READING YOUR PART
On the legitimate stage actors and actresses are called on to read their
parts before beginning rehearsals. In the movies the part is read to
them. Before the company begins to make even the first scene in a
photoplay the scenario writer and director call a meeting and rehearse
the company, reading the scenario and explaining the meaning of each
scene. If the author and director are wise the story is then carefully
rehearsed clear through, scene by scene, before anything is
photographed. In this way the actors learn the sequence of their scenes
and the relation of their parts to other parts and to the whole.
[Illustration: REHEARSING THE COMPANY
Movie authors should rehearse their own stories, at least, according to
John Emerson and Anita Loos. Here these authors, on the left, are
rehearsing their scenarios for "Wife Insurance" while the director,
Victor Fleming (with the cap) takes notes. Rehearsals are arranged
before the scenery is built, and the above tableau is supposed to take
place in a restaurant.]
It is up to you to make the best of your part. Secure a copy of the
scenario, or at least of your scenes, as soon as possible. Then go over
the story as many times as possible, trying to grasp the relationship of
your own character to that of the other characters in the story. Work
out your own conception of the part.
Perhaps at first the director will never give you a chance to do a piece
of original acting. He will work out every bit of action for you.
Eventually, however, your opportunity will come to "create a part," and
you must be ready for it.
All the action of a motion picture story is contained in the numbered
scenes of the scenario. Your bit of acting will be in one or more of
these scenes. Here is a sample bit of one of our own scenarios, based on
the stage play "Mama's Affair," which we recently wrote for Constance
Talmadge. These are the last few scenes of the photoplay:
Eve watches her mother go out, then turns to the doctor, goes to
him, gives him her hand, and says very quietly:
SP: "GOOD-BY, DOCTOR."
The doctor looks at her, astonished, and says, "What!" Eve looks
up at him sternly and says:
SP: "GOOD-BY; I CAN HARDLY HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
She then starts out the door. The doctor hurries after her,
stops her, and says, "What do you mean?" Eve turns to look at
him, and then says very calmly:
SP: "I SHALL BE LEAVING TO-MORROW."
The doctor, taken aback, steps back a couple of steps, looks at
her in astonishment, and says:
SP: "I JUST TOLD YOU THAT I'D MARRY YOU!"
Eve looks at him commiseratingly, smiles a cynical smile, and
says:
SP: "YOU JUST TOLD ME YOU WOULD TAKE ME IN BECAUSE YOU SEE NO WAY
TO PREVENT MY BECOMING A CHRONIC NEURASTHENIC."
The doctor looks at her, flabbergasted at the plain way in which
she is putting things. She then goes on and says:
SP: "YOU DON'T WANT ME, BUT YOU'LL TAKE ME IN AS YOU'D TAKE A
PATIENT INTO A HOSPITAL."
The doctor looks at her, tries to speak, stammers, stops, not
knowing what to say. Eve then takes a step toward him, smiles
commiseratingly, and says:
SP: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT. I HAVE LEARNED HOW TO HANDLE MAMA.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MY HEALTH."
The doctor looks at her, surprised at this new Eve, who is in no
need of him at all in his professional capacity. Eve looks at
him, throws out her arms with gestures of complete victory over
all her worries, and says:
SP: "I AM GOING BACK TO NEW YORK, AND I AM GOING TO LIVE."
Eve then turns, starts, goes toward the door and starts to go
out. The doctor looks at her, struggles with himself, worries
over the fact that he is losing her, goes toward her, and says:
"Eve!" She turns, looks at him, and says: "Yes?" He looks at her
helplessly, trying to find words to express himself, and then
says:
SP: "I CAN'T LET YOU GO LIKE THIS."
Eve looks at him calmly, and asks why. The doctor looks around
helplessly, stalls a moment, and then says:
SP: "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU."
Eve looks at him a moment, and then, dropping all her pose,
simply overcome with intense relief, she says:
SP: "WELL, THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET AT."
The doctor rushes over to her, grabs her, takes her in his arms,
looks into her face, and says:
SP: "YOU BOLD-FACED, SHAMELESS LITTLE DARLING."
Then gives her a good kiss, and we FADE OUT.
You will observe that in the scenario there are many lines written in
for the actors to speak which never appear on the screen (only those in
capitals are shown on the screen). This is to give the cast a chance to
say the things they would say in real life under the same circumstances,
and so to make the scene entirely natural. The actor speaks all the
lines in small type and also those in the capital letters, following the
abbreviation "SP," which stands for "Spoken Title."
Contrary to common belief, the actors really speak the words of their
lines. There was a day when the hero, kissing the heroine in the final
close-up, might say something like "Let's go out and get a cheese
sandwich, now that this is over." But just about this time large numbers
of lip-readers began to write in to the producers, kicking against this
sort of thing. It seems that constant attendance at the movies develops
a curious power of following a speech by watching the character's lips.
And from that day the slapstick comedians who used to swear so
beautifully before the camera and the heroines of the serial thrillers
who used to talk about the weather in their big scenes began to speak
their proper lines.