Modern Screen (Dec 1937 - Nov 1938)

MODERN SCREEN BETWE $5.00 Prize Letter A Slap In the Face for Flynn Regarding "Robinhood Throws a Party," in your January issue, I have this to say about it. I've always considered Mr. Flynn one of the most self-satisfied, egotistical stars on the screen. (Perhaps he isn't, but that's my opinion and I'll stick to it.) However, I did admire him because he was adventurous, self-sufficient and independent — pretty much a free soul. Mind you, I never agreed with one thing the man said or did or wrote, but I admired his daring. But, alas, what has happened? He used to be a rat, perhaps, but he's turned into a "wee, sleekit, cowrin', tim'rous beastie" (mouse to you). In Miss Zeitlin's article, she pictures him as living in an ordinary house, possessed of several pets, a butler, a wife and some nice, simple friends. No fights with Mrs. Flynn, no slurs against the fair name of woman, no cracks about Hollywood. The man's domesticated! Alack a-day, I loathed him, but now I pity him. Mr. Flynn, I slap you in the face with fny glove. Do you accept my challenge? — Anne Park, Elmira, N. Y. $2.00 Prize Poem Woo Hoo Hugh He may not be handsome — he may not be sweet He may not sweep a gal off her feet. But I laugh and I chuckle when he comes into view That's Hugh Herbert with his Woo Hoo! Woo Hoo! I don't care for Gable, Powell or Flynn Since somebody let this slaphappy guy jn And when I go to the movies I laugh till I'm blue At the antics of Hughie with his Woo Hoo! Woo Hoo! My whole family loves him and just can't get enough Of his silly, daffy, pixilated stuff My mother and dad roar outright ; my brothers do, too. Why he's even got my grandma shouting Woo Hoo ! — Rose Ford, Providence, R. I. $2.00 Prize Letter Balanced Movie-Fare Isn't the argument in favor of only Grade A pictures a little like the literary snobs who will read only best sellers? Right, perhaps, for those who see very few movies, but for the fans who see one or more a week, the Grade B pictures are like simple food on the health diet. The more excellent the picture the greater its power to sway the mind and emotions. Too much of that is like eating too rich food. The milder, less impressive pictures can be as pleasant and comfortable as normal, daily life. Also, like the stock companies to the EN YOD i I I This is how one fan would register her disappointment in Errol Flynn — if she ever got the chance. legitimate stage. Grade B pictures are the ' best place for growing talent. I like to ' watch them develop and I feel quite the , discoverer if I can pick a rising star. They 1 contribute to the balanced diet in the i movie-fare. — Beulah Barker, Chicago, 111. I $1.00 Prize Letter ; Not too Late ! ! Resolutions I hope the following studios i made : i RKO-Radio : Let Ginger Rogers knock ] at more "Stage Doors" and less stage | floors. She's a swell actress. ' 20th Century-Fox : Keep on teaming Loretta Young and Tyrone Power. ' M-G-M : Keep Joan Crawford in "from ^ rags to riches" roles. She's my favorite screen Cinderella. Hal Roach : Find another "Topper" for , Constance Bennett and Cary Grant. It would top 1938. ^ ' Warners : Let Dick Powell play more mature roles. He's forever the shy young man. 20th Century-Fox : Don't spoil Shirley j Temple. Paramount : Don't put Martha Raye in too many pictures. She deserves only the best. — Jean Minahan, Pittsburgh, Pa. $1.00 Prize Letter Bette Davis Rooter It was a welcome relief to have Bette Davis at last emerge from those tense, somber dramas with the unhappy endings, and sally forth into light comedy like "It's I Love I'm After." Miss Davis possesses too grand a sense of humor, too sparkling a personality and too great a talent as a comedienne to be frittering away her ability on those Warner exposes of the shady strata of life. I do not mean to infer that Miss Davis should not continue to be dramatic. I only wish to say that she should avoid too many 16