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Show )ifhLPhillipr JT 'WNU Srlofc MONKEYING WITH THE BIG SHOW From Sarasota comes the word that the circus of 1941 will have more ruffles than ever. It has been going Hollywood for the past few seasons, but next year the biggest show on earth will look like something some-thing out of the "Arabian Nights" via Metro-Goldwyn. Norman Bel Geddes has been retained re-tained by the Ringlings to streamline, stream-line, decorate and dress the big show from the peanut bag to the elephants; ele-phants; and circus addicts who like their circus plain and a bit oderifer-ous oderifer-ous are worried. It may be hard to tell the 1941 show from a night club interior. The circus of tradition had faded costumes, a hard-boiled Queen of Sheba and a Maharajah of Indore who had two cauliflower ears and a broken nose. Cinderella and her ladies generally general-ly had the appearance of being refugees ref-ugees from a midway. The Fairy Prince had fallen arches, a three-days' growth of beard and a middle tooth missing. And the Caliph of Bagdad seemed freshly fresh-ly bounced from a corner saloon. But the old-time circus fan was satisfied. He didn't expect too much. There was something rough, catch-as-catch-can and impromptu ,, about the big I show that was ap-' ap-' pealing. If you ! wanted art and beauty you went I to a musical I show or a museum. muse-um. And a circus had to smell like a circus, too. But the big top woke up one spring morning and found that it had been to the beauty parlor, caliphs, princes, maharajahs, princesses, elephants, el-ephants, ponies and all. When the bands blared for the opening pageant that season there wt-an't a plug-ugly in the parade. That would nave been all right with the old-time circus addict if they had stopped there. But the circus management went in head over heels for glamour. They rouged the elephant's toenails, toe-nails, powdered the gorilla's nose j .. auu uiduc even the hostlers wash behind the ears. They hired beautiful beau-tiful showgirls, in- ' troduced the De Mille, the sur-1 realist, and the De Sylva influ- ence in one movement, and even went in for air conditioning the circus cir-cus tent. . If you want your circus straight, with all the smells that had become traditional, you had to stay down near the camels and sea lions. And It looks like a non-top trend. Norman Bel Geddes is now reported report-ed working on the tents. That looks like carrying the glamour stuff too far. A circus tent has always looked like a circus tent. What it will look like in 1941 is anybody's guess. THE BREAK I haven't any sables to slip elegantly ele-gantly on, Nor silver fox or monkey-fringe to lure a Don Juan; I haven't any star sapphires or robe x with diamond bustle, And I haven't any bomb-proof cell ' to which I have to hustle I G. K. B. "Eskimos Can't Understand People Peo-ple Getting Into Wars." headline. Have patience; it'll come to you. HOW LIFE GOES Part to working, part to sleeping, part to playing, but most of life goes to waiting for some woman! Several New York policemen have been drafted into the army, and this ought to discourage Hitler about as much as anything else. NEW VERSION Early to bed, early to rise, Leaving more to your heirs Than you would otherwise. "Italy Breathes Easier Aftel Pact." 1eadline. That isn't breathing; it's heavy panting. Simile by T.G.D. As overdressed as a cut-rate drugstore window. EPITAPHS JFOR TRAFFIC CHAOS. ("Neon lights on store fronts are lights." News item.) Here lies Lester Luther Watt: He thought a traf-Fic traf-Fic light was not Here reposes Bixby (Leon): He thought the stop Light was a Neon. |