KEEP FIT

Evening Star, Issue 23219, 18 March 1939, Page 5

KEEP FIT

RULES OF AUSTRALIAN SCREEN STARS WORK DEMANDS PHYSICAL PERFECTION When your screen hero lightly leaps ' a 6ft wall, swims a river, or wins a rough-and-tumble fight you can be certain that a gymnasium, diet, and massage are responsible for his splendid stamina. Again, your favourite glamour girl doesn’t retain her slender figure, dewy freshness, and sparkling eyes without conscientiously working to keep this physical attractiveness. For no career demands such physical perfection as screen work. At Cinesound studios work often begins at 7 a.m. for screen players. Hairdressing, make-up, and rehearsals must be completed before 9 a.m., so that the morning’s work is not delayed. This means a 6 o’clock rising for your glamour girl. Work continues during the day until 6 p.ra., and if the day’s schedule is a long one it may go on until 10 or 11 p.ra. Strong-burning lights, emotional work where the star is often keyed to a slightly nervous pitch, are factors that must be seriously considered in the “keeping fit” programme for the screen player.

An interesting side at Cinesound studios is the arrival of the day’s milk supply. Cecil Kellaway, who recently completed his starring role in ‘ Mr Chedworth Steps Out,’ invariably drank a quart of milk a day. This perfect food' he considered, compensated for his irregular meals and was a definite refuelling for his depleted nervous energy. But Cecil Kellaway is not the only member of Cinesound who believes in the value of milk. Players, technicians, carpenters, and electricians all have a standing daily order with the studio milkman. The value of rest is also something that film players appreciate. When Lloyd Hughes arrived from America to play in ‘ Lovers and Luggers ’ his one instruction to the studio publicity department was that no social engage ments were to be made for him while the picture was in production. Eight hours’ sleep a night was a fixed rule with this athletic star. Diet invariably heads the health chart of feminine players at Cinesound. Gwen Munro is a firm believer in tomato juice and salads. Salad was invariably the luncheon menu of Joan Deering, who made her film debut in 'Mr Chedworth Steps Out.’ This was sometimes varied by oysters. Fresh .fruit was her only dessert. Every film player believes in a light midday meal. As lines must be remembered, they consider that a meal luncheon is too heavy. It is inclined to make them sleepy and their memory faulty. A glass of orange juice on rising, or lemon and hot water if weight has to be watched, followed by an egg dish, is considered an ideal

breakfast. Shirley Ann Richards prefers an omelette to any other breakfast dish. Exercises are essential for all players. Deportment must be perfect for all camera work, limbs must bo supple, and weight kept down to a minimum for perfect health. No player should diet so strenuously as to have no reserve strength. Exhaustion shows too plainly before the revealing camera. A normal weight and a well-propor-tioned figure arc ideal for screen work. One feature player in a recent Ciuesound film found her hiplino was too heavy for the screen. Conscientiously doing simple exercises every morning, she took off several pounds without affecting her health in any way. Today her figure is perfect. .Turkish baths are used by some players, but these should he taken with discretion. Massage is also used, but this is more popular with male stars, who have massage after their gymnasium workout. Squash* rackets was considered ideal exercise by James Raglan, who recently returned to England. Tennis, however, is the most popular studio sport. One thing that is conducive to perfect health—and this is carried out conscientiously by all movie players—is the care of the teeth. A charming smile depends on even, white teeth. Even, white teeth depend on constant visits to the dentist, perfect cleanliness, and careful diet. Physical fitness to the movie player can be summed up by three rules—simple exercises, sensible diet, and sufficient rest. 1 These may he achieved with the minimum .amount of trouble and the maximum beneficial results.

ALMOST GASSED SOUP THAT WASN'T Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones, Frank Lawton and Francis L. Sullivan, the “ Four Just Men ” of the Edgar Wallace film now in production at the Ealing Studios, had a surprising foretaste of a gas attack on the set the other day. To achieve the effect of piping hot souj) served to them in a Continental cafe, the “ prop ” man very nearly, gassed them by using a potent chemical smoke which is generally used for stage and film fires and (in a more domestic capacity) for smoking out rats in warehouses I Walter Forde, - the director, called for quiet, and the cameras and microphone were ready to take and record the shot. The scene progressed smoothly until the maitre d’hotel called to his waiter to bring on the soup, which was placed in the centre of the table. Grim expressions turned to stifled laughter when Hugh Sinclair took the lid off the tureen and clouds of noxious white “ steam ” poured out,_ rendering the players speechless, and giving them smarting eyes and explosive coughs. The “ take ” was stopped, and the air-couclitioning plant started to clear the air. After a little cogitation and with the co-opcration of the good lady in charge of the studio canteen, real soup was substituted for the chemical, and the artists proceeded through the scene without further discomfort.