FOR WOMEN Miss New Zealand Faces Motion Picture Cameras

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 June 1948, Page 8

FOR WOMEN Miss New Zealand Faces Motion Picture Cameras

From a distance of 12,000 miles, a film test probably sounds an exciting and glamorousffiffair. Nev; Zealand’s chosen girl, Miss Mary Wootton would tell yon otherwise. A couple of weeks ago she undeiwent her test for the J. Arthur Rank Organisation, and the results have just been seen by a few selected studio heads. The studio as film companies are wont to do —is keeping its opinion of the test a secret in the meantime, but. from one or two private sources, it is possible to glean the opinion that “Miss New Zealand’’ has acquitted herself well. .

Although ordinary news photographs have done less than justice to her features, cameramen and makeup experts who met her for a preliminary conference prior to thecaetual “shooting” decided that her race was essentially photogenic, provided the right type of make-up was used. Her bone-structure was of an ideal tvpe for cinematography, and with careful lighting she would photograph better than the average young woman. Intelligence Praised

‘‘People sometimes express sur- | prise that film stars, so beautiful on : the screen, look so plain in real life, he said. u We cameramen know only too well that the reverse also holds true. Apparent beauty m a girl is often useless to us. Unless she has that particular type of bone-struc-ture which enables us to model her face with lights, she will be useless for screen work. Mary Wootton has that kind of face, and we determined to spare no pains to do her justice in her test. Our task was made much easier because she is such an intelligent young woman and bore patiently with our long, tedious experiments while we explored highlights and shadows on her features with our lights.” After a day spent with the camera technicians, Miss Wootton had. to spend a day with the wardrobe mistress and the make-up department. A sophisticated Edwardian coiffure was planned for her, to bring her cheek bones into relief, and alter a colour graph had been prepared, a suitable range of screen cosmetics was mixed. When Derek Eond, who was to play opposite her, was ready and the

lights .had all been adjusted according to the prearranged plan, dual rehearsals began. Miss Wootton soon found that film acting is most exacting. Wooden cleats were nailed to the floor to mark her position at various moments. This makes additional demands upon the players. They may not'look at the floor for marks —they have to feel for them with their feet while concentrating on their dialogue (for the microphone boom is scudding about over their heads, just out of camera range) and upon their facial expressions. Between “takes” make-up people scurried on to the set, dabbed perspiration from the players’ faces, repaired eyebrows and lipstick, carefully tucked a few stray hairs back into place, then hurried out of the way just ’as the clapper-boy raised his board in front of the lens with the inscription: “Film Test; Miss New Zealand; Scene 3, Take 5.” Was Not Nervous All day, and well into the evening, the test went on, with only a brief break for lunch. Miss Wootton proved her entire freedom from nervousness by eating a hearty lunch and chatting animatedly throughout with her leading man, the director, the producer, and the two cameramen. She ' was looking very tired, however, when shooting drew to a close. In a pause before the final scene, while sethands were re-arranging furniture ’ and putting fresh flowers in vases, she lay back on a couch and closed her eyes wearily. ! “Don’t let anyone ever again say 1 to me that a film actress’s life is easy I and glamorous,” she told me. “I’ve never worked so hard in. all my life. Stars certainly earn their money.”