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Epic Possibilities of the Film 18 [he second story and a portion of-the action, and so on with the three or fonr threads. Where the larger sepa- ration, by time, of the Intolerance nar- -ative made it somewhat possible to keep them straight, the similarity of he groups living in the same city and ige was hopelessly confusing in the ;urrent picture. This came about be- muse the writer of Theodora disre- garded unity in his story; because he lid not make one narrative the main plot to which all others were subordi- nate. He lost, too, his finest dramatic element, suspense. The characters of the subordinate stories should have been brought in as the action called for them, not parceled out in isolated introduction, to reappear later on hopelessly mixed with the others, in- troduced likewise in the beginning but not having yet appeared in the action. Therefore, it can be simply under- stood that the danger of losing a defi- nite centering of a film is not alone one of periods of time but can enter into that type of spectacle film that is, in time, a unit within a given period. Theodora further demonstrates how the highest epic possibilities of the screen can be violated. Mobs, when they appear just as mob scenes reem- jthasizing themselves with no particu- lar reference to an emphasis in the tory, become absurdly unconvincing. Too, when they bunch with no effort at artistic massing they leave the oppo- site psychological effect trom that de- sired,—scattered energy not concen trated force. Thus, to sum up this whole matter of the epic possibilities of the movies in relation to the unities, we find two distinct types of spectacle film; first, the film placed in one period, with the thrill of distance and crowds as its only epic qualities; second, that which takes us through two or more periods of time with the thrill of distance and crowds in each period. In the second, looking at the film as a whole, we have the unity of time disregarded but the unity of action and place maintained by a completed reeling of the separate narratives, connected, of course, by il- luminating leaders. In the first, if there is but one narrative we have no problem analogous to that of the sec- ond type. If, however, there are, as in Theodoraj two or more narratives, one must stand out as the main plot carry- ing the others as sub-plots with the characters of the latter introduced as the action call's for them. In short, unity of action must be maintained. And last, in reference to both types, those matters of mobs, distances and racing vehicles must be carefully used with no loose extravagance, for an overdose of the very element that makes them distinctive will make them absurd, and the epic quality of the screen will be slow to become estab- lished in practice.