Picture-Play Magazine (1933)

Their "Blind" Spots 17 ness ever)" word written about her, whether it is written seriously or lightly. For persons with an incrusted ego this might not be a bad idea, but for the highly strung, emotional Miss Crawford it is very bad indeed. The lanky, good-natured Gary Cooper sees himself through a different spectrum. He doesn't give a hang what you say about him — he probably never gets around in his lackadaisical routine to reading magazines or newspapers with stories about him. But he's just plain color-blind. One look at that extraordinary bright-green car trimmed with dazzling yellow stripes and you can't come to any other conclusion. Gary loves that color job, but its effect upon most people is to send them reeling away with hands over eyes. Its effulgent glory has a positively paralyzing effect upon the optic nerves of all save Gary. John Barrymore is blind to the decorative purpose of clothes. He doesn't know in the morning whether he has on a pair of dress trousers or a. pair of white flannels. It just depends upon what comes to hand first. A good deal of the time, he wears to the studio a pair of dungarees purchased in Alaska for two dollars. And it's quite a sight to see the youngest member of "The Royal Family" tootling in his open Ford through the M.-G.-M. gates of a morning. Like as not he wears no tie, no hat, a wrinkled shirt, and those old pants. He never has a shine and more often than not he needs a hair cut. In the case of the ebullient Mae West, it is not men, nor jewelry nor witticisms, nor color that knocks her for a loop and puts her in a blinding daze. She goes blind when she goes shopping. Once she was actually asked to leave a swanky store. It appeared that Miss West, just buying clothes and looking at others, was still going strong a full hour after closing time. They really hated to ask her to leave, because all stores like Lee Tracy's blind spot is clocks; he's always late. Left to herself, Ann Harding achieves something more like Lummox than this smart turn-out. Victor Jory croons and croons and never hits a note. Gary Cooper's gaudy green and-yellow car hurts ever/ body's eyes but Gary's.) business. But they did have to lock up for the night ; keeping a big department store open and lighted and clerked for one customer doesn't pay. Ann Harding just can't see herself. If you remember, thev didn't nominate Ann on any of those lists of bestdressed women, and for good reason. Miss Harding, who looks lovely on the screen after she has passed through the hands of make-up experts, fashion designers, and hairdressers, looks like nothing so much as a plain, carelessly dressed little hausfrau when she is just being herself. I saw her one day in a shapeless white tennis dress. She was absolutely devoid of make-up. Xow her eyelashes are blond, and her eyebrows are practically invisible. She has pale lips, pale freckle^, pale blond hair. Any woman will tell you that if this type is to look like anything at all she must accent herself with at least a bit of make-up. But Miss Harding doesn't. She's sadly in need of special glasses to enable her to conquer this blind spot. The most acute ease of nearsightedness ever suffered by Hollywood as a community occurs whenever a titled person breezes into town. Hostesses aie unable to recall people who, the week before, were their "nearest and dearest" friends. But what is more embarrassing in the long run, is their apparent blindness to the necessity of checking their guests' manners and morals to see if they measure up to the title. Continued on page 58