Modern Screen (Dec 1949 - Nov 1950)

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"Now, wait a minute. You did want a modern house, didn't you?" "No. If it had been left to me, I'd have had French provincial." "That's what I wanted!" "Oh Alan, why didn't you say so?" "I thought you wanted modern!" All was not yet lost. Using the same foundation and floor plan, they had the roof and exterior changed. Big windows facing the patio bring the outside inside. The rest is French provincial. Sue set her sights for a June house-warming, while friends laughed merrily over the notion that you could build a house and be settled in eight months. Alan bet on Susie and won, though her system did involve some minor discomforts. Coming home from work, ready to fling himself into a pet chair, he'd find it gone. Next day a sofa would join the vanishing act. Sue was having the stuff sneaked out to be re-upholstered. They wound up sitting on the floor. One night Alan got hungry, went down for a bowl of soup, and couldn't find any. "Exit the canned goods?" he inquired. Sue looked guilty. Thanks to her foresight, however, they moved in June and to a well-ordered home. sentimental gentleman . . . That was the day Alan pulled a gag that didn't come off. His timing was wrong. For both it had been a day of fulfillment, long in coming. Inside, Alan felt as elated as Sue. But being a woman, she had her feelings nearer the surface. In the bedroom she discovered a cherished picture of her father, re-framed by Alan as a surprise. This fresh evidence of his thoughtfulness sent her cup brimming over. "Oh, Alan!" was all she could quaver, when he returned from an errand to the hardware store. "Like it, honey? Well, come on outside. I've got something else to show you." At the store he'd picked up a For Rent sign, which was now tacked to their beautiful new front door. One gander, and Sue looked ready to burst into tears. Unprepared for this reaction, Alan could have kicked himself. "I'm a dope," he consoled her, ripping the sign away. "Might have known you're too tired for anything to be funny." "I'm the dope," she conceded. "But let's go burn that thing." He has the kind of male humor that's tickled by feminine inconsistencies. Every night after dinner Sue goes around turning off lights. "Get my wife!" he chuckles. "We've just built a new house. Every time I look around, we've got a new piece of furniture. But my wife turns out lights. That's her contribution toward saving the Ladd fortune." Unperturbed, she continues to turn off lights. As for furniture, by adapting and recovering, she was able to use most of their old stuff. But of course in a new house, you always need some new pieces. Every now and then Alan feels he should put his foot down. It's not a heavy foot. By temperament, he's generous to a fault and calls it selfindulgence — "like everything else you do for your own pleasure." Every year they go through the same routine. He gives Sue his Christmas list. "Are you sure that's all, Alan? Because I want to get the shopping done early." "That's all." So through long experience she buys three dozen extra presents for him to give, knowing he'll need that many at the last minute. He does his own shopping for his presents to Sue. Comes home laden, sneaks the loot into a closet, hauls it out the same night and planks it in front of her. The first time this happened, she pro80 tested. "But I won't have anything to open at Christmas! I like to open boxes at Christmas, even if they're empty." "Open 'em now, I want to see if you like 'em." On Christmas Day there were more boxes under the tree — half of them filled with presents, half of them empty except for a card: "Your wish is my law." But now and then he feels he should take a stand. As when Sue decided they needed some plates for over the mantel in the dining room. "We've got lots of plates," Alan objected. "But they're not just the right kind." "Better make 'em do." "Okay," said the docile Mrs. Ladd. A few nights later he said casually, "Guess you really want those plates, don't you, Susie? Might as well have 'em." It was obviously a load off his chest. Denying Susie the piates bothered him a lot worse than it did her. Jezebel, the boxer, sleeps beside his bed. If she wants out, she scratches gently at his hand or rattles the chain-collar round her neck. As above noted, Alan's a guy who loves to sleep. But let it be a dog who disturbs him, and he'll never say boo. Same way in other departments. He's a stickler for neatness. When the kids leave things in a mess, he really gets after them. The dogs can tear cushions to shreds or try out their teeth on the new porch furniture, and it's fine with Alan. "People have sense, dogs haven't," he explains. Frank Freeman gave them Jezebel as a puppy. She was raised with Lonnie. Snoopy belongs to Laddie, Junior. Happy, the collie, is Carol Lee's dog. Each of the kids owned a dog but two-year-old David. Last Valentine's Day Alan appeared with a baby boxer, sired by Vic Mature's Genius. "This is David's dog," he announced. "Look!" Carol Lee pointed to the puppy's chest, marked by an almost perfect A. "Let's call her Scarlet, after The Scarlet Letter." Because people have sense and must sooner or later come to terms with reality, Alan believes in discipline for children. To him, discipline means characterbuilding. "I want my kids to have nice things. They're entitled to that as long as I can afford it. But I also want them to earn it. Developing good qualities will make life easier on them. If they're courteous, they'll be better liked. If they learn the difference between honesty and sham, they'll like themselves better. If they take responsibility, they'll be stronger inside. If they know how to feel for others, they'll be happier people." Dinner time is family time at the Ladds'. Sue and Alan like to listen to the kids' problems. The kids like to hear what goes MODERN SCREEN "Cut!" on at the studio. Every aspect of th business is freely discussed in their pres ence, every question answered. This i I deliberate policy on the part of their pai ents. Neither Sue nor Alan has any clos relatives. "If anything happened to u;j we'd want the children to understand ou affairs." When Alan took his suspension. Care Lee was a sophomore at high school. Th day the news broke, she appeared in th ! principal's office. "Please, if there are an extras from now on, I'd like to pay ther out of my allowance. My daddy's nc working and I'd rather not have any extra charged on the bill." Then there's the other side of the meda One Sunday night, Sue and Alan were in vited to a birthday party. There were ne1 servants in the house, and while the seemed entirely satisfactory, they wei still new. So, because of the younge children, Carol Lee and Laddie were tolto stay home that evening. Complicatior arose when Booboo Howell, son of th groceryman at Camarillo, dropped in an ' offered to take them to a movie. Care Lee called her mother. a job to finish . . . "Lonnie and David are fast asleep, an the new people said they'd stay up till w i got back. D'you think it would be all rigf for us to go?" Sue gave her permission. A little late she mentioned the matter to Alan. It wei one of the rare occasions when he ble his top. "Come on. We're going home "I'm sorry, Alan. But don't blame th \ children, it's my fault." "It's their fault, too. When they're give ( a job, they should finish it." To impress that fact on their mind, they were deprived of certain privilege I and though Sue insisted that the blam rested with her. they took their medicir cheerfully. For the most part, they measure up to standard and beyond. Sine • there's nothing arbitrary about the deat since all the whys and wherefores are ex plained, they're proud of their place i'l the family set-up. When Alan goes ol location, Sue goes along. Being together is part of their psychology for a happ' marriage. So they've got to leave somei one behind whom they know they cat trust. That someone is Carol Lee. While Sue and Alan were in Chicag I she took charge of the kids up at tr ranch. One day Lonnie tumbled from trswing and knocked out two teeth. He sister hustled her to the dentist — then, i! case of a shock or something, to the pe | diatrician. Having handled the emergenc . as capably as Sue herself could have don she polished things off by calling Chicag i and putting Lonnie on the phone for adde reassurance. J Alan thinks rewards are just as irr" portant as discipline. For a job well dons Carol Lee was rewarded. But the kie seem to feel that the top award for mer is their father's approval. For himself, he's got a silver dresse set. His name ranks high on all popv larity polls. His pictures roll up record And he can't get rid of the sense that he in on a temporary pass. He's increduioi — but grateful. Grateful to Sue, whe stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Bt then. Susie loves him. Grateful to Par? I mount, who gave him his break. Bi Paramount doesn't love him so much th;,t they'd pay him good money except for or reason. "And that,"' says Alan, "is — people. Pec pie out there in the audience. They'\ been wonderful to me, I still can't figui why." He doesn't express emotion easil but the quiet voice goes deep with feelir when he says, "I wish I could find son , way to thank them." The Er|