Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-08


of Durdnd." "ShddotUs Of the Past"
"Tho Painted World" "Mortmdin,"
"The Cdue Man" "The Dust Of
Egypt aud "Sdludtion Joan" is notO
an duthorproducor She tells i0hdt
she thinks makes good director
Defining the good director should make
clear what is wrong with the picture field
today, or perhaps more fairly, what Is
wrong with those productions that are
poor, mediocre. or that In other ways fall
foul of success
You see I hold the director responsible
for II all, since do not class as directors
those who merely nut on script that Ia
given them. SO often we hear n director
explain a failure by saying that the manu-
script from which he produced IL was
bad We can understand this. but we
cannot accept II as an excuse. What.
ever manuscript may be given director
he must be able at once to analyze ii for
every element of strength or weakness. of
failure or success. This accomplished, he
must be able, TO so revamp his material
that though 7 nay not reach the heights
for which 1t never ordained it will, at
| least, get Y as success; for 1t is
directors n Il duty to produce successes
| only. Thif 'equires that the director be
an able pit .oplaywright. Very few direct
ors can ite their own big feature sue
cesses, but all should he able to fashion
what is given them into at least a pass
| ing success.
In a popular art like that of the photo
! play, l would value directors work In
! proportion to its appreciation by the public.
| The public is what the photoplay director
| plays for. Where he wins their undivided
interest and sympathy he has succeeded.
| Where he wearies them he has failed
There are good plays, to be sure of mighty
themes that fail to interest the public, and
| of these ] would say more Is the pity"
| Why should anything that is fine and
really worth while become duh and weari-
some in the telling? why should not the
| things of deepest import be presented with
| an interest equal to their Importance
| They say 1t cannot be done. That high
| art and the gallery can never be recon-
| ciled. They are wrong. There is no theme
| so fine but II can be made to appeal to
| the simplest mind. Two things only are
necessary two things that make the second
| great requisite of the good director. He
must understand and love the simple mind
even as he must understand and love tho
| thing that is fine. | know we'll that this
! is bold statement one for which | will
be widely criticised 1t does not matter.
l know 1t can be DONE just as stolidly as
they know 1t cannot be done 1t requires.
! of course. more exquisite knowledge Of
| life and of human nature, n dee under
standing of the recipient mI and of
life's underlying truths. than most direc-
tors can bring to bear on it's achievement.
! The third requisite of the good director
! is to create character and to infuse life
| into the characters drawn To do this he
| must know man. Not man as he Is pre-
! sented to us in psychology, in philosophy,
| sociology, economics or even in history !;
these sciences give us the truths concern
| ing man; they do not give us man. To
| know of n thing is not really to know it,
| A director must know his fellows through
! every hbre of his being. He must be so
highly sensltized that not the flicker Of an
eyelash escapes him, that not the twtch
of muscle but thrills him with its volume
| of significance, that not the blank front
of the mask can hide its secret from him.
| The Impressions that come to him SO
| vividly from mankind he can send back
| again along the wire to mankind as ii pre-
| sents itself in what constitutes his audi
! ence. Thus far | have not mentioned the
| vast fund of knowledge in all fields that n
/ director must possess, which knowledge
| will appear in his work as attention to
and correctness in detail. Nor have 1 mem
| toned that most essential requisite,
| knowledge of his camera and an apprecia-
| tiOn of the Importance to his success Of the
| work of his camera man. These points
| are so well recognized and do so stand to
| reason that | would class them all together
as one big obvious requirement. Lastly,
but not least important to a directors sue
cess Is an instructive or a cultivated ap-
probation of art that feeling for what is
| fine in line and composition, in tone and
values that will make every moment OF
his picture an artistic production.