Screenland (Nov 1936-Apr 1937)

for January 1937 65 Deep down, however, the star is intensely serious and such problems as those she meets in metaphysics interest her. At present, she is doing some rather advanced research work in the philosophy of the ancients, particularly Plato and Confucius. Ever since she missed being cast in the role Jeanette MacDonald plays in "The Merry Widow" — because she couldn't sing sufficiently well to please the heads of the studio — Joan Crawford has dedicated one hour every day to voice culture and singing. The gorgeous Joan long ago set her heart on enacting the title role in the picturization of the world-famous operetta, and when another was selected she experienced deep and bitter disappointment. Xow, that a second opportunity may not pass, she takes a lesson daily, regardless of how hard she may be working in a picture or how weary she becomes. Believe it or not, but Richard Dix has enrolled in the extension department of the University of California and is deep in the study of scientific agriculture ! The popular star owns a ranch and wants to know how to run it modernly and with the fullest benefit. Hence, the college course, atop all his other activities. There's something about the down-to-earth substance you sense in Ralph Bellamy that gives you a clue to his studious interests. They lie, in fact, in the dusty tomes of ancient history. AYhen he might be sunning himself on the nearby beaches or riding the horses he loves so well, he can generally be found, instead, in the famous archives of the Huntington Library, in Pasadena, and among the historic pieces of Los Angeles' celebrated Southwest Museum. His personal library is considered a very complete historical collection. Irene Dunne's father made quite a name for himself as an amateur astronomer and the actress-singer inherited his love for the celestial kingdom. As a child, she picked up a vast fund of information on the stars and their constellations and has eagerly pursued the study ever since. She owns a very fine collection of scientific books on astronomy and spends many hours delving into its inner and more intricate secrets. A strange pastime for a beautiful actress, but few really know Irene Dunne. Lew Ayres likewise concerns himself with a contemplation of the stars and has a neat sum of money invested in observatory equipment. Most of his knowledge has been picked up at random, and through the offices of an elderly man whom Lew befriended a number of years ago. But interested as he is in astronomy, Lew derives even greater pleasure and benefit from the study of music. Purely as a hobby and a pastime, the young actor composes classical music, and recently finished a rhapsody upon which he has been working for the past six or seven months. He is said to have more than one hundred original compositions but will not as yet submit them to a publisher. Ginger Rogers, also a music lover, plans some day to present a musical comedy of her own composition and to that end is utilizing every possible means available to her. Since she is determined that the musical comedy will be all her own, Ginger devotes much time to the study, not alone music, but to costuming, everything that will further and aid her ambition. Xaturally talented along these lines, she already has cast the die from which her "opus" will be patterned, and those close to her hold high hopes for its success. Ann Harding always has been interested in the theatre. Now that she has made such strides as an actress, she is looking beyond, into the future, and to realize a dream of long-standing she has set a schedule for herself, that when {Continued on page 93) Our story tells you an interesting fact about Ginger Rogers as a student — a new pose of Ginger, above. Francis Lederer, left, is pictured on his ranch, in a gay mood; but he can be intensely serious on one subject— see the story.