TALKIES News, Views and Forthcoming Events

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 152, 26 April 1940, Page 7

TALKIES News, Views and Forthcoming Events

CONNOLLY ONCE HAD AN UNHAPPY OPINION OF SELF AS ACTOR Th;e man who once thought he "wasn't fitted for films is to-daj! "among the most-sought-after aotors in Hollywood. Years ago, when he was one of I Broadway's reigning favourites, Walter Connolly appeared in a silent film. When he saw himself on the • screen, he threw up his hands in a gesture of hopeless despair and rer turned frS the stage. For 17 years unfortunate experience, Connolly steadfastly refused all offers—and they -vyere many and fluttering—from motion picture produc--erS( He finally succumbed to the lure of Holtywood "when offered a role in Frank Capra's production, ""The Bitter Tea of General Yen.'* To-day, enough roles are written Connolly in mind to keep him 'busy for the rest of his life. He is :ln demand, not only for* pictures at the studio which finally "persuaded him to forsake Broadway, but also for other film companies in the cinema city.

FENCERS "Two hundred and thirty-iseven "'Hollywood extras, registered as fenwcers, were tested before the Edward . Small Studios, making "The Man in ; the Iron Mask" with Joan Bennett ;~and Louis Hayward in the starring roles, could get fifty who could '.qualify for the fast duelling scenes. Hayward, Warren William, Joseph ;Schildkraut, Alan Hale and Miles Mander give a spectacular performance in an exciting fencing saene -during the course of the film.

FORMER ROYALTY IN EXTRA RANKS An eleven dollar a day extra watched with more than usual interest the royal marriage ceremony being filmed as the climax to the thrilling story of "The Man in the Iron Mask." He kept his eyes constantly on Joan Bennett, playing the role of Maria Theresa, iinfanta of Spain, and on Louis Hayward. appearing as King Louis XIV of France For at one time, in years gone by, this particular extra was the central figure of many royal affairs ir. Vienna. He is Count Rudolph Stephanelli von Prenterhof und Hohenmauer, whose famous tree goes back 700 years and who once was captain of Arcieran Lcligarde, the personal bodyguard of the late Emperor

Franz Josef. He is related to the late Czar of Russia, former Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and King George VI of England. A couple of years ago; when conditions abroad made it almost impossible for a nobleman to earn a living, Count. Stephanelli, as he is called in Hollywood, came to America and finally found a place in the ;motion picture business. A man of stately bearing, he is in constant demand for just such scenes as that made for "The Man in the Iron Mask." He wears a full gray beard and on occasion, uses a monocle. Despite the reverses through which he has gone, Count Stephanelli spends little time worrying abont the past.