The Washington times., 1938-09-06
NOT THE MOTHER TYPE

was temper dIuSuGd11y u1111L W
swing the role.
NOT THE MOTHER TYPE
"I am no mother" Arlene would
explain to all who would or had
to listen. Mothers are born be-
fore they are made. The majority
of women are fitted by nature for
the task of bearing and raising
children. They are placid and un-
centred animals, mostly without
imagination and verse.
I'm not like that. I'm an
artist. I am highly strung and
temperamental. ! am easily upset.
When I am playing a role I have
to live 1t. Naturally, not being a
natural mother, I couldn't live the
role and the audiences caught the
fact that I wasn't sympathetic
with it,"
"She's not a natural mother"
Henry Studahl, supervisor Of "Old
Wives" said, because she's too
damned selfish to think Of any
human being but herself. For five
years, she's pushed everybody in
Hollywood around.
"She glories in the fact that she
has a cutting tongue. II she has
q friend, there's something the
matter with him or her. I don't
see how Bill Mack stands her"
Bill Mack grinned when he
heard about that crack. Bill was
Arlene's husband and had been
for seven years. He thought Arlene
was the prettiest, the SWEETEST and
the kindeSt woman in the world.
OF course, she was little quick on
the trigger when she was mad and
you could get her mad very easily.
But he liked q woman to have a
temper and Arlene had plenty OF
1t. Besides, Bill knew he had the
true explanation Of the failure Of
both Arlene and the picture. He
considered he was to blame for the
whole thing. If he hadn't per-
suaded her to join him in adopting
Fran, the 2-year-old baby. maybe
she would have been all right.
But the coming Of the boy had
upset her. She was trying to adapt
herself to having q baby in the
house while she was making the
picture. And the results were
pretty awful.
A SWELL "GAG"
But 1t had looked like swell
publicity gag at the time. 1t was
in the midst Of that hectic era in
Hollywood history when it was the
thing for glamorous picture stars
to HE themselves to Chicago and
adopt baby.
What made it better for Arlene
was the opportunity it afforded
for showing her in a new role in
real life. Up to that time, Arlene
was associated in the public mind
with super-sophisticated roles in
which she smoked cigarettes,
drank many-but not too many
cocktails and sent fascinated hus-
bands and callow youths back to
their wives and mothers with q
wise crack.
The studio already had bought
"Old Wives" a best selling novel,
and had assigned Arlene to the
part. But it had not yet sent out
the announcements that she would
play the leading role. It was while
he was fishing for a motif on
which to hang the pictures pub.
ncity that Eddie Brand conceived
the idea of having Arlene adopt
a baby.
Here" he told Bill Mack, 'is
the swellest publicity gag I ever
thought up. The only trouble with
it is that Arlene would never 60
for it in a million years"
what is it?" Bill asked.
"Why, it's simple" Eddie ad-
mitted modestly. "Arlene's going
to play the part Of a young and
scatter.brained mother in "Old
Wives Now, wouldn't it be swell
If she went and adopted baby
now? See? The public don't know
that she's been given that role.
They wouldn't know it when
she picked up the kid. They'd still
be talking about how a glamorouS
star takes q chance on sacrificing
her art by becoming q mother.
when, bang! weI shoot out the
news that she is going to play q
part identical with real life in the
picture. Why" Eddie suddenly
took fire at the mere thought Of
it, "that would be collosal! It
would be miraculous! It would be
pretty good"
BILLS REQUEST
"Yes," Bill agreed thoughtfully,
lit would. Look, Eddie. let me talk
it over with Arlene, will you?
Maybe she'll go for it. She's q
pretty smart girl, you know"
She was so smart she almost
drove him out Of the house when
he mentioned the matter. She
drew herself up to her full height
Of five feet five inches. Her black
eyes flashed and Bill half-grinned
under the storm Of her lnd1gnar
ton.
Bill Mack" she asked softly,
"are you crazy? What the hell
would I do with a baby? I don't
like them. They sleep all day and
cry all night. They demand atten-
ton IS hours out of "a. Why, with
one in the house, I couldn't call
my soul my own"
That's what told Eddie