Picture Show (Nov 1919-Apr 1920)

The Picture Show, March 2,1th, 1920. 19 "OUR ONLY DIFFICULTY.'' IT was very cosy in Miss Jessie Winter's dressing-room at the Kingsway Theatre. The light-coloured walls, pretty chintz hangings, numerous photographs — among which pictures of Miss Winter's husband and baby predominate — the low easy-chairs, Miss Winter herself — all these gave an impression of comfort, warmth, femininity. My hostess, I gathered, is not very fond of interviews, but she agreed that they need not be formal ; and, indeed, anything less formal than the one which transpired, and anyone more pleasantly easy to approach than the subject of it, would be difficult to imagine. But, informal though my chat with Miss Winter was, it was not more than, two seconds before I discovered that there are some very decided opinions beneath that pretty fair hair of hers. About, the future of the British film, for instance. The Weather Problem. THE future of the British film," said Miss Winter, with a smile, " lies in the hands of the man who controls the weather — or, rather, the studio equivalent of good weather. In America the production of films is about the third or fourth biggest industry, and I believe such will bo the ease over here sooner or later. T think the weather problem is our only difficulty, and that when we have combated that, we shall turn out films that will compare favourably with the best American products. At present it is practically impossible to eliminate fog entirely from the studio, except, of course, in the summer I remember what a very real inconvenience this was once when I was working in the studio, when it was so cold and foggy that the director told us to hold our breath during the taking of a scene, as otherwise it would have photographed. You can imagine how difficult this was. What one might term the " repressed schoeH of acting.' " Where We Have Seen Her. MISS WINTER, as you know, appeared in " Mary Girl " and " Good-bye " (written around Tosti's famous song), both of which wereg directed by Maurice Elvcy. She also appeared in one of our earliest films, whose name escaped her at the moment, an omission excusable in view of the fact that it was made about six years ago, when films were a fairly new proposition in this country. So, while her film experience is not extensive, it at least gives her a Starting off on a long flight. ONE of the most delightful things about Charlie Chaplin is his quality of unexpectedness. You never know beforehand what he's going to say or do next. Somo time ago, for instance, ho mado his first trip in an aeroplane. Now, on such occasions it is generally considered the correct thing amongst celebrities of tho Chaplin order to comment in glowing terms upon " tho wonderful sense of freedom," " the thrill of high adventure," and kindred sonsations. When asked how ho had enjoyed himself, Chaplin promptly answered " Not at all." Moreover, ho candidly admitted that ho was terrified out of his wits, and only stuck to his MISS JESSIE WINTER. (Photo : Rita Martin.) practical view-point, and at the same time entitles her to regard herself as something of an " old-timer " in the celluloid world. And yet, do you know, although her films have enjoyed such a success, she has never seen herself on the screen in a picture house ! " I have never got the pluck to go into any cinema where I am being featured on the screen. It makes me dreadfully nervous," confessed this popular legitimate actress, to whom, one would imagine, nerves would be an unknown quantity. " And when I have plucked up sufficient courage to see myself in the projeetingroom, I have always been reminded of other people — my sisters, for instance. This detached feeling is very extraordinary." Of course it was inevitable that I should ask Miss Winter for her opinion on the stage v. resolution to see the job through because he has always been interested in trying a fresh experience. What Worried Me Most. I REMEMBER the thing that worried me most," he said, when describing the affair, " was all the paddiiiK in those clothes they helped mo into. I didn't mind so much the idea of being killed outright, as falling to earth with tho usual dull, sickening thud, and surviving tho. experience. You see, I harboured the suspicion back of my mind that the garments which mado me feel liko a human pincushion were ingeniously designed for this very purpose. " Then tho cheerful nonchalance of my pilot got on my nerves. It was just as though he know he'd got mo in his power, and intended to make me realise that he was going to do jolly well what he pleased with me. Scared Stiff. " ' | IKE to loop the loop, Charlie ? ' ho'd ask I . carelessly, just by the way, you know. And because I felt ho knew I was scared stiff, I gavo him a sickly smile, murmured a fooble ' Yo-es,' set my teeth, and— thought of those padded clothes. But when", contrary to all my expectations, wo landed safely, 1 mentally registered the vow ' Never again ! ' " But Charlie, boing an unexpected sort of porson, has changed his mind. The accompanying " snaps " show him starting for San Diego for another trip, and, judging by tho dazzling display of Chaplin dentistry, he wasn't worrying much about thoso padded clothes. Jessie Winter Talks on the Future of the British Film. screen : whether she thought any alliance existed between tho two, in which direction her preference lay (seemingly futile this; still, one never knows), and whether we wero likely to see her again in pictures. *' It is very difficult to do stage and screen work at the same time, and, with no less than nine performances a week, you can guess I have very little leisure left," replied my hostess, in answer to my last question. " But I might act for the screen again some day, if I can get a light role such, as I prefer for film work. Stage Work Best. 1MUST confess that I do not. like film aetingso well as stage work, but then I am more used to the stage, and there is a good deal in being used to a thing. But I have found film work enormously interesting. I like it for itself, and 1 also acknowledge it as a great asset to the. stage artiste from the point of view of publicity. Especially is this so in the case of an artiste on tour in the provinces. You may bo known in town and yet be unfamiliar to provincial audiences, but if you have appeared in films you will find a following already made for you ail over the country. " As regards your other questions," went on -Miss Winter, " I consider that the arts of the stage and screen are two entirely different things, and that the one does not help th« other. Moreover, I think that film acting is the harder of the two. For one thing, it is very tiring — one must work from early in the morning till day light fades. And then, again, there is very little to help one in one's portrayal. The slowness and at the same time the jerkiness of the work, the lack of continuity, of straightforwardness, present difficulties the stage artiste never knows. It may be the most exciting thing^to part from one's husband at the beginning of the proceedings, and meet him for the Jimt time during the scenes that are ' shot ' last, or to enact a death-bed scene before you have gone through the adventures preliminary to it ; but, as you can readily gather, such methods of acting, which in film work seem inevitable, have their disadvantages from the actor's point of view. " However, he receives compensation in the interest, the ample remuneration, and the publicity the work affords.'" May Herschei, Clarke. Besides, he says ho enjoyed the flight, which, of course, was the last thing we expected him to say. Elsie Codd. CHARLIE says "good-bye " to a little friend. CHARLIE "TAKES THE AIR." The Screen Comedian Describes His First Experiences.