Motion Picture Story Magazine (Aug 1911-Jan 1912)

140 MUSINGS OF A PHOTOPLAY PHILOSOPHER A smile is a splendid liniment for strained relations. There is something about a pleasant smile which is at once soothing and healing. The man with a good smile can always command repose in his adversaries and thus prevent a threatened quarrel. We may be the architects of our own fortunes, but most of us would do better if we hired another architect. If you have ever intently watched the lips of the actors and actresses in the Motion Picture plays you must have noticed how they differed in the conveyance of meaning. Some are almost audible because of their naturalness, some others interpret nothing in their movements. With some lips the words originally uttered are plainly distinguishable, with others they are incomprehensible apart from the guesswork accompanying the action of the play. The education of the lips is a great feature in dramatic art. On their mobility often depends the interpretable delivery of silent words. It makes their sound easily imaginable to the intelligent observer. One -can almost fancy he hears the spoken syllables as they fall from the mouth. While much depends upon the other features of the face — the eyes, the brows, ^etc. — still it is but natural for an audience to watch the lips of the silent actors as they deliver their speeches dumbly. Heavy mustaches conceal the lips and hinder the interpretation of formed words in the mouth. Mustacheless lips are consequently easier understood in their mute movements. For this reason it is said that the moving lips of Avomen are better understood than those of men, yet many of our Photoplay actors have lips that quickly and intelligently convey their voiceless meaning. Practicing before a mirror is said to be a good way of educating the lips in the representation of speech. But it is generally conceded that one can better understand what the player is supposed to be saying if familiar with his acting and his personality, just as we can better understand the movement of the lips of one of our own family or immediate circle of friends, than we can the voiceless words of a stranger. It is claimed that the deaf can tell what their friends are saying simply by watching the movement of their lips, and this bears out the theory that familiarity with the speaker greatly assists the understanding of what he is saying, even when the sound of his voice is not heard. It is a curious fact that, while lips and mouths and tongues are very similarly shaped to the casual eye, they are not equally expressive or eloquent. In fact, there is a great discrepancy in the way they move in the pronunciation of words. Good actors are invariably distinct speakers, yet if the lips are closely watched during the delivery of the same identical speeches it will be found that the lips assume different curves and shapes in the enunciation of the words. This is as certain as the different intonations of the human voice, as a little study will convince, tho it is difficult to get those who see everything superficially to admit the fact. There are thin lips and thick lips, firm lips and drooping lips, straight lips and wavy ones. The lower one is always the more active, but both are capable of varying in mobility. Players should remember, when posing for picture plays, that tho their voices will not be reproduced, their lips in action will, and a better effect can be given by speaking every word as naturally as if it were meant to be heard by the audience. ' ' Mouthing ' ' the syllables, in the expectation that clear enunciation is not necessary, is a mistake and will seriously mar the ' ' lip effect ' ' for all observers.