PRIVATE LIVES?

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20930, 8 January 1938, Page 18

PRIVATE LIVES?

THE PESTS THAT INVADE HOLLYWOOD Hollywood stars are subjected to annoyance by all kinds of pests. They receive enviable salaries, but they work hard for their money and have to give a great deal of it away. And when they are not working they find it difficult to get any privacy. Jeanette MacDonald was chatting amicably with husband Gene Raymond in her Beverly Hills garden one recent afternoon, when four strang’ers appeared from nowhere and settled themselves comfortably by the side of the pool. "Friends of yours?" quiried Jeanette. "No." replied Gene. “Don’t you know them?” The actress shook her head. Mr Raymnd strode purposefully toward the interlopers. “It’s all right.” they assured him "The guide said it was O.K. to come here and watch you.” and they were most upset when Gene promised to call the police. "We paid £1 apiece to see you. We’ve been swindled.” they grumbled. “Swindle” is the Hollywood word of the moment. There are more swindles or rackets, or exploitations going on right now than ever before. The most common—and annoying—is the guide nuisance. On practically every street corner sits a gentleman who sells you. for 26, a map of studios and movie stars’ homes (usually wrong) and for £1 take you on a personally conducted tour. If you want to talk to a star, another £1 is demanded. And there seems to be nothing for fi t folk to do except call a policeman —after their privacy has been ruined. Gloria Swanson, sitting quietly with : her child on the terrace of her home, was frightened recently when a loud | voice boomed. "Look—there’s Gloria Swanson.” followed by a guide and a dozen of his clients. Michael Bartlett walked into his garden the other day and found tourists stealing paving stones. “The guide

said we could have them.” they explained blandly. The studios provide even less sanctuary for the stars. Dick Powell, strolling around the Warner Brothers’

studio, was cornered by a car-load of sightseers a few weeks ago. “Come on, Dick, talk to the boys and girls,” cried the gentleman in charge. A new twist was given to the autograph racket recently when a man asked Gary Cooper to imprint his foot and hand-prints in a block of cement for his kitchen floor. "Anyone with a nerve like yours deserves encouragement.” said Gary good-naturedly, and complied. Every studio gateman is annoyed by hordes of youngsters who wait all day in hopes of getting signatures from incoming and outgoing screenites. A regular business is done with the names, with recognised market prices.

WHAT OF THE WRITERS? “It may or may not be true—what the fan magazines insist—that the studios have built cosy bungalows for the writers." states an Australian movie critic. "It was a writer who told me that the quarters were bleak rooms in a concrete building. The rooms, he said, opened off a long corridor and were furnished simply with a typewriter, table, chair and no casting couch. "According to his story, this arrangement was to keep them at work. “They reported for duty like any other worker, were given a job of writing to do. work regular hours, and no time was made available for inspiration, which is thought to be a part of writing. “The writers, he said, had certain methods of beating routine. “They sat down, put their feet up on the typewriter, and went to sleep. By private arrangement, an attendant woke them a quarter of an hour before lunch-time. Then they dashed off a few pages of script and dropped it in the copy basket on the way out to lunch, the same occurring in the afternoon.” How they manage to turn out brilliant screen plays, from bungalows or concrete cubicles, is beyond me. “The playwright who takes his time with one work is understandable; mass producting writing is not. Another peculiarity is the pooling of the best inventions of a dozen scenario writers, in which case the wonder is'that the story makes sense. “Yet the screen writer deserves more credit than he gets. “The average picturegoer holds the stars responsible for the success or failure of a film. Critics praise or blame the director. "While I believe that the director usually is the most powerful person in the making of a film, there are a number of cases in which the screen play is more important than the director on Uie a£toxx ’’