for Women

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 135, 10 June 1942, Page 2

for Women

NO MORE GLAMOUR? HOLLYWOOD STARS HIGH SALARIES REDUCED HOLLYWOOD, May 8. The edict of President Roosevelt that 25.000 dollars a year is plenty for anyone's salary in the United States has staggered some of the stars that scintilate in Hollywood, but investigations show that the total of persons in motion pictures who may be affected by the reduction of their net incomes to 25,000 dollars a year will not exceed 250—a small percentage of the aggregate personnel engaged in film making. What is more, the members of the 250 group have been under considerable fire already. Taxes, agents' fees and other expenses before they can really begin to count their cash have absorbed 75 to 80 per cent of their gross receipts. Of course, there is a material difference between net receipts of 100,000 dollars of 50,000 dollars or 75,000 dollars and the proposed 25,000 dollars suggested by President Roosevelt. The latter figure would mean elimination of practically all the swank that goes with stardom. But, it is pointed out, swank has been disappearing recently, for it does not conform with the mood of the war days and the already higher income taxes. Any excess of money has been diverted to war charities and war bond purchases. The question is whether Holly- ! wood, even in a generation, will return to conditions such as were known in the past. It is to be seriously doubted, most experts say. The issue of individual salaries had become a centre of many storms before the war itself completed alteration of economic standards. Aid In- War Effort Hollywood probably will continue to pay high salaries—on paper— during the emergency, because this enables the film business to continue all-out aid to the most important cause in the history of the United States. And it will have to continue such salaries for some time after the conflict to assist in defraying the expenses of reconstruction. Possibly this will build up new piles of wealth—on paper—in filmdom, but actually very little will be kept by the payees themselves. Those stars who come into the films from now on may not feel the same incentive to attain the huge financial emoluments of the past, say the Hollywood commentators.

They will not be under pressure to keep in the swim, to maintain the "front" that has afflicted the film sparklers ever since the movies broke free of the depression of the early '30's. In retrospect a lot of Hollywood whoop-de-do seems to have been unnecessary. The tide of glamour, which ran far beyond reasonable confines, has receded considerably since December 7. The only really gloomy part of the picture is that if Hollywood loses the glamour entirely it will not be Hollywood. Fortunately war service activities are tending to stimulate this glamour and keep it alive in a different form.

In this respect, the British cinema celebrities resident in Hollywood are striving their utmost to raise funds for British War Relief and Red Cross purposes, and they have organised a large force to tour the United States and Canada to provide entertainment for the men in uniform from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

Anna Neagle, the British actress, and Clement May, the well-known British impersonator of Dickens characters, are accompanying the big party that will tour the North American continent shortly for this purpose to offer their services in bringing some joy into the various military camps and air field training centres of the United Nations from Hollywood to New York and Montreal.