MOVIE BUSINESS PICKS UP WITH TWO GAMBLING HOUSES OPENING IN HOLLYWOOD CIRCLES

By Dan Thomas
Hollywood, Mar. 19 (Special)

Movieland happenings: Ronald Colman back from the Orient… And telling his friends all about the war over there. Ronnie regarded the whole affair as more of a lark than anything else.




Roscoe Ates now has learned to stutter on a piano… and is trying to find someone to listen to him.




Florine McKinney, the young Texas beauty recently brought out here by Paramount, says that she always cries at war pictures – whether they are sad or not.


The movie business must be picking up. Boys and girls are beginning to spend weekends at Agua Caliente again… And two new gambling houses have opened right here in town.




Zeppo Marx and his wife have just moved into the apartment vacated by the Clark Gables.




Tom Keene, young Western star, was wearing a beautiful silk shirt as part of his cowboy regalia the other day. Wonder how many real cowboys sport such finery.




Frank Whitbeck, well known in film publicity and advertising circles, is the new president of the Wampas. Which means that a flock of pretty young things who would like to become Wampas Baby Stars soon will be trying to make his acquaintance.

Gene Morgan’s new Pyramid Café now is open – with eight of the prettiest extra girls in Hollywood as chorus.


One actress in Hollywood who has been married only a few months decided to teach her author-husband that the least he could do was come home for dinner. So when he phoned one night and said he couldn’t get home because he had to attend a conference she replied: “That’s all right, I’ll get Bob to take me to dinner.” Bob was her leading man at the time.

A half hour later friend husband called and said he would be able to get home after all. “Sorry,” replied the actress, “but I already have a date with Bob. But you might come home and mix cocktails for us before we go out.” There haven’t been any more late story conferences in that family.




Spring is here all right – and we don’t need any robins to tell us. The Hollywood high school girls again are beginning to sit around the school yards with legs showing well above the knees in hopes that some passing director might notice them. That’s a sure sign.




But it takes more than legs to get one in pictures these days.
Did you know that Norma Shearer got her first chance in pictures because she was a diver – and knock-kneed? She came down from Canada to enter a diving contest back East. And she was so knock-kneed that the crowd laughed the first time she walked out on the springboard.

Norma took advantage of this and put on her act for each successive dive, appearing more awkward than necessary – until she left the springboard. Then she was the last word in grace.

A film producer happened to be present, was attracted by her showmanship, and decided to give her a chance in a picture he was about to start.