The Cinema

The stars best loved by the American public — here they are, as given in the latest poll conducted by the American magazine "Ladies' Home Companion":

1 — Greer Garson: As last year, she still holds first place among the stars of Hollywood. The overwhelming majority stands by her side, and delights in her as the highest model of the personality of the American girl.

2 — Ingrid Bergman: She has lately leaped to the summit and is reckoned second after Greer Garson. A great many women admire her — nearly one vote in five. And it is easy to see how Ingrid won her second place, if one watches her in her latest pictures.

3 — Bette Davis: She stands in third place. Bette appeared in her greatest picture, "The Corn Is Green," in 1945, but her role was neither romantic nor musical; she thereby committed an error which is perhaps what fixed her in this place with the public, and brought her down from the second place she formerly held.

4 — Claudette Colbert: She still keeps her fourth place among the actresses. This year's poll showed, contrary to what went before, that she no longer pleases those under twenty-five; but her fame among those above that age is unchanged. She is the Claudette of the present year just as she was the Claudette of the year gone by.

5 — Bing Crosby: He leaped suddenly to the summit after having stood in second rank with Spencer Tracy, who dropped to fifth rank this year. A large body votes for Bing, at the rate of one vote in six, and he is admired by those over twenty-five; as for those under that age, they give him one vote in seventeen.

6 — Walter Pidgeon: He holds second place after "Bing," that is, at the rate of one vote in seven. His admirers are those whose ages run from forty-five and upward; among women, admiration for him runs from the age of twenty-five upward. Those below that age do not taste the pleasure of his art or admire his mastery.

7 — Clark Gable: He has come back from the war as handsome as ever, has risen once more to the pinnacle of cinematic glory, and has taken his first place among the stars. Admiration for him is great among those under twenty-five. And there is no doubt that Clark's smile is capable of crushing Eve's atomic bomb!

8 — Gregory Peck: Who can forget him in "The Valley of Decision"? He is the darling of the rising young generation. His women admirers are many — at the rate of one in ten — and this is what has placed him in fourth rank.