Play Truth and Consequences with Irene Dunne

 5. (Q) What act of the past would you undo if you could?

 (A) The pinch I gave a little playmate in Madison, Indiana. It turned her arm so black I was sure I had half-killed her and was scared to death. To this day I've never pinched anyone again.

 6. (Q) Do you have a quick temper?

 (A) Yes, and I suffer with it because instead of flying off the handle and getting things out of my system, I try to run away from the scene. It leaves me boiling inside for hours.

 7. (Q) Is it true you have a secret staircase in your house?

 (A) Yes, it goes from the living room to my bedroom, but I won't tell you why. However, it is not true I have "secret telephones in every room," as the driver of the sight-seeing bus informs his customers. I still haven't figured that one out.

 8. (Q) Where and how did you meet your husband Dr. Griffin?

 (A) On top of the Biltmore Hotel in New York City where we were guests at the same party.

 9. (Q) Has any one fear ever haunted you?

 (A) I'm still afraid of travelling on water and do it under protest. That's a big help when Doctor is mad about boats! I think psychologically the fear came from my father, who was supervising general of a steamship line. As a child I was thorougly schooled in the use of life belts, fire exits on boats etc., and thus unconsciously associated danger with the water.

 10. (Q) When were you born?

 A. (Irene took the consequences. Give us a picture of yourself that you would not release for publication and tell us why.) The picture Irene had refused to release is shown above. She is giving her cook instructions on the occasion of Missy's birthday party.

 13. (Q) Why does your intimate circle of friends include so few movie people?

 (A) Because I am married to a man who is not in the theatrical profession and he is more comfortable in friendships formed outside of it. Also, such friendships are more permanent because the people are more permanently located here.

 14. (Q) Why have you always been utrareticent about your private life?

 (A) I didn't realize I was, but, if so, it must be because I consider it so simple I don't see how it can interest anyone.

 15. (Q) What would be your reaction to discover another woman at a party wearing a duplicate of your dress?

 (A) I had just that happen with a blue and white print dinner dress, and was I heartsick! It was a new dress for an important affair - my first evening at Monte Carlo in New York. I was embarrased, but I couldn't be angry because Mr. X who sold it to me in Hollywood, had warned me that there was one duplicate which had been sold to a Los Angeles society woman. And darned it, of all the women in the United States, that charming lady was seated at the next table, wearing her dress like mine!

 16. (Q) Have you ever been played as a sucker?

 (A) Heavens, yes! It is happening constantly. The last time was on a trip to New York, and, while it was a trivial matter, it really irked me. I was buying an eyebrow pencil which I knew cost twenty-five cents because the woman just ahead of me purchased one just like it for that price. When the clerk recognized me, she said, "Fifty cents!" I paid it because I was on the spot; if I objected it might cause a scene and unpleasantness which anyone in the limelight cannot afford. But I'll never step foot in that shop again.

 17. (Q) Who is Hollywood's best offscreen dancer?

 (A) My choice is George Murphy, because he doesn't take his dancing as a professionally serious matter.

 18. (Q) What is the most controversial subject in your household?

 (A) The education of children. Doctor is inclined to be strict about study and scholastic progress, and favors private schools for our Missy. I feel there are other phases of development as important as scholastic perfection and believe that activities and environment of public schools and colleges are essential to a well-rounded education.

 19. (Q) What were the high spots in your life between the years one to ten; ten to twenty; and twenty to thirty?

 (A) One to ten: A Fourth of July celbration in Louisville when a skyrocket went through the straw hat of the man next door and burnt his bald head. Such excitement! Ten to twenty: When a chap in Madison, Indiana, came home from Virginia Militaty Institute and gave me his blue sweater with the letters VMI on it. What a heart throb! Twenty to thirty: When Flo Ziegfeld sat in the second row of "Show Boat" and sent back a personal note saying I was wonderful!

 20. (Q) Who is Hollywood's best dressed woman in your opinion?

 A. (Irene took the consequences. Let us photograph some of your most cherished keepsakes.)

Irene pays off for not answering question 20 by releasing a picture of her most cheerished keepsakes. They are a music box given her by a director, a fan, a gift of a great actress to whom Irene has always looked for inspiration, and a rosary, given her by a very close woman-friend whom she knew long ago and whose courage has always been a stirring memory to her.