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The Seaforth News, 1962-04-12, Page 6Child Actors As Scene Stealers Patty Duke, age 14, happens to be, the only member of the east have star billing in "Isle of Childeen,' recently opened on Broadway. It is ail accomplishtiient which ettould)aave brought W, c Fields ho end of anguish, There is a legend that when Fields was asked how he liked child actors he growled: "Par- boiled." ' Fields — never a patient man — was forced, on one occasion to offer his round, eminently dis- illusioned face as target for Baby LeRoy, sharp . shooting with spoonsful of oatmeal for• the pleasure of the camera, and doubtless himself, The irascible .old rascal had his provocation. Still — allowing for exaggera- tion -- his answer may not have been wholly unrepresentative of those adults in the craft who have to compete with child ac- tors, There is no scene stealer like them. Even trained dogs and mugging chimpanzees are help- less in their company. From the first child in the first medieval morality play down to Caroline Kennedy, they need merely walk onstage in high heels and the audience's attention is in- stantly and completely bemused. The adult actor can only sulk in a corner, as Fields used to, and mutter vague, injured com- plaints against an outrageous injustice. Meanwhile, the child actor Prospers as he has not since fuzz-cheeked boys held the mon- opoly on women's roles in the Elizabethan theater, and those. who feel that the United States is a child -dominated society find documentation in cast listings, An ambitious mother would hardly know where to begin. This Broadway season her pride and joy could have led a goat onstage in "Milk and Honey," played a cruise ship's Dennis the Menace in "Sail Away," or strummed a guitar in "A Gift of Time." And then there is always -"'The Sound of Music:" The adult actor's personal grievance, it should be acknowl- edged at this point, is not en- tirely without a broader basis. When a child actor steals a scene, he momentarily steals the play along with it, He steps out of the dramatic frame, as it were, to present himself: a dimpled actuality, in rivalry not only with adult actors but with the basic illusion of theater itself. Few playwrights or directors, once they have admitted aschild into their world, can resist the obvious sorts of exploitation. It is so simple,so deliciously illegal a way to hold an audience. Just one or two rituals of cuteness and the most mediocre play- wright can have a popular scene — and the best playwright can ruin the tone of a whole play. The pay-off is tempting, the risk is perilous, writes Melvin Mad - docks in the Christian Science Monitor. In television family comedies the cute child is still the norm. On )n Broadway and in :certain films — like, for instance, "The nnocents," the recent film ver- sion of "The Turn of the Screw" — the treatment can be differ- ent, The difference may be mea- sured by the distance between Shirley Temple in ""Itebeeoa of Sunnybrook Fartn" and Patty Duke in "The Bad Seed." In the image of Mlss Temple, we had confected for us the child as sugared innocence. In the image of Miss Duke the cliche was upended into a melodramatic paradox: we were given the innocent face, the ma- licious heart. The transition has been, all too typically, from one excess to another. And both these excesses interestingly illustrate the gene. erai imbalance that exists in the portrayal of human nature by today's dramatists. Do they not too regularly veer — with adult characters as well as children — from willfully wide-eyed extremes of sentimen- tality to equally naive extremes of depravity? And, as usual, do not these distortions in the theater simply reflect the- confusion of the society in which the theater lives? Japan Squawks About U.S. Television On Japan's six -channel televi- sion sets, the shows that pull the biggest audiences are often West- ern, if not Westerns, Such Amer- ican staples as "Dennis the Men- ace" and "I Love Lucy" are as popular with Japanese viewers as they have been with Ameri- cans, and an American TV actor without honor in his own country may be mobbed by screaming fans if he visits Japan, as the stars of "Rawhide" did this year. The enthusiasm of the masses, however, is not always shared by their self-appointed spokesmen. Last week, Tokyo's official Com- munist newspaper launched a heated attack on the U.S.'s "ever - tightening cultural offensive by radio and TV," M a single week, reported movie critic Yumi Yagawa, writ- ing in Akahata (Red Flag), he had counted 94 made-in-U.S.A. items on Tokyo stations, taking up as much as twelve and a half hours in a single day. "At any time of the day," Yagawa wrote ominously, "there is at least one channel from which these propa- ganda beasts are waiting—sharp- ening their claws — to pounce upon us .. " The programs Yagawa feared have sometimes been criticized by Western .watchdogs, too—but for radically different reasons. Among Yagawa's bates noires: Crime shows like "The Un touehables." "Although on the surface taking the form of prais- ing the efficiency and capability of American police authorities, (they) are actually aimed at promoting anti -Communism and anti-Soviet thinking." Situation comedies ("homu do- rms") like "Father Knows Best." "Based on domestic daily happenings in urban and agri- cultural petty bourgeoisie . (they) aim at propagandizing the American way of life ..." Westerns like "Rawhide." "Al- though they are made to show, on the surface, sympathy toward Indians, (they) actually are de- signed to exalt white supremacy." The danger to Japan, Yagawa warned, is subtle and pervasive. "Our land is now completely enveloped," he •wrote, American shows "slyly slip into our homes —in the guise of amusement or artistic expression and insidi- ously, inch by inch, inject Amer- ica's imperialist policies into our ochanoma ,(tea -drinking rooms) . BRUSH -UP — Ready for an orbit around mirth papier macho version of cosmonaut Yuri Gagorin gets a,rush-up by a Vioreggio, Italy, artist. Figure is part of one of the carnival Touts, which lampoon current world events, MOTHERLY LOVE — Blondie, o two-year-old dachshund couldn't resist "having kittens," She adopted them after their mother was run over by a car. �;ri,w►tA.a • RONWEE 5 1114.91140,21 Well, here I am, still holding down a hospital bed—and think- ing myself lucky to be in it The doctors got busy on me last week — that is doing a job of plastic surgery on my face. To avoid complications after- wards it was done under local anaesthesia so I knew exactly what was going on although I didn't feel a thing. I told the doctors it was up to them to. make Tennyson's words come true — "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" — although I have not yet reached the stage of be- ing a thing of beauty and prob- ably never will. But there's al- ways hope! Apart from a little discomfort; I am more or less enjoying my stay in hospital — "Dr. Kildare" and "Ben Casey" are not in it when it comes down to the real thing, and Partner tells the that neither of those so-called medical dramas has been ery good lately. They seem to be getting away from orthodox situations and creating others for the sake of making a good story, which is a pity as they were both good programs before the producers began trying too hard for effect. But let's get back to the real thing. I am allowed to wander around this floor at will so of course I go visiting in other rooms. Such interesting patients as there are. The body functions in a peculiar way. One part of a person can be really sick and the rest healthy and active. So I find a diabetic patient sitting up in bed, or in a chair, working away at account books for the business with which she is connected. in another room a poor soul with a skin allergy makes use of her time — when she is able.— by creating floral arrangements for table centre -pieces. With artifi- cial flowers, of course. So far'I haven't ventured into any of the men's rooms. One patient did just that and she ended up with a "special" atnights whose job it was to keep her in bed. Incidentally, in case you think I am one of the lazy patients, perhaps I should tell you I am knitting baby bootees and send- , ing them down to the Gift Shop. I find knitting much easier than reading. Interruptions make it impossible to lose oneself in a book. Even writing this column has its problems. Since I started, one nurse carne along to change my surgical dressing, another to take my blood pressure and noW a ward maid is mopping the floors. And of course doctoes are liable to come popping in any time, .especially ae I have one G. P. and two specialists. So that's the way It goes. Life in hospital boring to its patients — not on your lite, To an ambulatory pa- tient it is interesting, On the ether hand, all a seriously ill pa- tient asks for is to be taken care of and that is done In all cases. Doctors, nurses and staff mem- bers are kindness personified, J. have sometimes been guilty of criticizing doctors — after being kept waiting, overly long in a doctor's office -- but with this ISSUE 13-- 1963 opportunity of seeing the hours doctors put in and the wonder- ful work they do, I feel I shall never criticize again, There is no doubt a good doctor has to be a dedicated man to stand the pace. Incidentally, I wish you could see the chest of drawers in my room—it looks more like a flor- ist's shop. Besides bouquets from family and friends, two of the members from the W. I. branch to which I belonged before we left the farm came in last night with a lovely chrysanthemum plant. Possibly being remember- ed by old friends is what one ap- preciates most. Well, I think I'll draw this to a close. Maybe next week I'll be writing from home. Whether that will be easier or harder for Part- ner is a question! In any case, I'm not making it an issue. How long I stay is a matter for the doctors to decide. One thing I know — it would be quieter. Modern Etiquette By Anne Ashley Q. Some of my friends have told me 'that it is improper for a person, even w h en dining alone in a public place, to read at the table. True? A. Not true. There is nothing at aIi wrong with a person, who is dining alone, reading at the table. Q. A close girl friend of mine recently eloped. Would it be proper, under these circum- stances, for me to give a shower for her, even though she is al- ready married? A. This would be a very nice gesture on your part, especially since she probably will not re- ceive very many wedding pre- sents. •,i0%etd For Debt In Old Ifraskinall When 7 -month-old Carol Day died of pneuretenia in a hospital in Bath, her fatbel; was not al- lowed to attend her funeral. He was serving fourteen days in jail for failing to meet a $47.50 in- stallment -plan payment. "The ridiculous thing," protest- ed 28 -year-old David Colin Day as he regained his freedom and told the story last month, "is that, had T committed a crime and been a convicted prisoner, permission would have been granted." Debtors' prisons have a long and inglorious history in Britain. Hogarth depicted their squalor in `Rake's Progress," and Dick- ens railed against them in "Little Dorrit." Parliament finally de- creed in 1859 that no Englishman could be imprisoned for debt, Yet the growth of prosperity has brought the "hire-purchase" (in- stallment plan) and a British consumer debt of $2.6 billion, Creditors today can take a debtor to court and have him imprison- ed, not for debts but for con- tempt of court. In 1951, 499 peo- ple were jailed by this proce- dure: ten years ,later the number had soared to 5,057. Usually, the debtors have some. excuse, but not enough to save them, Engineer Arthur Amge, who rented a car while his own was being repaired, didn't pay the bill because he believed it was the responsibility of his in- surance company. By the time'he emerged from Brixton Prison, he had lost his job. • Irene Simnor kept ordering appliances and selling thein to pay the deposit on new ones, She was sentenced to four years for ordering 48 washing machines, twelve refrigerators, twelve spin dryers, and twelve TV sets, To police, she sobbed: "I've forgot- ten the number of things I've had. I just paid the deposits." Hoping to make some sense of what he calls "a jungle" of in- stallment buying, Laborite Wil- liam Thomas Williams has intro- duced a private bill in the House of Commons which would curb high-pressure salesmanship, pro- vide a 48-hour cooling -off period during which 'a purchaser can change his mind, and forbid re- possession when more than one- third has been paid. He has little hope for this session but vows to "go on nagging them until some- things gets done." And he has won considerable support. "This is no way for a civilized society to allow its citizens to be treated," declared the Daily Express. "This dis- grace should have died with Dickens.' He's Been Married 123 Times ! !I A fifty - seven - year-old man who lives in Novi Sad, Yugo- slavia, should go down in history as the holder of a unique world record. For the man, ,Petar Vladisav- lei Nikolic, has been married 123 times! What's more, the white-haired, prune -faced Peter, who looks more like seventy-five, is happy to talk about his romances, and give advice to bachelors on how to win a feminine heart. "Women," Petar maintains, "like to be lilted." And he adds, "Any man who keeps this fact in mind will leave no trouble in winning the heart of a woman." However, despite his being a charter member of the fraternity of professional bridegrooms, Pe - tar can never match the score established by Don Juan in Moz- art's opera, In the opera, Don Giovanni, the lady -chasing nobleman neude 1,003 cofqueits in Spain alone, according to the first aria his servant's statistics ring truce. Unlike Don Giovanni, a noble- man, Peter was born a gypsy. , But, like his operatic counter part, his women have been oi.• all nationalities, although, by and large, from countries behind the Iron Curtain. Besides Yugoslav women he's led a variety of Czechs,. Hungar- ians, Russians and Bulgarians in- to, hismatrimonial stable., The only time he ventured forth into the West was when he chose a German for his bride. ' But the marriage lasted only three days. The reason, as given by Peter: "We were incompat- ible." Yet this same reason has. pre- vailed in all his marriages to date, except in his current. one to a forty -one -year-old Serb peasant woman, Peter's shortest marriage was to a Croatian gypsy, which lasted three hours. "We were incompat- ible," say Petar. His longest marriage, to a Rus- sian girl, lasted for two years before the break-up, It was his first wife,, and he married her when he was only fifteen. Petar divorced her two years. later because — they were in- compatible. There have been only twenty- two children from his many marriages, The oldest one today, a Hungarian, is thirty-eight, And he's a bachelor! Petar can't remember any more which child belongs to which wife but he insists it doesn't really matter, as they know. Although he's been a husband and a father many times over, Peter claim, it hasn't interfered with his basic purpose in life: ' the pursuit of leisure. Peter hasn't done so much as a day's work since he was been. As a gypsy, he shares the fierce point of view of his Romany brethren. Let the women 'do the world BUSY WEEK FOB ROYALTY It was a diverting far-flung week for Britain's royal family. At a film preview of "West Side Story," Queen Elizabeth match- ed her glitter with that of glossy - domed actor Yul Brynner, who spear -headed a delegation of movie stars attending the pre- miere. On a second theatre ex- cursion, the Queen registered amusement at a royally irrever- ent revue. called "Beyond the Fringe." In Bolivia, EIizabeth's touring consort blandly answer- ed personal questions at a press conference. Was the Queen ex- pecting a baby this year? Prince Philip: "No, it is not possible." Why wasn't ace cameraman Lord Snowdon, Philip's brother-in- law, covering the tour? Phtl'ip s"Britain is a democracy. I get what photographer I'M given."' Meanwhile, back in Parliament, a crimson -robed, miniver -collar- ed Snowdon took his seat in the House of Lords.Cost of the Tony outfit: $882. SALLY'S SALLIES 'Td like everybody to look at me; let's see a sane, Hat.' SHAKE HANDS Italian President Giovani Gronchi, left, shakes with U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as she plays a courtesy call on the Italian official in Route.