Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1929)

Friendly Advice from Carolyn Van Wyck on Girls' Problems Men judge by appearances. And so, like Joan Crawford as Diana in "Our Dancing Daughters," the girl who has the reputation of beinga fiirt sometimes has a hard time convincing a man that she really loves him DEAR CAROLYN VAN WYCK: / am in love! And, though I am twenty, I am in love for the first time. l)oein't it seem a strange statement — coming from a girl who has been called "ultra modern"? Everybody in my crowd, thinks that I have been in love ever so many times! And. oh. Carolyn \'an Wyck, that is my problem! For the man that I adore thinks so, too. He utterly believes that there have been other men — perhaps many of them — in my life. And, because he believes this thing, he has put up a strange sort of a mental barrier between us. And I can't seem to get beyond that barrier. I'm — well. I'm just dizzy over him! And that's the truth. I can't sleep for thinking about him. And it is not a foohsh crush, for I'm a grown woman. I know, too, that he feels the same way about me, for — to be \'ery personal— he can hardly keep his hands oft me. .\nd he can't control his eyes at all. But — this is the trouble: I've always been what people call the "life of the party." I've danced the longest, and laughed the loudest, and stayed the latest. I've told the newest stories and sung the latest songs. I've flirted the hardest! And so I have the reputation of being spcedv. Only — I'm telling you the truth, Miss Van Wyck— my speed has all been on the surface. I've kept my lo\-e, all of it, for the man that I would s<ime day marry. I've kept myself clean for him. >»ow — I've found the man. But I can't seem to put over with him the fact that I'm the sort of a girl I really am. He is judging me entirely by surface things — just as e\er so many others judge me. And before I know it he wiU go off and marry some little pero.\ide blonde with big eyes — who lisps. And who does things, in private, that I wouldn't even care to think about! Can you gi\e me any advice. Miss Van Wyck? This is a vital matter, with me. My 16 life's happiness is hanging by a thread. And I don't know what to do to make it more secure! WiLM.I K. APPEARANCES— said the old -''■adage — are often deceitful. And it is the truth, this saying! Especially so in your case. Wilma — and, I ha\-e no doubt, in many another case that is parallel with yours. For you have gi\-en so much publicity to your youth and good spirits and desire for fun that you ha\-e allowed yourself to be quite misunderstood. And the sort of misunderstanding that you have permitted is the sort that is apt to breed serious trouble. As, for instance, in the case of Diana — the heroine of "Our Dancing Daughters." ^^^ Have you, by the way, seen "Our Dancing Daughters"? It you haven't I should suggest that you locate the theater at which it is playing. And that you go to see it, at once. And, if possible, take with you the young man that you love! Seeing the picture — and especially seeing it with you — won't do him any harm. For "Our Dancing Daughters" is the story of a girl who, in e\-ery way, is like you. She, too, has always been the life of the party. And when she falls in love, the man that she cares for distrusts her. And, as a direct result of this distrust, he marries another girl who seerns sweet and gentle and innocent. Needless to say, the marriage is a miserable failure. It works out in a way brutally unfair to the man. The innocent, sweet girl has been hiding from him her real nature. But, after marriage, the real nature comes to light. It is only through blind luck that the stoiy comes, at last, to a happy ending! "Our Dancing Daughters" is a vivid picture. It teaches that one's eyes do not always Appearances May Deceive Is This Month's Problem BY this I don't mean neatness and smartness and prettiness. When 1 say "appearances," I mean something very different. I mean the sort of appearances that label one girl "sweet" — and another girl "wild." .Sometimes the person that you see — the outside person — is quite different from the inside person. Sometimes unbelievable goodness of soul is hiding under an extremely sophisticated exterior. And vice versa! And — while we're talking of appearances— remember that I'm ready to help with hair, complexion and clothes problems — as well as with matters of the heart! Beauty, health and happiness are all topics upon which I would like to advise you. Letters enclosing stamped, self-addressed envelopes I will answer by return mail. Those without postage will be answered as soon as possible, in the magazine. For information regarding the care of the skin, send a stamped envelope. And if you want to weigh less (who doesn't?) send ten cents for my booklet on sane reducing methods. Write to me in care of PHOTOPLAY Magazine, 221 West 57th St., New York. CAROLYN VAN WYCK. record the truth — that circumstantial evidence can not be always trusted. It mirrors life with a real fidelity. E.\cept in this: In real life the ending might not have been so satisfactory! In real life the man might ha.\e had to be faithful for fifty years — to a desperate mistake. Wilma, I am going to gi\-e you the advice for which you ask. 'The ad\-ice isn't going to be that you curb your high spirits or give up your gayety, or that you cease being the life of the party. But I do ad\ise that you are a trifle more discreet in your actions — that you do not beha\-e, so completely, in a way that can be misunderstood. I might suggest that you try to be more modest and tactful — that you leave no opening by which you may be falsely judged. Folk, especially men, can not be blamed for putting their own interpretation upon too much license. They have only appearances upon which to base their conclusions. How can they, without being psychic, know [ CONTINUED ON PAGE 98 ]