Screenland (May-Oct 1938)

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Don't delay. ■ Test this new easy way to reduce at our risk. Dr. Laun Sales Co., Dep. 3-SC, 207 N. Michigan, Chicago, 111. RUB^H ON 94 fuses to be pinned into words, but which is a vital element in a picture's success because it stirs the imaginaton and arouses the interest. "I enjoyed making this picture and it was a happy experience from start to finish, for all of us. I felt I had a sound story that could take a swift comedy tempo, and that contained emotions so universal that they would appeal to every audience. Then, my players were perfectly cast. "Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper are favorite stars of mine, I've directed them in previous films ; and Edward Everett Horton, who has been in every picture I've made during the past six years, is my favorite comedian. They are all individualists, they have escaped standardization and created personalities that intrigue the imagination because they offer something different, something novel. "In my opinion," continued Lubitsch, "no one equals Claudette in screen comedy. Born with a grand sense of humor, she has developed an unique technique of her own which places her at the top as a comedienne. This, mind you, after she had proven herself an accomplished dramatic actress. I chose her for the role of the spirited French girl in 'Bluebeard's Eighth Wife' who tames her playboy husband, because of her comedy talents, and also, because she is the truest exponent of glamor in Hollywood—the sort of glamor the camera catches. "Gary Cooper's uncanny sense of comedy values and his emotional resources made him the ideal hero. Unbelievably shy and modest, his occasional naivete offers a surprise element that appeals to both men and women, but his outstanding characteristic is his honesty. Gary can't cheat. He must actually feel every emotion or he can't portray it. This gives him a peculiar power to make his audiences forget he is an actor and accept him as a man, living his part. Eddie Horton, with his rare gift for comedy timing, has never failed me. He catches every significant point in dialogue, gestures, and facial expressions, and wrings them dry. The young English actor, David Niven, was also in my cast and I was delighted with him. He has a definite place on the screen with his flair for light comedy and sophisticated drama, and his eloquence of speech. He spells breeding, culture and charm." With these skilful players, the famous "Lubitsch touch"— that indefinable _ something that always distinguishes his pictures, crept into a number of scenes in the new film. He laughingly confessed he didn't know what this was, then modestly suggested it might be that he leaves as much as possible to the imagination. He likes to lead his audience to the very edge of an intriguing situation, then slyly close the door on it, leaving them to finish it— as they please. The world is hungry for beauty, for romance — no one seems quite satisfied with his quota, and it is the responsibility of the director to make his audience thrill with the love scenes. Lubitsch says this is accomplished by establishing the illusion of a warm, intimate quality that makes every man believe he is the hero, and every woman throb with the heroine's emotions Men may be sharper in their mental processes but every woman has an unerring instinct to guide her. When Lubitsch is directing a feminine player, he first gains her confidence and studies her emotional reactions ; then he has no difficulty in working out the scenes as he pleases. I ' asked if foreign actresses, with their age-old traditions, had more mystery and glamor than our American girls. Vigorously, he shook his head, saying it was because their background was different and this tinged their manners and looks with SCREENLAND novelty, which along with an accent, spelled anything we wanted it to spell. In Europe, the case is reversed and the American girls are considered super -glamorous, super mysterious, because they offer a subtle novelty inherited from their background. I asked him what made a woman "dangerous." He replied that it was the surprise element. If a woman looks or acts dangerous you are on your guard, but if she hides menace behind an angel face, and claws beneath sweetness, she may accomplish her villainy with a surprise attack. He's a showman, this Lubitsch. He has several pet tricks he employs, and always he embellishes his dramas with adroit and intimate touches. Did you ever notice there is invariably a train or an airplane, arriving or departing, at some time in his pictures? Why? Because everybody is still secretly thrilled at the sight of trains and airplanes ; they suggest adventure. Usually, too, there's a grand corridor — this provides opportunity for a lengthy conversation which in a more static setting might prove wearisome ; and a winding, picturesque stairway is his effective method for introducing a beautiful woman. And he adores pianos on the sets. Maybe this is his secret scheme so as to have a piano near at hand for him to play between scenes. He's a real musician, and versatile. His stubby, sensitive fingers glide over the keys and find the flame in a Viennese love song, then slide through a barbaric Russian dance, and wind up with a mad swing tune that starts everybody swaying to its rhythm. Another significant thing is that Ernst Lubitsch never has a dumb woman in his dramas. To him, dumb women aren't amusing, or admirable. He enjoys a cast of clever people, suave and sophisticated — daring, perhaps, and living to the very hilt, but always observing good taste. Now, he's planning a six weeks' European vacation, but he hastened to assure me it wasn't for rest, because making a picture is stimulating, not tiring. He likes to travel and visit new places, and enjoy new experiences. So, accompanied by Mrs. Lubitsch, he will explore the Mediterranean countries, then hop over to Egypt for his first glimpse of the Nile. And all the time he will be seeking new story _ material, new ideas to incorporate into his coming pictures. The most thrilling experience a director can have, he told me, is when after months of concentrated effort, he finally sees his thoughts visualized upon the screen. If the picture clicks, there is a tremendous satisfaction; if it fails, it means heartbreak. There is no medium course in this business. "Every new picture is a crucial adventure —a terrific gamble," said Lubitsch, his voice serious, but his eyes still twinkling. "But I love it because over it all is the magic spell of drama!" II Bloody but Unbowed Continued from page 31 that Miss Hepburn didn't like her part in the picture. That day the worm turned! "Tell Miss Hepburn," said the producer, "to go jump in the Lake." And that, little kiddies, was the official end of the Threat scare. (Today if a star says, "I'll go back to the New York theatre," the producer merely smiles and says, "All right, I dare .you to.") . At the beginning of the '37-38 theatrical season a lot of Hollywood thespians who