Putnam patriot., 1921-05-20
PAT. PUTNAM SEES THE MOVIES MADE
DEAR MATnELIA

DEAR MAUnELLA.-
Wei cid thing. bow are yous Rot
ten weather. amt it. Now cont get
+sere because this letter IL fHea, mere
male and because il isn't like that
stuff that Patty hands you every
fSeek telling sou how much money
Tom Mix makes minute ard what
soulful eyes Dick Barthelmess has and
what kind Of wristlets are the latest
wrinkle in Calcutta. Honest. Maud
ella, I'd rather take a pill than write
one Of these letters to you. but Pat
tvs gone or 20 Boston to buy herself
a cream puff or something she saw in
Vogue, and here am loaded down
With the weekly to you, old dear. and
you're no more helpless than am.
And speaking q the movies, Maud
ella. did-leyer 20 70 one Of them plae-
IS whore the pictures are taken? Well,
grille. If you like the pictures. stay
away. went once and | been sorry
ever since. cant see any ~ those
birds on the mirror at the Bradley
without thinking ef that fatal after
noon.
You see. Maudella. il was Just this
way There's a guy what went 70 col
lsge with me-never knew | went to
college? Why: eirlie. don't you see il
N my epituailatory style9 Well. as
] was saying. this guy what went TO
college with me. he Went into the NOV
les. Same old thiue. One day was
Saning him a dime foI beans IN the
Automat and the next day he was
honking up Fifth Avenue in a Rolls
Royce
Well. one day | meets this say at
the knickerbocker- know-darn
Il. | forget you're a sal. Maudella.-
but | meets this guy where all good
men and true used TO meet. right un-
der the spot where the picture Of Old
King Cole did the night Waterman act
over the mahogany with tie brass rail.
And he says to me, Say. Pat, come
on over 70 Fort Lee and see me act
my latest picture" so ! got into his
fourteen karat fiivver and in a couple
of minutes we was bounding up the
Palisades TO the big glass house where
folks make millions by making faces
We'll, Pat. here we are" says the
guy
And | says. Where?
And he says. In the studio
Well, Maudella. il WASH. like any
thing you ever supposed Just a great
big barn with a glass roof and moth.
ing doing, grille. absolutely nothing
doing. The was lot of green lights
that made everybody look seasiek and
LOT of folks with yellow paste al
over their faces that made EN- look
more seasick. and not a sound to bt
heard
Well the Guy tells me that over il
the far corner Mary Garden Is doing
..Thais" look bat | don't see Mary
All ] sees is piece Of canvas and q
guy turning the crank on a black BIO,
and 4 Teller writing something in
book. Then he says 70 me. he Says
sticking his finger out u the othe
corner of the barn. That's Aa,
Marsh and shes doiHg a steamship
scene Well, Maudella. | just laugh
ed right cut There was Mae Marsl
and a. another guy-with then
arms around each other walking uT
and down couple a planks in from
Of a piece Of scenery that was sup
posed to represent the side Of ship
and over in a corner feller was pull
+ ing a rope that made the planks 90 ~
and down so that we poor boobs when
we saw the picture at the Bradley
thought the darned thing really WAS a
+ White Star Liner.
4 Then the Guy says he must get into
location so he dives down stairs and
comes back with his face all covered
with paste and he runs over 20 the
corner where a lot Of men is reading
books and the ladies are knitting and
not saying a word Then Teller that
looks sort Of worried yells something
and they an jump up and crowd into
a corner 81 scenery that has a window
+ in il. And the Guy, with his shirt
open. stands there making love "a
Madge Kennedy through an open win
dow, both Of EN- looking mighty bill
ious. but il was the paste. Maudella
and they were getting powerful good
money for IT, But did they say q
word? They did not. The Guy does
the Romeo stunt and Miss Kense3y
smiles and wriggles, but there amt a
word PASSED between them and not a
living soul except the worried fellow
and the man at the box even looks at
them Then they do it all over again
and then they try lot Of ways Of do
ing the same thing. And says TO
myself Patrick Putnam. is this
Art? No. Patrick Putnam, it amt
Art. it's just the darned movies.
Well. Maudella, over in the other
corner Mae Marsh gets off that fake
deck and starts to knitting just about
the time something breaks loose over
in the Mary Garden section. and /
runs along with the rest Of en-. crav-