LIVES OF STARS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 21030, 14 November 1931, Page 11 (Supplement)

LIVES OF STARS.

THE PERSONAL SIDE. SEEN BY STUDIO WORKER. The Hollywood stars seem to me to have three principal sides to their lives, writes Natalie Bucknall, an art expert in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Company. They appear in one light when they are actually acting, they are different when the scene is over, and still another side shows when they are away from the studio altogether. I have seen all three sides of some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, but I think the first two are the most interesting. I have worked on the set with Greta Gai-bo in several pictures. Although dozens of storiee about Greta's strange aloofness and mystery have been written, I do not think one of them has explained the reason for this. Greta is aloof simply because she is shy. It is no mere publicity " stunt." She is shy by nature, and she becomes acutely • embarrassed when she has to talk. She, therefore, avoids people as far as possible, and only with a very few intimate friends does she lose her shyness and become the lively Swedish girl that she really is at heart. On the set her shyness exerts itself again. She hates crowds of s curious onlookers when she is acting. She works intensely, and all outside influences must be kept from intruding on the scene. Sometimes the set is cleared except for the director -and the necessary technicians when a big scene is to be done, and often screens are placed round Greta's set.

I saw a great deal of Robert Montgomery when he was working with Greta Garbo in " Inspiration," and just lately in his new film, " The Man in Possession." This last film is set entirely in England, and I had to " coach t " him in English behaviour. One of the gayest people when in the studio is Ramon Novarro. His quaint little tricks and his light sense of humour show in his films, but off the set he gives them full play. He is always joking with those round him, and his great delight is singing. He is always singing, not in a posing, " grand-opera " manner, but humming snatches of song from sheer light-heartedness: Sometimes he sings in Spanish. Norma Shearer is delightful to work with. She, too, takes life with a smile, and between scenes often stays to joke with the director and other actors. However, she demands great concentration when she is working. Sometimes when an emotional close-up has to be taken she has black " flats " or screens put around her, and only the director and cameraman are allowed to be near when the scene is photographed.