Picture-Play Magazine (Sep 1928 - Feb 1929)

116 Advertising Section Ask Your News Dealer for Live Girl Stories The Exciting Romances and Adventures of Girls of To-day On the news stands the first Friday of every month. Buy It Now. Unveiling Olive's "Past" Continued from page 34 It seemed that Miss Borden left the telephone company shortly after that. As time went on, I read items in the papers telling of her budding career in pictures. Finally she was given a contract by Fox. Although I had liked the girl, I seldom went to see her pictures. Two or three experiences taught me to save my time and money. She was not sufficiently trained to warrant her high casting, and had she possessed the combined talents of Gish, Garbo, and Bow, she could not have humanized the stilted roles allotted her. On the heels of poor pictures came rumors of temperament and ostentation. Success, said Hollywood, had gone to Olive's head. One could scarcely pick up a magazine without reading some comment on her personal or professional affairs. This attitude struck me as being unnecessarily severe. Bored writers hurled their two-edged swords at Olive for doing things that wealthy and powerful stars — the "sacred cows" of the industry — could have done with impunity. Then there was that famous tea in New York that nearly "ruint" the poor girl. Miss Borden was unaware that it was being given in her honor until she was in the midst of it. Amazed at her strange and thrilling position, she attempted to hide her terror by assuming an attitude of indifference. The result was pitiable. Not long ago Miss Borden and Fox came to a parting of the ways. More rumors. She wanted too much money. She was hard to handle. She was a "flop" as an actress. After four months of idleness, Olive began making pictures for the smaller companies. For a long time I wondered, then decided to investigate. I was not surprised that Miss Borden did not recognize me when we met for luncheon at the Roosevelt Hotel. Five brimming, throbbing years could easily obliterate my face from her memory. In the presence of a third person — she was accompanied by a publicity director — it did not seem the time or the place to hold a post-mortem. These I-knew-youwhen people can be very disturbing at times. "Let's you and I eat a whole lot," said she. I enthusiastically agreed. Miss Borden does not need to diet. Nature has been kind to her in that and many other ways. In a city of lovely women, she is, I believe, the loveliest of all. The black-andwhite carbon copy we see on the screen gives only a hint of her deli cate, sumptuous beauty. She was wearing a tailored suit of dark red, with a splendid fur about her shoulders, tier thick, black hair is naturally curly and clusters about her neck and cheeks in a fetching manner. Possibly one might criticize the largeness of her teeth, but even so, they are well formed and pearly white. A night or two before our meeting, I attended a preview of her newest picture, "Sinners in Love." I thought her more human and interesting in this than in any of her previous efforts, and I told her so. "It is one of the few real opportunities I have had," said she. "We hear a great deal about the inferior methods of the quickie producers, but I have found them very agreable to work for. I don't call them quickies. They really aren't. Before they start to film a story, every detail is carefully prepared in advance, and then it can be made in a short while. I worked in pictures for Fox where we didn't even have a scenario. "Fox treated me extremely well, except in the matter of stories. That is what we disagreed about. I knew my pictures were poor. I didn't expect the critics to like them. "As for the stories of my so-called temperament, there is no truth in them. I was kept running around in nightgowns and negligees so much, that I did use a car to go from my bungalow to the set, on the other side of Western Avenue. But it was my car and my chauffeur, so why should any one object? "Several times when my pictures turned out to be unusually bad, I was called back and additional scenes were made. I wouldn't have objected to that, but they made me wear very suggestive clothes in the hope of pepping up the picture! I resented it, but there seemed nothing I could do." Miss Borden was not registering complaints ; she was cheerfully offering explanations. People about us looked admiringly at her vivid, animated face. "An unfortunate thing happened in one of my recent pictures," she went on. "I was supposed to have a struggle with an actor who was very new in the business. I can stand a good bit of rough treatment, but he was too realistic. We struggled, and he tore my clothes until they were in ribbons. Finally he got my arm twisted behind me and I couldn't get away. At that point I was supposed to fall on the bed, and then get up and go to the window. I certainly fell on the bed, but I couldn't get up.