Modern Screen (Jan-Nov 1952)

my predictions for 1952 (Continued from page 23) Will we have a divorce as startling, as unnecessary, as upsetting as that of Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor? Or a marriage as deliciously happy as that of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis? Will we have another comedy team as funny as those money -making zanies, Martin and Lewis? Will we have two such inexplicable, heartbreaking tragedies as the deaths of Robert Walker and Maria Montez? I remember interviewing Maria the last time she was in Hollywood. She was full of astrology, and assured me that her interest in it was not a pose. She had infinite faith in her celestial calculations. "Hedda," she said with a gay laugh when I teased her, "I have made a careful study of the matter, and I have come up with a firm prediction: For myself a great future." There are 12 months to go, 12 months of love, life, and the pursuit of careers in the most publicized city in the world. So much can happen. Who will be our new stars? Will handsome Dale Robertson be given more and more of the Ty Power parts at 20th Century-Fox? Will talented Mitzi Gaynor take over where Betty Grable leaves off? Will 1952 be the year that the one and only Garbo chooses to return to the screen and stop wearing her hair like a floor mop? Will the public forgive Rex Harrison who is making his first Hollywood film since Carole Landis' suicide? Will they forgive John Agar as they did Bob Mitchum? Will they forgive young Dick Contino as they did Tony Martin during World War II? There are so many excellent, unforgettable pictures in 1951. Who'll be the lucky stars to capture that ever desirable Oscar come March, 1952? Well, my crystal ball is shining like a marquee on opening night. And here's how it looks to me: Good old wedding bells seem to be waiting to ring for Judy Garland in the spring of 1952, but I predict she'll fall out of love six months later. Sid Luffs divorce from Lynn Bari is final in January, and Judy's divorce from Vincente Minnelli is final in March. When I saw Judy recently in Hollywood, before she took off for her stint at the Palace in New York, she was full of the old bounce, or more poetically, the joy of living. The neuroses that had clung to her like poor relatives the past three years had disappeared entirely. Metro, the studio that fired her in 1950 after 15 years on the lot, suddenly decided to pitch in and do everything possible to make Judy's appearance at the Palace a success. They gave her clothes, songs, props, arrangements, and even a couple of directors, Bob Alton and Chuck Walters. In fact, they gave her everything except a contract. When an actress is happy in her career, it usually follows that she is happy in her love life. So, Sid Luft, who has been her boy friend and personal manager for some months now, couldn't find a more propitious time to lead her to the altar. I must say that I would have preferred that Judy reconcile with her director husband, Vincente Minnelli, a really sweet guy who was wonderful to Judy when she got herself into such a neurotic mess, and who is just as devoted as she is to their cute little daughter, Liza. And, judging from the letters I have received, her fans would like her to reconcile with her husband. If the marriage to Sid Luft is to last, Sid had better do something about his mania for hitting people, especially people who wear glasses. So should Judy. It just ain't done! 66 I have never seen this town so surprised, and visibly shaken as when a tearful Barbara Stanwyck announced that she and Bob were getting a divorce — after 12 years of being acclaimed one of Hollywood's most ideal couples. Frankly, I think it even came as a blow to Barbara. When she appeared before the Superior Court of Los Angeles in February, Barbara said, "He asked me for a divorce. He said he had enjoyed his freedom while in Italy and wanted to continue to do as he pleased. I was greatly shocked and became so ill that I had to place myself under the care of a physician." "That will be sufficient," said Judge Clark, and the divorce was granted. If Barbara hadn't been such a straightshooter I think that the divorce could have been avoided. She could have said, "All right, Bob. So you had fun in Italy. So you had a girl friend. But divorce is a serious thing. Let's wait six months and see how we feel." Six months after the divorce, Bob was ready to call off the whole thing. Freedom, he discovered, wasn't all it was cracked up to be. He had a few Hollywood dates, but they seemed to bore him considerably. He found out that it wasn't so much fun going off on a hunting trip, or flying his precious plane into the wild blue yonder, if there weren't Barbara and a home to come back to. While on location with the Ivanhoe company in England Bob didn't have a single date. "Hedda," he said over the phone to me when he landed in New York, "for three weeks I had dinner every night in my room — alone. Thank you for denying that I was dating Joan Fontaine." Will Barbara get that old pride bristling and refuse to take him back? I don't think Wish I'd Said That: Jackie Gleason to Frank Sinatra: "I'm glad you shaved off your mustache. It was making you round-shouldered." Earl Wilson in The Nezv York Post so. She loves the guy too much. When I asked her recently if there would be a reconciliation she said, "Honestly, I don't know, Hedda. But I can tell you I've had some beautiful letters from Bob while he was away." I hope my crystal ball isn't letting me in for some wishful thinking. By the time this is published I predict that Frankie will have made Ava the second Mrs. Sinatra. How long this marriage will last I can't say, but I do predict that their marriage will be as quiet as their courtship, which was as quiet as a boiler factory. Sometimes, stars who have a turbulent courtship settle down and are ideally married for the rest of their lives. But that is not the usual case. Ava is a calm, relaxed, comfortable sort of girl who likes people and wants people to like her. Frankie is a little spitfire, with a chip on his shoulder as big as the Empire State Building. He doesn't like people, especially people who peck typewriters, and his feuds and fights with the press have become very embarrassing to Ava. Several years ago, when they were a steady twosome, I wanted Ava to marry Howard Duff. But Ava says of Howard, "He was a friend." Well, anyway, Ida Lupino's got him now — lucky Ida, and lucky Howard. The last time I talked to Ava when she stopped by my office, she assured me again that she had nothing to do with the Sinatra breakup. That's true. But it was Ava who brought the climax when she told Frankie she would not see him again as long as he was another woman's husband. With Ava it's marriage or nothing. "Hedda," she told me that day, "I want to settle down and have babies. Honest." "Ava, my girl," I said, "I like you. But I will believe that when I see it." Mitzi Gaynor is fast becoming one of Hollywood's big time stars. They smile when they say "Gaynor" over on the 20th Century-Fox lot, just as they did 25 years ago when Janet Gaynor was bringing in millions at the box office. Mitzi is a lovely girl, level-headed, and talented. I am delighted that I can predict a beautiful and happy marriage for her next September. Why September? Because on September 4, Mitzi will be 21, and after that she is free to marry. Several years ago Mitzi fell in love with a young Los Angeles attorney, named Richard Coyle, a fraternity brother of Edward Everett Horton's, who introduced them backstage one night. Mitzi was all for dragging her ideal man to the altar at once, but her mother, a very wise woman, asked her to wait until she was 21; and Mitzi, a very wise daughter, promised. At the moment I believe that the Jane Powell-Geary Steffan marriage is the most perfect of the "younger set" in Hollywood, but come September, Jane and Geary will have to share their enviable spot with Mitzi and Richard. TVd you think, by any chance, that Clark Gable was surly and lonely while he was in Nevada establishing his six weeks residence? While he was there Clark was most attentive to a divorcee who was taking what is called in Reno "the Cure." But Clark won't be marrying his attractive woman in 1952, or anyone. That boy's had it. From now on Clark will be very wary of the marriage vows. In October, 1951, Clark filed suit against Sylvia Gable, charging mental cruelty. But Sylvia will have the last word, and with Jerry Geisler as her lawyer, it will be an expensive word. Sylvia doesn't play for pennies. Clark is determined to fight any alimony. He has bought property in Nevada and become a resident of the state— so the divorce battle of the century will not be fought in Hollywood. Just as I would have liked to have seen Ava marry Howard Duff, so I wished that Clark had married Virginia Grey, one of the sweetest,, nicest, girls in this town — instead of the flashy Lady Sylvia. Virginia has loved Clark for years, and deep down in his heart I think Clark loves her. He always runs to her with his troubles. But after Sylvia takes him through the divorce wringer I think he'll be "agin" marriage for a long, long time. Why don't you make a liar out of me, Clark, and marry Virginia? I'm sure that Janet Leigh will be knitting booties and Tony Curtis will be popping buttons off his famous checked vests before 1952 is well into its stride. Tony says there's no hurry, but two people so much in love just have to have a baby. Another couple I predict a blessed event for in '52 is Jeanne Crain and Paul Brinkman. I saw Jeanne and Paul at a party the other night, and Jeanne was telling me about her three children, the youngest is 14 months. "I want six children, Hedda," said Jeanne very seriously. "I'll settle for four," said Paul. I have already announced in my column that the Bob Mitchums, who already have two boys, are expecting a third child in the spring. A new baby is also expected at the Ricardo Montalbans, the Audie Murphys, and the Gene Nelsons. Gene wants a little girl (he has a little boy) so he can call her Jennifer and dress her in buttons and bows. And I predict that Jane Russell and Bob Waterfield will adopt another child in 1952 as a playmate for their recently adopted little Tracy. I'm sorry to say there have been a lot of rumors floating around our town the last two months, about Bette Davis and Gary Merrill. When I asked my crystal ' ball if there was a divorce in the offing it clouded up completely. After predicting that Liz Taylor and