Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, May 1922 · page 52 of 68
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #33 — page 52: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This gossip column satirizes Hollywood production conflicts and romantic entanglements. The Omar Khayyam segment mocks a dispute between producer Ferdinand Penney Earle and his female financial backer ("Queenie"), a wealthy Los Angeles woman. The joke centers on her attempting to control the film's final cut, forcing Earle to hide film reels to retain creative authority. The satire suggests women should not interfere in professional filmmaking—Earle ultimately edits from his hospital bed rather than yield to her. The second item ridicules young producer Myron Selznick for his romantic infatuation with British dancer Evelyn Laye, imagining her as a Broadway star in Selznick productions. The humor targets his starry-eyed ambitions driven by romance. Both items exemplify the magazine's sardonic commentary on early Hollywood's chaotic production practices and personal drama.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
50 Captain Billy's Whiz Bang German serial now being shown over here, were—well—super heated. But the importers sliced them all out. Now we hear more cutting troubles over another production. Omar Khayyam has de- serted his Persian vineyards and tent making shops and jumped into headlines. In the first place, Ferdinand Penney Earle conceived the idea of putting “Omar Khayyam” on the screen. A Los Angeles lady of means known as “Queenie” (Note: Lots of gossip as to where her wealth was made!) with apologies for our familiarity, put up the coin. When it was done she decided Mr. Earle shouldn’t cut and title the picture, so put it under her arm and started for New York. Ferdinand, how- ever, deftly kept a couple of reels hidden some- where, so they had to send for him to complete the production. He went. An armistice was signed. Earle caught the “flu” but, although confined to his bed with illness, he edited and cut it from his hospital bed, not, it seems to be thwarted by a mere woman “angel.” * * * EVERYONE is laughing over the rift on the Selznick maison. You see, young Myron Selznick went to London a few months ago and fell heavily for Evelyn Laye, dancing in a British revue. He visioned the young lady’s name in electric lights on Broad- way as star in Selznick pictures—and he told