I Love My Husband, But—

[Leslie Howard as Peter Standish
in Berkeley Square, 1933

Norma Shearer, in an article "I love my husband, but—" for Modern Screen, June 1935, describes Leslie Howard:

"There was Leslie Howard . . . Leslie, true spiritual, who can wear the lace frills and bend the knee with such grace and conviction. Leslie with those amazing blue eyes that so 

Howard Meets Davis - Part Two

Upon arriving in Hollywood in the fall of 1933 to begin filming Of Human Bondage (1934) Leslie Howard found that nothing was ready. Even though RKO had urged him to hurry up and return from England, Howard found himself sitting around waiting, as usual. The cast had not been selected and it appeared the studio was in no hurry. Howard sat through Christmas in California without his children who were old enough to decide where they wanted to be and they had opted to stay at home in Stowe Maries. He fumed. And bought horses.

The director of the film, John Cromwell, had noticed Bette Davis in The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) and thought she would be perfect for the role of Mildred Rogers. Pandro S. Berman, who was producing the film, agreed. Meantime, after Bette Davis was shown the screenplay by Wilson Mizner and Davis learned that RKO owned the rights to the film she petitioned Jack Warner to let her try for the part of Mildred Rogers. Other actresses had turned down the part, unwilling to be shown in such an unflattering light. But Davis was not afraid. After much back and forth and trade agreements Davis got the part.

Howard was shocked and dismayed.

To be continued...

[Leslie Howard and Bette Davis
in Of Human Bondage, 1934]

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Howard Meets Davis - Part One

[Leslie Howard on the set for Of Human Bondage, 1934]

Leslie Howard's initial experience with Bette Davis was one of disinterest and disapproval.

Howard was in England during the summer of 1933. Having completed Columbia's first film there, The Lady Is Willing (1934), Howard moved on to the Talbot Jennings play This Side Idolatry set in 1592 London with Howard acting as Shakespeare. According to Howard's daughter,

History Repeats Itself, Again

Ok. So let's get real. Neither The Dickstein Bill nor Mr. Murray W. Garsson was actually gunning for the Marlene Dietrichs or the Maurice Chevaliers or the Leslie Howards. Those people always have teams of lawyers on the case. It was aimed at "a lot of 'extras' over here who are foreigners...Those people will not be allowed here." And no more renewing of six-month visas by making a weekend trip to Agua Caliente and calling the return to Hollywood Monday morning a re-entry.

So, you might be wondering why I am even talking about Mr. Murray W. Garsson or The Dickstein Bill. Well, what those experts say, you remember the ones I talked about yesterday, is that The Dickstein Bill, even though it never passed into law, led the country right into The Hollywood Blacklist. It seems that an ambitious Congressman from east Texas, Martin Dies, resuscitated the bill and out of his efforts the House Committee of Un-American Activities was formed. And we all should know what happened next. If you don't, look it up. In the words of President Harry S. Truman it was the "most un-American thing in the country today."

So next time you hear someone saying they have a solution that will solve all our problems, and it involves the elimination of one group or another, you might want to think about Mr. Murray W. Garsson and The Dickstein Bill. Remember, no matter how well intentioned Mr. Garsson was, his efforts to rid America of undocumented and over-staying immigrants eventually ended up hurting and even destroying the lives of a lot of good people, very American people. If I may borrow a quote by David G. McAfee and rephrase it a bit: If for every well-intended idea uttered in hopes of making one's world a better place, there was instead a good deed accomplished, the world might look as though those ideas had come to fruition.

Have a great weekend everybody!

[Leslie Howard Aboard Europa, UK to NYC,
November 27, 1934]

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Let's Legislate Them Away

Continuing my theme for the week of making Mr. Murray W. Garsson famous again...

Well, it seems Mr. Garsson had a solution to America's problem of "them furr-in-ers." What solution you ask. The Dickstein Bill.

Ok. I am no expert on The Dickstein Bill and I don't plan to be, although some are. But there are books written about The Dickstein Bill. The Dickstein Bill would have greatly affected the "foreign colony" in Hollywood. The bill would prohibit the bringing of foreign players, directors, writers or technicians, unless they are of proven worth and have genius in their line. Does anyone see the problem here? It would be the government's business to decide who is a genius in a business they know absolutely nothing about. Can you imagine some schmuck sitting in a gray government building in a gray government cubbyhole scratching his gray government hair trying to decide if Marlene Dietrich is a "genius" or not? Well, even the government knew that would not work.

So, The Dickstein Bill would require the studios to present a signed and sworn affidavit to the Immigration Department stating that Marlene Dietrich is the only person on earth who can be Marlene Dietrich and that no actress in America could be Marlene Dietrich.

Oy vey. The conclusion tomorrow.

[Leslie Howard with Marlene Dietrich,
Palm Springs, 1939]

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A Word In the Right Ear

Yesterday, I began to tell you about a movement by one government employee, a Mr. Murray W. Garsson, to rid from American soil all those pesky foreigners like Marlene Dietrich, Charles Chaplin and Greta Garbo.

Well, according to Mr. Garsson the whole thing started when the Actors' Equity Association and the Lambs Club of New York got hold of Mr. Garsson and bent his ear about the "influx of foreign players who, they declared, were taking the jobs that belong to Americans...for less money than the Americans have been accustomed to."

And it seems that once Mr. Garsson knocked on the doors of the big studio executives asking for the records of their employees, said studio executives were only too happy to comply. Now you know when big business is only too happy to comply with the government's request for information it usually means they are hoping something else stays hidden. Or maybe it had to do with Mr. Garsson's arrest of John Farrow, the future father of Mia Farrow, a lowly writer at the time and Mia only a twinkle in daddy's eye. The arrest came the first week Mr. Garsson started throwing his weight around in Hollywood.

More tomorrow...

[Leslie Howard leaving America for
the last time, August 22, 1939]

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History Repeating Itself?

Back in the early 1930's there was a movement abroad in the land started by a few in Washington, in particular Murray W. Garsson, Special Assistant Secretary of Labor, to kick out all of "Hollywood's aliens." According to Mr. Garsson:

"I would not even venture a guess as to the number of foreign players illegally in Hollywood--there are so many of them. These people will have to get out and go back where they belong. We are doing this to protect American actors and actresses. We do not object to the bringing of a player like Chevalier here to do a part no one else can do. But we do object to hordes of players coming here and settling, many of them illegally and, while claiming allegiance to another flag, taking the work that is so badly needed by our own players."

The people who Mr. Garsson was targeting were not only actors, but also writers, directors and technicians. Among the "hordes" who were asked to make a hasty retreat back to "where they belong" were: George Arliss, Charles Chaplin, Elissa Landi, Marlene Dietrich, Lupe Velez, Maurice Chevalier, Greta Garbo, Gregory Ratoff, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Brent, Ronald Colman, Benita Hume, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and, of course, Leslie Howard, along with many others. And then there were those Americans who were married to "one of those" people who had to get out or be arrested and deported, such as Constance Bennett. And don't forget about those dangerous Canadians like Norma Shearer. Oh, right, she doesn't count. She had become naturalized. Sorry.

If Rudolph Valentino had still been alive at that time, I think it is safe to say that the women of America would have run Mr. Murray W. Garsson out of town on a rail.

More tomorrow...

[Leslie Howard on one of his many crossings]

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I'm Just Here For The Violin Lessons

Leslie Howard once stated that he didn't chase women but couldn't always be bothered to run away. However, while he was filming Captured! (1933) he was a frequent visitor to the set of Gold Diggers of 1933 which was filming in the next soundstage.

Apparently, he was so enthralled with all the women that when asked if he would take the salary cut being imposed by First National Films during the studio financial crisis of 1933, he quipped, "First, tell me, will those girls be working on The Gold Diggers of 1933 set very long?" After being informed that they would, Howard finally responded, "Well, in that case, just don't bother about cutting. I'll be only too happy to work for nothing."

[Leslie Howard and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., who were filming Captured!,
are being taught violin basics by Busby Berkeley, dance instructor
for Gold Diggers of 1933. Yes, their eyes really are on the violin.]
Modern Screen, July, 1933

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Too Tall for Leslie

Rehearsals began for The Animal Kingdom in November 1931. The play was to appear at the Broadhurst Theatre beginning in January, 1932. Leslie, the co-producer, was set to play Tom Collier and Bill Gargan had secured the part of his butler friend, "Red" Regan.

Katharine Hepburn had been cast in the part of Daisy Sage, Tom Collier's bohemian girlfriend. Hepburn only lasted through six days of rehearsal, though. According to Hepburn's biography, Me: Stories of My Life, she blamed Howard for her demise stating that she was too tall for him and that he was afraid she would run away with the play. In fact, Hepburn was at least three inches shorter than Howard and anyone who has studied Howard would know that he wouldn't care who emerged as the bigger star. As a matter of fact, the play's co-producer, Gilbert Miller, and the playwright, Philip Barry, thought Hepburn all wrong for the part. Even Bill Gargan noted that she was too inexperienced for the role which called for a passive femininity. A year later her performance in The Lake was panned by all the New York critics. Dorothy Parker wrote in The New Yorker that "she ran the gamut of emotions from A to B." [from Leslie Howard: The Lost Actor by Estel Eforgan]

Katharine didn't seem to hold a grudge though, as seen in the photo below.

[Leslie Howard and Katharine Hepburn
leaving a private screening at Jessie Lasky's
beach home in Santa Monica, May 12, 1933]

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Ronald Howard

Leslie Howard is shown photographing his son, Ronald Howard (1918 - 1996), who is in the pool. February 3, 1933, Palm Springs, California.

[Leslie Howard and son, Ronald Howard, 1933]

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