UNLIKE a famous Swed
ish star l don t want
to be alone, out 1 do want to go awa\
and transportation and snarling Euro'
pean nations willing I m going as fat
away trom Hollywood as 1 can get
l m tired physically and mentally ann
oemg tirea 1 want to rest
Not oeing the sort of person who can
rest oy lolling on a shiny Hieach oi by
soaking myself in the medicated waters
of some celebrated spa perhaps my
idea of a noliday won't iibe with that
of most people
Resting to me means a radical chang*
ot scene traveling to the fai places
of the earth seeing different people
talking different languages, filling my
eyes with new sights and my head with
new ideas
As a mattei of fact, my contempiatea
rest will not classify under the head of
a vacation at all It may become a
permanent absence from pictures and
from the stage—l don't knbw
LL I'm certain of is
that for the time being Mrs Mum and
1 are going to shelve all responsibilities,
see new people make new friends for
get everything we've been doing for
more years than we can remember off
hand
I'm going to take my long-neglecteo
fiddle with me and in peace and quiet
perhaps resume the serious study ol
music which constantly increasing de
mands upon my time before the cameras
has interrupted
This isn t going to oe a vacation ot
any definite duration; it may last two
months, it may last two years Perhaps
it wilt never end 1 honestly don’t know
When I complete my current Warner
Bros production ‘The Life of Emile
Zola " I’ll be just one step away from
the goal Mrs Muni and I have had in
our minds for some time I’ll have con
tractual obligations for just one more
picture which probably will start in
September and when that is finished
my future will be entirely my own
Anyone who ever has had a vacation
knows the acute pangs that come when
you begin to count the days until you
have to be back on the job It usually
spoils the last half of your holiday
just thinking about it
13 EING what mighi
be called a spasmodic worker—making
only a certain number of pictures a year
—my vacations have been a lot longer-'
than most working people get. but re
gardless of how long a time I've had oft
I've always returned disgruntled and
dissatisfied because so m •
definite ODligation forced me
to be in New York or Holly
wood on a certain day
That's why, at long last
to crib a phrase—l’m refus
ing to listen to any tain
about new contracts. I want
to be free to go away and
stay until I’m sick of it or,
if I like it better, to stay
away permanently.
I'm not going away be
cause I'm sore at Hollywood,
at working conditions or for
any other reason than that
I'm tired of working and
being tied down.
Hollywood has treated me
well; I’d be an ingrate to say
otherwise. It has given me
everything that any reason
able person can possibly
want. Perhaps it’s given me
too much. I don't know.
Maybe if I hadn’t succeeded
so quickly and had had to
fight longer for recognition
and security, the old zest for
achievement would keep
driving me on.
I don’t mean to convey the
impression that I’ve had an
easy time of it, for I haven't
When I first came to Holly
wood in 1929, I made “The
Valiant, which 1 liked very
much, although it wasn’t a
box office success.
Then 1 made a little thing
called “Seven Faces,’’ which
undoubtedly was the worst
thing I ever did. In fact,
when I got a good look at it
in the projection room, I
tucked my tail between my
legs, tore up my contract
and bade goodby forever to
81mi v I thought then I'o
never~make another picture,
and that I’d confine all my
future activity to the stage
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9
Pqul Muni’s versatility is shown in this character portrait
i4s the humanitarian in Warner Bros.’ “Lite of Emile Zola
But after nearly
three years "Scarface" was
waved in my face and l
thought I'd take one more
whirl at the movies to see
if I really was so bad or if
the stories 1 had done had
something to do with my in
conspicuous success. “Scar
face” was a powerful story,
one that had great possibil
ities. something 1 could
really get my teeth into. Its
success was extremely grati
fying and quite surprising
to me.
It convinced me tnat 1
must have strong stories,
and when Warner Bros,
showed me 1 Am a Fugitive
from a Chain Gang," I was
easily tured into agreeing to
do it. With my agreement
went a promise to a certain
number of other pictures,
provided 1 approved the
story material. This is the
agreement that is just com
ing to an end, and one that
has left me very tired
To people who are familiar
with the theatrica. profes
sion only from the audience,
viewpoint, it may sound silly
to say that we actors work
hard. Maybe some don't
Some people are naturally
facile and they accomplish
miracles without apparent
effort. I envy them, because
I’ve always had to plug
Long ago David Warfield
told me that the only way an
actor can really get into a
part is to practice a kind *f
self-hypnosis lam inclined
to agree with him Before
i start a picture and after
1 finish it 1 am naturally anxious that
it be a success with the public, that the
audiences like it and like me in it But
while the picture is in the making,
while I am playing the part I have no
time and no energy to think or worry
about such things I am too OU3y
thinking and worrying about the char
acter l am playing
The result is that » use up an enor
mous supply of nervous energy during
the weeks a picture is in production I
come out of it tired and cross and vow
ing 1 will never undertake such hard
work again
l N the last year and
& half I've made four pictures count
ing "Zola" which is just about finished.
Every one of them has been hard work,
requiring terrific concentration and
grinding application
First there was The Story of l,ouis
Pasteur " which took nearly every ounce
of energy 1 possessed to portray in the
manner I thought it deserved With but
a brief breathing spell 1 went into The
Good Earth" which in addition to being
a difficult role, had the added strain of
being a world-wide best seller
You can’t deal lightly with a master
piece that millions of people have read
and acclaimed, and while that very fact
acted as a spur t- greater efforts it
also built up a responsibility complex
that gave us many sleepless nights
With scarcely a pause. I next did
The Woman I Love." and from that
went into "The Life of Emile Zola.” one
of the most difficult roles I’ve ever
tackled. Zola was a great humanitarian
as well as one ot Frances most re
nowned novelists, and a character so
complex that my preparatory studies
nad to be very complete to make him
understandable
P ERHAPS it is the
succession of hard roles that has dim
med a bit the zest of creating on the
screen, perhaps the criticism of Zola
once voiced by the famous artist. Paul
Cezanne, fits me. He said: "Success
and soft living are not good for an
artist; otherwise he becomes fat and
stodgy and complacent." ,
At any rate. I'm going away and
probably after a short time my Utopia
will turn a bit sour and I’ll be perfectly
miserable and come dusting back to
Hollywood.
You know they say no actor ever
voluntarily quits, but when and if I
do come back, it will be with the satis
faction of having, for once in my life,
been absolutely free.