The price of a 1941 phone call- Ouch!

[Bluebird Marsha]

I was searching through some newspaper archives, and found this little bit of price pain.
http://newspaperarchive.com/racine-j...-11-28/page-11
It seems that a young navy officer was talking to his soon to be ex-wife. She wanted a divorce, he didn't, but they apparently had a very pleasant talk. He was in the Philippines, she was in Las Vegas (imagine that )- and they didn't pay attention to the time. Length of call: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Cost of call: $163.00.

I knew long distance used to be expensive- we timed our calls to my uncle in Australia in the 70's. But I had no idea they were that pricey!

[Warden]

Now thats why I don't own a mobile phone,

[Shangas]

That right there is why telegrams remained so popular for so long...

[Feraud]

Now thats why I don't own a mobile phone,

That is 1941 rates.. Today's call is likely significantly cheaper.

[Red Leader]

Do you mean that it cost them $163 back in 1941? Or today?

If so...adjusted for inflation, that was a $2500 phone call. Ouch indeed.

[LizzieMaine]

Getting a phone call from Las Vegas to the Phillipines wasn't just a matter of plugging a cable into a jack -- it had to go thru multiple undersea cables, relays, and circuits, and probably took an hour or two just to establish contact. Even an ordinary long-distance call was a complicated process at the time -- usually you'd call the Long Distance operator, give the number you were trying to reach, and she'd ring you back when the connection was complete. Modern-style Direct Distance Dialing didn't exist until the fifties.

[Bluebird Marsha]

Do you mean that it cost them $163 back in 1941? Or today?

If so...adjusted for inflation, that was a $2500 phone call. Ouch indeed.

Yes. That's $163 in 1941 currency. And since the lady was a (very) minor Hollywood starlet, the story appeared in several newspapers. I'm not sure what people thought was more newsworthy. The circumstances of the marriage/divorce, or that they spent ALMOST TWO HOURS ON THE PHONE FROM LAS VEGAS TO THE PHILIPPINES!

However, having had some experience with young military men, that one would blow almost a month's pay on a phone call to a girl...
not surprising at all.

[Amy Jeanne]

Who was the starlet? I can't access the paper without it wanting me to pay.

[Bluebird Marsha]

Who was the starlet? I can't access the paper without it wanting me to pay.

Sorry about that. That paper is set up so you can get two "freebies" a day. I don't know why it blocked you.

Anyhoo. The actress is Marjorie Weaver. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0915913/
She wasn't in acting for very long. A pretty young woman who had a few years of fun in Hollywood. It's kind of cute reading some old papers. I swear, EVERY young actress who's had so much as one line in a film is described as a "starlet".

Synopsis of gossip: young actress marries young navy officer, circa 1937 or 38, and then spends time denying she's married. Off he goes to sea. In the Pacific. Two years later, he's still in the Pacific, and she wants a divorce. He doesn't, and hits the phones trying to talk her out of it. Fail. But she needs permission in writing from him before she can get a divorce, cause he's deployed. He agrees, as long as she promises not to get engaged or married before he gets some leave and then he's going to get her to change her mind and remarry him. She agrees to his conditions and they divorce.

Several problems arose. The phone call was in November (?) of 1941. His leave was scheduled for April of 1942. And in March of 1942 his submarine was scuttled, and the crew spent the rest of the war in Japanese POW camps. And somewhere before the war ended she remarried.

On first reading parts of this story, my first thought was "what a wench!" But from the papers I gathered they had only known each other a couple of weeks before they got hitched, and maybe spent a few a month or two together during their entire marriage. In the future when I read of current Hollywood antics, I will remember this tale, to remind myself that goofiness is not limited to any particular decade.

Some quotes from the lady: "We're being a bit more careful of the phone bills, and he's also been sending me all kinds of beautiful presents. I am beginning to think that he is a kind of wonderful guy." Usually you determine a person's wonderfulness before the wedding

Concerning rumors about her new boyfriend (the one she later married) "...This does make it a little complicated. Kenneth (ex-husband) knows about Donald (new boyfriend and future husband), of course. And vice-verso. When I finish my current picture I am going to Chicago to spend Christmas with Donald's parents. Kenneth and Donald are both fine men. But there'll be no decisions made until April and I've kept my promise."

Title of article in October 1945...
FIRST UNDERSTANDS, SO SHE KEEPS NO. 2

My conclusion. On occasion during this time period, marriage was treated like dating, with "privileges".

[LizzieMaine]

Hollywood has always been a law unto itself in matters of personal morality, a fact which Mr. Joseph Ignatius Breen exploited to stay gainfully employed for twenty years.