Picture-Play Magazine (Jan - Jun 1930)

The Courage Of Normalcy Continued from page 74 "Would they prefer Clara Bow in some other type of part, or the kind she's heen making? I understand that Paramount is looking for emotional stories for her, something not quite so 'Itty,' if you know what I mean. It will be an interesting experiment to watch, for it may give the rest of us a hint. "I have often wondered, too, whether the public likes best the kind of actress who plays a character that any one of them might be, or an actress who plays a part that the majority of them would like to be. That is, do they prefer pictures like 'Saturday's Children,' for example? The role that Corinne Griffith played in that picture would fit almost any girl in real life. She could be a nursemaid, a cook, a stenographer — almost anything. But is that what they want, or do they prefer an actress like Constance Bennett, or Ann Harding, in very elegant and sophisticated parts? "Personally, I've always admired Elsie Ferguson extravagantly, and I'd give anything to be like her. The kind of pictures she used to act in are the kind that appeal to me. "Then, too, I've often speculated on whether the public likes to think of us as being the same off the screen as we are on. If they think of me at all after they leave the theater, do they think of me as being the same in private life as I have been in the picture, or would they rather believe that the grand air is simply acting? That after leaving the studio, I am just an average girl such as any of them are, with the average girl's likes and pleasures and aspirations? What do you think?" Never having been a first-rate star, I hadn't given the matter much thought, and I very much doubt that my advice would count for anything. But I do know this : Norma Shearer is handling her career in a more intelligent manner than the majority of stars. When the publicity department tells her a writer is coming to interview her, Norma goes into conference with herself and thinks up several ideas for a story. When the writer appears, if he has a definite idea along which he wants to write, Miss Shearer talks along that line. If he starts to ramble aimlessly, Miss Shearer adroitly brings the conversation round to the ideas she has in mind. It's a wise and grateful interviewer who knows when a lead is being thrown him, and if he knows his onions, he leaps at it. When he shows interest in one of her ideas, Miss Shearer talks along that line. I think that is one reason I have never read an inane article about her. She has a native intelligence, and handles her career in the same manner that any successful person handles his business. It is no hit-andmiss matter with her. Her stories are carefully selected, and regardless of how much a part appealed to her, I don't believe she would tackle it unless she herself was confident she could play it capably. Each member of the prospective cast is tested with her, before the picture starts, so that there will be no incongruities in the scenes when they are actually filmed. Nor have I ever heard any charges of temperament laid against her. Robert Montgomery, who plays opposite her in "Their Own Desire," was warm in his praise of her. Says Bob, "When we started work on the picture, Miss Shearer said 'There's no reason why we can't share the close-ups.' And if they had the camera trained on her in one of them, when it came time for the next she'd say, 'Focus on Mr. Montgomery this time, and give him a break, too." I've seen her at openings surrounded by throngs of fans, all with books, hats, handkerchiefs — anything that would take a signature — eager for her autograph. And I've seen Norma smiling and autographing while mobs jostled her as she tried to write, and leaky fountain pens seeped ink over a new gown. While she never loses her patrician air, it is never thrust at you in an "Ain't-I-elegant ?" manner. In talking to her, she unconsciously becomes a regular scout whom you'd like your best girl to imitate. As for myself, I'm off on a hunt to find some of those pictures of hers I've missed, and I'd strongly advise the rest of you to do likewise. We've been overlooking something genuine. LOYALTY Toast, if you will, the latest stars That twinkle along Broadway, While I lift my glass and drain it dry To the stars of — yesterday. Jean Douglas. FOR EYES OF YOUTH Dull, tired, bloodshot eyes can be made to look and feel much younger by a few applications of Murine. It clears them up, brings back their sparkle, and causes them to feel fresh and invigorated. 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