The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-09-13
DOUG AND MARY
LEARN MUCH OF
RUSSIAN ART
Spontaneous Methods OF
Russians Lead to Con-
tracts. -.
by Gene COIN
NEA Service Writer

NEW YORK, Sept. 13.-Douglas
Fairbanks, like Sc many devotees of
the several arts, has gone Russian"
Returning from a peep into the
cinema marts of the world, he vaults
over the verbal superlatives with
Fairbankean buoyancy in telling Of
the new Slavic product. Il
- What is more-he has feverishly
wrapped up a bundle of these young
Slavs in sound Fairbanks contracts
and has arranged to have them
shipped tC America.
Among them is a youth-Leo Ell.
senstein-still in his twenties, who Is
responsible for a picture, "Potem-
kim" which Fairbanks considers to
be in many respects the greatest
film ever made.
Copies Of this picture have been
hidden for some months in the vaults
of New York film concerns-and have
been "bootlegged" to private audi.
ences of newspaper men and film in
dustry attaches. 1t is not likely to
enjoy general distribution, although
the Film Arts Guild will feel out
opinion through a private showing
soon. 1t has been banned by Gen.
sors and Government representatives
as propaganda" for it is a grim
and stark episode lifted from the
early days of the Russian revolution
and goes forth with the soviet gov.
ernment's o. k.
Fairbanks says it was jamming
the Berlin houses when the govern
ment ordered it's withdrawal there.
and 1t is reported barred in-.France
and England as well. The exact rea-
son has not been made known, since
1t is said to contain no soviet men
ton but to be a page lifted from
history, the occasion being the re-
volt against the government of the
sailors of the Potemkin. the seizure
of the ship, the consequent blood
shed. another battle thereafter-and
that's all.
well, l used. to think I knew
something about movement in the
films" confesses Fairbanks. II used
to think l knew lot about convey
ing emotion through movement. But
when / saw Eisenstein's work l real
lied hadn't begun to learn. l don't
think I'm getting over-enthusiastic
when 1 say that what l Saw in Rus
STA opened an entirely new vista in
motion picture-making Astounding
and wonderful new potentialities for
achievement in picture making-a
long step toward the millennium in
film art we've all been talking about.
You know I'm an old hand at the
film industry and I'm not one to get
easily excited.
IF the soviet government was not
so tied up politically and could give
more personal attention to the arts,
there would be more monumental
work from over there. 1t seems to
me Russia must be looked to seri.
ously for its art potentialities. They
are doing things there on stage and
screen that have no counterpart else
where.
What struck me as particularly
remarkable was the manner in which
this fellow Elsenstein worked.
asked him il he had followed any
particular plan or worked out any
elaborate scheme in taking "Potem.
kim" and 20 my establishment he said
he hadn't. When he started he didn't
know what he was going to do. It
was spontaneously worked out to
follow life and movement. That
young fellow is amazing"
Fairbanks hopes to have the young
Russian handle his next picture. He
also has brought a Slavic writer, an
art director and several others he
picked up on his shopping tour.
Mary, by the way, is just as en-
thusiastic.