Picture-Play Magazine (Sep 1928 - Feb 1929)

Manhattan Medley 47 even the hotel accommodations, but he was noticeably insistent on one point. He went to bed regularly at ten, said his prayers, and studied diligently daily on the hotel roof, with one proviso. He was to be taken to the Statue of Liberty, and allowed to climb up into the torch. No seasoned veteran of the stage or screen ever demanded the star dressing room with more insistence than young Farina reminded the management, between personal appearances at the Capitol Theater, that his purpose in coming to New York, and remaining on his good behavior, was a leisurely and thorough journey through the Statue of Liberty. Of course, "Our Gang" went with him. And the lady was most gracious. In fact, all New York was gracious to this juvenile gang of playboys. Newspaper offices came to a standstill while tiny fingers thumped out one-syllable messages to the columnists, a hotel roof was transformed into a schoolroom, a motor bus was ever at their disposal for a trip to the zoo, the aquarium, or toyland. With all the adulation that has been showered upon his ebony person, Farina is totally unlike the professional child. He has no mannerisms, no self-assurance, no self-consciousness. He's an untamed, little black boy, with the kind heart characteristic of his race. He's very much averse to showing his pigtail, and terribly worried about the mistaken idea that he is a girl. His interview was pointedly brief. "You know those fights we have. I never really hurt anybody when I hits 'em. I's just foolin' — make-believe, you know." And then he turned to inquire where was the best place in town to buy a baseball bat, and no amount of irrelevant questioning could swerve him from his quest. Romance is Consoling. Only romance — and of course you know of the romance of Sue Carol and Nick Stuart — helps to buoy the drooping spirit of dainty Sue Carol. Naturally, when a love affair is in progress, and the worries are merely lucrative, the dismal dumps are never too disheartening. And anyway, what are a few ducats, more or less, when love's young dream is progressing happily? In Miss Carol's case it happens to be less — in a way, that is. Her father happened to be a very wealthy man, who left his pretty daughter a very tidy income. She has never even heard the wolf barking at the door. On the other hand, she made an unfortunate contract in her salad days which were, oh, just a few months ago. Of course, she was thrilled about it at the time, when Douglas MacLean gave her a role in "Soft Cush Photo toy Bull Pauline Starke, in satins, recalls the day when she wore ginghams with great appeal Photo by Freulich Barbara Kent came East in a whirl of personal appearances. ions," and signed her for the next five years for the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars a week. All might have been well, from Miss Carol's point of view, had she not registered an instantaneous hit. To be sure, she receives her two hundred and fifty dollars a week, but the fact that she can earn fifteen hundred proves to be a bitter pill for the young lady to swallow, especially because her employer takes advantage of her pecuniary worth, rents her out at her market value, and pockets the difference. Sue, being rich in her own right, offered to buy back her freedom for $25,000, but MacLean wants a cool $1 50,000 for his foresight in making the discovery. It was to make "Chasing Through Europe" that she came to New York Continued on page 104