Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-26

tlnS witnesses Will De
seated on one side; those of the
defendant on the other. Crowds
Of curious! Uproar from fash
lights! It. is the case of Art VS..
Industry"
Theodore Dresser, the author,
comes into court with a copy of
his American Tragedy" under his
arm. A representative of the
Paramount company arrives with
several tin cans containing the
motion picture version of the
same American Tragedy" Jus
tice William Bleakley, in the Su-
preme Court of Yonkers-on-the-
Hudson, orders his bailiff to con-
vene the session, and the battle
is on.
No one knows how many thou
sand dollars Mr.. Dresser received
for the motion picture rights to
his American Tragedy" That is
aside from the point in court. He
claims, in heated manner, that
the producing company, Para
mount, switched his story all
around. For instance, in the
novel, Dresser says he pictured his
central character, Clyde, as a vic
tim of society. What did the
movie people do but change So
ciety into a victim of Clyde? Mr..
Dreiser's attorneys, Arthur Gar
field Hays and Carter Hume, have
sent out a letter to several thou
sand persons and publications,
quoting from their literary ex-
perts on the iniquities of the
screen version Of the Dresser novel.
In part, they say:
When the motion picture rights
of the book were originally pur-
chased, Mr.: LaSky specifically
stated that the producer wished
to make a gesture and to pre-
sent a picture of real merit, quite
unlike the ordinary screen mate
rial. This was insisted upon by
Mr.. Dresser before he would sell
it. The contract of purchase con-
tanned this rather unusual clause:
The purchaser agrees before pro-
duction to submit to the seller the
manuscript intended to be used
as a basis of or from which there
will be adapted said motion pic
ture photoplay for such comment,
that the seller may wish to make
with respect thereto and to afford
the seller the opportunity of dis
cussing with the ScenariSt Of said
motion picture the manuscript
thereof, and the purchaser agrees
it will use its best endeavorS to
accept such advice. suggestions
and criticisms that the seller may
make in so far as it may, in the
| judgment of the purchaser, con-
siStently do so.
Interpreting this last bit Of the
contract paragraph, it would seem
that the producing company pref
| ty we'll protected itSelf-that is,
in spite of an agreement to hear
criticisms and suggestions of the
author, it retained the right to
make changes in so far as it may,
in the judgment of the purchaser,
consistently do So"
From this angle, the whole mat
ter resembles a tempest in a tea
pot" Picture experts" who have
viewed the finished American
Tragedy" say it is one of the best
talking pictures, If not the best,
ever turned out by Paramount.
In the meanwhile, the case is
proving a sort of gold mine for
columniStS. The outcome will be
closely watched by authors and
by the Hollywood producers, but
the general public does not care
much how the decision goes. The
demand of the theatergoer is for
a good picture, whether it holds
to the original story or not. The
satisfactory position when he
alignS himself with the public,
rather than with the author.
" X X
THE fact that P. G. Wodehouse,
humorist, was paid $104, 900 by
a producing company for years
work, and then. the employing
company failed to utilize scratch
of his expensive pen, has created
considerable talk of movie waste"
and movie mistakes" Writers
have gone into great detail over
the errors of commission and
omission of the producers, and the
WodehouSe incident has attracted
much attention on account of the
fact that it comes at a time of
depression. But one of the most
| far-fetched excuses for the gen.
erouS producer is found by an
editorial writer of the Motion Pic
ture Herald. He says:
1--WE are eternally hearing about
the mistakes of the movies. Just
offhand, out Of memory of a
writer who has had considerable
contact with American business
for the last two decades, come
recollections that: Once a great
motor car company had to call in
a whole seasons output because
| of a silly error in construction:
once a great tobacco company'S
advertising department lost track
Of five carloads Of costly enameled
signs, which were found in a
I warehouse four years after the
brand which they were devoted to
had passed out Of the market;
once a great Government spent
$47,000,000 on hydroelectric
plant which has never done any,
thing yet; once great conStruc-
ton company had to build a
bridge over a big river three times
and drowned a tribe of Indians
before it would stand up; further
every good American newspaper
buys and produces twice as much
copy as it prints; struggling
authors write a hundredfold more
novels, plays and stories than ever
will be published The fact that
the race, and it's various concerns,
survive indicates that the mistakes
are an essential part Of the proc