Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-05-24

Of the East and home. Recognize
until it comes to the visitor that
Vaudeville is like a lane in Mary
land or in New England.
This illusion of the familiar
and loved is best maintained by
looking straight ahead along the
curving tree-lined road. A glance
to the left will reveal the Santa
Monica Mountains. high brown
folds that look like recumbent
prehistoric animals. Not of the
green and gentle East are these,
nor are the houses just to the
right Of the highway along the
canyon floor.
The dramatic exception to this
steady flow Of California archi-
lecture behind the hedges is the
house at 1920. 1t is Virginia CO.
lonial. a modified Mount Vernon.
gracious. dignifled and inviting.
y
Twenty-Five twenty is the home
Of Bob and Nancy Pirosh. He is
q former Baltimore boy. who left
screen-writing in World War II
to become an infantry sergeant,
fought in the Battle of the Bulge
and survived to write Battle
ground" one of the best and
most popular postwar movies.
Nancy, the mother of Mike,
IS, Steve. 8. and Ruthie, 3, is a
California girl whose appearance
is the perfect summing up Of
what California climate can do
for girl.
The Piroshes are the family
which always gives this periodic
visitor his favorite party in
Southern California. 1t is always
a small party. informal. stimu-
lating and the perfect contra
diction Of the classic concept of
"a Hollywood party" The invi-
tation is for dinner, which Nancy
has found time to prepare her.
self. self-served buffet style, but
a sit-down meal in the dining
room.
The other guests this night are
Mark Robson ("The Champion, {"
Home of The Brave" and THE
Bridges Of Toki-Ri'D, his wife
Sara. and fellow director John
Sturges c'Bad Day At Black
RockD. and his wife. Dorothy.
Between the three, including
Bob Pirosh. the guest is in the
presence Of men who are work.
ing on some Sc million worth of
movies: at least IS million, quite
possibly a couple more. Mr..
Pirosh's project is goth Century,
Fox's "Bombers High" which
he is writing and may direct as
he did so successfully with Go
For Broke"
Mr.. Robson is directing "Pey-
ton Place." Grace Metalious' siz-
cling fiction Of New England
folkways, also for Goth Century
Fox.
In prestige, Mr.. Sturges' is at
work on the largest project of
the three. Warmers and Leland
Hayward's film version Of The
Old Man and the Sea-" This, Of
course. is Ernest Hemingway's
great work of redemption which
stars Spencer Tracy.
There is a lot Of shop. the Wis
itor from the East thinks. to be
talked with such as these. This
Is seriously to misread the occa-
sion, however. The nearest the
conversation comes to Holly
woods thoughtways is q brief.
amusingly acid passage on
awards for merit in the enter
tainment arts. by the Academy
and by the several professional
guilds. This ends indefinitely. as
30 many social conversations do.
but with the point clearly estab-
lished that there is a lot to be
said against awards.
From this point on. the party
Is merely geographically q Holly
wood affair. The subjects that
come up are precisely those that
fill q Washington social evening.
These include radiation fall-out.
foreign policy. the progress of