Hollywood (Jan - Nov 1935)

Dick Powell Tells the Scare of His Life (Continued from pngre thirty > took hold of me, clutched hold of me in fact and hung on like grim death! I couldn't shake it off! Every inferiority that I possessed began clamoring . . . you know, the way the rest of your teeth begin to ache when one tooth is abscessed . . . sort of a sympathetic chorus! And I wasn't the only one. Others in the cast felt much as I did. Bill Shakespeare had put the Injun sign on Hollywood. To add to my misery The Dream was to be directed by Max Reinhardt, who is not only famous all over the world for the beauty of his stage sets but because he would have nothing but the finest acting in his plays. And me NO actor! Do you blame me for being frightened? "Well, a contract is a contract, so I was fitted for my costumes and the rehearsals began." (Now, friend reader, we are going to switch you to another station on the Warner lot . . . we want Jean Muir, who plays Helene in The Dream to tell you what happened to Dick during rehearsals . . .) "It was awfully funny . . . the way Dick finally got into his stride in The Dream!" Jean told me, her blue eyes brimming with laughter. "The first five days of rehearsal were pretty bad for everyone. We were all worried and felt out of place in our parts before the camera. Some of us had worked with Reinhardt on his production of The Dream when it was given last summer in the Hollywood Bowl. Those of us who had knew how kind and how patient Mr. Reinhardt was and we were not exactly scared . . . but Dick, who hadn't been, was. He hadn't seen the Bowl performance either. "Somehow, it hadn't dawned on him that The Dream was a comedy and a ribald one at that. The first day he came out on the set, his face was deadly serious his hands rather shaky. He read his part in a monotone, accompanied by what he considered appropriate Shakespearian gestures. He was nervous because he was confronted with a new problem. "Reinhardt rehearsed and rehearsed one simple little scene. No one was criticised, no one scolded. But somehow Dick couldn't seem to get the hang of it. I noticed, though, that Mr. Reinhardt was gradually jostling Dick around the scene until he came pretty near to the right approach. Then, on the fifth day, in the middle of a particularly difficult version of the scene, Dick's face lighted up and he shouted at the top of his lungs, 'I GET THE IDEA . . . YOU CAN GAG IT!' (meaning you can kid it) . . . the idea that The Dream was sort of a slap-stick comedy had at last percolated through the wall of uncertainty which surrounded Dick. "After that there was no more confusion. Dick romoed through the play like a kid just let out of school. He LOVED it! He ran off with all his scenes! He was GRAND! Mr. Reinhardt beamed on him like a proud papa. Dick's enthusiasm was contagious. We were all the better for it. Somehow in finding himself he made all more at ease . . . we all did better work." OCTOBER. 1935 ^> thzTacttiUf Why wear yourself out with a worn-out stove when you can have a new Kalamazoo for only 18c a day? New Catalog quotes easy credit — easy terms — FACTORY PRICES. You will thrill at the new-style colorful Porcelain Enamel Combination Gas, Coal and Wood Ranges, and Coal and Wood Ranges. Porcelain Enamel Circulating Heaters: also Furnaces — both pipe and pipeless. (Send rough sketch of your rooms for FREE plans.) Your Stoves Direct from the Men Who Make Them Kalamazoo Improvements and Designs are modern, but Kalamazoo Quality is the same that over 950,000 customers have known for V3 of a century. You deal direct with the FACTORY — direct with the men who'JT~ actually make yourf stoves and furnaces. L Don't pay more than r the FACTORY PRICE I — mail coupon today. Buy What This Catalog Offers You 1. Cash or Easy Terms — Year to Pay as little as 18c a day. 2.30 Days FREE TRIAL-360 Days Approval Test. 3. 24 Hour Shipment Safe Delivery Guaranteed 4. $100,000 Bank Bone Guarantee of Satisfaction. 5. S Year Parts Guarantee. 6. FREE Furnace Plans. THE KALAMAZOO STOVE CO., Mfrs. 2413 Rochester Avenue, Kalamazoo, Mich. Warehouses. Utica, N.Y Akron, Ohio; Harrisburg, Pa.; Springfield, Mass KALAMAZOO STOVE CO , Mfrs. 2413 Rochester Avenue, Kalamazoo, Mich. Dear Sirs: Please send me your Free Catalog. (Check articles in which you are interested.) Coal and Wood Range G Comb. Coal, Wood and Gas Range J Heate* " Oil Stove 7 Furnace ~Z, Name Address "A Kalamazoo, TVfcde Mark Registered Direct toTfotf (Please print name plainly) City „ .... State (ft cosfs only lc to mail this coupon Paste or copy it on the back of a Gov't Post Card) 51