n had not given proper thought to the necessity for showing
that the innkeeper had an unusually compelling motive for taking the
life of and then robbing his guest. And, make no mistake, no matter
how fine the production may be in other respects, this sort of thing
is not overlooked by the intelligent, right-minded spectator of the
photoplay.

_9. The Theme and the Market_

With regard to what are known as "costume plays"--and what we say is
intended to apply to original stories, since it is never wise to
attempt an adaptation of a popular book or play, even though you are
armed with the right to do so, unless you have previously taken the
matter up with some producing company--there is, perhaps, as was
pointed out in Chapter XV, twice as much chance to sell such stories
as there was a few years ago, since today every company is doing
things in a much bigger way than in former years. But this must not be
construed as meaning that the different companies are simply looking
about for new ways to spend money. On the contrary, economy--sensible
economy--is becoming more and more the keynote of film production. In
every department, unnecessary expense is done away with. This applies
to both the purchasing and the producing of photoplays. Better prices
are being paid, yes; but stories calling for what appears to be
unnecessarily expensive settings or costuming are usually rejected.
That is why you may rest assured that no costume plays will sell
unless they have a strong and unusual story back of them. Again, by
"costume" plays we mean stories ranging all the way from Bible times
down to American Civil War times. What is regarded by the editor as a
costume play, also, may not be wholly that; it may be a story in which
only a few of the scenes are laid in a past age, as when, in the
Paramount production of "The Devil Stone," the heroine, in a series of
"visions," sees herself as the wicked Norse queen of centuries before,
and learns how the fatal emerald first came into her possession.

There is absolutely no way of knowing what company will be most likely
to buy a so-called costume play. If you honestly believe that you have
the material for an unusual story calling for settings or costumes of
other days--or even of our own day but of foreign lands--go ahead and
write a comprehensive synopsis of it. If you send it to a company
which asks for synopses only, you will be playing safe whether it
interests them or not. If, on