Evening star., 1938-07-28

opens today at Keith's. One cannot
conceive that R-K-O, in translating
this delightful tale of Kate Douglas
Virgins, has made mamma and the
elfln brood anything but those charm
ing people who are must" acquaint-
ances in the folk litersture fed to the
young. And to great many grown
ups, too.
Similarly. it is certainty that
Metro Goldwyn- Mayer is keeping the
Hardy family-now in its fourth pic
ture-a vibrant, vital, wholesome unit
in Love Finds Andy Hardy" next at
the Palace.
1t is a good idea to see nice, nat
ural, pleasantly mischievous children
romping across the screen again.
Locally, there is an indication that
the studios themselves have taken
more than casual note of that posi-
bility. In My Bill" which comes to
the Earle tomorrow, Bobby Jordan,
tops In cunning 0ike fox, not like
baby among the Dead-Enders, is
playing a nice-boy role. He is not
wearing the Eton jacket and windsor
tie which this department proposed as
An antedote for those reformatory
uniforms, but the Warmers script de-
partment has forced him to submit to
a TRANSMISSION of sweetness which
must have had some effect upon his
screen nature. In the same picture
there is Bonita Granville, whose rise
from despicability in These Three"
to winsomeness in White Banners"
is possible saga subject for any one
with a yen to write a saga.
1t is just happenstance, OF course,
that all these pictures arrive in town
At once, but 1t seems good they have
come to prove that Hollywood can
tame its children.
SPEAKING Of children, Mickey Roo
ney (who probably would sock the
critic who calls him child, now that
he Is 18) seems to have been pretty
smart for his age in selecting Spencer
Tracy as his idol. M-G-M's press
department, which has written about
everything else, has not gone into the
psychologist aspects of the choice, but
it must be written down as wise one.
Like Mr.. Tracy, Mickey seems deS-
tined to grow up into something other
than . matinee idol type in spite Of
the enormous progress in plastic sur
gerry. Nature having spared him the
handicap of extreme beauty, he can
set his heart upon becoming an actor
with the prospect Of rugged parts
such as Tracy has played to make
himself the screens most popular
masculine man. If Mickey wants fur
ther 1nspira ton in the same direction.
the stage offers him the case of Bur-
CESS Meredith. While young Mr. Mere
dlth Is hardly gent with features
to frighten children. he certainly
never came to the theater by way of
modelling for Bond street tailors. Catch
him in a listless mood Gust try it,
and Mr.. Meredith looks something
like the last farm boy you saw sitting
on fence.
Perhaps 1t is Imagination or the
lnsinuation of Hollywood publicity
watching Mickey on the screen is not
unlike watching Tracy.
Some day soon picture audiences
will see them together again in Boys
Town." 1t should be illuminating as
to how much Mickey has taken over
verbatim from his idol
X X
ZONE next week another starlet will
visit Washington. This one will
be Evelyn Keyes, whose call will be a
double-edged affair, one turned to the
task Of spurring American Legion
members to attend the convention in
Hollywood in September, the other to
stimulate patronage for Sons of the
Legion The latter is picture in
which Miss Keyes achieves starletdom.
We never hear the word starlet,
which seems logical enough point