Evening star., 1943-01-04
They Had to Kill
Nurse Lamont So
Day Could Live
Laraine FOrfhwith
Showed Metro
She Is an Actress
HOLLYWOOD.

dOLLY WOOD.
In order to get killed of in the
Kildare pictures, Laraine Day finally
tore her hair, stamped her size skies,
and let loose with some distinctly
unladylike language She yelled,
mo law says that I have to make
those fllms!" And other sentences
OF equal vehemence. She became a
problem child.
This came as a definite shock to
the boys at MGM. For, in the
four years which proceeded the day
outburst, they had laboriously built
her up as the girl who neither
smoked, drank, swore, told dirty
jokes, raised her voice. And they
had read their own publicity.
1t was with chagrin, therefore
that the studio found Laraine was
human.
It's true that Laraine does not
drink or smoke. It's also true that
she is Mormon. But she is not
thereby made a prude!
Among other things she swings
mean gam. She's been studying
on the sly with Willie Covan, who
teaches Eleanor Powell and a few
others.
The other night at the Holly
wood canteen. in fact. Covan was
doing a speciality act for the boys.
They wouldn't let him go. Finally,
he raised his hand:
II think there's a little pupil of
mine here tonight. What about
getting Laraine Day up here to
dance with me?"
The result was the most sensa- =
tional Boogie- Woogie routine that s
been seen in Hollywood for many a
moon.
But we were talking about MGM
and the Kildare pictures.
Well, it was this way: Laraine first
got break in MY Son. My Son.
and Foreign Correspondent" She
was hailed as a new find.
Then some smart lad got the idea
OF putting her into the Kildare
series as foil for Lew Ayres and
Lionel Barrymore. That. too, was
swell, both by Laraine and her
loyal agent.
SO they put her in one. They put
her In two. They put her in three
People began to forget her real name
or that she ever wore street clothes
She was Nurse Lamont.
That was great for a while. But
Day can act. And she wanted to
Down With Kildare.
The result was that one day she
blew sky high. She told the gents
at MGM that she was tired of being
sweet young thing, that she
wanted decent part and that
there was no law which ordered her
TO go on calling DR.. Kildare. She
further pointed out that. due to
the lmminence of units of the series,
she had had to turn down the leads
In Three Cheers for Miss Bishop''
and Our Town."
The upshot was that, finally.
some one decided to kill Nurse
Lamont. This was done. Then.
Just to prove that everything was
bllssful, they put Laraine into a
little movie called Fingers at the
Window" In which she and Lew
Ayres attempted to remain dra-
matically alive until the last reel.
Evidently this was the caliber Of
the pictures in which MGM wanted
Day to work.
She rebelled again. At this point.
there began a period in which mes
senger boys came bearing scripts.
Miss Day read them. The lads re-
turned the scripts.
She turned down IA pictures be-
fore they sent her journey for
Margaret" which was to feature
herself and Robert Young. This
she read. This she liked. 1t was
good story. She played it.
Slaa's ncv working in Prom Here
to Victory" which RKO Is produc-
Ing. It stars Cary Grant. She's on
loan-out from her home lot, but
she's finally found a part in which
she can prove again that she's an
actress. And, she's in line for better
roles at MGM.
ASSOCIATED Press.)