Actors

Natural & Character

Studies

Jessie MatthewsJessie Matthews

No. 37

Jessie Matthews as Harriet Green in "Evergreen"

In the kind of entertainment in which Jessie Matthews appears, realism is an entirely secondary consideration. They are song and dance shows, in which the story is arranged to show off the star. In First a Girl, where Miss Matthews dressed up as a boy, the effect of her make-up was to accentuate her femininity. Here, the story demands that she should appear as an old lady - but the disguise goes no further than a grey wig. There is not a line or a shadow on her face to suggest age, nor is the bloom on her lips painted out. The effect is to accentuate and underline her youth.