Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1917 - Feb 1918)

24 Announcement of Contest Winners in the whole world. I'm glad for the others who have been chosen also — and I hope we all have a chance to make good." Letters from Contestants Many of the most interesting letters received were from those who failed of selection to a place among the winners, and yet who, for native cleverness and wit, were not surpassed by their more fortunate rivals. Again, some were so naive, so natural, so altogether human and spontaneous, that what they lacked in elegance they made up for in genuineness and directness. It would be impossible to describe in a word the variety of sentiments, viewpoints, and motives that came to this magazine in the contest letters. Still less possible would it be to describe the varieties of style in which these ideas were couched. It is not out of place to reproduce, either in part or in their entirety, a few of the more striking or otherwise interesting contest epistles. A lady from Kansas recounts the story of her life in such overdetailed and generous measure that she far exceeds the two-hundred-word limit prescribed in the contest rules. Realizing this just in the nick of time, she closes her letter thus : "I have written eight hundred words, but when you have read two hundred of them you can stop." Not less to the point, but in more egotistical vein, is this excerpt from the letter of a college girl : "I thank God that he gave me a beautiful face, a statuesque figure, and a brilliant mind." Despite these qualifications, which she so frankly admitted herself, she was not included among the winners. John Blank, from the countryside of middle Illinois, tells some very interesting things, that are not very relevant to motion pictures or to the contest. He writes : "In this neighborhood eggs are selling higher than they were at Christmas time, and no wonder the country is howling about hard times. Butter is going up, and other dairy products, too ; and if this keeps up, rich men will soon be poor enough to go through a needle's eye. You see, I am a religious man, and it comes natural to me to use Bible reference. For my part, I am willing to let the other fellow do the complaining, because a man in the dairy-and-poultry business, like me, will not be the first one to suffer from high prices !" He continued in a similar strain through three paragraphs, and concluded wTith a very happy compliment to the magazine and many good wishes for a successful contest. A rather discursive note, penned by a sweet-sixteener, gives us a glimpse into youth's multicolored wTorld of dreams : "My mother thinks I am too young to be an actress, but I know if you would give me a chance I could be a movie queen like Miss Theda Bara. I am right tall for my age, and I could either play vampire parts or simple country girl. My preference of roles is romantic. I can dance, swim, play the piano, and also pony riding. My hair is auburn, with golden streaks in it when exposed to the sunlight. I do not like school very much, and I think it would be fine to come to New York and be a great actress. I think I could do best in love scenes." The following extract from a letter written by a young lady from Texas shows that she has plenty of ambition, but that she is not quite sure of her goal. She says : "I am very anxious to become a famous actress, and I think I could play parts like Nance O'Neil and Shirley Mason." Perhaps she has noted a similarity between those stars that has escaped us, but it has always been our impression that the respective talents of Misses O'Neil and Mason