Add Row 
Add 
Job Hunting in Hollywood
Sour Grapes And Press Agents – BY LOUISE GALLAGHER
MONDAY is the only day in the week that the tired moving picture girl has a chance to call her time her own. There may be plenty of other days when she is not at work but she must remain at home in anticipation of a studio call that may or may not come.
You are a slave to the telephone for a studio director seldom takes the trouble to call a small part player the second time and it is, therefore, necessary for you to be present talent registered comes .• he available talent registered at all studios is so long that the casting director may have five or more in mind for some small role and if he cannot reach you on the first call he rings the next girl on his list.
If you have been working on a set where later on it is found necessary to have retakes, then the studios telephone operator is told to keep on calling you until she gets you. It is seldom that a call comes on Monday before four in the afternoon, for that is a general clean up day on hangovers from the week before, and if you are not working you can take the morning off with the assurance of not missing out on anything.
A group of Hollywood girl boulevardies was gathered I around the soda fountain at the drug store on Vine Street, Monday afternoon, engaged in the unproductive but delightful occupation of settling the problems of the film industry over their ice cream sodas, Not a girl present but thought In her own mind that Barrie’s choice for Peter Pan was limited due to the fact tht no screen of her special fitness for the part was sent across the ocean. Some of the girls who knew Bettie Bronson quite well were willing to admit that she might be able to do the part credit. Bettie had played around at all the studios here for about three years and has had several parts.
Just Her Style.
“Plenty of money to hire a good press agent to talk her up, that’s what started things coming her way,” Adele declared disgustedly. “I am just her style and size and beat her out on two tryouts for a small part at Universal but what good is talent without a manager who has a standing at the studios. Imagine trying to put over that silly yarn about her going up to the window at Lasky’s and asking them to make a screen test of her for Peter Pan. Any of you know what they would have said to such a naive request.”
“I don’t think Bettie looks at all like you, Adele, but she is ever so much like May McAvoy. I saw her at the Ambassador last night and she looked snappy,” said Marie from Maine who takes life and her resemblance to Pauline Frederick quite seriously, “What I would like to do is to be able to hire William Jennings Bryan for a manager. They say he has wonderful powers of persuasion and goodness knows I would be a credit to him if he would use his eloquence to get me a windup on a celluloid spool.”
Adele looked a scornful disapproval but waited to reply until she had remade her mouth which the soda had disarranged. “A fine chance you have of winning out in that direction. Mr. Bryan is only interested in introducing grape juice to the jaded tastes of the film capital’s inmates. That’s what he moved here for. I wish he had a sample all the stale soda pop we had to drink on that last big set at Warners.”
Just then we had a thrill that set all of our hearts thumping for the latest and most dashing sheik of Hollywood came in the drug store with Rex Ingram. Under ordinary conditions the director himself would have received favorable notice from the girls for some of them still believe that such a thing as a director picking out an unknown girl to star because she was the type he was looking for, may once have happened, but no everyday person could get any attention with this sheik, around. “They say Alice Terry is mad about him,” Hazel whispered. “Isn’t he the handsomest thing in Hollywood, and hasn’t he a grand manner?”
Last Word In Sheiks.
Kada-Abdel-Kadir is the last word in sheiks and has reawakened an interest in that species that has caused a new excitement on the boulevard. Handsome he is without doubt, with finely chiseled features and the growing color which makes the Arab superlatively decorative. He has laughing eyes and a princely manner that makes you acknowledge his irrestible charm at the first glance. He told me, for I actually got up enough courage to go over and speak to him, that he has come to Hollywood to stay and likes it ever so much better than his own native Morocco. He speaks very slowly and his few English words are hard to get out. He had on the most gorgeous white turban, a flaming red cloak, baggy white trousers and shining black boots.’ Kada seemed particularly unconscious that he was the center of attraction and was most particular to see that Mr. Ingram drank his soda through a straw before he ventured to do so. The young sheik is eight years old and is a ward of Alice Terry and her husband, Rex Ingram.
After the exit of the handsome Arab our talk went back to the difficulty of getting on without a manager. It is the dream of every girl in movies to be able to afford a press agent that will hand the public something new and different to fall down and worship. The cellars of those aspiring for movie fame play almost as important a part as their bank account. One generous and wealthy production manager with three stars to look out for sends a handsome gift of port or gin from his own private stock to a feature writer putting over any special writeup on his companies and a photograph with a long article is always worth a whole case. Life is much easier and brighter for newspaper people who grow up with the movies than it is for the stars, whether they are just coming or have already arrived. I have become quite friendly with a well known feature writer who is successful in getting over good stories for stars. She was weary of hotel life and just longed for a Spanish bungalow all her own. I went house hunting with her one morning but she found the prices prohibitive on furnished houses. Then a bright idea struck her: “I’ll just rent an unfurnished house and let my movie friends give me a shower. It’s time several of them were coming across anyway.” Every motion picture person invited to the housewarming was told that the house was unfurnished and any free will offering would be appreciated. I wish you could have seen what was given; everything from a chaise lounge to kitchen table arrived the day before the party. I did not go to the party but went over next day to see the result. Even a radio had been installed and Florence was particularly in love with her rugs.
“You know when it arrived I just doted on that blue desk all painted up in pastel roses. It looked so delightfully frivilous and useless, 1 could just see myself scribbling silly notes on it. But, I might have known there was a trick about it somewhere. The actor who sent it to me has the reputation of being very stingy and never letting go up a dollar without some return. Just lift up the lid and have a look.”
I did and there was a nice Underwood typewriter all nicely clamped and just ready to be used ..
