Wrong Type

Southland Times, Issue 22471, 6 November 1934, Page 5

Wrong Type

“Being related to a film star has its disadvantages, one is apt to lose ones identity,” said Mr Eric Colman, brother of the famous actor, Ronald Colman, speaking at a luncheon recently. Mr Colman, who is taking the part of the Flying Padre in Mr Beaumont Smith s new talkie production, “Splendid Fellows,” told a story of a girl who rushed up to him when he was walking down Pitt Street soon after he had made a short for Cinesound, and asked him for his autograph. He asked her why she was so anxious to have it, and she replied, “Well I can’t get Ronald’s, and yours is the next best thing! The speaker said that when he and Ronald returned from the war in 1918 they walked into a film company’s office in London and said they would like to become film actors. The manager interviewed them and said that he could do nothing for them as they were not the type. Mr Colman remarked that before he started on “Splendid Fellows” he did not realize how difficult film acting was. When he went to see his brother’s pictures, it appeared to him that Ronald did no acting at all, but was just his natural self. “It did not seem right to me.” he said, “that Ronald should draw such crowds merely by being natural, but now I know how difficult it is.”

Sydney Howard, in his latest film, “Girls, Please,” takes the part of a gymnastic instructor who becomes the temporary head of a girls’ school. Girls’ schools are popular in the film world at present. They provide a convenient variation of bathing belles.

Shirley Temple’s new picture will be called “Bright Eyes” replacing the title “Angel Face” for the five-year-old actress’ next Fox Film production with James Dunn and Alice Faye. Shirley’s latest picture “Baby Take a Bow” has broken box-office records all over America.

Jan Kiepura, the Italian tenor, has returned to British films and will make his appearance under the GaumontBritish banner first, in “My Song For You” directed by Maurice Elvey. The young singer found fame overnight on the release of “Tell Me To-Night” in which he appeared, with Sonnie Hale. In New Zealand as in Australia, Great Britain, Europe and Hollywood itself, it was received with great enthusiasm. Aileen Marson, the leading lady, is one of the latest aspirants of British stardom and comes to Gaumont-British by permission of the British Lion Film Co. Ltd., to whom she is under contract. Bom in Egypt 21 years ago, this beautiful golden-haired girl is the daughter of a British diplomat and his Swedish wife. Her father’s diplomatic duties took him, and Aileen, to many parts of the world in her youth and her widespread travels are responsible for the fact that the youthful Aileen speaks. French, German, Italian, Greek and Arabic as well as her own language.