Screenland (May-Oct 1941)

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Doesn't Cary Grant change wives quickly? But don't get alarmed; it's only make-believe. He's scheduled to play spouse to Joan Fontaine in RKO's "Before the Fact." Alfred Hitchcock will direct them, so expect the best in film fare. South of the Border Continued from page 59 ness, but I think she wastes a great deal of motion. I think she dissipates her greatest appeal, because she has never studied it. Few American girls know how to make an entrance. Few have really ever studied the art of pleasing others." Now these words may sound rather formal and out of place today, until you stop and think about them. True, how few of us enter a room well. We rush in, well, where angels may fear to tread, confident, sure, wasteful of motion and energy. There is the gentle art, explained Maria, of letting yourself be seen before you enter a room, and I gather that this is rather through slowmotion. Certainly if you are all done up for a party, if you are really attractive to look upon, or even if your gown is if you are not, then it would be just as well to make your entrance an event, instead of just an incident. And the wallop this would give your escort's pride in you is immeasurable. "You may be very beautiful," continued Maria, "but you may sit, in a restaurant, for example, in such a manner that no one ever sees you. You, also, may be just passable, but you may sit in a manner that places you quite apart from everyone else and people will admire you." These words are for the girls who have a way of literally hiding themselves under the table. They slouch down ; they disappear in their chairs ; they lower their heads under hats if the hats are big enough, and you could pass your best friend and never recognize her. Then, by contrast, there are the girls who sit with a suggestion of being happy and proud to be where they are ; they look as if they are enjoying every minute of their companion's presence, whether or not they are. They spread an atmosphere of enjoyment. They almost make you want to join their table. Subtle, all this? Hardly. It's a matter of muscular and mind control. If you accept his invitation, no matter how boring he is, if you try to make the evening a success, you will end up by having a good time. Maria's philosophy is the result of long experience with men. She grew up with five brothers ! And if you don't think that's something ! "Learn to please brothers, or boy cousins will do, and you need never fear your popularity," is her sage conclusion. The art of pleasing develops beautifully when practiced on brothers. There is a special kind of ego that belongs to the male, thinks Maria, and it is so harmless and so gratifying to learn how to reach it. "Sometimes I would play the part of Cupid with my brothers. I would remind one of them that I thought a certain girl liked him. Of course, he would appear disdainful, but I often noticed a nice little romance begin with the girl I had mentioned. It is so natural for people to want to be liked. And liking certainly makes them nicer people. I believe we should all take a little more time to please others by making ourselves pleasing to them.'' In other words, honey is, indeed, sweeter than vinegar. And when you find yourself being too definite with people, telling them just what you think at times and never disguising your feelings, you are riding for a fall and had just as well turn about and ask yourself if you can't achieve your end, whatever it is, with a gentler weapon. The art of pleasing others is something to be learned slowly, for few are born with it. It is not a fawning effort just to be nice and make people like you; that is a thin veneer that won't wear long. But it is a matter perhaps of thinking how you may do this or say that without hurting or seeming harsh, if the occasion calls for strong action. This will give you wonderful practice in dealing with human nature and mark a long mile in your effort for success, no matter how you reckon it. But back to our American girl. Maria compliments the American woman on her amazing ability to hold onto youth. And she compliments her on her chic. The Latin type shows years more quickly, and in spite of her rare beauty — and it is a rare beauty — she somehow lacks the American chic. A Latin lady, according to Maria, will look distinctly like a lady; if she is well dressed, she will look distinctly well dressed. But she will lack the casualness of the American, which is the result of our great effort to look effortless. I am reminded of how many of us take hours, foot-sore and weary, to be sure that our accessories are chosen with utmost care, whether we pay a trifle or a nice expensive price. That's the American way. When it comes to figure, Maria thinks the American girl is far more fortunate than her Latin sister. She admires the long, slim, free lines, thinks we keep them far beyond the South American girls who early succumb to matronly figures. Maria deplores, however, the attention and concern we lavish on hips instead of the bosom. A beautiful bosom, she points out, is a most important asset, as the South American woman recognizes. Well, on this point, we might truly give some attention to good development exercises, such as a strong swimming breast stroke, for the undeveloped, and a general reducing regime might be recommended for the too heavy. And a special brassiere, by all means, designed for your own special lack, if any. And clothes, too, frankly to accent if this part of your figure is beautiful, to gracefully conceal if it is not. There is certainly no sense in calling attention to your weakest point. I think Maria has a beautiful face, and the artist, McClelland Barclay, finds in her face the true beauty of the cosmopolitan woman. Formerly a model, for a time, Maria has some good slants on her own face. She likes to scrub it with soap and water, and worked up nice, big suds in a picture accompanying to prove this. She knows that mascara improves her lashes, nice and dark as they are. Since her eyes are colorful, she uses an oil or clear cream to give the lids a young, vital shine. If she uses shadow, it is brown. She likes a bright lipstick, an all-over foundation, like that well-known pan-cake one ; uses rouge subtly to suggest a fresh glow over her face, wears bright nail polish and calls it a day. She believes in the good old hair brush, and her shining hair shows this ; and she believes in any sensible ruse that makes you sweeter to look upon. She tells me that South Americans still strive for the small mouth, as a mark of beauty, whereas we like the more generous kind. Certainly they are more appealing and interesting, but that is a matter of taste. South Americans still prefer cameo skins in contrast to our liking for powders that give us a good, outdoorsy glow. But our sisters below the border have our deep passion for perfumes. In fact, they are as essential to them as lovely clothes. In spite of these more practical slants, Maria still believes that it would be better to be homely, to have a dull wardrobe, but to possess real charm. That, she believes, outlasts the more ephemeral gifts of youthful beauty and a matchless wardrobe. She speaks with the tradition back of her of generations of Spanish forbears, of ladies whose role was distinctly that of ladies. But here in our United States, Maria has charmingly adjusted herself to an ideology of "economic independence," and delights in being a working girl, as well as an artist. She speaks Spanish, French and English, the English with just a faint, rather fascinating prolonging of certain syllables. That means you never miss a word, which is a thought for those of us who race along with our words so that many just catch a word here and there. Slower and lower is a good admonition for many, including myself. Readers, if you want to increase your popularity, if you want to make yourself a girl to be remembered, there is no better suggestion than practicing on your brothers, if you have any. If not, then another's brothers. There is just nothing that keeps our feet on earth like good fellowship and association with the opposite sex. 76