| Show JTHE BALT LAKE TRIBUNE SUNDAY MORNING She wasn’t rough more than a at the time Helen wasn’t a strong girl She was thin and nervous and worrisome She thought Watkins was thi only man in the — world "“And that’s what it amounted to too When she married Watkins she gave up Friends everything Family Everything v No matter howtfftlgh the going she never whined When the twins were born—both boys — Helen smiled at her man and said she could never be any hap- - s school kid Story of Revenge Is a revenge yarn written many of before And unless the boss gets wise to roe I’ll probably write many more But this One in a sense is the best of tbem all Have a look : The locale of the yarn Is in the deep South In the center of a vast plain lies a prison farm It is built like a stockade A dusty white road leads from the high gates through the plain to a town some twelve miles away It seldom rains at the farm and the sun is merciless all through the day The inmates — both black and white—work from sunup to sundown Most of them work on the truck farm— weeding spraying planting reaping The work Is cruel and backbreaking Several years ago a sheriff’s car drove through heat waves over the plain to the Prison Farm Inside the gates a deputy delivered a man named Watkins The deputy handed the warden' the commitment papers THIS “Watkins gets five years at hard labor” he said casually “For embezzlement" Then he left A T th they never learneamuch about Watkins He had a dark brooding faee — and he seldom talked At night he sdt on the edge of his cot with his face cupped in his hands Thinking During the days he worked willingly enough Three months after his arrival the warden learned that Watkins was a mechanic So he was put to work in the truck garage The job had but one virtue it Kept him out of the sun So time moved on The same work by day the same thoughts by night Those thoughts never changed They were routine They always began at the same point— and they always ended with plans for revenge Yes those thoughts always began with Helen He had married her when he was seventeen troduced himself and the girl said her name was Joan Watkins went completely daffy about the girl He took her out that flight She kissed him vigorously and he was hooked from then on Soon he was not going home for dinner He told Helen that the kide got on his nerves A couple of times he went away for weekends Helen began to grow afraid She was hearing things from all sides And yet 'she didn’t complain It wasn’t that Watkins didn’t know about Joan’s reputation The men at the factory told him about her at every opportunity They winked end made wise remarks They said she was no good Yes Watkins knew all about this girl with whom he was in love farm Watkins went to Helen nnd blurted out the truth Maybe she was pier right At that time Watkins worked was He a cashier very steadily in a cotton mill Made thirty-fiv- e a week and felt like a king Then what happened? You guessed it Another woman She was a new girl around the mill She was a flaming red head who looked at him with eyes Watkins in “come-and-get-m- e” But he had reached the stage in which ho was willing to defy the world It wasn’t necessary £ all but he went to Joan and asked her to m&rry him She shrugged and aaid she’d do it if he could get rid of Helen So Watkins went to Helen and blurted out the truth Helen sat fumbling with the edge of her apronY listening end nodding and hoping ahe wouldn't cry She asked him what ahe would do with the children Watkins said he didn’t care In the end Helen agreed to a divorce She soon left town with her babies And little else Watkins married Joan and the boys stopped their wise cracking To his face that is Behind his back they howled Exactly as everyone had figured the marriage turned out badly Joan was difficult to AUGUST 2 1938 for escape—and the day finally arrived when he wee ready for the attempt Ha waa repairing therear end of a truck He waa nervous and jumpy and the job took him almost the entire day to complete When it waa finished Watkins drove the trbek around inside the farm HoW’e “How’s it look?” tho driver asked Watkins please She wanted this she wanted that She was always demanding money and more money So W atkins borrowed the money from the company safe At first it was just a few bucks Then the sums grew larger and larger Three months after the wedding Joan handed him the very same medicine ahe had given Helen She began to remain away from home to cheat on him at every opportunity But Watkins didn’t take it the way Helen had He waited for Joan one night and reminded her of what he had given up for her She laughed in nis face and he punched her That’s when she sneered ab him Told him that he was a complete sucker and that she was in love with another man Watkins ran from the house his fingers in his ears He was afraid he’d kill her if he Stayed longer He didn’t get very far The had been investigating ' they brought him back a few days later You know his sentence for the embezzlement Five years on the Prison Farm at company him and hard labor t It was nice work on Watkin’s art He had lost his wife had ' lost two priceless —a children He had lost his job He had lost hia freedom And all because of Joaii A H ND so it was that Watkins lived now for revenge His plan was simple and direct Ha would escape somehow and then he would kill Joan He would strangle her slowly and with delight Then probably he would kill her boy friend Penalty? So what? Hanging for him would only conclude a life that waa already beyond redemption And more he had no wish to continue These were his thoughts day after day and night after night He worked diligently on his plan driver swung the wheel The truck lurched as it went over a huge rock and Watkins didn’t even scream He was crushed between the axle and the rock He was dead before they picked him up No one suspected that he was trying to escape The Board of Inquiry said he must have been checking his work when the accident occurred And that was all So Watkins never' had his It was just the other revenge way 'round in fact Because ironically enough the State was accused of negligence And Joan his cheating widow collected 8120001 Probably the best World War movie since "ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is "THE ROATf TO GLORY” a Twentieth Century-Fo- x special that you will soon be seeing Here are Warner Baxter and Fredrie March at their very best as they battle over June Lang although Lionel Barrymore— as usual— almost steals the picture in a secondary role "THE ROAD TO GLORY” is grim war stuff but it is powerful and gripping without once becoming distasteful I recommend it to you as one of the outstanding pictures of the year And by the way you are again urged to keep your eyes on this Lang gal “THE ROAD TO GLORY” will undoubtedly make her a star the poor kid that too” " What’s that?” urged the woman The screwball smiled simply look at my watch!” ’ Rarely will you find' fiction as amusing as “PANIC AMONG PURITANS” by Japes Laver The author assistant keeper of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London offers a satirical fantasy that will remind you of the late Thorne Smith at his best Written with sparkle and wit the story tells of the return of the gods of ancient Greece and of the havoc they spreadJnmodrk nffhndtFsrrsr and Rlhe-- ’ The problem of those unhart publish it for $250 happy marriages kept going “for the sake of the children” is ably dealt with in a fine novel “MOTHER OF THE BRIDE” by Alice Grant Ros Also recommended td you this week is man “YOUNG MEN IN SPATS” another batch of delightful nonsense from P G Wodehouse -- FAIR QUESTION BE LYMAN hastens to report the queer actions of a friend Lyman slept over at this chap’s he went apartment the other night And just beforeclock for to bed the host carefully set his alarm seven o’clock walked into the bathroom and left it there “ What’s going on?” Lyman asked "What s the idea of setting your alarm clock for seven A M and then putting it where you can’t hear it when it rings?” "Say” replied the friend “who wants to get up A I at seven o’clock?” dogs” The friend nodded sympathetically "It sure is tough” he agreed 'the husband clenched his 6sts “ "And that?S not all” he stated grimly What I’m now is that unbearable so makes the whole thing even can’t wife go my living with my back to her motherl” 'T'HE truck went into low gear It started off jerkily and the THE WEEK tri-squa- re rllNGS The driver stepped up to the seat and Watkins scurried around to the back No one was in sight and he crawled underneath between the wheels Ha hung his knees over the axle and gripped the flanges of the body with his hands In a moment the driver would start out the gate to freedom He’d have a passenger— but he wouldn’t know it OF DAFFY DAYS nut story h$s THIS week’s with the elderly lady who approached one of the inmates on the asylum groundsi “ Have you ” she inquired sweetly ‘‘any idea of the time?" The nut smiled This was down his alley right “ Certainly madame ” he replied "Just one moment KABK HELUNGEB please ” ITefooka large rulerJrom his pocket and held it in the sunlight Then he marked out the shadow that was cast and made some rapid calculations He fidand a plumb line— dled with a compass a and then he turned triumphantly to the woman “Madame” he announced proudly “it is exactly fourteen minutes after two o’clock” “ That’s fine” cried the woman “That was marvelous But tell me— how do you do it?” The screwball looked down modestly “Oh” he returned "it’s just something that I’ve studied I tell time by the sun” “Wonderful!” exclaimed the lady "But tell me something else What do you do when it rains and the sun doesn’t come out?” "Oh” shrugged the nut "I’ve got something for TOUGH SHAPE the driver BEST BETS Groans were going very badly for a certain His business was on its last legs and that he was compelled to sell his scarce so was money home The other day he poured his woes into a friend? sears " and "My wife and I" he wailed fight like cats look?” sway” Guys Gals Giggles and MODERN YOUTH Percival Lapidus walked into his LITTLE tailor shop — papa ” he asserted "I want to" go on a boat ride and I’d like to have two dollars “ Vot! ” shrieked papa Lapidus "Do you realize dot I got to prass eight suits to make two dollars?” Percival dropped into a chair "Go ahead” he said “ But make it snappy !” it asked Watkins “Oka" said Watkins' “Take it Saratoga Days and gentlemen is a scene in the paddock THIStheladies Saratoga Springs race course You know of course that when Saratoga is in bloom it ia the land of tips sips pips hips lips and gyps People come here to be feted hated baited and mated Right now in Saradoes pretty toga the horse is king— but the jackass ’ well too At the moment a horse called Always Last it being1 led around by his exercise boy At least we asked Artist Berman to draw us a horse— and if the neck look as though it belongs to a swan you’ll have to blame it on the heat Artiati you know are notorioualy bad At the top left neckers in the warm weather Peggy Fears gazes in wonderment at Mr Berman’s alleged horse— while those three social favorites Sam Rosoff Jimmy Cromwell and Doris Duke discuse the possible winner of the next race Mr Rosoff is about had one i The gentleman on the right is betting a bit and is or course taking it on the Chan In the middle row left we see James J Dooling boss of Tammany Hall Mr Dooling cah’t decide what to do about thia particular horse But he feels the same way about Mayor La Guardia so that makes everything SQUAWK HAVE received numerous letters recently about dian who ever asks my permissioq to use a gag Aside radio comedians who persist in using material from him whenever you hear a comic use a story from this space without credit It’s time to call a from this page you may rest assured that he has stolen it bodily h Will you help me? The next time you hear one of Unless otherwise stated all the gags on this page stories employed on the air please write or these coma is the Cantor only V original stories Fjddie Moving along to the right we discover Walter Damrosch Archie Selwyn and Sam H Harris all in a row Mr Harris is America’s foremost theatrical producer and is greatly loved by the press the public and th bookmakers In the front row the three figures to th left ere Spencer Tracy George O’Brien and Eva Le Galliene Mr Tracy looks a trifle stout in this picture— but you can blame that on the fact that in his last few pictures he has been biting off roles that were extremely iheaty On the right Barney Baruch seems highly amused as a tout slips Herbert Bayard Swope the information that the next race ia in the bag for a certain horse When he learns that he' been talking to th Chairman of the New York Racing Commission the tout will disappear more quickly than Houdini ever dreamed of Incidentally middle of everything these you will find Herbert days Yes sir Where there’s life there’a Swope -And that’s about all for today— except to tell you about the honeymoon couple in the lower right hand corner It ia the lady’s first horae race and she has just pulled the classic pacing remark of all time Hubby has told her that the horse in front of them is e mudder And she has said: "My goodness is that ao? Why I didn’t even know she was married 1” M H even in-th- wire the alleged comic and ask him to stop his thievery Some fifteen million peole see this page each Sunday— and if only a small --portion of these readers comply with nyy request the thievery will end in no time Thank you very very much Two of last season’s most successful Broadway productions— “ VICTORIA RE GIN A” with Helen Hayes and "IDIOTS DELIGHT” with Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne — closed several weeks ago and will not reopen until late August Yet the box offices in both theatres are open eight hours daily for the sale of Fall tickets It’s a very rare situation Dance records I liked best recently were "In A Sentimental Mood” and " These Foolish Thing s" (Victor— 25351 Played by Benny Goodman and his orchestra) and "Empty - Saddles” and 7 Can’t Escape From You ” (Brunswick-76- 97 Played by Russ Morgan and his orchestra) SHIRLEY TEMPLE’S next picture will have songs and dances— but in her following film the box office champ will have her first dramatic role MISS MARKER” In the world of sports I’d like very much to venture my opinions on the Olympics but I’m afraid to risk it Too far away from the scene so excuse me this time please Here however' are a few other long distance notions ihat may startle you: The CINCINNATI REDS will win the National League pennant within two years If and when JOE LOUIS meets AL ETTORE of Philadelphia JOE LOUIS will again be knocked out COLUMBIA will lose only one football game this t season and that to STANFORD UNIVERSITY BREVITY will be acknowledged the best race horse in America in 1937 Don’t say we didn’t tell MarkH you |
