HOLLYWOOD STARS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 April 1940, Page 9

HOLLYWOOD STARS

THE DIVORCE PROBLEM. Studios would like to control every action of their stars, especially those who are right at. the top and are worth millions of dollars in receipts to them. They would like to insert no-marriage

clauses in all the very popular stars' contracts,' because a bachelor star is far more popular than a married one. They do forbid rising young stars to marry before a certain time, fearing that such a serious step will interfere with their growing popularity. But the .bigger a star becomes the harder he becomes to control, and in the end gets his or her own way in almost everything. Ono of these days Hollywood studios will make a definite move to prevent stars from suing for divorce. Recently there have been loud protests from all over the country against the light manner in which stars take marriage. These protests have studios very worried, because if any big organisation decided to boycott a much-married star it would prove disastrous to that star and his pictures. Bette Davis is the only star who has a clause in her contract forbidding he)’ to sue for divorce. That is the reason her former husband. Harmon Nelson, took the initiative recently and sued her instead. Bette Davis also has the right to refuse to pose for publicity stills which she thinks ridiculous (such as playing games on the beach or reading a book to prove that she can read.