Dolls Become Screen Idols 



They never get stage fright 

 and they don't talk back 



HARASSED motion picture di- 

 rectors may be relieved to know 

 that there are stars who will do 

 exactly what they are told to do without 

 complaining. These quiet, obedient 

 actors are dolls. Yes, dolls have not 

 been able to resist the lure of the screen. 



They are just the ordinary, little 

 dolls such as any child would like to 

 have for playthings. A special stage 

 and scenery is constructed for them. 

 They are out through the poses which 

 make up a real drama. The work is 

 tedious and requires any amount 

 of time. The dolls are posed and 

 a picture is taken. Then they 

 are moved a fraction of an inch to 

 a different position and posed 

 again. The camera takes an- 

 other picture. When the work is 

 finally done, the dolls appear to 

 move across the stage with all the 

 rapidity and ease of motion of 

 real actors. 



The plays which they act in are 

 not meant to appeal only to 

 children. The dramas are well 

 thought out and clever enough to 

 interest any motion picture specta- 

 tor. But as the work of posing 

 them is so very slow, a scenario 

 played by dolls is, in sonie ways, 

 more difficult to put on than one 

 played by human beings. It 

 often takes several weeks to make 

 a short play. For ex- 

 ample, if a scenario 

 called for a real actor to 

 throw his arms about 

 the leading lady, the 

 actor would be able to 

 go through the motions 

 in one or two .seconds. 

 This would be recorded 

 on one or two feet of 

 film which would com- 

 prise from twenty-four 

 to thirty-two pictures. 



When the same scene _^ 



„, , 1 1 1 11 •- i he elopers have 



IS acted by a doll it re- ^^^^ ^^ "^he flaxen 



quires from twenty to are about to sail 



eluded the outraged 

 haired girl and they 

 for parts unknown 



Photos by Peter Pan Film Corp. 



Here we have a kitchen romance 

 acted by dolls. The cook is em- 

 braced by her sailor sweetheart 

 much to the horror of the butler 



thirty minutes, even at fast work; 

 for the doll actor can be moved 

 only a fraction of an inch at a 

 time. The director must under- 

 stand just how to make his toy 

 actors move in a realistic manner. 

 In other words, he must have 

 studied and been a keen observer 

 of human motions. When we see 

 a man step up on a chair, the step 

 is taken in one swift movement. 

 If a motion picture doll steps up 

 on a chair, this step requires a 

 whole series of movements. The 

 doll is posed ready to step up. It 

 is then suspended by an invisible 

 wire and raised until ready to 

 transfer its weight to 

 the chair. All this 

 must be done in such a 

 manner that the simple 

 act is executed smoothly 

 and naturally. 



The director's work 

 with dolls and the re- 

 sults he accomplishes are 

 somewhat similar to the 

 "animated sculpture" 

 which first appeared 

 .several months ago. 

 In this novelty plastic 

 clay figures took the 

 place of dolls. 



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