New-York tribune., 1921-05-15
Interesting Chat and Stage Gossip for Playgoers
Experts Give
Fro and Cor, of
Talking Film
Also a Defense of Mu..
Maligned SUBJ Title and
Its Place in Screen aa A..

Letters received indicate a u;a
terest in the discussion by will;an, :, :
Laub i9 last Sundays Tribune - - "
talking" motion picture. w~;. ~
agree and disagree heartily viii !.
general conclusions reached bv ~ ~
Laub, who has been associated wiz, A. A.
motion picture industry since u ~ ~
in the nickelodeon stage. D. W cr;@.s
registers the Iiveliest interest Of al '
4 member of Grifith's staff dst.;,.,
on the exploitation Of Dream se....s
the picture that "talks," at tho IT,.
Hall, makes reply TO the survs,s,.s
that the voice in the silent drsms ta,s.
to mar its illusion, unless ali ~
characteristic sounds associated v;.s
the scene are also reproduced.
Having handled the exploItst,nr, =,
old Cameraphone and Edison's ,ol,.in or me
pictures, l am qualified to d,sonss saag
present kellum device as IN contrass 'Is rs
snr,rd sae former enterprises. .whsreasS@-,S
1orfner were hardly ever in synch-.sns
Snoss Delng shown at the Town EaTVnk
never out Of perfect synchronv aI are
sggSs sgpes , PACK TO store shows and nietsl
nHss with their concurrent prooarfy "a
temptations. There Is no effort rcaSy m N.
artificial sounds with the Kellnn d. 800. .o6
..ri1 More than 2l,ooe people have s's.ys ssss
portions since its engagement 20 sstA!ng (
Town Hall. and there is hardly ons ,tss NE
Is not impressed with the great nesaz s..zt
ss prle.es. Ialklng pictures win cSmosl {
greater talent and more finished f,gsi srfar.
even as the present silent films 5e,ns.3
better talent than characte,-izsd- d-'sho nc
carrier pictures for which Laub sdmas
The illusion Of che nlra is in M -.
discouraged by an additional expresstaSS 8
or periodical Interpolation OF vs,sa ss.on
o., mather does the voice break the monot.
ony or hours of silence and samensss -
tlt!es. In street scene on the sneksn ~
stage, for instance. where a drop Is ;owl
euseon eusa showing OF i5n Tines Square s It the
varied noises of traffic and hunanss,,
to clutter the dialogue? 'AHs'y
II Mr. Laub has the imaginatjon !.
permit him to think the titles he rs.s.
are spoken, may he not imagine an suto
footing. an elevated train rushing o,ss'
head and all the other noises ne orsSs,
its vocal bit? - u''ns
Another expert agrees with Mr.. Lauh
in deploring the voice in pictures IN.
thinks he did not do justice to the
much disparaged subtitle, which vocal
pictures would nullify.
The fundamental objection Of this
writer to the developments of the film
along the lines of Mr.. Grifith's expsri.
ment lies in the singular visual urop.,
critics of the medium, which shear avav
all intellectual and aesthetic Limitations
The cinema Snowman is above the let.
tered sway of speech. He makes every
man his own poet. The beholder esa
do no otherwise>than color and yitslize
the story with the essence of his own
experience. Through the sense of sight
the motion picture approaches the ideal
medium which places the untrammeled
of the public at the CEN.
mand Of the artist. The spoken word,
therefore, it is contended, would tend
cnly to reduce the new medium to an
interiors artificial reproduction of what
will ultimately be shown to be the
lower form of dramatic art"
The writer of this letter does not
believe that the perfect motion picture.
will be able to dispense with sub-titles.
when we learn that the function Of
a picture is not merely to tell an en-.
tertaining story but to stir imagination
and emotion as well, we also learn that
and emotions fly off at as
many tangents as there sre spectators
in our audiences. We must mark the
highway to our goal by definite guide.
posts. Our titles are our guideposts.'
He continues:
Finally the talky presents a problem
that may well cause the adventurous
TO get the players TO do them? This Z
movie closeup puts a premium on youth
and beauty We have been able to hns d
be made to look and act like Fifth
Avenue But no power on earth can
make them talk like Fifth Avenue.
/ take issue with Mr.. Laub in the In Z
stance he cites in which vocal aid is
supposed to have intensified the effect Of
pictured situations. The introduction Of
case in point. In this picture the care
fully built-up sympathy for the charac-
ter OF Anne I3oleyn is suddenly destroyed
by chars cteristfcally Teutonic twiss
in psychology, when her supposedly In
herfted conception of the nobility of her
station as Hsusfrau suddenly 1econeiies
hsr to a marriage that had been a5'
hoTrent to her a moment earlier. Her =
subsequent troubles laboriously restore
that lost sympathy, and we are on tne
point of pitying her as she went to knesi
in the straw and to stretch out her neck
for the executioner1s ak, when suddenly
our conscious mind IL assailed by burst
of doleful song Had the orchestra,
which had been playing right along, the
existence OF which we had forgotten
gradually changed key. 1t would hays
carried our subconscious minds with y
and would have intensified the effect os
the scene. Or had the orchestra sott-
ened Its music by degrees and finally
stopped altogether the scene would have
been stronger. But the only way in
which the scene could have been
strengthened by an appeal to the COT,
scious minds of ths spectators woula
have been by opposing the mood OF tne
scene, as. for Instance, by the suggesr
tion of the jeers and moc5ery OF the
populace. Az ii is, tho sudden shock o.
the sound of u womans voice mercy
serves to break the tension. II eonies
like IL slap In the face; IL awakens ins
dormant senses and 1t makes it inpossl.
BILE for the spectator TO watch the con-
ciusion of the scene with any teellhs
other than that OF the curious observer
More Edgar" Films 4
To Booth Harrington enthusiasts II