The Washington times., 1935-09-09

pretty Eleanor on Friday after
noon at Variety Club. To explain.
When Raymond Beall deputy
Fox publicist, arrived at this desk
with Photographic stills Of Miss
Holm, the collection was scanned
for at least one showing the at
tractively curved swimmer in
bathing suit. Not one picture Of
the form divine was in exhibits.
AS an editor who prefers to
make his page decorative, I went
to Times library and rescued from
the cut files a two-column reveal
ing pose, ran it last Monday. Now
under the strict amateur rules OF
the A. A. U. Miss Holm is not per-
mitted to exploit her aquatic
fame while travelling the movie
circuits. Neither is any announce
ment permitted from the stage
about her Olympic achievements.
Tried Hollywood
Pardon me if say here that
the A. A. A. U. rules strike me as
a little silly. But Eleanor Holm
respects them. Follows them re-
ligiously. For like every anna
teur, she knows that Babe Did
rickson was thumbed out Of the
ranks of the "simon-pures' for in
dorsing motor car and accept
ing one as a reward, that Charlie
Paddock's flying feet got tangled
up with the A. A. U. while in
Hollywood. And Miss Holm wants
to represent America in the 1886
OlympicS.
Anyway there can be no harm
in saying that Eleanor Holm in
closeup bears a striking resem-
blance to Miss Joan Crawford.
Warner Brothers once had her
under contract and promised
faithfully not to mention any.
thing about her feats as a mer-
maid. Maybe it was just coin
cidence, but most of pictures that
Hollywood assigned to her had
swimming sequences. For in
stance, in planning "Footlight Pa
rade" Eleanor Holm was expected
to fit as Snugly as her bathing
suit into a water sequence. She
shook her bobbed locks and be-
came a Warner Brothers "No"
girl.
However. Eleanor Holm has too
much that adds up into what
Hollywood wants to escape an
other movie venture. After she
triumphs in Germany next year,
I predict the movie scouts will
be hot on her trail. At that time
Eleanor may be in a position to
relinquish her much valued anna
teur standing and save the pub
licity sharps from embarrassment.
He Likes Carbo
So far as know, Miss Kay Var
borough and Mrs. Sam Davis lead
the Washington hosannahs for
Miss Greta Carlo, and have long
led the incense burners for
M-G-M's glamorous Swede.
Today all their ardor and in
tense devotion to an artist of the
cinema seems pallid and pale be-
side this glowing tribute from
Richard Watts, jr., Of the New
York Herald-Tribune, a gentleman
critic, usually harsh and bilious,
when dealing with Hollywood's
annointed. Says he:
"It seems that, according to a
quotation from the Capitol
Theater advertisements, said
of Miss Carlo in Anna Kare-
nina,' that she had never looked
lOvelier or played more beauti-
fully Having written that,
can only apologize humbly.
ut is the most timOrous un-
derstatement / have ever read.
What I really meant was that
in all of her career as the First
Lady Of the Drama she never
has been quite as magnificent
as she is in her latest vehicle.
In all of her dramas, including
some direfuI examples Of the
StOry-teller's frailties, Miss
Carlo has been completely and
entirley superb. Never, however,
have her beauty, her talent, her
spirit and all of that incOmpar-
able aura of splendOr which so
tranScends mere literal great
ness reached the point achieved
in Anna Karenina.'
"Here is Miss GarbO at the
peak of her grandeur. All Of
her qualities appear at their
height and there can no longer
be sensible reason for doubling
that she is the transcendent
parsonage Of the modern drama,
whether Of stage or screen. I
think that no actress has
brought SO much beauty and
magnificence to any form of the
--S&LS~n Alt. q