The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-04-08
TheMOvies They Dom Saisfy
Part Their Uniformity and Their Tricks.
BY IVAN HULK.

IA
The American films impress with their uniform
ty And this in spite Of their incredible technical pos
sibties. The American moving picture have
built large cities such the largest cinema city, Holly
wood near Los Angeles specially for the production of
their films Everything is there-mountains, rivers,
railroads. steamships, entire air fleet If steamer
has to be drowned burned they will sink set fire
to a real steamer. Not millions but billions are spent
on the cinema industry But pays and brings profits.
And what profits!
Don't Use Them
But they are not to be envied. The American films
do not know how to avail themselves properly of all
these advantages Maybe the market does not ask for
appropriate from point Of view utilization Of
all these facilities We repeat the American films i'm
press by their uniformity And here is the proof.
The American motion pictures be divided into
three categores: The trick films the psychological
films, and the Observation-Disclosures films
Poor Ideas.
The last type prevails. Not long ago the Ameri-
can spectator satisfied with tricks devoid of
any psychological portent. Lately certain change was
noticed in the taste of the public The spectator began
to ask for deeper meaning and "ideas." However,
psychological films devoid of tricks could not get any
foothold. The mixed type prevailed There tricks
thrill the and ideas to mental food.
True, the ideas quite poor. All of them cut and
dried
What Kind of Tricks?
Let consider the tricks in general and the pro-
ducton IN particular This VIII be quite appropriate
because America the tricks of greater importance
than the production itself The pursuit of tricks often
reegates the background the fundamental idea, the
the various artists Without tricks the picture
dull to the American spectator This is easy to under
stand. Having worked all day like beast of burden
having killed all his thoughts by chewing tobacco and
gum; dazed by the humming of the factory and the
noise of the Streets the spectator calls for mighty
dose of tricks to tickle but rather to and to
pull the This refers not only to the moving
picture theatres In all parks and entertainment places
in all "Coney Islands," it is understood that the
has rush down from the top of the tower either into
a precipice into the water, that the turning disc
has to throw you the barrier, that the staircase
break beneath your feet that the ball has to be
aimed not at wooden target but at the head of a
living Negro
But let return to the cinema.
Circus Stuff.
We are not going to dwell upon the comic films, nor
upon the cowboy films which entirely built upon
acrobatic circus Stunts will also omit all Chasing
films, whether they deal with automobiles trains or
steamers. 1t is not worth while to dwell upon all
these, for it is extremely boring day after day
those films in which the hero jumps with his horse
from high rock into abyss, and escapes; in which
the automobile with the tires the motor and the wheels
gone nevertheless wins the race in which only the hero
and the heroine remain alive after the wreck of the
steamer in order to get married in which the hero
safely jumps from under train that is moving at full
speed The only variation being supplied by the fact
that the comic hero gets under the train due his
stupidity, while the tragic hero does it to his
sweetheart or the daughter of millionaire.