Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1931)

Brickbats fif Bouquets The $25 Letter FROM A MOTHER "p LEVEN years ago my son was born — a •*— ' cripple. He has never walked. I have searched for compensations for the long hours he spends in his wheel chair; however, there is only one real compensation — "kid" pictures. Three times I have wheeled him four long blocks to see Skippy do the things that every normal boy has done or longed to do. Perhaps only mothers of crippled children can realize how joyful it is to hear a small boy laugh. Through the medium of moving pictures he has walked, he has played, and for a few hours has had two strong legs. And how he loved it! Sincere praises for these splendid pictures. May we not have more of them ? Mrs. A. C. Manzer, Utica, N. Y. The $10 Letter FROM AN ALMS HOUSE r WONDER if you can realize just what ■*■ motion pictures mean to one who is fast traveling life's down-grade and is nearing journey's end? Here at the Alms House we have silent pictures about once a month. On motion picture nights we old people, for a blissful two hours, live again in the days of youth. As we sit in the darkened auditorium, the years slip away; we forget misery, illness, disillusionments, cares; we are of the age of the heroes and heroines of the screen. We live again in them and rejoice at their happiness. They help us forget that we are but useless hulks stranded on the beach. When good fortune comes occasionally and I can visit a real motion picture theater, then I am indeed happy, for I can also hear the voices of those who help me to forget. Talking pictures have, to me, made motion You Fans Are the Real Critics PHOTOPLAY Gives Twenty-Five, Ten and Five Dollar Prizes for the Best Letters Just plain spiteful letters won't be printed, for we want to be helpful when we can. Don't write more than 200 words, and if you are not willing to have your name and city of residence attached, please don't write. Address Brickbats & Bouquets, Photoplay, 221 West 57th Street, New York City. We reserve the right to cut letters to suit our space limitations. Come on in and speak your mind! pictures more lifelike. I am glad to have seen them. J. L. Rawson, San Francisco, Calif. The $5 Letter FROM A FARMER'S WIFE T NEVER really appreciated movies until ■*• I moved to a small Western town, where I forgot there were such things as porcelain "/^lAN'T we ever have thrills and 1 .romance again without a machine gun obligato?" writes one movie fan. "There will always be an audience in me and my family for good gangster films," another tells us. But most of you seem just a little tired of clutching the arms of your seat, or having the lights go up to reveal you sniffling into your hanky. "Even if life doesn't always have 'happy endings,' let us have them in pictures," begs a young man, oddly enough. "Business problems have kept me worried for months, and I go to the movies to forget that life is difficult." The Garbo fans haven't quite forgiven Katherine Albert for her story way back in the April PHOTOPLAY. But what a thrill ive got from the many letters from PHOTOPLAY fans, who told us they couldn't do without their "screen bible," even though they may violently disagree with some of the opinions of PHOTO. PLAY'S writers. The fans keep insisting that the cast of characters should be repeated at the end of a picture. Clara Bow's public still clamors for her. Charles Rogers has made good in his dramatic part in "The Lawyer's Secret." Joan Crawford gets her usual share of mail, most of it lauding her ability as an actress who has grown out of jazz roles into real histrionics. There's a grand story about her in this issue. Clark Gable is making hearts flutter, even in unsympathetic roles. Lois Wilson charmed in "Seed" and Jackie Cooper — well, he has won them all, old and young, sentimental and hard-boiled. bathtubs or frocks that came from any place but the town's "style shop." Twice a week the picture show was opened and we paid twenty-five cents to see a warmed-over film and thirty-five cents to see a comparatively new release. I didn't know how precious those pictures were until the theater-owner closed the show. But when it was re-opened, with talkies at popular prices, I was able to hear good music and given ideas on re-arranging my bungalow and improving my appearance. Ruth Chatterton's lovely voice reminded me I was permitting my own voice to park in a rut. I forgot that for months and months I had been milking cows, feeding chickens, and worrying about hard water. And when, a few months ago, we went back to the city, we didn't appear very seedy — thanks to the movies. Mary Frances Doner, Mt. Vernon, Wash. CLARA BOW T\ 7"HO said we are fed up with Clara *V Bow? Not on your life! I think she is the greatest little aueen of comedy and queen of hearts in the world. If she is ever dropped from the films without her consent, right then I will quit going to the movies. M. B. Butler, Taft, Calif. Even a glorious actress like Clara Bow is dependent upon good pictures. We thought they had ruined her with silly flapper parts, but "Kick In" was wonderful. La Verne Whitener, Goldonna, La. WE'RE FOR IT, HERBERT WHY not have the list of players on the screen at the beginning of the picture and again at the end, and save time and trouble for lots of us that want to know who played the minor roles as well as the important ones? Herbert Decker, Newark, N. J. [please turn to page 10]