davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1938-11-27

having been backstage in my life.
I lodged work again by going back
to school. This time 1t was Yale
-. the drama school there.
About the time of my second
year there I heard about the Group
Theater forming and decided to Quit
school and make an effort to join.
"The group discovered had little
talent and practically no artistry,
but simply desire and energy.
had to agree with them, because
I could see what kind of an actor
I was. They then very kindly
helped me land a job as assistant
stage manager with the Theater
Guild. That was my professional
start. I've had fun, hard work and
luck since then
Kazan has a simple way Of re-
fusing movie offers: he lets them
refuse him. He simply asks for a
salary of say. offhand. 5000 or
$4,000 week and then while the
incredulous film magnate is recov-
ering his breath, Kakan, by his
own description, dissolves into the
emptiness.
This vital young theatrical figure
has something to say, too, of the
future; his and the groups.
Everybody except ourselves con-
siders the group as something
established, arrived" he says. I'VE
have no desire for such a state and
we do not admit it to be true now.
In the theater no person or or
ganization can remain static with
out going backward, in the first
place, and in the second, we of the
group (he is one of the council
which includes Odets and Director
Harold Clurman) believe we are
only beginning. There are in
Vulnerable and almost superhuman
obstacles before us now: lack of
financial independence, the task of
educating and bringing young
audiences to the theater to replace
the. diminishing patrons. the lack
of good scripts that plague not
only us but the entire business, the
temptations of Hollywood, and so
many other things. True, we are
fortifying ourselves as strongly and
as rapidly as we can against all
these threats to our future growth
and to our hope for dominant
position in the field of producing
legitimate plays. Actors, play
wrights, designers and workers in
the theater are coming to us in
increasing numbers and with finer
talents each day, so there is some
daylight ahead. 1t is like the
proverbial SNOWFALL, like algebraic
momentum or mathematical pro-
gression, or whatever you like, and
it is the encouragement we need
Evening star., 1938-11-27

press agent while we waited for her
to appear.
II think they rent" he said, sort
Of apologetically.
A little later Joan said they
bought the house six years ago, out
of their vaudeville earnings. She
and Cy think it very comfortable
Anyway, it's home
A modern note among the fur
nishings is a gold loving cup, 4
feet tall, that Joan won when she
was voted New York's most popular
comedienne I wondered whether
it could be put to any practical
use. such as making coffee. Joans
reply was typical:
Nope, it's strictly for hooking
purposes"
Joan always has an answer and
one Of the best was that she made
to a sarcastic director who in
quired, after she had muffed q
couple lines of dialogue: Didn't
you read the script?"
"No, SIR" said Joan. quickly. II
was afraid it might spoil the picture
for me when I see it.
Evening star., 1938-11-27

(nee JOSepnlne) OdVlS-kneW Cne
audience wasn't laughing with their
darling daughter. They were laugh
ing AT her.
At the next nights performance,
the Davis darling was attired in the
same short blue dress, but in addi-
ton she was wearing green bloom
ers that fell to her ankles. Perched
on top of her head was tiny straw
hat that lately had been the prop
erty of her doll.
''The trouble was, I was awkward" ;"
Joan confesses, land there was no
use trying to pretty me up. My
folks were smart enough to capital
ize on my shortcoming. I've been
deliberately awkward since"
The rise of Joan Davis, in three
years, from a maid playing bits to
the movies No. / comedienne is due
to her continued study of the art
of being awkward.
Joan had been a success for years
and years, as any one who remem-
bers the halcyon days of vaudeville
will testify. She and her husband,
Cy Wills, had an act and they
worked the year around. That is,
they did until there wasn't any more
vaudeville.
Three years ago, when there were
so few bookings that it cost the
Willses more to travel than to stay
home. they came here to live. They
had saved their money and they
might have taken it easy for .
long time.
1T looked like we were going to
take it that way. too," Joan says.
do you think anybody'd ever heard
of us? Not soul. Our experience
| and success didn't mean a thing
Know how I finally got a job?
Through friend"
Ray McCarey, a director they
knew, gave Joan her first chance
in a picture. One role led to an
other and pretty soon the goth Gen.
tury people woke up with a new
star on their hands.
At first Joan was put into pic
lures only as comedy relief. Shit
didn't have any particular connec'
ton with the plots and too otter
her falls were without reason
Sometimes her dialogue WASH
pointed. Then Cy Wills, who hae
been collecting and writing joke!
and gags and situations" for years
stepped in. With the studios en-
thusias:ic permission, Joan's dia
logue now is "doctored' by hel
| husband.
The Willses have 5-year-olt
daughter Beverly.
Young Beverly, her parents re
gretfully discovered, is as uncon
sciously awkward as her mothe
once was.
Their house is a queer-lookint
place, decorated with minarets ant
Moorish domes. The windows re-
semble those of mosque and th'
living room is furnished mainl.
with square Chinese-type furniture
Brass lamps hang in some OF the
inches.
It seemed like a strange house
for such a modern as Joan ane
I I commented on that to Joan's
Evening star., 1938-11-27
Benefits Are Planned
At BOro Theater

Benefit shows will be presented
at the Boro Theater in Bethesda
December 8 and 9 in cooperation
with the Parent Teacher Associa-
ton of Leland Junior High School
to aid in raising funds for an ampli-
f1cation system for the school audi
torium.
w. Prescott Allen, chairman of
the associations Ways and Means
Committee, is in charge of arrange
ments for the benefits.
There will be a different stage
and screen show each night. with a
Hollywood premiere touch being
given by flood lights, an orchestra
and a master of ceremonies greet
ing the patrons.
Evening star., 1938-11-27

sound effects, like a city on tip-toe.
But the people on the streets talk
lot. Detroit is full of mechanical
sounds, they explain.
Hollywood, itself, according to
these authorities" is full of sharp
sounds-high heels clicking on con-
crete, voices of ambitious young peo-
pie trying to impress each other,
strange accents and automobile
bumpers meeting. Los Angeles pro-
per is described as sounding like a
county seat on Saturday. a small
town grown out of all proportion,
with sounds to match.
Every city and almost every State
or country used for motion picture
location has its own distinctive
sounds. It's these sounds the sound
men are tracking down to help
bring realism to the screen.
Evening star., 1938-11-27
By Its Own Private Noises
Ye Shall Know Your Citv
Photoplay Studios Catalogue
Locations by Their Sounds
And Thus Aid Realism
Rv Carlisle .TOupS.
Bv Carlisle Jones'.
HOLLYWOOD.

Every its individual sights its particular sounds and its
peculiar smells.
picture gradually acquiring
library
Smells being rordabe interest the
recorded aaogued
Evening star., 1938-11-27
The Art of Being Awkward
Brings Fame to Joan Davis
She's Been Laughed AT Since She
Was and Now It's Made
Her a Film Star
By Hubbard Keavy,
pvessa Writer

Of Josephine walked a st. Paul
Mnn and with elaborate and
ions Il-tmed
II amt nobodys darling I'm just as blue be-
Because amt nobody to make a fuss
If don't get somebody I'll 60 back to the farm
chickens
our Is
Evening star., 1938-11-27

first active part in a show was to act
as assistant stage manager for THE
Pure in Heart" in 1882, he had been
around the organization in various
less important jobs before that.
In 1888, a year after the group
had assumed shape as a working
organization, Kazan took over the
dual duties of stage managers as
sistant and actor of a small part in
Men in White" which became a
hit and brought the group into
prominence In Gold Eagle Guy"
Kazan was the general stage mana
ger. In Waiting for Lefty" he made
the fiery closing speech, giving life
to the words of the then new au-
thor, Clifford Odets. He followed
these activities with a personal hit
in Golden Boy" first as Fuseli, the
gangster, and now as Joe Bonaparte,
the violinist-pugilist.
A talk with Kazan brings out the
essential qualities of the young man
himself. At rehearsals, readings and
conferences-as well as at inter-
views-he is nervous, restless. He
walks from one side of the room to
the other; his hands move constantly
IN gestures, at once showing his
physical energy and drive" and his
innate sensitivity of feeling. He
seems constantly to be suppressing
inner power. He speaks in rushes
OF words, phrasing his sentences to
emphatic points. He feels his
thoughts and tries by the dynamic
quality Of himself to bring you his
thought quickly and clearly.
In his own words, he loves the
theater.
"As far back as I can remember, !"
he says, Il had simple and COM
pelling desire. 1t was and is to
earn my living at something I en-
JOY doing for its own sake.
Il remember dreading the pros
pect of Office work. which hung over
me as a Specter in my future. I
really went to college to get away
from work.
Il worked my way through Will
liams College" he continues, but
I lazed away. reading what I want
ed to and trying to dodge any routine
or clock punching. When I finally
graduated I took stock and found
couldn't do thing-no craft, no
special capabilities and worse no
money. 1t looked very much as if
Kazan would have to 60 to work,
and If hadn't had such a resist
ance to unpleasant tasks Id prob
ably now be going slowly insane
running errands on Wall Street. I
had one ability, I suddenly remem-
bered, and that oddly enough was
working my way through school.
So, having picked up an interest
In things theatrical without ever
Evening star., 1938-11-27
WoIfert
Continued From First Page. }

simple enough at any time, but this
Thanksgiving week it's chi1ds
play. Good Hunting" and Ring
side Seat" have opened weakly.
You note the fact, note the season
and add. "Ah, turkeys!" If your
fingers aren't yet wiggling from the
tip of your nose but are still on
the typewriter, you might add
something about realizing you've
made a hash of the turkeys and
fearing not at all you'll have to
eat your words. And there you are.
ready to go home to a well-earned
rest from a long nights work.
And while you slumber, the devils
at work raising his home site in
the producers Office, in actors
apartments and in homes sprinkled
about Manhattan. Tears, despair
and rage, woe, shame, astoniSh-
ment, fear and glee. too, they rear
up from the line Of type in the
newspapers and chase each other
in and out of palaces, cottages and
furnished rooms.
The glee requires some explaining,
but get it this way from a man
who has spent the last 20 years
studying producers. You know what
makes producer happy?" he told
me. Not putting on a hit. Not
listening to the cash register bang
and the telephone ring and his
creditors whistle. Not firing actors
or directors. Not chiseling scene
builders and stagehands. No, none
of these things. Not seeing critics
fall down flight of stairs or watch
ing a playwright rip out his hair
by the flstful. No, no. There is
only one thing that can make a
producer happy-watching another
producer-a friend, did you say?
Producers have no friends-watch-
ing another producer put on tur-
key. Then he can feel he isn't the
only one who doesn't belong in the
theater and should be butcher"
The producer can't blame his
script for the failure, or his actors
or his director. He selected them.
He blames-and this is the SORROW
full truth-the critics, and, by an
overwhelming exercise of logic, fires
the press agent. The author blames
the actors and the directors and
fires his heart. The actors and the
director blame the author. The
teamsters who get the job of cart
ing off the scenery blame their
lucky stars.
If the producer is melancholy
sight the morning after and the
author a desolated one, the actors
supply little comic relief in an
embarrassed kind of way An actor
If he is any good at all and suited
by nature to his work-grows to
regard an author as the theater's
vermiform appendix. He'll say a
play is a good play" and by that
he means it has fat part In 1t
for him. His critical vocabulary
even extends to the phrase, "a
stinko play"-which means the play
has no single dominant part in 1t.
On the morning after, as he scans
disaster and screams for the authors
heart, there is point in the midst
of his rage at which he must stop
with mouth open and realize that,
if an author can be SO destructive
to art, then he must at least be
something.
It's an educational experience and
can ever be salutary. but Good
Hunting" and "Ringside Seat" (the
last with Grant Mitchell in it, are
turkeys just the same.
(Copyright, 1858. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance. Inc.)
Evening star., 1938-11-27

1.-TWO Weeks With Pay" is the final
release title of Paramounts Charlie
Ruggles-Mary Boland co-starring
vehicle heretofore titled Parents on
Probatio
Evening star., 1938-11-27
Group Theater's Boy
A white Hope of the Stage
Ella Kazan, Now in Clifford Odets'
Story of Pugilist, Lad With
One Love-the Theater

Ella Kazan who plays the leading role in Clifford ode Boy
American stage At rate that is
opinion members Group
the the National Theaer for
starting tomorrow night
might raised the group
Evening star., 1938-02-14

tration makes this his field day. From
the day OF his graduation from the
Georgia Military College he has been
insisting that the salval.. n Of America
lay In bigger and better battleships.
Barring an occasional boost for cot
ton, DR. for Franklin D. Roosevelt, this
has filled his career. He was Mil
lidgeville farm boy, edging into politics
as city solicitor and county Judge. He
is q bachelor, little given to social
diversions, earnest and industrious.
His one moment Of frivolity put into
the Congressional Record a poem, as
long as q naval building program,
about Calvin Coolidge's electric horse.
Here is q sample verse:
Electric currents fill its veins,
Instead Of thoroughbred blood,
So 1t never gives the rider pains,
Or throws him in the mud
This is also a field day for Louise
Weiss. famous French feminist who led
the successful battle to eliminate the
word "obey" from the marriage cere-
mony. The Susan B. Anthony Of
France, she heads an equal rights
drive comparable to that of the Ma
tional Women's Party in this country.
She is Nine. Jose Imbert, an alumna
Of the Sorbonne and oxford. for many
years owner and editor of l'Europe
Nouvelle. foe of fanatical nationalism
and protagonist Of peace and concili-
alton.
Copyright. 1881
Evening star., 1938-02-14
This Changing World
Short Cut Methods of Democraces Blamed for World
Mess-Carops Dictatorship Seen Short-Lived.
BY CONSTANTINE BROWN.


1--WE Of S .
the democratic nation. TOOK the short and ..yn
imagine something being done for their happiness and everything will
Although limitation
and sssvs s nd the solution " the
They forget that even the s%cceM ~ London Naval Con-
costly no naval conference nod taken place
The late Austin Chamberlain told this writer 1925
each nation
naS sn nnf @ .s sS @
@ the G bound play an role and
wi" be compelled spend more money than they actually
Subsequent events proved that the British
gaining popularity the Senate nothing
when certain political conditions which
are the Of this armament another conference
could help in any way 1t might however precipitate war;
wsh-he has become the de facto
dictator inhabitants '>
highly doubtful that he will be successful dictator for he
Mus,oln, Hitler. Mustapha Field
hands, rn uhte hands caTo has,
They come from the people and appeal to the
Stain former factory peasant
been newspaper man and an active Socialist Hitler former house
fight reached the
from @ the eoo na snd s od @ dictator sr you must
mouth Primo d Rivera had hortved dictatorship in Spain because
ne never knew what the wanted and did not appeal
teachings the French democracy the s
pretty the
court camarla and will drafted
The Rumanian dictator. according
friends interested in the welfare
the farmer interested
mules
tr1ends
the
the regime
than under rights curtaued
For the time being a
feelings OF the Jewish bankers Paris and London soened
That Rumania will eventually formally the
also to oegone conclusion
take little
with the
far in its Irritation
industrial organizations
to enable Carol policies.
Evening star., 1938-02-14

publans independent
strength in the State wide gubernatorial
Mr. Dubny shouting the most Dubious
He fears that he limb Uith Jackson
chances forcing the able
the Democratic
time unqualified Endorsement
binsky trying to caul back closer the
Jackson hackers exceedingly unhappy
party support.
the White
might ditch Senator William Dieterch Illinois,
ference from the unhappy Dech
in the Senate corridors
fight approval violent
if ungany, support Of the
the going Senator
Wheeler with sharp Senator
you mind
trouble in Montana yourself"
Amer
Evening star., 1938-02-14

bels, Rosenberg and Himmler, the
high functionaries of the Nazi regime,
are succeeding in doing what not even
the treaty of Versailles could do
gradually demoralizing the German
Army
With German armament strictly
limited by treaty, with Germany filled
with inter-allied military missions to
spy out whether the treaty was being
kept, under the handicap of a war
diSastrously lost, Gen. Won Seeckt
under the German Republic, never
theless built up an army Of 100000
men. which. though deficient in heavy
artillery and other accoutrements for
modern warfare, was second to none
in the world in discipline and morale.
Its inner solidarity, discipline and
devotion were unquestioned.
Internal Solidarity Doubted.
The Hitler regime has enormously
enlarged it, and to increase its arma-
ments has been prepared to demand
every sacrifice from the German peo-
pie. It has been built into a machine
which the whole world has been afraid
of, and now suddenly the world is not
quite so afraid. because We begin to
doubt whether it has the first essential
Of good army-internal solidarity.
The German Army is riddled with
espionage among its own members.
The Storm Troopers and S. S. men
from the Hitler bodyguard who are
taken into the armed forces have
been members of political army
that saw warfare not in the trenches
but in street fighting against work.
men.
They have seen rapid advance for
themselves measured by how loudly
they cried Hell, Hitler!" They
wanted to push theiAway up in the
regular army in the same way, but
the Reichswehr has other standards
for promotion.
One. way to get on in Germany,
as in all relationships. is to denounce
your neighbors, to prove that your
colleagues are not as true to the ruling
political principles as they should be-
So disgruntled young men could title
tattle to the political police about the
disloyalty Of their officers. The off,
GERS themselves have come out in the
open time and again with their criti-
cisms of the Hitler regime. But the
Nazi politicians are Jealous Of them
and afraid Of their power, and so
the undermining goes on from below.
1t Happened In Russia.
The same thing has happened in
Russia. We have seen Russia build
up what was apparently one Of the
most magnificent armies in the world.
But all of sudden Mr.. Stain has to
choose between having his own throat
cut or killing a lot of officers. And at
Evening star., 1938-02-14
Poison Penman.

ST. LOUIS R.-Salesmen and
beauticians received plain, unsigned
cards reading. 1T will happen Febru-
ary 26" At one shop, an awning
caught on FIRE. The alarmed owner
turned his card over to police. So did
a salesman involved in q lawsuit. A
worried wife called her husbands boss.
So H. L. Gerding had to explain
that the cards were only advertising
q fashion show.
Evening star., 1938-02-14

latter settle into
q condition where
few will consider
them dangerous,
because they will
. be too weak.
The dictator
ships grow pro-
gressively weaker
as their dictatorS
become progress
sively stronger. If
the reports from
Germany a r e
credible. it would
a p p e a r that
M e ssrs. Hitler,
Goering, GOeb-
Evening star., 1938-02-14

@AA ~ >SSSr SA
prejudices a n d
more controversy
than the present
method Of in
creasing W orl d
ira de through
reciprocity agree
ments, but at the
same time it may
be said that the
two conflicting
theories as to
what should be
our national pol
Icy often are bur-
led in a mass of
figures from
Evening star., 1938-02-14

personal leadership. You have lead
er held up by his own Frankenstein,
and public weary of a repetitious
theater which has exhausted its pro-
grams.
tCopyright. 1888, New York Tribune, Inc)
Evening star., 1938-02-14
Headline Folk
and What
They Do
Vinson, Long Advocate
of Big Navy, Now Is
Having Field Day.
BY LEMUEL F. PARTON.

BY LEMUEL F. PARTON,
n REPRESENTATIVE CARL VIM
- SON, chairman OF the House
N Naval Affairs Committee never
has admitted that the Navy
ought to be made TO call its shots in
advance. like q pool player. During
his "a years in Congress he has been
Evening star., 1938-02-14

plugging for . big
Navy, and the ex-
planation that it
is for national
defense. which he
embodies in his
$4,000, 900, 900 bill.
he regards as
adequate and suf-
dcient.
In 1882 Mr..
Vinsc n wanted
$616,000, 1000 for
the Navy, TO be
spent in q To-
year plan. The
big Navy mood
- 49, .l~.s~;r
Evening star., 1938-02-14
Dancing Bears Ruled Out.

Dancing bears of Rumania are to
"sit out" the rest of their dances. A
government decree just issued in
Bucharest forbids the bruins being
exhibited. The order is the result Of
complaints that gypsies were cruel
to the beasts when training them.
Evening star., 1938-02-14
BY DOROTHY THOMPSON.

1T WOULD appear that II the coun-
tries which. still have free econ
omies and democratic govern
ment hold on, maintain their de-
lenses, and above all refuse to be Sc
duced by the apparent advantages Of
the dictatorial and militarized coll
lectivtsmS, We may live to see the
Evening star., 1938-02-14

THE opinions OF the vters this page are their oun not
~, necessa,sy TIE Stars Such opinions presented n
the Stars etort to gtve all sides OF questions Interest
readers although such opinions contradictory among
themselves ana directly opposed to The Stars.
Evening star., 1938-02-14

rkety and
puzzing status will be continued
settlement certainly overdue Dr. his
radical colleagues Ltentha
been at 1nothers thrOdt for couple OF
utilities
A.
pared public statement full dynamite his minority
rather expected that Dr. Morgans effort
administration utilities policy with It, At
the time, it's rather ludicrou
searfully President
soes him with ntmans he thinks the
system private Valley
be possible White House
slip the the the utilities
and him Lenthal
quite encouragingy has received
much anything invasion Washington Wall Street At
the hotels contain least so
figures from the New brokerage and banking What
81 OF for
Sometimes Wall
offer peangy tempting inducements the leak
the Montana Democrats revising railroad
the roads through
with the Interstate Commerce Commission had
documents.
Senator Wheeler among
holding Indignation meetings
the
business hardly blamed seeking information
ment whether by hook or even by crook
Dubnsky
Workers isn't connn his egiving
leagues in the late the mention
enough howl
House left Wges who backing Robert H Jackson fer Governor
VNrk
Evening star., 1938-02-14

The fact is that Mr.. Dublin
sky, having promised the left
wingers that the powerful Ameri-
can Labor party would support
Mr.. Jackson, is new growing chill
lier by the day. Since the Labor
party now appears to hold the
balance of power in New York, its
obvious play is either to force a
favorite candidate on the Demo-
Gratis Or make a deal with the Pc.
Evening star., 1938-02-14
Conflict
Is Retarding
Trade
Domestic Progr a m
Stymies Plan for
Reciprocity.
By DAVID LAWRENCE.

ny OAV1D LAWNENVEs
- oND1T1oNs III world trade
I nave such an important bear
ing on whether the United
States is to get added i'm
petus for economic recovery through
increased exchanges of goods between
yourselves and foreign countries that
an examination of the trend at this
particular time becomes pertinent.
Few subjects are surrounded with