Screenland (Feb-Oct 1949)

Should She . . . Or Not? Continued from page 39 they saw my test, they decided to take a chance with the movie. It was done on a shoestring budget, but when it was previewed, the executives discovered that perhaps they had been wrong! We did added scenes, and it was then that the producer and director learned I could sing. They hadn't even asked me before that. I sang "Moonlight And Shadows" and it went over with a bang. Through this, I achieved a reputation as a vocalist, too, so I was one step closer to my goal of stardom. "Moonlight And Shadows," by the way, was on the Hit Parade for 15 weeks, and it had taken the authors exactly a half hour to write! One of the reasons why I liked working in sarong pictures during the War was the fact that through this one item of clothing, I was able to help the War Bond drives. Sounds odd, but it was true. I made public appearances, and on a number of occasions, my sarongs and other costume items were auctioned off for several million dollars in Bonds! It was probably the first time in history that sarongs helped to buy bullets. Then, too, being a native princess had its costume advantages, because I never had to be called in for endless hours of fittings, sessions with the makeup department, and more hours with the hairdresser. All they did was hand me a couple of yards of flowered cotton, a hairbrush and a powder puff, and I was ready for the camera! And, because I didn't have to report to the studios for all these preliminary preparations, I got in many extra hours of precious sleep. Believe me, I love to sleep! Sarong roles were a wonderful starting point for me in my career, because through them and the fact that they were synonymous with informality and fun, I was able to meet people on an easy and friendly basis. Naturally, I like people, but when you're new in any business, it does require some effort to win a whole assortment of new friends. Folks would remember me as I appeared to them on the screen, and the rest was easy. Among the many advantages of appearing in such pictures, I suppose the outstanding one was the opportunity I had in working with actors who knew the business from the ground up and could teach me much. I started out cold as an actress, with no experience except working with a band, and had plenty to learn. And, since I was a willing pupil, I was always ready to be taught the acting art. Ray Milland, who worked with me in "Jungle Princess" and "Jungle Love," was one of my good teachers. He showed me how to take advantage of camera angles, sometimes sacrificing himself so that I would have the better spot. He showed me how to act so that I would forget that the camera was constantly before me, and perhaps best of all, he gave me invaluable lessons on how to treat other newcomers by his own many kindnesses to me. The last of the pros for sarong pictures is also important, but can be said simply. Working in so many of them was a sort of prep school for the "Road" pictures with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, and any skill I picked up in the earlier films came to good stead when I worked with those really swell guys. Now, let me point out what I haven't particularly cared for in the sarong picture section. It's no news to you that any woman always wants to look essentially feminine. I had always dreamed of wearing the beautiful clothes, the hairdos, and the jewelry which seemed to me the epitome of screen stardom. These, I told myself, were to be my pleasure, too. So what happened — I wore a sarong, a hibiscus, and they didn't even give me a pair of shoes! And that wasn't the end of it. I was always stepping on a thorn, or being bitten by bees or mosquitoes. I love the out-of-doors but I couldn't get out into the open for any length of time because a sun-blistered skin didn't go with my role as a jungle princess. During the making of several jungle scenes, I had seen the wild animals hurt people seriously, and then I'd have to go before the screen with these same animals and smile as though nothing had happened. Once a tiger threw his paws over my shoulders, and I was nursing clawgashes on my back for a good month. Do you wonder why I'd often be a jittery bundle of nerves? One of my strongest objections to the roles I played in these films was the fact that they never were an acting challenge to me. All of them were the same, with the exception of my characterization in "Hurricane." In some the hero was shipwrecked on my island, or crashed in his plane, or he was a big game hunter looking for a way out, but the general plot was the same. My hero would arrive, we'd have an idyllic courtship under the bright moon and swaying palms, and then all would end happily. I felt that I wasn't doing much to increase my acting skill, and equally important, I was certain that theatregoers would begin to tire of me. It seemed to me that I was always petting the same tiger, swimming in the same emerald lagoon, and sitting under the same palm tree on the same white sand beach. In a way, I suppose you would call this type-casting, the thing which every actor or actress fears. I made seven jungle or South Seas pictures, scarcely without stopping to catch my breath, and in each I did almost identical roles. And, to make it worse, the animals got to know me so well that they practically called me by my first name every time they saw me! In "On Our Merry Way," I did a satire on all this in a song entitled "Queen Of The Hollywood Islands." In the song, ToyouoAta,,, (Ml mrnju TOiOOK UFE! 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