Photoplay (Jan - Jun 1943)

Ten Knights in My Hollywood Date Book $tm r^ Anril Showers . . if you ^e AptU •Tald ThrilWY -f u-d \, ,s skin, curiously Per^ of fratrTlancemenlove!Utit is the tragian<-e L , \l ■? Shovfet :msramy 76 CHERAMY perfumer Men love "The Fragrance of Youth" (.Continued from page 21) Whitneys make a fuss over him. He won't make any scintillating quips that you'll hurry to write down in your memory book, but he'll dance expertly if not spectacularly, light your cigarettes for you and stand up quickly when anybody comes over to the table to say hello. If you like champagne, he's the boy who'll buy it for you. You'll get no hot foots from Randy — just a good wholesome evening of relaxation on the slightly social side. Milton Berle: If you love laughs, you'll love this Knight and, if you laugh long enough, he'll love you. You'll be a onewoman preview audience for all the gags he's trying to whip into shape for his next radio broadcast or benefit. He'll kid with the waiter, anticipate the comedian's punch lines when the floor show is on and keep you in stitches with his switches. Of course, don't think you and Milton will be alone on this party. A date with him inevitably includes his seven script writers and possibly Ma Berle for sound effects. "A funny thing happened to me today," Milton will remark — and one of the gag men will quickly think up what it was that happened. "I've got a hotel room that's so small — " he'll begin and instantly the scripter in charge of small hotel room gags will supply that one. The bubbly Berle won't drink anything stronger than bottled water, but it will affect him like a gallon of Chablis. Even on the dance floor, he'll clown with the bandleader or any ringsider who happens to be looking. Back at the table, he'll take out a deck of cards and do tricks to mystify you. He'll squire you everywhere — from the big cafes with floor shows to all the swank spots with celebrity patronage. And you'll discover that there's one comedian in the world who doesn't want to play Hamlet or direct the Second Front, and hasn't got a broken heart. All Milton wants is to play Berle. Jon Hall: You might think that before an evening with Jon, a girl ought to spend a few hours at the YWCA pool improving her swimming and diving, but really that's not necessary. Neither is a close-fitting sarong. Jon doesn't make any rules for his femme companions. You'll find he's a character right out of Saroyan. He loves people and he's one actor who doesn't think he'd be a million times better than Gary Cooper or Cary Grant if those soand-sos at the studio weren't trying to stifle his genius. He'll take you to dinner at a place where the food is good and preferably exotic — Hawaiian or authentic Chinese. He loves to dance and it doesn't take much urging to get him into the conga line. He won't click his heels or kiss your hand, but neither will he tell you the story of his life; and he'll be so polite and eager to please that you'll decide if all men were like Jon, psychoanalysts would go out of business for keeps. He'll be gentle and boyish and make you feel small and feminine, the way very big, very broad-shouldered men always do. Heavens, what am I saying? George Raft: If you like a good steak, 'pple pie, no drinks, sporting events and Latin music practically without pause, here is your ideal date bait. George won't ask you if you've read any good books lately, but he may throw some World Series scores at you and you'd better catch them; and if you know any bantam-weights by their pet names, that will help you socially, too. An evening with George is eacy to figure out in advance. He'll arrive in a nostalgic mood and the night will be spent wandering around inspecting a collection of beat-up billiard academies, deserted basements, dance halls and barber shops where his memories lie waiting to be picked up. George is a walkin' fellow, so you'll do well to wear stout, comfortable shoes for the occasion. You will also be smart to take a few easy lessons in how to get around the dance floor because George is only interested in rumba numbers and numbers who rumba. His conversation will be informative, but not overwhelming. If he tells you his wife doesn't understand him, you can believe every word of it. Peter Lorre: Any femme would be justified in preparing herself for a rendezvous with the lead-eyed Lorre by sticking on all her false eyelashes and real emeralds and hoping for an evening of trap doors, international villains and switched wine glasses — but don't dream of it, fair lady. In the flesh, Lorre doesn't blend with paillettes and vampire glances; he is a sweet little fellow with the sad look of a wounded raccoon and you will probably wind up trying to mother him. He'll dress for the festivities in a tweed jacket — or, if it looks like a formal occasion, a tan polo coat — and he'll meet you in a big lobby where he can introduce you to "Ben Hecht and the most charming refugees." He'll order you a drink (Scotch and soda for him) and call you "little lady," even if you're six feet three; he calls all girls "little lady" and all men "Daddy." He'll take you to the most expensive restaurants but urge you to eat hot dogs, because they're his personal idea of heaven, and if he doesn't consume several during an evening you can start asking him if he feels ill. Don't count on any waltzing, because you're probably taller than Peter and he never dances out of his size. But he'll ask you to feel his muscle (it's hard) and tell you how tough he is — at tennis. You'll meet more people in an evening with Pete than you've ever met in your life before, because he is the world's champion introducer, but practically none of them will be spies, beachcombers or jewel thieves. After a while you'll begin to relax and it's quite safe, because he never throws a girl down an elevator shaft or in front of a speeding truck unless cameras are grinding. Really, he won't even offer you a reefer. Charles Chaplin: If you look appealingly wistful on your date with Charlie (an expression you can achieve by thinking of your last pair of nylons) you may find yourself the leading lady in his next picture. It's happened that way before with many a sweet-faced unknown — and a few of them even became his wives. The night you go out with him is your night for brilliant conversation — listening to it, I mean. Charlie will make up for all those years of poignant muteness on the screen by talking a blue streak, chiefly about the state of the world and what Chaplin thinks of it, and he will deliver his conversational gems as if he expected you to be taking them all down in shorthand. Intellectual though he is, you may pick up a "character" or two in your amblings about town with Chaplin and don't be surprised if you wind up in a rowdy fun