Nothing Sacred (United Artists) (1937)

cArliib-iu Ute VniUi£A± How Mountebanks, Charlatans and Fakers Fool the Gullible Public... And Why Great Newspapers Fall for Their Fantastic Stories T HE Sage of Bridgeport re¬ marked of his often bilked customers, “There’s a sucker born evey minute.” but the say¬ ing, often quoted and more often proved by incident is surprising¬ ly incomplete coming as it did from the greatest showman of all times. Mr. Barnum’s observation might well be amended to read, “There’s a sucker born every minute, and two to take him.” The ranks of the grafter have swelled disproportionately since that snide remark first passed through the circus man’s larynx, with the result that today not even the. two who were predes¬ tined to take the sucker over the hurdles are immune to the rav- ags of the cheaters. Perhaps it is due to the greater publicization of swindles and hoaxes but at the present time grafting seems to have assumed the proportions of a major industry. Strangely enough, it is not the lower income tax brackets that suffer the most from the myriad ject of the gag, making the most of the Sun’s discomfiture. The Sun has yet to live down the ig¬ nominy of its gullibility, but Poe became a name to conjure with. Somewhat the same kind of hoax forms the story behind Selznick International’s “Nothing Sacred,” the Technicolor production star¬ ring Carole Lombard and Fredric March in which a girl takes a modern high-pressure daily for a joyous sleigh-ride. The first, and undoubtedly the most proficent of the latter day fakers, was the suave Count d’Aulby, nee Dolbey in Fen- church, London. The Count first appeared in New York in the first decade of the century, and started immediately upon his campaign. He rented the Mac¬ beth Galleries in order to exhibit the large collection of paintings which he had brought with him. Prominent amongst his reputed ‘old masters’ was a $200,000 “Titian.” D’Aulby’s prices were high and he had no buyers. He refused to come down one cent from the exorbitant rates which he had set. However, he did achieve what he had originally set out to do. He obtained entree into every home of the as yet un¬ enlarged “400.” The ladies lion¬ ized him, and accepted him com¬ pletely. When one gentleman had the audacity to suggest that The smart set of Manhat¬ tan fell for imposter "Mike Romanoff.” All New York laughed when the truth came out. nocent right hand, his left was stocking their wine cellar with 50 centime wines for which he only charged them 5 francs, 20 centimes. The Count had no idea that he was plucking his golden geese too closely. Soon afterwards, Mr. Paine, the golden goose died. His widow was remarried to the Due de Choiseul-Praslin (a real noble¬ man) D’Aulby began to dun his auriferous gander for a sum of money allegedly still owed to him by the late Mr Paine for articles sold. The Duke became angry, and then suspicious. He investigated the paintings and found that one of them was more than a good imitation. In the same way, he discovered that the wines were not fit for the palate of the least discerning Frenchman. The Due de Choiseul, on the instance of Mrs. Paine, instituted criminal proceedings against Count d’Aulby The Count did not counter the charges, but threatened his ci-devant gold mine with publication of love letters which he claimed she had written him. She faltered and was on the point of allowing the charges to be dropped. The public prosecutor was adamant, and insisted that the swindler be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The full extent wasn’t too full and the Count served three months in a very comfort¬ able cell. His wife, believed in him fully and insisted to her last moment that he had been framed. After his release, the Count and his wife came back to the United States and lived on 59th Street, quite distant from the splendors to which they had been accus¬ tomed. Le Marquis Edmond Raoul Marcel Rousselot de Castillot was a born genius. He first attracted attention when he registered in the Waldorf-Astoria and began to receive mail bearing the crests of every royal family in Europe. Just one week previously he had been in the employ of the New York Telephone Company at the magnificent salary of $15 per week. He had been sent to the Miss Josephine May- He had told the spinster that he was a French Marquis in dis¬ guise, and she fell for his story whole-heartedly. He invested the money in the Waldorf Suite and a set of very beautiful uniforms. Much in the style of The Count d’Aulby, he impressed the women whom he met, and went a step further in gaining the complete confidence of manufacturers, par¬ ticularly those of munitions. He represented himself as the per¬ sonal agent of King Alphonso of Spain, in America to purchase large amounts of arms for the Spanish Army The munitions manufacturers were eager to please him and presentd him with large sums of money Le Mar¬ quis Edmond Raoul, etc., bought seven automobiles and several saddle horses, and ran up a great number of bills which no one thought of asking him to pay. So successful was his impos¬ ture, that even army officers did not recognize the fact that his splendid uniform was a hodge¬ podge of four f'rench uniforms. Broadway knew him through the linking of his name with that of Marjorie Rambeau, screen star. Le Marquis forged passes to the treasury department, and went every place. He conducted parties of friends through the of¬ fices of the Secret Service and the Department of Justice. He obtained the private phone num¬ bers of well-known persons through some obscure connection with his former employers, the New York Telephone Company. Rousselot de Castillot came to a sudden end when he decided to go to work on the House of Mor¬ gan. He was well on his way to success when one of the employ¬ ees became suspicious and inves¬ tigated the supposed French no¬ bleman. The Marquis had exhib¬ ited a letter from King Alphonso, affectionately signed “Alph” and one from Senator McAdoo, more formally autographed but as con¬ fidential in tone as that from the ruler of Spain. The einployee knew that “Alph” was not the correct diminutive for Alphonso, and persuaded his employers to investigate. The many named confidant of term in ed, and schemes of the confidence men. The so-called socialites are bear¬ ing t4je brunt of the attack^Mi a manner calculated to bring Irbout a more equal distribution of wealth. Even the great finan¬ ciers, supposedly secure in their vast knowledge of the money marts, have succumbed to the blandishments of smooth-tongued gentlemen with a yen for easy money. Just as susceptible to a well planned hoax are the omni¬ scient newspapers and the sup¬ posedly worldly men who gather the news of the world. Edgar Allan Poe’s famous bal¬ loon hoax set the journalistic world of the middle nineteenth century on its collective ear From his home in South Caroli¬ na, the author sent dispatches to the conservative New York Sun, relating the landing of Mr. Monck-Mason’s balloon on the South Carolina beach after a successful transatlantic crossing. The Sun gobbled up the story without a suspicion that there was anything amiss and paid Poe well. The other New York pa¬ pers felt that they had been scooped, and ordered their cor¬ respondents to investigate and get the facts immediately. When the truth was revealed, the Sun was the laughing stock of Park Row Its rivals thanked the journalistic gods that they had not been chosen as the ob- d’Aulby’s masterpieces were merely copies of originals that were hanging irt the museums of Europe, the imposter calmly replied that hia paintings were the originals, and those in the museums were the copies. His explanation was accepted com¬ pletely, and without a shadow of a doubt. One of the Count’s more en¬ thusiastic patrons was a Back Bay dowager, Mrs. Lunt, who gave him her neice, Francesca, in mar¬ riage. Miss Lunt was the prize debutante of the season, and the marriage was a splendid and well attended affair Mrs. Lunt furnished a huge villa near Tours for her niece and her new¬ ly acquired husband. And the count immediately proceeded to hang his bogus paintings in his new home. It Was at this time that Count D’Aulby hooked his greatest pair of suckers, Mr and Mrs. Charles N. Paine of Boston. The Paines had bought a home in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, so the Count generously offered to help them furnish it. He was open- handed enough to lend them his fine collection of “old masters.” Then he proceeded to sell them the paintings one by one, reluct¬ antly parting with them for an average price of $15,000. At the same time that he was selling them paintings with a very in- Rage seizes reporter Fredric March when he learns the truth of Carole Lombard’s hoax. It’s the climax of "Nothing Sacred” Did the Bolsheviks execute Anastasia, daughter of the Czar? Uncertainty of her fate has made it possible for several imposters to vic¬ timize newspapers. went into business under his right name. He managed real estate properties for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the Ir¬ ving Trust Company, A1 Smith, Jr., and others. His legitimate business was profitable, and there should have been no temptation. Roussellot lapsed into forgery and received another prison term, which he is still serving. He will be deported on his release in 1938. The re-appearance of Princess Anastasia has provided frequent pabulum for the presses, which seem to take a new lease on life with the appearance of each claimant. Recorded history states that the daughter of the late Nicholas III was executed along with the rest of the immediate royal family in a dark cellar in Ekaterinerburg, late in 1917 The first Anastasia appeared in 1920, but her story was so poor that she fooled no one. Successive pretenders have profited by the experience of those who have gone before, the latest, but two years ago, was well sup¬ plied with intimate details of the life of the Romanoffs. Even this woman, whose story of a hair¬ breadth escape could not convince any of the living Grand Dukes, put the newspapers in somewhat of a dither under the impression that the real Princess Anastasia had at last been found. Much less romantic in story was Baron Beaverbrook, known to the police as the “king of the con men.” He too was a romantic figure and had a way with women. Ordinarily sensible and tight-fisted females became gul¬ lible to the extreme when the Baron poured his blandishments upon them. He married a large number of them for their money, customarily disappearing as soon as he had extracted all available cash. Playing the beautiful imposter of "Nothing Sacred”, Carole Lombard meets her most fantastic film adventures in the madcap story by scenarist Ben Hecht. York in The A1 Smith, Jr., extor¬ tion case. The police proved that he was the intermediary between the women and the lawyers who did the dirty work. Police, con¬ vinced that his was the mind be¬ hind the crimes were unable to prove it definitely. The Lord is now at his country home in Os¬ sining. Prince “Mike” Romanoff fooled few people with his posturing, but there is no doubt that he had a lot of fun. His position was some¬ what that of a court fool, and as such he was welcomed every¬ where. His police record is non¬ existent, unless a conviction for contempt of court can be consid¬ ered as a budding criminal ca¬ reer. He served a scant month in a New York City jail for a too fervent insistence that his name was Michael Romanoff, instead of Harry Gerguson. Prince “Mike” is now a gentleman farmer in California, and a reigning favor¬ ite in Hollywood. Recognizing the fact that the newspaper is more than human in its gullibility, Selznick Interna¬ tional has based its new Techni- color production, “Nothing Sacred,” on the successful attempt of a small town girl to trick a large metropolitan daily into pro¬ viding her with all the things for which she has yearned. “Nothing Sacred,” co-starring Carole Lom¬ bard, and Fredric March, is the first attempt to translate comedy to the screen in the terms of color It is a rowdy comedy, ranging from sheer slapstick to the subtlest of humor, climaxing in a free-for-all, anything-goes battle between Mr March and Miss Lombard. Producer David O. Selznick, noted for his sagacity in choos¬ ing stories that carry punch, has chosen one that bids fair to prove a screen classic. “Nothing Sacred” tells of a young woman from Ver¬ mont who hoped to attain luxury, by pretending that she has con¬ tracted radium poisoning. A temporarily discredited reporter sees in her his opportunity to re¬ gain former rating as star re¬ porter, and attempts to convince his managing editor that he has a sure fire circulation building story. The odyssey of the girl and the reporter, as they see everything that the Big City has to offer, and do everything that presents fun and excitement makes a fascinat¬ ing tale, enhanced by the photo¬ graphic beauty of the new ad¬ vanced Technicolor. Directed by William Wellman from Ben Hecht’s screen play, “Nothing Sacred” has everything that goes ‘ -nake up a fine picture. Beaverbrook’s end was as pro¬ saic as his method. A group of amateur detectives, friends and relatives of one of the women who had been fooled by the Baron, trapped him on a Mann Act charge. The three, William A. Ruenzler, Harry Brand and Russell Goldman, trailed their man to Atlantic City, where he had gone with his next intended victim. He was scooped up by the net of the law and tossed into prison. He has since written sev¬ enteen books and intends to turn out at least a dozen more before he is turned loose. first place he entered was a 59th Street place where he met Barry. They went from one place to an¬ other as good companions. Barry made no attempts on the Prince’s personal property, luckily for all concerned. There is no record of the Prince’s feelings toward Bar¬ ry, but the burglar said that alone and allowing his accom¬ plices to remain holding the bag. Barry has since been returned to durance vile to serve for the rest of his natural life. The best comment on Barry was delivered by Mrs. Livermore; “He was a very charming fellow.” The latest, and the lowest in the scale of phoney Barons and Counts, was the recently incar¬ Arthur Barry would have been insulted had he been called a con man. He was the king of the jewel thieves, the man who car¬ ried off the famous Livermore robbery His profession notwith¬ standing, Barry was as charming and well mannered as any of the bogus noblemen. When the Prince of Wales made his visit to the United States Barry was his com¬ panion on an all night tour of the speakeasies. The Prince had become bored with the endless round of recep¬ tions for an evening alone. The Edgar Allen Poe, tragic poet, invented the fantastic balloon hoax. The sedate New York Sun swallowed his story hook, line and sinker Wales was a fine chap. Barry was arrested for the Livermore robbery, and sent to Auburn. He engineered a jail- break with three others, escaping cerated Lord Desmond de Hagen. The Lord was a Virgin Islander, originally named Ernest Behagen. He was possessed of a long police record as a fraudulent practi¬ tioner of medicine in St. Louis and other large cities. His only claim to the staff of Aesculapius A’ere two correspondence school diplomas, one for chiropractic science and the other for chirop¬ ody. He had gotten large fees from gullible women who believed him to be an eye, ear, nose and throat specialist. De Hagen was trapped in New Here's a Fascinating Full-Page Special on Famous Hoaxes, Planned and Written to Make it a Sure Hit with the Readers. Order direct from Exploitation Dept., United Artists Corp., 729 7th Avenue, New York, N. Y. Price, 8-Column, 80c for the mat.