William Crawford Galbraith – A New Yorker State of Mind

Men in Kilts

Above: Fredric March as the Earl of Bothwell in Mary of Scotland. March sported a kilt that Alex von Tunzelmann (the Guardian, May 7, 2015) calls "the bane of Scottish historical movies from here to Braveheart." Tunzelmann notes that "What we call a kilt today—the fèileadh beag, or small kilt—was invented in the mid-18th century, almost 200 years after this film is set. The Scots should be wearing belted plaid, or the rather fetching skintight tartan trews (image at right) sported by Mary’s father, James V." (eBay.com/pinterest.com)

These were truly the dog days of summer—New Yorkers had just endured one of the hottest months on record (106 F on July 9) and it remained intensely hot and dry as August rolled in. So for this post we will retreat to one of the few places that had air-conditioning—the cinema—and see what folks were enjoying in the first week of August 1936.

August 8, 1936 cover by **Arnold Hall.**

Before we jump into the movies, the wonderful cover by Arnold Hall recalled the summer night concerts at Lewisohn Stadium (although Hall took some liberties with the stadium’s design for the sake of composition).

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC…Top: Illustration by Scottish artist **Muirhead Bone** of a nighttime Lewisohn Stadium concert, circa 1920s; below: **Andre Kostelanetz** conducts before a crowd of thousands at Lewisohn Stadium in 1939—for an admission price of a mere twenty-five cents, concertgoers were treated to appearances by leading performers of jazz, classical music and opera. The stadium was demolished in 1973. *(digitalcommonwealth.org)*

On to our movies, Russell Maloney once again sat in for John Mosher as the magazine’s film critic, taking on everything from a Tudor romance to a horror film that featured Lionel Barrymore in drag.

In Mary of Scotland, Maloney found Katharine Hepburn’s turn as Mary, Queen of Scots a bit wanting (the role should have gone to a “grown-up actress”), while he thought the film itself was rather tedious with “lots of goings on.” He concluded that the “wisps of Mary of Scotland visible between cloak-swishings and sword-wavings are not especially encouraging.”

NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME?…Clockwise, from top left: Critic Russell Maloney thought the 29-year-old **Katharine Hepburn** was not seasoned enough to portray Mary Stuart in *Mary of Scotland;* **Fredric March** as the Earl of Bothwell, with Hepburn; March visits with director John Ford, who was better known for his Westerns (Ford and Hepburn would famously have an affair during the filming); Hepburn in a scene with **John Carradine**, who portrayed Rizzio, the Italian courtier and private secretary to Mary. Patriarch of the Carradine acting dynasty, his children included actors **David, Keith,** and **Robert Carradine.** *(imdb.com/pinterest.com/frockflicks.com)*

In addition to a forgettable lion-tamer flick (Bengal Tiger), Maloney also reviewed a Bing Crosby movie with a host of singing cowboys, Rhythm on the Range, and a “consistently funny” film with an “unpromising name,” We Went to College…

Bing Crosby played a humble traveling cowboy Norman Taurog Western musical film — COWBOY CROSBY…Clockwise from top left: **Bing Crosby** portrayed a traveling cowboy in love with a rich girl (**Frances Farmer**) in Rhythm on the Range; **Louis Prima, Martha Raye** (in her film debut), and Bob Burns performed in the ensemble “I’m an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande” along with **Roy Rogers** (uncredited and performing under his original stage name, Leonard Slye) and **The Sons of the Pioneers**; **Una Merkel** and Walter Abel in a lobby card image advertising *We Went to College. (imdb.com)*

Maloney also reviewed a horror-farce, The Devil Doll, featuring Lionel Barrymore as banker Paul Lavond. A brief synopsis: Framed by his three partners and imprisoned on Devil’s Island, Lavond escapes with a fellow inmate who introduces him to his wife, Malita. The couple demonstrate a process that shrinks animals and people to the size of dolls, which then can be animated by will power. Seeing the dolls as an opportunity for revenge on his former partners, Lavond disguises himself as an old woman and sends out the shrunken people to harm his enemies.

PLAYING WITH DOLLS…At left, **Lionel Barrymore** disguised as Madame Mandelip, preparing his demonic dollies for revenge in The Devil Doll; at right, Marcel (**Henry B, Walthall**) and his wife Malita (**Raffaela Ottiano**) with one of their shrunken people. (classic-monsters.com)

MY, WHAT BIG TEETH YOU HAVE…At left, Tarzan star **Maureen O’Sullivan** portrayed Paul Lafond’s unsuspecting daughter—in this scene from *The Devil Doll* she doesn’t recognize her long-absent father, disguised as the kindly Paris toy shop owner Madame Mandelip; at right, **Lionel Barrymore** (dressed as Madame Mandelip) meeting with *Devil Doll* director **Tod Browning**, best known for his 1932 magnum opus, *Freaks. (classic-monsters.com/moriareviews.com)*

It seems there were few, if any, critics in the 1930s who didn’t like Mickey Mouse cartoons. These days we take animation for granted, but ninety years ago it was still something of a miracle, especially in color. Maloney noted the latest must-see Disney cartoon short, Donald and Pluto.

MARTYRDOM OF DONALD DUCK…**Donald Duck** was literally put through the wringer for our amusement in the 1936 short *Donald and Pluto*, one of the three installments of the *Mickey Mouse* series in which Mickey doesn’t appear as a character. Donald Duck was a fairly new Disney character in 1936, making his debut in 1934’s *The Wise Little Hen. (disneyfandom.com)*

* * *

Life Goes On

E.B. White mused about the increasing life expectancy at birth of the American male from 47 years in 1900 to 58 years in 1936 (a woman’s life expectancy was roughly 49/62, respectively). White (who would live 86 years) said he would spend his extra years collecting “haunting” signs, such as one on the Boston Post Road that read: Trucks Must Use Right Fork.

AND NO ELBOWS ON THE TABLE, EITHER…Trucker poses in front of his rig in 1936. *(facebook.com)*

* * *

Wartime Wardrobe

Beatrice Mathieu—the first and only Paris fashion correspondent for The New Yorker—sat in on Lois Long’s column to discuss the latest from The City of Light. Designers were soldiering on with their premieres despite the winds of war blowing from the east. Excerpts:

LIFE GOES ON…At left, a model shows off a “Carnival dress” by **Madeleine Vionnet,** 1936; a sidewalk café in Paris filled with fashionable folks, 1936. *(godsandfoolishgrandeur.blogspot.com/reddit.com)*

A note about Beatrice Mathieu: According to her 1976 New York Times obituary, “In an era when honest criticism in fashion writing was relatively rare, she blended humor with a kind of skepticism and honesty in writing that enhanced her reputation as a leader in the field…In 1928, when the young woman from Faribault, Minn., was making a living in Paris as a freelance writer, she received a cable from Harold Ross…asking her to do some work for him. She wired back: ‘What is The New Yorker?’ Mr. Ross replied at some length. She took the job.” Mathieu stopped writing her Paris column in 1936 but resumed after the end of World War II.

* * *

A Dose of Passos

Clifton Fadiman reviewed the latest book by John Dos Passos (1896– 1970), who is known for his pioneering works of nonlinear fiction and his U.S.A. trilogy, which he completed in 1936 with The Big Money. One of the major novelists of the post-World War I “lost generation,” he is widely praised today for his timeless insights into America’s inequalities (and was also highly regarded by contemporaries including William Faulkner). Fadiman, however wrote “A great writer he is not.” Excerpts:

HIS TIME WOULD COME…**John Dos Passos** on the cover of *Time*, Aug. 10, 1936. Dos Passos is admired today for showing how Americans respond to the chaos and inequalities of modern life. *(time.com)*

* * *

From Our Advertisers

We begin our advertising section with the Grace Line, which offered this inviting image (on the inside front cover) of nighttime swimming on the deck of one of its Santa liners, en route to South America and California…

…less inviting, it would seem at the time, would be a cruise to Germany aboard a Hamburg-America Line (HAPAG) ship—beginning in 1939, U.S. and British forces would seize nearly all of HAPAG’s fleet…

…the relatively new company Old Mr. Boston (founded in Boston in 1933, right as Prohibition ended) went big with this two-page color advertisement touting its line that included gin, rum, whiskey, and cordials…

…in the back of the book…Brown & Williamson launched its Viceroy brand in 1936 as the world’s first cork-tipped filter cigarette…at the bottom is a modest ad for Pilsner Urquell, a Czech brewer that produced the world’s first pale lager…it is still brewed in Pilsen (Czech Republic) under the ownership of Tokyo-based Asahi Group…

…Schaefer promoted their “light beer” in this rather spare advertisement…the “light” referred to its pale color, not to its calorie count…founded in New York City in 1842, Schaefer grew to be a top five brewer in America…today it is marketed by Pabst as a regional heritage brand…

…Dr. Seuss was still at it with his Flit ads…after rejections from nearly thirty publishers, in 1937 Seuss (aka Theodor Geisel) would publish his first book with Vanguard Press—And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street…Seuss also illustrated ads for Schaefer beer, Esso gasoline, Holly Sugar, and General Electric, among others…

HONING A STYLE…A sampling of **Dr. Seuss’s** advertising art from the 1930s to the 1950s. *(aoghs.org/UC San Diego/booksforgoatlings.weebly.com)*

…R.J. Reynolds lined up another socialite endorsement for their Camel cigarettes…here they go to the West Coast, with a plug from Mrs. William J. Hollingsworth, Jr., aka Madeleine Ruth Piper…her marriage to Hollingsworth was over by 1937…she would marry three more times before her death in 1993…

SHE REALLY LIGHTS UP A ROOM…At left, undated photo of socialite **Madeleine Ruth Piper** (1916–1993), who was apparently telling the truth about her love of smoking; at right, the Victor Hugo Restaurant in Los Angeles (Beverly Hills), featured in the Camel ad. *(findagrave.com/facebook.com)*

…on to our illustrators and cartoonists, we begin with spots by Christina Malman…

…Helen Moore Sewell…

…Victor de Pauw…

and Aaron Sopher…

…there was another installment of Morris Bishop limericks illustrated by Richard Taylor…

…Ned Hilton’s lord of the manor took up rice farming…

…Alan Dunn showed us some devious domestic doings…

…and a complaint to the mayor…

…in contrast to Dunn’s style, the spare lines of Gardner Rea…

…Gregory d’Alessio prepared for Olympic glory…

…William Crawford Galbraith continued to plumb the creepy waters inhabited by impressionable young women and lecherous older men, in this case a woman’s personal physician…

…and Rea Irvin continued to explore historic moments in American industry…

…we close with Helen Hokinson, and some scandal brewing under a hair dryer…

Next Time: Bottoms Up…

That Tammany Taint

Above: The building that housed Manhattan's Democratic Party, known as Tammany Hall, circa 1935, and James Joseph "Jimmy" Hines, perhaps Tammany's most powerful leader. (wpsu.org/facebook.com)

Tammany Hall was founded more than two hundred years ago as an independent social organization serving the needs of New York City’s immigrants and Irish Catholics in particular. After the 1854 mayoral election, however, Tammany grew into a powerful political force, and for nearly a century controlled both city and state elections and the power of patronage that came with them.

July 25, 1936 cover by **William Crawford Galbraith.**

It was no secret that political graft was rampant in the organization, but business leaders were happy to support Tammany’s corrupt practices as long as they served the bottom line. The same, it seems, also applied to politicians, law enforcement, and the courts, beneficiaries of political favors as well as outright bribes.

Few knew how to work Tammany’s levers better than James Joseph “Jimmy” Hines (1876–1957), who held absolute power over New York’s Eleventh District. Journalist Jack Alexander published Part One of a three-part profile on Hines for the July 25 issue. Excerpts:

SOBER REPORTING…Journalist **Jack Alexander** (1902–1975) was a reporter in St. Louis before joining New York’s *Daily News* in 1930. He later worked for *The New Yorker* and then moved to *The Saturday Evening Post*, where he became senior editor. He is best known for his groundbreaking 1941 article on Alcoholics Anonymous. *(saturdayeveningpost.com)*

Tammany was weakened when their scandal-plagued mayor, Jimmy Walker, was ousted in 1932 and eventually succeeded by reformist Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. Hines, however, grew even more powerful as head of the U.S. Civil Service’s patronage system for Manhattan District employees. Ironically, Hines was appointed to the post by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who saw Tammany as a liability but owed Hines a favor—in 1932 Hines split from other Democratic machine bosses (who initially favored Al Smith) to back Roosevelt’s bid for the presidency.

One person who was not tainted by Hines’ influence was Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey, who in 1936 was busy going after New York’s rackets and Hines in particular.

William Auerbach-Levy provided the illustration for Part One of the Hines profile:

In these excerpts, Alexander noted Hines’ “ace in the hole” (the White House) when Tammany Leader James J. Dooling tried to oust him.

I’M GONNA GET YA…Clockwise from top left: In 1936 reformers looked to Special Prosecutor **Thomas E. Dewey** to fight New York’s entrenched rackets; **Jimmy Hines** (right) leaves the courthouse after a 1938 mistrial; Hines was accused of having close ties with mobsters **Dutch Schultz** and **Lucky Luciano** among others; Hines with his attorney, **Martin Littleton**, after leaving Tombs Prison on April 4, 1939—he was released on $35,000 bail pending an appeal for his conviction as a political fixer for the numbers racket. Hines would lose the appeal—convicted on thirteen counts of racketeering, he would be imprisoned at Sing Sing until 1944. *(alchetron.com/facebook.com/Wikipedia)*

Despite his misdeeds, Hines’ many admirers remained faithful to him until his death in 1957 at age 80. Many recalled his annual “June Walk” from the days before he went to prison. According to his New York Times obituary, the annual event in Central Park drew as many as twenty-five thousand women and children, who “listened to half a dozen brass bands, put on paper hats and gorged themselves on ice cream, hot dogs and pop furnished by Hines, who used to take part in the fun wearing the gay green bucket hat of the stage Irishman.” The obituary noted that when Hines left Sing Sing prison, a guard said, “Best of luck. Jimmy! Give my regards to the missus!”

* * *

At the Movies

Critic John Mosher found the perfect distraction from the summer heat in the Mary Boland–Charlie Ruggles comedy Early to Bed:

SILLY SOMNAMBULIST…From left, **Mary Boland, Charles Ruggles** and **Colin Tapley** in *Early to Bed. (*Pinterest)

Mosher also reviewed a Nero Wolfe mystery starring Edward Arnold, and a rather “slight” romance featuring an heiress with a penchant for speeding.

HOMEBODY…**Rex Stout’s** portly detective Nero Wolfe loved to solve crimes without venturing from the comforts of home. Clockwise, from top left; **Edward Arnold** (as Wolfe) with **John Qualen, Lionel Stander**, and **Dennie Moore** in *Meet Nero Wolfe*; eighteen-year-old **Rita Hayworth** (credited as Rita Cansino) appeared in several Nero Wolfe scenes as she continued to build her résumé at Columbia; an heiress with a lead foot runs afoul of a traffic cop (**Randolph Scott**) who eventually falls in love with her in “And Sudden Death; **Frances Drake** as the heiress in a scene with **Tom Brown**. (dancinglady39.wordpress.com/csfd.cz)

* * *

Genteel Sport

The New Yorker featured a variety of sports in its early years, most of them elite pastimes except for hockey, college football and boxing. Save for the occasional mention of Babe Ruth’s antics (and his 1926 “Profile”) and a scattering of cartoons and spots, the game was conspicuously absent from the magazine during the Yankees’ “Murderers’ Row” years in the late 1920s and beyond. I’ve read that editor Harold Ross hated the game, but perhaps the real reason was explained by James Thurber in his “Talk of the Town” piece titled “Peanuts and Crackerjack” (September 22, 1928). Thurber described Yankees baseball as a mass spectacle for out-of-towners who were “a bit mad.” It wasn’t cool to be a Yankees fan if you counted yourself among Manhattan’s smart set.

G.O.A.T. HERD…Less than a month after James Thurber published “Peanuts and Crackerjack,” the New York Yankees would sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in The World Series. The 1928 Yankees set a major league record by having nine players on the team who would eventually be elected to the Hall of Fame. (Wikipedia)

Basketball was also missing from those early issues of The New Yorker, even though it had been played since the 1890s. So we turn to New Yorker cartoonist and author Michael Maslin (via his essential Ink Spill), who recently noted The New Yorker’s very first basketball-themed cartoon by Robert Day (Dec. 23, 1933). The post also features Abe Birnbaum’s terrific 1951 basketball-themed cover and a hilarious MAD magazine parody of Charles Addams.

The elite sports that dominated the back half of the magazine in those early years included golf, tennis, badminton, squash, yachting, rowing, horse hunts and horse racing, and polo (both indoor and out).

Lets look at a couple from the July 25 issue, beginning with these brief excerpts from the “Polo” column authored by “Backhander”—a generic pen name that referred to a rotating cast of polo correspondents including Robert F. Kelley, George F. T. Ryall and Tom O’Reilly (who covered indoor polo).

ELECTRIC HORSEMEN…At left, the Jaipur Polo team (shown here in England in 1933) won all the open tournaments between 1930 and 1938 in India and England. From left is **Maharaja Swai Man Singh** of Jaipur State and **Rao Raja Hanut Singh**, **Rao Raja Abhey Singh** and Colonel Prithvi Singh of Baria; at right, international polo star **Laddie Sanford** was the dynamic patron and captain of the famed Hurricanes, which won the U.S. Open in three different decades. (The Rajputs via Facebook/polo museum.org)

The “Yachts and Yachtsman” column was also signed by a pen name—”Bosun”—signifying any staff writer assigned to boat races or boat shows. In this case the writer was H. K. Rigg, who covered the start of the 1936 Larchmont Race Week, one of the most successful and heavily attended spectacles in the early history of yacht racing.

ON YOUR MARK…Photo above depicts the start of the July 21, 1936 Larchmont Yacht Club Race. The 1936 event is remembered for its massive turnout—300 boats duelling through crowded waters. In the Aug. 1, 1936 issue of *The New Yorker,* **H. K. Rigg** wrote that a “sausage balloon” was needed just to see over the congested fleet. *(Rosenfeld Collection via newyork32.org)*

* * *

From Our Advertisers

A couple of issues ago we looked at the Advertising Federation of America’s “truth in advertising campaign” (Better Living Through Fiction) that sought to forestall government regulation. On June 29, 1936, the AFA hosted more than a thousand ad executives in Boston, where the head of advertising at Scripps-Howard criticized competitive selling among papers (it hurt them in competition with other media). Newspaper ad executives were urged to work together as a profession, and that likely explains this lavish two-page spread in The New Yorker…

…as well as this full-page appeal from the Chicago Daily News…

…and this spot from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin…

…Dr. Seuss was still honing his style in ads for Flit insecticide…

…this White Rock ad featured the work of two artists…the prolific R. John Holmgren famously illustrated White Rock ads in the 1930s and 40s, often featuring the “tiny Colonel,” seen below regarding the original painting of Psyche at Nature’s Mirror by German artist Paul Thumann…the owners of White Rock bought the rights to the painting after seeing it at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and adopted Psyche as their trademark…Holmgren would incorporate a modernized version of Psyche in dozens of ads…

…on the inside front cover Seagram’s referenced the character of Thomas Jefferson as an apt metaphor for their product…

…and on the back cover the makers of Luckies kept it simple with this colorful appeal to the growing market for women smokers…

…on to our cartoonists, we begin with another installment of “Limericks” by Morris Bishop featuring the unique style of cartoonist Richard Taylor…

…Alain helped open things up for the events calendar…

…as did Susan Willard Flint with her woodcuts…

…Ned Hilton offered a new wrinkle in a familiar game of skill…

…and Hilton again, preparing for take-off…

…Carl Rose used a double spread to illustrate a singles match…

…Alan Dunn illustrated a familiar problem of the electric age…

…and Dunn again with some realtor trickery…

…Helen Hokinson looked to an Eastern ascetic for some sage advice…

…and found one of her “girls” overdressed for an outing on the Thames…

…Rea Irvin celebrated the genius of American marketing…

…and we end with Peter Arno, and his unique view of matrimony…

Next Time: A Letter From Berlin…

Meet Father Divine

Above: Father Divine points to a Crum Elbow Estate sign (in Highland, NY) in July 1938. His followers purchased the 500-acre spread from anti-New Dealer Howland Spencer...the property was located directly across the Hudson from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Hyde Park family home. That same summer Father Divine would also buy a fifty-room double dwelling in New York City. These and other locations served as integrated "heavens" for his followers. (Wikimedia Commons)

America has long been fertile ground for various religious denominations, sects and cults. Although the U.S. Religion Census has cataloged more than 370 distinct religious groups and bodies in the U.S., there are tens of thousands of independents scattered across the country.

Some of these remain small, while others grow into megachurches often organized around a charismatic leader. Such was the case with Father Divine (1876–1965), aka Reverend Major Jealous Divine, aka George Baker.

His life as George Baker of Valdosta, Georgia came to an end in 1907 when he became known as “the Messenger.” He parted ways with the Baptist church, declared himself a god, and was asked to leave Georgia after his 1914 arrest for lunacy. He led his followers to Brooklyn and later to a commune in Sayville, New York (Long Island), where he founded the International Peace Mission movement and came to be known as Father Divine. By the early 1930s his small and predominantly black congregation had grown into a multiracial and international church.

So intriguing was his story that The New Yorker published a lengthy, three-part profile written by St. Clair McKelway and A.J. Liebling. Here are excerpts from Part One (illustration by William Cotton):

A DEFT DUO…**A.J. Liebling** (left) and **St. Clair McKelway**, both acclaimed journalists, co-authored the three-part profile of **Father Divine**. Liebling (1904–1963) was closely associated with The New Yorker, joining the magazine in 1935 (he was also a well-known gastronome); McKelway (1905–1980) served as *The New Yorker’s* managing editor for journalistic contributions from 1936 to 1939 and wrote for the magazine for forty-seven years. *(Wikipedia/sfgate.com)*

DIVINE’S PATH…Clockwise, from top left: After relocating to Brooklyn in 1914, **Father Divine** married his first wife, **Peninniah**—they are shown here admiring his portrait; Father Divine led large gatherings centered on food—here he entertains guests at a summer retreat in upstate New York in 1938; following the death of **Peninniah**, the 70-year-old Father Divine married 21-year-old **Edna Ritchings** in 1946—she took the name “Mother Divine, with Father Divine claiming she was the reincarnation of Penninah; in 1953 Father Divine was given a hilltop estate (“Woodmont”) in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, by follower John Devoute. The estate is the center of the International Peace Mission movement, a shrine to Father Divine’s life, and a meeting place for the few remaining followers. *(thecityroot.com/Newark Public Library/hsmcpa.org/Wikipedia)*

How did Father Divine come to believe he was a god? This excerpt offers some insights into his early development:

One of the perils of this kind of thinking is that it can lead to the formation of dangerous cults. Jim Jones, the notorious leader of the Peoples Temple, heavily modeled his early church activities and authoritarian structure on Father Divine’s example. Jones even attempted to take over the International Peace Mission after Father Divine’s death—in 1971 he tried to convert the Peace Mission’s followers, claiming he was the reincarnated Father Divine. His takeover attempt was thwarted by Mother Divine, who went to the media and publicly denounced Jones and the Peoples Temple. In 1974 Jones and his followers would relocate to a Guyana commune he called Jonestown. Four years later Jones would lead the mass murder-suicide of 909 Jonestown inhabitants.

AT ODDS…**Jim Jones** (left, circa 1970) attempted to take over the International Peace Mission after **Father Divine’s** death, but was publicly denounced by Mother Divine. At right, **Mother Divine** giving her first interview following the death of Father Divine in 1965. (Wikipedia/temple.edu)

* * *

At the Movies

The media has always thrived on crime stories, feeding the public’s insatiable desire to be tantalized; once sated, they often demand swift justice. Take the heavily publicized 1933 case of two San Jose, California men who were accused of kidnapping and murdering a department store heir. Rather than wait for justice to be served, an angry mob broke into the jail and lynched the accused. Fascinated by the story, MGM screenwriter Norman Krasna pitched it as a potential film.

That film would become Fury, German director Fritz Lang’s first American project. Prior to fleeing the Third Reich in 1933, Lang was perhaps best known to Americans for his pioneering 1927 silent sci-fi film Metropolis and the 1931 thriller M. Lang sought to demonstrate how a decent and civilized man could become filled with vengeance and hate. Although critic John Mosher could see how the film had been tampered with by studio execs (and the Hays Code), he was nevertheless impressed by Lang’s direction and by the performances of lead actors Sylvia Sidney and Spencer Tracy.

WRONG TURN…Clockwise, from top left: In *Fury,* **Spencer Tracy** played gas station owner Joe Wilson, who drives west to reunite with his fiancée—the dog seated to his right is **Terry**, the same Cairn Terrier who played Toto in *The Wizard of Oz*; while camping outside a small town, Joe is arrested by a creepy local deputy (**Walter Brennan**) on suspicion of kidnapping a child; a mob forms and tries to burn Joe in his cell; in the confusion of the fire he escapes and seeks vengeance on the mob, but in the end finds peace with his fiancée (**Sylvia Sidney**). (imdb.com)

Peter Lorre, who was famously directed by Fritz Lang in the 1931 German thriller M, was starring in Alfred Hitchcock’s Secret Agent, which also featured John Gielgud (already famous as a London stage performer), Madeline Carroll, and Robert Young.

SECRETS AND LIES…Clockwise from top left: **Peter Lorre, John Gielgud, Madeline Carroll,** and **Robert Young** in *Secret Agent;* Carroll with Young, who played a German mole; Carroll, Gielgud and Lorre amid the wreckage of a train; Lorre in a scene with **Lilli Palmer.** *(imdb.com)*

Mosher briefly mentioned a new Fred MacMurray/Carole Lombard comedy–mystery, and the return of two silent movie stars.

CHOOSE YOUR PARTNER…The second of four films **Fred MacMurray** made with Carole Lombard between 1935 and 1937, *The Princess Comes Across* featured Lombard doing a clever take-off on **Greta Garbo**; silent-film veterans **Harry Carey** and **Hoot Gibson** stood for the ideals of the Old West in a culture clash with scientific crime-fighting in *The Last Outlaw.* The film was a remake of a 1919 silent film originally written and directed by John Ford. (imdb.com/csfd.cz)

* * *

Beer Bottle Battle

E.B. White (in his “Notes and Comment”) seized on the battle between bottle and can manufacturers as an apt metaphor for the jousting of Republicans and Democrats ahead of the November elections.

FOAMING AT THE MOUTH…Competing ads from Collier’s magazine circa 1935-36 illustrate the battle between can and bottle manufacturers. Ninety years later, beer drinkers still debate the merits of glass over cans. *(boakandbailey.com/ebay.com)*

* * *

From Our Advertisers

In 1936 whisky was still firmly in bottle form, and the makers of Canadian Club—through a series of ads—wanted to let us know you could enjoy their tipple almost anywhere in the world…

…this woman poses an interesting question, considering the fellas are riding atop a dusty stagecoach in the Arizona heat—in formal attire no less…

…over the years we’ve seen a lot of Adolph Teidler’s work for the Bermuda Board of Trade…Teidler (1886–1981) was also well known for his Saturday Evening Post covers…

…here’s an example of Teidler’s work for the Bermuda Board of Trade from the Feb. 22, 1936 issue of The New Yorker…

…the Zenith Radio Corporation touted their modern, streamlined “Zephyr” radio by industrial designer Robert Davol Budlong…

A restored Zenith 10-S-147 Zephyr chairside radio. (Pete Johnson–Zenith Radios Enthusiasts and Collectors via Facebook.com)

…Frank Quail Jr was a prominent automotive illustrator active from the 1920s through the 1930s. He was well-known for his work with luxury automobile brands such as Cadillac, LaSalle and Packard…here he conjures up a breezy seaside image for Cadillac’s more affordable LaSalle model (most of these ads were two-page spreads, with promo copy on the right-hand page)…

…and more Dr. Seuss on behalf of Flit insecticide…

…we begin the cartoon section with some spot art…here are two by Arnold Hall…

…and one from Richard Taylor…

…Alain referenced the upcoming heavyweight bout at Yankee Stadium between Max Schmeling and Joe Louis…their two fights in 1936 and 1938 were international sensations…

…more glimpses of “Holy Wedlock” from William Steig…

…a bit of trouble in Yonkers, per Carl Rose…

…George Price brought out the fire brigade for the Crêpes Suzette…

…Peter Arno drew up a colonel with a communication issue…

…William Crawford Galbraith celebrated the June bride…

…two by Mary Petty, at the dress shop…

and at the in-laws…

…Petty’s husband Alan Dunn feted the Class of ’36 (and ’06)…

…Perry Barlow illustrated a scoutmaster’s leadership skills…

…and we check out with Whitney Darrow Jr…

Next Time: An Urban Spectacle…

A Flivver Farewell

Above: Undated image (left) demonstrates the versatility of the Model T Ford. At right, E.B. White and Katharine Sergeant White take a spin in a Model T Roadster. (freep.com/whistlestoppers.com)

E.B. White often shared anachronistic views on progress, decrying everything from streamlined cars to fully-enclosed city buses that removed passengers from the open air.

May 16, 2026 cover by **Leonard Dove.** Note the star next to the date. On older *New Yorker* magazine covers, the star was a printer’s mark indicating a split run or a specific newsstand edition.

Instead, White celebrated the simplicity and mechanical quirks of earlier motor vehicles, including his beloved Ford Model T. For the May 16 issue White collaborated with journalist Richard Lee Strout on a homage to the old motorcar, “Farewell, My Lovely!” Strout’s contribution is important here, since it was he who originally submitted a manuscript to editor Harold Ross about the Model T. Either White rewrote Strout’s submission or used it as inspiration for “Farewell, My Lovely!” At any rate, that explains the blended byline, “Lee Strout White.” Here are some excerpts (spot art by Constantin Alajalov):

MIX AND MATCH…**E.B. White’s** famous Model T was a 1917 Roadster like the one pictured at top left. He purchased the car shortly after college and famously drove it across the country in 1922; at top right, the dash featured the ignition key and nothing else, however you could add such extras as radiator “Moto Wings” or a Ruby Safety Reflector. (volocars.com/ebay.com)

KEEPING IT HUMMING…As **E.B. White** noted in his opening lines, you could buy an axle as well as a number of other parts for the Model T from the Sears catalog. Clockwise, from top left: Cover of the 1936 “Golden Jubilee” catalog; replacement parts featured in the catalog included new car tops and an array of replacement parts. (archive.org/babel.hathitrust.org)

Model T owners developed all sorts of hacks to keep their Lizzies running. White wrote that “Dropping a camphor ball into the gas tank was a popular expedient; it seemed to have a tonic effect on both man and machine.” He also noted that the Ford driver “flew blind,” given that on earlier models the dashboard was bare save for an ignition key. Those cars lacked speedometers, fuel gauges, as well as gauges for engine temperature and oil pressure. “Whatever the driver learned of his motor,” White wrote, “he learned not through instruments but through sudden developments.” He concluded his piece with some thoughts on the golden days of the automobile.

SHOWOFF…The Model T’s unique transmission and gravity-fed fuel system were key to the rugged car’s many stunts. In scaling Scotland’s Ben Nevis mountain, the driver often had to go backwards up inclines to maintain fuel flow. Above is a photo of a Model T climbing the stairs of the Tennessee State Capitol in 1911. (media.lincoln.com)

* * *

Total Recall

E.B. White also filed a lengthy “Notes and Comment” comprised entirely of brief dispatches from around the country:

CIVILIZED SHOPPING…Tea time was observed every afternoon at Kress’s department store—images above are of the store’s ladies lounge; body builder and fitness magazine publisher **Benarr Macfadden** (seen here with President **Franklin Roosevelt** circa mid-1930s) said he had no plans to run for president; bottom left, a sale was in progress at the Rolls-Royce building on East 57th. (nypl.org/public domain/mcny.org)

Here are the rest of White’s notes on the passing scene:

LIMITATION OF STATUES…At left, Mayor **Fiorello LaGuardia** presides over the dedication ceremonies of a Times Square statue honoring **Father Francis Patrick Duffy**, May 2, 1937—apparently some folks were opposed to a statue honoring the most decorated chaplain in Army history; at right, a Borden’s milkman making a delivery in New York City, 1936. (facebook.com/photo army.mil)

* * *

Not Playing in Peoria

Jack Kirkland’s play Tobacco Road, based on the 1932 novel by Erskine Caldwell, was one of the longest-running plays in theater history, with 3,182 performances from 1933 to 1941. Although banned in major cities such as Chicago and Detroit for being sensational and immoral (and panned by critics), it nevertheless saw huge success on Broadway and with its touring company. “The Talk of the Town” checked the status of the play at the Forrest Theatre, where it had exceeded the millionth ticket mark.

WORD GETS AROUND…Folks queue up in 1937 to see *Tobacco Road* at Omaha’s Paramount Theater. Despite being banned in many cities, the play ran until 1941. (Wikipedia)

* * *

At the Movies

One Rainy Afternoon was the first of a small number of films from United Artists produced by its vice-president, Mary Pickford, through her Pickford-Lasky production company. In his opening lines critic John Mosher alluded to Pickford’s popular 1934 essay, Why Not Try God?

HONEST MISTAKE…**Francis Lederer** played a debonair actor who accidentally kisses young socialite Ida Lupino in a darkened theatre in *One Rainy Afternoon*. Hilarity and romance follow. Lederer (1899–2000) would enjoy a successful stage, film and television career while becoming wealthy as an L.A. real estate investor. Lupino (1918–1995) was an actress, director, writer, and producer, appearing in 59 films and directing eight. She is regarded as the most prominent woman filmmaker working during the Hollywood studio system of the 1950s. (Wikipedia)

Mosher also reviewed some “Good mid-May entertainment for honest idlers” and a documentary about the Dust Bowl.

MAY DIVERSIONS…Clockwise, from top left: **Herbert Marshall** and **Gertrude Michael** in Till We Meet Again; **Margaret Sullavan** and Henry Fonda in *The Moon’s Our Home*; **Thomas Beck** and Helen Wood in Champagne Charlie; a farmer looks to the sky in the Dust Bowl documentary *The Plow That Broke the Plains*. (csfd.cz,pinterest.com/imdb.com)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

The makers of Campbell’s soups continued to market their product as an upscale starter for dinner…or perhaps a time-saver for the cook, Madam none the wiser…

…Cadillac continued to entice buyers with bucolic scenes dominated by their luxury sedans…the price isn’t outrageous, roughly equivalent to $40K today…

…we experience much of 1930s history in black and white, but according to this ad things were quite colorful…

…now a couple of ads with an eye on the clock…here we have a suggestion that Johnnie Walker can be enjoyed before dinner and up to bedtime…

…the brewers of Guinness suggested their tipple was suitable for lunchtime, before bed, or when one is “tired or depressed”…

…as we already know, R.J. Reynolds encouraged folks to smoke from morning to night, with the added benefit of improved digestion…

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

…and spots from frequent contributors Richard Taylor…

…and Christina Malman…

…and a spot drawing on the opening pages by James Thurber…

…who also contributed this cartoon to the issue…

…Thurber’s caption refers to journalist and radio broadcaster Dorothy Thompson. One of the few women radio news commentators of the 1930s, she was the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934. In 1936 Thompson launched her “On the Record” column, syndicated nationwide by the New York Herald Tribune…

…we continue our cartoons with Charles Addams (apologies for the quality) floating to earth…

…which recalled another Addams cartoon from the Aug 3, 1935 issue (caption reads “My wife crocheted it.”)…

…and Addams again, this time down to earth…

…Mary Petty looked in on the art world…

…William Crawford Galbraith continued to explore lives and loves of sugar daddies…

…Alain had folks deciphering the news crawler at Times Square…

…Helen Hokinson avoided temptation at the pet shop…

…and we close with Whitney Darrow Jr, and a bedtime story that would keep the sandman at bay…

Next Time: Vast Horizons…

Star Maker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

Water Water Everywhere

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

Pyramid Scheme

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

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

* * *

Deeper South

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

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

* * *

An Introduction

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

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

* * *

Over There

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

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

* * *

At the Movies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

From Our Advertisers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

…on to our cartoonists, we have Richard Taylor…

…and Barbara Shermund welcoming us into the issue…

…and a this nice spot from Christina Malman…

…Al Frueh gave us his interpretation of Saint Joan…

…W.P. Trent explored the deep seas…

…Helen Hokinson revealed a secret…

…Gluyas Williams was still examining club life…

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

…Leonard Dove received some junk mail…

…George Price uncovered a spy…

…Garrett Price assessed the price of fame…

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

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

Next Time: Idiot’s Delight…

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…

Having a Ball

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

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

February 1, 1936 cover by Roger Duvoisin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

Rap on Scrap

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

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

* * *

Wise Guy

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

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

* * *

Devastating Irony

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

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

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

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

* * *

At the Movies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

Something Completely Different

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

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

* * *

From Our Advertisers

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

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

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

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

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

…and apparently it was…

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

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

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

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

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

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

…we join Charles Addams at the Louvre…

…and on a desert island…

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

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

…and continuing onto page 25…

…here is how it originally appeared…

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

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

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

…Helen Hokinson looked for answers at a book shop…

and Hokinson again, doing a bit of home decorating…

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

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

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

Next Time: The New Ziegfeld…

A Profile in Paint

Above: Portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1935, by Alfred Stieglitz, gelatin silver print; at right, O'Keeffe's Ram's Head, White Hollyhock-Hills, 1935. Oil on canvas. (National Gallery/Brooklyn Museum)

Over the seven decades of her career, Georgia O’Keeffe created works that did not necessarily follow the art movements of the 20th century. Critic Lewis Mumford referred to these works as “autobiographies in paint,” every painting “as enigmatic as the Mona Lisa.”

January 18, 1936 cover by Robert Day, illustrating the days before the invention of the Zamboni (in 1949).

O’Keeffe was married to art dealer and photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who exhibited her works at his “An American Place” gallery at 53rd and Madison. The couple had a complex, open relationship (Stieglitz had a number of affairs) that proved painful to O’Keeffe, and in 1933 she was hospitalized for two months after experiencing a nervous breakdown; she did not paint again until the following year. Although Mumford did not directly reference this episode in O’Keeffe’s life, he did note that “Certain elements in O’Keeffe’s biography were plainly visible” in her paintings.

PAINED PAINTINGS…Clockwise, from top left, **Georgia O’Keeffe’s** *Eagle Claw and Bean Necklace,* 1934; *Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. IV,* 1930; *Purple Hills,* 1935. (MoMA/Phillips Collection/San Diego Museum of Art)

Mumford noted that O’Keeffe’s newer works revealed a “resurrection of spirit,” such as the painting of a ram’s skull, “with its horns acting like wings, lifted up against the gray, wind-swept clouds…”

GLOWING WITH POETRY AND TRUTH is how Lewis Mumford described **Georgia O’Keeffe’s** latest work. Clockwise, from top left: *Ram’s Head* suggested to Mumford “a resurgence of life and a resurrection of spirit” in the artist; other bright works included *Sunflower, New Mexico 1*, 1935; and *Hill,* 1935. (National Gallery/Cleveland Museum of Art/ Denver Art Museum)

* * *

Lights Out

In the previous issue E.B. White noted that the Edison Company was threatening to cut off electric service to the magazine’s offices due to nonpayment. This “Notes and Comment” update cleared up the matter.

THE PRICE FOR POWER…Above, an aerial view from 1926 of New York Edison’s East River Power Station at 38th Street. In 1936 it was powered by coal, which burned pungently and created problems with soot throughout the area. (tudorcityconfidential.com)

* * *

Revisiting a Pint-size Poet

“The Talk of the Town” paid a visit to Nathalia Crane (1913–1998), who became famous after the 1924 publication of her first book of poetry, The Janitor’s Boy, at the age of ten. Excerpts:

PIXIE POET…**Nathalia Crane** published her first poems in *The New York Sun* when she was only nine years old, the paper unaware that she was a child. She later became a professor of English at San Diego State University. (gutenberg.org)

The fledgling Crane received a very different New Yorker reception in 1928, when Dorothy Parker took her to task for contributing to the collapse of grammar and civilization in general. Here’s an excerpt from Parker’s Jan. 7, 1928 “Reading & Writing” column:

GRUESOME was the word Dorothy Parker chose to describe chocolate-covered olives and bad poetry. At left, Parker in 1928. At right, a contents page from The Spirit of St. Louis, a collection of one hundred poems selected from thousands in a poetry contest celebrating Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic. (literaryladiesguide.com/ebay.com)

* * *

Order in the Court

Howard Brubaker commented on a recent ruling by the Supreme Court regarding the ongoing fight by Republicans to curtail FDR’s New Deal.

* * *

Cinderella Stories

For his Jan. 4, 1936 “A Reporter at Large” column Morris Markey visited “Major Bowe’s Amateur Hour” at NBC’s Rockefeller Center radio studios. He was so impressed by the rags-to-riches stories that he shared a few in his Jan. 18 column, titled “The Crystal Slipper.” He warned readers that the stories were “sentimental,” but not in the vein of A Christmas Carol: “Tiny Tim, asking God to bless every one, regardless, was a pious little fraud,” Markey noted. Excerpts:

Markey shared the story of a garbage collector turned opera tenor, and a wealthy debutante who was encouraged to “stay off the stage” by “Major” Edward Bowes himself.

CUT THE TRASH TALK…**Joseph Rogato** told the Amateur Hour audience that his job as a “garbage man” was no laughing matter, and went on to wow them with his singing voice. At left, a detail from an ad for Chase & Sanborn coffee, the show’s sponsors. At right, show founder and host “Major” **Edward Bowes** with the gong he used to abruptly end acts he deemed poor—he soon abandoned the practice after listeners objected. (eBay.com/Facebook)

Markey next told the story of Marguerite Ryan, the “Singing Housewife”…

FROM RELIEF TO RICHES…This Chase & Sanborn advertisement described **Marguerite Ryan’s** brush with fame and her deliverance from poverty thanks to her appearance on the Amateur Hour. (newspapers.com)

Finally, the story of Rhoda Chase, whom Bowes promoted as a “penniless orphan.” Born Anna Blanor, her stage name, Rhoda, was selected by a psychic, while her last name was inspired by sponsors Chase & Sanborn.

VELVET VOICE…At right, detail from a Chase & Sanborn ad that promoted **Rhoda Chase** as a “Penniless Orphan” who made the big time thanks to the Amateur Hour. At left, a 1944 newspaper ad for the Zombie Club in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Known as “The Blue Velvet Voice”, Chase was a radio, stage, nightclub and USO blues singer. (Wikimedia Commons/eBay)

* * *

At the Movies

Film critic John Mosher found some bright spots at the movies, praising René Clair’s The Ghost Goes West but feeling sorry for Jean Harlow in her “thankless” role in Riffraff, a film about the tuna-fishing industry.

THE FRIENDLY GHOST…**Robert Donat** and **Patricia Hilliard** in the romantic comedy The Ghost Goes West. (IMDB)

FISH OUT OF WATER…**Spencer Tracy, Jean Harlow,** and Joseph Calleia in *Riffraff,* a drama about a strike at a tuna fishery. “Just why a life of tuna-fishing should be chosen as background for Miss Harlow’s vehicle I can’t imagine, but there it is,” wrote critic John Mosher. (IMDB)

Mosher didn’t know what to make of Katharine Hepburn’s latest film, Sylvia Scarlett, in which she portrayed a con artist disguised as a boy hiding from the police. Despite its major star power and George Cukor as director, the film was a flop.

Mosher also reviewed Last of the Pagans (also about a labor dispute!) and The Private Life of Louis XIV (released in Germany in 1935 as Liselotte von der Pfalz).

SHE’S A MAN, MAN…Clockwise, from top left, **Katharine Hepburn** and Cary Grant in Sylvia Scarlett; **Lotus Long** and Mala in *Last of the Pagans;* **Renate Müller** in *The Private Life of Louis XIV* (*Liselotte von der Pfalz*). Müller would die in 1937 at age 31 under mysterious circumstances. Many believe the Nazis had her killed because she refused to appear in their propaganda films. (academymuseum.org/MGM/IMDB)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

General Motors promoted their Buick Eight in a two-page advertisement that called out Eustace Tilley and reprinted a Carl Rose cartoon from the Nov. 2, 1935 issue…

…here is the original cartoon…

…with the holidays a memory and the Depression still lingering, most of the automobile ads touted economy over luxury, however Chrysler claimed you could have both with this $760 model…

…by the looks of this guy, he probably added three fingers of vodka to his pineapple juice…

…as noted before, the folks at World Peaceways pulled no punches with their anti-war appeals…

…the makers of Lux were still rolling out Broadway stars to endorse their toilet soap…(Betty Lawford, #5, was an English film and stage actress and a cousin of actor Peter Lawford)…

…the inside back cover belonged to Stage magazine…the illustration, “Amateur Night at the Apollo,” is by Alexander King…

…the Grand Central Palace was hosting the thirty-first annual National Motor Boat Show, a rare back cover not taken by a tobacco company…

…a couple of ads from back of the book…at left, an Anglophilic appeal from Miami’s Roney Plaza Hotel, and, at right, pre-revolutionary days at the National Hotel in Havana (I had a drink there a few years ago during the Obama thaw…the lobby is beautiful, a classic from another era still hanging on thanks to Canadian and European tourists)…

…William Steig continued to illustrate these one-column ads from Pilgrim Rum…

…which segues to our cartoonists…on the bottom of page 3 was this one-column drawing by Peggy Bacon…

…Norwegian opera singer Kirsten Flagstad (1895–1962) was a famous Wagnerian soprano who made a triumphant debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1935…

**Kirsten Flagstad** circa 1940. (Wikipedia)

…we continue with Helen Hokinson soaking up some sun…

…Robert Day cracked the whip in the steno pool…

…originally published sideways, another look at club life by Gluyas Williams...

…James Thurber offered up a toast…

…Richard Taylor looked into an auction mystery…

…Barney Tobey gave us a friendly greeting on the slopes…

…Perry Barlow was lost in a department store…

…William Crawford Galbraith continued to probe the woes of sugar daddies…

…and we get the last word from Mary Petty…

Next Time: Strike Me Pink…

The Major’s Amateur Hour

Above: Photo of the Hoboken Four as they appeared on the "Amateur Hour with Major Bowes" in 1935. At center is "Major" Edward Bowes, and at right is Frank Sinatra. The other three members of the Hoboken Four were Frank Tamburro, Patty Prince and Jimmy Petro. (knkx.org)

Nearly seventy years before American Idol appeared on our TV screens, a hugely successful and influential talent show filled the airwaves from NBC’s radio studios at Rockefeller Center.

January 4, 1936 cover by **Constantin Alajalov.**

Millions tuned in each week to the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, which got its start in 1934 at radio station WHN before moving to NBC the following year. Created and hosted by “Major” Edward Bowes (1874–1946), Bowes would chat with contestants before listening to their performances, which could be cut short by the Major’s gong (see below). For his “A Reporter at Large” column, Morris Markey paid a visit to Bowes during evening auditions at the NBC studios. Excerpts:

THE GONG SHOW…At bottom right, **Edward Bowes** with the gong he used to abruptly end acts he deemed poor or inept—he abandoned the prop in 1936 after receiving thousands of letters from listeners who objected to the premature termination of acts (apparently the concept was a direct inspiration for Chuck Barris’s 1970s TV program, *The Gong Show*). At left, a July 1936 *Women’s Home Companion* advertisement from the show’s sponsor, Chase & Sanborn. The ads highlighted the rags-to-riches stories of the more successful contestants. (eBay.com/Wikipedia)

Markey ended his piece noting the reality of the many contestants who, unlike Frank Sinatra, would not go on to successful entertainment careers.

STARMAKER…Clockwise, from left: Major Edward Bowes and returning Amateur Hour performer **Frank Sinatra** in 1943; in 1935 eleven-year-old **Maria Callas** performed the Madama Butterfly aria “Un bel dì vedremo,” on the Amateur Hour; actor/baritone **Robert Merrill** performed on the show in 1936. (winnetoba.com/mariacallasestate.com/Wikipedia)

* * *

Fleeing the Limelight

In December 1935 Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh secretly boarded a ship in New York and headed to England, seeking to escape the media frenzy that followed their son’s kidnapping and the subsequent trial. Thanks to connections through Anne’s family, they were able to move into a secluded estate in the Kent countryside. In his “Notes and Comment,” E.B. White explained:

HIDEOUT…From 1936 to 1938 **Charles** and Anne Morrow Lindbergh lived in a secluded English estate called “Long Barn.” The estate in County Kent was owned by a friend of Anne’s family. (waverlyhs.weebly.com)

NOT HIS FINEST HOUR…In July 1936 Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goering (right) presented the Sword of Honor of the German Air Force to **Charles Lindbergh** during a visit to Berlin. **Anne Morrow Lindbergh** is to the far left. Goering would also present Lindbergh with a high-ranking Nazi-era civilian medal, the Service Cross of the German Eagle, during a 1938 visit. Anne presciently referred to the medal as “the albatross.” (Library of Congress)

According to White, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia cited lax police control of the media in the case of the fleeing Lindberghs. In turn, White attempted to explain the unique temperaments of Irish police officers.

GIVE US A BREAK…**E.B. White** noted the courage and wisdom of Irish cops, but also found their lassitude “almost theatrical.” Pictured above is Irish immigrant Patrick Leddy, who joined the NYPD in 1910 and remained on the force for more than thirty-five years. (Courtesy of Margaret Fitzpatrick Leddy via nyirishhistory.us)

A final note on the Lindberghs from Howard Brubaker, a snippet from his “Of All Things” column.

* * *

Italian Swashbuckler

The Italian fencer Aldo Naldi (1899-1965) won three gold medals and one silver at the 1920 Olympics before turning professional. According to West Coast Fencing, Aldo traveled Europe like a prizefighter, “competing in well-attended matches for cash purses…in a world of travel, glamour, drinking, womanizing, gambling and fencing, Aldo Nadi reigned supreme, going nearly eight years without a defeat.” “The Talk of the Town” was on hand for his American debut. Excerpts:

EN GARDE!…During the interwar years **Aldo Nadi** reigned supreme, going nearly eight years without a defeat. (dennishollingsworth.us)

“Talk” also examined the fuss being made over the Great Chalice of Antioch, which was on display at the Brooklyn Museum. Excerpts:

COULD IT BE?…Claimed to have been found in Antioch around 1900, this chalice’s plain silver bowl was ambitiously identified by some as the Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. It is displayed with the Metropolitan Museum’s Byzantium collection. (metmuseum.org)

* * *

Year, Schmear

To mark the New Year, Arthur Guiterman offered up one his humorous poems…

…Guiterman (1871–1943) was an early contributor to The New Yorker—the magazine’s very first issue, Feb. 21, 1925, featured the first installment of Guiterman’s recurring “Lyrics from the Pekinese,” which ran through the first eleven issues.

MEOW…**Arthur Guiterman’s** “Lyrics from the Pekinese,” featured in the first issue of *The New Yorker.* At right, Guiterman in an undated photo. (Library of Congress)

* * *

Before He Was Spooky

Robert Benchley’s review of the stage began on a bright note with Victoria Regina, which starred Vincent Price as Prince Albert and Helen Hayes as Queen Victoria. Benchley praised the realism Price and Hayes lent to the production. Excerpts:

A MATCH MADE ON BROADWAY…The 24-year-old **Vincent Price** and the 35-year-old **Helen Hayes** portrayed Prince Albert and Queen Victoria in Victoria Regina, which ran for 203 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre. **Robert Benchley** thought their casting was ideal. (Pinterest)

Benchley also sat through George White’s latest Scandals revue, finding it similar to White’s older shows—beautiful showgirls, various singers and dancers, and assorted comedians—with Bert Lahr shining above it all.

IT SEEMED LIKE OLD TIMES to Robert Benchley as he took in the latest edition of **George White’s** *Scandals.* **Bert Lahr** (left) was among the headliners for the 1936 revue, which ran for 110 performances at the New Amsterdam Theatre before taking to the road. (Wikipedia/Playbill.com)

* * *

At the Movies

John Mosher had a busy week at the movies, finding “considerable pleasure” in the screen adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s Ah Wilderness!…

MILLER TIME…The Miller family attends a commencement ceremony that helps kick off the action in *Ah Wilderness!* From left, **Aline MacMahon, Mickey Rooney, Spring Byington**, and **Bonita Granville.** (IMDB)

Mosher also looked at films featuring leading actresses of the day—Barbara Stanwyck in Annie Oakley, Bette Davis in Dangerous, and Claudette Colbert in The Bride Comes Home.

A TRIO OF TALENTS…Clockwise, from top left, **Claudette Colbert** had her hands full with **Robert Young** and Fred MacMurray in The Bride Comes Home; **Barbara Stanwyck** took aim in Annie Oakley; and **Bette Davis** portrayed a down-and-out actress with trouble on her mind in *Dangerous.* For her performance, Davis won the Academy Award for Best Actress. (laurasmiscmusings.blogspot.com/girlswithguns.org/vanguardofhollywood.com )

* * *

Gaming the Games

In her “Paris Letter,” Janet Flanner noted the preparations for the Fourth Olympic Winter games to be held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

WINTER HAS ARRIVED…**Adolf Hitler** and his fellow Nazi thugs brought a certain chill to the 1936 Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Garmisch and Partenkirchen were separate communities until Hitler forced them to merge in anticipation of the games. (arolsen-archives.org)

* * *

From Our Advertisers

From 1933 to 1939, Macy’s hosted a series of unique design exhibitions under the title “Forward House” that showcased contemporary furniture, decor, and architectural ideas…

…for reference, here is another “Forward House” advertisement from the February 1936 House & Garden magazine…

…the folks at Robbins Island Oysters employed the legend of Giacomo Casanova to market their tasty little rocks…apparently Casanova claimed that he consumed more than fifty oysters each morning to sustain his amorous adventures…

…with the holidays over, the number of ads decreased significantly, leaving readers with a mere sixty pages—less than the half the length of the fat pre-Christmas editions…the theme in the Jan. 4 issue was travel to warmer climes, these examples culled from several back of the book pages…

…the end of the holiday season did not stop tobacco companies from taking out lavish full-page advertisements targeting women smokers, this one gracing the back cover…note the implied medical endorsement at the bottom…

…we clear the air and move on to our cartoonists, beginning with spot drawings by D. Krán…

…and Christina Malman…

…one of Helen Hokinson’s girls sought an impromptu parking lesson…

…while another welcomed winter with her furry charges…

…Whitney Darrow Jr gave us a full-service information booth…

…Mary Petty illustrated a dowager with simple tastes…

…Gardner Rea was confounded at the hat check…

…Carl Rose offered up another example of rugged individualism…

…Alan Dunn served up a unique language challenge…

…Robert Day stood tall at a basketball game…

…William Crawford Galbraith was horsing around…

…Alain looked crosseyed at a store closing…

…and we close with Barbara Shermund, who sized up things at a hat shop…

Next Time: Magnificently Obsessed…

Picking on Pickford

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

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

December 21, 1935 cover by Ilonka Karasz.

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

A White Christmas

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

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

…and concluded with these words…

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

* * *

A Holiday Tradition

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

…which continued on page 22…

* * *

Lost In Paradise

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

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

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

* * *

At the Movies

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

From Our Advertisers

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

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

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

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

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

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

…Al Frueh brightened up the “Theatre” section…

…Helen Hokinson got in line at Macy’s…

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