Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1939)

Photoplay invites you to join in its monthly open forum. Perhaps you would like to add your three cents' worth to one of the comments chosen from the many interesting letters received this month — or perhaps you disagree violently with some reader whose opinions are published here.' Or, better still, is there some topic you've never seen discussed as yet in a motion picture magazine, but which you believe should be brought to lite attention of the movie-going public? This is your page, and we welcome your views. All we ask is that your contribution be an original expression of your own honest opinion. Photoplay reserves the right to use gratis the letters submitted in whole or in part. Letters submitted to any contest or department appearing in Photoplay become the property of the magazine. Contributions will not be returned. Address: Boos and Bouquets, Photoplay, 122 East 42nd Street, New York, N. Y. man action portrayed by any star in any picture. Producers, directors, authors and actors may not like this insult, but I would like to see just one picture that is reelly, really real. Mildred Palmer, Akron, O. A BAD film should not be tolerated as an accident, but resented as a robbery, for the studios are able to make good ones when they like. When a new find appears in the film firmament we see him in nothing but plummy roles; his pictures are always good. They are good not by virtue of his talent so much as by deliberate star-building. From which it appears that quality can be determined in advance and has very little to do with chance. A star on the wane offers another proof of deliberate policy. When his rising salary makes him a costly burden instead of a lucrative investment, we see him in a series of vehicles so poor that only his established fame could make them salable. By this strategy, the last dregs of his popularity are utilized and the star, when finally dropped, is useless to rival companies. Nearly all stars rise and decline in this way, demonstrating that, while mediocre films may crop up by chance, the best and the worst appear by design. Producers can calculate to within a narrow margin just how good or how bad their work is going to be. If they turn out inferior wares it is because, like other business men, they sometimes like to get money for nothing! Elizabeth Fletcher, Blackpool, England. MARRED BY MAKE-UP? DeANNA DURBIN, the famous young star, has become, like all cinema stars, the victim of make-up men at the studios. A comparison of Deanna as she appeared at the beginning of her career with the Deanna of these days will show a very marked difference. Why must they do away with the natural expression on people's faces, covering them up with artificial masks that disguise their true personalities? Actresses are taught how to look, how to smile, all in a wild search for glamour. And, suddenly, the question arises in our minds: Is it really so necessary that the natural expression on a face be sacrificed for studied poise and glamour? Deanna's personality has the special characteristic of bringing to us the adolescent girl, with the combination of her youth and childlike charm. Her open smile has been replaced with a formal one. A perfect one — even prettier, if you want to call it so — but one which conceals her real personality. And that is the great mistake. We want Deanna as she really is, with all the ingenuousness of her sixteen years. The time will come for her to look and act like a grown-up star, with the great advan tage of her magnificent voice. But, for the time being, let us have Deanna just as Deanna is! Amina V. Paoli, Ponce, Puerto Rico. BITTERSWEET I HAVE just seen "Dark Victory"! When I went into the theater I was in a state of personal boredom and listlessness. For months, illness, pain and defeat had overshadowed me. A vague fear of what lay just around the corner constantly possessed me. I came out, knowing that in watching Bette Davis portray her gallant Judith Traherne and George Brent as the brilliant yet tender Dr. Steele I, too, had won a victory and had learned what I had almost forgotten — how to live in the light and happiness. "Dark Victory" did not depress me. It gave me an insight into something nostalgic and beautiful — the thing we can all rise to if we have the depth to find peace within ourselves. Judith Traherne and Dr. Frederick Steele lifted the shackles from my heart and, I think, from the hearts of a great many others around me. Once in a lifetime, such a film as this flashes across the screen, a picture in which the characters rise to greater heights than just the mere acting of their parts. "Dark Victory" not only gave to its audience a poignantly beautiful love story, but it gave a lesson in compassion, tenderness and gallant courage. Linda Rogers, Springfield, 111. BACKPATS WITH BRICKBATS I HE gentle, but sometimes obnoxious, art of "mugging" on the screen is utilized to advantage by some of screenland's great, but is registered on the liability side as far as others are concerned. Irene Dunne's neat little, sweet little, exaggerated facial expressions tug at the heartstrings and deserve a salute number from our home town's band. In her case, "mugging" is becoming. We refer you to the picture, "Love Affair," with Charles Boyer, in which she goes through her entire repertoire of nosetwitching, uplifted eyebrows, et cetera, throughout the picture. But she's good — darn good! Now, we'll take the case of Mr. Don Ameche. He's pleasant looking, has a decent smile and, I understand, is a nice sort of fellow to know. But Mr. Ameche's constant attempt to dramatize with every muscle of his face is very disconcerting and is, undoubtedly, one of the reasons (the main reason) Kansas City, Missouri, has a "We Hate Don Ameche" Club. Someone should tell Mr. Ameche that with one half the "mugging" he would be very nice. But — full "mugging" ahead as far as you're concerned, Irene Dunne! Grier Lowry, Warrensburg, Mo. c^y/ui/^ Cdm&z ad&A—^ xxWheie's the qirl who wants to be Lucky in Love?' If you do — why let the wrong shade of powder hold you back? Find the one shade of my powder that is Lucky For You. ARE YOU a "powder-guesser"? — a girl . who merely thinks her powder is really right— the lucky powder for her? Can you be sure the shade you use today doesn't actually age you— or dim the freshness of your skin? It's so very difficult to know. For powder shades are always deceiving, and unless you compare them right on your ozvn skin you may never find the one shade that makes you a lovelier and a luckier you. I know that this may seem hard to believe. \et I have seen hundreds of girls innocently sacrifice their own good looks. 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If you use it after dinner you will be care-free of powder worries until midnight! So write me today for the ten shades of my powder . . . free. Find your lucky shade — and let it flatter your beauty always — help you win more luck in life and love! (You can paste this on a penny postcard) Lady Esther, 7118 West 65th Street, Chicago, Illinois (45) FREE! Please send me FREE AND POSTPAID your 10 new shades of face powder, also a tube of your Four Purpose Face Cream. Na "My lucky shade of Lady Esther Powder brought me link in love!" Address City _Stat (If you live in Canada, write Lady Esther, Toronto, Ont.) AUGUST, I 939