Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1927)

Hollywood High Lights 73 went there shortly before the event was expected to take place. Charlie Ray Turns to Farce Marie Prevost was thrilled to death to have Charlie Ray for her leading man in "Getting Gertie's Garter." Charlie has been in great demand, you know, since he started to free lance, and receives a larger salary than when he was under a contract. "Getting Gertie's Garter," adapted from the stage play, promises to be a very entertaining picture. The footlight comedy was one of the most uproarious imaginable — although not entirely above reproach — and Miss Prevost expects the film version to prove even funnier than the film of "Up in Mabel's Room," in which she scored such a distinct hit not long ago. Charlie plays her copartner in the film in a series of comic misadventures, and is likely to be an entirely different person in this newest portrayal. A new actor who is said to be very good in the production is Franklin Pangborn, a former favorite in stock in Los Angeles. Jim's Apples Win the Prize James Kirkwood astonished us when we saw him not long ago at a reception at the home of Laura La Plante. He was wearing a gold-lettered blue ribbon that looked like a prize for something. We thought possibly his son and heir had carried away the honors in a better-babies contest, but we learned to our amusement that the badge meant, instead, that Jim was now a prize horticulturist. He has a ranch near Los Angeles, and some of the apples he had raised there had won an award at a county fair in Riverside. Lila Lee — Mrs. Kirkwood — who is looking very stylishly slender these days, confided to us that, "Now that Jim has become a country gentleman on the side, I'm going to try my hand at raising prize carrots, so that when the studio calls up and I don't feel particularly like working, I can beg off on the pretext of having the big business of a vegetable exhibit to attend." Connie and the Foreigners Be nice to foreigners. That appears to be the creed that Constance Talmadge subscribes to, and her latest picture is evidence of it, as were also — in a way — her matrimonial adventures. At any rate, we found the following listed among Connie's supporting players in "Venus of Venice" — Michael Vavitch, Arthur Thalasso, and Andre Lanoi. And shure 'nuff, she has an Irishman, Mickey Neilan, directing them. Insanea's Diary Continued Goodness, but I am all cheered up this month, because not only_ have I seen a lot of wonderful stars and pictures, but I am just too joyous for words because I actually had a chance to do a little bit as an extra girl in a picture ! And it happened so unexpectedly, too, just when I was on a set for a production called "Sunrise," which is being made by the great foreign director, Mr. Murnau. Even if he did direct "The Last Laugh," I think he is great, because it was in his film that I got my first chance to play in front of the camera, and thus fill some of those ambitions which have always stirred me so deeply. It was just an accident, of course. They had a big, wonderful street set out at the Fox studio in Westwood, and I went .out there one evening about five o'clock just to look on and see if I could get any material for my writings. I just happened to mention to a gentleman in the publicity department about what a thrill it must be actually to get out in front of a camera, and he smiled a little, and said that he guessed it was. And then I raved some more quite unintentionally — I mean without any idea Joan Crawford dares any one to interrupt her while she tries to learn French by the lightning system. This is a little pastime she indulges in between scenes. of getting into the picture — and he said that if I were really so anxious about it, he thought it might be arranged, because the scene was such a big one and there were at least a thousand or more extras being used, and it wouldn't matter if there were one or two more, anyway. So he spoke to the assistant director about it, and almost before I could draw my breath, I was outthere in the middle of a big square in what looked like a foreign city, crossing the street with a whole bunch of other people. Sirens were blowing and the director was shouting, and somebody was firing off a gun, and I was absolutely dizzy, and thought that I must be getting Kleig eyes or something. Anyway, I came through the experience with flying colors, because nobody said a word of criticism, and I am going to watch that picture with all my might to see if I can find myself in the crowd. I certainly envied Janet Gaynor, whom I met, for her big opportunities. She is such a young girl, anyway — very little older than I am, if any. She was wearing a blond wig and a funny little long-skirted dress and an old-fashioned hat, and she looked all flushed and excited. And who wouldn't be to go through an experience such as she did, running in a maze of flying automobiles, and finally being grabbed up in George O'Brien's arms and lifted aboard a little dummy street car, which started with a rush just as she got on! Janet is a lucky girl, and I think she is clever, although the only picture I have seen her in so far was "The Johnstown Flood," which I liked very much. She is probably going to be a big star soon, and she is very swreet and unaffected. Of course, I think George O'Brien is wonderful, and I think of him with some of my biggest favorites like Ronald Colman, Jack Gilbert, and Ramon Novarro, even though I don't see him so often. My pleasantest experience outside of this was when I met exquisite Norma Shearer on the set of her picture, which they are calling "The Demi Bride," and I overheard Norma laughingly tell a newspaper reporter that she was going to be a bachelor. She said that she was getting too old to get married, and that she was devoted to her mother and sister. Maybe she feels keenly in sympathy with the independence of women since she played in "The Waning Sex" — that's what the reporter said, anyway. I never knew, though, that stars were so much affected by the pictures in which they play. Anyway, Norma said that this spring she expects to go to Europe, and that she is certainly going to pay her own fare. I guess this means that she isn't going to marry Irving Thalberg until she returns, anyway, but this is merely surmise on my part. Norma also told a funny experience that she had had while working in the picture. She had to fire a revolver in one of the scenes, and as she closed her eyes when she did this, the prop boys thought that they would play a joke on her. She fired the gun straight up in the air, and so when it went off one of the boys got up onto a platform right over her head and immediately after the bang he dropped a stuffed cat down onto the stage Continued on page 99