The Washington times., 1920-10-23
Bustle and Rash of Film Work
Makes Geraldine Fa1rar Happy

What is there so fascinating about
motion picture work. Why Is 1t that
some stars even desert work on the
legitimate stage to flicker on the sill
yer sheet?" Geraldine Farrar, who has
had more experience than any other
woman. says it's the hustle of the
studio the grip of the story, and the
personality.
Il love.the work" said Miss Far
rar. during the filming Of THE Rid
die; Woman" current at Crandall's
Metropolitan and Knickerbocker The
aters, beginning tomorrow, when
massive sets were being arranged;
elaborate furnishings moved about,
and the scene. with it's beautifully
gowned women looking more like a
festival than a motion picture in the
making.
at is so typical" she continued.
this hustle and rush. 1t Is America
going somewhere. And 1t is life for
temperaments. Here we are always
busy. Only snobs despise hustle such
as this. There is really something
that grips you when you act before
the camera. just as when you see one.
1T is the grip OF the story and the
personality, | think. Ever since
Homer chanted his hexameters OF the
tale OF Helen, Troy and Ulysses, to
common men and women gathered
about to hear him. the world has
leaned forward to catch the accents
of the picture presented to 1T. That
is the reason that the motion picture
has come to mean so much to the
people at large. The habit OF m n
strels going through the land and
singing their stories ceased long
since It was almost inevitable that
in a democratic age something. som,
new instrument should be devised
which would make it possible for the
masses to see the great artists OF the
age and the great stories of all ages.
Motion pictures have peculiar
fascination for me. aside from my
professional viewpoint. They appeal
to my sense of rhythm and color
when they are done right For to be
successful they must be essentially
rhvthmic; the changing scenes. the
mechanical necessities which involve
continual transitions of detail and
tonsitv. result in a heavy stress on
The actual telling Of the tale. One Is
painfully aware OF the jar when this
mated skillfully.
"kgaiS these frequent transitions
five the screen an opportunity to
has So much OF the passions and
JUNIORS Of life can be crowded In that
y IL jov to watch the frame filing
in with the right proportions and
ruances' I must admit that / have
great deal Of fun watching scenes
such as these when l have mo-
nentary respite.
''Rut, YOU, know, all this hurly-
hurlv will result in something. That
Is why 7 really enjpy II. To watch
all this. the rushing to and fro, the
AVpansiveness Of the goal to be
achieved-and then to realize sud
denly that one is hearing it-just
when everybody is convinced that II
never will be won--this is Joy! This
is creation! It is building something,
and there is no finer exultation than
that achieved from building some
thing. The child with his blocks, the
sculptor with his chisel, the writer
with his pen, the actor with his pee
sonality-all are imrelled by the same
force. The male in all this, en-
braces the female!
CONSIDER the present thing we are
upbuilding-the pages from life.
Every life is study. or more than
that. a series of stories. Lila. the
character 7 portray in The Riddle:
Woman seems to me to be a merg-
ing together of wonderful women.
She had her joys and her sorrows, but
finally wonderful love and under
standing came into her life. That Is
what I like to portray on the screen.
Something that is really feminine. So
feminine that II Is a mystery that
cannot even be solved In the last reel
But at the same time, II must be q
delicious mystery, n mystery of this
great, all-embracinE life of ours
which, after all, can give no solution"