Evening star., 1940-04-15

Miss Van Upp does not mind being
forgotten that way, that she once
was a child star in the movies. a
sort of Shirley Temple of her day.
That was when she was 10 years
old If it did not make one sound
like such an ungallant dog, one
could say something about how
former child stars sort of come to
plumpness in their middle 3Os. We
shall say, instead, that Miss Van
Upp is as pleasant as she is plump,
as gay in her conversation as in her
dialogue on the screen. She also
has laughing eyes and the whitest
teeth you ever saw, thus complet-
ing one of the least definite descrip-
tions in the history of reporting.
From acting, which was an
economic necessity rather than an
artistic urge, Miss Van Upp took
her flaming youth and energy to
script reading at the age of IA. She
knew nothing about it, an ignorance
shared with every one else in the
industry in that period. Thereafter,
she taught screen writing, about
which she was chaotically dumb, in
correspondence school. In the
! meantime, she was learning secre-
tarial work herself. That learned,
she became secretary to Horace
Jackson, one of the most success
full of screen writers, and a man
whose art she so assisted that she
worked herself up to one Of the
most admirable salaries a secretary
ever earned.
Still feeling herself unrealized,
Miss Van Upp began to think-a
thing she can do with such direct
ness that she makes common sense
look downright spectacular.
What wanted" she says, was
a place in the movies in which one
could relax, grow fat and make
lot of money. Writing seemed to
be it, so I decided-once having
taught ito learn writing. So
down I plunged from what was a
good salary to $50 a week, realizing
I had to work like word beginning
with H to get out of that groove
before long or starve to death"
Xxx *
Pursuit Of Happiness" memor-
able accomplishment for a s30-a-
week apprentice in the art of
Shakespeare and De Mile, was Miss
Van Upp's first effort. She was
raised instantly to SIS week. Her
salary since then has become dozens
of times that much and Miss Van
Upp is enormously pleased with the
results of her seven years of relax
ing, growing fat and earning lots
of money.
AS a background for her writing
Miss Van Upp had not knowledge of
English or the art of composition,
but full course in the mechanics
OF movie making. She had acted,
learned something of direction by
taking it, knew camera work, had
held script on several pictures and
even had taken fling at being
casting director. The latter was
another job she had taken on with
out knowing anything about it. She
thinks that with knowledge of the
mechanics of the film one has a
brilliant start toward a screen writ
ing career.
'The rest is ideas and words. to-
gether with the energy to put them
together" she says. II never was
awed by either and never had any
trouble whipping them into a screen
play. Sometimes it involved series
OF 2O-hour days, but I don't mind
that"
Miss Van Upp illustrates her point
that dramatic ideas are lying
around in every corner of life by
citing the genesis of Honeymoon
in Bali" a very bright, sophisti-
Gated thing, remember?
II got that out of my own ex-
perience," she says. TT was NV
notion that woman could get
along very we'll on her own in this
world. Economically and in lots of
other ways I was getting along well
enough. But as one of these girls
who thought a career and inde-
pendence were all of life I was not
being happy. I analyzed what was
the matter with me, found it was
the kind of person I was trying to
be and decided to be another kind
the kind who married and had chill
dren, love, companionship and the
things a career woman does not
have"
The screen play which came out
OF that was originally titled Are
Husbands Necessary" the change
being made to Honeymoon in Bali"
at the request of Madeleine Carroll.
(Ihere's a funny story about that
which we had to swear not to print.
but we'll be glad to tell it privately
If any one remembers TO ask us)
That the world fairly reeks with
dramatic ideas, Miss Van Upp DEM
onstrated without moving out of her
chair. A phone call informed her of
the serious condition of a younger
sister in a local hospital, the radio
brought news Of Europe's mad
travail, and the newspaper head.
lines lying on her desk blared their
tales of horror.
"All this" she said with q sweeping
gesture, when I'm trying to write
comedy"
Miss Van Upp, who never has
written line except for the screen
or memo to the cook, has an am
bition.
Il want to be rich enough to write
a play" is the way she expresses
1t, a very nice way, what? As one
OF Hollywood's highest priced
writer's. she thinks some day she will
be rich enough. When and If she
gets around to it, the play will be
hone of your dreary problem affairs