The Film Spectator (Mar-Dec 1928)

uly 21, 1928 THE FILM FHE FILM SPECTATOR EVERY OTHER SATURDAY Published by FILM SPECTATOR, INCORPORATED Welford Beaton, President and Editor ■il Palmer Building GLADSTONE 5506 Subscription price, $5.00 per year; foreign, $6.00. Single copy, 20 cents. ie that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. — Burke. lOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA, JULY 21, 1928 By Way of Apology A last-minute rush brought in so many articles for 'he Contributors' Number that it was not possible to . lublish all of them in a single issue. A number are pre ented herewith, and the remainder will appear in subse (uent issues of The Spectator. Conrad Discusses the "Talkies" By CONRAD NAGEL OFF the coast of Norway lies a huge rock inhabited by millions of birds. Many, many years ago the iirst vessel to sail that way passed this rock. The )irds, startled by this unexpected sight, rose in the air — lundreds of thousands of them. So vast was their numjer that the people aboard the vessel were amazed and :hrilled by the sight, and each time the vessel passed that way its passengers looked forward to the moment when i;he startled birds would take wing. ' But the birds soon became accustomed to the vessel md were no longer frightened from their rock as it passed by. Someone conceived the idea of firing a gun when the Doat appeared off the island — thus startling the birds into flight again. The gun, becoming familiar, was soon ignored. By this time steam was used to propel the vessel, and a sudden blast of the whistle once more sent the flocks skyward. But the whistle, naturally, soon was disdained and the feathered myriads retain their perch to this day. Entertaining the public is exactly like frightening the birds off the rock. A variety of methods must be employed or the birds and public alike will ignore that with which they have become too familiar. * • • The public's hero one year is Babe Ruth — next year he is forgotten and the mobs are hysterical over Valentino— Valentino gives way to Red Grange — Grange to Jack Dempsey, and so on. But always there must be change — ^variety, something new. Because the motion picture was so entirely new it .dominated and held the field of popular entertainment as SPECTATOR Page Three nothing else has ever done. That hold has been weakened somewhat because variety and newness is less and less a part of each production. Stories have become such familiar formulas, and casts so stereotyped, that a picturewise audience can tell just what will happen after seeing the first reel of an average production. Years of great prosperity have softened the mental and physical muscles of the motion picture industry until the industry has allowed itseK to slip into a rut so deep that a cataclysm is needed to jar it free. The talking picture has provided the necessary upheaval, and every man and woman connected with motion pictures is being aroused and stirred into new and greater activity that will be productive of much progress. * • * The talking picture has not been welcomed by the industry, but like all things new and different it has had to batter its way in. Even now when it is well in, its presence is resented by most of those secure in established positions. Actors, writers, producers and directors — all make up the great majority of those who argue against it, and the arguments advanced against the "talkies" are word for word the arguments used against the movies twentyfive years ago! At any gathering of from two to fifty picture people these days one will find the debate on in full force. A small group of enthusiastic supporters of the "talkies" will be doing battle with an overwhelming majority of those who see nothing in the sound pictures. The human mind because it is human, resents anything new and will not judge it fairly. The average individual is so constituted that he will not view progress through the open window of the mind, but prefers to squint out at it fearfully through the narrow slit of his prejudice. This unfortunate state of mind is exemplified by the little old lady Who stood watching the first steam train endeavoring to get under way. "It'll never go! It'll never go!" she declared. When the test was successful and the train disappeared down the street she cried, "It'll never stop! It'll never stop!" ♦ * ♦ Regardless of those who, because of their lack of vision, oppose the "talkies," the talking pictures are here to stay. They are going to rouse every person in the picture industry from stagnant self-satisfaction and revive a sadly waning interest of the public in screen entertainment. Edison gave to the public the first silent moving picture over thirty years ago. The cold silent moving picture has had breathed into it the breath of life and has become a living vibrant thing. Vast new fields of material are opened up. Writers struggle over every story to eliminate long talking scenes. Now those scenes are desirable. Greater demands will be made on players and directors resulting in a greater measure of effort put into each production. Many changes w-.ll occur and much that is good and healthy and normal will come to motion pictures. But all this will come gradually and will come without affecting greatly the vast organization of the industry itself. Just as the self-starter and the pneumatic tire caused a flurry in the automobile industry, and then sold more cars than ever before; just as the radio upset the talking machine industry and then sold more talking machines than ever before, because of the loud speaker and electrical