Silver Screen (Nov 1938-Apr 1939)

74 Silver Screen for November 1938 Merle Oberon at her morning ablutions. The tent and the faucet are a part of location life when making "The Cowboy and the Lady." He Delivers the Goods [Continued from page 52] not. I'm someone I never could be in real life. "For example, in 'Four Daughters, in which I play with the Lane sisters, I'm supposed to be a studious, reticent sort of a fellow. Yet. for some reason or other all the sisters in this particular family have a secret affection for me. Now, do you think I'm really that attractive in real life? No, sir." , Mr. Lynn is too modest, however. His personality and looks are such as to make him very appealing to the fair sex. There is nothing more typical of the new Hollywood actor than this type of level-headed realist. "On Broadway I got my first break in the stage play 'A Slight Case of Murder.' Other minor parts followed, including a short stint as a haberdashery clerk in Macy's Department Store. My first real part— pardon, parts— came in 'Lady Precious Stream,' in which I enacted the roles of four different Chinamen. I was the nemesis of the cast. The leading players never knew when I might fall out of one character to drop into another— and I did. One night I got switched and brought the play back two acts." Then came "Brother Rat," the play which brought Jeffrey out to the West Coast. The occasion of his being cast for the play's leading role was memorable. George Abbott, the Broadway Producer scared him. He read his tryout lines as directed, and then turned to leave. He felt he was a flop and that others had done much better than he. "Young man!" a stentorian voice to the rear called. Jeffrey turned around and faced a stern-looking individual. "You report to my office first thing in the morning." Jeffrey gave a methodical affirmative answer. Then he was puzzled. He hadn't the slightest idea who the man was, and said as much to an attendant standing nearby. "Him? That's George Abbott. He's just the producer of this show." Since coming to Hollywood young Jeffrey has climbed fast. He enacted the role of a news reporter in his first screen venture, a Warner Brothers' Vitaphone short, "Out Where The Stars Begin." "Cowboy From Brooklvn." a picture starring Dick Powell, was his second venture. Then Fate herself stepped in. Errol Flynn was , not available for the leading role in "Four Daughters." Jeffrey was almost the cause of a studio riot. Camps were evenly divided on the subject of his ability to do that kind of part. Any misgivings Director Michael Curliz might have had the first day of shooting were dispelled the moment Jeffrey stepped before the camera. In a way his is the complete Hollywood Success Story. Just four months in Filmdom, and assigned to one of Hollywood's most coveted roles. A complete "Success Story," without the usual trite accoutrements that go with it. In discussing his own idiosyncrasies, Jeffrey said: "I dislike cocktail parties. They're giddy and they're pointless. "Dancing is* my specialty. But I go for the nice intimate places. Not the Grove or the Troc. When you dance in a big place like that you get the feeling you're at a track meet, and you have to cover so many laps between songs. "With whom do I go dancing? Well, now, isn't that one of the things we agreed we weren't discussing?" It's a bit of an open secret that Jeffrey and Rosemary Lane have been dancing frequently, but, then, they're going to be costarred, so it may only be good publicity. "There's no romance in my life. There was. She married someone else. Say, I've got a lot of things I want to enjoy before I settle down. A trip to Sweden, to my father's birthplace. A world cruise, perhaps, that will take me to the South Seas. That's my secret ambition. I suppose it's everyone else's, too." The same kind of wanderlust can be traced to the other members of the Hollywood Bachelor fraternity, Fred MacMurray, Cary Grant and Robert Taylor. All of them have expressed a desire to go to faroff places— alone. "I've got a bit of a formula for sensible living in Hollvwood. First of all, I get away from the sirens on Hollywood Boulevard. Maybe I'd better explain I mean the ones on fire engines. I'm too tired to go out at night, except once a week. That keeps me out of the papers, I suppose. I go in for sports. Swim in the Athletic Club pool • right after I get up. I do a lot of reading, and I'm a sucker for any kind of concert. "And, say, I have a confession to make. Sure there's a woman in my life. Margaret Parsons, Literary Critic on the 'Worcester Telegram.' If it weren't for her confidence, her urging— I'd probably be repairing a telephone wire somewhere around Fall River. Or maybe giving some Lisbon, Maine, kids a corking good lesson on 'Silas Marner' or 'Tale of Two Cities.' " Radio at the Game [Continued from page ters miss much important by-play. Also, since their schools are involved they lend to get so excited that they simply forget to give the help they are supposed to supply. Which is pretty bad if you are relying on it. As a matter of fact, Ted Husing passes . up school spotters to employ a fulltime assistant who works with him on all games and helps him gather background material on plays and players. Instead of using a separate chart for each team, Ted combines both in a special board of his own invention on which the names of all the players are placed in proper lineup. Each name is illuminated by a light, red for one team and green for the other. The assistant signals, on the lights of the board, to indicate who ran with the ball and who made the tackle. In addition to this lighted board, Ted also uses a miniature football field marked off on a heavy piece of cardboard. By manipulation of colored pins his assistant keeps the score, the period, the down and the number of yards needed for a first down. And now we're ready to go on the airfifteen minutes before the game starts for in no other sport is the listener so interested in color and sidelights as in the description of a collegiate football game. The announcer uses that quarter-hour to tell something about the opposing teams, but mainly to sketch in the scene as it spreads before him. With thousands of enthusiastic persons jammed into a mammoth stadium, with flags flying, well-drilled bands parading, and talented cheer-leaders exhorting undergraduates and alumni to give their utmost in fight songs and cheers, the tuner-in depends upon the announcer to faithfully relay this pulse-stirring pageant as well as an accurate play-by-play description of the game when it starts. With the kick-off the announcer's problems begin. He's got to satisfy the technical students of the sport, such as former players, who really understand and follow involved formations and to whom such terms as "quick opening play," "a cross check," "unbalanced line" or "double wing back" have a world of meaning. They, however, are only about 25% of the air audience. "The larger element," in the opinion of Paul Douglas who manipulates the CBS California football mikes, "knows enough about the game to follow simple descriptions. They want more of the glamour of this great outdoor drama and the feel of the action on the field. "Give them accuracy in identifying a player and in the yardage gained or lost, and they can do with a minimum of technical information." Most announcers agree with this. They feel that if they throw in interesting details and keep the dialers posted on the position of the ball and the type of play made, they are doing a good job. To Don Wilson, who also acts as comedian on the Jack Benny show between broadcasting details of Pacific Coast games for NBC listeners, the biggest part of the job is correct identification of players. "I make a point of this." he states, "because the folks back home are probably waiting just for the mention of their own local hero. I try to satisfy the technically-minded fans as much as possible, but I make sure to give the majority its full quota of thrills and excitement. And it's all legitimate because the game itself breeds so many of these moments it isn't necessary to romance 'em." All during a play the announcer does his best to tell what is happening as fast as it happens. Football is the kind of sport in which the game is tremendously fast while the play is being run, but the action isintermittent. Even so, the announcer must