James Thurber – Page 3 – A New Yorker State of Mind

On Catfish Row

Above: Left image: Todd Duncan (Porgy) and Anne Brown (Bess), in the 1935 Broadway production of Porgy and Bess. Right image: John Bubbles (Sportin’ Life) and Brown. (Photos courtesy the Ira & Leonore Gershwin Trusts)

The 1935 Broadway production of Porgy and Bess is widely regarded as one of the most successful American operas of the twentieth century, but when it opened at the Alvin Theatre on Oct. 10, 1935, reviews were mixed, including the one penned by Wolcott Gibbs.

October 19, 1935 cover by **William Crawford Galbraith.** *The New York Times (Oct. 9, 1935)* made this observation about the rodeo at Madison Square Garden: “New York, which for several days has been vaguely aware of an impending rodeo because of a profusion of ten-gallon hats along Eighth Avenue and a sign in a beauty parlor, ‘Welcome, Cowgirls,’ will see the real thing this morning.”

Now you would think a work by composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by DuBose Heyward (author of the 1925 novel Porgy) and lyricist Ira Gershwin, would be a sure hit. Some critics did praise the production, which ran for 124 performances, but others criticized themes and characterizations of Black Americans that were created by white artists.

MIXED REVIEWS…The original Catfish Row set for *Porgy and Bess* as seen at Broadway’s Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) in 1935. (Billy Rose Theatre Collection, New York Public Library Digital Gallery)

This wasn’t the first time Porgy was adapted to the stage. It was originally produced in 1927 by Heyward and his wife, Dorothy, at the Guild Theatre in New York. The Heywards insisted on an African-American cast—an unusual decision at the time—and enlisted newcomer Rouben Mamoulian to direct. The play ran a total of fifty-five weeks.

ORIGIN STORY: *Porgy: A Play in Four Acts*, was a 1927 play by **Dorothy Heyward** and **DuBose Heyward**, adapted from the short novel by DuBose. (Wikiwand)

Gibbs preferred the original Porgy to the Gershwin–Heyward production, admitting that he simply did not care for “the operatic form of singing a story.”

continued…

TAKING THEIR BOWS…**George Gershwin** greets an audience after a performance of *Porgy and Bess.* Behind Gershwin are his brother, **Ira Gershwin** (left), and librettist and *Porgy* author **DuBose Heyward** (partially hidden, at right). (umich.edu)

The Moss Hart/Cole Porter musical comedy Jubilee! premiered at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre on Oct. 12, 1935, just two days after the Porgy and Bess premiere. Gibbs dubbed this show “heat-warming and beautiful.”

THE BEGUINE BEGINS…Inspired by the Silver Jubilee of Britain’s **George V,** the musical comedy Jubilee! told the story of a fictional royal family. The play featured such hit songs as “Begin the Beguine” and “Just One of Those Things,” which have become part of the American Songbook. (ovrtur.com)

ROYAL HIJINKS…At left, **June Knight** as Karen O’Kane and **Charles Walters** as Prince James in *Jubilee!*; at right, **Mary Roland** (the Queen) encounters “Mowgli” (**Mark Plant**) in Act I. (ovrtur.com)

Note: In the last issue (Oct. 12) we saw an ad for an around-the-world luxury cruise on the Franconia. Cole Porter and Moss Hart—with their families, friends, and assistants—sailed on a previous Franconia cruise, possibly in 1934, with the intention to write a new musical while on the trip. Apparently some of the songs and scenes in Jubilee! were inspired by their ports of call.

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Steering Clear

“The Talk of the Town” commented on the “steer-wrestlers” that were featured at the Madison Square Garden rodeo. Since steer-wrestling was also called “bulldogging,” it caused considerable consternation among New York animal lovers.

A BIG HOWDY…Cowgirls From the Madison Square Garden Rodeo With Millicent Hearst, 1932. (texashistory.unt.edu)

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Much Ado About FDR

The Conference on Port Development of the City of New York took issue with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s foreign trade policies, particularly his strict stance on neutrality, which the Conference believed was detrimental to foreign trade. This was likely related to the October 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia. E.B. White offered this satirical poem in reaction to the trade spat.

Howard Brubaker also chimed in on the trade issue, and on other unsettling developments in Europe:

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Puppy Love

Critic and poet Cuthbert Wright (1892–1948) was moved to write poetry after visiting a dog cemetery that also welcomed animals of all stripes. Here are excerpts of the opening and closing lines:

PET PROJECT…**Cuthbert Wright** was moved to verse after his visit to a pet cemetery, possibly the Hartsdale Pet Cemetery in Westchester. (Wikipedia/parenthetically.blogspot.com)

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Man and Machine

Art and culture critic Lewis Mumford is back this week, this time taking a look at the work of French artist Fernand Léger (1881–1955), who created a form of cubism known as “tubism,” regarded today as a forerunner of the pop art movement of the mid-1950s and the 1960s.

It is no surprise that the humanist Mumford, who sought an “organic balance” in everyday design, found Léger’s machine-like works alienating and sterile, representing an “aesthetic poverty.”

TOTALLY TUBULAR…Clockwise, from top left, works of **Fernand Léger** cited by **Lewis Mumford**: *The City,* 1919; photo of Léger, circa 1930s; from the 1918–1923 series *Mechanical Elements*, 1920; *Composition in Blue,* 1920–27. (Philadelphia Museum of Art/The Met Collection/Art Institute of Chicago, Charles H. and Mary F. S. Worcester Collection)

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Disappointment in O’Hara

That is how Clifton Fadiman titled his “Books” column after reviewing John O’Hara’s latest novel, Butterfield 8.

O’Hara (1905–1970) wasn’t just any old scribbler. A prolific short-story writer, he has often been credited with helping to invent The New Yorker’s short story style. Praised by the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, O’Hara cranked out two bestsellers before the age of thirty. One was the acclaimed Appointment in Samarra (which was praised by Fadiman). The other was BUtterfield 8, the novel Fadiman found disappointing (Hemingway, on the other hand, blurbed, “John O’Hara writes better all the time.”). Here are a couple of brief excerpts from Fadiman’s review:

Fadiman concluded his review with a note to the author: “Why not let Jean Harlow have it, Mr. O’Hara, and start a fresh page?”

Well, Harlow didn’t get it, but twenty-five years later Elizabeth Taylor would reluctantly take on the role of Gloria Wandrous, and win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

YOU AGAIN?…**Laurence Harvey** and **Elizabeth Taylor** played on and off lovers in 1960’s *Butterfield 8.* **John O’Hara** did not participate in writing the adaptation, and the film’s plot bore only a slight resemblance to his novel. However, after the film’s release more than one million paperback copies of the novel were sold. (aiptcomics.com)

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At The Movies

We begin this section with an excerpt from “The Talk of the Town,” which covered the “International World Première” of the Warner Brother’s adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The film opened worldwide on October 9, 1935 in London, Sydney, Vienna and at New York’s Hollywood Theatre, where crowds turned out to get a glimpse of the stars.

RUBBERNECKERS…*A Midsummer Night’s Dream* premiere at the Hollywood Theatre in New York City on October 9, 1935. (britannica.com)

Film critic John Mosher praised Joe E. Brown’s performance as Flute, as well James Cagney’s portrayal of Bottom, and lauded the “magnificent group of clowns” that formed the remainder of The Players. Here are excerpts from his review (note I included the entirety of Otto Slogow’s delightful spot drawing):

THE LOVERS…Left to right: **Ross Alexander** (Demetrius), **Olivia de Havilland** (Hermia), **Dick Powell** (Lysander) and Jean Muir (Helena) meet cute and confused in *A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (TCM.COM)*

THE SEVEN STOOGES…Bottom (**James Cagney**) and his fellow Players prepare to perform a stage play about the death of Pyramus and Thisbe which turns into a farce. From left, in front, **Joe E. Brown** (Flute), **Cagney**, and **Otis Harlan** (Starveling); in the back are, from left, **Hugh Herbert** (Snout), **Arthur Treacher** (Epilogue) and **Dewey Robinson** (Snug) as The Players in *A Midsummer Night’s Dream.* **Frank McHugh** (Quince) can be seen behind the wall in back. (IMDB)

DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY…Fairie scene from *A Midsummer Night’s Dream.* (Facebook)

Mosher also reviewed the romantic comedy I Live My Life, which he found to be a satisfying satire on the lives of the rich.

MATCHING WITS…Bored socialite Kay Bentley (**Joan Crawford**) has a tempestuous romance with idealistic archaeologist Terry O’Neill (**Brian Aherne**) in *I Live My Life.* (IMDB)

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From Our Advertisers

Readers ninety years ago opened the Oct. 19 issue to this two-page spread featuring the latest in fall/winter fashions…the ad on the right from Bergdorf Goodman featured stage and screen actress Gladys George donning a full-length silver fox fur…

…George (1904–1954) was appearing at Henry Miller’s Theatre in the play Personal Appearance…she was featured in this testimonial ad for Schrafft’s in the theatre’s Playbill…

…the folks at Packard took out this colorful two-page spread to promote their more affordable model, the 120…the move to more affordable models helped the luxury carmaker weather the lean years of the Depression…

…there is a strange quality to these Arrow Shirt advertisements…what are the they looking at?…apparently something amusing as the man applies mustard to a hotdog, but it isn’t the vendor, who looks down at his cart…

…R.J. Reynolds continued its Camel campaign featuring accomplished athletes who got a “lift” from smoking…the ad also included a couple of regular folks at the bottom, who claimed the cigarettes were so mild “You can smoke all you want”…

…Old Gold continued to enlist the talents of George Petty to illustrate their full-page ads…

…here’s a couple of back of the book ads touting Irish whisky and Ken-L-Ration dog food…note how the Scottish terriers speak in “dialect”…Ken-L-Ration was a leading dog food brand in the 1930s, thanks to their use of horse meat rather than “waste meat”…

…on to our cartoonists, we start with Al Frueh enhancing the “Theatre” page…

…James Thurber showed us a man at odds with the times…

…Barbara Shermund kept us up to date on the modern woman…

…Whitney Darrow Jr offered a challenge to Helena Rubinstein (note the woman on the right—she could have been drawn by Helen Hokinson)…

…Gluyas Williams checked in on the lively proceedings of a book club…

…Helen Hokinson went looking for a good winter read…

…Gilbert Bundy offered an alarming scenario on the top of p. 31…

…and we close with Peter Arno, and an eye-raising encounter…

New Time: It Can’t Happen Here…

All Dogs Go To Heaven

Above: James Thurber with his beloved Christabel, circa 1950s, and Mary Pickford enjoying some puppy love, circa 1920. (The Thurber Estate/Pinterest)

James Thurber and silent film star Mary Pickford had one thing in common; they loved their dogs.

September 21, 1935 cover by **Ilonka Karasz.** *Antiques* magazine (March 8, 2018) described Karasz’s covers as “leafy modernism,” evolving from “dynamic modern depictions of urban life to enchanting, peaceful images of leisure activities…recording details like family picnics or the insects and flowers in her garden.” Many depict scenes around Brewster, New York, where she lived with husband, **Willem Nyland**, a Dutch-American chemist and pianist. Karasz contributed 186 covers across six decades, beginning with her first on April 4, 1925.

From that point of agreement, however, these contemporaries (Pickford was born in 1892; Thurber in 1894) diverged. Consider Thurber’s response (excerpted) to Pickford’s spiritual musings in a Liberty magazine article titled “Why Die?”

…Thurber contributed this spot drawing for his rebuttal…

ONE OF A KIND…**James Thurber** immortalized his Airdale, **Muggs**, in a 1933 story, “The Dog that Bit People.” Muggs, who died in 1928, has his own monument in Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio, installed in 2021. The inscription, taken from Thurber’s short story, reads, “Nobody knew exactly what was the matter with him.” (https://www.dispatch.com/Facebook)

AMERICA’S SWEETHEART was well-known as animal lover. At left, **Mary Pickford** in 1916; at right, with husband **Douglas Fairbanks** at their mansion, Pickfair, in the 1920s. (Wikipedia/Pinterest)

SECOND LIFE…**Mary Pickford** gave up acting in 1933 to pursue her writing career. In 1934 she penned the tract, *Why Not Try God?,* followed in 1935 by another spiritual bestseller, *My Rendezvous with Life.* That same year she also published a novel, *The Demi-Widow*. From left, cover of *Liberty* magazine with her essay, “Why Die?,” Aug. 18, 1935; Pickford posing with copies of *The Demi-Widow,* ca. 1935. *Kirkus Reviews* (Aug. 1, 1935) dubbed *The Demi-Widow* “Good hammock reading for hot days — light and not too dreadful froth…” (picclick.com.au/digitalcollections.oscars.org/Goodreads)

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Rumble Humbled

In his “Notes and Comment” E.B. White observed the absurdity of a grown man riding alone in a rumble seat. These seats were phased out by 1939 in American autos (the British, who called them “dickies,” abandoned them a decade later). Rumble seats were unsafe, to be sure, but it was also unpleasant to sit near the exhaust pipe and collect the dust, grit and bugs that would merrily dance around one’s eyes, nose and mouth.

BONE RATTLER…Detail from a photo of man riding in a rumble seat, 1935. (General Photographic Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A Red By Any Other Name

White also considered the intentions behind a new book by Robert Forsythe, Redder Than a Rose. Kyle Crichton (1896-1960) used the Forsythe nom de plume whenever he wrote for communist publications such as the Daily Worker. A former coal miner and steel worker, Crichton was also a writer and editor for Collier’s magazine.

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Fight Night

In anticipation of the boxing match between Joe Louis and Max Baer, The New Yorker featured a Peggy Bacon portrait of Louis at the bottom of its events section, which also contained a listing under “Sports” of the upcoming fight at Yankee Stadium. The caption below the Louis portrait was a quote attributed to Bacon: An out-size in juveniles, simple, unruffled, a shade sullen, practically expressionless, hoarding his energies with the inarticulate dignity and pride of some monster vegetable.–P.B.

a better view of Peggy Bacon’s portrait of Joe Louis…

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At the Movies

Well, the fun couldn’t last forever, as critic John Mosher discovered with the latest batch of films to roll out of Tinseltown. Here he tried to make sense of The Big Broadcast of 1936, and gave a closing nod to Dorothy Parker.

A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT…Theatre card promoting the appearances of Gracie Allen and **George Burns** in The Big Broadcast of 1936. These films were essentially long promo pieces for Paramount’s stable of stars. (IMDB)

Mosher also took in The Goose and the Gander, featuring Kay Francis, one of Warner Brothers’ biggest stars and one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. Known for her roles as a long-suffering heroine and her lavish wardrobes, Mosher found Francis ill-suited to a comedic role.

NEEDED A BIT MORE GOOSE…**Kay Francis** and George Brent in The Goose and the Gander. (IMDB)

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From Our Advertisers

The 1920s and 30s saw a proliferation of all sorts of electric gadgets, one of them being the toaster, here serving as a centerpiece for a cocktail party…

…before 1935 beer cans were not feasible because they couldn’t withstand the internal pressure of a carbonated liquid…it was the American Can Company (not Continental) that solved the problem by developing an internally-lined can that could contain the pressure…the lining also prevented the beer from tasting metallic…

…R.J. Reynolds continued to build its tobacco empire by lining up scads of famous athletes to endorse the health benefits of their Camel cigarettes…

… Liggett & Myers, who in 1926 launched their “Blow some my way” advertising campaign to target women smokers, continued to employ images of young lovers in romantic settings to push their Chesterfields…

…for reference, a Chesterfield ad from 1931…

…on to our cartoons, we start with this spot from Perry Barlow…

…Alain looked in on a tender moment between father and son…

…Charles Addams found a glitch on the assembly line…

…Peter Arno drew up two old toffs looking for some adventure…

…Robert Day offered up the latest twist in the culinary arts…

…and we close with Helen Hokinson, who was just passing the time…

Next Time: Notes and Comment…

Looking For Mister Wrong

Widely acknowledged as a classic, The 39 Steps further solidified British director Alfred Hitchcock’s image as a master of suspense with American film audiences.

September 14, 1935 cover by **Helen Hokinson.** Over a twenty-year span, she contributed 68 covers and more than 1,800 cartoons to *The* *New Yorker.*

A successful follow up to 1934’s The Man Who Knew Too Much, Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps was conceived and cast by the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation as a vehicle to establish British films in America. The film also featured one of Hitchcock’s favorite plot devices—an innocent man forced to go on the run—seen in such notable films as 1942’s Saboteur and 1959’s North by Northwest. New Yorker film critic John Mosher was among the film’s many admirers:

WE’LL TAKE THE STAIRS…Clockwise, from top left, poster for *The 39 Steps*; **Alfred Hitchcock** (second from right) directing the handcuffed **Madeleine Carroll** (as Pamela) and Robert Donat (as Richard Hannay) on the first day of filming; Hannay evades police on the heath; Pamela and Richard make the best of their predicament as handcuffed escapees. (Wikipedia/jimcarrollsblog.com/criterion.com)

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Pop-Up Stores

“The Talk of the Town” had a look at the “madhouse” on Nassau Street that daily erupted from noon to 2 p.m. as peddlers took over the street to hawk their wares.

IF WE DON’T HAVE IT, YOU DON’T NEED IT…Hester Street peddlers in 1936. Photo by **Berenice Abbott.** (boweryboyshistory.com)

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Art of the Artless

James Thurber dissected the workings of a “bad play,” examining varied techniques and familiar tropes. Excerpts:

…below is the complete illustration for Fig. 4, which got cut off in the excerpt above…Thurber depicted “the elderly lady who is a good sport, a hard drinker, and an authority on sex.”

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The Petulant Painter

Known for a primitive style that included bizarre scenes of frolicking (or floating) voluptuous nudes, the painter Louis Michel Eilshemius (1864–1941) had a style all his own, and had no trouble telling anyone that his work was better than anything hanging in the finest museums (which would not consider him at all until after his death). In 1931 he began calling himself “Mahatma,” hence the title of this profile by Milton MacKaye (illustration by Hugo Gellert). Some brief excerpts:

IRASCIBLE RASCAL…Clockwise, from top left, **Louis Michel Eilshemius** in 1913; *Standing and Reclining Nymphs* (1908), *Self-portrait* (1915); *Nymphs Sleeping* (1920). Known for his numerous and vitriolic letters to newspaper editors, his letterheads would proclaim such accomplishments as “Educator, Ex-actor, Amateur All-around Doctor, Mesmerist-Prophet and Mystic, Reader of Hands and Faces, Linguist of 5 languages, Spirit-Painter Supreme.” He also claimed to be a world-class athlete and marksman as well as a musician who rivaled Chopin. (Wikipedia/Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery)

Eilshemius regularly visited art galleries, loudly condemning the works on display. No wonder museums would not consider his odd paintings, which were probably best received by the French, including the artists Henri Matisse and Marcel Duchamp; the latter invited Eilshemius to exhibit with him in Paris in 1917.

Eilshemius’ mental stability had deteriorated substantially by the time MacKaye wrote the profile, which concluded with this sad, final accounting of the man’s life.

Eilshemius would die in the psychopathic ward of Bellevue Hospital in 1941. In the years since, his work has gained a wide audience and can be found in such collections as the Smithsonian, The Phillips Collection, MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

SINGULAR VISION…**Louis Michel Eilshemius**, *Afternoon Wind*, 1899. (MoMA)

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In Good Company

In her “Letter From Paris,” Janet Flanner noted that even the French honored the memory of Will Rogers, who had died in a plane crash with aviator Wiley Post on Aug. 15, 1935.

NOTED AND NOTABLE…As an example of **Will Rogers’** worldwide fame, **Janet Flanner** noted that the Paris entertainment newspaper *Comœdia* published Rogers’ obituary next to that of famed neoimpressionist painter **Paul Signac.** The other obituary remembered the renowned Swiss soprano **Lucienne Bréval.** *(gallica.bnf.fr via onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu)*

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At the Movies

Coming down from The 39 Steps, John Mosher also sampled some of latest comedies gracing the silver screen…

…Mosher didn’t understand why Marion Davies, nearing the end of her film career, even bothered to appear in the romantic comedy Page Miss Glory (although she was also the producer), in which she portrayed a country girl who stumbles into fame while working as a chambermaid in a luxury hotel…

JUST LIKE CINDERELLA…**Marion Davies** and Pat O’Brien in *Page Miss Glory.* (IMDB)

…Two For Tonight featured a lot of fine crooning from Bing Crosby, and some hijinks, but fizzled out in the end…

Bing Crosby (right) takes aim in *Two For Tonight.* (IMDB)

…of the three comedies, Mosher found The Gay Deception to be the most winning. Directed by William Wyler, the film featured a sweepstakes winner pretending to be a rich lady (Frances Dee) who encounters a prince masquerading as a bellboy (Francis Lederer)…hilarity ensued…

THE WYLER TOUCH…**William Wyler’s** *The Gay Deception*, starring **Francis Lederer** (left) and Frances Dee, anticipated Wyler’s 1953 *Roman Holiday*, also a tale about a royal wanting to be a normal person. (letterboxd.com)

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From Our Advertisers

We welcome fall with the latest fashion from Forstmann Woolens…

…and here is where those wool dresses were spun…

Image from the National Archives depicts the spinning room at Forstmann & Huffman in Passaic, N.J., 1918. The Passaic plant closed in 1958. (Historical Society of Garfield, NJ)

…the makers of leaded gasoline continued to promote their product in full-color spots…

…General Tire (like competitor Goodyear) played up the safety theme and potential perils to loved ones to tout their “blow-out proof” tires…

…like many advertisers in The New Yorker, United Air Lines appealed to the affluent, hoping some of them would take to the air, since only they could afford it…

…for reference…

COZY…Interior of the Boeing 247. (Wikimedia Commons)

…Abe Birnbaum, who contributed nearly 200 covers to the New Yorker, offered this rendition of Mickey Mouse to Stage magazine…

…heading to the back of the book we find the latest in entertainment at the Plaza…

…James Thurber contributed the drawing at left (rendered in negative) on behalf of Libby’s tomato juice on page 75, and page 80 featured the spare, modern lines of a Cinzano ad…

…our cartoonists include Richard Decker, on the set with a missing extra…

…Charles Addams offered a new twist on the Sunday sermon…

…Peter Arno found an epic struggle in the shoe department…

…Robert Day offered this energy-saving tip…

…and we close with Helen Hokinson, and a lively game of charades…

Next Time: All Dogs Go to Heaven…

A Summer Night

Morris Markey embodied the ideal of “A Reporter at Large,” and for his Sept. 7 column he decided to stroll the steamy streets of Manhattan on a late summer night, finding the sidewalks alive with folks seeking a break from their stifling dwellings.

September 7, 1935 cover by **Constantin Alajalov.**

Markey (1899-1950) began “Summer Night” by describing a bus ride from Midtown to Washington Square with (I assume) his wife, Helen Turman Markey. They enjoyed the breeze atop the bus as they passed Central Park and heard the faint strains of music in the air.

FINAL NOTES…**Morris Markey** thought he heard music coming from the Central Park Casino (left) on that hot summer night; it would prove to be one of the Casino’s last summer nights since Robert Moses would have it demolished the following May; at right, **Adolf Dehn** lithograph *Central Park at Night, 1934. (NYC Parks/Art Institute of Chicago)*

AMID THE BUSTLE the Markeys hopped off the bus at Washington Square and set out on foot. At left, Washington Square by night, 1945; at right, cacophony on Fifth Avenue, circa 1940. *(Facebook)*

The scenes described by Markey offer a glimpse of what has changed and what still remains of Manhattan night life after ninety years.

GO BLOW YOUR HORN…Something taxis did then and do now; Markey described folks looking at hats in a shop window, probably similar to this 1930s store at right. (theguardian.com/Pinterest)

They concluded their stroll on the Lower East Side, where Markey noted a tenement clearance project on Allen Street. Considered one of the most densely populated places in the world, the street was widened by demolishing all of the buildings on its east side from Division to Houston Street.

HERE COMES THE SUN…The densely populated Allen Street was called “a place where the sun never shines.” The narrow street was mostly under the shadow of the elevated train tracks until it was widened in 1930s by demolishing all of buildings on its east side. Photo at left shows the public bath at 133 Allen Street (now used as a church). The demolition project, and the removal of the overhead “El” tracks in 1942, created a broad thoroughfare with a meridian mall in the center, as seen in the bottom photo of the intersection of Allen and Delancey circa 1950. *(mcny.org/leshp.org/Facebook)*

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At the Movies

Film critic John Mosher finally found a film he could gush about in Anna Karenina, and most notably its star Greta Garbo, who in Mosher’s words “sets the pace and the tone for the whole thing.” Mosher was not alone in his praise: Writing for The Spectator in 1935, Graham Greene wrote that Garbo’s acting in the film overwhelmed the acting of all the supporting cast save that of Basil Rathbone. This observation was later echoed by Roland Barthes, who wrote in 1957 that Garbo belonged “to that moment in cinema when the apprehension of the human countenance plunged crowds into the greatest perturbation, where people literally lost themselves in the human image.” Here is Mosher’s review:

GARBO AND THE OTHERS…**Greta Garbo** dominated the screen in 1935’s *Anna Karenina.* Clockwise, from top left, MGM poster for the film; Garbo with **Fredric March** as Anna’s lover, Count Vronksy; Garbo with **Basil Rathbone,** who portrayed Anna’s husband Karenin, and child actor **Freddie Bartholomew** as their son, Sergei; **Maureen O’Sullivan** took a break from the Tarzan films to portray Anna’s friend Kitty (here with **Gyles Isham** as Levin). (filmforum.org/Wikipedia/IMDB)

As Mosher noted, Garbo also portrayed Anna Karenina in the 1927 silent film Love, in which she co-starred with John Gilbert as Count Vronsky.

BEEN HERE BEFORE…**Greta Garbo** as Anna Karenina and John Gilbert as Count Vronsky in the 1927 silent film Love, the second of four films they made together. They were also lovers off-screen in the 1920s, but with the advent of sound pictures her star rose as his began to fall; in their last film together, *Queen Christina* (1933), Garbo insisted that Gilbert be cast opposite her in a final attempt to revive his declining career. He essentially drank himself to an early grave, dying of a heart attack in January 1936. (rottentomatoes.com)

Mosher also enjoyed the dance moves of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in Top Hat (although it could have used less “patter and piffle”), and brought out his hankie for The Dark Angel, where he once again encountered the acting of Fredric March.

DEFYING GRAVITY…**Ginger Rogers** and Fred Astaire made their complex dance moves look effortless as they glided through Top Hat, the fourth of ten films they made together. *(americancinematheque.com)*

TEARS FOR FEARS…**Fredric March** and Merle Oberon portrayed old friends and lovers facing a rival lover and the horrors of World War I in the 1935 weeper *The Dark Angel. (rottentomatoes.com)*

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From Our Advertisers

We begin with a splash of color from the makers of Imperial washable wallpapers…not sure why a wire fox terrier is featured in the advertisement…they were a popular breed, and maybe Fido was the reason one needed washable walls…

…White Rock rolled out their tiny Colonel to promote mineral water as an ideal mixer…

…ever heard of Victor Moore?…well, he was quite the comedian back in the day, playing timid, mild-mannered characters on stage and screen…Moore (1876-1962) was also famous for his 1942 marriage to dancer Shirley Paige when Moore was 65 and Paige was 20…

…Camel rolled out another high society endorser, Maude Adele Brookfield van Rensselaer (1904-1945)…her color image is a watercolor by Leslie Saalburg…

…on to our cartoonists, we begin with spot art by Abe Birnbaum…

and Maurice Freed…

…also in the opening pages this wordless contribution by James Thurber…

…Gluyas Williams found this midday repast anything but relaxing…

…Otto Soglow found a new “man’s best friend”…

…Denys Wortman encountered some frank advice at the cosmetics counter…

…Helen Hokinson found appreciation for the “strong and silent” acting style…

…Peter Arno gave us a department store clerk in need of some time off…

…and we close with Richard Decker, finding some truth in advertising…

Next Time: Looking For Mister Wrong…

Down to Earth

Above: Will Rogers (with hat) visits with pilot Wiley Post near Fairbanks, Alaska, hours before their fatal crash on August 15, 1935. (okhistory.org)

It would be a challenge to find a place for a multi-talented, mega-star like Will Rogers in today’s over-saturated and segmented media landscape—he was a trick roper, vaudevillian, social commentator, comedian, journalist, author, and radio and film celebrity. His early fame on the vaudeville circuit, including the Ziegfeld Follies, would spark a film career in 1918 (he would appear in 71 films), and a 1922 town hall speech would lead to a nationally syndicated newspaper column. When radio became a nationwide phenomenon his voice could heard coast-to-coast. He was seemingly everywhere.

August 31, 1935 cover by **Harry Brown.** Brown illustrated eighteen covers for *The New Yorker.*

Rogers (1879-1935) was also a big promoter of aviation, and he gave his audiences many entertaining accounts of his world travels. In the summer of 1935 he announced plans to join famed aviator Wiley Post (1898-1935) on a flight to Alaska and beyond. It appeared to be routine, making the trip’s tragic ending all the more poignant.

Although E.B. White often seemed stuck in the past—he preferred Model Ts and rattily omnibuses to more more modern conveyances—he was a flying enthusiast, never missing a chance to hop aboard an airplane and marvel at the scene far below. However, when tragedy struck, White would become circumspect. When Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne’s Fokker Trimotor crashed into a Kansas wheatfield, White expressed doubts about air safety and pondered “safer” alternatives such as autogiros (a kind of early helicopter that wasn’t so safe or practical). Such doubts returned in his “Notes and Comment” for August 31, 1935:

The fated aircraft, a Lockheed Orion, was heavily modified by Post into a floatplane; one wing was even salvaged from a wrecked Explorer (an older Lockheed model). The pontoon floats he attached were also designed for a larger aircraft, which made the nose-heavy Orion even more unwieldy.

BUILT FOR SPEED…A Lockheed Model 9 *Orion* parked at Boeing Field, Seattle, in May 1935. With 200-mph speed, the single-engine passenger aircraft (5 to 6 passengers) was faster than any American military aircraft of the time. It was Lockheed’s last aircraft to use wood construction in the frame, which was lightweight but not designed for longevity on major airlines. (James Borden Photography Collection)

TIGHT QUARTERS….Interior view of a Lockheed *Orion* 9. No doubt much of the passenger space was loaded with gear for the trip to Alaska. (James Borden Photography Collection)

When Post and Rogers arrived in Juneau, local bush pilots doubtfully regarded the Orion and asked Rogers about the flight plan. “Wiley and I are like a couple of country boys in an old Ford—don’t know where we’re going and don’t care,” he said. They were actually headed to Point Barrow, and from there planned to hop over to Siberia.

After stopping in Fairbanks they set off for Point Barrow in bad weather. Lost in the murk, they landed short of their destination in the shallow waters of Walakpa Lagoon, fifteen or so miles southwest of Point Barrow. Post and Rogers then took off—despite warnings from locals about the conditions. But the weather wasn’t the worst problem: Post had a bad habit of taking to the air in an abrupt, steep climb, which likely caused the engine to stall. Powerless, the ungainly aircraft plunged into the lagoon and landed on its top. Post and Rogers were killed instantly.

JUST A COUPLE OF COUNTRY BOYS…Top photo, **Will Rogers** on the wing of the Lockheed floatplane belonging to famed aviation pioneer **Wiley Post**, hours before their fatal crash on August 15, 1935. Below photo, inverted wreckage of the float plane in Walakpa Lagoon. (Wikipedia/vintageaviationnews.com)

Rather than eulogize the fallen Rogers, “The Talk of Town” offered up an anecdote about his rise as a newspaper columnist, which was sparked by a backhanded endorsement speech:

A HUMAN FACE…Top left, **Will Rogers** backstage with the 1924 *Ziegfeld Follies* cast. At right, Rogers made his film debut in the now lost silent film *Laughing Bill Hyde* (1918) with co-star **Anna Lehr.** The magazine ad at right quoted producer **Rex Beach,** who called Rogers “the most *human* player who ever faced a camera.” (Will Rogers Memorial Museum/Wikipedia/IMDB)

FINAL CURTAIN…Top photo, **Will Rogers** with co-star **Anne Shirley** in *Steamboat Round the Bend.* Rogers wrapped filming just before heading to Alaska. The film was released posthumously on September 6,1935. Bottom image is a detail from a full-page ad in the October 1935 issue of *Picture Play Magazine.* Oddly, the ad makes no mention of Rogers’ death, proclaiming that “Will blazes a new path in his screen career as he scores his greatest triumph!” (theretrorocket.blogspot.com/IMDB)

* * *

Putting it Mildly

In “Onward & Upward With the Arts,” H.L. Mencken continued to explore the quirks of American language, this time looking at the pervasive (and evasive) use of euphemisms by “professional uplifters.” Excerpts:

INTELLIGENCE TEST was suggested by “professional uplifters” as a polite replacement for giving someone “The Third Degree.” Image is from the 1941 noir thriller *I Wake Up Screaming,* starring **Victor Mature**, pictured here getting his “intelligence test.” (cinematography.com)

* * *

At the Movies

We join film critic John Mosher to take a look at the latest epic from Cecil B. DeMille, The Crusades, which to Mosher’s disappointment was a rather mild epic, with little to astonish. However, our critic did find something to admire in a more recent historical drama, Diamond Jim.

ANTISEPTIC EPIC?…Clockwise, from top left, movie poster for The Crusades offered up an image one typically does not associate with religious warfare, but you had to bring ’em in somehow; **Henry Wilcoxon** and Ian Keith in a scene from the film; co-stars **Loretta Young** as Berengaria of Navarre and Wilcoxon as Richard the Lionheart; the film also featured **Joseph Schildkraut** as Conrad of Montferrat and **Katherine DeMille** as Princess Alice of France (bottom left). A talented actress, Katherine reportedly landed the role as a Christmas gift from her adoptive father, **Cecil B. DeMille**. (cecilbdemille.com)

HEY BIG SPENDER…At right, **Edward Arnold** in the title role (here with **Eric Blore**) in *Diamond Jim.* At left, **Cesar Romero** moves in on Diamond Jim’s love interest, portrayed by **Jean Arthur.** (Rotten Tomatoes/IMDB)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We begin with this advertisement from Lord & Taylor, featuring the latest fall fashions for young women heading to college…notable here is the inclusion of Mickey Mouse in the illustration…the animated rodent was in vogue as much the latest fashions…

…John Hanrahan, whose advertising savvy helped guide The New Yorker through its lean early years, was publisher of the richly designed Stage magazine, promoted here on the inside front cover…

…soft drink giant Coca-Cola recalled its soda fountain origins in this ad that promoted its 6.5-ounce bottled product…

…on the inside back cover Goodyear continued its series of perilous ads illustrating the dangers of tire blowouts (but not the obvious hazard of children riding untethered in a rumble seat, where they doubtless inhaled all manner of noxious fumes)…

…the majority of back covers in 1935 featured tobacco companies…here we learn that Lucky Strikes were more than cigarette; they were your “best friend”…

…on to our cartoonists, we start with this “Profile” illustration by William Steig…the profile was a two-parter featuring a clever summons server…

…Adolph Dehn adorned the “Goings On” section with this illustration…

…unsigned, but I’m pretty sure this is H.O. Hofman…

…here we get a lift from Robert Day…

…Al Frueh conjured up a nightmare of leaping sheep…

…Helen Hokinson gave us some famous footwear…

…Hokinson again, with Romulus and Remus providing a convenient metaphor…

…Kemp Starrett was bogged down in the rules of a game…

…George Price discovered a budding talent…

…Richard Decker took to the back roads…(reminds me of a scene from The Long, Long Trailer with Lucy and Desi)…

…James Thurber raised a glass to a dry do-gooder…

…Alan Dunn brought an unexpected windfall to Westchester…

…and to close we Dunn again, and a bit of flattery…

Next Time: A Summer Night…

She Who Must Be Obeyed

The 1935 film She was one of those old movies you’d see on television during the 1970s when there were only three or four channels (plus UHF) and local stations would tap into the “B” movie vault to fill airtime. One of those films was She.

Film critic John Mosher felt a bit sorry for Helen Gahagan, who portrayed “She Who Must Be Obeyed” (aka “She”)—an immortal who ruled an exotic, lost civilization near the Arctic Circle. The challenge for Gahagan was to seem imperious before her co-stars Randolph Scott and Helen Mack, who seemed more suited to the high school hijinks of an Andy Hardy picture. The film was a pretty standard adventure tale, in the mold of producer Marian C. Cooper’s 1933 King Kong, with two explorers falling in love during a perilous journey.

ARCHETYPE…At left, **Helen Gahagan** as “She” (Who Must Be Obeyed). Her costume possibly inspired the Evil Queen in Disney’s 1937 animated *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.* At right, lobby card that promoted the film. (Scifist.net/Reddit)

WHEN YOU PLAY WITH FIRE…She Who Must Be Obeyed (**Helen Gahagan**), believing that the explorer Leo Vincey (**Randolph Scott**) was a reincarnation of his ancestor (whom she loved), and jealous of his girlfriend Tanya (**Helen Mack**), invites Leo to join her in the eternal flame. Unfortunately, her re-entry into the flame that gave her immortality turned her into a dying, withered crone. (The Nitrate Diva/Scifist.net)

The 1887 H. Rider Haggard novel, She, inspired eponymous silent films in 1908, 1911, 1916, 1917, and 1925. The 1935 film reviewed here received tepid reviews and lost money on its first release, however in a 1949 re-release it fared much better. She was re-made in 1965 with Ursula Andress in the lead role, and again in 1984 in a post-apocalyptic film that had virtually nothing to do with Haggard’s novel.

*SHE* THROUGH THE YEARS…Clockwise, from top left, “She” **(Marguerite Snow**) offers a dagger to Leo Vincey (**James Cruze)** in a 1911 two-reel (24 min.) adaptation; **Valeska Suratt** as “She” in the 1917 film (now lost); **Betty Blythe** took the title role in the 1925 production, considered to be the most faithful to the 1887 **H. Rider Haggard** novel; **Sandahl Bergman** appeared dressed for a Jazzercise video in the 1984 post-apocalyptic *She*; and finally, **Ursula Andress** and John Richardson in the 1965 CinemaScope production of *She.* (Wikipedia / digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu / cultcelebrities.com / Reddit)

* * *

Colonial Ambitions

With most of Africa carved up by other European powers (Britain, France, Belgium etc.) in the 19th century, Italy set its sights on Ethiopia, which by the end of the 19th century was the only independent country left on the continent. Ethiopia fought off Italy’s first attempt at conquest in the Battle of Adwa (1896), but with the rise of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, Italy paid a return visit, this time with heavy artillery and airstrikes that included chemical weapons. E.B. White tried to make sense of this latest invasion in his opening comments.

THOSE GUYS AGAIN…Italy invaded Ethiopia on October 3, 1935, a significant act of aggression in the lead up to World War II. Despite facing a technologically superior Italian army (top) equipped with modern weapons, including tanks, aircraft, and chemical weapons, the Ethiopian forces (bottom photo) mounted a strong resistance. (Wikipedia)

In his weekly column, Howard Brubaker mused on the Italian aggressions and other rumblings of the coming European war.

* * *

Author, Author

The writer Willa Cather was a favorite of New Yorker critics, including Clifton Fadiman, however her latest novel was a bit too mild for his tastes.

HERE’S LUCY…**Clifton Fadiman** confessed he was “mortified” to admit that he found **Willa Cather’s** latest novel a bit too gentle. At right, portrait of Cather on her birthday, December 7, 1936. (willacather.org)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We begin with more fearmongering from the folks at Goodyear, who offered weekly reminders of the perils of not choosing their all-weather tires…

…the Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company conjured up this “naughty maiden” to encourage even timid souls to take up the habit…

…on the other hand, the makers of the upstart KOOL brand kept it simple with their chain-smoking penguin, who was grabbing ever more market share from rival menthol pusher SPUD…

…ads in the back of the book offered up even less sophisticated products, such as Crown Smelling Salts…

…while Dr. Seuss and Norman Z. McLeod continued to make a living with their distinctive illustrations…

…at the very back of the magazine, this tiny ad from Knopf promoted Clarence Day’s Life With Father, published just months before Day’s death on Dec. 28…

…which brings us to our cartoonists…Constantin Alajalov kicked us off with this happy number…

…James Thurber found steamy goings on in the parlor…

…Charles Addams came down to earth with this pair…

…George Price showed us the rough and tumble of news reporting…

…Mary Petty contributed this sumptuous drawing of a croquet match…

…Helen Hokinson was in a transcendental mood…

…and Ned Hilton had a big surprise for one garage tinkerer…

…on to August 10 and a rich summer scene by Arnold Hall:

August 10, 1935 cover by **Arnold Hall.**

“The Talk of the Town” checked the lunch crowd at Mary Elizabeth’s Tea Room, where some preferred to drink their lunch.

TEA AND SWEETS (and cocktails) were among the offerings at Mary Elizabeth’s Tea Room at 36th and Fifth, seen here circa 1912. (*Photo by Karl Struss via Facebook*)

* * *

Comic Relief

Film critic John Mosher offered an appreciation of W.C. Fields, noting that civilization needed films like Man on the Flying Trapeze during those hard years. Mosher also found some worthy distractions in the Jean Harlow vehicle China Seas, but was prepared to consign Spencer Tracey’s latest offering to the “lower circles of cinema hell.”

ANSWERING HIS NATION’S CALL…**W.C. Fields** brought joy to millions during the Depression in movies such as Man on the Flying Trapeze. Above, from left, **Kathleen Howard, Fields,** and **Mary Brian**. (IMDB/Rotten Tomatoes)

SHORE LEAVE…At left, **Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow,** and **Clark Gable** on the set of *China Seas;* top right, **Hattie McDaniel** with Harlow in a scene from the film; below, Gable, **Rosalind Russell,** and C. Aubrey Smith with Harlow in *China Seas.* (musingsofaclassicfilmaddict.wordpress.com / Pinterest)

FRESH FACE…Cinema newcomer Rita Hayworth was credited as Rita Cansino (she was born Margarita Carmen Cansino) in *Dante’s Inferno.* Here she is flanked by **Spencer Tracy** and **Gary Leon**. *Dante’s Inferno* was Spencer Tracy’s final film for 20th Century Fox. It was at MGM where his career really took off. (IMDB)

* * *

All Wet

In his London Letter, Conrad Aiken (pen name Samuel Jeake Jr) examined the priggish ways of England’s seaside resorts.

SITE OF SCANDAL…Bathing huts at Bognor Regis, circa 1921. (bognorregistrails.co.uk)

* * *

Beware the Bachelor

In her “Tables for Two” column, Lois Long examined some of the city’s seasonal escapes for “summer bachelors.”

GHOSTS OF THE PAST…**Lois Long** recommended the air-conditioned lounges of the Madison Square Hotel and the Savoy Plaza (center) or the cooling breezes of the Biltmore roof (right), which featured music by **Morton Downey.** Sadly, all three of these beautiful buildings have been demolished. (geographicguide.com/Wikipedia)

Other more casual venues recommended by Long included Nick’s Merry-Go-Round…

…a menu from Nick’s dated 1937…

…and its cryptic back cover…

From Our Advertisers

…speaking of the Biltmore and Morton Downey, we kick off our advertising section…

…the ad on the left announced the private residences at the Waldorf-Astoria…

Clockwise, from top left, the Waldorf Astoria circa 1930; the Waldorf’s Starlight Roof in the 1930s; after eight years and billions in restorations and renovations, the hotel has seen many changes including the transformation of the Starlight Roof into a swimming pool. Decades of grime were also cleaned from the building’s exterior. (mcny.org/loc.gov/som.com)

…another ad from the makers of Lincoln suggesting that the market for their luxury auto wasn’t confined to citified execs…

…the Camel folks introduced us to their latest society shill…

…I didn’t find much about Beatrice Barclay Elphinstone (1916-1977), described in the Camel ad as a “charming representative of New York’s discriminating younger set”…she did make the Times‘ Dec. 10, 1937 society wedding announcements, however…

…Dr. Seuss was back with another twist on Flit insecticide…

…on to our illustrators and cartoonists, a nice charcoal by Hugo Gellert for a profile titled “Yankee Horse Trader,” written by Arthur C. Bartlett…the harness horse racing legend Walter Cox (1868-1941) was known in New England as “the king of the half-milers”…

…James Thurber contributed this cat and dog face-off to the opening pages…

…Helen Hokinson offered her perspectives on the summer dog show across pages 16-17…

…and for a closer look…

…Gluyas Williams went back to nature in his “Club Life” series…

…Leonard Dove introduced us to an undaunted salesman…

…in the world of George Price, crime didn’t pay…

…Barbara Shermund gave us a rare glimpse into the secret lives of men…

…patronizing words were unwelcome at this chess match, per William Steig…

…Denys Wortman took us on a family outing…

…and we close with Alain, and a mother of multiples…except words…

Next Time: Hays Hokum…

A Double-Header

Heading into the dog days of summer we take a look at the last two issues of July 1935, both somewhat scant in editorial content but still offering up fascinating glimpses of Manhattan life ninety years ago.

July 20, 1935 cover by William Crawford Galbraith. He contributed seven covers and 151 cartoons to the magazine.

That includes the observations of theatre critic Wolcott Gibbs and film critic John Mosher, both escaping the summer heat to take in some very different forms of entertainment.

Gibbs found himself “fifty dizzy stories above Forty-second Street” in the Chanin Building’s auditorium, where he experienced New York’s take on Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol. Founded in Paris by Oscar Méténier in 1897, Grand Guignol featured realistic shows that enacted, in gory detail, the horrific existence of the disadvantaged and working classes. It seems audiences were drawn to the shows more out of prurient interest (or sadistic pleasure) than for any desire to help the underclasses.

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART…**Wolcott Gibbs** recommended the Grand-Guignol only for those who “admire a frank, uncomplicated approach to the slaughterhouse and the operating table.” (Image: Wikipedia)

PRETTY HORRORS…Clockwise from top left, the original Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, in the Pigalle district of Paris–it operated from 1897 until 1962, specializing in horror theatre; a poster from one of its productions; New York’s Chanin building, circa 1930s; the Chanin’s auditorium “fifty dizzy stories above 42nd Street”; fake blood applied to an actress’ neck before a scene from *The Hussy*; **Wolcott Gibbs** described a madhouse scene from **André de Lorde’s** *The Old Women,* which depicted the fury of ancient inmates performing “optical surgery” on a young woman. (*thegrandguignol.com/Wikipedia/NYPL/props.eric-hart.com)*

* * *

Popeye to the Rescue

With the Hays Code in effect you wouldn’t see anything like the Grand-Guignol on the silver screen. Indeed, with the exception of a Popeye cartoon, critic John Mosher found little to get excited about at the movies. He did, however, enjoy the air conditioning that offered a break from the hot city streets.

THEY ALL COULD HAVE USED SOME SPINACH…Clockwise, from top left, **Popeye** and **Bluto** strike an unlikely partnership in *Dizzy Divers;* **Bette Davis** and George Brent in *Front Page Woman;* **Will Rogers** and Billie Burke in *Doubting Thomas;* **James Blakeley** and **Ida Lupino** in *Paris in Spring.* (brothersink.com / rottentomatoes.com / cometoverhollywood.com / classiccartooncorner.substack.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

Just a few ads from this issue, first, a jolly appeal from one of the magazine’s newer advertisers, the makers of the French apertif Dubonnet…

…by contrast, this quaint slice of Americana from Nash…

…and a shot of pesticide from Dr. Seuss…

…our cartoonists include Constantin Alajalov, contributing this bit of spot art to the opening pages…

…Barbara Shermund explored the world of hypnotic suggestion…

…Peter Arno prepared to address the nation…

…William Steig checked the weather forecast…

…Helen Hokinson’s girls questioned the burden of a lei…

…Carl Rose found himself on opposite sides of the page in this unusual layout…

…Richard Decker joined the crowd in a lighthouse rendering…

…Ned Hilton reminds us that it was unusual for women to wear trousers ninety years ago…

…Mary Petty examined the complications of marital discord…

…and Charles Addams shone a blue light on a YMCA lecture…

…on to July 27, 1935, with a terrific summertime cover by William Steig…

July 27, 1935 cover by **William Steig,** one of his 117 covers for the magazine.

E.B. White (in “Notes and Comment”) was ahead of his time in suggesting that the city needed to build “bicycle paths paralleling motor highways” and invest in more pedestrian pathways.

NEW YORK’S FINEST…**Doris Kopsky,** who trained in Central Park, won the first Amateur Bicycle League of America Women’s Championship in 1937. Bicycle races were a big draw in the 1930s. (crca.net)

* * *

Breaking News

“The Talk of the Town” checked in on the New York Times’ “electric bulletin,” commonly known as “The Zipper.” Excerpt:

* * *

Dog Knots

“Talk” also took a look backstage at the Winter Garden, where burlesque performers shared the stage with a contortionist dog called “Red Dust.” Excerpt:

WOOF…Famed animal trainer **Robert “Bob” Williams** with one of his pupils. The dog in the photo is misidentified as Red Dust (he was actually a Malemute/chow mix).

* * *

Suddenly Famous

Charles Butterworth (1896-1946) earned a law degree from Notre Dame before becoming a newspaper reporter. But his life would take on a new twist in 1926 when he delivered his comical “Rotary Club Talk” at J.P. McEvoy’s Americana revue in 1926. Hollywood would come calling in the 1930s, and his doleful-looking, deadpan characters would become familiar to movie audiences through a string of films in the thirties and forties. Alva Johnston profiled Butterworth in the July 27 issue. Here are brief excerpts:

**Charles Butterworth** (left) and Jimmy Durante in *Student Tour* (1934). A bit of trivia: Butterworth’s distinctive voice was the inspiration for the Cap’n Crunch commercials voiced by **Daws Butler** beginning in the early 1960s. Butterworth’s life was cut short in 1946 when he crashed his imported roadster into a lamppost on Sunset Boulevard. (Detail from film still via IMDB)

* * *

Noisy Neighborhood

The “Vienna Letter” (written by “F.S.”–possibly Frank Sullivan) noted the rumblings of fascism in a grand old European city known for its many cultural delights as well as its many factions that included Nazis, Socialists and Communists (and no doubt a few Royalists). An excerpt:

CALM BEFORE THE STORM…Vienna in 1935, less than three years before the Anschluss, when Nazi Germany annexed Austria. (meisterdrucke.us)

* * *

Ex Machina

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author Stephen Vincent Benét (1898-1943) penned this poem for The New Yorker that is somewhat appropriate to our own age and our fears of the rise of A.I. In “Nightmare Number Three,” Benét described a dystopian world where machines have revolted against humans.

BOTH CLASSY AND FOLKSY is how some today describe **Stephen Vincent Benét**, who in 1928 wrote a book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War, *John Brown’s Body,* for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. He was also know for such short stories as *The Devil and Daniel Webster,* published in 1936. (mypoeticside.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We begin with more extraordinary claims from R.J. Reynolds, who convinced a lot of folks that drawing smoke into your lungs actually improved your athletic stamina…

…the makers of Lucky Strike, on the other hand, stuck with images of nature and romance to suggest the joys of inhaling tar and nicotine…

…General Tire took a cue from Goodyear, suggesting that an investment in their “Blowout-Proof Tires” was an investment in the very lives of a person’s loved ones (even though they apparently drove to the beach without seatbelts or even a windshield)…

…another colorful advertisement from the makers of White Rock, who wisely tied their product to ardent spirits as liquor consumption continued to rebound from Prohibition…

…I toss this in for the lovely rendering on behalf of Saks…it looks like the work of illustrator Carl “Eric” Erickson, but he had many imitators…

…we do, however, know the identity of this artist, and his drawings on behalf of the pesticide Flit, which apparently in those days of innocence was thought appropriate for use around infants…

…great spot drawing in the opening pages…I should know the signature but it escapes me at the moment…

…James Thurber quoted Blaise Pascal for this tender moment ( “The heart has its reasons, of which reason knows nothing”)…

…Peter Arno illustrated the horrors of finding one’s grandmother out of context…

…Helen Hokinson’s girls employed a malaprop to besmirch the good name of an innocent mountain…

…Richard Decker discovered the missing link(s) with two archeologists…

…Alan Dunn narrowly averted a surprise greeting…

…George Price added a new twist to a billiards match…

…Price again, at the corner newstand…

…Al Frueh bit off more than he could chew…

…and we close with Barbara Shermund, and a prattling mooch…

Next Time: La Marseillaise…

Independence Day 1935

We mark the July 4 weekend with a lighter edition of A New Yorker State of Mind…

July 6, 1935 cover by William Steig, a contributor to The New Yorker from 1930 to 2003, including more than 2,600 drawings and 117 covers.

…and see what many New Yorkers were doing on that holiday ninety years ago…

TOGETHERNESS…New Yorkers celebrate the Fourth of July on a Coney Island beach, circa 1935. (coneyislandhistory.org)

Let’s look at some of the advertisements from the July 6 issue, beginning with this alarming image that greeted readers on the inside front cover…

…Goodyear continued its series of safety-minded advertisements (this one on the inside back cover) that played on the fears of parents with driving-age children…strange how no one then considered other hazards such as the hard steel dash, or worse, the steering column that often impaled drivers…also, is that how they taught folks to hold a steering wheel in the 1930s?…

…no stylish models, debutantes or famous athletes for the makers of Chesterfields, at least not in this back page ad which equated their cigarette papers (and by association, the cigarettes themselves) with wholesome milk and pure mountain water…

…we kick off the cartoons with Robert Day, who took to the roads with a touch of modernism…

…Gardner Rea topped off the calendar section with a nod to fireworks safety…

…known more for his New Yorker covers, Constantin Alajalov reflected on a visit to the Met…

…Ned Hilton was tied up on the phone…

…Fritz Wilkinson had one musician ready to play a different tune…

…James Thurber was up in arms…

…George Price found something fishy with two fishermen…

…and Price again, with the latest advances in personal hygiene…

…Rea Irvin gave us an early taste of Halloween…

…Barbara Shermund found some frank advice at the beauty counter…

…and we close with Peter Arno, in his element…

Next Time: A German Problem…

Happy Motoring

In 1933 the U.S. economy began a slow recovery from the 1929 market crash, but the recovery stalled in 1934 and 1935, and folks including E.B. White were looking for any indication of brighter days ahead.

June 29, 1935 cover by Barbara Shermund. A prolific contributor of cartoons to *The New Yorker* (600 in all), Shermund also illustrated eight covers, including this charmer.

White suggested that Americans look for smaller signs of normalcy, such as the new slogan, “Happy Motoring,” that was being rolled out by Standard Oil’s Esso.

IT’S A GAS…At left, *Gasoline Station, Tenth Avenue,* photo by **Berenice Abbott**, 1935; at right, newspaper ad, May 1935. (metmuseum.org/wataugademocrat.com)

Like many of us, White was a study in contradictions, enthusiastically embracing the age of air travel while rejecting the style and comforts of modern automobiles (he famously loved his Model T). It is no surprise that he also preferred Fifth Avenue’s spartan green and yellow omnibuses over the new streamlined buses that would soon be plying the streets of Manhattan.

NO THANKS…**E.B. White** preferred the spartan accommodations of the old Fifth Avenue buses to the comforts of their replacements. (coachbuilt.com)

White elaborated on the advantages of the older buses:

STYLE OVER COMFORT…Of the old Fifth Avenue buses, **E.B. White** wrote that he preferred the “hard wooden benches on the sun deck, conducive to an erect posture, sparkling clean after a rain.” (Ephemeral New York)

* * *

Cinderella Story

Challenger James J. Braddock achieved one of boxing’s greatest upsets by defeating the heavily favored (and reigning champ) Max Baer. For this feat he was given the nickname “Cinderella Man” by journalist Damon Runyon. The writer of the “Wayward Press” (byline “S.M.”) seemed less impressed, and mocked the national media for their sudden pivot on the bout’s unlikely outcome.

BRINGING THE FIGHT…Challenger **James J. Braddock** lays into defending champ **Max Baer** during a heavyweight boxing title match on June 13, 1935, at the Madison Square Garden Bowl in Long Island City. Although the national media dismissed Braddock’s chances of winning, Braddock trained hard for the fight while Baer spent more time clowning around than training. Braddock won by unanimous decision, eight rounds to six. (thefightcity.com)

* * *

Seemed Like a Nice Guy

Henry Pringle penned the first part of a three-part profile of Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes (1862–1948), who was also a former New York governor and U.S. secretary of state. William Cotton rendered a rather severe-looking Hughes in this caricature for the profile…

…although in reality he tended to look more like this…

PROGRESSIVE THINKER…Supreme Court Chief Justice **Charles Evans Hughes** in 1931. Known as a reformer who fought corruption, Hughes was a popular public figure in New York. (Wikipedia)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We begin with an advertisement that goes down easy, with its minimal style…

…by contrast, a busy Camel advertisement…R.J. Reynolds alternated full-page ads featuring society women with these health-themed spots that linked smoking with athletic prowess…

…this advertisement by Fisher claimed the 1935 Pontiac was “The most beautiful thing on wheels,” however here it looks perfectly ancient…

…as does this Nash on the inside back cover…

…the back cover was claimed by Highland Queen, a blend of some very fine distilleries…

…Theodore Seuss Geisel continued his ongoing saga against the mighty mosquito…

…and we have this back of the book ad for Webster cigars, who enlisted the talents of Peter Wells…

…Wells (1912–1995) was also a children’s book writer, most famous for contributing drawings to the Katzenjammer Kids comic strip …

**Peter Wells**, detail from the opening page from “The Katzenjammer Kids,” #16, Spring 1951, King Features Syndicate, Inc.

…and of course we are all familiar with Otto Soglow, who sold his beloved Little King to Hearst (and made a pile) but was still able to feature his diminutive potentate in the The New Yorker in a series of ads for Bloomingdales…

…which brings us to our cartoonists, and a familiar torment for our beloved James Thurber…

…Independence Day offered a marketing challenge to these shopkeepers, per Garrett Price…

…Peter Arno was at his best, in his element…

…Charles Addams explored the unnatural, which would become his calling card…

…Robert Day offered a new twist to the tonsorial arts…

…William Steig gave examples of some budding “tough guys”…

…a rare baseball-themed cartoon from Richard Decker (editor Harold Ross was not a baseball fan)…

…from George Price, what appears to be the end of his “floating man” series, which began in September 1934…

…and we close with one my favorite cartoonists, Barbara Shermund, here at the bookstore…

…and on vacation…

Next Time: Independence Day 1935…

Thackeray, In Color

Above: Seated in front of a massive Technicolor camera, Rouben Mamoulian directs Miriam Hopkins (also inset) in Becky Sharp, the first feature shot entirely in three-color Technicolor. The film was based on character from William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel Vanity Fair. (UCLA Film & Television Archive)

Rouben Mamoulian’s 1935 production of Becky Sharp wasn’t the first color film, but it was the first feature film to use the newly developed three-strip Technicolor process throughout, setting a standard for color films to come.

June 22, 1935 cover by Constantin Alajalov. A New Yorker contributor for thirty-four years, Alajalov (1900–1987) illustrated 170 covers for the magazine. Check out the treasure trove at Ink Spill for more on Alajalov and all things *New Yorker.*

Earlier color processes included films that were hand-tinted. Others used various dyes and techniques that included photographing a black-and-white film behind alternating red/orange and blue/green filters, and then projecting them through red and green filters. The inability to reproduce the full color spectrum, among other issues, had many critics dismissing the idea of color films altogether.

Mamoulian was fascinated by the possibilities of color film; by producing (and later directing) the film, he showcased the advancements in Technicolor. Film critic John Mosher had these observations:

THIS IS A TEST…Considered a landmark in cinema as the first feature film to use the newly developed three-strip Technicolor production throughout, in many ways the film validated this advanced color technology. Top photo, **Miriam Hopkins** portrayed Becky Sharp, a socially ambitious woman (seen here with **Cedric Hardwicke**) who climbs the British social ladder with the help of her best friend, Amelia Sedley (**Frances Dee**, bottom photo). (Wikipedia/Amazon)

IT WAS FUN ANYWAY…Critic **John Mosher** was thrilled by the swirl of colors in the ballroom scene, even if flying red cloaks weren’t an aspect of **William Makepeace Thackeray’s** 1848 novel *Vanity Fair.* The film, however, was actually based on an 1899 play by **Langdon Mitchell**, who named his play after one of the characters in Thackeray’s novel. (blu-ray.com)

WHOLE NEW WORLD…**Rouben Mamoulian, Miriam Hopkins,** visitor Michael Balcon, and **Kenneth Macgowan** on the set of *Becky Sharp*. According to film historian **Marc Spergel,** “Mamoulian was fascinated by color…He saw in the color process another opportunity for innovations that would set a standard for the new technology…His interest lay in choosing color for psychological effect rather than mere realistic reproduction or decorative dividends. With the advent of color processing, particularly Technicolor processing—with its non-realistic, supersaturated color—Mamoulian could approach the film medium like a painter with a palette.” (Wikipedia)

Mosher also checked out the latest from Robert Montgomery and Joan Crawford, who exchanged marital banter in No More Ladies, while George Raft went all gangster in Dashiell Hammett’s The Glass Key.

HIGH FIDELITY…Top photo, socialite Marcia (**Joan Crawford**) is determined to keep her husband (**Robert Montgomery**) faithful in *No More Ladies*; below, **George Raft** does what he does best (playing a gangster) in *The Glass Key*. (jacksonupperco.com/notesoncinematograph.blogspot.com)

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Astor’s Risk

“The Talk of the Town” paid a visit to the Real Estate Exchange, where Vincent Astor re-acquired the St. Regis Hotel for five million and change. He then sunk another $500,000 (roughly $12 million today) into the hotel to further its luxurious status (including adding air-conditioning). The hotel’s famed King Cole Room and the Maisonette Russe restaurant opened in October 1935. Excerpts:

GOOD INVESTMENT…At left, Fifth Avenue facade of the St. Regis as seen in 2022. Right, entrance to the King Cole bar in the 55th Street annex. Thanks in part to the repeal of Prohibition, the hotel’s restaurant business increased by 300 percent between 1935 and 1937. (Wikipedia)

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School Days

James Thurber recalled his “tough” years at Sullivant School in Columbus, Ohio, in the essay, “I Went to Sullivant.” Brief excerpts:

ALMA MATER…The Sullivant School **James Thurber** attended was completed in 1871 and was a school until 1923 when it became the offices for Columbus City Schools. This photo was taken shortly before it was demolished in 1961. (columbuslibrary.org)

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Avril en juin

Paris correspondent Janet Flanner gave a rundown on the latest happenings, including the Toulouse-Lautrec costume ball that attracted none other than Jane Avril, the famed French can-can dancer of the 1890s who could still kick up her heels. Flanner gave Avril’s age at 80, but records indicate she was closer to 70.

STILL KICKING…**Jane Avril** (1868–1943) was a French can-can dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris and a frequent subject of painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. The wispy Avril, known for her jerky movements and sudden contortions, was nicknamed La Mélinite, after an explosive. At top left, Avril in her heyday circa 1890s; at right, Avril at the 1935 Toulouse-Lautrec costume ball. Read more about Avril’s strange life at one of my favorite “rabbit hole” sites, Messy Nessy. (messynessychic.com/Pinterest)

An 1893 **Toulouse-Lautrec** lithograph featuring **Jane Avril**, a lifelong friend of the artist. Avril commissioned this print to advertise her cabaret show at the Jardin de Paris. (met museum.org)

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From Our Advertisers

We begin with the inside front cover, Johnnie Walker strutting along at the horse races…

…the inside back cover belonged to Arrow Shirts…

…and no surprise that the back cover featured a stylish woman enjoying a cigarette, in this case a Lucky…

…Packard continued to run these colorful, wordy ads that made the case for owning a lower-priced Packard, which I’m sure was a fine automobile…

…John Hanrahan, who early on served as The New Yorker’s policy council and guided it through its lean first years, became the publisher of Stage magazine (formerly The Theatre Guild Magazine) in 1932. In 1933 Stage became part of the Ultra-Class Magazine Group’s line-up that included Arts & Decoration and The Sportsman. Stage published its last issue in 1939, and I don’t believe the other two survived the 1930s either…this Mark Simonson site looks at the striking design elements of an issue from 1938…

…a couple from back of the book…calling Europe by telephone in 1935 was an impressive feat, however it could cost you roughly $700 in today’s dollars to make a three-minute call to London…the one-column ad at right offered an Anglophilic appeal to those visiting Cleveland…

…this simple spot for Dole pineapple juice caught my eye because it was illustrated by Norman Z. McLeod (1898–1964), who drew Christie Comedy title cards during the Silent Era…

McLeod was also an acclaimed director of Marx Brothers comedies Monkey Business (1931) and Horse Feathers (1932), W.C. Fields’ It’s a Gift (1934), Danny Kaye’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and two of the Topper films.

HE GOT AROUND…Clockwise, from top left, director Norman Z. McLeod on the set of 1941’s *Lady Be Good* with actress **Ann Sothern**; Young’s familiar stick figure drawings on title cards for the 1928 silent short *Loose Change*; **Cary Grant** and **Constance Bennett** with **Roland Young** in 1937’s *Topper.* (TCM.com/silentology.wordpress.com/charlesmatthews.blogspot.com)

…Dr. Seuss was back with his Flit advertisements…

…Richard Decker illustrated this ad for Borden’s “Golden Crest” Farm Products…

…which segues into our cartoonists, and this curious spot drawing by James Thurber…

…Perry Barlow gave us the early days of the “Bed and Breakfast”…

…Peter Arno, and no rest for the titans of industry…

…Gluyas Williams continued to take a sideways glance at Club Life in America”…

…from George Price…back in the day, tattoos were usually confined to sailors and longshoreman…this particular fellow found himself with some outdated ink…

…Kemp Starrett took us ringside…

…Mary Petty reflected on a bit of narcissism…

…and we close with William Steig, and mixed feelings about the summer season…

Next Time: Happy Motoring…