World Film and Television Progress (1938)

Top: Edgar Kennedy with .lane! Gaynor in 'A Slur is Born." Above: " Three Men on a Horse."' 102 in my twenty-six years in the movies. Do you know, I get my own way in practically everything? I don't always get what I asked for at first, but what I do get is always what I want, because we just talk things over, and if my way's best, we do it like that, and if their way's best, I see it while we're talking, and we do it like that. Everybody takes part in any discussion. Will, little Tommy Bupp and our Director, Marcel Varnel, and there's no bad manners or quarrels, and nobody gets on his high horse and can't get down, and there's nobody waiting for you in corners saying "That guy's got it in for me, know what he said to so and so?" and there's nobody asking you to take sides. 1 like England too. I wish I could have some place in the country and go to it at nights. Hotels are not my kind of life, but I have to stay in a hotel, working till half-past seven with a call next morning at nine. I eat most of my meals in my room because I'm too tired to dress that time of night. Like a working man? Sure, that's what I am, a working man. But still I've seen a good bit of London already and I took a trip up to Edinburgh last week-end — Princes Street is the loveliest street I've seen — with that castle on the hill and all. The only thing that amused me about England was seeing people eating with a knife in one hand and a fork in the other. At home we were taught to cut everything first and eat it dainty with a fork, and many a time Eve smacked my boy and said "Would you put that knife down?" but I guess he's a natural Englishman or something. The English are so good at it too, they use the knife so pretty. I tried it, but hell, I couldn't get anything on the fork. I told my wife about it as soon as I saw it, and she didn't believe it, till one night we were dining out and she exclaims "Ed, Ed, I saw a woman do it. I saw a woman do it." Well Em getting over it. I guess it must be right enough for here. I expect Queen Elizabeth does it too. What have you seen recently? Tom Sawyer? Was it good? A swell film? Yeah, I guessed so. All the same, films should be films, not made out of books, at least, not well-known books, because books are alive, and they are quite different for different people. A film of a book is never more than fifty per cent, successful for me, often a good deal less, at least, as a film of the book. One book I read when I was a kid — no, I've never read it since, Em afraid to, I might lose something of it — was "Les Miserables". Every time it's filmed, I go and see it. Every time, I feel, they've missed everything. But every time it's good as a film. Do I say it's a lousy film? No, I have no right to say that, because the man that made it has as much right to his "Les Miserables" as I have to mine, though I may go on thinking I know more about it than he does. Anyway, you should never say a film is lousy. It's not fair. It would be all right to lay into it if the guys weren't trying, but hell! Eve never seen a film where the actors aren't trying all they know. Maybe not your way, but if you knew how much sweat goes into it, you would let it go by, even if you didn't like.it much. Anyhow, that's my point of view, and I guess 1 know a little about films. Ell tell you a good gag to try on some guy when he comes out of a movie with you, saying "God, that stank." It works every time. Start off with "Well, I thought the bit about the shoes was kinda nice." He says "Yes, so it was". Then go on with "And the bit where the girl waved the handkerchief". He says, "Yes, quite nice". Then you say "And the bit where the dog ran out", and he says "Yes, it was quite well done ". Then when you've got him that far you say "Why, you liked the main things in the film, and you have the cheek to say it's lousy. You goddam son of a bitch, what do you expect for a quarter?" BOUND VOLUMES of WORLD FILM NEWS for 1937-38 are now ready, price £1 1.0, post free. Youi ■ twelve loose eopies if sent to us will be bound for 7s. 6d. post free