Silver Screen (Nov 1939 - May 1940)

80 CAROLE LOMBARD —IS SHE SICK? — fS SHE RETIRING FROM THE SCREEN? SCREENLAND'S FAMOUS HOLLYWOOD WRITER, ELIZABETH WILSON, INVESTIGATES THOSE STRANGE RUMORS ABOUT CAROLE LOMBARD, WIFE OF CLARK GABLE! CAROLE TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT HER HEALTH, HER WORK, HER PLANS FOR THE FUTURE! IT'S A SCOOP!! ONE OF THE MANY BRILLIANT STORIES IN THE THRILLING MAY SCREENLAND! SO DON'T MISS THE NEW MAY SCREENLAND NOW ON SALE! SCREENLAND brings you OUTSTANDING stories each month! HERE'S AMERICA'S BEST SCREEN MAGAZINE! Packed with big-name writers, intimate stories, latest styles, smart photographs, sparkhng reviews! GET SCREENLAND EVERY MONTH! SEND ONE DOLLAR! USE THIS MONEY-SAVING OFFER— NOW! SCREENLAND 5-40 45 W. 45 Street New York City Send me your special money-saving subscription offer. This entitles me to the next twelve issues of SCREENLAND for one dollar. (Cost $1.20 by single copies). Send to Street and Number City and State (Attach one dollar, currency, stamps, money-order, check). Offer good in U. S. only. iLVER Screen for May 194 20th Century-Fox THERE are several pictures shooting here, too. but all of them are either on closed sets or else they're on location. That is, all except two — "Lillian Russell'' and "Star Dust." "Lillian Russell" is the biography of the famous star who stood the country on its ear at the turn of the century — so I'm told. She was a blonde Hedy Lamarr, if you know what I mean. Usually, biographical pictures make my stomach churn, but there's a difference between the life story of a glamourous star and the life story of a middle-aged scientist who sniffles his way through six or eight reels of film hke Dr. Ehrlich. Anyhow, if you could see Alice Faye as Lillian Russell you'd agree with me that biographies are not so bad, if Alice could always be the subject. She's pretending she's a star {this is before she's been discovered) and she's singing a song, "My Evening Star," to her father, Ernest Truex. And how she sings it. When the song is over we shake hands and I say I hope the picture will turn out to be as good as she looks and she says, "Oh, you kid!" because that was the expression they used in those days. So then I ask her if that reproduction of La Russell's $30,000 corset isn't uncomfortable and she says, "It's heavenly." And then she says she has to go powder her nose because she wants to hurry and get through so she can go to the races and sit in Mr. Irving Cummings' {the director's) box, because he has to work this afternoon and she doesn't. So Alice leaves and I sit gabbing with Mr. Cummings, who is one of my favorite people in Hollywood, and Mr. Truex and we cut up some more old papers. Mr. Cummings actually played with Lilhan Russell in "In Search of a Sinner," and Mr. Truex played with her {in a nice way, of course) in "Wildfire." "Ya know," Mr. Cummings reflected, "he {indicating Mr. Truex) was always a good actor, but I was always a stinking ham. I'd sure never cast me in a picture if I had anything to do with it." Smoke gets in some people's eyes, but my watch is always getting in mine and I realize that time is fleeting and duty calls, to say nothing of Silver Screen. So I saunter over to the next set where ^ ^ ^ STAR DUST" is in the works. This has to do with the making of Hollywood stars. The scene is the bar in a lounge car. John Payne, who is the star athlete in some jerk college, is tipping one up and Mr. Roland Young (he of the penguins) is standing by. "Are yon planning to make football a career?" he inquires solicitously of Mr. P. "! don't knoiv yet," John retorts, "but I expect with my rep I'll get plenty of offers when I graduate." "Would you be interested in an offer now?" Roly queries. "I'm looking for talent for Amalgamated Pictures of Hollywood." Johnny's eyes widen in excited interest, although he tries to feign indifferefice. I "Pictures, huh? Yeah, I guess if you 0 want good ones in that business you have to go dig 'em up, too." "Have you ever thought of becoming an actor?" Young persists. "Me?" John scoffs. "I should say not! I don't go for that alfalfa. There was a guy when we were playin' the Phoenix Presbyterians tried to sell me that Hollywood hooey and then he wanted to charge me fifty bucks for goin' out there to make a screeji test." "My offer is entirely without obligations," Yoimg assures him. "Yeah — and without carfare," Payne amends. "No, the studio would pay it," Young avers. "Both ways?" John asks suspiciously. "Cut!" calls the director, so up to now Mr. Y. doesn't have to commit himself and you'll have to see the picture to find out what to believe when strangers approach you. There being naught else to see over here, we jog over to — Paramount TWO going here: "The Ghost Breakers," which has been filmed more times than Peggy Hopkins Joyce has been married, and "Destiny." The first features Bob Hope. "Sit down, Dick," he invites me, "and rest yourself." "You going to Jimmie Fidler's party Saturday?" I ask. "Oh, sure," says Bob. "I wouldn't miss it for anything. I want to see if he can top that costume he wore to Ken Murray's house-warming. Why he didn't wear blackface with that outfit I'll never know." I have to chuckle. The suit Jimmie had on that night was so loud you could hear him coming as far off as if he'd had a brass band preceding him. Mr. Hope lets fall a few more cracks that have me in stitches, but which do not fit in so well in a family magazine. Then he and Willie Best {his valet in the picture) go into a scene, but it isn't as funny as Bob's observations so we'll skip it, as soon as I tell you Paulette Goddard, Paul Lukas. Richard Carlson, Pedro De Cordoba, and Tom Dugan are also in the cast. * * * THE other picture on this lot is "Destiny." And this is noteworthy because it has in it that scream from the radio— Vera Vague. I must confess that in her palmiest days she was never any vaguer than I when I am introduced to her. I had expected to see a battlescarred old hag. Instead of which she is a very attractive young lady. "Aren't people surprised when they meet you?" I finally gasp. "Yes," she smiles, "and when they quit being surprised I'm going to quit." Her real name is Barbara Jo Allen. But to get on with our mutton: Basil Rathbone is the featured member of this cast. He's a psychiatrist with a complex for marrying rich women and then killing them to get their money. Vera is here to consult him about her neurotic sister. "Dr. Sebastian," she burbles, "before I take you into my dreams, I want to speak to you about my young sister, Linda Boothe. She's an adorable little