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The Stage Debacle 211 Buzz was still sporting a sling when he was seen again at Slapsie Maxies ’s with his good arm around Lorraine. The two were close, and Buzz gave Lorraine a small no-credit role in Cinderella Jones. Divergent announcements of Warner Brothers’ plans for Buzz were issued in January. First, Buzz was to direct and appear in “Star Spangled Banner Girls” followed by a biography of Marilyn Miller, Florenz Ziegfeld’s talented singing and dancing star. Cinderella Jones was a tepid comedy with a couple of songs. Saddled with a basic premise that was somewhat dated in 1943, Judy Jones (Joan Leslie), an adorable dimwit, stands to earn a $10 million inheritance if she gets married within the next forty-eight hours. She decides to enroll in the local all-men’s college, hoping to meet a suitably intelligent marriage-minded fellow (a promise of largesse to the college eases her entry). All the while there’s Tommy (Robert Alda), the guy who really loves Judy (if she could only take a hint). By the end of the picture it’s revealed, not surprisingly, that he graduated college cum laude with an IQ of more than 200. As Judy and Tommy try to beat the deadline to marry, they’re stopped by an army transport rumbling through town. They hop a ride on board a tank and sing a final number, allowing Buzz a few girlie close-ups, some robust singing soldiers, and a happy ending. Despite Buzz’s usual flair for fast comedy and snappy repartee, he was restrained with the limitations of a telegraphed script, causing him to default to broad physical comedy. As Judy absentmindedly substitutes a bar of soap in a cheese sandwich, the eater spews out bubble burps, à la the Three Stooges, and the gag gets repeated at least three more times. Hungarian character actor S. Z. (“Call me Cuddles”) Sakall, playing the role of the chemistry professor, fares a bit better. He sings, dances, and plays the jowly jailbird accused of hanky-panky near the girls’ dormitory . An in-joke (a form of which was seen in They Made Me a Criminal) 10 212 Buzz has a hardened convict happy at last to have a cell all to himself. As he lies in his bunk, he sings the opening bars of a song suggested by his director, used here for the second time since 1933: “By a waterfall, I’m calling you oo oo oo.” Buzz wrapped Cinderella Jones in May 1944. A release date two to three months thereafter wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary, but Buzz wasn’t privy to the behind-the-scenes manipulations of the studio. Robert Alda was Warner Brothers’ new star on the lot, and the studio wanted to introduce him to the moviegoing public in a film more prominent than Cinderella Jones. Alda’s next role, as George Gershwin in Rhapsody in Blue, certainly filled the bill. So while that picture was filmed, edited, released, and reviewed, Cinderella Jones languished on Warner Brothers’ shelf with no opening date in sight. “Star Spangled Banner Girls” never materialized, and the more promising bio of Marilyn Miller was mired in legalities. The estate of the late singer-dancer refused to give the studio permission to film her life. Buzz and producer Jerry Wald hadn’t even thought of a leading lady for the role, so the life of Marilyn Miller was a dead project. Buzz was now in the position he hadn’t been in since Kiki: he had nothing on the drawing board and was technically unemployed. To make matters worse, Jack Warner wasn’t returning his calls. Lorraine Breacher and her “sparkler” never made it to the altar. The relationship chilled in early summer. By this time, Buzz was spending more time looking after Gertrude, and it’s certainly possible that Lorraine was in no mood to compete for his attention. On June 2, the house maid drove Gertrude on an errand. They took the new large station wagon Buzz had purchased that allowed his mother easy access for her wheelchair. At the corner of Melrose Avenue and North Wilton Place, the maid suddenly and without warning slammed hard on the brakes, trying to avoid hitting a car that had stopped short. Without a belt to hold her in place, Gertrude was thrown forward, and she hit her head hard against the unyielding front seat. She was rushed to the hospital. The...

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