Madame Dubarry (Warner Bros.) (1934)

Personality Sketches e ' Human Interest Stories r) Personal e Casting Notes Items As suggested in The Film Daily’s Poll of motion picture editors Albertina Rasch Once Was Famous Ballerina Albertina Rasch, who staged the elaborate dance sequences in the Warner Bros. production of “Madame Du Barry,” now showIng statherin oon aes: Theatre, was formerly one of the world’s greatest ballerinas. She made joint concert tours with both the late Sarah Bernhardt and Geraldine Farrar. Dolores Del Rio has the role of Du Barry in the picture, which is a story of the loves of King Louis XV’s favorite. Verree Ticklish Verree Teasdale Sleeps in Nightie Impertinent Portrait Of Lady Who Was Snubbed By The King In “Madame Du Barry” By CARLISLE JONES is now appearing in the Warner Bros. production of ' 7 ERREE TEASDALE, tall and blonde and stately, who ‘““Madame Du Barry,’’ at the Theatre, is called ‘‘ Voo-voo’’ by her mother. She was born in Spokane, Washington, but moved as a child to New York, where she was edueated. Her lucky number is thirteen. She has never. been poor or hungry and she is interested in fish. She can’t resist having her fortune told at every opportunity. She doesn’t exactly believe what the fortune tellers say, but it’s a comfort. Generally they tell her pleasant things. Sara Teasdale, famous poetess who died recently, was Verree Teasdale’s cousin. Edith Wharton, the novelist, is her second cousin. The name Verree is pronounced so that it rhymes with Marie. It is a family name dating from Civil War times when a young Northern officer named Teasdale married a Southern girl of French parentage, whose last name was Verree. Miss Teasdale is very patient with those who do not believe this is her real name. Miss Teasdale is one of the ten best dressed women in Hollywood and she designs most of her own clothes. Collects Baby Pictures She collects baby pictures. She has thousands of them. Pictures of babies fascinate her. She has them put away in trunks and boxes. She doesn’t know the babies personally. She has a Japanese cook who can make real “Birds Nest soup” —and sometimes does. She likes it. She likes corn beef and ecabbage, too. Miss Teasdale has no middle name. She was married to William O’Neal, a singer, but has been divorced. Her parents are both living, but are separated. She has a habit of missing trains. She sleeps in a night gown, gets dizzy on the tops of high buildings and prefers a shower to a tub. She is very ticklish. She is an excellent whistler. She took lessons but has never whistled on either stage or screen. She does not smoke and she has never been in an airplane. She never carries an umbrella. Among her several pets are three small turtles. The backs of the turtles carry the words, spelled out in brilliants, “Forget Me Not.” Miss Teasdale winds her watch at night, prefers to butter her own breakfast toast and sometimes has her shoes half-soled. She plays a fair game of golf but has never driven a ball over two hundred yards. She is no longer interested in Mahatma Gandhi and she can’t understand the new money policies of the government. She has never changed a flat tire, swam in the nude, nor written poetry. She tans easily, rides well and swims often. On her right wrist she wears a bracelet from which dangle ten little good-luck pieces, all of gold. There is a tiny whistle which blows, a tiny corkscrew which opens, a miniature washboard and tub, a four leaf clover and six other odd items. It also was a gift. She eats popcorn and _ likes good puns (if there are any good ones): She doesn’t get seasick but she dislikes to ride down in a fast elevator. She likes to ride a roller coaster and she can use a typewriter reasonably well. Won’t Try to Cook Miss Teasdale has never met a president of the United States. She was taught how to cook by her mother but has never practiced what she learned. She talks back to policemen. She likes cold weather. She never eats oysters. She once had a large sum of money stolen from her. She likes to read in bed. She likes rocking chairs and sunsets and O. O. McIntyre. She plays bridge and poker and backgammon, none of them very well. She reads the “funnies,” eats ice cream and listens patiently to other people’s troubles. She doesn’t like to sleep late. She doesn’t. like cats. Frogs croaking disturb her greatly. She likes to shop and she enjoys being alone. She doesn’t take her shoes off first when she gets ready for bed. Verree Teasdale always intended to be an actress. She was never interested in any other business. She got her first stage job by asking for it; a part in “The Youngest.” Before that she attended school at Erasmus High School in New York and at Miss Perkins’ School for Girls, Sargent’s School of Dramatic Art and the New York School of Expression. Her best known stage role was one of the three leading roles in “The Greeks Had a Word Bor: Tv? In her latest picture for Warner Bros., “Madame Du Barry,” she has the role of a French Duchess who hated Du Barry. The picture itself igs an intimate story of the life of Du Barry and the King, written and dramatized by Edward Chodorov. There is an all star cast headed by Dolores Del Rio which includes besides Miss Teasdale, Reginald Owen, Victor Jory, Osgood Perkins, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Dorothy Tree, Anita Louise and a score of others. William Dieterle directed. Dolores Del Rio Who plays the title role in Warner Bros. new comic extravaganza, “Madame Du Barry”. Mat No. 5—10c Dolores Del Rio Has Long Wanted to Play Du Barry Present Role In Warner Film Fulfills Long Cherished Ambition Of Famous Star some actresses, but to Dolores Del Rio it is the fulfill o hes role of Du Barry might be just another part to ment of a long-dreamed-of ambition. The star is bringing to the screen a vivid and colorful portrayal of the famous beauty of the court of Louis XV in the Warner Bros. production of ‘‘Madame Du Barry,’’ which. comes. to, theo... «' Dolores has always been keenly interested in the character of the little milliner who eventually became the most important woman in the kingdom of France, and whose extravagances paved the way for the French revolution. Her favorite silent picture was “Passion,” which starred Pola Negri as Du Barry and Emil Jan Dolores Del Rio Yearns To Visit in the Orient Star of “Madame Du Barry”? Loves Travelling Next To Her Work In Making Films sider, she would be a constant traveler. if Dolores Del Rio didn’t have a sereen career to con Not that she hasn’t traveled. She has—all over the United States, Canada and Europe. But she’s never been to the Orient which intrigues her possibly more than any other part of the world. The exotic star was born in the state of Durango, Mex Asunsolo, and her father was a Mexico City financier. “She was married while still in her ’teens to the late Jaime Martinez Del Rio, wealthy and socially prominent in Mexico. With him she traveled abroad, was presented at the court of Spain, and developed a love of wandering to strange places. Miss Del Rio’s entrance into the movies is well known to all good screen fans. She was “discovered” by Edwin Carewe, Hollywood director, who was making a pleasure trip to Mexico City. Struck by her great beauty and charm, he suggested that she come to California. Her husband, realizing her boredom with the prosaic social life of Mexico City, agreed to accompany her, believing that she would soon get over the idea of becoming a film actress. Her first picture, “Joanna,” with Dorothy Mackaill, proved the ability of the Mexican beauty, and from then on her rise was rapid. Perhaps her most famous role in silent picture days was “Charmaine” in “What Price Glory ?”’ Refused to Be “Typed” Widowed by the death of Jaime Del Rio in 1928, the star was married later to Cedric Gibbons, an art director. They live in a beautiful home in Santa Monica Canyon designed especially for the lovely actress by her husband. Miss Del Rio voluntarily stayed off the screen for a year rather than continue playing roles that did not appeal to her. Her Latin beauty “typed” her in the minds of producers, and she was offered little else but native and peasant girl roles. Dolores firmly believed, however, that she should play modern roles, for, as she says, “I am a very modern girl myself!” “Flying Down to Rio” and “Wonder Bar” proved that she was correct. However, her first picture under her new long-term Warner Bros. contract, is “Madame Du Barry,” spectacular costume romance, now showing at Phe ae eee aia Theatre, with the star in the role made famous ‘ico, ona certain August 3rd. Her maiden name was Dolores i by Mrs. Leslie Carter on the stage and Pola Negri in the silent movies. Dancing is the art that interests Dolores next to acting. As her fans know, she is a superb dancer herself. Her main hobby is her impressive collection of rare perfumes, which she blends to suit herself. Del Rio adores lovely clothes, but says ruefully that she is far too extravagant. Always immaculately groomed, Hollywood women consider her one of the best-dressed girls in the colony. Believes in Sun Cures She hates talking over the telephone, and never writes a letter if she can help it. She has few beauty secrets—soap and water and constant sun-bathing are responsible for much of the Del Rio loveliness. Speaking of the sun, the star says that it is the greatest doctor of all. She has no diets, and eats everything except turnips. Drinks a great deal of milk, and many glasses of water, every day. She lists Robert E. Sherwood as her favorite playwright, and loves Wagnerian operas. Katharine Cornell is her favorite stage star, and her favorite male star of stage and screen will always be Rudolph Valentino—she gays that no one can ever take his place. Miss Del Rio is not the orchidaceous creature she appears on the sereen. She plays a good game of tennis, and is a fine swimmer. “Madame Du _ Barry” gives Miss Del Rio her finest opportunity since the advent of the talking picture. It is an intimate story of the life of the famous Countess with King Louis XV, written and dramatized for the screen by Edward Chodorov, with dance creations by Albertina Rasch dancers. Others in the cast include Reginald Owen, Victor Jory, Osgood Perkins, Verree Teasdale, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Dorothy Tree, Anita Louise, Maynard Holmes, Henry O’Neill, Hobart Cavanaugh, Helen Lowell and Joan Wheeler. William Dieterle directed. BRED 0 SEE Riad 5. US Theatre on nings as the King. Du Barry, to the star, represents all that is colorful and glamorous and romantic in history. “She may have been a bad girl, this Du Barry, but her virtues were far more important than her sins,” says Miss Del Rio. “No matter how scheming and intriguing she proved to be—no matter if she cost the King of France twenty-five million franes during the four years she ruled the king, she was still a rather admirable person. She was just a child, a merry, gay and delightful child.” Miss Del Rio says that the script of “Madame Du Barry,” as produced by Warner Bros., is one of the most authentically perfect she has ever read. “The author, Edward Chodorov,” says the star, “has reproduced in great detail the exact spirit of Du Barry’s life and times. He has left out many of the sordid episodes of her life with the king, and concentrated instead upon the light, frivolous side 0f.-Louis XV’s -a¢ignaTT0'> “In order to understand Du Barry, one must get a clear mental picture of the life that surrounded her—and that is what has been brought out in -the screen story. “There were no such things as scruples in those days. Morals were far more lax than they are today, and frankness and honesty were almost unknown. Every girl was taught to be a mistress in the art of intrigue and deceit. “That,” said the star, “explains why Du Barry appealed so greatly to the King, who was tired of constant bickering for his favor. A girl like Du Barry, unspoiled, natural and charming—who treated him as a man rather than a monarch to be cajoled into granting favors, was bound to make a lasting impression on him. “Besides, Du Barry was a very beautiful woman—and she knew how to hold a man’s love!” Victor Jory Rising young Hollywood star wins many new admirers in “Madame Du Barry,” the new Warner Bros. film at the Strand. Mat No. 7—10c Page Seven