| HERMIONE GINGOLD | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tape Master: | 9111 | |
| Catalog #: | 170398 | |
| Clip Number: | 170398-6 | |
| Orginal Film: | UN 4553 B | |
| Timecode: | 01:49:42 - 01:52:55 | |
| Location: | London | |
| Year Shot: | 1971 (Actual Year) | |
| Audio: | Yes | |
| Color: | No | |
| Headings: | JOURNALISM: Interview LOCATIONS/EUROPE: UK, England, London OCCUPATIONS: Entertainer, Actor | |
| Description: | Interviewer - What do you think of critics? Do you think they're a valuable addition to plays? Miss Gingold - Well if you want me to…. I could go on for a week. But um… I think they have great power, which is frightening. A critic I think, I think criticism should be constructive. But if they some fortify mission clearly stated, and say what in their opinion would remedy this. But so many of them… not all of them, so many of them, write however it seems, if they want to show off how clever they are. And it has nothing to do with dramatic criticism really at all. They just… I don’t know what their writing. It should be hopeful to the actor when he reads, he should be able to say, perhaps I do too much there or perhaps this. It never happens that way. Some of it is really quite fantastic and especially in America where the critics have so much power. There are two daily papers in America now, only two in a city the size of New York. And one of them, the New York Times, if the notices are bad it will close the show the next night. The reason is because of the price of seats are so enormously high that no one can afford to go if it isn’t going to be a smash hit. Because the seats are very expensive and young people can’t afford to go. And people can’t afford to take a chance they have to read and see. If the critic says it bad, they can’t go and make up their own minds. Which is absolutely terrible, I think. Interviewer - Do bad notices worry you though? Miss Gingold - Oh they do, I could cry my eyes out, I can’t take it. I wouldn’t read notices as a rule because if your going to read the bad ones, I mean the good ones, you must read the bad ones as well. And sometimes I think they are terribly unfair and there’s nothing you can do about it. They may not of even understand what you were trying to do. They absolutely damn you. (Camera goes down and gets a close up of the rings on her fingers and as she speaks, she is holding her diamond tennis bracelets in her right hand, and fingering it as if it were worry beads). Well if we should have to talk about it. You can explain what you were trying to do. Interviewer - So you would rather have the audience came and judge for them before we do any… Miss Gingold - Yes, how can you…. I mean Interviewer - Hm, what about these previews before a first night. Do you agree with this? Miss Gingold - Well I’ve never done any previews Interviewer - There’s a time at the moment they have about two weeks of previews must they perhaps change the play and they get it right the very first night Miss Gingold - Well I think you do that by going on tour. I don’t know, they tell you the preview audiences, aren’t very good. Mostly - I don’t know, I really don’t know about preview audiences. Interviewer - Miss Gingold, Thank you very much…. Miss Gingold - Pleasure (Camera once again gets a close up shot of Miss Gingold fingering her diamond tennis bracelets) | |
WPA FILM LIBRARY
