Screenland (Nov 1930-Apr 1931)

112 SCREENLAND WHICH IS THE REAL GARBO?— Continued from page 19 latter kind of beauty is rare, and it is also great. It is usually possessed by women who are governed by moods ; moods that are painful and sink them in themselves so that they are lost to the world, moods that are active and full of fire that transform them from head to foot. Often the painful mood not only withdraws them into themselves, but seems to have a physical effect, as of draining the blood away from the surface, and leaving a look of plainness. This undoubtedly accounts for the fact that at times Greta Garbo seems plain. If she is also careless of appearances, it is because such natures are gripped from within by such strong feelings as to make the outer world uninteresting and even unnecessary. It is hard for Americans to believe that anyone who has the chance for it will actually shun publicity, interviews, making speeches and otherwise 'selling' herself all over the lot. Yet such natures exist. There are some people who actually put their work above their personalities, and who don't give a tinker's damn how they appear outside their work. There are actually those, too, who feel that they are cheapening themselves if they allow themselves to be mobbed. Miss Whitaker seems to think that Greta Garbo shrinks from interviews, parties and the like because of fear. And yet this is the same Greta Garbo who faces the eye of the camera and the ear of. the microphone — something admittedly that takes great courage, indeed, especially if the person so exposed has enough imagination to see the great audience of millions upon millions who are going to study her every expression and listen to every intonation of her voice. It was no mean feat for Miss Garbo, who not only was unable to talk English, but also unable to talk American, to sling the convincing slang in "Anna Christie." That was courage of the highest order. If that doesn't seem perfectly clear let us take the case of another person who shuns personal publicity, who dislikes interviews, and who gives the cameramen an inch when they shout for an ell ; a person, we will all agree, who has consistently shown courage and fearlessness of a heroic size. I refer to one, Colonel Lindbergh, who, so it happens, also has Scandinavian blood in his veins. No, the real point of the matter is that Greta Garbo is a deep one and therefore, a lone one. It is a depth of feeling; and when this depth of feeling is brought to bear, like some tremendous searchlight, on the part she is to portray, she becomes luminous with it, as it were ; and we see before us something which we cannot analyze, but which we feel as enchantment and meaningful beauty. I have studied many stills of Greta Garbo, and no two of them are alike. Every Garbo is a different Garbo, as if this inner power used her body as a sculptor models his clay, producing a new and different effect. That means that in appearance she can run the gamut from extreme plainness to extreme loveliness, according to her feelings. Thus, true enough, in private life, a mood of depression, a feeling of futility might show very clearly in her face, her walk, her gestures ; and since such moods make one careless of the world, might show also in her careless clothes. On the other hand, I have no doubt that at least a few people — people who drew from her moments of exaltation or even love — have seen the Greta Garbo off-stage that the rest of us have seen on the screen. The idea that beauty is skin-deep is nonsense. While we must admit that there is plenty of the skin-deep beauty, a greater type of beauty may almost outwear ana outlast the body. We occasionally meet old women, where each feature has been marred by age, and yet have felt in the presence of beauty : a radiance from within. If this is true of the old, of course it is eyen more true of the young. That great portrayer of lovely women, the English novelist Hardy, has this to say of one of his characters : "Though it could not be said of her features that this or that was flawless, the nameless charm of them altogether was only another instance of how beautiful a woman can be as a whole without attaining in any one detail to the lines marked out as absolutely correct. The spirit and the life were there : and material shapes could be disregarded." The spirit and the life were there ! That is the secret to the enchanting beauty of Miss Greta Garbo. POWELL— PRACTICALLY IN PERSON — Continued from page 83 mines whether or not a picture is good by its status at the box-office. He finds it more difficult to learn lines now for the screen than he did when he was on the stage. He is fortunate in having a good singing voice. But he is not anxious to sing on the screen as he doesn't think his voice is interesting.. He sang in a quartet when he was attending high school. He always sings when taking a shower. His aunt, with whom he stayed in the summer time, said she always liked to have Willie around because he created such a cheery atmosphere with his lusty singing voice echoing up and down the town's street. Bill is very thorough in whatever he attempts. But generally, he attempts only what appeals to him. Usually, he evades things he does not like to do. He lets them slide as long as possible and then suddenly gets a severe conscience lecture and does all his disagreeable things in one day. He hates to write letters. He only sends them to a few of his personal friends. These are written long after they should have been sent. Once in a great while he thinks of these 'must-be-answered' letters early in the morning. He jumps out of bed and answers them before he has eaten or dressed. When writing letters, his mind runs far in advance of his pen. He dislikes taking still pictures. He puts off the ordeal as long as possible and then every four or five months he comes into the portrait gallery with numerous changes of clothes. He will stay from 11 o'clock in the morning until 8 o'clock at night and pose for several hundred pictures. Bill Powell is very generous. He is sympathetic. He has lost much money through loans to people who were down and out. But his days of money loaning to would-be friends are now over. The last straw was pulled when Bill and a friend exchanged their $200 checks with the understanding that Bill was not to cash his for two weeks. When he went to the bank, the friend had never had a checking account in the bank. He dislikes crowds of people. He keeps away from theater openings, personal appearances and the downtown sections of Hollywood and Los Angeles. He is very practical but hates to be associated with figures or anything commercial. He is in motion pictures first for the remuneration and second because he likes to act. Although he never talks about himself, he has confidence in himself. He likes comfort but has no flare for luxury. He dislikes 'show.' He is a very easy person to know if one has the opportunity. He has very few personal friends. Fewer, perhaps, than any other person in Hollywood — except Garbo. Whenever he meets people, he looks at their eyes and can read their personality. He has an ability to analyze motives of the people he meets. He treats everyone just the way they treat him. More women like Bill Powell than men. He is amused by the fact that women are entertained by men who are witty conversationalists, yet they pro fess to prefer strong, silent men. He likes to dress well on) the screen, but he is not very much interested in his clothes for private life. He likes to wear comfortable, old suits when he is by himself. He never takes routine exercises but keeps fit by playing tennis. He likes plain American food. He has his lunches served in his dressing room at the studio because he likes to eat in his dressing gown. He is usually late for appointments although he does show up sooner or later with a very good, logical excuse. He doesn't want to act in pictures for a very long time. He wants to be able to take excellent care of his family and himself for the rest of their lives and then travel. He wants to return to Hollywood for one picture every year or so. He loves to rest and be lazy but he could not stand an incessant life of ease. When he is in a talkative mood, he is the most interesting and amusing man in Hollywood. He never loses his sense of humor. He loves gags. His best friends are Ronald Colman and Richard Barthelmess. He speaks Italian and Spanish. He learned Italian when he was in Italy making "Romola." He learned Spanish in school. He vacations most often at Arrowhead Springs, near Hollywood. His favorite spot in the world is a little town near Florence, Italy. He hopes to spend many of his later years in the beautiful place.