The Conspirators (Warner Bros.) (1944)

There Are Times Work And Fun Are Same Thing “Hedy, lift your skirts—let me see your legs,” said the forthright and uninhibited Jean Negulesco, portrait painter turned film director. “Sir!” shot back Hedy Lamarr with mock indignation. Negulesco hastened to. explain. She was standing on a rock and the wind was whipping around her skirts. It was a scene reproducing a portion of the Portuguese coast for “The Conspirators,’”’ Warner’s dramatic love story now at the Strand, co-starring Hedy Lamarr and Paul Henreid. “Your knees,” said Negulesco, “aren’t they white?” Thereupon the star lifted her skirts to the knees and sure enough there was a. white expanse where the make-up stopped. They flashed white as her skirt flapped. TC Mat 110; Still HL40; 15c HEDY LAMARR “Make-up man, paint Hedy Lamarr’s knees!” gulesco. There were shouts of “Let me do it!’ whistles and howls from all of the assembled men from the electricians on the catwalks to the sound man on the shouted Ne camera boom. “This is one assignment I take for myself,” said the makeup man as he strode forward. “T’d like to see anyone stop me.” He was about to disappear behind the rock with the delectable Miss Lamarr when a female voice called out: “Just a minute, you!” The make-up man stopped in his tracks. “Tll take over that job,” she said. She did too. It was the hairdresser — the make-up man’s wife. CAIRO REPORTS FORMER LAMARR STAND-IN DEAD Hedy Lamarr’s former standin, a girl whose beauty is said to be a remarkable replica of the star herself, has been executed by the Nazis, according to word received in Hollywood recently. She was arrested at Trieste on a charge of aiding anti-Nazis to escape to the Balkans by way of the Adriatic. Information was relayed here from the Warner Bros. Exchange in Cairo, Egypt, where the report was made by the Yugoslav Committee of Liberation. The girl’s name was given as Steffi Gollz, and she was said to have been an Austrian of Russian-Rumanian ancestry. Miss Lamarr, contacted on the set where she was making “The Conspirators,” said the girl was Lisl Isa Steffi and that the name Gollz must have been taken for purposes of concealment. Miss Lamarr was shocked at the news. TWO AGAINST ONE Mat 204; Still TC103—30c Hedy Lamarr seems to have the odds against her with Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre closing in on her from both sides in the above scene from Warner Bros.' exciting new drama, "The Conspirators,"" coming to the Strand Friday. Paul Henreid is co-starred with Miss Lamarr. Continent ‘Goes West’ For “The Conspirators’ When Hedy Lamarr reported at Warner Bros.’ Studios to start work in “The Conspirators,” she asked: “Why doesn’t somebody retitle my new picture, ‘Vienna Reunion in Hollywood’?” Because, said Miss Lamarr, that is what it was, quite literally. It was the opening day on the picture. First, there was Paul Henreid, who co-stars with her in the film. He is a Viennese and worked in pictures with her in Vienna in 1931. There was also Rudi Fehr, the cutter, who last worked with her—in fact, last saw her —when he edited a picture she worked in exactly ten years ago. The other reunion was with Jean Negulesco, the director, with whom she had an encounter about twelve years ago. He was then a Rumanian portrait artist. ““All of these people I met an hour after reporting on the set,” explained the actress. “I expect to meet several others before the film is finished.” Her guess was right. In “The Conspirators,” currently to be seen at the Strand, are other continental favorites: Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Victor Francen. ACTRESS LIKES THESE THINGS IN IDEAL MAN Hedy Lamarr today gave specifications and details on the type of man she dreams about, the kind that sets her heart to pounding and brings a flush to her cheeks. She likes them tall; if they top six feet, that’s wonderful. She likes both Europeans and Americans, but in any case she prefers one who has been here quite a few years and has been at least somewhat moulded to the American pattern. In. case you think Miss Lamarr has in mind Paul Henreid, the man-who is currently making love to her in Warners’ “The Conspirators” at the Strand, you’re mistaken. “Paul is wonderfully romantic,” she explains, ‘and he is my type, too. But there is another type that comes even closer.” Miss Lamarr goes on to say that she likes a man who combines northern and _ southern European blood. Something like English and Italian, for example. Henreid, on the other hand, is purely Nordic, mostly Viennese and Swedish. Millions of first and second generation Americans who speak a European tongue would also find favor in her eyes. She speaks several languages. “When I am tired,” she says, “T like to have around me a man who can speak French. That is the easiest language for me.” Miss Lamarr prefers’ blue eyes and dark hair in her favorite type of male. Those who are in the armed services, too, would have an edge with Hedy, because she finds men with military experience by far the most interesting. That all of these qualifications can be found in one man, Miss Lamarr has proof. He is her husband, John Loder. THUMBNAIL BIOGRAPHIES OF PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Hedy Lamarr as Irene Duchatel As one of Ho Tl Ly wood’s glamour queens, Hedy Lamarr fF overalls on @ her Califori nia ranch to dining luxurjiously in exotic attire. The daughter of a wealthy Viennese banker, young Hedy achieved film prominence purely by geographical accident. She happened to be visiting a picture set near her home in Vienna when she was spotted by an astute filmmaker. He signed her then and there and allayed her disbelief in such sudden good luck by actually assigning her to a role. It was a bit part but it proved a stepping stone to a bigger part in “Money Isn’t Everything,” another European production. In almost as short a time as it takes to tell, Hedy had arrived at stardom and an offer from Hollywood. Her latest film, Warner Bros.’ exciting new drama, “The Conspirators,” currently at the Strand, finds her co-starring with an old Viennese fellow-worker, Paul Henreid. Coincidentally, the film includes two other fellow-workers from Vienna — Peter Lorre and Rudi Fehr, cutter. Mat TC 108—15c Hedy Lamarr Paul Henreid as Vincent Van der Lyn By accident ‘ of birth, he i is the Baron von WaselWaldingau. By no accident, but by angry design, the vast Austrian estate worth ij many hunareas: of thousands of dollars which Mat TC 109—15c Paul Henreid was inherited with the title, is no longer ‘his. In almost direct exchange he has attained Hollywood stardom—not as a Baron, but as Paul Henreid, romantic hero in Warner Bros.’ new tale of love and adventure, “The Conspirators,’” which opens Friday at the Strand. Son of a Swedish financier who prospered in Austria, young Henreid preferred theatricals to business. Then, in 1935, bitter at German aggression, he jumped at a chance to act in the English stage production of “The Madman of Europe,” a stinging anti-Nazi play. His performance brought his critical and popular acclaim. A long career of film villainy in England followed, eventually leading to a Hollywood contract. Other Hollywood films were: “Casablan ca,” “Now, Voyager,” and, most recently, “Between Two Worlds.” Sydney Greenstreet as Riccardo Quintanilla Sydney Greenstreet, currently playing in Warners’ new dramatic hit, “The Conspirators,? at the Strand, made his motion picture debut at Mat TC 107—15c the age of 62 Sydney Greenstreet .. the memorable Fat Man in “The Maltese Falcon.” For forty-one years before that, the actor’s theatrical activities read like a Who’s Who of the Theatre. He has appeared with Sir Herbert Tree, Margaret Anglin, Julia Marlowe, Viola Allen, the Lunts and dozens of others. Born in England, Greenstreet has toured the world as an actor, playing throughout America, Europe, India and Africa. Many years ago, for a brief period, he quit the stage and became a Ceylon tea planter. But he sold out to. return to the stage. He was a good friend of the late Presidents Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, once even using the White House as a theatrical dressing room, during Teddy’s residency there. His latest films are “Between Two Worlds” and “The Mask of Dimitrios.” Peter Lorre as Jan Bernaszky Born in Rosenberg, in Hungary, Peter Lorre moved with his parents to Vienna when he was only six. His present eminence in filmdom, including his current appear Peter ance in Warners’ “The Conspirators,” at the Strand, would, years ago, have seemed an impossible prophecy to his loving, but stern, parents who carefully taught the youngster nothing of the carefree life, the beautiful dances, the sparkling theatre in the once gay Vienna. At seventeen, Peter left home to go on the stage. Years of struggle followed and it was not until 1924 that he obtained a small part in a Breslau company. Appearances in bigger roles in Zurich and Berlin followed. Fritz Lang, German film producer, gave Peter his first big film role in “M,” which literally catapulted the actor to world-wide fame. Since 1935 Peter has lived and worked exclusively in Hollywood. His American films include the popular “Mr. Moto” series, “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “Cacablaneca,” and “Passage to Marseille.” Mat TC 105—15c Lorre Victor Francen as Hugo von Mohr Veasestaoer Francen learned the entire role of Hamlet at {er wanted to ibe anything but an actor In Bros.’ excit Mat TC 106—15c mi z ett Victor F ing new hit, ictor rancen “The Conspi rators,” at the Strand, his desire is amply fulfilled as his role is a ticklish one and could hardly be essayed by any actor other than a skilled veteran. Born in Belgium, Francen attended native schools but quit the University of Brussels at 15 to join a troupe of actors. Next came Paris where Lucien Guitry took the young actor under his wing: for an extensive South American tour. When he returned to Paris he was given his first lead in “L’Entraineuse.” After fighting through World War I, Francen returned to the French stage and films, scoring an immediate success. In 1940 he came to Hollywood, but only after he had volunteered, and been turned down, for service in World War II. His Hollywood films include “Passage to Marseille,” “The Desert Song” and “The Mask of Dimitrios.”