Picture Play Magazine (Jul - Dec 1929)

100 Continued from page 48 He believes that the greatest asset for a happy marriage is that both should have plenty to do. "Joan will go on with her work, and I shall go on with mine. We shall have plenty to talk about, and each can be proud of, and help and encourage the other." When they get back to California they will occupy their new home. Joan is one of those handy, little persons whose agile, competent fingers can accomplish almost anything. She is trying to save, now that they are married, she says. She likes to make some of her own dresses, the simple ones, and she has been sewing on the curtains of their new home. She is determined not to be extravagant, and refused to buy the expensive clothes offered her by the New York shops. She bought always the cheap but Cupid Takes a Needed Rest charming ones, for she has good taste, and being so pretty, she looks lovely in all the simple things which she wears so gracefully. Before she met young Douglas she was the gayest girl in Hollywood. She sobered down two years ago, when she met and fell in love with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. She is tremendously proud of him, of her love for him, and of the happy life they plan to lead together. "We want a quiet life, and plan to work hard, so we can always be proud of each other." After the wedding she sent a wire to Harry Rapf, a Metro-Goldwyn executive. He it was who "discovered" her in New York and shaped her career to its great success. "If I have worked hard in the past," it read, "watch me now !" And Douglas sent his boss a wire, too. It read, "Joan and I were married yesterday, and now that I have a wife to support, I need a raise in salary." And Al Rocket, who is his boss, wired back, "By your contract you had no right to marry without consulting me. And I insist that since you did so, I shall cut your salary in two." Douglas was quite cut up about it, but Joan laughed heartily. "Don't you see he was joking, too?" Then serious Douglas was laughing also. They were laughing together. And that's the way all their friends hope it will always be — that they will go through life happily laughing together. Continued from page 98 known — Al Jolson ! If any one dare to say that he is not the greatest, I shall ask if they have ever seen one who could make them laugh and cry as Mr. Jolson did in "The Singing Fool"? At the premiere here, there was not a person in the house that did not cry. And there was some crowd ! The performance of one of the other stars in the picture was rotten; but, believe me, it mattered not what any other player did or said. I have been in the hospital since seeing "The Singing Fool," and all I can say is, thank God, I saw it 'before coming here! Roberta Townsend. 59 Fontainebleau Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana. The New-face Craze. I can't imagine what can he happening in Hollywood. All the old, accepted stars and ideas dominant so long seem to have been suddenly uprooted and cast off like an old shoe. And yet, if we're to believe the producers, it is we, the fans, who have actually occasioned such a revolution. I wonder First on my mind, there's Jetta Goudal. What in the world is she doing now? It seems inconceivable that any person who is reported to be such a genius as Mr. DeMille could ever have allowed her contract to lapse. Oh, yes, there were rumors of temperament. But what of it? She is an actress, with a personality as bizarre as that of Pola Negri. Possibly she may have had occasion to use that far-famed temperament. Cast a glimpse, Goudal fans, at the DeMille jaw — "The Man Nobody No's." Temperament? Apple sauce! Then there's Pola herself. She has been shipped off to her 'beloved Continent, away from the country which welcomed her loudly not so many years ago and is now tired of her, because they would rather see Alice White shimmy in a pair of scanties, Buddy Rogers looking romantic, and showing those white, white teeth ; or Clara Bow sporting the famous Bow face and figure, while she "gets her man." In her swan song for Paramount, Negri showed her mettle by holding down, by sheer force of character, such a hopeless mess as "The Woman from Moscow" turned out to be. What tke Fans Tkink And then there's Del Rio. And Talmadge. Not that they've been cast aside, or anything like that — not on your box office ! But they seem to be basking in the reflected light of their fame just now, forgetting that the eyes of the world are upon them, and just acting up. I cannot close without also saying that I consider it disgraceful that a star of such charming qualities as Irene Rich is given such mediocre roles by Warner, after she has proved so successfully what she can do in "Craig's Wife" and "Ned McCofib's Daughter." Yes, Hollywood is certainly changing. Give it ten years and nearly all our really brilliant actresses will be crowded off and packed away out of sight, and every billboard will burst forth with such "supreme" stars as Nancy Carroll, Audrey Ferris, and Molly O'Day ! S. Garvey Thomas. 43 Summer Street, Montpelier, Vermont. An Up and Coming Lad. Has no fan noticed that very promising boy, Carroll Nye? Up to now his roles have been very small, but extremely good. In "The Girl from Chicago" he was Myrna Loy's brother. In "While the City Sleeps" he was Marty, the young lover, and in "Craig's Wife" he was the young professor, and a very fine performance he gave, too. Please, fans, give this 'boy a cheer, and, mark my words, he'll be a star one day if he gets his rights. B. Tracey. St. John's, Newfoundland. Those Printed "Replies." May I be permitted to use your interesting columns for the airing of a query? I have written to several stars, whose pictures I enjoyed, and in one or two cases they have been so kind as to send me photographs. But when they instruct their secretaries to send unrequested photos, it would be so nice if the said amanuenses would remember not to inclose the printed letter — "and I have pleasure in sending the photo which you request." It is so unnecessary. I quite see the goodness of heart which prompts these players, who are naturally too busy to write personally to every scrib bler, to send photos ; but is it asking too much of the secretary to omit the superfluous letter accompanying such photos? It may seem a storm in a teacup, but I am sure people would appreciate the small attention, and it is generally little things which go to make a permanent appeal, especially to those who write, because they have something more or less intelligent to say, and not because they want a photograph. Eileen Griffith. 25 Thorndale Road, Waterloo, Liverpool, England. Lauding the "World's Sweetheart." Ever since I met Mary Pickford, in May, 1926, I have been longing to write something about her, for is she not undisputedly the "world's sweetheart"? This unforgetable event took place in Europe — Venice, to be exact — and as I was fortunately staying at the same hotel as Mary and Doug I had the chance of seeing them quite often. I do not mind admitting, now that I have become acquainted with Miss Pickford, that before seeing her in the flesh, though I had always been a great admirer of her shadow self, I did fear that she would be just a trifle high hat. But how relieved I was to find out later that my suppositions were groundless. Success has not turned this lovable girl's head, for there is nothing affected about her, either in the way she talks or behaves in public. After seeing "Little Annie Rooney," almost four years ago, I came to the conclusion that Mary was, and still is, the greatest actress the screen has ever boasted. Can anybody who witnessed this photoplay forget the pathos Miss Pickford, as Little Annie, portrayed after 'learning that her father had been killed in a street brawl? The close-up under the dining-room table, besides being perfect, is the longest and doubtlessly the most realistic my eyes have ever beheld. And I have seen thousands of films ! To depict childish anticipation at first, and, as the truth dawns upon her that her father no longer lives, to portray both helplessness and dread, is something I had never till then believed the movies were capable of conveying. I am one of the countless fans who Continued on page 103