I'm not a dull girl! By Joan Leslie (as told to Eleanor Harris) Some people in Hollywood say that poor little Joan Leslie is all work and no play; that her family represses her; that she leads a nunlike life. Now, some of this may be true, some if may be false. But the point is, I am thoroughly enjoying all of it. So don't feel sorry for me! In the first place, it's true that I work considerably more than I play. This is by my own choice, not my family's. I enjoy working more than anything else in the world and I have come to the conclusion that that life is not worth living unless it's lived on schedule. To me, organizing my time is the important, basic job of my day. I try to get in three hours of schooling every day (even though my eighteenth birthday meant that I was not required by law to study any further). I also get in one singing lesson and one dancing lesson a day, as well as acting my full eight hours on the set. As a matter of fact, whenever possible, I study dancing for three hours instead of one -- always in the morning, because you have the most energy then. You see, I have a goal. I'm determined to be a really fine actress. I hope to do comedy as well as drama and to be able to dance and sing to perfection...and also, just as much as these things, I want to round out my own individual personality. I want poise and assurance -- and I am sure that studying will help me acquire those qualities. As for my playing: I do play, but I play moderately -- and perhaps in a non-Hollywood way. You see, I find that I must have nine hour's sleep a night -- much as I envy those people who don't require so much. I don't feel or look well if I cheat on my rest and I'm certainly not on tiptoe. That's why I try to go out only on week ends and even then I get home around eleven or twelve at night. Other girls say to me, "But how can you get boys to bring you home so early?" Well, I don't find it difficult. The boys I go out with have to get up early themselves. Generally we go to dinner and a show, and that's that. And every Sunday I have friends (most of them nonprofessionals) over for badminton, or else we go to the Lakeside Country Club for lunch and a swim. To some people in Hollywood this doesn't sound like much of a social whirl. It seems tame and juvenile to them compared to the night-club lives that a lot of actresses my age lead. But the awful truth is, I like it! As a matter of fact, it's those date-mad, clothes-mad, party-mad actresses who seem "young" to me. Maybe it's because I've been with grownups all my life that I feel more adult than the Hollywood glamour girls who are seen out with a different man every night. I'm truly not interested in that kind of flash-in-the-pan publicity and I feel sorry for those girls who feel it's necessary for their careers. It seems to me they're just grabbing wildly for excitement, experience and attention. But I'd much rather act my age, which is pretty young, after all, than try to act like what I'm not. Naturally, I know that a lot of those girls feel they're getting experiences that way which will make them better actresses -- and, of course, they have a right to their opinions. But I can't find myself agreeing. For instance, I heard one rising young actress of seventeen say only last week, "I'm going to start drinking cocktails and smoking. I think I need it for my career." Well, more power to her if she thinks so. But just how will it help her career to inhale a cigarette or down a cocktail? It won't, if you ask me. And I don't say this because I disapprove of drinking and smoking -- I don't disapprove of them at all, in moderation. The only reason I personally don't drink or smoke is that so far I haven't had the slightest desire. Another point I'd like to get settled about this "pity poor Joan Leslie" legend that seems to be floating around Hollywood is the persistent rumor that my family holds me under its iron thumb. Like the time word got around town that my father drove me to a party, waiting threateningly outside until it was over then drove me home -- making me out a fragile little hothouse flower with a stern gardener. Frankly, this story amazed me. It's true that Dad did drive me to the party mentioned (I can't drive, myself) and then waited to drive me home -- but all of this was because I wanted it that way. We were having a party for Mother's birthday and so I only put in a short appearance at the other party and then went back with Dad to our own. Oh, and before another rumor springs up from this incident -- let me say quickly that my not knowing how to drive has nothing to do with with my family. Because they'd like me to learn how to drive. The only reason I don't drive is that I am afraid to learn. I'd probably get so busy planning how to organize my day on my way to work, I'd smash up the car and myself too! Besides, Dad's such a wonderful, humorous person that I love knowing he's always there to talk to on my way to the studio, or the dentist's, or wherever I'm going. I'd miss all the fun of his company if I got a driver's license myself. As for my family guiding me throughout my career, that's not true at all. Mother, who is my ideal of the modern woman, has always insisted that I make my own decisions. We talk everything over together, of course -- what girl and her mother don't? But Mother's first question after I tell her a problem is always the same: "Well, Joan, what do you think about it?" Then, after I tell her, she give me both sides of the problem and I make up my own mind about the correct procedure -- and go ahead with it. After all, how could a family that has been as close as ours for so many years suddenly single out one person to bully? We've been through everything together. From the time I was three years old and first began entertaining on stage with my two older sisters, my family traveled all over the continent jammed into one car with Dad at the wheel. We lived in cramped hotel rooms in most of the United States and in Canada and Mexico. Even the depression brought us closer together, because that meant that my father lost his position as a bank teller in Detroit and was able to go with us on our travels from theater to theater. And now, though I could probably have a regal suite of rooms at home if I wanted it, the truth is that I share a bedroom with my sister Betty, who is a singer. At night we talk from twin bed to twin bed in the dark -- and I wouldn't want anything different. After hearing about my way of living, my critics shake their heads and remark, "Well, she's making a mistake in leading such a simple life. An actress should have millions of experiences and contacts with people in order to understand the different characters she'll have to play. What a shame!" Well, I don't happen to agree with them, that's all. With all due respect to those drama teachers who believe in vital experiences, I think an actor (up to a certain age) can go a long way on his imagination and by studying psychology. That's why I intend to major in psychology in college. Why, just the high-school psychology course I'm taking now has taught me something invaluable -- the basic desires of people. With that knowledge I feel I am gaining a real understanding of the roles I play and of the people around me. And -- most important -- because of that knowledge, I'm learning how to handle difficult situations. For instance, one director who's renowned for being tempermental was directing a picture I was in. At the end of the first scene he began yelling at me at the top of his lungs so that the whole cast and crew were forced to listen. "You have no heart, no feeling," he bellowed. Well, naturally this embarassed me -- and certainly didn't help me at all. So, after he'd repeated his performance three times, I went over to him and said quietly, "Mr. ---, you're not helping me by insulting me publicly like this. You haven't once told me how you'd like the lines read, so I haven't the faintest idea what you're after. And furthermore, you've made me so self-conscious that I can't do my best." After that he was wonderful with me. He came over and explained in a low tone what he wanted and I was able to give it to him. That was a little lesson in applied psychology, because I assure you if I'd have either stamped off the set in a fury or burst into tears under his tirade, neither of us would have been happy and the acting wouldn't have gone off right. There's another thing I'm criticized for around Hollywood: My way of dressing off-screen. My critics are firmly of the opinion that a movie star must dress glamorously -- and sexily. I don't think so, myself. To begin with, I don't consider sweaters and low-cut dresses sexy at all. Modesty has always seemed to me much more alluring. Anyway, I think it's a mistake for women to dress solely for sexiness; I believe they should try to dress for charm, becomingness and womanliness. And I think I should dress like a normal eighteen-year-old girl, not a glittering star. Which is why I wear simple dressmaker suits or sports clothes off-screen. This is the way I've worked out my pattern for living -- because I believe in it and because I feel that for me it is the road to poise, self-development and happiness...and a successful combination of marriage and a career, which is my ultimate goal. After all, I'm doing what I want to do. And for me it's painless -- honestly it is! Favorite Joan Leslie Film Select your favorite Joan Leslie film here. High Sierra The Great Mr. Nobody The Wagons Roll at Night Sergeant York The Male Animal Yankee Doodle Dandy The Hard Way This Is the Army The Sky's the Limit Thank Your Lucky Stars Hollywood Canteen Where Do We Go From Here? Rhapsody in Blue Too Young to Know Cinderella Jones Two Guys from Milwaukee Repeat Performance Northwest Stampede The Skipper Surprised His Wife Man in the Saddle The Woman They Almost Lynched Flight Nurse Jubilee Trail Hell's Outpost Other Current Results [Sign My Guestbook] [View My Guestbook]