Burgess Meredith pedals around RKO Radio Pictures’ backlot. It’s 1936 and the 29-year-old actor is making his film debut: Winterset, an adaptation of the Maxwell Anderson Broadway hit likewise starring Meredith. Photo: Fred A. Parrish

Here’s the snipe: “No wonder Burgess Meredith likes films, because you certainly can’t do this down the aisle of a theater! The young Broadway star is shown outside the “Winterset” stage on the RKO Radio lot where he is making his film debut in the same role he created on the stage.”