Modern Screen (Dec 1949 - Nov 1950)

Linda was crying. Waiting long enough for her to dry her eyes, the friend approached the table. "Darling," Linda bubbled, "you're just in time to hear the news. Pev and I are back together again and we are going to adopt a baby!" There was no mistaking the genuine happiness shining from her eyes, and Pev looked as though he'd start passing out cigars any moment. They had just gone through a trying period. Pev was under contract to Warners, and Linda was at Twentieth Century. By an unkind quirk of fate every time Linda finished a picture Pev was just starting one. It reached the point where they were two strangers, living in the same house and only occasionally passing each other in the hall or sharing a hurried meal. So they'd separated. They were more miserable apart than together. Neither had any outside romantic interest, and when they dated, it was with each other. So the night Linda announced that they'd made up their differences and were going to adopt a child, all their friends hoped that this would give them a common enough interest to cement the marriage. It did — for a while. But as soon as the excitement of a new baby wore off, the bickering started again. W7"hen Linda left for New York alone *» last February, everyone immediately leaped to the conclusion that this was the final split. The truth is, Linda simply wanted to get away for a while. She was making a last effort to solve the greatest problem in her life — a marriage that was slowly disintegrating. She took a drawing room on the train and kept to herself. She didn't check in at a hotel, but stayed with friends to avoid the confusion that accompanies a star's visit to Manhattan. She made no dates until the night of the Twelve O 'Clock High premiere. That was a command performance. The studio asked her to attend with Mr. Skouras' party. Linda accepted, being the most "co-operative person who ever drew breath. On the surface Linda was at her best that night. She charmed everyone there with her gaiety and good nature. Later in the evening, however, when she was alone for a brief moment, her face looked tense and unhappy. Rack to the Coast she went after that— and moved into a new Bel Air house with her daughter Lola. There was a nurse for little Lola, but both the little girl and her mother must have felt that something was lacking. Where was Pev? He was at the Pacific Palisades home, where he and Linda had lived for almost seven years. What went on there before they reached an agreement no one will ever know. But when the divorce proceedings start, there'll be no lurid publicity. Pev and Linda have nothing to hide. There's no other romance in either of their lives. They are simply incompatible. Linda missed most of the normal gaiety that goes with growing up. Before she had an opportunity to make up for this lack, she was married, facing the demanding routine of marriage combined with a career. This combination has been too much for more mature women than Linda. She's to be commended for her struggle to overcome all obstacles. Linda's a more mature woman now. The heartache of the last few years will soon be a memory of the past. She's beautiful and intelligent. She has a brilliant future. And she's still young enough to enjoy the happiness that will ultimately be hers. The End Wise women long have known this treasured secreh Use perfume where you feel the heart bear. There, body heat holds the fragrance longest — a delicate, subtle, always-with-you fragrance that makes you enchanting, desirable, night and day. COPYRIGHT 1 950 BY RICHARD HUDNUT. NEW YORK AND PARIS. PHOTO BY HURRELL. GOWN BY KIVIETTE