Evening star., 1928-04-15
News and Comment
BY W. II. LANDVoIGT.

iron is red!" And the anvilS
clang with the redoubled pound
ing of their exaltation hammers.
A DVANCE readers bring the in
"A formation that We Ameri-
cans" one of the features of the
/ current week, touches upon
] phase Of the recent Great War
which generally has been soft
! pedaled, namely, the inner Senti-
ment. during the war, of natives
of the countries with which we
waged the war. The loyalty of
the German residents of America
and of those of German descent
was always questioned during
those dark days, and much Suspi-
cion was directed at that time
against many who already had
made bodily sacrifice for the
/ land of the free and the home
of the brave" Of the thou
sands of these unfortunate people
who had made their new homes in
Our America" and who up to the
time the country of their adop-
ton became entangled with their
fatherland had never had their
loyalty questioned, there were
many who went willingly into the
ranks of our Soldiery to fight
against their former countrymen,
Others gave loved ones to the good
cause. and in many of their homes
the Death Angel cast its shadow
of heartbreak. But still the
loyalty of all of them was ever
doubted. 1t was trying time
for these people, for that phase
of American patriotism" which
was more spectacular than sincere
and commendable pressed them
hard. It should be interesting to
see in our less heroic moods just
how the picture-maker has dealt
with them. Only the past week
we had another picture made b.
an American war correspondent
purporting to show how things
were on the other side of the bas-
tie line.
THE movie maker is not always
i happy in the choice of his
subjects. He very often bungles
onto dangerous ground Many
suspected this was SO in the Uni
verSal picture. The Hunchback
of Notre Dame" until it was dis
covered that the Victor Hugo
story had been altered so as to
avert an embarrassing condition.
The same is true of the Italian
production dealing with the story
of the Borgias. For that, of
course, our picture producers are
not responsible. But as the variant
history of that unhappy period
also presented presumably as
facts some things calculated 10
arouse violent controversy, 1t
would seem that the story would
rather have been safer in books
than exploited in pictures on the
public screen. 1t seems often as
though 1t would be most profit
able to some of the big studios. at
least, to have scholarly advice
when the production of such
themes seems necessary, for the
movie historians and literateS
are not always sufficiently satu-
rated with worldly wisdom to
make them safe advisers. some
times even in the spelling of the
names of historic characters.
A MOTHER most important mat
n ter also claims attention. IT
seems a bit impudent TO say to a
man who is furnishing the money
to make a big picture spectacle
that he must not put his finger
into the pie when he imagines by
so doing he is going to increase
the box Office value of the pic
ture. But 1t is nevertheless i'm
portant to remember that those
whose intellectual equipment is
not adequate TO the task should
not undertake TO meddle with
movie art or movie history. or, in
deed, with the movie at all. It
is much more impudent and pre-
sumptuous for such people TO mar
a fine production with their
ignorance. And we frequently
learn that they do. even against
the protest of authors. play
wrigf1ts and their own directors
Their egotism might better be
satisfied in another way. such. for
instance. as the erection of their
monuments at the gates of their
studios, or on their picture lots.
although the public might not be
tolerant If they do 1t in the
theaters which they control. How
ever. In the consideration Of the
uplift of the movies, this is among
many important matters that seri-
ously deserve attention In this
day and generation.