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No. 3 · Gin Rummy · Culver City, 1941 · Door locked

Stage Nine

A New York two-hander that spent thirty years as a local secret, then became Hollywood’s favourite way to wait.

Read the filesThe house book
The files · six on record, one open

Who’s at the table

Six people waiting on a lighting change, and at least one of them isn’t using her own name.

  1. File GIN-01

    Vivian Ashby

    The Star

    On contract
    Age
    29
    From
    Boston
    Occupation
    Contract star, second billing
    The club says

    Boston money, spent. The studio calls her a find; her family calls her something else.

    “Grandfather lost a fortune at cards. I mean to win it back one hand at a time.”

    Also on file · family · The Lamplight Society →
  2. File GIN-02

    Fay Marlowe

    The Contract Player

    On contract
    Age
    27
    From
    Declined to state
    Occupation
    Actress, billed under another name
    The club says

    Billed under a name that isn’t hers, and not the one New York will come to know, either.

    “Knock all you like, darling. They’ll still call you back for the close-up.”

    Also on file · The Blue Lantern →
  3. File GIN-03

    Lou Brandt

    The Fixer

    Studio
    Age
    45
    From
    Newark
    Occupation
    Studio publicity
    The club says

    Makes stories go away, and now and then makes them up.

    “It didn’t happen. And if it did, it happened in Mexico.”

  4. File GIN-04

    Imre Halász

    The Writer

    On contract
    Age
    38
    From
    Budapest; Berlin; Paris
    Occupation
    Screenwriter, on a six-month option
    The club says

    Keeps a bungalow on the lot and a typewriter he doesn’t entirely trust.

    “In Budapest we played for money. Here we play for something worse. Credit.”

  5. File GIN-05

    Dolores Reyes

    Wardrobe

    Studio
    Age
    31
    From
    Boyle Heights
    Occupation
    Wardrobe mistress, Stage Nine
    The club says

    Has dressed every star on the lot, and knows every measurement that ever changed.

    “Hold still, Mr. Brandt. You’re sitting on your cards again.”

  6. File GIN-06

    Hank Doyle

    The Second A.D.

    Studio
    Age
    26
    From
    Bakersfield
    Occupation
    Second assistant director
    The club says

    His draft number came up on Tuesday. He hasn’t mentioned it.

    “From the top, everybody. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

  7. File GIN-??

    The empty chair

    Name on the file

    Screen test
    Age
    —
    From
    you tell us
    Occupation
    you tell us
    The club says

    Nobody knows who brought you. Mr. Brandt is making some calls.

    Nothing yet. Give it a week.

The house book

Where gin rummy came from

A New York two-hander that spent thirty years as a local secret, then became Hollywood’s favourite way to wait.

At the table
Two players, ten cards each. Build runs and sets, knock when you’re low, or go gin.
Our room
A card table on a soundstage between set-ups, under the lights nobody has bothered to switch off.
Seats
2 players · head to head
  1. 1909Elwood T. Baker and his son C. Graham Baker devise gin rummy in New York.
  2. 1909–41It stays a New York game.
  3. 1941It becomes a Hollywood fad, and the fad makes it national.
  4. 1947A survey finds that as many people learned gin during the war as learned pinochle, cribbage, poker and bridge combined.

The clubs and their members are fictional; the games’ histories are not.