The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-11-25

lhrand-new planet has recently APP
peared among movie constellattCns
in the form Of the Artist. He rep
resents the latest attempt Of movie
magnates to raise the production OF
moving pictures from an industry
to an art.
From now on We can look grate-
fully forward to pictorial effects on
the screen as well as human inter-
est ones, for the Artist Is going to
have his say, as we'll as the direc-
tor, the star and the author. Al
ready the coast studios are becom-
ing fairly we'll populated with art
lists Of repute, including Paul Chal-
fin, the decorator Penryn Stanlaws.
the illustrator. and Joseph Urban,
the scenic designer.
Although it seldom gets credit
for it, the moving picture industry
is acutely aware of its own short
comings. 1t knows that it is pri-
marily a commercial activity, in
which popular appeal is more i'm
portant than quality, but it sincere
ly ende..vors to be as artistic as
possible. It has Travelled a long
way since the days of two and three
eeelers, but it is not satisfied to stop.
1t is ready with its public to take
the next step, which is more artis-
tic hghting and setting.
In the early days of the industry
, it was the company alone that mat
tered. People went to see BIO
graph" or a Universal" without
paying any special attention to the
stars. But as the old guard COM
panies disbanded, the stars became
1.-THE chief attraction. Mary Pick
ford, Alice Joyce, Maurice Costello
and w. S. Hart were followed to
whatever theatres booked them
Then the public and the producers
simultaneously discovered that The
featuring of their favorite star did
not necessarily mean a well-tolt
story, and then confidence shifted
to the director. But even a renown.
ed director did not seem to insure 9
good story, so the vogue changed tt
popular writer's. The day Of the
author has been long, but the
movies are now restlessly seeking
perhaps once more with their pub
lic-something better. The Motor
seems to be gaining that perhap:
more effective pictures could b.
made if the depicting of human emo
lions from the pictorial angle were
given more expert supervision.
In other words, the industry is
on the point of timidly deciding
that it is ready for the revolution
airy ideas and methods that Gordon
Craig and Adolph Appia have in
troduced in the theatre. 1t will bt
cautious, of course, but there is {
strong movement for placing thu
entire process of picture production
under the control Of the artist.
| According to Wilfred auckland
who is in charge of the setting a
the Famous Player studios at Hol
llywood, this is merely the next log
ical step. In his. opinion, the real
istic background cannot last mucf
longer. 1.-THE building of read in
teriors," he says, has already beer
carried as far as possible. Now fol
emotions and moods. The tendency
lis to get away from the strictly pho
Geographic end of it, and to deal il
atmosphere rather than actualities
Sin painting a picture an arts
does not paint a real house, repro
ducing every minute detail. Tha
sort of thing belongs to the old AM
now despised Photographic schoo
of art. He paints in something t.
give tone to the figure. The grea
secret of art, as Whistler said, i
knowing what to leave out. Ever,
once in awhile you get shock b.
discovering a picture in which tn
director has shown signs Of an ar
tistic conscience. But the majorit
of moving pictures are still far be
hind commercial photography
which is becoming less and les
Photographic, while most OF the ad
vertisements in the back pages o
our magazines are more artist
than the average movie"
This is a particularly interestin
admission on the part Of Mr.. Buck
land, because he was perhaps tn
first to introduce the Belasco schoc
of realism on the screen. He wa
Mr.. Belasco's assistant for severs
years during which time he devel
oped stage realism to its full heigh
In producing THE Easiest Way
for the theatre, several years agt
for instance. Mr.. auckland rente
> the room a chorus girl had had o
Forty-seventh street in New Yorl
took scenic artist over, and mad
a sketch of everything in it. It wa
reproduced in exact detail in tia
play.
"Yes," said he ruminatively, as b
sat in his queer little Office up ur
der the roof Of the studio building
Gordon Craig and l were scho<
boys together. We grew up an
started out in our profession abor
the same time, but Gordon has 70
lowed the progressive road, Will
l have stuck to the old one"
al How Sets Arc Mado.
But this is merely an example {
Mr.. Buckland's whimsical modest
for on his own road his achiev,
ments lave been noteworthy, ais