Original subtitles

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Before we show you tonight's story, we shall have a commercial.

I hope the manner in which my picture jumps about the screen doesn't confuse

you. I had a small disagreement with our cameraman.

have the last word.

In this case, that word is help.

all right now?

Of course I do, Doctor, but I felt all right after the other time, too.

Now, this other time you mentioned, you say that started out the same way?

The same way.

I was just a kid at the time.

I didn't think much about it.

But now that it's happening again, I... Yes, I understand how you feel.

Now, Suppose you tell me about this last time.

Well, the day that it happened, it was as if the powers that be had had a

meeting and decided it would be fun to drive me nuts.

It started out with the half -cooked eggs, the burnt toast, and then as I was

taking Rosemary from her mother, she dribbled on my tie, so I had to change

that.

When I got to the office, my secretary had picked this day to tell me that she

was leaving to get married.

Then Lucille called and said, Rosemary had swallowed a button.

And right after that, well, it was that kind of a day.

I didn't have much hope for the evening.

As it turned out, it was worse than the day.

Ralph? Yeah, it's me.

But, gee, where have you been?

Did you forget what night this is? Never mind about that. What about the button?

What button?

The button. The one that Rosemary swallowed.

Oh, that button. I found it in the crib.

Well, you might have called me back. I'm sorry.

The Hornsby's.

They'll be here at 8 .30.

Now, Ralph, please don't act like this.

Listen, I've had a very difficult day.

When the laundry came, instead of bringing me the good tablecloth I wanted

use tonight, they brought me a man's shirt instead.

Oh, and Mother called. She said Jack will need about $200 to close that

auction. Lucille, we just gave your brother $300 to close the downtown

Well, I know it.

Why so touchy about money all of a sudden? It's not all of a sudden, and

not just the money. Things seem to be closing in, that's all.

Must you drink before you shower? Yes, I must.

It's been a bad day, honey.

Lucille, where are you going?

I've got to go to the kitchen. I've got things going there. You'll feel better

after you shower.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. A man called just before you came in.

What did he want?

He wants $50.

Why does he want $50?

Well, he represents the tenants opposing the raise in our rent. He says we're

going to fight it through the courts if it costs us a million dollars.

Ralph.

Ralph?

Yeah?

There's a magazine on the armchair table.

What about it?

It's open to a page I want you to look at.

Are you looking at it?

Yes, I'm looking at it Ralph,

I wish we had a house just like the couple in that article You know, if we

have a second baby

That would be the house to have. If we ever have a second baby, I am going to

cut myself a knotty oak stick. I will take one pair of socks, a toothbrush,

wrap them up in a red bandana. I will put on an old pair of pants, attach my

little bundle to that knotty oak stick, and take off for the wide open spaces.

I will take either a northerly or a southerly direction because I wouldn't

the Pacific Ocean to get in my way.

That is not funny.

That is the best I can do after a long, hard day.

Well, I suppose you'll be saying next, you're sorry you married me.

Well, I will say that life was less complicated two years ago. I was living

peacefully in a furnished apartment.

I had fewer problems.

Is that so?

Yes, that's so. It was a simple, carefree life.

Well, Ralph, if you want out of this marriage, just say so.

A bargain's a bargain.

Well...

If that's the way you feel about it, I just want you to know that I can have my

old job back at Eagle Soap any time I want.

Lucille...

At just what moment it happened, I don't know.

I remember vaguely getting up.

Leaving the apartment.

Waiting for the elevator.

It came, and I entered it.

And the next thing I knew, I was sitting down.

I remember feeling cold.

I was shivering.

The surroundings were familiar.

Apparently, I'd left home and gone back to my bachelor apartment.

When I went to the window, I saw light snow had fallen outside.

Snow in July?

It was real snow, all right.

couldn't understand any of it.

For example, why were my clothes, all my old cast -offs, hanging in the closet

looking new?

My old beat -up desk was there.

So was my calendar.

When I looked at the month and the date, I began to understand this wasn't the

same day at all.

It was a day two and a half years ago.

Hello. Come right in, Mr. Treadwell. What can I do for you?

Hello yourself.

And you know exactly what you can do for me. You can pay your rent.

The rent?

Oh, oh, I remember now. I guess I am in arrears. You know very well you're two

months behind.

Well, thanks for reminding me, but I can assure you it won't be that way for

long. Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that.

Big things are going to happen to me, Mr. Treadwell. You know that little

that I have uptown? In a couple of months' time, I'm going into partnership

Ted Parkinson. We're going to knock through a wall, expand, become a really

advertising agency. That's very interesting, I'm sure. And then I'm

married. The rent, Mr. Jones, that's all I'm interested in.

Either you pay up or you go out.

January 1st. Is that clear?

All right.

I'll get it for you.

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

I'm not, Mr. Jones. Believe me.

I didn't like what was happening.

Then I remembered Lucille and how I'd gotten into the habit of talking things

over with her.

If this was two and a half years ago, I'd find her at the Eagle Soap Company.

In fact, it was the promise of an account at Eagle Soap that had first led

Lucille. She was a secretary there.

Yeah?

Hello, honey.

Remember me?

Well, the words are familiar, but the face is strange.

Wait a minute. It's all right to kid around with strangers, but I'm

I'm the man in your life.

Did you come up here on business, or, uh... What?

Certainly I'm up here on business. I want to see Mr.

McCracken. He's going to give me a nice account.

Mr. McCracken is out of town. Oh, no, he's not out of town. In about one hour,

he's going to sign a big contract with me, then I'm going to come out here and

talk you into a luncheon engagement.

Well, that is impossible.

Mr. McCracken won't be back for two weeks, and I am not going to lunch with

I don't even know your name.

That isn't the way it really happened. You've got to have lunch with me.

I'm Ralph.

I'll call Mr. Cedric. I don't think he's doing anything for lunch. Now, wait a

minute. Wait a minute.

I know this sounds funny, but you and I, we're going to get married.

You're right.

That's very funny.

Now, look, Lucille.

I'm Ralph. You don't seem to understand.

I am Ralph Jones, and we're supposed to get married in about three months' time.

It was a short courtship.

Lucille, you better warm up a little. I'm going to call Mr. Cedric. Maybe you

can saw him out. Lucille, quit fooling around.

Now, a joke is a joke, but this has just gone far enough.

I'm taking you out to lunch and no nonsense about it. Well, Mr. Jones, I am

definitely not going out to lunch with you. Is that clear? And furthermore, I

just wish you'd get yourself out of here. I've had a very rugged morning as

is, and this isn't funny any longer.

But you have to have lunch with me.

No, I don't.

Goodbye.

Lucille! Well, if it isn't the man with the original approach, don't you ever

give up?

Lucille, listen to me.

Doesn't the name Rosemary mean anything to you? No, I'm afraid not. Well, it

will. It's going to be the name of our first child.

Now, just a minute, please.

The minute I saw you, I knew we were made for each other.

Tell me, what did you do right up to the time they took you away to the mental

clinic? Now, look, Lucille. Now, let me go. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Will you please just have lunch with me?

Would you listen to me for a minute? I can't go. I promise, I promise. I won't

embarrass you. I promise.

Now, after I explain how things are, I'll never bother you again.

Well, I... I don't think it will do any good.

John!

I just want to take you to Cavender's. That's where I took you the first time.

I even remember what you had for lunch. You had broiled salmon and creamed

asparagus. Mr. Jones.

It's easy to see what your problem is. It's simply a case of mistaken identity.

I've never eaten in Cavenders in my life, and if I had, I certainly wouldn't

have ordered broiled salmon. I detest it.

All right, I can see that some things just aren't the same.

If you don't like salmon, we'll order something else.

Well, all right, but I can't spend all day. Thank you. I'll find a cab.

So you see, not only do I know you, but I've been married to you for over two

and a half years.

And we have a little girl named Rosemary.

But you say we quarrel now and then.

Oh, no, not very often.

Well, this one night we did.

And suddenly I found myself back in my old apartment.

And the two years were just wiped away.

That must have been quite a surprise.

You're not kidding.

But what am I supposed to do? Unless you agree to return my affection, how will

we ever get back to where we started?

Well, let's be perfectly honest about this thing.

Let's admit that it's definitely a medical problem.

You don't think it's true?

Well, let me put it this way.

I think you're being absolutely sincere, but I think it's also obvious you've

had some kind of a shock.

Well, you ought to try waking up to a day two and a half years ago.

Well, I think you ought to see a doctor, preferably a psychiatrist. And I think

you ought to tell him everything.

Lucille. No, I'm serious.

Lucille, you don't seem to understand. I love you. Can't you see that?

Please, you promised not to embarrass me. All right.

Lucille, if you had one little spark of warmth in you, you'd remember our life

together.

You'd remember the time that...

We got caught in the rain, and we had to spend the night in the logger's cabin.

Well, you'd at least remember the night that Rosemary was born.

I went with you myself in the taxi cab.

Oh, please don't say those things. They're just part of your delusion. No,

they're not.

If you want to know the truth, I think your case is worse than mine.

My case?

What are you talking about?

Well, at least I know who I am. I remember our life together. You don't

remember anything. And what's more, I can prove that I know a lot about you.

Prove it?

How?

About halfway up on your left shoulder, you have a very fetching

mole.

Well, I am very...

Sorry for you, young man, but my lunch hour is just about up.

All right.

Oh, just a minute.

Jimmy, we're trying to settle a bet. I've been in here quite a few times with

Mrs. Jones.

You remember her, don't you?

A lot of people eat with us.

I don't recall ever seeing you before.

Yes, you're a little mixed up, sir.

I dropped Lucy with the soap company.

Then I went for a walk to think things over.

I could remember two lives.

One that went the way things should, and one that didn't.

The second time around looked like it was going to be real grim.

All I had was a couple dollars and some change.

Thought of going to the office, but I just couldn't face seeing it the way it

was before Ted joined me.

Looking at the title of the home that would now never be mine, I wanted

in the worst way.

Both Lucille and Rosemary.

I wouldn't even care if Rosemary dribbled on my tie.

Your ball?

Yes, it is.

Good catch.

Who are you?

Just a man.

A man without a home.

What's your name?

Ralph. What's yours?

Sidney. What are you doing?

I'm just sitting here.

Want to have a catch?

No, thanks.

Where are you going?

Well, that is a good question. I'm sorry I can't answer it.

You know how to catch?

Sure, I played lots of ball when I was a kid like you.

Going fishing, maybe?

Not today.

Nobody ever fishes here.

Like to fish?

I haven't fished for years.

Here you are, Sidney.

You go buy yourself a yacht.

I won't need this where I'm going.

Oh, no. My mom says never take nothing from Screamin'. But I'll tell you what.

I'll sell you these here cars.

Eddie Matthews, Gil Hodges, Duke Snutt.

That's a deal.

Gee, thanks, mister.

What are you going to do now?

Drown myself.

Oh.

The water was ice cold.

But strangely, I found I could still breathe.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in our shower stall.

Ralph?

I've been calling you. Didn't you hear me?

Almost 8 o 'clock.

Thanks.

Was I in there long?

I thought you were never coming out.

Lucille! What?

Lucille.

Do you remember me?

Unfortunately, yes.

I love you.

You must be out of your head.

In fact, I love everybody.

I must phone Mother and tell her I love her.

I even love your brother, Jack. I will write him a check for his uptown option

the minute I get to my office. I wish there were about two million more people

in the world so I could love them, too.

Well, what happened to you? You weren't so loving before that shower.

You just forget about that. I wasn't myself.

Lucille, you remember the first time we had lunch at Cavender's? Of course.

What did you order?

Broiled salmon and creamed asparagus.

Good girl.

Hello, Nick. Mr. Jones.

Look, Nick, I would like three dozen long stemmed roses. I don't care if it

December. I'd like it... Hmm?

Oh, no. I was just kidding.

I'd like three dozen of something gorgeous for the missus.

And put a card in the box. Say, forever yours, Ralph.

Hmm?

Oh, no. Yes.

That's all. Thanks, Nate.

You must have a guilty conscience or something.

Well, if I have, it's making me feel real good, maybe better than I ever have

my entire life.

And there's something else.

I knew there was a catch in it someplace.

No, no catch.

I just wanted to tell you that if you'd like to go ahead and have a couple of

twins, that'd be fine with me.

And that's how it was.

I can't tell you how relieved I was to find myself back home with little

Rosemary and a wife who remembered me.

I can imagine, Mr. Jones.

But then I got to thinking about this aberration.

You know, this is the second time that this has happened to me.

That first time was when you were a little boy.

Well, I was in my second year of high school.

It was final exam time.

And you were worried.

Just as you were worried this time about finances and the pressure of your

responsibilities.

It was your anxiety and the resultant inner conflict that temporarily freed

from your rational self.

You looked at the playpen and then you fled from reality into a world of

that your mind created.

Are you trying to tell me that all I had was a daydream?

Believe me, Mr. Jones, you never left the apartment.

You only imagined you did.

But it was so real.

Of course it was real.

Reveries such as you experienced are often so vivid they do seem real.

I see.

Now you must be more open about your problems and your feelings. Work to

your tensions.

Then this won't happen again.

Now why don't you just forget it?

Doctor, I would.

Except for one thing.

Yes, and what is that?

Well, I found these in my pocket this morning.

As you can see, they're still damp.

Though they'd been in the water.

Gil Hodges, Eddie Matthews, Duke Snyder.

Those are the baseball cards that kid named Sidney sold me.

I thought that cameraman would never stop spinning me about.

I missed the whole story.

Now you're upside down.

Well, here is something that should put you on your feet, after which I shall

drop in on you again.

That is quite enough for tonight.

First the blood rushed to my head, and now my head seems to be rushing

someplace.

Next week we shall return with more commercials, a new story and a new

cameraman. Until then, good night.