Playing good girls in the '30s was difficult, when the fad was to play bad girls. Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore; I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress.
Olivia De HavillandRead
What bothered me was playing one-dimensional parts in films which were really about, 'Boy Meets Girl,' 'Will Boy Get Girl?'
Interpretation
The quote expresses frustration with superficial roles in films that focus solely on simple romantic plots.
Olivia De Havilland's quote highlights her dissatisfaction with the limited and often simplistic roles available to actors in the film industry, particularly those that revolve around conventional, clichéd narratives like 'Boy Meets Girl.' She critiques the tendency of filmmakers to rely on one-dimensional character arcs that sacrifice depth and complexity for the sake of portraying predictable romantic storylines.
In practice
During a film panel discussion about character development, this quote can highlight the importance of depth in storytelling.
Playing good girls in the '30s was difficult, when the fad was to play bad girls. Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore; I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress.
The way a character looks reflects what's on the inside. I can make myself look really bad, and I can make myself look kind of gorgeous. It's not about me; it's about the character.
It's a slight stretch of the imagination but most people are alike in most ways so I've never had any trouble identifying with the character that I'm playing.
When you have a large space to conquer, the curve is the natural solution.
The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas.
A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.
What are our conductors giving us year after year? Only fresh corpses. Over these beautifully embalmed sonatas, toccatas, symphonies and operas the public dance the jitterbug. Night and day without let the radio drowns us in a hog-wash of the most nauseating, sentimental ditties. From the churches comes the melancholy dirge of the dead Christ, a music which is no more sacred than a rotten turnip.
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