Violet Hopson’s Many Expressions (1919) 🇬🇧

Violet Hopson — the “Dear Delightful Villainess” of the screen

Miss Violet Hopson is not only one of the cleverest of present-day film players, she is also a very enterprising young lady. This popular artiste has appeared in all the Broadwest plays for the last three years, and now she is the head of her own company, and has already commenced the first picture that will be put out under her own name.

Violet first attained fame through her successful portrayal of “villainess” parts. Somehow or other the unkind producer always managed to cast her in such a role, and it is greatly to her credit that she succeeded in making herself popular, in spite of the unsympathetic parts she was obliged to play. A villainess is certainly one of the hardest types to depict on the screen, for unless an actress succeeds in making the part unpopular she has not accomplished her work.

The old-time villain of melodrama was never so happy as when the people in the gallery began to hiss and jeer at him. He knew then that his acting was “getting over.”

Violet had that clever knack of making you like herself and dislike her art at the same time. She is still regarded by millions of picture-goers as the dear delightful villainess.”

Her Many Successes

Miss Hopson, however, has not always been the bad girl of the story. In The White Hope [Transcriber’s Note: This refers to the 1915 version of the movie. Violet Hopson also starred in The White Hope (1922), in the same role] she was a noble young lady, and in The Man Who Stayed at Home portrayed a British Secret Service agent.

Other popular films in which Miss Hopson has appeared are The Ware Case, A Munition Girl's Romance, A Gamble for Love, A Fortune at Stake, A Turf Conspiracy, A Soul’s Crucifixion, and The Woman Wins.

From the above list it will be noted that Miss Hopson shows a partiality for horse-racing stories, and, indeed, the first picture under her own management will be a tale of the Turf.

“I have made a special study of what the public wants and likes,” she says, “and I consider that everyone who makes pictures should study the public. Our national sport is undoubtedly horse-racing. The fascination of the Turf is inborn in us, and in this picture I shall endeavour to bring the ‘sport of kings’ nearer to those who are unable to travel to racecourses.”

Her Rise to Fame

Little more than five years ago Violet Hopson played a super’s part, so her rise to fame has been fairly rapid. In addition to her natural talents, and strong, pleasing personality, hard work has contributed to the success she has attained.

The close study of the character she is playing and her wonderful facial expression have made all her screen work convincingly real. Violet Hopson is dark, and possesses glorious black eyes, which photograph beautifully, and this greatly assists her expression.

Her Recipe for Success

When asked recently what she considered the most important assets to a cinema player, Miss Hopson replied that “to make a success on the screen you must study every point about the woman whose character you are going to portray — her mentality, her peculiarities, and her likes and dislikes. You must forget yourself entirely. The life of a screen character is widely different from your own, and therefore, if you let your own personality obtrude, your characterisation is ruined.”

In her latest picture, The Woman Wins, Miss Hopson plays the part of Brenda, the supposed daughter of Justin Marsh.

The cast is a popular one, and includes Henry S. Creagh, Trevor Bland, J. Hastings Batson, C. W. Dewhurst [Transcriber’s Note: IMDB only lists his brother George Dewhurst as actor], Vera Cornish, Cameron Carr, and Arthur Walcott. Many beautiful examples of British scenery appear throughout the production.

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Photo captions:

• Her charming profile.
• My lady disdain.
• Repose.
• When thinking.
• Doubt.

Collection: Picture Show Magazine, June 1919