Screenland (Nov 1942-Apr 1943)

ing was off-stage, making with the gesLes so that Bob would react accordingly. ;!ist as Bob finished exhibiting his best feints the eyes, the hair, the molars, Bing fat in' there and gave it this— the curve of L nose! That time it was Hope who broke Do I need to add that between these two ■barring blades I am kept on the alert? I actress could play with them without Earning to hold her own and keep time to he music. , , ! They both like an audience when they re ■Korking on the sets, too. Like all good men, they are a pair of sweethearts Kyhen it comes to exhibitionism. They play '/the set audience as, later, they play to vie picture audience. But that's good training for a more timorous soul, very. Especially good training for the stage. Nor could you work with them and fail jo develop a sense of humor. About yourself I mean. For if they ever found out that i-ou didn't have one, they'd murder you. br if they thought they could embarrass •ou, they'd smoke you out! : During the making of "Morocco, they Uiscovered that one of the actors on the et couldn't stand lemons. Lemons, he made he mistake of moaning one day, made him ihysically ill. I could have told him what vould happen. Sure as shooting, those two wrought a crate of lemons to the set the text day. And went on a lemonade binge Is if they craved the fruit. The actor and his illeroy were removed forthwith. Another iapless soul remarked that he couldn t pndure the sound of shoe leather crunching on gritty sand. The dear boys spent the (best of the day scrunching the soles of their shoes over the Moroccan sand. In his i frenzied haste to get away, the unfortunate nctim knocked Dave Butler down. Dave [i irgave the victim. You have to be able to ['take it when they are around! W But they are essentially kind, as I sad. When we were working on Road lo Singapore," and were on location for the ■■{ast° shots, Bob was hours late. An almost unheard of occurrence with him. For both ■ of them are habitually on time, eight day :' clocks in the flesh. Come to find out, he d been told about a ranch for sale m the ban Fernando Valley. One of the studio chauf feurs was driving him that day, and they'd got lost. Bob insisted that he find the place. He found it. He also found that night and our arches had fallen when, at long last, he arrived on the set, announcing that he had discovered his Shangri-La. It was so late that we had to take the last shots with booster lights. The next day, the studio driver was fired. Because he had lost the way, it seemed -that Bob's delay was his fault. Bob found out about this and, within the hour, the man was reinstated. They never miss the important things, either one of them. They may pull your hair, tweak your ear or step on your toes or your dignity. They never step on your heart. That gives you something to think about, too. Moreover, there are times when they leave off the cap and bells and are as dignified as deacons, as solemn as Rotanans. As I found out, to my consternation. A few months ago, when I was in Washington, D. C, on a bond-selling tour, I heard that Hope was checking in at my hotel that night. Eager to see him, my pal from the home town, I watched for him to arrive and when I saw him walk down the lobby, dressed to the nines, hat, flower in the button-hole, the works, I let out a welcoming squeal, did a nifty slide down the corridor, and hung myself upon him like a lapel clip. He gave me the icy stare and behaved as though he rally didn't know me, r'ally he didn't! Then he hissed in my ear, 'This is not Hollywood. This is Washington. Washington, D.C he added, reproachfully. I dropped to the floor and scuttled meekly away. They are substantial citizens, that s what they are, and don't let them kid you. And it reflects in their work. More than that, it accounts, I believe, for their substantial success. They are tops in show business. You can't beat them. And such being so, their way of work and of life should be an example to anyone who believes he has to behave like a Sunday Supplement Casanova in order to "rate." For their fun is clean fun, all of it. Some of the things they say and do would( curl your hair, but there is never any "sex an<de to it, never anything suggestive. On the set of "Road To Morocco," there were Alfred Hitchcock for "Shadow Of A Doubt" Edna Mae Wonacott. seen with Miss Wright, above, is the 10-year-old grocer's daughter discovered by Hitchcock to play the star's sister in "Shadow of a Doubt." Lower photo shows Teresa with Ruby Henderson, age 15, and Estelle Jewell, 14, who were also lucky to be chosen by the director for roles in the film. eight cuties, with as little on them as Mr. Hays would allow, and they swarmed over the boys in scene after scene, for days. There was never so much as a pat and none of the "eye." You can't say that about many actors. But you can, and I do, say it about them. They are both good business men. Everyone knows about Bing's varied and various business enterprises (He's Bing Crosby, Ltd., yet!) all of them money-making. And Bob has an interest in two or three businesses, too. A metal works, for instance. He knows, they both know, what they are doing. They both take care of their money. They make it seem pretty silly not to. They are good family men as well as good business men. (Substantial citizens, that's what I said about you, sweethearts, and that's what I mean.) I have been with Bob and Dolores, and with Bing and Dixie a lot and I know whereof I speak. One of the sweet things about Bing is his habit, an old Crosby custom by now, of bringing one of his four boys to the set every week. He starts with Gary, works down through one twin, then the other, then the baby, then starts all over again. And to hear Bob refer to his small son and daughter as "those characters" is to hear something swell. To top it all, the thing you feel when you work with them, more than you feel it on any other set, or with any other actors, is FUN! They are superb craftsmen, they take their jobs seriously, you bet they do. their success proves that, but they make their work their pleasure. And pleasure for those who work with them, too. \\ e arc completely enjoying ourselves, Bing ana Bob and I, when we make a picture together. All the time we are together. And I think that comes through. To me, a picture with those two is a vacation, a good laugh fifty times a day— but an educational vacation, too. They're guys, those two. They're scholars and thev're gents. And now, of course, they will break me. When they read this, they'll break me all right— body, heart, spirit and career. 61 I