Exhibitors Herald (Jul-Sep 1922)

Directors Must Know By MARTIN J. QUIGLEY TT XLESS some of our directors who are now willing to attempt anything from Western melodrama to spiritual fantasies learn to specialize in their work there is a dark future ahead for them and for their pictures. The mere knowledge of the technic of picture making no longer suffices to enable one to produce creditable pictures. A director, attempting to handle material which is foreign to his thought, experience and general knowledge cannot any more be expected to produce a picture that will measure up to current standards than could an author who is similarly at a loss write a story which would be either consistent, convincing or realistic. As an illustration of our contention we can cite the case of a picture now on the market which is concerned with a religious theme. The picture features a famous star who is supported by a capable cast. It is well mounted and. technically, the direction is beyond criticism. The theme of the picture is one which might give offense to persons of a particular creed and it is obvious from the direction that this fact was kept in mind. However, the result is just what the director sought to avoid. Despite the obvious effort to handle carefully various delicate scenes, the director failed hopelessly, simply because the subject matter with which he was concerned was utterly foreign to him and, as a consequence, his most careful effort was all to no avail. His ignorance of the essential background of the story he was attempting to depict prevented him from knowing what to do and what not to do. T_T IS characters, not having the aid of intelligent and understanding direction, wandered through the picture, making some scenes ridiculous and others just flat and unconvincing. Every where there were evidences of the sad, sad story that the director did not know what he was about. The outstanding successes in the directorial field are men who follow very generally a particular type of picture. The stories themselves which are undertaken may differ in every conceivable way, but they are concerned with the same class or kind of people. These directors, as is proven by their success in making pictures which the public believe in, know the background of their stories, they know in real life and understand the kind of people they are seeking to make five in their plays and, consequently, their characters depict, vividly and realistically, the story that is to be told. At the public's demand there are being produced stories covering practically the entire scope of human life. Every grade and class of society is being typified in pictures. Themes for pictures are selected from the widest variety of subjects. It, therefore, is neither reasonable or possible to expect that any single director should be able to execute properly any and all of the stories that the public wants to see in pictures. * * * Cj PECIALIZATIOX accounts for many of the ^ best pictures that have been made recently and strict adherence to specialization alone will enable the motion picture to keep up its required artistic advance. The function of the director closely resembles that of the author, one tells his story mainly with pictures and the other wholly with words. In neither case can success or satisfaction be rendered unless the creative artist knows his subject matter. The record of literature is replete with instances of author's failure by attemping to write stories which fall beyond the limits of his knowledge and information. The director's case is identical. Let him attempt only the stories he really knozcs and understands.