A
strong emotional drama may--even should--have its "comedy relief," but
it is a very unwise thing to introduce a note of tragedy into a farce
or even into a straight comedy composition.
At this point it will not be out of place to say a few words in
connection with this matter of "comedy relief," of which we have just
spoken, as used in writing _dramatic_ stories. The over-use of comedy
relief, so called, is mostly due to misguided directors who have seen
the success attending its introduction by prominent directors who
really understood how and when to use it. A departmental writer in the
_Motion Picture News_, speaking of the small army of directors "who
worked with Griffith," says:
"Probably the most obvious of all the blunders made by the men who
seek to emulate the wonderful work of Griffith is their introduction
of comedy, chiefly through the medium of domestic animals, when they
are forced to stop the action of their story to do so. Griffith's
comedy is always spontaneous, incidental--it seems to have been
inspired at the moment and runs in as part of the main action. The
comedy of the men 'who worked with Griffith,' while perhaps inspired
at the moment, rises not from the situations of the story but from the
contemplative mind of the director himself.
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