Silver Screen (Feb-Oct 1935)

Silver Screen for October 1935 53 Hollywood— the Writers' Heaven Hollywood Is The Place Where All Good Writers Go When They Clic By Ruth Laurence Stallings and Maxwell Anderson. TIME was when they couldn't be coaxed out here, the "big name" writers. But times have changed— or maybe pictures have changed. When writers of such mettle as Hugh Walpole, Edna Ferber and George Kaufman finally yield to the lure, it proves that the picture business has discarded the swaddling clothes and has finally merited their attention. Funny how all their ideas change when they get here, too. Walpole, who came over for "David Copperfield," did a most enthusiastic rave about the medium, once he had arrived. George Kaufman ("Once In a Lifetime" Kaufman) was probably the most persistent hold-out against pictures among all the writers whose services were courted. His denunciations were brilliantly caustic. Recently, when certain uncomplimentary remarks were made about pictures in The New York Times, none other than the Kaufman himself replied, "They do not understand our problems." He is the hardest worker of all the eighty writers at M-G-M. Edna Ferber is in town for two weeks to talk about character structure in her novel "Come and Get It" which Sam Goldwyn will make. She is being paid ten thousand dollars a week, and doing no actual writing, proving that the only entree into the big money class of screen writers is to be a recognized author of best sellers. Miss Ferber began, as three quarters of all persons writing began, as a reporter. She started at $3.00 a week on the Appleton Wisconsin paper, reporting society. From the age of 17 until 22 she was a sob sister on a city paper. Becoming ill, she wrote a novel. She works from nine A. M. until two P. M. every day on a typewriter because she created the habit of writing during those hours. She never works at night. She started writing by putting down "exactly what I had to say." She cannot dictate because the presence of any person is too disturbing, to the extent that even the opening of a door will throw her off key. She did collaborate with George Kaufman on the "Royal Family" play, but she says he "belonged." Gene Fowler and P. G. Wodehouse She is happy to have a chance to revive "Barney," a character in "Come and Get It" whom she killed, in the book, and always regretted it. When her books "So Big" "Show Boat" were picturized, she had little to say about the adaptation, and felt they could have been better. Miss Ferber returns to New York to the penthouse she has just leased, which was built by Ivar Kruger, the match king. She is not at all superstitious. The place, far above the city, is the largest penthouse in New York, and has three huge apple trees that bear fruit, as well as a grape arbor, three fountains, and a putting Vicki Baum Edna Ferber Hugh Walpole Alice Duer Miller Writers row at the M-G-M Studio course. There is a wall around that cuts off all sound of the city. Scenario chiefs are unanimous in their opinion that the best, and perhaps the only way, to crash pictures as a writer is to author a successful novel, short stories, or a play. Stories submitted directly to the studio by mail are returned, unopened. The preponderance of plagiarism suits makes this imperative. Vicki Baum went to M-G-M after her successful Grand Hotel. Marc "Green Pastures" Connelly is working there on "The Good Earth" because the derivations of each are similar. Tess Slesinger, "The Unpossessed" and a book of short stories to her credit, is now under contract to M-G-M. Also Humphrey Cobb, after "Paths of Glory." Michael Fessier is one of the three Esquire writers signed by the studio, and Louis Paul and Robert Carson, the other two. "Almost no writer can come directly to the screen any more," Marc told me during a most interesting discussion. "There is a necessary detour. I would tell all ambitious screen writers to get at least one good book published, and then think about it." Herman J. Mankiewicz, of his staff, was dramatic editor of the New York Times about ten years. After he was well established in Hollywood, he persuaded them to bring out his brother Joe. Joe has become a crack writer. Now they are both working hard to have [Continued on page 71]