MR. AND MRS. TONE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 101, 9 April 1936, Page 14

MR. AND MRS. TONE

Married Only in Private DIVORCED IN CAREERS Before they were married, Joan Crawford and Franchot Tone came to an , important decision that their careers would continue to operate in dependently. ‘‘Mr and Mrs’’ would be reserved as a private term, far removed from motion picture sets. They are keeping this agreement to the letter. Even in interviews one will not mention the other, except in human generalities. “You see, we must do this,’’ Tone explained earnestly. “It has been proved many times before. Everyone’s professional life must be lived and developed along its own course. Otherwise the too parties of a mar riage become a mere reflection of one another. ” Nor in this ease does one need the other—professionally speaking. Both Joan and Franchot have each done very well, and each on sheer merit. Few men in Hollywood have received the critical ovation accorded Tone for his work in “Mutiny on the Bounty” and “Lives of a Bengal Lancer.” His latest picture, and the first since his marriage, is “Exclusive Story,’’ with Madge Evans. These, you see, in addition to his pictures with Joan, which, incidentally, he enjoyed very much, even though, he added with a twinkle, he generally lost her to some luckier fellow. These included “To-day We Live” —during the filming of which their friendship began—-“ The Dancing Lady,” “Sadie McKee,” and “No More Ladies.”

It is possible, however, for careers to be separate and intertwined at the same time, which is true of practically every major player in Hollywood, appearing, as they do, in each other’s pictures. Thus Franchot still has hopes of doing a stage play with Joan at some future date. Tone is still keen in his enthusiasm for the stage and looks forward to the time when he will be able to commute between Hollywood and Broadway, ns Leslie Howard has succeded in doing. But he is doubtful, he said, that he will do anything about this until Joan is free to accompany him. Meantime, he has many dreams. Acting is only one of his special interests. He would also like to write and he would like to direct, particularly he would like to direct a picture “The screen is a director’s medium,’’ he said. “It is the director who gets the biggest thrill out of a picture. The camera is his tool, to use at will. To the stage actor, audience response and the responsibility ol holding the play in his own lap after the curtain has gone up will never be forgotten.” Not that he dislikes Hollywood or under-estimates the importance of the screen. He appreciates its scope, resources and infinite possibilities as ar. art form. Particularly he appreciates its “good-natured tolerance of critic ism, ’' In Hollywood’s category, Tone is an intellectual. His eyes gleamed with enthusiasm as he spoke of the “Stanislawsky system.” It is to this system, which he calls “a substitute for genius,” that he owes all practical knowledge of his profession, he declared — barring an apprenticeship as president of the Cornell Dramatic Club and a period of stock in Buffalo.