Unknown Actor Has First Film Role

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23381, 24 June 1939, Page 18 (Supplement)

Unknown Actor Has First Film Role

LEADING PART IN "GOLDEN BOY" (BY CONSTANCE ROBERTSON) HOLLYWOOD, May 17 "Will you boys please demonstrate the beauty of real acting—temperament, sincerity, and deadly precision," said Rouben Mamoulian to a group of players on the "Golden Boy" set at Columbia yesterday, and there was perhaps a trace of sarcasm in his tones. The screening of Clifford Odets' stage success marks the conclusion of a long search to find the ideal man to play "Golden Boy," and the discovery of William Holden (his real name is William Franklin Beedle), reads like one of those Hollywood fairy-tales which are more usually associated with women than with men. The part called for someone who could combine skill with tho boxing gloves with a gift for the violin, and William Holden has both. Columbia wanted a girl to play a part in "Coast

Guard," and looked at the test in which Holden had participated. Mamoulian was impressed by tne youth's appearance, and after a further screen test ho was given the coveted role. He will make his screen debut with Barbara Stanwyck, whose name over her dressing room door has already been changed to "Mrs. Robert Taylor." Holden has a fleeting resemblance to Richard Greene, but he is leaner in the face, and the impression soon passes. He has a piercing blue eye, a wide smile, and an earnest endeavour to succeed in his first screen role, He has played only one character part on the amateur stage, and he is realising that making pictures can sometimes be a tedious business. Scene Taken Nine Times The action yesterday was a dramatic incident after tho fight; but so many factors had to he considered that the scene was taken nine times before Mamoulian was satisfied. Holden had fewer than two dozen words to say; there was a scuffle between a couple of men, and that was all. But the "deadly precision" for which Mamoulian asked was difficult to obtain. On the stage, if an actor is inches out of position it docs not matter very much, but 011 the screen he is likely to be out of camera range. During a quick scuffle, one actor is likely to obscure another from the camera, and the toosudden closing of a door can "kill" somebody's vital lines. So it was yesterday. From Matnoulian's chair J watched the filming of these nine takes of the u49th scene, while a score or more of assistants helped with cameras and lights, offered suggestions, or waited for action to proceed. It was necessary to get everybody within camera, range, and if this was successful, something else was wrong. For two hours the newcomer and the experienced actors went through their rehearsals; while Mamoulian suggested changes of position, Holden was "sprayed" with perspiration, and a man in a greatcoat sweltered in _ the glare of the high-powered lamps. Technicians and others sustained themselves with iced water; strained patience betrayed itself in subdued aimless chatter, and through it all Mamoulian watched his plavers, consulted his camera-man, and finally was satisfied.