LOVE— AND THE PRESS AGENT

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 165, 15 July 1939, Page 7 (Supplement)

LOVE— AND THE PRESS AGENT

Screen Page

THERE are five certain occa--1 sions when movie folk can get their names in the papers one at the time of their discoverytwo. when they are marriedthree when a baby is expected and born; four, at death; five when they -go" with someone* For obvious reasons the last-men-tioned is the most popular form of grabbing newspaper space. Whi.-li is why iuovlp columnist* r O „ Lit i-rH/v every time they s<,. „ ,»„, ic . man with a nnv g \ r y ,„■ „ Inovi| , , ri| ., with ii ii.mv man. Is it ~,.„] | t)vo ,„. £ u red low. we hhl< oinwelven. \li,i,,st without lookmjr. wo mutter "phonov " ,im(l suiin Hw-ny from Hip publieitv bait Not i>iil.\ lire publicity romatu-cs „' snare nix! delusion for reporters and readers hut lh«\> are the same f,, r the man hikl mnifleii mm-erned. Harely d<i they ,miil in iin\ ihiiisr more than humiliation and heart Imcjilv — usually for the tfirl. To in\ knowledge, the recent fadeout into wedding l>«'lls ol" the Tvronc I'ciwer AMinilii-llii romance (cradled in iliimi-fliiilin publicity department j in the lirsl hiijM'J ending in the entire hi-tmv of Mot iehind's synthetic- |o\ e. (I <lon't, rpfer 1" the jjonnirie article—i.e.. t lie liiililr l.oinlifinl or th« .Feanette MacDonalil ' iene Kaymoiid romances. [ will never forjiet Miu-jjaret '.imlmiv'h irriliilion and [[eject ion on the day Mint Alfred fJwyntie X'anderliilt aniioiinccd 11if- to the j;irl who is iiinv his wife. For weeks preceding iind mi the morning of the announcement the column* wore full of Margaret's |o\e for Alfred and \ icc\ ersa. What did the I'n'.-s iijrpiitx eare that l,in<lsiiv's netllill dat<'s with N'andorliilt were a couple of dinners—at most, or tliiit

Jjp was in 1,,,,, with another woman? Iho Ymiderhilt name is a "honey" for piihlifity. which was what they wanted tor Maijrarpt. But *he oared—not for \HMilorhilt. but for the position of the wimiHii s<m>iii«.,|, forced on lier by her studio.

'" "WutlMTinir Heijrhis.- Merle ni.ciori ])«.<■;, iiic th,. I,ride ~f a ,„.,,, SMe did not low-I)a\id Xiven. This ponilion was coinplftfly reversed in private llf|, - f" 1 'I'lu'.v did not many, and (l>) Merle loved David, lmt David did not lo\e Merle.

Tin- history of Jhw publicity romance "us told me hy the I'resn ;i<i<Mit who drciimed it up. When Merle lirst came to Hollywood, she was in |o\ t . with another man. an actor deemed un*uitalile for a wtur of her prominence. What I" do - ; Why. >i\\t' her another actor — yoniijr, cliiirminir. Hiiiii«*in*r. to take her miiiil oil' the rcjil romance and. Nt the »une time, mu only to keep her name before the |itililic lint publicise that of the yoiin-r man who was a newcomer to pictures and and this "and" ie impor-

An Illuminating Study Of Movieland's

BySheilah Graham

tant—was also under contract to the same studio. In this way. the studio would collect 100 ( «. r "<-ent of the publicity. The only trouble with this arrangement was that Merle actually fell in love with Xivcn. a* she hinted one day during lunch at her London house. Not so with Xiven. He kept to his side of the publicity Imrgain. Merle has recovered from her infatuation, but she was exceedingly unhappy for a lonjf while after she and David had "one their respective ways in the columns. Consider the case of Richard (Jreenp. The boy was in love with Arleen Whelan

Publicity Romances and they probably would be man and wife now—but for orders from the head office. At the time, golden girl Soiiju TFenie was without an escort (her publicity romance with Tyrone Power lwd none (sour in the f .Janet (iuyuor). Greene was new. yoiuifr. haild»»illle. ami his dark hair would make a wonderful foil for Sniija's lilonde lieauty. s So we had tlie ri«li<-ll]iillfi situation whereby Hielmrd and Soiija. went \ tojretlier to all the puldie and importiiiit functions. whil<" I'iehiird and Arleen met in secret and indulged their <lesire for • etu-h otlierV company. 1 No love can live under such circumstance.s and. loiijj before Son ja was • allowed to "live .Mr. Creene his freedom f (and that only hecause she left town 011 a skatinjf tour). the real love" ' between Richard mid Arleen had died — • of unnatural causes. \\lw»li I lir.st came to lfdlly\V(mml. a little more than tliree yeais n»o. the . columnists were full of a romance 1 between Hobert 'J'aylor anil Irene Jfer-

vey, both of whom were under contract to Metro. The "'blurbs" got far a<s an engagement ring on Mies ■ Hervey's imi>ortant finger —supposedly put there by Taylor, but actually a gift from the property room. I believe it was at this point that Hubert put his foot down. Or maybe Irene had met Allan Jones (without benefit of the publicity department). Anyway, Kobert and Irene ceased to exist US ;x couple. A few months Inter, Bob met Bulimia Stanwyck and. in direct opposition to the studio, fell in love with her. He w;is told that marriage with .Miss Stanwyck would ruin his career. That was only t lie smallest, part of the studio "peeve."' Barbara was not under con- ' tract to Metro, (to why give her publicity iin<l build up her glamour when there were several unattached females '• at Metro in need of both? Nothing i could lie done; Bob wanted Barbara— i and that was that. Poor Virginia Field. She barely had time to accustom herself to being the publicity passion of Douglas Fairbanks, ■ juii.. (while both were co-starring ill "Tin , Sun Never Sets") before IXnig. went and got himself married to a nonmovie lady. Several columnists were caught with paragraphs on how Virginia loved Doug and vice-versa on the day that Doug took out the license for Mary. Kven the young of the movie species are not hpa red in the romance department. Mickey l-tooney and Freddie Bartholomew are alternately paired with Judy (iarland. And I would bet half a week of her salary that Deanna Durbin's '"passion" for Vauglian Paul was horn ill a Press boy's mind. They have even . tried to give Shirley Temple a publicity romance —with the little Indian hoy in "Susannah"! 1 think the time has come to put movie love on the level.