Imperial Valley press., 1936-10-04

THIs article, like Gaul, may be divided into
three parts: first the confessions of villain;
second the mewlings of fool and third, the
lament of a movie actor
Porter Hail. having been an actor for the past
Is years, and having alternated consistently be-
tween the other two categories since COM
ing to Hollywood, feels that he can speak with
authority all three characters.
LAS to my qualifications as a villain, will
stand on my record as murderer, which think
I may say with all modesty, is of the finest
in motion pictures
81 have killed with knives, guns, Internal ma
chimes, bare hands and a wide assortment of
poisons my victims having been some of the
best people in Beverly Hills and other exclusive
sections of the picture capital.
"A few times have gotten my just deserts and
been murdered myself, but have enjoyed this
even more than being the murderer. There is
certain satisfaction in good, dramatic death.
And anyway, if they're shooting the picture in
sequence, you usually look forward to a few
days off after you have met your fate. Compared
to a movie villain, you know, cat is a COM
paratively short-lived creature.
Until recently, Gary Cooper was one murder
up on me He killed me in The General Died at
Dawn but couple of weeks later I squared
accounts killed him in The Plainsman This
system have found saves hard feelings and
has done quite little killing in pictures himself
agrees with me. In fact a man doesn't resent
being killed by villain so much as he does by
a hero like Gary.
aside from my capital crimes, l have pulled
off few neat little robberies. double-crossed
some fellow citizens, bilked a widow or two
out of the savings of lifetime and betrayed
a couple of trusting maidens-but / only men,
ton these hoyish misdemeanors in passing
IrHE only times when l escape viainy in
this business is when am called upon to
play the fool. was the stuffed shirt, you may
remember, who talked all that phoney patriotism
in 'Petrifed Forest and belonged to the Black
hawk Volunteers, which entitled me to wear
soldier suit lodge nights. That part, am
told established some kind of record for good
old American inanity
But in The General Died at Dawn Para
mount rolled Hall the sap and Hall the heel
into and the same role. was Madeleine
Carrolls stupid, schemng, cowardly and thor
oughly detestable father And besides that had
consumption
Now for the lament of movie actor
Il wouldn't mind the way Hollywood has
double-typed me if people would only realize
it's all in fun. The trouble is many of them don't.
I'm really not bad guy, or a total fool,
either, once you get to know me. I'm a substan-
tial citizen and taxpayer, with wife and a
five-year-old son. own my own home and l go
to church occasionally, too and the l
gave up fishing with live bait was because
couldn't bear the way the minnow squirms when
you put the hook under his dorsal fin.
Il wouldn't shoot Gary Cooper. LIKE him.
And anyway I'm scared to death of guns. Why,
1 don't even beat my wife. like her, too We
lead a quiet life, and belong to the Parent
Teachers Association, and go to the movies once
a week; and on Sundays If the weather's nice,
we usually go for drive or take little Davy to
the beach. Our neighbors like U.S. too.
But you ought to see my so-called fan mail!
~ ACTUALLY got stack of letters bawling
me out for the fool things l had to say in
Petrifed Forest calling me jingoist, saber-
rattler and dangerous man!
"And one day in the Huntington Museum, my
wife overheard herself being pointed out by an
other woman as the wife of that terrible Porter
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