Just then, the waiter appeared to take our order. The Colonel ordered his ‘usual’ and another martini, while I ordered the Cobb Salad, with an iced tea.
The Colonel glared across the table at me. “I don’t like to drink alone. Have something stronger.”
“Yes, sir.” Turning back to the waiter, I amended, “I’ll have a Falstaff beer.”
The waiter disappeared as quickly as he had come.
Looking back at the Colonel, I commented, “They all seem to know you here, sir.”
“They should. I have lunch here two or three times a week. Hell, I was here the first day it opened, back in ’26. I even helped convince Jack Warner to put up the money to expand the place, a few years back.”
“They seem surprised to see you in uniform, sir.”
”Yeah, the clowns around this town think a uniform is something you get from the wardrobe department. But enough about me. Let’s talk about our mission, and how you’ll fit it.”
Thus began my briefing about our mission and what the Colonel expected of me. The bottom line was that roughly twenty million people went to the movies, each week. The four major studios -- MGM, Paramount, Warner Brothers and RKO -- produced over two hundred feature films a year, to satisfy this audience’s appetite. In 1941, only a handful of those films had been produced with a military story line. This year, 1942, over thirty-five productions would deal with the war, and the Colonel speculated that in 1943 that number would double or triple.
It was our job to make as many of these films as possible have a Marine theme and, when they did, to make sure the depiction was accurate. To accomplish this mission we would wine and dine the studio big shots. The Colonel would do the actual wining and dining, while I did the leg work and follow-up.
Another part of our mission was to stage public relations events with a variety of celebrities and Marines. Those events would be covered by the press and could help with recruitment. As a case in point, a week from Saturday, the USO Hollywood Canteen would have an ‘All-Marine Night.’ The Canteen had already had All-Navy, All-Army and All-Air Corps nights, so this would be the first for the USMC. The party would be hosted by a movie-star-turned-Marine by the name of Glenn Ford, along with any other top celebrities we could enlist. The hosts would entertain and serve the men, while cameras documented the party. Footage of the event would end up in newsreels, newspapers and magazines throughout America.
As the Colonel remarked, “Mix Hollywood celebrities with Marines and we’ll stampede the boys to the recruiting stations.”
The final part of our mission was to help sell war bonds. Working again with the celebrities and some selected politicians, we would stage different events to promote and sell the bonds. A few weeks earlier, OWI had staged a parade of a dozen movie stars down Hollywood Boulevard and had sold over two million dollars’ worth of bonds. We would conduct this same sort of event, on a smaller scale, at department stores, restaurants, factories, and movie premieres. Our job was to enlist the celebrities, select the venues and stage the events.
During this ninety-minute briefing, I consumed three beers while the Colonel belted down three martinis, two of which were paid for by different people who stopped by the table to chat. The Colonel seemed to know everyone, and everyone seemed to like him.
As he finished the briefing, he looked across the table at me. “Well, there you have it, Dutch. It’s a hell of an opportunity for a young man like you. You’ll be going places, seeing things and working with movies stars that most people only dream of meeting. But I have to warn you, this town is full of people who lie, cheat and steal. I call them the ‘land mines,’ and unfortunately most of these land mines are the celebrities themselves. Keep your eyes and ears open, and only believe half of what you see or hear. Got it?”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“Oh…and one more thing. When you get back to the office, you will find a new camera outfit on your desk. I ordered it last month and it came in yesterday, just like you. Must be destiny. From now on, you’ll be doing all the photography for our events. Before you and the camera arrived, I had to go to Commander Knox to get a photographer. He’d send me a Navy Signalman, which was fine, but the pictures that came back were always full of Navy personnel. I want our pictures full of Marine personnel so, from now on, you’ll be doing the photography.”
With a sinking feeling in my gut, I looked across at the Colonel, trying to absorb what he had just said. Finally, I broke the silence. “Colonel, I know nothing about photography! The only camera I ever used was a Kodak Brownie, and most of those pictures were blurry. I’m sure you can do a lot better than me, in this town full of photographers.”
Frowning back at me, he said, “Well, Dutch, you better learn and learn fast. Consider it on-the-job training. And I expect all my pictures to be in focus. Do you understand, Lieutenant?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Talk to Maggie. Maybe she can help you find a photography instructor. Do you have any questions?”
Trying to change the subject to something lighter, I said, “Yes sir. I was wondering how you met Maggie, and what she did before going to work for you.”
An enormous smile raced across his face, “She’s quite a gal. I met her in 1928, over at MGM. She was twenty-six then, doing some dancing and walk-on roles. I used her in a couple projects and thought she was a hell of a lot more intelligent than most dancers. One day, I told her I needed help staging an event, and she volunteered. That was the last time I needed to look for help. She’s been with me ever since. As I said, she’s my secret weapon.” He paused a moment, and his smile turned serious as he continued, “She’s too old for you, Dutch. And anyway, I don’t think she likes men in the amorous way. Well, we have to get out of here. I have an appointment at two-thirty.”
His reply caught me off-guard, since I hadn’t been asking about her for personal reasons. And that remark about not liking men ‘in the amorous way…’ What the hell was that all about? I felt my face go flush with embarrassment, and didn’t know what to say, other than, “Aye, aye, sir.”
As I looked up to slide out of the booth, a lady approached our table, shouting, “Lennie, darling, is that you? God, you are one good-looking soldier!”
She was a vivacious woman wearing a tight, revealing, yellow sundress with more cleavage than I had ever seen. From the layers of makeup on her attractive face, I knew she had to be a celebrity.
The Colonel stood up and threw his arms around her in a big hug. “Carole! How nice to see you. Don’t you look spectacular in that dress!”
Carole turned her face my way and asked, “Lennie, who is this fine-looking young soldier with you?”
“This is Lieutenant Dutch Clarke. He just came to work for me. Lieutenant, this, of course, is Ms. Carole Lane. I’m sure you know her from all of her films.”
Getting on my feet, I fumbled for an answer, since I had never seen or heard of her before. Finally, I lied, “Yes, I certainly do. It’s very nice meeting you, Miss. Lane.”
When she extended her hand to me, I didn’t know whether to kiss it or shake it, so I did the latter.
“Sweetie,” she said, “you can call me Carole.” She smiled and winked at me.
I could feel the eyes of people around our table staring, and it made me feel uncomfortable.
Finally, the Colonel asked, “So, Carole, are you coming to our party at the Hollywood Canteen, a week from Saturday?