Celluloid : the film to-day (1931)

LE MILLION I9I texture, it presented more of a showman's idea of Parisian night-life than was agreeable to the ordinary Parisian. It is not unreasonable to suppose that the French dislike their beloved city being represented on the screen as an underworld of apaches and dancingdens, and that when one of their best directors puts all his ability into such a film they are righteously annoyed. Feyder's sparkling political satire, hes Nouveaux Messieurs, it will be remembered, was for some months forbidden by the French censor, simply because it revealed all too plainly the childishness of political systems. In these circumstances I do not find it surprising that the French regard Clair's sound films with an attitude bordering on indifference, although they are secretly delighted that this young director has achieved fame in practically every capital. As is now well-known, Clair was a journalist on II L'Intransigeant " when he became mildly interested in film acting. Later, he was able to become an assistant to Baroncelli, the veteran French director, and then — like so many other young men — he started to make short experimental films. Paris qui dort {The Crazy Ray), he Fantome du Moulin Rouge, he Tour and he Voyage Imaginaire, each of these was a splendid training ground for discovering the thousand and one uses of the camera and the vital importance of screen movement. He set up an idol for himself in Chaplin, studying in detail every aspect of the great comedian's work, and learned also from the speed of the Mack Sennett comedies. Slapstick in a more refined edition than that of the American comedies