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Leacock, Stephen, 1869-1944

"The Hohenzollerns in America"

He
fades out.
"...Fired with his discovery Christopher sets out from
the monastery."
Stop a minute, this is a little hard. Fired. How can we
show Christopher "fired." We can't. Perhaps he'll be
fired if the film is no good, but we must omit it just
now.
"He sets out."
One second only for this. Monastery door (double cardboard
with iron across it)--Christopher leaving--carries a
wallet to mean distance. Fra Giacomo blessing him--fade
out.
"...For eighteen years Columbus vainly travelled through
the world on foot offering his discovery at the courts
of Europe, in vain, though asking nothing in return for
it except a fleet of ships, two hundred men and provisions
for two years."
To anybody not used to scenarios this looks a large order.
Eighteen years seems difficult to put on the screen. In
reality this is exactly where the trained movie man sees
his chance. Here he can put in anything and everything
that he likes, bringing in, in a slightly mediaeval form,
all his favourite movie scenes.
Thus, for example, here we have first the good old midnight
cabaret supper scene--thinly disguised as the court of
the King of Sardinia. To turn a cabaret into a court the
movie men merely exchange their Fifth Avenue evening
dress for short coats and knee breeches, heavily wadded
and quilted, and wear large wigs.


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