Modern Screen (Dec 1931 - Nov 1932 (assorted issues))

Jetta Coudal's uncontrolled temperamental outbursts kept her from holding success. Fame was too much for Barbara La Marr. And Sally O'Neil's rise to sudden stardom and importance made her extravagant and impaired her career. THEY COULDN'T By CARTER BRUCE T US O most of who plod along in the well-beaten paths of life it is the achieving of fame that appears to be the most difficult hurdle. After recognition has come, to the majority of us, it seems that the rest of the way must be smooth — clear sailing ahead. It means the end of hardship and struggle, and in their place come power and riches for those lucky enough to make the grade. Yet various histories of Hollywood have proved that those who have had the stamina to fight their way up from the bottom, suffering every hardship the long pull demanded of them — those who have walked through the valleys with courage and high heart, have not been able to stand the achievement of their goal on the hilltop. They could not stand fame! For fame, in many respects, is like champagne. It is sparkling, thrilling, exciting, the most heady stimulant in the world . . . and therein lies its danger . . . especially to women. The mental hazard . . . the physical strain . . . the rumor and gossip angle . . . the flattery . . . the sudden fortune after months and years of privation . . . the even more sudden use of power . . . the danger of blackmail . . . the sycophants ... all these have proved obstacles far more dangerous to cope with than those encountered in the struggle for. recognition. The "too beautiful" Barbara La Marr could not stand fame. Neither could Wallace Reid, nor the unfortunate Roscoe Arbuckle. But perhaps the most telling example of them all is Clara Bow — poor, big-hearted little Clara who proved that she could cope with life in all its bitterest defeats and still smile on. It was the ease and luxury of success which whipped Clara. The history of her childhood reveals the stuff Clara is made of. She watched an invalid, sick-minded mother die in her arms. She was a spectator at the battle of her incompetent, bewildered father to wring a bare living from the world. Her entire childhood was filled with ugliness and injustice. She learned the meaning of responsibility when most children are cutting out paper dolls. Her education consisted of one or two years of grade school. She knew hunger and privation for many years. At thirteen she was "out on her own," looking for any kind of job that would help keep the wolf from the door. All these things the brave little Clara could master. At the very beginning of her career there was no smarter and more clear-headed girl on Broadway than the little red-haired miss who was later to become the world's "It Girl." She kept her feet firmly planted on the right track toward her ultimate destination. Yet when fame finally burst upon Clara, so brilliantly, so unexpectedly, so overwhelmingly — it proved too much for her. Clara Bow could fight her enemies in the open . . . but she could not distinguish those smiling, deceitful foes who entered her life under the guise of friends. She had learned early in life the bitter lesson that one hundred pennies make a dollar but she could not sanely manage money, quick money, that came in thousands. Gossip and rumor hounded her from the top of the It's hard enough to get to the top in the movie game— but 58