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The Genius and the System – Some Concluding Remarks 135
And not only does Sjöström keep his particular use of the dissolve, but – as we
saw from the cutting continuity script of The Masks of the Devil – he also
develops it as a means of expressing thoughts or inner feelings, thus expanding
the narrative possibilities of silent cinema. This is all the more remarkable as an
exception to the rule, as film historians have shown that the norm for the dissolve
in Hollywood was quickly reduced to serve as an expression of spatial
shifts in the viewer’s perspective, ordinarily within the same room. 4
The use of the dissolve, however, is far from being a mere addendum or decoration
to the films, neither in Sweden, nor in Hollywood. On the contrary, as
we have seen, the dissolve is right at the intersection between style and story; a
privileged way to express an inner drama. Sjöström’s films are all about the play
with mirrors, doubles and double identities, transitions and transformations.
They portray the world as we know it – only to then transform it and thus to
reveal another dimension, which hitherto had remained hidden as in He Who
Gets Slapped, where the dissolve seems to make visible an internal reality that
would otherwise have remained invisible; matter transcended and memory
transfigured. 5
It could, of course, rightly be interpreted as a sign of Sjöström’s authorial genius
that he succeeded in leaving his imprint in opposition to the strong Hollywood
norms. However, from the perspective that I have adopted in this study, I
would rather suggest that it may be seen as a clear indication of the possibilities
that this system of production actually contained, as Sjöström in some cases was
able to add at shooting stage dissolves of the kind that were not originally included
in the script.
It would be just as misleading, however, to view Sjöström as a director who
uniquely succeeded in challenging or even changing the Hollywood system.
The problem with such a view, as I also hope to have shown, is not least its too
rigid conception of “the system”. From Sjöström’s original contract, it was clear
that he enjoyed certain privileges, as did other Europeans. There were several
other exceptions to the rule, for example, that of Lillian Gish, who enjoyed a
unique position in the industry – of which her collaboration with Sjöström in
The Wind, however, seems to have been the last example, though she made
one more feature with MGM after that. 6 The system thus did allow for variations;
it was even built just as much on those exceptions to the rule as on the
underlying norm, which to a certain extent is revealed to be nothing else than a
construction. However, it would be naïve to believe that the exceptions were up
to the individual to decide. Rather, the Hollywood production culture of the
1920s in its entirety appears as a field of negotiations and tugs-of-war, where
ultimately the box office successes, but to a certain extent also critical appreciation
and international potential – and, to a certain extent, the moods of the producers,
as several examples from Sjöström’s career have shown – determined