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Show Maidens' Prayers Answered by Male Stars ,.A On Lavish Hollywood Sets, Writer Finds ' By SbEILAH GRAHAM Copyright, 1937, for The Telegram HOLLYWOOD. Aug. 6 Around the gets and what ets! and what acton! Gary Cooper. Fred Astaire and William Powell. No has just returned to work la "Double "Dou-ble Wedding," after a breakdown in health and spirit caused by the death of Jean Harlow. But he Is all right today. He is astride a chair, in his shirtsleeves, plus a megaphone that Is really a folded newspaper, and playing; at directing a turbulent scens between Florence Rice and John Beal. "Yen beast, yah- beast," ssya Florence, "And yet, my tittle English orchid, yeu have to come to my tent," says John In a dull oloe. "I love you," prompts Powell. Pow-ell. . "Eh, that's awfully nice of yon. I love yeu, toe, Charlie," replies re-plies John enthusiastically. Charlie (alias Bill) spreads his hands despairingly, but long enough for a passing waiter to give him a stein of beer. Without waiting to do more than drain it, Powell shouts, "No, no. Sit down and let me show you." At this point, the real director-Richard director-Richard Thorpe decides he's had enough. "It may be funny to you," he tells his cast, "but to me it's pretty bad." . "It should do one good thing," says Costar Myrna Loy: "Cure Bill of any ambitions he ever had to be a director." girl should ask for more First The Adventures of Gary Cooper" I mean "Marco Polo." . . He shakes bands with your correspondent corre-spondent and warns, "Be careful of lead poisoning "Gary the gorgeous gorge-ous is stained a beautiful shade of mahogany brown. He wears Chinese coolie disguise and is about to rescuefor res-cuefor the upteenth time In pictures pic-tures a damsel in distress. Princess Sigrid Gurie. Lucky Sigrid. When I mention this fact, Gary volunteers to rescue me, too on condition I'm in distress. Before "yes" can be said, heartless Director Archie Mayo calls his leading man to word. Mays Is still losing weight and Is now a 190-pound shadow of his former S80-pound self. "But don't feel sorry far him," eaye the surprisingly sur-prisingly talkative Gary. "He Ian? starving he Just doesn't eat every minute of the day that's alL" Oh, hen!" . . . The floor is raised five Inchest In five minutes (film technicians are the real geniuses In Hollywood) and Fred sails through the air with the grace of a Pavlova. The sequence behind him, he breaks down and tells me, "I can't understand why my sister (Lady Adele ' Cavendish) Is working In British pictures. She's so happy living in Ireland and I know she doesn't want or need a career. I myself dislik&work very much and look forward to retiring." This, fortunately. Is made remote by heavy income tax "the government govern-ment takes so much, you have to work twice as long." . . . Fred does more acting and less hoofing in "A Damsel In Distress." "It's a relief to dance less. 'And I think it's a good idea to do one picture away from Ginger. But we are not busting bust-ing up. After this, we get together again for an Irving Berlin musical" And now for Wllilam Powell Bill And the lanky actor, continuing his vocal breakdown, discusses the subject he loves best, the approaching approach-ing happy event for the Gary Coopers. Coop-ers. "We haven't decided on a name fee him (they both want a boy). One thing is sure, he won't be Frank that's my own name I changed it to Gary, because there were too many 'k's' in Frank Cooper." Fred Astaire emotes In "A Damsel In Distress," only there is no damsel in distress around only Gracie Allen, Al-len, if that counts. ... An extra strums an off-set piano and George Bums leaps into his tap dance. This is too much for Director George Marshall who calls his puppets before be-fore the camera. Astaire has to Jump on a table In a baronial English country house hall and seise a fencing foil near the celling. He poses, ballet fashion, but Jumps on the wrong foot and emits a disgusted |
