THE SCREEN SPECTATOR - JUNE 2024
Recently, I had the pleasure of discovering the 1934 film 8 Girls In A Boat. A forgotten gem of a movie released by Paramount and directed by Richard Wallace (The Young In Heart, The Fallen Sparrow), 8 Girls In A Boat stars twenty-three-year-old Dorothy Wilson as Christa Storm, a student at a Swiss boarding school hiding a secret pregnancy from her teachers and peers.
In the film, Dorothy Wilson delivers a wholly sympathetic portrayal of Christa. She convincingly embodies the troubled and conflicted schoolgirl, infusing her performance with a layer of melancholy and sensitivity. To describe Dorothy Wilson as a revelation would be an understatement. While some reviews for 8 Girls In A Boat criticized the film as overly sentimental and labelled its characters as shallow (a fair critique given the lightly sketched nature of the girls at the boarding school and the seven others in the boat), most critics lauded Wilson’s performance.
"Dorothy Wilson's sensitive and intelligent portrayal in the best role that ever has fallen to her lot makes 8 Girls In A Boat a sincere and moving consideration of the hackneyed theme of unmarried motherhood." - The Buffalo News, Buffalo, New York Saturday, Mar 3, 1934
But who was Dorothy Wilson? In a career that spanned from 1932 to 1937, Wilson appeared in nineteen films, with her final role being an uncredited appearance in Red Skelton’s Whistling in Brooklyn(1943). Subsequently, she and most of her films faded into obscurity.
The story of Dorothy Wilson’s discovery and brief career is the kind of tale that Hollywood legends are built upon, seemingly crafted by studio screenwriters. An independent young woman, plucked from the obscurity of the secretarial pool, is thrust into the limelight as a leading lady. While that may have been the dream of thousands of young women across America, Wilson arrived in California in early 1930 with no intention of becoming a film star.
Trained as a stenographer in her hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, she came to California for the climate, adventure, and seriously for secretarial work. In an interview with The San Francisco Examiner’s Ada Hanifin conducted during an airplane trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 1932, Wilson explained her lack of experience and joy at being "discovered":
"I came to California two years ago from Minneapolis. Alone, I had worked there for a year as a stenographer in a paper factory. I tried to get work in a paper factory in Los Angeles. But there were no openings. I got the job as a typist in the RKO studios in Hollywood through an employment agency.
"I had never dreamed about going into the movies or on the stage. . .I didn't think anything quite so wonderful could happen to me. I never even took part in school plays. I used to think it must be wonderful to be a star and have all the excitement of personal appearance tours, and the selecting of a wardrobe and everything. It is lots of fun. But it's hard work too."
The story of her discovery was recounted in the October 1932 issue of Motion Picture Magazine:
“Dorothy Wilson, earning thirty a week as a stenographer at RKO, carried the script of “The Age of Consent,” which she had just typed, into producer David Selznick's office. He glanced absently at the girl who handed it to him. He saw — what you will see in The Age of Consent — a tall, slim girl with blue eyes, unbobbed brown hair, very young, very assured, very modern. On the spot, he wanted this unknown to play the lead!”
It seems there was a real discrepancy with the David Selznick angle of the tale, as some newspapers reported a different version of the story which substituted Selznick for director Gregory La Cava:
"Dorothy Wilson, who completed her course at Minneapolis Vocational High School, could get on with typing ability alone in Hollywood. She typed motion picture scripts at $25 a week, while other girls, extras, eked out a dreary existence attempting to crash Hollywood's magic gates to fame. Her typing of the script for Director Gregory LaCava's picture, Fraternity House, was the means to her first part. A screen test proved successful and soon she was playing the leading female role in the picture, the script of which she had typed." - Star Tribune Minneapolis, Minnesota Thursday, Dec 8, 1932
But whether it was David Selznick or Gregory LaCava, the end result was Dorothy Wilson was cast in RKO’s The Age of Consent and named a WAMPAS Baby Star for the year 1932.
The WAMPAS Baby Stars were part of a promotional campaign by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers (WAMPAS) during the 1920s and early 1930s. Each year, studios and publicists selected a group of thirteen young unknown actresses under contract at major studios, all with the potential for major stardom. This annual selection, which ran from 1922 to 1934 (except for 1930 and 1933), aimed to boost the careers of these emerging talents through extensive publicity, including photo shoots, media coverage, and public appearances.
While many of the WAMPAS Baby Stars faded into obscurity, some of them, like Joan Crawford, Clara Bow, Jean Arthur, Janet Gaynor, Joan Blondell, Loretta Young, and Mary Astor, did become major stars, and many others, such as Evelyn Brent, Fay Wray, Frances Dee, Anita Page, and Dorothy Mackaill, went on to have successful careers. Along with Dorothy Wilson, the 1932 class of WAMPAS Baby Stars included Ginger Rogers and Gloria Stuart.
The WAMPAS contest, along with other highly publicized events like Paramount’s "Search for Beauty" competition and various regional beauty, talent, and promotion contests, were all publicized as quick avenues for talented young men and women to get a head start in Hollywood. In fact, apart from Dorothy Wilson, the other seven girls in the boat were winners of different contests.
Focusing on contest winners and pageants was Hollywood’s solution to the pressing need for new talent. In the 1930s, continually discovering fresh faces was crucial to meet audience demand, manage production costs, and maintain economic viability. This influx of talent supported the star system by replacing aging or less popular stars, which was essential for studios' marketing strategies and box office success. Additionally, the intense competition among studios and the need to adapt to technological and artistic advances, such as the transition from silent films to talkies, made the discovery of new talent imperative for the industry's growth and evolution.
As alluring and exciting as these Hollywood contests sounded, the reality for most contestants was starkly different. After making the trip to California and being exploited for studio publicity, many found themselves discarded, with no hope of fulfilling their dreams of fame, fortune, and movie stardom. Ann Sheridan, the Texas winner of Paramount’s Search for Beauty contest, provided an insider's view to writer John Kobal in his book, People Will Talk:
“They gave a contract to about six of us out of the thirty or so they brought out, and the rest were broken-hearted. You know — they left their hometowns — big fanfares, Hollywood, becoming stars — and now here they were, having to go back. I felt hideous when I won — I forget now who the others were, one was a South African, there was a man from Dallas, Texas, another one from Wisconsin and a girl from Scotland — two girls and four boys. Well, we were up till 2:00 a.m. in the studio gallery doing stills, and we walked back to the Roosevelt Hotel, where we were all lodged as part of the prize, and as we walked into the lobby, there were all the other kids. All of them losers. It was an awful feeling.
Well, they didn't want to go home, honey, and the agreement the studio signed with the winners in each town was that they would get a trip to Hollywood and if they weren't picked, they were to be sent home. That was the contract. They dragged them to the train stations and put them on the trains, but then the kids would just get off in Podunk or somewhere and take another train back to Los Angeles and be outside the studio gate the next morning.
Paramount had a dreadful time trying to get them to go back because it was their responsibility to ensure that they got back, but what could they do if they didn't want to go? Finally, they paid a lot of the ones who wouldn't go home to sign a paper releasing the studio of any legal responsibility and saying they had gone home and had come back on their own initiative. Well, that put an end to those awful contests, I can tell you. The studios no longer took any responsibility for making sure that losers got home — just a return ticket and you could do what you want. That was such a terrible experience for them.” (People Will Talk pp. 416-417)
While some contest winners had their heads in the stars and their eyes clouded by dreams, when it was suggested to Wilson that her training as a secretary helped her keep a level head in Hollywood, Wilson said, "No, it is not that. It's responsibility. Taking care of yourself. Earning your own living. Fighting your way alone in a strange city. Of course, if I had ever come to the point of starving, I wouldn't have, because I would have written back home for help.”
So from the outset, it was made very clear that for Dorothy Wilson, although her discovery was touted as a Cinderella story in newspapers and magazines, the reality was that while she was keen to give herself a chance before the cameras, it was not her driving ambition or lifelong dream to be a star.
Her arrival in Hollywood without any desire for stardom added an appealing angle to all the articles and magazine features written about her Cinderella story, underscoring her unexpected journey into the industry, which sharply contrasted with the typical aspirations of aspiring starlets. In her debut film, The Age of Consent, a campus comedy/romance centered on the complicated love lives of college students, her portrayal of co-ed Betty Cameron, despite her lack of prior experience, showcases her raw talent and natural presence on screen.
After The Age of Consent, Wilson appeared in four more RKO features before the studio dropped her contract. Although Wilson underwent an early screen test for the role of Christa Storm, they rejected her in favor of newcomer Jean Rouverol. When Rouverol suffered a nervous breakdown, the role went to Mary Mason. However, Mason was experiencing exhaustion after enduring a grueling filming schedule, and doctors ordered her to rest. Wilson received the call to take over the role of Christa in while spending Christmas with her parents in Minneapolis.
Undoubtedly, the role of Christa Storm was Wilson’s finest, and it was on set where she met her future husband, screenwriter Lewis Foster. The two tied the knot in 1936. Wilson's career although briefly revived, eventually wound down, with her taking on supporting roles in films such as The Last Days of Pompeii, The Milky Way, Craig’s Wife, and In Old Kentucky, opposite Will Rogers. She retired from acting after her marriage.
Dorothy Wilson's journey from a Minneapolis stenographer to a Hollywood actress epitomizes the era's romanticized dreams of stardom. The remarkable tale of her unexpected rise and quiet exit from the limelight is ultimately a story of talent, timing, and the transient nature of early Hollywood stardom.
Dorothy Wilson died in 1998, she was 88 years old.
Clip of Dorothy Wilson in The Age of Consent
Critic Interviews Picture Star in Airplane Flying to San Francisco
Also, I found this little nugget while researching Dorothy Wilson and I just had to share it with you!
New to the Blu-Ray/DVD SHELF
The Hard Way (1943)
This underrated drama ranks high on my list of favorite Ida Lupino films.
“Helen Chernen (Ida Lupino) wants to get herself and her talented kid sister Katie (Joan Leslie) out of their jerkwater hometown. And if that means using people and throwing them away, that's what Helen will do. Biting, observant, set against a glittery show-biz backdrop, The Hard Way has earned its reputation as one of Hollywood's great melodramas. Among the film's many fine performances, two stand out. Jack Carson, typically cast in comic roles, is powerfully affecting as a song-and-dance man whose kind heart is no match for Helen's ruthless wiles. And Ida Lupino is pitch-perfect as Helen, etching an indelible portrait of twisted ambition that won her the 1943 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.”
NEW TO THE BOOKSHELF
Forbidden Cocktails: Libations Inspired by the World of Pre-Code Hollywood by André Darlington
“What might Jean Harlow have sipped for Dinner at Eight? What did Barbara Stanwyck take to steel herself in Baby Face? If you’re a classic film fan who’s ever pondered these questions, or are a bartender or at-home entertainer who adores Prohibition-era cocktails, this guide to mixed drinks inspired by Pre-Code Hollywood is essential reading. The stars and stories of the “forbidden” time in moviemaking before strict censorship was enforced and the movies reflected a raucous freedom that would be unseen again for decades take the spotlight in Forbidden Cocktails. With 50 film-and-drink pairings and packaged handsomely with more than 100 full-color and black-and-white photos throughout, this is a practical and stunning homage to a singularly exuberant and evocative era.”
you can buy Forbidden Cocktails here
Paul R. Williams: Classic Hollywood Style by Karen E. Hudson
As a fan of Tyrone Power, I always loved the design of the Brentwood home he shared with his first wife Annabella. I even have this fun home of the stars card.
That house was designed by the Paul R. Williams and this lovely coffee table book highlights twenty Williams designed homes.
“Over a career spanning six decades, architect Paul Revere Williams came to define what gracious living looked like for the Hollywood elite. Williams mastered an array of architectural idioms—including American Colonial, Spanish Mediterranean, English Tudor, French Normandy, Art Deco, and, of course, the California ranch style—to create the sophisticated yet understated showplaces that are featured here in all new full-color photography.”
you can buy Paul R Williams Classic Hollywood Style here
The music behind Paul Boray
This short documentary highlights the importance of the music and scoring in Warner Brothers classic 1947 melodrama Humoresque.
What remains. . .
Go location hunting to the places and spaces featured in Robert Wise’s 1959 noir classic Odds Against Tomorrow.
Happy Birthday
CBS evening news piece on Greta Garbo’s 80th birthday.
and finally. . .
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I really appreciate these long form posts with do much to dig into. And thank you for the tip on the Paul Williams book! I never knew it existed and I’ve loved his work since I was a child.
Wilson at least had something resembling a career- I have to wonder what became of all those women they didn't want...