As the Earth Turns (Warner Bros.) (1934)

| aaaiine Stories Jean Muir Nearly Starves Before Leaping To kame Jean Muir Wears Her Eyebrows Natural Stars in Strand Hit Jean Muir says that no matter ° 6 9 _ what the style is she is going to Leading Lady In “As The Earth Turns” Is Now yea: natural eyebrows from now On Her Way To Movie Stardom on. She had to let her plucked brows grow out for her role of a farmer’s daughter in the Warner Bros. picture, ‘‘As the Earth Tunrs,’’ now showing at the ......... theatre, for it was not believed that a girl on a New England farm would pluck her eyebrows. On being informed by the makeup artist that. wide brows suited her face much better than narrow ones she decided never to pluck them again. UST about the same time President Roosevelt was inaugurating his political New Deal last April, Destiny was ‘doing much the same kind of a job for Jean Muir. At that time Jean Muir was a twenty-two year old stage actress, out of work in New York City in the dullest theatrical season Gotham had known in years. For several months she had been living on only $6 a week, of which sum $4 represented room rent. She lived on one meal a day during most. of that trying period. Now, some months later, Jean Muir is considered by critical Hollywood to be one of its future greats. She is under ‘“‘AsEarth Turns ’’ Expected To Make New Film Stars contract to Warner Bros. for a comfortable salary, she has Six Promising Players Get Golden Opportunity In Same Powerful Drama played leading roles opposite Warren William, Paul Muni and Joe E. Brown, and at present is the central figure of one of Warners’ most pretentious films, “As The Earth Turns,” now showing at the Theatre. Her success story is a triumph of fortitude, bolstered by talent, training and rare intelligence. That $6 a week period represented the nadir of Jean’s brief professional career. She had done fairly well on the Manhattan stage, had played parts in five Broadway plays, and had been understudy for six principals in “Dinner At Eight.” She quit the STARLESS picture is the surest maker of stars. Hollywood has faith in the adage. The wiseacres say it will be justified again with ‘‘As The Earth Turns,’’ a ‘‘special’? without a single stellar name, which comes to the RR ed. ER Meabre ON scares bee eee Remember ‘‘Peter Pan’’? Three young women rose from that cast of unknowns to lights on the marquee. Their names were Betty Bronson, Mary Brian, Esther Ralston. ‘“Sinners’ Holiday,’’ without a ‘‘name’’ to its name, brought Jean Muir and Donald Woods who will delight you with their excellent performance as the young lovers in “As The Earth Turns,” Warner Bros.’ newest hit, coming to the Strand. Mat No. 38—20¢ latter safe haven to quest for prominence in the play, “Saint Wench.” She had the second lead to Helen Menken in it. The play, for which a good run had been predicted, was a dismal failure. It ran only a week, and Jean found herself jobless. This play, however, was the indirect road to her Hollywood career. A theatrical agent saw it, asked her if she would like to act in movies. She told him that she had taken several tests for one of the major companies, but had not been offered a contract. She added that she was not anxious to go to Hollywood, but told him to go ahead and see what he could do. This agent showed her test to Warner Bros., and Miss Muir was signed to a contract immediately. “J think you are making a mistake,” said this extraordinarily frank girl to the executive in the New York office, who arranged the contract. “I don’t think I’ll ever do anything as a movie actress.” She took a slow boat trip through the Panama Canal in order to build up her constitution, which had been undermined by her months of a starvation diet, and after seventeen pleasant and healthful days’ voyage arrived in Hollywood. Studio cameramen were the first to sound her praises. They immediately discovered that Jean Muir had an absolutely perfect camera face. Even the greatest beauties among the screen stars have facial flaws which cameramen are paid handsome salaries to hide. They found that this tall, very blonde, blue-eyed girl looked somewhat like Ann Harding, but had a rarely graceful personality. Her face is so sensitive that it is a perfect mirror for the emotions her talent as an actress enables her to simulate. After that, Jean’s Hollywood career was just one triumphal march. She was introduced to the cameras in a small role in “Female,” Ruth Chatterton’s picture. Then she had a prominent part in Paul Muni’s picture, “The World Changes.” Next she was leading woman to Joe E. Brown in “Son of a Gob.” Next Warren William put his stamp of approval on her as his heroine in “Bedside.” And now she has the role of the Maine farmer’s daughter in the filmization of Gladys Hasty Carroll’s best Page Twenty-eight Joan Blondell and Jimmy Cagney to celebrity. Mary Carr became the synonym for all screen motherhood after “Over The Hill,’ a nonstar picture, and Colleen Moore vaulted to stardom in another, “Plaming Youth.” There are plenty of examples. The prospects are excellent that the same thing will happen with “As The LHarth Turns.” There is one difference. The prophets claim that not one star will be created by this screen version of the Gladys Hasty Carroll novel—but several. Jean Muir, who plays the most important feminine role, is rated as an important discovery on the Warner Bros. lot. Reeruited from the New York stage, where she had played a bit or two, Jean has already had assignments in three pictures, “The World Changes,” “Son of a Sailor’ and “Bedside.” In “As The Earth Turns,” she plays her first role of real consequence. Executives are enthusiastic over her work in the new film. Donald Woods, another newcomer to the screen, will be seen opposite Jean. The part of Stan in this saga of New England’s farm folk is his first screen job, though he has had a thorough schooling in stock companies throughout the land. Here is a ooo seller, “As The Earth Turns.” Jean was well educated at the dwight School, Englewood, New Jersey, her parents making no little struggle to send her to this select young women’s finishing school. After graduation, she went to Paris for a visit and study. She came back to America on the same hoat with John Drinkwater and his English stage company of “Bird in Hand.” She played a season of stock in Columbus, Ohio, Lyle Talbot, now in pictures, was the leading man of the same company. That was two seasons ago. This was followed by appearances on the New York stage in “The Truth Game,” “Melo,” “Peter Ibbetson” and “Life Begins.” Other players in the cast of “As The Barth Turns,” an epic of American life, include Donald Woods, Russell Hardie, Emily Lowry, Arthur Hohl, Dorothy Peterson, David Landau, Clara Blandick, William Janney and Dorothy Appleby. Alfred E. Green directed the picture from the screen play by Ernest Pascal. young man to whom the prophets point with confidence. Russell Hardie, young Broadway actor, is another member of the cast. Better known on the stage, perhaps, than any of the other youngsters in this cast, he has been seen so far in only one important screen assignment, with Alice Brady and Frank Morgan in “Broadway to Hollywood.” “As The Harth Turns,” they say, will be the making of the lad—a perfect opportunity. Dorothy Appleby, just arrived in Hollywood from the Broadway stage, where she was seen in “Young Sinners” and other plays, is another member of “As The Earth Turns” cast who may soon be a picture “name.” Emily Lowry, William Janney —they are other young players of whom much is expected. Those who know about these things are putting bets on these two also. Moviegoers hereby receive fair warning. The signs all point one way. It looks as if a nest of future screen stars has been uncovered. And there’s always Hollywood’s belief; a starless picture is the surest star-breeder of all. Keep Smilin’ i g Donald Woods, who appears in Warner’s “As The Earth Turns,” now at the Strand Theatre. Mat No. 41—10c Donald Woods Gets Lead Role In His First Film Stage Player Wins Part In “As The Earth Turns” Sought By Scores Of Actors HE chances are just about one in a thousand that a newcomer in a Hollywood motion picture studio will land the leading role in his first picture. Broadway stars aren’t included in that statement. But the average juvenile, however promising, may wait months and sometimes years for his chance to be a leading man. The one-in-a-thousand chance did come to Donald Woods, which makes Donald not only one of the luckiest thespians in filmland this year, but one of the happiest. For his first role at Warner Bros. studios, where he is under contract, was not only a leading one, but one of the most unusual and desirable parts within the disposal of the company this season. The part of Stan Janowski, the young Polish farmer in Gladys Hasty Carroll’s widely read novel, “As The Earth Turns,” which comes to the Theatre on mittedly one of the choice acting plums of the year. It has the qualities and opportunities that can easily make an unknown actor popular overnight. Scores of aspiring players all over Hollywood recognized this, and the Warner casting offices were besieged for weeks before the picture went into production by actors and their representatives, all eager to capture one of the prize romantic roles of the year. Several of the established leading men on the Warner roster cast longing eyes at the part of Stan Janowski, too, and would have been tickled pink to find that they were cast for the part. Out of a hundred or more actors who considered themselves eligible to play Stan, the least excited was probably Donald Woods. “Frankly, I never imagined I’d be considered for it,” said Donald in discussing his good fortunes during the making of the picture. “I had read ‘As The Earth Turns,” knew the role by heart, and would have given my right eye to play it. Stan is one of those genuine, down-to-earth characters that any actor enjoys portraying. “Being a freshman, so to speak, in Hollywood, however, I thought the studio would put me through four or five months of bits and small parts before they even thought of entrusting me with a leading part, because of my lack of picture experience. When I heard that I had been chosen to play Stan, you could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather. “T’ve played every kind of a part, on the stage, from the minister in Channing Pollock’s play, “The Fool,” to the bloodthirsty Count in “Dracula,” but I’ve never had a character that interested me as much as that of Stan Janowski.” Donald Woods was born in Winnipeg, Canada, but his family moved to the United States while he was still a youth. He graduated from the University of California, took honors in dramatics during his college course and had already chosen the stage for his profession before he received his bachelor’s degree. After a number of promising seasons in such important stock companies as those in Washington, Toledo, Memphis, Fort Worth, Houston, Salt Lake City and Indianapolis, Donald joined the famous Elitch Gardens theatre in Denver, where he was discovered by the talent scouts of the Warner organization. Jean Muir has the leading feminine role in the picture while others in the east ine™7Russell Hardie, Emily Lowry, Arthur Hohl, Dorothy Peterson, David Landau and Clara Blandick. Ernest Pascal authored the screen play.