Could anyone please tell if that exaggerated acting manner was common or appreciated in theaters in that time? I know you can't do it the same way on stage just like in front of a camera, but still...
Or another hidden irony in this film is that even Julia wasn't that great an actress herself?
We can't be lost; we don't know where we're going.
All that matters is that we're going.
Still no answer... If only I asked about sexing in theaters in the 30s...
We can't be lost; we don't know where we're going.
All that matters is that we're going.
The answer to your question is, yes, acting on stage was far more stylized and theatrical in the 1930s than in later eras. That was the accepted style of the time. A more naturalistic acting style developed on the stage as cinema had its influence and Method acting came into vogue.
As an example of this "stagier" style, I looked up a 1931 brief film clip of Lunt and Fontanne re-creating their Broadway hit "The Guardsman" for the cinema:
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/387981/Guardsman-The-Movie-Clip-So- Happily-Married-.html
This single clip contrasts the theatrical style of the time, for which Lunt and Fontanne were the toasts of London and Broadway, with the more naturalistic acting style of the cinema, seen here after the curtain comes down.
Thank you, Flora!
We can't be lost; we don't know where we're going.
All that matters is that we're going.