The next day Stevens ran Palance's first dismount in reverse, splicing it in a second time as if it were the remount. So it remains today, where the shot adds an unmistakably ghostlike quality to the tag of the confrontation scene. Stevens' creative solution, so often the case, lay in letting go lightly. Tougher than it sounds, letting go. And it only succeeds in response to exhaustive effort.
True inspiration lies in reflection.
If anything, the highly technical nature of Film Acting calls for an even greater commitment to creative problem solving. In so mechanical a medium, Art is at a premium, rarefied, and all the more essential. In college, Meryl Streep discovered her performances were greatly enhanced by formulating a Secret, known only to her character. In so ephemeral a form as acting, such glue gives a depth and verisimilitude that skill alone can't reach. Genius, like grace, is what happens by not paying attention.