Movie Classic (Sep 1936-Feb 1937)

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IjON'T get the idea that Ralph, in saying *~^ that he is a comedian, is trying to steal brother Frank's thunder. Frank's comedy is as individual in style as may be found within the realms of acting. As a matter of fact, brother Ralph thinks that brother Frank is just about the funniest fellow in the world. But he also thinks he is a pretty funny guy, himself. It has been a strange quirk of fate that Frank Morgan, who gained his fame on the stage as an actor of straight dramatic parts, should become one of the really few genuine comedians in pictures. And, that Ralph Morgan, who was famed for his comedy ability on the stage, should be "typed" in pictures as a straight dramatic actor. Ever since Frank Morgan burst forth before a delighted public with that marvelously droll performance of the Duke in The Affairs of Cellini, he has been called upon time and time again to play the same sort of amusing character Don't think for a moment that Frank doesn't yearn to get a strong dramatic role that he can sink his teeth into. By the same token, ever since Ralph Morgan re-created his original stage role of "Uncle Charley" in Strange Interlude and contributed that splendid characterization of the Czar Nicholas of Russia in Rasputin with the three Barrymores, John, Lionel and Ethel, — he has been doomed by the picturepickers to portray sad, gentle oldsters with the same charming, wistful appeal of your favorite dear old college professor. It was such a role he played recently in The Magnificent Obsession, an eccentric inventive old coot with Christlike qualities. He played it as a Morgan should, but after all that type of role never makes one a picture star. "Really, I can be a hell of fellow," says Ralph when he endeavors to persuade the "boys," but they must think he is "ribbing." One producer said to me : "Imagine that guy playing a gangster ? It's ridiculous. I would just as soon pick Frank to play the role." He thought I was "ribbing" when I told him that I had once seen Ralph in a stage play in which he was the most menacing so-and-so one could possibly imagine. Every time he came on the stage, cold chills ran through the theater so rapidly that most of the audience turned up their coat collars. AT the present time, Ralph's daughter, Claudia, is carrying on the Morgan tradition on the New York stage by accomplishing the amazing task of appearing in two successful plays simultaneously. The ambitious youngster plays a featured role in the second act of the Theatre Guild production, Call It A Day, and also in the first and third acts of Co-respondent Unknoivn. She accomplishes this feat by changing her makeup and costume in a taxicab between theaters. As a result of her performance in Call It A Day, Claudia has been signed by the Theatre Guild to a three-year contract for leading roles, an honor which had previously been reserved for Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne and Ina Claire. It seems odd to refer to the Morgan tradition of the stage, when one recalls that Ralph and Frank created their own traditions. They were born Wuppermann, heirs to the Angostura Bitters fortune. Ralph is the eldest, and he had to break the ice in the family about going on the stage. "There was plenty of ice, too," confessed Ralph. "My parents had old-fashioned ideas about the stage. They sent me to Columbia University to study law, so that I could be of some use to the family business. It all started in the college shows and the Comedy Club in New York, where I first was bitten by the acting bug. It wasn't long after I graduated that I was spending the twentyfive dollars a week I earned in a law office for theater tickets. "Alia Nazimova, the great Russian actress, became so curious over seeing me in the front row at her Ibsen repertoire nearly every night, that she finally sent her manager to bring me back stage. I still think she originally thought I was crazy. And, I know my parents did. At any rate, Warner Oland happened to be visiting in her dressing room that night. "A remark he made to me at that time helped me immeasurably to make the decision that was to change the entire course of my life. Kindly Warner said: With your love of the theatre and your understanding, you belong in the profession'." "C^VEN when Wuppermann pere offered *-J the eldest son a fortune to go back to the law office, Ralph stuck to his guns. He set forth on the stage to earn his own living, and to try for fame, in exactly the same manner in which most great actors have achieved acting ability and success. This means the hardships of one-night stands, hall bedrooms and precarious salaries. Once he made the grade and proved his sincerity, all was forgiven, and the younger brother, Frank, was permitted to follow in his footsteps. Some day Ralph and Frank will fall heirs to the immense Wuppermann Angostura Bitters fortune. Father Wuppermann has passed on to his reward, but their eightyfive-year-old mother actively rules over the business today. Frank is vice-president of the company. As I sat with Ralph and his charming wife, Daisy, the love of his stage days to whom he has been happily married for twenty-two years, discussing the strange quirks of his career, I couldn't help thinking that acting is the noblest of professions. It must be to command the love and loyalty of this kindly, distinguished man who has devoted his life's work to the service of entertaining his fellow man. Despite his wistful protests against Hollywood "typeing," I know that he has no envy of any other actor in his makeup. But, I am likewise sure that he would be a happier actor if the movie moguls would let him be a comedian or a villain, occasionally. 58 Movie Classic for October, 1936