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Ghapter 2O red's image as a problem solver and a man of action was accurate when the hurdles were clear. He was used to obstacles that he could overcome by tenacity and hard work, but was lost in this veiled corporate nightmare. Kennedy continued to demand huge fees for Fred's services in order to keep him off the screen and he was forced into idleness. Privately, Fred vacillated between grandiose plans and depression. He played in the pool with his young sons and worked on a new thirty-foot speedboat, spending hours in his shop developing new and improved engines. Then he would sit "in the music room, all alone and looking very depressed," remembers Carson Thomson of his uncle that summer and fall of 1928. "This just wasn't Fred."1 Without any other definite plans, he turned his attention to legal wranglings in the middle of July. A lawsuit had been filed against him several months earlier by his former contractor M. C. Ross, claiming Fred owed him almost $8,000. Fred freely admitted that some payment was due Ross for past work, but he refused to pay it until Ross accounted for the $6,000 he had at his disposal. Fred spent four days in court as both sets of attorneys argued over checks and ledgers and in the end, the judge found that Fred owed Ross less than $600.2 Frances was desperate to get Fred's mind off his troubles and they began to make plans for a trip to Europe, taking their niece Caroline along forpart of the voyage on her first "grand tour." When Joe Schenck asked Frances to include a stop in Salzburgto talk to Lillian Gish and her new mentor Max Reinhardt about their planned film for United Artists, it seemed providential . The side trip to Austria would pay for the entire voyage and with the public assuming there was nothing amiss in his career, Fred publicly announced he had "no definite plans other than a vacation" and was "releasing his entire staff for six months."3 In earlyAugust, they both reapplied for passports,but at the last minute Fred insisted on staying in Los Angeles in hopes of new contract talks. He 230 F CARI BEAUCHAMP encouraged Frances to go ahead with a shortened version of their trip, for Caroline as well as for her agreement with Schenck.4 Frances had arranged for a seven-week vacation when she signed her annual contract extension with MGM and she was frustrated by Fred's determination to stay and fight what she saw as a losing battle, at least for the time being. Still, there was little she could do except support him and resist her natural desire to control. She decided to go ahead with the trip and called Hedda Hopper to see if she wanted to come along. Like so many in Hollywood, Hedda was riding a wave of good fortune from the stock market. She knew Frances would pay for her, but this time Hedda was able to take care of her own bills as well as buy new clothes for the trip.5 As soon as word was out that Fred was staying home, reports started circulating that they were separating. "I never knew a trip to Europe could stir up so many rumors," Frances said, and made it clear it was a business trip. She planned to "rush over, stay ashore a bit and rush right back" to, as Louella Parsons wrote, "Fred, the two babies and the house on the hill."6 They threw a farewell party at The Enchanted Hill and Fred saw the three women off at the Pasadena train station "with trees of orchids." More flowers awaited them when they arrived in New York, where they were interviewed by day and feted with more farewell parties at night. They boarded the Hede France on August 17 and spent a luxuriousweek in the splendor of the ship. Hedda organized everyone to autograph a ship's menu and sent it to her good friend Louella Parsons, who gave her no less thansix mentions during the course of their trip.7 To Frances's surprise and frank displeasure, Joe Kennedy and his wife were among her fellow passengers and their presence did not inspire her to socialize. She was furious with the man and his vague assurances that something would work out rang hollow, but her innate diplomacy, awareness of his power, and enduring...

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