Screenland (Jun-Oct 1932)

51 ^creaming Beauty Meet Hollywood's official "yip artist" By Brian Herbert ■ S9> W) Her voice is as high-powered as her smile! Alice Doll made her screaming debut in a panic sequence in "The Mad Genius" — and she certainly was a panic! Now she uncorks her high "C" for Hollywood's best actresses. E yours . E-EE-EE-EE-YOW-OW-OW-OW-OOOOH !" Did you ever hear Constance Bennett scream like that in a picture ? Or Ruth Chatterton ? Or Kay Francis? Or any other favorite star of "And I was pretty "Of course I have," you will say. frightened, too." Well, you heard nothing of the kind ! Connie Bennett never has screamed in a picture. Nor has Ruth Chatterton. Nor Kay Francis. Nor a lot of these other high-strung ladies. Yes, here we are, breaking another illusion like an old meanie. Connie Bennett cannot scream, nor can the other ladies just mentioned. Not a good scream in any of 'em. Consequently, pretty little Alice Doll has a job. When Constance Bennett comes face to face with the murderer in her next picture, "Two Against the World," she goes through all of the frenzied, hysterical motions of screaming. Believe it or not, she didn't utter a sound. Not a peep. "When I scream," she explains, "all that comes out is something like an 'ee-ee-eek'." To prove it, she gave a demonstration. Then: "You see? And if I really do scream as loudly as possible I can't talk again for hours." "Don't scream," advised Director Archie Mayo. "It would be much too expensive. We'll send for Alice Doll. She'll scream for you — and how !" Months ago, during the filming of John Barrymore's "The Mad Genius," Director Michael Curtiz shot a theatre panic sequence. A feature of which, of course, was screams, shouts, yells and wails. That was when Alice Doll's amazing talent was discovered Up to then she had been hiding her shrieks under a bushel — a bushel without sound effects ! After the young player had been put before the "mike" and had screamed long and loud and in varied degrees of agony she was put down on the studio casting office records as an "A-l Official Screamer For Screaming Sequences." Simply because a star's voice is too valuable a thing to risk in the middle of an expensive production. The human throat is a delicate contraption and in some people can be easily damaged by straining. So it came about that Alice Doll, whose throat seems to stand up well under the strain of repeated and unholy screams, has screeched for the Best People of Hollywood. She varies her cries to fit the personalities and the voices of the lovely ladies she screams for. Ruth Chatterton is not often confronted with the necessity of screaming in her roles. In "The Rich Are Always With Us" not a peep was called for, but in her latest, "The Crash," Alice Doll was summoned to raise her voice to the skies for La Chatterton. Barbara Stanwyck is the champion screamer among the ladies of the screen and therefore has never used Miss Doll's vocal pipes. In "The Purchase Price" you will hear Barbara scream long, loud and repeatedly. It's dandy. Before the sequence was photographed Director William Wellman murmured words to the effect that he didn't think she should risk her voice; that maybe Miss Doll should be sent for. "I'll do my own screaming," Miss Stanwyck said. And that was that. Loretta Young screams her own screams in pictures, too, a high, immature scream which promises in time to reach really admirable proportions. Joan Blondell owns a scream which will posi (Continued on page 94)