Evening star. [volume], August 17, 1947, Page C-6, Image 43

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
What’s in a Name?
There’s a Long Life for Movies Having
Characters Audiences Recall
By Jay Carmody
The favorite cad of some movie people we know has a test he
applies to screen fans who chortle that such and such a picture is the
best movie they ever saw. The dialogue at such times usually goes
like this:
Cad: So that was your favorite picture? Well, well, well. What
was the name of the principle male character?
Pan: I don’t exactly remember, now that you mention it, but
there was this boy, see
Cad: No, I don’t see. If that was the best movie you ever saw in
your life, how could you forget the name of the hero? You remember
the names of characters in the books you enjoy; in tlie case of the
best books you never forget them. What, for instance, was the name
of the Kero in "Wuthering Heights”?
Pan: Heathcliffe, but I don’t see what that has to do with what
we are talking about!
It’s Not That Effective.
The test is not the effective thing its sponsor believes it to be,
but he does have a point that Hollywood does find proved in the
case of its most enduringly successful works.
The most successful of all of these, "Gone With the Wind,” is now
on display here. After eight years and more than $20,000,000 worth
of customers, it still is drawing capacity audiences. Even in THAT
weather which followed its opening on Thursday, there were lines
at the box office. By now it is fairly well agreed that these were not
there because of Clara Gable and Vivien Leigh, but rather to see'
Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. A large percentage of those in
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conscious of Miss Leigh’s repute as an actress. They have heard of
Scarlett, however, a fictional heroine whose place in distaff history in
America is more dramatically real than that of Betsy Ross, Clara
Barton and a score of ethers who actually lived heroic lives.
Miss Mitchell Responsible.'
It was Margaret Mitchell of Atlanta, Ga., the original author, who
assured the success of the motion picture which has made more
money than any other, and which goes on having fabulous popularity
eveiy time it reappears. She gave it this long life by giving it living
characters, indentiflnable humans whose experiences, passions, joys
and sorrows audiences could share.
Miss Mitchell coined such characters on an almost fantastic scale,
not merely in the case of Scarlett and Rhett, or of Ashley and
Melanie, but of dozens of lesser ones ranging from father Gerald
O’Hara through Belle Watling. These were all powerfully played in
the picture which David O. Selznick produced and cast with such
discrimination. But underneath, they were all powerfully written
and memorable before they fell into the competent hands of Miss
Leigh, Gable, the late Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Thomas
Mitchell, etc.
They were humans before they were transmuted into actors and
happily remained human afterward.
Even Crosby Had an Alias.
The character name test is an interesting one to apply—if one
has nothing better to do—to best pictures of the years and to Academy
Award-winning performances by outstanding stars. Even if it is not
as effective as its author maintains, and lacks the significance he
attaches to it, it is not a bad way to while away the listless minutes
of a humid day.
One can take, for example, the character -portrayed by Bing
Crosby in his prize-winning “Going My Way.’’ No personality in
Hollywood is Crosby's equal in absorbing the creation of an author.
It is such a quick way to obliteration—but with marvelous profits—
that any writer might well think twice of his character before
intrusting it to Bing. There are those who will say that not even
Hamlet could resist Crosby, which it about as close to the unchal
iengeaDie as trutn can come.
Yet between them, the man written by Leo McCreary and the
one acted by Crosby left their common mark so definitely that few
who saw the picture will fail to recall that the young priest’s name
was Chuck O’Malley.
Tracy Won for Manuel.
Even if it were not a classic, and readily referrable on many a
library shelf, the “Captains Courageous” role in one of Spencer
Tracy’s Academy victories was that of the fisherman Manuel.
Even a drama and movie reviewer who encounters so many
fictional characters that he scarcely can remember his own name, is
surprised to find he needs no reference book to recall the hero’s name
to “The Philadelphia Story” which won James Stewart his Oscar.
The fellow’s name was Mike, or this department is going to have to
eat a lot of words starting today.
The test is amusing, if nothing more, when it leaps back over the
years to Joan Fontaine’s periormance in “Rebecca” and realizes that
the character she Rjayed in that was a girl identified as “she.”
Last year's prize lor male acting went to Fredric March for
has portrait of A1 Stephenson in "The Best Years of Our Lives.” And,
vno one should have any trouble recalling that Joan Crawford got
hers the year before for that woman, Mildred Pierce.
----
. For Audiences’ Protection
By tht Associated Press
HOLLYWOOD.
The Production Code, under which
American motion picture studios
voluntarily censor their own prod
uct, does not apply outside the
United States. Every major pro
ducer, however, maintains special
facilities to see that his films con
form to the various standards of
good taste prevailing in every
country where the pictures will be
shown.
A good example is “Fiqsta,”
which Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
filmed largely in Mexico. Bull
fighting figures prominently in the
story, but in the United States this
sport is never shown in entirety on
the screen. Blood-letting is also
frowned upon in other English
speaking nations, in Scandinavia
and in some other parts of Europe.
As a result, the bullfighting scenes
in several versions of “Fiesta” are
sharply curtailed. The American
version, for instance, show's little
more than the skill and grace of the
matador in dodging his horned ad
versary. There are no picadors, and
the bull is not killed or even in
jured. The studio has followed
explicitly the instructions laid down
by the Motion Picture Association,
or Johnston Office, which admin
isters the production code.
However, moviegoers in many
countries, including Spain and the
Latin-American republics, will see
all phases of the bullfights which
were filmed for “Fiesta,” the studio
has announced. These scenes
feature four world-famous mata
* dors—Escudero, Estudiante and Ca
lesero of Spain, and Briones of
Mexico—and 25 blooded fighting
bulls, all engaged expressly for the
picture.
The Production Code does not
specifically prohibit the showing of
bullfights. Nonetheless, it contains
one clause confining violence u>
the bounds of good taste, and an
other requiring consultation with
the Humane Society on any scene
which might be construed as cruelty
to animals.
Both these restrictions are
variable, and insofar as the United
States is concerned either would
eliminate bullfighting.
Some countries dislike cinema
themes based on divorce. Others!
object to the portrayal of certain;
crimes. Nearly all protest against
unnecessarily gruesome detail.
Thus, a film may be edited in five
or six versions before its worldwide
release. Respopsibility for this task
rests with the studio foreign de
partment.
Like any set of rules, the Produc
tion Code frequently decrees litnita
tions bordering on the absurd. To
cite only one instance, United States
audiences may not see a slain per
son twice. Once the body has fallen
to the floor or ground it can not be
photographed there in entirety.
The dialogue of a picture shown
in the United States can not in
clude cries of "Fire!” presumably
for fear of panic among the au
dience. The words "louse” and
“lousy” are never used in any
sense.
The list of forbidden terms is
long and ever-changing, although
it consists chiefly of profanity and
suggestive slang.
Equally long is the catalogue of
topics which may receive only re
stricted treatment in films. These
include abduction, execution, seduc
ffon, vise of firearms or alcoholic
beverages, and almost every crime
against the person.
Report on Bergen
Ry the Associated Press
HOLLYWOOD.
Excerpts from a' letter from
♦‘taw^He McCarthy:
“There is an ugly rumor going
around that Bergen has turned
legitimate and that I am through.
They also say I’ve worried myself
so thin I can sleep in a pencil
sharpener. Let me say I’m enjoying
dandy health and am as happy as
the day I killed my first wood
pecker.
“Now as for Bergen's acting,
that’s a long story—and a dirty
one. Some say it's out of this
world. I say keep it there.
“However, it is true that, he is
doing a straight role in ‘I Remember
Mama.’ He was chosen to play the
dopey Norwegian undertaker after
it was turned down by every other
actor.”
LAST TIME TONIGHT
FREDDIE BARTHOLOMEW in “The Hasty Heart”
With Nancy Holland ond Michael Howard
Beginning Tueeday
FRITZI SCHEFF and ESTELLE WINWOOD
in
"LADIES IN RETIREMENT"
With Nancy Holland and Michael Howard
DIRECTED BT CHARLES S. DCBIN
DESIGN BT RANDALL BROOKS
Tuotday through Sunday—8:45
Tieketi: Ballard *. 1300 O St. N.W. ME. 7S1S
Admission: *1.20, *1.80. *2.40
i i
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■m*-’ ■.■.w.v./.-vVvi'.wwmwww’ii i i n, m i w i——^—————a————
JI/Sr A DREAMER—Being two of the flights from reality heavy odds. Right: Mr. Kaye again, as Walter Mitty, RAF
\ that have emerged in the translation to the screen of James hero, bored by the adulation offered by the same beauteous
Thurber’s masterpiece, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” heroine, Miss Mayo. The picture is scheduled for showing at
Left: Danny Kaye, as Two-Gun Walter Mitty, protects the the Palace, in the near future,
beauteous heroine, Virginia Mayo, in a six-shooter duel against
Making the Talent Scout’s Job Easier
Little Theaters, Where Would-Be Film Stars Show Their Skills,
Abound in the Hollywood Area
By Harold Heffernan
HOLLYWOOD.
Studio talent scouts find their
duties greatly simplified these days.
No longer is there the necessity for
more than an occasional extended
trip through the hinterlands. They
don't have to peer behind soda foun
tains, lingerie counters, scour the
gas stations around Hollywood or
frequent the beaches in search of
fresh talent, beauty and potential
stardust.
A new actor reservoir has. almost
overnight, revolutionized the old
system of digging up replacements
for the screen. And it has its fast
spreading roots embedded right in
the heart of movieland. The Jane
Russells and Dorothy Lamours of
tomorrow are being groomed here
on Hollywood's doorstep.
Today, the talent scout has only
to book himself for a round of the
Little Theaters, Group Theaters,
Laboratory Theaters, Tryout Thea
ters and Maybe-We-Can-Get-There
Theaters that have sprung up dur
ing the past couple of years within
a 50-mile radius of the film factories
—something like mushrooms in a
cowyard after a hard rain.
Like mushrooms, too, sortie are
edible and some are not: some are
honest and some are suspect; some
are legitimate and some are just
plain graft. And it takes a pretty
shrewd individual to ferret out the
glib-tongued crooks that prey far
and wide on naive youngsters pour
ing out here from every portion of
the land, equipped with neat bank
rolls that beg to-be exchanged for
movie-learnin’.
The dishonest ones (far too many)
trade on the most gullible and vul
nerable of all human suckers, the
stage or screen-struck youngster
who has an abiding faith that it
was good luck alone which elevated
Alan Ladd, Bette Davis, Paulette
Goddard and other stars to the po
sitions of honor and affluence they
hold today.
Ask Ladd, Bette or Paulette what
part luck had to do with their suc
cess, and you’ll get a snort in reply.
They may have had a break here
and there, up and down the ladder,
but hard work, study and the knacl?
of taking advantage of an opportu
nity when it knocked were the in
strumental factors in their aduous
climb.
Today, one studio talent scout
gives a hasty estimate: There are
50 or 60 so-called Little Theater
groups active in the magic Holly
Today’s Schedules
CAPITOL—“Copacabana,” 1:55,
4:40, 7:25 and 10 p.m. Stage
shows: 1:05, 3:50, 6:35 and
9:15 p.m.
COLUMBIA—“The Fabulous
Dorseys,” 1:40, 3:35, 5:35, 7:35
and 9:35 pm.
EARLE—“Welcome Stranger,”
1, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30 and 9:40 p.m.
HIPPODROME — “Henry the
Eighth,” 2:05, 4:05, 6, 8 and
10 p.m.
KEITH’S—“Slave Girl." 1:35,
3:35, 5:35, 7:35 and 9:35 p.m.
LITTLE—“The Scarlet Pimper
nel,” 2:25, 5:30 and 8:40 pm.
METROPOLITAN—“The Corpse
Came C. O. D..” 1:25, 3:30,
5:35, 7:45 and 9:50 pm.
PALACE—“Gone With the
Wind,” 1:15, 5:15 and 9:15
p.m.
PIX—"Dillinger,” 1, 3:20, 5:40,
8 and 10:20 p.m.
TRANS-LUX—News and shorts.
Continuous from 1 p.m.
Air-Conditioned for Health and Comfort •
BeeiScq
4th < H N.W. • Newsreels & Shorts
SENATE ENDS PROBE A*
HUGHES BLASTS BREWSTER
The New MARCH OF TIME!
"Turkey'* $100,000,000”
WMAL NEWSCAST- LAST SHOW 1045
BING CROSBY
/ JOAN CAULFIELD
BARRY FITZGERALD
| \ in Pmmmum's Hit (* — V
Pffi NEWS
GEORGE BRENT
JOAN BLONOEU
In Coluniba's __
CSoo-WARNEfrfolfi^EW^
I
wood circle—that is, within a short
motor trip from the studios.
Ten years ago there were a mere
dozen that got any notice whatso
ever. And 20 years ago there were
but one or two. That was before
talkies, of course, and any one with
a tinge of dramatic training had
much lees chance than the boy or
girl who could boast of nothing
more than a handsome pan.
Drama in a Tent.
Now, in the year 1947, practically
every school and college in Southern
California has a student drama
class. Some film companies, spon
sor Little Theater “live” produc
tions. The Selznick summer group,
called the Actors’ Company and
holding forth in the cooling sea
breezes at nearby La Jolla, offered
“Dear Ruth” as one of its neatly
done presentations.
It made no difference that “Dear
Ruth” is Paramount screen prop
erty, and that Paramount's Diana
Lynn played Ruth in the stellar role.
Diana was pretty fair, too. But not
as assured as she is on the screen.
Another group of drama-minded
summerites put up a tent just off
Highway 101 in the San Fernando
Valley and there, nightly, offered
“Dear Ruth,” “Dream Girl,” “State
of the Union” or other of 1947’s
Little Theater favorites. These
were played against an obbligato of
truck noises, motor backfires and
hot-rod roarings which merely
n a#] 4 a +U a pnfirfnof a f H all
And. oh, yes, theirs was called the
Tent Theater.
Other groups include the long
established Geller Workship, the
Call Board, the Altadena Penthouse,
the Circle Players, the Santa Mon
ica Stock Company, the Conserva
tory' Theater and the Starlets
Group.
Have Own Theaters.
The Immaculate Heart Convent
of Los Angeles sponsors an active
and successful summer group. North
Hollywood and the Los Angeles As
sistance League, the Ebell Club and
the Ben Bard Players (also an old
timer) have their own theaters and
well-equipped stages.
These auditoriums may be leased
on a nightly or weekly basis by other
theater organizations which have
no roofs, box offices, curtains or
backdrops to call their own.
The same studio talent scout
quoted before, and who obviously
must have his anonymity respected,
points out that any such listing of
Little Theater groups active in or
near Hollywood must—of necessity—
be incomplete. Some deserving to
be mentioned must be omitted be
cause of oversight or lack of space.
Others not worthy might easily be
included, with the resultant implied
indorsement.
Alan Allyn, editor of a Hollywood
magazine called Talent Review,
aimed at radio, television and studio
talent scouts, is a self-appointed
enemy of these unscrupulous drama
groups and so-called training
schools that promise a "career” for
a fee.
—
He "aenea (ana namea names)
[one television school, recently, to
prove that it or its equipment could
prepare any one for anything. A
“school” to train children for a
screen career, he termed, “just a
new way to dispose of lousy photo
graphs.”
Enterprising School.
But the good drama groups, such
as tl)e Pasadena Playhouse (which,
incidentally, is not a school but a
commercial theater) do turn out
promising screen material every now
and then. Bette Davis. Alan Ladd,
Howard da Silva, William Holden,
Olivia de Havilland, Macdonald Ca
rey. Virginia Welles, Robert Preston
and any number of others came up
from Little Theater (or amateur)
training. *
Dozens and scores of the younger
players on the contract lists of all
the studios, the so-far unheard-ofs,
came out of last year’s and the cur
rent Little Theater-around-Holly
wood crop.
But the most enterprising West
Coast organization of them all is
the Elizabeth Holloway School of
the Theater of San Francisco. Miss
Holloway picked up her classes of
some 50 or more young hopefuls
and packed them—bag, baggage and
all—into Hollywood, where, leasing
a rental theater, she had them pre
sent “The Man Who Came to Din
ner” in a highly professional way.
Studio talent scouts were there in
droves. No tests or contracts have
been the immediate result, so far
as we have been able to ascertain.
But something certainly should come
of it—if nothing more than addi
tional invading Little Theater work
ers. And that, Hollywood definitely
is not encouraging. The market is
glutted already. And the ways are
fraught with danger.
(Released by North American Newspaper
Alliance. Inc.i
Only a Decoy
By the Associated Press
HOLLYWOOD.
On an expense sheet mailed home
by Jules Dassin from New York,
where he's directing “The Naked
City,” was this item:
"One Juggler, not to-be seen in
the picture.”
Auditors, as is their wont,
howled: Why pay for a juggler if
he’s not going to be in the picture?
Dassin explained: New York
crowds always get in the way when
he tries to shoot a street scene, so
he finally hired a juggler to work
about 50 feet away.
The juggler begins his act just i as
the camera starts rolling and the
interest of the crowd is on him—
not on the camera.
nowARDili
MERLE OB€*ON|MmTg||fff
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'/Oil SIR ALEXANDER KORDA PRESENTS
A DE BURGOS-INTERNATIONAL RELEASE
eUntu LAUGHTON
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SECOND WEEK! -
OPEN 1:45
HIP in session. CARY GRANT, bachelor-about-town, and MYRNA
LOY, glamorous judge, find each other in this closeup from RKO't The
Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer. SHIRLEY TEMPLE’s crush an Cary compli
cates matters, makes film year's biggest laugh riot.
COMING WED. AUGUST 20-RK0 KEITH’S
t
“1 i "
Broadway:
Eddie Dowling
And Partner
Are Busy
By Jack O'Brian
While the Theater Guild usually
has its corporate finger in more dra
matic pies each season than any
other theatrical organization, a
couple of fellows named Eddie
Powling and Louis J. Singer seem
set to give the great Guild planners
a run for its heavy money.
Dowling and Singer got together
first to present Tennessee Williams’
"The Glass Menagerie” a couple of
seasons ago, with such success that
it romped off with a good many of
the season's honors. They now have
"Our Lan\” readying for a Broad
way premiere October 4.
Julie Haydon, who appeared in
"The Glass Menagerie,” and in such
other Dowling successes as “The
Time of Your Life” and "Shadow
and Substance,” has been engaged
to play a school teacher in “Our
Lan’.” Dowling is staging the pro
duction personally. The Theater
Guild is clasping hands with Dowl
ing and Singer and has added it to
its list of productions to be seen this
season by Guild subscribers.
, The second Dowling-Singer pro
duction will be "Heaven Help the
Angels,” an intimate revue starring
the dance team known in fashion
able supper clubs as the Hartmans.
“Heaven Help the Angels” is slated
for a first night some time after
mid-October.
me ujira item 15 me mgmeous
Are Bold,” by Frank Carney, and
the producers are hopefully haggling
with David O. Selznick for the serv
ices of Dorothy McGuire, last seen
on Broadway as the star of "Clau
dia,” with the opening date ap
parently dependent on Miss Mc
Guire's availability, The Dowling
Singer partnership also has several
other plays and one opera sim
mering.
Cuff Stuff: Angna enters, a young
lady whose artistic enthusiasm runs
off, like Stephen Leacock's horse,
in all directions, has a second play
to add to her previous accomplish
ments as a serious dancer, painter,
sculptor, movie script writer and a
few minor accomplishments which
make her our foremost esthetic
parallel for the one-armed paper
hanger. . . . Miss Enters’ new play,
(See O’BRIAN, Page C-7.)
AND (AIT COOm IN
I 'NORTHWEST
MOUNTED POLICE"
I IN THIIUIIK TECHNIC0KH1
Another Step Forward
—————————-1— ; ■
With Motherhood Nearing, Shirley Temple
Embraces More Mature Film Roles
By Howard C. Heyn
HOLLYWOOD.
Shirley Temple, captivating juve
nile for a dozen years, is now an
attractive young matron approach
ing motherhood—yet to most of the
movie public she is still a child.
It is hard to predict how long this
Peter Pan legend will prevail. In
countries where the war impeded
distribution of her films she is still
being seen on the screen as a 7
year-old.
Perpetuation of her babyhood is
understandable, in such cases. But
even in America the same feeling
persists among many of her admir
ers. Shirley herself is somewhat
puzzled.
“All people have to do,” she pb
served in an interview, “is to look
at their own children. I'm sure they
will discover that we all grow up.”
"Perhaps you should remember,”
suggested a studio colleague, “that
you have become an American in
stitution.”
An Adult Role.
Shirley frowned. “I don't like
that word ‘institution.’ ”
As child and adult Shirley’s career
extends over 15 years. Now she is
making the transition from adoles
cent to mature roles.
She has been loaned by Producer
David O. Selznick to Warner Bros,
for “That Hagen Girl,” with Ronald
Reagan. This presents her as a
young woman in a small town, the
victim of vicious gossip concerning
her legitimacy. Unaware for a
time, in the story, that she has
been legally adopted, she even at
tempts suicide.
.nais. George xempie, smriey s
mother, hopes the public will like
her as an adult.
“In previous pictures Shirley has
had problems, of course, but these
have usually been the problems of
other people in the story,” said Mrs.
Temple. "Now she portrays a wom
an, with serious problems of her
own.”
Looking Ahead.
Shirley is confident that she will
bridge successfully the gap between
youthful and mature roles, a process
which many young actresses ha\>e
found extremely difficult. She’s
pretty, and her long experience is
evident in her work.
Mrs. Temple seems to have ac
cepted with equanimity the fact of
Shirley’s maturity.
"I’m already looking ahead to
the new generation,” she said with
a smile. "Perhaps there will be
a new Shirley.”
The blond little actress happily
announced, July 21, that she antici
pated a baby next January. She
also is looking forward to her
next picture. "War Party,” in which
she will apear for the first time
with her husband, John G. Agar,
26, whom she married in Septem
ber, 1945. This film, to be directed
by John Ford, will mark Agar’s
screen debut.
Miss Temple (she likes to be called
ComingAttractions
NATIONAL — "The Red Mill,”
starting tomorrow night.
CAPITOL—“The Arnelo Affair,"
with John Hodiak, starting
Thursday.
COLUMBIA—“i Wonder Who’s
Kissing Her Now," with Mark
Stevens, starting Thursday.
EARLE — “Deep Valley," with
Ida Lupino and Wayne Morris.
HIPPODROME—“This Happy
Breed.” with Celia Johnson.
KEITH’S—"The Bachelor and
the Bobby-Soxer,” with Cary
Grant, starting Wednesday.
LITTLE—“Johnny Frenchman,"
with Francoise Rosay.
METROPOLITAN—'"The Gun
fighters,” with Randolph
Scott, starting Thursday.
PALACE—“Variety Girl," with
an all-star cast.
PIX—“The Game of Death.”
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Mrs. Agar) nas no quanns aoour
the forthcoming assignment. How
ever, rumors that her condition
would prevent her acceptance of
the role in Ford’s film, a Western,
because she .could not ride horse
back, have disturbed her.
It's Nothing New.
“Mr. Ford knew I was going to
have a baby more than a month
before I announced it,” she said.
“I had informed him, naturally, in
discussing his picture. But he
didn’t tell a soul. He has assured
me that he will have me ‘car
ried around on a feather cushion'
if necessary. I won’t have to ride
horseback, or do anything else that
cduld possibly hurt me.
"Besides, I have no intention of
sitting around idle, worrying about
myself. My doctor told me to live
a normal life, within reason, for
as long as possible. After all, hav
ing a baby ish’t exactly new. It's
been going on for years.'
Neverthelesse, Shirley’s relatives
are in close attendance on the “That
Hagen Girl” set. Her mother is
almost always there, and her father
and her mother-in-law stand by
much of the time. John watches
over her solicitously whenever prep
arations for his screen debut per
mit.
When a studio attache asked her
what kind of career she planned
for her child, Shirley snapped:
“Are you kidding? It's going to
have the career of a baby!”
It Isn t Only Barter
That Buys Tickets
To Barter Theater
By tht Associated Pres*
NEW YORK,
Prom Abingdon. Va„ Robert Por
terfield, a leading exponent of the
drama below’ the Mason-Dixon Line,
informs us that no longer will a rag,
a bone or a hank of ham be ac
cepted'as admission to his highly
professional tributary theater.
“Uncle Sam refuses to accept po
tatoes or spinach for amusement
tax, is the way Bob put It, thereby
ending at his theater the depres
sion-born and highly engaging idea
of trading a bologna, say, for a front
seat’at a play.
Now that the‘folks in Virginia
are able to support the provincial
dramatics handsomely, with a tidy
assist from their State government
in the form of an annual $10,000
grant, Porterfield wishes to dispel
a few fallacies.
“The Barter Theater does not now
and never has been a playhouse to
w’hich patrons are admitted on the
payment of produce,” Bob empha
sizes.
“Back in the awful depression
days, when we founded the theater
in Abingdon, many persons could
not afford the price of tickets. So
we inaugurated the practice of en
couraging these to pay their way in
with Droduce or services. Thus was
born the name ‘Barter Theater.1
Today very few bring produce to the
box office, but the picturesque name
is retained.”
Bob points out that the Barter
troupe is strictly a company gov
erned by regulations of Actors’
Equity, the only such permanent
professional company in the South
It is composed mostly of players •
with excellent Broadway records,
such as Carrol McComas. Gordon
Somers, Alexander Ivo, Herbert Nel
son and Dor. Hart.
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