It is not pretty, what ensues.
Vera, Countess Sonia, and Roy Randolph, the Dancing Master, all announce their intention to stand fast. Vera tries to take him to bed. When he refuses, she attempts to get him drunk first and then take him to bed. When this fails, she gets herself drunk and commences singing Russian folk songs of the most maudlin kind, while Countess Sonia and Roy Randolph lament in harmony with her.
But in November 1938, he and Vera separate. He is, it seems, to return to court, with his latest failings made public.
Babe calls. Babe is working on the picture with Harry Langdon. The newspapers are reporting that Hal Roach has offered Harry Langdon a seven-year contract, and Babe and Harry Langdon are to be signed for a series. The pictures will be based, Hal Roach announces, on important novels, whatever this may mean. The age of slapstick is over and Hal Roach, like Mussolini, desires to be taken seriously.
How’s the picture going? he asks Babe.
—They’ve changed the title. It’s now called It’s Spring Again.
—What was it called before?
—This Time It’s Love.
—They’re not very good titles.
—Well, it’s not a very good picture.
—That’s all right, then. As long as you’re not engaged in false advertising.
—I’m not sure that truth in advertising is one of Hal’s priorities.
—Don’t worry. You’ll be great in it.
There is a silence on the line, but it communicates pain and regret.
I know, he says, in response to words unspoken. I miss it all.
This business with Harry—Babe begins.
—Look, I understand. You have to make a living. I don’t hold it against either of you.
—No, listen: I don’t think it’s going to work out.
—What?
—Hal has seen the rushes. Hal’s not happy. United Artists isn’t happy either. It didn’t sign on for Langdon and Hardy.
This is the first piece of good news he’s received in months. He has not wished for Babe’s picture to fail because he does not want Babe’s career to suffer, but if the picture is a success then he may never again see the Hal Roach lot, and he may never again work with Babe. Hal Roach Studios may not be perfect, just as Hal Roach may not be perfect, but it is his home. On the other hand, he is about to sue Hal Roach for breach of contract. But if Langdon and Hardy appear unlikely to last, then Hal Roach may be more inclined to settle the suit.
Thanks for letting me know, he says.
—Be seeing you.
—I hope so. I really do.