Picture Play Magazine (Mar-Jul 1929)

Youtk is Triumphant John Darrow, who is already well known, will appear in the long-delayed "Hell's Angels." high school in Mr. Sennett's town, and then started to work. He did something in a bank, but did not like it. What aspiring soul could tolerate a bank ? Mr. Rollins' sister had been on the stage, previous to her marriage, so he probably got his ideas of acting from her. He did his first extra work in some of the "Collegians" films. He was one of the boys to have a test taken for "Cradle Snatchers," but heard nothing of the result. Several months later, he got a call to try for "The High-school Hero." David Butler, the director, took him on, and thus the young man found his resting place. He played the lead in "Prep and Pep" and "The Air Circus," and also appeared in "Thanks For the Buggy Ride." I generally see David on the Fox lot, creeping up behind people he knows, to give them a surprise by blowing up a balloon and letting it die down in a dismal squeak behind their ears. He has such a good speaking voice that I thought he must be a foreigner, but Kansas City and Hollywood are the only places David has lived in. He possesses an individual personality, and is attracting attention already. Another chap who stepped on the right track, via "The High-school Hero," is John Darrow. Mr. Darrow comes from New York. After leaving school, he spent six months in the insurance business. As you well know, an artistic temperament was never meant for that, no more than the Rollins genius could stand the bank. Two years ago John turned up in Hollywood, with his mother and brothers, and started out as an extra. About six or eight months after his arrival he got his first bit in Bebe Daniels' "Stranded in Paris." Next came the part in "The High-school Hero." Strange as it may seem, John hardly got it, as it was thought he did not look mean enough for the heavy role he was to play. He proved that actingcould make him appear so. That's versatility for you ! John had the same obstacle to face when Caddo considered him for the part of the young German in "Hell's Angels." However, so good was his work that Howard Hughes, the producer, placed him under contract. You possibly saw John as the young reporter in love with Marie Prevost, in "The Racket." Fox engaged him again for "Prep and Pep." You'll see a lot of him from now on. For his work in "Prep and Pep" you will probably see a great deal of Frank Albertson, too. He is the wise-cracking youth in that picture, whose high spirits and infectious tomfoolery have made a hit wherever the film has been shown. Frank started at Paramount — in the laboratory, carrying tins of films from here to there. When he was laid off, with others, he got work at the Fox studio as a prop boy. Then he did some extra work. Ambition, aspirations, secret desires, et cetera, were aroused, so Frank applied for a test for "Prep and Pep." He got the role. So good was he that Fox kept him for future reference. They have an option on his services which will possibly be foreclosed before you read this. And now, boys, we come to a startling personality. The girl is Elene Aristi, who is under contract to Universal. For two years Elene essayed to convince the studios that she should be acting instead of looking for extra work. Bits in various pictures seemed to get her nowhere. Not long ago, she was working for Universal, playing a small role. Carl Laemmle saw her, and knew he had a "find." Hence the contract. Photo by Brown Mary Mabery suggests Phyllis Haver, Vilma Banky, and Claire Windsor. Elene is Greek — the only Greek girl in pictures ! Impressionable young bloods are now thinking of taking up Greek to attract her interest, and to feel what Lord Byron felt when rhapsodizing to his "Maid of Athens." Although Elene speaks Greek beautifully, she speaks English equally as well. Altogether she is brilliant. At eighteen she attained her B. A. degree. She was born in Connecticut, but has lived . mostly in Chicago. It is hard to give a definition of her personality. To be exotic, one might say she suggests a streak of lightning in the depths of a chasm. When Elene sits opposite you she gives you the impression that she might leap to the roof at any minute. Of course she doesn't really do it, you know. Aristi comes from a great line. One of her ancestors was an Arab sheik, Marakas, who invaded Greece some time in the fifteenth century. The motto on her family crest, in Greek, means patience and perseverance. Elene has used both to get where she is. Already the Greeks