of those who have at heart the interests of the
drama, a new dramatic form has grown up which caters to the utmost to the
modern desire for realistic detail--far beyond the dreams of ordinary
stage settings--and at the same time makes possible the quick transitions
that are the glory of the Elizabethan drama. Here, of course, is where we
make connection with the moving picture, whose fascinating realism and
freedom from the taint of the footlights have perhaps been sufficiently
insisted upon in what has been already said. In the moving picture, with
the possibility of realistic backgrounds such as no skill, no money, no
opportunity could build up on the ordinary stage--distant prospects,
marvels of architecture, waving trees and moving animals--comes the
ability of passing from one environment to another, on the other side of
the globe perhaps, in the twinkling of an eye. The transitions of the
Elizabethan stage sink into insignificance beside the possibilities of the
moving-picture screen. Such an alternation as is now common in the film
play, where two characters, talking to each other over the telephone, are
seen in quick succession, would be impossible on the ordinary stage. The
Elizabethan auditor, if his imagination were vivid and ready, might
picture such a background of castle or palace or rocky coast as no
photographer could produce; but even such imagination takes time to get
under way, whereas the screen-picture gets to the brain through the retina
instantly.

It is worth our while, I think, to consider whether this kind of scenery,
rich in detail, but immaterial and therefore devoid of weight, could not
be used in connection with the ordinary drama. There are obstacles, but
they do not appear insuperable. The ordinary moving-picture, of course, is
much smaller than the back drop of a large stage. Its enlargement is
merely a matter of optical apparatus. Wings must be reduced in number and
provided each with its own projection-machine, or replaced with drops
similarly provided. Exits and entrances must be managed somewhat
differently than with ordinary scenery. All this is surely not beyond the
power of modern stagecraft, which has already surmounted such obstacles
and accomplished such wonders. The projection, it is unnecessary to say,
must be from behind, not from before, to avoid throwing the actors'
shadows on the scenery. There must still, of course, be lighting from the
front, and the shadow problem stil