Show -- - jr THE QGDEN STANDARD EXAMINE! no vii n Mi mii I fliuflSI A Wll? iW HVMJAY 1 n it fi - I fm0 HMIE II Z A- Ml would be r i f' ? - ' ' k : i sfj ' -- -- § - yah- r ' - Betty Compson tells why screen emoting useclrto he a cinch and vvAy many Hpljywod luminaries are lucky thai'th when they did instead of under the conditions that now prevail ' 1 mr - yv ' v : jVv - : I - t r - j v '! c:- f against i r - J"' 1 TP ATE) I ' I II - - ' - ? j' ' — ( t x : 1 3 r v making the grade an infinitclx) harder job nom than in:thc via aays Helen nh outstanding exthe of ample extremely talented he- tosses? thar'ihfr screen ia drafting V Not a beautiful as todays some of the stars of silent films gives performances suci as were un- -j known before the aZfies fiaesji By Dan Thomas v- A GIRt-o- f Lanj?' more "qualities than Her sis today n ier OI u years ago u sue wouldjbe a motion picture star for that statement take the avthority of none other than tJetty Compson a tar of both silent and talking pictures Betty's has been a part of the film industry since V I has seen manv — j and stars come and h great go consequen ly as a lot ct ideas about the difficulties a girl encpunters when she tackles t be screen for a career vWhen I'caipe irrto pictmes almost 'any girl with a pretty Jace and iair ngure nad a very good chance or att fining stardom" the blond ctress declares "Today however all of that has changed Unless a girl is a comedienne or character actress she must be attractive have an txceptionally good 'figure a strong persor) ality! a good speaking voice and a knowledge of how to read lines She must be talented in acting and have some experience behind her" Miss Compson's statment which can be backed up with all the proof one could desire makes it look pretty tdugh for aspiring screen actresses of today And it is tough There probably isn t a profession in th e iwor Id 'which presents more i J'r i: "'' at tne screen aimcuuies time than There are thousands present acting j rvirt in I—Jllt I ft nf 'nLt how wno uream w or tne day when their names 6iio- iii i lunjruuuJ njui will go- up in eleciric lights and there ari additional hundreds who arrive lYet only aiivery few ever attain every monjji cherishing the same hopes must-posses- s j I "N" ' ' ? ' 1 ' 1 r - til the business only a few years after GlorjV and me is at the of popularity:' now "Aiid joyed more success after the talkies were than I did during' the silent picture era "Of course we weret established ' when the change came Naturally that If we trietj to start put tohelped us day with no more experience or ability jthjnvwe had in those days we probably :VOU Idn't even be abl e to set work as V 'r ''alf ii X extras:- ' - 1 7 their goal Everything isn't against the girl who would parade before the movie cameras however Once she is givn a chance she has the advantage "jof greatly improved lighting and photography — two features of the movies which have advanced tremendously in the last 10 It's getting the chance which years is difficult these days l qualifications demandedv by producers and executives" today i't "are most exacting And most of the 6npHE girls who have'eome into Di'ctures dur-- T f ving recent years Have everything to offer "Look at U' Jeanctte-MacDonkl- for d She is a beau'tifuVx girl has perfect figure is a trained ' example an almost j actress with years on- the'legiiunate stage behind her and she has' a voice - for which most women gladly wodld trade fortunes A bit of action in lthe I am quite sure there" 'Note the director Reginald Barker explaining just ion) he Vanh the villain n)linrJ hJtiVa i- wasn't a girl who rose to stard©m-pniheroine Anna Q ftilsson- loo!(Sal tne to 1 0 years ago who possessed!' any- - heavy" rvith tsroocr sc6rn A where near the talentf thatviefeettt has' "Ann Harding land Helen Hayes are other examples of extremely talented could get absolutely C0V" up actresses that the screen is drawing today Not fer acce"1 °r ac0Pt any pretense no recognition from-'It waih't at ajl unusual to walk into a res only have they tremendously strong photo- - t dramatic taurant ajid find producers aUy Reid and Tatty' - graphic personalities' but they know just about DeMille choSe Mis! playing with thor orchestra while Charjle all there is' to know about acting Neither of whom he Swanson did Chaplin fatlijn the aisle them ii as striking5 in sheer physicaf beauty as Today such a" previously had rejecttnWoulK he talked about for weeks but 15 some of the girls whose names v were scr vvel- -' ed as having no screen yearsr ago Ml it did was furnish & big laugh for known around 1920 But they' khowVbox'yta the moment ' ' ¥ possibilities largely deliver lines !and always give perlorBannces because he thought it " wanted have to time" aVid a such as were unknown in the early pictures good "Everyone would be a great most of us did Nobody even dreamed of act"I think that- Garbo who holds the same feather in his cap to ing except When they were in front of the cam position in Holly wood today that' Theda Bara take a girl from a eras — and 'not very much even then did in her day is a faT better actress than her comedy studio " and I never knew Theda" very well predecessor make her a dramatic all so different now sinet' the talltiV —nobody did" just as nobody knows Garbo star welt--b- ut I don't think she could ' be Girls haye tken control of Hollywood put in 1 and he sucmen boih was That the same class with Garbo are'so afraid that a director or I executive will think they don't speak just right cessful doesn't have to "Theda ' was very vampish in appearance be told - ' Everyone that they assume accents and talk in a very stilt- but when it came to acting she received' the Miss what knows same minute direction which was given- to all eq manner1 Con"In fact it seems as though most of the "players at that time Garbo doesn't get that" Swanson did players here never stobaclin2 now Because of the complete direction given durNomat- sequently all other ter where live are to their to producers 'they try ing silent pictures acting wasn't a very tough ' up Uy 'iiic vjuf DO 01 hPf ' screen characters" combing the comedy That's one of the reasons pla'yerl were job direction in front of About the only strictly informal fcatherinzs ranks for new talent ' able to enjoy themselves to the fullest extent f of any consequence "during the last few years Betty Compson was except during actual Working hours It wasn?t -' nave Deentrie corn beet and cabbage tupperj a part picked ior a rpje m necessary "The Miracle Man" giveh by th! Jate Lew Cod y - - Bu't ever! Lew All of that has changed When an actress and went skyrocketing JVlarie had carefully prepared gtrdt1 Mists Haver home Phyllis at she now goes has dinner and then night Prevost Vera Reynolds Mae Busch:'Bebe It rnightjtitf be fair tb flier siars of my day 'must spend several hours studying her lines' for Daniels and others went to the major studios ' to say that none 'of us would get io''Second base the following day to work in feature-lengt- h 'films if we werejyst trying tb crash' pictures today" IjladditioA to that extra work she also must ( in lMiss live to remarked the :"Some of be an accomplished actress "'True the director 'Hollywood was a grand place Compson girls those days" Betty recalls who came into prominence in those days have "Everyone was so tells her what to do before he starts shooting a natural and with the exception of Theda Bara proved theiri ability to maintain their positions scene but once the cameras start turning she is Wn the-- face of tremendous ODDosition who was the Garbo of her day nobody eveT on her own and must be able-tgive acon- Swanson is:asif!amoi'ous todav av :'vinchg performance without If a girl came from the 'outh or put on airs any assistance from New England she made no- - attempt to ' ever beforej- - Norma Sfiearer-'-h"5 came into fr?m: anyone yx (Copyright 1934' by EveryWeck' Magazine) - J pe-lajkir'dd- ys - r "pRACTICALLV all of the sfars of those early days started out as extras" Miss Compson declares "It wasn't nearly as difficult to get extra work in those days asfit is now As there were only a small number of girls here a girl was almost certain to get work simply-b- y making the rounds of '" the studio's ' - -- i A -- 5 Ar-buck- : "We didn't have any Central Cast- Instead each studio ing bureau then hired its own extras And if an extra girl was pretty enough to stand out from the mob she Was a cinch to attract the attention of the director sufficiently to get a part in either that or his next film "Beauty of face was the basis of practically all success in the early days Even a girl's figure didn't mean a great deal because ijt was too well covered by the typeof clothes they wore The dresses they wear today are more revealing as far as: a figure is concerned than a bathing suit was then And a girl didn t have to know1" I much about acting because she was told every move to make every expression to assume A director orders 'during the shooting of a scene : were something like this: 'Camera all right Betty come into the room now walk over to ward the window and raise the shade j i ' shocked you're by what you see turn away and- - look shocked walk : over' to that red chair and sit down turn the with on left hand lamp lo6k up your at the clock to see what time it is' -"It didn't take much of an actress o go through scenes with such explicit orders those being 'shouted at her She Iidntj have -- 1 le - i - tt - - - i ncaa vara dat jirsi Of the great vamps bat she was aho the beneficiary of minute ine cameras — tvhich Larbo xn started -- to-lear- n to do any of her own thiniing at all whe picture was being made" TOURING those arly days - a - most of the new start were gathered from comedy ranks a movement started by Cecil B DeMille when he took Gloria Swanson from the Mack Sen-ne- tt bathing beauties and started her on the road to dramatic stardom i Prior to DcMiIleV--ac- t comedy actresses " - o ( jiiiiioiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiliiiiiiiiiiiiii- - 'ii ii iiiiiiOiiO a- - ' |