WILLIAMS ON FILM: SOME PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS

In the English-speaking world, the two principal performance arts, theatre and film, have developed together in the twentieth century. An important common element of the British and American commercial theatres is that each has enjoyed a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with the respective national cinema since the beginning of the sound film era. In the case of Great Britain, this relationship was eased for several decades by the proximity of the commercial film studios, most of which were once located in the Greater London area, to the West End theatrical district; such proximity made it possible, in many cases almost inevitable, for creative personnel in the theatre to work part-time on film prolects, and vice-versa. The move of the American film business to California from its New York base at the beginning of the studio period (c. 1912-20) posed difficulties for actors, writers, directors, and production artists wishing to work in both fields, and yet many have done so. Indeed, in the nineties, this trend shows no sign of abating, even with the dispersal of film production into a number of regional centers outside California.