Screenland ((Jan–Jun 1947))

y Blonde Mothers y J and Children J Shampo&Mmr Shade* X 1 5* When They Use This New SAFE 1 1 -Minute Home Shampoo Made specially for blondes, this new shampoo helps keep light hair from darkening— brightens faded hair. Called Blondex, its rich cleansing lather instantly removes the dingy film that makes hair dark, old-looking. Takes only 1 1 minutes at home. Gives hair lustrous highlights. Safe for children. Get Blondex at 10c, drug and department stores. V V ! Take your pick of gorgeous, glossy photos of your favorite Hollywood Stars in thetr newest poses. Smallest Order 50c. ! Name 2nd choices. FREE! THREE 8 x 10 PICTURES, j GIFT COUPONS and CATA ! LOG of OVER 200 EXCITING ; PHOTOS with each order. BE LUXE PHOTO SERVICE Dept. H28 Box 953 Church St. Annex New York 8, N. Y. SHORTHAND in £ Weeks at Home Famous Sueedwriting system. No signs or symbols; uses ABC's. Easy to learn; easy to write and transcribe. Past preparation for a job. Surprisingly low cost. 100.000 taught by mail. Used in leadinu offices and Civil Service. Write for free booklet to: Speedwriting, Dept. 6902-7, 55 W. 42nd St., New York 18 SONG POEMS » We offer services of a noted Hollywood Motion Picture composer and arranger. Recordings made by NBG singer, fcsend your poem on any subject today for consideration and our liberal offer. HOLLYWOOD MELODIES P. O. Box 2168E Hollywood 28, Oalif. N T E D FREE CATALOG OF GREAT RING VALUES! PRICE INCREASE! 16 gen. diamond, 14 kt. Solid Gold wedding and engagement set, each with a guarantee bond, in a beautiful gift boxl Pay postman price plus postage and Fed. tax. Each ring $10.50 Bolh for only $18.00 L'AMOUR JEWELRY CO.. INC DEPT. T2, 545 FIFTH AVENUE, NEWY0RK17 The Montgomery Method Continued from page 45 gomery first conjured up this manner of telling a story in 19S8, and rushed to Head Office at MGM to 'explain the broad general theory of his brainstorm. The background of the notion was this: the motion picture has confined its camera conception — except on rare occasions and in brief, unrelated sequences — to the universal viewpoint, used of necessity in the theater, and for speed and clarity in most novels. You, as a member of an audience, for instance, have been given knowledge about the secret activities, the emotions, and thoughts of each character. Bob's idea was to allow the camera to be the eye of a chief protagonist in the drama and to record the story from that character's normally restricted vision. In that way, he explained, each member of the audience could take mental part in the action. Such a technique would make it possible, he argued, for a motion picture to parallel actual life with its gradual development, its conflicting forces, its bewilderment, and its recurrent shock. Instead of withholding knowledge, as has been done to heighten the dramatic impact of stories told from universal viewpoint ("Woman in the Window" is a good example of this method) , Bob wanted to unravel a story plot by revealing clues honestly, then leaving it to the audience to reach a conclusion. The Front Office cooked the inspiration over the slow fires of an executive session with the result that it went up in smoke rings signalling zero. Back to the primitive, you see. Some of the executives patted Bob's shoulder and said to stay right in there, boy, but not to work so hard. When developing his plan, Bob had thought of "Escape" by Galsworthy, or "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" as possible vehicles, but contemplation of the technical problems persuaded him to allow his invention to ripen; he was further delayed by an interruption called The War, in which he participated first as an ambulance driver for the French Field Service, and later by serving as a Commander in the U.S. Navy. Upon his return, Bob worked in "They Were Expendable," followed by "The Beginning or the End," then — after he had insisted that he wouldn't add his baritone to form a quartet of the current trio of cinematic Philip Marlowes (Humphrey Bogart, Dick Powell, and George Montgomery have also enacted the Raymond Chandler hero) unless he could write his own score — he was told to go ahead with his idea. The okay was given in the tone of an exhausted mother telling her teasing young son to go ahead and play with Daddy's hand grenades — see if she cared. The first technical difficulty to present itself was the need for the camera — as Marlowe — to move through doorways. However, a camera on its rubber-tired dolly is about two men and a boy wide, and four chubby housewives long. A new dolly, compact but steady, had to be designed and built. This agile item of transportation was named "Leaping Lena." On those sets so cramped that the camera-— despite its streamlined figure — was still too large to imitate human movement, flying walls, disappearing ceilings, and vanishing windows had to be installed. The problem of player-reaction was acute. In an ordinary picture, or in the living theater, the principles react to one another; each contributes to the other's power to project an emotion to the audience. In "Lady in the Lake," Audrey Totter was required to make ardent love to the camera, a feat made possible only by her radio experience in wooing the microphone. Lloyd Nolan, Leon Ames, Tom Tully and Jayne Meadows were required to look into the camera and register everything from amusement to terror with only the critical lens as stimulus. That they met the challenge is proved by Bob's praise of his cast. In his gratified opinion, every performance rates an Oscar. Originally, Bob had planned to allow no advance publicity to be given "Lady in the Lake." He wanted to spring his innovation and await public reaction. Many writers, hearing this, protested. This was, they insisted, a story that should be told in the conviction that Bob's technique may well mean almost as much in the further development of the motion picture as the origination of the dolly shot, the introduction of sound, and the perfection of color. To the enjoyment of all other arts, the audience has long been required to bring attention, some knowledge, and — if possible^— an intellectual appreciation. A symphony concert, an art exhibit, good theater, or a book all exact a certain type of passive, but positive, audience participation. Many past motion pictures have strongly resembled a Mount Lookout view — the spectator has had nothing to do but hold his eyes open. Not so "Lady in the Lake" which will keep you as busy as a retriever at a ping-pong tournament. Furthermore, there are indications that future pictures are going to be made according to a pattern that will prevent you from staring blankly past the screen. Two prominent producers were overheard discussing a new picture, sustained by a million-dollar budget and entrusted to a celebrated cast. One producer complained, "What we need for that scene is a gimmick, a pick-me-up, a clincher." The other answered, "We might hypo it by shooting a sequence in the Montgomery m a n n e r — you know, audience identification technique." Pleased as Bob is at having given his name to an innovation, he is even happier about the conversation of several technicians on the Metro lot who, for reaction, were shown an early cut of "Lady in the Lake." None of them guessed the solution. Their gasps of surprise at the denouement proved that. No one moved when the picture was over. Finally one shaken spectator called out, "Hey, somebody, turn on the lights! I'm not going to take a step until I can see where I'm going. I don't want to stumble over a dead body." 94 SCREENLAND