October 1945. (Photo by Nina Leen)
The screen actress Olivia de Havilland (Gone With the Wind, To Each His Own, The Heiress, The Snake Pit and other films as well as TV shows) visited American troops on Adak Island in March 1944, a visit that makes an impact on several fictitious characters in the new stage play, Wind Blown and Dripping.
The Adakian, the post newspaper edited by Dashiell Hammett, covered the real event over several days. The following reports, from several editions of The Adakian, include the date of publication and original headline. Below is Hammett’s view of de Havilland, expressed in a letter to Lillian Hellman.
De Havilland was 94 on July 1, 2010, and has been a resident of Paris, France, since the 1950s.
OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND HERE
[Saturday, 18 March 1944, Page 3; story appeared beneath a Claude Steele drawing showing de Havilland with a hospital patient, Joe Stanzac.]
Olivia de Havilland, in person one of Hollywood’s loveliest and busiest stars, arrived on Adak yesterday to begin a visiting tour of local hospitals. She will visit with some 300 patients, continuing the informal, gracious and intimate appearances that are bringing real Spring to the Aleutians.
A cover girl. March 1943
Miss de Havilland, who is living with the nurses at the hospital, was originally scheduled for a limited stay of two days on this island, but is trying to get an extension of time. It is quite possible that she will remain on Adak until Monday.
Beginning today, she will visit as many mess-halls as possible, and at 10:10 pm will be interviewed via local station WXLB.
She is shown here w/ Pvt Joe Stanzac, NYC, at the Station Hospital.
MISS DE HAVILLAND’s DAY
[19 March 1944, Page 4]
The presence of Olivia de Havilland on the island has been the main topic of conversation in every Quonset hut. Those who have seen her insist she is more lovely in person than on the screen. They like the clothes she wears, the up-sweep coiffure, the soft-voiced personal way she has of making each visited patient feel as if her appearance were solely for him.
Miss de Havilland, unlike other film or stage folk who have visited here, forsakes slacks and anything suggesting uniform. The smart feminine dress, soft mink coat, sheer silk hose and bright kerchief are the kind of clothes your girl would want to wear.
After a busy day spent in making the hospital patients glad they were there, Miss de Havilland had dinner with the 331st Engineers, of whose Engi-News she is honorary sponsor.
DE HAVILLAND
[20 March 1944; a non-bylined article]
She sat, little girl fashion, one leg drawn up under her. The trim chalk-stripe suit contrasted with WXLB’s red leather couch, and her very lovely face was the focal point of GI and officers’ and cameras’ eyes. Many men had photos for her to sign, questions to ask, or requests for photo-poses, but I was introduced as the ‘Press,’ shook her hand and chatted briefly until I had to reluctantly share her with the others.
Relaxing at home with a smoke and a beer, April 1942. (Photo by Bob Landry)
These are some of the things Olivia de Havilland talked about: She would love to spend visiting time with every GI on every island but that is obviously impossible, and so hospitalized patients get preference.
Many fellows in or near Los Angeles have given her names and numbers to call when she returns, and she will do so, giving wives and sweethearts the messages entrusted to her.
The dance sequence she shared with Ida Lupino in Thank Your Lucky Stars was put to the test when she recently danced with 100 GIs in one evening, most of them confirmed jitterbugs. “When I go back, I must learn to jitterbug better,” she said, “for I realize it can be a big contribution to the war effort.”
DE HAVILLAND HALL
[24 March 1944; de Havilland visited with Brig. Gen. Harry F. Thompson, commander of Adak Army Air Base and christened a new orientation bluilding in the Quatermaster Dept. area.]
Miss de Havilland, prettier than any picture in a herringbone tweed brown suit, broke a bottle (stale beer) over a corner of the building and formally gave it its name. The new hall has library and writing-room facilities.
* * * * *
Members of the Adakian staff met with de Havilland during her visit. That included editor Hammett. Here’s what he wrote to Lillian Hellman about her, in a letter dated March 21, 1944 (from Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett: 1920-1960, ed. by Richard Layman with Julie M. Rivett [2001]):
“Olivia de Havilland is up here … She seems very nice. As a matter of strict fact, she seemed a little more than that to me, but I’m not unmindful of the fact that she’s the first woman I’ve really talked to in nearly 9 months. The softness is what really gets you. Suddenly you realize that everything you’ve touched for months and months has been harsh in texture. … The snow here is granular, with a good deal of ice in it; the tundra is coarse; even the mud is gritty. Visually there is no softness here. I’m, if possible, more convinced than ever that this is the most beautiful part of the world, but it’s an almost metallic two-dimensional beauty with no warmth or gentleness to trick or woo you into liking it. Its great bleak loveliness is just there hard and sharp forever and ever …”
