Screenland Plus TV-Land (Jul 1957 - May 1959)

Dodo in Yankeeland continued from page 17 location because the company often worked straight through the week, frequently including Sundays on the shooting schedule. And a day's work was likely as not to extend far into the night. "We had intended to film all the interior scenes back at the studio in Hollywood," Doris said, "but the weather changed our shooting schedule. It rained quite a lot, so to save time — and money — and keep the company from being idle when they were on location salary, we began filming interiors right in Chester. By the time we returned to Hollywood we just had two or three days of work left to finish up the picture. "With all the activity going on to keep 'That Jane From Maine' rolling as fast as possible, I didn't have much time to socialize. The women were very understanding when I had to turn down practically all invitations for visits and parties. But it seemed to me it wouldn't be fair to accept some and refuse others, so I just had to stay away from the teas and luncheons, the dinners and other gatherings that I am sure would have been a lot of fun to join. "TN ways that I suppose are common to A women all over the world, the girls in Chester and the other nearby towns let me know they understood my situation. They'd send in delicious home-made cakes and cookies, and some of their famous New England specialties like seafood chowder— delicious and different from anything I'd ever tasted." The kids took over where the teenagers and grownups left off. Their first glimpse of Doris convinced them she was "their kind of people." If she couldn't join them in their pastimes and expeditions, they'd do the next best thing and let her share in the fruits of their adventures. Sometimes these were the literal fruits of afternoons of berry picking. On other occasions, the fruit turned out to be fish. "One day the two kids of a family down the road took our cook, Katie, to a special place on the river bank where the biggest and best catfish had their hideout," Doris recalled. "They came back with 17 catfish so lively and fresh I could hear them thumping and jumping around in a pail out in the kitchen when I came home. I immediately decided I'd never be able to eat one after it had been playing around my house, so happy — and noisy. But when those catfish came into the dining room on a platter that night, they were too wonderful to miss. I ate them as if they were total strangers!" Whenever Doris could, she did the family marketing herself in a little store at Deep River. But the population of Chester and the surrounding countryside didn't have to depend on chance en counters at the market or hardware store to meet her. Most of them worked in the picture and got to know Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs and the rest of the cast as well. They had the double thrill of seeing the stars in action and also being part of that action themselves. When they started, the crowds concentrated a little too pointedly on watching Doris and the other Hollywood people going through their paces. But after a few days they simmered down and trouped as efficiently as a crew of filmland extras working on any Hollywood set. Because they were playing themselves didn't make their jobs easier. As any veteran actor will tell you, the toughest characterization to portray may be the one that hits closest to home and interprets your own personality. Even a professional often gets to feeling squeamish at times like that. Until Doris came to town, Chester's only contact with movie stars had been through fan magazines like SCREENLAND and SILVER SCREEN. Local residents wondered amongst themselves whether she, or any of the cast, could live up to their printed reputations. They kept a sharp eye on Doris at work and as she moved about the town in her daily life there. One by one and group by group, the Connecticut Yankees became convinced that Doris was really the way she had been presented in print. One girl had a better chance than the rest to observe her at close range under every kind of circumstance in her intimate personal surroundings. She was the young wife of the caretaker on the premises of Doris' New England home. She helped out only occasionally at the beginning, but soon became a regular member of the household. Far from being disillusioned by seeing Doris as others rarely have a chance to see her, she ended up by becoming an enthusiastic Doris Day fan. IN a way, Doris was the house guest of the entire community around Chester. And any two-month house guest whose hosts don't want her to leave is bound to be very special — star or no star. One reason Doris "wears well," as the saying goes, is this: She has just about the best proportioned ego in Hollywood. Big enough for stardom, but small enough to tuck away when not needed. This doesn't mean she brushes off or even questions her importance as a star. Just the contrary. It actually helps keep her up there, year after year, at the top of the Hollywood heap. The other day, for instance, Doris was asked how come she has such good luck with her pictures, and recordings. Was it all in the lucky breaks she gets? Or DORIS has no formula for success, but says you can help to make your own breaks. does she use some secret formula to show herself to such good advantage in even' movie she makes and every disc that carries her name? Her questioner sounded as if he thought the business of being a star was like entering a competition to see who can be cutest or funniest, snag the most footage, or grab the spotlight where it shines brightest. "You can do a lot to make your own breaks, and there's no secret about my 'formula.' " Doris smiled in reply. "I simply look for scripts and songs other people are most apt to like. If I did only the things / like, I'd be pleasing myself, of course. But that's not enough for an actress or singer. Sometimes it's no good at all. "When I read a script that's submitted to me, naturally I'm interested in how good my part is. But I also look at a screenplay to see how strong the other principal roles are — whether they'll interest the kind of actors who can make a good picture better just because they're in it. I'm a great believer in appreciating the importance of others." Scarcely realizing it, Doris, with her cut-down-to-size ego, shows much the same appreciation of others in her personal life. It's this outlook that sparked Doris' typical (for her) up-rating gratitude to the dry goods merchant for the use of his back room. . . . the realtor for finding her an extra nice house. . . . the landlords for making her one of the family by giving her their own responsibilities along with the house. . . . the women of the town for bringing her goodies. . . . the kids for filling her kitchen with buckets of thrashing, splashing fish. And all the rest. Most people, when they're thrown among strangers, automatically try to put on a veneer of glamour and go on their best behavior. Not Doris. She behaves exactly as usual. And the Connecticut Yankees in Queen Doris' Court discovered nothing could be more glamourous or better than that. END 57