Prahran Telegraph (Vic. : 1889 - 1930), Saturday 6 January 1917, page 8


LOUISE LOVELY. "Bettina Loved a Soldier.', Many Australians have gone to America to take part in photo-play production, and at Los Angeles re-cently there was quite an Australian camp. One of those to meet with success has been Louise Carbasse, who has been appearing on the screen at Paradise, St. Kilda, in " Bettina Loved a Soldier." Melbourne play goers have only to cast their thoughts back a few years to remember Miss Carbasse's many appearances in Mel bourne. Half-a-dozen years since she was playing the part of Cyril Grey in "Two Little Sailor Boys," at the Theatre Royal, and she was one of the Cafe Chantant performers (Lo lotte), in Mliss Nellie Stewart's pro duction of " Zaza" at the Princess Theatre. Carbasse is a family name, the mother of the young actress being Madame Carbasse-Alberti, who came to Australia with Sara Bernhardt Co. -which commenced its American and Australian tour in 19oo-and after wards settled in Sydney, where Louise was born, and where she made her first stage appearaince. She married Mr. .Wilton Welch, a young Aus-tralian actor, best remembered as Sammy. Snozzle, in " The Bad Girl of the Family' under the Marlow man-agement, but who had had his early training with the Pollard Opera Com-pany, and was afterwards with the Holloway Company. In 1912 the young couple deserted drama for the vaudeville stage, appearing at the Opera House as Welch and Carbasse in " The Call Boy and the Actress," and similar sketches. After touring Australia they went to the United States on the Orpheum Theatres cir-cuit, and after a short period Mrs. Welch secured an engagement with the Universal Film Co., her first picture being " Stronger Than Death." Printers, publicity men, and man-agers would spell her name differ-ently; ringing changes on it from ""Garbosse" to "'Carbis," until Pre-sident Lemmle, of Universal, saw the picture. " Who is the new stir?" he asked. Then there arose a babel of names. "Well," said" Lemmle, 'that name is just a bit too hard. Call her Louise Lovely. " So Louise Carbasse became what she had always been-lovely. It is not the first time that Louise Lovely has been screened at St. Kilda, but as, Bettina she has certainly created a profound impression, and not only did many people come a couple bf times to see her on the film, but there were many requests that it might be again screened, a course which was for many reasons imprac-ticable, and there was much surprise expressed by visitors when they learnt that the lovely girl was an Austra-lian. It is perhaps needless to say that any future Universal films in which Miss Carbasse appears will be snapped up for Paradise.