Pictures and the Picturegoer (October 1915 - March 1916)

1 \\ £55 CURES AND THE P1CTUREG0ER "The Honour to Die/9 a Tremendous Inspiration to Rita JoliVet + + +/ + By Mile. Chic i xpressii 'u of her Du . and 1 wanted in 1 1 :i 1 v. \ciii know, and ENCHVNIT.F de fnirc votre eonnnissance," said Rita Jolivet, and she lo >ked as it' she were delighted t<> see in-1. This u:is rather a triumph of Rood manni sin was in the 1 1) ii-k of her preparations for a mid-winter trip to Euro] >o. and much too I > u _\ to he interviewed. Hut ictress had never made anj public experiences in tin' filming of '/'//( llummr I Iter to do What shall we talk about ? " 9he asked. Talk about y.>ur pictures, please. Miss Jolivet/' I said. nil the thousands of people who will see you in tho TrailAtlantic release. Tin II lour to l>h. will want to know how you liked making it.'' "Well." she began, " it was don. was a most interesting experience. 1 understand sonic Italian, but 1 Inake no pretence of speaking it. and most of my associates spoke nothing else. This made our work lather difficult. In fact, I don't think making pictures is easy at all. In the first place. I must confess that I miss,.-! my audii Sarah Bernhardt lias gone on record as say iug that one should not lie lack of one's public, but 1 so deeply low that wonderful response which comes to me a the footlights when I am really ling the hearts of the people. could it lie possible not to mis the thrill? •Then I found it difficult to make the different sections of the sequence of the story in their ap riate scenic settings, instead ■I developing the plot in a logical way . as oi the stage It bewildered me to do a bit of the last Act ill the middle and the cud of a scene at the beginning. But the enormous interesi of seefag your own work, of being able to criticise yourself as if you seme one else, is » compensation for all the difficulties, and. after all. it was my work, and I love all my work. My associates were delightful to work with. Italians have a natural gift for facial expression and gesture, which makes them particularly fitted for pictures ; and I found an inspiration in the pictorial quality of their acting. They were charming to m" personally. Recently, while in California. I received a cablegram from my Italian director asking me to make some more photoplays with them. It took at least fifty words to explain his business, and at the end he added : ' The whole company send you their mbrances.' I don't know the cable rate from Turin to California, but it must be very high. I cannot tell you how I appreciated the delightful courtesy. ' I have always loved Italy, and should like to return there. of the very actors with whom I played in that film have been called for military duty. One particularly, who. though engaged in silent drama, had a great reputation as an orator. has a peculiar mission in the army. He is there to inspire the troops in the trenches with his fiery speeches. \\"e readabout the leaders of history ; haranguing their troops T before a battle. A New Portrait of Rita Jolivet So that is bis appointment professional baranguer. Don*! you think that is verj typically Italian:-'' It is impossible in these daj to avoid disou lion of the war in any conversation with a European, in whose thoughts the all-absorbing topic is always uppermost Mi Johvel ha special reasons for being bsessen by the i fiict, for shi a brother in Irotb the French and the English Army. This Beems strange, but is explained bj the fact that the Jolivet family has really two homes Prance and Englind. •■ You sec." explai 1 Miss Jolivet, " half of us were born in one country and half in the other. We are really bilingual, and we still pass half the year in London and half iu Dieppe The brother who was |>oin fa France was Called to the Colours at once, and the one I >. .in in England volunteered just as promptly. One has been wounded . but has returned to the Front. I am hoping that be may soon have leave, and that is win 1 am going ^^L# home. Our little circle hasshrunk ^^^M considerably, and I do not want ^^^^ my place to be empty at Cbrist bW. \ mas. What Conversation we shall have if both brothers gel leave together ! " " Then you have nol much faith in Mr. Ford's ability to gel all the men out of the trenches by Christmas ' " J asked. " I fervently wish he might sua 1 <!." she answered, " but 1 am com inced that he cannot. 1 am as firm a believer in peace as he is, but not at any price. Xo. the magnificent spirit which has sustained the Allies thus far must sustain them further. I hardly know which of my two countries I admire the more. Isn't it wonderful to think of over three million Englishmen who deliberately walk up to a sergeant and volunteer to die? Oh, it is bo magnificent that the thought thrills you like great music ! 'The honour to die how many t hou sands have won that honour in this war? Conscription, which takes the choice from the individual and makes the sacrifice alike for all classes, seems fairer, doesn't it? A very clever Englishman said to me that he thought all the volunteers should now be retired and the others should be forced ,to take their places. '" They tell me Paris is almost normal again, but I confess that I am dreading the poor wrecks of humanity that one sees on every hand there. They say the parks and gardens are full of convalescents, some with only half a body, armless, legless; but. worst of all, sometimes almost faceless. I do shrink a little from that.'' It would -be perfectly comprehensible did Miss Jolivet shrink from going abroad on another score, when one remembers that she is one of the survivors of the ill-fated lusitanm. We hope to publish Miss Jolivet* experience in that disaster in a forthcoming issue. FIND THE FILM! (Turn to 2Mgc 367.}