Sentimentally Yours . . .

Ten years ago, twelve-year-olds like Pat Crowley didn’t spend their movie allowances to see stars like Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Bill Powell, Jimmy Cagney, Edward G. Robinson. They were old—only people like parents went to see them!

But ten years make a difference to a twelve-year-old. They bring changes on the screen, too. Gable, the others, appeared less and less on the screen. Some disappeared altogether—Henry Fonda, to the stage, Robinson, Bill Powell, Cagney, into semi-retirement. Katie Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Ty Power, Cary Grant traveled, found other interests. And the screen lost something for their going. Young faces replaced them—Pat, “Rock Hudson, Debbie Reynolds, Dewey Martin, Russ Tamblyn, others. They had talent, ambition and the world—and Hollywood—was their oyster.

Then gradually the “old” actresses, the “old” actors came back. King Gable resumed the throne no one had filled, with “Mogambo.” Jimmy Cagney exploded back into movies with “Run for Cover,” “Love Me or Leave Me,” and “Mister Roberts.” That master of underplaying, Spencer Tracy, quietly took command with “Broken Lance” and “Bad Day at Black Rock.” Grant’s sophisticated comedy in “To Catch a Thief,” Bill Powell’s suave assurance in “Mister Roberts,” once more filled the screen with wit and charm. Inimitable Katie, in “Summertime,”

Henry Fonda in “Mister Roberts,” Ginger Rogers, in “Tight Spot,” stimulated the boxoffice with their spice, drama and grace.

And with them came others—younger veterans like Gordon MacRae, too long absent from the screen. Now he’s adding zest to the movie scene with his exuberant singing, fresh personality in “Oklahoma!” and “Carousel.”

And the youngsters felt the impact. The once-twelve-year-olds were grown-up now. Old enough to appreciate the acting know-how, experience, sure technique that had kept these magic names from fading from movie memories.

And the world has room for both—the older actors to teach the young, the young who must some day replace them as “older” stars. Movies have never looked brighter—or more exciting.

 

It is a quote. PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE DECEMBER 1955