Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-07-28
'AINING SIGHTS. OF THE STAGE AND PHOTOPfA
SCREEN MERCTLESS
IN SHOWING FLAWS
Actress From the Legitimate"
Finds Camera Cruelty Frank
Toward "Green" Players
BY MADGE KENNEDY

- tstar Of the cinema Baby Mine" teoidwynl
PRIVATE showing for exhibitors at the Psses
Work before the camera is certainly the
most exacting Of all forms of acting. And
1t is the truest No form of taking gets
over feel when stand in a scene, in
the focus Of the camera and under the all
revealing lighting of the studio lamps. that
l am face to face with the necessity OF
performance; nothing else avails. II what
do Is good the camera will so record II.
and II what do Is bad. or even Just poor,
weak, futile. the camera will record me In
that weakness, that futility. A mistake
made is a mistake recorded; there is no
acting in motion pictures. And In this re-
spect the work Is far more exacting than
is acting on the legitimate stage.
There one has the support of whole
company behind him. If one actor makes q
mistake another one or two or maybe q
dozen. will contrive to cover II up. or II
they cannot do that will so act that their
performance attracts the attention Of the
spectator away from the blunder and
focuses II on them. Not so with moving pic
lures There every foot of film stands alone
and passes before the critical inspection OF
tne spectator, whose attentlOn is UNDIVIDED
by any outside circumstance. mistake
in acting stands forth In all prominence
during the brief moment that II rests on the
screen.
Besides this. there are so many adjuncts
to acting which the performer on the
stage learns to depend. none of which 10
available on the studio stage. There Is.
for instance, that wonderful sense of make
believe that comes of the darkened house
in which your audience sits; that aura
which hangs between the audience and the
| stage from the moment that the drop cur
| tain Is lifted. Then there are the vast
| spaces of the stage itself with all oppor-
| tunities for n game of hide-and-seek with
| the audience and the varying effects which
one may obtain through playing near to or
| far from the spectator, within plain sight
| of him, or partly or entirely hidden from
| his view. With the motion-picture player
| there Is no such thing off-stage WORK.
Work that Is not within focus of the camera
is not within view Of the picture fan. and
| there you are.
And then there are all the wonderful aids
| which come to the actors through mechan-
| ical and light effects through noises and
| melodies. through the numberless tricks Of
the stage manager and that stage director
t-some of them as old as the buskin OF
tragedy some as new as the latest num-
bers of The Folies.' OF course. we have
lighting effects In moving picture acting,
and when the pictures are shown there Is
music. But these are not the same thing
they are not aids to the actor. supports 70
his work, in the sense that he receives aid
! and support on the stage.
No. in moving pictures we have nothing
but the absolute truth The actor is barred
to his soul, stripped to his naked abilitiee.
and placed in glaring light; camera Is
turned on him, and he is told to act. Every
move that he makes, or fails to make. every
| hat ha repisters fails ra0ta-
/ ter. becomes part of the record, permanent
and Interchangeable. Let those who are fond
of saying You don't get real acting In
moving pictures,' think about this