Motion Picture Classic (Jul-Dec 1930)

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rsyching the Wollywood 'blonde The woman questioned — and the questioner: June Clyde, as analyzed by Mrs. Leila Castberg (right), turns out to be not a typicsd Hollywood blonde By C E D R I C BELFRAGE THE thought had come to me that somebody ought to psycho-analyze the motion picture blonde. Here was a unique zoological oddity, to be found nowhere else on the surface of the earth, but roving freely in our own little district. You could catch a marvelous specimen, almost tame, any day on the Boulevard; yet, with the world's attention riveted on this odd creature, nobody had ever given her a scientific exammation which would account for her existence and her peculiarities. "Somebody," I said out loud, "ought to psychoanalyze the motion picture blonde." "Ah,"said everybody in chorus. "Ah, but ..." "But what.'" I countered, not to be so easily floored. "For one thing, nobody can psycho-analyze a vacuum," said a voice, and snickered. I ordered its owner straight out of the room for unseemly and misplaced levity. "For another," piped a second voice, "how are you going to find a typical specimen of the breed.' And if you do, will she want to be ps^cho-ed.'" "Ah," I said. "True," I said. And true it was, up to a point. June Clyde was the one who finally undertook to be the subject for my little experiment. And June went through it like a heroine, and came out with flying colors. Her complexes and fixations proved to be entirely under control. Nor did she show herself to be even fourth cousin to a vacuum, for she answered every question directly and straightforwardly. Not The, But A JUNE'S showing made it quite clear that she is not typically the Hollywood blonde. If she had been — as voice Number 2 pointed out — she would probably not have gone through the ordeal. However, June is a Hollywood blonde, and for that reason she is profoundly interesting to the world. So, with your permission, we shall proceed with the report on my experiment. First, let me introduce Mrs. Leila Castberg, the lady of extraordinary penetrativeness and profound insight who did all the work. All I did was sit next to her and take notes. But I call it my experiment because I was the one A Few Simple Questions, And June Clyde Is Ta k e n A P a r t who said, "But what.-"' a little further back in the story, and if I had not said, "But what.'" the experiment would never have been made. Leila Castberg, let me say en passant, does not call herself "exactly" a psycho-analyst. She lectures on fixations and complexes to vast audiences in Los Angeles, but does not give private consultations as a rule. However, of the fact that she knows her wares let me assure you. She told me more about myself in the five minutes of waiting for Miss Clyde than it would normally be pleasant to hear if spaced over a five-year period. The Truth Will Out SHE fixed June with a firm gaze as the starlet entered the cafe, where we were waiting for her — and lunch. June was really petrified with terror, but didn't show it. "Now," Mrs. Castberg said, "Miss Clyde, do you want to be psycho-analyzed.'" "Ye-es," said June, with a slight quaver. I wept inwardly for the poor girl. Her press-agent gave her a kick in the shins to make her answer correctly. It was just like one of those shotgun marriages you hear about. "I ask," Mrs. Castberg went on, "because nobody has any right to probe into your mind without your consent, and if this is to be any use at all, you must promise to answer my questions absolutely truthfully." "I will," said June. Mrs. Castberg already knew more about June than June's own mother could know. "Miss Clyde is not mental at all," she said, turning to me. "She is the direct, simple type. That doesn't mean she has no sense; she has instinct, the best kind of sense. Usually she has wanted the best kind of things, and occasionally she has been spoiled. "She is not sophisticated at all, but she is simple, with an organized simplicity. She is poised, but she has bought her poise at a price. Some of it is assumed, some is natural" {Continued on page 82) 51