The San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 126, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 25, 1919 Page: 27 of 48
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The Saddest Spot In Movie-Land
The place where comedies are made causes strong men to weep.
By Karl E. Kitchen.
AS farther it ia becuuse misery loves
company or merely because birds of a
feather flock together I do not know.
But it is a fact that the two principal
studios in which nothing but comedy
pictures arc made face each otb»T in
the Edendale district of Los Augdes.
Just why this section of the City of
Angds is called Edendale is rather ob-
s- ur*-. It bears little resemblance to
the original Garden of Eden. As nue
wag explained it looks like the Garden
nf Eden might Luxe looked if it hadn't
looked the way it did. So it is suffi-
cient to state that here are the Mack
Sennett and Fatty Arbuckle studins and
let it go at that.
The Ma^k Sennett studio is the big-
Bett comedy studio in the world. With-
Tn its boarded precincts 2*> "side split-
ting comedies” are made every year not
to mention several big comedy features.
For the 23 programme features arc two
reelers which are released every two
weeks.
Across the street at the Arbuckle Mu
dio only twelve comedy pictures an'
made a year whbh might justify one in
averting that it is not half a bad rs
the Seuurtt studio. But a. J do not be-
lieve in accepting lesser evils I will con-
fine my observations to the Bonnett stu-
dio.
Comedy Films Hard to Make.
Before I describe what I saw under
be guidance of Mr. Kennett it is necoh-
jary to explain something about com-
’dy films. In the first place they are
the most difficult of all pictures to
make hi fa<L the making of the a<
erage five or six-reel photoplay is child's
play compared with turning out a funny
two-reeler.
Ju the second place they arc the mot
roatly of all pictures to manufacture
the big super-productions alone e\
•opted. And thirdly Mack Sennett is
recognized as the foremost produ<-er of
this type of film with the exception of
:ourse of Charlie Chaplin.
There are many people making com-
*dy pictures but none has been ns uni-
ormly successful as Mr. Sennett lie
iBs amassed a big fortune in the com-
•dy gam* as it is called. It is quite
ikely Jmt he is the wealthiest member
»f the movie colony in Southern < «li
oroia for while Fairbanks Mary Pi«k-
ord and two or three earn enormous
ums at the present time Mark Set-}
ipft has been making big profits for
he last ton years. Consequently his :
lews on comedy films are authoritative
1 nothing else.
In one respect bis studio ia unique. l
Jr. Sennett is no Irishman—hr has the
ppearance and manner of n good na-
ured Irish <op- and it is his boast he
•nly employs Irishmen or persons fherr-
iboijt. And for the benefit of the dear
mfair arj I will add that he is a
lacbelor.
A Sad Sight.
. The morning I arrived nt hi . tu '
io the cross-eyed Ben Turpin end his
ide partner.’ Charles Lxnn ami < i>
»r Conklin were engaged in hitting
rh other over the head with rubber
lallots. They were at work on one
f their typical scenes in which the
imedy busband returns to his comedy
•me to find bis comedy wife in the
\Tna of bis comedy false friend—with
p inevitable exchange of comedy blows.
have witne sed many sad sight .
f' this spectacle of Ben Turpin and
^(rles Lynn rapping each other s h« ad
rubber mallets was the mhl*l« t
oceeding it was every my misfortune
» gaze upon. Before I arrived in L-
ngp|ps I pictured the Mack Sennett
udio as one of the gay spots. I impg- :
yd that. J would be cou\ul.rd witlL
W OF FIGS’!
CHILO'S LAXATI’/E
|x>ok at tongue! Remove
* poisons from stomach
liver and bowels.
Accept “C.lifornu" F.rrvp «? Fin
Ij—look for tbe name California r»
. pirkaje then yt>u arc sura your
IM ia bavin* tbs br and met
rml.M laxative or phjsle for th- lit.
stomach liver and bowel i hil.
>n lave its deliciou fruity ta»t^
ill direction* for child's dose on each
LU*. Giva U without feax.
SUNDAY.
laughter while watching the funny pr
tures m the making and that a score of
beautiful bathing beauties would be
there to re act with me from the amus-
ing stunts.
Ahs.’ another fond illusion shattered
The making of a Sennett comedy is one
of the most mournful fights imaginable.
And the funnier they are when they
arc shown on the screen the more lugu-
brious they are in the process of manu-
facture. For while it may b n amusing
to see a man bit on the Lead with a
rubber mallet—once when that same
blow is rehearsed half a dozen times and
"shot'’ at least three times it is about
as comic as a piece of crepe. Every
bit of funny business has to be planned
and worked out step by step with the
I result that in the making of a Sennett
picture there is no spontaneity. The
finished film mar absolutely convulse a
convention of undertakers: it may be a
succession of abdominal laughs from
start to finish but in the making it is
pot only serious but semi-tragic work.
And the beautiful bathing beauties?
It was just my hick to miss them. Mr.
i Sennett bad sent them to San Francis
।co to appear personally with one of his
1 new films and also as he confided to
j me. to give them n little vacation fn»m
111 m studio. To be sure I saw Miss
Mario I’row^t and one or two other fa-
| nuuis "pea< |i< ~." but Myrtle Lynd. Vera
[Stedman. Virginia Warwick and Mary
iTburman were faraway.
Tne Old Triangle.
I “Making these two-reelers Is one
tenth inspiration and nine tenths per
spiral ion" said Mr. Sennett after
। watching the edifying slugging match
. between Bep Turpin and ♦‘harks Lxnn
! for several minutes. “It's very differ-
ent from making film dramas w here
ixou have a scenario and know whut you
are going to do. Here vr have to think
up new Hunts try them nut and find
out if they are funny on the screen.
. • *f course I plan out the stories in a
'general way but their effectiveness is
largely dependent upon their treatment.
1 It is up to the various directors with
the assistance of the principal come
Tlians to evolve new stunts and work
■them nut. Ami I want to foil you that
it the hardest kind of work."
"But ha\e you ever stopped tn ana
lyze them?" I asked.
। "Of course nothing is simpler.” re ;
plied the originator of the Kry tone]
Cop. Nearly all the comedy* films we
make are based on the triangle of the;
old fashioned Frenrh farce—the • ife|
♦ he husband ami the husband's false
friend. In fact if wo attempt anything;
c’sn it doesn't work out. Toward the
end of carb picture we bate what is
called a rally or a speeding up of the
action usually n chase of some kind.'
in order to bolster up the interest of
♦ Im spectators. Most of our pictures
are made on this bimis. We occasion ■
ally try <.ijt other plots but. a^ I say. I
they don't come out satisfactorily .lust i
at present for instance we are making j
an experiment with a comedy film with
a beautiful woman for the central fig-1
ure. with two rival suitors furnishing
the laughs but we won't know how fun j
•iy it will be until we get it finished.'
I’m very much afraid well Lave tn go'
back to the husband and wife and the
lalse friend." he sighed. "Pretty hard
lines ibn't it?"
"It's pretty hard lilies for the people
who Luxe to see them” I admitted re
calling some wasted evenings in so-called
temples devoted to the film art.
For the first lime since I arrived at
♦ lie studio n smile appeared on Mack J
Sinnott’: fm e.
"It s a wonder that I am not In the
p K y••hopatbic ward of s«»me hospital ' 1
he confided. "Veil ••ant imagine the)
-♦rain I in under turning out one of;
these comedies every two weeks. Some j
of them are pretty bad. but on the'
whole they are a lot better than they |
used to be."
Kepethion Is Deadly.
As it was nearly I o'clock by this
time Mr. Sennett suggested luncheon
and wo repaired to (he studio cafete
rm which is patronized by exery one
on Ins payroll from stars to office
boys. Here wo were given huge trax<
ind I was instructed to present myself'
Io the chef xxho would give me anything
lie happened to have the most of. After*
my tray was loaded down with half a’
jnzen different dishes a brass check w a
burled on it. and T managed to stagger
o a table where I was .mined by ."lr.
^ennett xx ho was not at all annoyed
»y this strange proree<ling. Jt was nix
hrst experience in a Ln* Angeles cafe
eria. and. I hope my last one. Mx
Uggestjon that there were no waitresses
•ecause they were all stars in the
iiox i<> did not g. t » rise out of mv
mst. But I thought it was not bad for i
i cafeteria sally.
At the conclusion of mjr repast we
xrnt to the proiectivn room to sre the
•revioiK day's run. As six or seven
akes of each scene were run off. with- I
• nt subtitles ».r anything to give me I
in idea of their connection it was about I
is jolly as seeing the same movie six jl
imes in succession fine acene rcxcnled|
i comedian braiding an elderly g»*ntle-
nan'- long white beard with the tail of!|
in old skate and then hitching the nag I
• » the rear <f a fast moving flivver—ll
ith the obtious results. Another acene I
hoxxed what happened in a blacksmith I
hop w hen the smithy dropped a red hot ; I
luraedUoc into the hip pocket of the H
"It may be amusing to sea—once. But when that
same blow is rehearsed half a dozen times and
‘shot* at least three or four times it is about as
funny as a piece of crepe.”
.comedian. The smoke which arose from
thai operation coupled with the efforts
of the comediau to dive into « distant
watering trough imide us smile the first
time it was flashed on the screen but
after it has been run off five or siv
tunes it could not Lave tickled the risi-
bilities of the most loyal Sennett fan.
Kopetition is deadly especially of stunts
of this kind.
H hat the Fans Want.
"I'd like to do better things than
♦ his" said the producer seriously. "I'd
’ like to make smart dress suit come-
। dies—stories w ith some subtleties but
! I can’t if I want to stay io business.
। Movie audiences want this kind of stuff.
I slap stick comedies with piey seltzer
[bottles and all that sort of thing. When
jwp try anything else the ppoplc walk
; out on them. Jh sides it is much easier
to make the high class comedic I
[have spent more time and money in try-
ing to got a mouse to run up a girl's
| skirt just one stunt in a two reel com-
edy picture than seine produoecs spend
'on an entire picture. Cultured people
■naturally despise these custard pie ef-
! fects but you must remembered that
’cultured people don't buy many tickets
to the movies. It's the great masses of
I the public that support the movies. The
'men ami xvoinon who mak'* up these
1 masses want to sec things on the screen
.'that happened «»r might happen to their
I neighbors. For in-tam e. Mr. Bill Smith
[happens ♦<• know that his neighbor Mrs.
I Brown is having a little flirtation with
| Jones. So xx hen he sees n comedy pic-
ture in which the husband returns it re-
| calls to his mind what is going on in his
> neighbor's home and how funny it would
he if Brow n returned and actually found
[.lones there. It is necessary to give the
। public situations that they understand
|and that they ran adapt to their friends
and neighbors. And as you know the!
many’ well directed and well placed
kicks nre funny simply because they il
lustrate the downfall of dignity.”
Important administrative duties
called Mr. Sennett to his office and Im
gave me the freedom of the studio with
instructions ♦«» make myself “at. home."
So I wandered about watching the va-
rious companiev at work. <>n one stage.
I met Kichnrd Jones the young di-
rertor who has achieved fame in film
circles fnr his work on "Mickey." n big
comedy feature that has found favor
with the public. Mr. Jones proved to
be a very serious young num who t »ok
up the movies as his life's work be-
cause they seemed likely to haxe a fu
lure. Just what their future promised
to bo Mr. Jones wasn’t quite sure but
he made it quite clear that the public
and not himself was responsible for the
inartistic pictures that arc turned out
••n every side.
"But tlm real curse of this game.” he
••onfid‘*<l. "is turning out. too many pic-
lure . Aou can't make a masterpiece
every time especially when you have
to have Hum finished on certain dates.
I'm surprised that most of the pictures
are not worse. I know that they seem
awfully rad to me."
Mr. Jones and I parted with a hand-
cln'-p of understanding.
Mi'-s Louise Fazenda ope of Mr. L-pn-
nett' • omedirnnes who wa< at work
••n another stage also confided to me
that life at this studio was just one
darn film after another and that the
sight of Grant's tomb on Eixerside
lirixe would che^r her up immenselv.
In fact. I found all the "funny" people
nt the :tudio in the depths of despair.
So it x« as with a sigh of relief that I
stopped out of the sluidoxv of the studin
into the sunshine of the street.
“Thlr furniture j* antiqije"" ' X '-. " "P!-1
’ °'i inl ' r-1 •• •••• "p n r a M \ vac I
f;Hhrr bnijslo r f...| n n|t fb -n-
M.tlniciit plan ami I o'r- the pay-
niriiU
HERE'S RELIEF ^l®
FROM THOSE V MTS ■
TERRIBLE /
HEADACHES
Th-vz - r-I.F.Fd x'
in iinfb < I have teen
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» hiM » । Oe I
■ S»rrl « >IWI Ik. ■ ■ -z- - •-
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nil rran tft - W t (k • »».».« T.|«
A W»Bderfßl ReaMv lor Utwalu*.
ftFwaUU. KU I —ZT7T!
**• : '
i< **-■
THE SAN ANTONIO TIGHT.
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You Will Find Them Where All Good Corsets Are Sold
Back Lact
Front Lace
MAY 25. 1919
7C
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Diehl, Charles S. & Beach, Harrison L. The San Antonio Light (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 126, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 25, 1919, newspaper, May 25, 1919; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1615131/m1/27/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .