Screenland (Nov 1934-Apr 1935)

for November 1934 But there I ran into another snag. Freddie, ordinarily, is the life of any crowd in which he happens to find himself. But you go to interview him and — no matter how well you know him — he undergoes some sort of metamorphosis that defies you to get a good story out of him. I told him what I wanted. "Sure," he agreed enthusiastically. "A sort of Jekyl and Hyde. On the screen I'm crazy. Off the screen I'm bughouse. And yet I keep my own books, make my own investments, do most of the bargaining for my contracts and all that." "// you don't mind my butting in," said Florence Eldredge, his charming wife, "here's what / think. Every story I've ever read about Freddie has either been biographical or has dealt with his bookkeeping. If I were a woman on the outside, reading these magazines, I'd gather the impression from Freddie's interviews that he is the dullest of the dull." "That's it," Freddie exclaimed. "Here's how it is: In spite of my scatter-brained performances on the screen and my hairbrained antics off, I really lead a wellordered and carefully planned existence. When we occasionally have an evening to ourselves, I usually sit down with a pencil and paper, figure out what I have to do along the lines of picture details, settle that and then figure out my income — how much we can spend and how much should be invested — and in what." "You see," Florence put in, "Freddie has — unconsciously, perhaps — created an \W\ision that he is scatter-brained. Fie isn't. I think the secret of his business success — if any — is his cautiousness. "When he was a little boy, his father ■was president of a company in Racine that went into bankruptcy. The other stockholders and executives of the company took advantage of their position to clean the slate. But Freddie's father set about paying the creditors dollar for dollar. Every Sunday they used to have a conference. Ihey'd go over the creditors who had been paid during the week and decide whom they could pay the following week and how much. That went on, as you may imagine, for months. The children always sat in on those conferences and it developed a sense of responsibility in them and a regard for business that Freddie, at least, has never shaken off." "I guess that's it," Freddie observed. "It taught me what a muddle you can find yourself in if you haven't enough money. Here's how I look at things now: This acting business I'm in is a ■ tremendous gamble. There's one chance in a million of succeeding in it and landing in the big money. Well, that's enough of a gamble for any man to take. So I don't gamble with my investments. "We put a certain amount into a trust fund every week. Out of what's left, we live. Our one extravagance, if you care to call it that, is our home. Florence and I both like a nice home, so in building this new one we haven't tried to stint ourselves by cutting down here and saving there. We've had everything put in it that we want. "We don't gamble. If we play bridge, a quarter of a cent is tops. Usually we play for a tenth or a twentieth. We don't care about the night spots. We've been to the Colony Club once in our lives. Some of the other places we haven't even seen. "Florence cares nothing for jewelry. Several times I've ordered pieces from Cartiers but she always sends them back and says she would rather have a silver platter or something like that. Neither of us gives a darn about clothes so that item doesn't amount to much. "We don't like to keep a lot of cash on hand so when anything is left over, above 87 nave you ever rea My tried a 2W JA 7 IF you really want whiter, more attractivelooking teeth, REMOVE FILM, say leading dental authorities. Film is that dull, dingy coating that constantly forms on teeth. 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