A Film Chat with Mary Rorke (1921) 🇬🇧
A criticism of the close-up so beloved by some producers.
A few days before I wrote this article I road some press opinions of the George Clark production, “Testimony,” a film version of the novel by the late Claude [Claude Askew] and Alice Askew. Apart from the very favourable reception accorded the film, what impressed me most about these criticisms was the manner in which one performance in particular came in for universal commendation — that of Miss Mary Rorke. One paper characterised Miss Rorke’s portrayal as a performance unequalled on the British screen.” Another remarked: “Mary Rorke is simply great as the mother — to my mind, the best performance in the play.” Others referred to her “tremendous power of facial expression,” and her “very finished and natural portrayal.” And so on.
The upshot of all this was that I went in search of Miss Rorke.
A Gracious Figure
I found her in her dressing-room at the Royalty Theatre, a gracious and dignified figure in black silk and old lace, a mantilla crowning her silver hair and forming a fitting background to a face both beautiful and wise, whose only lines were those of kindliness, and from whose eyes both love and gentle humour peeped out.
Miss Rorke gave me a welcome which made me feel at home immediately, and then, sitting very upright in her chair, her hands folded simply before her, she began to talk about her film work, although, she explained apologetically, she really hadn’t done very much.
She has, however, done considerably more than a number of legitimate players, and here, just to jog your memories, are a few of the pictures in which she has appeared:
Caste, with Sir John Hare; “The Second Mrs. Tanqueray,” with the late Sir George Alexander. Two or three Hepworth films [Cecil M. Hepworth], prominent among which were “Comin’ Thro’ the Rye,” the picture Queen Alexandra loved, and “Merely Mrs. Stubbs,” in which Miss Rorke gave her famous portrayal of the blind mother. Several Samuelson [G. B. Samuelson] films, including Tinker, Tailor [Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor (1918)],” “The Bridal Chair,” and “The Right Element.” And now the Clark production, Testimony.
The Genius of the Producer
I ventured to congratulate Miss Rorke upon her latest, and perhaps, greatest success. She smiled. Then with a little wave of her hand, as if dismissing her contribution to the film, she said:
“So much depends on the producer — the right producer — and I was greatly helped in this case by Mr. Guy Newall. Certainly the manner in which he has produced the whole film is extremely clover. He is indefatigable in his efforts to get just the right effects, and on more than one occasion I have seen the perspiration pouring oft his face as he put the whole force of his energy and personality into the rehearsal of some difficult bit of ‘business.’”
A Terrific Strain
Miss Rorke went on to say what a terrific strain her performance had imposed upon her.
“There is something really terrible about film acting in this respect,” she remarked. “For the screen, mental process must be registered in the face far more acutely than on the stage, and the strain of conjuring up in one’s mind some very moving — even terrible — vision, and then expressing the emotion it evokes in one’s face, is so severe that I cannot adequately describe it.
“Perhaps,” went on Miss Rorke in lighter tones, “that is why I have a preference for comedy roles, such as I have had in several films — the strain is not nearly so great as- in dramatic work. And then comedy always seems to me so admirably suited to the screen, for even the slightest, most delicate touch, registers perfectly.”
Criticism of the Close-Up
The close-up, so beloved of some producers, has a critic to be reckoned with in Miss Rorke, whose chief grudge against it, is that it so often imparts an air of unreality to an otherwise convincing performance.
“Whenever a close-up exaggerates people or things out of all proportion to life, nature at once ceases to be, and one is immediately taken into a world of unreality. The whole thing becomes a mere trick. I think it is a great pity.”
The actress also regrets that so many producers neglect to run off, for the benefit of their artistes, portions of the film still in course of production, a practice that would enable the players to rectify any little errors while re-takes were still possible.
“I worked with one producer — Mr. Paul [Fred Paul], who directed The Second Mrs. Tanqueray — who had this admirable habit, and found it a tremendous help.” said Miss Rorke. “I remember one thing it taught me — to use yellow powder instead of the grease-paint I had employed earlier in the picture.”
The Atmosphere of the Studio
Miss Rorke has high praise for the atmosphere of the film studio, which she characterises as both “kindly and nice,” and altogether more Bohemian than that of the theatre. At least, the theatre of to-day. “It reminds me of what the theatre was like in my young days,” she remarked with a smile.
She does consider, however, that the hours of the film artiste, and the conditions under which he works, might with advantage be improved. In conclusion, she made a significant remark: “The cinema is a serious rival to the theatre.”
May Herschel Clarke
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Collection: Picture Show Magazine, January 1921