Brian Norman

William Brian Molloy was a Law Student when in 1933 Paramount advertised their Search for Beauty Competition throughout the then English speaking world. Heats were held in all Australian states before the all Australia winner was chosen. Molloy entered using the name Brian Norman and won the New South Wales part of the competition before becoming all Australia winner.

He left for Hollywood in September of 1933 along with Gwen Munro, the female Australia winner. At the first port of call Wellington they picked up New Zealand winners Colin Tapley and Joyce Neilson. When they got to Hawaii Virginia Cherrill boarded and she was met at Los Angeles by Cary Grant. Grant shook the winners hands but Norman said he was rather aloof. Virginia soon afterwards married Grant. At Hollywood they were met by Luigi Laraschi who reported Paramount were in the hands of the receivers and unable to pay their salary. Norman being a law student managed to fight the Studio into paying the agreed salary for him and the other three. 7 year contracts were required to be signed but the arrangement was in Norman's view as selling yourself into slavery. The studio held six month options could dismiss at a moments notice and prevent player's working for other studio's.

The Search for Beauty competition film would be made after other contestants arrived in November 1933. Production would take five weeks when players would be assessed as to picture and sound quality. To be successful you had to be both beautiful and speak well. One was no good without the other and Norman had problems with his Australian accent. He was told to say whistling gailey but it came out as Gyley and he couldn't correct the error. Stella Bailey, female New York winner, sent him an autographed photo endorsed "Brian I hope you go through life whistling Gyley. " Brian Norman commented about the miserable life that extras had in comparison to the beauties. Extras were hired casually day by day and could be dismissed if the director didn't like their face. The Search For Beauty choreographer LeRoy Prinz berated one extra but Norman stepped in and said it was his fault. Prinz could not dismiss a beauty and had to let the extra off. Norman commented that language used by studio towards players bordered on the obscene at times. All 30 beauty winners were assessed and Brian Norman was rejected for a bit player contract. He said New Zealander Colin Tapley was chosen in preference to him but Tapley had a cultured English upper class accent in his favour whereas Brian Norman had an Australian accent. He exercised some surprise at two players chosen for $1000 bonuses. Eldred Tidbury of South Africa (later Donald Gray) he said had no personality and his acting had all the spark of battery acid. Gwenllien Gill of Scotland he said couldn't appear in front of camera without fainting. Six were chosen for contacts and twenty four were rejected. Apparently beauties were seen round the casting offices of other studios for months afterwards but in time most drifted back to jobs they had done before the competition. Brian Norman had saved his $50 a week and it set him up in chambers when he returned to being a lawyer in Papua New Guinea. He did have a brief period as a radio celebrity and he wrote a memoir of his time as a contestant.