'The banking concern of which Susanne's father is a member is in distress, and can be saved only through his marriage to the adipose sister of the firm's heaviest creditor. The film, a musical comedy, was reviewed by the New York Times in October 1931: 'With the arrival at the Belmont of Truus von (sic) Aalten, as the stellar performer in Susanne Macht Ordnung, those understanding German will have an opportunity of enjoying the work of an excellent young screen actress,' the reviewer wrote, adding that Truus was 'alert and interesting' in her role. As the film progresses she finds several possible fathers, and greets each one with 'Hello, Papa!', causing huge confusion and breaking up his marriage. Helped by another girl, she scrapes together enough money to set off to Berlin to look for him. His questions about her family embarrass her - she believes that her mysterious father is still alive. She meets Robert, a young man on holiday from Berlin, and they fall in love. For the first time, Truus got top billing for her part as Susanne Braun, a 17-year-old orphan attending a Swiss boarding school, where she's been living since she was little. Truus' 1930 film Susanne macht Ordnung ('Susanne Cleans Up') proved very popular both in Germany and in America. Then she trimmed my hair around with bangs like a Japanese girl's haircut. She picked up the scissors and, whack, off came the long curls. I was frantic for fear they'd give the part to someone else.' It was Colleen's mother who'd had the inspiration: 'She said, 'Why don't we cut your hair?' I was elated. 'I begged for the role,' she remembered in her autobiography, 'but the New York office said I wasn't the type, I was better in costume parts. When she'd read the scandalous modern novel Flaming Youth, then learned that it was to be filmed, she'd seen that the lead part could be her route to stardom. Seven years later, trapped in 'little girl' roles, Moore had sought a way out of the long dresses and demure ringlets that she knew no longer represented young American women. Her sharply bobbed hair and uninhibited style owed a lot to American comic actress Colleen Moore, who'd appeared in her first film in 1916. Truus had a distinctive look - her mixture of boyish yet feminine energy was very 1920s. Ufa continued to employ her for the following year, after which she worked for various other film companies. She decided to stay in Berlin and make a career as an actress. When the credits ran at the end, her name wasn't even mentioned - but this was the new, tough Truus van Aalten, not the kid from Arnhem any more.
Soon she was grateful that nobody could see her in the dark as she hid at the back of her box, crying all over her beautiful new dress. What nobody had told her was that the film had been edited severely to get it to length - her scenes had been shortened or cut altogether.
She sat in her box, trembling with nerves as the lights went down, waiting for her scenes to appear. It's possible that the more sophisticated ladies present may have thought that in a dress so decorated and with so many colours in it, she looked rather like an over-decorated birthday cake, but Truus was delighted with it. In preparation for the premiere of A Sister of Six, Truus had a dress made specially. 'Which ones? For how long? Go get a copy of 'Eat Well And Stay Healthy' - we can't use fat girls in films!' 'Have you done any exercises yet today, Trulala?' she would cry. She also badgered the still-chubby girl to lose some of her 106 pounds.
#TRUUS DAMMEN MOVIE#
Nicknaming her 'Trulala', Olga taught her the disciplines of movie work and encouraged her to be more serious in her approach to it. Truus adored Olga, later citing her as a major influence both personally and professionally. She'd been acting since 1917, and had become one of Germany's most popular stars. Her claim to be related to Anton Chekhov was true, but she also loved to spin the most amazing yarns about her early life: she was close to Tsar Nicholas II, had met Rasputin and had fled the Revolution disguised as a mute peasant woman, hiding her jewellery in her mouth.
Olga was a fascinating woman, born in exotic Transcaucasia, part of the Russian Empire. At Ufa Truus was introduced to a major figure in her life, highly respected actress Olga Tschechowa, who became her unofficial mentor and mother-figure in movieland.
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