Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1926)

IS Vera Reynolds likes small attentions from a man, while Constance Talmadge insists on gentlemanliness. I'VE heard that a favorite topic of conversation at gatherings of men is "women" and "how hard they are to please," and it occurred to me — "Isn't it just a case of men not realizing how really and truly easy it is to make a woman happy?" With this in mind, I selected twentyseven of the most widely known motion-picture actresses, and asked them about it. Woman has been likened to everything in the feline species, from plain cat to "hell cat." I once read a platitude from some author which said : "A woman is like a cat ; she can pur contentedly by any fireside where she is warm and well fed, and as long as her fur is being stroked the right way." To a certain extent, this is true of many women, but the present generation go so far as to demand equal rights and added attentions, as well as that warm fireside and food and stroking of the fur the right way. Attentiveness, unselfishness, perseverance, honor, good manners, and adherence to the Golden Rule, are some of the things included in the list of qualities required of men by movie actresses. Simple, oh, so simple! If you men-folks would just take the trouble to stop and ponder on these things ! Women and young girls of to-day find themselves flattered, followed, sought, and won, and Norma Talmadge likes a cheerful, tolerant man. Pola Negri admires a man of strong character and good principles. ,f£tt Leatrice Joy stresses thoughtfulness. What I Admire Leading film actresses express themselves that it is really the small things about a By Dorothy the road to their affections follows many and devious ways, but a short cut would be just as effectual. "Why," says little Vera Reynolds, "it's the little teeny-weeny, apparently insignificant attentions from a man that count. They are what make a woman happiest. But men, who as a rule are not so easily pleased, simply can't get this into their heads." Miss Reynolds says that men are painfully unobservant, and that a lot of them are so engrossed in themselves that they overlook little compliments that women expect. "And by that I don't mean flattery," she added, with a note of warning. "For instance, suppose I expect a gentleman caller, one who has come on numerous previous occasions. I plan to surprise him by dressing my hair some new way — and then he doesn't even notice it! But just let him appear in a brandr-new overcoat, of latest cut, and if a compliment isn't forthcoming from me, he's terribly offended. Another thing — a little remembrance delivered in person is worth, in a woman's eyes, a dozen boxes of expensive roses handed through the front door by a messenger boy, who asks her to sign for them. The man who singles out the things a woman most likes to do — and it is true enough, no two women have the same likes— is sure to make her happy. As for me, I'd rather go to one good football game than to ten dances. But with many women, I'm sure, the reverse is true. "And how much easier it is for a man to take me to a football game on a Saturday afternoon, than to trot me out to a high-hat, dressy affair." Constance Talmadge likes most for a man to have that something about his manner which marks the gentleman— not manners of the exaggerated kind, not clothes, not so-called swank, but the little acts of everyday life that stamp a man for what he really is. "He may wear overalls or the finest of custommade garments," Constance says. "He may ride in a street car, a 'flivver,' or an imported automobile— or he may walk. But he must be a man who respects old age, loves children, takes the side of the weak against the strong, is kind to animals, loyal to his friends, and quick to forgive his foes — if he has any of the latter. I like the Boy Scouts, because above all else, they are little gentlemen. And men who are like them have the qualities that I believe most women like in a man." Greta Nissen requires good manners.