Screenland (Nov 1928-Apr 1929)

SCREENLAND under the trees, at long tables, picnic fashion. "Just the jolliest party ever!" remarked Patsy, as we made our way homeward, tired and happy. "Oh, here's Esther Ralston! My dear, I hear you nearly got hit by a submarine over there in Honolulu — I mean your boat of course! What cute little freckles on your nose!" Jobyna Ralston was giving a shower for Priscilla Bonner, who, you know, is about to marry Dr. Bert Woolfan of Hollywood. The shower was being given at Jobyna's home in San Fernando Valley, where she and her husband, Dick Arlen, have the quaintest, loveliest Spanish home built be' neath huge old walnut trees. We had just met Esther Ralston, who had lately come from a trip to Honolulu. We gathered in the living room to await Priscilla's coming, and when she did arrive, she looked as radiant as a bride-to-be should look. Mary Lou Lewis, George Lewis's wife, Virginia Brown Faire and a few others were already there, and we discovered that a number of the young actresses besides Priscilla were going to be married. That cute little Duane Thompson, for instance, is engaged to Buddy Wattles of the Hit the Dec\ musical comedy company, and Florence Gilbert we hear is going to be married, too. Nobody had told us that it was Duane Thompson's birthday until somebody whispered it to us. It was also Jobyna's and Dick's wedding anniversary. So Duane and Jobyna had to rise and make a couple of bows when we found out. Mary Lou and Marian Nixon are great friends. "And that's in spite of the fact that Mary Lou used to come on the set when I was George's leading lady, arriving sometimes right in the middle of a love scene, but she never was cross about it. And I was Richard Barthelmess's leading lady, too, when his bride came on the set. She didn't mind, either. I'm beginning to lose my conceit. Maybe I'm not so nice after all," remarked Marian. By the way, Marian was wearing a wonderful antique bracelet which Ben Lyon had given her. Scotty, Jobyna's big dog, came into the room. "Oh, don't be scared, girls — he's perfectly party-broke," declared Jobyna. "All the girls are wearing that indelible lip-stick," remarked Virginia Brown Faire. "It doesn't come off on anybody, and it doesn't even come off at night!" Nearly all the girls were stockingless. They had beautifully tanned legs, the method of acquiring the tan being to oil the legs, then lie bare-legged in the sun. The oil keeps them from burning, but they tan nicely. And speaking of going stockingless, Sally Eilers, who is, by the way, the very newest Hollywood bride, she having eloped and married a magazine writer, inquired whether any of the girls manicured their toe nails. We found out that Mary Lou Lewis does! There was a flurry toward the patio when the last of the guests arrived, including Barabara Luddy, Marion Douglas, Nan Howard, Jeanette Loff, Mrs. Arthur Rankin, Pauline Curley — who is married now and seldom works — Mrs. Dorothy Reid and a number of others. Lunch was served out doors, under the patio trees, and then everybody hurried into the house to see Priscilla open her gifts, which included all sorts of beautiful and useful things for a house. Then bridge caused the party to grow quiet, and nobody left until the trees in the valley were casting lovely long shadows at sunset. "Yo, heave ho, and a bottle of rum!" sang Patsy, as she drove up to my bungalow door that morning. "Why, Pat," I exclaimed, "Why so nautical, not to say naughty from a Volstead point of view?" "We're invited," Pat told me, "to go with Belle Bennett and her husband, Fred Windermere, on their yacht for a week-end vacation. Now isn't that enough to make anybody break into song?" I admitted it was. We were to dine at the Yacht Club at San Pedro and leave on Belle's yacht, the Wee Dove, for Catalina about ten at night. Everything happened as scheduled, and the night was simply heavenly. In the party were Mr. and Mrs. Jack Ford, Irving Willat and Billie Dove, who is Mrs. Irving Willat, you know, and one or two others not of pictures, with Fred Windermere acting as skipper. Arriving at Catalina after the smoothest trip in the world, we all went to sleep like babies, after the yacht was moored. In the morning we all tried to be very nautical, using only nautical terms, and everybody was fined who dared call going below going 'down-stairs.' Billie Dove loves to fish, but the rest of us put on bathing suits and took a dip in the clear, smooth waters of the bay. We were awakened in the morning by a Filipino boy, the ship's cook and general utility man, who brought us each a glass of orange juice on a tray, accompanied by a little package. Opening the package we found that our sweet hostess had given us each a present in the form of a silver-andcloisonne pin, some in the shape of boats, others in the form of fishes. Following our swimming and fishing expeditions, we donned what we called our pirate suits, which Belle provided for us, and which were made of cretonne. They consisted of loose trousers and long coats, and we tied bandannas around our heads. These were very comfortable and convenient. We visited the Isthmus and landed at Avalon a couple of times to take in the concert and dance a bit at the big hotel. On the trip to the Isthmus we sailed past Doug McLean's yacht. Doug was entertaining a party of men on board his boat, the Faith, named for his wife. He hailed us and said he was out of gas to cook with, and would we lend him some, which we did. Next we sighted the Tiburon, Conrad Nagel's boat. We hailed her, stepping aboard for a few minutes to say hello to Nagel and his wife and their guests, Leatrice Joy and Lois Wilson. At Avalon we met a perfect bevy of film people, including Jean Hersholt and his wife and their little boy, the latter the image of his dad, and we also met William DeMille and his bride, Clara Beranger. They had been fishing, but didn't give a very good account of themselves as to their catch. Both Billie Dove and Belle Bennett looked so cute in their pirate suits that we told them they should have stories written around those costumes. Billie always has luck at her fishing, and we ate some of her catch for dinner. "This is the laziest, happiest life I have ever known!" murmured Patsy, as she lay stretched in her chair on deck. Can You Tell? Look over some of the ads in this magazine. What's wrong with them — can you tell ? There is something wrong with every ad — no advertisement is perfect. Sometimes it is the words used in the headline. 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