Montgomery in
society, and Jimmy the Rat in the underworld, do not call him
Montgomery in the society scenes and The Rat when he gets among his
proper associates. Call him Montgomery straight through, and the first
time he changes from Jekyll to Hyde tell the audience, in a leader,
that he is known as the Rat; but in the plot of action hold to
Montgomery, because you started with that and do not want to confuse
the director. The editor is going to read in a hurry the first time
through, and he cannot continually consult the cast to identify your
constant changes in cognomens.

"Be careful in selecting your names. Do not let them sound too much
alike, or confusion will arise. Often a story will be sent back that
might be regarded more carefully were the characters more individually
named, and perhaps fewer of them named. Too many names are apt to be
confounded with each other. Names too much alike or not possessed of
individual sound are apt to be confusing. In either case your story
is not readily understood on a first reading and never passes to a
second perusal. Take pains with your literary baptisms."

It seems scarcely necessary to point out that it is both easier and
better to call the young people by whatever Christian name you decide
to give them and to refer to their elders by their last name. You can
say Freeman or Mr. Freeman, when speaking of Jess's father, but do not
say that Tom and Miss Freeman are discovered by her father making
love. Simply say Tom and Jess. If Jess's father is a farmer or a
miner, it may seem more natural to say Freeman, or Jess's father. If
he is a banker or a stock broker, you may choose to speak of him as
Mr. Freeman. The most important thing is to make the name, as clearly
as possible, suggest the age, rank, and general characteristics of the
person to whom it is given.

A good deal has been written concerning the advisability of using only
short and simple names for most characters in the photoplay. Others
have advised photoplay authors to try to discover unhackneyed names
for their characters. There are, of course, hundreds of short and
appropriate "first" names for people of different nationalities; the
trouble, especially with amateur writers, is that such names as Tom,
Jack, Jim, and Charley, and May, Mary, Grace, Ethel, and Kate, are
used over and over again, and without any regard to the surname which
follows them. Simple and common names _are_ desirable, so long as they