Writing the photoplay ([c1913])

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THE CAST OF CHARACTERS 93 term is generally used, would serve to introduce another principal character, as Five Hours Later The Engineer. James Gordon The only objection that could possibly be alleged against this method is that the insert in which the names of the switchman, his wife, and his child are given, coming as it does immediately after the title and at the very beginning of the action, is liable to be missed by some of the specta- tors, for the same reason that an ordinary leader which immediately follows the title might be missed, as is ex- plained in the chapter on "The Use and Abuse of Leaders." There are, however, those who hold that the best plan is to give the complete cast at the end of the picture, imme- diately before the censorship tag is shown. If this plan were generally adopted, however, the chances are that the cast would not be observed nearly so well as it now is in the Edison pictures, especially if the photoplay showing the cast last should be the closing number on the program, when at least some of the audience would be getting up to leave. The advantage of the Edison method is that the relationship of the leading characters is made clear as soon as they appear on the screen for the first time, and the giving of the actors' names adds greatly to the interest of the audience. In this way, the Edison cast of characters approaches the custom followed by many "regular" theatres, in which the names of the characters are given in the program in the order in which they make their entrance.