Screenland (May-Oct 1930)

34 SCREENLAND fantastic Hollywood Cecil Beaton's Impressions of Screen City As Told To Rosa Reilly The young English artist went to Hollywood to illustrate Anita Loos' new book about the movies and remained to make remarkable portraits of screen stars, a series of which comprise the de luxe rotogravure section beginning on the opposite page. You will wish to save and frame these Beaton pictures H 'OLLYWOOD is the most incredibly fantastic city in the world," said Cecil Beaton, famous young English illustrator, artist and photographer, who has just returned from his pulchritude pilgrimage to the screen city. "Hollywood," he continued, "is a triumph of bad taste. And I never knew bad taste could be such fun! "I went to Hollywood,1'' Mr. Beaton went on, "primarily with a view to doing drawings and caricatures to illustrate Anita Loos' new book on this film town. But I also went to crash down the barriers of my illusions. "On the screen in London, Paris, and New York I have watched my favorite cinema stars and even in this day of realism to me they possessed great romance and glamour. I knew if I went to Hollywood and saw these stars in person that the romance and glamour would fade away. And it was a terrific extravagance for me to go there for I have always held the theory that stage and screen personalities should never be seen by the public out of character. They should never mix with the world. They should live a life apart so that the millions of theater and cinema-goers might retain their illusions. "But paradoxically enough, even though I realised the stars would lose their glamour for me if I went to Hollywood and saw them in person, and although I knew it was a mistake to go — I did go. And it was glorious fun smashing the last barrier! "Hollywood is the most artificial place in the world. And because it is, I love it. I love the paradox that is Hollywood — the mixing of naturalness and artificiality. I hate the painted doll type of girl who looks like she wears a mask. But I adore a flesh and blood human woman who puts that sort of doll coating on herself. It is a delightful pretense. It to may cover be, Meet Cecil Beaton. Only twenty jour years old, yet already his work has attracted world attention. He contributes his clever articles, drawings, and portrait studies to Vogue and Vanity Fair. amuses me to see her trying to clothe her face; her naivete or her hard-boiledness, as the case with this painted doll pretense. "As a child and a growing boy I was brought up in a very social atmosphere. None of my people were stage people. And it was like flying to have suggested that I be allowed to go behind the stage. I was taken to the minimum amount of pantomimes but when I got old enough I ran off to the matinees whenever I could, pretending, of course, to be playing at home in the garden. "Because everything artificial was kept so far away from me, I began to like artificial things more than real experiences. For instance, as a child when anybody asked me where I would like most of all to live I would say immediately, back-stage among the stage scenery. "For the same reason in childhood, an artificial stage garden where the flowers were made of linen and flannel became much more desirable to me than a real garden. To see a stage tree — which has only one side — gave me more kick than to see a real tree. "Those childish fantasies have stayed with me somewhat. Therefore, when I went to Hollywood my old childhood world of pretense was re-created. I found an artificial city — and because it was artificial I enjoyed it a thousand times more. "Now, of course, you'll want to know what I thought of the Hollywood actors and actresses. Did they all disappoint me? To be candid, I must admit nearly all did. But there were a precious few who were more wonderful off the stage than on. "Take Norma Shearer, for instance. On the screen you realize that she has a marvelous complexion and lovely hair. It is, therefore, an added delight to see that her (Continued on page 128)