Salt Lake Telegram | 1924-03-30 | Page 3 | Belasco's Test of a Play

1 Belasco's elasco's Test of a Play I I I I I I I My Iy test of ot a play is Does this strike my fancy Then came the practical questions Has lIas It acting possibilities Does it suit on ono one of my stars or can I bring together a group of ot actors that it will suit Bult Let a play meet these conditions it may be on any subject the tho scene laid in any land Ill I'll produce it An interesting viewpoint Ie le contributed con con- by D D. W. W Griffith No Noone Noone Noone one knows what the public wants for tor the th publics public's desire for lor entertaInment entertainment entertainment enter enter- is like a mans man's desire for food one food one time he takes fish another another another an an- other time meat meat Its Its It's all a question of mood But while I do not think anyone can be specific In answering the question What does docs the public dec want I I t think thre is a basic de desIre desire de- de sire If I may use so formal a phrase in gIving my very Informal thoughts People want to have their dreams visualized It Is simply simply simply sim sim- ply to get an ideal projection read ec of ot otI themselves that people people read a book boole I or go to the theatre or to the movies Its Ita a a. workaday world and few if it any are able to play the part in it they would like lIko to or think they would like to We are all dreamers dreamers dream dream- ers if It the world doesn't give us our dream m then we want to find it In th the world that the book the stage or the screen gives us There we want we-want want to have pictured for forus us its the romances the adventures that life has denied usI usI us UI I think that all normal people have the same dreams the same came ideals I J dont don't think there is a human being who dimly hasn't thought the same things that Shakespeare did That's why he has his universal appeal A writer Is great in the ratio that with his stronger mind he makes the av average average aver aver- rI r- r age man se see what otherwise he sees dimly I Despite the cynics the underlyIng underlying I ing log thing that makes for enduring success Is The reason rea rea- reason son lion for this was well put by rea I a aI poet He lie said that though our feet are in the mud our eyes are on the stars Take Talco the plays and I Ithe the hooks that have won enduring popularity or what we call fame famo their drift is wholesome There is more contentment in doing right TIght than In doln doing wrong That h may sound like a phra phrase r a from froma a copybook Ok but dont don't blame blame e the copybook It has been said over o and over again from time immemorial rial by men whom the world worM re regards regards re- re gards as all Its greatest Confucius and r Dickens Ick n said the same thing All 1 of which 1 1 means e that humanity recognizes 0 1 It as a truth And so when we turn to our ideal world whether we seek fleek It Ina in ina ina a book or on the stage or screen I we find a a. satisfaction in seeing the decent thing Thi Tt book k pr play f i that that- presents r S something th else may haye have a a. flash lash success but it will never never neven find a place among the books or the tho plays plas that humanity refuses to let dieTo die To my way of thinking Light is is one of ot the greatest plays ever written You laugh laugh and and you cry with lIe Jle brings your humans fellow closer to you makes you feel somehow that the world world after all isn't such a hard har J col cold world