Evening star., 1947-10-26
Collar Ad Profiles Are Out of Date
Robert Ryan Among Those Beneng by the Arrival the Day
of the Rugged Leading Man
Y Grobam
HOLLYWOOD.

HOLLYWOOD.
The mammals boys are on their
way out in Hollywood! The big.
strong tough guy is coming in-and
that's good news for a guy like
Robert Ryan, the current killer in
"Crossf1re."
81 came to Hollywood from Chi
cago in 1885," Robert, who has just
now returned from Germany on To-
cation with Berlin Express" tells
me at lunch in the studio. "I
studied for year at the Max Rein
hart School of Acting. Then I tried
to get jobs but couldn't. Not the
type. Too rough looking'-that's
what they all told me. At that
time, with the exception of Clark
Gable and Jimmy Cagney, the he
man era had not really started.
Even the stock players had to have
perfect prof1les-the collar-ad type" :"
Robert was finally signed by RKO
after he disgustedly left Hollywood
and worked with Tallulah Bank
head in the Clifford Odets play.
Clash by Night" The play crashed
in the night in Philadelphia. It
folded. But Robert was on his
way to Hollywood and into Name,
Age and Occupation" the super
duper production that was shelved
by RKO halfway through.
First Heavy Role.
At various times, until Ginger
Rogers picked Robert for her lead
ing man in the flopperoo, Tender
Comrade," I glimpsed Bob playing
bigger bits in various RKO movies.
He was Fred Astaire's buddy in
"The Sky's the Limit" He worked
with Pat O'Brien in 'Bombardier. !"
When he came back from service
with the Marine Corps, RKO de-
cided to do right by him. So they
put him in Woman on the Beach"
with Joan Bennett.
"'Crossfire' was my first heavy
role" Bob tells me. Il fought hard
to get 1t. I wanted the guy to be
a complete stinker-I've known guys
like that" The "guy" is an anti
Semitic who murders a Jew. every
guy has some jerk in him." says
Bob. "And when you play heavy
you just think of yourself in your
most jerky moments"
But after the press had acclaimed
his performance as the best jerk role
OF the year, Robert was scared that
the public would associate him with
the role and regard him as anti
Semitic. "And I was very worried
when I made personal appearance
at the Rivoli Theater in New York
after a showing of the movie. So
started right off by telling them. Tn
not really that type of guy and the
audience burst out laughing. Was
I relievedw
No Peace Now.
"Crossfire" was the real crossroad
in Roberts movie life. when
went to Europe in April for Berlin
Express I was just another guy in
the New York streets. When came
back dn September and 'Crossfire'
already had opened, I found
couldn't walk around the streets any
more. went to '21' for lunch, and
when I came out there was a riot.
Who do you think I amp I asked
them" 1--WE know who you are
they told me-"
Ryan, Dartmouth graduate, Is
more intelligent than most he-men
in the movies. His comments on the
European situation are interesting:
THE Army fed us in Germany so
we did all right" BY I'VE" Bob
means Merle Oberon, Charles Korvin
and the rest of the cast and crew in
Berlin Express" THE United
States Army has supervision of
everything in the American zone in
Germany. We stayed in a Berlin
suburb where big-shot Nazis used to
live-We used Walter Funk's house
and Ribbentrop's car. Berlin is much
more damaged than London"
frankfurt" continues Robert,
looks like a city of zombies. Peo-
pie walk around in a sort of daze.
But they don't seem resentful of
Americans-just dull and sort of
shocked" The chief difference Bob
noted between the Germans and
British-"The Germans complain of
being hungry; the British DON'T
Paris Hot Spot.
Children are the same every
where-when they hear there is an
American around they want candy.
THE news that we had candy
spread like wildfire. 1t was awful
when We used it up and couldn't
give them any more" Stars like