Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1940)

Jeff was shaking Mac's hand like a pump handle. "Boy, you sure pulled that one out of the hat!" "Hey, don't be like that. I'm coming over now for a while — " "Don't bother," Wanda said. "I'm going out." Jerry wrinkled her nose in distress, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. The pace Wanda was going worried her. On her way out, she met the fat little woman from next door. "You through your work already?" the little woman said. "You're wonderful, I think. I get so behind. But I got a new book — 'The Corpse with Two Heads' — and I just had to finish it. I'll lend it to you if you want." "Thanks, I'm going over to the Farmer's Market now," Jerry said. "My goodness," her neighbor said, "that's too far for me. I'll bring the book over later." The Farmer's Market was a wonderful place. The fruit looked so fresh and lovely and the colors were so gay. Jerry loved to trundle the little wicker cart behind her and stroll around, looking at everything and pretending to buy it all. Making fifty cents cover dinner tonight and breakfast in the morning was a trick, but she managed. She got to talking to the farm woman who sold her two ears of corn for a nickel. "You grow this corn yourself?" she said. "My husband does. We picked it fresh this morning!" Smiling, then, she slipped in an extra ear and Jerry's spirits soared. Mac could have two pieces. "I wish we had a farm," she said. "I expect it keeps you awfully busy. My grandma lives on a fruit ranch — " "It keeps me too busy," the woman said. "That's better than not being busy enough," Jerry said. "Aren't you going to sit under the blue umbrella?" the woman said. "Why— I hadn't thought—" The woman smiled. "We have a superstition around here about the blue umbrella. We watch it. If you sit under it, sooner or later you're sure to see friends. If you're lonesome — why don't you try that?" Jerry sat down under the blue umbrella. She wondered if she'd see a friend and who it would be. Then there in the crowd appeared David and little Davey and a woman, a nice-looking, rather plump woman, with a wicker basket behind her. Jerry shouted, "Hi — Davey — " The little boy looked surprised. Then he came running. He was a sturdy little boy with freckles on his nose and he was illuminated with excitement. 72 "Hello, Aunt Jerry. We stopped here, but Dad's going to take me over to the ball game." "I think that's fine," Jerry said, holding him with an arm around his shoulders. "Aren't you going to see your mother? I thought you were in school." "Sure — but this is a vacation and I don't have to go to see Wanda in vacations. Vacations I'm supposed to go with my dad." David and the woman came up and David introduced her. She had a kind smile, but somehow it infuriated Jerry to see David and Davey and the woman all looking so happy. How could a man who had been married to Wanda look happy with a woman like that? They went off, with Davey pulling the wicker basket. "If that's the best you can do in the way of friends — " Jerry told the blue umbrella — and just then she saw Jeff, same old sourpuss. She ran after him. "What in the world are you doing here?" she said. "Sell some of our fish to them," Jeff said. "I bought a half interest. Come on — I'll show you." They walked on. "Aren't you on the barge any more?" Jeff looked gloomier than ever. "Sure," he said, "got to support my wife. Fishing launch doesn't pay much yet. Say, the grunion are running tonight. Why don't you and Mac come on down — I'll meet you at the Malibu pier." "What are grunion," said Jerry," and what are they running from?" "Grunion," said Jeff, "are fish. They run during a full moon. Millions of 'em — if they run, which sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. They come right in on the waves and there isn't any better eating nowhere at all." "Maybe we'll come," Jerry said. JUST before he left the office, Mac went in to see Brandon. He said, "Look, Brandy, I'm awful broke." "There is nothing unique about that," said Brandy cheerfully. "So am I." "Being broke with you is one thing," said Mac, trying to match the cheerfulness, "with me, it's another. They say nobody ever starves to death, but I'm beginning to wonder." "I'll check up on it," Brandon said. "I've worked pretty hard lately," Mac said. "That brief I drew in the Mercereau case — we won an appeal on it." Brandon regarded him quizzically. "You think you ought to have more salary?" "More?" Mac grinned. "I think I ought to have some." "You're a good kid, Mac," Brandon said. "I like you. But I might as well be honest. I can get 5000 good young law students and 2000 good young lawyers every day in the week for nothing. You know that, don't you?" Mac said, trying with desperation to hit just the right note, "Oh, sure — but not as good as I am." "Maybe not, but they'll do," Brandon said, still smiling. "You're getting a lot of valuable experience here." "Also, I have learned to know your ways and it'd take you quite a while to teach anybody else to save you as much time as I do." "What's more," said Brandon, "it's experience you have to get sometime." "I know," Mac said, "but — my wife says she can't buy bread and butter with experience. You know how women are." "An interne," said Brandon, "has to serve his time in the hospital and he gets eight bucks a month. This is your internship, see? You're getting experience and prestige. You can't really expect me to pay much for the privilege of teaching you your business, can you?" "I do quite a lot of work you have to get done somehow," said Mac steadily. "That's right," said Brandon, "but I can get a lot of bright boys to do it gladly — for the chance." "Then that's the kind of work you'll get," Mac said. "Most men who work for nothing are worth just what they get." "If you're not satisfied — " Brandon said slowly. Mac squared his shoulders. "I like to be able to feed my wife at regular intervals," Mac said, "and it would increase my morale and pay you dividends if I got a little pay regularly, too." "A man shouldn't get married until he's sure he can do that," Brandon said, "and as for your morale — tell you what I'll do. I'll give you fifty percent of any new business you bring into the office. We could use a little new business right now. That fair?" "I guess that's fair," said Mac bravely and went out. New business! As far as Mac was concerned, he decided that crime wasn't paying just now. There wasn't any new business. WHEN he walked into the apartment he was very tired and very hungry and as low as the underside of a steam roller. He couldn't smell any dinner and Jerry was curled up on the window seat reading a book with an amazing picture on the cover and a scarlet title reading, "The Corpse with Two Heads." "That's a fine kind of a book for a decent woman to be reading," said Mac bitterly, coldly. Jerry's face came from behind the book. Her CM Geraldine (Jerry) Brokaw A'anMacNally ' " Joa" B'onde// Wanda Holland " Dicl(Powe" MGilman ..','*' V G'°ria Oickso" Grandma Brokaw -frank Fay Grandpa Brokaw " ' JeSS'e fia'ph °a"'d Holland, Sr Ha^ Davenport °a^d Holland Jr " * C(""-ad Nagef "Peppy" Gilman' ' ' " ' ' Miclte> Kun" frskine Brandon JwMurgw, Mneyfllackmer Screen Play by Frank Buller Reeled by Ralph Murphy