Claic:.~o Sand." Tribane

Looking at Hollywood with Ed Sullivan

MDtoll SUla br.crth •• el•• ply. goe. iIlto c:ow-.yeel c:1iI1c:hwith Gertrud.Olmat.d ill "Puppeta." a pictur. of the mool1il1glo.,.r .ra a el.c:ael. ago.

Hollywood, C(Jl.

IFthere's one thing, more thananother, that has changed inthe passage of movie years, it

is the Approach to Love. The cap-itals are mine, and I urge TheTribune linotyper not to change'em to lower case lettering, re-gardless of his own possibly un-happy experiences in at!'a1rs ofthe heart.Ten ,years ago the great lovers

of the screen approached a lovescene with an air that was al-most reverential. When aThomas Meighan clasped a LilaLee to his manly bosom, a hushdescended upon the audience ofthat day. The lovellght wasplainly apparent in the hero'seye, even though you sat in thelast row. The heroine alwaysplayed the scene a trifle tremolo.Her eyelashes fluttered as shesneaked a glance, first at thehero, then at the invisible audioence. There was a breathlessfew seconds as the hero turnedhis manly gaze to heaven, as if

to pledge his undying devotion.And then, grimly resolute, hewould step forward and take thegal in his arms, stroke her hairand then imprint a chaste caresson her forehead.When a Milton sms made love

to a Pauline Garon, the Sms'technique was just as idealistic.His director, to stress the highnobility of the scene, would In-sist on a three-shot, so that assms and Mi~s Garon clinched,the audience might be treatedsimultaneously to the pious re-actions of Elliott Dexter. Thesubtitle would then flash on thescreen: II Take her, old man.She was too good for me." BettyCompson might be discoveredplaying a silent violin, whileJohn Harron looked at her inrapt adoration. Even RUdolphValentino. characterized as aruthless sheik, became gentle asa desert lamb in the love sceneswith Agnes Ayres. Forgottenwere the victims he had slain indesert combat as Valentino took

N.ar the •• a.1thof all that wa peri.c:t ill film 10.,.mcddl1g. RudoU Val.ll·tiIlo .mbrac: •• B.b. Daa.1.l. ill "MozW.ur B.auc:cdr••••

Th. moel.m .mbrcrc:. c:om.. c:lo•• r to b.iIlg cr riot. a. witD.... Micha.lWhcrl.1l CII1elGloria Stuart ill "Th. LcrelyE.c:apeL"

2 Six y.am ago ~m.thiI1g hcrppell.el to mo'l'i. 10.,. t.clmlqu.. Jimmy Cagn.y wa direc:t.d to elo thia toMa. elc:rrk ill "Public: En.my" CII1elthe famou .C:.Il•• tart.el crmoYie tr.llel to c:atc:h·a.-c:crtch-c:CII1c:ourtil1g.

From Pining Passion to Larruping Love,in a Decade of Movie Making

the heroine in his arms, or kissedthe hem of her skirt.Just how many hems of how

many skirts were kissed in thesilent movies w1ll never beknown. It was the celluloid cUcheof humility, always accompaniedby a sterling subtitle: II I will beyour slave for life." In the nextsequence, the heroine would bediscovered knitting baby gar-ments and in the fadeout, therewould be a silhouette et!'ect oftwo figures outlined against thehorizon riding into the sun.Just why the hero and heroinealways had to make an exit rld-ing horseback into the sun neverhas been made clear. No direc-tor ever switched this formulaso that the hero and heroinecould make their exit ridingaway from it, although thiswould have been more comfort-able on the eyes of hero and her-oine, in an era when sun glasses·had not yet been invented.

•••Today the Approach to Love is

hardly reverential. In II NothingSacred," Fredric March care-tully poses Carole Lombard andknocks her cold. In II Love Be-fore Breakfast," Herbert Mar·shall spatters a pie in, on andaround the classic features ofBarbara Stanwyck. In II OldChicago" you will find TyronePower and Alice Faye in a cat-and-dog fight that climaxes in awrestling match on the rugs. In"It's Love I'm After," BetteDavis throws potted plants atLeslie Howard. In" True con-fessions," Fred MacMurraysticks Carole Lombard's headunder water.The movies today play love

scenes with camera - in . cheek.Contrast the modern attitude ofthe Great Lovers of the screenwith the almost mousey love-making of Francis X. Bushman,Conrad Nagle, Ramon Novarro,

By ED SULIJVANJohn Gilbert, Wally Reid, andRichard D1x. Can you pictureany of these old-tlme heroes land-ing a knockout wallop on LlllfanGish? Can you imagine Kath·leen Williams or Mary Maclarenfllnging crockery at RichardBarthelmess, or Eugene O'Brienhauling ot!' and punching Norma

of 1927, or even the Pre-Warstut!'. Today, Irene Dunne, inII The Awful Truth," representsthe sophisticated love whichmovie directors portray. Onlyyesterday, or so it seems, sophis·ticated Theda Bara was slinking'and writhing allover the lot asthe No.1 vampire of the screen.Styles have changed.

3 Now w. hCl'l'. the r.al McCoy.a Fr.d.ric: Marc:h land. a blow

011 Carol. Lombard'. law ill ther.C:.llt film "Nothil1g Scrc:r.d."

Other studios, which also hadtheir eyes glued on public reae-tion to this approach to love, Im-mediately ordered scripts inpreparation to be· re-written.Overnight, the movie landscapewas dotted with the figures ofCagney landing a grapefruit inMae Clark's face; Robinson boot-ing Margaret Livingstone (nowMrs. Paul Whiteman) for a fieldgoal, and other heroes takingwhacks at ingenues. Gable, theguinea pig of this startling ex-periment, later served again inan even more radical innovation,When in "San Francisco," he hita priest in the face. The studioagain discussed the pros and consof this far into the night, andeven called in Catholic clergy-men of the coast to get"their re-action before permitting it to bereleased.It seems, however, that the

movies have reached the satura-tion point in violent love treat-ment. Shortly, the hands of thependulum will swing back, andheroes will go back to theFrancis X. Bushman formula otawed !enderness.

~".D the more orthodox 10.,•• C:.Il•• hCl'l'. chang.d. Dorothy Lamour and JOIlHall a. Dati.,•• ill "Th. Hurric:an. "look fOlldly at .ac:h oth.r without b.ll.fit of h.crYiDg c:h•• a aDd rollil1g .y.L

Talmadge? These old-timers ofthe screen must shudder whenthey see Myrna Loy, in the fade-out of "Double Wedding," pros-trate on the fioor of an autotraller after being hit on the chinby a wild swinging bystander.However deplorable, the ad-

mission must be made that 1938Movie Love is not the movie love

Director Clarence Brown, in"A Free Soul," was one of theftrst to inaugurate the new treat-ment ot amour. In that picturehe ordered Clark Gable to planta kick on Norma Shearer's bus-tle. M.-G.·M.executives; apprisedof this daring treatment of love,argued far into the night. "Peo-ple will blackball our theaters,"

said one sentimentalist. Brownwas adamant. " People willblackball your theaters unlessyou realize that love is a rowdyemotion, too," spake he. Sowith fear and trembling, themaster minds permitted him tolet Gable boot Miss Shearer. Totheir amazement, audiencesloved it.

V.i£e .1 tLe M.~ie F•• Leteers published in this department should be WTitten on one side of the paper.If you wish a personal reply please indose a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Dear Miss T1n~e: As I have been amon~those silent approverl of your column forquite lome time,I decided It wa.hl&,h time to putIn my two cents.In my eatlmatlonRonald Colman I." tops" I nth em 0 vie Industry.Why hasn't morebeen said abouthim? He de-serves more thana few laurels forhis splendid per-formance in" Lost Horizon."I would be thor-oughly gratl1ledif you would print RON"'LD COL ••••••Nhis biography and C.lI.d" tops" for •• Losta picture. Horllo":'

Thanks! ISABEL TAYLOR.Editor's note: High time, indeed! ·We

appreciate that" 8iletlt" boosting-but liketo learn about it, too! (You ktlow howit is')

ROfI4ld Oolman waa born in Richmond,Surrey, England, Feb. 9, 1891. He's 5 feet11 inches tall,. weighs 158 pounds, and hasdark brown hair and eyes. Educated atUttlehampton, SU8sea:,England. His hob-bies are tennis, motoring, readmg, andBWimming. During the World war he waain the British army. Before going to Hol-lywood Mr. Oolman appeared Oft the stagein England.

You're welcome.

Dear Mae Tin~e: After lookln&, overthe theater pro&'l'ams of this season at ourloop leiltlmate theater •.....what &'l'andftlms

the plays shown would be! I think that:.. The Women" would make a dandy

drama with Gloria Swanson, Merle Ober-on, and Janet Gaynor."Brother Rat" would prove a box office

winner with Wayne Morris and AnitaLouise in the leadin&, rOles."Madame Bovary," of course, on the

screen, with Norma Shearer In the rOlethat Constance Cummings enacted so wellhere."You Can't Take It With You," with

Mary Boland, Hugh Herbert, Nydia West-man, and Tom Brown."Yes, My Darllng Daughter" would be

smooth comedy with Helen Broderick orBillie Burke In the rOle that Florence Reedhad.But then when most of the 111mpro-

ducers hash the best plays, we might evenexpect Garbo in "Brotker Rat,"But, all the joking thrown out, I enjoy

your columna and agree with them-thatIs, most ()f.the tlme. Luck to you always.

JA~ES ALANSON DAVIS.Editor's note: You r comments are

thought provoking! Thanks for your goodwishe., and-right back at you-luck toyou!

Dear Mias T1n~e: Hello again, this IsS. R. Remoh writing In regard to a picturethief named Miss Anne Shirley. Movie?"Stella Dallas." Victim? Barbara Stan-wyck. Honestly, did I enjoy her work Inthis picture! Mias Stanwyck was wonder-fUl, too, but a couple of Anne's scenesjust about got me.Tell me, was Miss Shirley's name ever.

Dawn O'Day? That's all for now-S. R.Remoh signing off again. Thanks a lot.

S. R. REMOH.Editor's note: Hello! Hello! Miss 8hi,...

ley appeared aa Dawn O'Day in the filma" Mother Knows Best," "Oity Girl," fI TheLife of Jimmy Dolan," fI Private Le8.otIlI ";Vitaphone short productions, fI PicturePalace" and" The Key."

You're welcome.

Dear Miss T1n~: I read your columnevery Sunday and enjoy the letters ofyour fans and'your answers tothem.Would you

please tell mewho the leadinggirl was in "Mr:Dodd Takes theAir," and whereI e 0 u 1d reachher?Thanking you

In advance. I re-main,R. KUNTER.P. S.-Would

you please puther picture In thepaper? I don'tmea n GertrudeMichael, but the girl Mr. Dodd married.Thanks.

Editor's note: Jane Wyman played ther6le of Mar;orie Day, oppoMte KennyBaker, in the film fI Mr. Dodd Takes theAir." 8he waa born in St. Joseph, Mo.,Jan. 1, 1914. 8he's 5 feet 5 inches taU andweighs 116 pounds. Educated at OolumbiauniverMty. Her hobbies are ice hockyand polo.

Glad you like the column. And here'sthe girl Mr. Dodd married for your album.

J"'NE WY ••••••NTIM 91.1 ••••••. Dodd"

m••• led.

Dear Miss T1n~: I read your columnevery day and find It ve1'l interesting, asI am an ardent movie fan.I would like some information concern-

ing Dorothy Lamour and the name of hernext picture.I would like to know the complete cast

of the not-so-recent picture, "PiccadillyJim," There has been quite a heated argu-ment In my famUy as to a certain charac-ter In the picture.Thanking you, I am sincerely yours,RUTH LOVRITZEN ("PINKY"),

Galena, m,EdJtor's note: Welcome to ·our comer!

Here's the information you cle8ire:Dorothy Lamour waa born Dec. 10, 1914,

in 1:lew Orleatl8, La. She's 5 feet 5 inchestaU, weighs 117 pounds, and h,aa blue.grayeyes and brOwn hair. Eaucated publichigh school and Spence's BUBine88 school.In 1931she waa fIMiss New Orleatl8," Shesang Oft several radio programa and withHerbie Kava orchestra betore going toHollywood to appear in pictures. 8he'smarried to Herbie Kay. "Hurricane," op-poaite JOfI,Hall, is her most recent film.

The caat for fI Piccadilly Jim" is aa fal.l0W8:Jim Crocker ..... "., .Robert MontgomeryMr. Crocker, .. , , . , ... , , . , . ,Frank MorganAnn Chester, , '., Madge EvansBayliss , .. Erlc BloreEugenia , , .. Billie BurkeMacon, , Robert BenchleyLord Charles , Charles ForbesNesta Pett Cora WitherspoonOgden Pett , Tommy BuppPaducah , . , .. , Alleen PringleHerbert Pett Grant MitchellEditor , , E. E. CliveTaxi Driver , Bllly BevanMrs. Brede Grace Hampton