The Washington times., 1916-10-19
Russian Artistic Declares It Is
a New Form Of Emotional
Expression.
GIVES CAREFUL ANALYSIS
Insists That Film Deserves Bet
ter Consideration Than Has
Been Given 1t.

The motion picture is a new
branch of the expressive arts.
The motion picture Is distinct In
itself~it In not the stage nor can
y initiate the stage or the stage imi-
The motion picture cannot take
the place Of the stage nor the stage
OF the motion picture. The two must
oeveiop side by side. and In the
The motion picture is not invad-
mg the ranks OF the stage. On the
contrary. the people of the stage are
invading the motion picture"
.Inese are Just few of the things
mat Ala Nazimova had to say
about pictures when requested by
to tell of her experience as u picture
player. In the production of War
Brides before the camera.
1t used to be-" she said. that
when a player so far forgot the dig
nifty Of the theatrical profession as
20 appear In q motion picture.
and speak Of the incident In hushed
tones and with grave expressions.
You almost expected them TO send
wreaths OF immortelles to the dear
departed. 1t wasn't done
Limousine Badge of Shame.
1T was as terrible faux pas as
wearing satin slippers with a riding
habit. Those pioneers were almost
ostracised from respectable theatre
cal society, and when their financial
success was evinced by the possess
sion of fine homes and automobiles,
these gains were looked upon by the
superior 'legitimates' as badges of
their Shame and downfall
But at last we are able to see
chat much injustice was done to
those moving picture pioneers, In the
r1dicule with which their cropping
efforts were received by them who
telt that such matters were beneath
their intelligence. -
Here, then, is substantial proof OF
the vitality of this new art-that In
addition to all the other difficulties
which anything new must encounter,
II has had to face and overcome not
mere apathy, but distrust from them
who. should have been most sympa-
thetlc and helpful.
"They may have felt that the play
going public would become satisfied
with something less than the stage
itself could give. That fear has been
destroyed. Good plays are In as great
demand as ever. All tho stage has
lost Is that Of which 1t is we'll rid
stage owes a great debt to moving
pictures.
Those pioneer days are now past.
On the speaking stage there have al
ways been more bad plays than good
ones, but no one ever argued from
this that the drama was a failure.
We must always Judge an art by its
best examples. not by Its worst. nor
even It's second best. Music is a great
art because of its Beethovens and
Tschaikowskys, not n minor one be-
cause of its ragtimc and foxtrots.
It's Art Is Distinctive.
Each art must represent a distin-
tive form OF expression. Sculpture
speaks through form, painting by
form and color. music In sound,
poetry In rhythmic words. But what
Ia the essential thing which the
moving picture does, which cannot be
done as we'll or better. by the
drama? My answer would be. In
tensity. The photodrama eliminates
from the story everything but the
fundamentals. There Is no dia-
logue. except for brief, explanatory
sentences.
Nothing Is told hit the essential
part of the story, and SO the photo
drama has found its forte in en-
phasis. II focuses upon a situation
the one thing which makes that sit
uation vital. All the players In the
scene must concentrate unwaveringly
upon that single point. As a result
the audience receives an impress
action, which must be portrayed In
manner at once so simple and "a
meaningful that II strikes home tc
the most casual spectator"