For this reason it is best,
whenever possible, to use a letter, telegram, news item, or some
similar insert, in place of a leader. A carefully worded letter
introduced at just the right time will sometimes tell the audience as
much concerning the complications of the plot as would five or six
scenes.
Letters should be short and to the point, but they should also tell as
much as possible of _what can not be told in action_. Better a single
letter of thirty-five words which tells everything than two or three
notes of a line or two each that only suggest what the writer means.
Some of the so-called "letters" which are seen on the screen are
simply ridiculous on account of their very brevity. If it is a mere
note that is dashed off and sent to one of the characters, or a note
left where it will be found by someone after the writer has gone away,
its brevity is allowable; but when a "letter" is written by a man to
an old friend of his--a friend who, he is told, is living in a distant
city, when for years he has supposed him to be dead--and contains but
seventeen words, it is likely to make the spectator doubt the strength
of the former friendship.
It is not always necessary actually to write a long letter; but it is
best in such instances to _suggest_ that a long letter has been
written.
Pages:
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266