Hollywood Glamour

Southland Times, Issue 22767, 18 December 1935, Page 9

Hollywood Glamour

(By

Keith Barry.)

Hollywood has experienced a number of failures in its attempts to glamorize actresses. Hollywood deliberately set out to surround two great European stars with glamour in the past couple of years. The sufferers were Anna Sten and Lilian Harvey, and the result of Hollywood’s failure is that they have recently been working in English studios. “You either’ have glamour or you haven’t,” said Anna Sten. “You cannot make people glamourous any more than you can give them sex appeal or personality. If you have sex appeal, well, you have it and that is all about it. You. cannot buy it in a shop and you cannot learn to acquire it from anybody else.” A curious personality is that of Anna Sten. She now has a temporary home at Elstree from which she emerges every morning to make a film for a new British company whose work you have yet to see. She is pale and langorous as she sits in repose, but when she has a job to do or when the conversation suddenly becomes interesting, her- eyes light up in a rather unexpected manner and you begin to understand why she is known on the Continent as one of the greatest actresses of the day. The statement has been made that Hollywood has not done right by Anna Sten. It has been said that studio officials over-glamourized her, over publicized her and over-produced her. It is said that Anna objected to these things and shook the dust of California’s famous town off her dainty feet. I believe most of that is nonsense and have the star’s personal assurance that she has not the remotest intention of deserting Hollywood. "As soon as I finish in England I will return,” she said. “There is much work awaiting me as soon as I get back and I cannot stay a day longer than is necessary. In any case, the English weather is sufficient reason why I find Hollywood very alluring. I will make another picture in England next year, but, believe me, it will be in the summer.” Elstree hopes that it will produce a film of Anna Sten better than any previous attempt. The authorities say they understand her rather enigmatic personality and have found out how best to direct her. They are not going to make her glamorous, but are going to treat her as an ordinary girl. In proof of this assertion they have cast her as a simple Russian peasant girl in a film, the settings of which are entirely confined to Russia. The other girl whom Hollywood tried to make glamorous is Lilian Harvey, who has just finished her English film at Elstree and has gone to the Berlin studios where her brilliant work first forced itself upon the notice of the whole world. Hollywood magnates saw the possibilities of this English continental star, and insisted on rushing her off to America in order that her film talent might be the better “developed”—and again Hollywood failed. “I am not sorry I went,” said Lilian Harvey. “There is no doubt that in the mechanical side of film making Hollywood leads the world. Here in England we are a considerable way behind them, although we can console ourselves with the thought that they have had a very long start in the race. I do not regret the visit, because I learned a lot of useful things which I probably would not have learned had I not gone, but I do not think that I shall be going back for a while.” You feel about Lilian Harvey just as you feel about Anna Sten, that Hollywood diagnosed her personality wrongly. Lilian is essentially a quiet, shy individual and to flaunt her round as a cabaret star is not to make the best use of her. When she arrived at Elstree she found an advance-guard of rumour regarding her “temperament.” Elstree wondered how her films would progress and whether there would be the “hold-ups” and conferences that have been necessary in the case of one or two other famous people. But to the very great surprise perhaps, of the English film colony, Lilian Harvey proved to be as delightful a companion and fellow-worker as one could ever meet. Everybody was her friend from the arc-lamp attendants to the assist-ant-director. A tremendous worker, a most friendly soul, and a great artist, her film-mak-ing gave no qualms to anyone connected with her picture. Her personality endeared her to everyone, and you felt that if the Hollywood people had tried to put it on the,screen instead of trying to manufacture a new one, they would have done much better.