The Charge of the Light Brigade (Warner Bros.) (1936)

ee HARGE of the LIGHT BRIGADE VE eS S Olivia de Havilland Still Overcome By Stage Fright Beautiful Star Of “The Che Of The Light Brigade” Too Scared To Eat Her Supper By DAN MAINWARING The Greeks had a word for it. They called it scenophobia. Your correspondent has suffered from it for years. When he was quite small he was called upon to recite ‘‘A Little Brown Thrush’’ at some school exercise and he got no farther than the line that goes ‘‘There’s a Little Brown Thrush sitting up in a tree, he’s singing to me. He’s....”’ Loud wails prevented the audience from hearing the rest of the classic. In theatres, scenophobia is ealled stage fright. Your correspondent has found a good remedy for it and that is a pint of Irish whisky. Irish is much better than rye, Scotch or bourbon because after a pint of it one is afraid of nothing. There is one drawback and that is it causes forgetfulness. An actor with a pint of Irish whisky in him has no fear but the others in the cast have. They aren’t quite sure what he is going to do next. Olivia de Havilland, who is starred with Errol Flynn in Warner Bros.’ “The Charge of the Light Brigade,’ which comes to PRGS tee TheatTe= ON.c.= sce. suffers from scenophobia but she doesn’t drink so your correspondent’s famous remedy is useless in her case. Before every scene she is scared to death. Her tummy turns flip flops, she says. There are black spots before her eyes and her tongue gets tangled in her teeth. She wasn’t always a scenophobiac. When she was four, she donned grease paint and gave a performance in her mother’s bedroom. There was no audience and that may have been the reason she wasn’t frightened. She felt some qualms afterwards when she found that the paint wouldn’t come off. “TI discovered I had stage fright when I was nine years old,” Miss de Havilland explained. “My grammar school put on a pageant called ‘Cinderella of the Redwoods.’ We gave it in the Stanford University auditorium and I was ‘Daisy,’ one of the fairies who came out of the Redwood trees and combed Cinderella’s hair. “T had to say something and I remember bursting into tears. A hand came out of the wings Olivia de Havilland Keeps a Freckle-Map Everybody has heard of freckled maps—but who has heard of a freckle-map? Olivia de Havilland, co-starred with Errol Flynn in War ner Bros.’ “‘The Charge of the Light Brigade,” which comes Theatre on made a freckle map to determine whether the freckles that disappear temporarily, return to the same spot— and whether certain areas of the skin are immune to them. Miss de Havilland’s freckles are few enough to be kept track of and she solved the mystery by charting the position of her half-dozen pets. She lost them while working indoors but they returned to the same old spots when she was on her vacation. The charming star’s freckles are rather ornamental than otherwise. The Scotch consider freckles beautymarks and call them “farenteckles.”’ and snatched me from the stage.” The malady grew worse as Miss de Havilland grew older. When called upon to recite such epics as “Darius Green and His Flying Machine,” “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” or “Hiawatha,” her mind would go blank. Sometimes the words of the poem came out but they seemed to be spoken by someone other than Miss de Havilland. “When I was fifteen I was ‘Alice’ in our high school production of ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ she said. A newspaperman said I was fine but I don’t see how T could have been because I was so frightened I don’t remember going on the stage.” The first night of Max Reinhardt’s Hollywood Bowl production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Miss de Havilland was too scared to eat supper. She doesn’t get quite so frightened working in front of the camera, she says. There aren’t so many people watching and she knows she can do the scene over. In “The Charge of the Light Brigade” she didn’t suffer from stage fright much. She thinks maybe she’s getting over it but she isn’t sure. “The Charge of the Light Brigade” is a mammoth production, packed with dynamic drama as suggested by Lord Tennyson’s famous poem. Besides the stars — Miss de Havilland and Errol Flynn — the cast includes Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Nigel Bruce, Donald Crisp, David Niven, C. Henry Gordon, G. P. Huntley Jr., and Robert Barrat, besides thousands of extras. The picture was directed by Michael Curtiz from the screen play by Michel Jacoby and Rowland Leigh. Reaches Stardom Lovely Olivia de Havilland has been rewarded for her fine work n *‘* Anthony Adverse’’ and is being co-starred with Errol Flynn in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade,’’ the Warner Bros. picture aUniChCOMES LOKUNGC®.x.faticcrecoctcctsns ss EN COUT CON eve ccciezcccnesartcs Mat No. 112—10c More Beautiful Than Ever Olivia de Havilland, even more beautiful than she appeared in ‘* Anthony Adverse’’ or ‘‘Captain Blood,’’ will soon appear at the Theatre in her latest picture, ‘‘ The Charge of the Light Brigade,’’ which will have its local premiere on pi Sharing stellar honors with her is Errol Flynn with whom she scored such a success in ‘‘Captain Blood.’’ Mat No. 212—20c Movie Star Is Cut By Sword In Battle Scene Struck a glancing blow by a sword in the hand of Errol Flynn, pretty Olivia de Havilland was injured at Sherwood lake and narrowly escaped death by drowning. Flynn dived under the waters of the lake and dragged the unconscious film star to safety. The accident occurred in the massacre scene of ‘‘The Charge of the Light Brigade,’’ which comes CO2tNOr ec reeae Theatre on vans Se Ea , with Flynn and Miss de Havilland in the stellar roles. The scene ealled for Flynn to rush to Miss de Havilland’s rescue as she fought off a border tribesman out in the lake and to cut down the tribesman with his sword. The blunt steel weapon glanced from the extra’s shoulder and struck Miss de Havilland on the cheek and forehead. She fell from the boat into the water and Flynn rescued her. During the excitement, Flynn’s right foot was burned by the explosion of a dynamite cap in the water. It had been placed there by the powder man to give the effect of a bullet hitting close to the boat. ‘<The Charge of the Light Brigade’’ is a mammoth production packed with dynamic drama and glamorous romance. Mr, Flynn and Miss de Havilland are supported by a distinguished cast which includes Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson, Nigel Bruce, Donald Crisp, David Niven and thousands of additional people. The picture was directed by Michael Curtiz from the screen play by Michel Jacoby and Rowland Leigh, based on a story by Jacoby. Actress Draws Caricatures Of Screen Players There are two things which specially interest Olivia de Havilland, who is co-starred with Errol Flynn in ‘‘The Charge of the Light Brigade,’’ the Warner Bros. picture now showing at the .......... Serertn Sears Theatre. One is acting and the other is drawing. Between scenes, Miss de Havilland sketches all the interesting sets of the pictures in which she appears. Then, when she is off duty, she makes finished drawings from the sketches. In her art gallery are drawings of the sets of three films, ‘‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’’ ‘“Captain Blood’’ and ‘‘Charge of the Light Brigade.’’ The original sketches are made on the backs of the dialogue pages of the scripts. Miss de Havilland made twelve drawings during the filming of ‘“‘The Charge of the Light Brigade.’? Among the drawing are scenes at the Chukoti .garrison, a mammoth set built high in the hills above Hollywood; desertscapes, with Errol Flynn and his Lancers galloping in the distance, and earieatures of Flynn, Donald Crisp, Patric Knowles, Henry Stevenson, Nigel Bruce, C. Henry Gordon and David Niven. Miss de Havilland, a talented artist, was considered the star pupil in an art class she attended in her home town, Saratoga, Calif. ‘<The Charge of the Light Brigade’’ is a thrilling drama suggested by Tennyson’s immortal poem and produced on a gigantic scale. Michael Curtiz directed the picture from the screen play by Michel Jacoby and Rowland Leigh, based on Jacoby’s original story. Film Actress Carries Fan Of Empress When Empress Carlotta appeared in the court of Napoleon III and asked for aid in maintaining the Empire of Mexico, she little dreamed the fan she carried would be seen by millions, some 75 years later, during 1936 and 1937. That fan, nevertheless, is to be seen in “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” the Warner Bros. picture which comes to the .............. TheatrexOD sence . It is carried by Olivia de Havilland. A museum piece insured at $1,000 by its owner, a Los Angeles jeweler, the fan is handpainted and made of pure white ivory. The empress received it as a wedding present from her husband, the famous Emperor Maximillian. Miss de Havilland, co-starred with Errol Flynn, carries the valuable and historic antique while dancing with him in a ballroom sequence. One Film Gown Equals 235 Bathing Suits If the materials in the dress Olivia de Havilland wears in the ballroom sequences of the Warner Bros. picture, “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” which comes to thiGese een Theatre on. .......:.... were made into bathing suits, she could wear a different one 235 days out of the year. According to Milo Anderson, who designed the costume, the dress is made up of 45 yards of net, 15 yards of 60-inch satin and 150 yards of wide pink baby ribbon. Twenty-five yards of organdy were used in making Olivia’s petticoat. The petite Olivia can wear a bathing suit made out of one yard of material. Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn are co-starred in “Charge of the Light Brigade.” Actress Wears 38 Wigs In Films Olivia de Havilland, feminine lead in the Warner Bros. picture, ‘<The Charge of the Light Brigade,’’ now showing at the ............ Ne ee Theatre, has worn thirtyeight different wigs in the four pictures she has filmed since she has started work in Hollywood. That counts ‘‘spares’’ which were actually worn for various reasons, duplicating the separate varieties. Triumphs Again Olivia de Havilland rises to new heights as an emotional actress in the Warner Bros. picture, ‘‘ The Charge of the Light Brigade,’’ which-opens at the: sajna TREOMIEHONhomens tees Mat No. 101—10c Page Forty-five