PAULETTE GODDARD - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 36163
Price: $300.00
PAULETTE GODDARD
Goddard handwrote and signed this letter "P" to her friend Anita Loos,
complaining about the shooting of her 1952 film Babes in Baghdad.
Autograph letter signed"P." 5 pages,8x5¾, 4 sheets,
last sheet front and verso.With stamp in red ink on page 5: "From The
Estate/of ANITA LOOS". Dated "Sunday". Addressed to "Cher Annie".
In full: "I'm so sorry that you have had a winter siege. I suppose the
heavy work of the play and then the heavy hand of J. E. on top of you resulted
in a low ebb & fatigue. I feel that the John visit must have been
emotionally upsetting. These experiences are near to shock no matter what the
brain says. The picture goes slowly, have been working 2 days a week. The
director is dogging it. Wants to drag out his weekly salary. The S.O.B.! Erich
was to return Dec. - then March 1st for tax returns & much business. Please
have G. send me clippings on his book. It comes out Feb 1st. But he is waiting
(writing a new novel) (this is probably a good thing!) He has been in his casa
alone these two months writing & talking a complete cure. Fantastic! I hope
it's love. But now I'm ready to get back & we have only 30% of the film. I
have been photographed & look better than the last 10 years, This is
something for Hollywood to look at. My body is thin & my face full. I too am
in the groove. Ballet, Spanish lessons, long walks etc. But God this is a dull
place. No one has been here for 200 years. No color, freezing cold. in doors
& out. This has been a tough winter in all Europe. Shortage of coal. So
wait, until we return in June and enjoy the physical comforts of good plumbing
and vitamins in the food. while you can. The food here is actually un-eatable.
Spain is the last place to come to have fun. It is the end of the road!
Incidentally it is not European. The people are not more than 5 years old. And
the men - well, Valentin [illegible] looks like a God next to what I've
seen and I've seen plenty! (all of them.) Stanton left for N.Y. yesterday.
Resigned. I think he cracked. Taking my pass-port was one of his Emerson's
gestures of power. Am not unhappy, for the future looks sensational. Two weeks
in St Moritz with E.R. then Paris for restaurant dining (Have eaten alone in my
rooms for 2 months now) Then N.Y. via [illegible] Amsterdam. Will do T.V.
& radio 6 weeks. Make plans with you! Then back to Paris Suisse & a
crack at Venice. I have another Danziger picture Aug. 15. (London) Only 4
weeks, shooting at full guarantee, in Techno color [sic]. It's raining
with intermittant[sic] snow. So no walks or trips. Absolutely nothing to
do today. The shops are closed. Will send you a small sweater via Sheila.
Balanciaga is here, but a lousy tailor. Have ordered two suits, but will
probably arrive looking like a refugee. Your old Pal". Postscripted:
"Gypsy is nice But that is not enuff [sic]. Anyone that likes
Spain is [illegible] stingy. It is cheap. massage 80¢ manicure 40¢.
Balanciaga suits $120 Shoes $5 etc. But all a bag of merde. This is Spain! No
music - nothing contemporary. The visit to the Prado museum in Madrid is hardly
worth the trip. You can see reproductions in a picture book while sitting at 2 E
56. This is Spain! Me.". The mention of "Gypsy" (i.e. Gypsy Rose Lee)
and the production company Danziger leads us to believe that this was written
during the shooting of Babes of Baghdad, released in 1952. "Erich" is
author Erich Maria Remarque, whom Erich married in 1958. The ink stamp on page 4
and the salutation "Annie" leads us to believe that this letter was
written to Goddard's friend, author Anita Loos. Loos is perhaps best known for
her 1925 novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which was later made into a
silent film (1928), a 1949 Broadway musical and the 1952 film starring Marilyn
Monroe. Among her most successful theatrical projects were adaptations of
Gigi (1950, filmed in 1958) and Cheri (1957). Goddard
(1911-1990, born Pauline Marion Goddard Levee in Whitestone Landing, Long
Island, New York) was an American actress. A former teen Broadway chorus girl,
she first attracted attention when she was featured reclining on a prop crescent
moon in the 1928 Ziegfeld musical, Rio Rita. Goddard reportedly made
several two-reel comedies for Hal Roach (in a blond wig) before being featured
as a "Goldwyn Girl" in Eddie Cantor's film, Kid from Spain, in
1932. She shot to stardom when she was cast by Charlie Chaplin in his 1936
film, Modern Times. Goddard also won Chaplin's heart as well as the
role, but there were questions as to whether the two were ever legally married,
and her relationship with Chaplin cost her the one role that she truly coveted:
Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 epic, Gone With the Wind. Goddard, who was
nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for So Proudly
We Hail (1943), also appeared in such films as The Great Dictator
(1940) and Reap the Wild Wind (1942) before making her final film, the
French/Italian movie Gli Indifferenti (Time of Indifference), in
1964. She was coaxed out of retirement for a made-for-TV movie, The Snoop
Sisters, in 1972. Lightly toned and creased. Irregular edges. Ink stamp has
bled through on page 5 and touches writing on page 4. Writing slightly cut off
on right edge on page 3 and on top edge on page 4. Folded in half and unfolded.
Light tears along edges and folds. Otherwise in fine
condition.
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