Otto Soglow – A New Yorker State of Mind

Through the Looking Glass, Darkly

Above: The BBC offered a public demonstration of television at Waterloo Station, London, in 1936. (Colorized image via Facebook)

E.B. White was ever wary of new technology (except for aviation—he loved to fly), so television posed yet another thing to fear in the coming age of “omniscience.”

September 19, 1936 cover by William Cotton.

In addition to television, White noted two other “giant strides” in the world of science and publicity: a live radio broadcast featuring sounds from the Spanish Civil War, and the launch of a new magazine that would “consist almost entirely of pictures.”

ONE-EYED MONSTER…Clockwise, from top left: On Aug. 11, 1936, Philco Radio and Television demonstrated the transmitting end of a television with the help of camera operator R.E. Waggener and singer **Betty McNellis**—the sound and picture were projected seven miles to a receiving set; a close-up of a 1936 television camera; photo taken in 1936 during a “live broadcast” from America’s first television studio, NBC Studio 3H—from left, NBC President **Lenox Lohr,** RCA President **David Sarnoff** and Fair Committee head **Grover Whalen** sign a contract for an RCA pavilion at the upcoming 1939 World’s Fair; front and rear view of a 1936 television receiver. *(eyesofageneration.com/facebook.com)*

White also noted the upcoming launch of a new magazine, The Show-Book of the World, which was the working title of a publication that would become Life magazine. White did not like the idea of a magazine consisting mostly of pictures that graphically expose “once-private lives,” believing it would “do away with the last vestiges of privacy in America.”

MONUMENTAL…The photo on the first cover of *Life* magazine, Nov. 23, 1936, was shot by one of *Life*‘s original four photographers, **Margaret Bourke-White,** who covered the construction of the Fort Peck Dam, a Public Works Administration endeavor to build the largest earth dam in the world during the Great Depression. At right, a Bourke-White photo of Fort Peck workers enjoying some down time. *(npr.org/life.com/worthpoint.com)*

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Call for Johnny Roventini!

“The Talk of the Town” featured a brief profile of Johnny Roventini (aka Johnny Morris or Johnny the Bellboy), the famous “living trademark” for the Philip Morris tobacco company. Roventini (1910–1998), who represented the company for more than forty years, was working as a bellboy at the New Yorker Hotel in 1933 when he was discovered by an advertising agent. Excerpts:

THEY’RE SELLING YOU…In mid-century America the image of **Johnny Roventini**, known to the public as Johnny Morris or Johnny the Bellboy, seemed to be everywhere. Clockwise, from top left: Publicity photo, 1937; magazine ad, 1947; ad promoting the armed services, 1941; civil defense-themed ad, 1940s; cigarette match holder; promotional stand-up sign. *(cats.ua.edu/standford.edu/worthpoint.com)*

Roventini was probably best known for his Philip Morris promos on I Love Lucy. The new show was challenged to find a sponsor (due to the Cuban character played by Desi Arnaz) until Arnaz arranged a deal that made Philip Morris the exclusive sponsor of I Love Lucy from its premiere on October 15, 1951 through Christmas of 1954. Roventini gained unprecedented national TV exposure and became fast friends with Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Here is one more excerpt from “Talk” regarding the quiet life of Philip Morris’s “living trademark.”

I LOVE PHILIP MORRIS…**Lucille Ball, Johnny Roventini** and **Desi Arnaz** formed a lucrative trio for the tobacco company Philip Morris when *I Love Lucy* went on the air in 1951. Roventini was an occasional, social smoker, while Ball and Arnaz were heavy smokers (although Lucy preferred Chesterfields). *(facebook.com/instagram.com)*

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At the Movies

A Soviet film featuring exiled German communists proved to be a disappointment for critic John Mosher, but in retrospect the 1936 German-Soviet film The Struggle (aka Kämpfer or Der Kampf) reveals the strange and terrifying climate artists had to navigate in Stalin’s Russia.

Set in Germany after 1933, the film depicted the resistance of workers against the rise of the Nazi Party. One of the earliest films to depict Nazi terror and concentration camps, ironically many of those who worked on the film became victims of Joseph Stalin’s terror and the Gulag.

DEFIANCE…German actress Lotte Loebinger in a scene from the 1936 German-Soviet movie *The Struggle* (“Kämpfer”). Loebinger (1905-1995) managed to survive Stalin’s purges and had a long career on the stage in East Berlin following World War II. Loebinger’s lover, a German refugee physician with whom she bore a daughter, was not so fortunate, dying in a Soviet Gulag camp. *(YouTube)*

Shortly after The Struggle was completed, Stalin purged the community of exiled German communists living in Moscow, and the film was quickly banned by Soviet authorities. A large number of the film’s cast and crew were arrested, sent to the Gulag, or killed, including lead actor Bruno Schmidtsdorf, who was executed by firing squad near Moscow in 1938. Composer Hans Hauska, who wrote the film’s musical score, perished in a Soviet prison camp.

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Playing the Ponies

The calendar section continued its series of illustrated mini-bios, this week featuring Tommy Hitchcock, widely regarded as the greatest polo player in the history of the sport. A dashing figure in high society, Hitchcock (1900–1944) was also an aviator and decorated war hero. Illustration by William Cotton.

POLO PLAYING PILOT…**Tommy Hitchcock** flew as a volunteer pilot for the French Air Force in World War I, and was later instrumental in the development of the P-51 Mustang fighter plane. Hitchcock was killed in 1944 while piloting a P-51 on a test flight near Salisbury, England. *(instagram.com)*

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From Our Advertisers

A strange advertisement from Bergdorf, announcing the opening of a salon that featured a line of shoes inspired by the Chinese “bound foot”…

…if a bound foot wasn’t your thing, you could wiggle your toes in an elastic shoe fashioned from “Pleatex”…

…Wamsutta continued to promote its high thread-count sheets with these somewhat seductive advertisements…

…oddly composed advertisement for Saks Fifth Avenue by fashion illustrator Margaret Sommerfeld, who produced promotional artwork for Saks…

…Fred Astaire managed to hang on to his hat in this advertisement for “The Packard Hour” on NBC’s nationwide “Red Network”…the ad proclaimed “you’ll hear him sing and dance“…on the radio, that is…

…Scripps-Howard featured this image of the late Will Rogers to promote newspaper advertising…

…this back cover ad also featured a newspaper reader, enjoying a smoke while waiting for the train…

…best known for creating The Little King, Otto Soglow drew hundreds of cartoons and spot drawings for The New Yorker as well as for a variety of advertisers including Pepsi-Cola, Benson & Hedges cigarettes, and here, one from a series of ads he created for WOR radio…

…speaking of spots, here are two by Victor de Pauw…

…biographies of prolific New Yorker cover artist Arthur Getz give his start date at the magazine as 1938, but this might be one of his early spot drawings (although the signature style differs from Getz’s other works)…

…no mistaking this spot by Christina Malman…

…or this one by Richard Decker…

…Leonard Dove demonstrated some moves for a chorus line…

…and more wonderful Richard Taylor illustrations for Morris Bishop’s limericks…

…the well-heeled prepared to engage in a favorite sport, per Peter Arno…

…”Trans-Lux” theaters were conversions of storefronts and retail offices that seated smaller audiences than traditional theaters. Rather than feature films, the Trans-Lux theaters showed continuous 45-to-60-minute loops of newsreels (like The March of Time), short subjects, travelogues, and cartoons from 10 a.m. to midnight—people could come and go as they pleased. The theaters pioneered rear-screen projection, using a specialized, wide-angled lens placed just eight feet behind a translucent screen…

POP IN, POP OUT…The very first Trans-Lux cinema opened in 1931 at 58th and Madison as a unique venue that played newsreels and shorts. According to *The New York Times*, “by the late 1940s, the rise of television began to kill the newsreel format entirely. By 1949, Trans-Lux stopped expanding its boutique newsreel footprint and pivoted its existing houses toward showing standard feature-length films.” (Library of Congress)

…back to our cartoons, Carl Rose conjured up an unwelcome reminder…

…Charles Addams was up to his old tricks…

…Alain read the obvious from some tea leaves…

…Rea Irvin showed us some strategic thinking by military brass…

…Alan Dunn considered the mysteries of the sea…

…this guy should have suggested a comedy, per Barbara Shermund…

…Helen Hokinson continued to probe the delicate work of the dress shop…

…and we close with another by dear Helen, and the fear of too much thinking…

Next Time: Progress on the Lakes…

Late Summer Chatter

Above: E.B. White noted the sounds of late summer ranging from jackhammers (that sounded like cicadas) to the songs of katydids predicting an early frost. (pafa.org/Ellyn B/Flickr/nwf.org)

For roughly four decades E.B. White’s “Notes and Comment” set the tone for each issue of The New Yorker, offering observations on daily life that sometimes were compiled from his “disarranged notes.”

September 5, 1936 cover by Adolph K. Kronengold.

For the September 5 issue White offered brief comments on everything from the German military buildup to the romantic life of singer Bobby Arnst.

SHE WENT APE OVER TARZAN…Photo at left: Singer/dancer **Bobbe Arnst** shares a laugh with her first husband, *Tarzan* star **Johnny Weissmuller**—apparently her second marriage to divorce attorney **Robert Cavenaugh** wasn’t so full of yuks; White also noted the cicada-like sounds of air drills tearing up old trolley car lines—at right is the 1936 painting “End of 14th Street Crosstown Line” by early *New Yorker* contributor **Reginald Marsh**. The urban realist Marsh juxtaposed workers tearing up tracks with picketers demonstrating against Ohrbach’s, which would not allow employees to unionize. *(whosdatedwho.com/pafa.org)*

White also cited Cosmopolitan magazine regarding “the age of accumulation” (twenty-five to thirty-five), and noted the average speed of rival ocean liners for “New Yorkers hastening to the Scottish moors for the grouse shooting…”

CONSUMER REPORT…White cited *Cosmopolitan* regarding “the age of accumulation,” and considered the average speeds of the world’s fastest ocean liners, France’s SS *Normandie* (top), and Great Britain’s RMS *Queen Mary. (instagram.com/ucla.edu)*

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Sounds of Music

Paris correspondent Janet Flanner moved on from the Nazi Olympics in Berlin to the foothills of the Alps for the Salzburg Music Festival, where German dramatic soprano Lotte Lehmann and Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini made music together.

DRAMATIC DUO…Dramatic soprano Lotte Lehmann and conductor **Arturo Toscanini** were the big draw at the 1936 Salzburg Music Festival, which also featured the debut of the Trapp Family Singers, who were encouraged by Lehmann to enter the Salzburg Festival contest. *(taminoautographs.com via stolpersteine-salzburg.at/en)*

In August 1936 Lehmann discovered the Trapp Family Singers (made famous in 1965’s The Sound of Music). While approaching a villa available to let, Lehmann overheard the Trapp children singing in their garden. Due to her fame, Lehmann was able to persuade Captain Georg Von Trapp to allow his children to perform at Salzburg Festival.

Flanner also marveled at the Austria’s Grossglockner High Alpine Road—with the highest pass in Europe—and noted the bitter struggle between Nazis and Social Democrats that was dividing Austrians less than two years before the Anschluss, the German annexation of Austria.

GETTING HIGH…At left, the Grossglockner High Alpine Road (Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse); at right, the Hohensalzburg Fortress (Festung Hohensalzburg) a large medieval fortress that is a prominent landmark in the city of Salzburg, Austria. Flanner noted that unbeknownst to gawking tourists, the fortress contained political prisoners. *(Wikipedia)*

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At the Movies

John Mosher found Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers at the top of their game in the musical comedy Swing Time, but lamented the stodgy and laborious plot that burdened the non-dancing scenes.

BUSTING SOME MOVES are **Ginger Rogers** and **Fred Astaire** in Swing Time. The film was the sixth of ten films starring Astaire and Rogers. (goldenageofcinemasite.wordpress.com)

Mosher also had a look at Girl’s Dormitory, which introduced audiences to the young French actress Simone Simon, and also checked out the latest Myrna Loy flick.

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO HMMM…Clockwise from top left: Set at a Swiss boarding school, *Girl’s Dormitory* is a story about a middle-aged school director (**Herbert Marshall**) who resists the attentions of a forty-something professor (**Ruth Chatterton**) and instead hooks up with a 19-year-old student (**Simone Simon**);1936 photo of Simon by George Hurrell—Simon is is perhaps best remembered for her role in the 1942 American horror film *Cat People* and its sequel; **Claire Trevor, Warner Baxter,** and **Myrna Loy** in *To Mary—with Love*; cover of *Movie Parade*, a book on movie history when the history of film was just three decades old. (imdb.com/facebook.com)

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From Our Advertisers

The magazine opened with another enticing photo from Grace Line depicting an ocean cruise before the days of water slides, buffet lines and norovirus…

…some one-column selections from the back of the book, including an ad from the Camel Pen Company introducing an innovative fountain pen that contained a dry ink pellet—the user added water to dissolve the pellet into a year’s supply of ink…

…these days most of us use ball-point pens, and we are also so accustomed to automatic doors that they no longer seem “magic” as they did in the 1930s…

WONDERS NEVER CEASE…In 1931, Wilcox’s Pier Restaurant in West Haven, Connecticut featured the first automatic doors in America, invented by Stanley. (cbsnews.com)

…New York artist Sheila Raleigh employed the desert island trope to sell some beer for Jacob Ruppert…

…the inside back cover popped with this ad for the streamlined V-12 Lincoln Zephyr…

…the “Talk of the Town” occasionally featured these illustrated mini-bios, here highlighting Jesse Owens’ record-setting performance at the 1936 Olympics (illustration by William Cotton)…

…a couple of spots by George Shellhase…

…and Richard Taylor…

…Helen Hokinson gave us frenemies at a dog show…

…James Thurber looked out for cockroaches…

…Otto Soglow found a new use for a bass case…

…Soglow again, demonstrating the wonders of radio advertising…

…Alain showed us a man with a cagey cane…

…Peter Arno illustrated the trials of working with extras…

…Rea Irvin continued to chronicle achievements in industry (Peruna was a well-known patent medicine sold from the late-19th to mid-20th century—with its high alcohol content, Americans drank large amounts of Peruna during Prohibition)…

…a beat cop receives an unlikely confession, per Whitney Darrow Jr…

…and we close with Alan Dunn, in a forgettable situation…

Next Time: Sun Lubbers…

Better Living Through Fiction

Above: Introduced by the American Tobacco Company in 1917, the iconic slogan "It's Toasted" became the cornerstone of Lucky Strike marketing in the 1930s. The company claimed their heat-curing method (as opposed to sun-drying) removed tobacco's "corrosive acids." This 1933 Lucky Strike advertisement was illustrated by Hayden Hayden. (wash.edu)

In May 1936 the Advertising Federation of America (AFA) celebrated the 25th anniversary of its “truth in advertising” movement, highlighting the work of vigilance committees that encouraged advertisers to avoid government intervention through self-regulation. As one can imagine, such voluntary efforts were largely ignored.

July 11, 1936 cover by **William Steig.**

The celebration was short-lived, for later that year the Food and Drug Administration’s Ruth Lamb, published American Chamber of Horrors: The Truth About Food and Drugs. Lamb, who was head of public relations for the FDA, based her publication on a FDA traveling exhibit that exposed dangerous, poisonous, and deceptively marketed cosmetics, foods, medicine, and medical treatments. Lamb played an important role in advising Congress on new regulations that culminated in the Wheeler-Lea Act of 1938, which expanded the Federal Trade Commission’s unfair competition mandate to include consumer protections from “unfair or deceptive acts or practice.” That same year, Congress also passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, requiring pre-market safety testing and prohibiting false therapeutic claims.

BLISTERS INSTEAD OF BEAUTY…In 1933 the makers of Lash Lure mascara promised women a permanently made-up look using aniline dye on eyelashes. Tragically, Lash Lure contained p-phenylenediamine, which caused horrific blisters, abscesses and ulcers on the face, eyelids and eyes of Lash Lure users. It even led to blindness in some women. *(livingnewdeal.org)*

Apparently Lamb hadn’t yet published her American Chamber of Horrors when E.B. White filed his July 11 “Notes and Comment.” He did, however, pen this satirical take on the AFA’s sanctimonious commitment to the “truth.”

…Otto Soglow provided this apt illustration along the bottom of White’s “Notes” column…

HORROR SHOW…The FDA’s Ruth Lamb displays some of the worthless and harmful products in her “Chamber of Horrors.” Lamb was instrumental in advising Congress on new drug and food legislation. *(Wikipedia)*

BUYER BEWARE…Clockwise, from top left: In the 1930s Othine promised to remove brown spots and lighten skin; the active ingredient was mercury; Bred-Spred was a line of beautifully colored “jellies” that did not contain the industry standard of 50 percent fruit/juice to qualify as jelly. Indeed, they had no fruit or juice at all—just artificial colors and flavors, and in the case of the “strawberry flavor” pictured above, a few hayseeds were added to simulate strawberry seeds; a circa 1930 ad claiming substantial weight loss simply by listening to a record. (fda.gov/brandingstrategyinsider.com)

Quackery was not confined to the smaller companies. Big Tobacco made outlandish claims regarding the health benefits of smoking…

BIG MONEY from tobacco companies financed these splashy ads from the 1930s, including, from left, Lucky Strike’s weight-loss claims; Philip Morris asserted they used a different type of moistening agent that also prevented throat irritation—these ads were aimed at easing smoker anxiety about deep inhaling; R.J. Reynolds claimed their Camels did everything from aiding digestion to easing one’s nerves. Many of the ads featured famous athletes claiming they could smoke all they wanted and still perform at their peak. (Stanford.edu)

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A Quiet Place

E.B. White (in “Notes and Comment”) revealed a hallowed spot in the city where he could gather his thoughts on hot summer mornings…

REFUGE FROM THE HEAT AND DIN…This apartment building’s courtyard at 277 Park Avenue offered E.B. White a place to ponder on a summer day. Built in 1905 and designed by McKim, Mead and White, the apartments were demolished in 1964 and replaced with a glass tower. (mcny.org)

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On Your Mark

“The Talk of the Town” visited the new Randalls Island Stadium (later renamed Downing Stadium). Built with WPA funding, the stadium hosted the Men’s Olympic Track and Field Trials where Jesse Owens qualified for the Berlin Summer Games.

READY TO RUN…Aerial photo of the new Randalls Island Stadium taken on July 10, 1936, the day before the Olympic trials; at right, **Jesse Owens** at the stadium’s Olympic tryouts—Owens dominated the competition by winning the 100-yard dash, the 220-yard run, and the broad jump. He would go on to win four gold medals at the Berlin Games. (Associated Press/randallsisland.org)

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Ach Du Lieber

In his column “Of All Things,” Howard Brubaker offered his thoughts on the state of higher education in Nazi Germany:

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Haggard and Debonair

Margaret Case Harriman profiled talent agent and theatrical producer Leland Hayward (1902–1971), a kid from Nebraska City, Nebraska who would become a renowned playboy (married five times) and agent to scores of Hollywood actors. He would also produce the original Broadway stage productions of South Pacific and The Sound of Music. Excerpts:

ALL SMILES…at left, **Katharine Hepburn** with agent/boyfriend **Leland Hayward** arriving at director **George Cukor’s** home, circa 1936; Hayward with wife number three Margaret Sullivan⁣, circa 1940. *(instagram.com/alchetron)*

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Juvie Justice

For the column⁣ “A Reporter at Large” (titled “Gamins”), Morris Markey looked in on the workings of the Children’s Court on East Twenty-second Street. Beginning with the sixth paragraph is an example of how teen pregnancies were addressed in New York ninety years ago. Excerpts:

Markey examined the possible outcomes of unwed mothers and fathers, and concluded that the Children’s Court was a realistic and kindly way to deal with these issues as well as a range of juvenile offenses. History seems to be on Markey’s side; for its time, the Children’s Court offered a progressive approach that kept minors from the horrors of the prison system.

STILL STANDING…The Children’s Court building on East Twenty-second Street was visited by **Morris Markey** for his column. Today it serves as Newman Hall for CUNY’s Baruch College. *(J.C. Rice via nypost.com)*

JUST SOME KIDS HANGING OUT…**Arnold Eagle’s** Federal Art Project photo, “Boys Climbing the Fire Escape of a Deserted Building,” 1935. *(mcny.org)*

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Some Lawn Tennis

American journalist and sports radio personality Cedric E. Adams (known as “Ced,” hence the initials below) occasionally provided tennis commentary for The New Yorker. Here he takes in Wimbledon, where he found the men’s matches dull and the women’s memorable.

THREE’S A CHARM…In 1936 Fred Perry won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon for the third year in a row, while Helen Jacobs’ “cool tactics” helped her capture the women’s title. (facebook.com/findagrave.com)

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At the Movies

Laurence Olivier (1907–1989) was a rising star of the London stage when he moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s. Not making the breakthrough he had hoped for, he returned to London for stage and film work, including the 1935 film Moscow Nights, which was released in the U.S. in 1936 as I Stand Condemned. Critic John Mosher still wasn’t wowed by Olivier, but found the film better than average.

SPIES LIKE US…**Laurence Olivier** and **Penelope Dudley-Ward** in I Stand Condemned. Directed by Anthony Asquith, the film concerned a wounded officer who falls in love with his nurse. *(rotten tomatoes.com)*

Mosher also reviewed a “minor melodrama,” Forgotten Faces.

A GAMBLER AND A STRIPPER were portrayed by **Herbert Marshall** and **Gertrude Michael** in *Forgotten Faces*. (*mubi.com*)

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From Our Advertisers

Illustrator Jon Whitcomb sketched up this happy scene to promote this “Smart French Drink”…

…as noted in our lead story, cigarette manufacturers made all sorts of health claims connected to heavy smoking…

…now this was the way to travel…sadly the U.S. has largely abandoned reliable rail service…

…from the back of the book, enticements to escape the city into the countryside…

…another Dr. Seuss Flit ad, anticipating his 1954 bestseller Horton Hears a Who…

…on to our spots, we start with a summer stock-themed woodcut by Susan Willard Flint…

…escaping the heat with Christina Malman…

…on to our cartoonists, we begin with caption-less entries by Constantin Alajalov…

…Daniel ‘Alain’ Brustlein…

…George Price…

…and Otto Soglow…

…Alan Dunn gave us a man seeking order in chaos…

…and Helen Hokinson gave us a woman turning chaos into order…

…another from Hokinson, anticipating a scene from The Music Man…

…and we close with Peter Arno, and a surprise announcement…

Next Time: Platoon Platitudes…

Highfalutin Absurdities

Above: Margaret Mitchell poses with her award-winning novel, c. 1938. Mitchell won the National Book Award for Fiction for Most Distinguished Novel of 1936 and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937. Gone With the Wind was the only novel she published in her lifetime. (britannica.com)

Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel Gone With the Wind and the 1939 film it inspired have both served as controversial reference points for cultural critics and scholars, particularly for the stereotypical and derogatory portrayals of African Americans in the 19th century South.

Ninety years later the novel still proves divisive; it also remains one of America’s most-loved books. Worldwide, more than 30 million copies have been printed in the U.S. and abroad.

In 1936 the novel quickly rose to the top of fiction bestseller lists, and was generally well received by critics. Novelist and literary critic Louis Kronenberger (1904–1980), who sat in for Clifton Fadiman in The New Yorker’s book section, praised the novel for its “highfalutin absurdities,” calling it a “masterpiece of pure escapism.” Kronenberger wrote that Gone with the Wind provided “a kind of catharsis…of all the false sentiment and heady goo that even the austerest mind somehow accumulates and periodically needs to get rid of.” He correctly predicted that the novel would be “very feverishly discussed” once people found the time to read its thousand-plus pages. Excerpts:

GOO GONE…Clockwise, from top left: Reading *Gone With the Wind* will clear one’s “heady goo,” according to critic Louis Kronenberger; **Margaret Mitchell** (1900–1949) seated before a selection of Gone With the Wind translations; an example of a German version of the novel—*Gone With the Wind* was translated into at least forty different languages with eight hundred unique international printings. *(azquotes.com/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/georgiaencyclopedia.org)*

IT HAS HOW MANY PAGES?!…**Clark Gable,** who portrayed Rhett Butler in the 1939 film adaptation of *Gone with the Wind,* has a look at **Margaret Mitchell’s** doorstop of a book. Mitchell was not involved in the screenplay or film production. *(yahoo.com)*

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Tweet From Tinseltown

Apparently actress Mary Astor was a New Yorker reader, having read an E.B. White “Notes” column that mentioned his stained-glass hummingbird feeders.

FOR THE BIRDS…A *New Yorker* column by E.B. White inspired actress **Mary Astor** to feed Hollywood’s hummingbirds. (Wikipedia)

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Going, Going, Gone

A “Talk of the Town” piece co-written by A. J. Liebling and Russell Maloney tracked down what remained of the Central Park Casino, which had been demolished under the orders of Parks Commissioner Robert Moses.

Moses hated former Mayor Jimmy Walker, and by association he hated Walker’s favorite haunt, the Central Park Casino. Despite pleas from preservationists to save the famous Art Deco supper club, which had been beautifully rebuilt by the late designer Joseph Urban, Moses moved as quickly as possible to demolish the building. Following a public auction, the iconic horseshoe-shaped bar and some interior fixtures were acquired by the Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey and subsequently installed beside the park’s wave pool.

FROM GLITTER TO RUIN…Clockwise, from top left, the Central Park Casino on the evening of Sept.10, 1935; interior images of **Joseph Urban’s** elegant Art Deco designs; workers remove windows and interior fixtures as demolition commences in May 1936. *(nycgovparks.com/centralpark.org/mcny.org)*

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Maddy Returns

It’s a shame that writer Maddy Vegtel is largely forgotten today. She wrote with great wit and verve, and was well known in the 1920s and 30s for her Vanity Fair profiles and for her articles about Holland, her native land. A contributor to The New Yorker from 1926 to 1956, she published this casual in July 4 issue.

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Bad Men and Mad Men

The poet Ogden Nash shared his thoughts on the summer political convention season:

THE LORD’S ANOINTED…**Ogden Nash** (center) observed this belief in the political animal; at left and right, the Democratic and Republican nominees for president in 1936, **Franklin D. Roosevelt** and **Alf Landon**. (Wikimedia/poetryverse.com/Wikipedia)

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At the Movies

Critic John Mosher was on board for MGM’s musical-drama disaster film San Francisco, which told the story of a saloon keeper, a singer, and a priest caught up in 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

SHAKING IN THEIR BOOTS…Clockwise, from top left: MGM poster for San Francisco touts the first-time pairing of **Clark Gable** and Jeanette MacDonald in a film; scene from the film featuring, from left, **Gable, Jack Holt, Spencer Tracy** and **MacDonald**; the film included stunning effects, including an earthquake montage sequence that interspersed scenes of wreckage with the faces of terrified victims; Gable assesses the carnage in a scene from the film. *(imdb.com/kittypackard.wordpress.com)*

Mosher offered a tongue-cheek assessment of Shirley Temple’s appearance in her latest film, The Poor Little Rich Girl, noting that “There’s not the slightest indication of aging in Miss Temple.” The child star was just shy of eight years old when she filmed the picture. As for the The White Angel, Mosher found the Florence Nightingale biopic—with Kay Francis in the title role—”a little schoolbookish [and] quite on the dull side.”

THAT YOUTHFUL GLOW…Top photo: Critic **John Mosher** found **Shirley Temple** still able to “delight her tremendous public” in *The Poor Little Rich Girl*—she is seen here with co-stars **Jack Haley** and **Alice Faye**; Below: **Kay Francis** and **Ian Hunter** in *The White Angel*, a film about Florence Nightingale’s pioneering work as a nurse during the Crimean War. *(tcm.com)*

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From Our Advertisers

Sunscreen as we understand it today wasn’t available to New Yorkers in 1936, so they relied on zinc oxide and other mineral applications to avoid sunburns…however, Eugene Schueler, founder of L’Oréal, developed the first tanning oil with UV radiation-filtering properties in Europe in 1935 (active ingredient was benzyl salicylate), and later marketed it to the U.S. as Ambre Solaire…the brand is still sold today…

…Stage magazine continued to promote their 1911 throwback issue…

…the back cover belonged to Liggett & Myers, offering another romantic couple enjoying their Chesterfields…

…we open the cartoons with Richard Taylor, who felt the heat as summer took hold in the city…on July 4, 1936, the official high temperature in Central Park reached an unseasonably warm 93 degrees F (34 c), hitting 106 F (41C) five days later on July 9…that mark remains the city’s all-time absolute highest temperature…

…Otto Soglow’s spot art showed us how one well-heeled family escaped the hot city…

…while Susan Willard Flint offered a woodcut if a quiet cobbled street…

…Tom Holloway showed us how one posh kid delivered the Saturday Evening Post (Holloway was a cartoonist for the Post, contributing just two drawings to The New Yorker, both in 1936)…

…the woman’s expression says it all in this Helen Hokinson cartoon…

…George Price gave us a saleswoman who saw one two many pool floats…

…Gardner Rea drew up a vast estate for a man who (almost) had it all…

…Fritz Wilkinson did some deep sea swan diving…

…Gilbert Bundy found a clue at the gentleman’s club…

…Mary Petty went all out for the Fourth of July…

…and we close with Peter Arno, and the miracle of birth…

Next Time: Better Living Through Fiction…

Poppy Returns

Above: Rochelle Hudson and W.C. Fields in scene from Poppy. Fields reprised his vaudeville character Professor McGargle (from the hit 1923 stage revue of the same name), who learns about a million-dollar inheritance meant for a long-lost local heiress and concocts a plan to pass off his daughter, Poppy, as the true heiress. (Facebook.com)

Eighty years after his death W.C. Fields is still recognized as one of the America’s great comic geniuses. When he made a sound film version of his hit Broadway play, Poppy, in 1936, many thought it would be his last, since he suffered from a variety of ailments including a bad back and chronic lung congestion. Doubtless two quarts of liquor a day also had a few people wondering.

It would have been an appropriate, if premature ending to Field’s career, since it was the Poppy stage play that launched him into national stardom (along with the play’s first adaptation into film, the 1925 silent Sally of the Sawdust). The play and the silent film introduced audiences to the lovable snake oil salesman “Professor” Eustace McGargle, who returned in the 1936 film, “a slightly blurred affair” according to critic John Mosher.

THE PROFESSOR RETURNS…Clockwise, from top left: **W.C. Fields** and **Carole Dempster** in 1925’s *Sally of the Sawdust*, which was based on the stage play *Poppy* and was directed by **D.W. Griffith**; Fields as Professor Eustace McGargle and **Rochelle Hudson** as Poppy in 1936’s *Poppy*; Fields and **Catherine Doucet,** who portrayed Countess Maggi Tubbs DePuizzi. *(filmforum.org/doctormacro.com/facebook.com)*

The “blurred” performance by Fields (1880–1946), the result of his various ills, didn’t seem to affect most critics—the New York Times, for example, called the film “a glorious victory.” Remarkably, Fields would live another ten years and go on to star in such classics as 1940’s My Little Chickadee, (with Mae West), 1940’s The Bank Dick, and 1941’s Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.

HELLO FRIENDS…**W.C. Fields** chats with his close friend and Poppy director **Eddie Sutherland**, who was accompanied by writer Dorothy Parker during a visit to the set of *Poppy*. *(Facebook.com)*

Mosher also reviewed a “sad” picture about the tragic life of a Tyrolean sexton, Sins of Man, and the musical comedy Dancing Pirate, which he deemed even sadder because it was so terrible (Mosher walked out during the middle of the picture).

The origin of the music video? See reader comment at the end of the post.

FROM BELLS TO THE BOWERY…**Jean Hersholt** played a Tyrolian sexton with an American dream that goes awry in *Sins of Man*. (eBay.com)

SEEING RED…Not even Technicolor could spare *Dancing Pirate* from John Mosher’s wrath. At left, **Steffi Duna** and **Charles Collins** in a dance scene; eighteen-year-old Rita Hayworth (right) appeared as an uncredited dancer in the film—here she poses in a publicity photo for 1936’s *Human Cargos.* *(mediaplaynews.com/facebook.com)*

* * *

All Aboard

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White described a trip on a Boston & Main streamliner that traveled along a branch line. Lacking a turning loop, the train had to run in reverse for half of the round trip.

TWO-WAY TICKET…The Boston & Main streamlined Flying Yankee (seen here in 1938) would run both forward and backward when traveling along a branch line that lacked a turning loop. (Wikipedia)

* * *

Furies Al Fresco

On June 17, 1936 Rockefeller Center opened the Promenade Café in the plaza surrounding the Prometheus Fountain (later that year a temporary ice skating rink took the spot, now a permanent, iconic feature of the plaza). Writing for “The Talk of the Town,” E.B. White commented on the breezy dining experience he shared with wife, Katharine Sergeant White. Excerpt:

FIRE AND ICE…Patrons enjoy dining with the god of fire in the plaza beneath 30 Rock, circa 1970. The plaza is converted to an ice skating rink in the winter. (eBay.com)

The magazine’s next issue (July 4) advertised dinner, dancing and thirty-five cent cocktails at the Promenade Café…

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We open with a June Bride and hubby tanking up on some leaded gas before heading to Niagara Falls…

…opposite the Ethyl ad was this Simeon Braguin-illustrated spot for Bergdorf…

…the pacifists behind the World Peaceways ads pulled no punches when delivering their anti-war message…

…Budweiser continued its laborious series of ads that employed analogies and metaphors to promote its best-selling suds…

…recall the ad from the April 18 issue of The New Yorker, when the brewer used this disagreeable analogy to tout its “vacuum-cleansing” process…

…the Revere Copper and Brass company responded to the recent invention of canned beer with an invention of its own…the Tapster, an elegant nickel and brass pitcher with a built-in punch on the underside of the lid…just insert a can, push down on the lid, and pour…great for the yacht, or as a gift to some newlyweds…

The nickel-silver and brass “Tapster” is highly sought by collectors today. (americanhistory.si.edu)

…in contrast to Budweiser’s wordy ads (or to White Rock’s colorful ones), the folks at Hoffman advertised their products with just a few lines of black ink…

…Don Dickerman continued to promote his latest “Pirates Den” near Port Chester…note that among many other talents, Dickerman was also an artist…he illustrated the ads for all of his enterprises, including this one…

…John Hanrahan, publisher and editor of Stage theater magazine (and who also helped put The New Yorker on solid financial footing), set aside the August 1936 issue as a special edition, the “1911 Number,” a nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek look back to the founding of Stage’s predecessor, The Theatre Guild Magazine. The magazine marked its 25th anniversary by examining the striking differences between 1911 and 1936 in the world of theater as well as in fashion and cultural mores.

…here is the cover of that issue, featuring Billie Burke, a leading Broadway actress who would marry producer and impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr in 1914…she is still known today for her portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch of the North in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz…

…and Dr. Seuss was still at it, finding new and clever ways to deploy the insecticide Flit…

…the New York radio station WOR employed Otto Soglow to drum up some business for their ad department…WOR began broadcasting in early 1922, and is one of the oldest continuously operating radio stations in the U.S. (the three–letter call sign is characteristic of stations dating from the 1920s)…

…Soglow gives us a nice segue to our cartoonists and illustrators, beginning with a Susan Willard Flint woodcut…

…Alan Dunn contributed this spot drawing…

…as did Richard Taylor…

…Perry Barlow offered some sketches from the summer convention scene…

…Helen Hokinson considered the value of fortune-teller…

…Alain illustrated what dreams are made of, at least for one man…

…and what are friends for? Gardner Rea had an idea…

…Barbara Shermund offered a challenge at a dress shop…

…and Shermund again, with an enterprising commuter…

…just the facts ma’am, with Peter Arno in the court of law…

…Robert Day presented a construction conundrum…

…Rea Irvin took a child’s perspective of the wild world…

…and we close with this gem from James Thurber…

Next Time: Highfalutin Absurdities…

Izzy & Moe

Above: Former Prohibition agents Isidor "Izzy" Einstein (right) and Moe W. Smith meet at a New York City bar in 1935. Known for their clever disguises and unorthodox tactics, from 1920 to 1925 the duo confiscated roughly five million bottles of illicit liquor and arrested 4,932 people. (Wikipedia)

Legendary Americans come from all walks of life—sports stars, movie actors, political and business leaders—and they also come from unlikely places; take for example a pushcart peddler and a cigar store owner who became national celebrities for their exploits during the first years of Prohibition.

June 6, 1936 cover by Constantin Alajalov.

Prohibition agents Isidor “Izzy” Einstein (1880–1938) and Moe W. Smith (1887–1960) were known for their clever disguises, but the author of their “Where Are They Now?” profile was also in disguise—the piece was written by James Thurber under the pseudonym Jared L. Manley.

Einstein was 40-year-old pushcart peddler and postal clerk when he applied for a job as an enforcement agent at forty dollars a week. Although the 5-foot-5, 225 pound Einstein wasn’t the agency’s “type,” he convinced the feds that there was an advantage to not looking the part (the Austrian-born Einstein also spoke six languages). After landing the job, he asked if his friend, cigar store owner Moe Smith, could join him, since “he doesn’t look like an agent, either.” Some brief excerpts from part one of “Where Are They Now?”

TRICKSTERS…Clockwise, from top left: **Isidor “Izzy” Einstein** (right) and **Moe W. Smith**; the pair sported hundreds of disguises (Einstein on the left); Einstein’s badge and his bestselling 1932 book *Prohibition Agent No 1*; *Daily News* clipping from September 1920 showing results of a raid—Izzy and Moe are at right and left. *(history.com/Library of Congress/Wikipedia/goodreads.com/nydailynews.com)*

In her 2012 article for Smithsonian magazine (“Prohibition’s Premier Hooch Hounds”), Abbott Kahler notes that the agents were victims of their own success. “Superiors grew to resent their headlines, and other agents complained that their productivity made their own records look bad…In November 1925, Izzy and Moe were among 35 agents to be dropped from the force.” Both men went on to successful careers as insurance salesmen. Want to know more? Read Kahler’s excellent account of the duo at the Smithsonian magazine’s website.

TRIBUTE ON THE TUBE…In 1985 **Art Carney** and **Jackie Gleason** starred in CBS’s made-for-television film, *Izzy & Moe,* which was loosely based on the exploits of **Izzy Einstein** and **Moe Smith**. *(imdb.com)*

* * *

At the Movies

Two of the better films playing in Manhattan cinemas featured murders and matrons, the matrons played by Britain’s top female screen star, Madeleine Carroll, and America’s queen of screwball comedy, Jean Arthur. Critic John Mosher observed that their films were the only ones with any “life.”

TRADING GALLOWS FOR A GROOM…Top, **Madeleine Carroll** portrayed a “lady of privilege,” accused of murder, who falls in love with the prosecuting district attorney (**George Brent)** in The Case Against Mrs. Ames—**Scotty Beckett** played Carroll’s son; below, **Jean Arthur** and **William Powell** in the comedy-mystery The Ex-Mrs. Bradford.(imdb.com/mikestakeonthemovies.com)

Other films reviewed by Mosher were rated as “negligible” and “disappointing,” despite their talented casts…

TRAIN SPOTTING…Clockwise from top left: **Esther Howard** portrayed a “flirtatious dowager” who worked her charms on **Jack Oakie** (center) in *Florida Special*; **Sally Eilers** prepares to board the *Florida Special* with **Dwight Frye** and Claude Gillingwater; **Robert Montgomery** and Rosalind Russell in *Trouble for Two;* Montgomery (left), **Leonard Carey**, and **Frank Morgan** in *Trouble for Two. (pinterest.com/imdb.com)*

THE OLD PRINCESS IN DISGUISE TRICK…From left, **Grace Moore, Eve Southern**, and **Franchot Tone** in *The King Steps Out. (IMDb.com)*

* * *

From Our Advertisers

Last week Lois Long mentioned the return of famed Greenwich Village restaurateur and Sheridan Square funboy Don Dickerman. The June 6 issue featured two back-of-the-book ads placed by Dickerman that promoted his latest venture at Port Chester…this ad was on the bottom of page 75…

…and turning the page, you’d find this at the bottom of page 76…

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN…In 1916 **Don Dickerman** (1893–1981) opened a tearoom called the Pirate’s Cave at 133 Washington Place in Greenwich Village. The 6-foot-6 artist and entrepreneur was famous for his many themed establishments as well as for his eccentricities. Obsessed with pirate life, he dressed in full pirate gear in both public and private life. *(facebook.com)*

…Pacific Pottery was among firms in the 1930s marketing informal dinnerware featuring vibrant glazes and Art Deco streamline designs…

…you don’t hear much about the “June Bride” these days, but 1930s advertisers played up the tradition to sell everything from fashions to refrigerators…here the folks at Fisher made sure they connected their solid steel “Turret Top” to the safety of newlyweds…

…Stage magazine promoted its extensive coverage of “After-Dark” entertainments at home and abroad…

…the brewers of Pabst joined a handful of other beer companies promoting their product in newfangled cans…

…Dr. Seuss continued to find new gags to promote Flit insecticide…

…James Thurber kicked things off for the issue’s cartoonists…

…Charles Addams took in the sites along with some June brides at Niagara Falls (the barrel in the water reads “Just Married”)…

…W.P. Trent contributed this caption-less cartoon…

…Carl Rose continued to document the strange happenings of an election year…

…William Steig got superstitious…

…one of Helen Hokinson’s “girls” gave props to lemon meringue…

…and Hokinson again, and an unlikely claim at the salon…

…Alain presented an artist’s greatest challenge…

…Otto Soglow gave us an ideal sandwich board duo…

…Alan Dunn illustrated a “selfless” act…

…a moviegoer found a derivative moment at the cinema, per Whitney Darrow Jr…

…and we close with some idle chat, courtesy of Barbara Shermund…

Next Time: Meet Father Divine…

Age of the Clipper

Above: Detail from illustration depicting the Philippine Clipper arriving in Hong Kong to establish the first commercial air service between North America and the continent of Asia on October 23, 1936. (Otto G. Richter Library, University of Miami)

We take to the air with the April 18, 1936 edition of The New Yorker, namely via the China Clipper, a Pan American flying boat that was preparing to begin regular passenger service from San Francisco to the Philippines and Hong Kong along with its two sister ships.

Writing for “A Reporter at Large” under the title “See You in Shanghai,” Morris Markey offered an enthusiastic preview of the China Clipper, a Martin M-130 flying boat that was initially tested on a Trans-Pacific mail route laid out by famed navigator Fred Noonan (who would disappear the following year in a fateful flight with Amelia Earhart). Although Markey anticipated a summer launch, the first commercial trans-Pacific airmail and passenger service from San Francisco to Manila actually took place in October 1936, when the Hawaii Clipper made the first scheduled transoceanic passenger flight to the Philippines. The Philippine Clipper inaugurated the first passenger service into Hong Kong that same month, but it was a public relations VIP flight rather than a revenue generating one.

Here are excerpts from Markey’s report:

TAKING WING…Clockwise, from top left, carrying nearly 111,000 letters, the *China Clipper* passes over the San Francisco waterfront on its first airmail flight to Manila in November 1935; trading card from a pack of Player’s cigarettes; cutaway view of the Martin M-130 flying boat dubbed the *China Clipper.* *(Wikipedia/frommers.com/Smithsonian)*

Here is the flight schedule for the China Clipper’s first airmail flight to Manila in November 1935:

Today’s commercial aircraft squeeze passengers into about six square feet. Compare that to a Pan Am Clipper, which allotted twenty-two square feet per each passenger. They lounged on easy chairs and couches, enjoyed six-course meals served on fine china, and could even take a hot shower if so desired. Markey again:

THE ONLY WAY TO FLY if you had the means. The Clippers were divided into spacious cabins, with couches rather than airplane seats. The passenger compartments would transform at night into deluxe sleeper cabins. There was a dining salon, dressing rooms, and separate bathrooms for men and women. *(messynessychic.com/Wikipedia/clipperflyingboats.com)*

Talk about legroom…

Writing for Messy Nessy, Luke Spencer notes this experience was only available to a select few: “…a one-way ticket from San Francisco to Hong Kong would set you back $760 in 1939 (more than $13,000 today). But despite being largely reserved for the rich and famous, the seaplanes are so evocative of the bygone era, that today, it’s hard to imagine a vintage travel poster without a Flying Clipper in it, soaring above a distant island.” Indeed, the long-gone Clipper ships live on in popular vintage travel posters such as the one below depicting Pan Am’s most advanced, largest and last flying boat, the Boeing 314. The circa 1939 illustration is by George Lawler:

* * *

Don’t Step On Them

Suede shoes (aka Bucks, Reverse Calfskin) caught the attention of E.B. White, who thought this “new kind of men’s shoe” resembled a wire-haired dachshund. Suede shoes (blue ones would come later) were introduced as a preppy alternative to heavy lace-up shoes in the 1930s. They were favored (and made popular) by fashion trendsetter Edward, Duke of Windsor, who briefly reigned as British king in 1936 before abdicating the throne.

GOING CASUAL…Suede shoes offered a less formal option to men who still wanted to look stylish about town or at the club. At left is an ad from the 1940s, and at right is a one-column ad from the April 18, 1936 issue of *The New Yorker.* One wonders if **E.B. White** noticed it. *(chronicallyvintage.com)*

* * *

Cowboys and Elephants

The “Talk of the Town” noted the latest attractions the Ringling Brothers were bringing to Madison Square Garden, including B-grade Western film actor Colonel Tim McCoy and a trio of elephants who played a rudimentary form of baseball.

NICE DUDS…American actor and military officer **Colonel Tim McCoy** (1891–1978) was a popular cowboy film star; he was even honored with his picture on a *Wheaties* box. (Wikipedia/nypl.org)

The tallest person ever recorded, Robert Wadlow (1918–1940), became a celebrity after his 1936 U.S. tour with the Ringling Brothers Circus, appearing at Madison Square Garden in the center ring, and never in the sideshow.

ON DISPLAY…The 8 foot, 11.1 inch **Robert Wadlow** shares a moment with Harry Earles (aka Harry Doll) behind the scenes at the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1936. During his appearance, Wadlow dressed in his everyday clothes and refused the circus’s request that he wear a top hat and tails. (reddit.com)

In addition to Col. McCoy, the circus also featured the daring high wire act of the famous Wallenda family:

IT’S A LIVING…The Wallendas performing at Madison Square Garden in 1934. (facebook.com)

* * *

Sage Advice

Dorothea Brande (1892–1948) was the author of two popular advice books: Becoming a Writer (1934) remains in print today, and her motivational Wake Up and Live (1936) sold more than a million copies and inspired an eponymous 1937 Hollywood movie.

As we’ve seen before, James Thurber relished the opportunity to satirize the writers of motivational books, and Brande’s Wake Up and Live proved to be irresistible. Here are some choice excerpts:

IDEAL FOR AN AIRPORT READ if such a thing would have existed in 1936. Above, **Dorothea Brande** circa 1937 and her 1936 bestseller, *Wake Up and Live,* which sold more than a million copies and inspired a Hollywood movie. (Wikipedia/matthewsbookshop.com)

* * *

Legacy Lines

In 1936 Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943) was more widely read than any American poet, but his popularity didn’t diminish the respect he received from literary critics. So no wonder The New Yorker gave him a two-page spread to publish his “Notes To Be Left In A Cornerstone.” It’s too large to reproduce here, but this is how it looked in the magazine (with great spot art by Hugo Gellert)…

A closer look at Gellert’s illustration…

…and here are the last two stanzas of the poem:

* * *

Ray Gets Rough

Ray Bolger’s long career included everything from dancing in vaudeville shows and acting on Broadway to appearing in his own television sitcom and in a 1981 Dr. Pepper commercial (dancing, of course). He is best remembered as the lovable, loose-limbed Scarecrow in 1939’s Wizard of Oz. So it was a surprise to learn that the Tony-winning actor could also play a tough guy, a turn that delighted critic Wolcott Gibbs, who penned this review of the Rodgers and Hart comedy musical On Your Toes:

I CAN SCARE MORE THAN CROWS…**Ray Bolger** (left) gets rough with a thug as **Tamara Geva** looks on in the musical comedy On Your Toes. (rodgersandhammerstein.com)

* * *

Bio Myopic

Biopics reached a height of popularity in the Thirties, with dozens of these pictures featuring major stars including Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and Rembrandt (1936), Barbara Stanwyck in Annie Oakley (1935), Greta Garbo in Queen Christina (1933), and Claudette Colbert in Cleopatra (1934). Paul Muni, the king of biopics, appeared in at least a half-dozen including The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936). The year 1936 also brought us The Great Ziegfeld, starring William Powell as Flo Ziegfeld, Myrna Loy as his wife, Billie Burke, and Luise Rainer as Ziegfeld’s first wife, Anna Held. Critic John Mosher takes it from here:

DOUBLE TAKE..Ziegfeld Follies star **Will Rogers** was originally intended to appear in the 1936 film *The Great Ziegfeld,* but died in a plane crash in August 1935 before filming began. A.A. Trimble (pictured at left), was a map salesman by trade, but was also known to perform impersonations of Rogers at events like Rotarian lunches. Critic John Mosher was shocked by Trimble’s uncanny impersonation of Rogers in the film, which also featured Ziegfeld headliner Fanny Brice (right), the real one. (facebook.com/amazon.com)

OSCAR-WORTHY…**William Powell** and Luise Rainer in *The Great Ziegfeld.* The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Dance Direction, and Best Actress, which went to Rainer. (tcm.com)

A note on Luise Rainer (1910–2014): The Austrian-American Rainer was the first person to win two Academy Awards in a row. The first was for her role as Anna Held in The Great Ziegfeld, and the second was for her role as a Chinese farm wife in 1937’s The Good Earth.

TIME WAS ON HER SIDE…**Luise Rainer** in 1936. (Wikipedia)

At the time of her death in 2014, thirteen days shy of her 105th birthday, Rainer was the longest-lived Oscar recipient, and the longest-lived female star from Classic Hollywood.

Mosher also reviewed Desire, a romantic crime drama that reunited the stars of the 1930 pre-code film Morocco, Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper.

REKINDLING THOSE SPARKS…**Marlene Dietrich** and Gary Cooper reunite in Desire. (video librarian.com)

HMMM…*Desire* also featured character actor **William Frawley** (seen here with Cooper), who would go on to greater fame in television, playing Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy. (facebook.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We begin with the inside front cover, where the makers of leaded gasoline appealed to homespun sensibilities with an odd juxtaposition…

…oil companies and other auto-related industries were big advertisers in The New Yorker, including the United States Rubber Company…

…which ran this back cover ad in the very first issue of the magazine, Feb. 21, 1925…

…another advertiser with deep pockets was big tobacco…R.J. Reynolds continued to make the ridiculous claim that their Camel cigarettes aided digestion…

…the makers of Old Gold stuck with sex to sell their smokes, featuring illustrations by pin-up artist George Petty…

…Hiram Walker boasted the availability of their Canadian Club whiskey in “87 lands”…

…at first glance I thought this was a soap advertisement…one doubts this analogy prompted more people to pick up a case of Bud…

…the makers of College Inn Tomato Juice Cocktail continued to employ the social faux pas to sell their product…note the outraged duchess making an appearance on the right…

…Heineken established its U.S. presence in 1933, becoming the first imported beer legally sold after the end of Prohibition…

…Amer Picon called on the talents of illustrator Jon Whitcomb (1906–1988) to create this stylish advertisement…

**Jon Whitcomb** (1906–1988) was known primarily for his illustrations of glamorous young women, including his signature “Whitcomb Girl.” Born and raised in the Midwest, Whitcomb moved to New York City in 1934, joining with **Al Cooper** to found the Cooper Studio. At left, Whitcomb circa 1940s; at right, his illustration for the cover of *Colliers,* Aug. 23, 1941. *(illustrationhistory.org)*

…on to our cartoonists, we have a spot illustration by Richard Taylor to kick off the issue…

…Leonard Dove gave us a frustrated sugar daddy…

…Alain illustrated the perils of social realism…

…Whitney Darrow Jr’s butler made himself right at home…

…Ned Hilton’s harpist found a way to adapt to her surroundings…

…Robert Day required a layout adjustment for his human cannonball…

…Mary Petty took an unusual request at the soda fountain…

…Peter Arno diagnosed an incurable eye condition…

…Otto Soglow offered up a surprise at the automat…

…Helen Hokinson went apartment hunting…

…and we close with Barbara Shermund, and a big ask…

Next Time: Things to Come…

Idiot’s Delight

Above: Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne headed the cast of Idiot's Delight, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning play by Robert E. Sherwood. The anti-war play premiered at Broadway's Shubert Theatre on March 24, 1936, and ran for three hundred performances. (latimes.com)

Set against the backdrop of impending war in Europe, Robert Sherwood’s Idiot’s Delight was a timely exploration of how individuals might respond to a major upheaval. The play’s themes about the futility of war resonate as much today as they did in 1936.

April 4, 1936 cover by **Harry Brown.** Although he created some distinctive, whimsical covers for *The New Yorker* (including today’s), there is very little biographical information available on the artist. Brown created eighteen covers for the magazine from 1931 to 1937.

Presented at Shubert Theatre, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play was set at a hotel in the Italian Alps, where the guests—among them a military captain, a German scientist, a radical socialist, and a honeymooning couple—find themselves trapped by the sudden onset of world war. The cast was led by Alfred Lunt, who played a small-time American entertainer accompanied by a troupe of chorines, and Lynn Fontanne, who portrayed a mysterious Russian woman who was traveling with an arms dealer.

The Pulitzer jury called the play first-rate, full of dramatic invention and “Molierian richness.” Critic Robert Benchley heartily agreed:

FRIVOLITY AMID THE CHAOS OF WAR…Clockwise, from top left, souvenir program for Idiot’s Delight; **Alfred Lunt** and **Lynn Fontanne** in a scene from the play; playwright **Robert E. Sherwood**; Lunt with a chorus line in *Idiot’s Delight. The New York Times* critic **Brooks Atkinson** wrote that the play “demonstrates Mr. Sherwood’s taste for exuberance and jovial skulduggery.”*(eBay.com/nypl.org/imdb.com)*

Benchley concluded that the play was at once entertaining and edifying:

FORGET ABOUT IT…In Idiot’s Delight, **Sydney Greenstreet** (left) portrayed a doctor who, in the face of senseless war deaths, gives up on his life-saving research; at right, **Jean MacIntyre** (left) portrayed Mrs. Cherry, part of a young English honeymooning couple stranded at a hotel due to the sudden closing of the border. With her in the scene are Fontanne and Lunt. (radioclassics.com/Public Domain)

Sherwood adapted the play into a 1939 film of the same name, starring Norma Shearer and Clark Gable.

* * *

Earth Gazing

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White mused about plans at the Hayden Planetarium for a program that would give visitors some idea of how earth would appear from a point in space. Earthlings would have to wait until 1968 to actually see a clear, color image of their planet.

THE WONDER OF IT ALL…Clockwise, from top left, the cosmosarium at the Hayden Planetarium, circa 1935; **Howard Russell Butler’s** attempt at an accurate portrayal of the earth for the American Museum of Natural History, circa 1920s; in 1966, Lunar Orbiter I sent back this image of Earth from the vicinity of the Moon; *Earthrise* is a famous photograph of Earth taken from lunar orbit by astronaut **William Anders** on December 24, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission. *(facebook.com/pinterest.com/NASA)*

* * *

From Russia With Love

Journalist and literary critic Edmund Wilson Jr (1895–1972) traveled in Russia from May to October 1935, and later filed a couple of articles in The New Yorker detailing his travels. Writing for the column “A Reporter at Large,” Wilson described his journey by boat from London to Leningrad, finding an unexpected kinship with his Soviet cabin mates. Excerpts:

DESTINATION…Leningrad’s Nevsky Prospect 1930s; **Edmund Wilson Jr** in 1936. (pinterest.com/Wikipedia)

Wilson found that he preferred the company of the Soviets to a stuffy English couple who were his dining companions. He concluded:

It should be noted that Wilson, despite his Marxist sympathies, would soon become disillusioned with the Soviet experiment; his travels concluded just before the onset of Josef Stalin’s “Great Purge,” which featured the notorious Moscow Show Trials that sent millions of innocent Soviet citizens to labor camps or to their deaths in prisons.

DOOMED…During the Great Terror, which included the notorious show trials of Stalin’s former Bolshevik opponents in 1936-1938 and reached its peak in 1937 and 1938, millions of innocent Soviet citizens were sent off to labor camps or killed in prison. This image from 1936 shows defendants dressed in prison clothing during one of the Moscow Show Trials. (umkc.edu)

* * *

At the Movies

Film critic John Mosher observed that moviegoers mostly needed “thrills and nonsense” at the cinema. Thrills were not to be found, but Harold Lloyd provided the nonsense.

PUNCH LINES…**Harold Lloyd (**left), portrayed an unlikely middleweight boxer in *The Milky Way*. Above is a scene with **Adolphe Menjou** (center) and **Lionel Stander.** (obscurehollywood.net)

The “thriller” of the week was Moonlight Murder, which Mosher suggested audiences could “dismiss at once.”

DISMISSED…**Katharine Alexander, Leo Carrillo** and Benita Hume in *Moonlight Murder.* (rotten tomatoes.com)

Mosher also offered tepid reviews of Everybody’s Old Man and Sutter’s Gold, despite these films featuring a popular humorist and a respected character actor, respectively.

SAY SOMETHING FUNNY…**Rochelle Hudson, Irvin S. Cobb** and **Warren Hymer** in *Everybody’s Old Man.* (imdb.com)

WHO AM I?…A vague narrative left critic **John Mosher** wondering if Edward Arnold’s character was supposed to be a “hero, villain, scamp, or fool” in *Sutter’s Gold.* Above, Arnold in a scene with **Binnie Barnes**. (film booster.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

Arrow Shirts rolled out a colorful array of pre-shrunk sanforized shirts and neckties just in time for the Easter holiday…

…from the 1930s through the 1950s the distinctive voice of James Wallington (1907–1972) filled the airwaves on both radio and television…here he endorses those “Sanforized Shrunk” shirts…

…French costume designer and illustrator Marcel Vertès (1895–1961) provided the art for the Antoine de Paris lipstick line at Saks…Vertès created the original murals in the Carlyle Hotel’s Café Carlyle and in the Waldorf-Astoria’s Peacock Alley… he also won two Academy Awards for his work on the 1952 film Moulin Rouge…

…Hockanum Mills announced its new line of woolens for the spring racing season…

Hockanum’s Rockville mills were shut down in 1951. Today the site is being redeveloped for commercial and light industrial uses as well as the site for the New England Motorcycle Museum. (historicbuildingsct.com)

…more claims from R.J. Reynolds regarding the gastrointestinal benefits of their Camel cigarettes…

…while Liggett and Myers stuck with the pleasures of hearth and home, and a pack of Chesterfields…

…on to the cartoon section, we begin with Christina Malman…

…Richard Taylor…

…Robert Day…

…and a wonderful spot drawing by illustrator and children’s book author Helen Moore Sewell…

…who won a Caldecott Medal for her illustrations featured in Alice Dalgliesh’s The Thanksgiving Story (1954)…

…we go shopping with Helen Hokinson in the garden section…

…and in the hat department…

…Mary Petty caught up on the latest gossip…

…Perry Barlow gave us a shopkeeper in need of some marketing tips…

…William Steig continued to probe the joys of married life…

…even one’s dream world required some careful grooming, per Otto Soglow…

…James Thurber drew up a duet out of tune…

…outside of Wall Street, Leonard Dove’s titan of business was just another sugar daddy…

…and we close with Peter Arno, and strangers on a train…

Next Time: People in Glass Houses…

Modern Times

Above: A mechanic (Chester Conklin) gets caught up in his work with the help of the Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) in Modern Times. (festival-entrevues.com)

The film Modern Times was Charlie Chaplin’s last performance as “The Tramp” (or, “The Little Tramp”), a character he created more than twenty years earlier to represent a simple person’s struggle to survive in the modern world. That struggle was no more apparent than in Modern Times, a film in which the Tramp faced the dehumanizing industrial age in all its kooky complexity.

A sweet Valentine’s Day-themed cover by **William Steig,** February 15, 1936.

The film is notable for being Chaplin’s first picture to feature sound, and the first in which Chaplin’s voice is heard—singing Léo Daniderff’s comical song “Je cherche après Titine” (although Chaplin replaced the lyrics with gibberish). Modern Times was nevertheless filmed as a silent, with synchronized sound effects and a small amount of dialogue. Critic John Mosher appreciated the movie as being “of the old era,” not anticipating that it would become one of cinema’s most iconic and beloved films.

JUST A COG IN THE MACHINE…Clockwise, from top left: Repetitive assembly line work drives the Tramp **(Charlie Chaplin)** to a nervous breakdown; the steel factory is an Orwellian world where the president (**Allan Ernest Garcia)** constantly monitors his workers—even in the bathroom where the Tramp is caught taking a break; the company tries out a new lunch efficiency machine on the Tramp, with mixed results; iconic image of the Tramp at work. (medium.com/YouTube.com)

One of the film’s best stunts involved the blindfolded Tramp rollerskating on the fourth floor of an under-construction department store; Chaplin employed a matte painting, perfectly applied on a glass pane in front of a camera, to create the illusion of a sheer drop-off. Even as an illusion, Chaplin’s skating skills were remarkable.

HIGH ANXIETY…The blindfolded Tramp (**Charlie Chaplin**) skates precariously close to a sheer drop-off on the fourth floor of a department store while his companion, an orphan girl known as “The Gamin” (**Paulette Goddard**) puts on her skates, unaware of his peril. (YouTube.com)

The model below shows how the effect was achieved, filming next to a glass-mounted matte painting to create the illusion of a sheer drop off…

In his conclusion, Mosher found the film to be “secure in its rich, old-fashioned funniness.”

Chaplin gave a happy send-off to the Tramp, who at the end of earlier films walked down the road alone. Modern Times closed with the Tramp and the Gamin walking hand in hand, dreaming of a life together.

FOND FAREWALL…**Paulette Goddard** joined **Charlie Chaplin** on the road at the end of *Modern Times.* Goddard became Chaplin’s third wife in 1936. (the-cinematograph.com)

THE TRAMP RETURNS…World premiere of *Modern Times,* Feb. 5, 1936, at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City. The film was one of the top-grossing films of 1936. (Wikipedia)

A final note: The website The Twin Geeks offers an excellent synopsis and analysis of Modern Times.

* * *

Bachelor King

In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White wrote about the ascension to the British throne by Edward VIII following the death of his father, George V. In this excerpt, White considered a question raised by the Daily News regarding the king’s plans to marry (a question answered a few months later when Edward announced his plan to wed American divorcee Wallis Simpson, which led to a constitutional crisis and Edward’s subsequent abdication).

BUT I DON’T WANNA BE KING…The reluctant king **Edward VIII** would choose love over the crown when he abdicated the throne in December 1936 to marry **Wallis Simpson** (bottom left); **E.B. White** noted one woman’s suggestion that the king should marry actress **Greta Garbo,** since “Both have had a rough time at love.” (highland titles.com/George Eastman Museum)

* * *

By Any Other Name

“The Talk of Town” featured a profile of Arthur J. Burks, a prolific writer of pulp fiction who published everything from detective stories to science fiction under a half-dozen pseudonyms. A brief excerpt:

A CURIOUS MIND…**Arthur J. Burks** (1898–1974) and the cover of *Astounding Stories*, January 1932, which featured the first part of his two-part tale, “The Mind Master.” Burks produced around eight hundred stories for the pulps, twenty-nine of which appeared in the magazine *Weird Tales*. (findagrave.com/gutenberg.org)

* * *

A Day in the Life

From 1935 to 1962 Eleanor Roosevelt published a daily syndicated newspaper column titled “My Day”—through the column millions of Americans learned her views on politics, society, and events of the day as well as details about her private and public life. James Thurber couldn’t resist writing a parody—here’s an excerpt:

THE REAL DEAL…At left, sample of one of Eleanor Roosevelt’s syndicated “My Day” columns from 1938; photo of the First Lady from 1932. (arthurdaleheritage.org/Library of Congress)

* * *

At the Movies

Besides Modern Times, there were other movies of note that were given rather scant attention in Mosher’s column, including the film adaptation of The Petrified Forest starring Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis and Leslie Howard.

Robert E. Sherwood wrote the 1934 Broadway play of the same name, which was co-produced by Howard and featured both Howard and Bogart. When it was adapted to film, Howard insisted that Bogart appear in the movie, and it made Bogart a star (he remained grateful to Howard for the rest of his life).

DANGEROUS DINER…An odd mix of patrons at a gas station cafe are taken hostage by desparate criminals in *The Petrified Forest.* From left are **Leslie Howard, Dick Foran, Bette Davis** and **Humphrey Bogart.** Playwright Robert Sherwood based Bogart’s character, Duke Mantee, on the the real-life criminal **John Dillinger**, the FBI’s first “Public Enemy #1.” (moma.org)

Other cinema diversions included the musical Anything Goes, which included songs by Cole Porter; the comedy Soak the Rich, which featured a radical who falls in love with a rich man’s daughter; and a detective film, Muss ‘Em Up, with the usual movie gangsters.

TAKE YOUR PICK…Clockwise, from top left: **Ida Lupino** and **Arthur Treacher** in the musical *Anything Goes*; **Bing Crosby** (in disguise) and Ethel Merman in Anything Goes; **John Howard, Mary Taylor** and **Walter Connolly** in the comedy *Soak the Rich*; **Preston Foster, Maxine Jennings** and Guinn “Big Boy” Williams in the detective film *Muss ‘Em Up.* (imdb.com/torontofilmsociety.com/zeusdvds.com)

* * *

The Amazing Race

The New Yorker periodically featured “That Was New York,” which took a detailed look at significant events in the city’s history. In this installment, Donald Moffat recalled the 1908 New York to Paris automobile race, which commenced in Times Square on February 12 with six cars representing the U.S., France, Germany and Italy. It was an extraordinary event given that motorcars were a recent invention, and roads were nonexistent in many parts of the world. A brief excerpt:

ON YOUR MARK…Cars lined up in Times Square on Feb 12, 1908 for the start of what would become a 169-day race. American George Schuster was declared the winner when he arrived in Paris on July 30, 1908, after covering approximately 10,377 miles (16,700 km). (Library of Congress)

* * *

Miscellany

Another regular feature in the early New Yorker was coverage of the New York Rangers, a team founded in 1926 by Tex Rickard after he completed construction of the third incarnation of Madison Square Garden. The Rangers were one of the Original Six NHL teams before the 1967 expansion, the others being the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.

In this excerpt, the writer “K.B.” described the rough play against rival Detroit, which would win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1936 and 1937.

ZESTY…The excerpt above noted that the Rangers’ **Phil Watson** cuffed the Red Wings’ **Syd Howe** “with a zest richly appreciated by the balcony.” At left, team photo of the 1935-36 New York Rangers, with star and fight instigator **Phil Watson** identified with arrow; at right, **Syd Howe** won three Stanley Cups with Detroit, winning back-to-back in 1936 and 1937, and then again in 1943. (hockeygods.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

General Motors’ luxury car line offered three price points (and this lovely image) to weather the Depression years, ranging from the relatively affordable La Salle to the Cadillac Fleetwood…

…the Chrysler corporation took a different approach, deploying a very wordy full-page ad that referenced history (a Madame Curie analogy) and something called “Unseen Value” to move its line of autos…

…the makers of College Inn Tomato Juice Cocktail brought back the “Duchess” with this shocking scene at the opera…

…recall last summer when College Inn featured the Duchess in a series of ads that illustrated her increasing fury over plain tomato juice…one wonders what sort of sadistic torment she had in mind for her hostess, “the old WITCH”…

…on to our cartoonists, beginning with this spot by James Thurber…

…and Thurber again, with an unwanted call to solidarity…

…William Steig explored marital bliss…

…George Price gave us a Three Stooges moment…

…I do not have the identity of this cartoonist…I will keep looking, but would love suggestions in the meantime…*update*…thanks to Frank Wilhoit for identifying the cartoonist below as John Kreuttner, also confirmed through Michael Maslin’s Ink Spill…

…Charles Addams added some frills to an executive suite…

…Otto Soglow illustrated the hazards of sleepwalking…

…Alain revealed a challenge to the publishing industry…

…Peter Arno possibly craved some sauerkraut and corned beef…

…William Crawford Galbraith was in familiar sugar daddy territory…

…Whitney Darrow Jr gave a nod to some homey surrealism…

…Barbara Shermund offered some well-weathered advice…

…and we close with Garrett Price, and a visitor more suited to Charles Addams…

Next Time: Comfort Food…

Fracking the Frick

Above: Critic Lewis Mumford was not ecstatic about his visit to the newly opened Frick Collection, unhappy with the museum's crowd-control regulations that limited his view of Giovanni Bellini's masterpiece, St Francis in Ecstasy, among other things. (wikiart.org/communitydevelopmentarchive.org)

Considered one of the finest museums in the U.S., the Frick Collection on the Upper East Side of Manhattan was established in 1935 to preserve steel magnate Henry Clay Frick’s priceless 14th- to 19th-century European paintings as well as the Frick house and its furnishings. When it opened to the public on Dec. 16, 1935, museum staff distributed timed-entry tickets to prevent crowding, and therein lay the rub for New Yorker critic Lewis Mumford.

December 28, 1935 cover by **William Cotton.** Exclusively a cover artist for *The New Yorker,* Cotton (1880–1958) produced fifty-five covers for the magazine.

The timed tickets, along with ropes that forced visitors to follow a defined path, spoiled the museum’s debut for Mumford, who was one of its few detractors. In these excerpts Mumford addressed the crowd control measures, and criticized the furniture and other “bric-a-brac” that further served to obstruct his viewing pleasure:

ROPES AND BRIC-A-BRAC presented obstacles to Mumford’s visit at the opening of the Frick Collection. Clockwise, from top left, view of the Frick mansion, circa 1935; installation view of the Living Hall, 1935; West Gallery, 1935; invitation to the opening of The Frick Collection, 1935. (businessinsider.com/Frick Art Reference Library Archives)

The Frick’s recent renovation and expansion has also had its detractors; after enduring a long and contentious proposal review process and five years of renovation and construction, the Frick reopened to the public in April 2025. It seems most attendees appreciate the changes.

OLD AND NEW…The Frick Collection’s home today, with expansion to the right. (untappedcities)

Mumford also took a look at the latest work by ceramic sculptor Russell Aitken (1910-2002), comparing his work to that of a cartoonist. Aitken was a rather odd duck in the art world, renowned both for his quirky sculptures as well as for his exploits as a big game hunter.

KILLER ARTWORK…**Russell Aitken** had eclectic tastes, to say the least, ranging from creating cutesy ceramics and cartoonish enamels to murdering Cape buffalo. Top left, *Virgins of Mogambo*, enamel on metal, 1935; bottom left, *The Cactus Kid,* ceramic, 1932. At right, midcentury whiskey ad featuring Aiken as a big game hunter. (Cleveland Museum of Art/findagrave.com)

It’s always a little dicey to review the work of a colleague, but in the case of Peter Arno, Mumford had mostly praise, some of it quite high, that is except for Arno’s “white-whiskered major” which Mumford characterized as a “lazy, pat form.”

Thankfully Arno ignored Mumford’s criticism and continued to draw his “white-whiskered major.” Here he is in a delightful 1937 cartoon featured on one of my favorite New Yorker-related sites, Attempted Bloggery:

Caption reads: **“I Only Kill For Food.”**

* * *

Shock of the New

E.B. White, ever skeptical of newfangled inventions, saw no reason why The New Yorker’s old ice-filled water cooler needed to be replaced by a “rattling” electric one:

* * *

O Tannenbaum

Two decades before Rockefeller Plaza raised its giant Christmas tree (or before Rockefeller Center even existed), New Yorkers gathered around a “Tree of Light” at Madison Square. “The Talk of the Town” remembered:

TREE OF LIGHT…America’s first outdoor Christmas tree lighting apparently occurred in Madison Square Park in 1912 (the “Talk” excerpt cited 1911). Bowery Boys History notes that “the organizers knew they were doing something unique, but probably did not realize the special significance of the event. Their 70-foot-tall imported tree from the Adirondacks, festooned with lights from the Edison Company, would be the first outdoor community Christmas tree in the United States.” (Library of Congress )

According to Bowery Boys History, in 1912 “this ‘Tree of Light’, mounted in cement, was such a novelty that almost 25,000 people showed up that night [Christmas Eve] to witness it and enjoy an evening-long slate of choral entertainment.” The following year, The New York Times reported that the Salvation Army took over the event, offering up “10,000 hot sausages and 10,000 cups of hot coffee” for the crowds.

The celebration was sparked by social activists seeking to draw attention to the needs of the city’s poor. On Christmas Day, 1912, the Times ran extensive coverage, and noted the charitable tone of the event in this excerpt:

* * *

Honor Roll

Joseph P. Pollard and W.E. Farbstein covered a two-page spread, listing individuals of “Special Distinction” in honor of the New Year…here is a brief excerpt:

* * *

Best (and Worst) of Broadway

Robert Benchley reviewed the hits and misses of the fall Broadway season, and admitted he had become something of a softhearted theatre critic after spending six months in Hollywood.

MEET THE GANG…Among the plays recommended by **Robert Benchley** was **Dead End**, which opened at the Belasco Theatre on Oct. 28,1935 and ran for 687 performances before closing on June 12, 1937. The play featured an impressive set design by **Norman Bel Geddes** (top) and introduced the **Dead End Kids** (aka the Bowery Boys), various teams of young actors who made 89 films and three serials for four different studios during their 21-year film career. The photo above shows the original six Dead End Kids—front row, from left, **Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell, Leo Gorcey** and Billy Halop; back row, **Bobby Jordan** and **Bernard Punsly.** (deadendmusical.com)

* * *

At the Movies

New Yorkers could nurse their holiday hangovers with a variety of films, ranging from the “very pleasant” The Perfect Gentleman to the “overdressed” Captain Blood, which featured a young Errol Flynn as a rather gentle pirate. As for the late year’s most anticipated film, A Tale of Two Cities, critic John Mosher found a few bright spots between his yawns, including praise for Blanche Yurka’s standout performance as Madame DeFarge.

GENTLE MAN AND GENTLE PIRATE…At left, **Forrester Harvey** and Frank Morgan in *The Perfect Gentleman;* at right, **Errol Flynn** and **Olivia de Havilland** in *Captain Blood*. The film launched the 26-year-old Flynn and the 19-year-old de Havilland into Hollywood stardom, and marked the beginning of Flynn’s swashbuckler image. (MGM/IMDB)

I’M LOSING MY HEAD OVER YOU…Clockwise, from top left, Sydney Carton (**Ronald Colman)** would lose his noggin to the guillotine in a scheme to save Lucie Manette (Elizabeth Allan) in *A Tale of Two Cities*; veteran theater actress **Blanche Yurka**, who learned to knit for her acclaimed role as Madame Defarge, is shown here in a front row seat before the guillotine—it was Yurka’s first film role; at the bottom, the execution scene at the Place de la Révolution. (bluray.com/michaelbalter.substack.com)

If piracy and revolution were “too much for your holiday nerves,” Mosher suggested the latest Shirley Temple film, The Littlest Rebel, featuring the superstar moppet dancing her way through the Civil War (and, unfortunately, performing a scene in blackface). Also on tap was the the musical comedy, Coronado.

SEEKING A PRESIDENTIAL PARDON, little Virgie Cary (**Shirley Temple)** asks President Lincoln (Frank McGlynn Sr.) to bestow mercy on her Confederate father in *The Littlest Rebel*; below, **Alice White, Leon Errol** and **Jack Haley** in the musical comedy *Coronado.* Haley is best known today as the Tin Man in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. (whitehousehistory.org/themovieb.org)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We look in on our advertisers, beginning with this from Stage magazine…the actor portraying Nero is likely from the play Achilles Had a Heel, which closed after just eight performances…

…John Mosher wasn’t wowed by MGM’s A Tale of Two Cities, even if the Capitol Theatre promised a spectacle with “a cast of 8,000″…

…this back of the book ad promised entertainment by “Society Amateurs” selected from the “Sunday Evening Debut Parties”…

…the brewers of Guinness promoted the health benefits of their product for the New Year…

…and the makers of Camels continued to print testimonials touting the invigorating effects of their cigarettes…

…on to our cartoonists, with William Steig taking stock of the Christmas haul…

…Helen Hokinson’s girls were looking for the hottest show in town…

…Barney Tobey was the latest cartoonist to take a shot at the boss-secretary trope…

…Otto Soglow gave us a singing fish…

…George Price came across a landscaping challenge…

…Whitney Darrow Jr focused on a visit to the optometrist…

…Robert Day gave us a party pooper too pooped to party…

…and Peter Arno offered a glimpse into his active nightlife…

…before we go, I ran across this cocktail book, So Red the Nose, at Messy Nessy’s Cabinet of Curiosities…

…this particular tome featured an Alexander Woollcott recipe for a cocktail called “While Rome Burns”…

…you can flip through the entire book at this site…

Next Time: The Major’s Amateur Hour …