Hollywood (Jan - Mar 1943)

Comeback for Alice — By Popular Demand When Alice Faye left the screen to have her baby, she never expected to return. But public demand soon brought her back. She's in Fox's Hello, Frisco, Hello! by SOMA LEE | After eighteen months' absence from the screen, Alice Faye is returning in Hello, Frisco, Hello! Alice comes back richer by two possessions— a fat, gurgling, blond Alice, Jr., and the comforting knowledge that audiences have missed her and refused to displace her. Alice frankly never expected to return to the screen, although her contract with Twentieth-Century-Fox still has two years to run. She expected that her fans would quickly forget her. For a girl who has consistently paid off at the box-office, who has been rated rmong the top draws of Hollywood, Alice has a singular sense of unimportance. She is still slightly dazed and awed by the clamor fans raised over her continued absence. Digging out from an ever-increasing avalanche of letters — all screaming, "We want Alice," studio executives promptly cancelled her leave of absence and put her to work. Alice today is slim to the point where she is trying to gain some weight — at least, she won't quarrel with any extra pounds which come her way. Happiness has kindled a light behind her face, and she has the look of contentment which only a beloved woman has. Alice has never been a girl who can turn her emotions inside out and parade them for the world. Words don't come glibly or freely from her lips. But the serenity in her eyes underscores her contentment. Today, she has the things she has always wanted. Long before Alice married Phil Harris, she said: "I know what I want out of life. A career is all right. I like my work, but my career doesn't own me. It wouldn't break my heart if something happened and I would suddenly find myself out of pictures. "There is only one thing I really want. That's a good marriage and children. Maybe that sounds like a line for publicity. But I was raised to believe that the ideal life for a woman is to be a wife and a mother. "When I marry again (and this was long before she had met Phil) , I think I'll bring a lot more to marriage than I have before. Trouble does something for a woman — it opens her eyes, and makes her see things she's overlooked before. The next time I'll know what to do to insure happiness." When Alice met Phil, it wasn't one of those immediate head-over-heels romances. Alice was cautious. She had been hurt. She couldn't insulate her heart, but she checked with her head before she married Phil. From the day she knew a baby was on the way, Alice made plans to leave the screen immediately. "I felt," declares Alice, "that I owed it to myself and to the baby not to work during that time. I wanted to live a quiet life, with plenty of time to rest and to plan and to dream and to be happy. I didn't want to have any of the problems or have to meet the physical and mental and emotional demands of picture-making. "I didn't worry about being forgotten. I saw no reason why I shouldn't be. After all, there are a lot of new players constantly coming up. The public likes variety, and the disappearance of one face doesn't make much difference. I expected to be replaced in the public's memory very quickly. Frankly, at that time, I was perfectly content never to make another picture. "I thought the studio would be indifferent to my return. When I finished Week-end in Havana I honestly believed it would be my final picture. "It's pretty wonderful to realize my fans haven't forgotten me. To be wanted, to be missed, gives me a feeling of gratitude that I shall never be able to describe. "The studio told me there were thousands of letters asking when I would make another picture. When they started piling up, executives insisted that I had a long enough vacation, and it was time for me to get back on the job. "Now that I am working again, it doesn't seem as if I'd ever been away. But the letters I am receiving remind me how long eighteen months really is. "It's a little tough to get going again. I am not used to the routine and about the middle of every afternoon I get sleepy. I have to sort of save my energy, too." If you ask Alice whether she senses any change in herself due to her absence, she says: "No, I am changed only as any girl is who has had her first baby. Of course I have a daughter now, and I am a part of a family. I have a feeling of ties — but that's true of any mother. I've quieted down, certainly. And my point of interest is in my home." Today Alice is mighty glad to be back. "After all," she points out, "there's a war going on. Everyone should work. If I can, in any way, divert people's minds, give them some relaxation from the present day strain, picture-making is worth while. "Also, it is necessary for me to work. I have the house to maintain and other financial obligations. Phil is a Lieutenant, J. G. in the Merchant Marine, and even though he still continues to appear on the Benny program, most of the job of carrying on is up to me." Like other women with husbands in service, Alice gets pretty lonesome, but she realizes how fortunate she is that Phil is able to come home once in a while. There isn't a day she doesn't count her blessings. B 40