Tuesday, October 31, 1933

Today was Hallowe'en. This evening Beatrice and Virginia and their brother and Bernice and I went Hallowe'ening.

Leningrad, Russia - October 31, 1933

In response to advances in German rocketry, the Soviet Government merges GIRD (Jet Propulsion
Research Group) with GDL (Gas Dynamics Laboratory) in Leningrad. The merger creates the RNII
(Jet Propulsion Research Institute), headed up by the military engineer Ivan Kleimenov. This group
 contains a number of people who are are enthusiastic proponents of space travel, including Valentine
 Glushko. Sergey Korolyov becomes the Deputy Chief of the institute, where he will lead the development
 of cruise missiles and of a manned rocket-powered glider. 

Monday, October 30, 1933

Daddy took me to school this morning. We had a substitute in History today. Walked home with Ruth.

Mary Astor
Birth Name: Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke
(3 May 1906 - 25 September 1987)

Most remembered for her role as Brigid O'Shaughnessy in "The Maltese Falcon"
 with Humphrey Bogart, Astor began her long motion picture career as a teenager in the
silent movies of the early 1920s. She eventually made a successful transition to talkies,
but almost saw her career destroyed due to public scandal in the mid-1930s. She was sued for
 support by her parents and was later branded an adulterous wife by her ex-husband during
 a custody fight over her daughter. Overcoming these stumbling blocks in her private life,
 Astor went on to even greater success on the screen, eventually winning the Academy Award
for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Sandra Kovak in "The Great Lie."

Sunday, October 29, 1933

Mother and I went to Sunday School and church. We went out east and rode around a lake in the afternoon.

Lake Lotawana

Lake Lotawana was developed in the late 1920s and early 1930s
in eastern Jackson County by Milton Thompson. Legend has it
that Jesse James and the Quantrill's Raiders used to hide out in the
area where Lake Lotawana was later developed. In fact, the tale goes
on to say that Jesse James actually had a cabin on the lake ... though
no one has ever been able to confirm said cabin's location.

Today, the City of Lake Lotawana is home to over 2,000 residents.

Saturday, October 28, 1933

Got Mrs. Raifert some meat. Cut my hand. Went over to Helen's. Had a swell time. Traded dresses with Helen. They brought us home.

Jesse Clyde Nichols, better known as J.C. Nichols (August 23, 1880 - February 16, 1950),

Nichols was a prominent developer of commercial and residential real estate in Kansas City.
He was born in Olathe, Kansas, attended the University of Kansas and Harvard University.
His developments include the Country Club Plaza, the first suburban shopping center in the
United States and the Country Club District, the largest contiguous master-planned community
in the United States.

He called his method "planning for permanence," for his objective was to "develop whole
residential neighborhoods that would attract an element of people who desired a better way
 of life, a nicer place to live and would be willing to work in order to keep it better." Nichols
invented the percentage lease, where rents are on based tenants' gross receipts. The
percentage lease is now a standard practice in commercial leasing across the United States.

Nichols relied on restrictive covenants to control the uses of the lands in the neighborhoods
he developed. Most of the covenants restricted the lands to residential uses, and contained other
features such as setback and free space requirements. However, homes in the Country Club District
 were restricted with covenants that prohibited African Americans and Jews from owning or
 occupying the homes, unless they were servants. Nichols did not invent the practice, but he
used it to effectively bar ethnic minorities from living in his properties during the first half of the
 century. His restrictive covenant model was later adopted by the federal government to help
implement similar policies in other regions of the United States. Ultimately, the 1948 Supreme
Court decision Shelley v. Kraemer made such covenants unenforceable.

Friday, October 27, 1933

We have been having a substitute in English all this week. I went swimming and swam 40 lengths.

1933 - Gene Autry
Birth name: Orvon Grover Autry
(September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998)

"The Singing Cowboy" signed a record deal with Columbia Records in 1929.
After singing everything from "hillbilly music" to blues, he finally had a hit
with "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," in a duet Jimmy Long, and which Autry
and Long co-wrote. Autry also sang the classic Ray Whitley hit "Back in the Saddle
Again," as well as many Christmas holiday songs, including "Santa Claus Is Coming to 
Town," his own composition "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Frosty the Snowman," and his
biggest hit, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Altogether, Autry made 640 recordings.
He also appeared in 94 films and 91 episodes of "The Gene Autry Show" television series.

Thursday, October 26, 1933

Daddy took me to school today. It was raining. I walked home with Ruth. I got my nightstand.

Raymond-Green Furniture Co.
1017 E. 12th Street
Kansas City, MO

Actual text of classified ad for Raymond-Green: "Only 5 doors from Troost. Big dressers $8.
 A bed, spring and mattress, $7.20. 6 foot extension tables, $2.50. Dictate your own terms.
Raymond-Green Furniture Co. 1017 East 12th."

The store moved to a downtown location at 1312 Grand in 1928. But with sales in 1933 dropping
 to approximately half of those in 1931 and the end of the depression not yet in sight, it was just a
matter of time until the store was forced to close. It did so in early 1934.

Wednesday, October 25, 1933

I went swimming today at school. Went to the tables at Study Hall. Walked home with Ruth Ray.

Eliot Ness
April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957

Ness joined the U.S. Treasury Department in 1927, working with the 300-strong Bureau of
Prohibition in his hometown of Chicago. Following the election of President Herbert Hoover,
the Treasury Department was specifically charged with bringing down gangster Al Capone.
Ness was chosen to head the operations under the Volstead Act, targeting the illegal breweries
and supply routes of Capone. In order to accomplish this he created a team of unbribable agents
nicknamed "The Untouchables."

Following the repeal of Prohibition, Ness was assigned as an alcohol tax agent in the
"Moonshine Mountains" of southern Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee (1933-1935). He then
 served as Director of Public Safety in Cleveland (1935–41), and during World War II
as Director of the Division of Social Protection of the Federal Security Agency in
Washington, D.C. (1941–45).

Ness died at his Cleveland home of a heart attack. "The Untouchables", the
book he co-wrote with Oscar Fraley, was published a month after his death.

Tuesday, October 24, 1933

Mother dyed my jacket. Sugar came down and she and Pauline and I went to show. Saw 70,000 Witnesses.

70,000 Witnesses

Starring: Phillips Holmes, Dorothy Jordan, Charles Ruggles, Johnny Mack
Brown, J. Farrell MacDonald

Directed by Ralph Murphy

Print: black/white
Runtime: 69 min.
Genre: mystery

This "gimmick" murder mystery begins during a crucial college football
game. Wally Clark (Johnny Mack Brown), the team's star player, is killed
just before making the winning touchdown, as the titular 70,000 witnesses
look on. Wally's teammate Buck Buchanan (Phillips Holmes), the younger
brother of gambler Slip Buchanan (Lew Cody), had previously refused to
drug Wally at Slip's bequest. Even so, when Wally drops dead, the leading
suspect is poor Buck. It's up to bibulous reporter Johnny Moran (Charles
Ruggles) and Wally's sister Dorothy Clark (Dorothy Jordan) to save Buck
before local detective Dan McKenna (David Landau) railroads the boy into
the electric chair.

Monday, October 23, 1933

I stayed all night last night at Mrs. Raifert's but not tonight. Mother washed. I went over to Betty's.

John Dillinger's Wanted Poster

In 1933 Dillinger and his gang began a streak of bank robberies across Indiana. Among
Dillinger's more celebrated exploits was his pretending to be a sales representative for a company
that sold bank alarm systems. He reportedly entered a number of Indiana and Ohio banks and
used this ruse to assess security systems and bank vaults of prospective targets. Another time,
 the gang pretended to be part of a film company that was scouting locations for a "bank robbery"
scene. Bystanders stood and smiled as a real robbery ensued and Dillinger and friends escaped
 with the loot.

Stories such as this only served to increase Dillinger's burgeoning legend. Dillinger was believed
to have been associated with gangs who robbed dozens of banks and accumulated a total of more
 than $300,000. Banks allegedly robbed by Dillinger and his associates include the Central National 
Bank And Trust Co. in Greencastle, Indiana, where they got away with $74,000 on October 23, 1933.

Sunday, October 22, 1933

Didn't go to Sunday School or church. Mrs. Raifert ate a little dinner with us today. Ollie was over this evening.

Pittsburgh Pirates Football Helmet Logo 1933 - 1939
Owner: Art Rooney
Head Coach: Forrest Douds
Home Field: Forbes Field


The 1933 Pittsburgh Pirates was the debut season of the team that would eventually become
the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team was founded after Pennsylvania relaxed its blue laws that,
prior to 1933, prohibited sporting events from taking place on Sundays, when most NFL games
 took place. The new squad was composed largely of local semi-pro players, many of whom played
 for sports promoter Art Rooney. Rooney became the Pirates owner, paying the NFL a $2,500
 fee to join the league. Except for a brief period in the early '40s, Rooney remained the owner
until his death in 1988. The Rooney family has retained control ever since.

The Pirates finished 3–6–2 for the 1933 season.

Prior to the 1940 season, the team renamed itself the Steelers. They had taken their original name
from the baseball team of the same name, as was common practice for NFL teams to do at the time.

Saturday, October 21, 1933

I came home from Mrs. Raifert's this morning. Went downtown today. Stayed all night again.

University of Kansas City Administration Building (circa 1933)

During a bright autumn day on October 1, 1933, nearly 2,000 people gathered in the shade of trees

 along the south side of Brush Creek to officially celebrate the opening of the University of Kansas City.

Inspired speeches by Chairman of the Board Ernest E. Howard and Dr. Burris Jenkins, a prominent

 local minister, declared the founders' intention that the university should serve as an institution

 of opportunity for Kansas Citians who could not travel far away to attend college.  The following day,

on October 2, classes began with 264 students and 17 instructors. 

On July 25, 1963, UKC finally succumbed to longstanding financial difficulties and ceased to be a

private university.  It instead joined the University of Missouri System, which already had campuses

in Columbia, Rolla, and St. Louis, and was renamed the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).

Friday, October 20, 1933

Had a vision test in Gym hour. Had a fire drill at school. I stayed all night with Mrs. Raifert.

Jimmie Rodgers (September 8, 1897 - May 26, 1933)

Among the first country music superstars and pioneers, Rodgers was also known
 as The Singing Brakeman, The Blue Yodeler, and The Father of Country Music.

Suffering from tuberculosis, Rodgers nevertheless traveled from Texas to New York
 in May 1933 for what turned out to be his last recording session. Rodgers was so
weakened by the TB that he needed to rest on a cot between songs. He died in New
York, in his room at the Taft Hotel, at the age of 35.

Somewhere Down Below the Dixon Line, one of the songs Jimmie Rodgers
recorded during that last session, was released on October 20, 1933. 

Thursday, October 19, 1933

Mother was sick in bed all day. I looked for the different types of columns for my History lesson.

Thomas Hart Benton (April 15, 1889 – January 19, 1975)

Born in Neosho, Missouri, Benton was an American painter and muralist who, along
 with Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry, was at the forefront of the Regionalist art movement.
Though he lived in New York for more than 20 years and summered at Martha's Vineyard most
 of his adult life, his ties to Missouri remained strong.

He was commissioned to create a mural for the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. There
 was quite a bit of controversy over A Social History of Missouri because he included subjects of
slavery, the Missouri outlaw Jesse James and political boss Tom Pendergast. After teaching for
several years at the Art Students League in New York, Benton accepted a teaching position
 with the Kansas City Art Institute. He also created a number of other murals, including
Independence and the Opening of The West, for the Harry S. Truman Library
in Independence, that remain in place today.

Benton died in 1975 at work in his Kansas City studio, just as he completed his final mural,
The Sources of Country Music, for the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN. His wife
of 53 years died ten weeks later. In 1977, Benton's 2 1/2 story late-Victorian residence and
carriage house studio in Kansas City was designated the Thomas Hart Benton  Home and
Studio State Historic Site. The site remains virtually unchanged from its appearance at the
time of his death; clothing, furniture, and paint brushes are still in place. Displaying 13
 original works of his art, the house museum is open for guided tours.

Wednesday, October 18, 1933

Walked to school and home with Ruth Ray. I went swimming. Swam 18 lengths. Had apple pie tonight.

Apple Pie has been a favorite American dessert from pioneer
time to the present, with recipes varying according to the
preferences of individual cooks. Following is Ruth's recipe:

Pare and slice thin 6 or 7 tart apples. Add 1/2 cup white sugar and
1/2 cup brown sugar mixed with a dash of salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon,
and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

Fill 9-inch pastry lined pie pan with mixture. Dot with butter and sprinkle
2 tablespoons water over all. Cut slits in top crust and adjust.

Bake in hot oven (450 degrees) for 10 minutes, then in moderate oven
(350 degrees) for about 40 minutes.

Tuesday, October 17, 1933

Walked with Pauline. I drew a picture in History on the board for the teacher. I got my lessons.

Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955)

On October 17, 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States,
a refugee from Nazi Germany. He became a citizen in 1940. On the
eve of World War II, he helped alert President Roosevelt that Germany 
might be developing an atomic weapon, and recommended that the U.S. begin 
 similar research; this eventually led to what would become the Manhattan Project.

Monday, October 16, 1933

Ruth came by and we walked to school together. Had a lot of night work this evening.

USS Macon
Sister of the rigid airship USS Akron

Built in Akron, Ohio, the USS. Macon first flew in April 1933, only a few weeks after
Akron's tragic loss. Following a series of test flights, one of which took her from Ohio to
Wisconsin and back, she was commissioned in June. Macon was based at Lakehurst, New Jersey,
during mid-1933 and made several development and training flights during this time.

In October she flew by way of her name city of Macon, Georgia, and Texas to Moffett Field,
California. She arrived on October 16, 1933, and was housed at Hangar One. The hangar was
designed and built for the Macon and is still in existence today. The RMS Titanic could fit in 
Hangar One with room to spare at each end of the hangar.

The Macon participated in numerous fleet exercises and problems over the next year and a half.
During the early evening of 12 February 1935, while returning to Moffett Field from an operation
over the ocean, USS Macon encountered a storm off Point Sur, California. A violent gust tore
off her upper fin, causing damage that soon brought her down into the sea. Though all but two
of her crew were rescued, the dirigible sank in deep water, effectively ending the Navy's
controversial, and trouble-plagued, program of rigid airship operations.

Sunday, October 15, 1933

Went to Sunday School and church this morning. Ollie was over. Went over to Mrs. Raifert's in p.m.

Nearly 500 unemployed men line up outside "Unemployed Gateway Loan and Sporting Co."
to receive overcoats in Kansas City, Missouri. Louis A. Cumonow, a local merchant, distributes
 the overcoats free of cost to the needy.

Note: 1933 was the worst year of the depression with unemployment peaking at
25.2% with ( 1 in 4 people unemployed)





Saturday, October 14, 1933

Got flowers for Mr. Raifert. Went over to Sears Roebuck Co. Went to funeral and cemetery. Ollie was there.

Anachronous world map in 1920–1945, showing the League of Nations and the world.

The League of Nations came into being after the end of World War One. Its task was 
simple - to ensure that war never broke out again. The League of Nations was based in Geneva,
Switzerland, a neutral country that had not fought in World War One. Its sole purpose
was to maintain world peace  and to sort out international disputes as and when they occurred.

On October 14, 1933, Germany withdrew from the League of Nations as did Japan and Italy.

Friday, October 13, 1933

Mr. Raifert died this morning at 5:15 a.m. Collected the money for flowers for him this evening.

Nikola Tesla
October 13, 1933

Tesla (10 July 1856 - 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American inventor,
mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer. He was an important contributor 
to the birth of commercial electricity, and is best known for his many
revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. Tesla's patents and theoretical work formed the basis of
 modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase
system of electrical distribution and the AC motor. This work  helped usher in
the Second Industrial Revolution.

"Electric power is everywhere present in unlimited quantities and can drive the
world's machinery without the need of coal, oil, or any other fuel." Nikola Tesla

Thursday, October 12, 1933

Walked to school with Pauline. Gave report in History. They took Mr. Raifert to the hospital about noon. (He was gassed in the war.)

Morning Glory (1933)
Stars: Katharine Hepburn, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Adolphe Menjou
Director: Lowell Sherman
Writers: Zoe Akins (play), Howard J. Green

Plot Summary:

When a naively innocent, aspiring actress arrives on the Broadway scene, she is taken

 under the wing of several theater veterans who mentor her to ultimate success.

Note: Katharine Hepburn won her first Oscar in Morning Glory.

Wednesday, October 11, 1933

I went swimming today. Bought my lunch. Yesterday we changed our seats in English. Washed the dishes.

Too Much Harmony (1933)

Musical comedy starring Bing Crosby and Jack Oakie
Co-starring Judith Allen and Lilyan Tashman
Director: A. Edward Sutherland
Writers: Joseph Mankiewicz (story), Harry Ruskin (dialogue)

Plot Summary:

A singer is involved with two women in his life, one a "good" girl and one a "bad" one."

Soundtrack:
Quite extensive and includes "Thanks" (written by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow and
sung by Bing Crosby) and "Buckin' the Wind (also by Johnson and Coslow and sung by Crosby).

Tuesday, October 10, 1933

My grades are as follows: History - S; Expression - M; Latin - S; English - M; and Gym - M. Bought my lunch.

Ernest Hemingway (1899 - 1961)

Winner Take Nothing by Ernest Hemingway (1933)

This collection of Hemingway's short stories includes the
following titles from his first forty-nine stories:

• After the Storm
• A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
• The Light of the World
• God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
• The Sea Change
• A Way You'll Never Be
• The Mother of a Queen
• One Reader Writes
• Homage to Switzerland
• A Day's Wait 
• A Natural History of the Dead
• Wine of Wyoming
• The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio
• Fathers and Sons

 Most of these stories were included in the 1987 collection,
The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: The Finca Vigia Edition.





Monday, October 9, 1933

Went to school. Ruth Ray came after me. Tomorrow is report cards for first five weeks. Walked home with RR.

William "Willie" Sutton (June 30, 1901 - November 2, 1980)

A prolific U.S. bank robber who, during his forty year criminal career stole an
 estimated $2 million, and eventually spent more than half his adult life in prison.
For his talent at executing robberies in disguises, he gained two nicknames, "Willie
the Actor" and "Slick Willie." When not disguised, Sutton was an immaculate dresser.

Sutton is famously known for answering a reporter, Mitch Ohnstad, who asked why
 he robbed banks by saying, "because that's where the money is." But in his partly
ghostwritten autobiography, Where the Money Was: The Memoirs of a Bank Robber
(Viking Press, New York, 1976), Sutton dismissed this story, saying: "I never said it.The
credit belongs to some enterprising reporter who apparently felt a need to fill out his
copy... "If anybody had asked me, I'd have probably said it. That's what almost
anybody would say...it couldn't be more obvious."

Sunday, October 8, 1933

Mother and I went to Sunday School and church. Bought the paper. Put up the parlor stove. I went to the show.

Upright Parlor Stove

Cast-iron parlor, or heating, stoves, whose ornate decoration reflected Victorian sensibility,
 came into vogue in the 1850s. Parlor stoves were far more efficient and a family was no longer
tied to the fireplace as its only source of heat. Parlor stove production continued until the 1930s,
when indoor heating rendered them obsolete.

Saturday, October 7, 1933

I straightened up the house this morning. Went to the store. I read my library books. Helen's and them were by.

The NY Giants defeat the WA Senators
on October 7, 1933, to win the 1933 World Series.

The 1933 World Series featured the National League baseball champions, the New York Giants,
and the American League champions, the Washington Senators, with the Giants winning in five
games for their first championship since 1922, and their fourth overall.

Washington, D.C. has not hosted another World Series since 1933, thus Game 5 was the
final Series game played in the nation's capital as of 2010. This Washington Senators franchise
 became the Minnesota Twins during the 1960–61 offseason, and would not reach the World
Series again until 1965. The second Senators team became the Texas Rangers. The transfer
of the Montreal Expos to become the Washington Nationals opens the door to D.C.
again potentially.

Friday, October 6, 1933

Daddy took me and Pauline and Harold and Beatrice and Lucille and Virginia to school. I made M on the History test.

"Morning, Noon and Night"
Stars: Betty Boop
Release Date: October 6, 1933
Director: Dave Fleisher
Copyright (c) Paramount

Rubinoff and his orchestra play the score for this cartoon about a bunch of cats
(‘the tom kat social club’) that threatens Betty Boop’s farm full of birds. This orchestra,
 led by the Russian violinist David Rubinoff, played sweet pseudo-classical music,
and this sets the tone for the this short.

‘Morning Noon and Night’ is a very sweet cartoon and somewhat reminiscent of
Walt Disney's "Birds in Spring" from earlier that year. Athough it doesn’t come
 near that cartoon in quality, it shows that Fleischer was getting more ambitious.
This ambition would lead to the launch of the "Color Classics" in 1934.

Thursday, October 5, 1933

Ruth Ray came by this morning but she didn't come till too late. I walked home with her tonight.

Vernon "Verne" C. Miller (August 25, 1896-November 29, 1933)

A freelance Prohibition gunman, bootlegger, bank robber and former sheriff in
South Dakota, Miller was the only identified member of the Kansas City Massacre.
Miller left Kansas City immediately after the massacre and fled to New York while
his girlfriend, Vivian Gibson, hid in Chicago. On October 5, 1933, FBI agents located her
apartment just days before Miller appeared at the door. He managed to escape
through a flurry of bullets. With lawmen and members of the criminal underworld
after him, his days were numbered. On November 29, 1933, a motorist traveling
outside of Detroit discovered a mutilated, naked body alongside the road. Fingerprints
taken confirmed that Miller's days were over. His date of death was listed as the
day he was found.

Wednesday, October 4, 1933

Went swimming today. It sure got cold in the pool. Tonight I washed the dishes for Mother.

In the midst of the Great Depression, "Ike" and Mike Katz opened their first
building outside Kansas City's central business district, at Main Street and Westport
Road. When it opened it was the largest drug store in the world at 20,000 square feet.

The store hosted 29 cash registers, parking assistance, air conditioning, and the 
company's trademark sign with a large black cat wearing a bowtie. The logo was of
course a play on the name Katz. (Although the building is currently empty, its unique
art deco clock tower is still a familiar sight in Westport today.)
  




Tuesday, October 3, 1933

We played volleyball tonight after school but our team, "The Blue Eagles," didn't win. I sewed a little after supper.

Singer 221 Featherweight Sewing Machine
Case with bluish-green interior and full tray
Serial Number AD550866
Manufactured October 3, 1933

The Singer Featherweight portable sewing machine is a model made by that company
 between 1933 and 1964. The machine (model 221), adapted from an earlier portable, the
Standard SewHandy (which company was bought out by Singer) weighs about 11 pounds
 and has been found to be an ideal machine for quilters and other sewers to take to classes
 or "on location." Very quiet and sturdily made with all-metal parts (mostly aluminum),
 the Featherweight sews only straight stitches but it sews them very well. Even the
oldest machines, if they've been cared for, still sew wonderfully.

Monday, October 2, 1933

Went to school. Our side won the volleyball game. Mother washed clothes today and I brought them in from the line. It was pretty cool outside.

Recorded beginning October 2, 1933

Benny Goodman (cl) Bud Freeman (ts) Adrian Rollini (bass sax) Joe Venuti (vln)
Joe Sullivan (p) Dick McDonough (g) Neil Marshall (d) - NYC, October 2, 1933

Manny Klein, Charlie Teagarden (tp) Jack Teagarden (tb, vo) Benny Goodman (cl) Art
Karle (ts) Joe Sullivan (p) Dick McDonough (g) Artie Bernstein (b) Gene Krupa (d)
- NYC, October 18, 1933

+ Frank Froeba (p) replaces Joe Sullivan - NYC, October 27, 1933

Nate Kazebier (tp) Joe Harris (tb) Benny Goodman (cl) Dick Clark (ts) Jess Stacy (p)
Allan Reuss (g) Israel Crosby (b) Gene Krupa (d) - Chicago, IL, November 19, 1935

Sunday, October 1, 1933

Mother and I went to church. I went out and played with Betty, Joyce and Baby Doll. Ollie was over.

"Baby Face"
October 1, 1933
Starring Barbara Stanwyck as Lily Powers
Genre: Drama
Run time: 71 minutes

"Baby Face" is a good example of the kind of spitfire lead female characters
that appeared in the cinema of pre-code Hollywood. Lily Powers (Barbara Stanwyck)
works as a barmaid in her father's factory-town saloon where she learns to deal with
the unwanted advances of male customers. When her father dies, she moves to New York
 City with her maid, Chico (Theresa Harris), to become a ruthless gold digger. First she meets
 office boy Jimmy McCoy (a young John Wayne in an uncharacteristically clean-cut role) who
 helps her get a job at the Gotham Trust Company. From there, she seduces and discards various 
men (George Brent, Donald Cook, Henry Kolker) as she sleeps her way to the top of the
company. Jealously between the men causes a murder scene, so Lily takes her furs and jewels
 and moves to Paris with Chico.

Note: The production code censors tacked on an ending that featured Lily
giving away her money and returning to her home town with Brent.