“The Tenth Muse (Impressions)”: Andrzej Włast’s Columns on Film From the Period of 1923-1924

Wojciech Świdziński

kwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)

Abstract

Andrzej Włast was one of the most interesting film journalist of the Second Polish Republic. He devoted his time primarily to organising cabaret life in the interwar Warsaw and writing song lyrics for the best variety actors of the time, however during the period of 1923-1924 he wrote a column The Tenth Muse (Impressions) for the journal “Ekran i Scena” [“Screen and Stage”]. Thanks to a wide range of themes and direct contact with current film life, the column remains a fascinating chronicle of this incredibly rich period in the history of Warsaw cinema. Włast in particular focused on acting technique on the big screen. He also devoted a lot of attention to American films, which were very rapidly gaining ground on the European market of the time. In his analysis he tried to understand the movie taste of the crowds, and the audiences in his column was always treated in a subjective manner. He was critical of Polish cinema, not sparing the film makers theoretical instructions, which is perhaps what lead in time to closing his column in a journal published by the Film Industry Association. Andrzej Włast’s work as a critic is worth remembering due to intensity, insight and a genuine passion for film.


Keywords:

Andrzej Włast, interwar period, film press

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Published
2014-06-30

Cited by

Świdziński, W. (2014) “‘The Tenth Muse (Impressions)’: Andrzej Włast’s Columns on Film From the Period of 1923-1924”, Kwartalnik Filmowy, (86), pp. 183–189. doi: 10.36744/kf.2422.

Authors

Wojciech Świdziński 
kwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences Poland

Doktor nauk humanis­tycznych, teatrolog i filmoznawca, pracownik Mi­nisterstwa Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego, afiliowany przy „Kwartalniku Filmowym”. Jego artykuły ukazywały się m.in. w „Tekstualiach”, „Aspiracjach”, „Teatrze” i „Stolicy”.



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