Picture-Play Magazine (Mar-Aug 1928)

What the Fans Think 11 her a shy, seclusive little person with no trace of sophistication or lure about her. When she stepped before the camera, however, the change was magnetic. She did her bit and proved herself an actress to me; then she became herself again. The contrast "between the real Greta and the cinema siren wa9 so comiplete that it aroused my interest and curiosity. The latter is not yet satisfied — the former has never since flagged. When I saw Ramon Novarro he proved to be an even greater surprise than La Garbo. I have always imagined him as almost too good to be true — so imagine my delirious joy on finding him even more saintly in person than on the silent sheet. His eyes are black, as is his hair, which seems to have a suggestion of a wave in it. His skin is olive, but not as dark as it often appears on the screen. He looks and acts like a young god from Greece, who is here merely for a short sojourn before he goes back to sip the nectar and ambrosia of Olympus. Furthermore, he completely enthralled me by playing a piano solo. His music is divine. William Haines is the funniest creature I have seen. He keeps his coworkers in hysterics all the time, and had me on the verge of convulsions. He is naturally friendly and jolly, but in his broad humor is not always careful to think of other people's feelings. However, the good-looking rascal completely won me. And now just a word about the others: Norma Shearer is a beauty — but not as good looking as she is on the screen. John Gilbert, much as I like hini on the screen, is a total loss in personal contact. He 'is silent and morose. Lillian Gish wore a blue sports dress, with her hair in curls around her shoulders. She looked more like sixteen than thirty — and a real beauty. Robert Orem. 781 Arguello Boulevard, San Francisco, California. To William Boyd's Rescue. At last! The blow has fallen which compels me to write this long-deferred letter. I refer to the criticism heaped on William Boyd for his role in "Dress Parade.'' To say that his performance is merely an imitation — and a painful one, at that — of William Haines makes me frantic! Who is William Haines but a smarty? He has never given the screen a characterization with possibilities as great as did William Boyd in "The Volga Boatman." To me he is superficial, and has never shown real emotion. The fans who object to Greta Garbo do not know good acting when they see it. More, she is inspirational, for who can deny that in "Man, Woman and Sin" John Gilbert's performance was not the fiery, impassioned one that we saw in "Love." And Greta alone is responsible — she is so great emotionally that whoever plays with her is infected with her own genius. Not that Miss Eagels is insipid, but simply that she has not th power to broadcast her genius. 'Three cheers for Garbo and Gilbert— and long may they kiss ! Lorraine Wheatley. 1403 Bonham Street, Commerce, Texas. Cease Firing! Cease hostilities just for a moment, please, fans ! Don't you know, you Gilbert supporters, that, instead of hurting your divinities, the anti-Gilberts are really giving them a little more publicity? The average fan is going to read these glowing epistles and say : "These people must surely be great artists, for only the great inspire so much controversy. We condemn the poor ones with faint praise!" Surely there is room for every great artist in the film firmament. I do not for one moment believe that any man or woman can reach the first rank in acting, and hold it with the applause of intelligent people, unless real ability is evident. What does it matter whether stars are twenty or forty, if we have known them and loved them ! It is the soul shining through which makes the personality lovely, and maturity has a mellow beauty as lovely and fascinating as the radiance of youth: Thus till the. end of the chapter Mary Pickford will be symbolic of all that is gracious and sweet, and Ramon, the dreamer, will be Galahad, the glamorous, when he is snow-white. Fans, did you ever stop to think how terrible it must be for actors to read unkind comments about their private lives or crushing sarcasm about their personal appearance? Actors are not calm, phlegmatic creatures ; they are a highly strung, sensitive, and often overworked lot; and many a letter must hurt and discourage them. They give us their best ; let us give them our best. Constructive criticism, yes — we all need that in order to go ahead. Isabell C. Crawford. Kamloops, British Columbia. Hurray for Gilbert! Miss Robinson of Delaware, whose letter was printed in the February PicturePlay, is certainly brave to say such things about John Gilbert. I thought that every one who said a single word against him had to fight a duel with the rest of the world. The idea of describing his acting as "pawing!" The whole letter a'bout him is perfectly ridiculous and silly. No, Gilbert will not 'be disliked by the men as was the famous Valentino. Gilbert acts. Men didn't like Valentino because their sweethearts or wives always came home, after seeing one of his pictures, with a sentimental expression on their faces. Now the men crowd the theaters to see our Gilbert. Will the lady in question please realize that at least one person does not agree with her about her slogan, "Down with Gilbert." A Stanch Gilbert Admirer. Box 581, Atlanta, Georgia. Stars in the Flesh. For the benefit of the fans who would like to know how the stars appear in real life, I want to say a few words about some I have seen. Zasu Pitts. I spied her at the Ambassador dog show, with her little daughter, a beautiful flaxen-haired child, and her adopted son, Sonny, who belonged to Barbara La Marr. Zasu is much younger and more attractive than she appears on the screen! She wore a black coat and a bright-blue hat that made her blue eyes glow. She is friendly and no one can say she is high-hat ! I summoned courage to ask her to write her name in my program book, and to my surprise and pleasure her answer was, "Of course !" Fearing she might freeze me with hauteur, I timidly endeayored to tell her how much I have admired her, and she won my friendship, right then and there, by an amused sort of laugh, accompanied by an "Oh!" as if to say, _ "Be vourself, for I don't believe a word of it!" It wouldn't be fair if I didn't say her daughter and little Sonny are the dearest, most well-behaved youngsters any one would want to see. Barbara La Marr must be happy in knowing her boy is in such good care. Mae Murray. I saw her dance at the Metropolitan Theater here recently. She is tiny, with bright-blue, eyes and a dazzling smile that almost makes up for the egotism that is a part of Mae Murray, Regal in spite o'f her smallness. She danced her famous "Merry Widow Waltz," gowned in black velvet. It was breathtaking to see how superbly Miss Murray's mobile face can assume utter disregard of her surroundings, while she is wrapped up in her dancing. It seemed to me she was more of an actress than a dancer, for her steps were really nothing unusual, and her plumpness made her a trifle too heavy for dainty dancing. She has never been lovelier and more charming than in the picture "The Merry Widow," and I hope some day we will see her in another such role. Billie Dove appeared on the stage at Loew's Theater along with the showing of "American Beaut}-." She stepped out on the stage and after luring us on most distractingly by her mere presence, disappointed us by not saying a word! Beauty? Yes ! Not chilly, haughty beauty, either ! But all pulsing charm, a warm, melting smile — that is Billie Dove, with her auburn-tinged hair and expressive eyes. • Lilyan Tashman also appeared at Loew's, along with her husband, Edmund Lowe. Lilyan is tall, with golden hair and a deep, husky, artificial voice — a bit too stagy for sincerity. She made a short speech, but her husband saved the day by his naturalness and 'his winning smile. Evelyn Brent is neither beautiful nor friendly. A trifle scornful, with an attitude of "Look me over ! But I don't give a hang if you like me or not!" That's Evelyn Brent! Dark, with a hard face, she screens much better than she appears in life.. No wonder she can play "crook" roles so well, for she is sullen and defiant, just when we wanted to see her smile and thaw out a bit. George Bancroft appeared just before Miss Brent did. A tall, big chap, with a beaming, shiny face that quite won the whole audience. He gave us a decidedly "different" type, in the role he played in "Underworld," and we all liked him on the stage every bit as much as in the picture. I saw Elliott Dexter several years ago on the stage in a short act. His marvelous voice has stayed in my memory ever since, and I wonder why he doesn't appear in pictures any more. California Forever. Los Angeles, California. He Likes Them Exotic. If Elfreda Peel is getting "tired of Ramon Novarro," she has my sympathy ; I shall never have that complaint. One would imagine that she has to read everything printed about Ramon. Surely, if she is not interested, she can ignore it. She says he is made to appear such an impossibly perfect person. Well, I don't suppose Ramon will thank me for saying it, but he does happen to be as near perfection as is humanly possible. Isn't that true, Ramon fans? I'm afraid that if I told you all that I think of Ramon, I should be dismissed as a sloppy idiot, so I'll spare you, Elfreda; but there is one question I'd like to ask you — whom do you rave about? According to Elizabeth Gilmartin, Ben Lyon and Colleen Moore are by far the best performers on the screen. It's the first I've heard of it! I can't help thinking she says so just because they happen to be her particular favorites. My particular favorite is Vilma Banky, but I don't go around saying that she is the greatest actress in the world. No, I just adore her because she is such a darling. Some fans seem to think we should only admire the