The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-07-16
BABES IN THE HoLLYwOODs

couple OF years ago, Betty Cradle,
now arrived at full stellar stature
and wowing 'em in "Coney Island"
was practically anybody's star . .
That's topSy-turvy way Hollywood
does things. Betty dropped off a
way station in the screen domain,
and there was no rush of smart pro-
ducers waving contracts in her face.
One studio TOOK chance on her.
Twentieth Century-Fox. Today she's
close to the breeziest thing in skir.s
now prancing abotut he film men,
ageries Yeah, Hollywood is
crazy that way. It's full Of smart
fellows walking in their sleep and
waking up screaming when they re-
member the hot bets they've missed.
Major Hal Roach, for examp''.
he has a good laugh to himself. per-
haps, when he recalls that he or e
owned Gary Cooper, Janet Gaynor,
Jean Harlow, Paulette Goddard and
Shirley Temple. At different times,
of course. And how he let them all
slip away, even Frank Capra, who
asked for a IS raise and was shown
the exit.
Roach, however, can glory in the
company he keeps. Every ace ex-
ecutive who's been around long
enough has plenty of reason to kick
himself There are the classic
cases OF Deanna Durbin and Bette
Davis. Metro had Deanna laShed
and laSSoed with long-termer. The
Metro moguls decided that Judy
Garland was the better prospect as
q singing star CAS- if they couldn't
use twoD
Universal, then in the situation
Of drowning man eager to clutch
at any straw, was persuaded to take
her on. 1t was a tough job of SELL
ing. QmagineD Deanna, then slip
of a 17-year old, dragged the wal
lowing studio out of deep mire of
red ink with a series of smash hi.t
that are now bright page Of Holly
wood history And was Metros face
eed?
Universal took a turkey neck on
its own few years earlier. On
its contract list was an earnest, hard
working young actress named Bette
Davis. The top men decided she
was short of sex appeal. Warmers
gambled on her potentia!ities And
look what they came up with! An
Academy Award winner, an out
standing dramatic star, and mint
Tor the brothers to boot.
Marlene Dietrich fell into box
office tailspin after making a
series of knockout pictures for Par
amount Universal, with the
usual quaking in the boots, brought
her back from a siesta in Paree for
"Destry Rides Again" An en-
tirely new kind of role for Marlene,
the Slithering vamp She rode
a cayuse, saw what the boys in the
back room would have and sang
ribald ditties in a throaty one-oc-
tave range The fans loved her
and a new Dietrich career was born.
Universal was the most surprised of
all.)
John Sutton failed to cut the buck
at Universal. Bette Davis noticed
him when U. lent him to Warmers
for a carrying chore in her
Elizabeth and Essex" and inquired,
who Is that male eyeful?" So
Zanuck termed him for goth Cen
tury-Fox. You'll view him in Jane
Eyre" and Tonight We Raid Calais"
and you'll vindicate Zanuck's
Judgment This same zanuck
picked up Jack Oakie, whose career
was in the doldrums, and admin
istered {, shot of the well -kf1nown
and highly efficacious Zanuck adren-
aim. Oakies still dizzy from the
altitude. Old Doc Zanuck similarly
prescribed for the careers of Carole
Lands and Victor Maoure, with re-
suits accounted for in heavy bull
lion for goth Century-Fox.
Bob Hope made try for films in
the late 1906 via Universal and
Warner shorts. No click. Bob culled
the gag-books and tried out his
stuff on Paramount, which hired
him for 1.-The Big Broadcast The
rest belongs IN the ho-hum cate
CORY.
Warmers had the first crack at
Lana Turner, set her adrift, and
she woung up as Metros sweater
girl, a sizzling hot shot. But, heck,
Paramount owned Ann Sheridan,
who wound up at Warmers as the
oomph girl. Ring around the rosy
and a headache every morning, wot?
Fox Film Corp, predecessor OF
10Th Century-Fox, had dibs on Lau-
renee Olivier, Clark Gable, Spencer
Tracy and Charles Boyer at diff
ferent times. All slipped off the
hook some way and now look at
'em! On the other hand, Roach
once had the Will Rogers contract
In his bank vault, but viii was
per1nitterd to breeze to Fox.
And Lombard! Time was when
an agent trying tc peddle Carole
would be laughed eff the lot - any
lot. Until she did Twentieth Cen
tury" with John Barrymore. Holly
wood saw yhat she really mad ana,
zip, in another season she was click
ing off $4,000 year. (Have they
put a ceiling on aspirinD
And the sleeper pictures! Here
comes the other side OF the picture,
with rosy dreams come true. The
sieeperS red-letter every Hollywood
saoeoy, There is ALWAYS not of
gold waiting for the chap smart
enough to dig it up The all
time sleeper to end all sleepers was
THE Singing Fool" 1t is told that
AL Jolson could have settled for
betty split of the Warner owner
chip for making this one, SO in
volved were the brothers back in
0Q Brother Sam was fooling