Boy's Cinema (1939-40)

'( Every Tuesday and they greeted Virginia—and the rest of the staff—as they crossed the general oflHce to Laura's private room. Virginia waited till the door was closed and then she dialled a number on the tele- phone she had just replaced. •'That you, Millie?" she presently asked In a low voice. "I've got something for you to pass on to your boy-friend. Re- member me telling you about Mr. Brew- ster and Miss Crandall? Well, now's your chance." Millie's boy-friend was a florist, and in less than ten minutes he was speaking on his own telephone to a chum wlio was a printer. "I got it straight from Millie. What? Well, maybe they'll want some engraved announcements. I thought I'd tip you off." The printer had a friend who ran a shipping agency, and on the principle that one good turn deserves another, he rang up that friend. "Never mind where I heard it," he said, "if you'i'C smart you'll step in quick and seU them one of your special cruises. Sure, why, naturally they'll want to go away." Laura was sitting at her desk, and Steve was sitting on the arm of her chair light- ing a cigarette, when the telephone-bell rang and Laura reached out to the instru- ment. "It's for you," she said to Steve, and handed it over. "Hallo?" said Steve. The young fellow of the shipping agency was on the other end of the line. " We wish to extend you both our sincere congratulations," he purred. "Congratulations for what?" asked Steve blankly. "Will you be good enough to tell me what it's all about? What? Honeymoon cruise? Where did you get that idea? Oh, somebody told you, eh? Do you believe everything you hear?" " Well, I—I'm terribly sorry," stammered the opportunist, "but " Steve slammed the telephone down on its plunger. "Can you beat it?" he said to Laura. "A whispering campaign!" His set features relaxed. "They've got us married —and about to leave on a honeymoon cruise!" "Well," said Laura, looking anywhere but up into his grinning face, "what's so funny about a honeymoon cruise?" He rubbed his freshly shaven jaw, his eyes on the curve of her averted cheek. " I guess there's nothing so funny about it," he decided whimsically. "Seems like this whispering business is going to get me into a lot of trouble." BOY'S CINEMA 13 • Kidnap money! A hundrcd-doilar bill! If only IVIichael Cassidy >could find the man who cashed it he would scoop the city. A ■ whirlwind story of the world of newspapers, with Melvyn DouglaB as trie star of this thrilling Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture RANSOM IVtONEY ! MIPCE CASSIDY paused for a moment or two outside the "Evening Guardian " building and took a look at the display window. Two men were working an aged print- ing press. They were printing copies of an old-time newspaper, and on a card hung above their heads were the words: THIS EXHIBIT COMMEMORATES THE 75TH YEAR OF THE EVENING GUARDIAN Mike grinned and went into the main And with that he stooped and kissed the» entrance. A man inside was polishing a back of her neck. ^ brass plate. \ "Hallo, Sam," said Mike. "What do By permission of Columbia Pictures Cor-f you think of the display?" poration, Ltd., adapted from the film,-^ "Whispering Enemies," the principal] players in which are: Jack Holt as Stephen Brewster Dolores Costello as Laura Crandall Addison Richards as Red Barrett Joseph Crehan as George Harley Donald Briggs as Fred Bowman Pert Kelton as Virginia Daniels Paul Everton as The Warden Ben Welden as "Smitty" REMEMBER The only way to make sure of your copy of BOY'S CINEMA is to place a regular order with your Newsagent Do it NOW! It was a great idea of yours, Mr. Cassidy," Sam replied. "The boys inside have just given me a copy. Makes a nice souvenir, don't it? " "There have been a lot of changes in the paper in seventy-flve j'ears, Sam," said Mike. "True enough," Sam acknowledged. "But there's just one thing that's never been changed." He held up the souvenir copy. Across the front page, right underneath the title, were the words: " That The Public Interest May Be Served! " Mike nodded^and went on upstairs. He passed through the busy editorial-room into another office. On the door was his name and underneath were the words: "Managing Editor." He sat down at his desk and an office boy brought him a rough proof of the day's first edition. He glanced over it quickly, initialed it, and handed it back. Then he picked up the telephone and got into touch with the machine-room. "Okay, Davie!" he said briskly. "Let her roll! " He hung up and turned to other matters. He picked up an envelope addressed to him and marked "Persona!," and as he tore open the flap he could feel the vibration of the giant presses as they picked up speed in the basement. Suddenly he jumped to his feet. " The ' Evening Guardian' will cease publication for ever after to-night," the note that lie held in his hand said. He glared at it wrathfully. Then he grabbed his hat and rushed out of the building. Ten minutes later he slammed into the down-town office of Matthew Cooper, the man who had signed the note. Cooper was seated behind a huge desk. The room about him was luxuriously furnished. With him was a man named Hollis, editor of a rival newspaper called the "Record." Mike threw the note on the desk angi'ily. " So you bought the ' Guardian' with the intention of killing it! " he said. Cooper looked up at him coolly. He was a cold-featured man—a typical successful man of business. He had no feelings, ex- cept for making money. "Exactly." was all he said. "Why?" Mike barked the word at him. "If I don't please you, fire me. But why throw four hundred people out of work?" Hollis, the rival editor, sneered. " As one—the guardian of the poor! " he said. Mike ignored him. "Some of those people have given their lives to the paper," he went on. "It's be- come almost like a religion with them. It's all they live for." Cooper smiled. While Mike had been speaking he had been looking at a ticker- tape as it came from the machine. He now dropped it and raised his hand. " I can see you feel pretty strongly about the ' Guardian'," he said. " Well, that's how I feel about the ' Record.' I started November 25tl), 1039.