Writing the Photoplay Part 10

[Ill.u.s.tration:

The Man who Mocked - 2 -

Dear Dwight:

What do you say to a trip to Italy? Father is very anxious to continue his historical researches, especially in Rome and the Campagna.

We'd be delighted to have you as one of our party.

Run up to the house tonight and we'll talk it over.

As ever, Muriel.

Delafield cares nothing for the ruins and historical treasures of the Eternal City, but he is mightily interested in being near Muriel, and he leaves the house prepared to accept this invitation.

As he comes down the steps of his house to enter his car, an old blind man, led by a little dog on a cord, shuffles along and collides with him. Delafield steps back, pus.h.i.+ng the man from him, who, as if fearing a blow, raises his arms to guard against it and then hurries on, while Delafield, sneering as he watches him, steps into his car and drives off.

At the Trevor's, he is shown into the library, where Muriel and her father are sitting in earnest conversation. They rise to greet him, the professor shaking his hand warmly. When Muriel goes to him, Delafield takes her left hand in his (close-up), and with his right index finger touches the engagement ring on her finger and then points to himself, thus indicating that he already looks upon her as his property, albeit he plainly shows his genuine regard for her. She presently picks up the book to which she and her father have been referring before Delafield's entrance and shows it to him, saying:

"FATHER AND I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING THE THEORY OF REINCARNATION"

At which Delafield smiles good-naturedly, but plainly shows that he considers the theory so much rubbish, answering:

"WHILE I'M ALIVE, THAT SORT OF THING DOESN'T INTEREST ME; AND WHEN I'M DEAD, IT WON'T MATTER"

The professor is plainly disappointed by this speech, but he pa.s.ses it off with a smile, answering:

"ONE HAS TO DIE, MY DEAR FELLOW, TO FIND OUT THAT IT _DOES_ MATTER"

The truth of which remark is not apparent to Delafield until some time later. He smiles at the professor's earnestness, which Muriel quite evidently shares, and is about to speak to the girl again when her brother, Jack, enters. He is about twenty-two, clean-cut and jovial, and he greets Delafield heartily, at the same time asking his father:]

CHAPTER IX

THE CAST OF CHARACTERS

The expression "the cast of characters" may be used in any one of three senses: the list of princ.i.p.al characters as it is thrown on the screen to serve the purpose of a theatre program; the actual group of actors used in the production of the photoplay; and the complete cast of characters as made by the writer for his script. Of course it is not necessary here to consider each of these three uses of the term, but it will be quite easy to avoid confusion if we bear the distinctions in mind.

_1. Showing the Cast on the Screen_

Introducing the cast of characters as a printed part of the pictured drama is a comparatively recent improvement in the art of the photoplay. For many years the picture "fans," as we have come to call them, were kept in ignorance of the real names of the players who entertained them on the screen. Then in Great Britain the exhibitors came to realize that the added interest that would come of having the various artists known to the public by name would mean an increase in the box-office receipts, and they began to give out fict.i.tious names for such favorites as Mary Pickford, Florence Turner, and Mary Fuller.

This opened the eyes of some of the manufacturers to the wisdom of giving on the films the names of the players as well as the names of the characters represented by them, and the Edison studio, of which Mr. Horace G. Plimpton was then manager, was one of the first American concerns to give the cast of characters in connection with the pictured story. Leaving aside the wishes of the public, it was an injustice to the players not to have included the casts sooner, just as the names of actors and actresses are given in a "legitimate"

theatre program.

Following the first showing of the casts on the films, different manufacturers began to see the wisdom, as well as the additional artistic effect, of showing the name of the author of the photoplay, and this practice has gradually grown until, today, it is very seldom that the name of the writer is omitted. There are patrons who feel that, at the present time, the preliminary announcements on most films, especially "features," are rather overdone, inasmuch as they usually give the names of the author of the story, the writer of the scenario, or continuity, the director, the cameraman, the "art t.i.tle"

maker, and the supervising producer. However, most writers and actors feel that the manufacturers are quite welcome to go as far as they like in this direction, so long as they continue to give the credit due to those who write and enact the story.

Undoubtedly, one reason why the manufacturers hesitated about giving all this information on the film in the days of the single-reel photoplay was that they had the matter of footage to consider. With an even thousand feet to a reel, and a reel to a story, no footage could be spared for preliminary announcements without crowding the story-part of the film. Today, with one-, two-, three-, and a few four-reel pictures, and feature productions of from five reels up, less attention need be paid to the matter of footage consumed by both preliminary statements and the regular leaders and inserts, as further pointed out in Chapter XII.

Again, today, one company at least--the Essanay, of Chicago--has broken away from the old rule of making pictures run to one, two, or more even reels. They decided to let all their photoplays run on until the story was logically told (with the aid of the printed inserts) and then to end it, regardless of the length to which it had run. Then, instead of announcing in the trade-papers that the picture was in so many reels, or parts, they simply stated that the screen-time of the picture was so many minutes, or an hour and so many minutes. From this, the exhibitor may easily reckon the approximate length of the picture. The important point in this connection is that it would seem that the foolish old custom of making a picture run to an arbitrary length, either by padding it out or by cutting it down, regardless of all reason and logic, will soon be a thing of the past. The harm done to certain productions in the past by forcing them to adhere to a certain number of feet--so many even reels--can hardly be estimated.

Imagine stage plays being written to run so many even hours, instead of ending logically when the story is fully and consistently worked out!

At any rate, today, and especially in the case of those concerns which call for the synopsis only, the free-lance photoplaywright has a much better opportunity to centre his attention on turning out a good story, without having constantly to keep in mind the matter of how many reels of film it will take to tell it--which, of course, is as it should be. Thus, as has just been shown, the gradual breaking of the restrictions on footage has resulted in proper screen-publicity being given to the cast.

_2. The Time for Showing the Cast_

The methods adopted by producing companies in presenting the names of characters and players on the screen are varied. Indeed, no set rules are followed. The producer's whole object in each case seems to be simply to present every cast-announcement of this kind in as striking and artistic a way as possible. Some companies list the characters at the very outset--or all the princ.i.p.al characters, at least--with the names of the players. Others open with a statement-leader, which gives, so to speak, the "theme" of the story to follow, this leader being at once followed by the name of the leading male or female character, sometimes with and sometimes without an additional descriptive statement. With the particular method followed by the producer the author is little concerned. His best plan is simply to make out a complete list of the people in his story, following one of the forms given later in this chapter. At the present time, nearly every big concern employs a sub-t.i.tle editor whose duty it is to eliminate, alter, or add to the writer's own leaders and inserts, and this person also "fixes up" to comply with the firm's rule any additional wording that may be attached by the author to the names of his characters when the cast is made out.

_3. The Number of Characters_

The "legitimate" dramatist, especially the untried dramatist, must be very careful to use only as many characters in his play as are absolutely necessary. Every theatrical manager knows that he is taking a chance, and a big chance, when producing the work of a new writer.

The writer, also knowing this, and realizing that every additional character means an addition to the salary list--and therefore to the manager's risk--wisely uses no more characters in the unfolding of his plot than he can help. Even when an actor "doubles" two parts, he expects a proportionately larger salary for so doing.

In the moving picture studios, on the other hand, the players are paid by the week, to work, as it were, by the day. The photoplay actor plays as many different parts as the director finds it necessary to cast him for. If necessary, in a big production, a director can draw on any or all of the players making up the stock company, provided he does not prevent them from playing the parts in another picture then in course of production, for which they have been previously cast. So that, so far as salary is concerned, unless certain "types," either men or women, are specially engaged for a production, the film manufacturer does not need to worry about how many "princ.i.p.als" are needed to take part in a picture. He has, of course, to consider the salaries of the "extra people," or supernumeraries, when a picture calls for their employment. But the princ.i.p.al reason for keeping the photoplay cast as small as possible is that the fewer the princ.i.p.al characters the more easily understood is the story. In this respect, better twenty extras and five princ.i.p.als than twenty princ.i.p.als and two extras.

Remember, then, to use as few princ.i.p.al characters as possible in developing your plot. This does not mean that you may be prodigal in your use of extras; quite the contrary. But, since extras who are posing as cowboys, soldiers, guests at a ball, bystanders in a street scene, or saloon loungers, are easily distinguished from the princ.i.p.als, it is a matter of small importance how many are used so long as the scene is full enough to harmonize with the idea. It would be silly, of course, actually to specify the number of "travellers and bystanders" used in a scene at a railroad station at train time. The director will employ as many as he thinks necessary.

_4. How the Director a.s.signs the Cast_

It frequently happens that members of the regular stock company are used to fill in in certain scenes, although they may not be cast in the picture at all. When, for example, the scene is laid in a ballroom, or when boxes and orchestra chairs in a theatre are shown, the director uses as many of the regular company as are available--knowing that they may be relied upon to sustain the necessary action, and feeling sure that they will "dress" the scene suitably. Extras are then drawn upon for as many more people as he may require.

A distinction must be made between extras who merely fill in or dress a scene and those who play a small part, or "bit," in one or more scenes. In every studio there are men and women who are known as "regular" extras--people who are on hand every morning and who remain until they are either told that they can work in a certain picture or that they will not be required that day. Practically all of these regular extras are experienced actors and actresses, and most of them continue to report daily in the hope that, being given a small part to play, they may in this way attract the attention of the director and eventually be offered positions in the stock company. Many of the best known photoplayers in the country today made their start in moving-picture work in this way after having forsaken the "legitimate"

stage.

_5. Planning the Cast_

Strictly speaking, it is no longer advisable, nor even possible, to plan your cast ahead, when writing photoplays, any more than it would be possible to state exactly in advance how many characters you would introduce if you were setting out to write a novel. Today more than ever before the demand is for good _stories_. Given a good story, a competent director will do the rest. He will not hesitate to engage for that production just as many people as may be necessary, whether they are special "type" players, male or female, or for "straight"

parts. Your cast, in other words, must inevitably be a result of the final working out of your story. The one thing you _can_ do in advance is determine whether you are going to write what is simply a good story or is a story designed as a vehicle to exploit some particular "star."

This latter procedure is always a risky one for the writer to adopt.

The story planned and worked out to fit the talents of a certain star, especially if designed to feature the very unusual work of such a player as Douglas Fairbanks, may not sell at all if it fails to sell to the one for whom it was planned, and the writer's work goes for naught. By far the wisest plan is to write for certain particular stars _only under contract_, or at least to write only stories that stand a chance of selling elsewhere if rejected by the firm at which they were first aimed.

If you _are_ writing "to order" for a certain star, and if you are reasonably sure that the supporting players are permanent members of that particular company, you may plan your story so as to give the director a chance to use all the people at his disposal to the best advantage, for today, while character-actors are just as busy as ever, it is the actual "type" that is usually cast for a certain part if such a man or woman is procurable at all.

As for whether a certain "small" part is played by an "extra" or by a regular member of the stock company, you need not worry. The director will do his best for every part, however small.

One thing that you should _not_ overlook in making up your list of characters, we repeat, is to show the director how he may cast his available people to the best advantage. To do this, you should not only mention every character, no matter how unimportant, but in the case of all those characters who do not actually come under the head of princ.i.p.als in that particular picture, you should give the number of the scene or scenes in which they appear. This will, in many cases, enable the director to use some of his people in more than one character by "doubling" two minor roles.

As an example, let us suppose that you have written down your princ.i.p.als--the ones who will keep the one part through the whole of the action. You can then write:

Mrs. Brown's maid, in 9 and 11.[15]