1960-05-21 — Page 13

THE CHINA MAIL SATURDAY, MAY

1960.

THE BOOK PAGE

SO EXCITING THIS FLASHBACK TO

Roderick Mann

My girl Jane, by Mr. Fonda

JAZZ IN THE '30s HENRY FONDA got out of a taxi

just ahead of me. He was BLOW UP A STORM. By Garson Kanin. Heinemann. 18s, wearing a sports coat and flannels THIS highly accomplished first novel takes us and he looked in holiday mood-

into the world of serious jazz groups in which he was. America in the 'thirties, and makes us feel, very excitingly, how these young musicians formed their groups and what they got out of it.

Jazz was an intensely creative activity.. Each player in turn would improvise a section and the others would fall in with, back up, and reinforce his style and mood.

Perfection of co-ordination - often approached but rarely achieved carried the player's into a state of exallation unlike. anything else.

But the curious thing is that this co-ordination had nothing to do with anything but music. In life a group could be at com. plete odds with one another. So

it was with this group.

Sa

By RICHARD LISTER

CRIME SHELF

Sleeping Dogs Lying, Ken

O'Hara. Cassell, 158.

Woody, the leader, complicated character, a rich young man, whose spare time was devoted to modern poetry. Don, the bass player, liked good food women and the neth stimulation of a new drug. The Cloak and dagger story for narrator's real love was the

the connoisseur. Sophisticated, theatre.

The unpredictable Woody rattling good, objected to the introduction of coloureda to the group. especially to Sług. Abrams, a wonderful drummer with dangerous passion for drugs.

VIGOROUS

с

Contrary to the popular super sition the musicians of that ume didn't play on drugs and drink. They were forbidden on the stand; and Woody as fender was particularly strict about It.

But somehow and from some- where Slug kept getting hold of the stuff until he killed himself with it, dying in Woody's hotel room.

series of flashbacks.

credible, beautifully written, and exciting story about those strange, smooth men who describe themselves as civil servants and catch the 8.15 to town each morning for an- other day's spy-hunting,

The Chinese Goose, Helen kobertson. Macdonald, 12s, ed. Stolen awans masquerading on the menus of West End restau- rants as Chinese goose provide a main clue to vincing characters, honest story- telling, quality writing.

murder. Con-

Mayfair house, and as we walked up We were meeting at a friend's

the stairs Fonda said: “I bet you want to talk about my daughter Jane."

I said: "Yes," and he said. "I guessed it.".

Jane Fonda is the girl voted most likely to succeed in the 1980 gallery pt. new show business faces.

A stunning bionde of 22, she has just co-starred in her first Hollywood film, Tall Story, with Tony Perkins. And won hurrahs from the most hardened New York clues for her performance in the recent Broadway produc- tion, There Was A Little Girl.

Magical

I have seen ner. She has talent, brains, and beauty. She uses all three. But let Fonda talk:--

"Since Jane went into orbit," he said, "I don't get a look in. Nobody wants to talk about me. Only about Jane. Well, that's all right.

"The girl's going to be a big star.

that magical She has

quality presence. When she walks on stage, you look. And that's not just being a proud father. I despise stage fathers and mothers. That's a profes siopal assesment.

"I went to her opening night on Broadway. Her play began at eight and the one was in at 8.40-so I didn't have long.

"I made up for my part, pulled my hat over my eyes, and stood at the back for hair an bour watching her. It was pretty exciting, I can tell you. Then I had to race down Broadway to get to my Own theatre in time."

• Night on the Island, M. M kaye, Longmans, 13s, Ed.-Mur- ders among the close circle around the Residency in a "Was hers a good play?" group of Indian Ocean islands.

"No, and I told her so. But Nice people displaying their she came out of it smelling of nastier sides under the strain of roses. There was a party at mutual suspicion and uncer-Sardi's, the theatre restaurant,

alter the opening and back- tainty, and the tropical ground effortlessly and effective-wanted to go, I didn't want her to go because I knew what ly authentic.

would happen when the morn

ske

That was the beginning of Woody's disintegration. His story written in s vigorous, tough, fresh, idiom. is told in a The Alternate Case. Josephing papers were brought in.

F, Dinneen. Cassell, 188.-The "Sardi's a great place not to author is an American crime- be when your show has just reporter. His book is a fascinat- been panned. But she insisted, so I went too. She has to make her own mistakes.

Twenty-five years on. after the narrator has left jazz kingly detailed study of the work the theatre, he runs across Woody in Chicago, sick, broke that goes into the kind of big- and washed up as

time bank-robbery type crime a trumpet that is now becoming a London player.

commonplace. Cool, vivid, deadpan, detached,

exciting. More, please.

He tries to help Woody and gradually pieces together the

explanation of his decline, start-

Cause Of Death, Michael Hammond and

ing with the days when three of Underwood,

the group were in love with a Hammond,, 128, 6d--Conveni- French girl-himself, Woody and tional, competent, whodunit Slug.

about murder in a village in the Home Counties. Loving atten tion to trial scenes at local court and Old Bailey, Easy reading, rather short on excitement.

Woody's sickness is deeply embedded; it is used on chinoo fear and hatred of the coloureds, which expressed itself in his deliberate en- couragement to Shug op the road to self-desspurtion.

"Anyway, the papers came in and everyone in the restaurant read. them-with half an eye on Jane to see how she was taking it.

"The play was slaughtered.' Jane's eyes crossed just a Hitle when she read them then she smiled at me. I knew then shế (was a real profes- sional: Fortunately her own reviews were wonderful.” "Isn't she stullying with Lee Stribery of the Actors Studio?" Now. I know

• Killer's Choice. Ed McBain, "Yes, And she knows all Boardman, 103, 66.Tough, about The Method, I haven't laconic American detectives the slightest idea what it It was moto thin encourage-hunt down the killer of a wine- though Jane insists I use t

ment; Woody supplied the drugs.

The story takes us to the jazz

4

store sales girl. The story, docu-without knowing it. mentary, in style, has punch, "From my point of view the pace, a highly professional best thing about Jane's success clubs of London and Paris as economy, in the writing, and is is that now she and I talk the well as New York and Chicago, spiced with a dry, unobtrusive same language. We weren't, all and is extraordinarily successful | humour,

in capturing the passionale beat

that lay

behind these young

musicians' lives."

John Clarke

that close before. Now we are. Theatre is the only thing I understand, you see.

•

"I'm not really articulate

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FLOOR, MAWIŲ

1

SHOW

HER SUCCESS HAS PUT

ME IN THE BACKGROUND, BUT I AM PROUD OF HER.....

BUSINESS ★★★★

now Viterly de- OR

about anything else. And Jane's the same, cacated."

And his eyes grew moist.

What does Miss Margaret acting Legaton think of the ability of her husband Mr Laurence Harveyt

luncheon last week I asked her, I have often wondered so at And she said: "Well, to tell the truth the only performance of his that I've really thought first class was in Expresso Bongo. He had a confidence in that which made the whole thing seem no effort. It was,

thought, a much better per formance than he gave in Room At The Top, though, of not comparing the

I'ID

course, two pictures."

she and Larry differed most?

As artists, how did she feel

loves

That's easy," she said. "He getting up there on stage and acting. I don't. The whole business territes me.

"When he was touring with the Old Vic in America he just he wasn't acting. couldn't bear the nights when With me, now, it would have been just the other way round." Wondering.

Once a man is past his twenties, he rarely changes his And his parting hair-style. stays on the same side..

Not so, however, with Laurence Olivier.

Sir

In 1956, after parting his hair the right for years, he switched to left parting. Then in November last year, he changed back to a right part ing, but only for a month. In December he was back to a left parting again.

Then, bored with this after a few weeks, he switched back right parting he wears today, to a right parting. And it is a

Why is Sir Laurence

To confuse us? I take this? a very serious view of the whole thing.

The formula.

doing

I have been talking on the telephone to Joan Crawford- possibly the last grande dame of the cinema,

She remains in remarkably good shape for 51, and she has generously given me her for mula for doing so.

1

She gets up every morn ing at 4.30 0.11 Embarks upon a series of 'bone-breaking exercises. 3 Scrubs all the flours her- self, vacuums the carpets, cleans a dozen or so of her 304 pairs of shoes. 4 Always drinks a large shot of vodka before lunch and dinner (she keeps a flask in her handbag) and invariably has a split of dry champagne belare retiring.

I pass on the formula for what it is worth. I do not, however, guarantee that you will look like -or be as successful as - Miss

THE GAMBOLS",

DARLING, WOULD YOU TIDY. UP THE MAGAZINES IN THE LOFT

HULLO, DEAR. YOU'RE HOMÉ BEFORE ME

YES

I'M COLLECTING-

THEM FOR THE

HOSPITAL

Crawford if you adapt it. Though you can be sure of one thing. You'll really look for- ward to your bed. Take it easy

One result of the recent actors strike in Hollywood has been the shelving of the new Fred Astaire million pound picture "The Pleasure of his tibe fillm Company with already half-completed.

The producer found that be could not possibly complete the Alm in time for the stars (they Include Debbie Reynolds and and Lili Palmer) to fulfil their. subsequent engagements, so the entire production has been put into cold storage until next November, when it will be com- pleted.

A frightening risk. I am told that the producer, Mr William Perlberg, took Astaire aside before the film "Fred, closed down and said: you're 61, so please take it easy for the next six months. If you drop dead we're finished." No comment!

both

I

I'm sorry about this-but have to report it,"

An American producer was seeking the services of Edith Evans and Katherine Hepburn for a new picture.

Neither, however, was tree at the same time.

"Regrets," wired the agent," "but you can't have your Kate and Edith too...

HOLLYWOOD zamming-up of the royal wedding;—

DARKROOM AT THE TOP!

-London. Express Service).

...a girl bound for stardom. Her

JANE FONDA facher, veteran actor Henry Fonda,

says "She has presence," And, the critics agree.

by Barry Appleby

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