Charles Coburn was as great a scene stealer as most in supporting roles in the Thirties and Forties.

Brilliant as a store owner spying on his staff in The Devil And Miss Jones (1941), starring Jean Arthur and Robert Cummings, he vied for supporting actor supremacy with another gem, S Z Sakall.

In a much later film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), the magic was still there. Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe starred in the picture.

A famous columnist once wrote: "Film acting is one prolonged act of robbery, the spoils being the scene, and the cleverest thief gets away with it."

You would notice all the supporting players because of their charisma and an idiosyncracy peculiar to each of them. Martha Raye had only to open her mouth to steal a scene.

Many so-called stars complained and supporting actors were thrown off the set for being too good. In the end, though, the powers compromised and had scenes rewritten so the supporting actor could not dominate.

How many times, I wonder, did this happen to Charles Coburn?

-Gordon Dean, Lancing