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THE COMEDY STORY 109 of tuberculosis plays are purpose plays as is that interesting comedy that argues that unless you brush your teeth twice a day and go to the dentist twice a year you will be sure to have tooth- ache and get mad and break up housekeeping. If you can get an order for such a story and possess sufficient knowledge to handle your subject intelligently, it is proper to write them. You will not need this advice, but the general writer should understand that these plays are not used because they are written. They are written to order for use by some certain company. Avoid the controversial and propaganda stories. In other words, do not seek to air your fads in film. If yon do or do not approve of Christian Science, the vote for women, or are for or opposed to secret societies, cults or sects, parties or movements, faith or fads, do not air your views. They will not interest others as much as they do you and the maker of films seeks to avoid giving offense to anyone. You may write a clever story because you are particularly interested in your subject, but there is no reason why the film manufacturer should "take sides," and the probabilities are that he will not. CHAPTER XVII. THE COMEDY STORY Difficult to write—idea and action must both be humorous— developing the idea in comedy action;—avoid ridicule— personal afflictions not comedy material. Few writers, even those well advanced, appear to realize that it is more difficult to write good comedy than good dramas. It seems so simple a thing to throw together a few funny situations, that there is placed on the market a flood of worthless scripts, mere incidents as the first book agent story in Chapter Eight, or influence stories. Back in the dark days of motion picture comedy, when incident was considered sufficient by producers who knew no better, there were produced a vast number of comedies of a general resem- blance. A professor invented a pill or a potion or a magic wand that would cause people to sing or cry, to dance, or to kiss each other, or whatever it might be. This continued for several hun- dred feet and then the victims would turn on the savant, and, after a chase, would duck him in the pond or beat him up as might be most convenient.