Frances Marion

“ Minnie paused in the doorway of the studio, waiting for the elevator. Others swarmed in and soon the hallway was jammed by the onrush of people. Minnie saw many familiar types; eager, aggressive faces; young, timid, appealing faces; white and terrible faces. When the elevator door opened she sprang inside. She was hemmed in by the frantic crowd all fighting not to lose one of the minutes which seemed so precious. Only so many places to be filled, twice as many people to fill them. ”

“ Michael Flynn was in a feverish ecstasy after he left Minnie. His arms ached from the weight of her as they had ached so many years ago. His fingers traced her tears upon his face. Unconsciously he bent back his head so they could pocket in the hollow of his cheek. She had kissed him with such tenderness and she had called him "papa darlin'!"
Michael Flynn was a simple man and grateful for all blessings that came to him, so in the dark he kneeled before his cot, cautiously, so Jimmy wouldn't wake. ”

“ Elsie had struggled away from Minnie's embrace. "No, Min, it wasn't Pete! Honest to God! I fell down the stairs."
Minnie knew she was lying, but felt no admiration for this loyalty. The women that she had known took a personal pride in their loyalty to their men, and some of them accepted their punishment as part of a thorough martyrdom. Others welcomed abuse as a proof of their husbands' love. Michael Flynn had never struck his wife, and once Minnie overheard her mother speak of this almost regretfully, as if she had been cheated out of one of the essential pleasures of married life. ”

“ He believed that all blessings were his because he deserved them. To live simply, to want little, to love normally, to go to church on Sundays, and to be scrupulously honest with his customers (not even permitting himself the pleasure of giving more meat to the pound when Minnie was buying) ; these were the divine laws by which Billy MacNally lived.
Why Minnie, with so many admirers, chose Billy she could never understand. He wasn't even a good dancer. She might have tired of him quickly had it not been for Nettie's vicious ridicule of him. ”

“ She and Dan Sullivan, with four other couples, had gone for a boat ride up the Hudson River. They danced all day, ate their lunch under the trees while the boat was docked at a pier on the Jersey coast, sang to the accompaniment of accordions and harmonicas, played handball, had a cheap shore dinner aboard the boat; then they sat in couples on the deck, waiting for the moon to rise in cool glittering dignity. When the girls, secure in the deepening dusk, permitted the outstretched arms of the boys to find them, Minnie leaned back until her head rested upon Dan Sullivan's breast. ”

“ Why a girl always wants to make a fool out of a fellow when he's crazy about her is more than I can understand. But she does. I've noticed lately that the fellows who get by and are shown any respect by girls are the ones that treat 'em like the devil."
"You just try it on me, Billy, and see what a surprise package you get!" And her laughter dinned in his ears until his face was suffused in a deep red glow.
They walked in silence until Minnie exclaimed, "My God, Billy, look at that!" ”

“ Sol Greenbaum looked calmly from mother to daughter as he put his notebook and the contract Minnie had signed with Madame Papillon back into his pocket. Then deliberately buttoning his overcoat, he reached for his hat and gloves, wished them a pleasant good afternoon, and started for the door.
"Wait a minute!" screamed Minnie. "What're you going to do about it?"
"There is only one thing to do under the circumstances," said Greenbaum, as if annoyed because they had recalled him. "When a contract is signed and isn't lived up to we place it in the hands of the police. ”

“ Some day, when he knew her more intimately, he was going to show her how to fix her hair, after the fashion of one of the movie queens, a particular friend of his, by the way. Minnie was touched by the interest he showed in her, which was more than brotherly, without being the least bit "fresh."
"Puffs, honey," he said as he stroked her head with his long soft white hand, "puffs are a thing of the past. Really, you'd look like a little queen yourself if you'd only fix your hair simple, in two braids around your head. I'll bet you have a sweet little head, honey, I'll bet you have." ”

“ Funny remark for Bacon to make, but Minnie had given up trying to understand the men in the picture business.
"Rotten cruelty," said Deane, lowering his voice so Minnie couldn't overhear. "I can't get any pleasure out of it. I'd just as lief stand before a caged animal and poke sticks at it. Same principle."
"The hell it is," exploded Bacon, "animals are sensitive. Look at these creatures. The more you make fun of them the more you compliment them. I haven't had a laugh like this for a week. I tell you, the girl's a moron." ”

“ So have I, Bacon. But what's the use of kicking. There aren't enough people in the theatrical business to supply the studios. We've got to choose from the masses and there can't be any great discrimination until we've weeded them out. I know they're nurse girls and shop girls and factory hands, but we don't dare turn any of them away. Look at our popular stars. Few of them came from the stage. You know yourself, Bacon, the success of the picture star is nine times out of ten a fluke. ”

“ But on my honor, Mineola, I'm not a fellow that often falls for a girl. She's got to be some baby when I do."
"Yeh?" she smiled archly, "and what kind of a girl do you fall for?"
"The real kind, sweet and innocent. Say, do you know you made the biggest kind of a hit with me today when you got sore at me for pullin' your dress away. I wouldn't of blamed you if you'd given me a good slap in the face."
"Is that the kind of a girl men really like, even in the movie business?"
"Sure it is. I've known some hard-boiled guys in my day. They hate a woman that's common. ”

“ After dinner Minnie brought out the box of new gowns and paraded them before her astonished family, while Eleanor explained at length the necessity of possessing such a wardrobe. Mr. Flynn, with a sickening pallor, sank into the morris chair.
One hundred and forty-three dollars . . . to think that his own daughter had run into such debt. He glanced up to see what Mrs. Flynn thought of it and was amazed at her unperturbed smile as she gingerly lifted out of the box the charmeuse frock.
"It's an awful lot of money," he said over and over half to himself, "and so little to show for it. ”

“ Deane began in quiet defense. "It's your own for expecting anything else. They've always been taught to obey; every gesture—every expression—every step is laid out for them. If they dared disobey orders they were called for it. Called hard. Fired! Then you stick a bomb under them and expect them to do just the opposite of all their training. Of course they freeze right where they are. Scared stiff. If you were in their places you'd do the same."
Binns, walking among the extra people, passed Minnie. ”

“ Poor Billy! He wasn't much, she thought, as she listened to his plans for the future, but he was a decent boy. She wished he were tall and handsome and wore a little mustache like the men she admired in the movies.
Billy's desire for kissing grew as the hours passed all too swiftly. He moved down to the second step, resting his head against her waist. She lay in his arms enjoying his kisses, often putting her head far back so that his lips brushed her neck. Sometimes his almost furious onslaught confused her, but it never frightened her. Minnie had spooned with all her beaux. ”

“ She tried to hold Beauregard by spending everything he'd given her on clothes and parties, and you know how some girls carry on—hysterical and everything. Of course the more they cry the more a man hates them. She used to talk freely to me then as I was the only one the poor child could ever trust."
Minnie was nodding her head seriously, afraid that she might forget one golden word of this advice. What a fine, big-hearted woman Mrs. Lee was, Minnie was thinking, as she watched that placid face lifted by smiles, those kindly eyes rolling upward. ”

“ Most of them riding to success on the tide of public whim . . . always the victim, the tool of the more intelligent minds who were responsible for their success. They succeeded when success was doled out to them and failed when their producers failed them.
Thinking of all this he spoke kindly to Minnie. "You make up very well," he said. "I'll try to use you again."
"Oh, thanks awfully, Mr. Binns."
"Don't thank me. You may regret the circumstances that brought you here." (Which Minnie thought was a foolish thing for a man to say, especially one whom Al had cracked up as knowing so much.) ”

“ Minnie silenced her father with a look, but his head kept wagging foolishly as he leaned back to listen to further revelations.
Al told them about his own prospects. A clever young juvenile like himself would some day be earning several hundred a week, owning his own car, his own apartment, an extensive wardrobe, including an overcoat with a sealskin collar, gold cigarette cases and a large ring with a diamond set in the yawning mouth of a tiger. ”

“ On the sidewalk a crowd of men, women and children pushed close to the swinging doors to catch a glimpse of the festivities within. When a new couple arrived, or when one of the bouncers came storming out, half dragging, half carrying a limp sodden figure which he dumped upon the sidewalk, the crowd sent up clamorous cries of laughter and applause. ”

“ Letcher went as far as One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street and Broadway, where Minnie was to take the subway downtown. In the jostling crowd they paused to say good night, Letcher still holding her hand in his.
"There's such a mob around here nobody will see you," he laughed. "Kiss me good night, will you, dearie?" he bent his fat face toward her, his lips puckered ludicrously.
Minnie quickly tempered her action with Letcher's advice. "You know I ain't that kind of a girl," she said, looking hurt.
"But just a little one. There's nothing wrong about a little one." ”

“ The girls, whose antagonism had been aroused by Minnie's indifferent manner, laughed uproariously. Their laughter branded her with hot irons. She dropped to her knees, holding her hands in front of her breasts, which were only half hidden by the low-cut chemise. ”

“ But neither Deane's eyes nor ears were for Letcher. He was intently watching Minnie. Then he electrified them by a prophecy they were never to forget.
"Mark my word, Bacon," he said to them, "that girl is going to rise to the top one of these days. She's got that something which makes for success. If I had time I'd work with the youngster. Yes, she's got the stuff in her. Look at her now. See how her eyes light up, how her mouth trembles under the pressure of any excitement. She's little and lithe. She could be taught to handle herself very well. ”

“ A bum and a loafer! I'll fix you for that! You'll see! I'll fix you!"
Michael Flynn stepped between his son and his wife. "For God's sake, Pete, not another word out o' you. You can't talk to your mother like that."
"Well, Minnie started it," Pete answered resentfully.
Nettie staggered to her feet and slung the crazy quilt coverlet to the floor. "Minnie always does," she cried. "Every time that Jimmy's name is mentioned it means a fight in the family. Jimmy! The dirty little sneakin' quitter—that's what he is." ”

“ With unsteady footsteps Minnie walked over to the bed and sank down, gripping the foot-board with taut, trembling fingers. "I don't think Billy'll ever beat me," she said after a strained silence. "I don't think I am ever goin' to get much of a kick outa Billy MacNally."
"Love is a wonderful thing," sighed Elsie, who had now chosen the rocking chair and was rocking back and forth. "I'd rather be dead than live without him." ”

“ Minnie didn't know whether the silence was cruel or kind. She wanted to break it but could think of nothing adequate to say.
The entrance of Mrs. Skerrit, the wardrobe woman, came as a great relief for in the scramble that followed Eleanor was forgotten.
"Who gets the riding habit?" Mrs. Skerrit asked.
"I do," Alicia took it and held it up. "I'll bet it's a lousy fit," she said, and all the girls laughed. "Lousy" was a new word in the vocabulary of the moving picture people. They all thought it a splendid, expressive appellation, so it had traveled from one studio to the other. ”

“ A fellow would think you was deaf and dumb."
"I was goin' over the fun we had in the locker room tonight. Honest, Min, I'd just die if they ever took you out of the Odds and Ends and put you on the main floor."
Elsie linked her arm through Minnie's and a contented look came into her dull eyes; men were looking at them. What if their eyes measured hers and lingered upon Minnie—she was being looked at just the same. She liked their personal, appraising stares; it made her believe for the moment that she too was desired. Elsie wanted men more than Minnie. She was ten years older. ”