MASTERING ENGLISH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 150, 27 June 1931, Page 6 (Supplement)

MASTERING ENGLISH

EXPERIENCE OF HUNGARIAN. If the arrival of talking pictures brought consternation to those stars whose English was pitifully uncultured and ungrammatical, it was no less than a catastrophe to foreign players. Faced with the problem of mastering the world’s most difficult language, most of them sold up their palatial bungalows and trekked homeward . Not so Paul Lukas, who will shortly be seen opposite Huth Chatterton in “Unfaithful.” In Hollywood, he stands as a shining example to those who struggle with mispronunciation, the pitfalls of grammar, and accents. When Lukas came from Hungary to Hollywood three years ago, there were no talking pictures, and it mattered not if one said “ve” or “we.” With sound came havoc, and the difference between a “v” and a “w” became the difference between success and failure, a contract or oblivion. Lukas, quick to grasp the situation, set about in his own unique manner to master the English language. Ho gave up talking Hungarian to his countrymen, and spoke only English. He engaged a university boy who was well versed in grammar and pronunciation to spend hours each day with him, to accompany him to shows, the studio, everywhere with instructions to be on a constant lookout for mispronunciations and grammatical errors in’everyday conversation. In addition, ho listened nightly to the radio. As a result of this diligent, study, Lukas, who is under contract to Paramount, has been given increasingly larger parts in each successive film, lu “Unfaithful” he carries the principal male part with the conviction and ease of an English-born actor. Wynne Gibson says her experience in acting was made effective by playing in numerous shows which gave her training but which failed to remain long in production. Paramount’s recently completed film, co-starring Fredric March and Nancy Carrol], and known as “Scarlet Hours,” has been rctitled “Night Angel.” It is a dramatic production from the pen of Edmund Goulding, the director, with principal scenes laid in Prague, Czechoslovakia. In principal supporting roles are Phoebe Foster, Alison .Skipworth, Alan Hale and Hubert Druce.