OWI supplies small gifts for Nazi-held Europeans
Program is intended to keep up their morale until armies of liberation arrive
…
Sicilians left without food
Allies must also combat disease, illiteracy
By Ned Russell, representing combined U.S. press
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WACs help to speed mail to men on move in Africa
Letter registry in Mediterranean town rechecks ‘undeliverable’ mail
By Gault MacGowan, North American Newspaper Alliance
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Yanks get mail on Pantelleria
Red Cross official brings supplies to island too
By Helen Kirkpatrick
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Pinpoint shellfire rescues Yank officers near Munda
U.S. artillery relieves American command post attacked by 100 fanatical Jap raiders
By George Jones, United Press staff writer
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Yanks prepare to invade Kiska
U.S. raiders set off big explosion on board
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Millett: Girls out of uniform are frustrated young women
Doing something real in military service is proud way to bridge war years
By Ruth Millett
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Both parties are agreed on Good Neighbor Policy
New Deal’s stand on relations with Latin America untouched in welter of debate, criticism
By William H. Lander, United Press staff writer
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Mild protests greet plans to equalize gas rations
Oil industry, railroads and U.S. agencies combine efforts to solve transportation problem
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Operator of Paris Underground relates experiences as American in Nazi prison
Collaborates with authors of exciting book
By Joan Younger, United Press staff writer
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Battlefront seems ‘quiet’
War reporter prefers ‘restful’ oversees
By Harriet Van Horne
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I DARE SAY —
Never-to-be-forgotten exits and entrances
By Florence Fisher Parry
Lately in the motion pictures that I have seen, particularly those which deal with the war, I have found myself annoyed over the long-draw-out death sequences. There always seems to be a buddy dying. Am I alone in feeling that this inevitable sequence in all our war films is being unduly featured? One more Thomas Mitchell death and I, for one, am done for. Why motion picture directors invariably indulge this passion for long-drawn-out deaths, I am at a loss to understand, unless it springs from their own exaggerated memories of deaths that they, themselves, have seen enacted, in the past, upon the stage and screen and which they feel impelled to excel in their own direction.
Yes, this must be the reason. Looking back upon my own memories of the movies and theater, I find that remembered death scenes loom large. No wonder, then, they provide a field day to playwrights and directors and actors, all of whom seem drawn to death as to a magnet. Looking back upon the great performances in the theater and indeed upon the screen, I find that the most profound impressions I have treasured have been derived from some remembered death scene.
The earliest memory I have of the theater is of attending a performance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and seeing little Eva literally borne aloft from her little cot by two determined angels. And close upon the heels of that profound memory is that of the death of the first Hamlet I ever saw – Creston Clarke in the old Walnut St. Theater in Philadelphia.
And still another, the hazy but haunting memory of Sarah Bernhardt, as the frail L’Algion, expiring dramatically, her wooden led extended grotesquely at a painful angle.
But of all the deaths that I have ever seen in theater or movie, the death of Greta Garbo as Camille affected me most profoundly. I must count it the most inspired piece of acting I can recall ever having seen. Usually, I have no patience with the kind of acting that must be “lived” in order to take shape, but this must stand as the one exception. I have never considered Greta Garbo an actress, but she has the strange power of evoking a mood which, if captured by the camera, stands as a true record of inspiration.
Others recalled
I remember, too, the remarkable death scene in A Farewell to Arms which Helen Hayes enacted. And the death of Victor Varconi in a silent picture years ago called The Divine Lady in which he enacted Lord Nelson. The death scene was profoundly effective, I remember.
The best deaths that are recorded on the screen are the quick, brutal deaths which so often occur in gangster pictures. But for the most part, screen deaths are phony, corny, and an affront to our natural reticences.
My mind crowds with remembered exits and entrances, and my memories travel like a shuttle-board, back and forth through the years from my childhood to the present time, as actors and actresses make their memorable entrances and exits upon the stage.
Magnificent exits
Shall I ever forget the magnificent exit of Tallulah Bankhead in The Little Foxes when at the head of the stairs, she gathers herself together before entering the bedroom that holds her murdered husband?
Shall I ever forget the magnificent entrance of Ina Claire in the picture version of The Royal Family, one of the most queenly entrances I have ever seen?
Shall I ever forget the dancing, wraith-like figure of Maude Adams as she came forth from the forest near Thrums, singing, in The Little Minister?
Shall I ever forget the death in that exquisite play Behold the Bridegroom, with Judith Anderson translucent and otherworld? Shall I ever forget the entrance of Marie Dressler in the old waterfront saloon in Anna Christie? Shall I ever forget the final exit of Ethel Barrymore in The Second Mrs. Tanqueray? Or of her brother, John, as he appeared, a young god from hell, against the backdrop in The Jest?
Shall I ever forget the entrance of Frank Keenan in The Girl of the Golden West standing there under the loft where the body of Blanche Bates’ lover lay leaking blood upon the sheriff’s white linen handkerchief? Shall I ever forget the entrance of Katharine Hepburn, frail and haunted, after her husband is drowned in The Lake? Shall I ever forget the exit of Charlie Chaplin as he walked out to meet the horizon in his last good picture, Modern Times?
Entrances, too
Then there was Frank Morgan’s gorgeous entrance as the King in The Firebrand. There was Jeanne Eagels’ entrance in the last act of Rain and the blare of the phonograph inside her room. There was Eva le Gallienne in The Swan.
Do you remember Alla Nazimova’s last exit in Hedda Gabler? There was Geraldine Farrar’s entrance in Madame Butterfly and her death in La Tosca. There was, long ago, that extraordinary entrance of Frank Craven in a play called Bought and Paid For. He walks into a strange room and he breaks a costly vase, and he offers to pay for it. I can search the annals of the theater and find no more perfect scene.
Do you remember the death of John Barrymore in Dinner at Eight? Do you remember the entrance of Lorette Taylor in Peg O’ My Heart? Of Philip Merivale in Death Takes a Holiday? Do you remember the exit of Katharine Cornell in Saint John or the entrance of Lynn Fontanne in Elizabeth, the Queen?
But I could go on and on. Oh, the procession, the indelible procession of entrances and exits that moves across the curtain of one’s memory.
Entrances and exits – exits and death. No tapestry is embroidered as richly as that upon which the actors and actresses wove their immortal names, in death scenes and entrances touched with enchantment.
When did he marry? I missed it on that story
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Völkischer Beobachter (July 26, 1943)
Vernichtung oder Fronarbeit für das Judentum –
Wohlergehen-amerikanisch
Die Bomben der Luftgangster dementieren die Lügen der USA.-Agitation
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Im Osten 125 Sowjetpanzer vernichtet –
Britischer Terrorangriff auf Hamburg
dnb. Aus dem Führer-Hauptquartier, 25. Juli –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:
Am Kubanbrückenkopf und an der Miusfront scheiterten mehrere örtliche Angriffe des Feindes, die zum Teil im Gegenstoß abgewehrt wurden. Am mittleren Donez ließ die Angriffstätigkeit der Sowjets merklich nach. Starke sowjetische Infanterie- und Panzerkräfte versuchten wiederum vergeblich den Durchbruch im Raum von Bjelgorod. Im Kampfgebiet von Orel hielten die wechselvollen Kämpfe an. Die Sowjets wurden an mehreren Stellen in erfolgreichem Gegenangriff zurückgeworfen, örtliche Einbrüche wurden abgeriegelt. Südlich des Ladogasees brachen auch gestern wieder sämtliche mit stärkeren Kräften geführte Angriffe unter besonders hohen Verlusten des Feindes zusammen.
Die Sowjets verloren in den Kämpfen des gestrigen Tages 125 Panzer. Bei den letzten Kämpfen an der Miusfront zeichnete sich die rheinisch-westfälische 16. Panzergrenadierdivision besonders aus.
Auf Sizilien fanden gestern nur örtlich begrenzte Kampfhandlungen statt, ohne daß der Feind Erfolge erzielen konnte. Jagd- und Zerstörerverbände der Luftwaffe griffen in die Erdkämpfe ein. Flakartillerie schoß in der Straße von Messina ein feindliches Schnellboot in Brand.
Vor der niederländischen Küste kam es in der vergangenen Nacht erneut zu mehreren Gefechten zwischen den Sicherungsstreitkräften eines deutschen Geleits und britischen Schnellbooten. Ein Schnellboot wurde versenkt, fünf andere in Brand geschossen und mehrere beschädigt. Ein eigenes Fahrzeug ging verloren. Teile der Besatzung konnten gerettet werden.
In den Gewässern des Hohen Nordens schlugen deutsche Jäger in den heutigen Vormittagsstunden einen Angriff feindlicher Fliegerkräfte auf ein eigenes Geleit ab. Von den angreifenden 35 feindlichen Flugzeugen wurden 17, darunter 11 Bomber, abgeschossen. Durch starke Angriffe nordamerikanischer Bomber auf norwegisches Gebiet hatte die Bevölkerung erhebliche Verluste an Toten und Verwundeten. Besonders in Drontheim wurden starke Gebäudeschäden in Wohngebieten verursacht.
Ein starker Verband britischer Bomber führte in der vergangenen Nacht einen Terrorangriff gegen die Stadt Hamburg, durch den schwere Verluste unter der Bevölkerung und starke Zerstörungen an Wohnvierteln, Kulturstätten und öffentlichen Gebäuden entstanden. Luftverteidigungskräfte schossen im nordwestdeutschen Küstengebiet und im norwegischen Raum nach bisherigen Feststellungen 17 der angreifenden Bomber ab. Bei den schon gestern gemeldeten erfolglosen Angriffsversuchen feindlicher Fliegerkräfte auf Kreta wurden insgesamt 21 feindliche Flugzeuge über der Insel abgeschossen.
Roosevelts westafrikanischer ‚Generalgouverneur‘ –
Französisch-Nordafrika als Raubgut der USA.
Eigener Bericht des „Völkischen Beobachters“
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La Stampa (July 26, 1943)
La dura lotta in Sicilia
L’urto nemico, contenuto nei settori orientale e centrale del fronte, si è ripetuto intenso sull’ala settentrionale del nostro schieramento – Un piroscafo colpito ad Augusta – 14 aerei abbattuti
Il Quartier Generale delle Forze Armate ha diramato nel pomeriggio di ieri il seguente Bollettino N. 1156:
In Sicilia si è anche ieri duramente combattuto. L’urto nemico, contenuto nei settori orientale e centrale del fronte, si è ripetuto particolarmente intense sull’ala settentrionale del nostro schieramento.
Nostri bombardieri colpivano un piroscafo di medio tonnellaggio nel porto di Augusta. Cacciatori e minori unità navali germaniche abbattevano negli ultimi due giorni undici velivoli, un altro apparecchio veniva distrutto dalla nostra caccia sulle coste calabre.
Livorno è stata bombardata da formazioni aeree: danni non gravi, vittime in corso di accertamento. Due velivoli precipitavano colpiti dal tiro delle artiglierie della difesa.
A seguito delle incursioni aeree dei giorni scorsi, sono state accertate le seguenti perdite tra la popolazione civile: a Bologna, 97 morti e 270 feriti; ad Aquino (Frosinone), 4 morti e 10 feriti per scoppio ritardato di bombe; a Capo Rizzuto un morto e 2 feriti; a Livorno 17 feriti, di cui due gravi.
U.S. Navy Department (July 26, 1943)
Communiqué No. 450
North Pacific.
On July 24, formations of Army Warhawk (Curtiss P‑40) fighters carried out ten bombing and strafing attacks against Japanese positions on Kiska. Numerous hits were scored on the runway and among gun emplacements. One U.S. plane failed to return.
La Stampa (July 26, 1943)
Grandi manifestazioni del popolo romano al Re, a Badoglio, all’Esercito
Roma, 26 luglio (Stefani) –
Non appena il popolo romano è venuto a conoscenza della notizia trasmessa per radio che Sua Maestà il Re aveva assunto il comando delle Forze Armate ed aveva nominate Capo del Governo il Maresciallo Badoglio, si è riversato per le strade manifestando tutta la sua soddisfazione ed il suo entusiasmo.
Man mano le strade dell’Urbe, malgrado la tarda ora e l’oscuramento, hanno assunto un aspetto di grande esultanza patriottica. Al grido di Viva l’Italia! Viva il Re! Viva Badoglio! Viva l’Esercito! ed al canto dell’Inno di Mameli, si sono formati imponenti cortei cin cartelli improvvisati e bandiere tricolori che si sono diretti verso il Quirinale.
Al loro arrivo i manifestanti hanno trovato la piazza già gremita di folla acclamante alla Maestà del Re ed a Casa Savoia.
Mentre gran parte della folla sostava ancora ad acclamare il Sovrano, altri cortei si formavano e si dirigevano verso il Ministero della Guerra dove altissime acclamazioni all’Italia ed alle Forze Armate si sono levate.
In altri punti della città, e particolarmente davanti alle sedi dei giornali si svolgevano analogie manifestazioni patriottiche al grido di Viva l’Italia!
Una grandiosa manifestazione ha avuto luogo a Piazza Venezia dove, invaso il cortile del palazzo, ha dimostrato la propria esultanza e la sua indefettibile passione per le sorti della Patria.
Dilagando per il Corso, una enorme fiumana di popolo proveniente da Piazza Venezia, si è portata a Piazza Colonna, dove ha espresso ancora una volta il suo inequivocabile patriottismo al canto dell’Inno di Mameli, della Canzone del Piave e dei vecchi inni del Risorgimento italiano.
Dovunque il popolo dell’Urbe ha riconfermato la sua profonda fiducia negli immortali destini della Patria sotto l’augusta guida del suo Sovrano e affidati alle sue valorose Forze Armate.
Milano, 26 luglio (Stefani) –
Malgrado l’ora avanzata, la notizia che Sua Maestà il re ha assunto il comando di tutte le Forze Armate ed ha nominato Capo del governo il Maresciallo d’Italia Pietro Badoglio, si è diffusa rapidamente in tutta la città suscitando fervide manifestazioni di patriottismo tra grandi acclamazioni al Re Imperatore, all’Italia ed al Maresciallo Badoglio.
Bologna, 26 luglio (Stefani) –
Nonostante l’ora tarda in cui è state conosciuta, la notizia del cambiamento del Governo ha suscitato il più vivo entusiasmo patriottico. Si sono subito formati cortei che con alla testa grandi bandiere tricolori hanno percorso le vie centrali della città e si sono poi spinti fino alla periferia. Nei rioni popolari al grido fi Viva l’Italia! Viva il Re! Viva Badoglio!
U.S. State Department (July 26, 1943)
President Roosevelt to the British Prime Minister
Washington, July 26, 1943.
324.
By coincidence I was again at Shangri La this afternoon when the news from Rome came, but this time it seems to be true. If any overtures come we must be certain of the use of all Italian territory and transportation against the Germans in the North and against the whole Balkan peninsula, as well as use of airfields of all kinds. It is my thought that we should come as close as possible to unconditional surrender followed by good treatment of the Italian populace. But I think also that the head devil should be surrendered together with his chief partners in crime. In no event should our officers in the field fix on any general terms without your approval and mine. Let me have your thoughts.
ROOSEVELT