New-York tribune., 1919-11-23
How Doty Hobart Turns
Clare Briggs's Cartoons
Into Comedies to Film

Some one, ] am Lot sure whether it
was John McGraw or Nero's press
agent" said Doty Hobart, "once made
wise crack about all roads leading
to Rome. To-day it can be said with
out fear Of contradiction that all lit
cr"rv and r,
sooner or later. to the pictures. As
Goldberg so aptly puts it, They all
fall
about four months ago Clare Briggs
came TO me with a wild desire to talk
about motion pictures; and he brought
with close-ups,' Stills big money.
register and all the rest Of the stock
expressions Of the clan. realized that
my friend, the cartoonist, had fallen
He explained A company had been
formed to place his ideas of kid life
as told for the last few years in car
toons Of The Days of Real Sport and
When Feller Needs a Friend,' be.
,ore the public in new light Real
live, honest-to- goodness Skin-nays and
fattys and Bucks were to be hired to
portray these cartoon ideas in story
form before the motion picture cam.
era.
Did | think the scheme worth while
Did | think it would be possible te
write stories based on his cartoon:
that would hold interest for one reel
And would |, as a favor to him ane
1or (here he mentioned some of tha
big money he had been talking about
l said, some), write two or thre,
scenarios featuring his cartoon kids
10 all of which l answered, Yes
len days later lad turned over t
the Briggs Pictures, Inc, three scripts
OF Kid life, all suggested from the car
toon'. They were 'B fore the Circus
Circus Day and After the Circus
That same night became a member O
the producing organization, my dute
beng TO write all scenarios, edit an.
substitute the finished pictures.
he question most frequently aske,
me since taking up this work is, 'Hoy
do you go about transferring a car
toon idea to a screen story? 2
"To begin with. we look through GU
file of Briggs's cartoons until We fin
one that strikes vibrant chord some
where in our memory and brings bac
recollections of our own kid days. Thi
| is the inspirational part Then come
| the search for plot-very slight as
rule, but still enough of plot to hol
the spectator until the end Of tn
picture.
These plots are usually suggeste
ny lne cartoon itself on the application
of these two questions to the actio
, portrayed: What series of incident
appened prior to the scene de rcribe
t in the cartoon? or, What action woul
natural y follow this scene that woul
/ lead up to climax? When salts
factory answer has been found we hav
material for the plot. Sometimes W
fatch up plot by referring back men
tally to happenings in our own kid lif
and we must confess that happening
IN the small town where we were raise
were as MANY and as varied 81 thos
used by Mr.. Briggs in his cartoons.
> Now comes the hardest part of tn
story buiiding-the thinking out O
new (ani otherwise) pieces of busi
ness, or. as they term them theatrical
ly, gags These eaos are the coined
situations into which the character r
are thrown and not only bring a laug
!, from the spectator but forward tn
plot.
And there you are-simple isn't it
but it's treat to ct away 4rcr
the 'drammer' and work on these it'll
+ stories that lend themselves TO huma
treatment SO readily or with -
5 cartoons and my own eventful XII
: life as two sure-tire inspirational sub
, jects it is never a bore 1t is sal
(, that when ones work is a pleasure an
: not drudgey the reflection of tn
spirit is shown in the work"