Voltaire (Warner Bros.) (1933)

URRENT FEATURES | A Study of George Arliss Pin Cushion Portrait of Famous Star of Stage and Screen Now Appearing as ‘Voltaire’ N°: until he was sixty years: old did George Arliss know enough to go in out of the rain. Up to that time — and age — he took his daily walks regardless of weather conditions and suffered regularly from heavy colds. Since he has limited his exercise to pleasant days his health is much better. A rainy day in England, more than thirty years ago, gave the young actor the opportunity and the courage to propose to a young actress named Florence Montgomery. They planned a honeymoon trip to China, which has not yet been taken. An inveterate traveler, Mr. Ar liss has crossed the Atlantic ocean more times than he can remember — and has been seasick each time. He likes to plan his studio schedules so that he can be in England during May and June. He owns two houses there, one in London and one at St. Margaret’s, in Kent, near the ocean. He also owns a New York apartment which he has difficulty in sub-letting. While in Hollywood, making pietures, Mr. Arliss rents a home. It is generally a large house and he rents it furnished. It must be near the mountains to satisfy the actor, and within walking distance of Warner Bros.’ Studios. Anything within five miles is considered “walking distance.” Brings His Lunch During the weeks a picture is in production, as was the case, particularly while he was working on his mammoth production of “Voltaire,” now showing at’ the ae Theatre, Mr. Ar liss takes his lunch from home. He eats in his dressing room and then rests for half an hour. His favorite lunch is a cheese or jelly sand wich and a glass of milk. At threethirty each afternoon he has a hot cup of tea. On special occasions he eats a piece of cake at the same time. He always eats sparingly and never appears in the studio restaurant. Neither the actor nor Mrs. Arliss eat meat of any kind except fish, When Mr. and Mrs. Arliss | entertain they serve ‘meat to their guests. . The actor is interested in humane society work and is an ardent and | an active opponent of vivisection. They refuse to wear furs in private life but appear in them in pictures. Englishman though he is, he dis| approves of horse racing and does _ not attend the famous “Derby.” He | does not approve of working ani mals in pictures. He caught no fish in his recent picture, “The Working Man,” either in the picture or in | reality. He smokes a great deal. He pre| fers gold tipped cigarettes, long slim | and fine cigars and English briar | Pipes. He plays bridge for money jand is a dangerous opponent and | an indulgent partner. He | sparingly. bids Collects Biographies He collects theatrical biographies and has written his own, called “Up |} the Years from Bloomsbury,” which his the best seller among its kind. |He is supposed to be writing a | sequel to it now. | Mr. Arliss wears high English |shoes, which he calls boots, long junderwear, even in the boasted |California climate, and dress shirts which he pulls on over his head. | His clothes are made in New York or England and they last him a long time. He is never without a peeavy gold watch chain which hangs loosely between one vest pocket and another and on whicy is a curious collection of sentimental keepsakes. He carries his small change in another vest pocket. The actor has worn a monocle for many years. He needs it for eading and for recognizing people ny distance away from him. He ] worn out hundreds of monocle ‘ ny Page Eighteen cords glass. but has not yet broken a His father is said to have worn a monocle before him. For many years one of his front teeth has been a peg tooth, replacing the real one lost in his youth. The peg tooth flew out once during a He onee sang a full season in an English musical comedy and he is the that has been three act drama, a one act skit and a musical performance in rural England. of a play variously author played as a farce. Mr. Arliss has never learned to drive an automobile. He owns a small Rolls-Royce which he leaves In Hollywood Warner Bros. studio supply him with a car and driver as a part of his contract. Other places he depends upon taxis in England. or friends. Politically Mr. Arliss is an Engconservative. Mr. been accurately quoted about the possibility of his has refused to talk about All $$ SS eS lish citizen and a Stanley Baldwin is his friend. Arliss has never being knighted because he steadfastly the matter in any way at all. GEORGE ARLISS The artist shows here his impression of George Arliss whose latest triumph, “Voltaire,” will be shown at the Theatre, on Doris Kenyon No Longer Sold on Training Rules Doris Kenyon, who is playing with George Arliss in the Warner Bros. ‘picture, “Voltaire,” which opens at the Theatre on , hasn’t much faith in training rules for athletes. Entertaining a famous athlete recently on the day he participated in a big sporting event, she asked him what he would like for lunch. He ordered lobster a la Newburg, with all the trimmings, ate a hearty meal and went out and won his matches with ease. George Arliss Bets $1.00 And Pays in Framed Bill During the production of “Voltuire,” a Warner Bros. picture which opens at the Theatre on Se , George went on the set one day wearing the wrong ring. It had been a week since he last appeared in the particular costume, but Ben Silvey, the alert assistant director spotted the error. Arliss thought he had the right ring, and finally bet Silvey a dollar on it. The following day he presented Silvey with a framed dollar bill inscribed, “You Win. George Arliss.” ADVANCE SHORTS l the George Arliss Settled Mooted Melon Question A melon which Frederick the Great of Prussia sent as a present to Voltaire in France was a hand prop around which important scenes revolved in the new George Arliss picture, “Voltaire,” which opens at Theatre on....... Warner Bros. research department spent days trying to find out just what kind of a melon a king might have considered a kingly present in 1762, The choice was eventually reduced to two possibilities. One was the French delicacy of the times called the “Pasteque,” which was a round forefather to our own watermelon. The other was a squash-like melon not unlike an enlarged cantaloupe. Mr. Arliss decided upon the squash type. Despite Terrific Heat Arliss Wore Fur Coat Motion picture weather ran true to form during the production of George Arliss’ new Warner Bros. picture, “Voltaire,” which opens at the ... . Theatre on That is, it’s ave to dress in winter costumes and freezing purported quotations from him on|and is allowed eight days for thig this subject are pure fabrication. | purpose. It used to be 12 da Mr. Arliss cut four days from ee Punctual to a Fault rehearsal periods as a part of his to difficult times. In England Mr. Arliss spends most of his time at his cottage Near St. Margaret’s. He is interesteq there in gardening. So is Mrs. Ap. liss. She raises flowers, He raises vegetables and since they form his principal diet, he has become ex. pert with them. At the Garden Show in St. Margaret’s last sum. He is punctual to a fault and ex pects others to be. He does not employ a secretary and attends to most of his correspondence himself. When he makes speeches he writes them out in long hand and memorizes them. Because this is tedious and interferes with his work, he accepts only a few of the invita tions extended to him to speak publicly. mer he took first prizes jn Deas He has practically all the cos-| Potatoes and onions, but lost out tumes he has ever worn on the|°" ¢arrots. This summer he hopes to sweep the field. He refused to let Bette Davis wear pajamas in a bedroom scene in “The Working Man.” fe is a stern feminist so far as women are concerned. He is not enthusiastic about seeing women wearing men’s clothes. He doesn’t like buttermilk, He has no pets except a Parrot. He drinks his tea with milk in it. He has never been seen in a pair of wide-bottomed trousers and hasn’t had a new hat in ten years, He is a stickler for correct de. tail, in his pictures. He proved that he knew as much about Vol. taire and his times as did the tech. nieal experts hired to keep the Dieture authentic, stage or screen. He had new evening clothes with pointed lapels made in England a year or so ago, for the picture “The Devil,” which he then planned to make. When he decided not to make it, he returned the suit to the London tailor, had the points cut off and wears it now as part of his personal wardrobe. As a star of stage and screen for twenty-five years or more, Mr. Arliss has made a great deal of money. Nobody knows how much of it he still has. He lives comfortably but not ostentatiously. The actor believes that every picture he makes is worth making. He does not always predict that each new picture will be better than all of the others that preceded it. “Voltaire,” his latest characterization, is one of four or five characters he has always wished to portray either on the stage or on the screen. Some of the others were Disraeli, Cagliostro and ~ Pepys. Twenty years after he first tried the now famous role of Disraeli, he has essayed his second great characterization as Voltaire. Stickler for Decency Mr. Arliss is a stickler for dignity. And decency. He allows nothing suggestive or vulgar to appear in any production with which his name is to be associated. He never swears on the screen. He has been known to do so in real life. He is not a prohibitionist. Although the star enjoys the shortest working hours permitted any actor in Hollywood, his pictures almost always finish ahead of schedule. He starts work at ten each morning and stops sharply at four-thirty each afternoon. He has worked only one Sunday since coming to Hollywood and announced then that he would not do it again. He introduced the idea of complete rehearsals before filming a picture ———_—_——————————————_: when they wear next to nothing. On one of the warmest March days known in California for years Arliss, Margaret Lindsay, Helena Phillips and David Torrence sweltered in fur lined coats in a scene in the picture in which Voltaire and his retinue depart from the King’s palace on a bleak, wintry day. Mr. Arliss, a stickler for detail, insisted every one, including himself, keep their coats buttoned up to the chin. ‘“‘Voltaire’’ His Greatest “Voltaire” is probably Mr. Arliss’ most pretentious production and ig claimed to be his greatest charaeterization, greater evem than that of Disraeli. It is an intensely dramatie production of the pre-revolutional days of King Louis XV and Mme. Pompadour, although the star injects no ineonsiderable amount of humor into the pieture with his dry wit which was characteristic of Voltaire himself. There is a strong supporting cast with Doris Kenyon as Mme. Pompadour, Margaret Lindsay, Theodore Newton, Reginald Owen, Alan Mowbray and others. The screen play by Paul Green and Maude T, Howell, based on the novel by George Gibbs and E. Lawrence Dudley, was directed by the late John Adolfi. Reginald Owen Padded To Look Like Louis XV With the help of a four inch stomach pad and _ heelless boots, Reginald Owen managed to juggle himself into the approximate size and shape of Louis XV of France and thereby justify the faith George Arliss reposed in him. Owen was chosen by Warner Bros. and by Mr. Arliss to play the role of the King in the star’s latest picture, “Voltaire,” which comes to the .. Theatre on His face, in the opinion. of Mr. Arliss, fitted the part, and the other qualifications could be assumed. A tremendous pad for his middle and the elimination of heels to eut down Owen’s height, did the trick. ‘nsetseneen 1 George Arliss in one of his more tender moods, with Margaret Lind say in “Voltaire,” his new Warner success now showing at the oa srs Theatre. Doris Kenyon is also featured in the fim Cut No. 19 Cut 30c Mat roc ” =)