A footnote to the discussion of sound. Under the studio system, except for a major director like Lubitsch or Hitchcock, it was nearly impossible to do any sort of overlapping sound, fade, or other unusual effects with the track. For instance, through research in the USC Warner Bros. archive, I discovered that apparently director Robert Florey tried to experiment with the dialogue recording to achieve a more realistic effect during a party scene. This was during the production of a modestly-budgeted ($230,000) Barbara Stanwyck melodrama, THE WOMAN IN RED, shot in late 1934. Florey was quickly rebuffed by the sound technicians complaining to the supervisor, who went to the production chief, claiming that not all dialogue would be optimally audible, and Florey was forced to fall in line with more conventional methods. By contrast, unusual visuals were not as difficult to achieve, because cameramen seem to have been often more willing to try different types of compositions or lighting. Probably many other directors had the same frustrations in regard to sound, with similar experiences to Florey on THE WOMAN IN RED. Brian Taves Motion Picture-Broadcasting-Recorded Sound Div. Library of Congress [log in to unmask] ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]