On Publicity Leaps and the Crawford-Tone Theatre

Even though Katharine Hepburn had apparently ordered that all reporters be kept off the set of Quality Street, Franchot smuggled Ben Maddox of Screenland into his dressing room. Maddox reported that Franchot was "secretly amused at such temperament".  With Maddox, Franchot shared:

This mold I've had to pour myself into is a fierce one to take.  What can I do? When I got my contract with Metro, before I'd even stepped onto the train, a leading columnist announced me as a society playboy whose chief objective was backing shows! Well, I had more surprises. I arrived here to be nearly typed as a stuffed shirt hero. Next I learned that all that interviewers really wanted from me was data on Joan. There's no one I'd rather discuss, but not publicly. It's presumptuous of me; anyway, I've no desire to cash in on her success! Out here they're so anxious for fancy scoops that they leap to amazing conclusions. They leap so fast and frequently that after a bit I figured, "Oh, what's the use of denying that dizzy tale? Another whopper will be circulating in its place next week!"

Franchot then illustrated his point by talking about the theatre at the Crawford-Tone residence:

For instance, that myth about the little theatre we have in our garden should be exploded. It is not for Joan to learn stage acting in, and never was so intended! I've read that it was built so I could teach her the technique of the footlights. That's a sample of the incredible situations I've been in since I've been here. Joan doesn't require any special coaching from me or anyone else to be able to act on the stage. She is an actress. And she couldn't do much emoting in that theatre of ours, despite the touching tale that was printed of horrible stage-fright when she made her debut the other evening — before our customary 'gathering of intellectuals.' They're another joke, incidentally. We have interesting friends, but none of us claim to be "intellectuals"! To get this matter of the theatre straightened out once and for all, when the swimming pool was put in Joan designed a bathhouse for one side and a small, matching theatre for the other. Just a theatre where movies could be run. The widely touted stage is nothing more than a raised platform, elevated so that our sound machine will go underneath it!

Joan & Franchot's Brentwood Home. Source: www.ebay.com