The New Movie Magazine (Jan-Sep 1935)

Younger Hollywood The Hollywood colony of youngsters, usually so full of fun, knows tragedy too. But the empty ranks are filled and they go on. By HENRY WILLSON ONE of Hollywood's cleverest motion pictures — containing wit — charm — beauty — and talent, combined with complete abandon will never, unfortunately, reach the professional screen. The picture stars Ben Alexander and Phyllis Fraser, and was made with a 16 m.m. film up at Lake Arrowhead a couple of Sundays ago. "Little Red Riding Hood" is the title of the epic and in the cast we found Mrs. Lewis Frederick Ayres playing some sort of snow nymph — and is she cute! How that Ginger Rogers gets around — there's no keeping her out of pictures. Phyllis Fraser, Ginger's cousin, plays the lead in the picture. She and Ginger out-do themselves, and they look really beautiful — which all goes to disprove the fact that Hollywood stars would be a washout without their layers of make-up, their false eye-lashes and the arc lights and camera angles. Lew Ayres and Leila Rogers took turns as cameraman and director, with the sun furnishing the lighting effects. The idea made such a hit that the troupe immediately lined up a supersuper cast for another production — "The Disinherited," starring Earl Eby and featuring these players, James Gleason, Johnny Mack Brown, Sterling Holloway, Florence Lake, Bodil Rosing, Noel Madison, and Andy Devine. They've rented an old ramshackle house on Sunset Boulevard — had the lights turned on, and use that for the interior shots. Ben Alexander is chief cameraman and cutter, while Albert, Lew Ayres' colored man, has been made chief electrician. Poor Albert is really the only unhappy one in the whole shooting-match. Albert used to be a high grade colored butler and chauffeur, but for the past five weeks he hasn't even seen a butler's uniform, 'cause Lew and Ginger saw fit to elevate this protege of amateur technical intricacies. The pictures are a lot of fun, and the next one will star Janet Gaynor in a hilarious take-off of "Anna Christie". P. S. : Albert will remain as electrician. UNDOUBTEDLY Hollywood's newest young sensation will be Louis Hayward, the handsome young juvenile Metro signed this season, after his record-breaking overnight hit in the Noel Coward play, "Point Valaine," with Alfred Lunt and Lynne Fontanne. His performance was so marked in the play, and hailed by the critics, that the management was forced to put young Hayward's name up in lights, featured with the stars, Lunt and Fontanne. And one more performance like his in M-G-M's "The Flame Within" will put this newcomer right on top — which should please Metro no end, as they are paying him three times as much as anybody can possibly imagine. That's how anxious they were for a new leading man who could act. IDA Lupino's visit at the Del Tahquitz in Palm Springs unwittingly settled a momentous question for that town's Chamber of Commerce. It seems there had been much discussion whether the airport should be moved nearer town. During Ida's sojourn. Howard Hughes. Hollywood's youngest producer, caused much excitement by circling around the roof-top of the hotel, playing hide-and-seek with Lupino — and finally, finding it inconvenient to park on the Del Tahquitz roof, Hughes brought his machine to a stop in the empty sand lot next door. So from now on that will be the new Palm Springs Airport. Read how Ida Lupino's visit to Palm Springs decided the Chamber of Commerce of that town on a new place for an airport. Above: Death always seems the more cruel when it takes the young. Junior Durkin had a splendid future. We shall miss him. Right: Lew Ayres and Ben Alexander, with their friends, are now making amateur movies. T_J OLLYWOOD'S youngest potential ■*■ ■*■ feature picture director today is twenty-three-year-old George Sidney (son of Louis K. Sidney, Loew Theater executive), who has been made test director at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. George has been assigned to direct all the stage stars brought out from New York in dramatic and musical screen tests being shot for contracts. Doris Carson, Constance Carpenter, Eleanor Powell and Fred Perry are some of the young newcomers who have been successfully tested by Sidney. In talking to him, we found him bubbling over with new ideas that are bound to land him a feature picture direction assignment before very long. tTRANKTE DARRO and Bob Mere•*■ dith were more than surprised, recently, on their return from location when an orange juice stand man invited them to "hurry back" after they had heeded his inviting sign: "All the Orange Juice You Can Drink for 10c." Each boy emptied eleven glasses of the beverage. THE Will Rogers' were practically minus a large, double wooden gate to their ranch property the other night when daughter Mary started off for the Trocadero with Bob Hoover, Paula Stone and myself. The gates were closed as we drove down from the ranch house, so Bob stopped the car and I prepared to jump out and open the gate. "Oh, you don't have to get out, Henry," explained Mary. "Just push the bumper against the left gate and they both swing open. It's a little system I discovered all myself." So we pushed — and pushed — and the pleased expression on cur faces dropped to a shadow of doubt as there was a cracking, crushing, gate-smashing sound ahead of us. As a matter of fact, the gate was being smashed. Mary had made a slight error. It was coming IN to the ranch that the gates swing open, by pushing the bumper against the left gate. It was a lovely gate, if ever I saw one. Speaking of the Rogers' — I'll take a chance that this is no longer a secret of Jimmy's, Will's youngest son. Jim, who graduated from Prep School this year, made a bet with some of the fellows in his class at school that he could tie himself to the top of the goal post on the polo field and that they couldn't get him off within twenty minutes. If Jimmy lost the penalty was either to pay $1.00 to each fellow, or dye his hair blonde. If his opponents lost, the same held true. Jimmy didn't win — and he was darned if he'd pay that money. So seven youths, with glee written all over their faces, poured peroxide on Jimmy's dark locks. When the process was finished, Jimmy was cool and collected. He merely applied a little brown hair dye, plus a special lotion that was guaranteed to "hasten the process," and he was to be back to normal again. Something went wrong, and Jimmy became a flaming "redhead." Jimmy is still seeing red, and Father Will is still wondering why Jimmy kept his hat pulled down over his ears the whole week-end. IN closing, I want to dedicate this paragraph on behalf of myself and the younger set of Hollywood to Trent Junior Durkin. the finest friend I could ever hope for. His untimely accident and death on the eve of starting the two greatest picture roles of his career still leaves Hollywood stunned. A sweeter — kinder — a more regular fellow never lived. But Junior always disliked anything sentimental, so for his sake, I will stop at this: We'll miss him. 42 The New Movie Magazine, August, 1935