Camera - April 14, 1923 to February 16, 1924 (April 1923-February 1924)

"The Digest of the Motion Picture Industry" Page 5 Adventure and New Plans IE JAMES M. FIDLER ias been considerable of a year — for Betty son. ring the twelve months now ending she Uf>een over most of the familiar parts of old globe. /ing early in the spring she was still sufwith enthusiasm for Hawaii, where she sent by Famous Players-Lasky to be ■d in a picture titled "The White Flower". ■I Compson liked Hawaii — and Hawaii a Betty. Before she left the officials of the mis Beach of Waikiki tendered her a banand invited her to return there sometime, e. Maybe she will. er, she went to Europe. She was beyond .tlantic for a number of months. During ■ time she sojourned beneath the livid pash moon, she inhaled the perfume of a Is marvelous flowers, she walked the farMi byways of Paris and she inspected alo: every other country. She evaded Russia, ■Because she had no desire to see that Hry of unshorn faces, but because there fj a few too many revolutions in progress ! e time Miss Compson was near its boun I London Miss Compson made two motion l»es, surrounded by a cast largely made p f English actors and actresses. "Woman bpman", the first of these pictures ( and it be given an American release), Betty seres is the best thing she has ever done. U s enthused over its possibilities, not beI of her own work, which she modestly ttims; but due to the beauty of the story, orthy work of the cast and the surprisingusual and deft direction. y in all, Miss Compson tells those who her with "Well, how has 1923 treated that it has been a very marvelous twelve is. the next twelve treat me as well, I will have every reason to be the happiest girl on earth',, smiles Miss Compson. (And somehow, when she smiles, it makes a fellow want to race around on a search for this guy "Fate" and make sure that he hands Betty only the best of things in 1924). Coming down to the point of thinking, it looks as if 192+ IS going to be unusually fortunate for Miss Compson. Let's see, now, what she has already planned for herself: To begin with (oh, you thought we had forgotten it), she is to become Mrs. James Cruze. That is, in private life. On the screen she remains Betty Compson — and she is going to remain on the screen. Secondly, she will be hard at work for some time to come as the star of "Prison Born", which the Oakland Film company is making at Hollywood Studios. Stuart Paton is directing her. Thirdly, she is shortly to return to the Paramount plant to be featured in a screen version of the popular stage play, "Rain". Then, she is soon to be featured in a picture which Cruze will direct. From these things, it looks as if Betty Compson will see none of Europe and Hawaii this year — not unless she can travel to one of the two places, maybe by aeroplane, overnight. "A funny thing", laughs Betty, "is that my plans are far more definite now that I am not under contract than they were when I was signed up with Famous Players-Lasky. Then I seldom knew, during the production of one picture, what I would do next. Now I know •my plans for months ahead, generally speaking. That is one of the reasons, if it should be inquired, why I am much in favor of free lancing and have decided to remain free, at least until I have given it a very thorough trial." (Note: A slight pause occurred here while the writer was jotting down notes. He looked up to find Miss Compson putting on her makeup. Her expression indicated that the interview was over, so the writer, with a word of thanks, departed. But two days ago a letter arrived. It was from Miss Compson. It follows: "I believe you told me that the story would appear about the first of the year. Then I have been terribly, terribly neglectful. Please add to it my very happiest wishes to the whole wide world for the very luckiest and most prosperous New Year ever before enjoyed." There you are. Considering Raiment in Life's Kaleidoscope By SADA COWAN and HOWARD HIGGIN ier consciously or subconsciously, every nd woman is a dramatist in the affairs or her daily life. Of course, there is r consciousness along this line in the i ?ean races, because they are more sticated, and also because they have trained, racially and individually, to a Ier appreciation of the importance of the g, so to speak. We all try to arrange ffairs along dramatic lines as we would hem; either we do this purposely, or I >wn saving instincts lead us to do it >ut our realizing exactly what we are and why we are doing it. In other s, we usually, and we should always, s the part." Every producer and diIC r of a stage play or of a photoplay, h es the importance of the settings and ie ostumes of the players. Naturally, in 1 daily life we try to have harmonious It igs for the drama which we expect to — that is why we furnish our homes and H >ffices tastefully and decoratively. At ie ame time, we endeavor always to make i« settings appropriate for the dramatic Pfi— if we may call it that — which is to pire in these rooms. J t, of course, we can determine the sc-tnjonly of our own characters. Therefore, lust provide as far as possible for the ig which we carry with us in our peretions. The only thing we can be sure s we go from place to place, is the es we wear; hence their importance, pjthe successful man or woman is the one either through careful thought or in stinctive judgment, picks the right clothes for himself or herself. It is not always merely a matter of lines, although much stress has been laid on this aspect. In other words, the tall, thin person should not wear clothes with longitudinal stripes, the stout woman should not wear circular skirts, with broad bands, and so on. These are obvious "don'ts" with which we are now all familiar. There are two fundamental instructions for dress, and they both have dramatic backgrounds First: Study the part you arc going to play on a certain mission, and then dress the part. Second: Study your own type, and be sure that jour clothes harmonize with it. We all know that the man or woman who is looking for a job always dresses as neatly as possible and tries to look as prosperous as possible. In other words, this person has dramatized himself as a successful employe, naturally he dresses that role. The man with the threadbare collar and the frayed sleeves, must prove his ability before he can land the job; give him a new suit, clean linen, wellshined shoes, and so on — his appearance proves he is a successful employe, and he can get the job with a minor demonstration of his ability. And usually at a much better salary. The girl who comes down to her office work in a gown which is more apnropriale for a tea-dance at the Ambassador or the Biltmore, does not look like a worker, she does not feel like working, herself; and she docs not inspire others with whom she COtSes in contact in the office, to work, either. Her clothes, and the bearing which she naturally assumes when she wears those clothes, make Continued on Page 19 M