Picture-Play Magazine (Sep 1927 - Feb 1928)

22 Miss Bennett claims that Mother Machree of her talents that has been given to her IN the various publications devoted to the movies, there was given, some time ago, a brief account of Belle Bennett's disagreement with Samuel Goldwyn and the subsequent severing of her contract with him. The piece de resistance of the story, as reported, was that, during the final interview between the actress and the producer, Mr. Goldwyn was alleged to have called Miss Bennett names and Miss Bennett to have slapped Mr. Goldwyn's face. All of which made a fine story, but remember that Belle Bennett gave us SicUa Dallas, proclaimed as one of the finest pieces of acting seen in recent yeai's on screen or stage. An actress of such caliber is certainly not to be lightly dismissed, nor badly misreported and maligned. At first. Miss Bennett made no attempt to defend herself against the story published. She turned the other cheek and accepted her persecution silently. But motion-picture careers cannot be defended so passively. Protecting the other cheek with a gloved hand, one is the only role worthy since "Stella Dallas." Did She SLp Mr, That remains open tO: question, bul-ggjie Benne*. in her own defense, telling her sid in her late By Margaret draws a knife and strikes back, if one would protect one's prosperity from movie politics. A knife would probabl}' frighten the gentle Belle Bennett into tears, but she is now using a weapon against those who have attacked her. "Ti^uth is my weapon," she said to me. "The time has come for me to speak. I had intended not to mention the subject again, but here I find myself telling you all about it." I had gone up to see her in her little stucco home on a quiet hillside. Her two sons — one adopted, and the other her own — sat with me in the living room while I waited for Miss Bennett. A tidy, usual sort of room, furnished and arranged like any comfortable living room in your own town. A marble cherub on a pedestal, holding aloft a lamp ; "Just a Cottage Small"' in the center of the rack on the piano ; several portfolios of stills and photographs on the table. The boj's, both somewhere near twenty, with nice, shy manners, made conversation to fill the interval. Miss Bennett, they explained, was with her father, who had been in an automobile accident some weeks before. They led me out and showed me the little terraced garden. All the plants and shrubs, they said, had been given to the star by friends. They were going to tie a label on the stalk of each plant with the name of the giver printed on it, the boys said. Wasn't it hot, and had I enjoyed "The King of Kings," and would I like to see some of Miss Bennett's photographs ? There was a picture of the young son whose death had so tragically occurred just as Miss Bennett was about to begin work on "Stella Dallas.", There were countless photographs of Miss Bennett, scenes from "Stella" and other productions, informal snaps of the star. I looked up from the golden-haii^ed pictures as the original quietly entered the room. Her hair is a dark, ruddy . brown, parted in the middle and knotted low in the back. A simple house dress, embroidered in wool, gave her a competent, housewifely appearance. "I am sorry you have been waiting so long, but m}^ father needed me. As long as I am there to hold his hand, everything is all right." As Emil Jannings' wife in " Tlie Way of All Flesh," says Mi'ss Bennett, she is just part of the background. Her voice is beautiful — perfectly modulated, low-pitched, and gentle. ■J