Modern Screen (Jan - Nov 1940)

IS HOM.YWDO0 IT SEEMS like ages since the flamboyant days when such social pace-setters as Mabel Normand, Mary Pickford and Marion Davies queened it with regal extravagance on the Coast. The riotous good humor of Mabel established Hollywood's reputation as a madly irresponsible place. Remember when she spent five months and $250,000 leading her pals a merry chase through Europe? Then Hollywood grew terribly formal and dignified when Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks turned Pickfair into a fascinating spot for titled visitors and a select group of stars who were correct enough to associate with them. And the lavish, huge balls given by Marion Davies wrote another spectacular chapter into Hollywood's personal history. But now, those days are over. Even last year's most noted party -thrower, Mrs. Basil Rathbone, is no longer giving her famous elaborate affairs. She is devoting all of her energies to war relief. Now, Kay Francis wouldn't dream of renting a cafe for a big party as she has done in the past. The other night at Ciro's she went from table to table, collecting $10 apiece for a war charity. At Lamaze's they are having a series of benefit nights for the Red Cross and Allied war relief. Stars like Marlene Dietrich, Dorothy Lamour, Edgar Bergen, Alice Faye and Richard Greene donate their services as entertainers. "Yes, Hollywood society isn't what it used to be. You would be more than surprised if you tried to crash the movie elite these days," says Elsa Maxwell. Because Elsa Maxwell has created an international name for herself as the foremost authority on parties, her opinions on the manner in which Hollywood's social scene has altered are invaluable. It was she who made Monte Carlo, Cannes and Biarritz so popular with the gay, continental set of a decade ago. Assorted celebrities, ranging from the Duke of Windsor, Queen Marie of Roumania, j the former king of Spain, to all sorts of fun-loving , folk with cash, eagerly attended the parties Elsa maneuvered. The scavenger and treasure hunts were her bright ideas, to say nothing of her come-as-someone-you-admireor-hate invention. Returning to her native land, she I pepped up New York's languishing society. No one has ever shown a better flair for amusing people than this short, fat dynamo of a woman who has never hesitated | to say what she thinks. "People who are not in Hollywood society are apt to j have a false notion of what it takes to be among those present," she says. "First of all, you don't need a number '• of the things you might suppose are elementary. To be a social success in Hollywood you don't have to be beautiful or handsome. Most of the stars are distinguished in appearance, and they are not overwhelmed with what na j ture or a kind camera can do for a person. You don't j have to be young and alluring. Look at me! I've always had a distressingly plain face. I tip the scales at two hundred pounds, so the less mention made of my figure the better. I began my own picture career a year ago, and I was beyond the finishing-school phase — I'm even seven years beyond fifty! "You don't have to possess a wonderful wardrobe. They've never described me as one of the best dressed women, but I have managed to get around just the same. You don't have to have money. Not very much, anyway. The social leaders here are so well fixed themselves i that they don't have to worry about how much others \ have in the way of material wealth." She isn't given to stalling on any point. "You don't need any background to click, either. Background is an impediment in Hollywood, thank God! Everyone is on his own here. Family names don't impress. There is no such thing as inherited position. Only what you are and do makes you shine in this set-up. But there are no longer "magic" names anywhere, socially speaking. In New York the Vanderbilts and the Astors are still important because the present generation amounts to something. A lot of their ancestral rivals are extinct because the members of the families no longer stand for anything significant. "You don't have to be a splendid dancer to be popular in Hollywood. Dancing is rather silly when you can share an evening of vivid mental contact. If you were to join us, you would discover that you couldn't just sit and wait to be entertained. You'd find that we are sensitive people, and that we all talk our heads off. We do not try for effects, no matter what the Hollywood of yesterday may have been. We're much too busy. We have jobs which we must do well to hold on to, and we cannot sit by and just watch the suffering of those in Europe. Nine out of ten of us have survived bad times ourselves; we know what they mean. "The first social commandment now is: Be amusing. The fundamental object of entertainment is a good time. Fascinate with your conversation, and your adaptability, and you are very likely to be sought after here. "The second social commandment is: Serve superb food. Hollywood women pay a great deal of attention to food. Hostesses here know more about food than all the current New York hostesses put together. And believe it or not, most of the top-notch hostesses can cook marvelously themselves! "Most dining here is buffet (Continued on page 73) MODERN SCREEN