Theory of the film : (character and growth of a new art) (1952)

78 THEFACEOFMAN SIMPLE FACES Not only romantic acting went out of fashion but romantic faces as well. Especially among the male stars, popularity was diverted to those who had commonplace faces. Conrad Veidt's romantic, exalted, almost expressionist head, which brought him world success in the years immediately following the first world war, no longer appealed to the public. Not only was he crowded out by ordinary commonplace faces — he himself did his best to tone down his eccentric appearance and look as commonplace as possible, in order to be able to compete with rival stars. The decorative, out-of-the-or dinar y face now seemed a mask and no longer seemed attractive. Beauty, too, grew less important, for in the intimacy of the close-up the intimate details of the face gained in significance and such details could be discovered by the camera — and the spectator — in ugly faces no less than in handsome ones. simple voice s A related phenomenon is the aversion of the modern director to his characters having too fine and too well-trained voices — except when they play a professional singer or something of the sort, of course. A too fine voice is not 'natural' and gives the impression of an artistic performance and not of a presentation of real life. A song sung by an untrained voice is more intimate and human in its effect. NATURE SEEMS UNNATURAL The value placed on being natural increased to such an extent that directors often attempted to do away with professional actors altogether and take their characters 'from the street'. So far as extras were concerned it was certainly easier to find the right types among the crowds in the street if it was only a matter of episodic parts which involved no acting, and required merely being present and showing some sort of a face. But if the perfectly suitable type had to act and parti