There was an article in Salon last year that covered the "return" of split screen.  See:
http://archive.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/2002/05/14/24_split/

The author, Julie Talen, claims that use of the split screen for telephone conversations began in 1913 in a Lois Weber film (see p. 4, near the end), but doesn't say which of Weber's more than 2 dozen films that year it was.  The article is a nice informal survey of past and present trends in split screen.  I was especially happy to see her citing some of the film exhibits at the Montreal Expo 67 World's Fair.

Don Larsson


"Only connect" --E.M. Forster
Donald F. Larsson
English Dept., AH 230
Minnesota State University
Mankato, MN  56001

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