AMERICAN PICTURES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19762, 8 October 1927, Page 9 (Supplement)

AMERICAN PICTURES.

MISS LYA DE PUTTI'S VIEWS. I One of the most remarkable figures on the screen at the present time is Miss Lya de Putti, the Hungarian actress, who made a meteoric rise to fame through her -work opposite Emii Jannings in the great German picture, " Variety." Some glimpses of. a delightful personality are contained in the following interview with the actress by an American writer. " An elGn-like little person with black early hair,, enormous dark eyes and an almost unbelievably perfect mouth sat at one end of the davenport and explained in an accent impossible to capture in type: ' I cannot speak much English*— and then proceeded to speak a lot. " It was Miss Lya de Putti, the Continental actress whc has more discussion and become better known in the year since she flashed across the American screen in ' Variety,' than many 'American leading players who have been appearing in pictures for years. It seems impossible to be impartial about Miss de Putti. One either thinks her ona of the greatest of the great, or one docs not care for her at all. Personally, I think the little Hungarian is not only a remarkable actress but a delightful woman. Work lor Universal. "Miss de Putti completed work in 'Buck Privates* recentl.v. Of Mel Brown, director of ' Buck Privates,' a comedy of the American Army of Occupation in ■which Miss de Putti plays a little fraulein who is the cause of several unreported battles, she has the highest praise. Her preference between the two pictures she lias made for Universal is * Midnight Rose,' a highly dramatic story of the underworld. As the cabaret dancer who has learned her way about New York's seamy life, yet has retained something instinctively fine which tragedy brings into the foreground, she has the sort of part, she likes to do best. " Her own particular definition of this type of role is * sympathetic vamp,' one, who, through temperament, does things society frowns upon, but in the end, ' she suffair. oh, she suffs.ir,' this accompanied by dramatic gestures. Value of G-ood Storie3. *' But to find stories which she can do best is not always easy. In fact, a good story Miss de Putti believes is the most important ingredient which goes into the making of a photoplay. Next comes the director, and after him the player. Everyone, she says, has a spark of dramatic intelligence and looks, but not_ even the best actor can make a good picture out- of a poor story. It is because of this strong feeling about the parts she plays that she prefers to free lance rather than become a contract player with any one company. " It is the story, too, which is the chief difference between American and foreign pictures, for she finds the dramatic technique much the same here as abroad.The American picture, she said, is more fairy-tale-like and something else which the interviewer could not understand. She gave a quick look to where her secretary, who also acts as interpreter, had been sitting, but finding that lady absent, took another means of making her point. Picking up a paper of matches she dropped it lightly on the couch. That was the American, she said. Then lifting a heavy ash stand and banging it on the floor she illustrated the foreign. Praise for Beginald Denny. " Only one other time did the English language trip her up. She is a great admirer of Reginald Denny and had viewed all his pictures in Europe before coming to this country, but she would like to see this famous Universal farceur play a more serious role, ' the beeg loving scene' as she put it. " * And would you like to play opposite him ?' she was asked. " 'Yes, that would be good,' she said. * Him big blond, and me little duck.' " Quick work on the part of the interpreter disclosed the fact that she meant little and ' dark' Working Conditions in Germany. "But if. there is little difference in dramatic technique between America and Europe there is much in working conditions. There if a star does riot feeJ like work one day production is held np while here one must work hard every day and all day and sometimes into the night. * But I do not mind if I like the part,' she volunteered. " Because of the easier working schedule one does not get the formal vacations that are necessary in America. During the five years she was making pictures for UFA in Berlin she had only three weeks of real vacation. " Another actor on whom Miss de Putti ■places an emphatic stamp of approval is Norman Kerry. He has ' eet,' according to the lady who is generally credited with a large endowment of the Elinor Glvri discovery herself. " In the short time that Miss de Putti has been in America she has grown much attached to it, and although she is constantly receiving attractive offers to return to Europe, she elects to remain here. At first it was not easy in the United States. The parts she played were not suited to her, she felt, but now the hard period is past and she is travelling along the road to greater success. That she has already won an important place in <he affections of the public is apparent from the stacks of mail, directed to admirers, piled up in her hotel suite awaiting the postman."