Picture-Play Magazine (Sep 1928 - Feb 1929)

90 Objects of Wrath you opposite Miss Blanko — and she thinks — « well, you know how it is. Sorry." Now, the star in question is really a nice girl. No one could dislike her. Maybe she did not realize just what bitter discouragement she was dealing out, when she refused to have Kaye Rogers in her picture. Turning the girl away meant nothing to the star, but it meant everything to the girl. Yet such is the law of the movies. The weakest go under. If any newcomer has any right to become a future star — taking it for granted that a vivid personality gets you there — a young Italian girl from Florence should win out. Her name — at present her own — is Francesca Braggiotti. Her European training has been against a background of culture. She is intellectual and beautiful. A brilliant dancer, she has worked on the stage in Europe, and over here with Ted Shawn. She created the Tibetan dances for Gilda Gray, in "The Devil Dancer." Her perfect grace and motion have made her the model for many painters. Tade Styka, the Polish artist, met her in Paris and' painted her as a bacchante. Francesca's very long, reddish hair, together with her vivid personality, distinguish her wherever she is. Why should the movies overlook such a person? She thought this, and came to Hollywood, via the vaudeville route. Extra work was easy for her. Then her first bit came. It was to be in a picture with a new star. This young star never misses an opportunity to let every one know she is a star. Francesca's red hair photographs dark, making it look the same color as the starlet's. Her magnetic personality also made the star look like a fried oyster. As you perhaps guess, Francesca was re Photo by Spurr Kaye Rogers photographed entirely too well to suit the leading lady. It has meant discouragement to her. Though only six months in pictures, Miss Rogers has reached the point of being tested for small roles. "She has a very keen personality — very unique," the casting departments say. Of true American stock, with a streak of Cherokee Indian, Kaye Rogers does possess a distinctive personality. She has worked in dramatic stock. Understudying Sadie Thompson, in "Rain," was one of her achievements. No one could say she lacks ability. It was decided by one studio that she should have a small role in a production soon to start. One day the star saw her — and also her test. Kaye felt sure that her vivid personality had been so bright that it had won the star's admiration. Perhaps it did, but the result didn't say so, for she was told that she was being released from the picture. "But why?" Kaye demanded to know. "Tell me what for? I was good. Every one told me so. It was decided that I should do the role." "Well, you see," one comforter explained, "the part you play would place Jacques Vanaire lost a good role, because of too much personality. leased from the bit, and served only as an extra. Her chance will undoubtedly come, and when it does you will know. The same thing has prevented. Jacques Vanaire from gaining a foothold' in the movies. Under his own name of Jacques Van Roosendaal he belonged to a very cultured and wealthy family in Belgium. They were impover. ished by the war. Coming to America, Jacques left his history behind him and also his real name. He wanted to win fame on his own, and refused to play up his antecedents. He bears a slight resemblance to Ronald Colman. Not so much physically as mentally. His personality is also Continued on page 107