“TYPES” DEFENDED

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 194, 14 May 1936, Page 14

“TYPES” DEFENDED

T ESLIE HOWARD, star of the new Warner Bros.’ picture, “The Petrified Forest,” has come forward in defence of “typing.” “I believe actors should play only parts that fit their types,” he said. “It is folly to believe that an actor can play any part. It has long been a tradition of the theatre that an actor wasn’t an actor if there were a part he 1 couldn't play. Stage stars weren’t considered competent unless they could be Shylock one night aud Romeo the next. Howard, star of both stage and screen, admits there are many characters he would not attempt to portray. “If a part calls for elaborate make-up that changes an actor’s identity, he should refuse to play if.” Howard says. “If possible, he should only play characters that have a little of himself in them. No player should object to being typed. I don't. I wouldn’t think of playing Shylock. I hesitated a long time before I agreed to play Romeo on the screen because of Romeo’s extreme youth. I accepted the role only after I had made up my mind that Romeo, though young in years, was old in mind. Hamlet is ray type. So is Alan Squier in ‘The Petrified Forest.’ So was Peter Standish in ‘Berkeley Square.’ But I wouldn’t have attempted to portray ‘Captain Blood.’ ”