The Film Daily (1935)

THE Wednesday, Nov. 6, 1935 13 a a TOPICS OF TIMELY INTEREST » » Says D W. Griffith Has Not Been Topped INVENTED, exploited and perfected by Americans, the film in America has made little esthetic progress and — excepting Disney — none since Griffith. It was Griffith who established the "flickers" as an industry and art, subsequently to be consumed by the mongrel he had created. The "Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance," Griffiths outstanding films, have never been equaled structurally by his followers. Yet every time Griffith is mentioned film practitioners smile patronizingly and dismiss "the old maestro" with, "Oh, Griffith was all right for his day, but now he's oldfashioned!" Griffith's method was not merely to photograph scenes wherein actors talked, fought and made love, but to build and organize images and events by means solely characteristic of the screen medium. His method was a filmic method. Unlike other directors, he did not depend on the resources of the theater to get his effects. Griffith exploited (and also discovered) the unique alphabet and principles of the cinematic devices to tell screen stories. A close-up, long shot, angle shot or transitions such as cut, fade, iris, dissolve — fundamental methods of filmic expression — played a functional role in his films. These organizational devices were never used at random. They were as integral as a line, space or tone in a Degas painting. Furthermore, every shot, every scene, every sequence, every transition, because of their inter-filmic dependence, mounted cumulatively into a planned architectural filmic as well as dramatic climax. Notwithstanding Griffith's sentimental approach to life, "Birth of a Nation" and "Intolerance" remain moving examples of the art of screen craftsmanship. In Hollywood mechanical progress is mistaken for esthetic. Despite increased technical resources, few films have been produced which might be said to have either individuality or form. Whether the subject matter calls for an accident, a social upheaval, a seduction, a characterization, a psychological study, directors are content to photograph their effects, to reproduce them literally. Whether it is realized or not, the structural basis of every film is its continuity. It is here that the film's organization should be definitely apparent and the montage already obvious. Here is where the director's style should be sensed. But in Hollywood this is far from the fact. Continuities are written by novelists and playwrights, perhaps skillful enough in their own medium; but in the construction of films, from the filmic viewpoint, they are amateurs. Then, too, most directors, recruited from the theatrical world, bring with them stage conventions and artifices and foster these mannerisms upon an alien medium. At best they make little attempt to understand the intricacies and nuances of the screen devices. What, then, can one expect in the way of screen style or form from such methods ? Nevertheless there has arisen a number of directors who have been called "geniuses" from the "press and pulpit." Perhaps in their financial relationships, they are; certainly, in their film construction, they are not. — Lewis Jacobs, In New York "Times". Urges Experimentation Via Short Subjects 'THE studios are still blind not only to the entertainment value of the short film but to its usefulness as a breeding ground for new ideas and new talent. On the score of risk and expense, experiment in featurefilm production is made almost impossible. This bar to experiment is one of the main factors which retard the artistic development of the film. There is, however, little or no financial risk attached to the making of shorts; and even if there were, even if every foot of celluloid thus used lost hard cash, it would be worth every penny for the. ultimate good of cinema, both artistically and commercially. — Norman Wilson in Cinema Quarterly, Edinburgh. Selznick Installed at Pathe Studio West Coast Bureau of THE FILM DAILY Hollywood — With installation of the Selznick unit at the Pathe studios, this lot becomes a 100 per cent major releasing studio, according to G. B. Howe, general manager. The product from the Selznick unit will be released through United Artists, with "Little Lord Fauntleroy" scheduled as the initial production. Sol Lesser is now filming for 20th Century-Fox the picture, "Whispering Smith Speaks," starring George O'Brien, while the Richard Arlen series of starring pictures are released through Columbia. Edward Small is making preparations for the United Artists production of "The Last of the Mohicans." ANNOUNCING THE OPENING OF DANCING, SINGING AND DRAMATIC SCHOOL NED WAYBURN'S 625 MADISON AVENUE, NEW YORK (Between 58th and 59th Sts.) Telephone: Wlckersham 2-4300 NEW CLASSES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS NOW FORMING SEND FOR LITERATURE — VISITORS WELCOME