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Pictures at\d Pic l\i reaver
JANUARY 1925
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Reading downwards : Charles Ray, Cullen Landis, and Harry Carey demonstrating the approved methods of dealing with screen villains.
Richard Dix disposed ofjhe villainess (Betty Compson) in " The Woman With Four Faces," by converting and afterwards marrying her.
Having successfully tried all the old methods
of getting rid of their villains, movie-makers
are busily evolving brand new ones.
Whatever would film producers do if villains became scarce? Suppose, for instance, that a tremendous wave of revivalism swept over the world regenerating mankind — how the movies would suffer !
It is the villain who makes the screen drama, of course. Without him the hero would have no chance to exploit his courage, his detective talents or his highbrow morals ; while the heroine would miss an infinite number of opportunities for fainting gracefully into her intrepid lover's arms !
When a scenarist sets out to write a filmplay, therefore, his very first move is to select a villain. Of course, there are villains and villains ! There are the out-and-out evil plotters and arch schemers ; and there are the merely medium bad men who simply wreck other folks' affairs by interference and sheer incompetence.
If the author is determined to build his story around a villain of deep dye he can choose between the Society villain, who understands the sartorial art better than any hero yet invented; the adventurous villain who specialises in pi<" aresque robberies hold-ups and card tricks the Oriental rogue, wit' slant eyes and an evil looking dagger; or the low down. honest-to-badness rascal of the unshaven chin and badanna neckerchief.
A hero, a heroine, a fewrelatives and friends, and, possibly, a villainess are fitted in. The villain gets busy — the movie is made.
Almost made, that is to say! It is quite a simple matter for thehero to disentangle his love affairs, straighten out the family finances and set everything working towards a happy-everafter ending !
Even the heroine can do all this, on occasions, and especially when she is a star in her own rights ! But there is a much more difficult problem to. be solved by the screen author — the villain must be got rid of !
Although the " happy ending " does not always furnish, the most artistic or the most natural finish to a film it is the one most popular with the general