WOULD YOU FILM WELL?
Probably the number of people who have not at one time or another
wondered in a sneaking sort of way if they wouldn't look pretty well on
the screen is limited to the aborigines of Africa. And, believe it or
not, two of the aborigines themselves applied at our studio for jobs not
long ago. They had acted in several travelogue pictures, taken in
darkest Africa, had traveled as porters with the company to the coast,
and had finally become so enamored of the work that they "beat" their
way all the way to America, with an English vocabulary limited to about
fifty words, twenty-five of which were highly profane. It just goes to
show that we are all human. Needless to say, both beauty and character
are the characteristics in demand in the films, as everywhere else. The
curious fact is that faces which in real life possess great beauty or
deep character, frequently fail to carry this across to the camera.
The chief reason for this lies in the fact that the camera does not
accept color values, and at the same time accentuates many defects which
are ordinarily imperceptible to the eye. For example, a wonderful type
of Italian beauty appeared at our studio while we were casting "Mama's
Affair" for Constance Talmadge. She had never before appeared in motion
pictures, and our casting director was quick to seize the opportunity to
make a test of her face. When the picture was shown, her extraordinarily
fine coloring of course went for nothing, and her beauty was entirely
marred by the inexplicable appearance of a fine down over her upper lip
and a large mole on her left temple. Both the mole and the down had been
entirely unnoticed in daylight, but under the fierce mercury lights of
the studio and the enlarging lenses they made her face grotesque. At
another time we attempted to make a leading man of a famous war hero.
This boy had been a college athlete and had subsequently distinguished
himself as a bayonet fighter on four battlefields. When his test films
were projected, to the astonishment of everyone he appeared as an
anæmic, effeminate stripling, whose every gesture aroused the ridicule
of the audience.
The skin of the face must be entirely smooth and unbroken. The slightest
eruption or blemish is visible on the screen, especially in this day
when "close-ups" are the vogue. The teeth must be perfect.
Considerations which do not matter in the slightest degree in facial
beauty on the screen are those of coloring and of fineness of the
features. The pinker a woman's cheeks may be, the hollower they appear
to the camera, for red photographs as black, and a face which is
beautiful, but coarse in its outline, frequently photographs quite as
well as the beautiful face which is exquisite in every detail.
A screen star should be equally beautiful in every expression and from
every angle. This is not so true of the stage star, for when she is
moving about, speaking and gesticulating, the question of her beauty
becomes comparatively unimportant. On the screen, however, important
scenes are always taken in "close-ups" wherein the star, whether
portraying rage or pain, love or hate, must be equally charming, at the
risk of making a permanently bad impression upon her audience.
Many people who are beautiful when seen in "full face" are most
unattractive in profile. In fact, the matter narrows down still further,
for quite often those who have a lovely profile are, for some
inexplicable reason, gross and unattractive when the face is turned to
show three-quarters. A number of the present movie stars have risen to
the top despite such impediments by stipulating in all their contracts
that they be never shown in close-up in the pose in which they are
unattractive. One star in particular never shows the left side of her
face for this reason. This, however, is obviously a great handicap.
The male types which are most in demand are not those whose appeal is
through physical beauty. Audiences are sick of large-eyed, romantic
heroes, and are demanding a little manly force and character in their
heroes.
To film well, a man's head should be large, rugged, with the features
cut in masses, like a Rodin bust. Whether he is attempting to play
"juveniles," "leads" or "heavies" his face must possess the cardinal
requisites of character. Deep-set eyes, a strong chin, a jutting
forehead, a prominent nose, are all desirable. Again, the high
cheekbones and long face appear desirable characteristics. William S.
Hart's success depends largely on these two simple characteristics of
facial structure.
Neither in men nor in women is the hair an essential for screen beauty.
Wigs and trick arrangements of the hair are a function of the make-up
department, and a man or woman with no hair at all could still be made
to appear most attractive to the unsophisticated camera.
In analyzing your own face, then, ask yourself the following questions:
Are my eyes large?
Is my skin fine and well kept?
Is my mouth small and are my teeth good?
Is my nose straight?
Has my face character, something which makes it not only beautiful, but
which portrays the underlying personality?
If you can answer these questions in the affirmative you may have a
career before you in the motion pictures. If you cannot answer any of
them but the last in the affirmative, you may still be successful as a
movie actor, for "types"--whether of gunmen or millionaires, villains or
saints--are much in demand. One man has made himself a small fortune by
playing parts in which a particularly villainous expression were
required--such as dope fiends. Another chap, in the Western studios, has
made a good living for years by acting "stained glass saints," having
been equipped by nature with an unusually æsthetic expression.
In any case, if you are to essay a career in the movies, remember that
your natural characteristics are all that count. Tricks of rolling the
eyes or puckering the lips or setting the jaw are buncombe and are
instantly discovered by the camera.
Be natural. Keep healthy and happy. That, in the movies, as in real
life, is the way to charm and beauty.