EARLY SCREENWRITING TEACHERS 1910-1922 ORIGINS, CONTRIBUTION AND LEGACY A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Stephen Charles Curran Department of Media Studies – Brunel University, London September 2015 2 Abstract This thesis demonstrates the previously unacknowledged contribution made by early screenwriting teachers to the development of the Hollywood film industry from 1910 to 1922. Through a study of five key screenwriting teachers from the period, it shows the significant role played by such figures in the translation of playwriting theory and theatrical tradition into writing for film. Drawing on an extensive range of primary materials, including manuals and columns written for the fan and trade press, it demonstrates the role played by such teachers in the formation and codification of a set of writing techniques specific to the film medium. In doing so, this thesis fills an important gap in the historiography of screenwriting in Hollywood, giving due credit to a body of work that has previously received only passing consideration, and highlighting the role of early screenwriting teachers, which has previously been understated if not ignored. The thesis also examines some aspects of their legacy in the context of the role and function of contemporary screening gurus. 3 Acknowledgments I would like to offer thanks to the following individuals who have been a source of encouragement and advice. I am grateful to Dr. Ian W. Macdonald, Senior Lecturer in Screen Studies in the School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, for the guidance he offered on early UK screenwriting manuals and for urging me to examine the late nineteenth-century playwriting manuals for probable links. I am also grateful for the assistance given by Associate Professor Steven Maras of the Media and Communications Department, University of Sydney, in sharing valuable primary source material, and for the helpful and constructive discussions we have had about screenwriting manuals. His extensive knowledge and scholarship in this area of film studies has been greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank both JJ Murphy, Professor of Film, and David Bordwell, the Jacques Ledoux Professor of Film Studies of the Department of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison, for indicating their interest and showing support for the project. I am also grateful to all the many members of the Screenwriting Research Network for their support and encouragement. Special thanks are due to Eric Hoyt, Assistant Professor of Media and Cultural Studies of the Department of Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Co-Director of the Media History Digital Library, and all those who help provide this invaluable resource, without which this project would have involved spending months in the USA. I am especially grateful to Eric for responding to requests to scan and digitise particular US library holdings that I needed to access. I am similarly thankful to David Pierce, the founder of the Media History Digital Library, for providing important background source information on fan and trade press circulation figures. Most of all I am thankful to Geoff King, Professor of Film and TV Studies, Brunel University, for seeing the potential of the project and giving me the opportunity to carry out the necessary research to fulfil it. I am appreciative of his great attention to detail, academic rigour, wisdom and the sound advice he has given, which has made it possible to complete this thesis. 4 CONTENTS Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................. 4 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 7 Research Objectives ................................................................................................ 7 The Academic Debate ............................................................................................ 10 Possible Reasons for the Lack of Previous Research ........................................... 23 Research Methodology .......................................................................................... 29 PART ONE - ORIGINS .............................................................................................. 34 1. Literary and Theatrical Sources ......................................................................... 38 Theatrical Legacy ............................................................................................... 41 Melodramatic Elements ................................................................................... 42 Classical Elements .......................................................................................... 48 Classical Melodrama ....................................................................................... 63 2. Industry Context ................................................................................................. 65 The Script as a Controlling Factor ...................................................................... 65 The Drive for Narrative Clarity ............................................................................ 70 Censorship, Copyright and Stardom ................................................................... 81 Censorship ...................................................................................................... 81 Copyright ......................................................................................................... 83 Stardom ........................................................................................................... 84 3. Scenario Fever ................................................................................................... 87 4. Summary ............................................................................................................ 94 PART TWO – CONTRIBUTION ................................................................................ 97 Section 1 – Screenwriting teachers ........................................................................ 97 1. The First Screenwriting Teachers ................................................................ 97 2. Five Important Criteria ............................................................................... 113 3. Peripheral Screenwriting Teachers ........................................................... 117 4. The Five Key Screenwriting Teachers ....................................................... 130 PART TWO – CONTRIBUTION .............................................................................. 166 Section 2 – The Discourse ................................................................................... 166 6. The Advice Given by the Key Screenwriting Teachers ................................. 166 7. How to Train for the Industry ........................................................................ 172 A. The Learning Process ............................................................................... 172 B. The Filmic Process .................................................................................... 197 C. The Storytelling Process ........................................................................... 200 8. How to write for the industry ......................................................................... 220 A. Visual Writing ............................................................................................ 220 B. Photoplay Form ......................................................................................... 225 C. Screen Technique ..................................................................................... 246 9. How to sell to the industry ............................................................................. 259 A. Writing the Manuscript .............................................................................. 259 B. Marketing the Script .................................................................................. 267 10. The Contribution of the Key Screenwriting Teachers ................................. 272 11. The End of an Era ....................................................................................... 284 PART THREE – LEGACY ....................................................................................... 290 1. Equivalence with Modern Screenwriting Gurus ............................................... 290 2. Evolution of the Screenplay ............................................................................. 323 3. Education of the Screenwriter .......................................................................... 327 4. Summary .......................................................................................................... 330 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 331 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 336 6 INTRODUCTION ResearcH Objectives Academic film historians segregate the periods of Hollywood history in various ways, but, in essence, most analyses are based on three broad phases of history, corresponding to the structure and development of the industry in each particular period. These can be identified as: the ‘silent’