Motion Picture Story Magazine (Feb 1914 - Sep 1916 (assorted issues))

114 MOTION PICTURE MAGAZINE means by which he is limited, a chance is given for a definite triangle to be formed, and the triangle to suggest a plot. He may be limited by love, either spiritual or physical; he may be limited by greed or desire for gain; he may be limited by hatred or desire for vengeance; he may be limited by sorrow or remorse for some past action, by poverty or need, by hilarity or weakness from other indulgences, and he may be limited thus in the many hundreds of other ways, each of which forms the triangle of specified logic. For we have given the man his weakness or his problem, and his attempt to cure it or to fall before it. One of the best examples of this, and which gives us one great form of drama, is called tragedy. Tragedy is the portrayal of some breach in the moral law, with a fatal ending. The tragic hero is the man or woman who is at odds with fate, or who is limited by the bondage already mentioned. The fatal ending is caused by the death of the tragic hero, who must succumb to the inevitable. Shakespeare, the greatest dramatist of all times, gained his wonderful reputation by his use of psychological situations, wherein the characters were made to show the innermost working of their minds, and he gave to the world the truest conceptions of the great limitations of mankind. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, in that great speech: "Come, sealing night, to cover up the eye of pitiful day," we see the workings of a mind filled with joy of anticipation of his own personal gain, fear of discovery, remorse at the thoughts of the black deeds, and a general sympathetic feeling for himself. If the psychological drama is the great representative of the stage and that which creates comment and thought, then in the same manner it should supplant the greater form of common entertainment in the silent drama. With thinking authors coming into the field, the present outlook is very promising. When an actor or an actress is spoken of as being gre'at in emotional roles, it is his or her ability to interpret psychological traits. And it is a law as old as the hills and must be adhered to for the best results, so let us encourage the various film companies to spend their time in perfecting their production along these lines. If we must compete with time, then let the Motion Picture be rightly called an art, and, if it is to be called an art, then the chaste and rigid rules governing art must be followed. As a fitting conclusion to this appeal to reason for reason's sake, let us bear in mind Whittier's great quotation, which shows us man's frailty and humanity, and his sometimes futile struggle to better himself : Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: "It might have been. " A PI ea By SUSIE CUE Perplexing is my task, A favor I would ask — Please buy this verse ! Do not send it back To the same old shack*; You've purchased worse. Grant me one request — Your book I love the best. For goodness" sake please say YouUl send me a check, Or I will be a wreck Versifying up the photoplay. In my daily walk I hear picture talk In the stores and out upon the street — ■ For my only pleasure Nickels now I treasure. So my picture idols I can greet. Artists on the screen, The best that can be seen. Doing more to please the crowds each day, Amusement of the best, Where one and all can rest, While gazing at the dear old photoplay.