Searchlights and Shadows by Turnbull Martin

Author:Turnbull, Martin [Turnbull, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rothesay Press
Published: 2015-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

26

Marcus and Kathryn strolled out of the Egyptian Theatre and headed up the long forecourt toward Hollywood Boulevard. The night air was cooling now that Thanksgiving was around the corner. They stopped in front of the marquee and watched an usher perched on a ladder removing the letters: Special RKO preview “Higher And Higher” starring Frank Sinatra. The rest of the audience skirted around them as they exited.

Marcus took Kathryn’s hand and folded it into the crook of his arm. He caught the faint whiff of the sweet carnation corsage pinned to her jacket. It smelled like Pennsylvania to him. Or maybe Pennsylvania has been on my mind more than usual lately. “What did you think?”

“Pretty good,” she said, “seeing as how it’s his first movie. He told me at Kay Thompson’s birthday party last week he was anxious because if he didn’t make a complete ass of himself, Mayer would approach RKO about buying out his contract. Apparently, Mayer cried when he heard Frank sing ‘Ol’ Man River.’”

They stood on the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard and watched a streetcar rattle past them. “You want to head home?”

Kathryn shook her head. “I’m wide awake. Let’s amble.”

They headed west toward Highland Avenue, crossed the boulevard, and were soon passing the Hollywood Hotel.

“Speaking of Mayer,” Kathryn said, squeezing his hand with her elbow, “how’re things at work these days? You don’t talk about it much.”

Marcus blew a long, wet raspberry. “I always thought that in Hollywood, you were only as good as your last movie. Well, my last movie was one of the top three moneymakers for the year, so there goes that theory.”

“Maybe you should get into the black-market business with Gwennie,” Kathryn suggested with a laugh. “She tells me she’s making buckets of cash since she teamed up with Linc.”

They stopped to let a black Mercedes-Benz sedan pull into the driveway of the Hollywood Hotel. It was the first one Marcus had seen in a while—most German cars had quietly disappeared since America entered the war. “I campaigned for both Meet Me In St. Louis and the one we’re doing about Marie Curie, but got knocked back. Ditto that new horse picture, National Velvet. Then I really went all out for Song Of Russia, because that’s our big contribution to pro-Soviet/anti-Axis relations. I figured if I could talk my way onto that picture, it’d prove to Mayer that I’m as red-blooded as any American. But all I got was ‘nyet.’”

“So what now?”

“New tactic: come up with my own flag-waving, patriotism-inspiring story.” He furtively patted the letter in his breast pocket. He needed reassurance that it was still there before he showed it to Kathryn.

She pulled them to a stop. “Let’s watch them turn off all the lights.”

Theaters were now subject to a citywide dim-out. At ten p.m., they had to switch off every outside light. Angelenos no longer feared a surprise Japanese air attack, but until the Allied Pacific forces stormed Tokyo, everybody agreed: Why take a chance?

Marcus and Kathryn lingered on the sidewalk as Grauman’s switched off their lights in four stages.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.