Screenland (Nov 1939–Apr 1940)

by a fashion show or a sale you'll buy the wrong things, every time. Don't wait until you have to have a dinner dress or a bathing suit before you shop for it. Keep your wardrobe generally adequate. Without Claudette Colbert no Hollywood story would be complete. For Claudette brings the same invaluable quality to her clothes that she brings to her screen portrayals — timing. In other words, she doesn't overdo; she knows where to stop ; she's sensitive as to where to draw the line. Claudette will wear a huge, jewelled starfish on her coat because it is colorful and gay — but, when she wears this starfish, the rest of her costume will be startlingly simple. You never catch her wearingthings that are extreme. Let the designers go "amusing." Let other women wear hats that look like boxes of strawberries or pots of geraniums. They can have all the second glances they get that way or any similar way. Claudette prefers to play safe. "It's no trick to attract attention," she says. "Just walk down any street and make faces at those coming toward you and you'll feel nine out of ten turning to look at you again the minute they have passed you. Clothes, in my opinion, never should be selected because they'll attract attention— unless you're sure that attention will be of the admiring kind. "I remember," she went on, "how the men in the stands at a recent sports event kept turning to look at a girl in one of the upper boxes. She was wearing a hat that looked exactly like something a slapstick comedienne would wear. 'Good Heavens,' the men kept muttering between themselves, 'where did she get that hat? Did you ever see anything so frightful? What will women wear next?' The girl, aware only of the men's eyes and not of their comments, undoubtedly thought she was enchanting. And knowing how she felt I almost wished she could hear what was being said. It would have been good for her. Because she actually was a pretty girl; and had she been wearing a more conservative number the second glances she received, even though there likely would have been fewer of them, would have been admiring and directed at her, not merely at a detail of her appearance." Which brings us to something else we do well to remember : Dress so you always can be sure any second glances you receive spring not from amusement and not from astonishment, but from admiration. Joan Bennett, Norma Shearer, Gail Patrick, Loretta Young, Claudette Colbert. They weren't born with the great chic which marks them today, any of them. They earned that chic for themselves by using their brains. And what they have done you can do too. Remember your theme song : "I'll get by, as long as I Try . . ." "And It's Fun to be 75" Continued from page 3 I teach her first, the glory and the beauty and the solace of work. I have a daughterin-law, whom I adore as though she were my own daughter. I remember when she was only twelve years old, and my son, Edward, used to ogle her as she passed down the street and would then ask me for some money so he could buy her an ice-cream soda— as I say, I couldn't love her any more if she were my own daughter— and I've taught her to love work and believe in it, as I do." When things have gone horribly amiss, May has never wept over them. Asked what people could do when they were terribly discouraged, and there seemed to be no solution to their problems, she said, "If things get to such a pass that you feel that there's nothing you can do, then don't do anything. Just drift. And pretty soon, something is bound to come along that will pull you upstream." She has seen Marie Dressier and Will Rogers, who were true and faithful friends of hers, pass away, but she cherishes the memory of them, and believes the world will cherish that memory forever. "There were greater actors than Will Rogers, but our sons and our grandsons and our greatgrandsons will talk about him because he was a great human being. He was so sweet and so dear and so simple. I remember a dinner party that was given once for poor Marie Dressier and everyone present got up and made long speeches, reading from their notes. I thought to myself, 'If Will Rogers looks up notes when he gives his talk, he'll never hear the end of it from me. I'll kid him unmercifully.' I got up and gave my own speech without notes, and when Will's turn came, he did the same thing. At the end of the dinner he came over to me, threw his arm about me and said, 'Say, old gal, we were the only ones who knew our lines.' " When Will Rogers died, once again May Robson dipped into the store of her great emotions and wrote a poem which was so true and so touching that thousands of people sent for copies of it. A hospital in Seattle suggested that if they charged twenty-five cents for each copy of the poem that was sent out, it might help with the charitable work which the hospital was doing. May consented, of course. And the plan was so successful that the money which was sent not only equipped an orthopedic room in the hospital, but also paid for instruments the surgeons needed! A bit of lavender and old lace in the glittering, artificial tinsel of today's movie world, May has never been known to say anything unkind about anyone. Once after she had appeared with Garbo in "Anna Karenina," the ship news reporters, a hardboiled lot, went to May, hoping she'd talk like the peppery old ladies she plays on the screen, and asked for inside stuff on Garbo. "Why, she's just a frightened faun," she told them. "She's like a child who likes to run behind her mother's skirts and hide." May is convinced that there is a great deal of kindness in the world and that you will usually find it in unexpected places. "People realize what a blundering idiot I am about some things, and maybe that's why they're so kind to me. I remember once when I left my vault key at the Second National Bank, where I kept my money, and called up the cashier about it. He told me to call for the key that afternoon. When I called for it, the cashier said, 'Merely as a matter of form, you'll have to give us the number of your vault key. Do you remember it?' 'Of course I do. It's 244196.' 'That's right,' said the cashier, '1827,' handing me my key. I had rattled off the number of my savings bank book!" Muzzy May's constant companion is Lillian Harmer, whom she met when Lillian was out of work twenty-six years ago Since then, the two women have been inseparable, and it's Lillian Harmer who watches to see that Muzzy doesn't make any "idiotic" mistakes. About six years . ago, the two women were driving in Culver KEEP FREE OF CORNS Quickly Relieves Pain! Stops CAUSE! No Need Now to Suffer From CORNS, CALLOUSES, BUNIONS or SORE TOES! Try this new sensation in foot relief— New SUPERSOFT Dr. Scholl's Zino-pads. Discover for yourself how speedily they relieve pain of your corns, callouses or bunions; how comfortable they make new or tight shoes; how easily you can keep free of corns, sore toes or blisters this new, scientific way ! These soothing pads of fleecy softness stop the cause — shoe friction and pressure. 630% softer than before! Thin SEALTIP Edge molds pad to toe. Does not come off in the bath. Separate Graduated Medications included for quickly removing corns or callouses. Get a box today! Cost but a trifle. Sold everywhere. Sizes for Corns, Callouses, Bunions and Soft Corns between toes. There's a Dr. Sertoli Relief for most every common fool trouble 3£ V. Good H.OLxcr J*.n rplna.y D-'Scholls Zino pads SONG POEMS WANTED TO BE SET TO MUSIC Free Examination. Send Your Poems To J. CHAS. McNEIL A. B. MASTER OF MUSIC 510-V So. Alexandria Los Angeles, Calif. $C.§f WHEN colds cause sniffling, sneezing, soreness, and stuffiness in the nostrils use Mentholatum. It gives quick relief from these discomforts and promotes healing of the irritated membranes in the nostrils. Its vapors also reach deep into the air passages, bringing grateful comfort. Also rub some Mentholatum on your chest and back to improve the local blood circulation. Rub it on your forehead and temples to allay headache and neuralgia due to colds. SCREENLAND 95