Who Are They?

Jack Holland
Motion Picture Magazine
January, 1941

 

EVERYONE who attends the flickers each week is pretty sure he knows all about the stars who flash across the scene, yet some of their best known characteristics are mysteries to many. Hence, the game of—Who Are They? 

 

The idea is simply to put a well-known star in a short scene, describing something relating to him as a person or as an actor. Then it's your job to guess who the character is.

 

All right—let's go. Let's see how well you know your movies!

1. A suave gentleman sits flippantly drinking cocktails and playing the detective in the game of "Murder." Who is he?

 

2. A young chap sits at his drums and gives out with a snappy swing solo while his mother accompanies him on the piano. Who is he?

 

3. A sophisticated lady turns to a gentleman beside her and says, "Why shouldn't I play this part? I don't care if it's a mother role. Why, I'd play Wally Beery's grandmother if it were a good part!" Who is she?

 

4. A young man with traces of a once adorning beard is haunting a Hollywood night club with a dark, exotic beauty on his arm. He turns to her and says, "Really, I'm too busy to be a husband." Who is he?

5. A charming lady who's not as old as people think she is waits patiently at home while her husband of a few years slaves for hours as an assistant cutter at M-G-M. Who is she?

6. A former great tragedienne of the screen laughs heartily as she imbibes glasses of champagne in a comedy. In private life she takes carrot juice on the advice of her escort. Who is she?

7. An intense actress does not deny that she is still unhappy because of her recent divorce from her former orchestra leader and agent husband. Who is she?

8. A prominent blond singer-actress returns home from work one day only to see her new house burned to the ground. Later she sees her marriage go up in smoke. Who is she?

9. A comely brunette looks at herself in the mirror and says, "I do look like Hedy Lamarr at that!" Who is she?

10. A rather thin but romantic looking man went on a ski trip, jumped the wrong way, and came back with a cut knee and a loss of athletic ambition. Who is he?

11. A former blonde who is now "natural" puts away a pair of dancing shoes and sits down to read "How To Be a Dramatic Actress." Who is she?

12. A plump individual writes out a nice sized check addressed to the Income Tax Department. In his budget he puts down the size of the check and adds a note, "Price of return to the United States." Who is he?

13. A short man who chews cigars and leers like gangsters and who recently discovered a scientific cure for a social disease in a recent picture, tries to find a vacant space on his walls at home for a newly purchased painting. Who is he?

14. A brash young man sits writing a book, the title being "The 1940 Version of Casanova." Who is he?

15. A stalwart man passes a theater where a picture of his is showing and says to himself, "I wish I'd never taken that woman." Who is he?

16. A portly man sits in a barber shop reading a book called "Lorenzo Goes to Hollywood." Who is he?

17. A pert little blonde throws a picture script aside but doesn't listen any more to the swing recordings of her ex-husband. Who is she?

18. A sultry brunette puts a pin in a flowery and sketchy garment and says, "I wish this thing would wear out." Who is she?

19. A handsome man sits reading a travel book while his dog, Arno, gazes suspiciously at him on the floor. Who is he?

20. A singer spends his evenings teaching his twins to vocalize while they, intermittently, ask him if his nag has come in yet. Who is he?

21. A beautiful brunette sends a wedding present to her newly married young sister and then wonders why she hasn't married yet. Who is she?

22. A petite girl divorces her husband to marry the man whose wife divorced him so he could marry the petite girl. Who is she?

23. A long, lanky gentleman says, "At last I know who John Doe is." Who is he?

24. A red-headed girl pens a letter to the collegiates at Harvard and says, "You're not so hot either!" Who is she?

25. An exotic blonde motions to a friend, then exclaims, "My legs are tired. Will you please see what the boys in the back room will have?" Who is she?

26. A wavy-haired and handsome young man looks at himself in the mirror and says, "These dimples burn me up!" Who is he?

27. A tall, dark, and handsome man sits looking at the ocean and wonders why brooks used to intrigue him so much more than the sea. Who is he?

28. A fellow pulls out a saxophone from his trunk, blows a few dulcet tones, reminisces a bit, and then decides he'd still prefer eating pop corn with Claudette Colbert on a bench. Who is he?

29. A pert little woman says to a reporter, "My husband does all the talking for me, thank you!" Who is she?

30. A personable and fleet-footed gentleman sits surrounded by music manuscripts, tears his hair, and says, "If I could only write just one hit tune I'd be so happy!" Who is he?

31. A handsome man buys a ticket on a liner and asks, "Do all state-rooms come equipped with girls under the bed?" Who is he?

32. A reddish-haired and rather quiet gentleman putters in his garden at home and wonders if Martha still has her vineyard. Who is he?

33. A cultured and refined gentleman looks at the charming lady beside him and says to her, "There's nothing like hume." Who is he?

34. A husky man guides his tractor over his ranch and gazes admiringly at his blonde wife who has learned that nothing is sacred. Who is he?

35. A delightful and intriguing lady falls in a mud puddle and says, "Oh well, let the chips fall where they may." Who is she?



 

STOP! 

 

Answers are posted below this photo!

 

 

 

Answers to—Who Are They?

1. William Powell
2. Jackie Cooper
3. Joan Crawford
4. Orson Welles
5. Mary Astor
6. Greta Garbo
7. Bette Davis
8. Alice Faye
9. Joan Bennett
10. Tyrone Power
11. Ginger Rogers
12. Charles Laughton
13. Edward G. Robinson
14. Mickey Rooney
15. Spencer Tracy
16. Edward Arnold
17. Lana Turner
18. Dorothy Lamour
19. Errol Flynn
20. Bing Crosby
21. Margaret Lindsay
22. Vivien Leigh
23. Gary Cooper
24. Ann Sheridan
25. Marlene Dietrich
26. Richard Greene
27. Cary Grant
28. Fred MacMurray
29. Jean Arthur
30. Fred Astaire
31. Robert Taylor
32. James Cagney
33. Ronald Colman
34. Clark Gable
35. Greer Garson

 

 

Incredible Selznick

INCREDIBLE SELZNICK
Hollywood, January 1938
by Lupton A. Wilkinson

The only logical answer to David O. Selznick's career is, "It's a lie!" True, he started young, as well as broke and under dramatic circumstances. Yet he had to take time to batter his way into the consciousness of Show-me Town, which for two years let him knock on doors and sent out word, "Go and get a reputation." Then, when the portals opened, he broke a world's record for getting fired fast; bounced back and (it's on the records, Mr. Ripley!) forced himself into attention as a producer of Westerns.

Here are a very few examples of what his remarkable genius for production and casting has given to Hollywood, a town long since cured of being skeptical concerning Lewis J. Selznick's son. These are reasons why moviedom says "Sir" to "the man with the medals": Brought Katharine Hepburn to Hollywood; produced A Bill of Divorcement, which made her a star. Prepared production plans for Little Women, and cast Hepburn in that. Launched William Powell in a career of stardom, in Street of Chance. Produced Sarah and Son, Ruth Chatterton's best, and Honey, Nancy Carroll's best. Recognized Fred Astaire's screen possibilities, opened the negotiations which brought him to Hollywood; produced Fred's first picture, Dancing Lady. Introduced Leslie Howard to the screen; co-starred him with Myrna Loy in The Animal Kingdom; bought the story, Of Human Bondage, that was to lift Howard (and Bette Davis) to cinema heights. Discovered Freddie Bartholomew in a world search for David Copperfield. Produced a long string of Box-office Champions for M-G-M, including Night Flight, Viva Villa and A Tale of Two Cities. Snatched Janet Gaynor from virtual retirement and startled the world with her in A Star is Born. Smashed long-standing admission records with A Prisoner of Zenda. Searched every state in the union and, from 25,000 applicants, selected an Irish-American boy, Tommy Kelly, from the East Bronx, New York City, who will be the nation's Christmas present in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Bought Gone With the Wind from the proof sheets, before the book's sale started.

David O. Selznick

What's the use? The rest is mostly a list of hits. The long trail started at a place as busy as Hollywood — the corner of Forty-Second street and Broadway, New York. It was a sad place for that particular eighteen-year-old boy to stand. Right, left and before him he could see new signs where two years earlier the seven biggest, brightest signs in the area had blinked and heralded: LEWIS J. SELZNICK.

The elder Selznick had been the kingpin of the movie business. Over-expansion and one of those sudden slumps in audience attendance (plus the bankers, those jolly fellows) had crashed the Selznick company. Creditors had received home, fine furnishings, automobiles. Lewis Selznick, under that strain had died.

David stood on that busy corner with just one dollar to his name—a dollar and the offer of a job clerking. From earliest school days the boy had studied showmanship at his father's knee. Now he made up his mind. Some day there'd be another Selznick company, not only national but international. David spent that dollar in a barber shop and went to see a man who might still listen to a Selznick talk showmanship. A two thousand dollar loan was the result and two of the quickest quickies ever made. One starred Luis Angel Firpo, the prizefighter, and was called Will He Beat Dempsey? It was made in one day, on a Manhattan roof. The second was the result of neat ingenuity. David persuaded Rudolph Valentino to review a beauty parade. He photographed the contest(and Valentino) from every possible angle. Both pictures made money; David went to Hollywood.

There followed two bitter years on Poverty Row, and plenty of trudging, before Metro gave a chance to this youngster who insisted he was a movie producer. The first day on Metro's lot found young David in an argument with an associate producer. M-G-M had bought a book. The associate producer thought the plot ought to be changed. David thought the plot ought to be followed—he still tries to keep his pictures true to their author's stories.

"I guess I was impudent," Selznick admits. He was fired. The boy asked for two weeks' grace. In that two weeks he bombarded executives with ideas until they agreed: "We'll have to put this fellow to work, or he'll run us crazy."

They put him to work, as assistant story editor. He never let them forget he was really a producer, and finally he drew the Tim McCoy Westerns as his particular charge. He cut costs, turned out popular pictures; Paramount offered him his chance at serious drama. The rise at Paramount; equal success as production head at RKO; marriage, after his success was made, to Louis B. Mayer's daughter; the time when all the studios bid for his services and Metro bid the highest; those years of happiness and accomplishment comprise vital motion picture history. One of the noteworthy things about Selznick is that he rates audience intelligence far above what many wiseacres and wise-crackers contend is the fact; further, he believes that human nature reacts to true emotion more promptly than to cynicism or "smartiness." Before A Star Is Born was completed he talked with me about why he had faith in that picture. "The only film concerning Hollywood that ever made money," he said, was What Price Hollywood? The reason was that it played the town "straight" instead of gagging it. Hollywood is a community of real drama —struggle, triumph, disappointment, folly and sacrifice—more thrilling than most stories on the screen. The public would rather have that genuine drama than the smart cracks of writers who think themselves sophisticates."

At Metro, the young producer became "the man with the medals," winning almost every important award offered, nationally and internationally, for fine pictures. He left that studio because of that old, never-forgotten dream, conceived on Forty-second street and Broadway— to put the name Selznick at the masthead of a world-famous motion picture company. John Hay Whitney and others offered him backing. What a result! Four Selznick International pictures, playing the Music Hall in New York, grossed a total of $1,024,000 in that one theatre alone. The pictures were Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Garden of Allah, A Star is Born and A Prisoner of Zenda. If you really love B pictures, you will never be a Selznick fan. He can't see the idea of making one big one and selling four skimpy ones on the reputation of the smash. He thinks that what you want is none but the best, and that none but the best is good enough for you. His name will never be associated with anything except the $1,000,000 stab or the $2,000,000 stab at the finest possibilities of the screen. I've an idea he'll go to his grave as A-picture Selznick.

Scarlett O'Hara and Sunny

Scarlett O’Hara and Sunny
by Grace Wilcox

Sunny Alexander knows Vivien Leigh better than Scarlett O’Hara knows herself. Vivien has been Scarlett so long and so intensely that she isn’t quite sure where she begins and the O’Hara girl leaves off.

However, Sunny unscrambles the two characters with little if any difficulty. She is a practical young woman who is not only Miss Leigh’s secretary but also her friend and confidante. She has been with her since her first day on “Gone With The Wind” and when Scarlett had to work all night, Sunny stayed right beside her.



Having read at least a dozen interviews with Vivien Leigh, each one raving about her beauty, her charm, her red-gold hair, green eyes and will-o’-the-wisp figure I thought it might be fun to find out what she looks like when she gets up in the morning. That’s where Miss Alexander comes in, for she for months has seen her a few moments after she wakes up. She insists she is gay, fresh and full of spirits at some awful hour like 8 am and that she is prettier than ever with her curly tousled hair.

Sunny Alexander is a very attractive young girl herself, with a heart warming smile, a naturally pleasing manner, a low, well modulated voice.

We had luncheon in Vivien Leigh’s bungalow dressing room at the Selznick International studios and we took plenty of time over it. The surroundings were agreeable and it was enlightening to listen to details of a Scarlett O’Hara who had become a flesh and blood personality.

“Previous to coming to Miss Leigh, I never knew anyone could work so hard and so conscientiously as she did,” said Sunny. “Nothing was too difficult or tedious for her to do in order to make Scarlett O’Hara a living, breathing person. She was the character 24 hours out of the 24. I’m sure she dreamed of her the few hours she had a chance to sleep. She loved every minute of the strenuous day and read innumerable books about the South, as well as ‘Gone With The Wind’ two or three times and the script over and over. When she had to stay late at night while they got shots of her by lamplight and in the battle scenes, she never complained, never lost her temper, never forgot to be considerate of those about her. She is a real person, not just an actress.”

Praise from one’s coworkers is rare in Hollywood. The give and take of a professional life too often becomes just take where the actress is concerned. No one listening to Sunny Alexander could doubt her sincerity or her devotion to Vivien Leigh.



“While we were on the picture, I bought whatever Miss Leigh needed,” continued Miss Alexander. “At first I didn’t know her simple tastes and my purchases were all wrong. She never complained, just suggested we send them back and I try something else. Gradually, I got used to her likes and dislikes.

“Although she had many lovely dresses and suits when she came here, Miss Leigh seemed to like American styles. She enjoys wearing good tailored suits, wool jersey or creped dresses and very elegant dinner and evening gowns. She is so slight, with the traditional 16 inch waist of Scarlett, so colorful with her red-gold hair, green eyes and clear white skin, that she prefers clothes that do not make her too conspicuous in the daytime. Dark suits, furs and dresses become her more than pastel shades, although she is very partial to gray.”

Sunny Alexander becomes very vivacious and enthusiastic when describing some of Vivien Leigh’s characteristics. “She is one of the most loyal persons I have ever known,” she declares. “Also she is very considerate of other people’s feelings and tries never to hurt them. Her friends have been her friends for several years, most of them in the English colony here. She has decided viewpoints about things, makes a decision and sticks with it; she is kind to everyone, including her servants, who adore her. She sent for her cook and brought her from London.

“Unlike Scarlett, she is neither a spitfire nor a scold. Yet, she is not wishy-washy either. She has a level head and while she doesn’t pretend to be a businesswoman, she insists on getting her money’s worth for things.”

Sunny tells an interesting story about their visit to New York after their picture was finished. “Miss Leigh was so tired that all she wanted to do was to stay in the hotel and rest,” she explained. “She didn’t try to get up at all for the first few days, then she began taking an interest in plays, art exhibitions, etc. Nobody recognized her, of course, as the picture had not been released, so we ran around freely. She is terribly shy and afraid of crowds. I don’t know what she will do when she becomes known to the public, I’m sure it will be a terrific ordeal for her.

“One night we went to the theater to see Katharine Cornell. During intermission someone recognized Miss Leigh and instantly she was surrounded by crowds of people. She went numbly back to her seat, shaking and trembling like a leaf. When the curtain went down on the last act, she asked me what she should do. I suggested we wait a while, then go backstage and see the stars. Guthrie McClintic was with us and he took us back to Miss Cornell’s dressing room. We were going down to their place for supper and I shall never forget the horror of getting her into a car. We were mobbed. It took Miss Leigh the rest of the night to get over that experience.”



Sunny took charge of the household when Miss Leigh first moved into her new home. Besides her cook, there is John, the butler. an indispensable person of great cleverness; the parlor maid and the chauffer. “She does not believe in running too elaborate a place,: Sunny observed as we sipped our coffee. “She likes to entertain her friends and when she does, the flowers, the table, everything, must be nearly as perfect as possible. She is very artistic and everything she touches seems to glow with an added luster. When she arranges flowers, they look lovelier than when I do. She adores flowers, especially delphinium and tube roses.

“She prefers French food to any other kind of cooking and her cook follows French recipes almost exclusively.”

“If I have been too lavish in my praise of Vivien Leigh,” concluded Sunny Alexander, “It’s because she’s like that. I don’t see how anyone could know her at all well and not love her. Of course, her complete sincerity, simplicity and naturalness are her greatest charms. She has had a background of education and culture; she has a mind stored with all sorts of knowledge. If interesting thoughts make a person interesting, then Vivien Leigh is bound to be interesting, for I have been with her enough to know some of those thoughts. It has been a pleasure and a privilege.”

So, I leave you Vivien Leigh through the eyes of Sunny Alexander, her secretary, friend and confidante. Meanwhile, Vivien is planning a New York stage appearance next spring, according to a Broadway rumor. Her admirer and fellow Englishman, Laurence Olivier, is to be costarred with her. The two are planning to wed after obtaining their respective divorces. Olivier is married to Jill Esmond Moore; Miss Leigh’s husband, Herbert Leigh Holman, filed suit for divorce in London Jan. 5, naming Olivier as co-respondent.

Gone With The Wind Contract Signing

Seventy-Five years ago this month, Vivien picked up a pen and signed her fate away as Scarlett O'Hara. The signing of this historic event, like the search for Scarlett, was mostly a publicity stunt, orchestrated by David O. Selznick.

In this picture, the men are (from left to right): David O. Selznick, Leslie Howard and George Cukor. Sitting down in the front row: Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland

  

Vivien wore a black outfit, a large-brimmed, off-the-brow hat secured with a long cream silk scarf which looped round its crown and usefully concealed her long neck on the way back. She did not remove her gloves when she picked up the pen: she was still sensitive about her outsize hands. -from Alexander Walker's book Vivien. 

Three days before the contract signing, Selznick had announced the final cast for Gone With the Wind. Newspapers across the country ran headlines about an English girl from India playing a southern girl. One such account went as follows: Vivien Leigh, a little British actress with an elfin face and wasp-like waist, today became the answer to Hollywood's longest prayer. The article went on to describe Margaret Mitchell as pleased and delighted in regard to the casting of Miss Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.

Since the first time she read Margaret Mitchell's masterpiece, Vivien had wanted to play Scarlett and in just a few days time after signing her contract, she would start filming Gone With The Wind.

 Vivien always looked chic and this historic event was no different. She accessorized her black outfit with a lion & unicorn brooch at the neck and a starry belt around her tiny waist.

The filming of Gone With The Wind would take place in 1939, from January until June, with additional retakes in the fall. The movie would premiere the same year in December; first, in Atlanta, followed by premieres in New York and Hollywood.

Alicia Rhett Passes Away At 98

Alicia Rhett, born February 1, 1915 in Savannah, GA passed away Friday afternoon, January 3, 2014, at around 5pm in her home, Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community in Charleston, South Carolina.

Alicia Rhett is most famously known for playing India Wilkes, Ashley Wilkes' sister in Gone With The Wind. Ashley was played by Leslie Howard.

Alicia Rhett and Leslie Howard in costume on the set of Gone With The Wind

Miss Rhett was a member of the Footlight Players of Charleston. She was spotted while appearing on stage, during Selznick's much publicized search for Scarlett O'Hara. Alicia auditioned for Selznick representatives in December, 1936. Kay Brown wrote to David O Selznick that Alicia had dark brown eyes and hair that was a most magnificent red.

In May of 1937, Alicia went to New York for ten days for additional testing under the direction of George Cukor. Her mother, Mrs. Isobel M. Rhett, accompanied her on the trip. She returned, triumphantly, to Charleston with a signed contract for a role in Gone With The Wind.

Upon being interviewed after signing her contract, Alicia said "Dear me, I don't know. It's grand. I can't think of any other words. Am I pleased? I should say! I think it should be a most interesting experience and lots of fun, anyway just to see how it's all done."

Originally, she read for the part of Melanie, but George Cukor didn't think she had enough acting experince to play Melanie, so he assigned her the part of India.


George Cukor, Louisa Robert, Susan Fallingant and Alicia Rhett

Alicia and her mother moved to Hollywood for the duration of the filming of Gone With The Wind, which, for Alicia, lasted from December 1938 to November 1939.

Gone With The Wind was the only movie that Alicia made. After filming was completed, Alicia returned to Charleston, where she lived for the remainder of her life. She became a well-known portrait painter and illustrated a few children's books. She also found work as a radio personality.

In an interview Clark Gable gave to Photoplay, February 1940, he said, "... but I talked with Alicia Rhett, a Southern deb-- she’s from Charleston, where Rhett's [from]-- before every scene and she was a marvelous accent coach. Watch for her in one of the smaller roles. The girl’s good and that “Rhett” stuff is her own name."

In this photo, she's shaking Thomas Mitchell's hand (Gerald O'Hara) as he and his daughters arrive at Twelve Oaks for the barbecue. On her other side is Howard Hickman, who played Alicia's father, John Wilkes.

India greets Scarlett O'Hara as she and her sisters arrive for the barbecue. Later, when news of war breaks out, Scarlett will steal India's beau, Mr. Charles Hamilton, and marry him.



Alicia Rhett attends the Gone with the Wind premiere in Atlanta, December 1939.

 

In 1954, Alicia appeared in the local paper as talk of a "new" premiere of Gone With The Wind would be taking place in Charleston.

  

 

Funeral services for Alicia Rhett took place Wednesday, January 8, 2014. She will be interred in St. Philip's Churchyard.

Vivien Leigh Can Speak For Herself

From:
The Evening Independent
June 10, 1940
by Alicia Hart

A very definite sort of person is Vivien Leigh, the charming British actress who won fame as Scarlett O'Hara, and is now going back to England to serve her country. She is especially definite in her views on certain subjects of interest to women.

She's Easy to Interview
Completely self-confident, extremely gracious and well able to speak for herself without aid from the battery of publicity agents that usually surround the average motion picture star during an interview.

Miss Leigh discussed:
Clothes- "I like tailored suits and dinner dresses. I never have more than one or two soft afternoon dresses in my wardrobe or more than that number of decollete, strictly formal gowns. I wear black in the city, bright colors in the country."

Hats- "I like plain ones. I seldom wear a hat anyway, but when I do it's simple, you may be sure."

Long bobs- "They don't take so much living up to as uppish, more elaborate coiffures."

Women in relation to the world crisis- "Was there ever a time when we were more in need of calm poise and an ability to face facts?"

Soap and water- "I wash my face several times a day. And use cream only to remove theatrical make-up."

Prefers Minimun Make-up
Make-up- "Too much make-up distorts the natural expression lines of a face. A little face powder, a little rouge, a little mascara and a moderate amount of lipstick ought to suffice in town. In the country, lipstick alone ought to be about right."

Blouses- "Frilly ones make me tired."

Care of the hair- "If you brush it every night, I don't think you'll ever have any serious hair problems."

Happy 100th Birthday, Vivien Leigh

Happy Birthday, dear Vivien!

Vivien Leigh was born 100 years ago today, on November 5, 1913, in Darjeeling, India.

 

Here she is on the set of "That Hamilton Woman" cutting into her cake, on her 27th birthday.

  In addition to acting on the stage and screen, Vivien modeled for major fashion magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar; posing for all the great photographers of the time.

On Christmas Day, 1938, George Cukor told her she'd won the part of Scarlett O'Hara, her most famous role, a selfish southern belle.

 At the end of August, 1940, she married the love of her life, Laurence Olivier. They remained married until 1960.

 

 

 During Vivien's life, she won a multitude of awards for her acting, most notably two Academy Awards, a BAFTA and a Tony.

 

Vivien, still in stage make-up from her successful play as Cleopatra, listens to the radio as her name is announced as the winner of the Best Actress for "A Streetcar Named Desire."

 

 

Happy Birthday, Vivling!