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B
SELZNICK INTERNATIONAL PICTURES, INC.
NEW YORK CITY
Inter-Office Communication
TO: Mr. David O. Selznick
DATE: December 5, 1936
FROM: Miss Katharine Brown
SUBJECT: Trip
Dear David,
I shall refrain from detail about this harrowing experience. I thought
I did a bit of work in New York, but it's child's play to the madhouse
through which we have just gone.
Four cities bring us to the following conclusion. Advance newspaper pub-
licity brings only the curious who are completely devoid of talent and
assume proportions that are impossible for the three of us to handle.
The Junior League groups are fair but members too old. The Little Theatre
groups are serious and worthwhile. The debutante groups giggle but are no
trouble. The college groups are worthwhile, but amateurs.
Result:
Baltimore ... nothing
Washington, Civic Theatre Group ... Paul Walter
Charleston, Junior League & Footlight Players ... 3 charming youngsters
with real possibilities
Atlanta, Agnes Scott College .. No talent
Univ. of Georgia ... No talent
Georgia Tech.............""
Junior League ...........""
Debutantes ................""
Theatre Guild ............""
Studio Club ... ...........""
Theatre Arts Group ...""
Oglethorpe Univ. ... (Blackfriars) 2 girls, good enough for Cukor
to see.
The Marionettes ... No talent
Washington Seminary, most select girls' school in the South for
undergraduate work ... one real beauty with fat
legs, but good enough for George to see.
Margaret Mitchell went here and arranged this
unusual contact for us.
Atlanta had the advance publicity on this talent search which in view of the
circumstances was necessary, but you can see from the results that those
cities where we had carefully prepared our contacts from the desirable sources
were the most productive. On Friday in Atlanta we held open auditions and there
were at least five hundred people here. We saw every "Miss Atlanta" from twenty
yearsback. We had people come dressed in the period and you can imagine what
they were like. Every place has had a beauty contest with a free ride to
Hollywood and, I may add, back. Thus the townfolk just come out for the hell of
it and are rude when they are told the audition is not satisfactory.
The Junior League and Little Theatre groups, on the other hand, have not been
approached before and are cooperative and sincere. The college groups are
sincere but dreadfully inexperienced and have proved to be a waste of time and
money.
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