Screenland (May-Oct 1928)

82 SCREE. NLAND TfoshtbeBANJO YOU have been wanting— brilliant, powerful, musical lone. easy-playing qualities, expert craftsmanship, handsome appearance. Beginners and professionals choose the Gibson Mastertone. Payment plan makes it easy to own a Gib son. Send thecou' pon for details Gibson stringed instruments are today's most popular instruments. Mention which interests you: Banjo; Mandolin; Guitar; Ukulele. <&ihcm GIBSON, Inc. 1020 Parsons St. Kalamazoo, Mich Gentlemen : Send Free Book and details of payment plan on The Newest 'Picture Girl— Ruth Elder Continued from page 1J> Name St.orE.F.D. City [Instrument]' .State. "Arlington Operated" HOTEL ANSONIA Broadway, 73rd to 74th Streets NEW YORK CITY 5 minutes to Theatres and Shopping Districts. 12 rmnuies from Henn. and Grand Central Stations. 1,260 ROOMS (AH Outside) New York's most complete hotel. Everything [or comfort and convenience of our guests. TWO RESTAURANTS Open from 6:30 A. M. until midnight. Music, Dancing, 2 Radio Orchestras, Ladies' Turkish Bath, Beauty Parlor, Drug Store, Barber Shop, Stock Broker's Office. AH in the Ansonia Hotel. TRANSIENT RATES 300 Rooms and Bath per day #4.00 Large Double Rooms, Twin Beds, Bath #6.00 per day Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (2 persons) #7.00 per Jay Special Weekly and Monthly Rates A. restful hotel — away from all noise and "dirt" of the "Roaring Forties." No coal smoke; our steam plant equipped oil fuel. Coolest. Hotel in New York in Summer THE ANSONIA In conjunction with the Hotels Marseilles, Anderson, Richmond and Cosmopolitan WARRANTED ADVERTISING Every advertisement submit' ted for publication in Screen land is accepted subject to investigation. To assist Screenland in \eeping its advertising columns clean, readers are in' vited to inform the Advertising Department of Screen land of any instance that implies a lac\ of good faith on the part of an advertiser. been mobbed by admiring and curious thousands; she has been lauded and criticized for her courageous flight; but not once has an account been given of the factors that determined this slip of a girl to attempt a feat with chances a thousand to one against her. When Ruth Elder came to Hollywood, the film colony took two looks to make sure their eyes were not deceiving them and then gasped in unison. What they saw was a small, very slender girl with large, smoky, gray eyes, dusky, brown hair that curled disarmingly, and a mouth that was camera-perfect. What they heard was a very soft, slightly husky voice, peppered delightfully with southern drawl, and a graciousness of manner, whose sincerity could not be doubted. No grim determination here — no ultramodern young woman looking for thrill — no super-cynic — no smart-cracker — no jazz baby. Ruth Elder was created by the gods, I am sure, to grace a mansion with pillared verandas, tropical gardens, many servitors. She is the epitome of luxuriant southern charm and allure. Being a true daughter of the old south, it is not surprising that Ruth Elder brings poignant memories of the mint julep days. She was born September 8, 1905, in Anniston, Alabama, one of six children. We would like to continue this story in the usual manner, i. e., Miss Elder was reared on an old plantation, with luxury and beauty surrounding her youth — but we cannot. The Elders were frankly poor. Ruth proudly relates having worked at odd jobs while attending school to aid her parents. The Elders were drawn affectionately closer by their reverses instead of becoming aliented by them. The children (five boys and Ruth) often spent evenings planning what they would do for one another when golden opportunity poured glorious gifts into their waiting hands. There would, of course, be a new and better home for the family in Anniston; there would be college for all of them; there would be this bit of longed-for luxury for one, that cherished hobby for the other. None of the children sensed opportunity when Ruth received an invitation to visit an aunt at Balboa, Panama, as a high-school graduation gift. Everyone helped gather what .seemed to them a staggering wardrobe, so that 'sister' could go to Panama in style. With tears and promises, she tore herself away from the family she loved -so dearly, laughing a bit between tears to call back from the moving train — "Cheer up, I might find a gold mine in Panama." Ruth didn't find a gold mine in Panama, but something that brought a few of the old dreams true to that group of brothers in Anniston. After eight months in Panama, she returned with her aunt to Lakeland, Florida, where she started to study dental hygiene. Through mutual friends at Lakeland she met George Haldeman, instructor of aviation, and was taken by him on her first airplane flight. That first flight planted the seed of a new ambition: to become an aviator. She loved the air, thrilled to it. It lifted her, went like a surging tonic through her soul. She started immediately with a course of flying lessons and in a remarkably short space of time was a capable pilot. On the day that Lindbergh took off on his history-making flight from New York to Paris, Ruth Elder won a beauty contest at Lakeland, a bit of coincidence that brought opportunity on speaking terms with this plucky southern girl. A Lakeland citizen in a moment of civic pride suggested that a transAtlantic flight by Lakeland's beauty and only aviatrix would bring fame and honor to the name of Elder and the home town. Ruth Elder did not take the suggestion seriously at first, but her friends did. They cited the fame, adulation and possibility of wealth that would be hers if the hop were successful. Ruth Elder is courageous, with the courage with which the pioneer women were so generously endowed, and the idea of a gamble with fate appealed to her. But Ruth is also young and beautiful with the world and life lying temptingly before her. Fame, wealth on one side — death, oblivion on the other. Thus the scales swayed uncertainly, while Ruth Elder tried to reach a decision. When she placed her family, waiting for her in Anniston, on the scales that held fame and wealth, she found that it outweighed by a long margin the side bearing death and disaster. It was then that Ruth Elder made known her plan to play with Fate and extract, if she won, something for the family she loved. The rest is history. Rest assured that the brothers and parents in Anniston have been remembered and are now residing in that new home planned for them. But Fate was not finished with Ruth. During a vaudeville tour of the country immediately following her flight, Miss Elder received an invitation to visit the Paramount Studios in Hollywood and take a screen test. She accepted with enthusiasm. The next day she signed a contract. The smoky eyes, the dusky hair, the upturned, expectant mouth proved verdant screen material. Richard Dix met Ruth Elder, before the ink was dry on the contract — turned on his heels, demanded an audience with the studio executives, and put in his claim for the young lady to play the lead opposite him in his next picture, Moran of the Marines. At this writing Ruth Elder is on location in San Diego, where the most exciting sequences of her first picture are being made. She will pilot an airplane through enough footage to give the fans an idea of how a beautiful bit of femininity looks when confronted with the grim business of keeping a mass of flying machinery under control. Richard Dix, who has never before gone on record as an oracle, has been very definite in his statements concerning Miss Elder's future success and appeal on the screen — these statements, by the way, are all affirmative. We just had a moment the other day to ask Ruth Elder what she intended to do with her brand-new pay checks from the .studio. Without a moment's hesitation, she replied that as soon as the production was completed she will take a train for Anniston, and take a much-needed vacation with the Elder family.