Evening star., 1940-06-02
Hollywood's
'Still' Life
A Problem
Cary Grants Bath
Disapproved by
The Hays Office
Bv SheiIah Graham.
By Sheilah Graham.
HOLLYWOOD

A man having a bath can be
shown on the screen, but he can't be
shown having the same bath in
your daily newspapers. So says the
Hays Office, which for the first time
has expressed displeasure at the
still" of a male star. If it were not
for the fact that Cary Grant is cur
rently working for Independent
Producer Frank Lloyd, and outside
the Hays Office jurisdiction, his
bathtub photograph would not have
been permitted to be sent to the
press.
Which brings us to the question OF
what Is proper and what improper
in Hollywood camera still" life.
And what is in good taste or bad.
1t depends, of course, on how the
subject is presented. To insert the
"leer" into photograph, all you
have to do Is to show one e-fourth of
an inch of ankle, la those 1905
pictures Of lady holding her skirt
stepping over a puddle. with an
ogling gallant near by.
Today, when we have grown more
or less used to the human form
divine, the art of raising blush is
much harder-but it can and is be-
ing done in Hollywood-before the
very noses of the gentlemen in the
Hays office.
Lawsuits Threatened.
Helen Vinson has just shown me
some stills" taken at the Warner
Studio to advertise her role In Tor
rid Zone"
They are intended for South
American consumption. To call the
photographs torrid is to put it much
too mildly. And Helen, who must
have had her eyes closed when she
posed for them, is threatening all
sorts Of lawsuits If the pictures leave
the studio.
It is is fact that a lot of Holly-
wood stills" are taken expressly for
lonely places, such as the Polmesian
Islands, Africa, parts of South
America. mems colleges-and any
place where large numbers of men
are segregated. Wars always create
big demand for bathing picture
stills" At this present time, every
independent photographer in Holly
wood who can snap female star on
the beach or wearing a low-cut eve
ming dress has a ready sale for his
wares abroad.
Husbands Don't Like It.
There was a recent portrait ot
Lana Turner on the front page Of
a magazine that made husband
Artie Shaw extremely angry. There
was little left to the imagination
I agreed with Mr.. Shaw, the picture
was in worse than bad taste. Like
most similar Stills" it was taken by
an independent photographer anc
not submitted for the approval o1
the Hays office.
Talking about husbands hittins
the ceiling at the camera exposures
OF their wives William Powell ha.
asked wife Diana Lewis to refrair
from posing in a bathing suit. HI
was not exactly pleased at the
avalanche of such pictures thai
followed his marriage with the 81.
year-old beauty. Neither was he
pleased with the widely circulated
Still" showing Mrs. Powell doine
the splits.
A Hollywood Credo.
It used to be part of the Holly.
wood publicity mans credo that te
publicize an unknown, she had tt
be put inside the scantiest OF scam
play and swim suits. But I otter
wonder what happened to the othel
10 girls In those groups containin,
Gloria Swanson and Phyllis Haver
Strip-teaser Gypsy Rose Lee is .
sad example Of what can happen t,
girl when she gets in the movie
and has to rely solely upon her act
ing. Poor Gypsy! They dressed he
up as though she were first cousi1
to blizzard. She even had t,
change her name because it brough
up memories of pre-Hollywood un
dress. Gypsy is now back to the oil
strip tease and every one is happy
!. especially the lady.
/ To revert to the photograph, ane
what is permissible and what is il
bad taste: Some stories take half al
hour to tell and are too short. Other.
that take two minutes are too long
So 1t is with Hollywood photograph.
art.
Tell 1t right-and it's all right.
tReleased by the North American
News5apss Alliance. lne)