Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1935)

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IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HAVING MORE MONEY, write today for particulars of our offer ... no investment required. Address your application to Subscription Agent's Division Desk PP 535 Macfadden Publications Inc. 1926 Broadway New York Derby, Sardi's, Al Levy's Tavern and the Vendome. Also in front of the Paramount and R-K-0 studio gates. Most of the stars roll in and out too at M-G-M and Fox and Warners to make the hunting good. He advised that big openings and premieres were usually a total loss because of "the cops." Most stars, he said, were easy prey. Usually they will sign the first five books thrust before them and then depart. Seldom does a star, accosted point-blank, refuse to oblige. But if they can dodge the swarm of youngsters, that is entirely ethical. It's kind of a game. Various signatures of various stars have various values. It's all governed strictly by the law of supply and demand. George Raft, for instance, who is quite a noon-time boulevardier and an obliging fellow, has his name scrawled on practically every important book. His autograph has a low market value. However, Charles Chaplin, who is an artful dodger, rates high. Greta Garbo, of course, is — or would be — tops. My informant didn't know of any colleague who boasted her scalp. A brisk trading business goes on among the various autograph exchange leaders. Something like the old days of cigarette pasteboards glorifying Delia Fox or Ty Cobb. Books and leaves from books are bartered. The more finicky hunters offer a clean page to each star. But less particular Nimrods, who go in for quantity, will have as many as twenty or thirty signatures to a sheet. The seasoned youngster who was giving me the lowdown had filled five books in his time. "I just gave one away," he volunteered, "with over six hundred names." He admitted that it wasn't the actual trophies he treasured so much as it was the thrill of the chase. A true sportsman's outlook. I HAD always thought people wrote fan letters ' to movie stars because of some secret passion. I find that love, sex and all that sort of thing has about fifty-six one-hundredths to do with it. The other ninety-nine and forty-four one hundredths is pure. People write fan letters for selfish, helpful information. It was at first a shock to discover, through the accurate records of Mrs. Ethel Webb, Jean Harlow's efficient secretary, that in 1933 twenty-five per cent of all Miss Harlow's fan mail came from men, while the other seventy-five per cent was dashed off by feminine hands. In 1934 the ratio was twenty per cent to eighty. Having labored under the conviction that the Harlow appeal was, of all the stars in Hollywood, most evidently for males, the only explanation I could offer for the feminine preponderance of interest was that most men are inept correspondents. But Mrs. Webb's analytical tabulation shows that the questions most frequently asked are these, in the order of their frequency: 1. Is your hair naturally platinum? 2. What treatment do you give your hair? 3. What kind of cosmetics do you use? 4. Do you diet? How old are you? 5. What are your hobbies? 6. Who is your favorite male star? 7. What schools did you attend? Of the group, only two, — How old are you? and Who is your favorite male star? — could possibly be construed as having an intriguing answer for men. The rest blend into one vital feminine inquiry—How do you do it? Jean Harlow's fan mail averages between 300 and 350 letters a day. In 1931 she mailed some 670 autographed pictures each month. In 1934, 3500 were sent out every thirty days. Most of the mail comes from this country, with Pennsylvania and New York far in the lead. England shows the most foreign interest. New Zealand is second. The British like the Harlow type. In all foreign fan mail, the percentage of masculine handwriting is noticeably higher, but then so is the Continental blood pressure, as a rule. Sizeable packets of letters arrive each month from such out of the way spots as the Canary Islands, Dutch East Indies, Java, Iceland, Trinidad, The Federated Malay Straits Settlements and Morocco. Chile is not as cold as its name suggests. It leads the Latin-American countries in Harlow enthusiasm. The champion Jean Harlow fan is a young woman living in New York State. She has written a letter each day for the past three years and sent it by air mail. At the minimum air-mail postage rate that is exactly $65.70 worth of devotion. Postmaster-General Farley should encourage this sort of thing. ("1RETA GARBO never carries a handbag ^-^ because she unvariably loses it. Jean Harlow never wears a pair of gloves until they have been cleaned. Myrna Loy is sensitive to the feeling of wool, so all her woolen costumes are lined with silk. Mady Christians carries small muffs to match her dress, instead of a purse. Joan Crawford puts in Saturdays arranging flowers in her house. Elizabeth Allan walks in the rain, and Jeanette MacDonald calls Woody Van Dyke " Cutie." (And if you must yawn, you might be more polite about it.) Oh yes, and hold it for a still. Joan Crawford carries a beaded pocketbook on which is embroidered details of her life history. Don't ask us which details. \ /ALUES seem to be entirely a matter of, " years. What forces me reluctantly into this philosophical observation is what I saw the other day in Dickie Moore's bedroom. It was mainly loot that Dickie's devastating personality had gathered from screen sirens. A miniature cruiser from Marlene Dietrich. An elaborate electric train from Tallulah Bankhead. A tiny gold wrist watch from Barbara Stanwyck, engraved to "Dickie Moore in appreciation of your work in 'So Big.' " The boat was resting passively in a corner, and the train looked as though it was suffering from the depression. Mrs. Moore was wearing the wrist watch. On the dresser top wen1 piled two framed pictures — Dickie with two gorgeous feminine stars. I learned that the pictures used to adorn the bedroom walls and that Dickie used tc wear the watch constantly. But now a picture of President Roosevelt holds the mura. display spot and Dickie lets his mother weaij the watch because he is afraid the boys wil call him "sissy." And what Dickie lovingly fondles are noi the lavish toys from his big-time lady admirers It is a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth