Evening star., 1924-02-20

CHAPTER XVII.
Romantic True Stories OF Some Screen
FavOrites.
A MOTHER film triumph, won
~ only after a long siege of the
~ citadel, Is that of Won Stro-
helm. Born of an old and
, distinguished Viennese family, the
Baron Won Stroheim was In another
day one of those pictorial young
officers who staggered about the
Ring Strassc, partook of cafe
melanges and fancifully Whitfield
cakes at the smart confectioners' on
the Graben, summed themselves where
the bands play THE Beautiful Blue
Danube" and other Strauss waltzes-
! IN brief lent themselves to that at
. mospherc. at once sprightly and SEN
! timental, which made the fascination
! OF pre-war Vienna. Perhaps he lent
himself to 1t somewhat too thor
oughly, for he always smiles when
you ask him how he first happened
to come TO this country. And the
smile seems to hint at some youthful
escapade.
When he arrived in this country
| ing his own livelihood than is sug.
4, gested by this background OF
frivolity. Of leisure and rigid caste
etiquette. Yet he was penniless now.
, Soda fountain attendant and groom
/ in stable--these two jobs are only
few of the milestones passed In
| the wanderings of Won Stroheim from
! his hereditary environment. lie was,
, in fact. almost starving when Grit
1
IAN opportunity. His Austrian UNI
form. his scars, his typical Ieutonlc
, appearance-all these were utilized IN
/ q screen presentation OF the ualeu
After the vogue of the war picture
| had passed. however. yon Stronelm
| found himself in plight almost as
lures had delivered him. No use to
! him now was the uniform. the scars.
! the typical Teutonic appearance;
! quite the reverse. For days he would
Sit in those depressing anterooms
which guard the presence of the
great l used to see him in the
| Goldwyn studios and. remem oering
/ with admiration his work in the war
pictures. / wished only that the
Charge in popular taste had not pro
hibitcd my employment of him In q
characteristic role.
; Il knew all the time, that | had
something in me which might be
valuable to the SCREEN" SO he him
| self told a friend of mine in reference
| to this period, but 1 couldn't get my
self over. ! lacked the american "a
push. ! took no for an answer far
too too easily, and SO 1 might still be
sitting around In dingy ante
rooms had not something happened to
me. / became deeply infatuated win
a girl. But she said to me: No-not
| until I see if you can ever make
good Then for the first time in my
| life made up my mind to succeed
The rest of his story is known by
! those who follow the history, of
! screen celebrities He had long been
I fired by an idea for the screen. Mad
dened by his inability to get an audi
ence for this idea, the, erstwhiie
forceful measures. He literally broke
| into Laemmle's room in hotel and
with all tho fire of desperation set
forth his great ideas. The resui. ,a Vas
bIc-even notorious-among. screen
folk for the tremendous costliness or
its production. Is also set apart by
the fact that Won Stroheim.s actiNi-
ties in il we're threefold. He wrote
the scenario. he directed II and he
took the leading part. His subsc-
auent work shows the same correla-
ton.
The first time I ever saw this pic
turesque figure away from the stuuio
object of concentra>ed attention on
the part of the other diners Men
gIarcd at him. women whispered 10
each hother-whispered as IL an ogre
had suddenly walked in upon INC
feast. There's Won Stroheim-lonk
M him. OH. isn't he too horrid!'
7 understood then why had SO oftcn
heard him called "the most hated
man on the screen.
CONTINUED in Tomorrows starr