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he film cutter goes unsung — -but he wields a wicked pair of shear s.
URGEONS
Screen
By Robert E. Sherwood
Drawing by Oscar Frederick Howard
T
Jl he average movie fan, in appraising a picture, thinks only in terms of directors, actors and, occasionally, continuity writers. They get the credit or blame — -and deservedly, because they form the creative force which brings the picture into being.
However, there is an obscure, unromantic individual who plays a tremendously important part. He is called the "Cutter," and, although the public never gives him a second, or even a first thought, he often has the power to unmake the work of director, actor and continuity writer combined.
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Deadly but Unimposing
he cutter is usually an unimposing sort of person, unknown, unsung and utterly devoid of that glamour which surrounds his more celebrated colleagues. His name may appear on a film in connection with the art director, the assistant director, the camera-man, etc., but no one ever notices it ; and when he travels, he never has to use an assumed name.
In spite of this, he wields a wicked pair of shears. Frequently, he saves a picture that would otherwise have been a total flop — or he ruins a film that actually possesses all the elements of triumphant success. Whatever he does, he is cordially hated and feared by everyone else in the studio — and totally ignored by everyone out of it.
The Duty of the Cutter
l£ works m a stuffy room surrounded by interminable strips of film, which he must reduce to a required length and piece together into a coherent whole. He must make sure that each episode is in its proper place, and that it is neither too long nor too short.
Before he is finished with his job, he finds that the film is twisted around his neck, is down his throat and in his ears, and has wound its celluloid tentacles about his very soul. His fingers are sticky
fLMr. Sherwood, author of this article, has just cut "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." This scene, with Patsy Ruth Milcr as Esmeralda and Eulalie Jensen as Marie, got by safely.
Vith the cement that is used to glue the patches together, and his eyesight is impaired by constant concentration on the millions of frames that he must scrutinize.
He can't even smoke at his work, because celluloid is. in , flammable — and a badly directed cigarette butt would cost
his employers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The cutter begins to function when all the scenes of a pic~ ture have been shot. If you have ever tried to assemble a dismantled automobile, you will have some idea of the problem that confronts him. He
fLThe average movie fan; in appraising a picture, thinks only of the actor. He completely forgets the lowly cutter.
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