"THE TRESPASSER."

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19813, 28 December 1929, Page 6

"THE TRESPASSER."

A GLORIA SWANSON FEATURE. CIVIC THEATRE NEXT FRIDAY. That the function of songs or musical numbers in dialogue screen dramas should be to accelerate —and not subordinate —the story is the opinion of Edmund Goulding, who wrote and directed "The Trespasser," Gloria Swanson's first all-talking and singing United Artists picture, which opens at the Civic Theatre next Friday. And Goulding is in a position to talk authoritatively on musical as well as kinematic subjects. He is the author of "The Broadway Melody," the first great musical screen success, which he plotted and outlined to studio executives after completing in the East an exhaustive study of audible films during the first flush of their popularity. Moreover, he is the composer of the original number "Love," which he wrote especially for Miss Swanson to sing in "The Trespasser." "In the talking film drama," Goulding states, "the '.play's the thing' just as it was in the time of Shakespeare. "The story should dominate. To have the plot side-tracked, so that a 'spot' may be created for a particular song or musical number, means that the story of the feature must suffer. "Quite naturally, there was a tendency to inject as much music as possible into talking pictures when the silent drama's acquisition of a voice opened a tremendous new field of expression. "But to desert the story over extended footage, merely to find excuse for 'plugging', a theme song, brings distortion and awkwardness that result iu inferior entertainment. "Of course," Goulding conceded, "this does not hold true if we are dealing with a screen offering that is essentially musical—a revue, a musical comedy, or the like. In that event the music is the thing. Just as it is on the stage, the plot is secondary to the musical numbers. The story serves principally to give continuity to tie songs and dances. In the musical show you are essentially dealing with situations, rather than a story in sequence. "In s talking picture drama like 'The Trespasser,' however, the song must serve to build the story. That is Miss Swauson's contention, and it is my own, too. "Two songs are incorporated in 'The Trespasser.' One is an original number, 'Love.' The other is 3 standard work, familiar to all music lovers. Neither, in any sense, is intended to be a 'theme' song. "The standard work is Toselli's "Serenade"—which is the type of pieec that a hostess, talented in music, naturally would sing ia response to the requests of some of her guests. It is in just sudh 3 situation that Miss Swanson renders the number in 'The Trespasser.' Hence, in a graceful and easy manner, it helps to carry the story, and at the same time to imbue the picture with superlative entertainment. "The other piece, 'Love,' was composed directly for Miss Swanson to sing in the picture. But it was not designed to be a theme song. Rather it was planned to give full expression to'.the spirit and swing of the scenes in which Miss Swanson sings the piece. Again, we kept the song in harmony with the story. "So it is that, as important as the songs are in "The Trespasser,' they never supersede the story, but aid In developing the plot at all times."