A FORTUNE IN WHISKERS

Taranaki Daily News, 14 October 1933, Page 8 (Supplement)

A FORTUNE IN WHISKERS

50 BALES OF HUMAN HAIR. SOME ASPECTS OF “CAVALCADE.”

Imagine 50 bales of human hair, each tinctly varying shade, and you have the weighing 101 b., and each of some disraw material out of which in Fox Movietone City, Hollywood, no fewer than 1240 wigs and 4200 moustaches were ma<Je for the film of Noel Coward’s great English play, “Cavalcade,” shortly coming to New Plymouth. / No film ever made in Hollywood has placed such a strain upon the ingenuity and dexterity of the make-up artists, who had to devise wigs of real hair, dressed in varying transitory styles of 1899 to 1932 and to age progressively, to denote the passing of years, the hair and moustaches of the leading artists appearing in the film. A few years ago the problem of making Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Una O’Connor, Irene Browne and other leading “Cavalcade’b players appear older would have been solved by the use of more and more silvering powder on the hair, and a few hasty dark lines on the face. To-day, when every hair of every wig and moustache is separately attached, the matter is not quite so simple. Nor are the results so obvious. Theatrical effect is no good to-day. Realism is the only word that counts, and realism in a film like “Cavalcade” costs a fortune.

Two hundred different wig changes l were made, for example, for Diana Wynyard alone. Some of the changes consisted merely of a slight change in the puffs and curls: others involved the introduction of a progressively increasing . amount of grey hair, but each change however small, had to be effected by the deft touches of highly trained experts. Each wig is made up on fine hair lace, which incidentally is manufactured in Czechoslovakia and France, and every hair is knotted separately in the lace by means of a ventilating needle. For the “Cavalcade” film, the makeup experts used 5001 b. of human hair, 650 tubes of grease paint of various shades, weighing in all just over 3001 b., and 2001 b. of vari-tinted powders 1 The total cost of the material and labour involved was £35001 “DON QUIXOTE” ON SCREEN SOME LONDON OPINIONS. CHALIAPIN IN MAIN PART. The London “Kinematograph Weekly” reports as follows regarding Feodor Ch«b>pin in “Don Quixote”:—“A delicate, exquisite adaptation of Cervantes’ classical romantic fantasy; poetry expressed in pictorial form through the genius of the director, C. W. Pabst The film with its perfect setting, delightfully composed backgrounds, quaint humour, tender spirit of romance, pathetic search for adventure, and fine singing and. brilliant acting by Chaliapin, is an artistic triumph. Feodor Chaliapin carries himself with pathetic dignity as Don Quixote, acts brilliantly, and sings magnificently. George Robey does extraordinarily well. Oscar Asche, Frank Stanmore, Miles Mander, Sidney Fox, Emily Fitzroy,'and Lydia Sherwood all bring their experience to bear in leading supporting roles.” The London “Graphic,” commenting on Feodor Chaliapin’s work in the film, “Don Quixote,” describes the famous basso as the greatest artist of his generation and his Don Quixote as one of the classic performances of the screen. The picture is probably the most, expensive so far produced on the Continent. "SMILIN’ THROUGH” BEST AWARDED 1933 GOLD MEDAL. DECIDED VOTE IN FAVOUR. “Smilin’ Through,” in wjiich Norma Shearer, Fredric March and Leslie Howard had leading roles, has been awarded the 1933 gold medal in the annual readers’ ballot conducted and supervised by Photoplay magazine. 1 According to the editoi-ial announcement, the vote which placed “Smilin’ Through” ahead of all other pictures of the past season was one of the most decisive in the history of the poll. Thirteen gold medals have been awarded by Photoplay since 1920 for the pictures voted by readers of the magazine to be the best of each season.