Reel and Slide (Jan-Sep 1919)

16 REEL and SLIDE Implication Versus Illustration in Moving Picture Drama By Orrin G. Cocks (Secretary, Affiliated Committees for Better Films) MR. ELMER SCOTT of Dallas. Texas, has written: "There is a world of difference, especially on the screen, between implication and illustration. From the very nature of the unspoken drama a scandalous or criminal action must be made obvious to an exaggerated degree. The seriously justifiable criticism lies in illustration." Many other people have expressed themselves on this subject. They want to know some definite things like the following: If the tale is one of frontier justice, why should every criminal and every character in the barroom be shown, to establish the fact that the place is "open" or "loose" ? Why should seven men lie wounded or dying in front of the camera, or why should the hero fight like a wildcat over tables, bar, stairs and balcony through five hundred feet of film? Is it necessary to go into vast detail to register the brutality of a drunken husband or the cattishness of a jealous woman? Why should the villain be shown falling seven stories from a fire escape, and a closeup of his crushed bod\ in the areaway? Or the tree, the limb, the rope, the horse, and the faces of the men administering frontier justice; or the innocent heroine subjected to numerous closeups in a restaurant, being enticed by the unscrupulous "heavy" ? You know the story is coming out all right and have had indelibly implanted on your mind the relative places of the characters in the plot. The use of restraint, therefore, in handling the story increases rather than diminishes the interest. Situations Out of Place When a film deals with infatuation, temptation, allurement and sex implications, and the audience has come with foreknowledge, then the issue is clearcut. They deserve to have the worth of their money — always within legitimate bounds. But the situations proper here have little place in a simple love story. A tale dealing with the wild west, the cave man, the Barbary Coast, Alaska, sea-wolves, or criminality, declares in the title the presence of violent action, and the audience expects it. Why, oh why, these same scenes, in. tales of farm life, ingenues, school and department store remances. New York society or big business? Mind you, these, and many other situations which might be cited, do not lie in the region of regulation on the basis of fundamental morals. All such are now excluded. They are more properly questions of taste and of good drama. In most cases it is utterly impossible to put one's finger on certain scenes and declare that they should be suppressed because of their offense against moral tendencies. Herein lies a basis for fair discussion of the effects of motion pictures. As interpreters of drama, human nature and life, they must deal with good and bad motives, with their interplay on individuals. This is the legitimate field of all stories, be they spoken, written, acted or pictured. The unfolding of a theme through a plot is the function of the play, and the greater the rise or the more profound the fall of the main character, inevitably the more intense are the motives. This all intelligent people heartily grant. They also desire to be taken behind the acts known to the world and to be told some of the hidden reasons or the less obvious emotions which have combined to bring about the results. It is .unquestionably true, however, that something should be left to the imagination of audiences. They resent that form of picturization which abounds in a wealth of detail to make clear just what happened and how it came about. Pleasure and knowledge grow by suggestion, which permits minds to work. The Picture Director's Task The task of the modern motion-picture director is .one which involves the steady and smooth unfolding of a theme. It demands a'registration of the characters in so clean-cut a fashion that the audience follows each to the climax of the plot with the element of suspense running free. In his desire to hold the individual attention of the audience the director is tempted continually to consider the attractive side-issues and details which are powerful and thrilling. Many a film story has wandered so far afield that the theme becomes attenuated. Such a picture loses its real reason for existence .and becomes a series of exciting incidents. Surely people want ideas in motion pictures. That is not the point. These do not offend them and make them want to bring their wives and families out of the playhouse. What they take exception to is the cases of illustration as over against implication. Some of the pictiires produced during the past year have rerhjfrkable in their ability to present situations and motives in a restrained manner which adds to their attractiveness. Every person in front of the screen, however obtuse, has caught the idea and has followed the story with observation, laughter, sighs and applause. What is more, they have talked for days to their friends about the play. Such pictures have "gone big" with the people and have helped to hold the family trade, which after all is the backbone of 75 per cent of the theaters of the country. Macon, Ga., Uses Many Lantern Slides to Promote Community Singing in Local Theaters New slides that are to be used in connection with the community singing inaugurated recently in the Macon, Georgia, picture houses were shown at the Capitol Theater for the first time. There was great enthusiasm in the audience. One of the slides showed how the United States is developing into a singing nation behind a singing army and is to sing a welcome to the boys when they come home. Popular songs were sung, ending with the Battle Hymn of the Republic. A. J. Parkin, operating as song leader under the direction of the War Camp Community Service, had charge. Mr. Parkin introduced a parody on "Smiles," sung to the tune of that popular song, which made a hit with the audience and there seemed to be a demand for more. It ran : There are Fords that crank up easy, There are Fords that crank up hard. There are some that look a little greasy, There are others plastered up with lard ; If you want to fill your life with pleasure, When the mercury is down to ten, Get a mule and buggy for the winter And you'll fly by all "Henry" tin. Singing with the aid of slides in theaters has been adopted in the cities of Savannah, Atlanta, Jacksonville. Montgomery, Mobile and Norfolk. Would Post Film Information in Offices Editor Reel and Slide Magazine : When I go to the city on business I often have the time to sandwich in a good movie show. Besides I need the relaxation. Unless I've read the papers or happen to pass the theaters I don't see much to direct me. Several times I've asked my dentist what was on, and where. Sometimes he didn't know. Why wouldn't it be a good advertising scheme to post the daily notices of the theaters at the dentist's, the doctor's, the hairdresser's? Did you ever see a movie ad at the barber's? Are they in the hotels and restaurants? Or anywhere around depots on posters or boards or any other way? These places where you wait, and wait, and wait, are the places where movie information would get across to you, if ever. I haven't found it noticeable. Mantou, Mich. H. Henderson. Lorain, Illinois, Schools Soon to;Show Instructional Films Moving pictures as a means of education as well as entertainment have been decided upon by the board of education of Lorain, 111., in the high schools of that city, and they will be put on at once. They are to be shown during the noon hour so as not to interfere with the regular courses of study. The innovation will be given a fair trial and may be made a permanent feature. The films will be selected with reference to their influence for good upon the youth and it .is the belief of the school authorities that they will prove of real advantage to the students. Stationary Engineers Project "Goal Is King" The Decatur, 111., branch of the 'National Association of Stationary Engineers is continuing its campaign of education of the public and especially of manufacturers using steam. They recently arranged to have the motion picture, "Coal Is King," brought to Decatur and shown in the high school auditorium, free to the public but especially to manufacturers of steam heat and power and to all engineers. The picture is one of several put out by the Ford Motor Company and the Diamond Power Specialty Company, both of Detroit, in their campaign to educate the public along these lines.