Salt Lake Telegram | 1941-02-24 | Page 7 | How Slick Actors Get Away with Dramatic Larceny

I Meet How Slick S Some Actors Get GetHo Away Hollywood Ii With Dramatic Larceny Larceny- Scene Stealers I I ir IT S t k rr j 1 k Mic ey Rooney e Hes He's mugger mugger mugger mug mug- ger scene stealer I IBy II I By PAUL HARRISON HOLLYWOOD NEA Scene stealing is a form fonn of dramatic larceny lar- lar ceny eny successfully practiced only by the slickest actors There are several several sev sev- eral oral kinds of scene stealers Children Children Chil Chil- dren and animals are naturals because because be be- cause audiences watch them even when they're not doing anything Then there are muggers such as Mickey Rooney and stationary acrobats like Jimmy Stewart who likes to put his hands in his pockets pockets pockets pock pock- ets and rock on his heels Jack Oakie Oakle is the most notorious flycatcher flycatcher flycatcher fly fly- catcher even if hes he's in the background background background back back- ground hell he'll invent some little piece of business such business such as scowling and puffing at a cigar that has gone out that out that keeps you watching watching watching watch watch- ing him W. W C. C Fields is famed for once having swatted a fly-catcher fly into unconsciousness It was during his pool table act on the stage After wondering why the audience kept snickering Fields discovered a arival arival arival rival comic hidden under the table and clowning in He N tf tyr rL ty v JV h r L 4 t. t 5 L Jack Oa Oakie OaIe ie 0 Most notorious scene thief bopped the interloper with his cue On location in Death Valley recently recent recent- ly I r saw Bette Davis challenge Jimmy Cagney for trying to steal a scene by reacting too violently She was supposed to end a quarrel by pushing him backward into a patch atch of cactus and thus it should have lave been her triumph Instead Cagney threshed around and howled and went into such frantic contortions among the artificial stickers that a screen audience would have forgotten all about Miss Davis As she tartly commented commented com corn he was practically committing committing com corn suicide to win a laugh When Harry Davenport reminisced reminisced reminisced remi remi- over a seventy-fifth seventy birthday birthday birthday birth birth- day cake a few weeks ago he told of a classic case of stealing scene-stealing on a night when John F. F Sheridan was playing Richard III Ill In the fourth act a flunkey rushes in and announces the Duke of Buckingham is taken This Is good news for the king who wastes no time in ordering ordering ordering or or- dering the dukes duke's execution and rushing off to the battle Sheridan would d draw r raw a w his sword and shout Away toward I Salisbury Davenport recalled Then he and his men would do W. W C C. C Fields ReUs erds Famed for swatting fly what he called taking the stage marching toward the footlights and then exiting with a flourish But this one night we had a substitute courier who came on and said the Duke of Buckingham is it taken taken and and we have cut off his his' head There stood Sheridan sword in the air and all all' his thunder stolen He turned to the messenger and snarled The hell you say