May 5, 1941: Lee Shippey writes about some of his hospital experiences – and the cost of healthcare.

HEADLINES (and what they mean): From a trade journal: "Hays Office Bans 'The Outlaw' Because of 'Breast Shots' of Jane Russell."

THIS MEANS, since Miss Russell's exposure could hardly be more startling than those of Veronica Lake in "I Wanted Wings," which were okayed by Hays minions, that public protests against screen naughtiness have increased to a point where the powers that be are heeding storm warnings, Jimmie Fidler says.  

May 4, 1961:  Lee Shippey returns and although he doesn’t elaborate on the surgery that kept him from writing, he shows that the cost of healthcare is nothing new.
 
Tom Treanor has the story of an Irish major in the Shropshire Light Infantry who is being sent back to England after leaving Jamaica to help protect Curacao when Holland fell to the Nazis. 

Jimmie Fidler says: Westerns pay the bills for the costly flops produced to gratify the vanities of producers and "important" actors. Yet when their names — Gene Autry, Bill Boyd, George O'Brien, Roy Rogers, Bill Elliott — are mentioned in Hollywood, they either receive no recognition at all or draw a disdainful, "Oh him? He's a cowboy actor!"

And editorial cartoonist Bruce Russell carries the flag on The Times’ endorsement of Stephen Cunningham against Mayor Fletcher Bowron. As in the 1938 Frank Shaw recall and the Yorty-Poulson race of 1961, the voters of Los Angeles once again ignored The Times’ strident politicking.

May 3, 1941: Novelist James Hilton fills in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery. (I must say, I’m impressed by the number of authors among Shippey’s friends).

Tom Treanor, who was killed covering World War II for The Times, files a report from Curacao, noting that Royal Dutch Shell maintains the world's third-largest refinery there. He watches the tankers leave for England and speculates on their chances against the Nazis.

“A certain number of tankers, loaded with high-octane gasoline, turn red and a certain number of seamen, a large number, die for England. It made us feel funny watching them go out so slowly and so bravely, so steadily for England,” he says.

BELLS TO 12-year-old Roddy McDowall for his one-man campaign, which broke down studio red tape and landed his chum, Wells Wohlwend, a 20th Century-Fox stock job, Jimmie Fidler says. 

Also on the jump: Bruce Russell’s editorial cartoon on fighting over Iraq’s oil.

May 2, 1941: Darrell Ware, filling in for Lee Shippey, writes about the opening of trout season.

I've yet to see Adolphe Menjou in evening attire sans a boutonniere, Jimmie Fidler says 

May 1, 1941: Alan Le May fills in for Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery.

S.S. Santa Rosa — Like your appendix, this cruise is just a vestige of time gone by. As we slide through the soft Caribbean, looking through the open roof of the dining room to the glitter of the Southern Cross, we're living in a half-forgotten glory that war has already destroyed. We're living in the just finished past. These careless, happy-go-lucky voyages seem almost certain to come to an end. They won't belong on seas maybe crawling with submarines.

I'm tipped (and I believe) the George-Raft – Edward G. Robinson feud stories are a publicity stunt leading to their fight scene in "Man Power," Jimmie Fidler says.

April 30, 1941: Horatio Winslow fills in for columnist Lee Shippey, who is recovering from surgery, with a piece about the Women's Ambulance and Defense Corps of America. The organization, unofficially supported by the Army, is intended to respond to local emergencies, Winslow says. 

Tom Treanor pays the price of not getting a visa when his ship visits Bermuda.

With George Raft and Edward G. Robinson refusing to speak, W.B. execs are punch drunk trying to soothe wounded feelings and get "Man Power" finished," Jimmie Fidler says.