Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1943)

New Love for Liwie (Continued from page 34) so fresh and lovely received such an avalanche of praise. Hollywood wanted her. Maybe someday, she tried to parry — when she had gained more experience and become a better actress. Hollywood won. Yet, even as she finally signed a contract with Warner Brothers, she had the desire to run — to keep running until she felt free inside again. Practically from the first day she walked on the lot, life became a series of shocks for Olivia. Shocks, because as a girl in the small town of Saratoga, brought up with her sister Joan, she had been sheltered and protected. Recognizing the great sincerity behind her naivete, the entire lot rose in a body and formed the club for the "protection of Olivia de Havilland." Not that there were serious dangers. But Olivia was so young and trusting. Most amusing was the episode in which Olivia played the lovely heroine in a costume drama. The star of the picture was handsome, charming, with an appraising eye for all feminine charms. At least one member of the "club" always managed to be present when the star was within ogling distance. Had Olivia worn a cape, a little red hood and carried a basket of goodies for grannie, she couldn't have been kept more in character! VEARS went by. Olivia's movie roles ' became a series of sticky heroines. She obeyed studio orders. She continued to blush prettily through her grease paint. At times she was ill and exhausted from continuous work, at times discouraged, disappointed over promises that were made and never kept. Being hypersensitive, she was hurt by petty gossip and criticism. Olivia wanted to rest. She realized, a little late, perhaps, that she must find out for herself and through herself what she was really about. All too suddenly the opportunity came. Her sister Joan announced she was going to marry Brian Aherne. Their mother decided to move back to Saratoga and rejoin their stepfather For the first time in her life, Olivia found herself unchaperoned and unleashed. She remained in a two-story house that held ghosts of memories. It was a wonderful feeling of freedom, but a terrified lost kind of feeling that left her quaking behind locked doors. From this point on began the metamorphosis of Olivia de Havilland. One year away from her own lot helped her to hurdle many obstacles. Working in "Gone With The Wind" gave her a taste of what it means to feel happy and relaxed in front of the camera. When she returned to Warners, she was a new person. No longer was she the little girl everyone coddled and protected. For the first time in her life she felt sure of herself. Along about this time Olivia discovered night clubs. She went to parties. She learned that people aren't always frightening. She laughed, sang, danced, had fun. Her understanding friends recognized these growing pains, the importance of their temporary indulgence. The others suffered hurt feelings. Where was their gentle, bewildered little Liwie? What else could Olivia do but go her way without them? THEN followed in the life of Olivia de ' Havilland many strange interludes. Ofttimes she was lonely. She found temporary happiness in one of the sweetest romances Hollywood has known. The fans wanted her to marry Jimmy Stewart. Both she and Jimmy were young, successful, handsome. Neither had been married before. Olivia has never told anyone what finally happened, except to remark, "It never would have worked out." Some thought in many respects they were too much alike. Other romantic attachments followed. Then in a respite of cold self-analysis Liwie decided that marriage was not for her. There was no reason for it. One could adopt the children one loved and she resolved there and then to adopt some later on. But those to whom she confided these dark thoughts only smiled and said, "Wait till the right man comes along. If you turn him down and don't marry him, then we'll believe you!" Meanwhile, Olivia devoted all her energy to her fight for recognition. There were those who championed her cause, insisting she was destined to be the finest actress the screen has ever known, once she was free to accept roles that recalled her unforgettable Melanie. There were others who predicted that 74 Seventeen-year-old celebraters: Janie Withers has a birthday blow-out with current beau, Farley Granger. No love problem here — just happy days tor Janie who as star of Republic's "Three Sisters" faces her biggest year Olivia was greasing her own skids, ruining her career, jeopardizing her future. Olivia continued to fight, often with a sinking heart, many times with a lonely heart. She fought first to put on weight, and then fought to take off weight. For six months she struggled for strength after a serious operation. She took an assumed name, flew across the country, hid away on the New England coast. She had to learn the bitter lesson that it is impossible to please everyone; to make herself recognize the importance of pleasing herself, because it was herself she must live with. In the very midst of it all, just when she needed him most, John Huston came into her life. It certainly wasn't a case of love at first sight. Month after month Olivia had seen John Huston around the lot. She knew he was a writer, the son of the famous Walter Huston, that he had ambitions to direct. But they might never have met if John hadn't been handed the script of "In This Our Life." Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland were to be the stars. The first day of shooting, Walter Huston played an extra in his son's picture — to bring him luck. Olivia witnessed the look exchanged between the two men when they met. There was something tender that touched her heart. She found John nice to work for, an intelligent, constructive director. Several weeks after the picture was under way, she learned that he was married to Leslie Huston— but separated from her. To those on the set, the romance seemed to be on. No one actually knew until months later when Olivia began to appear publicly with John and look like a woman in love. NOT at all unlike Jimmy Stewart, John is tall, angular in appearance. There the resemblance ends. Huston is witty, brilliant, glib. He possesses a slightly mad, infectious sense of humor. As a soldier of fortune, his life has been even more colorful and exciting than those good pictures he directs. In his world of books, music and literature, Olivia has found her place. Always too busy or too unhappy to enjoy these things before, she now embraces them with heart and soul. By the time you read this, John will probably have departed for parts unknown. As a captain in our armed forces, his future lies in the hands of destiny. So far as is generally known, John is still married and, of course, still separated from his wife. Divorce plans? Marriage plans for the future? No one seems to know. Olivia has openly declared her love by refusing to work while John is still in this country. She talks about him freely, if not informatively. In no uncertain terms she lets you know she is happy. And so the strange case of Olivia de Havilland rests. Do you wonder that Hollywood is absorbed? They see what John has brought into Olivia's life — a happiness so long deserved. And be it said to its credit, blase Hollywood never tires of a love story. Even the cynics, down deep in their hearts, want to see the prince marry the princess. Will it happen? You'd have to ask a man by the name of Uncle Sam. You'd have to consult a woman by the name of Fate. You'd have to calculate the incalculable wind drifts of the human heart. And then you'd have to get yourself a first-class crystal ball. Was love ever simple? The End