Hollywood (1942)

7 take overnight to become a big shot in aviation, a streamlined version of Donald Douglas or C. R. Smith? And what more natural than that Jean Parker, whose flying experience up to then had been in phony planes in studio process shots, should be his partner? "Boy, did we go to it!" Jean exclaims with the enthusiasm that underlies everything she embarks upon. "Doug put up ■ the money and I put up the grandiose ideas. Pretty soon we had a plane, not entirely paid for but mighty pretty. Then we bought an airport. By the time we got the second mortgage out of the way we bought more planes. "Palm Springs has always been one of our pet places, so we put Palm Springs on the aerial map by setting up an airport and scheduling passenger flights from our Hollywood field. We had signs put up in all the hotels in Palm Springs saying, Why not stay over tonight and fly back in the morning?' We had a real gold mine in prospect. "December seventh threatened to slow us down just a little, we thought at first. All commercial flying in the border area except the mail flights of the big lines was cancelled. When the war situation got stabilized a little we telephoned the air corps and the Civil Aeronautics Authority and asked if we could resume flying. They said they didn't see why not, so we took full-page ads in the papers saying we were back on the job. "We shouldn't have been so flamboyant about it, it seems. The same day we went out of business. The government shut down our business and confiscated eight of our planes. The only thing left is our baby, a second-hand Stinson we went in business with. But, boy, was it fun!" The airline debacle in no way dimmed Jean's desire for adventure. With Bill Pine and Bill Thomas, the two Paramount producers for whom she makes six pictures a year, she was celebrating the completion of a job in which she had starred opposite Richard Arlen. In a week she was due to start another. Along toward midnight she announced: "Good night, gents. Have to go home now; flying lesson first thing in the morning." "Is that on the level?" roared the producers in unison. "We thought it was a publicity gag. We've got money tied up in you, girl." "Sure, it's on the level," Jean said. "Lots of girls in Hollywood take flying lessons. How about Olivia de Havilland?" "But that's on paper," they remonstrated. "You're really going up in a real plane!" So Jean called it off. She does her crosscountry traveling now astride old Buck, the cow pony. But not in the speciallytailored saddle designed by her husband. She has further use for her figure, it seems. The Parker figure has become through the years since Sequoia, a Hollywood trademark, like the Gable moustache. To make the most efficient display of it, Producers Pine and Thomas customarily let Jean design and buy her own clothes and keep them after a picture is finished. The bills are split fifty-fifty, with the result that the producers get off cheap and Jean has one of the hugest wardrobes anywhere. This set-up is likely to lead to droll complications, as it did in the case of Torpedo Boat. Frances Farmer was originally set to play the lead. When that plan went haywire four days before the starting date, One Punch Parker was called in (as usual). The producers tossed her a script and said, "There's eighteen changes of costume. The Hays Office is still in business but the dame has got to look as if she'd lure tired workingmen out for a night's fun. See what you can do." Jean set out on a shopping tour in her trusty station wagon. By nightfall she had rounded up the materials for the eighteen costumes. This entailed some strictly fabulous expenditures, such as the purchase of forty yards of Boghara jersey. She needed four yards, but it was the dealer's last bolt and Mitch Leisen, a Paramount director, was also dickering for it. The dealer's selling argument was that Jean would corner the market on this priceless material and become vulgarly rich on the transaction overnight. So far nobody has ridden up in the middle of the night and offered to take the remnants off her hands. But people do ride up at all hours of the day and night offering to stick her with everything from Hindu prayer rugs to slightly-used refugees, both at a discount. If you have anything you want to get rid of quick at a good price, drop in at 1720 Riverside Drive and ask for the purchasing agent. ■ BBHH9SH9Ri HMHRMRKMBHBHIHMHBHifflBS9HBHilDBH9EHHflflHflBBBHfl9HHHHi IfaJk ~Jwt*v& /SuAprt&e &ur Un^tUiT w<ttf~ t>r&x>4: &joX. PEPSODENT POWDER makes teeth TWICE AS BRIGHT Pretty Margaret and Marilyn Rick, Palatine, Illinois, Twins, chorus: "Pepsodent's really 'super'!" " People always had a hard time telling us apart ... in school, in the neighbot hood, anywhere ! "Did I learn about tooth powders! Out dentist was skeptical at first . . . then amazed . . . when Pepsodent made Peg's teeth twice as bright as mine! He said he never saw anything like it! Neithet did we! Pepsodent showed us how really bright teeth can be!" ...But, say! After Margaret won the toss to am see who'd use Pepsodent Powder, it was I different! I chose another well-known brand, thinking rhere couldn't be very I , jj\ t much difference." 4* * ' For the safety of your smile . . . use Pepsodent twice a day . . . see your dentist twice a year. . . . and the Rick Twins' Dentist says: "I was skeptical .. .Pepsodent's claims sounded too good. But, this test convinced me that Pepsodent's statement is accurate": s? °«* «so«<rosy rouno „g orWs