Exhibitors Herald (1927)

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March 26, 1927 EXHIBITORS HERALD 21 j I i I Putting the Human Touch in Comedies Laughter Is an Elusive Thing — Mistaken Identity Provides Best Ingredient for Comedies By Del Lord Laughter is the most elusive thing in j the world when one starts out to corral it. There are no formulae that are sure fire to obtain the laughs, there^ is no special attack one can make, for in the last word it is all speculation as to how the public will react. Now that the public has become educated to comedy, the director has a problem before him. Pie throwing, chases and falling buildings used to be essential parts in the business of fun making. When these occupied enough footage, animals would be introduced for further seasoning. Mechanical “gags” were used for more footage, then titles were slapped on and it was called a nicture. Comedy making has undergone many changes. There must be a reason for everything today. The situations must be logical. The story may be highly improbable, but it must be within the realms of possibility. Then, passing to the characters, no longer grotesque as in the old days, interest must be created in them so that despite any hokum introduced, one will regard them as human beings whose actions and mishaps are a counterpart of our own. They must be drawn sincerely with insistent traits that remind us of ourselves, holding up as it were a mirror to human nature so that one cannot mistake the image reflected. Of all situations that have a hurnan appeal the world over is that involving mistaken identity. Here is a theme that can be treated from hundreds of angles. In making “Hubby’s Quiet Little Game,” a two reeler for Mack Sennett, we started out with the simple incident of a jealous husband, carefully planted. Every detail was kept true to life, with the introductory footage straight shooting, reflecting sincerely a domestic situation that could happen to anybody. The wife had arranged to take dancing lessons which her husband opposed. He had supposedly gone out, the dancing teacher came, just as he saw her brother, whom he believed her husband. Then the comedy of errors commenced, for he related his experiences and the husband, not knowing his wife was concerned, joined in the laugh. We thought we had a good picture because we had worked it out on natural lines with so much straight stuff. When DEL LORD has completed directing “Big Bertha” for First National. it was previewed and the audience howled we were happy that our opinion was sustained. Pathe gave it a marking of 100 per cent which proves my assertion that one can never predict what the reaction will be to one’s work. Domestic comedies are usually winners. But they are the hardest kind of pictures to make. Many comedies are built up on the set But there was nothing left to change in “Hubby’s Quiet Little Game” which was worked out from start to finish before a shot was made. Otherwise it would have been a tangle of incidents. It is difficult to say how one thinks in terms of laugh getting. In the first place as one works along a certain line for any length of time, other values are eliminated and the concentration is on the line to which the mind has been accustomed. When I follow a dramatic production, I can see the same situations reduced to comedy. Frankly dramatic pictures are a boon to the comedy maker. For the basis of comedy is drama with a laugh getting treatment added. There is no dramatic situation but can be translated into the language of comedy. The line of demarcation between comedy and drama is so slight that comedy can be tragedy and tragedy, comedy. I enjoy playing with a dramatic situation. To work it up until suspense is secured and a few thrills and then let it drop with a thud into comedy. A common illustration of this would be where a group of people are keyed up to something about to happen. They hear a noise outside and in their mood of expectancy, look for anything from robbery to murder. The door opens — they are by this time tense with excitemt.it — and a cat walks in. The reaction is that of laughter. It is relief laughter. In corraling the laughs, there are of course certain mechanics. In the two reeler, the average comedy has from 50 to 60 laughs. In some of our comedies we have had as many as 96 short laughs. In a comedy drama, we aim for sustained laughter and build to laughs with a preliminary footage of about 200 feet. It is easier to make a feature than a short subject. When one has made about 100 two reelers, the training is a liberal education. One knows how to take advantage of everything at hand, for one has cultivated initiative and can grasp things quickly. Many of the best “gags” are impromptu and no matter what one has down on paper, inspiration comes on the set as one works with the cast. It was my custom in making my first feature to follow old habits of preparation and to plan each night the stuff to be shot the following day despite the script where everything was in black and white with the “gags” all written in. One must live with a comedy to make the laughs spontaneous.