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PART FIVE—AMUSEMENT SECTION

THEATERS — RADIO t THE JUNIOR STAR M U S10 ^IjC JpUTUUUJ BOOKS-ART

EIGHT PAGES. WASHINGTON, D. C., APRIL 9, 1939.

GERTRUDE LAWRENCE Returns to Washington in the leading role in “Skylark.” new Samson Raphaelson comedy, which opens a 7veek's engagement at the National Theater tomorro7c night.

Many Motivating Ideas Lie Behind Stars’ Careers

Some Are Exhibitionists, Some Want Money and Some of Them Are Truly Artists

By Sheilah Graham. HOLLYWOOD.

What makes the stars tick? What is the motivating idea behind their lives? With some it is frankly money. Errol Flynn time and time again

* has told me that the only reason he is a film actor is to make as much money as taxes will permit and then go off and do the things he really wants to do. But what does he want to do? I'll deal with that in a later paragraph.

With some of the stars, exhibitionism, is the thing that makes them nun.. winers are genuinely con- •, cerned with what the world thinks of them and live accordingly. Some are absorbed with the resolve to be true artists and sacrifice everything to that end. Some are ambitious. Some, like Shirley .Temple, ‘'tick” j through discipline.

The six years that Shirley has been picture-making are a monument to the authority of her mother. At the end of each and every scene, the moppet's eyes search for approba- ! tion in those of her mother. If Mrs. Temple nods affirmatively, Shirley j relaxes. If not, she remains tense and watchful. Shirley is probably the most disciplined and obedient child in America. I have never yet heard her disagree with either of her parents. Blindly and resolutely she follows their commands. When Shirley reaches the age when disci- pline becomes irksome, she will have to find another motivating force to carry her through the business of being a star.

Jane Withers has something quite different behind her “ticking” proc- ess. She is the dominant type, the j future club woman. Jane will alwavs hold the center of the stage—and heaven help those who try to stop her.

Norma Shearer is an idealist. She Is forever seeking the kernel of per- fection. In other circumstances i Norma might have been a nun. She genuinely wants to be a good actress and a good woman. Every- one who knows her well is con- vinced of her absolute sincerity.

Douglas Fairbanks, jr„ "ticks” like J»is father. Both of them want to *e ‘‘good fellows.” They want to *e liked by the majority. They want to be appreciated. Before doing any- thing important they pause to won- der, “What will they think?” They *re both extraverts and tinged with exhibitionism.

Ronald Colman's inner and outer selves are concerned with being a gentleman, with playing the game, with keeping up his chin. He is fashioned of the same stuff as those British officers during the war who calmly flicked the ash off their cig- arettes before nonchalantly going over the top. Like Sir Francis Drake. Ronnie would finish his game of bowls before tackling the Spanish armada.

The “tick" in Tyrone Power spells "ambition.” He wants to be as good as his father was. Tyrone's boyish smile only hides his burning' desire to be great. His ambition causes him to accept without protest the “big men” roles that are unsuitable for his age and talents.

"Artists.” in the 100 per cent

Coming Attractions CAPITOL—Joan Crawford goes

skating in “Ice Follies of 1939.” starting Friday. Jim- my Stewart is her leading man. The stage show will be the new Dave Apollon Revue.

EARLE—Bob Burns comes back again Friday, this time with Gladys George as his lead- ing woman, in the new comedy, “I'm From Mis- souri.” Vincent Lopez and his orchestra provide the stage show, featuring Pa- tricia Ellis.

KEITH'S—From all present in- dications Deanna Durbin's latest picture will arrive next Friday. It's "Three Smart Girls Grow Up”; sequel to her first success.

METROPOLITAN—More flying thrills promised in "Women in the Wind,” slated to open Friday. Principal woman in the wind is Kay Francis and the top male role is played

* by William Gargan.

meaning of the word, are Bette Davis, Paul Muni, Luise Rainer. Fred Astaire. Nelson Eddy and Charles Laughton. All of them put art before life. To create something beautiful, something perfect, that is what makes them “tick.” Bette Davis sacrificed a happy marriage for her work. Paul Muni becomes the actual character he is creating, before and during his acting and until the next role. Luise Rainer abandoned her film acting career entirely because, it fell below her standard of perfection. Fred As- taire works harder than any slave of old over his dance routines. Nelson Eddy's life revolves around his singing. Ditto Charles Laugh- ton and his acting.

Errol Flynn's desire for money is only a small part of his “ticking” process. If he wanted a fortune as much as he says he does, he would not spend so much today, but save it all for tomorrow. More than money. Mr. Flynn wants adulation— but, unlike Fairbanks, jr., who craves the appreciation of the many, Errol wants the approval only of the dare- devil princely type—the kind of per- son he wants to be himself. That ex- plains Errol's yacht, his frequently expressed contempt for his producers, his high-handedness with the people who work for him.

Gracie Allen would like above all things to be an obedient wife and mother. But she has a husband who is a comedian, so she becomes an acting nut, obeying and loving George Burns. It was her idea to adopt their two children.

The “tick'' behind Constance Ben- nett is the fear of being alone, and the fear of not being stared at. That is why you always hear her voice above her particular crowd of the moment, the reason for her numerous lawsuits, and her exhibi- tionism on the set.

Dick Powell and Don Ameche are the sort of boys whom you see leaning over a piano when some one i6 playing. Their favorite hobby is their work—which makes them two of the happiest men in Hollywood.

Robert Taylor's "tick” is the fear of ridicule. Margaret Sul- lavan wants to dominate her life and the moment... Spencer Tracy, a mjm of strong passions and equally strong conscience, is motivated by a desire to do the right thing. Gary Cooper wouldn't care if he stopped acting tomorrow. He'd find something equally congenial to do.

With Madeleine Carroll, I think it's money. She would be happier leading a private life.

Lionel Barrymore, a sick man, keeps going through professional and family pride. He is the perfect trouper and will finish his acting chore regardless of physical or mental pain.

Irene Dunne gets a humorous pleasure out of life, from its oddities and its pathos. That’s why her screen comedy is so honest.

What makes Clark Gable "tick”? There you have me. Clark is on top, in the same way that Franklin D. Roosevelt is on top. It is hard to know what makes the people on top “tick.” They are so far away that their "ticking” is too faint to be heard by ordinary mortals. (Copyright, man. by the North American

Newspaper Alliance, Inc.)

‘Bridal Suite’ "Bridal Suite” has been selected

as the final title for M-G-M’s com- edy teaming Annabeila and Robert Young, hitherto known as "Maiden Voyage.” The supporting cast in- cludes Walter Connolly, Billie Burke, Arthur Treacher, Virginia Field, Reginald Owen and Gene Lockhart. William Thiele directed and Edgar Selwyn produced.

Mildred Ray’s Industry Is Chorus Girls

She Has 200 Now, And Says There’s A Shortage Ry Albert JV. Wilson,

Associated Press StsiT Writer. NEW YORK.

To look at Mildred Ray you might suppose she was a sweet young country schoolma'am—instead, she is the boss and brains of a stream- lined chorus girl "factory” produc- ing acts for night clubs in a dozen American and Canadian cities.

A demure little blue-eyed blond who dresses in simple and conserv- ative style, this Miss Ray doesn't look a day older than any of the high kickers on her pay roll—there are usually from 200 to 300 of them. Their age ranges from 18 to 25.

Miss Ray looked almost out of place as she sat in Jack Silverman s Old Rumania in the Low'er East Side, where a bevy of her glamor girls are an attraction. She had just got in from Montreal w'here another of her chorus lines is per- forming. She does a lot of travel- ing in her work—the Top Hat in Union City. N. J., where she has 60 girls. Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia are among her present calling points.

In her studios In the Roseland Building on Broadway she usually

iSee" WILSON, Page-P-2 j

Miss Lawrence’s Destiny Had American Branch And an Active One

She Gould Be Called a Semi-American Institution if One Felt Like It; Movies Believe in Love Again

By Jay Carmody. If Miss Gertrude Lawrence were an institution, which is a dopey

notion, one could call her a semi-American institution. It might make the English angry. By birth Miss Lawrence is English and any country would be Insane not to utilize that truth as the basis for an exclusive claim to Miss Lawrence. But the fact remains that Miss Lawrence is up to her swanlike neck in American influence upon her career.

It all began, really, before Miss Lawrence began. It was her mother who made the first gesture toward this country. That lady, from whom the daughter undoubtedly got many of her ingratiating ways, also had a yearning for the stage. And of all the angles of it for which she might have yearned, she chose minstrelsy, which was, is, and as long as people have an instinct for revivals, probably always will be dis- tinctly American. Actress’ Mother Chose Minstrelsy for Career.

The family from which the mother came was an aristocratic one It did not like the daughter's choice of a stage interest and would not have liked it even had she taken a branch with more dignity about It. In her gay, carefree way, the mother of G. L. ignored parental objec- tions to the point of marrying the interlocutor of the famous More and Burgess minstrels. It was the quickest possible road to disinheritance and that was what the lady got for taking it.

It was an American, Morris Gest, who gave Miss Lawrence her first stage job. The star of “Skylark," which opens at the National tomorrow night, was 11 at the time. Mr. Gest, who always wears Windsor ties and does things in a big way, was collaborating with Max Reinhardt at the time. They were doing “The Miracle" in London at the time. One hundred children were needed for a dance number and Miss Law- rence was one of them. That started her and since then she never has stopped.

She might have, however, had it not been for further American influence. It came years later when Miss Lawrence was touring the provinces of England in a skit which was like that she burlesqued so exquisitely in ‘'Red Peppers" with Noel Coward here two seasons ago. One-night stands in acts like that constitute a very tough life, a thing of hard work, starvation pay. and other things which help to break the spirit and y.he heart. Miss Lawrence needed encouragement, as who would not. in those days. It came from Clay Smith, American vaudevillian, who perceived a talent that he could praise just when praise was a vital aajur.ct to Misss Lawrence's career. A gallant gentle- man, Mr. Smith went farther. He went back stage, not merely to tell Misss Lawrence that she was pretty wonderful, but that he would remem- ber to recommend her for a better job as soon as he ran across one. Vaudeville was not dead then and Mr. Smith got about a great deal. Three years later he was in London when Chariot was casting that famous revue of his. He remembered Miss Lawrence and recommended her for the job so enthusiastically that Chariot could not say no without seeming crazy. So Chariot said yes. From there on, as everyone knows, Miss Lawrence zoomed.* Her Rcfipe for Success Just Like Everybody's.

A very original lady ift more respects than the average dozen ladies afe original, Miss Lawrence has no novel formula for becoming a suc- cessful actress. Or a successful anything else.

Her advice on the subject sounds strangely like the advice from everyone else. She just tells people to work, work, work. That is what she did and she knows of no substitute for it.

At the top of her career, the envy of her profession. Miss Lawrence still has a yearning ambition. It is to have a place in the country where she can settle down, have her own things around her, and do precisely aa-ahe pleases. She is going to do it, too. But that won't be for another decade, during which time she probably will go on being the easiest person about whom to be enthusiastic in all of show business.

Hollywood Finds Romance And a New Hay to Profit.

Six months ago a movie producer to whom the word “love" was mentioned probably would have said:

"Ah, love. What ever happened to love?” Not today, he wouldn't. In recent months. Hollywood has redis-

covered romance. Its faith in love is tremendous, as are those faiths which are based upon huge financial returns. The public, apparently starved for love, has fairly gobbled up such pictures as “Love Affair" and "Made For Each Other," and will do the same thing for “Wurther- ing Heights" and “Dark Victory." Each of these tender tales has been produced with an intelligence and a candor that are altogether admirable. Their makers have ventured to assume an audience intelligence quotient high enough to permit the telling of a romantic story in terms of some- thing less than sticky sweetness. They even have the courage to let them end unhappily when that kind of ending is dictated.

It is all very praiseworthy. And very profitable, too.

DEANNA DURBIN Peeks between the blossoms to remind you that springtime brings her latest picture, “Three Smart Girls Grow Up.’’ It is scheduled to open at Keith’s Friday.

Seldom Have Teams Split Profitably

Ginger and Fred May Overcome The Tradition

By Hubbard k'eavy, Associated Press Staff Writer.

HOLLYWOOD. Rogers and Astaire may kick

Hollywood tradition in an effective spot.

They have, as yqu probably know, split up. The rule is that members of a film team seldom are worth a dime as individual performers. So many have gone their separate ways, only to regret the step, that it is a wonder the red-haired Ginger and the slick-stepping Fred would take a chance.

The last picture you may ever see them in together is "The Story of the Castles,” acclaimed at a recent preview with enthusiasm, despite its to faithful adherence to the narrative of the Castles. The producers failed to dramatize the story, but the dancing of the pair and the spirit of yesterday's music prove a captivating combination.

Astaire refused to sign a new contract with R-K-O after com- pleting this film. He announced he wanted more time to himself, didn't want to be bound by a term con- tract. expected to make a picture

See”KEAVyTPage F-2.)

From a Charleston Contest to a Mansion on the Hill Ginger Rogers Has Made the Grade, Though It Was No Easy Path She Followed to Her Present Cinema Stardom

By Harold Heffernan. HOLLYWOOD.

Some stars are ladled into Holly- wood in a silver spoon. Others conquer the town the. “hard way.” Ginger Rogers is one of the latter. She started several yards behind scratch.

In fact, the early lifeline of no other celluloid luminary today re- veals quite so much in the way of hardship, hunger and disappoint- ment.

But don’t waste too much sym- pathy on the Ginger of 1939. Her name over a theater marquee is a guarantee of bumper business. She earns close to $100,000 a picture. Her hilltop home is one of the sight- seeing spectacles pointed out and barked about from tourist-laden buses. And. by the time her present contract at R-K-O expires she’ll have $500,000 in coin and gilt-edged securities stowed away in the bank

rweive years ago the eyes of Mrs. Lela McMath, drama and society editor on a Fort Worth, Tex., news- paper, sparkled proudly as she sat in a theater audience and watched the judging’ committee in a Charles- ton dancing contest place a first- prize trophy cup in the hands of her 15-year-old daughter, Virginia. It was a link in a series of regional contests, the winners of each to be rounded into a dancing act to tour the country in vaudeville.

Mrs. McMath did some quick and solid thinking that night. Virginia had planned to become a school teacher. But now a new, more glamorous and more remunerative career was beckoning. Mother and daughter talked it over and decided to take the stage plunge. Mrs. McMath resigned the newspaper job, withdrew her meager savings and escorted Virginia to Chicago, from which point the act was due to start its tour. Once there, the manager, first of all, decided Vir- ginia McMath wouldn't do as a stage name. So the 15-year-old became Ginger Rogers.

In Chicago, heartbreak and hard- ship joined in a twin assault on mother and daughter. There was trouble brewing in the act and most of the girls deserted. It left Ginger and her mother stranded. Their reserve funds' faded rapidly, and soon Ginger took a job in a cheap night club. She worked three weeks to earn fare back to Fort Worth.

Back home, a little money was

! borrowed and Ginger toiled dill-! gently with her routines to whip up an act that might have some chance of hitting the road as a' “single.” Three months later the. couple started out on their own. j They opened in Memphis, to a thea- j ter populated by 11 people. Ginger's act “died” before it got fairly start- i ed. Standing behind the wings, I

Ginger's mother overheard the irate manager declare the girl was "ter- rible.” that he was going to take her off the bill. She rushed Ginger out of the theater and kept her away until time for the second show. When she returned the house was packed. Ginger went through her act without interruption and scored a smash hit.

Back to the days of the "Texas Tommy” go Ginger Rogers and Fred, Astaire, for this specialty from their latest film, “The Castles.”

From that moment she was defi- nitely "in.” There were two sea- sons of touring with Publix units, and then, with talkies coming fast in Hollywood, mother and daughter decided the time was ripe to swing Westward. For eight months they assaulted casting offices in vain. Then came an offer of a bit role. Jt wasn't easy to step down from top parts, but Ginger took the chance. Here again came a discouraging note. Director Mervyn Le Roy, now one of the screen's leading pro- ducers, pronounced her "impossible for movies.”

Still they hung on and Ginger wheedled her way into an un- promising assignment in “Forty- Second Street.” The part gradually was built up around her personality and dancing ability and, when the picture was released, the studio was swamped with inquiries about the unbilled girl who had all but stolen the show. •

Shortly after that came the turn- ing point in Ginger’s career. She was selected to dance with Fred Astaire in “Flying Down to Rio.” The rest is more or less modern screen history. Astaire and Rogers emerged as the film sensations of the year and R-K-O has been ham- mering out successful song-and- dance spectacles featuring the duo ever since.

Wisely, Ginger’s screen work has not been confined exclusively to dancing pictures. She has alternated with straight dramatic roles, such as “Stage Door” and “Vivacious Lady,” in both of which she also has demonstrated a remarkable flair for comedy. Shortly she will be seen, again with Astaire, in "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle” and will follow it with a straight dramatic role in "Little Mother,” probably opposite Charles Boyer.

Success rides easily on Ginger. She is unaffected and charming. Soon after her arrival in Hollywood she married Lew Ayres. They sepa- rated a few years later, but never have been divorced. With Ginger, her mother, whom she always calls “Lela,” comes first. And deserv- ingly so. For it was Lela's expert and devoted guidance that proved the buffer in softening so many of those hard knocks on "the road”— ushering a 15-year-old Charleston winner into a hilltop mansion and a half-million-dollar fortune. (Coprritht. 1939. br the North Americas

Nmupipw Alliance. lac.)

Best-of-Season Vote Is Given To 'Abe Lincoln in Illinois’

And ‘Leave It to Me’ Tops Musicals On Critic's Appraisal of the Broadway Offerings

By Mark Barrnn, Associated Press S*a?T Writer.

NEW YORK Although designed -for the sake of entertainment, the Broadway

theater persists in reflecting the day to day dramas that affect the human race.

Two seasons ago. the dramatists concentrated upon front page report- ing of the wars sprouting across the globe and other such tragic, electric events that are thrusting people out of the ordinary course of their lives.

This past season, ending this week, found the dramatists more pnnosopmcai. more eager to gam a lesson form the past that might help solve or ease the problems of today.

In such a mood is "Abe Lincoln in Illinois," which this department selects as the best play of the season.

Too, in a similar facet is “Leave It to Me." which wins this ballot as the best musical comedy of the season.

Both shows happily combine the two assets of being both instructive documents and highly entertaining.;

Robert E. Sherwood's drama takes j Lincoln off the aloof pedestal on which so many playwrights try to elevate their historical heroes.

He pictures Lincoln as a troubled man. a man who didn't particularly want to be President of the United States and a man who was harrassed by the unquenchable ambitions of a shrewish wife.

He shows Lincoln as a man who did a great many things for this Nation that he didn't particularly ( want to do, but he did them because he understood that the Nation was in its formative stage and that either he must be strong in his decisions 1 or the Nation would fail to hold together in the future.

Sherwood's drama sketches enter- tainingly and sympathetically a Lincoln that all can understand. At! the same time, it presents the strong qualities that this Nation inherited from those troublous times—qualities that have persisted to strengthen us in the present perilous times.

“Leave It to Me" is a musical comedy which is not only a hilarious and tuneful piece. It also offers a contrast and reaffirms in a pleasant manner that in this country, at least, a free theater, like a free press, still exists.

It offers Victor Moore as the American Ambassador to Russia who would like to give up all and go back home to Topeka. But his wife is ambitious for him.

She wants him to dance in the diplomatic spotlight and, perhaps, j use that as a stepping stone to the White House. He dislikes his job intensely and the only happy mo-, ment he has is when he kicks the fat Nazi Ambassador in the stomach.

Aside from presenting two such assured old timers as Moore and Sophie Tucker, the musical brought forth a hit new face in Mary Mar- tin, the Texas girl who sings "My Heart Belongs to Daddy,1’ which, incidentally, is the best hit tune on the stage for the season.

In addition to "Abe Lincoln in Il- linois," the best plays of this past season include:

“Mambas Daughters,1’ the Du Bose and Dorothy Heyward drama of pagar, a Carolina Negro woman of the soil whose one mission was to see that her daughter got every advantage she could in starting her career. Ethel Waters, heretofore a musical wailer, was acclaimed as a dramatic actress.

“The American Way,” a drama of a German immigrant who comes to America and finds here the freedom that he was denied in his native land.

"Knickerbocker Holiday,” Maxwell Anderson's play with music which presented Walter Huston dancing on a silver ieg and impersonating Peter Stuyvesant in a story of the Rip Van Winkle country up the Hudson River.

“Kiss the Boys Good-by,” a rol- licking comedy by Clare Boothe satirizing the strenuous efforts of a Hollywood “genius” to find a girl to j play Scarlett O’Hara.

“Oscar Wilde," a tragic and mov- ing story of the ill-fated dramatist. Robert Morley does a mangniflcent portrait In the title role.

“The Little Foxes," a disturbing

play by Lillian Heilman which gives Tallulah Bankhead the first hit vehicle she has had since she came back to Broadway from her highly successful career in London.

“Family Portrait.” a lovely play picturing the personal lives of the family of Jesus Christ. Judith An- derson gives an electric and stimu- lating performance as Christ's mother.

“Here Come the Clowns." a mvs- tical play by Phillip Barry which shows the personal lives, happiness and troubles of a group of show people.

“The Philadelphia Story,” another Barry play which tells the story of the society set in Philadelphia and also brings Katharine Hepburn back to the stage.

In the field of musical comedy, aside from “Leave It to Me,” the best of the season Includes:

“The Boys From Syracuse," a hi- larious musical based on Shake- speare's “Comedy of Errors.” At least, that is what the producers claim. They are honest fellows. When they use the one line they borrowed from the bard, they have an actor step up to the footlights and announce the line is taken from Shakespeare.

"One lor the Money is a timely, clever revue which started slowly and then blossomed into a hit. Nancy Hamilton s impersonation of Mrs. F. D. R. is one of the’highly clever bits.

Jimmie Durante, with his "Dese, Dose. Dem and Dat,” emerges from his Hollywood hideout to delight again with his tomfoolery in "Stars in Your Eyes."

Noel Coward scores again with his "Set to Music," and much of the credit must be given to quaint hu- mor of Beatrice Lillie. Also, to a hitherto unknown actor, Richard Haydn, whose major accomplish- ment is that he imitates fish and hilariously so.

Then, among the select list, must be included the two swing versions of Gilbert and Sullivan's “The Mikado.” Both are definitely "in the grpove.”

Today's Film Schedules EARLE—"Dodge City,” Sheriff

Errol Flynn finds excitement in the old West: 2:35, 5, 7:25 and 9:55 p.m. Stage shows: 2:05, 4:25, 6:55 and 9:20 p.m.

CAPITOL-r-“Four Girls in White,” romantic drama in a hospital setting: 3, 5:35, 8:05 and 10:35 p.m. Stage shows: 2, 4:3Q, 7 and 9:30 p.m.

PALACE—"Midnight,” gay com- edy damour: 2:55, 5:05, 7:20 and 9:35 p.m.

METROPOLITAN—“Persons In Hiding,” the G-men tfin again: 2, 3:55, 5:55, 7:50 and 9:50 p.m.

KEITH’S—“Love Affair,” and a dramatic one, with Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne: 2:45, 5, 7:30 and 9:35 p.m. “March of Time’’: 2:25, 4:40, 6:55 and 9:15 p.m.'

COLUMBIA—“Made for Each Other,” Carole Lombard and Jimmy Stewart find drama in wedlock:2,3:35,5:40,7:45 and 9:55 p.m.

LITTLE—“The Lady Vanishes." suspense by the master, Alfred Hitchcock: 2, 4, 5:55, 7:50 and 9:50 p.m.

TRANS-LU X—News and shorts; continuous from 2 o’clock.