Comedy ideas, perhaps more than any others, should be carefully classified, and in classifying you should try to determine, from the very first, the length to which that particular story ought to run.  Having once arrived at your decision, keep to it.  It is quality—­clever situations and funny action—­and not quantity that counts in the writing of humorous photoplays.  Most of the good comedy themes have been worked over so often, either by the authors themselves or by the director, that it requires considerable skill to give them that much-desired new twist[30] that is necessary to make them acceptable.  In the writing of dramatic photoplays, a word or two will often suggest the necessary “business” of a certain character, but in comedy it is especially important that every action, every bit of by-play, should be made to count; and for that reason it is necessary to give each scene a much fuller treatment in the script than would be necessary in describing dramatic action.

[Footnote 30:  Treated in Chapter XIX.]

5.  Classes of Photoplay Comedy and Their Requirements

While the written-and-spoken drama recognizes not only the four major types of humorous plays already referred to, but several sub-types in addition, there are only three general classes under which humorous photoplays are usually grouped:  (a) Comedy-Drama, (b) Light-Comedy and (c) Farce.

Of the comedies, two kinds are in almost constant demand—­the comedy of society life, and the comedy of everyday life, with special emphasis upon domestic scenes.  In treatment, these two kinds may be cast in any of the three foregoing forms, but usually they will adhere to the principle of comedy, even when they may verge on farce, or take on certain aspects of the more intense dramatic tone.

When writing photoplay comedies, remember always that comedy of action is more important than comedy of idea.  That is, it is not enough that you work up to a funny climax, but the action leading up to the climax must be funny as well.  A humorous idea underlying your comedy is good, but unless this idea is constantly worked out through humorous action, the effect is largely lost by its being too subdued.  In fact, the photo-comedy cannot be purely the comedy of idea.  On the regular stage, most light-comedies succeed by reason of the bright and humorous dialogue which the author puts into the mouths of the players.  Funny “business,” and the by-play of the players, help, of course, but the humorous lines of the piece are depended upon to make it a success.

It is just the opposite in photoplay; dialogue (unless cut-in leaders, taking the form of a speech made by one of the characters, may be called “dialogue”) is entirely absent, and humorous action and funny situations must take its place.

The requirements of a comedy script are very definitely covered by Mr. Sargent in the following, taken from his department in The Moving Picture World: