The Washington times., 1915-05-11
THE BEST
Photopldy Department in
WASHINGTON
Ho7u Patrons Regard
limitations Where
Genuine Should
Be Utilized

The habit of motion picture direc-
tors in feeding the public husks
when they ask for bread seems to
be attracting the attention of other
observers of the film. Using paint
e6 scenery and limitations when the
actual landscape and the real thing
can be as easily obtained Is not
calculated to create friends for the
dim.
w. Livingston Larned has crystal
Ized the sentiment of a large ma
Jority of motion picture enthusi-
ssts in an article in the last issue
of the New York Review which pur-
ports to be a letter written by an
intimate friend to a director who
has asked to see one OF his pictures.
He writes:
Last evening went over to see
atallment. There's no doubt about
the INTEREST the advance publicity
mss caused-you may depend upon
newspaper advertising to yank a
man out Of his own drowsiness and
send him investigating. The little
nrst reel was over, thy were twisting
about ip their seats like so many
three-year-olds at a long sermon.
Jim, II you ask me, | think you've
sized up your audiences wrong. There
are entirely too many reasonably
priced magazines and well-conduCted
daily newspapers for even POOR
people to be stupid and ignorant any
longer. 1t ism American to stay
boob for long.
theatrical business realized it, the
Whole darned nation has acquired
common sense. And this is especially
true Of the entertainment-loving pub
Ac--the folks with the theater habit.
I'm thinking of that bit along in
Aref r>f ha 81
continued story movie. Up to that
time I want to talk over you couldn't
get q peep out of en- There they
sat. In the dark-mouths half open.
eyes nailed to the sheet. and should
for criticisinE.
For ten minutes we had been
looking at attractive outdoor scenery.
Jim. You know how to pick the best
compositions. too The hero Of the
AFFAIR was sent to prison. and that's
where you mussed the proposition
up, good and proper. ri tell you.
old man-the type of artistic genius
who can paint the inside Of a stone
prison and have 1t look like the real
thing when its photographed costs
too much money for movie con-
cern.
We were pretty sympathetic until
We saw your hero in that cheap imi-
tation jail. 1t was palpaby paint.
Jim. Those chunks of masonry
never got an inch further than the
bum scenery" stage and. all in a.
Jify, the suspense dropped. You
could feel the bliGht of it i'm the way
the audience looked and acted and
talked.
ou see. limits just like this
o movie audience knows the differ
ence. You may think you're getting
away with it, but it's all under your
hat. When You took that particular
scene, couldn't you see-for your
self-that your set was tawdry and
cheap and faked-up and-and not in
keeping with what had gone before?
Il know what you'd say If YOU
were here--lt is only a second.
wouldn't pay to build an elaborate
set for such A minor incident IN the
storE-cant expect us 20 erect iail
Tor an infinitestinal fraction of a
long story
Il contend that it would ray. I
contend that it's worth any price to
escape criticism. Everything good
You do Is forgotten in the memory
ness.
Big men like Griffith are big be-
cause they do little things so intern
ally well. Nothing is too small TO
seem unimportant in their eyes no
YOU know how Mr.. Griffith handles a
movable wall. plasters them. sticks
rocks naturally in the plaster and
rokes a pebble in here and there.
And then-after a trial photo
graph. II it doesn't look exactly right.
he tears It up and does It all over
. gain. The walls are kept 'in studio
stock" You'd never catch Griffith
asking hero to moan and groan
and swashbuckle around a poor lit
tie cloth Jail"