Browning chief., 1946-07-26
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hre-cracker chrlStened Smoky
The outdoor de luxer has Mother
Nature as Fred's leading lady.
"The Searching Wind went from
footlights to kleig lights and re-
mains provocative humdinger. 1t
digs beneath the surface of current
issues and comes up with a dra-
matte gusher. Sylvia Sidney heads
the trouper-dupers. >. DIARY of a
Chambermaid" is an adult boy-girl
opus, highlighted by keen character
studies and crisp dialogue that has
plenty of spin on it's phrases. Paul
cite Goddard keeps it twirling. -.
1.-THE Hoodlum Saint" offers a
sprightly meller gifted with Bill
Powelrs urbane pretending and Es-
ther Williams natural hypnotic gift.
The Press Box: Thomas B. Sher-
man in the St. Louis P-D spanks
w. Lippmann and other tall-domed
thinkers for using the annoying
word combination ''know-how." We
don't like it either, know-how.
William S. Hart's passing received
appropriate adieulogies, one editori-
al concluding: "There will never be
another Bill Hart The background
is faded and the type is dated, but
the memory is still green and
fresh"
Quotation Workmanship: T. Full
Ter: If you'd have hen lay, you
must bear with her cackling. {.
Old Russian Adage: Wounds heal
but harsh words stay in the heart
and mind. :. ]. Baker: The guests
were all having an uncorking good
time. .. ]. Elinson: He's always
corning a phrase. Ida James:
I hope the atom test isn't the Bikin-
ing of the End. J. Cart: The
British seem to be more interested
in getting the Grand Mufti to
Palestine than The Hundred Grand
who belong there. ]. Cannon:
Louis is credit to his race. The
human race, of course. E.
Cuneo: would gladly change the
orchids I deserve for the scallions
I don't. :. G. J. Nathan: Men go
to the theater to forget; women, to
remember.
Jimmy Gardiner, the play-produc-
er, told this at Leone's the other
night. During the war he was visit
ed by a wealthy neighbor from Tex
as, an aging woman who had an
overpowering yen for the perfect
string of pearls. Gardiner recon-
mended Cartier's. There she
was served by a young clerk who
mistook her unprepossessing ap-
pearance for poverty and showed
her the lowest-priced strings. .
She demanded better ones until the
stores stock was exhausted and
only the vault remained. She in
sisted on going into it. :. The clerk
pulled out their finest pearls and
showed them to her. 1t was just
what she was looking for. She asked
how much. 1.-THE price, said
the clerk haughtily, "is $500, ,OOO."
:. "I'll take it," said the woman,
opening her purse and extracting a
half-million dollars in cash! .
The clerk keeled over with a heart
attack.
Norman Granz recently produced
jazz concert at Carnegie Hall. 1t
sold out. . Norman was once en-
gagged to Southern society gal
named Virginia. He was SO in love
with Virginia that he christened the
theme song of the concert: Love
You Virginia Blues" But, alas,
Virginia, who never hung around
back stage before, changed fellers
from Norman to hot jazz man
in the crew. She returned his
ring. And now, sohelpus, as the
curtain comes down on each concert
an announcer introduces the newly
titled theme song, to wit: Drop
Dead Virginia Blues"
TOrrid temperatures turning the
town into stone and steel Sahara.
Flimsy gowns clinging to trim
torsos-as though they loved them.
-. Weary statesmen scurrying into
the foyers of Broadway's air-cooled
movie places. =. . The silken rustic
of luxury in swanky spots, where the
ladies are chin-deep in ermine.
Sidewalk cafes in the Gramercy
Park sector and in the 40s and Sos
between 5th and the AoftheA. The
most attractive is the one outside
the St. Moritz Hotel. When the mon-
ster motors of the buses stop growl-
ing at 59th you can hear the tinkle
of the Cafe de la Paix ice cubes
The geyser of chatter and giggles
in ice-cream places-the teenager' &
Stork Club. .. The sweltering cab
bic who groans: "In this weather
just breathing is hard work."
Tenement youngsters using sea-bit.
ten docks as their personal diving
boards.
Footlights and SpOtlights: There
was a bib and tucker event in the
hayloft circuit last week. Tallulat
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