, yes, I see what you mean.
I hadn't looked at it quite that way.
It's a pity you didn't.
I tell you, Smythe, that girl was the fuse
that could have ignited the powder keg of Asia.
Oh, I dare say.
Still, I should have liked to have had an evening of her company.
Oh, so would I.
But there are times, in peace as well as in war,
when we must make sacrifices above and beyond the call of putae.
Suspense.
In which Marie Wilson starred in Star Over Hong Kong,
written, produced and directed by William N. Robson.
In a moment, the names of the supporting players
and a word about next week's story of suspense.
Each weeknight over CBS Radio,
the American newsroom is filled with the stories
of the two most famous stars of the year.
The first is the famous actor,
Edward R. Murrow, and Lowell Thomas.
Both Edward R. Murrow and Lowell Thomas
have highest personal standards of responsibility
of professional ethics as newsmen.
You'll find that the news takes on added clarity and meaning.
You'll be left with a better understanding
of today's news events when you hear Edward R. Murrow
and Lowell Thomas, the most famous actors in the country,
and the most famous actresses in the country.
You'll hear Edward R. Murrow and Lowell Thomas
each Monday through Friday night
over most of these same CBS radio stations.
Supporting Marie Wilson in Star Over Hong Kong
were Ben Wright, Charlie Lung, Ramsey Hill and Norm Alden.
Listen.
Listen again next week
when we return with Mr. Herbert Marshall in Wax Works,
another tale well calculated to keep you in...
suspense.
Miss Wilson is currently appearing in Ken Murray's Blackouts
at the Ritz Theater in Los Angeles.
The latest news follows then.
Have Gun Will Trouble on CBS Radio.