Screenland (Nov 1941-Apr 1942)

Above, a scene from "Twin Beds," the hilarious screen laugh hit adapted from the sensational stage success, co-starring George Brent and Joan Bennett as the husband and wife who are madly in love, but who don't quite trust each other. See they even have twin bedside telephones to help them keep check on one another. HIRSUTE happenings: Celebrating his return from a long tour, Jerry Colonna cracked out with a novel dinner party. Big black moustaches, Colonna style, marked places for the guests. Bob Hope was especially tickled with his. Believe it or not, the ladies wore 'em too ! CEX comes to Culver City! There's a •J plan afoot to remake those early Ramon Novarro South Sea Island pictures. All dressed up in a smile and a string of beads will be the not too sensitive Pat Dane and tall, dark and bewildering John Carroll. With these two tossing their torsos, together with John's voice, M-G-M has a box-office sensation. As if they didn't know ! THE day after Marlene Dietrich got frontI page publicity on her fall with a baby, Shirley Temple did some quick thinking. When they called her into the scene, Shirley hobbled out of her dressing room. Her foot was bearing a fake bandage. In her arms she carried a baby doll. "I rushed I tripped over a cable," Shirley ex plained while the set roared. Good news! Shirley Temple comes out of "retirement" for "Kathleen." It's the story of a lonely, motherless child whose father is too busy to bother with her, and it brings Shirley back to the screen after a two years' absence, in the title role. Herbert Marshall plays the father and Laraine Day is cast as Shirley's nurse. GARY COOPER was absent from the Hollywood scene for several days. For the strangest reason, too. It seems Gary decided to take a sun bath. Two minutes prone in the sun, being Gary he fell tight asleep. When he awakened he found his ankle swollen five times its normal size. Yellowjackets (just plain bees to some folk) proved they are no respecters of persons. THE sound man on Wally Beery's set I complained that some strange noise was disturbing the dialogue. The entire set was searched. Finally, they located the cause. It was Marjorie Main fast asleep in her portable dressing room. Marjorie was snoring! "I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN" I is a right nice theme song for Glenn Ford and Evelyn Ankers. We ain't sayin' who's got who, where, but these two together are really dreaming it up. Glenn was pricing building lots recently, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. For that honeymoon cottage by the sea, Glenn?. We shall see. Rosalind Russell iust doesn't get it— or perhaps she prefers nof to see the humor in what Barbara Jo Allen's telling Walter Pidgeon in this scene from "Design for Scandal," the amusing comedy-romance about an austere woman judge. Roz plays the woman judge who may be stern, but whose heart beats in true feminine fashion. AMONG other stipulations, Joan Blon■ dell's contract with Republic allows her to select her own costume designer. So Walter Plunkett got the job, because Joan remembered his wonderful work for "Gone With the Wind." When they had their first fitting, Joan arrived an hour early— she was that eager. But right in the middle of it all, suddenly Joan collapsed in Walter's arms. She was rushed to the hospital with a bad case of Flu. The fittings were finished on a dressmaker's model of Joan's figure. The show must go on. And did! WHEN the Wilshire Bowl presented yesterday's stars in the Silver Screen review, little did they know what a break they were giving the insurance companies. Our current glamor girls went to see such old-timers as Clara Kimball Young, Betty Blythe, Afae Murray, Betty Compson and many others. The next day annuities were taken out like mad. Every star who attended the review got a closeup of_ what could happen to her in the future, if she didn't save her money. Now what IS this, boys? Why look so glum when so much beauty lies on the other side of the fence? Surely it can't be too much of an effort to look the other way when there's such a beautiful gal adorning the edge of the pool? She's one of the lovelies in the swimming pool sequence in the "Helliapoppin1 " water ballet. The boys? Oh, yes, we thought you knew — they're Olsen and Johnson, the famous comics who are the creators and stars of "Hellzapoppin'," the revue which has been running on Broadway for three years and has just been filmed. 59