Screenland (May 1943-Oct 1944)

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Nadinola is a 3 -way treatment cream that acts to lighten and brighten dark, dull skin — clear up externally caused pimples — fade freckles — loosen blackheads. Used as directed, its special medicated ingredients help to clear and freshen your skin — to make it creamywhite, satin-smooth. Start today to im prove your complexion — buy Nadinola Cream' Full treatment-size jar only 55<!, with money-back guarantee; trial size 1 Of*. k_ ,. Or write Nadinola, Dept. 43, Paris, Tenn. he doesn't need to talk. It helps — but it isn't necessary !" Charles believes the mature man, say around forty, has a deeper comprehension of love and its significance, than at any other period. He has learned through living, the real depth of this emotion — its joys, its sacrifices, even its bitter sting. So, as an actor, he has the ability of spanning time, making romance glow with a radiant warmth that is more satisfying than the explosive tactics of youth, with its unbridled intensity. Every experience is enriching. Without emotions life could never form its glorious pattern. "The reason I do not like visitors on the set when I'm making a love scene," Boyer explained, "is because through concentration I actually feel I am the person I am playing. I do not want to have this emotional thread broken, to be brought back to my own identity. Love is the allimportant thing in real life, also in the world of art. This is what I try to bring into my acting." "I'm not the Romeo type," chuckled blond Joseph Cotten, who is youngish in years, but experienced in acting. "While I played romantic roles on the stage as part of my many chores, my cinema love has been cramped into mere suggestions, never hotly portrayed. In fact, I'm having my first real film love scenes in 'Hers to Hold' with Deanna Durbin. To add a punch to this dramatic event, our initial scene was an amorous episode, very fervent, and — with kisses ! We had just met. The humor hit us and thus broke the ice, if there was any. "To create a romantic scene, to give it the burning quality that causes it to linger in the memory of the audience, the actor must be familiar with the entire emotional scale, for this is the instrument on which he plays his drama. "All this isn't casually plucked from the air. It comes through developing the imagination to a high degree — by acting, and then more acting. Naturally, one thus technically equipped has the advantage. When an inexperienced player makes a success it should be hailed as an achievement. Or perhaps, a beautiful mistake ! "The camera creates a peculiar intimacy between actor and audience, and the close up exaggerates each detail. Not only must one act and speak like a lover, but he must think and look ardent, too. "Someone once said that acting was 90% thinking, 10% feeling. An actor must never let his real emotions become confused with the synthetic. I'm not in sympathy with that vague school which insists the player must actually live his role. Nonsense! Acting is simulating emotions. You don't have to go out and kill a man to portray a murderer. Perhaps everyone is a potential killer, and if the right series of circumstances caught him, some of our best saints would draw a gun. My role of Uncle Charlie in 'Shadow of a Doubt, had a good excuse — he had been hit on the head ! "I recall my first love scene. It was on the stage, and during rehearsals the director would say, 'When you speak this line, kiss her.' Or 'Here you put your arm around her and gaze into her eyes.' But we never did all this, and when the final dress rehearsal came, the girl and I were embarrassed and didn't know what to do. One should always go through every bit of business in rehearsals, so as to become familiar with every point. "Sure, love scenes are exciting," Joe added. "But so are all scenes — to the actor. All he wants is to get the chance to act, and act, and ACT !" Wallace Beery boasts of many love scenes during his thirty years before the cameras. "Of course," admics Wally, "I have my own technique. Guess I started developing it in my very first picture. I yearned to be the handsome hero, but I wasn't, and being young and awfully green about romance, I was scared stiff. My emotions jittered all around the place. I grabbed the girl, gave her a bear hug and a smack that took her breath away. I was so astonished with the thrill of my success that I've gone on treatin' them rough. You know, the kind that's 'terrific' with intensity. "Yes, young players have a tough time mastering the art of love scenes before the cameras. I've watched dozens of them and they never succeed until they learn to leash their emotions. In the meantime, we older experts take all the glory, and all the bows. "I've heard that women like the primitive, the masterful lover. Well, that's me!" This Is The Army Continued from page 21 ii began to look for singers, dancers, actors and comedians who were in the Army. That is how I came to be a member of "This Is the Army," a show that was to be produced for Army Emergency Relief. I rehearsed songs and dances and sketches under the direction of a drill sergeant who had formerly been a Broadway director. I learned lyrics to new Berlin tunes, such as / Left My Heart At the Stage Door Canteen, This Is The Army, Mr. Jones, I'm Getting Tired So I Can Sleep, and American Eagles, along with many others that were destined to be on the Hit Parade for months. I lived in tents and barracks at Camp Upton until it was time to bring the show to New York. I opened, on the night of July 4th, 1942, and "This Is The Army" was a smash hit. Originally the show was intended to run only four weeks, but public demand for seats was so tremendous that the Army decided to continue the run another month. When that month was over, another month was scheduled. The public could not get enough of "This Is The Army." After three months' run in New York, the Army heeded the pleas of theater-goers all over the country and sent "This Is The Army" on tour. The show opened in Washington in September, and in the second week of its run, a command performance was given for President Roosevelt. The Commander-in-Chief liked the show, and invited me and the 349 others in the cast to midnight supper at the White House the following Friday night. There I met President and Mrs. Roosevelt, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hopkins, and Robert E. Sherwood. I had dinner at the White House, and had a chat with Mrs. Roosevelt, who told me how much she liked the show. While on tour I did all the regular military jobs that belong to a soldier. Four times a week I drilled with the rest of the company, for three hour periods, on the nearest open field. I ran the company organization that the Army requires from a Provisional Task Force of 350 men, and backstage, I took orders from two stage managers who were sergeants. Out front, the orchestra was conducted by a master 62 SCREENLAND