Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1919 - Feb 1920)

12 Don't Do / wondered how many girls in those miles of homes wanted to go into the movies. where I am sometimes means very little? Look at the two years I was under contract to a company that wouldn't give me decent stories, but made me play parts that didn't fit me at all, because there was some one else who played the sort of roles that I should have had — some one whose word counted with the manager. I couldn't break my contract — I just had to stick with those people till it was over, and my roles had given people such a bad idea of my work that I had a hard time getting what I wanted with another company. Even now — oh, Marjorie, don't do it !" But simply because she had had a hard time was no reason why I should, I told myself. And even though she had had difficulties, here she was, at twenty-three, traveling all over the country, to make exteriors for this picture or find some good scenes for that one. It seemed to me that a few bad years wouldn't count when they earned so much for you in the end. Finally she gave in. "All right — I'll give you a letter to Mr. Rowe," she said, picking up her lap desk and taking out some stationery. "He's manager of one of the biggest studios in New York, and I know he'll be nice to you, and do anything he can to give you a start. I'll tell him all about you in my note; if I were going East to-morrow instead of to the coast I'd take you along and introduce you to him. But I'm sure he'll do everything possible — though you mustn't be disappointed if he can't give you any chance at all for months ; that's part of the game, you know — learning to wait. Take plenty of money with you — New York's not always a friendly place when one's broke. And remember that you've got a home and people who love you back here — don't hang on there and grow bitter because you can't catch the rainbow — or because it's just tissue paper when you do catch it." I didn't like that, but I went home on wings, my heart like a singing bird. I was going to It, Marjorie" get into pictures! I could see myself, exquisitely gowned, the center of wonderful pictures of wealth and lavish display, and my heart thrilled at the thought of it. And if I didn't pay much attention to what the family talked about that evening at dinner, and dreamed in a corner of the porch swing when Ted came over that evening, surely nobody could blame me. Ted was just the boy next door, anyway — he didn't know anything about getting into pictures, though he often took me to see them. He did help me, though, after he'd found it was of no use to try to dissuade me. His father held an editorial position on one of. the Chicago newspapers, and years before had known in Washington a newspaper man named Blake, who had afterward become a motionpicture director, and now was an "artists' representative" in New York. That is, he ran a sort of agency to place actors with the different companies. Ted's father had seen him recently, and said Mr. Blake had an office where thousands of people who wanted to get into pictures registered, and then when different directors needed somebody for a small part, or a big one, or wanted a crowd for a ballroom scene, or a mob, or something like that, they sent to Mr. Blake. So Ted's father gave me a letter to him. I'm afraid I wasn't as grateful for it as I might have been ; I felt sure that just as soon as Mr. Rowe had seen and talked with me he'd offer me a chance to begin doing small parts, at least, but I thanked Ted's father for it and promised that I'd go to see Mr. Blake as soon as I got to New York. You can imagine how delighted I was with this opportunity ; I couldn't wait to start East. True, I hated leaving dad and mumsey; I knew that evenings, when I'd remember how dad used to get the car out and we'd drive into Chicago and out along the North Shore, or perhaps all go into town for dinner at one of the hotels and go to the movies or for a long ride afterward— well, I knew that I'd be homesick when I thought of the good times we used to have at home, and of how mumsey always saw to it that I had a new dress for parties, and used to sit in the sun parlor sewing when I'd come with some of the girls in the afternoons, I'd be pretty lonesome. But then, I'd be working evenings, of course, and hard work is a good cure for homesickness.