Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-09-14
VAGARIEs OF THE MOVIE MAN.

1t gives one tired feeling to realize that the
protest which it is announced will be sent to the
Lasky Co., because of its faulty production of
steyenson's Bottle Imp will have little effect
For some unexplained it is part of the movie
producers trade to take the title of masterpiece
and how far he separate that title from the
original work to which it belonged.
society should be organized for the suppress
eion of spurious titles. A law should be placed on
the statute books of every state in the union making
! Il crime to take the title of any story such as
eteyenson's Bottle Imp, Cervantes' Don Quixote or
Flaubert's Salambo, to name the first few that come
to mind, and hitch some silly, sentimental yarn
hack of it. 1t is rank misrepresentation and in
the mercantile world, the vigilance committee of
the AID Club would get the producing company
sure, for the same offense OF course some of the
results are funny; again they are not.
To the person with wholesome respect for the
classics, it is mystery why there should be need
for borrowings good idea and then making light of it.
In Steyensons Bottle Imp, an Illustration, there
10 surely plenty of action and opportunity for good
photography 1t never to the scenario writer
20 elaborate on these situations the author put
them on paper. No, he must smear his own imper-
tinences all over the lm taking the very backbone
ont of perfectly good story to make it conform to
an inexplainable and stupid formula
In the spoken drama, when book dramatization
was used, the excuse offered when departure from
the text was made was that limitations of setting
forced them to change situations, but this excuse
cannot be Offered by the movie man. The only linn
itations that stand in the way o. his following the
text and letter of the masterpieces that con-
stantly mutilated in our moving picture theaters,
are in the heads of the producers. 1t is high time
60 persuade those responsible that it would be to
their interest and the interest of education and
truth to adhere to the text of story when putting
il on the screen.
There is of course the suggestion raised that lots
of moving picture frequenters do not know the diff
ference but it is right here that the producers miss
their greatest opportunity-that of educating their
audiences In their hunt for thrills, they have gone
TO such extravagant lengths that their efforts are
becoming farcica So strong thing is habit, that
when they turn to something noble as a possible
relief from the serial 'thrers" they put the same
punch into this reel that they used in the "Trials
of Trilby or the other, last, alliteratve explosion.
Therefore, let us agitate for another national
censorship committee. Let them be empowered to
throw out every film purporting to be the scenario
tempered with by a T-esumptuouG typewriting
mechanic who thinks that his ideas of how Flaubert
or Cervantes should have constructed their novels
are better than the masters own. ".-
1t is agreed that there are occasions where scenes
can be elaborated or interpolated, but when it
comes to the point of deliberately cutting out vital
situations and substituting trash in their places
it is time to call a halt!