Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1931)

$2,ooo.Qo p nze Lovely Marian Marsh, who will play the leading role in the story selected by the PhotoplayWarner judges STORY number 109 wins! The PHOTOPLAY-Warner Bros, story contest is over. The judges — who read and re-read those 10,000 manuscripts— are resting at last. Warner Bros, are preparing to film the now famous "Beauty and the Boss," with Marian Marsh and David Manners in the leading roles. Story number 109! What does this mean? As the 10,000 manuscripts were received they were given to a corps of stenographers to be As human and as romantic as the winning story itself is this one about the girl whose words meant dollars copied, all of them typed on the same kind of paper, set up in the same way, bound together with the same patent clasps, alike as blonde chorus girls. No name, address or other identifying mark was put on these typewritten copies, except that each was given a number corresponding to the number that had been placed on the original manuscript as it was received at the Photoplay office. The judges saw only the typewritten copy — the originals having been placed in locked steel cabinets. There was no way of determining whether the writers were men or women, young or old, rich or poor, worthy or unworthy. The winning manuscript had to stand or fall on its own merit as a story that best suited the requirements of Warner Bros, and most strictly followed the rules and the spirit of the contest. Therefore, it was with all the expectancy of the unfolding of a mystery drama that the original copy of ms. 109 was brought from the filing cabinet and, for the first time, the name of the lucky winner read. This gesture had all the elements of suspense and surprise that the winning story itself has. It was called — as suggested by the contest — "Beauty and the Boss," although this was not obligatory. THE name? The writer of the mysterious yarn? "Jane E. Considine, Philadelphia, Pa.," was written in the upper right hand corner of page one. She is twenty-one years old. She is medium height, with dark hair and eyes and an olive skin. She loves sports, is a great movie fan and does not believe in diet. She is a typical young American girl — modern, up-to-date but not a flapper. Thoughtful, but not solemn. She has stamina and courage. She is the highest type of American young womanhood. And this yarn of hers that won first place in an international contest that attracted writers of much greater maturity and experience and produced numbers of promising picture stories, is the first attempt at story writing for a motion picture that Jane has ever made! It bears out the theory that was advanced at the beginning of the contest that there is always a place in the movies for good original stories, whether they be written by professionals or not! Three years ago, when Jane was a high school junior in West Philadelphia, she won first prize in a newspaper essay contest for that year. That was just before her eighteenth birthday. The name of the essay was "Words, Words, Words" and the second paragraph read: "Only words, but what important things they are! A world of usefulness and beauty is embodied in their letters. . . . 'Tree' is a beautiful word. It is free and green and leafy all at once. 'Leaves' belong to a tree and not between the confining covers of a book. But sometimes, when the book is opened and its world of words are quickened to life by your mind, they are suddenly living 'leaves.' ' At twenty, entering her junior year at college, Jane Considine proved that when "quickened to life" by the mind, words might become "living leaves." For Jane's words, 1700 of them, quickened by her imagination and her orderly, clear thinking into a story, have won the $2,000 cash award offered by Warner Bros, through Photoplay! Since writing the prize winning story Jane has had another wonderful experience as a direct result of her literary and general scholastic attainments. As a pupil of Rosemont College, a beautiful school for girls just outside of Philadelphia, Jane stood highest of the four girls, who, because of excellent grades, are privileged