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268 MELODRAMA melodrama and travesty are not well marked. IMelodrama may be no more than a slightly stressed drama, and travesty may be melo- drama but slightly exaggerated. 7. To illustrate this it might be told that a melodrama that en- joyed a long run both in London and New York was planned as a travesty by certain melodramatic authors. They wove into a single plot a majority of the ''sure-fire" melodramatic situations, slightly burlesqued. It made so good a melodrama that they were required to remove the slight touch of travesty and offer it as a serious play. 8. A play may be a combination of drama and melodrama, starting as a straight drama and turning to melodrama for the climax, or it may be no more than a melodrama from the start, opening on a frankly melodramatic premise. 9. In its best form it has the appearance of drama with touches of melodrama where it is desired to increase or heighten the effect toward the close. Starting as straight melodrama, the premise opens with a situation which, for intensity, should be approximately that existing at the end of four hundred feet in a one reel play or the end of the first reel in a four or five reel play. Since the tension should increase with the progress of the play, it follows that to work to a melodramatic climax will require the presentation of much more strenuous situation and action in that situation. At the same time, in tlie desire to gain this intensity, the argument of the story may not become too fantastic or unbelievable. 10. Melodrama is a play of deeds rather than words, and as such it more readily lends itself to screen production, but this does not mean that action is to be carried to excess. To the contrary the story with the action pitched in too high a key will either be con- fusing or amusing as circumstances may decree. A scene in which one man, presumably the hero, overcomes his antagonist by sheer force of superior will power is dramatic. If he beats him up with his bare fists, then it becomes melodrama. In drama the hero is temporarily overcome by appearances and circumstance. In melodrama he yields to superior physical force. n. On the screen, melodrama is tempered largely by the censor- ships. In guarding against an excess of violence, the rules are apt to be made too drastic and all scenes of violence are prohibited in- stead of merely scenes of brutal violence. Melodrama, therefore, has to be kept down, if not "to the tempo of drama at least to a degree below that of the uncensored speaking stage. Through the adroit use of the cut-back it is possible to show much that in entire action would be prohibited and so the atmosphere of melodrama may be more successfully maintained than would be possible where straight scenes are played. This should be carried in mind when writing the script of action and particularly in doing the leaders. These may be so framed as to emphasize the violence and so become offensive to the censors or may be so written as to slightly detract from the mental suggestion and so excuse the physical action. For instance, you may