New-York tribune., 1921-12-25
BY DAVID WARK GRIFFITH

is the most highly valued, and her farsighted-
ness in business policy has been often demon
strated Another woman player of equal
rank is known for her sublime good sense
Her judgment in all matters is i,lvaluablc
Such business ability is a natural extension
OF The mentality that made these two girls
artistically. 1t would be surprising, indeed, if
with the brains to earn $4,000 or more a
week they lacked the mentality to conserve it.
1t is often said by praisers of past times
that preceding generations of actors far sur
pass the players of to-day. This may very
we'll be an illusion of middle aged or elderly
men, who in their own warm youth responded
to the fire and grace of contemporary iuve
niles, whereas now their cold and palsv do
not adequately react to the grace and fire
of equally fine Juvenile playing of this era
1T is, however, true that certain eras mav
have better schools Of acting than other
epochs
While extreme physical types have occa-
slonaly won success in the theater, the nor
mai face and figure without exaggeraton
either way, are the most suitable This is
true both for men and for women We de-
mand health not only the requirement for
good work, but an element in itself that
wins liking and favor The crowd-anv
crowd-has kind of physical repulsion to-
ward unhealthfulness
Ihe normal hero is neither of gueat height
nor of heavy bulk. We believe that the heroine
best appeals to the average audience if she
nave a slender, pleasing fgure-somewhat
petite, IN fact. Man is the protector and
woman the protected, SO that the slight, some
what undersized feminine type suits the story
and the audiences sympathizes. 1t also suits
camera requirements Whereas tall, oueenlv
women were reigning favorites fifteen or
twenty years ago, perhaps on account of the
requirements of the screen the small girls have
become the favorites as heroines. AS look
back over the notable young women who have
appeared IN my plays from time to time since
my entry into pictures in 1907-Mary Pick
ford, Blanche Sweet, Mae Marsh, Miriam
Cooper, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Carol
Dempster Il do not recall one Amazonian
figure
The normalty applies to features as we'll as
~ lorh. Whlle normal good looks aid the
male juvenile they are Hot SO important as
expression. In the case OF women the things
that help are: Full cheekbones to catch the
angles OF light; fairly broad face; a not
very tull or strong nose, "snubs" not being
barred; good teeth and pleasing mouth lips
lncllning to thinness; eyes preferably dark. if
otherwise of green or bronze tint to reflect
the light. But girl may have all the above
aspects Of the photographic" face without
being able to express anything, in which case
from the dramatic viewpoint she is hopeless
Photographic requirements are simply to en-
able the camera to register her inner self
better. For lasting success neither men nor
women can depend upon good looks. You
WILL see the truth of this if you will look hacl.
10 the beauty types of ten or dozen wears
ago and notice that the merely handsome men
and the merely pretty women II am sneakino
OF the screen particularly have sunk into
obscurity. ''''0
Young actors ought to
study life and books, too
The higher algebra isn't par
tlcularly important to the O. Q
picture star, but general lQ
learning is quite essential MIA
along the line of fine and HttfHdXM
useful arts, history, geog WNk
raphy, manners, customs. .~-r,tdVWNE
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