Screenland (May-Oct 1931)

98 SCREENLAND Picture Parties — Continued from -page 64 all came," recounted Edna May, "when the parachute became entangled in the tail surfaces, when I stayed out on a wing in a hundred-mile gale, trying to cut the parachute loose. Finally when I was exhausted and there was still a cord or two to cut, I got so tired I had to give up or be blown off, and then — 1 prayed ! And the cords loosened themselves and we were saved!" Billy Haines, blithe and debonair, arrived just then, and delivered himself of a wisecrack or two, amusing as ever. The party stops, looks, and listens when Bill comes in. Lowell Sherman and Helene Costello came in soon, and Helene declared she wanted to learn to fly. Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon came, too. Bebe herself is some sort of courtesy flying officer or other, and really knows how to run a plane. She is expecting to solo any day now and probably has done so before this gets into print. She and Ben hope to take a flying trip one of these days. Jetta Goudal arrived looking pretty in black and wearing a black hat with a brim and trimmed with feathers. She and her artist husband, Harold Grieve, seem very happy. Hugh Trevor and John Roche were among the guests, John arriving with Lady Cleaver, whose father is Minister of Finance in Ireland. She and the Honorable Mrs. Victor Bruce are flying around the world in opposite directions and have met in Los Angeles. Mrs. Bruce was to have been present too, but had been delayed in San Francisco on account of bad weather. However, we found out afterward that the two flyers had tea together the next day, along with Edna May and Bobbie. "Mrs. Bruce," Lady Clever told us, "has installed a dictaphone in her plane, her husband having told her she would never be happy unless she could talk!" Walter Pigeon was there, and Thelma Worth, Betty Compson's cousin, Benny and June Rubin, Howard Greer and a dozen others. Edna May's and Bobbie's plans include a vaudeville trip for both and quite probably a picture or two, for Edna May at least. Miss Cooper was a picture actress before doing aviation stunts, you know. She and Betty Compson have been friends ever since the old Lasky days. We drank deep of the demon tea as we listened to the adventures and plans of Betty's guests of honor, and am afraid that we overstayed the conventional tea hour, we were so charmed. T MUST confess that Gershwin's RhapA sody in had always sounded to me like a crazy man's idea of grand opera, but all the same I, together with everybody else, was anxious to meet this genius and see what makes the wheels go round. We always imagine we shall find out, but we never do, what it is that is the mainspring of genius. So when Leonard Sillman, writer and actor of Hollywood, invited Patsy and me to a Sunday afternoon tea given in honor of George Gershwin and his brother Ira, we were very keen to go. But, alas, the genius was laid low with the flu at the last moment, and it was too late for Leonard to call off his party. However, Ira was a lot of consolation, especially as he is a very charming person, and George sent a nice little letter of regrets. Our host lives in one of those artistic Hollywood apartments, that is half studio, half residence, and as he is a lover of statuary, he has many beautiful pieces, besides rare paintings and tapestries brought from abroad. An especially intriguing object, or rather pair of objects, were two swinging gates, exquisite Italian hand-wrought grilles, representing leaves on a trellis, which were placed in the arched doorway between the drawing room and dining room, and which had been brought from Europe by our host. The gates were carved of wood, but bronzed in some way like copper, and so delicately wrought that you fairly seemed to see the leaves trembling in a breeze. Suddenly, we caught sight of Mary Miles Minter, and forgot all about every Spanish Conchita Montenegro. She is new to Hollywood but one of the most popular and beautiful girls on the cinema coast. thing else, it had been so long since we had seen her. Mary was looking very beautiful. She weighs a hundred and thirty-six now, she says, although a few months ago she weighed something like a hundred and seventy. She told us that she is going on the stage as soon as she finds the right play. It seems that she has offers from both New York and Los Angeles managers. You remember, probably, that she was a child actress on the stage before she became a picture star at the age of fourteen. Ramon Novarro was there. He had come in his make-up, right from the studio ; had been working all night, he said, and was very tired : but when he met his old friend, Frances Beranger, daughter of Clara Beranger, the writer, he pepped up at once for a nice little chat over in a corner. We spotted an interesting looking man who had just come in. and found out that he was Prince Jean Chica of Roumania. who has been sent by his country to represent and study aviation. He is at present making an air trip from Budapest to Cape Town, South Africa. This is considered the most difficult air voyage in the world, and Patsy and I got a great thrill as his dark eyes flashed over the remarkthat "there is a possibility I may never reach my goal !" Grace LaRue, Laura La Plante, Leni Stengel and all the other charming ladyguests were simply hanging on the aviator's words, while just for once the masculine picture stars were being a bit neglected. Edgar Selwyn, noted playwright, theatrical producer and now motion picture director, brought his lovely wife, who was once on the stage, but who turned producer last year in New York. It does seem too bad that the stage should lose her beauty and vivacity. Hale Hamilton was among the guests, and King Baggot, the Sisters G, Julanne Johnston — who, by the way, told us she is going to London to dance at the Kit-Kat Club— Mr. and Mrs. Robert Armstrong, Mr. and Mrs. Regis Toomev, Mildred Harris, ZaSu Pitts, Lola Lane, Lew Ayers, Tom Douglas, Jobyna Howland, Gavin Gordon, Catherine Dale Owen. Horace Liveright, Sue Carol, Nick Stuart. Richard Cromwell, Mr. and Mrs. James Gleason, John Murray Anderson, and a score of others. The guests simply overflowed the big rooms, but there was such a spirit of enthusiastic friendliness and interest and pleasure in the gathering, all attributable to our charming host, that nobodv minded ; indeed, those who did it seemed" to enjov finding seats on cushions on the floor. We chatted with Ramon Novarro during the buffet tea which was served, and he told us about his first radio work. "I was all right from my neck up. but my legs were trembling so I could hardly stand," he laughed. Micho Ito, the noted Japanese dancer, was there with his beautiful American wile. They have two children and are very happy, but when she was first married, we learned, her family were angrv and turned her out. "But inside of two weeks my family met my husband and at once took him to their hearts," his wife smiled. After tea there was some delightful entertainment. Ramon Novarro sang Spanish songs, Leonard Sillman gave some humorous songs and a dance; Mildred Harris sang two numbers most pleasingly, and the Sisters G sang and danced a couple of cute little numbers and were very amusing. FOR once a Spanish house in Hollywood is really occupied by Spaniards, and a Spanish party is to be given by the people in it!" exclaimed Patsy, as she glanced up from a letter she had just received, as we were having tea at her bungalow. "Jose Crespo is giving a party for Conchita Montenegro. Jose, you know, stars in all the Spanish versions of the pictures in which John Gilbert appears." Jose was giving the party in honor of Conchita's birthday, and it was a Saint's birth'day, too ; which made it all the more appropriate for our hosts to serve a huge cake, as is done in Spain, filled with all sorts of good luck emblems. Later that cake was to turn out to be rather dramatic as a prop, but at the time it promised only romance and fun.