Screenland (Nov 1942-Apr 1943)

Paulette Goddard, who proved herself a super saleswoman during the film industry's War Bond drive, looks up a train for home after winding up her sensational bond-selling tour. noon we'd go to one of the hospitals for American boys. And another show that night. Tiring but thrilling. It was a daily occurrence on our tour for us to be driving home at night and suddenly see searchlights go on as flares were dropped by German planes. Then suddenly, appearing from nowhere, our Spitfires would go tearing across the skies after the Jerrys. "I've been often asked whether I was scared or not. I can honestly say it didn't occur to me to be frightened. The Spitfires seemed to be taking good care of us, and I was really awed by the beauty of the whole thing. The nights were extremely beautiful with the moon shining and the stars looking as clear as they do in Arizona. The steady, assured drone of the Spitfires quieted any fears I might have had. "Our last night on tour was very thrilling and moving. We played to the largest number of boys yet— well over 4000. I told them at the beginning of the show that it was our last night, and to excuse us please if we were a little tired. But in comparison to what they were doing it was silly to say we were tired. I promised them that we were the vanguard of many more shows to come from Hollywood to try and cheer them up a little. The C. O., General Lee, a most kind and charming person, joined me on the stage at the end of the show, and the bovs applauded wildly: General Lee is justifiably popular with his soldiers. For instance, he refused his officers permission to see the show unless they stood in the back of the theater. He himself would not have a seat in front. The entire evening was very emotional, and of course I cried and ruined my best blouse. We finished with everybody singing The Star Spangled Banner and God Save the King. The boys did not know the words of the latter, but sang lustily just the same. , "Al Jolson caught a Clipper the next day. We four went back to London to await our Clipper which was supposed to leave in three days. The few days that I spent in London were very thrilling to me personally, because I met old friends and ac quaintances, who had all changed with the times, and for the better. It is amazing to discover the work the women arc doing in England. Apart from the ones I had seen I simply could not believe my ears when I heard that they were manning anti-aircraft guns, ferrying planes, and doing jobs that you would never think a woman could do. Amongst my own friends, it was thrilling to hear, for instance, that Lady Diana Cooper, (nee Manners), now runs her own farm entirely by herself, even going around in the mornings to collect garbage from people's houses for her pigs. Another friend of mine works in a munitions factory. She used to be a famous beauty. These are only two instances of what women are doing. "I saw Vivien Leigh and had a long talk with her about her friends in Hollywood. ('Gone With The Wind' is still running in London.) She is in Shaw's play, 'The Doctor's Dilemma,' which has already run for a year, and looks as if it is going to run forever. Her husband, Larry Olivier, is with the Fleet Air Arm, and is stationed at a seaport. Vivien rushes to him immediately the play closes on Saturday nights, and they spend their week-ends together. Vivien's as much in love as ever. "When I got back to London I found that my husband had received a letter from the Lord Chamberlain asking him to be present at the next Royal Investiture, which was to take place the following Tuesday. I was invited to go along with him. To my horror I found that my Clipper train left on Monday. I got on the train at 7:15, sad and forlorn, only to be told an hour later that the departure had been postponed for another day. I couldn't have been happien "The next morning my husband was up and dressed hours before it was time to leave for the Palace. He was dressed in borrowed finery because he did not have the necessary coupons to buy a morning coat, etc. Luckily the Earl of Warwick— he used to work in pictures in Hollywood, remember ■?— happened to be at the tailors at the time my husband was bemoaning his fate, so he offered to lend him his clothes for the occasion. I have never seen my husband so nervous. "I must say I started to get pretty nervous myself as the time drew near. I wore mourning out of respect for His Royal Highness the late Duke of Kent. We lined up outside the Ballroom m Buckingham Palace. Many were in uniform, and the sight of all those different uniforms was thrilling. The people who were to be decorated were taken to a private room where the Lord Chamberlain told them exactly what they had to do. After a while the band struck up God Save the King and in walked His Majesty looking very handsome and kind. He had on a naval uniform. The line then drew up slowly while the Lord Chamberlain read out the first citation. Captain Mason of the Merchant Marine, the Lord Chamberlain read, had taken his ship into Malta without a compass and through great difficulties. He was awarded the George Cross. This is second only to the Victoria Cross. There were several other people, then a nurse, then an Admiral. "This same Admiral had talked to my husband outside, he told me later, and had said, 'Say, old chap, do you know who I saw outside? Merle Oberon. The cinema star!' My husband replied that he wasn't surprised as she was his wife. "Then came my husband. He had to kneel before the King, who touched him on each shoulder with his sword, and went through the usual ceremony. He talked to my husband, and to each person he invested, for a few minutes — as there were over three hundred this was no weak feat, and just goes to prove the graciousness and kindness of His Majesty. "I watched all the awards. Often through a mist of tears. One was a Dieppe hero who had lost an arm. There was rather a touching moment when the King put out his hand to shake the man's right hand, and the man smilingly gave him his left hand. I was sitting with the relatives of the people who were getting awards. Some of the women had seen me on the screen and told me that they felt as if they knew me. We all became very friendly and' they would nudge me, or whisper to me, when their husband or son came up for a decoration. "The next day I caught the train to the Clipper and came back to America. "The thing that struck me most about my whole trip was the good feeling between the Americans and the English. To me it meant all the more since people in America had been talking quite a bit about the antiBritish feeling among the troops. To me. the most important man in the world is the man in uniform. And. believe me, he is very happy with the English." Screen stars and producers have gone all John Payne, with one of the woman capta Savings Bonds at a luncheon in honor ot out" in their efforts to help our country. Above, ins responsible for the sale of $700,000 in War Payne and Jane Wyman in Greensboro, N. C. 59 i.