TORTURES OF MAKE-UP.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 150, 26 June 1937, Page 29 (Supplement)

TORTURES OF MAKE-UP.

Ordeals of the Film Stars.

DAILY HOURS OF PAINFUL "DRESSING."

(By SHEILAH

LIFE is not all pay and adulation for film stars. True, they no longer

have to wrestle with lions or jump off cliffs to prove screen virility. But some of the "musts" on stardom schedules are equally irritating, if not

as dangerous,

Roles that require elaborate make-up are the bane of Paul Muni's existence. "I'm jus* a guinea-pig for the make-up department," he complains, half in humour. With each picture Muni's face takes on another shape. Preparatory to playing the title role in "The Life of Zola," he worked five to six hours a day for two weeks, altering his features to those of Emile Zola. The shape of his eyes are altered with plaster and transparent tape. His cheeks are widened in the same way. Hair is glued to the sides of his face. Sooner than submit to the torture of an applied heard, Muni grew one for the role. The complete metamorphosis takes three and a half hours a day to apply, which means the actor must be in the studio at six o'clock every morning.

An over-abundance of natural hair can be a great nuisance to "movie" folk. Loretta Young was ordered to remove, by painful electrolysis, the dark downy bair protruding beneath the wig she wore in "Eamoaa." Bruce Cabot decided he would look more handsome with a hairline half an inch higher. So did Don Ameche. Fourteen hours of acute agony in the electrolysis chair was the price paid for masculine pulchritude by these gentlemen. Robert Taylor had to suffer a little more when his eyebrows were thinned by the same method. When Eating is Impossible. Many actresses do not object to dyeing their hair for picture purposes. But among those who dislike this certain way of ruining the natural sheen of their locks are Jean Muir and Shirley Temple. Mrs. Temple recently won a victory t>ver the studio, and nowadays her infant prodigy's locks are dyed light brown only, instead of the former bright gold, which requires double strength dye and is proportionately harmful to the hair. Jean Harlow waited until her platinum-dyed hair etarted to break before going "mahogany brown" and then auburn.

Forty-year-old Sam Jaffe's make-up for the 300-year-old High Lama in "Lost Horizon," was a full day's job, starting at six in the morning in Westmore's. Two hours later, he reported" to the studio, where make-up men worked on him for th e rest of the day. His entire face and hands were covered with transparent tape which, when removed with alcohol, caused tremendous pain. A durk grease-paint gave the appearance of wrinkles. His body was strapped uncomfortably. No wonder his voice is husky as he speaks his lines!

Jean Hersholt could hardly open his mouth, and it was impossible to close his eyes, when rigged up for his old part in "Sins of A tightly-drawn fish net was the basis of his facial distortion. A contraption that must have been invented by the Spanish Inquisition strapped Hersholt's knees to his abdomen. Heavy weights in hie shoes niade every step a hazardous adventure. Food was an impossibility and, during working hours, Hersholt was fed through a straw. In fact, with every tvpe of heavy make-up eating is an impossibility, because the composition '« frozen on and the muscles cannot move. Strenuous dieting is a lesser but annoying e vil for lady film stars with lurge appetites. Lime Rainer loves candy and pie, but these delicacies are forbidden on her contract. Grace Moore is always 101b to 201b overweight a few weeks preceding each picture, and she must lose them before the camera starts turning or her career is on the scrap heap. As part of their emoting in "Souls at s ea," Gary Cooper and George Raft are tied together by their thumbs. During the first take. Mr. Raft almost fainted. After that the director decreed they should not be in that position for longer than three minutes at a time. Some Wear Rubber Masks. Warner Baxter was once surprised when some children shouted "Sissy" at him. When he next looked at himself in the mirror he understood why. His hair was disgustingly marcelled for his " 'Cisco Kid" characterisation.

GRAHAM.)

For his current role in "War Lord," Boris Karloff's eyes are tightly taped to give an Oriental shape. His eyebrows are completely shaved off and artificial ones affixed with glue. And they hurt when taken off. While making 'The Mummy'' Karloff spent five hours every morning in making up and three hours at night getting back to normal. Several actors and actresses prerer to wear rubber masks sooner than submit to the rigours of character make-up.

That is a rubber mask on Luise Rainer's face in "The Good Earth"; also on the head of Bruce Cabot in "The Last of the Mohicans," who preferred to suffer headaches rather than shave his entire head of hair..

Aside from the hardships which are a regular part of movie work there are lesser ordeals that, to say the least, are unpleasant. Under this heading comes Edward Arnold's daily session with the hairdresser who curls his hair for his characterisation of Jim Fisk--in "The Toast of New York.'' Jim Fisk had curly hair. Arnold hasn't—until the hairdresser has done her stuff.

Frances Farmer, in her characterisation of Josie Mansfield, has her own crosses to bear for the same picture. She has to be laced each morning into one of those non-breathing-space whalebone atrocities women used to call corsets.