Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-01
Moving Picture Album
BY ROBERT E. SHERWOOD.

| prassions, his gestures and his diction
| following which the scene was repeated
| twice. with occasional pauses for rear
! rangement of Mr.. Benchley's makeup.
| Mr.. Chalmers, by the way. is prob
/ ably destined to become one OF thu
/ pioneer directors of the Movietone. He
| has been a fine opera singer and q
| fine actor. and he understands the sub
| tleties Of the human understanding
| of which the old-linc movie director:
| are totally ignorant In the new order
| that is coming to pass In the film bust
| ness, Mr.. Chalmers and others like him
| are stepping forward. and the $4,000
| a-week men of yesterday are fading out
/ Under the leadership of CORTLAND
/ Smith. the Fox Movietone people are
| spending huge sums of money and max
ing all sorts of experiments. Actors ano
| actresses are being lured from Broad
way to Tenth avenue and are being
subjected to various forms of tests tc
find out what types of voices and what
styles of diction will record most effec-
lively. The perfect combination of fea-
ture and voice will be hard to find
luckily. Mr.. Benchley is unusually well
favored in both respects.
Mr.. Smith showed me picture that
his staff has been making for the pur-
pose of trying out different dramatic
effects through the Movietone. 1t is
called The Scarecrow," and while 1t
has no particular plot and, at present.
no ending, it is about as exciting as
any movie / have ever seen.
The Scarecrow" gives an indication
of what the Movietone can do, and
without the aid of much dialogue,
either. It's characters are taciturn peo-
pie, who say very little, but ones in
tereSt is aroused by the sound of wind
and rain, by the ticking of a clock,
the rustic of newspaper, the creaking
of boards in an old floor, the clatter
of fire irons as they are knocked mad
vertently over
The trouble with the talking photo
plays that have been offered so far
C'Tenderloin" and The Lion and the
Mouse" for example} is that their max
ers have been oppressed by the same
traditions OF the theater that inhibic
playwrights.
In play on the stage 1t is necessary
that the characters shall keep on talk
ing practically all the time. Sometimes
a dramatist or stage director can in
vent business" that will keep the au-
dience interested for few seconds. but
effective pantomirne is only rarely
achieved.
In real life two or more people have
been known to sit for hours without
speaking TO each other. There are
plenty of things that can happen with
out word being uttered.
The ideal talking movie will be, for
the most part, silent. Its author will
be able to accomplish as much with a
very few words as a playwright can ac-
complish with a hundred pages of man
uscript Action will continue to be the
predominant feature. The talk will only
serve to augment it and render 1t more
credible.
But when a character in picture has
something to say he will say 1t, and
what's more, he will have to believe It,.
There will be no more deceptive sub
titles and Qet us fervently hope) no
more subtitle writers.
No more will We have to watch a
sweet heroine in love scene frame
with her pretty lips such sentiments as
You big so-and-So, If I had my way
you'd be canned from this job tomor-
row and sent back to the other side Of
the soda fountain, where you belong,
while a subtitle assures us that she ac-
tually is murmuring, II love you"
Don't let any one tell you that the
movietone isn't godsend to humanity.
(Copyright. 1927