Evening star., 1938-05-27

s always passing laws 1Or washington
.:.------
formal and pleasant. There is moth
ing affected about 1t. Even those
around the room who look as If they
might be affected on other occasions
succumb to the naturalness of the
child who this year may prove to be
Hollywood's biggest money Garner
for the studio if not for herself.
Her introductions are the straight
forward mannerisms Of child of Is.
Il want you to meet friend of mine
from Washington" she says. 1t is a
proud category in which to find your
self, the incest thing that could hap
pen to you in Hollywood.
A MONG those who visit the table
is Joseph Pasternak, the pro-
ducer who is credited with the phe-
nomenal success of Deanna. Mr.. Pas
ternak joins the party and wants to
know Immediately where we stand on
Deanna's list Of eligible men.
I'm 67th," he says. But we intend
never to let her get married"
In the ensuing joking discussion of
eligible men and the fact that Mr..
Pasternak is never going to let Deanna
get married, she munches her ham
burger as if it were a far more i'm
portant thing than males and their
eligibility. Her only contribution to
the discussion comes during the in
terval when the producer is making
a sweeping gesture with his arms to
indicate the length of the list.
Who's at the top?" one is impelled
to ask
mo. l." says Deanna. with a dis
arming smile, lis blank"F
There is nothing about Deanna's
dress to indicate that she is the
studios uncrowned queen. She is
wearing slacks. suede toque. white
Woolen coat. She uses the lightest of
makeup before the camera, none at
all when she is not working Her
fresh appearance, probably the result
OF eating green vegetables at other
meals, is in marked contrast with
the grease-painted brown faces that
dot the room-one Of them Adolphe
Menjous, the others belonging to a
score of females that are unidentifi-
able because all women players-except
Deanna and Shirley Temple-look
pretty much alike.
Getting ready for a picture is almost
as demanding of Deanna's time as
actually making the picture. Shooting
her next film will not begin for two
or three weeks, but she is at the
studio daily.
The day of the luncheon brought
her there for two important advance
steps. One Of them was wardrobe.
In speaking of it. Mr.. Pasternak
pointed out that the riding habit she
will wear in several sequences should
look as if it had been worn.
1T will BE-" said Deanna in a tone
that indicated she would be very
happy to make use of it in advance,
THAT will be easy" Mr.. Pasternak
says he knows it and does not look at
all as if he objected to his most
valuable star making practical use
OF her riding habit by doing her own
riding instead Of using a double.
+ X X
A MOTHER thing that brings Deanna
to the studio is rehearsal of the
popular songs in the picture. There
will be two Of them. Unlike the
classical numbers, of which there also
will be two, she rehearses the less
important ones at the studio. The
others. requiring more care and effort,
she learns under the careful guidance
OF her teacher. That is an hour a
day, regardless of what happens, ex-
cept illness. Deanna never is ill.
although when she is saying it she
laughs with you at the nosebleed
which once interrupted another inter-
view in New York.
Il have not had one since" she
says. had several in the East, how
ever"
Speaking Of her voice. which is
inevitable, she is happy that critics
congratulated her on her singing in
Mad About Music" It was sort Of
like getting good grade in a subject
upon which you have been working
very hard.
But that vacation" she says, was
not so good for my voice. I did no
singing while was in the East. The
result was that I had to work twice as
hard when am back to make up for
a lack of practice"
She won't repeat that experience,
so maybe you had better plan to stand
under her window and get free per-
formance the next time she Is in
Washington. We already have spoken
for a place outside the door and have
been promised exclusive rights to the
position.
Her new film assignment is so new
that she has not read the script.
Unlike most stars. however, that
disturbs her not in the slightest. Part
of her education is a complete knowl-
edge that Universal is to be trusted to
keep her in the character Of a whole
some youngster precisely like Deanna
Durbin. In that respect the corpora
tion might be father in which
child had absolute confidence. It is
something impressive to see out here.
AS in the case of every experience
here, there comes time to say good
by. It Is q bit harder in the case
Of Deanna and her mother than any
other persons you are likely to meet.
Wardrobe, however, is wardrobe, and
it already has been kept waiting is
minutes.
Don't forget to come back to
Washington" one admonishes Deanna.
"1'll try very hard" she promises.
But in case don't you'll have to
come to New York and we shall see
play together
p s aside tn the oy,lv 1SvaoroId