RED CLOUD. NEBRASKA, CHIEF
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I n &3 f H II lustrations by
a i . r ' i s i - - m i - rvrp-
life; a bookkeeper tries to sell me jm 'J'
H , &.. I I I
MaOBmaMM
The salesgirl sends me a scenario of society
a talc of adventure in foreign lands
OMKONK has said Unit the United
States l.s ii nation of story writers.
I won't go quite so fur as to nlllrm
Mint, but I do believe tlint of nil the
people you meet, one out of three
has cither tried to "wrlto for the
movies" or lias contemplated doing
so. And that, for the whole of the
country, makes it vast total, writes
Hlchnnl A. Rowland. First National
Pictures, In the New York Trillium.
The promising thins ahout It nil Is that whnt nil
these thousands of Individuals arc trying to do Is
not to pour water Into the ocean, hut to meet n
need that really does exist. There Is. unquestion
ably, a dearth of sultahle material for screen use.
The professional writers cannot keep pace with the
dem-'inl, nor can they go on writing forever. Nov
els, some of them later successful and others that
nre not, are bought up for the screen while still
In proof-sheet form. Magazine stories are con
tracted for before they appear In print. It Is said
that such, at first sight, unlikely material ns Wells'
"The Outline of History" Is to he used for tho
screen, and It has even, somewhat Jocularly, been
suggested that either the telephone directory or
"Who's Who" Is next In line for plcturlzntlon. Cer
tain It Is that the first basic need of every motion
picture producer Is good stories. Without that It
la foolhardy to go ahead. Stories replete with
lriiniatlc situations and human nppenl arc whnt the
movie producers are hunting for, high, low and nil
the time
The situation is unique. On the one hand a
vast number of people engerly trying to wrlto for
the screen, and on the other band scores of pro
ducers falling over each other In their nnxlety to
find good material. Yet for. one nmateur writer
who succeeds, n thousand fall. Wherein lies tho
trouble? Whnt Is the remedy?
Of the multitude of people nltnlng nt screen
fltury success it big percentage have the desire, but
lack tho proper mental equipment to further It.
Still, there must be thousands of others who have
Hint equipment Imagination, educntlnn nnd lei
sure, and some others of tho necessary qualifica
tions. Of these, some are early discouraged by
the dl(Ilcul(Ies of the task, and so fall by the way.
tvh'le others persevere and yet full to sell their
scripts.
Tliis failure may be laid to one of two mnln
cnuse. Hither behind that persevornnco lies In
sufficient talent, or perseverance Is not accom
panied by such adaptability to art as eventunlly
to ferry tho author ncross the lino which divides
the nmatour from tho skilled writer. For nfter nil,
ns ono producer points out, whnt reason Is there
why the raw amateur should succeed ns nn nmn
tour? Except for nn occnslonnl Instunco of natlvo
genius, It Is only nfter the nmnteur hns prnctlced
and practiced and actually progressed beyond tho
amateur stago that success can come, which Is
true of prnctlcally all lines of endeavor, not mere
ly of screen writing. Rupert Hughes, highly suc
cessful author and now prominent In screen writ
ing, Is reported to hnvo collected hundreds of print
ed rejection slips before he succeeded In selling a
story to an editor. Hud bo been possessed of less
perseverance tho world might never huvo heard of
lilm as n writer.
F.xcept In an occasional case, tho dnys when
off moments of leisure could bring quick success
nro gone by. Scenario writing Is n business requir
ing as much nttentlon ns any other business If you
nro to achieve success. Hut da not misunderstand
me. If you cannot sell stories wrought out In side
line time, that does not mean you cannot practice
In that time. Hut don't expect to sell until practice
and study hnvo finally equipped you to cross the
tmuteur line.
Ono great shortcoming, ns I seo It, In amateur
writers for tho screen Is n genentl tendency to
overlook the necessity for constant nctlon of it di
rect or symbolic nature. They 3end their chnrnc
ters on long Journeys while they describe minute
details of propnratinn and Incidents en mute which
do nothing to further tho movement or help hulld
toward tho climax. Tho result of such material
in picture form would bo extremely drnggy and
uninteresting.
Frequently, ngaln. they havo hut n single situa
tion, hut wlze upon It to build what Is Intended
to form flvo or six reels of picture mntorlnl. Thnt
filtuntlon Is perhnps unusual, or It may at least
possess somo slight element of novelty: Hut that
Is not enough.
In the great mnjorlty of scripts by amateurs
tho cluirncters nro overdrawn, nnd consequently
nro grotesque or Inconsistent with tho typically
human Instincts nnd with tho things thnt motlvnto
nnd nrtuato tho nverage person. In other words,
they full of being Ilffttlke, und so fall of conviction.
Hi) ' -rfk
Maybe your trouble has been thatkyou
have tried to sell comedies
Guy Hates Tost, who, In turning from a long nnd
highly successful stngo career to motion pictures,
hns rend scores of manuscripts, says:
"Tho main trouble with amateurs Is that they
persist In trying to wrlto nhout things they do
not know. Tho sales girl sends mo a scennrlo of
'society' life; n bookkeeper tries to sell mo n talo
of adventure in foreign lands I And so It goes.
We seek for romance even In our writings. Wo
ourselves may Hnd It thus, but we cannot bring It
to others In this fashion. To be interesting ono
must bo convincing, nnd wo cannot bo that unless
wo renlly know tho life of which we write. But
thero Is a trend both on stngo nnd screen for inti
mate stories, and there Is the Held for tho amateur
scennrlo writer of average experience.
"Another great fault with would-bo writers Is
thnt their Imagination Is extensive rather than In
tensive, with the result thnt the action Is scattered
from polo to polo or even to n locality ns unfamil
iar as Mars. Many nn nmnteur's story would take
two years to plcturlze."
Richard Barthclmcss finds thnt In his experience
nlno out of every twelvo stories he rends nro
wholly lacking In ono real Idea, ono original theme.
It Is said thnt there Is nothing new under tho sun,
therefore the greater Is tho necessity to glvo
somo novel twist to an old theme. Without thnt
your story Is pretty suro to be "returned with tho
scenario editor's regrets." Mr. Burthelmess de
clares thnt so much spaco Is taken up with unnec
essary and wnsteful side Issues, not to say dialogue,
that In most cases any real "meat" a story might
hnvo Is burled under useless encumbrances nnd
so out of Juxtnposltlon to tho central story that no
editor will wado through It, nnd your manuscript
"comes back."
"I do not believe," says this star, "that nny nmn
teur's story requires more than 1,000 words to set
It forth and tell Its plot. Leave tho working out
to tho continuity man nnd tho director. Tho Idea
Is what counts."
I hnvo heard writers complnln that after their
story has come bock they havo recognized In n
later picture Just tho sort of action, or scone they
originally submitted, and these writers bnve been
angry to tho point of suggesting, nny, even of ac
cusing, tho studio peopio of tho theft of their Idens.
As a mner of fact, the explnnutlon is that what
the nuthor Imnglncd orlglnnl with himself or her
self wns nothing of the k';id. Unconsciously nnd
unwittingly, It may be, there hns remained In their
minds tho unrecognized memory of somo scene they
hnvo seen In n since forgotten picture and uncon
sciously It Is reproduced In tho 'scennrlo. Thus
the plagiarism attributed to tho studio lay rather
with tho would-bo nuthor. "Plagiarism, uncon
scious or otherwise, sticks out nil over them:" snya
Colonel J. K. Hrndy, editor of Metro Pictures cor
poration, who declnrcs thnt tho 'number of good
stories does not begin to meet the demand for them.
"Tho troublo is thnt 00 per cent of the scripts re
ceived hnven't n grnln of orlginnllty In theTn."
Joseph M. Schenck Is another producer of noto
Even accusing the studio people of
the thett or their ideas
Willi folia flm en inn wi tt clwiptnmi f npnnnf nlil
...,, ..v t'HIIIV. IIIIU !, nill'l tlll, Wfc V.VMWi".
mntorlnl. Of late he has gone mostly to the big
novels for mntorlnl for Norma Tiilnindge.
I.est you bo appalled by tho seeming hopeless
ness of your ense, right here let me cheer you up
somewhat. If, as the so-called scenario textbooks
tend to make you suppose, you bad to turn out
the finished product to get your story accepted, you
might well feel ready to quit. Hut the opposite
Is the case. In fact, tho amateur need not, nnd
should not, concern himself with anything beyond
n reul story, simply and directly told. You need
not and should not worry about entrances, exits,
fadeouts and other technicalities. Leave that to
the specialist the man or woman whoso business
It Is to put the accepted sto-y Into practical screen
form. The nmateur Is not expected to write "con
tinuity" thnt Is n Job separate nnd npnrt nnd Is
the task of tho studio expert.
"It Is true that only n small percentage of the
stories submitted to motion picture producers by
amateur authors Is accepted," says Marshall
Nellan, ono of this country's most notable produc
ers. "Yet the reason for this seems rather obvious.
If n man advertises for original plans for n country
homo nnd n hundred different plans are received,
00 per cent being submitted by nmateurs and 1(
per cent by professional homo builders, there Is
little doubt that tho accepted plans would be from
one of the 10 per cent."
"While among the plnns submitted by the
amateurs there doubtlessly would be found mnny
exceptional Idens, yet the Individual plans on the
whole could hardly be exported to measuro up
to those submitted by the professionals.
Turning for a moment from tho producer's point
of view, let us see whut Is the newspaper critic's
angle on desirabilities In screen stories. If what I
quoto may seem to smack more of production than
of writing, there is, too, n lesson for tho author
whose business, nfter nil, It Is, rather than the di
rector's, to supply the situations.
"Mnny of Uio scenes have been made meaningful
ns motion pictures." (I quoto tho critic of a leading
New York newspnper on n recent film.) "For In
stance, there Is one In which Henry Gnrnctt, know
Ing thnt bo must die soon, sits listening to nn Inex
oruble clock. It ticks nnd ticks, counting off the
seconds of his life. Flnnlly, In futile despcrntlon.
he seizes the pendulum and stops It, but ns he holdt
tho metni bar, n phantom pendulum behind It
swings on. Hero Is cinematography. Hero Is com
plete expressiveness within n picture 1"
Thero It Is In n nutshell. A real Idea, logicallj
nnd simply worked out without needless discussion,
directly nnd clearly, to an inevltablo conclusion.
Therein lies one wny where your story won't come
back.
Hopo Hampton, whoso latest starring vehicle la
"Light In tho Dark," tells mo that tho reason so
mnny scenario writers full Is hecnuso they cannot
or do not put themselves In tho placo of the audi
ence. In other words, they cannot properly visual
Izo their work.
"It should nlwnys bo homo In mind," snys this
star, "that thought nnd Impression can ho effected
only by nctlon. Perhaps tho Ideal dim would bo
ono In which there were no subtitles nt nil. I do
not know whether thnt could be, hut tho next best
thing Is where tho action Is so clear, so convincing,
and tho conclusion so Inevltnblo thnt only a mini
mum number of subtitles Is necessary."
After nil, you can't blnmo tho producer, even
though ho may err In sending your story bnck. It's
different with, say, n mngazlno editor, and even ho
sends stuff back lots of It. Tho mngazlno editor
may, with not very disastrous results, use a medi
ocre' or even a poor story, provided ho makes suro
his mngazlno contains nt tho same tlmu two or
threo good tales. The strong stories will carry tho
weak. Hut with tho photoplay producer It Is very
different. All his eggs, so to spenk, nro In one Ihib
ket. In accepting n story, or rather In making n
picture from It, bo risks tho possibility of losing
something like 5100,000. It mnkes him more than
careful of his choice.
You enn, however, ho prnctlcally sure of ono
thing. If your story has real and full screen merit
nnd you keep It going visiting long enough It will
stop coming back nt last. In Its placo will come it
check. Moro writers than one, by sticking eternnlly
at It nnd refusing to quit, hnvo ultimately sold their
product, for It Is tho very net of writing nnd re
writing that ultimately makes a professional out of
an amateur. '
Xjfte
AMERICAN
LEGION
(Copy for Tills DupnrllMKtit Hupiill? bt
lha Amtrlcan I.lnn New Sarvlca.)
URGES BUDDIES TO PAY DUES
ACTIVE IN LEGION AFFAIRS.
ilt
.?. f
1 L?ma j
Major Genoral Tyndall, National
Treasurer, Advocates Financial
Independence.
Credit of tho American Legion's
Miami llmmclal standing Is given by
Legionnaires to
MaJ. Clou. Robert
Tyndall of Indian
apolis, recently re
appointed national
treasurer of the
y "W ''Wfr ,.x.(crvlce men'a
i .I ' organization.
At nil national
conventions and
Legion gatherings
.f I'.it-lfinu t 1 tlllu.
k General Tyndall
"PklrW has Insisted upon
Ufc the ndotitlon of a
Robert H. Tyndall nnanciul policy
whereby nntlonul
headquarters shall be able to stum!
upon Its own feet without Incurring
any outside obligation forcing the Le
gion to lose u bit or Its Independence,
and freedom of action.
Cienoral TyndaU's message to Lo
glonnulres this year Is a reiteration of
his advocacy of financial Independence
with a request that Legion members
pay their dues early In order thut tho
poMs may Und themselves free to
carry out the program of relief for
disabled, Americanism and other Im
portant measures, liencral Tyndall
believes that too much energy Is ex
pended In the collection of dues which
should be paid to the post Unanco
olllcer upon notification of tho mem
ber. The military career of General Tyn
dall dates back to 1S07, when he en
listed us a private. He served In
Porto Rico during the Spanish-American
war. on the Mexican border us
commanding olllcer of the One Hun
dred and Fiftieth artillery of tho
I''orty-second (Rainbow) division In
the World, war, participating In till
major offensives. lie, now com
mands the Thirty-eighth National
Uuard division. ,
Jfcf"tf 1S Tq J
E. Erie Cocke.
National Vlc Commander Cocke of
Qeorgla Qett Rpaulta With Hla
Financial Policies.
Rehabilitation of disabled cx-scrrlce
men and the establishment of sound
Umtticin! policies
hnv been tho hob
bles of K. Knrlo
Coeko of Dawson,
On., nnUonnl vlco
commander of the
Amorlcac Legion.
Mr. " cko was
one of tin' founders
of the (leorgla de
partment of the
Legion und h a s
been uctlvo In Le
gion uffnlrs ever
since. Serving ns
a member of tho
state exectitlvo
committee, ho advocated n financial
policy which was largely responsible
for Georgia's obtaining tho largest
membership Increase of any depart
ment during 11)21!. Mr. Cocke Is al
ternate national executive committee
man from Georgia and represented
his state on the committee nt tho Le
gion convention In New Orleans.
Mr. Cocke was graduated from the
University of Georgia, where be was
manager of the football team and
was prominent In college activities. Ho
was professor of mathematics and ath
letic director nt the Klevonth District
Agricultural college and' later at Gor
don Mllltnry college.
During the war, the LeIon officer
served as a second lieutenant with
tho Sixteenth Machine Gun buttnllon
In the Gerardmer sector of tho Vosges
mountains, n defensive sector nnd In
tho Meiibo-Argonno offensive. Slnco
discharge he has been state editor of
the Macon (Gu.) News und muuaglng
editor of the Athens Runner. He Is
now u farmer and real estate man.
HONORS FOR TWO AMERICANS
Louisiana Men Are Named ns Honor.
ary Members of the Delglan
Veterans' Legion.
The signal honor of lifting mnde hon
orary member of tho Helglun Vet
eruns' Legion came to Clarence J.
Hourg, Louisiana American Legion nn
tlonul executive committeeman, and
Mayor Robert Mouton of Lafayette,
La., during the Interallied Veterans'
association convention In New Or
leans. There uro only Uvo honorary
HELPED WIN THE WORLD WAR
National Vice Commander, of Wyoming,
Typifies Spirit of the Wcot
In Great Conflict.
Chiles P. Plummor of Casper, Wyo.,
national vice commander of the Ameri
can Legion, typltles
the spirit of the
West In the World
war. Although lie
w a s thirty-eight
years old at Its out
break, he couldn't
stay out of the
scrup. So be throw
away his four-gal
Ion chapeau a n (
donned a campalgi
lint, spending twen
ty-two months Ii
the service.
Mr. PI u tn m or Chllos
served as captain of
artillery hi the Ono Hundred Sixteenth
ammunition train, composed of two
battalions of the old Third Wyoming
Infuntryi remulnlng fifteen months in
France, where his organization wus u
putt of the Forty-first division.
An organizer of the George Vro
mitu post of tho Legion at Casper,
Mr. Plummer served us Its first com
mander. He was active In outfitting
clubrooms for. that post and in its
general development. A lighter for
the rights of dlsubled ex-service men,
Mr. Pluminer's activity In their bohuif
obtained nutlonnl recognition, result
ing In his election as national execu
tive committeeman, und later us na
tlonal vice commander. Ho is a law
yer, was educated ut tho University
of Illinois and Is proud of tho fact
thut ho Is a fraternity brother of Alvin
M. Owsley, Legion nutlonnl commander.
..iiiiWTii , . I
Plummer
i i i
Clarence J. Bourg and Mayor Robert
Mouton.
members of tho Helglnn ex-scrvlco
men's organization.
Tho Louisiana ilicn acted ns hosts
to the Helglan delegation at tho Novr
Orleans gathering. Presentation was
formally made by M. Joseph Jnnuc, ns
slstnnt minister of lubor for Belgium,
a vice president of the association nnd
commnndcr of the Helglnn Legion.
The diploma nnd budge will bo pre
sented to tho Americans by ICIng Al
bert ut tho next ussoclutlon gathering
at Hrussels In 1023.
WELL RECEIVED IN HAVANA
NOT TO ASK RED CROSS AID
American Legion Posts Will Not Re
quest Funds in the Hands of the
Local Chapters.
Funds In the hands of local chap
ters of tho Amerlcun Red Cross will i
not be nuked for by American Legion
posts, according to Lemuel Holies, Le
gion national adjutant.
"The American Red Cross Is co-oper-nting
with tho American Legion In ev
ery way In tho furnishing of funds for
service to tho sick mid disabled, and
in many localities Is furnishing direct
relief to service men and their fam
ilies," Mr. Holies said. "Funds In tho
hands of local chapters of the Amer
ican Red Cross should not bo confused
with tho residue funds of the war
chest, or other emergency war organi
zations which, during the war raised
money for work among soldiers and
sailor's, but which ceased to function
at the conclusion of hostilities."
Hnsed on court decisions at Athens,
0 nnd Vcvny, Ind tho Legion has di
rected Us posts to obtain all funds in
tho treasuries of emergency organiza
tions which aro no longer concerned
with relief of World war flghter.
American Legion Men Report Marked
Hospitality While on Recent
Visit to Cuba.
Tales of excellent hospitality from
American Legion members In Havana
havo been brought to this country by
Leglonnnlres who Journeyed to Cuba
following tho recent national conven
tion In New Orlenns.
Tho program held by tho Hnvunu
buddies Included a visit to Legion
hendqunrters, n trip to tho Jal olnl
gnmo at the Havnna-Mudrld Fronton,
which provided front boxes for the vis
itors nnd visits to Morro castle, Ca
banas fortress and other Interesting
points. Hotels and restaurants wel
comed tho Leglonnnlres with elabor
ate decorations and special rates In
addition to providing Information
booths nnd other conveniences,
Huvnnn has one of the largest for
eign posts of the Legion. It Is com
posed of veterans from nearly every
branch of the service. Tho reception
arrangements were conducted by Cupt.
George T. Street, post coinmnnder, and
John HInvkn.
Hear Radio Address.
When a representative of the United
States Veterans' bureau broadcast a
radio tnlk on tho "Possibilities of a
Rehabilitated Kx-Servlco Man" nt At
lanta, under the direction of Joo
Sparks, tho now chnlrmnn of tho Amor
Ican Legion's nutlonnl rehabilitation
committee, his remarks were Uctened
to with Interest by 200 veterans in a
training school at Cookvlllo, Teun., 800
nlles away.