The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1944-06-15


know what is. l
Clifton Webb would spend my
first day before
the cameras sitting in lukewarm
water. Sort of limits me"
We were on the set of Laura"
Twentieth Century's screen play OF
Vera Caspary's best seller, where
Webb plays the acid-etched role of
Waldo Lydecker-a combination of
Cholly Knickerbocker and Alex
Woollcott. The part fits him like his
own skin. Lydecker is a raconteur,
dramatic critic, and man about sew
eral towns. So is Webb.
Studs and Such
You never saw a bathroom like
this one in Laura" before-not
even in the early De Miles. It has
a chaise Tongue covered in leopard
skin, and leopard skin chairs. /
dropped down on the chaise Tongue.
Mice little place you've got here,
Waldo" Sounds like lap dog,
doesn't it?), 1 told my Broadway
pal.
That's what Dana Andrews says
when he comes to question me
about Laura's MURDER" said Webb.
II love my reply-'It's lavish, but
I call it home"
He went on to explain the psy-
chology of his role, describing
Waldo as can original, sybarite,
a species of adder turned out by
Sulka and Charvet."
ALI could see of him was naked
wet torso above some green bath
water.
You're strictly from Mother
Nature at the moment" 1 said. 'In-
reviewers always write of your sar-
torial elegance. They rave about the
set of your Homburg, the shade of
your gloves. They say you're one
of the 10 best dressed men in the
world. But l can't write about your
clothes today, and your skin isn't
the kind I love to touch-it's too
soapyi"
BLithe Spirit to Bath Salts
"As an old pal, you can say I'm
clad in my right mind, can't your"
he wheedled. ''In summer weather
in New York, according to this
script, this so-and-so Waldo wrote
his articles in the tub" Then Webb
veered sharply away from Waldo to
say, How many years have we
known each other, anyway"
We started figuring, and the
names Mary Hay and Dick Barthel-
mess came up. Perhaps you re-
member an inimitable dance Webb
and Mary Hay once did. But you
won't see a single dance step in
Laura" The Webb dancing shoes
are packed away-have been for 10
years now. His hit in Gas Thousands
Cheer" was for his representations.
They couldn't find dancing partner
nirnble enough to keep up with him.
After that producers capitalized on
his brittle, humorous technique.
They revived Wilde's 'The Impor-
lance of Being Earnest" He was a
natural for fThe Man Who Came to
Dinner"
Too Fast on His Feet
ALI this happened because nobody
could keep up with his flying feet.
That, too, is the secret of his un-
successful go at Hollywood nine
years ago. neutrality-suspicious.
signed Webb at $4,000 a week to
star in film called elegance"
the story of Maurice, the famous
ballroom dancer, and Joan Craw-
ford was to play Walton, his part
ner. But she couldn't keep up with
him.
At Twentieth Century-Fox, where
his present contract calls for one
picture a year for five years at a
plush salary, he frequently runs into
a couple of other men who came to
dinner, too-Monty WoolIey and
Laird Cregar. Webb has taken Con-
ME Benefits house. It's elegant.
We'd gotten this far when the
camera had to reload, so I turned
my back while Webb got out of the
tub and into bathrobe. Laura"
is sure swing away from our grim
past. Altogether it is an escape pic
ture-escape into the dear dead lux
ury world of bygone days, with a
good mystery to boot.
Hail, Donna Lee
Remember the little girl at the
Worlds Fair who won television
contest? Her name-Donna Lee
O'Leary. Now she's 16 and R.K.O. S
signed her to long-term contract,
dropped the O'Leary, and expects
her to be another Deanna Durbin.