They have not the independent significance which is essential for the dramatic conflict.
The novel on the screen, if it is a true novel and not the novelistic rendering of what is really a dramatic plot, must be lifeless and uninspiring.

But on the other hand the photoplay much more than the drama emphasizes the background of human action, and it shares this trait with the novel.

Both the social and the natural backgrounds are the real setting for the development of the chief character in the story.

These features can easily be transferred to the photoplay and for this reason some picturized novels have had the advantage over the photoplay cut from the drama.

The only true conclusion must remain, however, that neither drama nor novel is sufficient for the film scenarios.