This week’s reading is an introduction of a leading American playwright Samson Raphaelson, who wrote many scripts for Hollywood films like One Hour with You, the Merry Widow and Heaven can wait played in this week’s screening. Together, he and Ernst Lubitsch created an era of Classical Hollywood film.
The Author introduces Raphealson’s history as a playwright, and then focuses on his few representative works. I like the part of why he and Lubitsch could work together and make great successes in film history. According to his analysis, Raphealson and Lubitsch both aspired to create things more than comedies, which involves more wisdom and morality. Thanks to this, and the fact Lubitsch freed him from playwright’s obligation ‘something to say’, he had the chance to not be afraid of the rules and just write down the scenes came up in his mind. This way, he could be somehow irresponsible, and like the author mentioned, trust his impulse and instincts. However, when back to theater, he had to hold it down. Anyway, writing for Lubitsch is totally different experience for him in his career, and through it, his words, his dialogues were polished and became more poetic and romantic.