Evening star., 1928-12-30

CCREEN comedy. seeking to evolve
- from the free-for- all chase and pie
throwing stages to the plot situation
plane, Is undergoing another revolu-
tionary change, due to talking pictures.
The change will mean still higher
level for the comedy at laest, so says
B. P. Schulberg, general manager OF
production at the Paramount studios.
Talking films open up the realm, of
clever dialogue for the screen comedies.
Schulberg explains. They also make
possible deft characterizations, enabling
subtler forms of humor to be portrayed
by the infections of voices. AT the
same time, they do not weaken the
comedy situations or reduce the oppor-
tunities for effective acting. They will.
however, tend to curb eXaggeration, he
believes.
Tracing the history of screen comedy,
Schulberg points out how this form OF
entertainment has evolved from the
crudest of burlesque, up through various
stages of hilarious slapstick, to logically
developed humorous situations. 1t has
been a constantly ascending progress
which will reach its high point in the
talking film. the producer declares.
Motion pictures were novelty in
their infancy" the executive states.
Motion was the basis of that attrac-
ton. People wanted to see pictures that
actually moved. Consequently. when
the comedy element was introduced in
the films, the directors depended on
constant and rapid movement
cali except the younger film followers
remember the early chase comedies. A
fat man walked down street. He
stepped on a banana peeling which
small boy had tossed in front of him.
He sat down with usual thud, then
jumped up and started after the boy.
Perhaps he crashed into laundress,
carrying a huge basket of clothing.
Linen scattering everywhere, the laun-
dress Joined the chase. A messenger
boy on bicycle rounded corner just
in time to get the full benefit of the fat
mans charge. He, too, took up the
pursuit. A bill poster industriously ap-
plying his paste brush, was the next
victim. Smeared with paste, he took
UP the hue and cry. And so it went,
usually ending up in grand free-for-
all a regular furry of motion.
Next came the introduction of slap
stick and the tremendous vogue Of soft
pie. Pie throwing was the chief comedy
situation for some time. other situa-
tions that were taken full advantage OF
In the slap-stick days were: A waiter
falling downstairs with loaded tray
of dishes or spilling gray on top of
a bald mans head: falling into water
Unexpectedly; losing some article of at
tire; stepping into an open manhole;
throwing bombs back and forth in an
effort to get rid of them; stepping on
a ladys train and all sorts of kicks
and blows.
1.-THE early screen comedies were just
a series of incidents taking full advan-
tage of these stock situations. Gradual
ly these disconnected incidents lost their
power to hold audiences interest. In
this emergency the story comedy was
born. Most of the basic situations used
in the one-reel slap-stick efforts were
still used. Many of them will always
be good for laughs. Little by little,
however, their crudities were toned
down, and they were worked logically
into stories. Plot interest became in
creasingly important, and the laugh
situations had to be more deftly woven
into the story fabric.
1.-The vogue of comedy teams is an
other interesting phase in this form oi