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Show Manhattan Magic: The wild rumors (unfounded) that navy and army discharges had been frozen reminded us of one of the wildest ... It was the report that Dorothy Thompson (the columnist) would be the GOP candidate for President. . . . This is how the "story" grew from a joke: At a luncheon date between John ("Inside ("In-side Europe, etc.") Gunther and Philip Jordan of the London News-Chronicle, News-Chronicle, the Britisher told Gunther Gun-ther he had met Miss Thompson the night before. "What a woman!" Jordan exclaimed. ex-claimed. "I wouldn't be a bit surprised sur-prised if the Republicans nominate her for President in 1940." Gunther (kidding) said: "If they do, she'll be elected!" When Mr. Jordan got home he relayed re-layed "the gag" to H. R. Knickerbocker, Knicker-bocker, the war reporter, who passed it on to Randolph Churchill, who cabled it seriously for his chatter chat-ter col'm in London. . . . One week later it appeared in a British newsmagazine news-magazine as the "latest tip from well-informed Washington circles" and was cabled (just that way) back to the United States. The final touch was a lulu. It Inspired In-spired a newspaper over here to runt a straw vote on Miss Thompson's chancesl Wisdom for the UNO from the mouth of a tot. It was overheard at a movie theatre, where "Captain Kidd" was revived. . . . "Who are-all are-all those men fighting?" asked the child. . . . "Pirates," mother explained. ex-plained. . . . "What are they fighting fight-ing about?" . . . "Treasure." . . . "What's treasure?" . . . "Gold, silver sil-ver and other precious things." . . . "Will some of those men be-killed be-killed fighting for the treasures?" . . . "Yes, I suppose so." . . . "Why don't they all become friends and share the treasures, instead, Mommy?" Mom-my?" It Is no secret that Stalin and Churchill quarreled during the war. After the Teheran confab this anecdote anec-dote was popular in Moscow: The Shah of Persia made a gift of an 11-year-old girl to Churchill. . . . Some of Stalin's advisors were shocked by the Oriental custom and urged him to do something about it. . . . But with a twinkle in his eyes Stalin said: "Don't worry. Byrne By-rne time Churchill makes up his mind she will be an old woman!" The Press-Box: One sane voice-was voice-was raised among the international internation-al babble of threats and protests. It was Cordell Hull's eloquent plea for patience, reason and co-operation. Yet his words were relegated to Inside In-side pages. Apparently only diplomatic diplo-matic stupidity rates front-page attention. at-tention. . . . The Sovvy sheet (Pravda) pounced on Churchill for endangering "peace" by hurling threats at Russia. But the same editorial edi-torial taunted Britain with threats. . . . That's the trouble with today's sad planet. Nations claim they desire de-sire peace without acting like they believe their own words. . . . Those lashing Russia with the Soviet-Nazi Soviet-Nazi Pact neglect to mention, Britain also signed a pact with Ger-rnany Ger-rnany at Munich. ... In a curious display of logic one New York editorialist edi-torialist argued that G.I. newspapers newspa-pers shouldn't have as much freedom free-dom of press as civilian papers. Depriving De-priving soldiers of a free press is; a shabby payoff for their protection, of every paper's freedom including includ-ing the U. S. press. The Comic Section: Tallulah. Bankhead prob'ly doesn't recall It but It was during the run of her hit, "The Little Foxes." . . . Several back-stage visitors were from the South. Two from Alabama said they were cousins to the Bankhead tribe- they mentioned places, dates and many names which didn't mean much to Talu. . . . "Oh," she said, "everybody from the South is my cousin, it seems." . . . This wa overheard by another Southerner, nervously waiting to meet her. . . . "Though I'm a great admirer of yours," he gulp'd, "I'm NOT your cousin!" ... To which she grinned: "Then you're NO Suthinner!" The Moom-Pitchizz: Rita Hay-worth Hay-worth makes "Gilda" a tense romantic ro-mantic eyefilm. The suspense-laden script can only be matched by thrilling thrill-ing visual roller-coasting around Jtita's curves. . . . "Cinderella Jones" is a feathery slice of sky-larkery sky-larkery which has all the fragility of a soap bubble. Pert Joan Leslie keeps It bubbling. . . . "Whistle Stop" offers a bare knuckle tale, sinewy enough to wrestle with. George Raft gives the picture its muscles. . . . The British lion's latest cinematic cine-matic cub is "Vacation from Marriage." Mar-riage." Sounds In the Night: At the Greenwich Green-wich Village Inn: "Churchill' speeches prove he's just an old Tory-teller." Tory-teller." ... At Armando's: "They caught him trying to smuggle a dollar dol-lar bill into Miami." ... At tha Blue Angel: '"After Churchill's speech Hitler must be laughing up his shroud." ... At Ciro's: "I don' like his gigolooks." ... At the Gamecock: "She's been married so often they no longer throw rice they throw ditto marks." . . . The Garden: "Poor guy he's suITering from femlninsomnla." |