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Show , Our Own Letter From Filmtown My CIRTIM DVW HA It Is quite probe bis that Harold TJoyd' ssea In hlmaelf no resemblance to Cagllostro, or Joaeph Halaamo, or to any other character in history or fiction fic-tion represented as manifesting powsrs mora than human. When, recently. I enjoyed a half hour's rapid firs Interview Inter-view with this busy and enthusiastic, yst modest, young man who la being so widely referred to aa "the young Moliere of ths motion picture screen ' I waa unable to detect any auch re-1 semblsnce. Hs waa not wearing his profesalonal shell-rlmmed glaasleaa spectacles. He waa quietly dreeeed. and quiet In his manner, ills youthful youth-ful countenance bore the Imprint of considerable refinement, and of a re-fleet re-fleet tve habit. Hla langiiHge waa sufficiently suf-ficiently precise snd to the point. "H-viouelv "H-viouelv hs waa sincere and very much In earnest. Dnring the first few minutes min-utes of our talk 1 could, with a clear cen science, have proposed him for some sort of practical professorship in a freahwater university for It was apparent ap-parent that hie energy was ununited to such a post at any of ths okier and nior sedate Institutions of learning. Presently, however, I waa able to recornlss Harold Mo yd for what he la i not a alfoBtro, nor any kind of witard or humbug, bat yet a master of what may be called the alchemy ot laughter. It waa apparent that,' from obwervatloej and reflection, hs had les,rned to select the most promising Ingrediscits, snd by sedulous attention to the retorts and crucibles of his UaBbter-preMttieing laboratory wasjable to draw off the crystallised product of exactly ths right moment. Rurh multltuilea of persona ara viewing view-ing tha Harold Uoyd laughter prod-net, prod-net, that It would he superfluous to anelvae th,m h,r,. I h4lev, that, upon reflection, anvona who hea chuckled and roared through the fifteen minute, min-ute, nr th, half hour, required for the protection of theae Ingealoua rib-tlrklera. rib-tlrklera. will agree that there la much more In them than their 4hre4-f' tory and the comic action of the atar and his well-trained aupport. Their appeal lie, deeper than that. It re ache, down Into that ,lo,tv, uncharted rea-ervolr rea-ervolr where the uneoneelou, and unexpected un-expected comedy In human life hae accumulated fur centurlea. Plecovery. eelectlon. adaptation, arrangement that Is th, Llovd method. I looked him severely In th, eye, and accused blm of It. "Yea, something Ilk, that." he admitted ad-mitted with an amharvaaeed laugh "But in stating th, process, think what vou are demanding for the futur,. There', th, 'adantatlon' part, you know. Our bull,ve of popular taate la entirely en-tirely modern, and often Inrreaeee Ita dIMar.ce aad chenge. He location overnight. over-night. If we mlsa a few times, what happen, then" "You fall hack on yonr alchemy. 1 aid, "You enrich the content, of yonr comedy crucible with a more liberal addition of l eeprlt du Uovd. Yon wave your magic wand with greater author-It author-It v. and lnenalfy your Incantations. In other worda, you apread youraelf. on your 'gaica' and everybody, happy." "I admit the gaga," he answered : "but I must deny the magic wand and the Incantatlona. Ther, nr, no good falrle, on the let where we work, nor anv maglclana. It a all bnneat hard work. A, to gaga a good and appropriate appro-priate gag. carefully worked out to the last' detail. Is one of the moat valuable elementa that enter. Into the etructure of the screen comedy. It la enir-v plausible, and It la otherwlee effective because It artlellcally I waa wo In a- to say. aclentlfli-ally develop, to the limit lim-it of It, posalhlMtiea, some fam'ller hu. man foible which, even In It, germ, 1, eeeentlallv comic." "Mr. I.loyd, you don t look Ilk, a comic actor." . -I'm not a eomle actor, he retorted promptly. "I'm an actor In comedy." "The comedlee you aot la certainly are comic comediea," 1 admitted. Who writes them?" ..... They'r, not written." r.plled Uoyd promptly. "That la. not In tha aen.e that othr plcturea ire written with story and continuity complete prior to beginning production. There's an Idea th, thread of a storv to begin with, wllh certain well-defined character, and calculated comic effect. In appro-i.rvate appro-i.rvate ecenea. The character, are cast. F.aaentlal ecenea are rehearaert and filmed Th, comedy growe. It gathers momentum. In the courae of time It appeer, to ho flnlahed. It la t Hied and nrolected. It geta the acid test. Any week .Pots ar. built un. Maybe who,, .canea are retaken. When w. think TJ ilka It we try It on aome uneue-neVlng uneue-neVlng audience and watch th. ,fl,ct and proceed accordingly. ..,. With thla ,tenlflcant manlfertatlon of the deep hldrfn eprlnae of bis pro-frealonal pro-frealonal activity. Profeaaor l.ley, wended his way 'back to the lof- three thousand mile, away, at Cuivar City. . CaL |