Ellen Drew Made Cinderella-like Entry Into Films

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21193, 16 August 1940, Page 8

Ellen Drew Made Cinderella-like Entry Into Films

The chances of young women hoping to break into the movies are not very bright. Nevertheless, there is one current star who made the grade the Cinderella way. She is Ellen Drew, who is co-starred with Ray Milland in the Paramount picture, “French Without Tears.” Miss Drew’s real life story is so much like a hackneyed movie plot that she hates to tell it. A few years ago she was working behind a department store counter, earning £2 a week, on which she had to support herself and her mother. A beauty contest prize sent her to Hollywood. Inevitable disillusionment followed. Ellen was glad to get a job in a soda fountain at £2 5s a week plus tips. Then a noted movie agent came in for an ice cream soda. His name was William Demarest. He obtained for her an audition and a stock contract with Paramount. So far so good, but for two years Ellen did nothing but walk-ons, and began to wonder if she should have left the soda fountain. The big chance came when pro-ducer-director Wesley Ruggles was looking for a “new and refreshing” character for the role opposite Bing Crosby and Fred McMurray. She was tested along with a dozen other ingenues and she won the role. Her performance led Hollywood to class her as “the year’s best bet for stardom.” An important role, as Huguette, in “If I Were King.” won wide critical acclaim and brought about full-fledged stardom. She played opposite George Raft in “The Lady's From Kentucky,T and was the feminine lead in “Geronimo.”