Screenland (May-Oct 1930)

106 SCREENLAND HELEN ARRIVES — Continued from page 51 too. Could anything be more wonderful than this glorious sunshine and pictures? From now on I expect to call Hollywood home and motion .pictures my life work. Really, I am very grateful for the oppor' tunity to be here." Helen's first move was to purchase a modest little home and furnish it. Then she bought a car of inexpensive make. Be' ing without ready funds, all were bought on monthly payments. Her salary was not large but people told her it should increase rapidly. Having no expensive habits she anticipated no trouble in meeting the payments and all would have been well had things turned out as expected. But she had not reckoned on the second detour. There was a break in the paving of the road to fame? She had to go 'round, and the going was none too good. During her first, six months in pictures she. made but one production — a talkie. All who saw her lisping characterization in "The Ghost Talks" proclaimed it a masterpiece but after that picture she was allowed to sit with folded hands. To a girl actively inclined, this always proves a hardship. It's awfully easy to "Go Hollywood' in Hollywood when there is nothing eke to do. "Satan finds work for idle hands" in any city but he is especially fond of finding jobs for non-working motion picture players. Salaries are large in the film capital and he has no trouble providing ways for them to spend money. Proving an easy subject, idle Helen ' was introduced to Hollywood night life. By the time she was cast in her second picture, she had spent her salary months in advance and was head-over-heels in debt. Had Fox kept her busy afterwards everything might have turned out well, but "Blue Skies" was Helen's last picture for that company. Immediately after it, she was informed her services were no longer in demand and her contract would not be renewed. It came as a bolt from the blue skies to her for, despite the fact she had made but two pictures for them, Fox officials had expressed themselves satisfied with her work. Can you imagine the heart-break that was hers? Without warning she was left high and dry by the tide of fortune. No money, no position, no credit and four thousand miles from home. The modest little home, heavily mortgaged, was lost. Her automobile Went next and then the furniture passed into the hands of its original owner. With no hope for the future in pictures, there was nothing to do but return to New York where she might find work on the stage. So she prepared to make the trip. The detour had proven rockyand she was still far off the road to fame. ' <-. . .-. : Several of her friends were present when Helen announced her determination to return East. None of them will ever forget the heart-break in her voice when she told them. "Well," she said bravely, though her voice trembled a little; "I've been a failure and it's all my fault. Perhaps things would have been different had I kept busy but that's a poor excuse.: I can blame only myself so I'll just say goodbye, and bless you all for your many kindnesses." But Helen was not fated to leave Hollywood. One of her friends, believing in her more than she did herself, begged so earnestly that she finally consented to try again. With his help, she secured a manager with whom she went to Pathe studios and asked for a role in "The Grand Parade," then being cast. A test was made both of her voice and screen appearance. This being pronounced excellent, the part was hers. Determined to prove her failure with Fox was not due to inability, Helen threw herself into her new characterization. For weeks she lived, slept and dreamed it, and acted accordingly. Pathe officials were delighted and, before the picture was completed, signed her to a long-term contract which calls for many times the salary paid by Fox. Hailing her as a second Lillian Gish (though I think that a little unfair -to Helen, who has a personality of her own) the studio is rapidly building her to stardom. In her second picture, she is being featured in the all-star cast of "Swing High" and " studio officials are not afraid of results. This time there will be no detour along the road to fame. The street is well paved and Helen intends to stick to the middle of the road. Anxious to see others succeed where she nearly failed herself, Helen hands out a little very good advice. "If you want to be wild, go to Borneo — not Hollywood," she says. "There are two things that absolutely refuse to mix — success and excess. If you want to have a so-called good time Hollywood will provide it but it won't mix with a screen career. When you enter pictures, stick to your knitting, otherwise there will be several good-sized holes in the stocking of success." A SINGING LESSON BY RAMON NOVARRO — Continued from page 2j> All languages are interesting to sing in, for each language has a different and distinct value to the voice. French is splendid for the nasal tones; Italian and Spanish for the forward open vowel sounds; and although English is looked upon by many as the ugly duckling of the language family, it can be of great benefit to the voice and very singable if special attention is given to the consonants. Russian and German are wonderful languages to help one to attain clean, crisp diction. When I vocalize I always prefix the vowel sounds with a consonant, to bring the tone on the lips. For instance, when practising on aw, I put the consonant n — making it naw. The same thing should be practised on nay, ni, no, and nu. A student should become acquainted with music of all nations, for besides the beauty that one takes into one's own soul it is a broad education to know the different countries by the distinct quality and charm that each expresses through the medium of its music. Personally, I love music and composers the world over, but one of my greatest favorites is Verdi. His operas are so big, so free from petty themes, so melodic and yet so massive. He has the rare combination of all the virtues and few of the faults of most composers. His "Aida," "Traviata," "Otello," "II Trovatore," and many others shine like priceless jewels in the crown of everlasting melody. They say in answer to a questionnaire asking for the most familiar and dearly loved tunes, sent to the four corners of the earth, Verdi's "II Trovatore" led all the rest. The children of the slums and the crown heads of the nations know the Miserere. This proves that really great music will be appreciated by all. Verdi is by far the greatest composer for the singer; he knew more about writing for the voice than any of his contemporaries, or in fact, any modern composer. When I was in Milan, I attended several wonderful performances at La Scala, excellent from all angles, not only the voices, but scenery, costumes, lighting and orchestra are perfect at La Scala. But I was disappointed in the climate of Northern Italy. Always thinking of Italy as a land of singers and sunshine I expected it to be like California. Because of this climate, California is a wonderful place for singers to live. Although you should never let such things as climate, or anything else for that matter, affect your voice. In my last pictures I have found it quite difficult to sing after a long day on the set with the strong lights drying up the air. Little does our picture public realize how hard we work. How many long hours we stand waiting for lights, to adjust the microphone, and countless other things that arise to delay proceedings. The tout ensemble of a sound set is a rare combination of mental and manual labor. Carpenters, electricians, property men, designers, costumers, technical directors, make-up experts, cameramen and sound technicians, tone operators, script girls, writers, musicians, and last but not least, the director and the actors. To make all of these people in their different departments work in unison while a singer waits to sing a song is nothing short of a miracle. Often when I hear someone criticize a singer on the screen, I feel how much better he might have been under different circumstances. In a theater, for instance, the stage is ready, the orchestra begins and the singer walks into the setting and falls into the rhythm of things, sings his number or act, as the case may be; then he is through for one performance. This is never true of pictures; scenes are taken over and over and numbers are sung literally, countless times. One of the great ambitions of my life is to be a composer, and to that end I intend studying for many years to come. I have already composed many songs. In my picture, "In Gay Madrid," the two numbers Into My Heart, Querida and Smile, Comrade, "While We May, I wrote in collaboration with Turk and Ahlert. In my other picture, "The Singer of Seville," I collaborated with Herbert Stothart on the Prelude and Lonely. Someday I will compose an opera for the screen. Before I finish this lesson, I would like to send forth the message of inspiring people to sing. Not only to those who wish for careers on the stage or screen but to everyone, to those who have but little time to devote to it: sing in Glee Clubs, in churches, in choral societies — sing to your sweethearts, sing at your work, and sing when you play! For again I repeat — singing is the most psychic of all arts, and whatever you hold as your highest conception of beauty, you will eventually express.