Amateur Movie Makers (Dec 1926-Dec 1927)

The Little M ovie in ENGLAND THE Little Movie Movement moves slowly, very slowly indeed, wrote V. P. in a recent issue of the Christian Science Monitor. One wonders why. It is so obviously needed. There is such an open and easily accessible place waiting for it in the world of the cinema, and success seems so sure. One only needs to glance back through the history of the Little Theater movement to see how genuine a contribution the amateurs can bring to art. Consider the Abbey Theater, and how the two Fay brothers began it with only ambitious amateurs for artists. Consider the Moscow Art Company, and Stanislavsky's story of the family theatricals. It is possible for any family with a cinematographic taste to buy a little camera and projector, and for any theatrical group of screen aspirants to do likewise. The apparatus is cheap, the use of it is cheaper, the opportunities for experiment are priceless, and the sincere and studied work that would undoubtedly come from such uncommercial experiments would feed the screen as the stage has been fed. Sooner or later the movement is bound to gather momentum. In London it has just received a preliminary push from a little group of players known as the Gate Theatre. They presented at a festival matinee not long ago a home-made motion-picture called "Shadow." Now this is interesting, for here is a little theatre turning its attention to and using its equipment for a little movie. "To be sure this first attempt was not very serious, and is not to be taken very seriously, but it has its significance." That was the commentary of a disinterested spectator of the Little Movie Movement. Particularly is it significant to the Amateur Cin Eighteen ema League here, however, for it is an echo of the strides that have been taken in the United States. The directors of the Gate Theater whose playhouse is a garret almost opposite the Garrick Club, having decided to amuse their subscribers with a special matinee in honor of the first season's success, found fifteen unoccupied minutes in the program. The discovery was made two days before the performance. So one director — Miss Molly Veness — wrote a highly melodramatic scenario casting herself for the Wife ; the other director — Peter Godfrey — produced the scenario with himself as the Villian ; one of the members of the company — Wilfred Walter (an "Old Vic" veteran)— volunteered for the Husband, the rest of the Gate Theater's cast was the crowd, the stage and lighting equipment of the garret was used ; the bill for all this was about £12 for the electricity, and lo ! two days later camera outfit, and 3s. 6d. for "Shadow" was put upon the screen. All these details in the history of this film were merrily explained to us by Mr. Godfrey in a running commentary that accompanied the picture. And many other things in the picture were explained also, and necessarily, for much in both the photography and plot of "Shadow" was obscure. Many incidents in the scenario had been improvised on the spot. Some of the outdoor scenes, cleverly taken in the street below from the windows of the garret were lost in over-exposure and were cruelly criticized by their expositor. Some of the studio scenes, however, taken in the theater and lighted by the theater's lights, were excellent. And this is the point. For it happens that Mr. Godfrey is an expert in stage lighting, and some of his Gate Theater play productions this year have made his fellows blink their eyes. So this — the excellence and interest of the lighting and setting and composing of some of the later interior scenes of "Shadow" when the extempore director got his hand in is the point, and the reason for writing seriously at all about this merry melodrama made for fun by a company of mountebanks. For it is by just such modest means that the little theater, especially the little theater in America, has flourished. Shall not the little movies flourish also, fed by young enthusiasm? The Gate Theater's miniature expressionistic production last winter of "From Morn to Midnight" was so successful that Mr. Godfrey was invited to make a full size production for the West End, which he did, though, I am told, not with entire success as the proportions were still too little for the big playhouse. Now he plans to try to make a motion-picture of the play possibly with the idea of presenting it as a preliminary sketch to some professional producer who will invite him to develop it into professional proportions. And possibly the result will be entirely unsatisfactory. No matter. The project opens up possibilities, and it is not presumptious to imagine a Gate Theater entirely of the screen — not of the stage playing with the screen — organized to compose, play, and produce before an audience of subscribers miniature motion pictures which can be developed and enlarged, and will eventually develop and enlarge the art of the motion picture. IT WON'T BE MUCH TROUBLE "When we get motion pictures by radio the young people will have to think up some other reason for not staying home." — James J. Montague in the N. Y. Herald Tribune.