Screen's Ideal Wife

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23339, 6 May 1939, Page 18 (Supplement)

Screen's Ideal Wife

Myrna Loy's Private Life Runs gis Smoothly As Film Career in The Thin Man" NO PROBLEM IN COMBINING WORK AND MARRIAGE By J. Mi RUDDY v /! . % 'When a woman has portrayed the ideal wife and the perfect mdte so successfully on the screen, her private matrimonial affairs should run smoothly. Remember Nora Charles, winsome, lovable, understanding mate of "The Thin Man"? In private life she is Mrs. Arthur Hornblow, jun., and thoroughly enjoys it. Quiet, smiling, freckled Myrna Loy has established a private life that is indeed private.

who have the tradition of \X/ our homes being our castles ▼ V can appreciate how successfully Myrna has built her stronghold in a remote section of the green hills of Beve'rly. Not so long ago 1 was chatting with her on the set, and I realised how much this forthright, sincere young woman, a thoroughly representative modern, has advanced since she won her first recognition as a slinky siren of the Orient. It has been a decided transition for her from the restraints and repressions of Oriental roles to the generous, spontaneous, open-lioarted camumUvie of Nora Charles, wife of the gallant detective. Marriage in Mexico • In: gay, amusing moods, she was so utterly adorable, so delightfully human that she made bachelors like me, hardened veterans of many years' standing, go out to seek Noras-of then own —almost. . The quiet courtship of Myrna Loy and Arthur Hornblow, jun., ended on a bright June morning in 1936, -.vlien they • were married in the vi.'onful little Mexican village and pleasure resort pf Ensenada, a few hours' drive from Hollywood. \ Calmly, .they planned their future home, both in complete agreement and harmony on,situation and style. Many happy weeks were spent in selecting wallpapers, curtains, furniture, .discussing plans with the architects, considering the latest equipment and conveniences anjJ finding, with some delight, that they were both extremely interested in every domestic detail;,.— Beverly Hills Home Myrna has no delusions about combining her job as a screen star with the happy position of being Mrs. Arthur Hornblow, jun. She does not see any great problem in combining marriage and a career; in fact, she does it very easily. * About two years ago Myrna and her producer husband settled in their newly-built home.

rosebushes ( in orderly rows, and beyond the house a prove of stately lime trees, as well as scores of oranges and lemons, with the fruit golden and yellow against tho rich green foliage. There is not a house within half a mile. On the hillside are scores of yuccas, their full, golden-flowered spears rising proudly through the undergrowth and above the small bushes. A few gnarled live oaks stand on guard to tho north. Hero is a home, a castle in the hills, with every potentiality of calm, gracious living, such as you would expect Myrna Loy to want. This is what Myrna has always? longed for, a California farmhouse of graceful proportions and good lines, ia a typical Californian setting.^ Perfect Wife at Home - Most week-ends are spent at home. On Sunday mornings, Myrna and 1 Arthur Hornblow will be in their garden, perusing scripts, discussing possible stories, and, as they are both very fond of symphonic music, listening to concerts broadcast from New York. They entertain well and simply, and' from all 1 can gather, do not go-in forlarge parties. , ' , As you would expect, Myrna's forth-' Tightness, practical viewpoints' and' pleasant outlook on life are thoroughly' expressed' and crystallised in her dream house.

Myrna was reported as saying, "A woman with a career needs a home more than anything else, it acts as a balance and keeps her work separate from the other, more intimate side of her life, which is just as important, perhaps more so." This spacious, finely-built house, modern in arrangement, old-world in atmosphere, is Myrna's first real home. "1 have gone all the way with this place,. Every week-end, while it was

being built, I was here. Mr. Hornblow and I had our Christmas dinner on a bench in the kitchen before it was finished." she said. Let me take you to Hornblow residence. i : Coldwater Canyon is a long, rambling by-pass, curling through fine estates in Beverly Hills, rising to a crest, then curving gently down into the San Fernando Valley. • Estate of Six Acres Near the crest there are several winding roads. Four miles along one of these is a lovely estate of six acres, with a two-storey white farmhouse roofed with brown tile. Interesting are the chimneys, not usual in Southern California, land of central heating. ' Wo climb a few hundred yards up the hillside to look down on the farmhouse and the grounds. To the left is a magnificent tennis court; next to it a circular swimming pool, half-hidden by a clump.of live ouks and a graceful willow tree. Compactly built bathhouses and terraces complete this recreational part of the estate. A high wall of rough brick, glistening in the sunshine, surrounds the house. ' Glimpses of well-kept green lawns, finely-arranged flower gardens.

Invisible Actors in Drop of Water

STRANGE MOVIE THEATRE London's most unusual theatre, for ordinarily invisible actors and actresses, was opened recently in London. Here 200 people at a time, sitting comfortably in tip-up chairs in the theatre, will see on a luminous screen some of the queer primitive creatures the scientist surveys through his- microscope.' , C For many months now Mr. Edward Henry Ellis has been at work building up enormous colonies' of many species of micro-organisms.. . , ~... , ,

Behind the scenes at the theatre during a performance there is exciting activity. A team of scientists works with swift precision, picking up from tanks and test-'tubes specimens of the occupants, putting them jnto slides for the 'pro-jection-microscopes and, then, returning them quickly to their tanks wßent|ieir "turn" is over. A trained commentator will tell the audience, all the weird activity* of the moment." Upon the' screen will swim mihut« dragons and invisible serpents made mighty by the microscope. Dendrocelium will wobble at weird speed , and motion about the luminous circle, a creature that is all shapes and any shape in turn. Daphnia, among! the- giants, of the cast, is the ordinary water-flea, just visible to the naked eye, upon which aquarium keepers feed their pets. Here it becomes an enormous transparent animal, whose big, black,, central eyes glare, whose heart can be seen beating in a close-up view. • So strange are some of the thrills given by these immensely magnified specks of life that sometimes it • will need the word of the commentator to remind you that after all they are only specks that cannot escape from the water-drop world —and if they could, would be harmless to humanity.

Round the Studios

! 1.- J ■ 1 •» - ' Dennis O'Koefo and Florence , R/jce are to be teairi&d agdin in "The' Kid from' Texas."* - ' ■ ' * • ; .Irene Rich, orice Warner's foremost feminine stnr, returns there to piny the lead in "Mr. Martin Comes Home." ono of their new fotir-reelers. >" "The Castles" is Fred Astairc's Inst picture on his contract with. RKO Radio, Reports are again current that he may sign a contract with Samuel Goldivyn. ... Rose. Stradner,.... Austrian— actress, >vhose . only Hollywood film was "The Last Gangster," has been;signed v iip by, Columbia. Her first film for them will be "Blind Alley,"i with Chester Morris .and Ralph Bellamy. ]••" ' N Anne Shirley has hnd three names, all' equally theatrical. H<jr real name is Dawn Paris. This was changed early in her screen career, as ja child. star to Dawn> 1 Anno finally chose her present: nanje i'roip the. title character-of ''Anne of Grsen Gables," her' first nia'jor success; and. Anne Shirley is now legally hqr name.