Evening star., 1939-03-19
Films Sack
Old Levels
Miss Skinner Has
A Second Art
And Good One =
By Jay CarmOdy.

It would be dumb to think that
Hollywood ever would turn its back
on glamour boys and glamour girls.
Beauty is too much of an enduringly
popular commodity. The fact re-
mains, however, that the ugly duck
lings are being treated with any
thing but Scorn oy cinema moguls
who once had eyes only for that
classic kind of loveliness which every
one knows so well. Too we'll, perhaps.
Over on the distaff side of the in
dustry today, one finds pair of
publicity departments working over
time. and successfully, on couple
Of girls who were sculptured by ma
ture in a mood that was slightly
careless. The pair are Nancy Kelly
and Priscilla Lane, latest addition
to the galaxy of stars which shine
in the West. The sappiest misan-
thrope could not call either of them
repugnant in appearance, of course.
On the other hand, neither is pre-
cisely ravishing in the old sense of
the world.
1t can be denied, but no one will
accept the denial, that Miss Lane
is gifted with a mouth that once
would have been unacceptable as to
dimensions. OF the four Lane sis
ters, she is the least ornamental by
former cinema standards, but there
she stands as Warner Bros newest
luminary. very fresh and fair to look
upon and entirely agreeable to the
patrons of the screen.
Miss Kelly, even younger. has had
the most sensational buildup in Hol-
lywood in years. She is closer than
Miss Lane 10 the old conception of
classic cinema beauty, but not too
close She is just another healthy,
handsome youngster who has man
aged to captivate Twentieth Gen.
tury-Fox and an amazingly large
public. 1t is pleasant, wholesome
sign and evidence of the fact that
one can break into the movies (again
In this case) on an ability to act.
Two New Male Stars
Are No Ma atinee Idols.
On the list of young male stars
Of the last few monthss there is not
an ounce of glitter to be found on
the premises where one finds John
Garfield and young Mickey Rooney.
One of the fine things about Gar
fields brilliant performance in They
Made Me a Criminal" was that he
looked precisely like a lightweight
prize fighter. He had the dark,
beetling brow, the depressed nose
and other features which add con-
viction to character like that. In
making Mr.. Garfield dark, nature
forgot those other two ingredients
of masculine allure, tall and hand
some. But it has not stopped him
from becoming the best known of
the rising young men in Hollywood,
an accomplishment that derives
from the circumstance that Mr.. Gar
field has a marvellous instinct for
acting.
AS for Mickey, his puckish features
are too we'll known to permit of any
doubt that he made the grade of
public veneration despite a complete
absence of good features. Not all
the plastic surgeons in the world
could make him over into the image
and likeness of a glamour boy, not
at least without doing it over the
dead body of M-G-M, which likes
Mickey as he is.
Miss SINNERS Talent
Covers a Pair of Arts.
Perhaps there are actresses with
talents as varied as those of Cor
nelia Otis Skinner. But they are
not as imminent upon the local scene
OF Miss Skinner, who comes tomor-
row night to the National in George
Bernard Shaw's Candida" There
fore, Miss SINNERS talents are the
more pertinent to talk about.
Offhand, this department can
think of no other actress who is vir-
tually as we'll known as author as
Ior her stage work. Miss Skinner
is and her recognition as writer
grows with every volume, which are
gradually becoming significant
number.
Miss SINNERS particular writing
fair is the light, satirical essay. She
turned out so many and such hilari-
Gus ones for the New Yorker at ar
earlier period in her career that
there was nothing to do but collect
and publish them under the title
(See CARMODY, Page F-2D