JOAN BENNETT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 21 March 1941, Page 9

JOAN BENNETT

STORY OF SUCCESS. Joan Bennett is back on the screen and is co-starred with Louis Hayward in “The Son of Monte Cristo." In this new role she plays the pari of the grand duchess of a mythical European kingdom. One would never guess that the Joan Bennett of today, at the peak of her career and still looking like a girl in her teens, has had to surmount many obstacles to win international success. Fighting her own way to the top and keeping her troubles to herself, she has found success a hard taskmaster.

When Joan Bennett made her professional stage debut in “Jarnegan,” she proved herself another real Bennett in acting ability. Her personal charm and flawless diction received critical acclaim and numerous stage offers, but it was the screen, which had suddenly found its voice, that claimed her. Returning to Hollywood, she played the feminine lead opposite Ronald Colman in “Bulldog Drummond,” one of the first big successes of talking pictures, . and won international fame overnight. Since then, she has climbed steadily to the stardom she now enjoys. Her versatility is attested by the wide variety of roles she has played. Equally convincing in gay, girlish characterisations and emotional and dramatic roles, Miss Bennett prefers the latter. In 1937 Miss Bennett took a vacation from Hollywood and made a triumphant return to the footlights in the play hit, “Stage Door.” After being acclaimed in the leading cities of the country, she was urged to accept another starring vehicle on Broadway, but screen commitments called her back to Hollywood.