Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1926)

98 Continued from page 48 writers, to devise some way of making ourselves appear interesting on the screen," she told me, 'and yet people expect us to get up just anywhere, on a moment's notice, and make a good impression on a crowd !' "It's wonderful to have a brandnew enthusiasm. It makes me feel young again. I am glad in a way that I never knew the Fairbanks family before." For ten minutes I had been trying to interrupt Fanny long enough to mention Alma Rubens. Some drastic measure was necessary, I was sure, to make her change the. subject. Not that I wasn't interested in the Fairbanks family, but I've heard just such raving about them many times before. "Alma !" Fanny's eyes flashed. "How did I ever bear New York while she was away, and how will I bear it again when she goes back to Hollywood in a few weeks ! It has been just like old times having her here. She is a perfect companion — she never discusses clothes or her work, she has always read the books you want to talk about, and she always thinks of unusual things to do, instead of just sitting around here, or at the Ritz, gossiping. "Of course, I'll never forgive myself for not being able to see her the first week she was here. I was in the throes of recovering from influenza. Incidentally, the first day that I knew or cared whether I was alive, I glanced up and there was a big pot of red tulips and pussywillows. I knew without looking at the card that Lois Wilson had sent them. If I were stricken with loneliness, even in some far-away land, I'd expect to find some assurance from Lois that she was thinking of me and ready to console me as best she could. "But to go back to Alma. The first day I was up and around, she had the bright idea of organizing a beauty-parlor bat. I had always wondered what 'facial aesthetics' meant, so we went to the establishment dedicated to them and found that it meant lounging in an easy-chair while a nurse assaults you with bags of ice and pungent lotions. "YVe felt simply too beautiful for this world after they had worked over us for two hours, but when we got back to Alma's apartment, her husband didn't notice that we had changed at all. This trip is really a honevmoon for her and Ricardo Cor Over the Teacups tez; when they were first married, they were both busy working on pictures. Ricardo is here to work in Griffith's 'Sorrows of Satan,' but Alma is having a vacation. "He is having the must beautiful slave necklet made for her — not the ordinary brass-ring affair that looks as though it belonged around the top of a pickle jar, but a gorgeous circlet of diamond links. "They never attend any openings or big parties. Alma has become one of those quiet girls who would rather go places unnoticed. When I think of the way the crowd bore down on Jack Gilbert on the night 'La Boheme' opened, I don't wonder that stars are timorous about appearing in public. Incidentally, if you want to see Alma fly into a seething rage, just pretend you think Lillian Gish isn't the most exquisite, finished artist of the screen. "For no particular reason, mentioning finished artists reminds me of some who aren't — the Paramount junior stars. At the graduation exercises of the Paramount Pictures School, they showed 'FascinatingYouth,' the first picture made by the pupils. Feeble is the word for it. Youth alone isn't enough to fit people to compete with players who have skill and charm. These youngsters are utterly without magnetism or distinction of any sort. There are any number of 'bit' players in pictures — Cecile Evans and Barbara Pierce, to mention two at random — who are infinitely more promising. Of all of them, I liked Thelma Todd and Josephine Dunn best. They aren't anything to rave about, goodness knows, but each seems to get across the possession of a sense of humor. "Incidentally, the orchestra leader at the Ritz that night had a strange sense of humor. When the pupils marched in, he played 'The March of the Vagabonds.' The girls of the school wore the loveliest dresses you ever saw, especially designed for the occasion by the studio costume department. Some one remarked that thev looked just like De Mille telephone covers. "But speaking of clothes " I cut in just long enough to remind Fanny that she admires Alma Rubens for not wasting time talking about clothes, but that didn't stop her — thank goodness. . "Gilbert Clark has completed his contract with Famous Players," she went on, "and now somebody besides their stars can have lovely, distinctive clothes. He is now with Milgrim's, and is designing clothes for most of the stage stars in town, as well as for the screen players. If you want to just lose your mind and covet your neighbor's bank roll, go up to his studio and watch his models parade. He made Bebe Daniels' clothes for 'The Palm Beach Girl,' and some for Aileen Pringle for 'Hello, New York,' and now every one in town is rushing up there. I saw a model wandering around in a trim little mannish suit that looked vaguely familiar, and sure enough, it proved to be one that had been designed for Mae Murray. "Incidentally, Bebe certainly seems to have run into a streak of bad luck. First, she had some accidents while making 'Miss Brewster's Millions,' and now she has had a series of them in 'The Palm Beach Girl.' Mae has signed a new contract with MetroGoldwyn and gone West to make pictures again. Her ex-husband, Robert Z. Leonard, was here for a few days on a flying trip to see his fiancee, Gertrude Olmstead. She is playing opposite Milton Sills in 'Puppets.' I met her one day at luncheon with Edna Murphy, but all I remember about her is a confused impression of lovely, big blue eyes and a fresh, fair skin. I was just coming down with influenza, and people's faces had a disconcerting way of swimming around in front of me. I must have impressed her as a slightly dazed half wit, because I hadn't the faintest idea what she was talking about. I probably recited 'Seven stars have Metro-Goldwyn' to myself in an effort to keep from fainting, but I don't recall contributing anything to the conversation." "Never mind, darling," I said soothingly, "you can always keep right on talking whether you have anything to say or not." For once, Fanny was almost speechless. "For that," she said, "you really don't deserve to know that Alyce Mills has come to town to make a picture with Richard Dix. You told me once that you thought her interesting looking. And if you weren't in an insulting mood, I might take you over to the Famous Players studio to meet her." "You not only might, but will," I informed her, grasping her firmly by the arm and starting out. But knowing that Adolphe Menjou was working over at the studio, I really hadn't much hope of getting Fanny past his set to see any one.