Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-01

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stars love best is sympathy"
Whenever a star Is assigned
~ new role, his or her first con-
Germ is whether or not the
character gets ympathy--meantng, OF
course, from the audience. Thus the
story of every photoplay must be so
constructed that the hero and heroine
are at all times deserving Of the spec
tator's sympathetic approval. The hero
may be represented, at first, as a cow
ard, weakling; but the representation
must be made in such manner that the
audience never really believes in this
cowardice; the audience must be sure
at all times that he will eventually
turn and sock the villain and win the
Congress ional Medal of Honor.
Many a good idea has been discarded
in the movies because some vainglor1ous
star has decided that his character ap-
peared, on paper. to be insufhciently
sympathetic.
Sometimes stars have made serious
mistakes in this respect. I know OF
one handsome fellow who was cast as
Canadian Northwest mounted policeman
in one of those rugged melodramas of
the great outdoors. The role appeared
to be as f1ashily heroic as one could
wish, for this hero waged and won
single handed ferocious combat with
large group of villains and thereby
saved the heroine'S honor and gained
her love.
However, 1t so happened that the VIII
lains in this melodrama were rum run
ners, engaged in the work of smuggling
LIQUOR over the Canadian border into
the arid United States. 1t was the
hero's duty, as a royal policeman. to
defeat their base schemes.
When the picture was shown in GER
tain large cites, notably New York, Bos-
ton and Chicago, it turned out that the
audiences sympathy was all with the
villains The crowds wanted to see
that liquor delivered. Whenever the
rum runners gained an advantage most
of the spectators cheered. When the
handsome star frustrated them he was
greeted with cat-calls and groars from
the fans.
The same thing happened. in curl
Gus way. in that fine picture, THE
Sky Hawk" When the hero, British
combat the Zeppelin that was bombing
London the audience was supposed to
be with him heart and soul, and to ap-
plaud him when he destroyed his for
midable adversary. The audience
couldn't applaud, for the reason that
IL years had passed since the war and
former animosities had died, and every
one knew that the Germans of the
Zeppelin's crew were no less human
beings than was the young British hero.
ONE of the most surprisingly unsym-
~ pathetic parts ever played by a
film star is Nancy Carrol's in 1.-THE
Devils Holiday" The star appears as
an utterly hard-boiled and unscrupu-
lous manicurist who is bribed to go after
fpTy HTIVa 0tNly IN
and lure him into a rather complicated
business deal. She does so, for that
sort of work is part of her Job as
professional trimmer.
So successful are her nefarious opera
tions that the guileless youth falls in
love with her, marries her and takes
her home to meet his rich and straight
laced family. When the father sees her
and estimates her, he asks how much
she will take to abandon his betrayed
son, She replies that her remuneration
will cost the old man exactly $4,000.
Whereupon the father hands her a
check for that sum and she accepts it
and cashes it and proceeds to spend
1t on luXurieS.
Almost any female star you can think
of would have refused to play this
part, unless the story were materially
revised and softened. In the scene
WIN the BOY 1aCfer, I0r instance, the
star would have insisted that she must
be permitted to tear up the check and
hurl its fragments into the old Puritans
face. That is one of the sacred laws
of moral conduct on the screen.
Nancy Carroll, however, does all the
seemingly disagreeable deeds that are
required of her, and because she rem
ders a performance of unassailable
honesty. intelligence and strength she
gains and holds the audiences I'M
qualified sympathy.
This is tremendous triumph for Miss
Carroll-one of those rare triumphs on
the screen that are richly deserved.
y
1.-THE DEVILS HOLIDAY" is also a
= considerable triumph for Edmund
Goulding and for the theory that the
director is the supreme factor In the
telling of story on the screen.
Mr.. Goulding conceived this story by
himself. He didn't adapt 1t from a
Broadway play or novel He imagined
it in terms of moving pictures, rather