Eye candy of movies' heyday finally stars.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY

She was the glam girl - the knockout blonde sitting at the bar with the second lead, having a cigarette and a martini, or ducking out the back door with the mobster one step ahead of the cops.

She danced with Fred Astaire, flirted with James Cagney, blew a date with Cary Grant and learned from Joan Crawford how to knit to relax between scenes.

Pauline Wagner was never a star, but at age 98, she's getting top billing this Saturday night at the restored art deco Alex Theatre in Glendale for the theater's classic-film series.

At 8 p.m., before a showing of "The Philadelphia Story," the longtime Glendale resident will take the stage to talk about working as a contract player with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood's Golden Age of film - from the late '20s into the '40s.

We had a chance to talk earlier this week, and the woman called Polly by her neighbors and friends is still as sharp and lively as a Mae West one-liner.

"My friends and I from Santa Monica High used to play volleyball on the beach in front of actress Marion Davies' mansion on the beach, and once in a while she'd join us," Polly said.

"One day she asked if we'd like to work in the movies, and she arranged interviews for everyone. Only a few of us got hired, including Joel McCrea, who went on to be a big star. He was such a snob. He'd just sit on the beach posing, trying to look beautiful. Which he was."

Polly played the glam girl in "Lady Killer" with Cagney, and she had minor roles in major pictures including "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" with Gary Cooper. She was also in many Ginger Rogers movies.

"One day they were setting up a new dance step for Ginger and Fred Astaire when he just grabbed me and we started dancing.

"He wanted to show everyone how it was supposed to be done. All I could think of was, 'Oh, my God, I'm dancing with Fred Astaire."'

Often, as a contract player for RKO and MGM Studios, she'd report for work without even knowing what picture she'd be working on or who the star or director was.

"One morning I was standing there waiting for someone to tell me what to do when this guy walked up and said Cary Grant wanted to meet me," Polly said.

"Like a fool, I said, 'He knows where I am; let him walk over if he wants to introduce himself.' He didn't.

"My manager warned me not to socialize with anybody in the business because they always drank too much and carried on.

"He said I'd never be a star, but I'd never be out of work, either."

Polly's career spanned dozens of movies from 1928 to 1942 before she met someone out of the business and got married.

"He was an officer in the Marines and brilliant. I was always a sucker for smart guys. He became a judge."

Polly Wagner McCourtney has lived in the Verdugo Woodlands area of Glendale since 1968 and spends most of her time surfing the Internet and writing a book about her years as a glam girl in the movies.

But not this Saturday night. At 98, she's the star.

dennis.mccarthy@dailynews.com, 818-713-3749

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Polly McCourtney, then actress Pauline Wagner, catches James Cagney's eye during filming of a scene from 1933's "Lady Killer." Wagner enjoyed film work but didn't push for stardom.

(2 -- color) - PAULINE 'POLLY' McCOURTNEY, 98, who was a glamour girl as actress Pauline Wagner

Box:

WANT TO GO?