Barbara Hutton – A New Yorker State of Mind

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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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…

Music in the Air

Above: The Cat and the Fiddle (Pete Gordon) and Mickey Mouse (a monkey in a very creepy costume) were featured in 1934's Babes In Toyland.

We close out the old year and ring in the new with a bit of song and dance from three musicals that entertained New Yorkers in the waning days of 1934.

The work of composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II were prominent in two of those films, adapted from successful Broadway productions—the romantic comedy Music in the Air and the sentimental Sweet Adeline. Success on the stage did not necessarily translate to the screen in either case, according to critic John Mosher.

SOUR NOTES…The famed silent movie star **Gloria Swanson** showed off her singing chops in *Music in the Air,* but it wasn’t enough to save the film from becoming a box office failure. The film centered on the stormy relationship between opera star Frieda Hotzfelt (Swanson) and librettist Bruno Mahler (**John Boles**, pictured). (TCM)

TALL ORDER…For those who recalled **Helen Morgan’s** tragedy-tinged Broadway performance as Addie in *Sweet Adeline*, **Irene Dunn’s** more comical take, although delivered with authority, could not hold up the pallid performances of her co-stars, including **Donald Woods**, right. (TCM)

And there was Babes in Toyland, a Hal Roach film headlined by the comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. The film was well received by critics, including Mosher, who wrote that Babes in Toyland “was far more successful than [1933’s] Alice in Wonderland, and the children will probably be far less bored by it than they generally are by those films designed especially for them.” However, similar to Alice the costumes seem creepily crude, such as the weird rubber pig costumes and the almost terrifying Mickey Mouse, portrayed by a hapless monkey dressed to resemble the big-eared icon. It was apparently the first and last time Walt Disney allowed the Mickey Mouse character to be portrayed outside of a Disney film. No wonder.

Clockwise, from top left, **Stan Laurel** and **Oliver Hardy** with **Felix Knight** (Tom-Tom) and **Charlotte Henry** (Bo-Peep); the *Three Little Pigs* with the villain Silas Barnaby, portrayed by **Henry Brandon**; a very creepy Mickey Mouse (a monkey in costume); and Laurel and Hardy with The Cat and the Fiddle (**Pete Gordon**). (eofftvreview.wordpress.com/psychotronicaredux.wordpress.com/YouTube/MUBI)

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Alms for the Poor

Woolworth store heiress Barbara Hutton was one of the richest women in the world in the 1930s, and her lavish lifestyle in the midst of Depression attracted the attention, and the ire, of newspaper columnist Ed Sullivan. In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White made this observation:

COUGH IT UP, LADY…**Ed Sullivan,** who in 1934 was a well-known *Daily News* show business columnist, thought Woolworth dime store heiress **Barbara Hutton** should show more concern for the needy. Known for her lavish spending during the Great Depression, in 1934 Hutton was married to a self-styled Georgian prince named **Alexis Mdivani—**Mdivani would be the first of Hutton’s seven husbands. Sullivan would go on to greater fame on television with the Ed Sullivan Show. (clickamericana.com/npg.org.uk)

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Oh Baby

Most of us know something about the weird and somewhat tragic tale of the Dionne quintuplets, raised from infancy before the public gaze and exploited to sell everything from dolls and books to soap and toothpaste. When E.B. White made this brief mention in his “Notes and Comment,” the story of the quintuplets was still a jolly one, and their delivering physician, Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe had gone from being a country doctor to one of North America’s most trusted medical authorities. Dafoe would become the childrens’ guardian and impresario, and make a fortune marketing their story and images.

QUINTUPLE YOUR MONEY…After he delivered the Dionee quintuplets, **Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe** went from being a country doctor to one of North America’s most trusted medical authorities. That later translated into big profits from companies eager to cash in on the quint’s popularity, as these 1937 ads attest. (Pinterest)

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In the Year 2400

“The Talk of the Town” examined the “Buck Rogers” craze, fed by a cartoon strip, a radio show, and an array of toys.

YESTERDAY’S TOMORROW…A Buck Rogers “pop-up” book was just one of the many formats that could be consumed by avid followers of the early sci-fi hero. Also pictured are a themed pocket watch and the “must have” sci-fi toy of 1934, Buck’s XZ-31 Rocket Pistol. (Pinterest/Bullock Museum)

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What’s It All About, Alfie?

Art and architecture critic Lewis Mumford offered praise for Alfred Stieglitz’s latest exhibition at the photographer’s gallery, An American Place. Mumford noted Stieglitz’s “astringent quality” that rose above the philistine tastes and “stupidities” of American life.

LIFE AND WORK INTERTWINED…Clockwise, from top left: **Alfred Stieglitz’s** famed 1930 image of Grand Central Terminal; one of the photographer’s many images of clouds under the title *Equivalent*, 1930; image taken from Stieglitz’s studio/gallery window titled *From My Window at An American Place, North*, 1931; *Dorothy Norman*, circa 1931; *Georgia O’Keeffe*, 1933. Stieglitz, who was married to **Georgia O’Keeffe**, became **Dorothy Norman’s** mentor and lover in the late 1920s. (National Gallery of Art/Art Institute of Chicago)

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From Our Advertisers

The back cover of The New Yorker was coveted by tobacco companies, the makers of Camels and Lucky Strikes (seen here) both featuring sumptuous photos of stylish women using their product, women being a key growth market for the companies…

…same for the brewers, who also sought out female consumers to bolster sales of their brands…

…Ponds continued to roll out the seeming legions of socialites and lower-tier royalty to sell their jars of cold cream…

…the magazine’s ads were often directed at middlebrow class anxieties, as we see here…

…by constrast, this ad from Bonwit Teller (graced by fashion illustrator W. Mury) took us out of the stuffy parlor and onto the beckoning beaches of the Caribbean…