Modern Screen (Jan-Nov 1951)

Day after that Barbara had Tullia phone to order a cocktail dress. Next day at the fittings, Fontana brought in one of her fabulous evening gowns. Started to fit it on Barbara. "Signore Tay-lore liked it so much," she said appealingly. That's when Barbara discovered Bob was gifting her with the trio of gowns. Dy now Barbara was possessed with her "mission." She was determmed not to return to New York without rosaries blessed by the Pope for the boys and Danny. Tullia had placed Barbai-a's request for an audience with His Holiness before the Monsignor, and received an appointment for Barbara to appear in person at the Vatican before the request was considered. Missy went rosary-shopping. I always thought a rosary was a rosary. Missy thought these rosaries had to be something special. They had to be "masculine" she said. The rosary hunt took us in and out of a pretty good percentage of the hundreds of shops all over Rome where rosaries are sold. She bought the sixth rosary late on a Saturday afternoon. At the apartment she found her notice that her private audience had been granted for the next day at Castel Gondolfo, the Pope's summer palace. Next day, Barbara started to dress at noon. She wore, as instructed, a black suit, covered her hair with a fine black WAS MY FACE RED! When John Hodiak displayed some tenseness before the camera in one of his first pictures, Lifeboat, Alfred Hitchcock tried to soothe him by saying, "What's there to worry about, John? Remember, this is just another picture." Then paused dramatically before adding, "On which your whole future depends." — Kolma Flake net veil. She wore white gloves, and carried, looped over her left arm, the six heavy rosaries; carnelian, jade, amber and topaz-quartz respectively. Bob, with other members of the Quo Vadis company had had his audience with His Holiness at the Vatican just before filming the production started, and shared Barbara's excitement. Her appointment was for 5:15 "precisely." Castel Gondolfo is about 40 minutes (as Julio drives) from Rome. Barbara was dressed and waiting for Julio at three o'clock. Arriving at the Castel gates at 4: 30 she wandered with Bob in the milling crowd before the gates until 5:15 precisely, then was passed through the gates, ushered through one room after another, and at last, clutching her rosaries, awaited His Holiness in one of the smaller reception rooms, where she received his blessing. Barbara was deeply moved, as she had been moved by the sight of the pilgrims' devotion at St. Peter's. For herself she would never have sought the audience. For what the rosaries, blessed by His Holiness, would mean to Danny and Pete, to Amando and Tony — "my waiters" — she had sought and secured it. Wordless, as she is in moments of personal emotion, she was intensely quiet on the drive back to Rome. Bob held her hand tightly, and she smiled softly to herself all the way. "Mission accomplished" was now descriptive of Barbara's visit. The rosaries were blessed and Bob's schedule required weeks of day and night work to finish I Quo Vadis. There were almost as many farewell flowers in the apartment for Missy during the next three days as there had been to welcome her upon her arrival. There were tuberoses from Ceglia, the bootmaker, tuberoses from the glovemaker and great red dahlias from Bob's tailor. In all this fragrance, Tullia and Paola, Parici, Julio and Renato moved about their work, their smiles conspicuously and touchingly absent. "Paola dolora," said Paola over and over. "Paola very sad," she elucidated, in her clear, unaccented, third-person English, "and she speaks for everyone." Bob was working and couldn't see us off at the airport on Friday, but Tullia, Paola and Julio were there and said their goodbyes with frankly tear-filled eyes. Missy, though touched by their caring, said her goodbyes abruptly and strode to the plane — without a backward glance. Looking back after a goodbye is her one superstition about flying. The motors were warmed. Our plane was airborne. Our visit to Rome was committed to memory. The road back spread out before us. We flew to Paris whose incredible beauty was misted in rain. We wandered eagerly through the streets, dined at Maxim's, heard the sweet music of violins at Monseigneur's . . . The next few days were a kaleidoscope of interviews, press conferences, sight-seeing, perfume-buying. And then, one morning, we boarded the Queen Elizabeth at Cherbourg. Cables and flowers from Bob were awaiting each of us in our cabins. The crossing was rough, but Barbara and I paced the deck for hours, discovered the remote, hypnotic beauty of the moon at sea, stood on the top deck with the wind slapping our faces. Then Barbara sent a cable to Bob. "Will meet you in New York whenever you finish!" IVTew York. Our penthouse suite at the ' Sherry was like a garden. Loveliest of all the flowers were the two huge baskets, Barbara's and mine, from Bob. Each bearing hand-written note from Signore Taylore. Our official homecoming was our dinner that night at Danny's Hideaway. What a welcome it was! Danny's eyes were dancing as he took us to "the Royal Booth." The table was beautifully decorated with red roses and gardenias and green tapers. Danny handed Barbara an envelope. She read it in the candlelight, and was surprised, and pleased and touched. It was from Bob. We were his dinner guests. He just wanted to be "with us" on our first night home. He'd thought of everything, ordered the dinner and the flowers from Rome. Halfway through dinner and in her most offhand manner, Stanwyck presented the rosaries one at a time to Danny and the boys ... Our "few days" in New York stretched into weeks of concentrated appointments — interviews, radio appearances, photographs — all in connection with Barbara's picture for MGM, To Please A Lady, co-starring Clark Gable. We flew to Indianapolis for the premiere of To Please A Lady. Indianapolis loved Missy. The newspapers headlined her arrival; the Governor greeted her; she danced with the soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division. It was an exciting and gratifying stopover, but then we were on our way again. This time headed for Los Angeles. Home. We made the Eastern Airlines hop to Chicago, and then via TWA went West. All in all we'd covered 18,000 miles by the time we'd reached our doorstep. Every single mile of that, we'd been up in the clouds. The End Prove it yourself no matter how long you have suffered what you have tried, eautlful book on psoriaiis and Dermoil with amazing, true photographic proof of results sent FREE. Write for It. 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