Modern Screen (Dec 1948 - Oct 1949)

life was that of the mother who died five years ago. . . . Molly Gardner was a person of rare sweetness and strength, an outgoing person with an endless capacity for love. Jonas was shy about displaying affection. Molly felt no such constraint. At 13, Ava was still climbing into her lap to be petted. When the girls married, their husbands became Molly's sons. She adored them all, including Mickey Rooney. He kidded and teased her. She was ill, and he made her laugh, and she responded to his fun as she responded to every good thing in life. When she wrote to Ava, she'd add little letters for Mickey. Ava knows that their break-up hurt her, but Molly blamed neither one. There was no room in her heart for condemnation. . jonas came first . . . She gave her children all the affection they needed, but mother-love never shut her husband out. On the contrary, it was Jonas who came first. You could tell by the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes and the things she did for him and the way she did them. It was through the heartbreak of his final illness that Ava learned the meaning of devotion. They'd moved to Virginia, just the three of them. Jonas had been obliged to give up the farm and the little store, and in Newport News, Molly ran a boardinghouse for teachers. It was pure drudgery, and you could seldom get help. For the last year of his life Jonas was bed-ridden. With all the rest of it, Molly took care of her hus-, band. Night after night she sat up with him. Day after day, at the sound of his bell, she'd drop whatever she was doing and fly upstairs. "Let me," Ava'd cry, but Molly'd go by without hearing. It was Molly he wanted, and she couldn't get to him fast enough. "I've seen this woman so wracked, so worn, so exhausted," her daughter recalls, "that I'd think, she can't go on another day." Sometimes, as the bell tinkled, her young nerves would revolt. "He rings it unnecessarily!" Next second, she'd hate herself for thinking so. Now, from the perspective of time, she understands that her protest was normal, if childish. That the bell was a welcome call to Molly. That her one comfort during those heavy days was to lavish all her tenderness on the man she loved. That from every minute together, she drew the needed strength to go on. When Jonas died, they went back to Smithfield. Molly took her loss quietly and with courage. But it left an emptiness that was never filled. . . . Eecause of her beauty, because of the parts she's played, you think of Ava as a sophisticate in the worldly sense. She's not. To this day, she's self-conscious about entering a roomful of people. She stands at the door and stiffens terrified lest she do something wrong, make a fool of herself. It sounds idiotic. How can a girl who looks like that be anything but sure of herself? According to the girl, looks aren't enough. Poise doesn't come from looks or clothes or beaux. It comes from an inner security that Ava lost at the age of 11. Till then her skies were cloudless. She was wrapped in the safety of family love and the peace of family life. Her three eldest sisters were like mothers as well as sisters. Every Sunday Molly'd cook a fabulous dinner — fried chicken and ham and half-a-dozen vegetables — and the clan would gather. Till Ava turned 10, Al was the only grandchild, and he was a boy, scornful of babying. His aunt felt wellprotected in her little place. After dinner the grownups would wash the dishes and gossip, while Ava ran out to play with the roughneck characters who appreciated ^our* faee is vpu* ^^jg^^i^^^ figure's ftrtUUg, Super-strong, extra-flexible with rayon satin lastex panel. Contour-fitted crotch of exclusive Elasta-q cloth won't ride up, cut, or bind. Detachable garters. Or regular girdle. Nude, white, blue, black. Small, medium, large. $5.95 at leading stores ever/where. WOLFE & LANG, Inc., 35 West 32 Street, New York. 7, N. Only Merry -Go -Round bra glvss you all these exclusive features: Patented Circular Stitching creates alluring, feminine curves. Faggoted seams give you heavenly comfort and freedom. 4-section bias cup accentuates small bust — minimizes lull bust, • Pre tested "Shrinkage Control"— FIT and LIFT won't wash out. pctcr pan makes Want lovelier curves? Write for FREE booklet. "Your New Guide to Bustline Beauty" PETER PAN, 312 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK 1, N. Y. Dept Dl •GO-ROUND OF CA ADA. 3643 ST. LAV 1ENCE BLVD., 89