Cinema (Hollywood) (1947)

deeply into their own art and attempted to define its techniques. Two great European teachers added immeasurably to the growth of realism — Antoine and Stanislavski. Of particular interest to screen actors are the pronounced revisions in acting technique which were brought about by the new medium of the screen, which in the brief span of fifty years has developed from the crude films of its early period through the predominantly pantomimic phase of silent pictures to the intricate art form it is today. The screen, highly developed technologically, capable of complex and subtle effects, gives actors a rare opportunity to reflect, through close-up, microphone, lighting and a score of other effects, the most delicate nuances of characterizations, the most searching interpretations of the thoughts and feelings of the character he is portraying. In the three hundred years in which the actor has moved from the crude outdoor theatre to the modern sound stage, he has acquired the benefits of scores of technological advances — and his technique has been accordingly modified. He has developed from gestures that were necessarily overdrawn and flamboyant (in order to be seen at all by the audience) to registering emotions sensitively through the expression in the eyes, as recorded by the closeup — from performing at top-voice, in order to be heard, to the eloquence of a whispered word, picked up by the microphone. TTo chronicle the development of acting technique in A this manner is not to indicate that the actor today is necessarily superior to his predecessors, for all art must be judged in terms of the historical period in which it developed. Even the greatest actor cannot go beyond what has Reelisms For Cry Wolf, the deep-green oak-covered hills of the location site photographed too beautifully. To break up this natural splendor, five truck loads of artificial shrubs and bushes were distributed on the landscape. For Two Guys From Texas, an indoor location was used rather than going to a natural site. To duplicate the Lone Star State, set dressers used 20,700 square feet of canvas sky, 31,328 square feet of sand-covered flooring, two carloads of Texas flora and a huge ranch house with seven fireplaces For Silver River, real dirt rubbed into the face and uniform of Errol Flynn, playing a Civil War battle scene, didn't look "dirty" enough. As a substitute they used 2 5 pounds of Fuller's Earth in assorted colors ranging from gray to red to brown. For Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Humphrey Bogart plays a gold prospector who flings himself down at a water hole after a long trek and drinks thirstily. But the Mexican burros he was leading nonchalantly sauntered away from the water as though the last thing on their mind was thirst. Director, cameraman, and actors huddled trying to figure out how to trick the burros into drinking in order to make the scene look realistic. Finally, as the production crew waited, the burros were taken on a long walk through the open countryside under the hot sun. But after bringing them back to the water hole, they still refused to drink. A native who had been watching this all-day procedure finally walked up to Bogart and explained that burros only drink when they are dying of thirst — otherwise they get their water from the dew on grass. developed in his time. The test of the great artist is his ability to make creative use of these developments. For the actor, the challenge lies in using today's superb technology and today's understanding of psychology for the enrichment of acting. To meet this challenge, he must not only make full utilization of what today offers, but must be ready to adjust his technique to new changes which are to come. For they are coming. We need only to contemplate the future of television to know that another revolution in technique lies ahead for actors. Acting can never be dissociated from the content with which the actor works. As the content expands and achieves depth, the opportunity it offers to the actor for depth of interpretation likewise expands. In the Elizabethan and Restoration periods, for instance, when the theatre was primarily the possession of royalty, content was limited to material which would appeal to the nobility — and roles were likewise limited. All protagonists were of the nobility; if any members of the lower classes were written into the plays, they served the function of clowns. With the development of a merchant class in the early eighteenth century, the theatre reached out to broader audiences. That new audience was reflected on the stage by the appearance of new characters in the plays — middleclass characters whom the audience understood, and whom, therefore, the actor was impelled to interpret with greater realism. A s the theatre became increasingly popular, the range *■■ of characterizations which found their way onto the stage expanded, and each expansion offered further opportunity to the actor. Today, the screen provides a mass form of entertainment never before paralleled, and by the same token, there is a steady demand for the content of the screen to deal with people whom the audience understands— facing the problems familiar to that audience. This trend had been highlighted by the global war which led the audience to seek on the screen honest and courageous treatment of the issues involved — treatment which evoked from the serious actor honest and courageous performances. Since the war, there has been a sliding off of story standards in film production. Repetition of cliche situations and characters and the avoidance of social themes is reflected in screen acting which lacks vitality. The actor finds it difficult to orient himself to characterizations lacking in authenticity and realism. Such recent films as The Best Years of Our Lives and Crossfire, which attempted to deal profoundly with contemporary problems, evoked performances that deepened the meaning of the content — performances that are memorable. The actor today has assumed greater responsibilities not only as an artist but as a citizen; he has fought the war on all fronts — in uniform, as an entertainer in Army camps, in countless home-front activities. Because he is so thoroughly integrated into the world in which he lives, it is particularly important that he develop a sense of his historical past, that he think of his profession in terms of a national and international heritage. Too often the actor thinks of his profession disparagingly, as a bag of tricks. Particularly is this true of the screen actor, who is less aware of his identification with a long tradition than the stage actor is likely to be. Through an understanding of his past, the actor is better able to evaluate his position in relation to the present and the future, for the roots of the actor are deep in the whole development of society. He didn't rise out of a vacuum to make faces into the camera, or just to amuse and entertain. He has articulated the aspirations of people throughout the centuries, enriching their understanding of life. CINEMA