Evening star., 1952-04-02


Dumb bonds are types with.
No moderately thoughtful hur
one without wanting to know:
What's she really like?
This department., which has a
naturally scholarly, no other, i'm
terest in dumb blonds, would like
1t known that all those it has ever
met are smart girls. A lot smarter
than most bright brunettes or fiery
redheads. The senior specimen
on which this opinion is based is
Ann Sothern. She used to play
Maisie in a series of movies and
she had to be smart as a tack to
disguise her natural intelligence
50 comically.
In all of show business surely
there is no smarter, keener
minded, wider read girl than Judy
Holiday. Her Billie Dawn of
Born Yesterday" is the classic
of dumb blonds. So convincing
is she indeed that the most intel
ligent students of acting are left
with the conviction that Billie
represents pure reality.
No Judgment could be more
outrageously wrong.
X X X
A new and superb dumb blond
Is about to be sprung on the pub
lie. Her name is Jean Hagen.
She plays Gene Kelly's co-star in
"Singin' in the RAIN" which will
open here. end of April.
There's a truth about Miss
Hagen that every one should know
before seeing the picture. 1t is
that nature. herself, could not
have produced blend as brilliant,
ly dumb as Miss Hagen in that big
Metro musical. Nature is not that
intelligent. Miss Hagen IS. This
girl is not merely her handiwork,
she is also her brain work.
The brain that conceived her,
Miss Hagen's that is, tipped
through Northwestern University
a few years ago like a 22-year-old
taking a draft exam in 1912.
X X X
If Miss Hagen's dumb dame
bears a somewhat visible resem-
blance to Billie Dawn of Born
Yesterday" she can explain that
logically. She was Miss Holidays
understudy in the New York
company Of Born Yesterday"
When the latter finally wearied
Of Billie. Miss Hagen took over.
She went from there to the lead
in "The Traitor" opposite Lee
Tracy. from that to M-G-M which
knows a young actress when it
sees one.
Miss Hagen, now on a six-city
tour in advance of the new Kelly
picture, Is having a serene inter-
lude at the moment.
She is not working, will not be
until after September. It is not
that there is nothing for her to
do so much as that she is not in
shape to do it. Come late sunmer.
she will have the baby, the seeond
FOR herself and Agent Tom Setdel.
After that, work again.
X X X y
Because she looks so much like.
. girl who knows the answer to
1t, one asks her: Are you able
fully to trust your judgment of
q part. and a script as a whole?
WELL" says Miss Hagen, there
was King Solomon's Mines I was
offered a good part in that by
Producer Sam Zimbalist. turned
it down. Now every time I meet
Zimbalist, he tells me, You know,
we made quite bit of money with
that picture"
So. Miss Hagen says, she does
not think she can trust her judg-
ment about movie roles.
But play scripts. yes," she ex-
plains. II read lots of them, of
course, since my husband is an
agent. I am sure I know a suit
able part when I see it. OF course,
I can afford to feel sure on that
score since I have a seven-year
contract with no time out for
plays"
Miss Hagen, who was born in
Chicago, grew up in Elkhart, Ind,
was graduated from Northwestern
University and played on Broad
way, is interested always in new
experiences. They are good for an
actress.
Even the experience of a build
up publicity tour?
"It's exciting. Take last night
at Winchester, Va. We went down
there for a pre-apple blossom
festival party, the one Winchester
gives for itself before the big
affair to which every one is in
vited. I met everybody in town.
They are fine people, hospitable
and courteous. I keep getting tele-