Picture-Play Magazine (1933)

! What wo some of Joan "That ain't Clara Bow — she kicked . off and that's her double!" This was once a pet rumor among the nonfans. WHO is this Gabble person?" asks an intelligent woman of affairs. "Jeanne Eagels — that's wrong. It's Jeanne .Ingle or something like that," a man connected with New York's higgest department store tells a film reviewer. How often have you heard people say Jean Gaynor or Warren Baxter? "Garho and Novarro had a love affair during the making of 'Mata Hari,' " a young lady announces with an air of absolute certainty that cuts off all argument before one has a chance to object. And of course you know about the old myths that Clara Bow was not Clara Bow — that the original "It" girl had passed to her rewards above and the current redhead was a substitute palmed off on tbe public. Not so long ago a man out West claimed that he himself was Harold Lloyd, and that the comedian of the screen was an impostor. Xo doubt thousands of people actually believed there was something to this, for it is just the soil of thing lots of people are looking for. They even rumored that Rin-Tin-Tin was not Rin-Tin-Tin a few years ago — as if it mattered a great deal. My object in bringing up these matters is to show thai the casual moviegoer cherishes all sorts of illusions far more fantastic than the dyed-in-the-wool fan has about the sophistication of Constance Bennett, for instance. And to show 1 li.it the army of real fans constitute ;; free-mason group whose movie (batter is an alien lingo to tbeir parents, who may still think Mary I'ickford is the queen of Hollywood. And their bos.es, who no doubt think ( harlic ( 'haplin is a genius and 1 > lis Fairbanks a bouncing hero, and W Jolson a leading screen light, A few months ago the head of a chapter of the Son, of the Revolution—or was it the Whisky Rebel LAST Have you been razzed because you must know all about Gable and Garbo? Here's siding with you fans and showing up those who just think they know. lion? — wrote to me, saying that he was publishing a book and wanted to include patriotic statements from several of the screen great, and would I tell him how to get in touch with certain leading players? The list included one or two who were dead, and others who hadn't played a good role since the "Sparrows" and "Snowbird" era of silents. The Fairbankses, of course, and Al Jolson, and Rudy Vallee were included as the greatest living screen artists. Not one player was mentioned in whom modern fans are particularly interested. The wide-awake fan, a real member of the fan fraternity, knows how to pronounce he-man Clark's last name. He — especially she — knows how tall he is, the color of his eyes and hair, and knows even further details she tries to forget, such as the fact that he has been twice married. These fans could on a moment's notice name the tenr twenty, or thirty outstanding actors of to-day and could tell why they are outstanding, and could point out their virtues and shortcomings. They would also know that anything the stars have to say on patriotism would be written for them by their respective publicity departments and, therefore, not worth bothering about. They know that the rumor of a great love between Novarro and Garbo started from the merely courteous gesture of the ever-courteous Ramon in sending flowers to Garbo's dressing room when they started working together, only that and nothing more. But try to tell the uld your papa say if you adopted his lodge carryings-on and gave Crawford a highfalutin' title? nonfan that this was the whole truth and you'll be immediately talked down. This is the sign of the casual dropper-in at the picture shows — what he hears he knows, and that's that ! I'm sure every real fan who makes it his business to know about the players has had my experience. I'd remain discreetly silent if my friends not in the know announced that Jimmy Durante is really Polly Moran doing an impersonation. Of course, no one has gone that far yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear it any day. Actually, I once heard a man rave about having worked for D. W. Griffith,