The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-05-26
BETWEEN REELS
GIimpses of the Big Inside Workings OF
the Moving Picture Game.
BY RAYMOND WELLS.

(This story, the third of a weekly
series by Raymond Wells. actor and
moving picture director, now playing
in and directing stock at the Novelty,
deals with the worlds greatest moving
picture, Intolerance" Something
about how it was made is told. Mr..
actor and director with David Wark
Griffith in the making of "1ntoler-
ance.")
We sometimes wonder if the gem
eral public fully realizes all the Things
necessary in the making of a gigantic
spectacle like intolerance" First we
want to impress upon our readers that
this is not a press agents story but, in
giving some of the inside workings OF
a great studio, we find it necessary TO
pick out one of the great achieve
ments of that studio. Intolerance
being the greatest screen drama of the
age, naturally, we turn to that partlc-
ular picture. Who is the author!
Who was the camera man? Who built
those gigantic walls of Babylon and
where, oh, where, did Cyrus get that
tremendous army without going to
the European battlefield for it? was
the crown of BelshaZZar made from
pure gold? How fast did the auto
mobile travel? Was there some man
obtained who really allowed the man
of Valor to cut off his head? Is Mr..
Griffith a nice man to work for and
is he good looking?
We are asked questions of this sort
every day. So first of all we will be-
gin with the superintendent, the engi-
neer, the general manager, the presi-
dent and director of the whole affair.
For within one man we find this en-
tire composite. That man is Mr.. d.
w. Griffith. l would not say that he
/ hay n h1If hn ho ct1-ilS iT1c q
appearance, a wonderful personality
and tenacity for work that seems al
most super human, always friendly
and considerate in his dealings with
his associates, an organizer with an
artistic eye and a general who can
command with a smile and always
! be obeyed, a thinker, idealist and a
dreamer, but withal practical and a
| business man. with an imagination so
great that he is capable of picking
up a story from any angle and COM
pletely reversing its entire trend.
| AS an example OF this, The Mother
and the Law" which afterward devel-
| oped into the spectacle Intolerance,
was to have been, originally, a four
, reel picture. 1t had been almost COM
rleted when Mr.. Griffith was called to
| New York If that picture had been
| finished was first intended, the
public would have seen only the mod
ern story of Intolerance" for this
the Law" until Mr.. Griffith returned
from New York. But he suddenly
| conceived the idea that it was a big
story and that the modern intolerance
as shown in the Mother and the
Law had prevailed since the begin
ming of time, so why not show the in
tolerance of other ages. Intervene
| the theme and make one gigantic
story. Thus do we find in the picture
the intolerance of the Babylonian.
| Christian and Charles IX ages, inter
woven so closely into an already COM
pleted modern story that we gasp at
| its hugeness. So much for the imag-
| nation of Mr.. Griffith. And 1 do not
believe that any one would attempt
to rob him of the authorship of In
tolerance
The Camera Men.
The name of the camera man was
William Bitter. He had entire charge
OF all photography and all the photog-
raphers. He was most ably assisted
by Mr.. Carl Brown. If Brown was not
! actually photographing, at any time,
he would be found in the laboratories
experimenting, trying out new effects
and many of the unusual pieces of
photography that we see in "Intoler-
ance" were the result of these expert
! ments. Many scenes were double eX-
posed, triple exposed and then double
| exposed again. Foo much credit can
not be given to Billy Bitter and his
very capable staff of photographers.
the conceptions of famous artists.
were suggested by Mr.. Griffith.
The Babylonian walls, the gold
chamber, and the room in which the
feast of Belshazzer took place were
all constructed under the supervision
of gentleman by the name of Hall.
They were mostly exact duplicates of
old drawings. Some were copied from
the conceptions of famous artists.
When the worlds fair had been COM
pleted at San Francisco, a large staff
of skilled workmen was brought from