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Hands of Hollywood
them, and when these greatly loved stars appear in poor pictures, they forgive them. In other words, very often, the public would rather see some stars in any kind of a story than see mediocre actors and actresses in fairly well written stories. Greta Garbo, in even silent pictures, draws more people to the theater than the most widely advertised stage celebrity.
The public's demand, therefore, for certain beloved stars comes first — the story is written merely to meet that demand.
Another very important factor concerning the choice of story is the cycle of taste in pictures. This exerts a tremendous influence on the producers. One studio releases a war picture, e. g., "THE BIG PARADE." Soon the reports start pouring in from the exhibitors that this picture is succeeding wonderfully well — "knocking 'em over," "standing them in line," "smashing records."
Immediately most of the producers, including the independents, call in staff 'writers or frantically search the market for plays, novels, etc., because they want to make a war story. They wish to ride on the crest of the sudden wave of popular taste for war pictures.
Sometimes this system has been successful; sometimes it has been disastrous. Why? Because, though the public may enthuse over "THE BIG PARADE," this does not mean that the fans suddenly want a flood of war pictures. However, the public liked "UNDER' WORLD" and also liked nearly every other "crook melodrama" which has followed it.
In the making of comedies, especially the full length comedies, very little, if any, story is written. The story grows in the making of the picture, and "gag men" constantly are devising new gags, new twists, as the picture progresses. That great genius, Charles Chaplin, never uses a script.
When stories are not written to order, they are chosen in many different ways.
The producers constantly watch the current stage plays and mu' sical shows, especially since the advent of the Talkers, to see if they contain suitable screen material. They are searching now through the
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