Screenland (Nov 1945-Oct 1946)

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Glowing Gardenias. 1 Glowing Flower $1.00 3 at one time $2. 50 2 at one time SI. 70 7 at one time $5.00 i There is no tax on Glowing Flowers) FREE with any order Glow in the Dark Single Tea Rose, for prompt action. Upon delivery I will pay postman the proper amount plus a few cents postage and C. O. D. charges. Name ■ . Address City Zone State . . . (Postage Prepaid if Cash or Money Order Is Enclosed) she got up; sat down at the table, picked up a roll, and said, "I was tired." When Win said she wanted a place big enough for servicemen to play, she wasn't kidding. She considers them as much as she does her own family. Her home has been a haven for many a lonely kid. To some it was their last memory of home before they left for battle. The McDowalls have opened their doors to these boys, given them happiness. "Every week-end we have boys here," Roddy said to me. "Mother and I meet them at the Hollywood Canteen on Saturday nights and invite them for the week-end or for Sunday. A lot of fellows come to us because a buddy of theirs told them about us. It's nothing at all unusual for mother to have sixteen boys for Sunday breakfast dinner. Some even spend all of their furloughs with us. All of the boys, however, ask to be allowed to peel the potatoes or set the table or do the dishes — and we let them. It's a sharing proposition — and they love it. When they leave, Mother keeps in touch with them. She writes as many as twenty-two letters a week to various boys who have been at our house." I have seen letters these boys have written to Win — or to Mom as they call her. One boy wrote from the Pacific to Roddy, "I have never met anyone I like as well as I do your Mom, Roddy. I feel so much at home around her — and that means a lot to guys like me." Another boy wrote, "You look exactly like a fellow's mother should look, Mom." Roddy has changed a lot in the last year. Through his association with the many servicemen he has met, he has grown up. He is taller, and is fast becoming the gentleman of the house in deeds as well as words. He's much different from the little boy who created a sensation in the memorable "How Green Was My Valley." "Roddy is more protective now," Win told me that evening I spent with them. "He sees to it that I get enough rest, he won't let me work hard any more, and he's just as concerned about his sis: ter. Yet, he's still the same boy at heart. I never have to ask him to do a thing twice. He obeys at once. Even one time when I had given him a severe scolding and later found I'd punished him for something that wasn't his fault, he said, 'Don't apologize, mother. You were right to treat me as you did. I should have done differently.' I don't say he's perfect at all times, but I'm proud of him." Many people have been surprised at the willingness with which Roddy and Vee obey their mother. I've never heard them argue with her once, and I've known them for five years. I guess the secret is the respect the family has for one another. Even though Roddy has grown up, he has luckily avoided the usual awkward age that comes to child stars suddenly meeting adolescence. He has passed that period without even the embarrassment of a cracking voice. He is now a full-fledged teen-aged juvenile who is finding various kinds of parts opening up for him. He still hopes to do a remake of "Treasure Island," incidentally. His whole life is wrapped up in the business that is his life. That is reflected in his intense interest in his top hobby — his own studio he has dreamed up on paper. "My film company is called Imperial Eagle," Roddy told me. "At times it seems almost real to me. You see, I've drawn a complete sketch of the entire studio from parking lots to the stars' dressing rooms and swimming pools. I cast the pictures, choose the directors, and I even have theaters throughout the country where I open my pictures. Every big star works for Imperial Eagle, besides some of the big stars I've dreamed up on my own. I think I've learned a lot by this hobby, even though it is just make-believe. Casting has taught me personality and story values. And since I draw my own poster art, I've learned about exploitation. "I've been interested in art for some time. I've done pencil sketches and oil paintings. I've never had any lessons, but I love to dabble in art.'l .(His work is very good, too, I might add.) Roddy is going to take singing lessons soon so, as he says, "I can play in a Betty Grable musical." He's also going to take up tap dancing. All of this will broaden his already broad field and may serve to give him a chance to show his comic talents. Those who saw his Woolley imitation in "Molly and Me" realize that the studio is missing a bet by not letting him turn comedian. It's his natural forte. Roddy's other new interest is boxing. His father has always wanted him to learn to box, so he can take care of himself at any time. In fact, much of Roddy's life these days is guided by the letters he receives from Tom McDowall. Tom may be away, but his influence is felt in every corner of the house. Roddy would much rather have a pair of boxing gloves than the finest wardrobe obtainable. He doesn't care much about clothes. He's neat and tidy, but he has no desire to be a juvenile Beau Brummel. He prefers an open-neck sport shirt to a suit and tie any day. His typical boyish instincts, however, don't stop him from helping in the house and working with Virginia, who is quite the glamor girl these days, on such household details as setting the table, occasionally cooking his own breakfast, and cleaning house. His special homey talent, though, is reserved for convincing the lady who comes in to cook for them at times that she should come on a night when she prefers to stay at home. Talk about honeyed words! He has the secret of how to keep a cook happy. The house of McDowall is a happy house. It's a place where laughter rings out from every room, where simplicity is the keynote. It's no Hollywood estate. It's no mansion. It is instead a home where there are joy, respect, and a genuine love of life. Where that happiness is given to others in need of it. Its only empty space is the chair that is waiting for the return of Tom McDowall from the sea. When he comes home, the house of McDowall -will have attained its final completeness. 68 S C R E E N I, AND