Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1900-09-27
OLD STAGE EFFECTS.
SCENES THAT USED TO THRILL
AUDIENCES YEARS AGO.

A Ludicrous Mishap That Once
Floored Frank Mayo In the CHI
max In "Dnvy Crockett"-A Crude
Fire Scene That Was Very Popular.
"Great Scott how a modern audi
ence would gibe at the stage effects
that used to thrill folks thirty or SO
years ago!" said an old theatrical man
ager who was in the city recently en-
route to Frisco. ''Take the famous
wolf scene in 'Davy Crockett for in
stance, that made a fortune for dear
old Frank Mayo. That was consid-
cred one of the most realistic things of
its day, and it stirred audiences to alb
solutely frantic excitement. You re-
member how it went: Dayy and the
heroine have taken refuge in a noun
tain cabin, and suddenly they hear
long drawn wall - Ow-o-o-o-o!
Ow-o-o-o-o-o! 1t sounded like a TOM
cat on moonlit fence and was emitted
by the prop man, standing in the
wings. Davy springs to his feet. He
listens with his hand to his ear. The
orchestra plays tremolo. The wolves!
he cries, and the house begins to hold
it's breath.
/, Meanwhile the prop man puts on
more steam The beasts are nearing
! Davy glares around distractedly. Mer-
ciful hevings! He has burned up the
door bar for fuel! The prop man
| bowls at the top Of his voice. Dayy
dashes up his sleeve He springs to
the door, rams his bare arm through
the empty staples, and two stuffed
! wolves heads are poked suddenly
i through hole at the bottom! Then
/ the curtain drops, there is more tremo-
/ 10, and it rises again to discover Davy
fainting at the portal with couple Of
streaks Of red paint around his good
right arm to show where the staples
pinched. That scene would excite de-
rision today. but it kept the wolf from
Mayo's own door for many long year.
Incidentally 1t was responsible for
some ludicrous mishaps.
con one occasion. while touring
through Iowa, the special scenery was
delayed by railroad wreck and local
stage carpenter undertook to fake up
the cabin interior. By some mistake
he made the staples several inches too
small, and when Mayo. who was
rather portly, rushed to the rescue he
was Mortified to discover that he could
not get his arm through the irons. he
pushed and squirmed and sweat blood,
were supposed to be advancing on q
dead lope the situation was decidedly
critical. 1t so happened that the
actress who played the heroine that
season was very spirituelle, not to say
scrawny, and while poor Davy was
still wriggling at the door some gallery
god suddenly piped out: Break away
fatty, and let de lady try! The audi
ence roared and Mayo signaled for q
quick curtain.
Fire effects are regarded with dis
favor nowadays" continued the man
ager, because if too realistic they are
apt to create panic in crowded thea
ter, but in the old melodramas there
was no danger of installing them fol
the real thing, and they were grea
drawing cards. Back in the early
seventies Joe Murphy, the Irish come
dian, toured the country in a play
called Help which contained a fire
scene that was regarded as the mos
remarkable ever produced on the road.
"The curtain rose on barnlike In
terror, supposed to represent an opium
den in San Francisco. Presently {
Chinaman passed an open door in tn,
back. carrying lamp, and momen
later crash was heard, indicating tina
he had dropped it. A red glow imme
diately camc through the chinks in thu
rear wall and grew rapidly brighter
and brighter. while there was a sounC
of excited footsteps indistinct shoutin,
and furniture being dragged across tn,
floor. All that, occurring out Of sight
worked the audience to high pitch G
nervous tension. Then smoke begai
to ooze through the cracks, the ret
glow continued to increase, and all o
a sudden the entire back wall totteret
and sank forward on the stage, dis
closing dim perspective, with flame
shooting up here and there and firemel
rushing pellmell in every direction.
That spectacle created tremendou
sensation wherever it was put on, We
the entire effect was produced by
few shovelfuls of red fire burned il
the wings and little lycopodium pow
der, which flashes into big, harmless
blaze and was concealed in tin boXe
attached to different parts of the sci
ting. The back wall was let down o.
a couple of piano wires, which used t
get stuck occasionally and suspend i
in midair. There was celebrated fir
scene in Chanfrau's play of Nose bu
it was admitted to be inferior to tn
one have described, and the cruditie
of both are very laughable when con
pared to modern attempts along tn
! same line.
1.-THE last thing of that kind saw wa
in London few years ago. 1t repre-
sented the burning of a tenemen
Smoke and flames poured out Of til
easements; immense beams crashe
down, scattering showers of sparks
walls crumbled, people leaped from til
} windows and were caupht i'm nafS on