Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1956)

THAT’S HOLLYWOOD FOR YOLT BY SIDNEY SKOLSKY P ingly open. “Except, of course,” says Deborah, “when I’m changing costumes.” . . . On the set of “The Best Things in Life Are Free,” my favorite character, Mike Curtiz, told workmen; “Please, fellows, try to make noise quietly.” I believe Cyd Charisse and Tony Martin, who were beginning to look like each other, don’t any more. . . . Every new actress who is signed by M-G-M spends most of her evenings during the first few months in a projection room looking at old Garbo pictures. ... I like Shelley Winters. Go on, say anything you want about me. ... I can’t get over the vast number of actors who have turned producers. The latest (at this writing) is Jane Powell. Somehow Janie Powell doesn’t resemble a producer to me! . . . Durable is the word for Barbara Stanwyck; reliable is another word for her. She’s quite a person! ... I liked “Oklahoma!” and “Carousel” and even “Meet Me in Las Vegas,” but the best musical I ever saw still is “Forty-second Street.” ... In these days when “The Method” is so popular, Spencer Tracy informed me: “I’m not a method actor. What I try to do is play a part honestly; how it reacts on me.” These were refreshing words to hear. ... I wish John Huston would get back to making movies like “The Maltese Falcon,” which wasn’t so important but so good! . . . Bob Wagner admits he has yet to earn the right for stardom. “Star is tossed around too easily in this business,” said Wagner. “I still have a lot to learn about my job.” . . . Red Skelton said it : “I know a Texan who couldn’t put a TV set in his Cadillac, so now he’s booking acts to appear in it.” Frank Sinatra is an exciting performer whether he is singing or acting. . . . These days everyone is taking a legitimate play or movie and making a musical out of it. Just to be different, I’d like to see someone take a musical hit and make a legitimate play or movie out of it. ... I know Piper Laurie and Gene Nelson are romantic, but I think the combo should be Gene Nelson and Lori Nelson. This would allow Lori to get married without changing her last name. I can’t imagine Eddie Fisher as a father, but I can imagine Debbie Reynolds as a mother. . . . Description of Ernest Borgnine: There is always a smile on his face, even when it isn’t there. . . . I’m told Cary Grant believes in hypnotism and that’s how he gave up smoking cigarettes. . . . Doris Day, in her recent movies, proves that she knows something about such things as lust and sex. And she’s more popular and valuable than ever. . . . Rock Hudson admits he decided to be a movie actor after he saw Jon Hall take a spectacular high dive from a ship’s mast. “I told Hall this when I met him,” says Rock, “and he told me a stunt man had done the dive!” That’s Hollywood for you. Russ Tamblyn and his Venetia. Nobody could miss seeing how very much in love they are If Lori Nelson (here with Larry Pennell) took Sid’s suggestion, she wouldn’t have to change her last name! I wonder if Marlon Brando is tired of the many actors who copy him and try to look like him. Or, has he grown accustomed to their faces and method? . . . Jayne Mansfield, who played bit roles in movies, became a movie star by appearing as a movie star on the Broadway stage in “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” ... I never see a blond and think it’s the real thing. Furthermore, I don’t believe men expect blonds to be naturals. . . . Why do I always expect Susan Hayward to flare up, and am pleased when she smiles at me — which she usually does! ... I liked “The Harder They Fall,” but the best prizefight movie I ever saw is still “The Set-up.” . . . Ann Blyth could be sexier than she is on the screen if she wanted to be. . . . Suggestion for a photo layout: pictures of all the celebrities James Stewart has portrayed on the screen. ... I believe TV would be better if you could mark your place and return to it later. . . . Cornel Wilde is domestic and can do housework. “I do a lot of sweeping while wielding a broom or a vacuum,” he told me. ... I wasn’t on the Johnnie Ray bandwagon when he was the current popular singer, so don’t expect me to be an Elvis Presley fan. So sue me! . . . Mitzi Gaynor insists she has an instinctive feeling about people, and declares: “I go a lot by the nature of a handshake.” I always find Joan Crawford entertaining, regardless of the movie she’s in. ... I can’t recall ever seeing Russ Tamblyn in a movie, although I know he was in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” which I viewed and liked. . . . Deborah Kerr’s portable dressing room is always welcom Cute Janie Powell may be a movie producer — but she still has that star look for Sidney 26