Hollywood Spectator (1937-39)

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Page Twelve July 17, 1937 “Yes?” “But I feel I need training of some kind.” “Aren’t you getting it? You’re being trained for the screen and getting paid for it, so obviously Mr. Beaton is correct; stage training is not necessary to gain success on the screen.” “Then I guess Mr. Beaton is right when he says that personalities are more important than trained actors.” “More important to whom?” “To the producers, I suppose.” “What kind of personalities?” “The kind that appeal to audiences.” How many principals are there in this picture?” “About fifteen.” “How many of them are ‘personalities’?” “Well, there’s myself, the girl I play with, and that fellow with the funny accent.” “And the other twelve who support you and the young lady?” “They’re just actors.” “Quite right. Like myself, they’re just actors; do you know their names?” “Some of them. The actress who plays the part of the old grandmother is Beulah Bondi, the fellow who plays the old Swede is Walter Brennan, the nervous professor is Walter Kingsford, and then there are Frank Morgan, Jessie Ralph, Elizabeth Risdon, Fay Bainter. . . .” “An all-star Belasco cast.” “Eh?” “Forgive me. I was thinking of other days.” “But these people are not the same off the screen, so what they do on the screen must be acting.” “It would seem so.” “But Mr. Beaton says there is no such thing as an art of acting in motion pictures.” “It’s an interesting point of view.” “What do you think?” “I believe there is a technique of acting for the screen, just as there is for the stage.” “Then what is it? What’s the difference between stage acting and screen acting?” “Did you ever see a person paint a poster?” “Yes.” “Did you ever see a person paint a miniature?” “Yes.” “What was the difference in method?” “Why, the poster was painted with broad strokes and the miniature was painted with delicate touches.” “To my mind, that is the difference between stage and screen acting.” “I see. But what about this ‘projection of personality’? Does Mr. Beaton mean somebody like Jimmy Durante ?” “I doubt it.” “Mae West?” “I hardly think so.” “But they’re personalities; they both project.” “True; they project something, but not what Mr. Beaton has in mind — unless I do him an injustice.” “Well, how do you project your personality?” “I’m afraid my opinion on the matter is based upon my training as an actor with which Mr. Beaton does not agree.” “As a stage actor?” “Yes, and also as a screen actor.” “I’m listening.” “Thank you. You remember the song, ‘Every Little Movement Has a Meaning All It’s Own’?” “No.” “Mm! Well, this morning you were in a drawingroom scene; you stood talking to the charming young heroine, trying to make an impression on her?” “Yes?” “To project that sort of personality?” “Yes.” “You stood with your feet spread wide apart and your hands behind your back?” “Yes, that’s a habit of mine.” “The director corrected you.” “Yes, but why did he? That’s me. That’s my personality.” “I agree. But was it the personality you should project on the screen if the audience is to accept you as a smart young college man making love to a charming girl?” “I get it.” “It seems to me that what Mr. Beaton means by ‘projection of personality’ is placing upon the screen the personality of the character one is playing with sufficient naturalness and clarity, to be convincing.” “What do you mean by naturalness?” “Just that.” “You mean that I must learn lines, learn business, and then perform them for the camera just as naturally as I’m talking to you?” “If that’s the sort of part it is, yes.” “But that’s acting.” “Of a sort.” “But it’s mighty hard for me to be natural and at the same time think of lines and business.” “All young actors have that difficulty, but in time you will become a trained screen actor and those obstacles will disappear.” “What do you mean by a trained screen actor?” “Simply that you will learn the technique of acting on the screen just as a stage actor learns the technique of acting on the stage.” “Well, another question. What do you mean by ‘clarity’ ?” “Do you remember the scene you played this morning with two other actors? It was a long shot, and you were in the center.” “I remember.” “As they talked you turned your head from one to the other several times.” “Yes, just as I would do naturally.” “Then the director took a close-up of you.” “Yes, and he told me not to move my head ; just move my eyes.”