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26 SCREENLAND
Mr. Arliss Looks at the Movies
THERE has never been, in my opinion, such a stimulus to the drama as that which is offered by the mechanical contrivance which permits the best that the country can produce to be seen and heard in the most obscure corners of the United States.
I think there can be no doubt about the educational possibilities to be derived from talking pictures. It is, in fact, difficult to realize the immense stride that has been taken from the silent to the talking screen.
To tell stories by means of pictures, is, I suppose, the most primitive stage of education ; whereas the literature of any country is its crowning glory. And just as soon as you get talking pictures you automatically get literature.
The great authors of the world will soon be turning their attention to writing for the screen ; in fact, they are doing so now. The great mass of the movie public is quick to learn and to appreciate style in writing as they have already learned to appreciate good music.
I hope as the talkies get better and better — and they will — that they will be used in schools and even universities as examples of the best speech. This will necessitate some improvement on our part, I mean on the part of the actors, and will close the door to some unworthy aspirants to the screen.
We have been given time to grow gracefully out of the silent pictures into the talking pictures. We have come.
Arliss always has a full four weeks' rehearsal before starting to "shoot "a picture. Here he is coaching Evalyn Knapp and David Manners for "The Millionaire," while director Adolphi and Noah Beery look on.
A photographic impression of George Arliss in his new talking picture, "The Millionaire." He plays a rich man masquerading as a garage worker!
What the eminent actor believes about the past, present and future of motion pictures
By
George Arliss
first of all, to the habit of listening.
After a little more time we can experiment with Shakespeare — who. after all, was not a "highbrow" playwright in his day but the author of popular comedies and tragedies which the public flocked to see.
Our first experiment with a picture which required exceptionally close attention of listeners, which depended as little as we dared upon spectacle and action, was "Disraeli." It was a gratifying success. Then we tried "Old English," written by one of the great masters of English play writing, John Galsworthy, which depended even more upon the close attention of the listener for its appeal.
From these we know now that people have learned to listen. It gives us more confidence in the future of the talking pictures.
In the theatre, as stage managers discovered three hundred years ago, if a featured play was not long enough for a full evening's entertainment, the piece selected to precede it was selected so as to harmonize with it in a way. A farce did not precede a tragedy.
So with talking pictures, the entire program should be harmonized. It should go out from the studio as a unit and not be put together haphazardly by the exhibitors.
The average talking picture lasts about an hour and twenty minutes. Why should it not be as long as a stage play? If it requires two and a half hours to de
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