A NEW ZEALAND GIRL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3972, 18 July 1929, Page 4

A NEW ZEALAND GIRL.

♦ RETURN'S PROM HOLLYWOOD

TRIALS IN THE “TALKIES.” .Sneeze, and the record is ruined. Such are the 'trials of a talkie actress, says Miss Vera James, a New Zealand girl, who, speaks as one who knows. She had -been in Hollywood foil - eight years, (making good in the Altai and - theatrical world. Up till three days before leaving Hollywood for Sydney she wa» playing a character part in Warner Biros.’ all-eoloured talking film, “On With the Show,” America’s first, she thinjkis. “Talking takes up 'much more time than a silent picture,” she said. “The parts have to be repeated over and over again. As many as five or six records are taken before the voices are considered perfect. It is a terrible strain foJ 'the actor. , The least little noise or verbal slip and the record is spoilt. A sneeze or a cough is fatal. Even the sound of' passing trams and aeroplanes tends to make the result less .perfect. That is why we did so much of the work at night.”

“Poll - five and a-half weeks I was on duty from 12 noon till about 5 a.m. The icirculmstances were exceptional, as Warner Brothers were trying to release an all-colour talkie •before any of their rivals. “Lights, too, are a imjueih more tedious process in a colour picture. Two, and moire, powerful ones are focussed on the actors. They were so strong that I used to arrive home burning all over. The only way that I could get to sleep was to tumble into a' cold bath and stay there till I shivered I “frequently the bride’s orange blossom, melted with the heat of the lights. The part was played iby Betty 'Compson—one of the best ‘troupers’ in the .company. In spite of everything—and she was ill for part of the time —we never heard a word of complaint.” This aettress thidles the “talkies” have come to stay. “At Laskys studio,” she said, “they’re not making anything else. There are hundreds of dollars’ worth of silent picture stories put away on the shelves.” . Miss' James is .married to a Sydney man, (Mr. A. H. Munro. Her chief reason for coming back to Australia is' to see her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Jalmies, of Dunedin. They intend joining her shortly in Sydney, where she expects to stay till the end of the year. Miss Jamies got her first mono experience in iSydney about 10 years ago, when she played the lead in “Girl of the Bush” and “Know Thy .Child” —two pictures made by Mr. Franklin Barett. She was also on the stage in Sydney with Lee White and Clay Smith. In Bollywood she appeared in character •parts in several films at the Universal, including “The Hunchback of Notre Dame;” but, possessing a good singing - voice, she found the musical comedy stage more to her liking. Miss James appeared with conspicuous success in “The Desert Song” and otheir 'musical shows in Los Angeles, ibut, with the advent of the “talkies,” her singing and English-sounding voice were in demand at the picture studios, where she remained until her departure with her husband for Australia. 'Since returning to .Sydney, Miss Janies has received offers to appear in attractive parts in, “The Desert 'Song” and “Whoopee,” two ■ciutrent musical shows, hut, as she is in Australia for a rest, she declined .both 'offers.