The Washington times., 1923-03-27
BREAKING INTO
FILMS STIFF
TASK
Betty Compson Sounds Warn
ing to Aspirants Without
Courage.
BY BETTY CONIPSON.

Coming OUT of the Paramount
studio a few days ago, met girl
who had just applied for work and
had been turned away. She recog-
nized me and she said:
"Oh, Miss. Compson, tell me how
1 can get something to do. know
1 could make good il only had
the chance. And--and I've simply.
got to have something very soon
anyway, because my money is al
most gone"
Now there isn't anything
about this girls predicament. A
long time ago, when motion pic
lures were started, it was neces-
sary to send out warnings to un.
tried, inexperienced girls from
small towns-and they are the
most pitiful because they are 80
Observation-Disclosures to come to
Hollywood unless they were pre-
pared for many, many hardships,
and that they could only hope to
succeed ii they had some special
gifts, and even then were able to
get a chance to display them.
The girl who stopped me at the
studio was typical case. She
didn't even know that applicants
for employment are not being reg
! istered at the studio and that most
of the extra people are engaged
through Los Angeles agencies.
Cha YNlnn eaV nj fofVnlry
good looking, nice girl, who didn't
have a single outstanding trait,
so far as / could see to recommend
her.
Going home that night found
in my mail several letters from
girls all over the country who
wanted me to tell them how to
get into motion pictures. Every
star or outstanding player in pic
lures gets these letters. The really
alarming thing about it is that the
number OF girls who rush to Hol-
lyWood to become motion picture
celebrities and suffer untold hard
ships without ever getting by the
Waterman at the gate, seems to
be increasing.
Do the girls who are rushing to
Ok RtdtIJ1HB ~ COtIlS
here, realize that never before
since motion pictures were in
vented. has it been more difficult
for, unknown extra players to find
employment?
Why? Well, just because mo-
ton picture ompanies cannot af-
ford, to take chances on untried
talent. In the old days, when
sets cost very little and overhead
expenses were low, a producer
could afford to take a chance. An
extra player might spoil a scene,
and the cost of retaking it would
not, be prohibitive. But today ex-
spenses are higher. stars cost a
great deal, and the extra players
in high-priced productions must
be above the average grade. To
employ an untried, inexperienced
extra player during the taking
of costly scene might spoil it
and necessitate a retake, and no
casting director is going to take
a chance like that.
So, even from this standpoint,
the problem of the pretty high
school graduate who comes to
Hollywood from small town,
sure that she is another Mary
Pickford, is more difficult than it
was before.
Another reason why most OF
the girls who come to Hollywood
to break into the motion pictures
never get a chance and never
could succeed is that they are not
suited to the work.
Not one out of a thousand girls
and perhaps even this average
Is too LOWS fitted for the work
physically or temperamentally.
They often think, because they
are considered pretty in their
home town, or took part in anna
ten theatricals. that they are des-
tined to be famous actresses.
What they do not consider is
that a really attractive girl may
not have screen beauty"
No girl should come to Holly
wood to try to get into motion
pictures until she Is sure, first,
that she has something unusual to
offer. Then she should be able