Books: Talkies

THE ART OF SOUND PICTURES—Walter B. Pitkin & William M. Marston—Appleton ($2.50).

This book tells how to write for the talkies, incidentally plots out the talkies' field, tells some of their difficulties, predicts some of their triumphs. Say Authors Pitkin & Marston: "The talkie is a new art. It is as distinct from the silent picture as the silent picture is distinct from a stage play." Its limitations are definite. "[The successful talkie] must avoid all explanations, printed or spoken, which involve words beyond the comprehension of an ordinary ten-year-old child."

The basis of the talkie is dialog—not dramatic or literary dialog,...