Evening star., 1928-04-08
PATIENT reader of this col

" umn has written to know
~ more of that story of the
\ man who yoked himself to
the steer" to which reference was
made last Sunday. What shall be
told her? In the days long gone
by it was considered a good story
to tell whenever friend was
about to engage in foolish en-
terprise. In the hands of a skilled
raconteur it seemed very anus
ing. And in connection with the
shakeup in the amusement world.
especially the world of films, 1t
seemed peculiarly appropriate.
The man wanted to ascertain just
how well the steer would go when
yoked with a companion. Having
but one steer, he kindly vol1n
teered himself for the experiment
and the steer ran away. The
last heard from him was, Here
we come. darn our fool souls:
somebody stop us" And we won
dered IL the same exclamation
might not be heard from the film
industry after it becomes securely
hitched to speaking pictures" and
vaudeville.
THE movies of today are but an
l. unpleasant threat, not real
menace. 10 the theater. using the
word in the broadeSt sense. Ana
this because speaking pictures.
it is confidently believed. will
never take the place of human
beings. MIR. Sherwood, elsewhere
in this section today. deals with
this notion. He has not failed 10
say explicitly that when the movie
industry takes on speaking pic
lures" it will have to equip itself
with playwrightS who can write
plays in the way they must be
written for the movies, in order to
make it possible to make them
into movies. That difficulty is
merely mechanical. There is
something more necessary. Those
who climb down from the realms
OF speculation and diSordered
imagination to the bedrock Of
common sense may find that
mans effort to duplicate Gods
work, so far as human beings AMI
the interest they arouse are con-
cerned. is a large and possibly an
exceedingly difficult undertaking.
True. the pictures are made by
flesh and blood creations. but they
lack much more than the voice ID
make them the same in romantic
or dramatic interest. Ii is indeed
questionable If those who are used
in making the pictures can even
act as would the flesh and blood
creations that have made the
stage a living. an indispensable
element in the life of the world
Yes, their directors can tell and
show them what TO do. but even
with the greatest directors some
thing would be lacking. something
the world can i'll afford to lose
John Barrymore. to give an in
stance. has proved this, for his
greatness on the screen is but
mere reflection of that greatness
which he attained on the stage.
where men and women act and
speak as God intended them to do.
THE movie sprung into being
about quarter Of a century
ago. In a few short years it
leaped TO an eminence never be-
fore attained in so short time
BY even the greatest OF existing
industries. The people fairly
poured out their wealth in en-
couragement. and men from the
humblest walks OF life, who before
had known only penury and suf-
fering. rose to the ranks of mil
lionaires, at first by merely show
ing the new entertainment in
scent shows and then by making
the pictures themselves that pro-
yided the entertainment. Today,
not content with their success in
their. own legitimate field. they
seem TO be trying to merge all
other forms Of entertainment with
IT. II has utterly changed condi-
tions and entertainment in the
real theater: it has bewildere6
burleSoue. and it is apparently
bent upon crowding vaudeville of
the map. The result is that never
before has the amusement world
been In such a state Of uncertain