Al Frueh – A New Yorker State of Mind

Far-Fetched Faulkner

Above: New Yorker book critic Clifton Fadiman (right) characterized William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!" as a "penny dreadful tricked up in fancy language." Fadiman was not alone among contemporary mainstream critics in his assessment, although today the novel is considered a masterwork of Southern Gothic literature. (Wikipedia/J.R. Cofield Collection, University of Mississippi Library)

With its non-linear timeline, winding prose, and multiple unreliable narrators, William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! left many critics wondering what to make of the author’s ninth novel, including The New Yorker’s Clifton Fadiman, who had a near-visceral response to Faulkner’s “shuddery inventions.”

October 31, 1936 cover by **Perry Barlow.**

Although today the novel is widely considered a literary masterpiece, in 1936 Fadiman saw the dense, labyrinthine style of Absalom, Absalom! as nothing more than an empty facade for a melodramatic plot and characters resembling a “mince-pie nightmare.”

The novel explored the rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen, a poor man who ruthlessly carves out a plantation empire in 1830s Mississippi. Told entirely in flashbacks consisting of fragmented memories and differing perspectives, the novel is psychologically bleak and violent, with nearly every major character meeting a tragic end. Following are excerpts from Fadiman’s review:

OXFORD MAN…Above, **William Faulkner** at his 1844 Greek Revival home, Rowan Oak, which he purchased in Oxford, Mississippi in 1930; below, at work in his study. The mid-1930s were a difficult time for Faulkner. His writing was often interrupted by trips to Hollywood, where he sought additional income writing screenplays (Faulkner was constantly in debt), and in 1935 his brother Dean was killed in a plane crash. Consequently this period included a number of heavy drinking benders. *(genteelandbard.com/life.com)*

Faulkner had some history with The New Yorker: A Nov. 21, 1931 “Talk of the Town” entry titled “Oxford Man” featured a thirty-four-year-old Faulkner living in a Tudor City apartment, working on his novel Light in August. “Talk” noted his service in the Canadian air force, which he joined in 1915 (he broke both legs in a crash) and that he “sometimes flies a rather wobbly plane owned by a friend in Oxford.” As for his writing style, “Talk” offered this quote from Faulkner: “Ah write when the spirit moves me, and the spirit moves me every day.” The piece also noted that “Only a few of the townspeople know he writes at all; most of them think he’s lazy.”

Here’s a second excerpt from Fadiman’s Oct. 31, 1936 review, in which the critic concludes that Faulkner “is a clever hand at fitting up a literary asylum for the feeble-minded.”

FLYBOY…A 1931 “Talk of the Town” profile, attributed to **Charles Cooke** and Harold Ross, noted Faulkner’s writing habits, his ties to his hometown, and his time in the Canadian Air Force. *(espresso.pt)*

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Chattering Mysteries

Those are the words E.B. White used to describe aisles of calculators, addressographs, and electric tabulation machines being operated by women clad “in purest white satin” at a business show on Eighth Avenue.

AN ILLUSION OF THE SENSES was achieved by scores of machines clacking away at a Manhattan business show, according to **E.B. White**. At left is an Addressograph machine, circa 1930s, and at right, a census worker using an IBM Type 1 mechanical key punch, 1940. *(americanbusinesshistory.org/officemuseum.com)*

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At the Movies

Get the Extra-large Popcorn

They say movies are getting longer these days, but the Thirties had its share of lengthy screen epics, including a nearly five-hour running time for the 1934 French adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables. Initially released as three films premiering over three consecutive weeks, the full, unedited film ran a total of 281 minutes. Apparently the 1936 American release, reviewed here by John Mosher, ran for just under three hours, which Mosher called “a crime against nature.” He did, however, pronounce it “a fine film.” He also reviewed a German musical comedy, Amphitryon, and some uninspiring “plain American” films.

GOING HUGE FOR HUGO…Clockwise, from top left: **Florelle** as Fantine in *Les Misérables*; blockade scene from the film; **Harry Baur** as Jean Valjean; French movie poster, 1934. *(imdb.com)*

Mosher grew weary of reading the subtitles in the German film Amphitryon, a surprising satirical musical that somehow got made even after the Nazis took over the reigns of the Ufa-Atelier studio; however, the coming year would see a further tightening of domestic repression (including film) under Reich leadership.

SOME LAST LAUGHS…**Willy Fritsch** and **Käthe Gold** in the 1935 German musical comedy *Amphitryon.* The movie was filmed in German and French, which is probably why Mosher thought it was a French production. (en.kinorium.com)

The “plain American” films reviewed by Mosher included a mystery, a revue, and a musical featuring opera singer Marion Talley, who years earlier had received some rough treatment from The New Yorker.

STANDARD FARE…Clockwise, from top left: *The Charge of the Light Brigade* starred **Olivia de Havilland** and Errol Flynn; **Jean Arthur** and Joel McCrea in *Adventure in Manhattan*; **Bob Burns** and **Martha Raye** in *The Big Broadcast* of 1937; **Marion Talley** and **Michael Bartlett** in *Follow Your Heart*; **Victor McLaglen** and **Binnie Barnes** in *The Magnificent Brute.* *(britannica.com/theblondeatthefilm.com/imdb.com/tubitv.com/ebay.com)*

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Polymath Porter

The multi-talented composer/songwriter Cole Porter was the latest celebrity to receive a mini bio in the opening pages…illustration by Abe Birnbaum…

…and on the subject of theater, Al Frueh offered his impression of the Talullah Bankhead vehicle, Reflected Glory...

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From Our Advertisers

Various retailers were gearing up for the coronation of England’s King Edward VIII, and the folks at Yardley’s were busy packaging their lavender-scented soaps and perfumes for royalty-starved Americans, “safeguarded in original royal wrappings”…this “Edwardian” campaign would be scrapped just weeks later when Edward would abdicate the throne (on Dec. 10) and run off with American Wallis Simpson…

…the makers of Beech-Nut chewing gum made a splash with this full-page ad touting their traveling “Smallest Show on Earth”…

…Canadian Club continued its world tour with a stop in Kuala Lumpur…

…No-Mal ran another back-of-the-book ad promoting its scientific “pick-up”…the chief ingredient, according to this spot, was dextrose (even safe for infants!), but it doubtless also contained caffeine and Lord knows what else…

…no extra stimulation needed for our cartoon section, beginning with Mary Petty…

…there were a couple of Halloween-themed spots by Susan Willard Flint…

…and Charles Addams...

…a sampling of other spot drawings…Victor de Pauw, Doris Spiegel, and John Groth…

…Alain gave us the true meaning of “table tennis”…

…George Price anticipated a long winter…

…Gardner Rea showed us an Englishman who found Manhattan life a bit too invigorating…

…Alan Dunn posed a question regarding authorship…

…Peter Arno might be referring to something akin to The Great Stork Derby here…

…one of Helen Hokinson’s “girls” sought to stay “off the record”…

…and Hokinson again, casting a vote in the 1936 General Election…

…Whitney Darrow Jr was also thinking about elections, and a clean shave…

…and we close with James Thurber, and an inquiring reporter…

Next Time: The Instant Home…

The President’s Mystery

Above: President Franklin D. Roosevelt was credited as a writer on the film "The President's Mystery," although his role was more one of inspiration; at right, Betty Furness and Henry Wilcoxon starred in the film. (rottentomatoes.com)

Just one month before the 1936 general election, Republic Pictures released a film “conceived by Franklin D. Roosevelt.”

October 24, 1936 cover by **Constantin Alajalov.**

Yes, the president of the United States, standing for re-election in November (which he would win by a landslide), was actually credited as a writer for the film The President’s Mystery, although FDR’s actual role in the film was its concept. While visiting with Fulton Oursler, editor of Liberty magazine, Roosevelt posed the question: “How can a man disappear with five million dollars of his own money in negotiable form and not be traced?” Oursler, a close friend of the president’s, responded by enlisting several prominent authors to write a screenplay. New Yorker film critic John Mosher takes it from there:

The story behind the film was first featured in the Nov. 16, 1935 issue of Liberty magazine…

…and released as a movie on Sept. 28, 1936…

MAN OF MYSTERY…Clockwise, from top left, President **Franklin D. Roosevelt,** a fan of mysteries, conceived the idea for *The President’s Mystery*; **Henry Wilcoxon, Frank O’Connor**, an unidentified actor, and **Wade Boteler** featured on a lobby card promoting the film ; **Betty Furness, Si Jenks**, and **Henry Wilcoxon** in a promo shot for the film; poster for the film featured an image of FDR on the cover of Liberty magazine. *(instagram.com/imdb.com/themovieb.org)*

Mosher also had “pretty good fun” with the star-studded screwball comedy, Libeled Lady, which was acclaimed by critics and nominated for Best Picture:

LOVE QUADRANGLE…Lovers spats and romantic mix-ups were just part of the stew in the screwball comedy Libeled Lady. At left, **Myrna Loy** and **Spencer Tracy;** at right, **William Powell** and Jean Harlow. *(imdb.com/movie nation.com)*

There were still other films reviewed by Mosher, including The Devil is a Sissy, starring sixteen-year-old Mickey Rooney, still emerging as a star, as well as famed child actors Jackie Cooper and Freddie Bartholomew. There was also a film featuring Clark Gable as a prize fighter, and a movie titled The Longest Night, ironically the shortest feature ever produced by MGM—just 51 minutes.

STREET SMARTS…**Mickey Rooney, Jackie Cooper,** and Freddie Bartholomew in *The Devil is a Sissy*, a story about a posh kid who befriends a couple of ruffians; **Clark Gable** was down for the count in *Cain and Mabel,* co-starring **Marion Davies**; **Robert Young** teamed up with **Florence Rice** in the mystery-thriller, *The Longest Night*—Florence Rice was the only child of sportswriter **Grantland Rice**. (Wikipedia/mubi.com/tcm.com)

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A Second Life

E.B. White still wasn’t done with the new Life magazine—recall his “Notes and Comment” from Sept. 19, when he lamented a magazine that would “consist almost entirely of pictures” and would “do away with the last vestiges of privacy in America.” Here White notes the purchase of Life by Time, Inc., and compares it to the old Life.

ASKING FOR MERCY…**E.B. White** hoped the new *Life* magazine would have some of the mercy and grace of its predecessor. (sunrisepoint.com/time.com)

LIFELESS…Launched in 1883, *Life* was an American humor and general-interest magazine. Purchased and shut down in 1936 by Henry Luce, he replaced it with his new, and very different Life. The image above is the cover of the Feb. 2, 1922 issue of the old magazine. (Wikipedia)

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A Sensitive Hamlet

There are as many approaches to playing Hamlet as there are versions of the famous Shakespeare play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In the case of actor John Gielgud, as reported in “The Talk of the Town,” Hamlet was quite sane, although he was “immensely sensitive.”

MOMMY DEAREST…At left, **Judith Anderson** as Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, and **John Gielgud** as Hamlet in Broadway’s 1936 production of the Shakespeare play; at right, **Carl Van Vechten** portrait of Gielgud during the actor’s time on Broadway, December 1936. Gielgud is widely regarded as one of the definitive Hamlets of the 20th century. *(newyorktheater.me/newworldencyclopedia.org)*

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Safety Last

Morris Markey was on hand for the Vanderbilt Cup Race (recently featured here), offering a track-side look at the pit crews. Notable in this excerpt is the complete lack of safety protocols, from gasoline poured out of wide-mouthed cans to smoking and drinking among drivers and pit crews. The race winner, Tazio Nuvolari (who refuses some brandy but puffs on a cigarette) would eventually have to retire by 1950 due to his total deafness and other health problems—he spent years racing in an open cockpit with the manifold ends right next to his ear. Those combustion gases—containing gasoline juiced with methanol, benzene, acetone, and nitrobenzene—easily penetrated Nuvolari’s ears and nose and were absorbed directly into his skin and bloodstream.

GUTS AND GLORY…Italian racing legend **Tazio Nuvolari** (1892–1953) with his Alfa Romeo before the start of the 1935 Nice Grand Prix in France. Nuvolari easily won the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup on Long Island. *(notenoughcylinders.com)*

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Color My World

The works of John Marin, considered one of America’s finest water-colorists, were featured in a major exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. In addition to a review by art critic Lewis Mumford, Marin was featured in this mini bio on the opening pages…caricature by William Auerbach-Levy…

MASTER WATER-COLORIST…**John Marin’s** *Movement No. 2, Related to Downtown New York (The Black Sun)*, 1926. Image reproduced from the 1936 MoMA exhibition catalog. (moma.org)

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From Our Advertisers

The Oct. 24 issue opened with this advertisement by the distillers of Old Taylor, who continued to compare their product to the work of “masters,” here the painter Frederic Remington…

…on the opposite page, this spare ad from Chrysler, a stark contrast to their previous week’s very wordy appeal…

…the promoters of Budweiser took a cue from the whiskey distillers, invoking the words of an historic personage to promote their product…

…predating modern thermostats by decades, the mechanical Chronotherm was one of the earliest automated room thermostats ever produced by the Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company…it was often used to control coal or early heating systems by automatically adjusting dampers or furnaces on a schedule…

The Minneapolis-Honeywell Chronotherm retailed for about $41 in the 1930s (equivalent to roughly $970 today). It was considered a high-end luxury upgrade for the home. *(si.edu)*

…Martini & Rossi would have about six more months to serve their vermouth on the Hindenburg before it would go down in a fireball on May 6, 1937…

…the illustrations in this No-Mal ad mimicked the style of Otto Soglow to market a new patent medicine touted as a stimulant and hangover cure, among other things…these remedies often contained heavy doses of caffeine plus aspirin, mild laxatives, and antacids, while some also contained the amphetamine Benzedrine…

…model railroading for adults started to build up steam in the 1930s…here’s a back of the book ad aimed at those who couldn’t afford to travel but who could afford a Scale-Craft kit…

…here’s a page from the 1936 Scale-Craft catalog…

…and an example of what you could build from a kit…

…and there’s no guessing the target audience for this brand of cigarettes…

…on to our cartoonists, Al Frueh was back with illustrations for the theater review section…

…Alain found nothing humorous about being a Good Humor man…

…a couple of spots by Abe Birnbaum (left) and unidentified at right (signature looks like PHRANK)…

…a stray arrow found its way into this cartoon by Charles Addams…

…Whitney Darrow Jr illustrated the childish side of politics…

…we zoom in for a close-up…

…Darrow again, making a new friends…

…Ned Hilton drew up an outfit that clashed with the salad course…

…James Thurber greeted a group of dour birds (interesting background with sporting scenes…one wonders why)…

…Otto Soglow gave us some shattered dreams…

…Alan Dunn visited the fiction section, no questions asked…

…and Dunn again…with an around the world adventure stuck in traffic…

…Fortune magazine probed the mysteries of middle class life, per Carl Rose…

…and we close with Helen Hokinson, and the unease of an approaching winter…

Next Time: Far-Fetched Faulkner…

Star Maker

Above: Although MGM head Louis B. Mayer (right) had a strong business sense, he needed Irving Thalberg's keen ability to combine artistic quality with commercial success. During his twelve years at MGM, Thalberg supervised the production of more than four hundred films. (artsfuse.org)

Born in a Ukrainian village in 1884, Louis B. Mayer grew up poor in Canada and dropped out of school at age twelve to support his family. Nearly three decades later he co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, lured the “boy genius” Irving Thalberg from Universal, and went on to lead one Hollywood’s most prestigious filmmaking companies.

March 28, 1936 cover by **Perry Barlow.**

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Henry F. Pringle (1897–1958) looked into Mayer’s life in a two-part profile, leading with a look into the movie mogul’s ability to control his vast stable of stars (illustration by Hugo Gellert):

BOY GENIUS…Clockwise, from top left, MGM producer **Irving Thalberg** (seen here in 1929 with wife and actress **Norma Shearer**), had a knack for combining quality art with commercial appeal. Born with a weak heart, Thalberg died in September 1936 at age 37; *The Great Ziegfeld* was one of MGM’s top movies in 1936—it won three Academy Awards including Best Picture; **Louis B. Mayer** with young MGM stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland; **Shirley Temple** signing with MGM in 1941 with Mayer, Garland and Rooney. *(theguardian.com/Wikipedia/facebook.com)*

Mayer (1884–1957) is credited with helping to create the “star system” in Hollywood. “The idea of a star being born is bush-wah,” Mayer once said. “A star is made, created; carefully and cold-bloodedly built up from nothing, from nobody.” Mayer believed he “made” his stars, and therefore had the right to control their careers as well as their very lives. Pringle explained the predicament of actress Joan Crawford:

MAYER-MADE…**Louis B. Mayer** not only gave Joan Crawford a new name (she was born Lucille LeSueur), he was also instrumental in transforming her from a dancer to a major Hollywood star. Throughout her career at MGM Crawford pestered Mayer for better roles (until she finally left MGM in 1943). However, they remained friends until his death in 1957. Crawford once called Mayer “the best friend I ever had.” *(Wikipedia/imdb.com)*

Many stars were less forgiving than Crawford regarding Mayer’s controlling behavior. Although many male actors saw him as a father figure, women often had a very different view. A young Elizabeth Taylor called him a “monster” for his attempts to oversee her life, while Judy Garland was forced to go on diets and take amphetamines and barbiturates to meet Mayer’s punishing work schedules. Many believe this led to Garland’s lifelong addiction issues.

* * *

Water Water Everywhere

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White was at a loss for words to describe the floods in the northeastern U.S. that followed a bitter winter. A combination of rain and the melting of heavy snowpack caused massive damage in the Connecticut and Merrimack River valleys as well as in the Pittsburgh area. In addition to approximately two hundred fatalities, hundreds of thousands were left homeless.

DELUGE…The flooding in Albany, NY, in 1936 (top) was part of a series of devastating floods that affected much of the northeastern United States. Below, the Holyoke Dam in Massachusetts, March 19, 1936. *(South Hadley Public Library/sungazette.com)*

White’s “Notes” also included an update on the “aesthetic restlessness” at Rockefeller Center, where the statues Youth and Maiden were removed from the Paul Manship-designed Prometheus fountain. The artist decided the two bronze figures did not fit well in the fountain, so they were moved to the roof garden of the Palazzo d’Italia.

EXILED…**Paul Manship’s** two gilded figures, *Youth* and Maiden, representing mankind receiving the fire, originally flanked *Prometheus* (top photo). In 1936 they were moved to the roof garden of the Palazzo d’Italia, but were returned to the Plaza in the 1980s. Pictured below, the six-foot statues were again moved in 2001 to the top of the Plaza staircase between the Channel Gardens and the Sunken Plaza.

*(mcny.org/Elisa.rolle/photo-opsblogspot.com)*

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Pyramid Scheme

“The Talk of the Town” commented on some unusual research conducted by Dr. A.E. Strath-Gordon, in which he used measurements from the Great Pyramid to predict the end of the Depression. Excerpts:

JUST READ THE STONES…**Dr. A.E. Strath-Gordon** (1873–1952) was a spiritualist, researcher, author, and lecturer on the occult and paranormal subjects. (strathgordon.wordpress.com)

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Deeper South

James Thurber had some fun with novels about the Deep South that sought to employ authentic dialogue—but not as successfully as novelist Erskine Caldwell. These excerpts are the first and last paragraphs from the piece.

CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED…**Erskine Caldwell’s** writings about poverty and racism in his native South included novels such as Tobacco Road (1932) and *God’s Little Acre* (1933). Unlike Thurber’s parody, Caldwell’s writing style has been described as spare, direct and unadorned. (Wikipedia/etsy.com)

* * *

An Introduction

I didn’t know much about the novelist Leane Zugsmith until I read her short story in the March 28, 1936 edition of The New Yorker. During the 1930s she was prominent among writers who focused on the struggles of the working class during the Great Depression. “Mr. Milliner” was the eighth short story she published in the magazine, out of a total of fifteen from 1934 to 1949. Here are the opening lines:

FED UP…Writer Leane Zugsmith (1903–1969) focused on the shortcomings of capitalism in her novels and short stories, including her 1936 novel *A Time to Remember,* which depicted a department store strike and the rise of white-collar unions. She published fifteen short stories in *The New Yorker* from 1934 to 1949. (*bolerium.com)*

* * *

Over There

In her latest dispatch from Paris, Janet Flanner noted the growing anxiety among Parisians over Germany’s arms buildup and its re-occupation of the Rhineland.

HAIRY HEADLINES…**Janet Flanner** noted the anxious crowds around newspaper kiosks (unlike the quiet image above) and the boos being issued by the market women in the Halles (at passing soldiers) as war with Germany was being seen as inevitable. (tresors-de-paris.com/mattbarrett-travel.com)

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At the Movies

Lillian Hellman’s drama The Children’s Hour premiered on Broadway on Nov. 24, 1934, and ran for 691 performances—but bringing it to the screen in the era of the Motion Picture Production Code (aka Hays Code) proved a bit tricky, according to film critic John Mosher. Hellman’s play centered on a schoolgirl’s false accusation of lesbianism against two of her teachers, or as Mosher put it rather delicately, “a friendship of two young women…characterized by such emotional undercurrents as are not held seemly for screen exposition.”

Hellman rewrote the play to conform to the Code, removing any mention of lesbianism and changing the dramatic focus to a schoolteacher accused of having sex with another’s fiance. It appeared in 1936 under the title These Three.

Mosher wished the film could have included Florence McGee, who portrayed the conniving student protagonist Mary Tilford in the original play. The part in These Three went instead to Bonita Granville, who at age fourteen earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Mary Tilford.

TWO TAKES…**Florence McGee** (pictured at right, seated center) portrayed the conniving student protagonist Mary Tilford in the Broadway production of *The Children’s Hour.* The part of Mary Tilford in the re-written film version of the play, *These Three,* went to Bonita Granville (left), who at age fourteen earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance. (oscarchamps.com/Wikipedia)

THREE TOTALLY STRAIGHT PEOPLE…**Joel McCrea, Merle Oberon** and Miriam Hopkins starred in *These Three*, a cinematic rewrite of **Lillian Hellman’s** play The Children’s Hour. (quadcinema.com)

Mosher also reviewed Petticoat Fever, a “trifle” starring Myrna Loy and Robert Montgomery.

BABY ITS COLD OUTSIDE…**Myrna Loy** and **Robert Montgomery** in Petticoat Fever. Montgomery was the father of **Elizabeth Montgomery,** best known for her portrayal of Samantha Stephens on the TV sitcom *Bewitched.* (IMDb.com)

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From Our Advertisers

The inside front cover advertisement belonged to the “House of Schenley,” which emphasized the purity of Kentucky’s “limestone waters”…

…the makers of Packard automobiles also appealed to bucolic sensibilities with this homespun image…

…the Easter Parade has been a New York tradition since the 1870s, when New York’s elite would walk down Fifth Avenue to show off the latest European fashions…the event was largely centered around churches like St. Patrick’s, hence the ad from its neighbor across the street, Rockefeller Center…today the event is called the Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival, a more inclusive event featuring eccentric, handcrafted bonnets…

…Lux Soap Flakes were featured in big, celebrity-filled ads in mid-century America, soap being one product (like whiskey and cigarettes) that proved to be mostly Depression-proof…

…a twelve-cylinder engine was usually a feature of top-of-the-line luxury automobiles, but the folks at Lincoln put one into their medium-priced Zephyr…the car succeeded in reigniting sales at Lincoln dealerships during the Depression…

…beginning in the late nineteenth century cigarette companies included coupons that could be redeemed for items ranging from cocktail sets to silk stockings (per this ad)…Brown & Williamson, the makers of Raleigh and Kool cigarettes, featured coupons on the back of every pack, and smokers could write the company for a free premium catalog…

…this Raleigh catalog from the early 1950s even featured toys…250 coupons could get you a “Teddy bear with plastic nose”…so keep on puffing…

…Luckies went with the glamour of flying, an experience only the well-heeled could afford…

…on to our cartoonists, we have Richard Taylor…

…and Barbara Shermund welcoming us into the issue…

…and a this nice spot from Christina Malman…

…Al Frueh gave us his interpretation of Saint Joan…

…W.P. Trent explored the deep seas…

…Helen Hokinson revealed a secret…

…Gluyas Williams was still examining club life…

…William Steig went for a haircut (across two pages)…

…Leonard Dove received some junk mail…

…George Price uncovered a spy…

…Garrett Price assessed the price of fame…

…William Crawford Galbraith continued to explore the world of sugar daddies and chlorines…

…and we close with Ned Hilton, and those floods…

Next Time: Idiot’s Delight…

The Harsh Glare of Fame

Above: Posters advertising The Country Doctor, a film featuring the Dionne Quintuplets as "The Wyatt Quintuplets." (Wikipedia/imdb.com)

The Dionne Quintuplets, famed as the first quintuplets known to have survived infancy, appeared in a motion picture before their second birthday—The Country Doctor—just one example of the many ways the girls were exploited by the province of Ontario, their doctor, their father, and the companies who used their images to sell everything from toys to toothpaste.

March 21, 1936 cover by **Constantin Alajalov.**

The Country Doctor was the first of three 20th Century Fox films featuring the toddlers as the “The Wyatt Quintuplets.” Actor Jean Hersholt played the country doctor (“Dr. John Luke”) in all three films, his character based on Allan Roy Dafoe, the Ontario obstetrician who successfully delivered the identical quints in 1934. It was a sign of the times that no one seemed too concerned about the children’s welfare—The New Yorker’s John Mosher was joined by his fellow critics in generally praising the film.

MARKETING MATERNITY…*The Country Doctor* was the first of three 20th Century Fox films featuring the Dionne Quintuplets. Clockwise, from top left: **Slim Summerville, Jean Hersholt**, and **John Qualen** in *The Country Doctor*; Ontario Premier Mitchell Hepburn with the quintuplets in 1934; a 1936 book based on the film; a 1937 ad for Karo Syrup, a major sponsor of the girls and Dr. Dafoe; an array of quintuplet-related toys included paper dolls and the much sought after Madame Alexander dolls. (Wikipedia/ebay.com/facebook.com/pbs.org)

The Dionne Quintuplets were used to endorse an array of products including Quaker Oats, Colgate toothpaste, Palmolive soap, and Lysol disinfectant. Dr. Dafoe became a wealthy man due to his association with the quintuplets, while the government of Ontario saw enormous tourism potential (the girls were made wards of the province ostensibly to protect them from exploitation). At the age of four months the quintuplets were moved from the farmhouse where they were born to a compound (“Quintland”) that featured an outdoor playground designed as a public observation area.

SURROUNDED BY RICHES…at left, **Allen Roy DaFoe** on a postcard with the Dionne Quintuplets; tourists consult sign for the next public showing of the “Quints.”*(roadtripusa.com/facebook.com)*

CHA-CHING…**Oliva Dionne,** the quintuplets’ father, ran this souvenir and refreshment stand at Quintland, where the public flocked to view the girls playing. *(montrealgazette.com)*

The last surviving quintuplet, Annette, died on December 24, 2025, at the age of 91. Her sister Cécile died a few months earlier, also at age of 91.

John Mosher also reviewed Mae West’s latest film, Klondike Annie. Some critics regarded it as her finest film, despite heavy censorship and the outrage of “Decency people.”

GO WEST, WEST…**Mae West** portrayed a kept woman who murders her keeper in self-defense and escapes to Nome, Alaska in *Klondike Annie*. At left, West in a scene with Son Yong; at right, with **Phillip Reed**. *(Pinterest)*

* * *

St. Katharine

Robert Benchley found Katharine Cornell’s theatrical performance in Saint Joan to be “as fine as was expected.” An excerpt:

KNOWN QUANTITIES was how **Robert Benchley** described the talents of stage actress **Katharine Cornell.** At left, Cornell as Saint Joan; at right, Cornell (1893–1974) is perhaps best known in her role as **Elizabeth Barrett** in the 1931 Broadway production of *The Barretts of Wimpole Street. (Wikipedia)*

* * *

It Begins…

On March 7, 1936, 22,000 German army troops crossed a bridge over the Rhine River and entered the Rhineland, breaking the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, which mandated a demilitarized Rhineland to ensure French safety. Despite the violation, and the fact that the German army was still weak, France and Britain took no military action. E.B. White reported:

REOCCUPATION…On March 7, 1936, German Army troops crossed a bridge over the Rhine River and entered the Rhineland for the first time since the end of World War I. The lack of response from France and Great Britain no doubt emboldened Hitler to annex Austria and occupy Czechoslovakia in 1938. (iwm.org.uk)

Howard Brubaker, in his column “Of All Things,” also noted:

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Some Pretty Things

“The Talk of the Town” paid a visit to the Museum for the Arts of Decoration at the Cooper Union and found many treasures within, including a unique circular elevator.

BRIDGE TO THE PAST…The Cooper Union’s Museum for the Arts of Decoration held many treasures, including (at bottom) an Italian birdcage fashioned to resemble the Rialto Bridge; at top, rooms filled with examples from the decorative arts. *(cooperhewitt.org)*

The “Talk” visit included a ride up a circa 1850s elevator shaft designed by inventor Peter Cooper four years before safety elevators even existed. The design was based on Cooper’s belief that the circular shape was the most efficient.

ROUND AND SOUND…At left, entrance to Peter Cooper’s circa 1850s round elevator and the elevator’s shaft at the Cooper Union Foundation Building. The round shaft remains a central feature of the building today, now housing a modern round elevator designed in 1972. (Cooper Union Library)

* * *

Commie Cutlery

American non-fiction writer Carl Carmer published the first part of a two-part essay on the revolutionary Oneida Community, which Carmer dubbed “a materially successful communist experiment…”

This polyamorous Christian utopia disbanded before the end of the 19th century and reemerged as a joint-stock company, Oneida Community Limited, which focused on making silverware. This brief excerpt is from the first paragraph.

COHABITING COMRADES…Oneida commune members gather on the lawn in front of the Community Mansion House in in Madison County, New York, circa 1860s. Members of the community practiced free love, women and men had equal freedom in sexual expression and commitment, and children were raised communally. (collectorsweekly.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

Yes, take a doctor’s advice, and put some leaded gas in your car, and into the air you breathe…

…R.J. Reynolds presented three women who exemplified the “society model” trend of the 1930s…well-known debs and socialites who provided an air of prestige to a brand…especially cigarettes…

…Lorillard Tobacco Company, on the other hand, stuck with pin-up artist George Petty to push their Old Golds…

…General Motors took out the middle spread to tout their low-priced luxury automobile, the La Salle…

…the convertible La Salle looked handsome, if not a bit brisk with the top down…

…American luxury carmaker Packard proudly displayed their twelve-cylinder luxury model, but reminded readers they could have a lesser model, the 120, for a price “in the $1,000 field”…

…a couple of one-column ads…Don Herold helped Hale’s move mattresses, while fashion columnist Alma Archer employed class anxiety to promote her new book, The Secrets of Smartness and the Art of Allure…

SMARTNESS AUTHORITY **Alma Archer** in 1937. Archer (1898–1988) wrote a widely read column for the *New York Mirror* that was syndicated in more than a thousand newspapers.

…if you have been following this blog, you’ll recall the ads with angry duchesses fuming over tomato juice and rich old men fondly recalling their countrified youth via canned corn niblets…well here is one robber baron who needed some niblets pronto to quiet his rage…maybe a snifter or two of brandy would have also helped…

…on to our cartoonists, James Thurber kicked things off on page two…

…the “Goings On” section concluded on page four with this drawing by Charles Addams…

…a couple more spot drawings from the issue by Christina Malman (left) and Richard Taylor…

…Al Frueh offered this interpretation of the players in End of Summer…

…and we have Thurber again, with a hard-to-miss distraction…

…William Steig continued to explore the varieties of “Holy Wedlock”…

…Leonard Dove gave us a golddigger stranded at sea…

…Gardner Rea put a captain of industry in a tight spot…

…Ned Hilton encountered a hairy challenge…

…Eli Garson demonstrated some remarkable foot dexterity…

…while Robert Day showed a lack of dexterity a construction site…

…Charles Addams revealed a materialist in the brotherhood…

…Peter Arno’s charwomen let a sleeping dog lie…

…and we close Garrett Price, and one perceptive lad…

Next Time: Star Maker…

Nostalgic Notes

Above: Nightlife correspondent Lois Long checked out the latest clubs as well as old-time favorites in her column "Tables for Two." From left, advertisement for Restaurant Larue; Josephine Baker in 1937; and the entrance to Monte Proser's Beachcomber, an early iteration of the tiki bar that would become ubiquitous in midcentury America. (eBay.com/Wikipedia/mytiki.life)

Part three of Janet Flanner’s profile of Adolf Hitler can be found below, but it’s time to lead with something more pleasant, namely Manhattan nightlife through the eyes of Lois Long.

In her “Tables for Two” column headlined “Nostalgic Notes,” Long checked out the new Chez Josephine Baker, the garden-like delights of Restauarnt Larue, and the French-themed Le Coq Rouge.

NEW NIGHTLIFE…Clockwise from top left, ad for *Restaurant Larue;* 1930s postcard showing interior of *Larue*; **Josephine Baker,** proprietor of *Chez Josephine Baker;* ad for *Le Coq Rouge;* interior of *Le Coq Rouge,* 1930s. (eBay/Wikipedia)

Long also noted the Beachcomber Bar, which originated in the basement of an old church, and actor Dan Healy’s Broadway Room.

MAN ABOUT TOWN…**Dan Healy** was a well-known master of ceremonies in the Manhattan nightlife scene. He married the famed “boop-boop-a-doop” singer (and possible Betty Boop inspiration) **Helen Kane** in 1939—they later opened a New York restaurant together called Healy’s Grill. (whosdatedwho.com/Facebook)

* * *

Bummed Out

E.B. White (in “Notes and Comment”) referred to confessional essays published in Esquire magazine by F. Scott Fitzgerald that frankly described his struggles with alcoholism and the decline of his literary reputation. The confessional tone of the essays (three in all, published in February, March and April 1936) proved controversial at the time.

In his first essay, “The Crack-Up,” Fitzgerald famously observed that “the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

A CRY FOR HELP?…At left, **F. Scott Fitzgerald** in the 1930s (top), and, apparently during happier days (below, with wife Zelda); at right, the opening page of “The Crack-Up.” (esquire.com/pbs.org)

* * *

Say What?

New Yorker writers rarely missed an opportunity to poke fun of Time magazine’s unique ways with the English language. E.B. White again, in an excerpt:

TIMEWORDS…The March 16, 1936 issue of *Time*, and E.B. White. (time.com/imdb.com)

* * *

Dying to Know

“The Talk of the Town” made brief mention of a rumor regarding Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton’s health. Reports of her demise were premature; she died in 1979.

HANGING IN THERE…**Barbara Hutton** with husband no. 2, **Count Kurt von Haugwitz-Reventlow,** circa 1936. Hutton married seven times, including a brief marriage to actor **Cary Grant**, who was husband no. 3. (whosdatedwho.com)

* * *

Part Three

Janet Flanner completed her three-part profile of Adolf Hitler by looking into the man’s mind, if that was even possible.

OBEDIENT MASSES…Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler addresses soldiers at a rally in Dortmund, Germany, 1933. (encyclopedia.ushmm.org)

Flanner also noted the Führer’s early days as an unsuccessful painter, and an odd wedding gift to his buddy Hermann Göring:

GOOSED…Top, **Adolf Hitler** presented a specially painted copy of Correggio’s *Leda with the Swan* as a wedding gift to **Hermann Göring** and actress **Emmy Sonnemann** on April 10, 1935; below, Hitler painted this watercolor during his pre-WWI time in Munich, from May 1913 to August 1914. (Wikipedia)

* * *

China Syndrome

Supporting herself as a writer for The New Yorker, Emily Hahn’s years in Shanghai, China (1935 to 1941) were tumultuous. Living in the city’s red light district, she became romantically involved with the Chinese poet and publisher Shao Xunmei (aka Sinmay Zau) and became addicted to opium. In this excerpted short essay, Hahn described her literary encounters with Shao Xunmei (here referred to as “Pan Heh-ven”) and a passel of translators.

ENOUGH OF THAT…**Emily Hahn** became romantically involved with the Chinese poet and publisher **Shao Xunmei** (aka Sinmay Zau), but ultimately left him in order to break her opium addiction. (Wikipedia)

* * *

At the Movies

Critic John Mosher did his best to stay awake during the latest fare from Hollywood…

SPECIOUS SPECTACLE…Top, from left, **Louise Fazenda, Paul Draper, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell** and Hugh Herbert in *Colleen*; below, **Wendy Barrie** and **Gene Raymond** in *Love on a Bet.* (cometoverhollywood.com/imdb.com)

Mosher also commented on a film he walked out on (The Farmer in the Dell), and considered the twentieth anniversary of Intolerance, a 1916 drama that had become a “cheap amusement.”

HO HUM…Critic **John Mosher** walked out of *The Farmer in the Dell,* mostly due to boredom—above, **Frank Albertson, Jean Parker, Fred Stone** and Esther Dale in the romcom *The Farmer in the Dell;* below, scene from **D.W. Griffith’s** epic silent film from 1916, *Intolerance.* (imdb.com/cinemafromthespectrum.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

The folks at Hormel once again claimed the inside front cover with this array of soups featured sideways, in full color…

…the illustrator of this Lord & Taylor advertisement hoped to superimpose a pair of shoes over a woman’s face, with less than convincing results…

…the makers of Packard automobiles sent a condescending message “To The Ladies,” promising not to “bore them” with talk of mechanical features…

…a sampling of one-column ads featured, from left, the renowned Russian Eagle cafe-bar at the Sherry-Netherland, the Modernage furniture store on East 33rd, and the Milwaukee Road railroad, which offered adventure at such places as a Montana dude ranch…

…the inside back cover featured this drawing of actress/dancer/singer June Knight by Abe Birnbaum…

…Birnbaum was a terrific artist, but his portrait of Knight was not terribly flattering…this is what she looked like in the 1930s…

**June Knight** (1913–1987) circa 1930s. (reddit.com)

…on to the cartoons, we kick off the issue with Canadian cartoonist Richard Taylor…

…and Taylor again, striking a pose…

…Arnold Hall contributed an example of floral marketing…

…Al Frueh contributed to “The Theatre” section…

…Jack Markow did some rubbernecking…

…Howard Baer welcomed a new tax deduction to the world…

…Perry Barlow drew up impressions of a field trip to the Hayden Planetarium…

…Barlow again…

…one of Helen Hokinson’s “girls” explained herself…

…Barbara Shermund interpreted modern dance…

…Alain sought some dish over tea with the vicar…

…and we close with James Thurber, and a penny for her thoughts…

Next Time: The Harsh Glare of Fame…

Making of a Madman

Above: At left, the Nazi Party sought to remake Christian holidays such as Christmas into Nazi-themed, pagan events, even trying to redefine St. Nicholas as Wotan, the ancient Germanic deity; at right, Adolf Hitler rejected Christianity, calling it a Jewish plot to undermine the heroic ideals of the Aryan-dominated Roman Empire. Here he is seen meeting the nuncio to Germany, Cesare Orsenigo, on January 1, 1935. (reddit.com/Wikipedia)

For the March 7 issue we look at the second part of Janet Flanner’s profile of German dictator Adolf Hitler, in which she attempted to identify the social and political influences that led to his peculiar vision of the world.

March 7, 1936 cover by Constantin Alajalov.

Flanner noted that Hitler’s ancestors were intermarrying, pious Roman Catholic peasants, including his parents, second cousins Klara Pölzl and Alois Hitler. While Klara was a doting parent, Alois was often abusive and distant. And so it began.

MOM AND DAD…**Adolf Hitler’s** parents were second cousins Klara Pölzl (1860–1907) and **Alois Hitler** (1837–1903). Pölzl was the third wife of the much older Hitler, who was a stern, mid-level Austrian customs official. (Wikipedia)

Flanner described Hitler’s struggles as an artist (rejected twice by the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts), however his real disappointment was nationalistic; serving as a courier (and wounded) in World War I, he blamed internal traitors for Germany’s defeat. To bolster his patriotic ideals, Hitler turned to books, and particularly to poet and dramatist Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805)—the Nazis would later manipulate Schiller’s works to fit the Party’s themes of nationalism, struggle, and obedience. Hitler would further hone his world view through the works of white supremacist Count de Gobineau (1816–1882), nihilist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), and philologist Max Müller (1823–1900), whose work inadvertently contributed to the idea of a superior “Aryan” race.

REWRITING HISTORY…Clockwise, from top, a 1940 Nazi propaganda film, *Friedrich Schiller— Der Triumph eines Genies*, portrayed Schiller (played by actor **Horst Caspar**) as an idealistic *Übermensch;* Hitler and the Nazis were also influenced by white supremacist **Count de Gobineau;** philologist Max Müller; and the nihilist philosopher **Friedrich Nietzsche.** *(film portal.de/Wikipedia)*

In her conclusion, Flanner noted Hitler’s dislike of jokes at his own expense, and she was surprised that German comedian Weiss Ferdl, known for his “Führer gibes,” wasn’t in a concentration camp with cabaret singer Claire Waldorff (somehow both survived the regime and the war). Flanner also touched on Hitler’s antipathy toward Christianity.

SURVIVORS…At left, **Weiss Ferdl** (1883-1949) was a German actor, humorous folksinger known for his jibes at Hitler; at right, **Claire Waldorff** (1884-1957) was a famous cabaret singer and entertainer in Berlin, known for performing ironic songs with lesbian undertones. *(Wikimedia Commons)*

I’LL TRY TO KILL YOU LATER…German Chancellor **Adolf Hitler** greets (l to r) Roman Catholic Abbot **Albanus Schachleiter** and Protestant Reichsbischof **Ludwig Müller,** outside the Frauenkirche in Nuremberg, September 1934. (Wikipedia)

* * *

Thrill Ride

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White described “one of the strangest nightmares of motordom”…

THE GREAT WALL…**E.B. White** feared whatever might pop out of the dark tunnels on the northern stretches of Park Avenue. Clockwise, from top, an 1876 illustration of the new viaduct through the Harlem Flats; E. 108th Street pedestrian tunnel between Lexington and Park; Park Avenue Viaduct–La Marqueta. (Wikipedia/manhattanwalkblog.com/6tocelebrate.org)

* * *

Ding-dong

Robert Benchley filed a brief review of The Postman Always Rings Twice, a stage adaptation at the Lyceum Theatre of James M. Cain’s acclaimed novel. Although the play was well received by audiences, many reviewers found the subject matter distasteful. Cain would later describe the 1936 production as “a dreadful experience from beginning to end.”

SCHEMERS AND DREAMERS…**Richard Barthelmess** and **Mary Philips** portrayed star-crossed lovers in the 1936 stage production of *The Postman Always Rings Twice*. Philips was a noted Broadway performer and Humphey Bogart’s first wife. (Wikipedia/imdb.com)

* * *

At the Movies

Critic John Mosher commented on familiar Hollywood tropes (doctors chasing nurses, execs pursuing secretaries etc.) and offered up the “tepid” example of Wife vs. Secretary, which featured three of Tinseltown’s top stars.

MILD HIJINKS…At left, **Clark Gable** and Jean Harlow in a scene from *Wife vs. Secretary*; at right, Gable with **Myrna Loy.** *(faintlyfamiliar.com/facebook.com)*

Mosher didn’t find much excitement in the dog-themed picture The Voice of Bugle Ann, and was left flat after seeing Road Gang and the German film Liebelei.

SWEET AND SOUR…**Lionel Barrymore** and Spring Byington were on one side of a feud over a special dog in *The Voice of Bugle Ann.* (tcm.com)

WELL THIS SUCKS…At left, **Donald Woods** and Carlyle Moore Jr. find themselves behind bars in *Road Gang;* at right, **Paul Hörbiger** and **Olga Tschechowa** in 1933’s Liebelei (aka Playing at Love). (rotten tomatoes.com/screenslate.com)

* * *

Language Arts

H.L. Mencken continued his exploration of American English by taking a look at past attempts to simplify spelling—most of them unsuccessful. Excerpts:

NOT ONE FOR GIMMICKS…**H.L. Mencken** at his desk at the Baltimore Sun. *(Paris Review)*

Mencken noted the Chicago Tribune’s radical approach to simplified spelling in 1934, and the lasting effects of Noah Webster’s American dictionary.

“PEDAGOGUE” was one of the milder insults cast at **Noah Webster** by his peers. (National Portrait Gallery)

* * *

First World Problem

Food critic Sheila Hibben looked into the complexities of tea-drinking during the cocktail hour, and vice-versa.

CHOOSE YOUR MOOD…The Plaza Hotel offered the ideal setting for whatever libation one chose at tea time. At left, the Plaza’s Persian Room, 1934, and the Palm Court, undated photo. (cooperhewitt.org/mcny.org)

* * *

Finer Things

Rebecca West was a brilliant journalist and gifted prose writer, and when she published something people took notice, including critic Clifton Fadiman, who noted her return with The Thinking Reed. A brief excerpt:

A MIGHTY PEN…**Rebecca West** (1892-1983) was considered one of the finest prose writers of twentieth-century England. This 1934 photograph was produced by **Howard Coster.** (National Portrait Gallery)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

The March 7 issue opened to this sumptuous image of luxury travel aboard the Normandie…

…the salons of Dorothy Gray returned with another tale of a magical transformation, here the plain “Miss Adams” suddenly becomes lovely and exciting thanks to the illusion of cosmetics…

…the makers of Packard automobiles took out this full page ad to gently chastise Time magazine for questioning the carmaker’s adherence to a timeless, “basic design”…

…although in Time’s defense the Packard didn’t look much different from this Lincoln…

…what did look different was the Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow, which had disappointing sales due to a streamlined design that was a bit too radical for consumers…

…actress and costume designer Kate Lawson (1894-1977) made her image available to promote washable wallpaper…

…in addition to calming nerves and boosting energy, Camels apparently aided one’s digestion, or so this ad claimed…

…Liggett & Myers stuck with the homespun approach, here three generations light up Chesterfields in the warm glow of the parlor…

…did you spot the cigarettes in the ad?…

…on to the cartoons, we have Al Frueh’s take on the Ziegfeld Follies…

…James Thurber contributed this to the calendar section…

…and Thurber again with his beloved dogs…

…George Price found a glitch at the weather bureau…

…Californians circled their wagons in the hostile Midwest, per Carl Rose…

…Alain saw a trip to the dentist in this man’s future…

…Helen Hokinson lost us in the peculiarities of needlepoint…

…Barbara Shermund found a bargain in portraiture…

…and Shermund again, in the dress department…

…and we close with Whitney Darrow Jr, and something to write about…

Next Time: Nostalgic Notes…

Führer Furor

Above, left, Janet Flanner regards the cover of the Sept. 13, 1931 issue of The New Yorker; at right, Adolf Hitler's chosen filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl at Nuremberg's "Shovel Day" parade, 1936. (Library of Congress/Sueddeutscher Verlag)

The February 29, 1936 issue stands out from pack not only for its cover—James Thurber’s first—but also for the magazine’s first in-depth look at a man who would spark the deadliest conflict in human history.

February 29, 1936 cover by James Thurber. This was the first of six covers Thurber contributed to *The New Yorker.* You can see all six covers at Michael Maslin’s Ink Spill, the go-to site for all things Thurber and so much more. **UPDATE:** Also check Maslin’s post regarding the repeat of this cover on Sept. 4, 2023. Fascinating read!

Before we jump in…Thurber’s close friend E.B. White noted another unusual fact about this issue…

…twenty-eight years later, and a dime extra (cover by Garrett Price)…

* * *

Inside the Feb. 29 issue, The New Yorker’s Paris correspondent Janet Flanner published the first part of a three-part profile on German dictator Adolf Hitler. In this first excerpt she described the Führer’s ascetic diet and personality (caricature by William Cotton).

NAZI NUM NUMS….Adolf Hitler with one of his official food tasters, **Margot Woelk**, during World War II. Woelk later claimed she was the sole survivor from a group of food tasters who were summarily executed by the Red Army after the fall of Berlin. *(warfarehistorynetwork.com)*

Flanner described Hitler’s relationships with influential women, particularly filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl.

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS…**Adolf Hitler** had influential admirers both in and outside of Germany, including, clockwise, from top left, filmmaker **Leni Riefenstahl** (in the white skirt described by Flanner) at the 1936 “Shovel Day” in Nuremburg; **Winifred Wagner,** daughter-in-law of composer **Richard Wagner,** in 1925; Hitler with **Unity Mitford,** one of six aristocratic Mitford sisters and a fanatical Nazi; Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstaengl with another Mitford sister, **Diana Mitford,** at a 1934 Nuremberg rally. Diana as married to **Oswald Mosley,** leader of the British Union of Fascists, and Hanfstaengl was the son of **Katharina Wilhelmina Hanfstaengl,** a prominent Munich art publisher who helped finance Hitler’s rise to power. *(Sueddeutscher Verlag/Wikipedia/historyreader.com)*

Flanner concluded the piece with a look at Hitler’s sexuality, which seemed non-existent, and drew an ominous conclusion about his personality type.

EXPENDABLE…**Ernst Röhm** with Adolf Hitler in 1933. Although Hitler knew Röhm was gay, he also valued Röhm’s leadership and organizational skills, that is until his presence proved a liability. Röhm was murdered by the SS in 1934 during the “Night of the Long Knives.” *(Wikipedia)*

As part of a centenary series, The New Yorker’s Andrew Marantz recently looked at Flanner’s profile of Hitler, noting that she was “neither an antifascist, like her friend Dorothy Parker, nor a Fascist, like her friend Ezra Pound; she was against crude bigotry, but she was not the world’s greatest philo-Semite.”

* * *

Lamour Amour

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White pointed out the challenges of expressing physical beauty over a non-visual medium like radio:

TELEGENIC…Hopefully E.B. White managed to see **Dorothy Lamour** on the “television waves… bumping along over the Alleghenies.” At left, publicity photo of Lamour from 1937; at right, Lamour appeared as a mystery guest on *What’s My Line?*, Feb. 20, 1955, seen here with host John Daly. In later years Lamour was a guest on a number of television shows, ranging from *Marcus Welby, M.D.* to *Remington Steele. (Wikipedia/YouTube.com)*

* * *

Shadow Plays

Morris Bishop (1893-1973), a noted scholar of the Middle Ages as well as a writer of light verse, offered up these lines after screening early silent films at the Museum of Modern Art. The screenings were curated by Iris Barry to showcase MoMA’s new film library and to advance the study of film as a serious art form.

TIME CAPSULES…The Museum of Modern Art was a pioneer in the study of film as a modern art form. Among the films screened at MoMA in 1936 (clockwise, from top left): famed stage actress **Sarah Bernhardt** as Queen Elizabeth in the *Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth* (The Loves of Queen Elizabeth) with **Lou Tellegen,** 1912; Bernhardt in the film *Camille* (*La Dame aux camélias*) with **André Calmettes,** 1911; **Theda Bara’s** 1917 take on *Camille*, in a scene with Alan Roscoe; **Gloria Swanson** in *Zaza,* 1923. *(Wikipedia/imdb.com/YouTube.com)*

* * *

A Reporter’s Chops

With so much attention given to James Thurber as a humorist, it is easy to forget that he was an experienced journalist, and that he could apply his considerable gifts as a writer to narrative non-fiction. For the Feb. 29 “A Reporter at Large” column, Thurber penned “Crime in the Cumberlands.” I can’t do it justice through excerpts, but I highly recommend giving it a read as a prime example of Thurber’s skills as a reporter.

SERIOUSLY SERIOUS WRITER…You can find both humorous and not-so-humorous crime stories (and drawings, of course) in 1991’s *Thurber on Crime,* edited by Robert Lopresti. “Crime in the Cumberlands” is included in the collection. *(jamesthurber.org/barnesandnoble.com)*

* * *

At the Movies

Not so serious were the films being churned out by Hollywood, including the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers toe-tapper Follow the Fleet, set to an Irving Berlin score that featured the hit “Let’s Face the Music and Dance.” Critic John Mosher was on board for the ride.

GOOD CLEAN FUN…Dance partners “Bake” Baker (**Fred Astaire**) and Sherry Martin (**Ginger Rogers**) find love during shore leave in *Follow the Fleet.* *(Toronto Film Society)*

Bandleader Harry Richman, well known in the New York nightlife scene of the 1920s and 30s, showed his acting chops in The Music Goes ‘Round…

I CAN SING TOO…**Rochelle Hudson** and **Harry Richman** in The Music Goes ‘Round. (imdb.com)

…Fred MacMurray, Sylvia Sydney, Henry Fonda and Fred Stone appeared in living color in The Trail of the Lonesome Pine–it was just the second full-length feature to be shot in three-strip Technicolor and the first to be shot outdoors in Technicolor…

LIFELIKE…Clockwise, from top left: **Fred MacMurray; Sylvia Sydney**; a Paramount movie poster; **Henry Fonda** and **Fred Stone.** *(moviesalamark.com/imdb.com)*

…the 1936 film Rhodes (aka Rhodes of Africa) featured the massive acting talents of Walter Huston and Peggy Ashcroft; not surprisingly, the subject matter of the film has not aged well…a 2015 review in The Guardian is headlined: “Rhodes of Africa: only slightly less offensive than the man himself”…

COLONIAL KLINK…**Walter Huston** and **Peggy Ashcroft** in Rhodes. *(imdb.com)*

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We begin with a Stage magazine ad from the inside front cover, featuring an illustration by Alexander King…

…only new-money swells would be seen doing this…old money wouldn’t dare enter the kitchen, unless they needed to sack the cook…

…on the back cover of the Feb. 29 issue you would find this elegant woman taking a break from her vanity to enjoy a “toasted” Lucky…

…we join our cartoonists, starting with this spot by Richard Taylor…

…Garrett Price got stuck over the frozen falls…

…George Price drew up a sandwich board competition…

…Al Frueh continued to illuminate “The Theatre” section…

…James Thurber posed a loaded question…

…Denys Wortman got down to some debugging…

…Carl Rose offered up another example of rugged individualism…

…Charles Addams came down to earth…

…Alain illustrated a case of jury tampering…

…Helen Hokinson demonstrated the allure of a netted hat…

…and Hokinson again, doing some early spring cleaning…

…and Barbara Shermund explored the idyll of wanderlust…

…and before we go, here is the New Yorker cover—by Helen Hokinson, Sept. 12, 1931—that was the object of Janet Flanner’s attention…

Next Time: Making of a Madman…

The New Ziegfeld

Above: The 1936 Ziegfeld Follies premiered on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 30, 1936 and closed on May 9, 1936 after 115 performances. (Hulton Archive)

Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr died in 1932, but his famous theatrical revue lived on for years with revivals including one in 1936 that Robert Benchley praised for being better than the originals.

February 8, 1936 cover by **Helen Hokinson,** marking the opening of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. According to **Michael Maslin’s** always enlightening Ink Spill, the first dog-themed *New Yorker* cover was Feb. 8, 1930, by **Theodore Haupt** *(below).*

Now on with the show. Brought back to life by Ziegfeld’s widow Billie Burke and theatre operators Lee and J. J. Shubert, The Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 was loaded with talent, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, choreography by George Balanchine, and sets and costumes by Vincente Minnelli. What really brought people in was the star of the show, Fannie Brice, who was supported by cast members Bob Hope, Eve Arden, Josephine Baker, and the Nicholas Brothers, among others. Benchley wrote:

FANNIE AND THE REST…Clockwise, from top left: **Bob Hope** and Eve Arden performed the popular tune “I Can’t Get Started With You”; Hope with Fannie Brice in the sketch “Baby Snooks Goes Hollywood”; **Josephine Baker** premiered “The Conga” at the *Follies*, and **Harriet Hoctor** performed her “Night Flight.” *(gershwin.com/uneicone-josephinebaker.webador.fr/libraryofcongress,org)*

This ad for the 1936 Follies prominently featured Benchley’s endorsement:

Billie Burke (1884–1970) authorized Follies revivals with the Shuberts in 1934, 1936 and 1943, with the Shubert family producing a final revival in 1957. In 1936 MGM also filmed a Ziegfeld biopic, The Great Ziegfeld (which won two Academy Awards), casting William Powell as Ziegfeld and Myrna Loy as Burke. Burke wanted to play herself in the film, but at age 51 she was deemed too old for the part.

ZIEGFELD MAGIC…**Florenz Ziegfeld’s** widow **Billie Burke** kept the Follies going after her husband’s death in 1932. She is best known today for her portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch of the North in 1939’s *The Wizard of Oz.* (oscars.org/Wikipedia)

Fannie Brice (1891–1951) was the biggest star of the Follies and so dominated the show that when she became ill in May 1936 the production closed. Brice returned to the Winter Garden that September for 112 more performances.

Benchley also praised Call it a Day, a 1935 play by British writer Dodie Smith that ran for 194 performances at the Morosco Theatre. Benchley thought it was so good he saw it twice.

SPRING FEVER drove the action in Dodie Smith’s (right) hit comedy Call it a Day. The play chronicles a single spring day in the lives of the Hilton family, during which each member encounters unexpected romantic temptations and complications. **Gladys Cooper,** left, starred as Dorothy Hilton. The play was adapted to a Hollywood film in 1937. (vocal.media/Wikipedia)

* * *

At the Movies

We go from the stage to the screen, where John Mosher took in Rose Marie, a musical comedy based on a popular 1924 Broadway play. The film “repolished” the old play and used it as a framework for a series of duets between Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.

MELODIOUS MOUNTIE…Lobby card for *Rose Marie*, a musical romcom about a singing Mountie and a world-renowned prima donna, joined in love by a haunting “Indian mating call.” (Wikipedia)

Mosher reviewed three other films that could have used some of Rose Marie’s cheer:

CHEERLESS FARE…Clockwise, from top: **Gloria Stuart, Freddie Bartholomew,** and **Michael Whalen** in *Professional Soldier*; **James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan** and **Ray Milland** in Next Time We Love; **Helen Vinson** and **Conrad Veidt** in *King of the Damned. (Wikipedia/imdb.com/letterboxd.com/silversirens.co.uk)*

* * *

Miscellany

I strive to keep these posts at a readable length, and (hopefully) lively and enjoyable to read, which means that I cannot include absolutely everything that appears in each issue. For example, there are a number of regular features from the sports world—ranging from major attractions like hockey and college football (no coverage yet of baseball—which for some reason Harold Ross hated—or basketball) to more niche pursuits, such as squash (below) or indoor polo. From time to time I will include these under “Miscellany” as a way to give readers a more complete picture, and to assuage my fear that I am leaving something important out. Here is a very brief snippet of a regular feature, “Court Games,” by staff writer Geoffrey T. Hellman.

RACKETEERS…At left, **Beekman Pool** of the Harvard Club was the 1936 singles champion of the Metropolitan Squash Racquets Association; at right, **Edwin Bigelow** of the U.S. Squash Racquets Association presents the National Trophy to **Germain Glidden**. To the far right is runner-up **Andrew Ingraham**, who looks a bit miffed about getting a plate rather than a trophy cup. (thecarycollection.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

Let’s start with the inside front cover…advertisements from Dorothy Gray salons were all about the restoration of youth in older women…apparently the treatments were so successful that “Mrs. M” was a bigger attraction at a Ritz-Carlton debutante party than her society-bound daughter…note the young gents at right checking out mom, and not the deb…

…opposite Dorothy Gray was this elegant appeal from Bergdorf Goodman…ads aimed at more refined tastes almost always featured these attenuated figures (whether they were people or luxury automobiles)…I guess I would hold onto something too with stilts like those…

…here’s a Steinway grand for less than a grand…$885 in 1936 is roughly equivalent to $20,000 or so today, but that’s still a bargain—Steinway grand pianos currently start at around $85,000…

…speaking of bargains, you could own “The Most Beautiful Thing on Wheels” (according to this ad) for a mere $615…

…and for an extra twenty-five bucks you could own a durable Dodge like the one endorsed by Roy Chapman Andrews (1884–1960), a globetrotting explorer who discovered fossilized dinosaur eggs in the Gobi Desert in the 1920s…

THE REAL INDY…**Roy Chapman Andrews** gained national fame as an explorer for New York’s American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). The discovery of a nest of complete dinosaur eggs in Mongolia in 1923 (above) provided the first proof that the critters hatched out of eggs. Named AMNH’s director in 1934, Andrews is thought to be an inspiration for the film hero Indiana Jones. (amnh.org/roychapmanandrewssociety.org)

…the folks at Chrysler were doing everything they could to get people interested in buying their Airflows—despite its technological advances, the car’s streamlined design (toned down in later models) was just too radical for mass market tastes…note how the ad draws attention to the work of “Artist Floyd Davis”…

…here’s a photo of Floyd Davis…

CHEERS…Illustrator Floyd Davis (1896–1966) poses in an ad for Lord Calvert whiskey, 1946. In 1943 Life magazine called him the “#1 Illustrator in America.” (Wikipedia)

…the Fisher company, makers of car bodies for General Motors, liked to emphasize the safety of their “Turret Top,” although it didn’t seem to occur to anyone that a child dangling from a car window was problematic…

…actress Lupe Vélez made the unlikely claim that flying on a 1930s airliner was “as comfortable as a private yacht”…

…ads for White Rock were among the more colorful found in the early New Yorker…

…on the back cover, Liggett & Myers tobacco company shifted gears from elegant to homespun with an ad that emphasized the high quality of Turkish leaf tobacco…

…the folks at Coty hired two New Yorker contributors, poet Arthur Guiterman and illustrator Constantin Alajalov, to promote their line of lipsticks…

…which brings us to the cartoonists, beginning with Al Frueh…

…Richard Taylor opened things up in “Goings On”…

…and George Price added this bit of action to the calendar section…

…Abe Birnbaum contributed this delightful spot drawing…

…the Westminster dog show was the talk of the town, and at Grand Central, per Perry Barlow…

…Robert Day had a fight on his hands…

…Helen Hokinson’s “girls” were out to snub the sanitation department…

…Rea Irvin drew up the literal downfall of one business…

…Eli Garson had us seeing spots…

…Charles Addams found the Pied Piper in a Salvation Army band…

…Alan Dunn gave new meaning to “taking a detour”…

…Barbara Shermund illustrated one of the perils of cocktail parties…

…and we close with Peter Arno, and the sinister world of taxi dancers…

Next Time: Modern Times…

Having a Ball

 Above: Beginning in 1934, the President’s Birthday Balls became annual fundraisers for polio research. The Waldorf-Astoria's 1936 event (left) featured dance bands, celebrities, and formal dress. At right, a 1934 "Toga Party" birthday with FDR's Cuff Link Gang, Washington D.C. (fdrlibrary.org)

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s birthday was a cause for annual celebration throughout the country, where cities and towns both large and small used the occasion to raise money for polio research.

February 1, 1936 cover by Roger Duvoisin.

The Jan. 30, 1936 President’s Birthday Ball marked FDR’s 54th year, featuring celebrities, dances, and a national radio address. The Waldorf-Astoria hosted an event, as did the Central Park Casino, where E.B. White found the one-hundred-dollar price tag and the dress code a bit too rich for his tastes, but not too rich for Lucy Cotton Thomas Magraw, a Manhattan social climber who represented the “Spirit of Golden Prosperity” at the Casino event.

LIKE MOTHS TO FLAME…At left, debutantes mark FDR’s birthday fundraiser at the Waldorf-Astoria in the 1930s; at right, **Lucy Cotton Thomas Magraw** (1891–1948) was a chorus girl from Houston who appeared in several silent films, but was best known as a Manhattan social climber and for her marriages to a series of prominent men. (wwd.com/davidkfrasier.com)

FDR himself was diagnosed with polio in 1921, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. To counter the effects of the disease, Roosevelt explored the potential benefits of hydrotherapy, establishing a rehabilitation center at Warm Springs, Georgia. Proceeds from the charity balls went to Warm Springs until Roosevelt founded the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938. Funds raised by the foundation supported the development of a vaccine by the 1950s.

A NIGHT OF MERRIMENT…Celebrations in CCC camps in honor of FDR’s birthday became annual events, such as the one at left (illustrated by **Marshall Davis**) that depicted various happenings at the 1936 President’s Birthday Dance in Biloxi, Mississippi; at right, actress Jean Harlow cutting FDR’s birthday cake at the Eastbay Birthday Ball in Oakland, CA, in 1934. (newdealstories.com/facebook.com)

“The Talk of the Town” noted the role of Carl M. Byoir, a pioneering publicist, in creating the buzz around the yearly birthday balls.

CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?…Clockwise, from top left, **Carl Byoir** created and organized one of the world’s largest public relations firms in 1930, and was a force behind making the FDR Birthday Balls a major national event; **Eleanor Roosevelt** cuts the cake at a Birthday Ball, Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 1936; **Margaret Lehand,** personal secretary to President Roosevelt, holds up one of the 30,000 dimes received on the morning of Jan. 28, 1938 for FDR’s National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, which would later become the March of Dimes. (Wikipedia)

COIN FOR A CAUSE…As we saw in the previous post, it was comedian Eddie Cantor who coined the phrase “March of Dimes” for the annual fundraiser for polio research. The phrase later became the official name of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. (Facebook)

The Roosevelt Dime went into circulation in 1946, commemorating FDR’s role in inspiring the March of Dimes.

* * *

Rap on Scrap

Poet and author Phyllis McGinley apparently had her fill of social occasions that included interminable, tedious viewings of the hosts’ scrapbooks, photo albums, and various tchotchkes.

SPARE ME YOUR VACATION SLIDES…**Phyllis McKinley** would have hated Facebook. (Wikipedia)

* * *

Wise Guy

Henry F. Pringle published the first part of a three-part profile on Elihu Root, making much of the fact that Root (1845–1937) was still kicking at ninety after a lifetime of public service including two stints as Secretary of War and serving as Secretary of State under President Theodore Roosevelt. Unofficially, he advised a number of presidents and other leaders on foreign and domestic issues, giving him the imprimatur of a political “wise man.” A brief excerpt (with caricature by William Cotton):

WAR BUDDIES…U.S. Secretary of War **Elihu Root** (right) and his successor, **William Howard Taft**, c. 1904. Taft was elected U.S. President in 1908, and in 1912 Root would receive the Nobel Peace Prize. (Wikipedia)

* * *

Devastating Irony

According to critic Robert Benchley, the adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel Ethan Frome to the stage required a precise hand, and apparently director Max Gordon delivered when it opened at the National Theatre. Excerpt:

EDITH WHARTON WOULD HAVE BEEN PROUD, according to **Robert Benchley,** of the stage adaptation of *Ethan Frome.* The cast, from left, included **Pauline Lord, Raymond Massey**, and **Ruth Gordon**. Benchley would have been well acquainted with Gordon, who was a familiar face at the Algonquin Round Table. (Facebook)

Benchley praised the performances of the principal actors Pauline Lord, Raymond Massey, and Ruth Gordon.

IN FINE FORM…**Pauline Lord, Raymond Massey,** and Ruth Gordon in a publicity still for *Ethan Frome*. (witness2fashion.com)

* * *

At the Movies

We take to the air with Howard Hawks’ Ceiling Zero, which featured an odd mix of screwball dialogue and nerve-wracking flight scenes. Critic John Mosher found the film to be well done, even though most of its action took place on the ground.

GROUNDED…Shot a shoestring budget, Warner Brothers’ *Ceiling Zero,* directed by Howard Hawks, staged most of the action at an airline’s headquarters rather than up in the air. From left are **Pat O’Brien, James Cagney**, and **June Travis**. (Harvard Film Archive)

Mosher was also happy to welcome Myrna Loy back to the silver screen in the “agreeable” Whipsaw.

HUSTLE AND BUSTLE…**Myrna Loy** and Spencer Tracy starred in action-packed crime drama *Whipsaw.* (Letterboxd.com)

Mosher was at a loss to explain the popularity of comedian Joe Penner, whose presence in the film Collegiate inspired impatient “mobs” to crash the windows and doors of the Paramount Theatre.

INCONSEQUENTIAL was the word John Mosher used to describe *Collegiate*. Clockwise, from top left, **Frances Langford** and Jack Oakie in a scene from *Collegiate—*Oakie played a man who inherits an all-girls school from his aunt; **Betty Grable** with **Joe Penner**; Grable shows off her school spirit and her famous legs in a publicity photo. (rottentomatoes.com/imdb.com)

About Joe Penner (1904–1941): Broadcast historian Elizabeth McLeod sums up Penner’s popularity as “the ultimate Depression-era zany.” Mostly forgotten today, Penner was a national craze in the mid-1930s. “There is no deep social meaning in his comedy, no shades of subtlety,” writes McLeod, “just utter slapstick foolishness, delivered in an endearingly simpering style that’s the closest thing the 1930s had to Pee-wee Herman.”

WANNA BUY A DUCK? was Joe Penner’s catchphrase. Born József Pintér in what is now Serbia, he is shown here with his ubiquitous duck, Goo Goo. According to historian **Elizabeth McLeod,** Penner was doomed to an early decline by the sheer repetitiveness of his format. He died in his sleep, of a heart attack, at age 36. (imdb.com)

* * *

Something Completely Different

We go from Joe Penner to George Santayana, who finished the six-hundred-page The Last Puritan after laboring on the novel for fifteen years. A brief excerpt from a Clifton Fadiman review:

WHEN WRITERS MADE THE COVER…**George Santayana** on the cover of *Time,* Feb. 3, 1936. (Time.com)

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From Our Advertisers

The folks at Hormel continued their ad series pairing Hormel French Style onion soup with notable historic figures…apparently Mary, Queen of Scots was honored with some onion soup when she married the Dauphin in 1558…nearly three decades later she would lose her head under the reign of Elizabeth I…

…the opening spread of the magazine sometimes offered odd juxtapositions…

…and what was this obsession with peas?…last week (and previous weeks) the makers of Green Giant canned foods featured a “Major” obsessed with fresh peas…

…in this issue, the folks at Birds Eye presented frozen peas as a fresher alternative to canned…the ad featured their own version of a “Major,” here sharing the wonderful news about frozen peas with his cronies…

…Capitol Theatre predicted that their latest feature, Rose Marie, would be even better than Naughty Marietta…

…and apparently it was…

WHEN I’M CALLING YOOOOUUUU…The Capitol Theatre’s prediction came true—*Rose Marie* was a big hit, as was the duet “Indian Love Call” (it remained a signature song for both actors); at left, **Nelson Eddy** and **Jeanette MacDonald** in Rose Marie; at right, Eddy and MacDonald in 1935’s *Naughty Marietta*. “America’s Singing Sweethearts” made eight films together. (MGM)

…only forty hours to paradise, claimed this ad on the inside back cover…

…and on the back cover, readers were greeted by a smug, almost withering look—a fashionable woman striking a pose, one that was doubtless imitated by many in the smart set who would soon realize they were hopelessly addicted to nicotine…

…on to our cartoonists, we begin with Al Frueh and his topless tribute to George White’s Scandals…

…Gregory d’Alessio drew up this trio—endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph—for the opening pages…

…here’s a spot by Robert Day, dreaming of warmer climes…

…we join Charles Addams at the Louvre…

…and on a desert island…

…a rather strange entry by Alice Harvey, with the longest caption I’ve come across so far…

…we join William Steig’s “Small Fry” during a school day, beginning on page 24…

…and continuing onto page 25…

…here is how it originally appeared…

…In 1935, Saks Fifth Avenue installed an indoor ski slope on the men’s floor of its New York City flagship store, here illustrated by Perry Barlow…

IT WAS A THING…Ski slope inside Saks Fifth Avenue, New York, 1935. (CNN.com)

…department stores such as Macy’s often featured model homes in their household departments…Alan Dunn added a bit of color, or rather, soot, to this one…

…Helen Hokinson looked for answers at a book shop…

and Hokinson again, doing a bit of home decorating…

…it appears Morton was displaying a copy of Constantin Brancusi’s Princess X…

…Barbara Shermund engaged in some light banter at a cocktail party…

…and we close with a surprise visit from William Crawford Galbraith…

Next Time: The New Ziegfeld…

Picking on Pickford

Above: Mary Pickford (right, from 1916) spoke out against salacious content in films, such as this scene from 1930's Madam Satan. (Wikipedia/mainemedia.edu)

James Thurber seemed to enjoy teasing silent film legend Mary Pickford in her new career as social commentator and author of spiritual articles and books. Having retired from acting in 1933, Pickford was also using her powerful position as a co-founder of United Artists to focus on the moral direction of the film industry.

December 21, 1935 cover by Ilonka Karasz.

Back in the Sept. 21 issue of The New Yorker, Thurber took a humorous poke at Pickford’s Liberty magazine article on the afterlife, and found more fodder after Pickford, in an interview with the World-Telegram, criticized “salacious” films. “Be a guardian, not an usher, at the portal of your thought,” she advised. Thurber took the bait. Excerpts:

KEEPING IT CLEAN…From left, producer **Samuel Goldwyn**, actors **Charlie Chaplin** and **Douglas Fairbanks Sr.** pose behind **Mary Pickford** at a United Artists board meeting in Los Angeles, July 9, 1935. (AP)

Thurber took particular pleasure in Pickford’s comments regarding the control of one’s dirty thoughts:

PICKFORD’S UNITED ARTISTS produced some memorable, non-salacious films in 1936, including **Charlie Chaplin’s** *Modern Times,* and the acclaimed Dodsworth starring **Ruth Chatterton** and **Walter Huston** as Fran and Sam Dodsworth. (Wikipedia)

Pickford had a strong ally in the Hays Code, a set of self-imposed censorship guidelines that would keep mainstream studio films relatively free of salacious content for the next thirty years.

* * *

A White Christmas

E.B. White offered holiday greetings to everyone from drinkers of blended whiskey to the makers of red tape (plus a plug for New Yorker subscriptions)…

CHEERS AND JEERS…**E.B. White** sent holiday greetings to the men who were changing the Normandie’s massive propellers (from three- to four-blade), and probably wanted to give a lump of coal to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia for “foolishly” banning organ grinders from city streets. (ships nostalgia.com/ephemeralnewyork)

…and concluded with these words…

…Otto Soglow added this bit of spot art to the bottom of White’s “Notes and Comment”…

* * *

A Holiday Tradition

Page 21 featured Frank Sullivan’s annual Christmas poem (he wrote forty-two of them from 1932 to 1974)…

…which continued on page 22…

* * *

Lost In Paradise

Robert Benchley did the honors as theatre critic for the Dec. 21 issue, enjoying an evening at Longacre Theatre with the richly endowed characters featured in Clifford Odets’ Paradise Lost.

GREAT PLAY, WHATEVER IT MEANS…**Robert Benchley** thoroughly enjoyed **Clifford Odets’** gallery of characters in Paradise Lost. Top, Odets circa 1930s; below, photo from the 1935-36 production at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre. (mcny.org)

Apparently the rest of the Broadway fare was not so great, as Benchley fled Cort’s Theatre (it featured This Our House, which closed after just two performances) to catch A Night at the Opera with the Marx Brothers.

* * *

At the Movies

Benchley wasn’t the only one enjoying a night at the movies. Critic John Mosher found favor with German actor Emil Jannings’ latest flick, The Making of a King (Der alte und der junge König), calling the film “a sensible picture of the old bully,” namely the father of Frederick the Great.

LIGHTEN UP, FRED…**Heinrich Marlow** (left) and **Emil Jannings** in a scene from *The Making of a King*. The film depicted the turbulent relationship between Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm I and his son, Crown Prince Friedrich. (IMDB)

Mosher found bright moments in Ginger Rogers’ latest film, but would have preferred another pairing with her fellow hoofer, Fred Astaire.

BETTER WITH FRED thought John Mosher of **Ginger Rogers’s** brave turn as an actress fleeing from her admiring fans in 1935’s In Person. Rogers donned eyeglasses, a wig, and fake teeth (inset) to portray the actress in hiding. She is pictured here in a scene with co-star **George Brent**. (IMDB)

Mosher was stimulated by The Great Impersonation, however, the “cordial” films about small town life and happy radio folk left him less than enthused.

MORE SPIES, PLEASE…**John Mosher** didn’t get too excited over the standard fare offered in the films *Millions in the Air* and *Your Uncle Dudley,* however he found the performances of Edmund Lowe and Wera Engels (bottom right) in the spy caper The Great Impersonation to be most stimulating. (IMDB)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

After touring France in the late 1870s, a New York drugstore owner named Richard Hudnut returned to the States determined to introduce French-style perfumes and cosmetics to American women. He soon transformed his drugstore into an elegant showroom, and in time became the first American to achieve international success in cosmetics…

…advertisements for Christmas gifts mostly dropped out of the magazine, and the back of the book was filled with spots touting various New Year’s Eve entertainments…

…in this ad from the Minnesota Valley Canning Company (renamed Green Giant in 1950), a robber baron’s humble roots, and his checkbook, are triggered by a can of corn…

…thanks to the makers of Luckies, Jolly Old St. Nick was dropping more than soot down your chimney on Christmas Eve…

…we kick off our cartoons with this spot illustration by Abe Birnbaum…

...Richard Decker gave us this caption-less appeal to the masses…

…Al Frueh brightened up the “Theatre” section…

…Helen Hokinson got in line at Macy’s…

…and found a challenge in the housewares department…(see Summer Pierre’s wonderful tribute to Hokinson and her observational forays into the city with James Reid Parker)…