Screenland (May–Oct 1927)

SCREENLAND 101 know what got into Meno Sabe. He knew that rabbit as well as he knew me, but he cocked his head, wagged what is left of his tail and — zip! "Lickety-split he went after that rabbit — off the stage — up the aisles — and out of the theatre, while the audience yelled. "I bawled him out. 'Don't you ever do anything like that again — savvy?' He just looked at me quite proudly and showed that he didn't savvy at all, so I changed his name. "That ended our dramatic careers so far as the spoken stage was concerned, but we didn't mind. Neither of us could ever understand why they called it the 'spoken' stage, anyway. We never uttered a word during the entire six weeks." Marjorie had been a clownish mimic in her childhood days in Kansas City, where she was born nineteen years ago. So, back in Hollywood, she turned to pictures as a possible career. Marjorie's sense of humor proved an asset from the start. Without it she would still be handing billiard balls to some other magician. Instead, she found a job as an extra at the F. B. O. studios and that was that. Three months more and another chance. It was a two reel comedy, "Hey Taxi!" "The name appealed to me," said Margie, "I hadn't ridden in a taxi in a long, long time." Margie stood out in "Hey, Taxi!" as she is bound to stand out in any picture if she has the slightest opportunity. More two reelers at Universal and then, as if she had waved the wand of the magician who fired her, the big chance came. She was sent for by James Ryan, casting director of the Fox Studios. The part was "Flo" in "An\les Preferred" and she got it. She also got a long term contract as the result of her work. In "Rich, But Honest", her following pic ture, she did even better, attracting the attention of many critics by her tom-foolery as the department store sales girl who goes on the stage and, through her awkwardness, makes a hit as a comedienne. "It seems as though once the ball of luck started rolling it has just kept on going", says Margie. "Now, if I can keep Meno Sabe out of the way I think everything will be all right. What that pup couldn't do to a motion picture set with all the maze of scenery and wires and props is nobody's business. "I prefer comedy to drama for two rea' sons. One is that I've never had and dramatic training — except for that tragic affair of Meno Sabe and the magician — and the other is that, well, I haven't exactly what you'd call a dramatic face." Marjorie is a red head. She has hazel eyes and a jovial, whimsical disposition that carries -with it the impression that she hasn't a care in the world. She is — what shall we say — inclined to plumpness. That is, she is 5 feet 3% inches and weighs 120 pounds. "You know," she says, "weight is one of my problems. I laugh too much, I think. When I was on the road I used to eat in Child's where they had all the calories figured out for you and printed on the side of the menu. After you had eaten five or six thousand calories you were supposed to stop. I had to quit eating there. It was too hard eating and adding. I always was rotten at Arithmetic, anyway." Now, in Hollywood, Marjorie does a lot of swimming to keep the figure in proper trim. It is one of her hobbies, as is dancing, and between the two she manages to combine pleasure with necessity. She is an avid reader of modern literature and drives a Buick. "But, to get back to pictures", said Margie, "After all I have gotten my chance within less than a year after I started. I know some girls who have been trying for three and four years to break out of the extra ranks. Things have moved so swiftly in the last three months that I have been dazzled. Really, I don't know yet what it's all about." And Marjorie Beebe's eyes looked out of their corners with her own irresistible humorous charm. A Book for Fans (Continued from page 12) dramatic episodes involving the erring mother and Kit's matriculation as a surgeon, while a generous sprinkling of quiet humor has not been overlooked. The thing that makes it all real, however, is the indelible characterization— the careful investing with real flesh and blood, of all the persons in the story. And that is the thing that so few stories accomplish. We are asked, alas too often, to believe in tailored mannikins whose individuality is delineated by sub-titles, their emotions illustrated by "camera angles". I chose "Sorrell And Son" chiefly because it rings true, because it says something worth while, because it leaves a reader feeling a little better than before he read it, without knowing exactly why. The editor of Screen land said something in a recent comment on Mr. DeMille's excellent picture, "The King of Kings", which, I think, hits the nail on the head. He remarked that "the greatness of a story lies in its invisible spirit, in the thing unseen". That, I believe, is everlastingly true! We directors are given fulsome credit when we succeed in putting over a good picture, but our chief function has been, merely the faithful translation of a story or play to our medium. That thing unseen — that touch of spiritual elevation or inspiration, whatever it may be — is what makes a picture great. It is a privilege to be able to handle a story that one feels possesses invisible quality. I have handled three such in my time: "Peter Pan", with its plea for eternal youth, delicately wrapped in poetic fantasy; "Beau Geste", with the glorious overtone of exalted sentiment in its theme of brother love, overshadowing its brutal realism; and now, "Sorrell And Son", a great love story of the greatest love. People have told me that "Sorrell And Son" could not be made into a picture; the hero doesn't rescue the heroine from the villiany clutches and receive his reward in a ten foot fade-out. They said the same thing about "Beau Geste". As far as stories are concerned, I believe the public is ready for new formulae. I think the old hokum, with whatever polish and artistic technique, has been done to death . I am making "Sorrell And Son" in even iirmer faith than I did "Beau Geste" because, as I said in the beginning, it appeals strongly to my own emotion and experience. I happen to have a son of my own and I know there are millions of fathers in this land with sons of their own and millions of wives, who are aware of similar attachments between their husbands and sons as existed between Stephen and Kit Sorrell. A large percentage of those millions has enjoyed and been uplifted by Mr. Deeping's fine story. I only hope they and millions more may find my picture of that story as uplifting and enjoyable. ■ V ' f y ! <^^B^^ * , 7'"''" '*' r Are You Hungry For Adventure Popularity... Big Pay? THEN CHOOSE AVIATION! ARE you a red-blooded, . daring he-man? Do you crave adventure, popularity, admiration, and the applause of great crowds? Then why not get into the Aviation Industry—the greatest adventure since time began —the greatest thrill ever offered to man? Think what Aviation offers you. The praise and plaudits of the multitude. » And a chance to get in on the ground floor where rewards will be unlimited! 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