Photoplay (Jan - Jun 1931)

Cal York's Monthly Broadcast from Hollywood CONTINUED FROM PAGE 53 Hold that pose ! Beauteous Carole Lombard has to rehearse this scene from "Up Pops the Devil" for each of these attentive gentlemen — Director Sutherland, the camera man and the sound man. Would you look as calm before such a critical bevy? "D IVERS are now flowing up hill, and the sun -1-Vs rising in the west! A Mary Pickford picture has been censored. Hard to believe? Almost impossible! But just the same the fact remains that the censorious board of the proud State of Virginia held up release of "Kiki" until certain deletions were made. At last this has happened to Our Mary, whose pictures have always been synonymous with sweetness, light, the innocent prattle of little children and the tweeting of the birdies! It'll be a Jackie Coogan picture next, if we're not careful! AND then there's the author who's telling Hollywood that Producer So-and-So turned down his story about an old man's romance. "My leading character," the author says he told the producer, "is a sexagenarian, and . . ." "Don't tell me more," the producer cut in. "I don't want the story. We're making clean pictures only. None of that sex stuff for us!" IT'S not always beauty that gets a girl a part in a big picture. Consider, for example, the cast of Vivian Winston and "An American Tragedy." Vivian, among other girls, was being interviewed by Director Josef Von Sternberg. He looked at her rather uninterestedly as she arrived. "No. Vou're too pretty. Vou won't do for the part I have in mind." "Can I come back in half an hour?'' she begged. " Vou'll only be wasting our time," said Von Sternberg. But she came back. She had used make-up, and added a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. She had changed clothes. She looked utterly UN-beautiful. P. S. — The girl got the job. 76 HpHEV are telling this one about Charles ■*■ Francis Coe — you read his short stories in Photoplay. Some time ago, he wrote a story called "Pennies." Lon Chaney read it and liked it as a picture plot. M-G-M was about to buy it when Chaney died. Then the Fox people thought it would be a good story for Milton Sills. While they were negotiating for it, Milton died. Coe believes there's a jinx on the story, so he refused recently to sell it to a studio for a leading man Coe liked. But even more recently, another studio started dickering with him. The part would be given to an actor Coe does NOT like. Coe says he thinks he'll sell it. A CERTAIN celebrated actress, infuriated by some of John Barrymore's vagaries, stormed off the set with the sizzling announcement that she would never act with him again. "Well," tittered Jawn, giving her that certain profile business, "you never have!" A CAMBRIDGE, MASS., woman, in telling ■*"• it all to the judge in request for divorce, said that during the seven years of their married life, her husband had only taken her to the movies three times. She got her divorce. nTHE studio is still receiving hundreds of fan ■* letters addressed to Lon Chaney every week. And although Louis Wolheim has been dead three months, fan mail is pouring into his old studio. •"THE screen gets another distinguished stage *■ actress. This time it's Frances Starr, for years a Belasco luminary in the theater, and star of such great successes as "The Easiest Way" and "Rose of the Rancho." She will play the tragic role of the mother in "Five Star Final." ONE of Eddie Cantor's young daughters is an autograph fiend. In her little leather book are contained the signatures of Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford and others. One day Eddie said, "Now don't you want me to sign one of the pages?" His daughter looked at him in amazement and asked, "What for?" V\ THEN they threw the reception for Chanel, W the elite of Hollywood went in their grandest finery. The famous Parisian costume [ PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 78 ] When you sit tensed over the thrilling court room scene in "An American Tragedy," you won't see Director Joseph Von Sternberg among those present. Here he is though, directing the scene from on high. One of the many specially constructed sets for the filming of Dreiser's great story