HOLLYWOOD IN PERSON.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20233, 17 February 1934, Page 24 (Supplement)

HOLLYWOOD IN PERSON.

(By MOLLIE MERRICK). HOLLYWOOD, January 19. Gloria Stuart is being elevated to stardom by Carl Laemmle, jun,, notwithstanding the fact that she asked to be allowed to play leads for some time to come. Her first starring film will be “Campus Queen,” which recalls to mind that a recent college survey brought out the fact that university stories are most unpopular with students. They find the so-called “ gay college atmosphere ” that studios insist on creating both false and silly, when compared with actual university life. Hopes to Become Pilot. Margaret Sullavan (star of “ Only Yesterday, ’ is the latest flying enthusiast in Hollywood. While waiting for her next picture, “ Little Man, What Now?” to be filmed, Margaret Sullavan spends seven or eight hours a day at the flying field. She hopes to get her g' !ot ’ s ' icense before the picture starts. She had better, because once she begins work the studio will see' to it that she doesn t risk her pretty neck in an aeroplane ! Marlene’s Next. It has been definitely decided to call Marlene Dietrich’s next film “The bcarlet Empress,” instead of “ Cather- ‘, ne ' °f Russia,” on whose life it is based. , Praise for Norma Shearer. Mrs Patrick Campbell, that amazing woman who remains a great beauty with and personality in 1934, although she made her theatrical debut many years ago, styles herself “ an antique Alice in a very strange wonderland ” when referring to her opinions of motion picture studios. She lets you know without hesitancy that she conaiders “ the theatre the greatest institution of artistic expression of the modern world,” though she is interested in films and enjoys acting in them. Mrs Campbell, who has been on the stage for nearly fifty years, describes the screen as a “ technical art ” where large dependance is placed on mechanical phases of production; and the theatre as a “ sequential art ” in which the writing, staging and acting makes greater histrionic demands on those producing and performing in a play. t( Norma Shearer, in whose picture. Rip Tide,” she is playing a part, Mrs Campbell has this to say: “ It is a pity that Norma Shearer chose to give herself to the screen rather than to the theatre; but I am sure she could quickly master stage technique if she wanted to, and, I think, would win great success in the theatre. “ Her personality has a perfume that would carry across the footlights and delight theatre audiences and gain for her their sympathy, a thing without which no stage actress can hope to succeed. “ Norma Shearer is absolute in the mastery of the mechanical art of the screen. She knows her job thorough! v and understands the mechanics of in every detail. “Nothing is too insignificant to claim her careful stud}-. I was amazed to see that she can actuallv feel the correctness or faultiness of lighting when she walks into a scene. She is

as great a mistress of the screen art as world-renowned actresses have been of the stage art.” This from one of the most famous actresses of her day, who made her biggest hit in “ The Second Mrs Tanqueray,” in which she portrayed a decidedly unconventional heroine and made the audiences of the gay nineties like it. About Baby Le Roy. Stars pore for pictures, their wardrobe is written about, their diet advertised; every move they make becomes public gossip; they have a bodyguard and they inevitably own a ranch to which they can retire and “ Forget It All,” with a good photographer in the background (which I must admit is usually the work of the studio). Last, but not least, there is always that younger player who not only can, but is hoping to, win his laurels. lake the strange case of Baby Le Roy, lor instance. Baby Le Roy was a public character before he had graduated from three-cornered underwear to the sporty shorts he now wears. He has been photographed with every famous person from Mae West to W. C. Fields, a record not to be disregarded for a twenty-months’ old lad. llis clothes have been pictured, used as fashions and written about to the fullest extent, although at times studio gossip has it that he has rebelled against this foppery. Baby Le Roy has the popular Hollywood combination of a chauffeur and bodyguard during his trips to and from the studio, and at night he has the watchful eye of his grandfather to see that no harm comes to him. There are numberless burglar alarms installed in his house, to say nothing of a direct telephone wire to the nearest sheriff’s sub-station, so that his family can be assured of instant response to any calls for help they may send. His diet is carefully supervised and duly advertised. For breakfast: Cereal, a bit of crisp bacon (his favourite dish), toast and some chopped orange. llis lunch: Soup, a soft-boiled egg, and a warm vegetable. Dinner; Consomme, a cooked vegetable and some apple sauce (a favourite with Baby Le Roy.) For exercise, aside from being allowed to play for an hour on the floor when he has finished his dinner, our young hero is taken out each morning to watch his grandfather scatter grain for the chickens. Not exactly strenuous, you may say, but a good beginning. According to the State law of California, Baby Le Roy can only be on a motion picture set four hours a day, two of which may be spent under the lights. This makes it necessary for the director to have everything in readiness for the youngster’s part in the film, so as not to waste time. There is a nurse in the studio to see that all these regulations are correctly carried out. The most difficult part of Baby Le Roy’s screen career comes into play when he is required to cry before the camera. Naturally a happy sort of chap, the director must resort to trickery to bring the tears to his eyes. Nor i< this at all out of the ordinary with the average screen star. Clara Bow has to have music played for her to put her in the mood for an emotional scene: Dorothea Wieck, the German actress, plays certain records that she loves, before she attempts to give an emotional interpretation in a scene; Fredric March sits by himself before

the filming of an important sequence, j getting ready to give his best efforts to i the performance. Baby Le Roy, therefore, has to be , tempted into shedding real tears. The I way they do it is simple. The director j takes out a big handkerchief and starts walking towards the baby. Now if there is one thing that Le Roy hates it is to be told to blow his nose; hence the tears, and real ones, too. Baby Le Roy spent the first ten months of his eventful life in a semiorphan asylum, where he must have had very pleasant surroundings, as he is the happiest child you ever saw. To give you an idea of the practical side of this child's personality; He has a self-supporting ranch twenty-five miles out of Hollywood, on which are goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and horses: and he took advantage of his friendship with the Hollvwood stars to suggest that they buv their Christmas turkeys from him, which a number of them did. And to give you an idea of his generosity, he invited an orphan to spend the holidays withx him, and shared his Christmas presents equally with him. As for younger rivals, believe it or not, at twenty months Baby Le Roy has to fear, the eight-months-old Richard Arlen, jun., son of Jobyna Ralston and Richard Arlen, and the boy who took the part that Baby Le Roy proved too old to take in “ The Baby in the Ice Box.” So you see there is always that younger element in Hollywood, ready to take your place, in fact, hoping to get a chance at it. But Le Roy Winebrenner has five major productions to his credit and can afford to be a trifle patronising to such beginners as Richard Arlen, jun.

More than that, he has already bought his ranch and has started paving premiums on an insurance that isn’t half bad. One of these days wc shall probably be reading that young Mr Winebrenner dislikes the nick-name “ Baby,” that has stuck to him all these years! Anna’s Debut. Anna Sten. the Russian beauty who has been groomed for stardom for some two years by Samuel Goldwyn, makes her American screen debut in Zola’s immortal story, “ Nana.” Or rather I should say in a film based on “ Nana.’’ as this picture makes no claim to follow the original story in its entirety. Anna Sten has beauty of a sultry, slumberous quality; a personality that is more effective in its quiet than its vivacious moods; and a decidedly more than ordinary acting ability, seeing that this young woman has learned to speak English since her arrival in Hollywood, which is a great handicap to her acting. As to Anna Sten's future stardom and popularity on the screen, it is difficult to make a prediction mainly because Samuel Goldwyn has given her a perfect vehicle in which to make her initial appearance. If there is one story in which Anna Sten would be perfect, it is “ Nana,” which gives her the glamour, romance and costuming that are a perfect setting for her type. (Copyright by the “ Star ” and the N.A.N.A. All rights reserved.)