it's so easy to win

MODERN SCREEN, in cooperation with PEPSI-COLA, offers you all the glamor and excitement of Hollywood on your doorstep. Piper Laurie and Anthony Curtis will visit your home town, they'll spend the day with you, take you out. You'll be their guest at a special Hollywood premiere of the Universal-International's spectacular The Prince Who Was A Thief in Technicolor. Sounds impossible? This first prize plus $1,000 can happen to you. For the runners-up there will be 180 additional prizes- totaling in all $6,500 in Government bonds.

this is all you do

It's so easy. All you do is write us a letter- the kind you'd write to a good friend- tellin us why you'd like a visit from Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie in your home, and Hollywood in your home town. (The specific date of the visit and premiere will be announced.) It doesn't have to be fancy or clever. We're not interested in style- we're interested in sincerity and originality.

here are the rules

1. Write a letter in 200 words or less (length is not important) explaining why you would like to have a visit from Tony Curtis and Piper Laurie.

2. Address your letter to Contest Editor, Modern Screen, Box 125, Murrayhill Station, New York 16, N.Y., attaching the entry blank below, or a reasonable facsimile, to each letter. Send as many entries as you like. Type or write each entry clearly.

3. All entries must be postmarked no later than midnight, December 15, 1950. Any entry received after that date will not be accepted.

4. Entries will be judged by Leonard Goldstein, producer of The Prince Who Was A Thief, and the editors of Modern Screen. Decisions will be based on originality and simplicity. In case of a tie, duplicate prizes will be awarded. Judges' decisions are final.

5. Anyone may enter except employees of Dell Publishing Co., Inc., and Universal-International or their families. All entries become the property of Dell Publishing Co., Inc, and none will be acknowledged or returned.

a message from the stars

"I know that only the help and encouragement of fans like you got me the star part of Prince Hussein. You called one Anthony Curtis to the attention of the Hollywood brass. They listened, and here I am. I'm looking forward to saying 'Thank you' in person." Tony Curtis

"Only a couple of years ago I was a fan, writing letters, and asking for pictures. Now I'm getting wonderful letters from all of you. I love it, but I keep pinching myself. Maybe when I meet you face to face and talk to you, I'll believe it's really true." Piper Laurie

The pages are accompanied by an entry blank in pink, a half page color photo of Tony and Piper, and small black and white photos from the film- the prince who was a thief- Universal-International's Technicolor adventure based on Theodore Dreiser's famous story, to be premiered in the winner's home town. For a complete synopsis of The Prince Who Was A Thief, turn to page 96.

Page 96

The Prince Who Was A Thief

This is a synopsis of Universal-International's Technicolor extravaganza based on Theodore Dreiser's story. The movie will be given a special showing in the winner's home-town theater.

Julna (Tony Curtis) foster son of Yusset, infamous thief of Tangiers, is really Prince Hussein,heir to the throne. His uncle, Mustapha, now ruling the kingdom, had hired Yussef to kill him when a baby, but the thief had taken him home to rear secretly as his own son. Julna, too, is an accomplished thief.
Mustapha's daughter is engaged to a powerful king, who has given her the Pink Pearl of Fatima. The jewel is stolen from her boudoir, and Yussef is accused even tough he did not steal it, and must produce the pearl or forfeit his life.
Julna sets a trap to catch the thief, who turns out to be Tina (Piper Laurie) an adorable little gamine. Julna finds the pearl on her, but she steals it from him again.
Tina remains in Yussef's household, and falls in love with Julna. He however, loves the princess, who has offered her hand to whoever returns the pearl. Tina, who has discovered Julna's birthright, warns him that this is a trap. He won't listen, and the trap is sprung. Tina rescues him, but is caught herself. Julna, enlisting the aid of a bandit, saves Tina. Just when safe, Mustapha's men catch them. Only Tina can save them.

Here's inside information on Universal-Internationals' bright new stars who will visit the winner of Modern Screen's exciting contest, presented in cooperation with Pepsi-Cola.

meet Piper Laurie and Tony Curtis

"SCOTCH AS A THISTLE" they say when a pert little miss answering to the name of Piper Laurie comes around. Actually that red hair and those hazel eyes are fooling them. Her real name's Rosetta Jacobs, she's of Polish-Russian descent, and she was born in Detroit, but has lived mostly in Los Angeles. This eighteen-year old who home-grows her own plays,writitng, directing, and producing them, doesn't want to fool anybody. She's so honest, she wouldn't take a cent of salary while Universal-International was waiting for her to finish high school. She wanted to earn it from the start. She's always had some kind of money-making project, like selling neighbors corsages of flowers snitched from their hedges, or publishing a penny newspaper. In between business ventures Piper played little theater roles. From these she got her screen break and roles in Louisa and The Milkman. Tina, the lovable guttersnipe in The Prince Who Was A Thief, is Piper Laurie's first movie with a starring billing.

ANTHONY CURTIS, who is only 25, has had his short life jam-packed with adventure. From the rough and tumble of the New York streets and the neighborhood settlement houses, he went into the navy as a submarine signalman. After being hospitalized with a war injury, he returned to high school in New York to study medicine. but the talent inherited from his father, a Hungarian actor, and grandfather, a circus performer in Budapest, won out and Tony took to the theater. He is a veteran of the Dramatic Workshop and the Cherry Lane Theater, and has done his turn in the Borscht Circuit. A Universal-International talent scout saw his exciting performance in Golden Boy and the rest is Hollywood history. Fans spotted the blue-eyed six-footer in Winchester 73, City Across the River, Sierra and Criss Cross and voiced their approval. His first starring part as Prince Hussein, the title role in The Prince Who Was A Thief, is a direct result of that public acclaim.

The page is accompanied by a quarter page black and white photo of Piper and Tony walking side by side.