Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-05-24
THE PLAYGOER'S
WEEKLY TALK
Dissertations on Plays and
Photoplays Of Interest
to Philddelphians
TECHN1QUE - especially photoplay

tout tne noun taxes mp new Slgnln
cance when the initials "D. w. c., ar,
sdded. Thereby is appended the story
of the biggest close up in motion picture
history. Audiences gasped at it last
week in New York at the first showing
OF Broken Blossoms" the new Griffith
sunplay. which comes to the Garrick
next Monday night. This staggering
closeup is the climactic and most
dreadful moment of the picture. Lillian
Gish. who plays the tlogged waif of the
London slums. is lying on the couch of
Cheng. her Chinese protector and
knight. She has fed from the brutality
of her father. Battling Burrows. -
pugilist and brute. to this queer Ori
entail heaven of peace and gentle hands
and white flowers. Suddenly Burrows.
inAamed with brandy and insuIar pride
of race. appears. We see the frail and
lovely girl. curiously orentalized by her
garments and setting. shrink back and
then BurrOwS's face apcars on the silver
sheet. 1t is of normal size. but he
steps forward. and with each step. we
see the caulihowcr ear. the sensual
mouth, the Skies like leer and all the
other horrible physical paraphernalia Of
the man leap into monstrosity. 1t is all
precisely as such hated face would
appear to the minds eye of such a child
as Lucy is pictured
Stress is laid on this particular tour
de force of the photoplay. not because
In itself it is surprising ingenious. but
because it is. one of the thousand tech
nical devices that make the Griffith
films so remarkable.
BY the way, it was the same Griffith
who invented the close -up-that valu-
able and abused screen trick. There is
no authentic record of the first time he
employed it, but report says that a
nameless BiOgraph, of a lurid and ten
twent- thirt nature. was the vehicle
Florence Lawrence. now, alas. as
effectually buried as Mister Nillon $
ladies'. in the ObscuritieS of retirement,
was the favored damSel thus shown.
Griffith kept improving and expert
menting with this telling bit of movie
theatricalism from year to year. He
did daring things with it. the most
daring. perhaps. being a curious magni-
fication of James Kirkwood's eve in that
very imaginative and underratcd photo
play, Home, Sweet Home" the fore
runner of 'Intoerancp.
TT WILL startle people who have seen
L Mr.. CarrilIo in the part of the Italian
dressmaker in ''Lombardi Ltd. " 70
hear that he is not of that race. Even
in his curtain calls he maintains the
characterization. But NJ. CarriIlo is
American. of Spanish descent. and the
family has been in California for five
genera tiOns.
As he sat in his dressing room after
the show the other night and talked
about his work. while his japanese
dresser waited with the inpxhaustible
patience of the East. Mr.. CarrilIo did
not even look Italian. He talked vivid
ly. enthusiastically but where were the
half closed eyes. the quaint twisted
smile, the expressively quirked right
eyebrow that in the play seem so nat
ural? Like the third act costume. they
had been laid aside--part of the role.
Yet on the stage the race characteristics
appear almost too essentially part of the
man TO be assumed
What | really want to do" said
Mr.. Carrillo. leaning forward with
confidential gesture and a most engaging
eagerness. lis to create series of race
types. So far | have done the Italian
principally; but some day hone to
play a French Canadian role. Then
too, | should like to create Mexican
part, not the comic. villainouS pcou
type. which is the only Mexican have
IA hIt N
of the better class. have studied Ital-
ian types for years. 1t is an amazingly
Interesting type to work with.
81 think there has always been too
much tendency to make foreign parts
ludicrous by accent and exaggerated
pronunciation. The real comHdy lies in
the mutual misunderstanding due to diff
ference of race and conflicting ideas as
much as to language.
I'm order to play a foreign type. -
Mr.. Carrillo emphasized you must
understand how the mind of the man
works. You must not only know how
he does thing. but why Then YOU
won't go waving YOUR arms in mean
ingess gestures. You'll use your hands
as an Italian. or a FrenchmHn. or any
other foreigner really would"
TGNACIO MARTINETTI. featured at
L the Shubert. brings back memories to
older playgoers. for he is the husband
of Carrie Radcliff. the famous stock
star, who for years managed her own
company at FOrepaugh's. She was
known from one end Of the city to the
other. and when she was married to