Somebody Special That's what Joan Leslie, who most certainly is in private life, wants to be in pictures By Lynn Bowers Although Joan Leslie and her family had a perfectly good home in Detroit, they had to come to Hollywood to live the good, solid Mid-Western life. Joan, her sisters, her father and mother -- all named Brodel -- are one of the happiest families in, or out of, Hollywood. Yet their lives didn't and still don't follow the accepted pattern set down for raising a family. Rather, they've achieved this closely-knit family relationship by doing most everything in reverse. For instance, instead of Mr. Brodel being a traveling man who came home periodically to his wife and three daughters, he stayed home in Detroit and worked as an accountant while they trouped around the country and popped in on Pop between theatrical engagements. Now that the gals are of an age when most kids leave home and begin to shift for themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Brodel couldn't get rid of them if they wanted to! Even Mary, the eldest and only married daughter, crabs because she and her husband have to live four miles away from the family. If she had her way, she'd live next door. As it is, she hurries with her own housework so she can spend most of the day with the folks. And doesn't complain when she gets roped in on helping with their dishes. Usually when families live togther they exert considerable influence over one another. So do the Brodels, but they use the indirect, or reverse, approach. Particularly when Joan has an important decision to make. She's a "what do you think" type who wants to hear the opinions of not just her family, but of everybody she knows. She says it helps keep her thinking straight. When she recently decided it would be good for her to go to college Joan said: "I asked Dad and Mother what they thought about my enrolling at U.C.L.A. and what courses I should take. They thought it was a good idea, but refused to commit themselves about the courses. They said I was the one who had to do the studying, so I'd have to make up my own mind about the course. They didn't even ask me why I signed up for Political Science, Art Appreciation, French, Spanish, and Pre-Law." So she told them why. "There's an advantage to starting college when most girls and boys my age are finishing. I really know what I want to learn about. Now that I'm old enough to vote, I need a slant on politics. I certainly have much to learn about art and why something is good even if it doesn't look wonderful to me. Then, you can get by in nearly every country if you speak French and I intend to travel. If I ever get time enough I want to go to South America -- that's why the Spanish. But I almost gave up my plans when I remembered I'd have to know Portuguese, too," Joan said with a small giggle. "The Pre-Law course won't hurt me, either. Everybody needs to know law these days," she said, referring rather obliquely to the recent court trouble over her contract with Warner Brothers. The decision to try to end her agreement with the studio was Joan's, too. "I asked the advice of my family. They told me what they thought and then said, 'Don't you dare do what we say -- go think it out for yourself.' Of course, I already knew why I wanted my freedom, but my opinions aren't really minee until I talk them over, then I'm sure I know know I feel." How she feels about her seven-year contract, which has one year to run, is like this: "I was only fifteen when I went to Warners. I can't possibly feel the same way now, six years and nineteen pictures later. I've never been trained or groomed to be somebody special. I'd like to have some choice about parts instead of being the perpetual good girl. Not that I want to play bad girls either. A lot of bad writing can be concealed in a scropt by tossing in a showy heavy," Joan said, cocking a judicious eyebrow. When kids her age when reading "David Copperfield" Joan was practicing diction and dancing. Now, most of her contemporaries have probably forgotten what "David Copperfield" is about, but Joan is beginning to appreciate and discover the classics in literature. Reading has sharpened up her ideas of the sort of screen heroines she'd like to be. "The Story Of A Saint" is her idea of a part she'd like to get her teeth into, but not far enough to cheew the scenery. Having been a wanderer in her "youth" when other kids were living a routine life makes Joan strong for home and family: "I can't understand how anyone coming to Hollywood can chuck the family and try to manage such an important thing as a career all alone. I wouldn't know what to do without their help and companionship. And when I get married I'm going to do like Mary -- be as near home as possible." Her mother and dad feel the same way, dating back to the early Detroit period. Nobody even thought of the Brodel girls becoming professionals when Mary and Betty went to dancing school to learn how to be graceful. It wasn't until Joan, the youngest and a natural-born imitator, picked up everything the other kids learned that they were in demand for local talent shows. Then suddenly the trio had offers and Mr. Brodel reluctantly consented to keep a lamp burning in the window for the entire feminine part of his family while they went kiting off on tour. While Mrs. Brodel saw to it that her daughters were properly fed, tutored, and costumed, Mr. Brodel kept the lawn mowed and the larder well stocked. He wanted to be sure the family would have nothing to worry about in case the theatrical bubble burst. The occasion seldom arises when the womenfolks exert pressure on the head of the family to give up his job. But remember the Brodels? The do things in reverse. After being repeatedly urged to join the family in its travels, he was convinced they needed him and took over the business affairs of his daughters. He still manages Joan's affairs, although he encourages her to decide more and more questions for herself. Which is fine for her when she wants to do something that she's not sure he'd approve. That first airplane ride, fir example. Mr. Brodel doesn't see any use in going way up in the air when you can get hurt just as easily on the ground. "Bob Cummings took me for a ride in his plane when he learned I'd never been up," says Joan. "We flew over the house and dipped one wing. When Bob drove me home Dad asked us if we'd seen that silver plane over the house. I haven't told him yet that I was the passenger and Bob the pilot," Joan said, appreciating the fact that she's put one over. Joan pretends she'd rather not drive the family car, because if her Dad drives her, she has someone to talk to -- and she finds him very amusing company. Mrs. Brodel would just as soon drive Joan around on errands and shopping trips, because she has fun doing it. When Joan and her mother went to New York for a vacation -- Joan's first in six years -- her arrival was without fanfare. No studio publicity preceded her and except for a turban, to hide her red hair, and a slight frown to hide the perpetually pleasant expression she wears on the screen, she made no effort to hide her identity. She was almost recognized twice. Once a curious lady got mad at her when she denied being herself. The indignant lady told Joan she should be complimented to be mistaken for Joan Leslie. Her other encounter was in the subway when a girl insisted Joan had gone to high school with her in New York. Joan assured her she was from Detroit, but the gal wasn't convinced. There was nothing unusual in Joan's going unrecognized in New York. She gets away with in Hollywood all the time. There's a reason why she's not photographed with the glamour boys. She doesn't travel in the glamour set. Her boy friends are tennis instructors, swimming champs, and various other non-movie men who don't care about the free publicity they could get by being photographed with her in the town's hot spots. She'd be scared to ask them to pose with her. Her beaux are interested in Joan Leslie, the girl -- not the movie star. They like her for her naturally red hair, her willingness to talk about something besides movies, her attachment to her family. When she goes out with them, they take her where she won't be on exhibition. She likes that, because she can lead the same sort of life in Hollywood that she'd be leading in Detroit -- or would have if she hadn't come to Hollywood to live like a Mid-Westerner. |
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